a letter from a gentleman in grayes-inn, to a justice of the peace in the countrey explaining the act of uniformity in that part which doth concern unlicensed preachers. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing a estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a letter from a gentleman in grayes-inn, to a justice of the peace in the countrey explaining the act of uniformity in that part which doth concern unlicensed preachers. f. a. [ ], p. s.n.], [london? : . signed at the end: f.a. page misnumbered . reproduction of original in bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching -- england -- history -- th century. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - robyn anspach sampled and proofread - robyn anspach text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a letter from a gentleman in grayes-inn to a justice of the peace in the countrey : explaining the act of vniformity in that part which doth concern unlicensed preachers . printed in the year , . a letter from a gentleman in grayes-inn to a justice of the peace in the countrey . explaining the act for uniformity in that part which doth concern unlicensed preachers . honoured sir , yours of the th . instant , i did receive ; i am glad to hear of your welfare , and cannot but be most ready to gratifie your desire in any thing within my power ; you are pleased to require mine opinion concerning that part of the late act for vniformity , which doth impower justices of the peace to commit preachers unto prison upon the certificate of a bishop . sir , my private opinion can be of little weight ; yet , your request is to me a command , and my conjectures may point you unto more convincing expositions on the act. this statute doth assign imprisonment in two cases , vnlicensed school-masters , and unlicensed preachers ; the last is that concerning which you do enquire , and the branch of the statute doth run thus : and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid , that if any person by this act disabled to preach any lecture or sermon , shall , during the time that he shall continue and remain so disabled , preach any lecture or sermon , that then , for every such offence , the person or persons so offending , shall suffer three months imprisonment in the common gaole , without bale or main prize ; and that any two iustices of the peace of any county of this kingdom , and the places aforesaid , and the maior or other chief magistrate of any city or town corporate within the same , upon certificate from the ordinary of the place , made to him or them 〈◊〉 the offence committed , shall and are hereby required to commit the person or persons so offending to the. gaole of the same county , city , or town corporate accordingly . i shall not insist on the hardness of the case , that men should be sent to prison on a bare and blind certificate , without any due and fair conviction , or ever being heard in their own defence : but on the serious view of this clause , and consideration of this act , mine opinion is this : the subject of this penalty , is not every unlicensed preacher , but only an unlicensed , and therefore disabled , lecturer : men might preach as parsons or vicars , any constant or cursory occasional sermon , and not be lyable to this penalty ; and if any of the bishops shall make certificate against any man so preaching , the justices have no authority to commit them , or him , to prison ; but if a justice of the peace , or maior of any corporation , shall commit any person on such certificate , the prisoner may have his habeas corpus , and remedy against the maior or justices . sir , that my opinion may not come to you naked , and without proof , be pleased to observe the reason on which i ground mine opinion . the person shall be committed to prison for doing that which he was disabled to do ; but the person is only disabled to preach any lecture or sermon , ( i. e. ) lecture-sermon . sir , this law doth resolve a threefold disablement upon ministers . . such who are not episcopally ordained , and do not in all things conform , are disabled to hold any living or ecclesiastical promotion . . the not episcopally ordained , consecrating the lords supper , are disabled to be made priests for one whole year after . . lecturers not licensed , as is directed , are disabled to preach any lecture or sermon ; and the doing this after disablement , is that which is punishable with three months imprisonment . now , sir , that you may see lecturers , preaching , fixed , stated lecturers , are the only persons disabled , and to be punished , observe . . ministers , in all other capacities , are compelled to conformity by other pains ; and their non-preaching is provided for by other remedies : the law prescribeth not two punishments for one offence ; but there being a sort of ministers under the notion of lecturers , not barred by any prescription to parsons or vicars ; the law maketh special provision against them , and this penalty compels them to conformity , or puts them to silence . . the persons disabled , and work to which they are disabled , is best discovered by that appellation by which they are discriminated in the statute , and that is not the name of minister , preacher , parson , or vicar , who were all provided against in the foregoing part of the law ; but the name of lecturer , which i observe , is affected , and all along this part of the statute , is used to predicate the person to be disabled , and on doing what he is disabled , to be imprisoned : it beginneth , no person , shall be , or be received as a lecturer , or allowed to preach as a lecturer ; it proceedeth , every person licensed , assigned or appointed , or received as a lecturer ; again , so long as he continueth lecturer ; again , it shall be sufficient for the said lecturer ; again , the lecturer then to preach , this name doth note his office and work , to which he is disabled ( viz. ) not simple preaching , but lecturing , or preaching a lecture . . the qualifications , for defect of which he is disabled can square to no kind of preacher , or preaching , but to lecturers preaching lectures , for he must . be approved , and thereunto licensed ; thereunto is a relative , which hath for its antecedent , not person , vicar , or preacher , but lecturer , and lecture : this is not only plain by the gramatical connexion of the words , but also by the express tearms subjoyned ; every person licensed , assigned , appointed , or received as a lecturer , to preach on any day of the week ; now , sir , he is only disabled to do that whereunto he is not licensed . . this person is required , the first time he preacheth , to read common-prayer , and to declare his assent and consent , and upon every first lecture day of every month , so long as he continueth lecturer there , and for not doing the same he is disabled to preach the said , or any other lecture , or sermon ; the work to which he is disabled , is a stated service which hath beginning and continuance in return of time , not a cursory transient and occasional act. . the lecturer then to preach must be present at the reading common-prayer before he preach his sermon or lecture . now , sir , if the defect of these qualifications disable , and so dispose under the penalty , he that shall be thus punished must be a person capable of these qualifications , and that is none but a stated lecturer . sir , i do not find the least ground for any objection against my opinion , save only in this , that the word ( sermon ) is used in the statute : and in this provision of the penalty ; and unto this , i answer ; . sermon is never used alone , and by it self , but ever conjunct with lecture , and inclosed in the same comma ; but when the printers mistake is visible . . sermon is joyned to lecture with this discretive ( or ) not disjunctively , but exegetically , to explain the tearm lecture ; and hereof there is good reason ; for lecture properly signifieth a reading , but hath been in vulgar accepceptation referred unto , and performed by , preaching : that therefore the law might not be evaded by an equivocal tearm , the vulgar appellation lecture is explained by the mode of performance , lecture or sermon , and that sermon is thus exegetical , is evident by these observations . . the preacher hereby disabled is throughout this part of the law , praedicated a lecturer , and not known by any other appellation whatsoever . . the qualifications before noted , do square with no kind of preaching or preacher , but lecturer preaching a lecture-sermon . . preaching or reading are expresly mentioned as the specifical acts , of the lecturers lecturing . so in the first clause which relateth thereunto , none shall be , or be received as a lecturer , allowed to preach as a lecturer , or to preach or read any lecture , or sermon , ( i. e. ) any way speak openly any lecture-sermon ; for lecture is the genus , existing in the species of reading or preaching . . preaching is often expressed to be the only act of the lecturer , it may therefore well be called a sermon : the statute saith expresly , every person licensed , assigned , appointed , a lecturer to preach , shall the first time he preacheth , so long as he continueth lecturer or preacher . . lecture or sermon are so conjoyned in the qualifications prescribed , they must be synonimous , and convertible , and exegetical , cannot be disjunctive , thus ; it is menoned , the place appointed for his lecture or sermon ; the reading common-prayer at the time of the day when his lecture or sermon is to be preached , and declare his assent and consent before his lecture or sermon : now , sir , they cannot be disjunctive in the disablement , which are apparently exegetical in the required qualifications . . preaching or reading are expressed to be the different acts of lecturing in cathedral , collegiate , and university churches or chappels , though preaching is retained as the lecturing act in common and ordinary lectures . so that there was great and just cause to connex sermon to lecture , in directing a lecture-sermon . sir , these things considered , you cannot but see mine opinion is grounded on the plain and clear interpretation of the law ; so , that if any bishops certificate reduce you into the dilemma , you will hereby direct your course , to commit preaching lecturers , but pass by and leave at liberty all other preachers whatsoever , as those ; for commitment of whom you have no authority . and so doing , which you cannot but be sure all the judges will determin against you . i am sir october , th . your servant to command f. a. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e pag. . pag. ● . paeg. ● ▪ pag . pag. . the arte of prophecying, or, a treatise concerning the sacred and onely true manner and methode of preaching first written in latine by master william perkins ; and now faithfully translated into english (for that it containeth many worthie things fit for the knowledge of men of all degrees) by thomas tuke. prophetica, sive, de sacra et vnica ratione concionandi tractatus. english perkins, william, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a stc . estc s ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the arte of prophecying, or, a treatise concerning the sacred and onely true manner and methode of preaching first written in latine by master william perkins ; and now faithfully translated into english (for that it containeth many worthie things fit for the knowledge of men of all degrees) by thomas tuke. prophetica, sive, de sacra et vnica ratione concionandi tractatus. english perkins, william, - . tuke, thomas, d. . [ ], p. by felix kyngston for e.e. and are to be sold in pauls church-yard at the signe of the swan, imprinted at london : . translation of: prophetica.--cf. nuc pre- imprints. signatures: a-k⁸ (last leaf blank). "the analysis of the whole booke" ( sheet) inserted between p. [ ] and p. . reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - rachel losh sampled and proofread - rachel losh text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the arte of prophecying : or a treatise concerning the sacred and onely true manner and methode of preaching . first written in latine by master william perkins : and now faithfully translated into english ( for that it containeth many worthie things fit for the knowledge of men of all degrees ) by thomas tuke . nehem. . . . . and ezra the scribe stood vpon a pulpit of wood , which hee had made for the preaching . and ezra opened the booke before all the people : for he was aboue all the people : and when hee opened it , all the people stood vp . moreouer , ezra praised the lord the great god , and all the people answered , amen , amen , — vers . . in like manner ieshua and bani &c. vers . . and they read in the booke of the law of god distinctly : and gaue the sense , and caused them to vnderstand the reading . imprinted at london by felix kyngston for e. e. and are to be sold in pauls church-yard at the signe of the swan . . to the right worshipfvll sir william armin knight . sir , many and excellent benefites hath the lord in mercy vouchsafed to vs these eight and fortie by-past yeeres together : of which this is not the least , if not the greatest , that hee hath dispelled the duskie clowdes of popish darknesse as palpable as that of egypt , and hath caused the sun-light of the gospell to shine cleerely in all our coasts . hee sheweth his word vnto vs , as he did vnto iaacob , his statutes and his iudgements , as he did sometimes to israel . he hath giuen vs his prophets and embassadours , which doe serue like that cloude and pillar of fire to direct vs in our pilgrimage through the wildernesse of this wicked world into celestiall canaan . hee hath thrust forth many faithfull and industrious labourers into his vineyard to prune and to dresse the vines of our soules , that we may bring foorth the grapes of pietie and the clusters of iustice ; ( vnlesse we will needs be like to the cypresse , which , as plinie saith , can indure no husbanding , but maketh that her maladie , which is a medicine to other trees ) amongst whom the author of this learned tractate did shew himselfe with the formost ; carrying alwaies with him a light of learning , and a lampe of godly liuing . and , qualis vita , finis ita ; as he was a lampe whiles he liued , so like a lampe , alijs inseruiens seipsum consumpsit . his whole life was labour , seribenda dicens & legenda scribens . one whereof was this present discourse and platforme concerning the true vnderstanding and vsing of the scriptures , written in his yonger yeeres : which i am bold to present and dedicate to your worship in this plight you see ; partly because it is a thesaurus and store-house of excellent precepts , ( as domitius piso saith that bookes should bee such ) hauing in it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sufficient furniture to further perfection in that sacred science : and partly to demonstrate my gratitude , and deuoted affection to you , who haue alwaies bin a constant patrone ( etiam minitante fortuna ) to my neerest and dearest friends . thus i take my humble leaue , desiring your kinde acceptance , and so commend your worship with your whole progenie to the protection of the lord. london , ian. . . your worships in all dutie thomas tuke . to the faithfvll ministers of the gospell : and to all that are desirous of , and doe labour for the knowledge of holy learning . that common place of diuinitie , which concerneth the framing of sermons , is both weightie and difficult , if there be any other throughout all that sacred science . for the matter , which it is to explicate and treate on , is prophecie ; an excellent gift indeede , whether we consider it in respect of dignitie , or of vse . the dignitie thereof appeareth , in that like a ladie it is highly mounted and carried a loft in a chariot : whereas all other gifts , both of tongues and arts , attend on this like handmaides a loofe off . answerable to this dignitie there is also a two folde vse : one , in that it serueth to collect the church , and to accomplish the number of the elect : the other , for that it driueth away the woolues from the foldes of the lord. for this is indeede that flexanima , that allurer of the soule , whereby mens froward mindes are mitigated and moued from an vngodly and barbarous life vnto christian faith and repentance . this also is that engine , which as it hath shaken ( the foundation of ) auncient heresies , so it hath in these few by-past yeares , cut asunder the sinews of that great antichrist . wherefore if it be demaunded which is the most excellent gift of all , doubtlesse the praise must be giuen to prophecying . now by how much the more excellent euery thing is , by so much the more diligently it ought to be adorned with varietie and plentie of precepts . therefore , when i saw this common place so handled of many , as that it would remaine naked and poore , if all other arts should call for those things , which are their owne : i perused the writings of diuines , and hauing gathered some rules out of them , i haue couched them in that methode , which i haue deemed most commodious : that they might be better for vse , and fitter for the memorie . i doe also publish them , that they might be approoued , if they bring with them that which is good : if any euill , that they may receiue their deserued punishment . and whosoeuer thou art that pleasest to reade them , where thou art perswaded of this order of preaching , which here i handle , walke on with me : where thou standest at a stay , inquire with me : * where thou perceiuest thine owne errors , returne to me : where thou seest mine , call me back to thee . for that , which now liketh me , shall dislike me , if it like not gadlie and moderate minded men . but if any man shall carpe at this my trauaile , though very small , let him know , that my onely meaning is to benefite the church of god : and that the conscience of my fact is a sufficient mu●●ment against all calumnies . i doe now betake you to god , and this ( tractate of the ) art of prophecying , both to you and to god. anno . decemb. . william perkins . the analysis of the whole booke . the arte of prophecying . the parts thereof are two , . preaching : in which consider . the obiect , which is the word of god : in it note , . the excellencie thereof . . the parts , which are the two testaments , . the old , whose bookes are , historicall . dogmaticall . propheticall . . the new. . the parts , which are . the preparatiō or prouision of the sermon , cōsisting of interpretation of the text analogicall and plaine . or , crypticall and darke . the cutting or diuiding of it aright , consisting of the resoluing or vntwisting of it . the applying of it . waies of applying it . the parts , which concerne the vnderstanding by doctrine . redargution , or improouing . the practise by instructing . correcting . . the vttering of the sermon the hiding of humane wisdome . the demōstration of the spirit , in the speech , which must be spirituall . gracious : grace is of , . the person , to wit , holinesse , . an inward feeling . . a good conscience . . the feare of god. . a loue of the people . . of the ministerie , authoritie . zeale . the gesture and action of the voyce . the bodie . . conceiuing of publique prayer : in which note . the matter . . the forme . . the parts , meditation . ordering . vttering . the arte of prophecying . chap. . the arte or facultie of prophecying is a sacred doctrine of exercising prophecie rightly . prophecie ( or prophecying ) is a publique and solemne speech of the prophet , pertaining to the worship of god , and to the saluation of our neighbour . . cor. . . but he that prophecieth speaketh vnto men to edification , to exhortation and to consolation . verse . but if all prophecie , and there come in one that beleeueth not , or one vnlearned , he is rebuked of all men , and is * iudged of all men , rom. . . god is my witnes , whom i serue ( or worship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) in my spirit in the gospell of his sonne . chap. ii. of the preaching of the word . there are two parts of prophecie : preaching of the word , and conceiuing of prayers . for in speaking there are onely two duties of the prophet , that is of the minister of the word ; to wit , preaching of the word , and praying vnto god in the name of the people . rom. . hauing prophecie , let vs prophecie according to the * proportion of faith . gen. . . deliuer the man his wife againe , for he is a prophet : and when he shall pray for thee , thou shalt liue . for this cause the word ( prophecie ) is giuen also to prayers . . chron. . . the sonnes of asaph , and heman and ieduthun , who were singers , prophecied with harpes , with uials , and with cymbals . . king. . . the prophets of baal called vpon the name of baal from morning to noone . . and when mid-day was passed , and they had prophecied vntill the offering of the euening sacrifice . and euery prophet is partly the voyce of god , to wit , in preaching : and partlie the voyce of the people , in the acte of praying , ier. . . if thou take away the precious frō the vile , thou shalt be as it were my mouth . nehe. . . and hezra blessed the lord the great god , and all the people answered amen . preaching of the word is prophecying in the name and roome of christ , whereby men are called to the state of grace , and conserued in it . . cor. . . and hath committed to vs the word of reconciliation . . therefore wee are embassadours for christ : as though god did beseech you by vs , we pray you in the name of christ , that ye be reconciled to god. . thes. . . . god hath from the beginning elected you to saluation , through sanstification of the spirit , and faith embracing the trueth : whereunto he called you by our gospell . rom. . . the gospel is the power of god to saluation to euery one that beleeueth . prou. . . when there is no vision the people are naked . rom. . . chap. iii. of the word of god. the perfect and equall * obiect of preaching is the word of god. lok . . . they haue moses and the prophets , let them heare them . mat. . . the scribes and pharises sit in moses chaire , that is , they teach the doctrine of moses which they doe professe . . all therefore whatsoeuer they bid you obserue , that obserue and doe . the word of god is the wisedome of god concerning the trueth , which is according vnto godlinesse descending from aboue . iam. . . but the wisedome , which is from * aboue is first pure , &c. tit. . . paul a seruant of god — according to the acknowledging of the trueth , which is according vnto godlines . admirable is the excellencie of the word , which is euident partly by the nature thereof , partly by the operation . the excellencie of the nature is either the perfection thereof , or the eternitie . the perfection is either the sufficiencie or the puritie . the sufficiencie is that , whereby the word of god is so compleat , that nothing may be either put to it , or taken from it , which appertaineth to the proper end thereof . psal. . . the law of the lord is perfect , conuerting the soule . deut. . . whatsoeuer i commaund you , take heede yee doe it : thou shalt put nothing thereto , nor take ought therefrom . reuel . . . . the puritie thereof is , whereby it remaineth entire in it selfe , voide of deceit and errour , psalm . . . the words of the lord are pure words , as siluer tried in a furnace of earth fined seuen times . the eternity of the word is that , whereby it abideth inuiolable , and cannot passe vntill all that , which it commandeth , bee fully accomplished , matth. . . the excellencie of operation is that , wherby it is endowed with virtue ; first to discerne the spirit of man , heb. . . for the word of god is liuely , and mightie in operation , and sharper then any two-edged sword , and entreth through euen to the deuiding asunder of the soule and spirit , and of the ioynts and the marrow , aad discerneth the thoughts and intents of the heart . secondly , to bind the conscience . iam. . . there is one law-giuer , who is able to saue and to destroy . esa. . . the lord is our iudge , the lord is our law-giuer , the lord is our king , he will saue vs. to bind the conscience is to constraine it either to accuse vs or to excuse vs of sinne before god. the word is in the holy scripture . the scripture is the word of god written in a language fit for the church by men immediately called to be the clerks or secretaries of the holy ghost . . pet. . . for prophecie came not in old time by the will of man , but the holy men of god spake as they were carried and mooued by the holy ghost . it is called canonicall , because it is as it were a canon , that is to say , a rule or line of the master workman , by the helpe whereof the truth is both first to be found out , and also afterwards to be examined . gal. . . and as many as walke according to this * canon or rule . therefore the supreame and absolute determination and iudgement of the controuersies of the church ought to be giuen vnto it . the summe of the scripture is conteined in such a syllogisme ( or forme of reasoning , as this is which followeth . ) * the true messias shall be both god and man of the seede of dauid ; he shall be borne of a uirgin ; he shall bring the gospell forth of his fathers bosome ; he shall satisfie the law ; he shall offer vp himselfe a sacrifice for the sinnes of the faithfull ; he shall conquer death by dying and rising againe ; he shall ascend into heauen ; and in his due time hee shall returne vnto iudgement . but * iesus of nazaret the sonne of mary is such a one ; he * therefore is the true messias . in this syllogisme the maior is the scope or principall drift in all the writings of the prophets : and the minor in the writings of the euangelists and apostles . the scripture is either the new testament or the old. the old testament is y ● first part of the scripture , written by the prophets in the hebrew tongue , or at least in the chaldie , vnfolding chiefely that old couenant of works . luk. . . and . . and he began at moses , and at all the prophets , and interpreted vnto them in all the scriptures the things which were written of him . it is distinguished by bookes , which are either historicall , or dogmaticall , or propheticall . the historicall bookes are stories of things done , for the illustration and confirmation of that doctrine which is propounded in other bookes . . cor. . . now al these things came vpo them for * ensamples : and were written to admonish vs. rom. . . for whatsoeuer things were written afore-time , are written for our learning . these books are in number fifteene . genesis , which is an historie of the creation , fall , promise , and of the state of the church conserued ( and shut vp ) in priuate families . exodus , which is an historie of the deliuerance of the israelites from the aegyptians , of their going out of aegypt , of the promulgation of the law , and of the tabernacle . leuiticus , which containeth a storie of the ceremoniall worship . numbers , which is an historie of their martiall marching into the land of canaan . deuteronomie , which is a commentarie repeating and explicating the lawes out of the fore-said bookes . the booke of ioshua , which declareth their entrance into , and possession of the land of canaan vnder ioshua . the book of the iudges , which comprehendeth an historie of the corrupt and miserable condition of the church and common-wealth of israel from ioshua to eli. the booke of ruth , which is an historie concerning the mariages and posteritie of ruth . the first and second booke of samuel , which is a storie of things done vnder eli and samuel priests , and vnder saul and dauid kings . the first and second booke of kings , which maketh a narratiō of things atchieued in the daies of the kings of israel and iudah . the first and second booke of chronicles , which is a methodicall historie of the beginning , increase , and ruine of the people of israel , seruing to explaine and shew the line or linage of christ. the booke of ezra , which containeth an historie of their returne from captiuitie in babylon , and of the beginning of the restoring of the citie . the booke of nehemiah , which speaketh of the restoring of the city which was to be finished . the booke of hester , which is an historie of the preseruation of the church of the iewes in persia by hester . the booke of iob , which is an history intreating of the causes of tentations , as also of his manifold conflicts , and lastly of his happie issue . the dogmaticall bookes are those , which teach and prescribe the doctrine of diuinitie . these are foure in number . the booke of psalmes , which containeth sacred songes to be fitted for euerie condition both of the church and the particular members therof , and also to be sung with grace in the heart , col. . . the booke of prouerbes , which is a treatise of christian manners , teaching pietie towards god , and iustice towards our neighbour . the * booke of the preacher , which discloseth the vanity of al humane things , so farre forth as they are vsed without the feare of god. . the * song of songs , which speaketh of the mutuall communion of christ with the church , vnder an allegorie of a * bridegroome and his bride . the prophetical books are predictions , either of the iudgements of god for the sinnes of the people , or of the deliuerance of the church , which is to bee perfited at the comming of christ. but with these predictions * they doe mingle the doctrine of repentance , and doe almost alwaies vse consolations in christ to them that doe repent . it is their custome also for the helping of their hearers memorie and vnderstanding to propound their sermons brieflie , which they made at large . esa. . . moreouer the lord said vnto me , take thee a great roule , and write in it with a mans penne . hab. . . write the vision , and make it plaine vpon tables , that he may run that readeth it . prophecies are either greater or lesser . greater are such as do more plentifullie deliuer all those things that are foretold ; as the prophecie of esay , ieremie , ezekiel , daniel . hitherto belong the lamentations of ieremie , touching the miserie of the people of the iewes about the time of the death of iosiah . lesser prophecies are those , which intreate more sparinglie or briefely of all those things that are foretold , or at least of some of them ; as the prophecie of hosea , ioel , amos , obediah , ionas , michah , nahum , habakuk , zephanie , hagge , zacharie , malachie . thus much for the old testament . the new testament is the second part of the scripture written in the greeke tongue by the apostles , or at least approued of them , propounding plainely the doctrine of the new couenant . eph. . . and are built vpon the foundation of the prophets and apostles . peter approued the gospel of marke , at whose motion and appointment it was written by marke , as it pleaseth nicephorus to auerre , lib. . cap. . and iohn , that wrote the gospell , approued the gospell of luke . it is of small moment , which is reported by eusebius ; to wit , that it is apparent by two places ( . tim. . . and rom. . . ) that paul was the author of that gospell , which is called lukes . for paul doth not here speake of any one booke , but of his whole ministerie : for hee addeth , in * which i suffer trouble as an euill doer euen vnto bonds , . tim. . . the new testament containeth partly histories , and partly epistles . the histories are : the foure gospels of matthew , marke , luke , and iohn : which are an history of the life , deedes , and doctrine of christ exhibited vnto the world , continuing from his conception euen vntill his ascension into heauen . and there are foure writers : two that were hearers , and two that were eye-witnesses , that they might giue greater assurance of the truth of the historie . the difference betwixt the euangelists is on this wise : matthew layeth open the doctrines which christ deliuered . marke sets downe the historie briefly : yet did he not make an abridgement of the gospell which matthew wrote , as hierome supposed . for hee begins his discourse in a diuers manner , and proceedes in another order , partly intreating of things more largely , and partlie interlacing of new matters . luke aimeth at or frameth a perfect historie , and described in a certaine order . iohn is almost wholy taken vp in laying open the godhead and benefit of christ , which is deriued from his godhead vnto vs. hierome distinguisheth the euangelists by their beginnings or entrance . he saith matthew is like a man , because hee begins with the man-hood of christ. he likens marke to a lion , because hee begins with the preaching of iohn , which was like the roaring of a lion. he compares luke to an oxe , because he beginneth with zacharie the priest offering his sacrifice . he compareth iohn to an eagle , because he doth ( as it were ) so are vp aloft and begin with the godhead of christ. the acts of the apostles , which is an orderly historie , specially relating the deeds of peter and paul : that there might be an ensample of gouerning the church extant . . tim. . . . the reuelation which is a propheticall historie concerning the condition of the church from the age in which iohn the apostle liued vnto the ende of the world . the epistles follow . . thirteene epistles of paul. to the romanes , of iustification , sanctification , and the dueties of christian life . the first to the corinthes , concerning the reforming of the abuses of the church of corinth . the second to the corinthes , containing chieflie the defence of himselfe and of his apostleship against his aduersaries . to the galatians about iustification by faith without the workes of the law. to the colossians , to the philippians to the ephesians the . to the thes. the . to the thes. which cōfirme the churches in doctrine , and in the dueties of christian life . the . to timothie : the . to timothie : which prescribe the forme of ordering the church aright . the epistle to titus , of ordering the church of the cretians . . to philemon , of receiuing onesimus . the epistle to the hebrewes , concerning the person and offices of christ , and of faith bringing foorth fruit in good workes . the epistle of iames , concerning works to be ioyned with faith . the first and second epistle of peter , touching sanctification and the works of new obedience . the first epistle of iohn , concerning the signes of fellowship with god. the second epistle of iohn to the elect ladie , about perseuerance in the truth . the third epistle of iohn to gayus , concerning hospitalitie and constancie in that which is good . the epistle of iude , of constancie in the faith against false prophets . and thus the canonicall scripture is distinguished by her bookes . now there are verie strong proofes , which shew that she alone is the word of god , and no other besides . of these proofes one doth make a man certainelie to * know the same , the other doth but declare or testifie it . of the former kind there is onelie one , namely the inward testimony of the holy ghost speaking in the scriptures , and not only telling a man within in his heart , but also effectually perswading him that these bookes of the scripture are the word of god. isai. . . my spirit , that is vpon thee , and my words which i haue put in thy mouth , shall not depart out of thy mouth — from henceforth euen for euer . the manner of perswading is on this wise : the eelect hauing the spirit of god doe first discerne the voyce of christ speaking in the scriptures . moreouer , that voyce , which they doe discerne , they doe approoue : and that which they doe approue , they doe beleeue . lastly , beleeuing they are ( as it were ) sealed with the seale of the spirit . ephe. . wherein also after that ye beleeued , yee were sealed with the holy spirit of promise . the church also may beare witnesse of the canon , perswade she cannot . for by this meanes the voyce of the church should be of greater force then the voyce of god : and the whole state of mans saluation should depend vpon men ; than which what can be said to be more miserable ? obiect . the scripture is the word of god by it selfe , but it is not so to vs , but by the iudgement of the church . ans. . the distinction is vaine . for , the first part thereof sheweth the manner , whereby the scripture is the word of god : the latter part sheweth not the manner how , but the person to whom . . the scripture doth also testifie the same thing with that kind of testimonie , which is surer euen then all the oathes of men . for we haue the voyce of the holy ghost speaking in the scripture : who doth also worke in our hearts a certaine ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) full perswasion of the scriptures , when we are exercised in hearing , reading and meditating of thē . neither doe we beleeue a thing , because the church saith it is to beleeued : but therefore we doe beleeue a thing , because that which the church speaketh , the scripture did first speake . yea the church cannot stand , nor yet be imagined without faith : faith is not without the word : which word is the rule or obiect of faith : and not the iudgement , though it be of most holy men . . he which doubteth of the scriptures , will doubt as well of the testimonie of the church . obiect . . the church hath a iudgement to determine of matters , act. . . it seemeth good to the holy ghost and to vs. ans. . the soueraigne or supreame iudgement concerning matters of faith belongeth to the holy ghost speaking in the scriptures . the ministerie of iudgement ( or a ministeriall iudgement ) is only giuen vnto the church : because she must iudge according to the scriptures : and because she doth not this alwaies , but sometimes faileth . . the apostles were present at that councell which was held at ierusalem , who were men that had authoritie which was * of it selfe to be beleeued , which authoritie the ecclesiasticall ministery now hath not . the proofe of declaration or testification is that , which doth not demonstrate or perswade , but only testifie , and by certaine tokens approue the true canon . this proofe is manifold . first , the perpetuall consent of the church : of the ancient church of the iewes . rom. . . for chieflie , because vnto them were of credit committed the oracles of god. and of the new and latter church . . from christ and the apostles , who cited testimonies foorth of those bookes . . from the fathers . first , origen , as eusebius testifieth , lib. . . & . . melito , as the same eusebius witnesseth ; lib. . . athanasius . . cyril , serm. . . cyprian , or rather ruffine in his exposition of the creed . . in his preface vpon the first psalme . . hierome , in prologo gal. and in his preface vpon the bookes of salomon . . epiphanius , in his booke of weights and measures . . damascene in his fourth booke of faith , chap. . . gregorie , moral . on iob. lib. . chap. . . in councels , the nicene , and laodiccan . can. . with these agree hugo de sancto victore in his first booke of sacraments , chap. . n. lyra in his prologue vpon the bookes of aprocrypha . hugo cardinalis in prologo in iosuam . secondly , the consent in part made by the gentiles , and enemies affirming the same things , which are deliuered in holie scriptures . . of the creation spake homer , and plato in timaeo . . of christ , iosephus lib. . antiquit. cap. . & . and in his sixt booke of the warre of the iewes , chap. . and booke the . chap. . . . . . of the redeemer of the world , who was to be exhibited in the last times , prophecied the sibylls , as lactantius recordeth , lib. . cap. . and cicero , lib. . de diuinat . and virgil in the fourth eclogue . . of the miracles of christ , suetonius speaketh in nero : and tacitus , lib. . & . . of the wisemens starre , plin. lib. . & . . . of the slaughtering of the infants , macrobus in satur. . of the death of herod agrippa , iosephus in his . booke of antiquities , chap. . . of the flood , berosus in those fragments which are extant . iosephus antiq. booke . chap. . and the poets . . of the tower of babel eupolemus speaketh , as eusebius testifieth , de praeparat . euangel . . of the doue which noe sent out , plutarch mentioneth , lib. quod bruta sunt rationalia . . of iaphet the sonne of noe the poets fable many things . . of abrahams sacrifice , alexander polyhist . . of the miracles of moses , plinie speaketh : though he do ill in calling him a magitian . thirdly , the antiquitie of the word , for it cōtaineth in it a narration of things done from the beginning of the world . but the most ancient humane historie whatsoeuer was not written by any before the daies of ezra and nehemiah , who were about the yeare of the worlds creation three thousand and fiue hundreth . fourthly , the most certaine accomplishment of the prophecies : as are these , of the calling of the gentiles : of antichrist : of the apostasie of the iewes , &c. fiftly , the matter thereof : which is of one true god , of the true worship of god , and that god is the sauiour . sixtly , the consent of all the parts of the scripture . seauenthly , the miraculous preseruation of the scriptures in the perils of the church , and in the time of generall reuolting . eightly , the operation thereof : for it conuerteth men , and though it bee flatlie contrarie to the reason and affections of men , yet it winneth them vnto it selfe . ninthly , it is full of maiestie in the simplenes of the words . lastly the holy pen-men set downe their owne corruptions : and moses commendeth himselfe , saying that he was the meekest of all men ; which argueth that they were led by the holie ghost . and christ , who is described in the gospell , affirmeth very plainely that he is the sonne of god , and that he is one with god the father , and challengeth all the glorie of god vnto himselfe . which if it had not bin right and true , he should haue felt the wrath of god with adam and with herod , who would needes bee like vnto god. but on the contrarie , god hath reuenged his death both vpon herod , and vpon the iewes , and vpon pilate , and vpon those emperours that persecuted the church . and thus we haue seene the * tokens of the scripture . whereby it appeareth that the booke of tobit , the prayer of manasses , the boooke of iudith , the booke of baruch , the epistle of ieremy , the additions to daniel , the third and fourth booke of ezra , the additions to the book of hester , the two bookes of machabees , the booke of wisedome , and ecclesiasticus are not to be reckoned in the canon . reas. . they are not written by the prophets . . they are not written in hebrew . . christ and his apostles alledged in the new testament no testimonies out of those bookes . . they containe some feigned things , and contrarie to the scriptures . chap. iiii. of the interpretation of the scriptures . hitherto hath been spoken of the obiect of preaching . the parts thereof are two . preparation for the sermon , and the promulgation or vttering of it . matth. . . then said he vnto them , therefore euery scribe , which is taught vnto the kingdome of heauen , is like vnto an housholder , which bringeth forth out of his treasure both new and old . in preparation priuate studie is with diligence to be vsed . . tim. . . till i come giue attendance to reading , to exhortation , and to doctrine . . pet. . . of the which saluation the prophets haue inquired and searched , which prophecied of the grace that should come vnto you . dan. . . in the first yeere of his raigne i daniel vnderstood by bookes the number of the yeeres . concerning the studie of diuinitie take this aduice . first , diligently imprint both in thy mind and memory the substance of diuinitie described with definitions , diuisions , and explications of the properties . secondly , proceede to the reading of the scriptures in this order . vsing a grammaticall , rhetoricall , and logicall * analysis , and the helpe of the rest of the arts , reade first the epistle of paul to the rom. after that the gospell of iohn ( as being indeed the keyes of the new testament ) and then the other books of the new testamēt . will be more easie when they are read . when all this is done , learne first the dogmaticall bookes of the old testament , especiallie the psalmes : then the propheticall , especially esay : lastly the historicall , but chieflie genesis . for it is likelie that the apostles and euangelists read esay and the psalmes very much . for there are no bookes of the old testament , out of which we can reade more testimonies to be cited , then out of these . there are about threescore places alledged out of esay : and threescore and foure out of the psalmes . thirdly , out of * orthodoxall writings , we must get aid not onely from the latter , but also from the more ancient church . because sathan hath raised vp from the dead the old heretiques , that he might hinder the restoratiō of the church , which is begun to bee made in our time . for the antitrinitaries haue newly varnished that opinion of arius and sabellius . the anabantists renew the doctrines or sects of the essees , catharists , enthusiasts , and donatists . the swenkseldians reuiue the opinions of the eutychians , enthusiasts , &c. menon followeth ebion : and the papists resemble the pharisies , encratites , tatians , pelagians . the libertines renew the opinions of the gnosticks and carpocratians . seruetus hath reuiued the heresies of samosatenus , arrius , eutyches , marcion , and apollinaris . lastly , the schismatiques , that separate themselues from euangelical churches , receiue the opinions , facts , and fashions of pup●anus in cyprian , of the audians , and donatists . therefore in like manner , wee must not so much seeke for new repealings and confutations of these heresies , as wee are for our vse to fetch those ancient ones out of councils and fathers , and to accompt them as approued and firme . fourthly , those things , which in studying thou meetest with , that are necessarie and worthie to be obserued , thou must put in thy tables or common-place books , that thou maiest alwaies haue in a readines both old and new . fiftly , before all these things god must carnestly be sued vnto by prayer , that hee would blesse these meanes , and that he would open the meaning of the scriptures to vs that are blind . psalm . . . open mine eies , that i may see the wonderfull things of thy law. reuel . . . i aduise thee to buy gold for thee — and to annoint thine eyes with eye-salue , that thou maist see . hitherto pertaineth the framing of common-place bookes . concerning which obserue this slender counsel . . haue in readinesse common-place heads of euery point of diuinitie . . distinguish the formost pages of thy paper booke into two columnes , or equall parts lengthwise . in euery one of those pages set in the top the title of one head or chiefe point , the contrarie side remaining in the meane while emptie , that fresh paper may be put to . . all things , which thou readest , are not to be written in thy book , but those things that are worthie to bee remembred , and are seldome met with-neither must thou put the words of the author in thy common places , but briefly note downe the principall points of stories and of things , that thou mayst know from what author to fetch them , when thou shalt haue vse : and make a point in the author himselfe , that thou mayst know , that the thing is there handled , which thou wrotest in thy common-place booke . . because some things do very often offer thēselues with a doubtful signification , so as that thou canst not tell , if thou write thē in thy common places , from whence to fetch them , therefore to thy common places thou must ioyne an alphabeticall table . . alwaies prouided that thou trust not too much to thy places . for it is not sufficient to haue a thing written in thy booke , vnlesse it be also diligentlie laid and locked vp in thy memorie . preparation hath two parts , interpretation , and right diuision or * cutting . interpretation is the * opening of the words and sentences of the scripture , that one entire and naturall sense may appeare . the church of rome maketh . senses of the scriptures , the literall , allegoricall , tropological , & anagogicall , as in this her example . melchizedek offered bread and wine . the literall sense is , that the king of salem with meate which he brought , refreshed the souldiers of abraham being tyred with trauell . the allegoricall is , that the priest doth offer vp christin y e masse . the tropologicall is , therefore something is to be giuen to the poore . the anagogicall is , that christ in like manner being in heauen , shall be the bread of life to the faithfull . but this her deuice of the fourefold meaning of the scripture must be exploded and reiected . there is one onelie sense , and the same is the literall . an allegorie is onely a certaine manner of vttering the same sense . the anagoge and tropologie are waies , whereby the sense may be applied . the principall interpreter of the scripture is the holy ghost . . pet. . . so that ye first know this , that no prophecie in the scripture is of any priuate * interpretation . moreouer , he that makes the law , is the best and the highest interpreter of the law . the supreame and absolute meane of interpretation is the scripture it selfe . nehem. . . and they read in the booke of the law of god distinctly , and gaue the sense , and caused them to vnderstand by the scripture it selfe , per scripturam ipsam . the meanes subordinated to the scripture are three ; the analogie of faith , the circumstances of the place propounded , and the comparing of places together . the analogie of faith is a certaine abridgement or summe of the scriptures , collected out of most manifest and familiar places . the parts thereof are two . the first concerneth faith , which is handled in the apostles creede . the second concerneth charitie or loue , which is explicated in the ten commaundements . . tim. . . keepe the true * paterne of the wholsome words , which thou hast heard of me , with faith and loue which is in christ iesus . the circumstances of the place propounded are these : who ? to whom ? vpon what occasion ? at what time ? in what place ? for what end ? what goeth before ? what followeth ? the collation or comparing of places together , is that , whereby places are set like parallels one beside another , that the meaning of them may more euidentlie appeare . act. . . but saul increased the more in strength , and confounded the iewes , which dwelt at damascus , confirming ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is , conferring or conioyning of places of scriptures , as artificers being about to compact or ioyne a thing together are wont to fit all the parts amongst themselues , that one of them may perfectly agree with each other ) that this was that christ. collation of places is two-fold . the first is the comparing of the place propounded with it selfe cited and repeated else-where in holy writ . esa. . . make the heart of this people fat , make their eares heauie , and shut their eyes , lest they see with their eyes , and heare with their eares , and vnderstand with their hearts , and conuert , and he heale them . this place is sixe times repeated in the new testament . mat. . . marke . . luke . . iohn . . act. . . rom. . . places repeated haue often alterations for sundrie causes . these causes are , first exegeticall , that is , for exposition sake , as psal. . . compared with mat. . . i will opē my mouth in a parable : i will declare * things hidden from of old . i will opē my mouth in parables , and will vtter the things which haue been kept secret from the foundation of the world . psal. . . iohn . . he gaue them of the wheat of heauen . he gaue the bread from heauen to eate . isai. . . rom. . . behold i will lay in sion a stone , a tried stone , a precious corner stone , a sure foūdation . he that beleeueth shall not make bast . behold , i lay in sion a stumbling block , and a rocke to make men fal , and euery one that beleeueth in him shall not be ashamed . psal. . . . cor. . . sit thou at my right hand vntill i make thine enemies thy foot stoole . he must raigne till he haue put all his enemies vnder his feet . psal. . . . cor. . . i beleeued , * because i did speake . i beleeued , and therefore haue i spoken . gen. . . gal. . . all the land which thou seest , will i giue vnto thee , and to thy now to abraham and to his seede were the promises made . seede for euer . he saith not vnto the seedes , as speaking of many : but , and to thy seed , as of one , which is christ. a second cause is diacriticall , or for discerning sake , that places , and times and persons might bee mutuallie distinguished . michah . . mat. . and thou bethlehem ephrathah art little to be among the princes of iudah : out of thee shall hee come forth to me , that shall be the ruler in israel . and thou bethlehem in the land of iudah art not the least among the princes of iudah : for out of thee shall come the gouernour , that shall feed my people israel . thirdly , these causes are circumscriptiue : or for limitation sake , that the sense and sentence of the place might be truelie restrained , according as the minde and meaning of the holy ghost was . deut. . . mat. . . thou shalt worship the lord thy god , and shalt serue him . thou shalt worship the lord thy god , and him onelie shalt thou serue . isai. . . matth. . . this people draweth neere with their mouth and honor me with their lips : but their heart they reremooue farre from me : and their reuerence towards mee is by the commandemēt of men . when this people draweth neere vnto me , they honour mee with their mouth and with their lippes , but they remooue their heart farre from me . . in vaine doe they worship me , teaching for doctrines the cōmandements of men . gen. . . mat. . . wherefore a man shall leaue his father and his mother , and shall cleane vnto his wife , and they shall be one flesh . wherefore a man shall leaue father and mother , & shal cleane vnto his wife , & they which were two shall be one flesh . isai. . . rom. . . and the redeemer shall come vnto sion , and vnto them that turne from iniquitie in iacob , saith the lord. the deliuerer shall come out of sion , and shall turne away the vngodlines from iacob . a fourth cause is for application sake , that the type might bee fitted vnto the trueth : and the generall to a ceretaine speciall , and so contrariwise . ionas . . matth. . . now the lord had prepared a great fish to swallow vp ionah . and ionah was in the bellie of the fish three daies , and three nights . an euill and adulterous generation seeketh a signe , but no signe shall be giuen vnto it , saue the signe of the prophet ionas . . for as ionas was three dayes and three nights in the whales bellie : so shall the son of man be , &c. esay . . luk. . . the spirit of the lord god is vpō me : therefore hath the lord annointed mee : hee hath sent mee to preach good tidings vnto the poore to bind vp the broken hearted , to preach libertie to the captiues , and to thē that are bound the opening of the prison : verse to preach the acceptable yere of the lord , and the day of vengeance of our god . the spirit of the lord is vpon mee , therefore he hath annointed mee that i should preach good tidings to the poore , hee hath sent me to heale the broken in heart , that i should preach deliuerance to the captiues , &c. verse this day is this scripture fulfilled in your eares . psal. . . iohn . . they gaue me gall for my meate , and in my thirst they gaue me vineger to drinke . that the scripture might bee fulfilled hee said , i thirst . verse therfore there was set a vessell full of vineger : and they filled a sponge with vineger , and put it about an bysope stalke , & put it to his mouth . exod. . . ioh. . . neither shall yee breake a bone thereof . these things were done , that the scripture might bee fulfilled , which saith , there shall not a bone of him be broken . psal. . . acts . . let their habitations be voyd , and let none dwell in their tents . it is written in the booke of the psalmes ; let his habitation be void , and lēt no man dwell therein . fiftly , some things are omitted for breuitie sake : or because they do not agree with the matter in hand . zach. . . matth. . . reioyce greatly o daughter sion : shout for ioy o daughter tell ye the daughter of sion , behold thy king commeth vnto ierusalem : behold thy king commeth vnto thee : he is iust , and saued himselfe , poore and riding vpon an asse , and vpon a colt the foule of an asse . thee , meek and sitting vpon an asse , and a colt the foale of an asse vsed to the yoke . the second collation is of the place propounded with other places : and those againe are either like or vnlike . places that are alike are such , as by certaine waies or in some sort agree one with another . and places doe agree either in their phrase and manner of speech , or in sense . places that agree as concerning the phrase , are such as these . gen. . . iohn . . then he dreamed , & behold there stoode a ladder vpon the earth , and the top of it reached vp to heauen , and loe , the angels of god went vp and he said vnto him , uerilie , verilie , i say vnto you , hereafter shall yee see the heauen open , and the angels of god ascending & descending and downe by it . vpon the son of man. gen. . . rom. . . i will also put enmitie betweene thee and the woman , and between thy seede and her seede . hee shall break thine head , and thou shalt bruise his heele . the god of peace shall breake ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) sathan vnder your feete . gen. . . ephes. . . then noah built an altar to the lord , and tooke of euerie cleane beast , and of euery cleane foule , and offered burnt offerings vpon the altar . . and the lord smelled a sauour ofrest , and said . christ hath loued vs , and giuen himself for vs an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet smelling sauour to god. for the finding out of these places the greeke and hebrew concordances serue very fitlie . places , which agree in sense , are those that haue the same meaning . here excelleth the comparing of a generall place with a special exāple in the same kind : as prou. . . psal. . . . he that hideth his sinnes , shall not prosper , but he that confesseth and forsaketh them , shall find mercy . when i held my tongue my bones consumed , &c. . i acknowledged my finne vnto thee , neither hid i mine iniquitie . i said , i will confesse against my selfe my wickednes vnto the lord , and thou forgauest the punishmēt of my sinne . . sam. . . . pet. . . the king charged zadok saying , carrie the arke of god againe into the citie . if i shall find fauour in the eies of the lord , he wil bring me again , and shew mee both it , and the tabernacle thereof . verse but if he thus say , i haue no delight in thee , behold , here am i , let him doe to mee , as seemeth good in his eyes . humble your selues therefore vnder the mightie hand of god , that he may extol you in due time . thou shalt haue readie very manie places of this kind in the common-places of marlorate gathered together with diligence . and thus much for places that are alike . places that are vnlike , are those , which in shew doe not agree , either in respect of the phrase , or in regard of the meaning . as , rom. . . iam. . . therefore we conclude that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the law. yee see therefore how that of works a man is iustified ; and not of faith onlie . . king. . . . chron. . . and they came to ophir , & they fetched from thence foure hundred and twenty talents of gold , and brought it to king salomon . and they went with the seruants of salomon to ophir , & brought from thence foure hundred and fiftie talents of gold , and brought them to king salomon . acts. . . gen. . . then sent ioseph , and caused his father to bee brought , and all his kindred , euen threescore and fifteen soules . all the soules of the house of iacob , which came into aegypt are threescore & ten . act. . . gen. . . and were remooued into sychem and were put in the sepulcre , that abraham had bought for monie of the sonnes of emor , sonne of sychem . i ( that is iacob ) haue giuen vnto thee one portion aboue thy brethren , which i gat out of the hand of the ammorite by my sword and by my bow . zach. . . matth. . . and i tooke the thirtie peeces of siluer , and cast them to the potter in the house of the lord. then was fulfilled that which was spoken by ieremie the prophet , saying , and they tooke thirtie siluer peeces , &c. chap. v. of the waies of expounding . the manner or waies of interpreting are according to the places of scripture , which are to be handled . places are either analogical & plaine , or crypticall and darke . analogicall places are such , as haue an apparent meaning agreeable to the analogie of faith , and that at the first view . concerning these places receiue this rule : if the naturall signification of the words of the place propounded doe agree with the circumstances of the same place , it is the proper meaning of the place . as for example ; act. . . to him also giue all the prophets witnes , that through his name , all that beleeue in him , shall receiue remission of sins . the significatiō of the words of this place is very manifest , to wit , that iesus christ doth giue righteousnesse and euerlasting life to those that doe beleeue in him . and this sense wee doe presently admit without any delay , because wee see that it doth agree with the analogie of faith and with the holy scriptures . we must further know , that euery article and doctrine concerning faith and maners , which is necessary vnto saluation , is very plainely deliuered in the scriptures . crypticall or hidden places are those , which are difficult and darke : for the expounding of them let this be thy rule and leader . if the natiue ( or naturall ) signification of the words doe manifestly disagree with , either the analogy of faith , or very perspicuous places of the scripture : thē the other meaning , which is giuen of the place propounded , is naturall and proper , if it agree with contrarie and like places , with the circumstances and wordes of the place , and with the nature of that thing , which is intreated of . as for example ; . cor. . . this is my body , which is broken for you . the sense that is giuen by some : this bread is indeed and properlie the bodie of christ ; namely by conuersion . or , the body of christ in , vnder , or with the bread . the vnfitnesse of this sense . the * letter or words vsed in this place being retained ( or expounded accordingly without any alteration ) doth disagree with an article of the faith , he ascended into heauen , and with the nature of a sacrament , which ought to be a * memoriall of the bodie of christ absent . therefore a new exposition is to be sought for . a new or second sense . in this place the bread is a signe of my bodie : by a metonymie of the subiect for the adiunct . the fitnes of this exposition . first , it agrees with the analogy of faith , . he ascended truly into heauen , that is , he was taken vp out of the earth into heaued locally and visibly . therefore his bodie is not to be receiued with the mouth at the communion , but by faith 〈…〉 prehending it in the heauen . . borne of the uirgin marie , &c. therfore he had a true and naturall bodle , being long , broad , thicke , seated and circumscribed in some place . whereby it appeareth that the bread in the supper cannot bee properly his very bodie , but only a signe or pledge thereof . secondly , this sense consenteth with the circumstances of the place propounded : . he tooke , he brake it . here it is not likely that christ sitting amongst his disciples did take and breake his owne bodie with his hands . therefore the bread is no more then a signe and seale . . deliuered ( or giuen ) for you . the bread can in no wise be said to bee giuen for vs , but the bodie of christ : therefore the bread is not properly the bodie , but symbolically or by way of signification . . the cup is the new testament , not properly , but by a metonymie : therefore nothing hindreth , but that a metonymie may be as well in these words , this is my bodie . . christ himselfe did eate of the bread ; but he did not eate himself . . doe yee this in remembrance of me : therefore christ is not corporallie present to the mouth , but spiritually to the faith of the heart . . untill he come : therefore christ is absent in his bodie . . christ said not , vnder the forme of bread , or in the bread : but he said , this , that is , this bread is my bodie . thirdly , this sense accords with the nature of a sacrament : in which wee must make a proportion and resemblance betweene the signe and the thing signified : which here can bee none , if the bread bee properly the bodie . fourthly , it agrees with like places . gen. . . this is my couenant , which yee shall keepe betwixt you and me — . . ye shall circumcise the fore-skin of your flesh , and it shall be a signe of the couenant between me and you . . cor. . . they dranke of the spirituall rocke , that followed them : and the rocke was christ. rom. . . hee receiued the signe of circumcision , which might seale the righteousnes of faith . exod. . . the lambe is the lords passeouer . verse . it is a signe of his passing ouer . act. . . be baptised for the remission of sinnes . ioh. . . and iesus said vnto them , i am the bread of life : he that commeth vnto me shall not hunger , and hee that beleeueth in me shall neuer thirst . . cor. . . the cup of blessing which wee blesse , is it not the communion of the bloud of christ ? the bread which we break , is it not the communion of the body of christ ? that is , a signe of the communion . fiftly , it agreeth with the lawes of logique . for one disparate is not spoken or predicated of another but by a borrowed speech . sixtly , it is agreeable to the common custome of speaking . so we put the fasces or bundle of rods ( vsed to bee caried before magistrates ) for gouernement it selfe : the gowne we put for peace : and the laurell garland for a triumph : as in tully , cedant armatogae , concedat laurea linguae . therefore this other sense is proper . now from this fruitfull rule doe arise many consectaries or conclusions necessarie for the vnderstanding of the scriptures . consectary . the supply of euery word , which is wanting , is fitting for the place propounded , if it agree with the analogie ( or squire ) of faith , and with the circumstances and words of the same place . as for example : ephes. . . for which cause , i paul the prisoner of iesus christ for you gentiles . the sentence is defectiue : therefore a supply must be made . and let this bee the supplie [ i will be an embassadour ] for you gentiles . this is not fit , because paul was not an embassadour for the gentiles , but for christ. let another bee giuen . [ haue boasted ] for you gentiles . but this seemeth to be something too bold , neither is any such like speech to bee met with in any part of the scriptures . therefore the sentence may be fitly supplied after this maner ; for which cause i paul am the prisoner of iesus christ for you gentiles . the same may be said of the rest . defectiue speeches . their supplie . esay . .   i cannot iniquity . i cannot ( beare ) iniquitie . luk. . .   and if it beare fruit : if not , then after thou shalt cut it downe . and if it beare fruit ( thou shalt let it stand ) : if not , then after thou shalt cut it downe . exod. . .   then zippora took then zippora took a sharpe , and cut away the foreskin of her sonne . a sharpe ( knife ) and cut , &c. . sam. . .   isbi benod , which of the sonnes of a certain giāt , the weight of whose sword the weight of three hundred shickles of steele : and he girded with a new . isbi benod , who ( was ) of the sonnes of a certaine giant , the weight of whose sword ( or speares head , mucronis ) [ was ] the weight of three hundred shiekles , of steele , and he was girded with a new sword . . cor. . .   and euery man , that prooueth masteries , is continent in al things : and they to obtaine a corruptible crowne , but we for an vncorruptible . and they ( are continent ) to obtaine a corruptible crowne , &c. exod. . .   you haue seene how [ as it were ] vpon i haue carried you vpon eagles wings . eagles wings . consect . . if that other exposition giuen of the place propounded doe change one nowne ( or name ) for another , then the words of the place containe in them a trope , or berowed speech . hence arise many cautions concerning sacred tropes . an anthropo-pathia is a sacred metaphor , wherby those things , that are properly spoken of man , are by a similitude attributed vnto god. hence it is that the soule of god is put for his life or essence . ierem. . . or shall not my soule be auenged of such a nation as this ? head is vsed for prince , or aboue . . cor. . . god is the head of christ. his face is put for fauour or anger . psal. . . thou didst hide thy face , and i was troubled . psal. . . the face of the lord is * angrie at those that doe euill . his eyes are vsed for grace and prouidence . psal. . . the eyes of the lord are vpon the iust . the apple of his eye signifieth a thing very deare . zach. . . he that toucheth you , toucheth the apple of mine eye . his eares are put for his accepting of mens prayers . his nostrils for indignation . his hands for power and protectiō . his arme for strength and fortitude . his right hand for authoritie and power . his finger for vertue . his foote for gouernement and might . psal. . . his smelling for his acceptation of something . genes . . . he smelled the sauour of rest . repentance is vsed for the alteration of things and actions made by god. a sacramentall metonymie is that , whereby the name of the adiunct , as also of the helping cause is put for the thing represented in the sacrament : or , whereby the signe is put for the thing signified , or contrarily . genes . . . the tree of life : the tree of the knowledge of good and euill ; that is , the tree which is a signe of these . gen. . . abraham called the name of that place , the lord will see or prouide , that is , it is a signe that the lord will doe so . gen. . . the stone is called gods house . exod. . the paschall lambe is the passing ouer . exod. . . the altar is called , the lord is my * standard or banner . ezek. . . ierusalem is named , the lord is there . leuit. . the priest is termed a satisfier . ioh. . christ is called a lambe : behold the lambe of god which taketh away the sinnes of the world . the paschall lambe is called christ. . cor. . . our passeouer christ is sacrificed for vs. and in the same place christians are said to bee vnleauened . rom. . . christ is termed the propitiatorie ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) or the couer of the arke of the couenant . . cor. . christians are said to be one * bread . and the rocke is called christ. tit. . . baptisme is named the washing of the new birth . . cor. . the cup is called the new testament : and the bread is said to be the bodie of christ. the * communication of the properties is a synecdoche , by the which by reason of the personall vnion , that is spoken of the whole person of christ , which doth properly belong to one of his two natures . act. . . to feede the church of god , which he hath purchased with his owne blood . ioh. . . for no man ascendeth vp to heauen , but he that hath descended from heauen , the sonne of man which is in heauen . . cor. . . for had they knowne it , they would not haue crucified the lord of glorie . ioh. . . iesus said vnto them , uerily , verily i say vnto you , before abraham was i am . luk. . . and iesus increased in wisedome , and in stature , and in fauour with god and man. this communication of the properties hath place only in the concrete , and not in the abstract . concrete is the name of the whole person , as god , man , christ , &c. abstract is a name of either of the two natures considered apart , as the godhead , manhead &c. things spoken of god , which carrie with them the shew of euill , must be vnderstood in regard of his operatiue or working permission . nehem. . . and it yeeldeth much fruit vnto the kings , whom thou hast set ouer vs because of our sinnes : and they haue dominion ouer our bodies , and ouer our cattell at their pleasure , and we are in great affliction . isa. . . the lord hath mingled among them the spirit of errors : and they haue caused aegypt to erre in euerie worke thereof . exod. . and . and . and . god doth harden the heart of pharaoh . deut. . . the lord thy god hath hardened his spirit , and made his heart obstinate , because hee would deliuer him into thine hand , as appeareth this day . iosh. . . it came of the lord , that their heart was hardened , that they might come against israel in battell , to the intent that they should destroy them vtterly , and shew them no mercie , but bring them to nought . . sam. . . they hearkened not to the voice of their father , because the lord meant to destroy them . . chron. . . the destruction of ahaziah came from god. psal. . . he turned their heart to hate his people , and to worke craftily against his seruants . rom. . . god deliuered them vp to a reprobate minde . . thess. . . god will send them strong delusions , that they may beleeue lies . ezek. . . and when that prophet shall be inticed to speake a prophecie , i the lord will intice that prophet , and stretching out mine hand against him , i will destroy him out of the middest of my people . things spoken ( completiuè ) as if they were alreadie finished , if they be not as yet finished , they are to be vnderstood ( inchoatiuè ) as being begun , and in the way to be fulfilled . gen. . . and when noah was fiue hundred yeeres old , hee begot shem , ham , and iapheth , that is , he began to beget them . genes . . . terah liued seuentie yeeres , when he begat abram , nahor , and haran . . king. . . . psal. . . i will obserue thy statutes , do not forsake me . it is to be vnderstood of his endeuour to doe so , as in phil. . not as though i had alreadie attained to it , or were alreadie perfect : but i follow on , if that i may comprehend that for whose sake also i am comprehended of iesus christ. vers. . let vs therfore as many as bee perfect be thus minded . luk. . . and they were both iust in the sight of god , walking in all his commandements and ordinances without blame . morall commandements or lawes vnder one sinne by name expressed , doe signifie and meane all the sinnes of that kinde , their causes , occasions , and allurements to them , and command the contrarie vertues . for so christ expounded morall lawes , matth. . . to the end of the chapter . . ioh. . . hee that hateth his brother is a manslayer . threats and promises are to be vnderstood with their conditions . those are to bee conceiued with the condition of faith and repentance : and these , specially if they bee corporall , with the exception of chastisement and the crosse . ezech. . . when i shall say vnto the wicked , thou shalt die the death : if he turne from his sin , and do that which is lawfull & right , — . he shall surely liue , and not die . reuel . . . but the fearfull and vnbeleeuers &c. shall haue their portion in the lake , which burneth with fire and brimstone , which is the second death . but in the sixt verse hee annexeth a promise , saying , i will giue vnto him that is a thirst of the well of the water of life freely . ionah . . yet fourtie daies , and nineue shall be subuerted . by those things which follow it appeareth that a condition is to be vnderstood . ierem. . . like to these there are particular examples . esay . . of hezechiah : giue commaundements to thy familie , for thou shalt shortly die , and shalt not liue . the condition of gods will is to bee vnderstood . gen. . . the lord saith to abimelech , because hee had taken abrahams wife to himselfe : behold , thou shalt die for the woman which thou hast taken ; except , vnlesse thou restore her . hence arose y e distinction in the schooles of the * signifying will , and the will of gods good-pleasure . the wil of good-pleasure is that , whereby god doth will something absolutely and simply without any condition , as the creation and regiment of the world , and the sending of his sonne . the signifying will is that , whereby he willeth somethings for some other thing and with condition : and so wee say , because that the condition annexed is a signe of the will , that god doth so will. a superlatiue or exclusiue speech vsed of one person , doth not exclude the other persons of the deity , but only creatures and fained gods : to which the true god , whether in one person or in moe , is opposed . ioh. . . this is life eternall to know thee to be the only true god , and iesus christ whom thou hast sent . he calleth the father the onely true god , that he might oppose him to all false gods . rom. . . to the onely wise god bee glorie by iesus christ. . tim. . . ioh. . . the father is greater than all : not than the rest of the persons , but than the creatures . mark. . . the father alone knoweth the day of iudgement . all the outward works of the trinitie , and all attributes are to be vnderstood inclusiuely , that is , without exception of any of the persons . when god is considered absolutely , or by himselfe , the three persons are comprehended : when the word ( god ) is conferred or set with a person of the trinitie , it signifieth the father . . cor. . . the grace of our lord iesus christ , and the loue of god , and the fellowship of the holie ghost be with you all . a generall word is taken specially , and so on the contraric ; as all ( saith august . lib. . cont . iulian cap. . ) for many , and many for all are oftentimes vsed in the scriptures . gen. . . god hath had mercie on nice , therefore i haue all things . iere. . . all are turned to their owne race , that is , the greater part . matth. . . all men counted iohn as a prophet , that is , the most . phil. . . all seeke their own things , and not the things of christ. deut. . . and god shall scatter thee among all people , that is , many . . king. . . and all the israelites stoned him , that is , all that were present . exod. . . all the liuing creatures of aegypt died . ierem. . . then was gathered together all the people against ieremie in the house of the lord , that is , all wicked people . matth. . . healing euery disease , to wit , that was offered to him . iohn . . whatsoeuer yee shall aske the father in my name , that is , whatsoeuer yee shall aske according to his word . . cor. . . all things are lawfull for mee , that is , all ( adiaphora ) things that are indifferent and not simply euill . nothing is put for little or small . ioh. . . i haue spoken nothing in secret , that is , little . act. . . none is vsed for few . ierem. . . there is none that repenteth of his wickednes , that is , but a few . . cor. . . which wisedome none of the rulers of this world knew , that is , very few . alwaies is taken for often or long . prou. . . amongst the proud there is alwaies contentions , that is , often . luk. . . hee spake vnto them a parable that they ought to pray alway . luk. . . and they were alwaies in the temple lauding and praising of god. ioh. . . i alway taught in the synagogue , and in the temple . eternall is vsed for a long time agreeing with the matter in hand . gen. . . all the land of canaan is giuen vnto abraham for an euerlasting possession . leuit. . . ye shall vse their labours for euer . deut. . . if thy seruant be thy brother an hebrew , and will not goe from thee , then shalt thou take an aule , and pierce his care thorough against the doore , and he shall be thy seruant for euer , in aeternum . . chron. . . god hath chosen the leuites , that they might minister for euer vnto him . esay . . and beasts shall possesse idumea and bozra eternally . dan. . . o king liue for euer . ierem. . . i will make iudea and the regions bordering vpon it an amazement , a hissing , and a perpetuall desolation . * euery where is vsed for here and there , without respect of place . mark. . . and they went out and preached euery where the lord co-working . act. . . the lord admonisheth all men euery where to repent . [ * not ] is restrained to some speciall matter . psalm . . . iniquitie is not in mine hands , that is , in my cause against the complices of saul . ioh. . . neither haue his parents sinned , that is , that this man should be borne blind for their sinnes : i will haue mercie , not sacrifice . not is put for seldome , scarsely , or hardly . . king. . . dauid declined not from any of the things which the lord had commanded vnto him , sauing in the matter of vriah , that is , seldome . luk. . . she was a widow , and went not out of the temple . consect . . grammaticall and rhetoricall proprieties of words signifie diuersly with those words : as , an * ellipsis signifieth either breuitie , or the swiftnes of the affectiōs . gen. . . let vs build vs a citie and a tower , whose top [ may reach ] vnto heauen , that wee may get vs a name . act. . . but if it bee of god yee cannot destroy it , [ ac nescio , and i know not ] whether ye shall be found fighters also with god. psalm . . and thou o lord how long ? exod. . . he that sacrificeth to strange gods , let him bee destroyed as a thing execrable : sauing him [ who sacrificeth ] to iehouah . genes . . . now therefore [ we must looke ] lest that stretching out his hand , he take of the tree of life . . chron. . . if thou wilt blesse me effectually [ i will doe this or that ] if thou vexe the fatherlesse child [ i will vexe thee ] . the enallage of the preter perfect tense , whereby the time past is put for the time to come , signifieth in the oracles of the prophets the certentie of the thing that is to come . gen. . . thou hast died because of the woman , that is , thou shalt die . isai. . . vnto vs a child is borne , vnto vs a sonne is giuen . isa. . . it is fallen , it is fallen babylon , &c. a * pleonasme , which is manifold , when it is of the substantiue repeated in the same case , it doth signifie , . a force and * emphasis . psalm . . . as the ointment which descended vnto the beard , the beard of aaron . luk. . . why call ye me lord , lord ? . a multitude . gen. . . hee gaue into the hands of his seruants droues , droues , that is many droues . ioel. . troupes , troupes in the vally of concision , that is , many troupes or multitudes . . distribution , at the gate and gate , . chr. . that is , in euery gate . leuit. . . a man & a man , that is , euery man. . chr. . . thou shalt appoint iudges in a citie and in a citie , that is , in euery citie . . diuersitie and varietie . psalm . . they speake with an heart , and an heart , that is , with diuers or a double heart , prou. . . a weight and a weight are abominable vnto the lord. there is a pleonasme of the substantiue when one is gouerned of another . . in the singular number it is very significant and argues certentie . exod. . . one the seuenth day is the sabbath of sabbath . mich. . . and they shall lament the lamentation of lamentation . . in the plurall number it signifieth excellencie . psal. . . the god of gods , that is , the most high god. dan. . the king of kings . eccles. . . vanitie of vanities . a song of songs . a seruant of seruants . the pleonasme of the adiectiue , and sometimes also of the substantiue repeated , signifieth exaggeration or increasing . ierem. . . i see good figges , good . esay . . holy , holy , holy the lord god of hosts . exod. . . the lord passing before his face cried , iehouah , iehouah , the strong god. ier. . . trust not in lying words saying , the temple of the lord , the temple of the lord , this is the temple of the lord. ier. . . o earth , earth , earth , heare the word of the lord. ezek. . . say thou the sword , the sword is drawne , and furbished for the slaughter . prou. . . the pleonasme of the verbe doth either make the speech more emphaticall and significant , or else signifieth and sheweth vehemencie , or certentie , or speedines . gen. . . in dying thou shalt die . esay . . . is mine hand shortned in shortening ? esay . . . by separating god hath separated me from his people . psalm . . . thou thinkest me by being to bee like thee . psalm . . . let his children in wandering be wanderers ( or vagabonds ) and let them beg . iere. . . and it shall come to passe if in learning they shall learne the waies of my people . &c. . king. . . prou. . . exod. . . isai. . . isai. . . . king. . . genes . . . . sam. . . ierem. . . the pleonasme of the coniunction sometimes argueth earnestnes . ezek. . . therefore , therefore because they haue made my people to erre . wherefore a * coniunction doubled ( otherwise than it is in latine ) increaseth the deniall . exodus . . hast thou brought vs to die in the wildernes , is it because therewere no no graues in aegypt ? that is , none at all ? matth. . . by seeing ye shall see and shall not not ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) perceiue . the pleonasme of the sentence signifieth first , distribution . a court was in the corner of the court : a court was in the corner of the court : a court was in the corner of the court ; that is , in euery corner of the court there was one court . secondlie , it makes an emphasis . exod. . . the israelites did as moses and aron commanded , so did they . psalm . . . the lord is neere vnto all that call vpon him : to all that call vpon him in trueth . psalm . . , vnlesse the lord had been on our side may israel now say : vnlesse the lord had been on our side . thirdly , the repetition of the sentence , which is done in other words , is for exposition sake . . king. . . i beseech thee , o lord , remember now how i haue walked before thee in trueth and with a perfect heart , and haue done that which is good in thy sight , psalm . . . . the lord hath heard the voyce of my weeping , the lord hath heard my prayer : the lord hath receiued my supplication . esay . . they haue declared their sinne , and haue not hidden it . iohn . . all things were made by him , and without him nothing was made . all tropes are * emphaticall , & besides delight and ornament they doe also afford matter for the nourishment of faith : as when christ is put for a christian man , or for the church of god. mat. . . . cor. . as the bodie is one , and hath many members : and all the members of one bodie , though they bee many , are yet but one bodie : so also christ , that is , the church . act. . . this trope doth comfort a faithfull soule , and nourish saith . an * ironie signifieth a iust reprehension of sinne . iudg. . . and the lord said to the children of israel : goe ye , and crie out to your gods , whom yee haue chosen : let them saue you in the time of trouble . mark. . . and hee said vnto them , well ye abrogate the commandement of god , and obserue your owne traditions . . king. . . the king said vnto him , michaiah , shall we goe against ramoth gilead to battell ? or shall we not ? and he answered , go vp and prosper : doubtlesse the lord shall deliuer it into the hand of the king. . king. . . and at noone elijah mocked them , and said , crie aloud , for he is a god : either he talketh , or pursueth his enemies , or is in his iourney : or it may bee hee sleepeth , and must bee awaked . . cor. . . now are yee full , now are ye enriched , without vs yee haue gotten a kingdome . figures of a word in the repetition of a word or sound , haue for the most part an emphasis in them . psalm . . . let god , euen our god blesse vs. isai. . . for mine owne sake , for mine owne sake will i doe it . iohn . . uerilie , verilie i say vnto you . psalm . . . the people shall prayse thee , o god ; all the people shall praise thee . in the . psal. there is a repetition made in euerie verse for this cause . an interrogation signifieth , . an earnest affirmation , or asseucration . gen. . . is there not remission , if thou shalt doe well ? iosh. . . is not this written in the booke of the iust ? iohn . . . doe ye not say that it is yet foure moneths to haruest ? iosh. . . gen. . . . king. . . mark. . . iohn . . secondly , it signifieth a deniall : gen. . . shall any word bee hard vnto god ? rom. . . shal their incredulity make the faith of god of none effect ? mat. . . if satan shall vanquish satan , how shall his kingdome continue ? . it signifies a forbidding . psal. . . helpe vs , o god , why shall the gentiles say , where is their god ? . sam. . . and abner said to asahel , depart from me : wherefore should i smite thee to the ground ? . it argueth sundrie affections , as admiration , compassion , complaining , and finding of fault . psalm . . . o lord , how admirable is thy name in all the earth ! isai. . . how is the faithfull citie become an harlot ! psalm . . my god , my god , why hast thou forsaken me ? concession ( or yeelding ) signifieth a deniall and reprehension . . cor. . . but bee it , that i charged you not , but because i was craftie , i tooke you with guile . . did i pill you by any of them , whom i sent ? consect . . if the opposition of vnlike places shal be taught to be , either not of the same matter , but of name onely , or not according to the same part , or not in the same respect , or not in the same manner , or not at the same time , a reconciliation or agreement is made . examples . psalm . . . esay . . iudge me , o lord , according to my righteousnesse . wee haue all been as an vncleane thing , and all our righteousnes is as filthie clouts . the reconcilation . it appeareth by the scope and circumstances of both the places , that this contradiction is not in the same respect . distinguish therefore . there is one righteousnes of the cause or action : and an other of the person ; the first place speaketh of the former : and the second of the latter . mat. . . mark. . . nor a scrip for the iourney , neither two coates , neither shooes , nor a staffe . and commanded them , to take nothing for their iournie , saue a staffe onely , neither scrip , neither bread , nor money in their girdles , but that they should bee shod with sandales . the reconciliation . distinguish the respects . matthew meaneth such a staffe , as may be a burthen to the bearers thereof . marke vnderstandeth such a one , as may sustaine and ease those that trauell ; such a one as iacob vsed , genes . . . moreouer , the shooes that matthew mentioneth are new , such as are with care and diligence prepared for to trauell in . the sandales in marke are not new , but such as are daily worne on the feete . from this fourth consectarie many prouisoes or cautions arise meete to be obserued in the reconciling of places . the holy writers speaking of things and persons , that are past , doe anticipate , that is , they speak of thē according to the custome of that place and time , in which they wrote . genes . . . afterward remouing thence vnto a mountaine east-ward from bethel . the place was so called in the daies of moses : but in abrahams time it was not called bethel , but luz . gen. . . gen. . . abram went vp out of aegypt — towards the south ; not in respect of aegypt , but of that place wherein moses was . . pet. . . christ in his spirit preached to them that are in prison . they are said to be in prison in regard of the time , in which peter wrote this epistle , and not of that wherein noah liued . psal. . . touch not mine annointed . abraham , isaak , and iacob are said to be annointed in respect of the manner and fashion of the time wherein dauid liued . for they had no externall annointing . allegories are to be expounded according to the scope or intent of the place . so chrysostome saith vpon the . of matth. parables must not be expounded according to the letter , left many absurdities doe follow . aug. vpon the . psalme speaketh on this sort : in euery allegorie this rule is to be retained , that that be considered according to the purpose of the present place , which is there spoken of vnder a similitude . places and persons in the scriptures haue very often two names : gideon was called ierubbaal , iudg. . . and also ierubesheth , . sam. . . abimelech , . samuel . , and abiathar , mark. . . salomon , . samuel . , and iedidiah , . zimri , . chron. . , and zabdi , iosh. . . hazariah , . chron. . , and ahaziah , . chr. . , & iehoahaz , . chr. . . iohanan , . chr. . , & iehoahaz , . king. . , and also shallum , ierem. . . iehoiachin , . king. . , and iachoniah , . chro. . , and coniah , ierem. . . mephibosheth , . sam. , and meribbaal , . chro. . . abinadab , . chron. . , and ishui , . samuel . . eliachim and iachim , . king. . . ozias & azarias , . king. . . . chr. . . hester , edissa , hest. . . simon , peter , iohn . . and cephas and bariona : ioses and barnabas , act. . . saul and paul , act. . . . matthew and leui. herusalem is called iebus & salem . moreouer , the name , which is indeede one , receiueth many times changes and differences . as salmon , ruth . . . is called salma , . chron. . . abigal , . sam. . . is named abigail , . chron. . . tiglath-pilezer , . king. . . is tearmed tilgath-pilneezer , . chr. . . aram , mat. . . is the same with ram , . chr. . . againe , on the contrarie , distinct persons , and diuers places haue one name : matth. . . iosiah begat iecboniah and his brethren about the time they were carried axay into babylon . . and after they were carried away into babylon iechoniah begat salathiel . heere now , because iechoniah doth both finish the * second tesseradecade , and begin the third , one of them wil be wanting to one of those tesseradecads , vnlesse we say that there were two iechoniases both father and sonne . succoth is a name of three places . the first is in aegypt , exo. . . the second in the tribe of gad , iosh. . . the third in the tribe of manasses , . king. . . in sacred accounts , by reason of the wickednes of the prince , either his name or the number of yeeres , in which hee reigned wickedly , are omitted and left out . . sam. . . saul reigned two yeeres ouer israel ; that is , lawfully , or as lyra speaketh , * rightly : but otherwaies hee reigned longer . matt. . . ioram begat ozias . here three are left out for their wickednes , to wit , ahaziah , ioas , and amaziah . the time spoken of is taken either * compleatly , or vncompleatly : and the parts thereof are vnderstood either inclusiuely or exclusiuely ; as , . kings . . and in the twentith yeere of ieroboam asa reigned ouer iudah . . king. . . . king. . . nadab the son of ieroboam [ began to reigne ouer israel the second yeere ] of asa king of iudah : and reigned ouer israel [ two yeere . ] euen in the [ third yeere of asa king of iudah ] did baasha slay nadab , and reigned in his stead . the reconcilement . nadab , who began to reigne in the second yeere of asa , might reigne . yeres , although baasha succeed him in the third yeere of asa ; because the last yeeres of the kings of israel and iuda are not fully expired , but some of them ( as in this place ) doe scarsely containe moneths in them : the rest of the yeeres being put compleately . mat. . . luk. . . and the sixt day after iesus tooke peter , and iames , and iohn his brother , and brought them vp vnto an high mountain . and it came to passe about an eight daies after , that hauing take to him peter , and iames , and iohn , he went vp into a mountaine . the reconcilement . matthew puts exclusiuely onely the daies that were betweene , which were altogether accomplished : luke puts in the reckoning the two outtermost daies also . the parts of time are put sometimes inclusiuely , and sometimes exclusiuelie . . that the number may be more perfect . augustine saith , quaest . . on exodus . in a perfect number oftentimes that , which is either wanting or abounding , is not counted . iudg. . . israel dwelt in heshbon and aroer and their townes three hundred yeeres . these yeeres are to bee reckned from the departure of the israelites out of aegypt , after this manner . the time of their abode in the wildernes was . yeers . the time of the gouernment of ioshua was . yeeres : of othoniel , . yeeres . iudg. . . of ehud and samgar , . yeres . iudg. . . of barak , . yeers . iudg. . . of gideon , . yeers . iudg. . . of abimelech , . yeers . iud. . . of tolah , . yeers , iudg. . . of iair , . yeeres . iudg. . . the whole in all is , . yeeres . here therefore the fiue odde yeeres are not named ; it may be because this euen number of three hundred is fitter both for the computation and the speech . . for breuitie sake : iudg. . . there were slaine of the beniamites twentie fiue thousand . heere an hundred are not counted , as appeareth , verse . the israelites slew that day of the tribe of beniamin fiue and twentie thousand and a hundred men . . the king being hindred either with forraine warre , or with old age , or by reason of some disease doth whiles he yet liueth appoint his sonne to bee king in his stead : and therefore with the computations of the yeeres of father and sonne raigning at one time , the yeeres of the raigne are reckoned sometimes ioyntlie , and sometimes apart . . king. . . . king. . . ahaziah died , and iehoram raigned in his stead [ in the second yeere of iehoram the son of iehosaphat ] king of iudah . ichoram the sonne of ahab raigned in the [ eighteenth yeere of iehosaphat . chap. . . in the [ fift yere of ioram the sonne of ahab ] iehoram the sonne of iehoshaphat began to raigne , and raigned eight yeeres . the reconciliation . iehoshaphat determining in the seuenteenth yeere of his reigne to helpe king ahab against the syrians appointeth his sonne ioram to be vice-roy . in the eighteenth yeere of his owne reigne , and in the second of his sonnes , ioram the sonne of ahab reigned . afterwards in the fift yeere of this ioram the sonne of ahab , iehosaphat being strucken in age confirmeth his kingdome to his sonne ioram : who is said to haue reigned eight yeeres , foure whilst his father was aliue , and foure alone by himselfe after the death of his father . . king. . . . king. . . and hoshea the son of elah wrought treason against pekah the sonne of remaliah , & smote him , and slew him , & reigned in his roome [ in the twentith yeere of iotham ] the sonne of vzziah . iotham the sonne of vzziah was fiue and twentie yeere old when hee began to reigne [ and hee reigned sixteene yeeres ] in ierusalem . the reconciliation . he reigned sixteen yeeres alone after his fathers death : he reigned also twentie with his father : for he gouerned the kingdome for his father who was diseased with the leprosie . . the east-country men doe diuerslie distinguish their artificiall day , both into twelue equall houres ( commonlie called planetarie houres ) and into quadrants , hauing their name of the houre going next before . beroald . chronol . the easterne mens accounting : . the manner of our counting : . . . . . . . . . . . . mark. . . ioh. . . and it was [ the third houre ] whē they crucified him . and it was the preparatiō of the passeouer , [ and about the sixt houre ] and hee said vnto the iewes , behold your king. the reconciliation . the opposition is not in the same respect : therefore distinguish the manners of accompting the houres of the day , and then it will appeare that christ might bee crucified at the third houre and about the fixt . . the lesser number is to be counted vnder the greater and the more compleat . iudg. . . the land had rest fortie yeeres when othoniel died . vnder this number are all the yeeres comprehended from the death of ioshua to the death of othoniel , as also the eight yeeres of seruitude vnder the syrians . iudg. . . the land had rest . yeers . here from the death of othoniel are numbred also the yeeres of ehud and samgar . for ehud could not be iudge . yeeres : for when these yeeres are expired the whole time of man is run out . the like we meete with , iudg. . . and . . and . . and. . . . and . . where , in the three hundred yeeres are included the fortie yeres of their tarrying in the desert . . filiation or son-ship is either naturall or legall . naturall is by generation : legall is by adoption , which is to be testified by education and bringing vp , and by succession in the kingdome , and in * leuiration by the law of redemption . . sam. . . . sam. . . and the king took the fiue sons of michal the daughter of saul , whom she beare to adriel the sonne of barzilli the mehalohite . when merab sauls daughter shuld haue been giuen to dauid , she was giuen vnto adriel a mehalohite to wife . the reconciliation . they are the naturall sonnes of merab , and the legall sonnes of michal ; and therefore ( to beare ) doth onely signifie to bring vp , to feede and to nourish . for thus the sonnes of machir , gen. . . are said to be borne ( nati ) on iosephs knees , that is , brought vp . mat. . . luk. . . ieconias begat salathiel . salathiel the sonne of neri . the reconciliation . salathiel was the sonne of neri by nature : and the sonne of ieconias legally in regard of succession in the same kingdome . after this manner zedekias is the brother of ieconias or iehoiakin , . chron. . . and vncle , . king. . . and son , . chro. . . his brother by generation , and his sonne by the right of succession . on this maner matthew and luke are reconciled in the genealogie of christ. for the one followes the naturall order , as luke , and the other the legall . consect . . when the naturall sense of the place ( propounded ) is giuen by the fore-said helpes , a signification of a word signifying diuers things ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) shall bee giuen , which is fitting to the place . thus the significations of uau the prefixe or copulatiue are ( as brunerus hath obserued in his hebrew grammer ) distinguished according to the diuersitie of the places . it signifieth , i. at , isa. . . gen. . . ii. quoniam , isa. . . iii. quin , isa. . . psalm . . . iiii. id est , isa. . . . sam. . . v. idcirco , prou. . . vi. ita vt , psal. . . isa. . . vii . sic etiam , isa. . . & . . viii . et tamen , . chron. . . nehe. . . ix . atqui , psal. . . & . . x. posteà tunc , isa. . . gen. . . xi . autem , isa. . . nehe. . . xii . etiam , . reg. . . xiii . num , isa. . . xiiii . sicut , sicm psal. . . dan. . . xv. qui , quae , quod , isa. . . xvi . quum , psal. . . xvii . vt , isa. . . xviii . quamuis , iere. . . xix . inquam , isa. . . xx. idque , psal. . . xxi . atque ita , prou. . . xxii . et vt isa . . . xxiii . quoniam , ideo , psal. . xxiiii . imò , psal. . . xxv . nec non , psal. . . xxvi . verùm , psal. . . xxvii . etiamsi , iob. . . xxviii . aut , psal. . . xxix . quòd , idque , psa. . . xxx . et verò , psal. . . xxxi . tum , nehe. . . xxxii . simulatque , iere , . . xxxiii . si sin , . reg. . . xxxiiii . nec , isa. . . xxxv . hoc igitur , prou. . . xxxvi . vnà cùm , prou. . . xxxvii . quòd , gen. . . thus it appeareth that ( berech ) signifieth contrary things , as to blesse & to curse . iob. . . . king. . . and . . . to conclude , hence it is euident that ( huchal ) gen. . . doth not signifie prophaned , but begun . reason . . when chalal signifieth to profane , it ought to be ioyned with a nowne , and to gouerne it ; but here it doth immediately follow rara a verbe infinitiue . reason . . amongst many causes of the deluge moses reckoneth not the prophanation of gods worship , which notwithstanding should haue been chiefly noted , if so bee that it had raigned among the people of god. consect . . if a word giuen in the bible , whether it bee an hebrew word or a greeke , if first it do agree with grammaticall construction , and with other approued copies : if also it doe agree in respect of the sense with the circumstances and drift of the place , and with the analogie of faith , it is proper and naturall . i lay downe this rule , not because i thinke that the hebrew and greeke text is in all copies corrupted through the malice of the iewes , as lindanus doth wickedly calumniate , and after him all papists : but that the diuers readings , which in some places haue crept in , either by reason of the vnskilfulnesse or negligence and ouersight of the notaries , might be skanned and determined . as , psal. . . in ordinary copies the words runne thus ; caari , that is , as a lion my hands and my feete . in other copies the reading is diuers , after this manner : caaru , they haue digged ( or pierced ) my hands and my feete . now the rule propounded doth teach that this latter reading is to be followed . for it agreeth . . with grammaticall construction : . with the circumstances of the psalme : . with some ancient copies : yea euen by the testimonie of the iewes . chap. vi. of the right diuiding of the word . hitherto wee haue spoken of interpreting the word . wee are now come to speake of the * right cutting or the right diuiding of it . right cutting of the word is that , whereby the word is made fit to edifie the people of god. . tim. . . study to shew thy selfe approued vnto god , a workeman that neede not to be ashamed , diuiding ( or * cutting ) the word of trueth aright . it is a metaphor taken it may bee from the leuites , who might not cut the members of the sacrifices without due consideration . isai. . . the lord hath giuen me the tongue of the learned , that i might know to minister a word in due season to him that is wearie . the partes thereof are two : resolution or partition , and application . * resolution is that , whereby the place propounded is , as a weauers web , resolued ( or vntwisted and vnloosed ) into sundrie doctrines . act. . . mightilie he confuted the iewes , with great vehemencie publikely shewing by scriptures that iesus was that christ. resolution is either notation , or collection . notation is , when as the doctrine is expressed in the place propounded . rom. . . we haue alreadie proued that all both iewes and gentiles are vnder sinne . . as it is written ; there is none righteous , no not one . . there is none that vnderstandeth , none that seeketh god. . all are gone out of the way : they haue been made altogether vnprofitable : there is none that doth good , no not one . act. . . whom god hath raised vp , and loosed the sorrowes of death , because it was impossible that he shuld be held of it . . for dauid saith concerning him , i beheld the lord alwaies before me : for he is at my right hand , that i should not bee shaken . . therefore did mine heart reioyee , and my tongue was glad , and moreouer also my flesh shall rest in hope . . because thou wilt not not leaue my soule with the dead , neither wilt suffer thine holy one to see corruption . collection is , when the doctrine not expressed is soundly gathered out of y e text . this is done by the helpe of the nine arguments , that is , of the causes , effects , subiects , adiuncts , dissentanies , names , distribution , and definition . for example . a place . the collection . iohn . . iesus answered them , is it not written in your law , i said yee are gods ? from the comparison of the lesser . . if hee called thē gods , vnto whom the word of god was giuen , and the scripture cannot bee broken : . say yee of me , whom the father hath sanctified and sent into the world , thou blasphemest , because i said i am the sonne of god ? a place . the collection from the lesser . . cor. . . for it is written in the law of moses , thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the oxe , that treadeth out the corne . what , hath god care of oxen ? vers. . haue we not power to eate , and to drinke ? a place . the collection from the contrarie . gal. . . for so many as are of the workes of the law are vnder a curse : for it is written , cursed is euery one , that continueth not in al things which are in the book of the law to do them . vers. . therfore those which are of faith are blessed with faithfull abraham . vers. . for the iust shal liue by faith . vers. . and that no man is iustified by the law before god , it is euident . a place . a collection from the adiunct . heb. . for in rebuking them he saith , behold , the daies will come , saith the lord , when i shall make with the house of israel & with the house of iudah a new testament . heb. . . in that he saith a new testament , hee hath disanulled the old : now that which is disanulled and waxed old is readie to vanish away . in gathering of doctrines we must specially remember that an example in his owne kind , that is , an ethique , oeconomique , politique , ordinarie , and extraordinarie example hath the virtue of a general rule in ethique , oeconomique , politique , ordinarie , & extraordinarie matters . the examples of the fathers are paterns for vs. . cor. . . * and whatsoeuer is written , is written for our learning . and it is a principle in logique , that the * genus is actually in all the * species : and a rule in the optiques , that the generall species of things are perceiued before the particular . a place . the collection from the species . rom. . . neither are they all children , because they are the seede of abraham : but in isaac shal thy seed be called . . neither he only felt this , but also rebecca , when shee had conceiued by one , euen by our father isaac . vers. . that is , they which are the children of the flesh , are not the children of god : but the children of the promise are counted for the seede . rom. . . which abraham against hope , beleeued vnder hope , &c. . being fully assured that hee which had promised was also able to doe it . . and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousnesse . rom. . . now it is not written for him onely , that it was imputed to him for righteousnes , . but for vs also , to whom it shal be imputed for righteousnesse , which beleeue in him , that raised vp iesus our lord from the dead . that also i adde , that collections ought to be right and sound , that is to say , deriued from the genuine and proper meaning of the scripture . if otherwise , wee shall draw * any doctrine from any place . prou. . . the greeke translation of the seuentie interpreters is ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) the lord hath created me ; it is the speech of wisedome , that is , of christ speaking of himselfe . whence the arrians collect very wickedly , that the sonne was created . but in the hebrew it is ( iehouah kanneni ) the lord hath possessed mee . now the father possesseth the son , because hee begat him from eternitie , and because the father is in the sonne , and the sonne in the father . and so , gen. . . when a sonne was borne vnto adam , he saith , i haue possessed a man from the lord. the error perhaps came of this , that * ectise was either through ignorance or malice put for * ectese . augustine also vpon the tenth verse of the . psalme , readeth on this wife : i held my peace because thou hast made me , fecistime . from whence hee doth wittily gather , that it is a marueile that he should holde his tongue , that hath receiued a mouth to speake : whereas ( me ) is neither in the hebrew nor in the greeke . and vpon the . psalme and . verse he disputeth much about vsuries , and proueth that vsuries are sinnes : whereas there is no such matter in that text . for the words are ; he shall deliuer their soule from deceit and violence , so precious is their blood in his eyes . it shall be lawfull also to gather allegories : for they are arguments taken from things that are like , and paul in his teaching vseth them often . . cor. . . but they are to bee vsed with these cautions : . let them be vsed sparingly and soberly . . let them not be farre fetcht , but fitting to the matter in hand . . they must be quickly dispatcht . . they are to bee vsed for instruction of the life , and not to proue any point of faith . any point of doctrine collected by iust consequence is * simply of it selfe to bee beleeued , and doth * demonstrate . act. . . and a certaine iew , named apollos , borne at alexandria , came to ephesus , an eloquent man and mightie ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) in the scriptures . . for mightily he confuted the iewes publikely with great vehemencie , demonstrating ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) by the scriptures , that iesus was the christ. from hence it followeth : first , that humane testimonies whether of the philosophers or of the fathers are not to be alleaged . augustine vpon the . psalme saith thus : if i speake , let no man heare : if christ speake , woe bee to him that doth not heare . so againe he saith ( de vnitat . ecclesiae ) let vs not heare , these things i say , these things he saith : but let vs heare , these things the lord saith . yet with this exception , vnlesse they conuince the conscience of the hearer . thus paul alleaged the testimonie of aratus ; act. . . for by him wee liue , and moue , and haue our being , as one of your owne poets hath said ; for wee are all his progenie ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) . . forasmuch then , as we are the progenie of god , &c. as also a saying of menander , . cor. . . be not deceiued , euill * conuersations corrupt good manners . and of epimenides , tit. . . as one of their prophets hath said , the cretians are alwaies liars , euill beasts , and slow bellies . and then also it must be done sparingly , and with leauing out the name of the prophane writer . secondly , that a few testimonies of scripture are to be vsed for the proofe of the doctrine : and that sometimes there is neede of none . lastly , hence it followes that the prophets deliuering their doctrine thus , are not to bee reprooued of other prophets . . cor. . . and the spirits of the prophets are subiect vnto the prophets . yet afterwards hee addeth , vers . . if any one seeme to be a prophet or spirituall , let him acknowledge that those things , which i write vnto you , are the commandements of god. chap. vii . of the waies how to vse and applie doctrines . application is that , wherby the doctrine rightlie collected is diuerslly fitted according as place , time , and person doe require . ezek. . . i will feede my sheepe , and bring them to their rest , saith the lord. . i will seeke that which is lost , and bring againe that which was driuen away , and will bind vp that which was broken , and will strengthen the sicke . iude . and hauing compassion of some in putting difference . . and saue other with terror , pulling them out of the flame . the foundation of application is to know whether the place propounded be a sentence of the law , or of the gospell . for when the word is preached there is one operation of the law , and another of the gospell . for the law is thus farre forth effectuall , as to declare vnto vs the disease of sinne , and by accident to exasperate and stirre it vp : but it affords no remedie . now the gospel , as it teacheth what is to be done : so it hath also the efficacy of the holy ghost adioyned with it , by whom we being regenerated , we haue strength both to beleeue the gospell , and to performe those things which it commaundeth . the law therefore is the first in the order of teaching : and the gospell second . it is a sentence of the law , which speaketh of perfect inherent righteousnes , of eternall life giuen through the works of the law , of the contrarie sins , and of the curse that is due vnto them . gal. . . so many as are of the workes of law , are vnder the curse ; for it is written , cursed is he whosoeuer abideth not in all things , which are written in the booke of the law to doe them . matth. . . o generation of vipers , who hath fore-warned you to flee from the anger to come ? . and now also is the axe put to the roote of the trees : therfore euery tree , which bringeth not forth good fruit , is cut vp ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and cast into the fire . a sentence of the gospell is that , which speaketh of christ and his benefits , and of faith being fruitfull in good workes : as , iohn . . so god loued the world , that hee gaue his onely begotten sonne , that whosoeuer beleeueth in him , should not perish but haue euerlasting life . hence it is that many sentences , which seeme to belong to the law , are by reason of christ to bee vnderstood not legally ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) but with the * qualification of the gospell . luk. . . blessed are those which heare the word of god and keepe it . deut. . this commandement which i command thee this day , is not hidden , nor set a farre off , but it is by thee in thy month and in thine heart . this sentence which is legall in moses , is euangelicalll in paul : rom. . . psalm . . . blessed are those that are perfect in the way , who walke in the law of iehouah . . blessed are they that keepe his testimonies and seeke him with their whole heart . iohn . . hee that hath my commandements , and keepeth them , is he that loueth me : he that loueth me shall be loued of my father . . if any man doe loue me , hee will keepe my word : and my father doth loue him , and we will come vnto him , and wee will dwell with him . gen. . . noah was a iust and vpright man in his time : noah walked with god * continually . gen. . . i am the strong god , omnipotent , walke alway before me and be vpright . the waies of application are chieflie seuen , according to the diuers condition of men and people , which is seuenfold : i. vnbeleeuers who are both ignorant and vnteachable . these men in the first place are to bee prepared to receiue the doctrine of the word . . chro. . iehosaphat sent leuites throughout the cities of iudah to teach the people and to bring them from idols . this preparation is to be made partly by disputing or reasoning with them , that thou maist throughly discerne their manners and disposition , and partly by reprouing in them some notorious sinne , that being pricked in heart and terrified , they may become teachable . act. . . hee disputed in the synagogue with the iewes , and with them that were religious , and in the market place with whomsoeuer he met . act. . . now as hee iournied it came to passe , that , as hee was come neere to damascus , suddenly there shined round about him a light from heauen . . and hee fell to the earth and heard a voyce saying to him , saul , saul , why persecutest thou me ? . and he said , who art thou lord ? and the lord answered , i am iesus of nazaret , whom thou doest persecute : it is hard for thee to kicke against the pricks . act. . . then the keeper of the prison awoke out of his sleepe : and when he saw the prison doores open , he drew out his sword , and would haue killed himself , supposing the prisoners had bin fled . . then paul cried with a loud voice , saying , doe thy selfe no harme , for we are all here . . then he called for a light , and leaped in , and came trembling , and fell downe before paul and silas . . and brought them out , and said , sirs , what must i doe to be saued ? . and they said , beleeue in the lord iesus and thou shalt be saued , and thine household . act. . . and paul stood in the midst of marsstreete , and said , ye men of athens , i see that in all things ye are * too superstitious . . for as i passed by and beheld your deuotions , i found an altar , wherein was written , unto the vnknowne god ; whom ye then ignorantly worship , him shew i vnto you . . god , that made the world and all things in it , seeing that he is lord of heauen and earth , dwelleth not in temples made with hands . when now there is hope that they are become teachable and prepared , the doctrine of gods word is to be declared to them generally in some common termes or ordinarie points . act. . . and the time of this ignorance god regarded not , but now he commandeth ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) all men euerie where to repent . . because hee hath appointed a day , in which hee will iudge the world in righteousnes by that man whom he hath appointed , whereof hee hath assured all men , in that hee hath raised him from the dead . if they shal approue this doctrine , then it is to be opened to them distinctly & in euery particular ; but if they shall remaine vnteachable without hope of winning them , they are to be left . matth. . . giue not that which is holy vnto dogges : neither cast your pearles before swine , lest they tread them vnder their feete , and turning againe all to rent you . prou. . . reprooue not a scorner , lest hee hate thee . act. . . but when certaine men were hardned , and would not obey , speaking euill of the way of the lord before the multitude , he departed from them , and separated the disciples from them . ii. some are teachable , but yet ignorant . to these men the catechisme must bee deliuered , act. . . apollos was catechized ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) in the way of the lord. and he spake feruentlie in the spirit , & taught diligently the things of the lord , knowing only the baptisme of iohn . . and hee began to speake boldlie in the synagogue . whom when aquila and. priscilla had heard , they tooke him vnto them , and expounded vnto him the way of god more perfectly . luk. . . that thou maist know the trueth of those things , whereof thou hast been catechized ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) or instructed . the catechisme is the doctrine of the foundation of christian religion , brieflie propounded for the helpe of the vnderstanding and memorie in questions and answers made by the liuely voyce . the matter therfore of the catechisme is the foundation of religion . the foundation is a certaine summe of the principles of christianitie , heb. . . for when as concerning the time ye ought to be teachers , yet haue yee neede againe that we teach you the [ first principles of the word ] of god. a principle is that which doth directly and immediatly serue both for the saluation of men and for the glorie of god , which being also denied and ouerturned no saluation can be hoped for . there are especiallie sixe principles : repentance , faith , baptismes , that is , the sacraments , imposition of hands , that is , the ministerie of the word by a synecdoche , the resurrection , and the last iudgement , heb. . . . . the forme of the catechisme is to handle the elements or grounds plainelie by asking and answering , . pet. . . to the which also , the figure that now saueth vs , euen baptisme agreeth ( not the putting away of the filthines of the flesh , but the stipulation or * interrogation of a good conscience ) . act. . . what doth let me to be baptized ? and philip said vnto him , if thou beleeuest with all thine heart , thou maist . then hee answered saying , i beleeue that iesus christ is the sonne of god. tertullian de resurrect , carnis saith : the soule is not purged with washing , but with answering . and here wee must hold a difference betweene milke and strong meate , which are the same indeede , but do differ in the manner and fashion of deliuering . milke is a certaine briefe , plaine and generall explication of the principles of the faith : as when a man doth teach y t we must beleeue one god and three persons , father , sonne & holy ghost ; and that we must relie only vpon the grace of god in christ ; and that wee ought to beleeue the remission of sinnes ; and when wee are taught that we ought to repent , to obstaine from euill , and to doe that which is good . strong meate is a speciall , copious , luculent and cleere handling of the doctrine of faith : as when the condition of man before the fall , his fall , originall and actuall sinne , mans guiltinesse , free-will , the mysteries of the trinitie , the two natures of christ , the personall vnion , the office of christ , the imputation of righteousnes , faith , grace , and the vse of the law , are deliuered out of the word of god distinctly and exactly . moreouer , milke must bee set before babes , that is , those that are rude or weak in knowledge : strong meat must be giuen to such as are of ripe yeres , that is , to them that are better instructed . . cor. . . moreouer , brethren , i could not speake vnto you as to spirituall : but i haue spoken vnto you as to carnall , that is , to infants in christ. . i haue fed you with milke , and not with meate . heb. . . iii. some haue knowledge , but are not as yet humbled . in such the foundation of repentance ought to bee stirred vp , that is to say , a certaine sorrow which is according to god. . cor. . . for though i made you sorrie with a letter , i repent not , though i did repent : for i perceiue that the same epistle made you sorie , though it were but for a season . . i now reioyce , not that yee were sory , but that ye sorrowed to repentance : for yee sorrowed according to god ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) so that in nothing ye were hurt by vs. . for sorrow , which is according to god ( or godly ) causeth repentance vnto saluation not to bee repented of : but worldly sorrow causeth death . sorrow according to god , is a griefe for sinne , euen because it is sinne . to the stirring vp of this affection , in the first place a man must vse the ministerie of the law , which may beget contrition of heart , or the horrors of conscience , which though it bee not a thing wholesome and profitable of it owne nature , yet is it a remedie necessarie for the subduing of a sinners stubbernnesse , and for the preparing of his minde to become teachable . now , that this legall sorrow may be wrought , it is fit to vse some choyce parcell of the law , which may reprooue some one notable sinne in men that are not as yet humbled . for sorrow for , and repentance * euen of one sinne is for substance ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) sorrow for and repentance of all . act. . . repent therefore of this thy wickednes , and pray god , that if it be possible , the thought of thine heart may be forgiuen thee . act. . . him haue yee taken by the hands of the wicked , being deliuered by the determinate counsell , and foreknowledge of god , and haue crucified and slaine . psalm . . . yea further , if any man being afflicted with the crosse , and with outward calamities haue only a worldly sorrow , that is , if he mourne not for sinne as it is sinne , but for the punishment of sinne , hee is not by and by to be comforted , but first this sorrow is to be turned into that other sorrow which is * according to god : as is the counsell of physitians in the like case . for if a mans life be in danger by reason of bloud gushing out at his nose : they commaund also that bloud bee let out in his arme or in some other place as the case requireth , that they might stay the course of the bloud which rusheth out at the nostrils , that so they might saue his life , who was readie to yeeld vp the ghost . then let the gospell be preached , in the preaching wherof the holy spirit worketh effectually vnto saluation . for whilst he reneweth men , that they may begin to will and to worke those things that are pleasing to god , he doth truely and properly bring forth in them that sorrow which is according to god and repentance vnto saluation . to the hard-harted the law must bee vrged , and the curse of the law must bee denounced with threatning , together with the difficultie of obtaining deliuerance vntill they bee purified in the heart . matth. . . and when hee saw many of the pharises and of the sadduces come to his baptisme , he said vnto them , o * progeny of vipers , who hath forewarned you to flie from the wrath to come ? matth. . . good master , what shall i doe that i may haue eternall life ? . and he said vnto him — if thou wilt enter into life , keepe the commaundements . mat. . . woe vnto you scribes and pharisies , hypocrites , because ye shut vp the kingdome of heauen before men : for yee your selues goe not in , neither suffer ye those that are entring in ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) to go in , &c. vers. . o serpents , and progeny of vipers , how shall ye escape the damnation of hell ? but when the beginning of compunction doth appeare , they are presently to be comforted with the gospell . iiii. some are humbled . here we must very diligently consider whether their humiliation bee compleat and sound , or but begun and but light or slight : lest that hee or they , receiuing comfort sooner than is meete , should afterwards wax more hard ; like iron , which being cast into the fornace becomes exceeding hard , after that it is once cold . let thy proceeding bee after this manner with those , that are humbled in part . let the law bee propounded , yet so discreetly tempered with the gospell , that being terrified with their sinnes , and with the meditation of gods iudgement , they may together also at the same instant receiue solace by the gospell . act. . . then peter said vnto him , thy monie perish with thee , because thou thinkest that the gift of god may be obtained by monie . . thou hast neither part , nor fellowship in this busines , for thine hart is not right in the sight of god. . repent therefore of this thy wickednes , and pray god , that if it be possible the cogitation of thine heart may bee remitted . . for i see that thou art in the gall of bitternes , and in the bond of iniquity . gen. . . and the lord god cried vnto adam , and said vnto him , where art thou ? and god said , who hath shewed thee that thou art naked ? what , hast thou eaten of the fruit of that tree , of which i forbad thee to eat ? . and the lord god said to the woman , what is this which thou hast done ? and the woman said , this serpent hath seduced me , and i haue eaten . . moreouer , i will put enmitie betwixt thee and this woman , and likewise betweene thy seede and her seede : this shall breake thine head , and thou shalt bruise his heele . . sam. . nathan being sent from god , by a parable which hee doth propound , he recalleth dauid to the conscience of his fact , and pronounceth pardon to him being penitent . the doctrine of faith and repentance and the comforts of the gospell ought to be promulged and tendred to those that are fully humbled . luk. . . the spirit of the lord is vpon me , therefore he hath annointed mee to preach glad tidings to the poore : he hath sent me to heale the contrite in heart , to preach deliuerance to the captiues , and to the blind the recouerie of their sight , and to set at libertie those that were broken . act. . . when they heard these things , they were pricked in heart , and said vnto peter , and the rest of the apostles , men and brethren , what shall wee doe ? . and peter said vnto them : repent and bee baptised euerie one of you in the name of iesus christ for the remission of sinnes . matth. . . i came not to call the iust , but sinners vnto repantance . v. some doe beleeue . to these must be propounded . . the gospell of iustification , sanctification , and perseuerance . . the law without the curse , whereby they may be taught to bring forth fruites of new obedience beseeming repentance . rom. . . there is no condemnation to those that are in christ iesus . . tim. . . the law is not appointed for the righteous . let the epistle of paul to the romans be the example . . howsoeuer the curse of the law is not to be vrged against the person that is righteous and holy in the sight of god , yet it is to be vrged against the sinnes of the person , which are remaining . and as a father doth oftentimes set his yron rods that are appointed for the seruants before the eyes of his sonnes , that they may be frayed : so the meditation of the curse is to be stirred vp very often in the faithfull themselues , left they should abuse the mercie of god to licencious liuing , and that they may be more fully humbled . for sanctification is but in part : therefore that the remainders of sinne may bee abolished , wee must alwaies begin with the meditation of the law , and with the feeling of sinne , and make an end in the gospell . vi. some are fallen . those that are fallen are they , which doe in part fall from the state of grace . falling is either in faith or in manners . falling in faith is either in the knowledge of the doctrine of the gospell , or in the apprehending of christ. falling in knowledge is a declining into error , whether lighter or fundamentall . now vnto those that fall thus , that doctrine which doth crosse their error , is to be demonstrated and inculcated ( or beaten vpon them ) together with the doctrine of repentance , and that with a brotherly affection . take for an example the epistle of paul to the galatians . . tim. . . instructing them with meekenes that are ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) contrarilie affected : if god at any time will giue them repentance that they may know the trueth . the fall which is in apprehending christ , is desperation . for the restoring of those that doe despaire , there are to be vsed a triall , and the remedie . the triall or search is either of the cause of the temptation , or of their estate . the triall of the cause is made fitly by priuate confession . iam. . . confesse your sinnes one to another , and pray for one another that ye may be healed . but lest that confession should bee made a kinde of racke or torture , it must be limited with these prouisoes . . it ought to be free , and not compelled : because saluation depends not vpon it . . it must not be of all sinnes , but of those onely which wring the conscience , which vnlesse they doe reueale , greater danger may hang ouer their heads . . let it chiefely be made to pastours ; yet so as that we must know that it may be safely made to other faithfull men in the church . the triall of their estate is , whereby we make diligent inquirie whether they be vnder the law , or vnder grace . that this may manifestly appeare , we must by asking of questions first draw out of them , whether they be displeased with themselues , because they haue displeased god , that is to say , whether they hate sinne as it is sinne : which is the foundation of repentance vnto saluation . secondly , we must demaund of them , whether they haue or doe feele in their heart a desire to be reconciled with god , which is the ground of a liuely faith . when triall is made , the remedie must be applied vnto them out of the gospell , which is double . first , some euangelicall meditations are to bee often inculcated and pressed vpon them : as . that their sinne is pardonable . . that the promises are generall in respect of beleeuers , and that they are indefinite in respect of particular men , and doe exclude no man. . that the will to beleeue is faith , psalm . . . reuel . . . . that sinne doth not abolish grace , but rather ( god turning all things vnto the good of those that are his ) doth illustrate it . . that all the works of god are done by contrarie meanes . secondly , they must be intreated to stirre vp in them in the very bitternes of the temptation , their faith which hath lien in a swoune , and bin * couered ( as it were with ashes ) and that they would certainely set downe with themselues that their sinnes are forgiuen them , and that it would please them to struggle manfully in prayer either alone or with others against carnall sense and humane hope . and that they may performe these things , they must be very earnestly beaten vpon , and those that are vnwilling must in a manner bee constrained . psalm . . . out of the depths haue i called to thee , o lord. . lord listen vnto my voyce : let thine eares attend to the voice of my praiers . psalm . . . my voice came to god when i prayed , my voice went to god , that hee would turne his eare ( vt aduertat aurem ) vnto me . . in the day of my distresse i besought the lord. rom. . . who ( abraham ) against ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) hope beleeued vnder hope , that he should be the father of many nations . now that these medicines may be of force , that ministeriall power of binding and loosing is to be vsed according to the forme prescribed in the word . . sam. . . then dauid saidto nathan , i haue sinned against the lord : wherefore nathan saied to dauid , godhath also forgiuen thy sinne : thou shalt not dye . . cor. . . therefore wee are embassadours in the name of christ , god as it were beseeching you by vs : wee pray you in the name of christ that yee would be reconciled to god. and if perhaps melancholie trouble the minde , the helpe of the medicine must be in priuate sought for . falling in manners is , when any faithfull man falleth to the committing of some actuall sinne in life . as noahs drunkennesse , dauids adulterie , peters deniall &c. to those that are fallen thus , forsomuch as grace remaining in respect of her vertue and habit may be lost for a time in respect of sense and working ; the law must bee propounded being mixed with the gospell : because a new acte of sinne requires a new acte ( or worke ) of faith and repentance . isa. . . ah , sinfull nation , a people laden with iniquitie , a seede of the wicked , corrupt children : they haue forsaken the lord : they haue prouoked the holy one of israel to anger , they are gone backeward . . wash you , make you cleane , take away the euill of your works from before mine eyes , &c. . come now , and let vs reason together , saith the lord ; though your sinnes were as crimsin , they shall bee made white as snow : though they were red like skarlet , they shall be as wooll . vii . there is a mingled people . amixt people are the assemblies of our churches . to these any doctrine may be propounded , whether of the law or of the gospell : if the * limitation and circumscription of the doctrine be made to those persons , for whom it is conuenient . iohn . . now in the last and great day of the feast , iesus stoode and cried , saying , if any man thirst let him come vnto mee and drinke . and this was the manner of the prophets in their sermons , to denounce iudgements and destruction to the wicked : and to promise deliuerance in the messias to those that do repent . a * doubt . if any man shall despaire in the publike congregation , when the rest are hardened , what ought to be done ? * ans. let those that are hardened , heare the law circumscribed within the limits of the persons , and of the vices : and let the afflicted conscience heare the voyce of the gospell applied in speciall manner vnto it . chap. viii . of the kinds of application . application is either * mentall or * practicall . mentall is that , which respecteth the minde : and it is either doctrine or * redargution . . tim. . . the whole scripture is giuen by gods inspiration , and is profitable for doctrine ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) for redargution or improouing , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) for correction ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and for instruction ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) in righteousnesse . . that the man of god may be perfect , being perfectly instructed vnto euery good worke . doctrine is that , whereby doctrine ( or teaching ) is vsed for the information of the minde to a right iudgement concerning things to be beleeued . redargution is that , whereby teaching is vsed for the reformation of the minde from error . in confutations , which are made publikely before the assembly , these cautions must be vsed . . the thing that is determined ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) or the state of the question that is to bee discussed must bee throughly vnderstood . . let those errors onely be reprooued , which trouble the church , in which we liue : all other being altogether let alone , which doe either lie dead , or are externall : vnlesse some daunger bee readie to ensue of them . matth. . beware of the leauen of the pharisees and saduces . mark. . take heede , and beware of the leauen of herod . reue. . the men of pergamus are warned to beware of the nicolaitans , to whom some of them did assent . . if the error be out of the foundation of faith , the confutation must not onely be christianlike , as it should be euer : but also a friendly , a gentle and brotherly dissention . practicall application is that which respecteth the life and behauiour . and it is instruction ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and correction , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . instruction is that , whereby doctrine is applied to frame a man to liue well in the * family , common-wealth , and church . to this place belong consolation and exhortation . rom. . . correction is that , wherby the doctrine is applied to reforme the life from vngodlines and vnrighteous dealing . hitherto belongs admonition . this must be done , first generally , the circumstances of the persons being omitted . . sam. . nathan brings dauid to the knowledge of his sinne by the helpe of a generall parable . act. . . ye see and heare , that not onely at ephesus , but almost throughout all asia , this paul hath perswaded and turned away much people ( because he saith that those are not gods which are made with hands . ) . then the towne clerke , when hee had stayed the people , said , ye men of ephesus , &c. . ye haue brought hither these men , which haue neither committed sacriledge , neither [ doe blaspheme ] your goddesse . afterwards , if the former reproofe preuaile not , it must be vrged after a more speciall manner . . tim. . . them that sinne , rebuke openly , that the rest may also feare . but alwaies , in the very hatred of sinne , let the loue of the person appeare in the speeches : and let the minister include himselfe ( if he may ) in his reprehension , that it may bee more milde and gentle . dan. . . then daniel — said , my lord , the dreame be to them that hate thee , and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies . . the tree , which thou sawest — it is thou , . gal. . . we that are iewes by nature , and not sinners of the gentiles . . cor. . . these things , brethren , i haue by a kinde of figure translated to my selfe , and to apollo for you , that yee might learne by vs not to be wise aboue that which is written . now these foure kinds of application doe offer themselues in euery sentence of the scripture . i will also set downe that example , which illyricus hath propounded . illyricus in his booke of the way to vnderstand the scriptures . tract . . matth. . . feare yee not them which kill the bodie , but are not able to kill the soule : but rather feare him , which is able to destroy both soule and bodie in hell . . are not two sparrowes sold for a farthing , and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father ? . yea , and all the haires of your head are numbred . . feare yee not therefore , yee are of more value than many sparrowes . it were easie to draw from hence many doctrines : partly of the confession of the faith : and partly concerning ( gods ) prouidence . * doctrine . that it is needfull for vs publikely to professe the doctrine which we know , so often as there is need . . that wee must make confession also with the hazzard of goods and life . . that our life should bee contemned in comparison of christ and his trueth . . that eternall punishments to be suffered both in soule and bodie are prepared for those that are not affraid to denie christ , and his trueth . . that god is intent and readie to gouerne vs , that we might make our confession aright . . that the prouidence of god is not onely generall , but also speciall , which is diligently occupied about all our smallest matters , yea euen the haires of our head . * redargution . . those doe erre , who thinke it to bee sufficient , if in heart they doe embrace the faith and a right opinion concerning religion : and that it is at a mans choise in the meane season to graunt or affirme any thing before men , as the condition of the place , time , and persons requireth ; especially when the life seemeth to be in imminent danger to be lost . . the epicures erre , in that they denie the diuine prouidence : because they thinke it too base for the maiestie of god to take care of humane affaires . . the stoicks doe erre , who imagine that all things are gouerned by the fate , ( or an vnresistable & violent necessitie . ) . they doe erre who make chaunce and fortune , without any wise ordination of the diuine prouidence . . the pelagians do erre in giuing more than is due to mans strength , as if it were put in mens power to embrace the faith at their pleasure , to continue constant in the same , and to confesse it to the end without feare . . they doe erre , who doe leane more vpon outward things and inconstant riches , than vpon the power and goodnesse of god. * instruction . . thou must to the vtmost of thy power labour to haue the true feare of god before thine eyes : because thou now hearest that one god is to be feared aboue all men . . thou must learne such a contempt of humane things , as that thou maist alwaies desire , hauing forsaken them , to depart hence , and to bee ioyned together with christ in the heauens . . the consideration of ( gods ) speciall prouidence doth cause thee to thinke of the presence of god that beholder , to craue his helpe , and also to beleeue that thou art helped in all things , and finally that there is no danger so terrible , but hee both can and will deliuer thee from , when it is fit . * correction . . these words of christ correct their negligence , who in their prayers do not craue of god sincere loue , that being inflamed with it they may not refuse to lay downe their life for his name . . the negligence of those men is also taxed , which doe not acknowledge and behold the prouidence of god shewing it selfe in all things . . those are reproued , who giue not god thanks for vouchsafing to gouerne and defend vs and all things that belong vnto vs by his prouidence . . those are reprooued , that abuse the good creatures of god , seeing that it is manifest that god hath care of all things . thus any place of scripture ought to be handled : yet so as that all the doctrins be not propounded to the people , but those onely , which may bee fitly applied to our times and to the present condition of the church . and they must not onely be choice ones , but also few , lest the hearers bee ouercharged with their multitude . chap. ix . of memorie in preaching . bbecause it is the receiued custom for preachers to speak * by heart before the people , some thing must bee here annexed concerning memory . artificial memorie , which standeth vpon places and images , will very easilie without labour teach how to commit sermons to the memorie : but it is not to be approoued . . the animation of the image , which is the key of memory , is impious ; because it requireth absurd , insolent and prodigious cogitations , and those especially , which set an edge vpon and kindle the most corrupt affections of the flesh . . it dulleth wit and memorie , because it requireth a threefold memorie for one : the first of the places : the second of the images : the third of the thing that is to be declared . it is not therefore an vnprofitable aduise , if he that is to preach doe diligentlie imprint in his mind by the helpe of dsposition either axiomaticall , or syllogisticall , or methodicall the seuerall doctrines of the place he meanes to handle , the seuerall proofes and applications of the doctrines , the illustrations of the applications , and the order of them all : in the meane time nothing carefull for the words , which ( as horace speaketh ) will not vnwillingly follow the matter that is premeditated . uerbaque praeuisam rem non inuita sequentur . their studie hath many discommodities , who doe con their written sermons word for word . . it asketh great labour . . he which through feare doth stumble at one word , doth both trouble the congregation , and confound his memorie . . pronunciation , action , and the holie motions of affections are hindred ; because the mind is wholly bent on this , to wit , that the memorie fainting now vnder her burthen may not faile . chap. x. hitherto hath bin spoken of the preparation or prouision of the sermon : the promulgation or vttring of it followeth . in the promulgation two things are required : the hiding of humane wisedome , and the demonstration ( or shewing ) of the spirit . humane wisedome must bee concealed , whether it be in the matter of the sermon , or in the setting forth of the words : because the preaching of the word is the testimonie of god , and the profession of the knowledge of christ , and not of humane skill : and againe , because the hearers ought not to ascribe their faith to the gifts of men , but to the power of gods word . . cor. . . when i came vnto you brethren , i came not with the eminencie of eloquence or of wisdome , declaring vnto you the testimonie of god. . for i did not decree to know any thing among you but iesus christ , and him crucified . . that your faith should not consist in the wisedome of men , but in the power of god. if any man thinke that by this meanes barbarisme should bee brought into pulpits ; hee must vnderstand that the minister may , yea and must priuatly vse at his libertie the artes , philosophie , and varietie of reading , whilest he is in framing his sermon : but he ought in publike to conceale all these from the people , and not to make the least oftentation . artis etiam est celare artem ; it is also a point of art to conceale art. the demonstration of the spirit is , when as the minister of the word doth in the time of preaching so behaue himselfe , that all , euen ignorant persons & vnbeleeuers may iudge , that it is not so much hee that speaketh , as the spirit of god in him and by him . . cor. . . neither was my speech and my preaching in the perswasiue words of mans wisedome , but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power . and . . if all prophecie , and there enter in an vnbeleeuer , or one that is ignorant , hee is reprooued of all , be is iudged of all . . and so the secrets of his hart are disclosed , & so falling vpon his face , he willworship god , returning word that god indeed is amōg you . and . . i wil come vnto you shortly — and i wil know not their * words that are puffed vp , but their power . . for the kingdome of god is not in words but in power . mich. . . i am filled with power by the spirit of the lord , and with iudgement and might to shew iacob his defection , and to israel his sinne . this makes the ministerie to bee liuely and powerfull . luk. . . and it came to passe , when he had spoken these things , that a certaine woman of the multitude lifting vp her voyce said vnto him , blessed is the wombe that bare thee , and the breasts that gaue thee sucke . this demonstration is either in speech or in gesture . the speech must be spirituall and gracious . that speech is spirituall , which the holy spirit doth teach . . cor. . . which things also we speake , not in the words , which mans wisedome teacheth , but which the holy ghost teacheth , comparing spirituall things with spirituall things . and it is a speech both simple and perspicuous fit both for the peoples vnderstanding and to expresse the maiestie of the spirit . act. . . paul disputed with them three sabbath dayes out of the scriptures . . opening ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and shewing that christ must suffer and rise againe . gal. . . o yee foolish galatians : — to whom iesus christ before was described in your sight , and among you crucified . . cor. . . but wee haue cast from vs the clokes of shame , and walke not in craftines , neither handle we the word of god deceitfullie : but in declaration of the trueth wee approoue our selues to euery mans conscience in the sight of god. . if our gospell be then hid , it is hid to them that perish . . in whom the god of this world hath blinded the mindes , that is , of the infidels . &c. wherefore neither the words of arts , nor greeke and latin phrases and quirks must bee intermingled in the sermon . . they disturbe the mindes of the auditours , that they cannot fit those things which went afore with those that follow . . a strange word hindreth the vnderstanding of those things that are spoken . . it drawes the mind away from the purpose to some other matter . here also the telling of tales , and all profane and ridiculous speeches must be omitted . the speech is gracious , wherein the grace of the heart is expressed . luk. . . and all bare witnes of him , and wondred at the gracious words , which proceeded out of his mouth . iohn . . the officers answered , neuer man spake like this man. grace is either of the person , or of the ministerie . grace of the person is the holines of the heart , and an vnblameable life : which howsoeuer it makes not a minister , yet is it very necessarie . . because the doctrine of the word is hard both to bee vnderstood and to bee practised , therefore the minister ought to expresse that by his example , which he teacheth , as it were by a type . . pet. . . not as though yee were lords ouer gods heritage , but that yee may be examples ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 types ) to the flocke . . tim. . . be an example to the faithfull , both in word and conuersation . phil. . . furthermore , brethren , whatsoeuer things are true , whatsoeuer things are honest — thinke on these things . . which yee haue both learned , and receiued , and heard , and seene in me , those things doe , and the god of peace shall be with you . . he that is not godly , howsoeuer he may vnderstand the scriptures , yet doth he not perceiue the inward sense and experience of the word in his heart . psalm . . . the lord is good and right , therefore he teacheth sinners his way . . he maketh the meeke to walke in the law , and teacheth the meeke his way . amos . . surely the lord god will doe nothing , but he reuealeth his secret to his seruants the prophets . gen. . . and the lord said , shall i hide from abraham the thing which i am about to do ? . seeing that abraham shall be indeede the father of a great and mightie nation , &c. . for i know him that he will command his sonnes and his household after him , that they keepe the way of the lord to doe righteousnes and iudgement . . it is a thing execrable in the sight of god that godly speech should bee conioyned with an vngodly life . psalm . . . . vnto the wicked god saith , what hast thou to doe to declare mine ordinances , and to take my couenant into thy mouth , seeing thou hatest to be reformed . it is a strange sight to see him , that is the guide of the way to others , to wander out of the way himselfe , and to see a physitian of others to be full of botches himselfe in the meane while , as nazianzene speaketh . . it is an ecclesiasticall secret : that the minister ought to couer his infirmities , that they bee not seene . for the simple people behold not the ministerie , but the person of y e minister . herod heard iohn baptist willingly , not because hee was a good minister , but because he was a good man. mark. . . well saith * nazianzene , he that teacheth sound doctrine , and liues wickedly , reacheth that with one hand , which he cleeketh away with the other . chrysostome vpon the . of matthew saith : the doctor of the church by teaching well and by liuing wel instructeth the people how they ought to liue well : but by liuing ill he doth instruct god how to condemne him . and in his . hom. in act. it is an easie matter to shew wisedome in words , teach me to liue by thy life : this is the best teaching . for words make not such an impression in the soule as workes doe . . a minister , that is wicked either openly or secretly , is not worthie to stand before the face of the most holy , and the almightie god. ier. . . therefore thus saith the lord , if thou returne , then will i bring thee againe and thou shalt stand before me . isai. . . then flew one of the seraphims vnto me with an hot coale in his hand , which hee had taken from the altar with the tongues . . and hee touched my mouth and said , loe , this hath touched thy lips , and thine iniquitie shall bee taken away , and thy sinne shall bee purged . . also i heard the voyce of the lord , saying , whom shall i send ? and who shall goe for vs ? then i said , here am i , send me . leuit. . . then moses said to aaron , this is that which the lord said , i will be sanctified in them that come neere vnto me , and i will bee glorified before the sight of all the people . and hence it is that the iudgements of god remaine for wicked ministers to tremble at . . sam. . . therefore the sinne of the young men was very great before the lord : for men abhorred the offering of the lord. &c. ver . . they obeyed not the voyce of their father , because the lord meant to slay them . the parts of sanctitie are especially , . a good conscience . . cor. . . for our reioycing is this , the testimonie of our conscience , that in simplicitie and godly sinceritie , and not in fleshly wisedome , but by the grace of god , wee haue had our conuersation in the world . . timothie . . keeping faith and a good conscience , which some hauing put away as concerning the faith haue made ship-wreck . act. . . and herein i endeauour my selfe to haue alway a cleere conscience towards god , and towards men . if this bee wanting , the mouth of the speaker is shut . isai. . . their watchmen are all blind : they haue no knowledge , they are all dumbe dogges , they cannot barke , they lie and sleepe , and delight in sleeping . . an inward feeling of the doctrine to be deliuered . wood , that is capable of fire , doth not burne , vnles fire be put to it : and he must first be godly affected himselfe , who would stirre vp godly affections in other men . therefore what motions a sermon doth require , such the preacher shall stirre vp priuatly in his owne mind , that hee may kindle vp the same in his hearers . . the feare of god , whereby , being throughly strucken with a reuerent regard of gods maiestie , hee speaketh soberly and moderately . . the loue of the people . . thess. . but were gentle amōgst you , as a nurse that cherisheth her children . and that this affection may appeare , the ministers dutie is to pray seriously and feruently for the people of god. . sam. . . god forbid that i should sin against the lord and cease praying for you . . the minister must also be ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) venerable , that is , such a one as is to be reuerenced for constancie , integritie , grauitie and trueth-speaking , who also knoweth how to performe reuerence to others either priuatly or publikely , as is befitting the persons of all his hearers . . hee must bee ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) temperant , who restraineth inwardly his ouer vehement affections , and hath his outward fashions and gestures moderate and plaine , by the which dignitie and authoritie may bee procured and preserued . therefore hee must be neither couetous ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a louer of siluer ) nor ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) a follower of wine , nor litigious , nor a striker , nor wrathfull : and let the young men exercise themselues to godlines , and flie the lusts of youth . . tim. . . the grace of the ministerie is . . to be apt to teach ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) . timothie . . now pauls meaning is , that it is not only decent and laudable if this gift be had , but also that it is so necessary , as that may not be wanting . for this consideration nazianzene refused a bishopricke : and theophylact vpon this place saith , that this dutie of teaching is especially of all other necessarie to be found in bishops . in the nicene and miletian councell , this was imposed in stead of a punishment , to hold the name of a minister , but not to preach the gospell . . authoritie , whereby he speaketh as the embassadour of the great iehouah . tit. . . these things speake and exhort , and rebuke with all authoritie . . pet. . . if any man speake , let him speake as the oracles of god. . zeale , whereby being most desirous of gods glory he doth endeuour to fulfill and execute the decree of election concerning the saluation of men by his ministerie . iob . . i an full of matter , and the spirit within me compelleth me . . behold , my bellie is as the wine which hath no vent , and like the new bottels that brast . . tim. . . instructing them — prouing if god at any time will giue them repentance , that they may know the trueth . col. . . . admonishing euery man — that wee may present euery man perfect in christ iesus . gesture is either in the action of the voyce or of the bodie . the voyce ought to be so high , that all may heare . isai. . . crie aloud , and spare not : lift vp thy voyce like a trumpet . iohn . . in that last and great day of the feast iesus stood vp and cried , act. . . and peter standing with the eleuen lift vp his voyce and said . in the doctrine hee ought to bee more moderate , in the exhortation more feruent and vehement . let there be that grauitie in the gesture of the body , which may grace the messenger of god. it is fit therefore , that the trunke or stalke of the bodie being erect and quiet , all the other parts , as the arme , the hand , the face and eyes haue such motions , as may expresse and ( as it were ) vtter the godly affections of the heart . the lifting vp of the eye and the hand signifieth confidence . . chron. . . salomon made a brazen scaffold , and set it in the middest of the court — and vpon it hee stoode , and kneeleddowne vpon his knees before all the congregation of israel , and stretched out his hands towards heauen . . and said , o lord god of israel , &c. act. . . and steuen being full of the holy ghost , bending his eies vp to heauen beheld the glory of god. the casting downe of the eyes signifieth sorrow and heauines . luk. . . but the publican standing afarre off would not so much as lift vp his eyes vnto heauen , but hee smote his breast saying , god be mercifull to me a sinner . concerning the gesture other precepts cannot be deliuered ; only , let the ensample of the grauest ministers in this kind be in stead of a rule . chap. xi . of conceiuing of prayer . hitherto hath bin spoken cōcerning preaching of the word : it remaineth now to speake of the conceiuing of praiers : which is the second part of prophecying , whereby the minister is the voyce of the people in calling vpon god. luk. . . one of his disciples said vnto him , lord , teach vs to pray , as iohn also taught his disciples . . sam. . . here are to be considered : . the matter thereof , first the wants and sinnes of the people : and then the graces of god and the blessings they stand in neede of . . tim. . . i exhort therefore aboue all things , that supplications — be made for all men . . for kings and those that are in authoritie . tertul. apolog. saith , wee doe all pray for all emperours , that they may obtaine a long life , a quiet raigne , a safe familie , couragious armies , a faithfull counsell , loyall subiects , a peaceable world , and whatsoeuer things are desired of a man and of caesar , againe : wee pray for emperours , for their ministers and powers , for the state of the time , for the quietnes of their affaires , and for the delaying of their death . the lords prayer reduceth this matter to sixe heads , which are gods glorie , kingdome , obedience , the preseruation of the life , the remission of sinnes , and the strengthning of the spirit . the forme thereof . . let there be one voyce , and that the ministers alone , the people being in the meane while silent , and shewing their assent at the end , by saying amen . act. . . who when they had heard these things , they lift vp their voyce with one accord vnto god , and said , &c. nehem. . . and ezra praised the lord the great god , and all the people answered , amen , amen . . cor. . . else , when thou blessest with the spirit , how shall he that supplieth the place of the vnlearned say amen at thy giuing of thankes . iustine in his . apolog. to antoninus , saith : when the ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) president hath finished his prayers and thankes-giuings , all the people that are present , crie out with a fauourable approbation , saying , amen . athanasius apolog. ad constant. imp. euseb. lib. . cap. . ierome prooem . . in gal. . let the voyce bee vnderstood . . cor. . . i will pray with the spirit , i will pray also with the vnderstanding : i will sing with the spirit , i will sing with the vnderstanding also . . let the voice be continued , not iagged and abrupt , that idle repetitions may be auoided , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . matth. . . . the parts , which are three : consideration , ordering , and vttering of it . consideration is that , whereby fit matter for the framing of prayers is diligently searched for . ordering is that , whereby the matter being found out is disposed in the mind in a certaine order . prolation or vttring of it is that , whereby it is orderly pronounced in publike to the edifying of the people . trin-vni deo gloria . the order and svmme of the sacred and only methode of preaching . . to read the text distinctly out of the canonicall scriptures . . to giue the sense and vnderstanding of it being read , by the scripture it selfe . . to collect a few and profitable points of doctrine out of the naturall sense . . to applie ( if he haue the gift ) the doctrines rightly collected to the life and manners of men , in a simple and plaine speech . the summe of the summe . preach one christ by christ to the praise of christ. the writers which lent their helpe to the framing of this arte of prophecying are : augustine , hemingius , hyperius , erasmus , illyricus , wigandus , iacobus matthias , theodorus beza , franciscus iunius . soli deo gloria . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e notes for div a -e exo. . . psa. . exo. . notes for div a -e * or when . notes for div a -e * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * or , the word of god is the whole and onely matter , about which preaching is exercised : it is the field in which the preacher must containe himselfe . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * the maior , or proposition . * the minor or assumption . * the conclusion . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * eeclesiastes . * the booke of canticles . * or husband and spouse . * that is , the prophets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * probatio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * opening of the text . * of sound iu de ement : or sound , & iudicious , and consonant to gods word . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * occulta . * quia . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * irata . * vexillum . * loafe . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * signi . beneplaciti . * vbique passim . * non. * that is , when one or moe words are wanting . * vvhen some words abound . * it is when vvords signifie more then shew for or seem . * coiunctio . * they inlarge the sense . * it is when the contrarie to that which was spoken is meant , it is used in slouting sometimes . * that is , the second foureteenth generation , mentioned in mat. . in vvhich place three fourteeene generations are set down * de iure . according to law or equitie . * that is , as fully finished , or as but in the finishing . vltimi ann● . * to vnderstand this , reade deut. . . these aduerbs and coniunctions i doe of purpose not translate , as being fittest in latin. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * rom. . * or general . * or specials and particulars of that kind or generall . * aduerb . any thing out of any thing , quidlibetè quolibet . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , he hath created . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , be hath possessed . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * euangelicè . * indefinenter . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * or , though but. * godly . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * sopitam fidem . isa. . , , , . * i. if it be limited and meant to them . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * improouing , confuting . * or gouernment of the familie , oiconomia . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * memoriter . * non verba , sed virtutem . * in verse . ecclesiastes, or, a discourse concerning the gift of preaching as it fals under the rules of art shewing the most proper rules and directions, for method, invention, books, expression, whereby a minister may be furnished with such abilities as may make him a workman that needs not to be ashamed : very seasonable for these times, wherein the harvest is great, and the skilful labourers but few / by john wilkins ... wilkins, john, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing w ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing w estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) ecclesiastes, or, a discourse concerning the gift of preaching as it fals under the rules of art shewing the most proper rules and directions, for method, invention, books, expression, whereby a minister may be furnished with such abilities as may make him a workman that needs not to be ashamed : very seasonable for these times, wherein the harvest is great, and the skilful labourers but few / by john wilkins ... wilkins, john, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing w ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread [ ], , [ ] p. printed by t.r. and e.m. for samuel gellibrand ..., london : . reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. index: p. [ ]-[ ] at end. eng preaching. theology, doctrinal. a r (wing w ). civilwar no ecclesiastes, or, a discourse concerning the gift of preaching as it fals under the rules of art. shewing the most proper rules and directio wilkins, john d the rate of defects per , words puts this text in the d category of texts with between and defects per , words. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - john latta sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion ecclesiastes , or , a discourse concerning the gift of preaching as it fals under the rules of art . shewing the most proper rules and directions , for method , invention , books , expression , whereby a minister may be furnished with such abilities as may make him a workman that needs not to be ashamed . very seasonable for these times , wherein the harvest is great , and the skilful labourers but few . the third edition . by john wilkins . d. d. cor. . . who is sufficient for these things ? london , printed by t. r. and e. m. for samuel gellibrand , at the ball in pauls church-yard . . to the reader . i have been encouraged to some enlargement of this treatise , in that part of it , which concerns the account of books and authors . there is here some addition to the several kinds of them . and because it would be of excellent use , if the many choise treatises upon particular subjects in divinity , were so distinctly reduced , that a man might have recourse to them upon any emergent occasion ; therefore i have here attempted something to this purpose , namely , to referre them unto the several heads in the analysis of divinity , towards the latter end of this book . the latine or greck tracts of the ancient fathers and other eminent writers , are already thus reduced under several heads in bolduanus , draudius , molanus , &c. by whose direction it is easie to finde the chief a●●●●rs or discourses in those languages upon any particular subject . the like is here endeavoured for our english treatises , which for their clearnesse and fulnesse in matters of practical divinity , are generally esteemed to be of special use and eminency . it cannot be expected but that the first attempt in this kinde , must needs be very defective . but it is easie for any one to alter , or adde , as his own better experience shall direct . i have now by an asterisk noted some of those commentators who are esteemed most judicious and useful . i did farther intend by some mark to have distinguished them , according to their several times & professions , whether fathers , rabbies , papists , lutherans , calvinists . the nature of their works and comments , whether more brief , by way of annotation ,   analysis or more large , by way of questions ,   common places , or doctrines , whereby younger students might be directed in the choice of their several kinds . but i am forced as yet to lay this aside , as being a businesse which will require more pains and leisure , then my other necessary employments can permit . ecclesiastes , or the gift of preaching . it is the end of all sciences and arts to direct men by certain rules unto the most compendious way in their knowledge and practice ; those things of which in our selves we have only some imperfect confused notions being herein fully and clearly represented to our view , from the discoveries that other men have made after much study and long experience . and there is nothing of greater consequence for the advancement of learning , then to find out those particular advantages which there are for the shortest way of knowing and teaching things in every profession . now amongst all other callings , this of preaching , being in many respects one of the most weighty and solemn , should therefore have its rules and canons , whereby we may be directed the easiest , readiest way for the practice of it . besides all those academical preparation s by the study of languages , sciences , divinity , with which men should be qualified , and predisposed for this calling , i say besides all these , there is a particular art of preaching , to which if ministers did more seriously apply themselves , it would extreamly facilitate that service , making it more easie to us , and more profitable to others . there are two abilities requisite in every one that will teach and instruct another : {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} a right understanding of sound doctrine ; and an ability to propound , confirm , and apply it unto the edification of others . and the first may be without the other . as a man may be a good lawyer , and yet not a good pleader ; so he may be a good divine , and yet not a good preacher . one chief reason why divers men , otherwise of eminent parts , are herein so slow and unskilful , is , because they have not been versed in this study , and are therefore unacquainted with those proper rules and directions , by which they should be guided in the attaining and exercise of this gift . it hath been the usual course at the university to venture upon this calling in an abrupt over-hasty manner . when schollers have passed over their philosophical studies , and made some little entrance upon divinity , they presently think themselves fit for the pulpit without any farther enquiry , as if the gift of preaching and sacred oratory were not a distinct art of it self . this would be counted a very preposterous course in other matters , if a man should presume of being an oratour because he was a logician , or to practise physick because he had learnt philosophy : and certainly the preheminence of this profession above others , must needs extreamly aggravate such neglect , and make it so much the more mischievous by how much the calling is more solemn . now there are several treatises of many learned men , both protestants and others , who have written particularly and largely upon this very subject , concerning the art of preaching , wherein they have laid down such various helps and rules , as they from their own practise and long experience have found most useful . among whom , these are some of the most eminent , and common . * bowles de pastore . hen. alsted . theologia prophetica , frid. baldvini institutio ministrorum . rich. bernard . the faithful shepheard . joh. clark . oratoriae sacrae {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . lamb . danaei methodus s. scripturae in concion●bus tractandae . hen. diest de ratione studii theologici . des. erasmi ecclesiastes . nichol . hemingius de pastore . barth. keche●●anus de rhetorica ecclefiastica . geor. laetus de ratione concionandi ad method . anglican . will. perkins concerning the art of prophesie . casp. strasonis technologia theologica . de methodo concionandi anonym. jo. segobiensis de praedicatione evangelica . abra. sculteti axiomata concionandi . will. zepperus de arte habendi conciones .   audiend●   besides these , there are above forty other authors , who have writ particularly upon this subject , recited by draudius in his bibliotheca classica under the head of concionatorum instructio , pag. . to which may be added the directions to this purpose so briefly and fully comprehended in the directory , besides those many other discourses wherein these things have been largely handled on the by , though not chiefly intended . in all which , many learned men have laid down various rules , which to them according to their several genius's and observations seemed most useful . and we must not doubt but that in this as well as in all other professions , every days experience may yeeld some farther advantage , by discovering yet more facile compendious directions to furnish a man for this calling . and that is the inquiry which is aimed at and attempted in this following discourse . this service of preaching may be considered under a double notion , as a duty . gift . it is here insisted upon only in the second sense , and may be thus described . 't is such an expertnesse and facility in the right handling and dividing the word of truth , as may approve us to be workmen that need not to be ashamed . it does require both spiritual abilities .   artificial   . such spiritual abilities as must be infused from above , whereby our judgment and affections shall be made experimentally acquainted with all those sacred truths , that we are to deliver unto others . the onely way for the attaining of these , is by prayer , an humble heart , and a holy life . . such artificial abilities as are to be acquired by our own industry . and these are either more general , as skill in all those arts and languages , which are required as predispositions . or more particular and immediate , for the act of preaching , or making sermons , to which the chief helps are these three ; method . matter . expression . each of these do contribute mutual assistance unto one another . a good method will direct to proper matter , and fitting matter will enable for good expression . by method i understand an art of contriving our discourses in such a regular frame wherein every part may have its due place and dependence : which will be a great advantage both to our selves . our hearers . . to our selves , and that both for invention and memory a man may more easily finde out things , when in stead of seeking for them at randome he can have direct recourse unto all those places and heads from whence they may be most naturally collected . and more easily retain them , when they are linked together and not scattered ; method being as a chain , in which if a man should let slip any one part , he may easily recover it again , by that relation and dependence which it hath with the whole . . and so for benefit of the hearers likewise , who may understand and retain a sermon with greater ●ase and profit , when they are before-hand acquainted with the general heads of matter that are discoursed of . 't is but a bad rule in alsteà , where he advises to conceal , & alter the method for variety sake . crypsis dispositionis tollit fastidium auditoris . this may be true of itching curious hearers , but not of such as regard their own profit and edification . an immethodical discourse ( though the materials of it may be precious ) is but as a ●eap , full of confusion and deformity ; the other , as a fabrick or building , much more excellent both for beauty and use . there might be divers kinds of methods prescribed , according as mens own fancies and the variety of subjects and occasions shall require . but that which our gravest divines by long experience have found most useful , is this of doctrine and use . this in the nature of it , is very easie , and therefore most natural , being generally applyable unto any subject . in the true latitude of it , 't is as full and comprehensive as any other , taking in all such notions as are any way useful or proper . in the branches and gradations of it , 't is very logical , putting homogeneous things together , handling generals first , and particulars after . the principal scope of a divine orator should be to teach clearly . convince strongly . perswade powerfully . sutable to these , the chief parts of a sermon are these three ; explication . confirmation . application . each of these may be farther subdivided and branched out according to this following analysis . . explication is either of the text by unfolding difficulties in the sense , for which we are to con●ider the phrase it self according to the originall translations . the cirumstances of the place . persons who , to whom . occasion . time . place . scope or end . context . the analogy of faith . other parallel or like scriptures . distinguishing ambiguous words . phrases . dividing of the text , which must not be needlesse . obscure . doctrines deduced from it , by clearing their inference . shewing the latitude of every truth . according to their severall branches . duty .   degrees . . confirmation by positive proofs from scripture , in notionall truths by direct affirmation . negation . evident consequence . practicall truths by precepts . examples . reason , to convince in doctrinall points from the nine topicks . cause , effect . subject . adjunct . dissentan . comparats . name . distribution . definitions . practicall truths from the two generall heads of necessity . equity . solution of such doubts and quaeries as are most obvious , and materiall . . application , which is either doctrinall for our information more generall in some truth to be acknowledged . didacticall instruction . elencticall confutation . more particular of our own estates to be examined by marks , which are commonly either effects . properties . practicall reproof , which hath two parts , disswasive from the aggravation of the sin . threats denounced . judgments executed . directive , wherein concerning impediments that hinder . means to promote , more remote . immediate . consolation by promises . experience . removing of scruples . exhortation , to be amplified by motives to excite the affections from profit . danger means to direct the actions , generall . speciall . besides those more essential parts recited in this scheme , which belong to the very nature and substance of a sermon ; there are other lesse principal parts also ( not to be neglected ) which concerne the external form of it : such as these ; preface . transitions . conclusion . the first thing to be entred upon in this fabrick or method , is the porch or preface , which is not always necessary in every common structure ; but only when some extraordinary occasion does require it , or by reason of some special reference , which the text may have to that particular time and auditory . and then it should be clear and p●rtinent , short as being a thing on the by , and such as may quicken attention unto the following discourse . the most general and effectual matter for a preface , is ( that which was so commonly used by the prophets of old ) to perswade the hearers that it is the word of god which is spoken to them , which concerns their everlasting happinesse , and is able to save their souls ; that the ministers do but stand in christs stead ; that our receiving or despising of them shall be reckoned as done unto christ himself : which being beleeved and considered , will be a strong engagement upon the hearers , unto those three qualifications which are the chief ends of prefacing , namely to make them favourable . teachable . attentive . the next thing to be done is the opening of the text , according to its proper sense and meaning ; to which purpose we may give some brief analytical explication of the chapter , or at least so much of it as may serve to clear the text , and shew the dependence of it on the coherent words . all scriptures are either manifest or cryptical and obscure . matters that are absolutely necessary to salvation , are exprest in the first of these . other truths whether historical , doctrinal , or practical , may be sometimes involved in doubtful difficult expressions . in the unfolding of which , we must observe ; that if the natural & most obvious signification of the words , do manifestly disagree with other perspicuous scriptures , then we are to seek for some other meaning , which must always be consonant with the words and other circumstances of the place . in the finding out of this , we are not so much to consult with our own fancies ; for no prophesie in scripture is of any private interpretation , but with the holy ghost himself , who best understands his own meaning . all difficult expressions should first be examined according to their original and most authentick translations , which will give much light to the true meaning of them . though it will be needlesse to mention any various readings , translations , or interpretations of scripture to a vulgar auditory , because it is apt to stagger them , and to raise doubts ; rather then to confirm and settle them ; but we should pitch upon that , which upon serious consultation , we conceive in our own judgments to be most congruous and pertinent . the circumstances of the place will help much to illustrate any difficulty of it . the rabbies have a saying , nulla est objectio in lege , quae non habet solutionem in latere , that is , there is not any doubt in the law , but may be resolved by the context . we must be careful that all our interpretations be agreeable with the analogy of faith , and other parallel scriptures . the consulting of these , will be a good means to preserve us from perverting the word of god by any dangerous heretical imposition . beware of that vain affectation of finding something new and strange in every text , though never so plain . it will not so much shew our parts ( which such men aim at ) as our pride , and wantonnesse of wit . these new projectors in divinity are the fittest matter out of which to shape , first a sceptick , after that a heretick , and then an atheist . there are divers texts that have a double sense , historical and literal . typical & allegorical . so those places concerning the brasen serpent , numb. . . iohn . . ionah in the whales belly , ionah . . matth. . . abraham two wives and sonnes , sarah and isaac , hagar and ishmael , gen. . galat. . . the law concerning the muzeling the oxe that treads out the corne , deut. . . cor. . . in all which there is some typical allusion primarily intended . allegorical interpretations may lawfully be used also , when there is no such natural reference , but meerly a fitnesse by way of similitude to illustrate any doctrine . saint paul gives example for this , cor. . , . ephes. . . but here we must observe these three qualifications ; there must be , raritas . concinnit as . utilitas . . we must use them sparingly and soberly . . they must be short and pertinent , not forced and farre-fetcht . . they must be usefull , not for aery and unprofitable notions , being more proper for illustration then for proof . it will be a great help for the understanding of the books of scripture , to know their several times , references , and order . the five books of moses are as the first bases , by which the whole frame of scripture may be more easily apprehended . the other historical books that follow will explain themselves : the psalms do most of them , in their occasions and historical grounds , referre to the books of samuel . the prophets are ordinarily divided into three ranks , those that prophesied before the captivity , who referre to the history in the books of kings and chronicles , especially the second book . those that prophesied in the captivity , concerning whose times , there is but very little mention in the historical parts of canonical scripture . those that prophesied after the captivity , unto whom the history of ezra and nehemiah hath some reference . and so in the new testament , the epistles do many of them referre unto the story of the acts of the apostles . as for the ranking and succession of the books in scripture , they were not writ in the same order as they are placed . but they are set down rather according to their bulk and largenesse , then their true order . . those that were before the captivity are to be reckoned according to this succession , obadiah in the reign of ahab . kings . . ionah   ieroboam . kings . . amos in the dayes of uzziah isaiah   iotham hosea   ahaz micah   hezekiah nahum     ioel about the time of manasseb habakkuk   iosiah zephaniah   iehoiakim ieremiah     . in the captivity there prophesied ezekiel   daniel . from the return out of captivity , till our saviours coming is reckoned yeers . about the yeer of this began haggai and ze●hariah , and not long after malachi . and so in the new testament though the larger epistles are placed first , yet they were not written so . 't is probable that they were composed according to this order , thess.   romans . corinth . tim. corinth . titus .   thess. philip . coloss. galat. ephes. hebr. philemon .   tim.   so for the canonical epistles , that of iames is thought to be written first , then those of peter , then iude , and lastly iohn . thus likewise for other particular books , that of the psalms , some conceive that the . should be first , where david doth stirre up and prepare himself to this work , of making psalms : o god , my heart is ready , i will sing and give praise . and the . psalm the last , because it concludes with this passage , the prayers of david are ended . the ordering of them is not jure divino , though it be of very great antiquity , for saint paul doth expresly quote the second psalm , act. . . the right apprehension of these general notions concerning the proper times and order of several books , may be one good help to the true interpretation of scripture . next to the unfolding of any abstruse and difficult sense , we are to consider likewise , the very words and phrases , amongst which , if there be any ambiguous , they must be distinguished and applied according to their proper signification in the text ; tropes and figures being explained in their natural meaning . as for the division of the text , it will be needlesse , unlesse either the explication of terms , or the deduction of doctrines from the several parts , do require it . that common practice of dissecting the words into minute parts and inlarging upon them severally , is a great occasion of impertinency and roving from the chief sense . the text having been thus unfolded , the next thing to be done is the inferring of observations from it , which should always follow from the words by a strong logical consequence . the wresting of scripture unto improper truths , may easily occasion the applying of them unto grosse falsehoods . these observations may be of several kinds , either mediate and more remote , immediate and principal . of the first kind are such as are raised from the occasion , coherence , manner , circumstances , order , denomination of the text ; as whether it be a precept , exhortation , threat , promise , petition , deprecation , similitude , &c. all which may afford several hints of instruction , and are not to be passed over without notice . though these points should be only touched at briefly on the by ; and those only insisted upon largely , which we conceive to be most agreeable unto the principal immediate scope of the holy ghost in that scripture . and these observations must be laid down in the most easie perspicuous phrase that may be , not obscured by any rhetorical or affected expressions ; for if the hearers mistake in that , all that follows will be to little purpose . the doctrine being mentioned ( if there be any necessity ) we may briefly clear the inference of it , by shewing its necessary dependence on the text . then ( if the matter be capable of it ) we may farther inlarge it in its several branches and degrees , by shewing the full latitude and extent of every truth or duty . the text and the doctrine being thus opened , we should in the next place descend to the confirmation of it . remembring always to connect these several parts by some plain and brief transition , that so the method may be the more perspicuous . now here are two sorts of proofs {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} .   {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . the quod sit , and cur sit , that 't is so , and why it is so . the first is properly from testimony , either divine . humane . divine testimony is either from some scripture precept .   example . . for precepts , it will be needlesse to heap up many proofs ; but 't is enough to suggest two or three of the most pertinent places , with some brief explication of them . . for examples , it is a rule , exempla magis movent imparia . there may be much advantage in the inequality of examples : lillies , sparrowes , pismires , heathens . testimonies of fathers , decrees of councels , consent of churches , confession of adversaries , may all be of good use if they are sutable to the matter and auditory . testimonies of heathen men may be proper to shew a truth agreeable unto natural light . though scripture can best inform us , what is true and false ; yet humane records can tell us what is new , and what is ancient . but here we must be carefull that we do not let hagar the handmaid out-brave her mistresse sarah : that we do not preferre bleer-eyed leah before beautifull rachel . to stuffe a sermon with citations of authors , and the witty sayings of others , is to make a feast of vinegar and pepper , which may be very delightfull being used moderately as sauces , but must needs be very improper and offensive to be fed upon as dyet . the reasons of the doctrine should be such as may convince the judgment concerning the reasonablenesse of any truth or duty , which are herein distinguishable from the motives , belonging to the application , because these refer properly to the convincing of the judgment , those to the exciting of the affections . in practicall matters , the generall heads from whence the reasons are deducible , are these two , necessity ,   equity : which are capable of very many subordinate branches . in other notionall doctrinall points , the topicks , to which we are directed in logick and rhetorick , may be good helps for the invention of proper arguments . when we have confirmed the proposition by positive proofs , the next thing to be done is the removing of such doubts and queries , either from carnall reason , or ambiguous scriptures , as are most naturally emergent , and proper . not that any evident position or consequence from scripture does need all this proof in it self , but the better to instruct us in the agreement and harmony of sacred writ , and the more powerfully to convince the judgment , which in some cases will be apt to find out shifts and evasions , whereby to delude it self and escape conviction , whereas we shall embrace any doctrine , with a stronger assent , and rest upon it with the whole bent of the affections , when it comes in upon us with a full stream of evidence . but here we are to remember that the too long insisting on a confessed truth , is apt to nauseat and flat the attention . having thus passed over the doctrinall part in the explication and confirmation of the words , we are in the next place to descend unto the application of them , which is the life and soul of a sermon , whereby these sacred truths are brought home to a mans particular conscience and occasions , and the affections ingaged unto any truth or duty . the application is frequently mentioned by severall authors , according to a double acception ; sometimes it is taken more strictly , as it is distinguished from the uses , and refers onely to those particular passages of them , which do more especially concerne the present time and auditory . sometimes it is taken more largely , as it comprebends all the uses that are inferred from the doctrine . and so i understand it in this place . in the inlarging of this we are to observe this caution , that the several heads or uses we are to insist upon , must not here be handled , in a generall notionall way , as in the doctrinall parts , but in such a home and applicatory manner , as may have some peculiar reference unto the hearers . the cheif rules or canons that concerne this part are these two . . every scripture does affirm , command , threaten , not only that which is expressed in it , but likewise all that which is rightly deducible from it , though by mediate consequences . . an example hath the force of a rule . all of them being written for our learning . but then we must be carefull to examine and discern whether the example be extraordinary or ordinary , according to which the application must be properly made . the apostle tels us that the whole scripture is given by inspiration from god , and is profitable {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , for doctrine , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , for redargution , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , for correction , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , for instruction in righteousnesse , that the man of god may be perfect , being perfectly instructed in every good worke , tim. . . in that place all the uses to which scripture may be applied , are briefly set down . application is either doctrinall .   practicall . doctrinal application , is for our information in some truth to be known or beleeved , which must follow from the doctrine before delivered and confirmed , by a natural logical consequence , as that doctrine does from the text . and this is of two kinds , didactical .   elenctical . . didacticall , in some positive truth , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , which is commonly stiled , a use of information , and should consist of such pertinent doctrinall truths , as will most properly follow from the observation : in the deducing of these it would be an endlesse businesse to take in all those inferences that are remote or collaterall : but we should pitch upon some few that are more principal and immediate . where those logical directions may be usefull , concerning the collecting , . of a generall from a speciall , as rom. . , . . the lesse from the greater , as ●ohn . . rom. . . . the greater from the lesse . cor. . , . . the effect from the case . heb. . . . the cause from the effect . ●ohn . . &c. . elencticall , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , in some controverted point , which is usually called a use of confutation , for the refuting of such erroneous positions as do subvert the truth . where it will be needlesse to raise up any old obsolete errors , as now lie dead and do not trouble the church : but we should take notice only of such as being pertinent to the subject in hand , do most infect the present times and places wherein we live . and here we ought to be specially carefull that we manage these polemicall discourses , . with solid pressing arguments , making our answers as clear as the objections ; for if these be plain , and those perplexed , in stead of confuting we shall rather confirm the error . . with much meeknesse and lenity in differences , not fundamental , tim. . . soft words and hard arguments being the most effectuall way to convince . another part of this applicatory information may be for the discovery of our own particular estate and conditions , in regard of our assent unto any truth or practice of any duty , where we are to try our selves by marks or signes , and these for the most part are in the nature of effects , properties , which are the surest demonstrations of the nature of any thing . practicall application is either , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} .   {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . . for correction of manners , commonly stiled a use of reproof , terror , dehortation , to disswade and fright men from any sinfull course . in the urging of this , there is much prudence to be exprest in distinguishing betwixt sins of infirmity , and sins of wilfulnesse and frowardnesse ; and accordingly proportioning the severity of our reproofs . this is generally to be observed , that in all reprehensions , we must expresse rather our love then our anger , and strive rather to convince then to exasperate . though , if the matter do require any speciall indignation , it must be the zeal of a displeased friend , rather then the bitternesse of a provoked enemy . 't is too much levity to check men in an ironicall geering way , and 't is too much rashnesse to reprove men in a furious revengefull manner . this use should be more especially directed against those particular sins of the times and places wherein we live . and because in it self , it may be very displeasing unto the guilty hearers , which will much prejudice the power and operation of it ; we should therefore sweeten it by some gentle insinuations , wherein it might appear that it proceeds from our affection and care of their welfare . that there is a necessity of insisting upon it , both from our duties , and their danger . the proper heads for amplification of this use are twofold , disswasive . directive . . disswasive may have these three heads . first , the agrravation of the sinne . secondly , the threats denounced against it . thirdly , the judgments executed upon it . all which are further capable of many subordinate amplifications , by comparing one sinne , with others that are like or lesse . by mentioning the evill effects , consequences , adjuncts , facility , or difficulty , indignity , or any other argument that may breed in us shame and detestation of the sinne , compassion of our own selves , repentance for our offences past , and greater vigilancy for the future . . the directive part , should mention the impediments that hinder , and such means or helps whereby we may be inabled to avoid and overcome any sinne . 't is not enough for the physitian to inveigh against the malignity or danger of a disease , but his chief care must be , to direct unto the remedy and cure of it . and for this the prescriptions must be various , according to the severall kinds of offences . but this directive part is reducible also under the use of exhortation , only here is the difference , that in this place it does properly belong to disswasion , in the other to perswasion . . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , or instruction in righteousnesse unto every good work , may include consolation exhortation . . a use of consolation is , when we apply the comforts that arise from any doctrine unto the particular state and consciences of our hearers . this is one main end of the scriptures , which were written for our learning , that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope . and it should be the speciall care of a minister , to attend {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , unto consolation , ( as that word may signifie ) like a wise physitian to apply lenitives and cordials , where the condition of the patient does require it , as well as corrosives and purges . this use may be amplified by these three heads . . by the promises that are made in scripture . . by the experience of others . . by removing of such doubts and scruples , as an afflicted soul might suggest . in all afflictions whether outward or inward , we should endeavour to chear up the faith of the dejected hearer , by proposing sutable comforts , by raising his thoughts from sense to faith , from present things to future . pressing upon him the consideration of gods wise providence , by which all things are disposed for the best . his sure promises in christ , by whom we may certainly enjoy plentifull redemption and eternall glory . and though for the present the way of piety may seem to be full of trouble and opposition , yet 't is most safe in the issue , and the day of redemption does draw nigh , when those that are good shall be delivered from all their sufferings , and every man shall receive according to his work . . exhortation , is for the exciting and quickning of our affections unto any grace or duty . 't is so principall a part of preaching , that acts . . all that was to be spoken is called exhortation . the cheif end of an orator is to perswade , ( say the philosophers ) finis oratoris est persuasio . and therefore that preacher , who in his discourses does only flourish in generall notions , and does not drive at some particular argument , endeavouring to presse upon his auditory , the beleife or practise of some truth or duty , is like an unwise fisher , who spreads his net to the empty aire , were he cannot expect any successe of his labours . this use hath two common heads of amplification , motives , to perswade . means , to direct . . motives should be such , as do most properly and powerfully work upon the affections , and therefore are derivable from those two generall places , of . benefit in doing it . honestum .     utile .     iucundum . . hurt or danger in neglecting it . malum .     inutile .     amarum . which are capable of very many subordinate branches , and these may sometimes be the more effectually pressed , by adding to them some affectionate conjurements and obsecrations , like those of the blessed apostle , ephes. . . i beseech you brethren by the mercies of god . tim. . . i charge thee before god , and the lord iesus christ , who shall judge the quick and the dead , &c. . means or directions , should consist of such particulars , as may best conduce to the attaining of any grace , or the performance of any duty . and these may be either , . generall ; as , prayer , seeking it from god who is the foundation of all good . setting apart some solemn time for our more particular enquiry after it . improving our abilities and opportunities to this purpose , &c. . more speciall , according as the nature of severall subjects shall require , and scripture or experience direct . these are the chief uses to which scripture may be applyed . they are frequently mentioned under more and different names , but they are all reducible to these heads : it is not necessary they should be all insisted upon in every sermon , but only such of them as may be most sutable to the text , and seasonable to the time and auditory . the conclusion should consist of some such matter as may engage the hearers to a serious remembrance and consideration of the truths delivered , that they may revolve upon them , and be carefull to renew that impression , which has thereby been made upon their souls by conference and meditation . to which purpose , as the milder affections , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , do best sute with the introduction , which must insinuate into the love and attention of the hearers ; so {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , more eager and vehement affections will best become the conclusion , as supposing then that we have wonne the cause we did contend for , convinced and perswaded the auditory beyond all opposition . and therefore here it will be proper to recapitulate some of the most effectuall arguments , which may leave the hearers moved and stirred up in their affections . thus much briefly concerning the most easie method and true logick of a sermon , which was the first thing proposed to be discussed , and being rightly understood , may be a very great help to facilitate this service of preaching . the next generall head to be insisted upon is , concerning the invention of matter , where there are two things considerable ; . the seasonablenesse of it to the time and auditory . . the pertinency of it to the text , or subject we are to treat of . the first of these must be left to the prudence of the minister in distinguishing of times and emergencies , in applying himself to the severall conditions and necessities of his hearers ; whether they are to be taught and instructed in some necessary truth , or to be excited unto some necessary duty ; to which purpose he must consider , whether the generality of his hearers be either ignorant or knowing , whether enemies to religion , or professors of it , whether meerly formall , or truly pious , whether more chearfull and zealous , or more cold and sluggish : according to which variety , his doctrine and expressions must be variously suited . to use the same matter and manner in all auditories , is as if a shoo-maker should make all his ware of an equall size for children and men , great and little , there being as much difference betwixt the inward gifts and necessities , as betwixt the outward statures . as in other invitations we carve that to the guests which is most suitable to their severall palats and appetites : so in these spirituall feasts , we should be carefull to fit our preparations unto the capacity and edification of the hearers . this is the meaning of the holy ghost , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , rightly to divide the word of truth , when like a faithfull steward he does proportion his dispensations according to the exigencies of the family , when like a wise physitian he does fit his prescriptions according to the severall necessities of his patients . this is to have the tongue of the learned , which knows how to speak a word in due season . . the matter must be pertinent and naturall unto the subject we are to insist upon ; for want of skill in the invention of this , many men ( especially young beginners ) are very apt to complain of much drynesse and slownesse in their composures , and to take any hint of flying out into impertinent amplifications , not being able to inlarge themselves , and keep close to their text . now there is a threefold remedy against this : prayer . reading . meditation . by the first we must be prepared and directed , both in our judgments and affections . by the second we may inform and furnish our selves with materials . by the third we may digest them into the most proper way for the edification of others . lectio inquirit , oratio postulat , meditatio invenit , contemplatio degustat , ( saith a father , ) prayer does desire , reading does enquire , study and meditation do discover and digest . . prayer . that god would direct and inable us for the particular service that lies upon us . it was a usuall saying of luther , benè orasse est benè studuisse ; he alwayes found himself in best temper for study , when he had first composed his thoughts , and raised up his affections by prayer : and certainly the weightinesse of the service may justly deserve this preparation . for if queen esther , if nehemiah , being to speak unto an earthly king for the temporall safety of their people , did first prepare themselves this way , much more then should ministers , who are to be embassadors from the great god concerning that weighty businesse of mens eternall salvations . . reading . it was the apostles advice to timothy , tim. . . give attendance to reading , and he sayes , that it is the study of the scriptures , that must make the man of god perfect , throughly furnished , tim. . . if this were necessary in those primitive times , when men were extraordinarily inspired with speciall gifts : much more now , when we cannot exspect any immediate infusion , but must apply our selves unto the naturall proper means of attaining any ability . . meditation and study , tim. . . meditate on these things , give thy self wholly to them ; {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , be in them , which phrase implies much intention and industry in our studies . demosthenes would have such a one branded for a pernicious man to the common-wealth , who durst propose any thing publikely which he had not before-hand seriously pondered . what impudence is it then in the great businesse of salvation , when a man appears before the church , angels , god himself , to discourse in a loose irreverent manner , so as to nauseat and flat the devotion , and attention of the hearers , to prostitute the esteem and authority of that sacred ordinance . let such rash persons consider , qualis sit res ovile christi , quam pulchra & deo grata fit ovium christi societ as , in cujus medio dominus ille est , cui sol & luna famulantur , cui adsunt ministri ejus millia millium & decies centena millia ; quantae molis est regnum christi erigere , & satanae palatia demoliri , &c. but now because amongst those helps of invention which fall under the rules of art , this of reading is one of the principall , therefore it will deserve a more large and particular consideration . there are two things which in our reading and study may be of great advantage . . good books . . a right method and series of matter to be first and most exactly inquired into . there is no externall help more effectuall to direct a man unto pertinent usefull matter , upon all subjects and occasions , then a weli contrived library , whe●ein upon any emergent doubt or difficulty , he may have recourse unto the advice of other grave and learned men , who ( it may be ) have bestowed a great part of their time and study , in the resolution of that particular businesse which he hath occasion to inquire into . there are many men whose naturall parts would extremely improve and grow very eminent , if they had but the knowledge and help of such authors , as are most suitable to their genius and imployment , whereas on the other side their abilities are much damped and kept low , whilest they are confined only to a scant ill chosen library . there is as much art and benefit in the right choyce of some books with which we should be most familiar , as there is in the election of other friends or acquaintance with whom we may most profitably converse . and this knowledge of books ; as it is in it self a very specious part of learning , making oftentimes more pompous shew then the knowledge of things , so is it likewise of very great use and advantage . for the attaining of this , the most proper effectuall way is by our own study and experience in the works of severall authors ; but because that is a businesse of vast industry and much time , scarce consistent with the frequent returnes of publike service required of a constant preacher , unlesse he be before-hand qualified for this , by his education and leisure at the university ; therefore there is another help to expedite our enquiry in this kind , namely , the perusall of such books as do give a particular account of all authors , the times when they lived , the works they have published , with the several subjects they have insisted upon ; their editions , translations , corruptions , their esteem and authority ; of which kind there are severall writers , both protestants and papists . such are these discourses : pauli bolduani bibliotheca theologica . georg. draudii bibliotheca classica , eufebius de scriptoribus ecclesiasticis . gesneri biblioth. cum simleri supplemento . hieronymus de scriptoribus ecclesiast . fabiani iustiniani index universalis . johan . molani biblioth. materiarum . photii biblioth. possevini apparatus sacri . sexti senensis biblioth trithemius de scriptoribus ecclesiasticis . dav. tossani synopsis de patribus . gilberti voetii biblioth. theolog. amongst whom there are some that go by an alphabeticall order of the authors names , as photius , sextus senensis , possevine , &c. others observe an alphabeticall order in setting down the severall matters and subjects they insist upon , as bolduanus , draudius , gesner , iustinianus , &c. so that if a man would know either what subject any particular authors have treated upon , or what authors have treated particularly upon any subject , he may in them see references to this purpose . these are esteemed the most advantageous helps for the understanding of books in generall : but more particularly the authors which are most proper and usefull for the study of a divine , are reducible to these three heads . those which concern the study either of scripture .   the body of divinity .   antiquity . the understanding of scripture being one of the chief businesses of a minister to which all his other studies are subordinate ; 't is to be supposed therefore in the first place that he is provided with the old and new testaments , both in their originals and most authentick translations . the chief translations of the bible may be distinguished into those which are either in the learned language .   vulgar   the translations of the old testament into the learned languages , are chiefly of five heads . . into chalde , commonly called the targum or chalde paraphrase , which in the historicall books do , for the most part render the true sence of the originall ; but in the hagiographa is exceeding full of mistakes , and do seldome come near the right meaning . . into greek , the chief of which is the septuagint by the interpreters , ( as the tradition goes ) which hath been alwayes esteemed ofgreat authority and repute . the other great translations by aquila , symmachus and theodosio , are now lost , excepting only some few fragments of them which yet remaine . . into arabick , this translation hath been formerly published onely for some parts of the bible as the pentateucb , psalmes , and is by some learned men rejected as being ignorantly done , not from the originall , but out of some other translation and by some corrupt copy . it hath since been published for the whole bible in the king of france his late edition . . into syriake . this hath been esteemed for genuine and faithfull . . into latine , of which version there are severall kindes , but the chief of them are these five . . the vulgar commonly ascribed to st. hierom , though there be great reason to doubt of it . . pagnines translation , which is of good antiquity and esteem , published anno dom. . altered by arias montanus in the interlineary bible . . the tigurine translation , begun by leo iuda , and finished by other reformed divines , anno dom. . published by robert stephens , . with notes annexed which he ascribes to vatablus . . the translation of sebastian castalio , which is for the most part very elaborate and subtile , but not without too much affectation of elegance , published first anno dom. . . the latine version which is in most common use amongst us , being performed by those learned men , fran. iunius , and eman. tremelius , with very great diligence and judgment . the translation of the new testament into the learned languages , are either into syriack . latine . . the syriack is of good antiquitie and esteem , but was heretofore defective in some books , namely the d . and d. epistle of john , the d . of peter , iude and the apocalypse , which have been lately supplied by mr. pocock . . the latine translations , are chiefly of three kinds , namely . . the vulgar . . erasmus . . beza , which are all commonly known , and in their severall kinds of good repute . now for the translations of the bible into our own vulgar tongue , there are some of these so ancient as henry the th his time , by mr. tindall and matthewes ; but these translations were not so much from the originall hebrew and greek , as from some other latine version , and therefore are not esteemed of any great authority . the english translations that have been of most common use and greatest repute , are these three . . the geneva translation , so stiled because it was finished in that place by some english exiles in queen maries time , being first published , anno dom. . . the bishops bible in the beginning of queen elizabeths reigne , by arch-bishop parker and others , which because it was not so exact and carefully done , too often following the greek rather then the hebrew , and so liable to divers mistakes , ( as may appear in the reading psalmes of the leiturgie , ) therefore king iames caused another most exact translation to be made of it in his time , which is by way of distinction called . the kings bible , being that which is now in common use amongst us . the various editions of the bible in the learned languages , have been so multiplied , that 't is not easie ( if possible ) to recite them . amongst those that are esteemed either of greatest antiquity , elegance , or correctednesse , i still mention some of the chief . . the hebrew with other translations annexed is of severall kinds and editions . the complutensian in spaine containing the hebrew , greek , latine , together with the targum upon the pentateuch , in sixe tomes fol. anno dom. . munsters edition with his latine version , and some notes out of the rabines , printed at basil. anno dom. . the king of spaines bible , printed at antwerp , . in . tomes fol. containing the hebrew text , the septuagint , the chalde paraphrase and vulgar , with a latine translation of the and targum . and for the new testament , the originall greek , the vulgar and syriack versions , , together with a latine translation of the syriack by guido boderianus . besides an interlineary bible and a large apparatus . all very elegantly and correctedly printed . vatablus his edition in vol. fol. . containing the hebrew , the septuagint and latine . the king of france his bible , lately printed at paris , containing all that is in the king of spains edition , excepting onely the interlineary bible and the apparatus , and having further added the samaritan pentateuch and a translation of it , a syriack translation of the old-testament , and an arabick translation of the whole bible , with latine translations to each of them . a very pompous magnificent work , had the corrector bestowed as much diligence and skill , as the publishers did cost . . the edition of the hebrew text without translations , are likewise of divers kinds . by plantine with much truth and exactnesse both in fol. o — o — with and without points at severall times . by robert stephens at paris in o in a very fair large character , and after very elegantly and most correctedly in o . by hutter in a faire elegant character , which distinguisheth the radicall and servile , the deficient and quiescent letters . hamburgh . . by buxtorfe , with large rabinicall notes and comments . anno dom. . . the septuagint distinct from the originall text , is printed at rome , and after , both at frankford and paris with a latine translation , and the fragments of the old greek interpreters , aquila symmacus and theodosio , which fragments may likewise be had distinct in drusius his fragmenta veterum , augmented with severall other explications and annotations of his own . . the new testament for the cheif edition of it hath been mentioned before , besides which there are very many others that are commonly known . next to these there are some other discourses that in their severall kinds may be very usefull . amongst these some are . preparatory . . principall and more direct . . those may be stiled preparatory , which lay down rules and directions for the profitable reading , and right interpretation of scripture ; such as these . ferdin . de escalante , clypeus concionatorum . wolfang . franzius de interp . s. script . salom . glassii philologia sacra . and. hyperius de s. script . lectione . flacii illyrici clavis scripturae , pars secunda . jo. euseb. nierembergius de origine scripturae . and. rivet . isagoge . nicol. serrarii prolegom. . biblica . ludov. de tena isagoge . michaelis waltheri officina biblica . . the books that do more principally and directly tend to make a man a good textuary , may be reckoned up under these three heads : . concordances . . commentaries . . reconcilers . . concordances are of very great use , both for the unfolding of difficult texts , by referring to parallel scriptures , and to inlarge upon any theme with the most proper quotations , as also for the directing of us unto such texts of which we have onely some confused imperfect remembrance . these are of two kinds , for words .   things . concordances for words are those which reckon up the severall places wherein such a word is mentioned . these are either for the originall old testam. hebrew . buxtorfius . chaldee , in some places of dan. & isa. martin . trostius : n. testam. in greek . hen. stephanus . lucii lexicon . n. t. translations old testament into greek by the septuagint . conrad . kircherus . n. testam. into syriack . mart. trostius . both into latine . hen , stephanus . english . cotton . newman . a concordance of things does summe up all the pertinent scriptures unto any particular head or common place , which drive at the same sense , though it may be of different words . some of these are in latine , as , allotti thesaurus . berchorii index moralis . pet. eulardi concordantiae morales . marlorati thesaurus . enchridion . dan. tossani index . georgii viti doctrinale bibliorum . there are some others of this kinde in our english tongue : mr. bernards thesaurus biblicus . the fort-royall of the scriptures . clarks holy oyle . wilsons dictionary . unto these may be added those treatises that handle the severall acceptions of words and phrases in scripture : as flacii illyrici clavis scripturae . mr. leigh's critica sacra . petri ravanelli bibliotheca sacra . commentators are either upon some particular matter .   books . those i stile commentators upon matter who do insist upon the explaning of some peculiar subject , dispersedly contained in the severall parts of scripture . such are those that handle , scripture philosophy , as , valesius de sacra philosophia . levinus lemnius de plantis sacris . franc. rueus de gemmis sacris . wolf . franzius hist. animalium sacr. joan. bustamantinus de animalibus s. scripturae . scripture chronology , as , hen. alstedii chronologia sacra . hugh broughtons consent . laur. codomanni annales s. scripturae . mr. lightfoot , his harmony . sr. walter raleighs history . jac. saliani annales , à creatione ad christum . jos. scaliger de emendatione temporum . scripture geography , or topography , as , jo. adamannus de situ terrae sanctae . * christ . adricomii theatrum terrae sanctae . david chytraei , itinerarium totius s. scrip.   chronic.   mr. fuller , holy land . the travels of the patriarchs . scripture measures and weights , as , boizardus . dav. chytraeus . rob. cenalis . pet. ciaconius . epiphanius . hulsius . johan . mariana . occho . the proverbiall expressions either used or alluded to in scripture , or adagialia sacra . as , martin delrius . johan . drusius . andreas schottus . joach . zehner . the allegories in scripture , isidor . hispalensis de alleg. hieron. laureti silva alleg. totius scripturae ▪ ottomarus luscinius . roberti holcot alleg. utriusque testamenti . the schemes and tropes used in scripture . beda . cassiodorus . flacius illyricus , in parte secunda . barthol . westhemeri tropi insigniores ex utroque testamento . there might be divers other the like subjects instanced in , but these are some of the chief : now in all difficulties that referre to any of these heads , a man may expect more full satisfaction from those authors that purposely insist upon them , then from others who do more promiscuously comment at large . commentators upon the books of scripture are very numerous , and of various kinds : i shall mention only some of those whose names are most common and most eminent . upon the whole bible . * english annotat. hugo cardinalis . * deodate annot. * hugo grotius . io. de la hay . nicol. lyranus . mariana . steph. menochius . * pareus . conrad . pellicanus . pisc●tor . eman. sa. iacob . tir●nus . on the pentateuch . hen. alstedius . benedict . aretius . * henry ainsworth . iac. bonfrerius . io. brentius . tho. de vio cajetanus . * iohan. calvinus . seraph . cappo à porrecta . catena veterum . david chytraeus . joh. drusius . * paulus fagius . ferus . gregorius magnus . arth. jackson . cornel. à lapide . oleaster . fab. paulutius , piscatoris questiones . * august . steuchus eugubinus . * theodoret. * tostatus . on genesis . tho. aquinas . augustinus . jo. chrysostom . cyrillus alexan. mart. delrio . benedict . fernandez . ioh. gerhardus . io. de la hay . d. hieronymus . mart. lutherus . aug. marlorat . * pet. martyr . wolf . musculus . ioh. mercerus . marinus mersenius . origenes . david pareus . ben. pererius . * and. rivet . victorin . strigelius . * an. willet . lod. ystella . hulder . zuinglius . upon exodus . jo. de la hay . iansenius in . prior cap. arth. lake in cap. . * lorinus . christoph . pelargus . balthazar paez . in . p. cap. benedict . pererius . in . p. cap. * and rivet . * an. willet . hulder . zuinglius . on leviticus . cyrillus alexand. * jo. lorinus . origenes . christoph . pelargus . pet. serranus . * an. willet . on numbers . guil. attersoll . francis . iunius . * iohan. lorinus . origenes . christ . pelargus . on deuteronomy . * io. lorinus . mart. luther . christoph . pelargus . august . de quiros . * jo. wolfius . on josuah . augustinus . bonfrerius . brentius . cajetanus . * calvinus . carthusianus . chytraeus . drusius . jo. ferus . arth. jackson . lavaterus . corn . à lapide . jo. mayer . * and. masius . cosm. magalian●s . arias montanus . origenes . * nicol. serrarius . rupertus . * theodoret. * tostatus . hugo de s. victore . * io. wolfius . on judges . augustinus . iac. bonfrerius . io. brentius . mart. bucer . tho. de vio. caietanus . chytraeus . io. drusius . io. ●erus . corn . à lapide . ludo . lavater . jo. mayer . * pet. martyr . a●ias montanus . cosma . magalianus . pellicanus . rich. rogers . nic. serrarius . * theodoret. * tostatus . hugo de s. victore . on ruth . gab. acosta . ven. beda . iac. bonfrerius . io. brentius . tho. à vio caietanus . chytraeus . ioh dr●sius . lud. lavater . corn . à lapide . jo. mayer . pellicanus . * gasp. sanctius . nic. serrarius . topshell . * tostatus . * theodoret. hugo de s. victore . on samuel . io. brentius . tho. de vio caietanus . * io. calvinus . dion . carthusianus . ioh. drusius . hieronym●s . corn . à lapide . * pet. martyr . mendoza . jo. mayer . origenes . pellicanus . nic. serrarius . * gasp. sanctius . victor . strigelius . * theodoret. * tostatus . hugo de s. victore . * an. willet . on the kings . io. brentius . cajetanus . carthusianus . io. drusius . corn . à lapide . * pet. martyr . jo. mayer . origenes . pellicanus . nic. serrarius . * gasp. sanctius . victor . strigelius . * theodoret. * tostatus . hugo de s. victore . on the chronicles . caietanus . carthusianus . hieronymus . corn . à lapide . lud. lavater . jo. mayer . nic. serrarius . * gasp. sanctius . * theodoret. * tostatus . on ezra . ven. beda . io. brentius . cajetanus . lavàterus . corn . à lapide . jo. mayer . * gasp. sanctius . hugo de s. victore . on nehemiah . beda . brentius . cajetanus . ferus . à lapide . lavaterus . jo. mayer . mr pilkinton . nic. serrarius . on esther . brentius . caietanus . drusius . io. fevardentius . lavaterus . corn . à lapide . jo. mayer . pet. merlinus . raba●●s maurus . nic. serrarius . * gasp. sanctius . on job . ambrosius . tho. aquinas . augustinus . beda ioh. bolducus . io. brentius . * ioh. calvinus . * jos. caryl . catena . graec. doct. io. cocceus . balth. . corderius . ioh. drusius . io. ferus . gregorius mag. lud. lavaterus . * io. mercerus . pet. merlinus . origenes . * io. de pineda . * aug. steuchus eugubinus . * gasp. sanctius . on the p●almes . ant. angelius . hen. ainsworth . alex. de ales. amesius . tho. aquinas . augustinus . beda . bellarminus . fred. baldvinus . bonaventura . bucerus . cajetanus . * calvinus . carthusianus . catena graec. doct. euthymius . eusebius caesariensis . * io. foord . gilb. genebrardus . gregorius m. gregorius nissenus . hieronymus . corn . iansenius . pet. lombardus . * io. lorinus . * mollerus . * marloratus . ar. montanus . * wolf . musculus . * muis. rob. rollocus . abra. scultetus . theodoretus . viccars . on the proverbs . ro. baynus . ven. beda . cajetanus . * tho. cartwright . jo. dod. hieronymus . rob. holcot . iansenius . jermin . a lapide . lud. lavater . luther . melacton . * io. mercerus . * salazar . on ecclesiastes . beda . bonaventura . io. brentius . hugh broughton . * tho. cartwright . cajetanus . io. ferus . tho. granger . hieronymus . iansenius . lavaterus . lorinus . lutherus . * mercerus . melancton . * will . pemble . io. de pineda . fra. sanchez . serrarius . tolle●arius . hugo de s. victore . on the canticles . hen. ainsworth . hen. alsted . anselmus . tho. aquinas . pet. arboreus . beda . bernardus . tho. brightman . carthusianus . catena grae. patrum , jo. cotton . foliot . mart. delrius . * mich. ghisler . gregorius m. gregorius nissen . hieronymus . lutherus . io. mercerus . origenes . de ponte . * gasp. sanctius . paulus sherlogus . * theodoretus . on isaiah . tho. aquinas . did. alvarez . beda . io. brentius . hen. bullingerus , cajetanus . * calvinus . cyrillus alex. euseb. caesari . * fran. forerius . hieronymus . cor. à lapide . lutherus . * marloratus . hen. mollerus . * wolf . musculus . mich. de palatio . hect. pintus . august . de quiros . * gasp. sanctius . abra. scultetus . on jeremiah . tho. aquinas . io. brentius . * io. calvinus . a castro . * pet. à figueiro . * mich. ghislerius . hieronymus . a lapide . maldonatus . origenes , * sanctius . * theodoretus . on the lamentations of jeremiah . gab. acosta . tho. aquinas . bonaventura . broughton . * io. calvinus . mart , delrius . ferus . * pet. à figueiro . hieronymus . cor. à lapide . io. maldonatus . * pet. martyr . melancton . origenes . hector pintus . * gasp. sanctius . * theodoret. * dan. tossanus . john udall . hugo de s. victore . hulder . zuinglius . on ezekiel . * calvinus . carthasianus . georgius mag. hieronymus . iunius . a lapide . lavaterus . maldonatus . origenes . hector pintus . * amand , polanus . pellicanus . * gasp. sanctius . pet. serranus . * theodoretus . * villalpandus . steph , zegedinus . on daniel . hen. alsted . tho. aquinas . broughton . bullingerus . * calvinus . carthusianus . hieronymus . fran. iunius . cor. a lapide . lutherus . maldonatus . melancton . * parker . ben. pererius . hect. pintus . amand. polanus . rollocus . * sanctius . * theodoretus . io. wingandus . * an. willet . on the minor prophets . beda . * calvinus . carthusianus . cyrillus alex. drusius . steph. fabritius . pet. à figueiro , hieronymus . hemmingius . cor. à lapide . arias montanus . fran. rivera . * gasp. sanctius . * io. tarnovius . * theodoretus . on hosea . io. brentius . hiero. guadalupensis . lutherus . * io. mercerus . hen. mollerus . da. pareus . am. polanus . * and. rivet . imman . tremelius . theophylactus . * hieron. zanchius . on joel . johan . faber . lutherus . * mercerus . pareus . hugo de s. victore . on amos. io. brentius . lutherus . * io. mercerus . pareus . mat. quadratus . ruffinus . on obadiah . mar. lutherus . * mercerus . edw. marbury . * io. rainoldus . hugo de s. victore . on jonah . * bp. abbot . gab. acosta . pet. baro. io. brentius . jo. fevardentius , fran. iunius . * bp. king . lutherus . * jo. mercerus . jo. treminius . theophylactus . on micah . io. brentius . * da. chytraeus . lutherus . on nahum . * da. chytraeus . * ludo . crocius . lutherus . hector pintus . theophylactus . io. winkelmannus . on habakkuk . * chytraeus . lutherus . theophylactus . winkelmannus . on zephaniah . * martin . bucerus . lutherus . io. winkelmannus . on haggai . frid. baldvinus . jo. ecchius . phil. melancton . david pareus . winkelmannus . on zechariah . frid. baldvinus . * da. chytraeus . lutherus . phil , melancton . * will . pemble . jo. de reyroles . balth. . willius . on malachi . gab. acosta . frid. baldvinus . da. chytraeus . io. martinus . melancton . hen. mollerus . amand. polanus . aug. de quiros . will. sclater . * rich. stock . winkelmannus . balth , willius . upon the new testament . ben. aretius . * theod. beza . * tho. cartwright . carthusianus . drusius annot. * erasmus . fulk . gregorius m. * heinsius . fla. illyricus . cor. à lapide . marloratus . zach. muthesius . alph. salmeron . dan. tossanus . upon the gospels . tho. aquinas , ben. aretius . augustinus . sebast. barradius . io. brentius . * luc. brugensis . mart. bucerus . cajetanus . * calvinus . * cartwright . * chemnitius . catena au●ea . ad. contzen . lud. de deiu . io. gerson . nic. go ranus . hie●onymus . * cor. iansenius . maldonatus . jo. mayer . arias montanus . aloysins novarinus . guido de perpiniano . rupertus . alphon. salmeron . scultetus . theophylactus . dan. tossanus . jo. trap . hugo de s. victo●e . on matthew . anselmus . aquinas . alphon. avendanus . augustinus . * ferus . rod . gualtherus . cl●ud . guilliaudus . hieronymus . hilarius . phil. melancton . melo . * musculus . aloys. novarinus . origenes . pareus . a ponte . rob. stephanus . sibelius . dan tossanus . * tostatus . ward . on mark . albertus m. beda . lamb . daneus . io. ge●son . angel del pas. rob. stephanus . io. winkelmannus . vitale zuccolo . on luke . ambrose beda . bonaventura . catena graec. pat. isid. cla●us . hier. guadalupensis . gas. melo . origenes . rob. stephanus . * did. stella . * fran. tollet . vit. zuccolo . on john . aquinas . bonaventure . catena gr. patrum . chrysostomus . cyrillus alex. hemingius . * io. ferus . lutherus . melancton . * musculus . origenes . hieron. osorius : michael de palatio . ben. pererius . chr. pelargus . ribera . * rob. rollocus . * fran. tollet . paul . tarnovius . on the acts. dan. arcularius . beda . brentius . bullingerus . cajetanus . * calvinus . catena vet. pat. chrysostomus . ioach. camerarius . lud. de dieu . * io. ferus . gregorius m. rod . gualtherus . * nic. gorranus . co● . à lapide . * lorinus . malcolm . jo. mayer . alos . novarinus . oecumenius . alph. salmeron . tho. stapleton . theophylactus . dan. tossanus . joh. trap . upon the epistles . ambrosius . anselmus . aquinas . beda . bullingerus . cajetanus . * calvinus . chrysostomus . * dav. dickson . * guil. estius . nic. gorranus . rod . gualtherus . ben. iustinianus . and. hyperius . * cor. à lapide . pet. lumbardus . jo. mayer . * musculus . oecumenius . beat. remigius . * theodoretus . theophylactus . dan. tossanus . joh. trap . hugo de s. victore . conrad . vorstius . on the epistle to the romans . augustinus . frid. baldvinus . io. brentius . mart. bucerus . adam . contzen . lud de dieu . * io. ferus . marcil . ficinus . ioh. gerhardus . gomarus . * pet. martyr . phil. melancton . * wolf . musculus . origenes * da. pareus . elnath . parr . ben. pererius . rob. rollocus . ab. scultetus . dominic . soto . stapleton . * fran. tollet . and. willet . wilson . on the epistles to the corinthians . frid. baldvinus . * pet. mart. in prim. phil. melancton . * wolf . musculus . tho. morton in prim. * dav. pareus . gul. sclater . tho. stapleton . geor. wenrichius . to the galatians . augustinus . frid. baldvinus . io. brentius . lutherus . * musculus . * da. pareus . * will . perkins . rob. rollocus . adam sasbout . io. wigandus . io. winkelman . to the ephesians . * paul bain . frid. baldvinus . mart. bucerus . * lud. crocius . lubinus . * m●sculus . aug. de quiros . rob. rollocus . adam sasbout . ab. scultetus . * hieron. zanchius . geor. wenrichius . to the philippians . hen. airay . frid. baldvinus . io. brentius . * gomarus . lubinus . * musculus . ad. sasbout . scholanus . io. au. velasquez . * hieron. zanchius . to the colossians . frid. baldvinus . * nic. bifeild . tho. cartwright . * io. davenant . ed. elton . melancton . * musculus . de quiros . rollocus . sasbout . * hieron. zanchius . to the thessalonians . * io. gomarus . io. iewel in prim. * musculus . rollocus . * will . sclater . pet. steuartius . * zanchius . zuinglius . to timothy . alex. ales. frid. baldvinus . lamb . danaeus . * claud. espencaeus . ant. fayus . io. gerhardus . cosma magalianus . melancton . * musculus . ad. sasbout . * ab. scultetus . lud. soro . major . to titus . alex. ales●●s . * lud. crocius . * claud. espenc●us . cos. magalianus . ad. sasbou● . * ab. scultetus . lud. soto-majo● . * tho. taylor . to philemon . * attersol . brentius . danaeus . * dan. dyke . fra● . fevardenti●●● * gomarus . phil. pareus . ab. scultetus . on the hebrews . * da. dickson . io. gerardus . * gomarus . * an. hyperius . polyc. lyserus . david pareus . mic. de palatio● fran. ribera . sasbout . scultetus . * ludov. de tena● on the canonicall epistles . hen. alsted . * tho. aquinas . beda . bullingerus . cajetanus . * calvinus . * estius . faber . stap. nic. goran . rod . gualther . nic. hemmingius . corn . à lapide . salmeron . dan. tossanus . mat. turnemannus . on the epistle of james . * brochman . didac . daza . fran. fevardentius . * ia. laurentius . lorinus . * jo. mayer . dav. pareus . balt. paez . aug. de quiros . on the epistles of peter . * amesius . tho. adams . in ep. . * nic. bifeild . clemens . alex. io. gerardus . * gomarus . * iac. laurentius . lutherus . dav. pareus . scholanus . io. winkelman . turnemannus . on the first epistle of john . augustinus . clemens alex. * lamb . danaeus . * io. ferus . * io. lorinus . turnemannus . * zanchius . on the second epistle . clem. alexand. * danaeus . io. iac. grynaeus . * io. lorinus . ed. pocock . on the third epistle . * lamb . danaeus . * io. lorinus . ed. pocock . on the epistle of jude . iac. bolduc . clemens alex. * danaeus . fevardentius . hyperius . fran. iuniu● . * lorinus . lutherus . sam. oates . * will . perkins . aug. de quiros . phil. pareus . sasbout . * sibelius . on the revelation . alabaster . albe●tus . m. alcazar . alsted . anselmus . augustinus . beda . * brightman . ioach. camerarius . dav. chytreus . will. cowper . dent . lud. de dieu . forbes . ioh. gerhardus . gorranus . io de la hay . a lapide . laurentius . casp. melo . * mede . napier . perkins in . pr. cap. ribera . tossanus . viegas . amongst all these commentators , it would be too great presumption , for any private man to compare them , or say which is best ; since there is scarce any one so well acquainted with all of them , as to be able to passe such a censure . and besides , amongst those that are commonly known , there are but few that agree in the same judgement , one preferring this , and another that . and therefore it will be safest to give only some general character of them . some of the interpreters are more especially eminent for their authority , and antiquity , as the comments of the fathers ; ambrose , augustine , bernard , chrysosto●e , cyril alex. eusebius , gregary the great , gregory nissen , hierom , hilary , origen , theodoret , theophylact. amongst the later writers , some are eminent for their orthodox sound judgments , proper and usefull matter . so the protestant commentators in general : as alsted , baldvin , brentius , bucer , bullinger , calvin , chemnitius , danaeus , drusius , gerard , hyperius , iunius , lavater , luther , p. martyr , melancton , mercer , moller , musculus , p●reus , piscator , rivet , rolloc , scultet tarnov . zanchy , &c. more especially our english divines , whose abilities and genius's ( when they apply themselves this way ) do for the most part raise them up above the common pitch of other writers . as may appear in the works of ainsworth , ames , baine , byfeild , brightman , cartwright , davenant , mayer , perkins , sclater , willet , &c. amongst the popish interpreters , some are more eminent for their subtilty and rational learning in the explaining of scripture ; such were generally those schoolmen who have undertaken to comment upon it , as albert●s m. alexand. de ales , aquinas , bonaventure , cajetan , carthusian , daza , estius , mich-d● palatio , dominic . soto , &c. others amongst them are eminent for solid pious matter , in practical things and points not controverted , as ferus , iansenius , brugensis . others of them are useful for their various collections , and observations out of former writers , as many late jesuits and others , as gorran , à lapide , lorinus , maldonat , masius , mendoz● , pererius , pineda , ribera , saimeron , sanct. serrarins , tolet , &c. besides these commentators upon the several ●ooks , there are others that have commented upon particular parcels and texts of scripture . of which kinde the homilies of the ancient fathers are the first and most eminent , as those of augustine , bernard , chrysostome , chrysologus , gregory , &c. as for the common postillers they are for the most part rejected by our gravest most judicious divines , as being generally uselesse and empty . but there are some amongst them of better esteem , as protestants . papists . dr. boys . besseus . dietericus . coppe●stenius . iac. laurentius . fonseca . stumphius . gal. inchino . zepperus . labata .   mussus . to which may be added those discourses of this kinde upon occasional subjects . as , georg. grossii thesaurus concionum omnigenarum , nempe catecheticarum , praeparatoriarum , eucharisticarum , nuptialium , funebrium , anniversariarum , paenalium , auspicatoriarum , valedictoriarum , &c. pontani conciones funebres ex variis autoribus collectae . io. noviomagi penu concionum tum nuptialium , tum funebrium . io. geminiani conciones funebres . a collection of english funeral sermons , stiled , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . 't is the common opinion that amongst all such kinde of works , our english sermons and treatises are most elaborate and useful . it was the judgment of a very learned man , that if the choyce and best observations , which have been made dispersedly in our english sermons ( leaving out the largenesse of exhortations and applications thereupon ) had been set down in a continuance , it would be the best work in divinity that has been written since the apostles times . and certainly there is either some special em●nency in their writings , or else there is some pecular genius in men of the same country , which makes their notions seem unto one another more proper and acceptable . amongst our english divines , these are for sermons and practical divinity some of the most eminent : bp andrews . mr attersoll . mr ball . mr bifeild . bp bilson . mr bolton . mr burroughs . mr caryll . bp cooper . mr cotton . mr dod. bp , and mr downham . mr dan : dyke .   jerem :   dr featly . mr gataker . mt tho goodwin . dr gouge . mr greenham . bp hall . mr harris . mr hieron. mr hooker . dr iackson . bp lake . mr mayer . bp morton . mr pemble . mr perkins . dr preston . dr reinolds . mr rogers . dr saunderson . dr sibbs . mr smith . dr taylor . bp usher . mr whateley . thus much concerning the two first kinds of books that tend to make a man a good textuary , namely concordances and commentators . the third sort that was nominated is reconcilers . those are called reconcilers , which do purposely insist upon the unfolding and reconciling of such scriptures , as seem opposite to one another : of which kind are , althameri conciliatio locorum pugnanti●m . alba in difficilioraloca . augustinus . gerardi bergomensis . conciliatio . v. t. cum . n. cameron . cumerani conciliatio loc. pug . estius in difficiliora loca . lunii parallela . menasseh ben. israel conciliatio . maimonides doctor perplexorum . pelargi quaestiones . scharpii symphonia prophetarum . spanhemii dubia evangelica . mich. waltheri harmonia totius scriptur● . in which authors a man may justly expect to find the great difficulties of scripture more exactly discussed and unfolded then in other commentators . to these may be added ●uch criticall discourses as do make more particular enquiry after those difficult texts that are dispersed in severall parts of scripture . such are arnoldi bootii annotationes sacrae . angeli caninii disquisitiones . fulleri miscellanea . mr. gregories observations upon some passages of scripture . mr. medes diatribe . these are the severall kinds of treatises that do more immediately tend to the explaining of scripture , and to make a man a good textuary . . there are some other very useful discourses , which treat of the body of divinity , and these are , either pos●●ive , as , . catechismes . latine . english . . common places epitomes . more large . . casuists . polemicall . schoolmen , upon the sentences . summes . particular controversies about discipline episcopacy . presbytery . independency . doctrine with the papists . lutherans . socinians . arminians . anabaptists . antinomians . . catechismes are of very great variety and of excellent use , even for the best divines , to set before them the analogy of faith , by which all doctrines must be tried , and the most fundamentall principles of religion , wherein they ought chiefly to instruct their hearers . these are so generally known , that i shall need to mention but few of them : in latine there is , amesius , and ursinus . in english there is mr bals catechisme , mr. bains cathechisme , mr. cartwritghts catechisme , mr. crooks guide , bp ushers catechisme , &c. . the usuall common places of divinity are systematically handled by these authors , amesius . alsted . calvinus . keckerman . piscator . tilenus . trelcatius . wendelinus . wollebius , &c. they are more largely insisted upon in these following discourses . altingii loc. com. aretii problemata . brochmannus . chemnitii loci communes . danaei isagoge . gerardi loci com. p. martyris loci com. musculi loci com. polani syntagma . wallaei loci com. besides these , there are other kinde of common places , wherein the matter is alphabetically disposed of under severall heads , from which a man may be supplyed with the most common observations and notes upon any simple theme . and though these are by many men rejected as occasions of idlenesse , yet they may be sometimes very usefull , both for learned men to recall such notions of which they retain only some confused remembrance : and for others also , who have not leisure or reading sutable to their imployment : of this kinde amongst the protestants , there is gruteri polyanthea . magiri polymnemon . zuinger beyerlink amongst the popish writers . labatae apparatus . langii polyanthea novissima . busaei viridarium . peraldi summa virtutum & vitiorum . besides these treatises of positive divinity there are some other writers that are stiled mysticall divines , who pretend to some higher illuminations , and to give rules for a more intimate and comfortable communion with god . and these of late have been by some much cryed up and followed . but they do in the opinion of many sober and judicious men , deliver only a kinde of cabalisticall or chymicall , rosicrucian theologie , darkning wisdome with words , heaping together a farrago of obscure affected expressions and wild allegories , containing little of substance in them but what is more plainly and intelligibly delivered by others . some of the cheif amongst them are these , de avila . blosius . barbinson . behem . climachus . hen. harphius . thom. à iesu. barth. riccius . jo. rusbrochius . fran. sales . ioh. thaule●us . wigelius . . the study of casuists may be very usefull for a preacher in respect of practicall divinity . amongst them , these are some of the most eminent . hen. alstedius . guil amesius . ir. azorius . frid. baldvinus mart. bona●ina . lud. candidus . bp hall . diana p●normitana vincent . filliucius . barth. keckerman . will. perkins . raynerus de pisis . tho. sanchez . greg. sayru● . silvester . fran. toll●● . unto these may be subjoyned those authors which have treated particularly of the lords prayer . creed . decalogue . sacraments . which are generally much of the same nature and use with the casuists . on the lords prayer . bp andrews . aquinas . babington . bains . calvinus . cyprianus . lam. danaeus . dent . dod. gregor. nyssen . greenwood . dr gouge . dr. hen. king . jo. mayer . martinus . will. perkins . alpb. salmeron . hier. savanorolla . hug. de s. victore . lud. vives . on the creed . tho. adams . hen. alsted . aquinas . augustin●s . babington . n. bifeild . calvinus . cyprianus . danaeus . dr. jackson . lutherus . mayer . martinus . perkins . del. paz. zanchius . on the decalogue . hen. alsted . bp. andrews . aquinas . babington . calvinus . jo. dod. elton . ioh. gerson . lutberus . jo. mayer . pet. martyr . martinus . melancton . musculus . will. perkins . and. rivet . jo. vossius . hieron. zanchius . on the sacraments . pet. de alliaco . ambrosius . will. attersol . gerardus . martinus . guil. parisiensis . greg. sayrus . guil. snecanus . paulus tarnovius . wilhel . zipperus . besides the authors of common places , and the schoolmen that comment on the fourth book of the sentences , who do largely treat upon this subject . amongst the writers of controversies , the schoolmen are in the first place considerable , who dispute over the whole body of divinity in many nice and subtile questions . and though this kind of learning do not deserve so much of our time and study , as they themselves bestowed upon it . a great part of it being but as cobwebs , fine for the spinning , but uselesse . and he were an unwise man who having bread and wine hanging on either side of him ( the wholesome nutriment of the old and new testament ) would notwithstanding be continually gnawing upon a flint-stone : yet because they were men of acute fancies and great searchers into the more abstruse and intricate parts of divinity , therefore they are not to be wholly neglected , but in many things may be very usefull . amongst these , the two chief are lumbard .   aquinas . peter lumbard is the first , who is therefore called the master of the sentences , his books being as the text which are wholly commented upon by gul. altissiodorensis . alex. de ales. tho. aquinas . gab. biell . dio carthusianus . durand . estius . ockam . bonaventura . jo. capreolus . scotus . the first book of the sentences does treat of god , his nature , names , properties , &c. this is commented upon particularly by pet. de alliaco . greg. areminensis the second book of the sentences does treat of the creatures , angels , men , originall sin , free-will , &c. upon which these are some of the most eminent commentators . marsilius inguen . aegidius romanus . archangelus rubeus . the third book does speak of christ his incarnation , passion , merits , of faith , hope , charity , and other graces ; upon this there is pet. de alliaco . io. de rada . the fourth book does insist upon the sacraments , resurrection , judgment , and state after this life . upon this there is adrianus . ricardus de media villa . dom. ● soto . as these books of sentences , so the summes of aquinas are likewise made choise of by the schoolmen as another text upon which to inlarge themselves . these are commented upon by rod . de arriaga . dominicu● bannez . fran. cumel . tho. à vio cajetanus . fran. de lugo in primam partem . did. ruiz . fran. suarez . greg. de valentia . gab. vasquez . particular controversies about discipline , are of three sorts ; those that concern . episcopacy . . presbytery . . independency . concerning episcopacy there are these authors : pro. con. bp. bancroft . paul bayn . bp. bilson . cather wood his altare damascenum . dr. burges . bp. downham . tho. cartwright . mason . mr. parker . bp. whitgift .   bp. hall . smectymnuus . dr. heylin . walo-messalinus , by salmasius . dr. taylor .   concerning presbytery . pro. con. apollonius . the forecited discourses that are for episcopacy . gersom buceri amica collatio cum georg. downham . issachars burden . the divine right of church-government , by the london ministers . a declaration concerning church government and presbyteries . mr. bailies vindication . dr. bramhill warning against the scots discipline . answer to dr. bramhill .   mr. pagets defence of church-government   mr. rutherford .   answer to the reasons of the dissenting brethren . the reasons of the dissenting brethren . salmasius de apparatu ad primatum papae . saravia de gradibus ministrorum . gellius snecanus . grallae ab anonymo . mr. gillis●y assertion of government in scotland . matth. sutliv . de presbyterio . the debate concerning independency is but of late years , and hath scarce been treated of in any of the learned languages . there are these authors for it . against it . amongst the brownists , ainsworth , cann . robbinson , in several parts of their writings . m. ball , tryall of the grounds tending to separation .   apollonius . apologeticall narration . spanhemius .   vindiciae clavium . mr. cottons keyes of the church . m. edwards reasons :   antapology .   m. baylies disswasive . the way of the churches in n. england . dt. stewards considerations .   duply . mr. ioh. goodwins answer to the antapology . m. hudson , concerning the essence and unity of the catholique church . m. mathers and m. tomsons answer to m. hearl . m. hearl . the independency on scriptures of the independency of churches . m. wells , his answer to m. rathband .   the questions . m. rathbands relation of church courses in n. eng.   particular controversies about doctrine are very numerous and of severall kinds : the six before mentioned are in these times most common and generall . . the papists . for them . against them .   amesius . becanus . chamierus .   chemnitius . bellarminus . morney .   pareus . stapleton . perkins .   rivetus . grego . de valentia . tilenus .   whitaker , &c. there are besides some mixt disputes of this kinde in our english tongue , wherein the arguments pro and con are put together ; as , abbot and bishop . chillingworth and knot . iewell and harding . reynolds and hart. white and fisher , &c. . the lutherans . pro. con. eckhardi fasciculus . bezae colloquium montisbelgartense . io. himmelii . calvi .   mateol . calv. lud. crocii examen matth. hoe . matth. hoe calvinistarum descriptio . lamb . danaei resp. ad nic. selneccerum . pro. con. aegid. hunii . calvini confut .   cal. iudaizans . hildebrandi orthodoxa declaratio . conrad . schlusselburgi theologia calvinistarū dav. paraei orthodoxus calvinus . . the socinians . pro. con. socinus . christ . becmanni exercitationes theologicae cont. socinū crellius .   hieron. moscharow . bisterfeldius . smaltius . jo. botsacci anti-crellius . volchelius . abr. calovius de haeres . socin. picesius . d. cheynels history of socin. goslavius . dr. cheynell of the trinity . ostorodius . grotius de satisfact. . christi . jonas slictingius . iunius de divinitate filii . catech. racoviensis . sib. lubertus con . socinum .   martini synopsis photinianis .   jacob . ad portum .   stegmanni photinianismus .   paul . tarnovius de trin.   thalei anatome samosatenis . . the arminians . pro. con. arminii opera . amesius con . grevenchovium . apologia remonstran .   bertii collatio hagiensis . amesii coronis . castellio . acta synod . dordracen . consessio remonstrantium . m. bayly's antidote ag . arminianisme . pro. con. corvinus contra . bogarmannum .   tilenum .   molineum . bp. davenant animadversions on m. hoard .   dr. featly pelagius redivivus . m. hoards gods love to mankind . bp. hutton .   latius de pelagianis . scripta synodalia remonstrantium . molinaei anatome arminianismi . vorstius contra piscatorem . twissi vindiciae .   videlius de arcanis arminianismi . thomson . abbot . . the anabaptists . pro. con. there is scarce any book of note in defence of all the opinions that are held by this sect. cloppenberg . gangraena , lucae osiandri enchiridion .   io wigandus .   ios. symlerus . for that particular against paedobaptisme , it hath been of late much debated by m. tombes his * m. bayly .   m. blake .   m. cook .   m. cotton .   m. marshall sermon .   answer . exercitation .   examen . m. geree . apology . m. hussey . m. laurence . dr. featly . vanity of childish baptisme . m. baxter . . the antinomians . pro. con. i know not of any author who does scholastically maintain any of these points . they who are commonly cited for it , are m. geree against doct. crisp.   history of antinomians .   lutheri disputationes tres contra antinom .   william hinde , concerning the office and use of the morall law . dr. crisp. sermon .   mr. eaton honycomb .   dead faith . dr. taylor , the use of the law . iohan. islebius agricola . * m. sedgwick . ro. town . the assertion of grace . m. gataker .   m. ant. burgesse .   m. tho. bedford . the third kind of authors proper for a divine , are such as concern the study of antiquity . under which head the authors upon these several subjects may be reduced , namely concerning . jewish learning . . the heathen moralists . . the writings of the fathers . . ecclesiasticall history . . councels . . confessions . . heresiologies . . lives . . martyrologies . . for jewish learning . buxtorfii tiberias ? lexico-rabinicum . synagoga judaica . cuneus de repub. hebraeorum . le-empereur clavis talmudica . pet. galatinus . dr. goodwins jewish antiquities . maimonides de legibus hebraeorum . ariae montani antiquitates iudaicae . pagnini thesaurus , cum mercero , &c. schekhardi examen comment . rabinicorum . de iure regum apud hebraeos . seldeni de jure gentium libri . uxor hebraica . mr. lightfoot the temple service . temple . . the heathen moralists . the two chief authors in this kind are plato and aristotle , men of clear reason and profound judgments , whose works are sufficiently known . but besides these , there is . antoninus . epictetus . hierocles . maximus tyrius . plotinus . salustius . gr. l. seneca . simplicius . stobaeus . plutarchus . seneca in traducendis vitiis salsus est & elegans , ac vehemens etiam . de moribus nemo foelicius scripsit quam plutarchus , c●jus libelli digni sunt qui ad verbum ediscantur , è quibus basilius & chrysostomus multa videntur hausisse . unto these may be added those authors that treat concerning naturall divinity , the religion of the heathen , or the light of nature , and the use of reason in sacred matters , and the like , such as coelius secundus . collius de animabus paganorum . lipsii manuductio ad stoicam philosophiam . marinus de cognitione hominis quoad lumine naturali attincre potest . musaeus de usu principiorum philosophiae & rationis . raimundi de sabundis theologia naturalis . nic. videlii rationale theologicum . io. vossius de theologia gentili . . the writings of the fathers . the ancient fathers are usually reckoned up , according to the age and centuries wherein they lived . the . century . clemens . ignatius . dionysius areopagita . polycarpus . the d . century . iustin martyr . athenagoras . irenaeus . the d century . tertullianus . theophilus antiochenus . clemens alexandrinus . origenes . gregorius thaumaturgus . cyprianus . arnobius . lactantius . the th . cent. eusebius caesariensis . athanasius . hilarius . cyrillus . hierosol . basilius . gregorius nazian. epiphanius . ambrosius . gregorius nyssenus . theodoretus . hieronymus . chrysostomus . the th . cent. augustinus , cyrillus alexan , chrysologus . salvian . prosper . fulgentius . the , & th . cent. gregorius magnus . the th . cent. beda . damascenus . the th . cent. nicephorus . the th , th , th . centuries . theophylactus . anselmus , bernardus . pet. lumbar ▪ dus , &c. divers other of the lesser fathers , see in bibliotheca graec. patrum . many of the most eminent amongst these are thus charactered and censured by erasmus . basilius , dilucidus , pius , sanus , suaviter gravis , & graviter suavis , nihil habens affectatae loquacitatis . athanasius in docendo mirus . chrysostomi scripta popularia sunt , & adimperitae multitudinis aures animosque accommodata . in gregorio nazianzeno , multum est acuminis , vehementiae satis . tertullianus durus est , tametsisalsus in confutandis h●reticis , nasutus in traducendis vitiis . cyprianus , apertus , vehemens , serius , nec infeliciter fluens . ambrosius habet , argutias , & sententias affectatas , saepe etiam subobscuras . hieronymus , adomnem dicendi facultatem appositus , ardens in concitandis affectibus . augustinus in genere extemporalifoelix est & argutus , sed dulcior est quam gravior . gregorius pontif. rom. simplex & pius . prud●ntius , licet carmine scripsit , multum spirat ch●istianae facundiae . bernardus , festivus , jucundus , nec segnis in movendis affectibus . in the reading of the fathers there is much caution to be used , for the distinguishing of their spurious imposed works , from such as are true and genuine . to which purpose , there are particular directions set down at large in these tracts . bellarminus de scriptor . ecclesiasticis . coci censura quorundam scriptorum . doctor james his censure . m. perkins his demonstration of the probleme . riveti critici sacri specimen . many of the fathers are logically contracted by scultetus , in the medulla patrum , as also m. rous in his mella patrum , which may be very usefull both for those who intend with profit to read any of them over ; and for others also , who have not means or leisure to peruse them at large . . ecclesiasticall history . this subject is variously treated of , either briefly in epitomes , or more at large ; either more generally for a long succession of times , or more particularly for some few ages . epitomes . jo. micrelii syntagma histor. ecclesiast . dav. parei epitome . sympsons history of the church . spondani epitome baronii . conrad . hornei . compend. . histor. ecclesiast . more large . baronius . centuriatores . dorotheus . evagrius . eusebius . iosephus . nicephorus ▪ ruffinus . socrates . sozomen . sulpitius severus . theod●retus . unto which may be added bishop mountague's apparatus , and io. forbesii instructiones historico-theologicae . hospiniani historia iesuitica . mornaei historia papatus . luào . lucii historia jesuitica . bp usher de britannicarum ecclesiarum primordiis . samson lennard's history of the waldenses & albigenses . bp parkers antiquitates britannicae . by iosseline . goldasti , histor. the continuation of the sacred story from nehemiah to christ by dr mayer at the end of his english comments lately published . . councels . counsels are either general in large .   particular   little . concilia generalia . binii . gr. lat. . vol. romae . vol. crab . . vol. caranzae epitom . longii à coriolano epitom . concil. concilia gallicana . sermond . britannica . spelman . hispanica . garcia . balsamon in concilia . zonaras in concilia . synodus ephesina . iustelli codex canonum . ecclesiae universae . the councel of trent history .   review . unto which may be subjoyned as being very usefull and something of this nature , the canon law , corpus juris canonici . . confessions . corpus confessionum . confessio augustana . besides many other confessions of particular churches , which according to the various light and severall occasions of those times wherein they were framed , do comprehend the chief heads of religion . . heresiogies . augustinus . damascen . epiphanius . petrei haeresiologia . alph. à castro . guido carmelita . irenaeus . schlusselburgii catal. leontius de sectis . io. pontani catal. haeret. vincentius lyrinensis . philastrius . . lives . rob. barns , and io. baleus de vitis pontificum . ioan. bismarcus . theod. bezae icones virorum illustrium . the glory of their times , or the lives of the fathers . m. clarke , the lives of the fathers . govanus de vitis patrum occident . halliox . de vit. & script . patrum & di ▪ saeculi . hieronymus de illustribus ecclesiae doctoribus . lippomannus de vitis sanctorum . melchior adam . de vit. theol. germ. georgius major . platina de vitis pontificum . rosweydus de vitis patrum orientis . . martyrologies . baronii martyrologium . eulardi martyrol . martyrologium romanum . — gallicanum . monumenta martyrum . book of martyrs . these are the severall kinds of books which are most proper and usefull for a preacher ; and these are some of the most eminent authors in each kind . it would be expedient for a minister to be provided at least with one of each sort , unto which he might have recourse upon all doubts and enquiries of that nature . and this may be one speciall advantage for the invention of matter . the second help proposed for this purpose , was a right method and series of matter to be first and most exactly inquired into . when a man studies over the chief heads of the whole body of divinity , according to some naturall method and dependence ; by which means the several parts will give mutuall light to one another , and the better inable a man to see into the principles and bottome of things . and when he has thus deliberately passed over the whole , he may afterwards with the more facility inlarge himself upon any particular text or subject as occasion shall require . our chief collections in the study of these heads may be contrived under the form of sermons . every sermon containing either one or more of them , according to the nature of severall subjects . there is a twofold series or order , that may be observed in the matter of our sermons ; exegeticall . methodicall . exegeticall , is when a man goes on in a continued course of unfolding some particular book or chapter , which ( though it be of very great use , yet ) is not so proper for a young divine to begin withall . methodical , is when we propose a certaine scheme or designe of matter to be orderly insisted upon under several heads . this again is twofold , catechisticall .   scholasticall . catechisticall does referre to those plain and most obvious principles of religion , laid down in the catechisme , contained under those four generall heads . the creed .   commandements .   lords prayer .   sacraments . the distinct unfolding of which may be of great advantage , and has heretofore been esteemed a very good method both for ministers and people . scholasticall method , or that which is by way of common place , is more particular and comprehensive then the former , taking in all those chief heads , that are insisted upon , either in the schoolmen or the common-place-writers . these schemes of matter are various according to severall mens fancies and apprehensions . but amongst all , that is to be esteemed the best , which is most naturall for the order , and most comprehensive for the extent of it . there are divers learned men , who in analyzing the whole body of divinity , have contrived the scheme of it under heads , according to the number of weeks in a yeer , so that in that space one who is a constant preacher , might go through all of them . to which purpose , see mr. crooks guide ; bp ushers catechisticall doctrine , where the whole substance of divinity is disposed under so many severall heads of matter , and severall pertinent scriptures for texts to each of them . but amongst the rest there is a very full elaborate frame proposed by doctor staughton , which takes in , ( what is much neglected amongst other protestant writers ) the most profitable points handled amongst the schoolmen , who were great searchers into divinity , and their writings in many things very usefull . this frame of his is largely set down in his third sermon upon tim. . . where he represents the whole body of divinity under the notion of an aedifice or building , wherein there are two things considerable . the frontispice or porch .   fabrick or pile . in the frontispice he proposeth four generall heads , which are premised as the praecognita to this series . in the fabrick there are two stories , and in each story two rooms . in the first story is contained the chief principles to be known or beleeved , either more generally , in each of these . heads .   particularly ,   in the second story , things for practise , duties , in each particular heads .   helps ,   in all . but in some of these the method seems obscure and involved , especially towards the latter part of it . besides this , there are divers other draughts and systems of divinity in several other authors , amesius , trelcatius , tilenus , wollebius , &c. to which may be added bishop downhams abstract , a bookof singular use for direction in this kind ; out of these it is easie for any one to compose such an analysis as shall be most sutable to his owne apprehension , and that is certainly most proper for every one , which he himself shall frame . for instance and illustration , consider this model which is collected from the authors above named . in divinity two things are considerable , the praecognita or generals to be premised concerning happinesse , psal. . . micab. . . . religion , eccles. . . act . . church , m●tth . . . scripture , tim. . . the parts containing things to be known and beleeved concerning god , vide a. man , vide c. done and practised , commanded in the law , vid. i. gospel , vid. v. happinesse . upon this subject , see at large the moralists . aquinas a dae . the commentators upon ecclesiastes . m. reynolds his three treatises . doctor staugh ton happines of man :   righteous mans   plea to happiness . rob. bolton , discourse of true happinesse . jo. downhāconcerning the vanity of all worldly things . spiritual warfare religion in generall . the controversies against turks , jewes , the apologies of the fathers for the christian religion against the heathen . phil. mornaeus deveritate   christianae hug grotius . religionis . ed. brerewoods enquiries . mr. pagets christianography . s● . edwin sands relation of the state of religion . church . the common places . controversies about discipline . dr. feild , of the church . dr. jackson . bp. morton . jo. randall . dr preston , the churches . dignity .   duty . scripture . jo. goodwin . the divine authoritie of the scriptures assertd . the common places : controversies betwixt us and the papists . those preparatory discourses for the study of scripture mentioned before . fra. roberts key of the bible . jo. weems , exercitation proving the necessity , majesty , integrity , perspicuity of the scriptures . his christian synagogue concerning the diverse reading , right pointing , translation , collation of scripture . ed. leigh , of the authority , editions , versions , end , properties , interpretation of scripture . sa. hieron. dignity of the scripture . nic. byfeild , directions for private reading of the scripture . bp. jewell . treatise of the holy scripture . jo. white . the way to● the tree of life , in sundry directions for our profitable reading of the scriptures . a. things to be known and believed concerning god , in himselfe essence set forth in his name , exod. . . attribiutes . first incommunicable simplenesse , john . . infinitenesse . immensity , kings . . aeternity . tim. . . communicable love , mercy , exod . . wisdome , power , &c. ●ob . . arising from the first . perfection . glory . blessednesse . persons father , sonne , holy ghost , matth. . . john . . his actions and works immanent , his generall coun●ell and decree concerning all things , ephes. . . partic. of reas . create. . praedest . election , rom. . . reprobation tim. . . transient , vid. b. god . the common places schoolmen , lumbard li . . aquinas p. . dr. preston . treatise of the divine essence and attributes . ed. leigh . treatise of divinity . sam. hieron. back parts of jehovah . dr. jackson . treatise of the divine essence and attributes . tho. morton . treatise of the nature of god . the name of god . jerem. borough's , lord of hosts . jos. mede . sanctification of gods name . attributes . dr. preston , as before . item , concerning gods all-sufficiency . rich. stock . treatise of gods attributes . the trinity . the socinian controversies . lumbard li . . aquin. p. . dr. cheynell . hugh broughton . ben. austin . hils collection out of zanchy de tribus elohim . gods decrees in generall . lumbard li . . common places . ed. leigh . treatise of divinity . predestination . common places . arminian controversies . gomarus de praedestinatione . m. cotton & d. twisse . m. pe●kins . treatise of the manner and order of predestination . jo. ailward . jo. veron . apology for predestination . b. the transient workes of god do refer either to . nature creation generall things aethereall , gen. . . elementary , gen. . . particular angels , coloss. . . men , gen. . . providence common , in the order of nature , psal. . . speciall in the guidance of humane affaires . small and great , mat. . . casuall and neces . pro. . . evill and good , amos . ● . . grace contriving our redemption by christ , who in thatwork may be co●sidered according to his offices regall , psal. . . isa. . priestly , h●b. . . & . prophetical , isa. . states humiliation . nativity , luk. . . incarnatiō , tim. . passion , pet. . . exaltation . resurrection act. . ascension , eph. . . session , pet. . . creation . common places . lumbard . lib. . aquinas p. . commentators on genesis . geo. walker . treatise of the externall works of god . tho. jackson . providence . tho. jackson . gul. pemble , de providen . geo. walker , of god actuall providence . dr hackwels apology . dr gouge . the extent of gods providence . jo. veron treatise of divine providence . jo. wilkins the beauty of providence . redemption . the arminian and socinian controversies . stalham , against universall redemption . mr jo. owen , the death of christ . spanhemii exercitationes de gratia universali . christs offices . m. reynolds , on the . psal. dr fowns trisagion . christs states of humiliation .   exaltation . lumbard lib. . aquinas p. . bp usher . of christs incarnatiō . m. casaub.   d. jackson . the humiliation of the son of god . th. goodwin , of christs death , resurrection , ascension , &c. bp andrews , bp lake , doct. don , &c. nativity and passion sermons . bp bilson . of christs sufferings hen. jacob .   c. things to be known and beleeved concerning man may referre to his severall parts . body , its naturall perfections , cor. . infirmities , as affliction , psal .   mortality .   soul , its nature spirituall . ecclef . . .   immortall ,   faculties , understanding , and here of free will .   will ,   acts , habits   affections ,   virtues , and   memory .   vices in generall .   conscience ,     states . in this life , innocence covenant of works , gal. . . sacraments , the tree of life , gen. . . .   knowl .   fall , vid. d. restauration , vid. f. after this life , vid. h. of man in generall . lumbard li . . jo. weems , the portraiture of the image of god in man , in his creation . restauration . glerification . ant. nixon , the dignity of man . afflictions . bp hall , balm of gilead . mr hughs , dry rod blossoming . jo : downham , spirituall warfare . paul bain , comfort and instruction in afflictions . mortality . mr perkins , treatise of dying well . manchester , al mondo . a contemplation of death and immortality . rob : harris samuels funeral   barzillai . sam : hieron. useful meditations on mortality , on phil : , , . will : cowper , defiance to death . divers funeral sermons collected into one volume stiled {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . m. byfeild , cure of the fear of death . sam : crook , death subdued . immortality of the soul . aquinas p. . the philosophical discourses de anima . p : morney , translated . sir kenelm digby . jo : jackson , defence of the souls immortality . passions . aquinas , a dae . m. reynolds , treatise of the passions . will : fenner , treatise of the affections . tho. wright , the passions of mind . conscience . the casuists . m. perkins , a discourse of conscience . sam. ward , balm from gilead . jerem. dyke , will : fenner , d. hammond . m. harris judas his misery on matth. . . s. pauls exercise , confidence acts . . get , keep , and use a good conscience , on heb. . . richard bernard , christian see to thy conscience . * m. sheffeild . a good conscience the strongest hold . free-will . the casuists , arminian controversies . common places . lumbard lib. . m. perkins . treatise of gods free grace , and mans free-will . jo. bradford , dialogue of predestination and free-will . jo. veron . treatise of free-will . d. in the fall of man , there is considerable the sinne , originall , rom. . , . & . . psal. . . actuall weaknesse , rom. . . malice , psal. . . heb. . . punishment death , temporall , rom. . .   spirituall ,     eternall .   of sinne . p. lumbard lib. . m. reynolds , sinfulnesse of sin . tho : goodwin , aggravation of sin . m. byfeild , rules and directions about our sins . of original sinne . the common places : casuists : arminian controversies : lumbard lib. . aquinas a dae . dr sibs , the dead man , or the state of every man by nature , on ephes. . w. teelinck , pauls complaint against his naturall corruption . sins of weaknesse .   wilfulnesse . sam. hoard , of presumptuous sins . jerem. dyke , of quenching the spirit . dr hammond . dr preston , the saints infirmities . the sin against the holy ghost . lumbard li . . casuists . will : bradshaw . dr donne , on matth. . . sebast : benefield . jo : denison . henry hoddesdon . jo : meredith , the sin of blasp●eming against the holy ghost . the punishment of sin . the common places . casuists . dr gouge , . arrows . see after , de quatuor novissimis . tho : beard , theater of gods judgments . e. in our restauration there is considerable the covenant of grace , gen . . gal. . . . vocation into foederal communion , the administrations whereof have been various under the old testament , which enjoyns some things peculiar to the jews , as a church , the ceremonial ; a nation , the judicial law . wherein the doctrine of the gospel is offered more obscurely , heb. . . & . . sealed ordinarily in the sacrifices , heb. . . sacraments circumcision , gen. . . passeover , exod. ● . extraordinarily invarious types , pet. 〈◊〉 . . cor. . . the new test. teaching more plainly , heb. . . rom. . , . sealing in the sacraments of baptisme , john . . the supper , cor. . justification , vide f. sanctification , vide g. the covenant of grace . dr. preston . jo. cotton . jo. ball . treatise of the covenant of grace . peter bulkley . the gospel covenant . bp. downham , of the covenant of grace . rob. harris . treatise of the covenant . cameron de triplici foedere . the ceremoniall law .   judiciall   aquinas a . ae . jo. weems exposition of the ceremon .   judiciall . sacrifices and types . m. guild . moses and aaron unvailed . d. taylor , of types . sacraments in generall . common places : lumbard lib. . aquinas p. . the particular treatises upon this subject mentioned before , pag. . the new testament . d. reynolds . on the . psal. concerning the excellency and power of the gospel . d. sibs . the excellency of the gospel above the law , on cor. . , . baptisme . lumbard lib. . the controversies about paedobaptisme , mentioned before , pag. . mr rogers . d. burgesse . of baptismall regeneration . jo. down . treatise of the faith of infants . sam. hieron. baptizing of the eunuch , on acts . , . the lords supper . jer. dyke . the worthy communicant . m. rogers . m. dod. d. preston . sam. bolton . will. pemble . introduction to the sacrament . will. bradshaw . a preparation to , and receiving of christs body and blood . tho. morton . treatise of the lords supper . d. gouge . of the lords supper . d. reynolds meditation of the lords supper . will. cowper , preparative . will. fenner . punishment of unworthy communicants . duty of commun. . m. cudworth . a discourse concerning the true notion of the lords supper . jo. down . against transubstantiation . phil. goodwin . f. justification is wrought instrumentally by faith , rom. . . efficiently by christ , his obedience . active , matth. . . passive , pet. . . g. sanctification is considerable according to its parts . mortification denying our selves . mat. . .   taking up our crosse .   vivification renovation of the john . tit. . . faculties . habits . progresse and increase in grace . pet. . . & . . priviledges . liberty , from the law ceremoniall , gal. . . morall , rom. . . sinne , john . . joy , pet. . . peace , rom. . . of justification . common places . controversies betnixt us and the papists . bp. downham , io. will. pemble . m. forbes . jo. goodwin . rich. baxter . aphorisins of justification . sanctification . d. prestons saints qualifications . jo. downham , spirit●all warfare . the tracts that set down generall directions for a christians walking with god , as m. scudder , the christians daily walk . rob. bolton , directions for walking . m. brinsley . true watch . paul bain , directions , practise of piety , &c. mortification . d. preston . sins overthrow .   treatise of humiliation .   golden scepter . m. cotton . sins deadly wound : on acts . . m. woolfall : of mortification . rob. bolton . helps to humiliation . self-denyall . d. reynolds : on matth. . . m. hooker . jer. bur. roughs . self-denyall .   moses his choise d. preston . treatise of self-denyall . taking up the crosse . d. hammond . those that write on the beatitudes , ver. . vivification . m. wheatleys new birth . b● . cowpers anatomy of a christian . sam. hieron , old and new man : on john . . tho. morton . treatise concerning regeneration . dr taylors new creature .   kings bath of regeneration . progresse in grace . tho. goodwin . growth in grace . d. taylor . the saints progresse . ob. sedgwicks . christs counsell to his languishing chu●ch . christian liberty . geor. downham . treatise of christian liberty . d. saunderson : on pet. . . sam. bolton . true bounds of christian freedom . william pemble slavery of sinne .   benefit of gods service . joy . m. gataker : on ps. . . will. cowper . heaven opened . d. donne : on psal. . , . peace of minde . see assurance : desertions . rob. harris . blessednesse of a sound spirit : on pro. . . h. mans state after this life . resurrection , cor. . . john . , . judgment particular , heb. . . generall , acts . . states salvation , joh. . damnation , dan. . . place . heaven , psal. . . hell , rev. . . i. duties required in the law , are either more generall as being conducibleto every duty , in respect of the manner , with sincerity , rom. . . readiness , chro. . . zeal , kings . . constancy , rev. . . means ; prayer , cor. . . the word , rom. . . good company , psal. . . more speciall commanded in the table , our duty to god . internall worship . com. vide k. externall in the d vide l. d vide m. th vide n. table referring unto acts or intents concerning speciall ranks of men , . vide o. all persons life , com. . vide p. chastity , com. . vide q. goods , com. . vide r. name , com. . vide s. the very motion without consent , com. . vide t. the last things . the common places . lumbard lib. . aquinas in supplemento partis ae . rob. bolton . baxter . the saints rest . resurrection . bp lake . sermons for easter . b. andrews .   dr donne .   judgment . greenwood : the generall judgment . sam. smith : great assise . will. fenner : the judgment of the world passed by saints . will. attersoll : gods trumpet sounding the alarum . joseph mede : the prophesie of s. peter , conc●r●ing the day of christs second coming . sincerity dr preston . of mans uprightnesse . m. gataker : on psal. . . m. hooker : on tim. . . dr sanderson : on kings . ● .   gen. . . hitherto may be referred the tracts of hypocrisie : as , sam. torshels hypocrite . sam. hieron. discovery of hypocrisie , mat. . . bp hall . the hypocrite , on tim. . . readinesse and watchfulnesse . m. gataker : on mar. . . joh. downham : against sec●●ity . dr sibs : gods inquisition , on jer. . , . sam. hieron : the remedy of security . will. fenner : christs alarum to drowzy saints . jo. rogers : discourse of christian watchfulnesse . zeal . dr burgesse : fire of the sanctnary . mr bowles : on joh. . . dr sibs : violence victorious , on mat. . . mr greenham : on rev. . . constancy or perseverance . aquinas a ae . common places . dr benefeild gomarus de perseve rantia . mr gataker : on rev. . . ob. sedgewick : on rev. . , . prayer . dr preston : saints daily exercise . rob. harris : peters in largemnt . tho. goodwin . return of praye●s . tho. ball about set formes . jo. cotton   gifford about read prayer , greenwood   jos. mede . hearing and reading the word . mr mason . jer. dyke of the right eating & digesting the word bp andrews , on james . . joh. downham , treatise of the force and efficacy of reading . good company . joseph beutham : the society of the saints . sam. torshell . k. the first commandement does prohibit , atheisme , heb. . . poluthe●sme , deut. . . heresie , tit. . , . apostacy , heb. . . errors , james . . injoyn knowledge , john . . remembrance , eccles. : love , deut. . . trust , p●ov. . . hope , psal. . . fear , isa. . , . gratitude , thess. . . humility , mic. . . patience , lam. . . obedience , john . . of the moral law in generall . the common places : casuists . aquinas a ae . controversies against the antinomians , mentioned , pag. . commentators on the decalogue , pag. . dr reynolds . the use of the law . jo. weems : of the morall law . atheisme or polutheisme . see the treatises before , concerning gods essence and attributes . p. . smiths arrow . mart. fotherby : atheomastix . jo. weems : treatise of the atheist . heresie . aquinas a ae . the tracts of heresie mentioned , p. . many particular sermons ●pon this subject , as m. ob. sedgewick , m. cranford , mr. vines , mr. clark , &c. apostasie . aquinas . dae . will. pemble . tho. goodwin : the danger of relapsing . dr featly : on ezek. . . mt mede : the apostasie of the latter times . error . sam. bolton : tract concerning errour . jer. burroughs irenicum . bp davenant : exhortation to communion . knowledge and remembrance of god . mr perkins . a declaration of the true manner of knowing christ crucified . will. pemble . mischief of ignorance . dr featley : on cor. . . pet. molinaeus , de cognitione dei . love to god . gratitude   lumbard lib. . aquinas . dae . dr preston . of love , will : pemble . the christians love . mr pink . tryall of a christians love . dr sanderson , tim. . dr donne : on cor : . . trust and hope in god . lumbard lib. . aquinas . dae . mr harris . davids comfort at ziglag . fear of god . lumbard lib. . mr greenham . of gods fear . d. donne . on pet. . . will. case . the nature & necessity of godly fear . humility . aquinas . dae . sibelius de humilitate davidis in psal. . commen . on the beatitudes . m. cawdrey . humility the saints livery . d. featley : on matth. . . bp hall . the fall of pride ; on pov. . . patience . aquinas . ae . see afflictions . drexelius . will : cowper . praise of patience . m. young . l the second commandment does prohibite idolatry , psal. . . will-worship ▪ col : . . superstition , acts . . traditions , coloss : . . witchcraft , exod. . . schisme , cor : . . confusion , cor : . . injoyn right worship in respect of the manner deut : . . means john . . sorts . ordinary prayer , thess. . . preaching , mal. . . sacraments . discipline , mat : . . extraord . fasting , lev. . . feasting , esther . . idolatry . jo : weems , treatise of the idolater . m. perkins . warning against the idolatry of the last times . superstition and will-worship . aquinas . dae . d. hammond treatise of superstition ▪ will-worship . witchcraft . m. perkins , discourse concerning the damned art of witchcraft . jo. weems , treatise of the magician . king james , his daemonology . jo. cotta . tryall of witchcraft . scots discovery of witches . schisme . aquinas . dae . greg : martin : treatise of schisme . tract concerning schisme . anonym. m. brinsley . of prayer : see before . pag. . preaching . m. perkins : the calling of ministers , declaring their dignity and duty . d. stoughton . preachers . dignity .   duty . sam : hierō . bargain of salt ▪   spiritual fishing .   preachers plea .   dignity of preaching ol. bowles , de pastore evangelico . of the sacraments and discipline . see divers discou●ses mentioned before . of religious fasts . various se mons upon this occasion , especially those before the houses of pa : liament . the tracts of mortification . m. hildersham . m. mason , of the christian fast ,   epicures   m. the d commandement does prohibit more particularly the abuse of oathes , jer. . . vowes , num. . . lots , prov. . . injoyn the sanctifying of gods names , d●ut. . . attributes , pet. . . word , psal. . , . works , psal. , , . religion , ephes. . . n. the th commandement concerning the set time of worship , its institution , gen. . . observance , isa. . change , rev. . . o. the th command . concerning the duties of se●erall relations magistrates , tim. . . subjects , rom. . . ministers , pet. . . people , heb : . . parents , ephes. . . children , ephes : . masters , coloss. . . servants , pet : . . husband , ephes. . . wife , ephes : . , . noble and rich , tim. . . poor , sam : . . aged , tit. . , . young , levit , . . of oaths and perjury . lumbard lib. . aquinas . dae . bp andrews : on jer. . . jo. downham : treatise against swearing . d. saunderson , de iuramento . of vowes . the common places : casuists : aquinas . dae . of lots . m. gataker : of lusory lots . treatise . answ. and reply to m. bamford . joh. down : defence of the lawfulnesse of lots in gaming . of the sabbath . brerewood , and byfeild . d. twisse : the morality of the fourth commandement . m. leigh : primrose . jo. sprint : m. ironside . m. cawdrey , & m. palmer . sabbatum redivivum . bp white , &c. politicall duties . bp bilson , of subjection . bp halls politicks . sam. hieron : on luke . . upon this subject see many particular debates of these times : as , d. fearn : the fuller answer . scripture and reason . the treatise of monarchy , &c. oeconomicall duties . m. perkins : of the right manner of ordering a family according to scripture . m. dod : of houshold government . tho : paget : demonst●ation of family duties . bp halls oeconomicks . d. gouge : domesticall duties . m whateley bride bush .   care cloth . m. gataker : on prov. . .   col : . . sam : hieron : on mat ,   ruth . . , p. the . commandement concerning our own and our ne●ghbours person , and life , does probibit roots , unjust anger , matth. . . hatred , john . . fruits , inward desire of revenge , rom. outward in words , reviling , mat. . deeds to the body , lev. . gen. . soul by scandall , matth. . . command friendship , prov. . . mercy , gal : . . placablenesse , ephes. . . meeknesse , ephes. . . overcoming evill with good , rom. . . q. the commandement , concerning chastity , does prohibit all unchastity in the kindes , inward , in desire , mat. . . outward , uncleannesse , cor. . . fornication , cor. . . adultery , heb : . . diorce , mat. . . incest , cor : . . polygamy , cor : . . rape , deut. . . sodomy , rom. , bestiality , lev. . . meanes , idlenesse , sam. . . intemperance , pet : . . neglect of marriage , cor : . . . signes , immodesty , tim. . . bad company , cor : . places , job . . injoyn a care of our owne chastity in the kinde .     means . neighbours   signes . concerning anger and hatred● the commentators on severall parts of the proverbs . plutarchus . seneca de ira . m. greenham , of anger . jo : downham , treatise against anger . of murther . m. sym. lifes preservative . dr donne , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . scandall . common places , casuists , aquinas . dae . jer : dyke , mischiefe of scandals . m. tombes , treatise of scandalizing . d. hammond , of scandall . friendship . the moralists . commentators on the proverbs . cicero de amicitia . danaeus   mercy and peaceablenes comments on the beatitudes . d. donne , on rom. . of whoredome . the casuists at large . jo : downham , treatise of whoredome . d. preston , on colos. . of divorce & polygamy lumbard lib. . aquinas in supplem . p. . the casuists . wigandus de divortiis . beza de polyg . & divor. . edm. bunny , of divorce for adultery and marrying again . m milton treatise .   vindication .   tetrachordon . dove . intemperance . aquinas . dae . junius , the drunkards character . m. harris , the drunkards c●p , on i say . . jo : down : against drunkennesse . vowing ag : marriage . lumbard lib . peter martyr , de caelibatu contra richardum smith . angl. jo : down . r. the th commandmét concerning our own , and our neighbours goods , does prohibit theft , levit. . . oppression , prov. . deceit , thess. . . sacriledge , prov. . . usury , de●t. . . bribery , prov. . . prodigality , luke . . injoyn just dealing , ●evit . . . diligence in our callings , eph. . . frugality , john . . liberality , prov. . . almes , luke . . hospitality , pet. . restitution , exo. . . lev. . . . of sacriledge and tythes . aquinas . dae . bp andrews . sir james semple . bp carleton . m. selden . rob. tillesly . steph. nettles . sir henry spelman . p. h. treleinie . usury . aquinas . dae . salmasius . rog : fenton , treatise of usury . tho : wilson , discourse of usury . ro : bolton , discourse with m. s. dr holmes . bribery . jo : downham , treatise against bribery . justice and equity . aquinas . dae . m. perkins , treatise of christian equity . dt saundersons sermons ad magistratum . dr donne , on rom. . diligence in callings . m. whateley , redemption of time . m. perkins , treatise of callings . dr saunderson , on cor. . . liberality and almes . aquinas . dae . jo : downham , plea for the poor . will : whateley , the poor mans advocate . bp andrews : on tim. . . bp hall :   rob : harris , the old religion . hospitality . caleb : dalechamp , treatise of christian hospitality . restitution . the casuists . aquinas . dae . s. the th commamdment concerning fame , &c. speeches , does prohibit all slaundering , prov. . . credulity , psal. . . hearing talebearers , prov. . ● . censuring , matth. . . sinister suspitions , cor. . . flattery . prov. . . silence in defending , tim. . . injoyn a care of the name of our selves , phil. . . neighbours , mat. . . our speeches that they be deliberate , james . . profitable , gods glory , ephes. . . good of others , col. . . t. the th com mandment concerning motions without consent , does prohibit covetousnesse , heb. . self-love , tim. . . cor. . . evill thoughts , prov. . . envy , prov. . . injoyn a pure heart , tim. . . watchfulnesse over our thoughts , prov. . . contentednesse , phil. . . of lying . common places : casuists : lumbard lib. . aquinas . dae . jo : downham : treatise against lying . of slandering tale-bearers , credulity , flattery . see the comments on many places of the proverbs . censures and suspitions bp hall : on john . . dr saunderson : on rom. . . care of our names and credit . m. greenham : on prov. . . m. gataker : on eccles. . . care of our words . the comments on many places of the proverbs . m. bolton , his directions for a comfortable walking with god . m. perkins : treatise concerning the government of the tongue . covetousnesse . d. preston : remedy against covetousnesse . d. stoughton : baruchs sore gently opened . rob : harris : remedy against covetousnesse . jer : dyke : a counterpoyson against covetousnes self-love . m. rogers history of naaman . m. dyke , of the heart . bp hall , the great impostor : on jer. . . jo : downham : spiritual warfare . thoughts . tho : cowper : government of thoughts . tho : goodwin : vanity of thoughts . m. perkins : treatise of mans imaginations . m. cotton . the christians charge : ●n prov. . will . fenner . the use and benefit of divine meditations . the arraignement of vain and evill thoughts . contentation . d. taylor . bp hall . hen. mason . m. burroughes . v. the gospel , ( asiti distinguished from the law , which was the co●dition of the first cov●nant ) does require faith , which is , historicall , james . . salvificall . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} ; and here of desertions , ps. . . j●b . . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , pet. . . r●pentance the parts search into sinne , lam. . . godly sorrow , cor. . . confession , prov. . . reformation , isay . , . thetime , late repentance , thess. . , . of faith . lumbard lib. . aquinas . dae . joh. wilson , some helps to faith . tho. ball . d. preston . m. pemble . dr jackson . jo. down . jo. cotton the life of faith . sam. ward   ezek : culverwell . treatise of faith . tho : goodwin : encouragements to faith . m. perkins on the th chap. to the hebrew .   grain of mustard seed . tho : shepheard . the sound beleever . desertions . jos. symonds the case of a deserted soul .   cure   drsibs souls conflict .   bruised reed . m. greenham , comforts for afflicted consciences . ro. bolton . instructions for afflicted consciences . rob. yarrow . soveraign comforts . jo. haiward . strong helper . tho. goodwin . child of light . will. whateley : oyl of gladnesse . of doubting bp babington . combate between flesh and spirit . m. perkins :   d. saunderson : on rom● . . assurance . nath. cole . the godly mans assurance . m. ●reenham . marks of a righteous man .   sure signes of election . will. perkins . treatise declaring whether a man be in the state of grace or not . another treatise resolving this case of conscience , how a man may know whether he bee the childe of god . sam : hieron tryall of adoption , john . .   spirituall sonneship joh. . .   the spirituall mans task . thess. . . m. byfeild : signes of a godly and wicked man .   assurance of gods love , and mans salvation . tim: rogers . the righteous mans evidence for heaven . m. roberts , beleevers evidences . will. whateley . gods husbandry . drexelius . the christian zodiack . repentance . dr taylor . dan : dyke . mr stock . ar. dent . m. perkins exhortation to repentance .   of the nature and practise of repentance . dr preston judas his repentance .   pauls conversion . the tracts of conversion , as jo : cotton , the way of life , or the whole work of conversion . tho : shepheard . the sincere convert . m. hooker , the souls preparation .   humiliation .   vocation .   exaltation .   union .   implantation . those that comment on the . psal , as bp lake . will : cowper . sam : hieron. mr. hildersham , &c. d. hammond . of late repentance . william fenner . danger of deferring repentance . though this analysis does not deserve to be much commended , as being in some respects defective , and besides the rules of art , yet it may serve for instance and direction to others , in the finding out a better . the severall particulars may be used as common-place heads , unto which to referre the collections of our reading . now ( i say ) when a minister hath thus distinctly passed over the substance of divinity under such heads as these : it will be very easie for him afterwards to inlarge himself upon any particular subject or text with naturall pertinent matter . there are some other helps of invention to which the art of rhetorick does direct , according to the subject we are to handle , whether demonstrative praise dispraise . deliberative perswade . disswade , judiciall accuse . defend . for each of which there are severall topicks , but 't is supposed that every minister is acquainted with those things in his preparatory studies , and therefore i forbear any further mention of them . thus much of the two first helps unto the gift of preaching , method . matter . the third and last to be insisted upon is concerning expression ; in which there are two things considerable , phrase . eloquution . the phrase should be plain , full , wholesome , affectionate . . it must be plain and naturall , not being darkened with the affectation of scholastic all harshnesse , or rhetoricall fluorishes . obscurity in the discourse is an argument of ignorance in the minde . the greatest learning is to b● seen in the greatest plainnesse . the more clearly we understand any thing our selves , the more easily can we expound it to others . when the notion it self is good , the best way to set it off , is in the most obvious plain expression . s. paul does often glory in this , that his preaching was not in wisedome of words , or excellency of speech ; not with inticing word : of mans wisdome , not as pleasing men , but god , who tryeth the heart . a minister should speak as the oracles of god , pet. . . and it will not become the majesty of a divine embassage , to be garnished out with flaunting affected eloquence . how unsuitable is it to the expectation of a hungry soul , who comes unto this ordinance with a desire of spirituall comfort and instruction , and there to hear only a starched speech full of puerile worded rhetorick ? how properly may such a deceived hearer take up that of seneca ? quid mihi lusoria ista proponis ? non est jocandi locus , ad miseros vocatus es , op●m te laturum naufragis , captis , aegris , intentae securi subjectum pr●stantibus caput , quo diverteris ? quid agis ? 't is a sign of low thoughts and designes , when a mans chief study is about the polishing of his phrase and words . cujuscunque orationem vides politam & sollicitam , scito animum in pusillis occupatum . such a one speaks only from his mouth , and not from his heart . . it must be full , without empty and needlesse tautologies , which are to be avoided in every solid businesse , much more in sacred . our expressions should be so close , that they may not be obscure , and so plain , that they may not seem vain and tedious . to deliver things in a crude confused manner , without digesting of them by previous meditation , will nauseate the hearers , and is as improper for the edification of the minde , as raw meat is for the nourishment of the body . . it must be sound and wholesome , not tainted with any erroneous corrupt doctrine , or the affectation of novelty . false opinions do many times insinuate themselves by the use of suspicious phrases . and 't is a dangerous fault , when men cannot content themselves with the wholesome fo●me of sound words , but do altogether affect new light and new language , which may in time destroy practicall godlinesse and the power of rel●gion . . it must be affectionate and cordiall , as proceeding from the heart , and an experimentall acquaintance with those truths which we deliver . quod procedit è corde redit in cor : 't is a hard matter to affect others , with what we are not first affected our selves . praecipuum ad persuadendum est amare quod suades , amanti pectus ipsum suggerit o●ationis ardorem . 't is said of iohn the baptist , that he was a burning and a shining light . ardere prius est , lucere posterius ; ardor mentis est , ●ux doctrinae . this is to speak in the evidence and demonst●ation of the spirit and of power . there is a common relation to this purpose , of divers learned men , who having a great while , with much argument and strength of reason , contended with another about perswading him to be baptized , he being learned also , could still evade all their arguments . at length a grave pious man amongst them , of no note for learning , stands up and bespeaks him with some downright affectionate expressions , which wrought so effectually upon the other , that he presently submitted ; yeelding this reason , donec audiebam rationes humanas , humanis rationibus repugnabam ; caeterum simul atque audivi spi●itum loquentem , cessi spiritui . and 't is storied of iunius , before his conversion , that meeting once with a country-man as he was in a journey , and falling into discourse with him about divers points of religion , he observed the plain fellow to talk so experimentally , with so much heartinesse and affection , as made him first begin to think , that sure there was something more in those truths , then his notionall humane learning had yet discovered : which occasioned his more serious inquiry into them , and afterwards his conversion . such great power is there in these cordiall expressions . as for the manner of composing sermons , it will not be convenient for one that is a constant preacher , to pen all his discourses , or to tye himself unto phrases : when we have the matter and notion well digested , the expressions of it will easily follow . whereas to be confined unto particular words , besides the great oppression of the memory , will likewise much prejudice the operations of the understanding and affections . the judgment will b● much weakned , and the affections dulled , when the memory is overmuch burdened and vexed . a man cannot ordinarily be so much affected himself , ( and consequently he cannot so easily affect others ) with things that he speaks by rote ; as when he takes some liberty to prosecute a matter according to his more immediate apprehensions of it , by which many particulars may be suggested , that were not before thought of , when he doth expatiate upon any subject , according to the workings of his owne affections , and the various alterations that may appear in the auditory . and then besides , this liberty will breed a {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , such a fitting confidence , as should be in that orator , who is to have a power over the affections of others , which such a one is scarce capable of , who shall so servilely tye himself to particular words and expressions , from which he dares not vary for fear of being out . but a man cannot expect a good habit of preaching thus , without much study and experience . young beginners should use themselves to a more exact and elaborate way , when a good stile and expression is first learned by penning , it will afterwards be more easily retained in discoursing . in the elocution there are two extremities to be avoided : too much boldnesse . fear . . against too much rashnesse and boldnesse , consider the speciall presence of god , and angels , the solemne dignity of those sacred mysteries with which we are intrusted , the weighty businesse of saving souls . and who can be sufficient for these things ? it was a usuall saying of luther , et si jam senex , & in concionando exercitus sum , tamen timeo quoties suggestum conscendo . and he found by experience , that when he was most distrustfull of his own preparations , then were his labours accompanied with some speciall blessing and efficacy . and on the other side , when hee was most confident , then he failed most . . against too much fear , consider , it does not become the businesse we are about , we should speake the word with boldnesse , god has promised his assistance , that his strength shall appear in our weaknesse , it does not become the dignity or excellency of our calling , we are the angels , the ambassadors of god , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , his fellow-workers , and besides , this timerousnesse in the speaker will much hinder the efficacy and power of the word on the hearers . in brief , the most propermanner of eloquution is with modesty and gravity , which will best sute with our calling and businesse . to conclude . the observation of these helps and directions , together with frequent diligent practise , will as farre ( as art can effect ) quickly produce a good habit , and by consequence a facility . finis . the table . a afflictions . pag. atheisme . anger . almes and hospitality . assurance . c concordances . pag. coment : on the bible . catechismes . casuists . creed . controversies about discipline ; viz. episcopacy , presbytery , independency . co●troversies about doctrine , with — papists , lutherans , socinians , arminians , anabapt. antinomians . councels . confessions . church . creation . christ's offices , humiliation and exaltation . ibid conscienc●. covenant of grace . ceremonial and iudicial law . ibid christian liberty . care of our words . covetousnesse . ibid contentation . d decalogue pag. dilligence in callings defertions . e editions of the bible . pag. eccles. history . f foure last things . pag faith . g god . pag. good company . h heathen moralists . pag. heresiologies . happinesse . hearing and reading the word . heresie , apostasie , errour . humility and patience . i iewish learning . pag immortality of the soul . justification . ioy and peace of minde . idolatry . superstition . intemperance . iustice and equity . pag. k knowledge of god . pag. l lives . pag. love , hope , fear . lying and slandering . m mysticall divinity pag. martirologies . man in generall . mortality . mortification . morall law . murther . o oathes , vowes , lots . pag. p proverbial expressions . pag postillers . practicall divinity . predestination . providence . passions . progresse in grace . perseverance . prayer . . & preaching . politicall and oeconomicall duties . r reconcilers pag. religion . redemption . religious fasts . restitution . repentance . s scripture . pag. sripture-philosophy — chron●logy-geography-weighs and measures , - schemes and tropes . allegories . ● systems of divinity . sacraments . . & schoolmen . sinne . ● sanctification . self-love . self-denyall . ● sincerity . sabbath . sca●dall and friendship . sacriledge . t thoughts . pag. v vivification pag. usury . bribery writings of the fathers . watchfulnesse . witchcraft . whoredome . divorce . z zeale . finis . these books are printed for sa. gellibrand , and are to be sold at his shop at the ball in paul's church-yard . dr. twiss synod of dorts and ales. mr. paul bain on the ephesians . m. bowles de pastore evangelico . m. robert bailie's disswasive against brownists . against anabaptists historicall vindication of the church of scotland . antidote against arminianisme . m. cotton of the way of life m. sym. treatise of life and self-murther . m. downh●n plea for the poor . dr. stoughton body of divinity . dr. cheynell , the rise and growth of socinianisine . the divine trinunity of the god-head . m. goodwin the vanity of thoughts . m. morton the state of the church . threefold state of man . piscator's aphorismes in english . of justification . chillingworthi novissima . dr. saunderson's . sermons . m. sheffield of conscience . m. sedgwick christs counsell to sardis . sr. jo. temple history of the irish rebellion . dr. taylor on the revelation . dr. wilkins , ecclesiastes or a discourse of preaching . mathematicall magick . the beauty of providence . m. wallis his animadversions on the lord brooks his book of truth . m. bradwel's helps for sudden accidents . m. sedgwick against antinomianisme . the mystery of iniquity yet working in england , scotland , and ireland . plain english . the life and death of ms. brettergh . the art of surveying . the jewel of arithmetick . an account given to the parliament by the ministers sent to oxon. sermons preached by m. oliver bowles . m. ed. bowles . m. bond . m. baily . m. catelyn . dr. cheynell . m. hall . dr. horton . m. marshall . m. maynard . m. nalton . m. palmer . m. pickering . m. ob. sedgwick . m. jo. sedgwick . dr. tuckney . dr. temple . dr. hen. wilkinson . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a e- luke . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . so jo. molanus in bibliotheca materiarum , under the head of concionandi munus . james . . psal. . . john . theol. pro phet . par . cap. . jam. . . c or . . . luk. . thes. . z pet. . . n●h. . dr reynolds selfe denyall . in the year before christ . . . . . . . . since christ . . . . . . . lud. de tena isag. see ludca●elli historia apostol. rev. . cor. . . rom . isa. . . tim. . . eccles. . . rom. . . laudabile . possibile . facile . cor . phil. , luk . isay. . . august . de scalis parad . cap●z . nic. hemming de pasiore . translations of the bible . munsters . editions of the bible . hebrew with translations . hebrew alone . septuagint . new testa . see many other commentators mentioned in possevin , draudius , schottus . besodnerus , the oxford catalogue . l. verulams advance of learning . . catechisme . . common places . erasmiecclesiastes . lib. . eccles. lib. . see amesi us his chrstianae catechesi●● sciagraphia . cor. . . cap. . , . thess. . non quaerit aeger mediqum eloquentem , sed sanantem . sen . ep. . epist. . epist. . tim. . . tim. . tit , . . tim. , . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . cor. . . acts . . cor. . . king james his letter and directions to the lord archbishop of canterbury concerning preaching and preachers with the bishop of canterburies letter to the bishop of lincolne, lord keeper, desiring him to put in practise the kings desires that none should preach but in a religious forme : and not that every young man should take to himselfe an exorbitant liberty to preach what he listeth to the offence of his majesty and the disturbance and disquiet of the church and common-wealth. england and wales. sovereign ( - : james i) this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing j ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing j estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; :e , no ) king james his letter and directions to the lord archbishop of canterbury concerning preaching and preachers with the bishop of canterburies letter to the bishop of lincolne, lord keeper, desiring him to put in practise the kings desires that none should preach but in a religious forme : and not that every young man should take to himselfe an exorbitant liberty to preach what he listeth to the offence of his majesty and the disturbance and disquiet of the church and common-wealth. england and wales. sovereign ( - : james i) abbot, george, - . [ ], p. thomas walkeley, [london] : . "the arch-bishop of canterburies [george abbot's] letter, to the archbishop of yorke [tobias matthew]": p. - . "the lord arch-bishops letter to the lord keeper [john williams].": p. - . reproduction of original in thomason collection, british library. eng james -- i, -- king of england, - . abbot, george, - . church of england -- customs and practices -- th century. preaching -- england -- early works to . great britain -- religion -- th century. a r (wing j ). civilwar no king james his letter and directions to the lord archbishop of canterbury; concerning preaching and preachers; with the bishop of canterburi england and wales. sovereign b the rate of defects per , words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than defects per , words. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - mona logarbo sampled and proofread - mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion king james his letter and directions to the lord archbishop of canterbury ; concerning preaching and preachers ; with the bishop of canterburies letter to the bishop of lincolne , lord keeper , desiring him to put in practise the kings desires , that none should preach but in a religious forme . and not that every young man should take to himselfe an exorbitant liberty , to preach what he listeth , to the offence of his majesty , and the disturbance and disquiet of the church and common-wealth . printed for thomas walkeley , . king iames his letter and directions to the lord arch-bishop of canterbury , concerning preaching and preachers . most reverend father in god , right trusty , and right entirely beloved councellour , wee greet you well ; for as much , as the abuses and extravagancies of preachers in the pulpit , have beene at all times redressed in this realme by some act of councell , or state , with the advise , and resolution of grave and learned prelates , insomuch , as the very licensing of preachers had a beginning by an order of starchamber , the . day of iuly , in the yeare of the raigne of king henry the eight our noble predecessour . and whereas at this present divers young students , by reading of late writers and ungrounded divines , doe broach many times unprofitable , unsound , seditious and dangerous doctrines to the scandall of this church , and disquieting of the state , and present government . wee upon the humble representation unto us of these inconveniences , by sundry grave , and reverend , prelates of this church , as also of our princely care and zeale for the extirpation of schisme , and discension , growing from these seeds , and for the setling of a religious and peaceable government , both of the church and state ; doe by these our speciall letters streightly charge and command you to use all possible care and diligence , that these limitations and cautions herewith sent unto you , concerning preachers , bee duely and strictly from henceforth observed , and put in practise by the severall bishops , of their severall diocesses within your iurisdiction . and to this end our pleasure is , that you send them forth coppies of these directions ; to bee by them speedily sent and communicated to every parson , vicar , curate , and lecturer in every cathedrall and parish church , within their severall diocesses , and that you earnestly require them to employ their uttermost endeavours in the performance of this so important a businesse , letting them know , that wee have a speciall eye to their proceedings , and expect a strict accompt both of you , and every of them . and these our letters shall bee your sufficient warrant in this behalfe . given under our signet at our castle of windsor the . day of august , in the . yeare of our raigne , of england , france , and ireland , and of scotland , the six and fiftieth , . his majesties orders and directions , concerning preaching and preachers . that no preacher under the degree and calling of a bishop , or deane of a cathedrall or collegiate church , ( and they upon the kings dayes onely , and set festivals , ) doe take occasion by the expounding of any text of scripture whatsoever , to fall into any set course or common place , otherwise then by opening the coherence and division of his text , which shall not bee comprehended and warranted in essence , substance , effect , or naturall inference , within some one of the articles of religion set forth , . or in some , one of the homilies set forth by authority in the church of england , not onely for a helpe of none preaching , but withall for a paterne , as it were , for the preaching ministers , and for their further instruction for the performance thereof : that they forthwith read over and peruse diligently the said booke of articles , and the two bookes of homilies . that no person , vicar , curate , or lecturer shall preach any sermon or collation hereafter upon sun-dayes and holy-dayes in the after noones in any cathedrall or parish church throughout the kingdome . but upon some part of the catechisme , or some text taken out of the creed and commandements , or the lords prayer , ( funerall sermons onely excepted , ) and that those preachers bee most incouraged , and approved off , who spend their afternones exercise in the examination of children in their catechismes , and in the expounding of the severall points and heads of the catechisme , which is the most ancient and laudable custome of teaching in the church of england . that no preacher of what title soever , under the degree of a bishop or deane , at the least , doe from hence forth presume to preach in any popular auditory , the deepe points of predestination , election , reprobation , or of the universality , efficacity , restibility or irrestibility of gods grace , but rather leave those theames to bee handled by learned men , and that modestly and moderately by use and application , rather then by way of positive doctrine , as being fitter for schooles and vniversities then for simple auditories . that no preacher , of what title or denomination soever shall presume from henceforth in any auditory within this kingdome to declare limit or bound out by way of positive doctrine in any lecture or sermon , the power , prerogative , iurisdiction , authority , or duty of soveraigne princes , or therein meddle with these matters of state and the reference betweene princes and the people ; then as they are instructed in the homily of obedience , and in the rest of the homilies and articles of religion set forth , as before is mentioned by publique authority ; but rather confine themselves wholly to these two heads of faith and good life , which are all the subject of the ancient sermons and homilies . that no preacher , of what title or denomination soever shall causelesly , and without any invitation from the text , fall into any bitter invective and undecent rayling speeches against the papists or puritans , but wisely and gravely , when they are occasioned thereunto by the text of scripture , free both the doctrine and discipline of the church of england from the aspersions of either adversary , especially , where the auditory is suspected to bee tainted with the one or the other infection . lastly , that the archbishop and bishops of the kingdome , ( whom his majesty hath good cause to blame for their former remisnesse ) bee more wary , and chose in licensing of preachers ; and revoke all grants , made to any chancellour , officiall , or commissary , to passe licences in this kind : and that all the lectures throughout the kingdome ; ( a new body severed from the ancient clergy of england , as being neither parson , vicar , nor curate , ) bee licensed hence forward in the court of faculties , onely upon recommendation of the party from the bishop of the diocesse under his hand and seale , with a fiat from the lord archbishop of canterbury , and a confirmation under the great seale of england , and that such , as transgresse any one of these directions bee suspended by the bishop of the diocesse , or in his default by the lord archbishop of the province , ab officio & beneficio , for a yeare and a day , untill his majesty by the advise of the next convocation prescribe some further punishment . the arch-bishop of canterburies letter , to the arch-bishop of yorke . my very good lord , i doubt not , but before this time , you have received from mee the directions of his most excellent majesty , concerning preaching and preachers , which are so graciously set downe , that no godly or discreet man can otherwise then acknowledge , that they doe much tend to edification , if hee doe not take them up upon report , but doe punctually consider the tenure of the words as they lye , and doe not give an ill construction to that , which may receive a faire interpretation . notwithstanding , because some few churchmen , and many of the people , have sinisterly conceived as wee here find , that those instructions doe tend to the restraint of the exercise of preaching , and doe in some sort abate the number of sermons and so consequently , by degrees doe make a breach to ignorance and superstition ; his majesty in his princely wisedome , hath thought fit , that i should advertise your lordship of the grave and weighty reasons , which induced his highnesse to prescribe that which is done . you are therefore to know , that his majesty being much troubled and grieved at the heart , to heare every day of so many defections from our religion , both to popery and anabaptisme , or other points of seperation in some parts of this kingdome ; and considering with much admiration ; what might bee the cause thereof , especially in the raigne of such a king , who doth so constantly professe himselfe an open adversary to the superstition of the one , and madnesse of the other ; his princely wisedome could fall upon no one greater probability , then the lightnesse , affectednesse , and unprofitablenesse of that kind of preaching , which hath beene of late yeares too much taken up in court , vniversity , city , and countrey . the usuall scope of very many preachers , is noted to bee soringe up in points of divinty , too deepe for the cap●city of the people , or a mustring up of much reading , or a displaying of their owne wit , or an ignorant medling with civill matters , as well in the private of severall parishes and corporations , as in the publike of the kingdome ; or a venting of their owne distast , or a smoothing up of those idle fancies , which in this blessed time of so long a peace , doe boile in the braines of an unadvised people , or lastly , a rude or undecent rayling not against the doctrines ( which when the text shall occasion the same , is not onely improved , but much commended by his royall majesty ; ) but against the persons of papists and puritans . now the people bred up with this kind of teaching , and never instructed in the catechisme and fundamentall grounds of religion , are for all this ayry nourishment , no better then ( abrajae tabulae ; ) new table bookes ready to bee filled up , either with the manuals and catechismes of the popish priests , or the papers and pamphlets of anabaptists , brownists , and puritans . his majesty therefore calling to mind the saying of tertullian , ( id verum quod primum ; ) and remembring , with what doctrine the church of england in her first and most happy reformation , did drive out the one , and keepe out the other from poisoning and infecting the people of this kingdome : doth find that the whole scope of this doctrine , is contained in the articles of religion , the two bookes of homilies , the lesser and the greater catechisme , which his majesty doth recommend againe in these directions as the theames and proper subjects of all sound and edifying preaching . and so farre are these directions from abating , that his majesty doth expect at our hands , that it should increase the number of sermons by renuing upon every sunday in the afternone in all parish churches throughout the kingdome , that primitive , and most profitable exposition of the catechisme , where with the people , ( yea ) very children may bee timely seasoned and instructed in all the heads of christian religion , the which kind of teaching ( to our amendment bee it spoken , ) is more diligently observed in all the reformed churches of europe , then of late it hath beene here in england . i find his majesty much moved with this neglect , and resolved ; ( if wee that are his bishops , doe not see a reformation hereof , which i trust wee shall ) to recommend it to care of the civill magistrate . so farre is his highnesse from giving the least discouragement to sollide preaching , or discreet , or religious preachers . to all this , i am to adde , that it is his majesties princely pleasure , that both the former directions , and those reasons of the same , bee fairely written in every registers office ; to the end , that every preacher of what denomination soever , may if hee bee so pleased take out coppies of either of them with his owne hand ( gratis ; ) paying nothing in the name of fee and expedition . but if hee doe use the paines of the register , or his clarkes , then to pay some moderate fee , to bee pronounced in open court by the chancellours and commissaries of the place , taking the direction and approbation of my lords , the bishops . lastly , that from hence forward a course may bee taken , that every parson , vicar , curate , or lecturer , doe make exhibite of these his majesties directions , and the reasons for the same at the ensuing visitation of the bishops and arch-deacons , paying to the register by way of fee , but two pence at the time of the exhibite ; and so wishing , but withall , in his majesties name , requiring your lordship to have a speciall and extraordinary care of the premisses . i leave you to the almighty . from croyden , sept. . . your lordships very loving brother , g. cant. the lord arch-bishops letter , to the lord keeper . by this you see , his majesties princely care , that none should preach christ crucified , obedience to the higher powers , and honest , and christian conversation of life , but in a religious forme ; and not , that every young man shall take unto himselfe an exorbitant liberty to teach what he listeth , to the offence of his majesty , and the disturbance and disquiet of the church and common-wealth . i can give your lordship no better directions for the pursuance hereof , then are prescribed to you in his majesties letter , and the schedule herewith sent unto you , whereof i pray your lordship to bee very carefull , since it is the princely pleasure of his highnesse to require an accompt both of you and mee for the same . and so not doubting , but by your register , or otherwise , you will cause these instructions to bee communicated to your clergy . i leave you to the almighty and remaine . your loving brother , g. cant. fini● . concerning such as have forbidden preaching or teaching in the name of jesus and such as are ashamed to confess him before men, and call not on the name of the lord, &c. fox, george, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing f a estc r this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) concerning such as have forbidden preaching or teaching in the name of jesus and such as are ashamed to confess him before men, and call not on the name of the lord, &c. fox, george, - . sheet ([ ] p.) printed for thomas howkins in george-yard in lumbard-street, london : [ ] signed and dated at foot: g.f. [i.e. george fox]. the th. day of the th. month, . reproduction of the original in the friends' house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of 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should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching -- england -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - mona logarbo sampled and proofread - mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion concerning such as have forbidden preaching or teaching in the name of jesus , and such as are ashamed to confess him before men , and call not on the name of the lord , &c. here you may see who , and what they were , that forbad the apostles to preach or teach , or speak in the name of jesus , and what christ saith of such that are ashamed to confess him before men ; and what judgments come upon those families , kingdoms or nations , that do not call upon the name of the lord : and they that do not call upon the name of the lord , and know him not , are such as devoureth jacob , the elect and beloved of god. and yet the lord poureth out of his spirit upon all flesh , that with the spirit they may know god , and call upon his name , joel . acts . the jews and their priests said unto the apostles , and threatned them , that ye speak henceforth to no man in this name jesus , acts . . and they said again ( in verse . ) to the apostles , that they should not teach in the name of jesus . and in acts . . they again said , that they should not teach in the name of jesus , [ mark ] not to teach in the name of jesus . and in verse . they said again to the apostles , that they should not speak in the name of jesus , [ mark ] not so much as to speak in the name of jesus . and yet the apostle said , with the heart man believeth , and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation . and if thou confess with thy mouth the lord jesus christ , and that god hath raised him up from the dead , thou shalt be saved , rom. . , . and the jews , which were the greatest outward professors , agreed , that if any man did confess that he was the christ , they should be put out of their synagogue , john . . and many of the chief rulers believed on him , but because of the pharisees , they did not confess him , namely christ , lest they should be put out of their synagogue , john . . so here were them that did believe , both rulers and others in christ , but they were afraid to confess christ , lest they should be excommunicated , or put out of their synagogues . and christ saith unto his disciples , whosoever shall confess me before men , him will i confess also before my father which is in heaven : but whosoever shall deny me before men , him will i also deny before my father which is in heaven , mat. . , . and luke . . so here you may see they that do confess christ before men , are confessed by him before his father , and they that deny him before men , christ will deny before his father . and john saith , every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ is come in the flesh is of god , and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ is come in the flesh is not of god : so here you may see that it is the good spirit of god that doth confess his son to be come in the flesh , john . , . here you may see the two spirits , that which is of god , and that which is not of god , the good spirit , and the bad spirit . and , who confess not that jesus christ is come in the flesh , is a deceiver and an antichrist , and so not in the spirit of god nor christ , john . . and the apostle saith , prove your own selves , know ye not your own selves , how that jesus christ is in you , except you be reprobates ? cor. . . and so if they have not the spirit of christ , and if he be not in them , then they are reprobates , and so none of christ's . and the apostle saith to the colossians , christ in you the hope of glory , and they warned every man , and taught every man in all wisdom , that they might present every man perfect in christ jesus : so then christ must be in his people , and they must be in him , col. . , . and christ before pontius pilate witnesseth a good confession , tim. . . this was before his persecutor , so must all the followers of the lamb confess him before men to the glory of god the father , and not be ashamed of christ their life , light and salvation , redeemer , mediator , prophet , bishop , shepherd , leader , counsellor , way and door to god , and the author and finisher of their faith , and heavenly rock and foundation , and the captain of their salvation , and not to be ashamed to meet in his name , who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him , lest he be ashamed of you before his holy angels , and his father which is in heaven : and therefore in his light , spirit , grace , truth and faith , see and hold christ your head , who bruiseth the serpents head , and reconcileth you to god , in whom you and all nations are blessed , and have rest and peace , amen . pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not , and upon the families that call not upon thy name , for they have eaten up jacob , and devoured him , and consumed him , and bave made his habitation desolate , jer. . . these were the persecutors of the faithful . and david saith , pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee , and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name , for they have devoured jacob , and laid waste his dwelling place , psal . . , . these were the persecutors of god's elect. yet god setteth the poor on high from affliction , and maketh him families like a flock , psal . . . and god setteth the solitary in families , and bringeth out those which are bound with chains : but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. psalm . . the th . of the th . month , . g. f. london , printed for thomas howkins in george-yard in lumbard-street . the humble petition or remonstrance of rich: day of eton neer windsor, to the parliament of the common-wealth of england. i. for the repairing of the decay of wood and timber. ii. for the planting of an able preaching ministry throughout the land. iii. for the working of the works of mercy and charitie: and for an act against the pride of apparell. day, richard, of eton. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (thomason e _ ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing d thomason e _ estc r this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; :e [ ]) the humble petition or remonstrance of rich: day of eton neer windsor, to the parliament of the common-wealth of england. i. for the repairing of the decay of wood and timber. ii. for the planting of an able preaching ministry throughout the land. iii. for the working of the works of mercy and charitie: and for an act against the pride of apparell. day, richard, of eton. [ ], p. printed by m. simmons, london : in the year, . annotation on thomason copy: "june. .". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng preaching -- england -- early works to . charity -- early works to . a r (thomason e _ ). civilwar no the humble petition or remonstrance of rich: day of eton neer windsor, to the parliament of the common-wealth of england.: i. for the repai day, richard, of eton. b the rate of defects per , words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than defects per , words. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - angela berkley sampled and proofread - angela berkley text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the humble petition or remonstrance of rich : day of eton neer windsor , to the parliament of the common-wealth of england . i. for the repairing of the decay of wood and timber . ii. for the planting of an able preaching ministry throughout the land . iii. for the working of the works of mercy and charitie : and for an act against the pride of apparell . london : printed by m. simmons in the yeare , . honourable sir ▪ above a yeare agoe i petitioned your honour , and under your name the parliament of england , for the raising of a future plantation of wood and timber throughout the land : considering it as one of the greatest comforts of life , a worke of mercy and charitie to the poore , of piety towards god , and his church , and of absolute necessitie for the maintenance of navigation , the building of houses , the maintenance of husbandry , and divers usefull and necessary trades in the common-wealth . all which notwithstanding , it was not my opinion that the matter could be throughly proceeded in so soone as my selfe and others could wish or desire : neither doe i hould it the worke of one yeare , but rather such as will take up an employment for divers yeares one after another successively . true it is , if it like your honour , i have heard it estimated by some of good understanding and knowledge , that the losse of any one yeare in the due prosecuting of this affaire for the common-wealth , is of no lesse value , if not farre greater , then the losse of one hundred thousand pounds . yet this i consider with my selfe , that the state may be so employed otherwise , that they cannot so instantly pursue it as some thinke they may . such a dishonourable , disloyall conceit cannot enter into me , that those which sit at the sterne , watching and waiting all opportunities to doe publique good , can wilfully , enviously , or carelesly betray the honour , strength , comfort , and conservation of the common-wealth in such a maine , and most important busines as this . in as much as wood and timber will alwayes be worth money , it is in the power of the state , very easily , and within a reasonable time , to raise divers millions of money , by planting and encreasing of woods : besides other comforts and commodities arising thereof . on the contrary , woe to this land , at leastwise as i conceive , for the decay of woods , not onely if shipping shall faile , whereof it is sayd to be in apparant danger for time to come , but if sea-coale shall faile , as i am sure it may by more accidents then one : the misery whereof began to be seene and felt not very many yeares agoe , when the scots were possessed of new-castle . certainly , it is the will of god , that mens lives should by all means be made comfortable , and that we use our wits , strength , & knowledge , whatsoever it is , to the profiting of one another , and setting forth the praise of god in the world . imitating the nature of good angels , who though they excell in dignity and beauty all other creatures , yet they disdaine not to be serviceable to men , doing it with singular love , and good will ; and infinitely rejoycing therein . in consideration whereof a certain theologicall writer hath this excellent saying : that after the example of angells we ought to employ our selves , in soule , and body , calling , credit , and all we have for the good of men . thus i have presumed ( under assurance of honourable favour and leave ) to revive the memory of my late petition , proposition , or remonstrance , for repairing the decay of wood and timber . toward the latter end whereof i did intimate to your honour , how that i had also travailed with the late king for the planting and propagating of the word of god in a just and due manner throughout the land . i did it by way of petition , as the case necessarily required , and briefly , and summarily the effect was this : in the first place i did justly and truely affirme it , that the state and condition of impropriations is apparantly derogatory to the glory of god , and salvation of soules . next , i shewed unto the king , how it rested in his owne sole power , to grant licences in mortmaine , whereby to make the churches capable of a restauration in that case by due course of law , and not otherwise . thirdly , i proposed a collection of benevolences to be had and made throughout the realme of england , whereby appropriatories might be satisfied , either in land , or money , to the full value of their estates . lastly , i suggested a competency of yearly rent to be reserved upon all those livings , as they should grow to be purchased , to the king , his heires and successors , in lieu , of first fruits , tenths , and subsidies : to the end that the revenew of the crowne or state , might not suffer diminution by any device or proposition of mine . this was the maine ground , and the summe and substance of my petition . whereby it may appeare , as i suppose , that i intended no wrong or violence to any , but proceeded in a lawfull , peaceable , and satisfactory way , and not otherwise . as for a generall , free restitution of impropriations ( which hath been often & earnestly urged heretofore ) i have ever held it a most unreasonable , and uncharitable demand , besides the impossibility of obteining it . and in case that it were possible to have it prevailed in at this day , it would not onely be the undoing of private families , but also the dissolving of collegiate societies , which are the seminaries & nurceries of good learning , and of gods true religion in the land . it was meerly a satanicall device , tending to the destruction of souls , when impropriations were put upon colledges in exchange for lands of another tenure . for then , and from thence-forth , the church could not build up it selfe without destroying it selfe : in as much as colledges are rightly called , semen ecclesiae , the seed of the church . i omit for brevity sake , to shew how the matter was discussed at my attendance at the councell board , how the king was ready to have proceeded , and by whom , and under what pretence the proceeding was secretly stopt and stayd . whatsoever shall be conceived of my proceeding with the said late king , which is here above recited , it is a comfort to my conscience , that i have faithfully travailed in a lawfull and peaceable way for the propagating of the word of god , which is the glory & strength of a nation , and the light , and life , and everlasting happines of every true christian believer . i never proposed any thing to the said late king , but what i meant to justifie at , and to a parliament whensoever . for though the times then were such , that no parliament could be had ( the reason whereof i well perceived , and understood ) yet i did not believe that the state of those times would continue long , whatsoever the alteration should be . and the ground & reason of my conjecture did not faile me . now to crave humble leave to speak somewhat of the matter in generall , although but briefly in comparison of that which might be said , i doe thus conceive of it . there is nothing dearer to god then his sacred word , and the saving of soules , for which the son of god was incarnate , and suffered shame & reproach , and a cruell death . now when once the true religion is established in a nation , the planting and propagating of it is of all religious causes the next in order by the necessity of just consequence . for otherwise , we make our selves unworthy of so great a benefit , and at length we hazard the losse of it . as for this our nation , it hath abounded in wealth and peace heretofore , and that of a very long time together , through the great and rich blessing of god upon it . wherefore it is much to be lamented , that in all that peaceable time , a pious learned ministery hath not been planted , and setled throughout the land , as it might and ought to have been . for this cause especially , as i in my conscience am perswaded , is the wrath of god incensed , and stirred up against the land . other sins there are very great , and many , even a multitude and heape of them . but the neglect and contempt of the word of god in this kinde , overthroweth all in the foundation . under correction , it may seeme to overthrow the ground of publick proceeding in the late lamentable warre . which i could declare more particularly , if i thought it convenient . sure i am , if we refuse to plant our own , and the onely true religion , when god giveth time and meanes to doe it , our consciences , if we aske them , will tell us , that we doe altogether deserve to be plagued with the contrary . it is gods exceeding great mercy , & forbearance , that the true protestant religion ( which we praise , and professe ) is not utterly taken from us a good while agoe , and the antichristian placed , and set up in the roome thereof . wee have wanted neither time nor means to do the will of god in this kinde , but we have wanted love and good will to stirre us up thereunto . if we have found and known the sweetnes of the word of god in our selves , and for our own particulars , how is it that we have not earnestly sought to communicate it to others ? when thou art converted , sayth he , convert thy brother . it is extreame cruelty , thus to neglect the soules of our brethren , and neighbours , which ought to be as deare unto us as our owne . he liveth not the life of a christian , but a dead , dull , uncomfortable being he hath in this world , whatsoever he is , that enjoyeth not the benefit of the word of god duely preached & taught in the dayes of solemne assemblies , i meane , the sabbath dayes in the publique churches , according to the ordinance and appointment of god . there is nothing under heaven that may be compared to the benefit thereof . it is the ease and release of all weekly labour , all worldly sorrow , misery and trouble . and in some degree it is a lively representation of the kingdome of heaven , where the psalme-singers , the holy saints and angells are filled with unspeakable joy & gladnesse by their continuall beholding of the glorious presence of god , and giving him thankes and praises : as it is written in the booke of the psalmes ; in thy presence is the fulnesse of joy , and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore . i will shortly conclude this point , with a briefe recicall of that which was uttered at the councell , or rather the conspiracy of trent . it is well knowne that that councell was packt and plotted for the pope . neverthelesse , there were divers grave , learned , judicious , and religious men convened therein , and no great favourers of the pope . amongst whom the bishop of toledo sitting as ambassadour for his maister the king of spaine , spake thus ; i have heard it often said , that if there were yet but one soule to be saved ( supposing that the propitiation for sins were not throughly made as it is ) christ would descend againe and suffer . wherefore , quoth he , i marvaile with what conscience the pope can give himselfe any rest , having the cure of so many churches lying upon him , and no course taken to discharge the same . thus spake he according to the common error and opinion of the deluded princes and people of those times , as touching the unlimited power and jurisdiction of the pope over all churches : the application whereof were easie to be made in regard of those many desolate and unprovided churches in this our land , but i omit it for brevity sake , humbly referring it , to all pious , prudent , serious , and religious consideration . for the longer that this matter is deferred , the more pernitious it is to the state . god never yet left the contempt of his holy word , and the holy ministery thereof unrevenged , nor never will . from hence i shall humbly crave leave to descend to the third , and last particular , which i had in mine intention to have proposed to the said late king , that is to say , for the working of the works of mercy and charity towards the poore , in a magnificent sort , answerable to his regall estate , and in some degree to the exigency of the people . for otherwise , as for the distributing of small summes of money at certaine times , we know there was an ordinary course setled in the office of the kings almoner . about a yeare or two agoe , i heard of somewhat that was intended by the parliament to be done in this kinde within the citie of london . which gives me the greater encouragement to speake and treate of the matter here . i would not presse this duty to the present state in these so chargeable times , but that i know most assuredly how it may be most easily and conveniently performed , notwithstanding any taxes or payments now already imposed upon the people , or ever likely to be imposed . it may be done in a privative way , & in a positive . in this place i shall onely insist upon the privative , for the encrease of the workes of charitie , by substracting and taking away from the works of superfluitie , vanity , and overflowing wickednesse . my most humble and earnest request now therefore is , that a strong permanent act , may be framed and put forth against the pride of apparell . as i conceive it , the pride of this land will be the destruction thereof , if it be not timely repressed : it is so excessive , that i suppose the divine justice of god cannot beare it . let not my fancy or folly be objected against me in this case , but let the matter be examined by the word of god , which is the rule of truth . in the third chap. of the prophecy of isaiah , there is a particular enumeration and recitall of those proud fashions and gestures which were used among the israelitish women in those dayes . if any man should goe about to doe the like among us , as the prophet doth there , he would seeme to trifle and to deale absurdly and ridiculously . but the spirit of god doth not trifle , neither is any word of god idle or vaine . if any man should doubt whether the eye and observation of god were so upon all the actions of men and women on earth , as to mark and take notice what apparell they weare , and what gesture of body they use , he might be satisfied in it by the perusall of that place of scripture . in the end and close whereof there is no lesse punishment threatned , then the destruction of the land . and did god so hate the pride of women in those dayes , and will he tolerate it now in the people of this our nation ? if the misery of a civill warr ( which did manifestly threaten our destruction ) cannot serve to bring downe our pride , how , doe we thinke , should god deale with us ? for in respect of our obstinate rebellion , and disobedience , we doe none other in the effect , then make this the question : whether we shall humbly submit to god , and feare before him as we ought , or that he should yeeld to us , to give us leave to live , and doe as we list ? doe we provoke him to anger , saith the apostle , are we stronger then he ? and both in leviticus , and deuteronomy , god threatneth the israelites , that if they will not turne and repent upon his first chastising of them , he will encrease their plagues seven-times more . our blessed saviour in his divine sermon upon the mount , pronounceth them blessed that are mercifull , as it is in the sixt chapter of the gospel of st matthew , blessed are the mercifull , for they shall obtaine mercy . if they are blessed that are mercifull , then they are cursed that are unmercifull , and cruell . it is a true inference , and it is englands case concerning alms-deeds , and the reliefe of the poore . in the proud carriages of men in these dayes , and their vaine , foolish , and garish attire , as there is a bold audacious presuming against god himselfe ( for it is done in his sight ) so moreover there is a mercilesse , cruell persecuting of the poore , whose eyes cannot but behold it , to the griefe of their hearts : according to that saying ; the poore are persecuted in the pride of the ungodly . i know there are divers other ungodly , and uncharitable wayes of misspending the good gifts and blessings of god in the world , besides the vanity of apparell . but i insist upon this , because i hold it for the most generall & expensive way . concerning my poore and unworthy selfe , i declare my conscience in this respect : i would not desire to be the planter of wood , no , nor of the word of god it selfe , without exercising the works of mercy ▪ and charity to the poore , according to that ability and meanes , which god should please to put into my hands : considering how the son of god , the second person in trinity was content to make himselfe poore , that he might enrich others , and how the diffinitive sentence of absolution and condemnation shall goe upon it at the last day . it is not popery to relieve the poore , as some are pleased to account it now adayes : it is pride , covetousnesse , and cruelty , not to doe it . no man possibly can know aright how to give almes , or to doe any good worke whatsoever , save onely the true protestant , who beleeveth , and knoweth that salvation , life , and glory , are already purchased by the death and merit of christ , and therefore good workes must be done to the glory of god , and christ , to testifie our faith in him , and our love to him , who hath so loved us , that he gave himselfe a propitiation , and ransome for our sins . these things i am bould to propose , because i hold my selfe bound thereunto in the behalfe of god , and for the publique safety of the land , that the loving favour of god may rest upon it . i might enlarge this discourse to a very great length , but i will rather abridge it . in the first covenant that came forth from the parliament divers yeares agoe , this reason was given of all the common calamitie that hath befallen us , namely this , that we have not received christ into our hearts : and i doe verily believe it to be so . for if the love of christ had been shed abroad in our hearts , it would have kept us from those great , and manifold transgressions , which we now stand guilty of : it would have led us into all good wayes , and learned us to keepe his commandements . nothing in the world would have been sweeter , and dearer to us . since i knew this world ( in which i have lived a long time ) i never heard the name of christ so much in the mouths of men as it is now adayes , and hath been of late yeares . that great , and holy , and excellent name is worthy to be mentioned , and had in honour , and to be exalted , and magnified at all times , and in all places throughout the world . but god grant we may have him in our hearts as well as in our mouths , least otherwise our deepe hypocrisie should be discovered at the last , and we be found to have collogued with the world , and dealt untruly with god . amor si est , mira operatur ; si operari renuit , amor non est . the love of christ , if it be in us indeed , will constraine us to doe those good things , which will seeme strange unto the world : but if we refuse to propound him to us as an ensample , that we may tread in his steps , how then abideth his love in us ? if we have yet received christ into our hearts , or if we will yet receive him , i am very sure , the things that i have here proposed will be readily assented unto , and put in due execution : wherefore i will not doubt of the integrity , and sinceritie of the superiour powers under which we live , but that they will set themselves with all faithfulness and diligence to doe the will of god in all things . it was the voyce of an envious malignant papist , namely , the cardinall matheolangi , that was heard in the councell of trent , speaking thus to some of his intimate friends , as concerning luther : that luthers demands , and his vehement complaints against the abuses of the court of rome were just , and reasonable ; but that a poore fryar should reforme all , this was not to be endured . i am not so jealous of my poore credit in the world , but i can be content to be neglected , and despised of all that are of it , of all that are in it , so that god may vouch safe to have respect unto me , as to one that desireth to feare his name in truth and sinceritie , and to seeke his glory , and the good of his people . although monarchy were still on foote , and in place , and power , yet neverthelesse i would be bold to affirme thus much , being able to prove it : that if this state and common-wealth shall be preserved from ruine and destruction , it must be by the benefit of parliaments , in ordaining good , and wholesome lawes , and not onely so , but seeing them put in due , and strict execution , partly by imitating the office of censorship among the old romans , whereof we read in their history . i will shut up all with little more then the recitall of a very briefe saying in chrysostome , but somewhat pertinent , as i suppose , to these proud , licentious , and luxurious times in which we live : it is not so hard to refute heretiques , as to reforme vices . religion will decay and dye where dissolutenes of manners is not repressed and kept downe . it is not any singular , censorious conceit of mine , but a common complaint , that the pride of this land was never so great as now . i am sure , it is such , and so great , that it cryeth for judgement , true it is , we enjoy great peace , and quietnesse at this day , being farre above , and contrary to our desert . neverthelesse , i hould it a cleare case , and undeniable , that by reason of those great , and strange alterations , which have lately happened in our land , we doe live as yet , but in a controverted divided state : and it is impossible to secure , and stablish it by any other way , save onely by repenting ( without hypocrisie ) for the fore-passed time , and now hence forward walking humbly with god , holding close with him , and working the workes of piety , and charity , and so advancing his glory : because his loving kindnes , and goodnes towards us , and our late ancestors , and predecessors , hath been exceeding great , but we all have been unfaithfull , and unthankfull , abusing our long peace , neglecting his glory , and our owne , and others salvation , resolutely provoking his wrath . wherefore god also hath as resolutely revenged his own cause by drawing out money , and bloud in abundance ; as it is written ; i set every man against his neighbour . and he the same god can and will yet further by one meanes or other , avenge himselfe , and will doe it like a god indeed ▪ if we deale stoutly , perversly , or deceitfully with him . who ever waxed feirce against him , and prospered ? so saith the scripture . and againe , it bringth in god thus speaking of himselfe ; i the lord am he that searcheth the reines , and the heart . there is no state in the world , but is subject to alteration : not any people more apish , more ridiculous , more fickle , and inconstant then a sort of the english . there is no stability to be found in the world , nor in the minds of men . it is onely found , and founded in god , who alone is immovable , immutable , worthy to be honoured , and magnified throughout the world , having freely reconciled it to himselfe , in a wonderfull , ineffable way , by the death of his onely begotten sonne ; in whose hands is our life , and our breath , who is blessed for ever . as long as i live i will seeke the honour of his name , though others blaspheme it , and will endeavour my selfe to shew forth his praise : for his loving kindnes is better then the life it selfe , even as david saith : consider we then on the contrary part , what his anger , and displeasure is . and let not mortall , and wretched creatures , poore silly wormes , and vermin , be presumptuous out of measure , least their breath be suddenly stopt , and then they rue it to all eternity . for there is somewhat to be feared that is worse then the fire of hell , if a true saint , and servant of god were not infinitely deceived in so saying , who yet , without question knew very well , and throughly considered what he spake , and said in that point : multi gehennam credunt esse extremum omnium malorum ; at ego è contrà ● hoc semper praedicabo , multò tolerabilius esse gehennam pati , quam offendere christum . chrysost. in matheum . thus did he esteeme of the sin and guilt of offending christ , counting it much more intolerable then the very flames of the fire of hell . woe unto those soules that shall one day experience it in themselves . the mercifull and gratious lord preserve this our state from being deepe in that condemnation of offending christ , and provoking that most holy one either by words or deeds . finis . a discourse of the pastoral care written by gilbert, lord bishop of sarum. burnet, gilbert, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing b estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing 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(eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a discourse of the pastoral care written by gilbert, lord bishop of sarum. burnet, gilbert, - . [ ], xxxiv, , [ ] p. printed by r.r. for ric. chiswell, london : . reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng pastoral theology. clergy -- office. preaching. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - john latta sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a discourse of the pastoral care. written by the right reverend father in god , gilbert , lord bishop of sarum . london : printed by r. r. for ric. chiswell , at the rose and crown in st. paul's church-yard . mdcxcii . of the pastoral care . imprimatur , jo. cant . maii . . to the queens most excellent majesty . may it please your majesty , the title of defender of the faith , is so inherent in the royal dignity , and so essential a part of its security as well as of its glory , that there was no need of papal bulls to add it to the crown that your majesty now wears : you hold it by a much better tenure , as well as by a more ancient possession . nor can one reflect on the pope's giving it to king henry the viiith , without remembring what is said of caiaphas , that being high priest that year , he prophesied . for since that time , the true faith hath been so eminently defended by our princes , and that of both sexes , we having had our pulcheria's as well as our constantine's and our theodose's , that this church has been all along the chief strength and honour of the reformation , as well as the main object of the envy and spite of those of the roman communion . but tho your majesty's royal ancestors have done so much for us , there remains yet a great deal to be done for the compleating of our reformation , especially as to the lives and manners of men . this will most effectually be done by obliging the clergy to be more exemplary in their lives , and more diligent and faithful in the discharge of their pastoral duty . and this work seems to be reserved for your majesties , and designed to be the felicity and glory of your reign . to serve god by promoting this great and glorious design , which is so truly worthy of your majesty's best care and endeavours , i have purposely written this treatise , which i do with all humility dedicate and present to your sacred majesty . may that god who is the king of kings , and hath bless'd us with two such excellent princes , preserve you both long to us , and make you as happy in us , as we are in you ▪ may you reign over us till you have accomplished all those great designs for which god hath raised you up , and with which he hath filled your hearts : and may this church be made by your means the perfection of beauty , and the ioy of the whole earth . these are the daily and most fervent prayers of , may it please your majesty , your majesty's most loyal , most humble , and most obedient subject and chaplain , gi . sarum . the contents . the preface . page i chap. i. of the dignity of sacred imployments , and the names and designations given to them in scripture . pag. chap. ii. of the rules set down in scripture for those that minister in holy things , and of the corruptions that are set forth in them . p. chap. iii. passages out of the new testament relating to the same matter . chap. iv. of the sense of the primitive church in this matter . chap. v. an account of some canons in divers ages of the church relating to the duties and labours of the clergy . chap. vi. of the declared sense and rules of the church of england in this matter . chap. vii . of the due preparation of such as may , and ought to be put in orders . chap. viii . of the functions and labours of clergy-men . chap. ix . concerning preaching . the conclusion . errata . pref . p. . l. . for tue r. the. book , p. . l. . cancells r. excells . p. . l. . declareth r. delayeth . p. . l. . of r. to . p. . l. . as as r. as at . p. . l. . after not r. : p. . l. . also him r. him also . p. . l. . man r. men . p. . l. . all , this r. all this , p. . l. . strongly r. strangely . the preface . this subject , how important soever in it self , yet has been so little treated of , and will seem so severe in many parts of it , that if i had not judged this a necessary service to the church , which did more decently come from one , who , how undeserving soever he is , yet is raised to a post that may justify the writing on so tender a head , i should never have undertaken it . but my zeal for the true interests of religion , and of this church , determined me to set about it ; yet since my design is to correct things for the future , rather than to reproach any for what is past , i have resolved to cast it rather into advices and rules , into plain and short directions , than into long and laboured discourses , supported by the shews of learning , and citations from fathers , and historical observations ; this being the more profitable , and the less invidious way of handling the subject . it ought to be no imputation on a church , if too many of those that are dedicated to her service , have not all the characters that are here set forth , and that are to be desired in clergymen . even in the apostles days there were false apostles , and false teachers ; as one of the twelve was a traytor , and had a devil ; some loved the pre-eminence , others loved this present world to a scandalous degree ; some of those that preached christ , did it not sincerely , but out of contention ; they vied with the apostles , and hoped to have carried away the esteem from them , even while they were suffering for the faith : for envying their credit , they designed to raise their own authority , by lessening the apostles ; and so hoped to have added affliction to their bonds . in the first and purest ages of the church we find great complaints of the neglects and disorders of the clergy of all ranks . many became the stewards and bailiffs of other peoples estates ; and while they looked too diligently after those cares which did not belong to them , they even in those times of trial , grew very remiss in the most important of all cares , which was their proper business . as soon as the empire became christian , the authority , the immunity , and the other advantages , which by the bounty of princes , followed the sacred functions , made them to be generally much desired ; and the elections being then for most part popular , ( though in some of the greater cities , the magistracy took them into their hands , and the bishops of the province were the judges both of the fitness of the person , and of the regularity of the election ) ; these were managed with much faction and violence , which often ended in blood , and that to so great an excess , that if we had not witnesses to many instances of this among the best men in those ages , it would look like an uncharitable imputation on those times , to think them capable of such enormities . indeed the disorders , the animosities , the going so oft backwards and forwards in the matters of faith , as the emperors happened to be of different sides , are but too ample a proof of the corruptions that had then got into the church . and what can we think of the breach made in the churches of africk by donatus , and his followers , upon so inconsiderable a point , as whether cecilian and his ordainers had denied the faith in the last persecution , or not ? which grew to that height , that almost in every town of africk there were divided assemblies , and separating bishops , upon that account . nor was this wound healed but with the utter ruine of those churches . st. ierom , though partial enough to his own side , as appears by his espousing damasus's interests , notwithstanding that vast effusion of blood that had been at his election ; which was set on by him , and continued for four days with so much violence , that in one night , and at one church , a hundred and seven and thirty were killed ; yet he could not hold from laying open the corruptions of the clergy in a very severe style . he grew so weary of them , and they of him , that he went and spent the rest of his days at bethlehem . those corruptions were so much the more remarkable , because the eminent men of those times , procured a great many canons to be made , both in provincial and general councils , for correcting abuses , as soon as they observed them creeping into the church : but it is plain from st. chrysostom's story , that tho bad men did not oppose the making good rules , while they were so many dead letters in their registers ; yet they could not bear the rigorous execution of them : so that those good canons do shew us indeed what were the growing abuses of the times , in which they were made ; and how good men set themselves against them ; but are no sure indications of the reformation that was effected by them . the tottering state of the roman empire which had then fallen under a vast dissolution of discipline and manners , and coming into feeble hands , was then sinking with its own weight , and was become on all sides an easy prey to its invaders , who were either pagans or arians , ought to have awakened the governours of the church to have apprehended their approaching ruin ; to have prevented it by their prayers and endeavours ; and to have corrected those abuses which had provoked god , and weakned and distracted both church and empire . but if we may believe either gildas here in britain , or salvian in france , they rather grew worse , more impenitent , and more insensible , when they saw the judgments of god coming upon the empire , province after province rent from it , and over-run by the barbarians . when that great wound was in some sort healed , and a second form of christianity rose up and prevailed again in the western parts , and the world became christian with the allay that dark and superstitious ages had brought into that holy doctrine : then all the rules of the former ages were so totally forgotten , and laid aside , that the clergy universally lost their esteem : and tho' charles the great , and his son , held a great many councils for correcting these abuses , and published many capitulars on the same design ; yet all was to no purpose : there was neither knowledge nor vertue enough left to reform a corruption that was become universal . the clergy by these disorders fell under a general contempt , and out of that rose the authority , as well as the wealth of the monastick orders ; and when riches and power had corrupted them , the begging orders took away the credit from both ; yet even their reputation , which the outward severity of their rule , habit , and manner of life did both establish and maintain long , was at last so generally lost , that no part or body of the roman-clergy had credit enough to stop the progress of the reformation ; which was in a great measure occasion'd by the scorn and hatred that fell on them , and which was so spread over all the parts of europe , that to it , even their own historians do impute the great advances that luther's doctrine made for about fifty years together ; whole kingdoms and provinces embracing it as it were all of the sudden . it has now for above an hundred years made a full stand , and in most places it has rather lost ground , than gained any . the true account of this is not easily given ; the doctrine is the same ; and it has been of late defended with greater a●vantages , with more learning , and better reasoning than it was at first ; yet with much less success . the true reason of the slackning of that work , must be imputed to the reformation made in several points with relation to the manners , and the labours of the clergy , by the church of rome , and the depravation under which most of the reformed churches are fallen . for the manners and the labours of the clergy , are real arguments , which all people do both understand and feel ; they have a much more convincing force , they are more visible , and perswade more universally , than books can do , which are little read , and less considered : and indeed the bulk of mankind is so made , that there is no working on them , but by moving their affections , and commanding their esteem . it cannot be denied but that the council of trent established the errors of popery in such a manner , as to cut off all possibility of ever treating , or reuniting with them ; since those decisions , and their infallibility , which is their foundation , are now so twisted together , that they must stand and fall together : yet they established such a reformation in discipline , as may make churches that pretend to a more glorious title , justly ashamed . for tho , there are such reserves made for the plenitude of the papal authority , that in great instances , and for a favourite , all may be broke through ; yet the most notorious abuses are so struck at , and this has been in many places so effectually observed , chiefly where they knew that their deportment was looked into , and watched over by protestants , that it must be acknowledged , that the cry of the scandals of religious houses is much laid : and tho' there is still much ignorance ●mong their mass-priests ; yet their parish-priests are generally another sort of men : they are well instructed in their religion ; lead regular lives , and perform their parochial duties with a most wonderful diligence : they do not only say mass , and the other publick functions daily , but they are almost perpetually imploying themseves in the several parts of their cures : instructing the youth , hearing confessions , and visiting the sick : and besides all this , they are under the constant obligation of the breviary : there is no such thing as non-residence or plurality , to be heard of in whole countries of that communion ; and though about cathedrals , and in greater cities , the vast number of priests , gives still great and just occasion to censure ; yet the parish-priests have almost universally recovered the esteem ●f the people : they are no more disposed to think ill of them , or to hearken to any thing that may give them a just cause , or at least a plausible colour for departing from them . so that the reformation that popery hath been forced to make , has in a great measure stopt the progress of the reformation of the doctrine and worship that did so long carry every thing before it . but this is the least melancholy part of the account that may be given of this matter . the reformers began that blessed work with much zeal ; they and their first successors carried it on with learning and spirit : they were active in their endeavours , and constant and patient in their sufferings ; and these things turn'd the esteem of the world , which was alienated from popery , by the ignorance and scandals of the clergy , all towards them : but when they felt the warmth of the protection and encouragement that princes and states gave them , they insensibly slackned ; they fell from their first heat and love ; they began to build houses for themselves , and their families , and neglected the house of god : they rested satisfied with their having reformed the doctrine and worship ; but did not study to reform the lives and manners of their people : and while in their offices they lamented the not having a publick discipline in the church , as it was in the primitive times ; they have either made no attempts at all , or at least very faint ones for restoring it . and thus , while popery has purified it self from many former abuses , reformed churches have added new ones to the old , that they still retain , and are fond of . zeal in devotion , and diligence in the pastoral care , are fallen under too visible and too scandalous a decay . and whereas the understanding of the scriptures , and an application to that sacred study , was at first the distinguishing character of protestants , for which they were generally nicknamed gospellers ; these holy writings are now so little studied , that such as are obliged to look narrowly into the matter , find great cause of regret and lamentation , from the gross ignorance of such as either are in orders , or that pretend to be put in them . but the most capital and comprehensive of all abuses , is , that the false opinion of the worst ages of popery , that made the chief , if not the only obligation of priests to be the performing offices ; and judged , that if these were done , the chief part of their business was also done , by which the pastoral care came to be in a great measure neglected , does continue still to leaven us : while men imagine that their whole work consists in publick functions , and so reckon , that if they either do these themselves , or procure and hire another person in holy orders to do them , that then they answer the obligation that lies on them : and thus the pastoral care , the instructing , the exhorting , the admonishing and reproving , the directing and conducting , the visiting and comforting the people of the parish , is generally neglected : while the incumbent does not think fit to look after it , and the curate thinks himself bound to nothing but barely to perform offices according to agreement . it is chiefly on design to raise the sense of the obligations of the clergy to the duties of the pastoral care , that this book is written . many things do concur in our present circumstances , to awaken us of the clergy , to mind and do our duty with more zeal and application than ever . it is very visible that in this present age , the reformation is not only at a stand , but is going back , and grows sensibly weaker and weaker . some churches have been plucked up by the roots ; and brought under a total desolation and dispersion ; and others have fallen under terrible oppressions and shakings . we have seen a design formed and carried on long , for the utter destruction of that great work. the clouds were so thick gathered over us , that we saw we were marked out for destruction : and when that was once compass●d , our e●emies saw well enough , that the rest of their designs would be more easily brought about . it is true , our enemies intended to se● us one upon another by turns , to make us do half their work ; and to have still an abused party among us ready to carry on their 〈◊〉 ; for they thought it too bold an attempt , to fall upon all at once ; but while they were thus shifting hands , it pleased god to cut them short in their designs ; and to blast that part of them in which we were concerned , so entirely , that now they carry them on more barefacedly : and drive at conquest , which is at one stroke to destroy our church and religion , our laws and our properties . in this critical state of things , we ought not only to look at the instruments of the calamities that have fallen so heavily on so many protestant churches , and of the dangers that hang over the rest ; but we ought chiefly to look up to that god , who seems to be provoked at the whole reformation ; because they have not walked suitably to the light that they have so long enjoyed , and the blessings which had been so long continued to them ; but have corrupted their ways before him . they have lost the power of religion , while they have seemed to magnify the form of it , and have been zealous for opinions and customs ; and therefore god has in his wrath , taken even that form from them , and has loathed their solemn assemblies ; and brought them under a famine of the word of the lord , which they had so much despised . while these things are so , and while we find that we our selves , are as a brand pluck'd out of the fire , which may be thrown back into it again , if we are not allarmed by the just , but unsearchable judgments of god , which have wasted other churches so terribly , while they have only frighted us ; what is more evident , than that the present state of things , and the signs of the times , call aloud upon the whole nation to bring forth fruits meet for repentance ? since the ax is laid to the root of the tree . and as this indeed concerns the body of the nation , so we who are the priests and ministers of the lord , are under more particular obligations , first to look into our own ways , and to reform whatsoever is amiss among us , and then to be intercessors for the people , committed to our charge : to be mourning for their sins , and by our secret fastings and prayers , to be standing in those breaches which our crying abominations have made : and so to be averting those judgments , which may be ready to break in upon us ; and chiefly to be lifting up our voices like trumpets , to shew our people their transgressions . to be giving them faithful warning , from which we may expect this blessed success , that we may at least gain upon such a number , that for their sakes , god , who will not slay the righteous with the wicked , may be yet entreated for our sins ; and that the judgments which hang over us , being quite dissipated , his gospel , together with peace and plenty , may still dwell among us , and may shine from us , with happy influences to all the ends of the earth . and even such pastors as shall faithfully do their duty , but without any success , may depend upon this , that they shall save their own souls ; and shall have a distinguished fate , if we should happen to fall under a common calamity : they having on them not only the mark of mourners and intercessors , but of faithful shepherds : whereas if an overflowing scourge should break in upon us , we have all possible reason , both from the judgments of god , and the present scituation of affairs , to believe that it will begin at the sanctuary , at those who have profaned the holy things ; and have made the daily sacrifice to be loathed . there is another , and perhaps yet a more dismal character of the present state of the age , that calls on the clergy , to consider well both their own deportment , and the obligations that lie upon them ; which is the growing atheism and impiety , that is daily gaining ground , not only among us , but indeed all europe over . there is a circulation observed in the general corruptions of nations : sometimes ignorance and brutality overruns the world , that makes way for superstition and idolatry : when mankind is disgusted with these , then fantastical and enthusiastical principles , and under these hypocritical practises have their course ; these being seen through , give grea● occasions to profaness , and with that , atheism , and a di●belief of all religion , at least of all revealed religion , is nourished : and that is very easily received by depraved minds , but very hardly rooted out of them : for though it is very easie to beat an enquirer into things , out of all speculative atheism ; yet when a disbelief of sacred matters , and a profane contempt of them , has once vitiated ones mind , it is a very extraordinary thing , and next to miraculous , to see such an one reduced . now this i am forced to declare , that having had much free conversation with many that have been fatally corrupted that way , they have very often owned to me , that nothing promoted this so much in them , as the very bad opinion which they took up of all clergy-men of all sides : they did not see in them that strictness of life , that contempt of the world , that zeal , that meekness , humility and charity ; that diligence and earnestness , with relation to the great ttuths of the christian religion , which they reckoned they would most certainly have , if they themselves firmly believed it : therefore they concluded , that those , whose business it was more strictly to enquire into the truth of their religion , knew that it was not so certain , as they themselves , for other ends , endeavoured to make the world believe it was : and that , tho for carrying on of their own authority or fortunes , which in one word , they call their trade , they seemed to be very positive in affirming the truth of their doctrines ; yet they in their own hearts did not believe it , since they lived so little suitable to it , and were so much set on raising themselves by it ; and so little on advancing the honour of their profession , by an exemplary piety , and a shining conversation . this is a thing not to be answered by being angry at them for saying it , or by reproaching such as repeat it , as if they were enemies to the church ; these words of heat and faction signifying nothing to work upon , or convince any . for how little strength soever there may be in this , as it is made an argument , it is certainly so strong a prejudice , that nothing but a real refutation of it , by the eminent vertues and labours of many of the clergy , will ever conquer it . to this , as a branch or part of it , another consideration from the present state of things is to be added , to call upon the clergy to set about the duties of their calling ; and that is , the contempt they are generally fallen under , the injustice they daily meet with , in being denied their rights , and that by some out of principle , and by others out of downright and undisguised sacriledge . i know a great deal of this is too justly , and too truly to be cast on the poverty of the clergy : but what can we say , when we find often the poorest clarks in the richest livings ? whose incumbents not content to devour the patrimony of the church , while they feed themselves , and not the flock out of it ; are so scandalously hard in their allowance to their curates , as if they intended equally to starve both curate and people : and is it to be supposed , that the people will think themselves under a very strict obligation of conscience , to pay religiously all that is due to one , who seems to think himself under no obligation to labour for it . and since it is a maxim founded upon natural equity , that the benefice is given for the office ; men will not have great scruples in denying the benefice , where the office is neglected , or ill performed . and as for the too common contempt that is brought on the clergy , how guilty soever those may be , who out of hatred to their profession , despise them for their works sake ; yet we who feel our selves under these disadvantages , ought to reflect on those words of the prophet , and see how far they are applicable to us ; the priests lips should keep knowledge , and they should seek the law at his mouth , for he is the messenger of the lord of hosts . but ye are departed out of the way , ye have caused many to stumble at the law : therefore have i also made you contemptible and base before all the people ; according as ye have not kept my ways , but have been partial in my law. if we studied to honour god , and so to do honour to our profession , we might justly hope that he would raise it again to that credit which is due to it ; and that he would make even our enemies to be at peace with us , or at least afraid to hurt or offend us . and in this we have good reason to rest assured ; since we do not find many instances of clergy-men , who live and labour , who preach and visit as they ought to do , that are under any eminent degrees of contempt : if some do despise those that are faith●ul to their trust , yet they must do ●t secretly ; they dare not shew ●t , as long as their deportment procures them the esteem , which we must confess does generally follow true worth , and hearty labours in the ministry . these are things of such consequence , that it may seem a consideration too full of ill nature , of emulation , and of jealousie , if i should urge upon the clergy the divisions and separation that is formed among us ; though there is a terrible word in the prophet , that belongs but too evidently to this likewise ; the pastors are become brutish , and have not sought the lord ; therefore they shall not prosper , and all their flocks shall be scattered . if we led such exemplary lives , as became our character , if we applied our selves wholly to the duties of our profession , if we studied to out-live , and outlabour those that divide from us ; we might hope by the blessing of god , so far to overcome their prejudices , and to gain both upon their esteem and affections , that a very small matter might go a great way towards the healing of those wounds , which have so long weakned and distracted us . speculative arguments do not reach the understandings of the gre●ter part , who are only capable of sensible ones : and the strongest reasonings will not prevail , till we first force them to think the better of our church , for what they see in our selves , and make them wish to be of a communion , in which they see so much ●●uth , and unaffected goodness and worth : when they are once brought so far , it will be easy to comp●ss all the rest : if we did ge●e●ally mind our duties , and discharge them fai●hfully , this would prepare such as mean well in their separation from us , to consider better of the grounds on which they maintain it ▪ and that will best enforce the arguments that we have to lay before them . and as for such as divide from us with bad designs , and an unrelenting spite , they will have a small party , and a feeble support , if there were no more occasion given to work on the affections of the people , by our errours and disorders . if then either the sense of the wrath of god , or the desire of his favour and protection ; if zeal for our church and countrey ; if a sense of the progress of atheism and ●rreligion ; if the contempt that falls on us , and the injustices that are daily done us ; if a desire to heal and unite , to purifie and perfect this our church : if either the concerns of this world , or of the nex● , can work upon us , and affect us , all these things concur to call on us , to apply our utmost care and industry to raise the honour of our holy profession , to walk worthy of it , to perform the engagements that we came under at the altar , when we were dedicated to the service of god , and the church ; and in all things both to adorn our religion , and our church . it is not our boasting that the church of england is the best reformed , and the best constituted church in the world , that will signifie much to convince others : we are too much parties to be believed in our own cause . there was a generation of men that cried , the temple of the lord , the temple of the lord , as loud as we can cry , the church of england , the church of england : when yet by their sins they were pulling it down : and kindling that fire which consumed it . ●t will have a better grace to see others boast of our church , from what they observe in us , than for us to be c●ying it up with our words , when our deeds do decry it . our enemies will make severe inferences from them ; and our pretensions will be thought vain and impudent things , as long as our lives contradict them . it was on design to raise in myself and in others , a deep sense of the obligations that we lie under , of the duties of our functions ; of the extent of them , and of the rewards that follow them , and to observe the proper methods of performing them , so as they may be of the greatest advantage both to our selves and others , that i have entred on these meditations . they have been for many years the chief subjects of my thoughts : if few have writ on them among us , yet we have st. gregory nazianzen 's apologetick , saint chrysostom's books of the priesthood , gregory the great 's pastoral , and bernard's book of consideration , among the ancients , and a very great number of excellent treatises , writ lately in france upon them . i began my studies in divinity with reading these , and i never yet grew weary of them ; they raise so many noble designs , they offer such schemes , and carry so much of unction and life in them , that i hope an imperfect ess●y this way may have some effec● . for the searcher of hearts knows , i have no design in it , save this of stirring up in my self and others , the gift which was gi●en by the imposition of hands . of the pastoral care. chap. i. of the dignity of sacred imployments , and the names and designations given to them in scripture . how low soever the esteem of the clergy may be sunk in a profane and corrupt age , and how much soever the errors and disorders of clergy-men may have contributed to bring this not only upon themselves , but upon others who deserve better , but are unhappy in being mixed with so much ill company ; yet certainly if we either consider the nature of things in themselves , or the value that is set on that profession , in the scriptures , it will appear that it ought to be considered at another rate than it is . as much as the soul is better than the body , and as much as the purifying and perfecting the soul is preferable to all those mechanical imployments which relate to the body , and as much as eternity is more valuable than this short and transitory life ; so much does this imployment excel all others . a clergy-man , by his character and design of life , ought to be a man separated from the cares and concerns of this world , and dedicated to the study and meditation of divine matters . whose conversation ought to be a pattern for others ; a constant preaching to his people : who ought to offer up the prayers of the people in their name , and as their mouth to god ; who ought to be praying and interceding for them in secret , as well as officiating among them in publick : who ought to be distributing among them the bread of life , the word of god ; and to be dispensing among them the sacred rites , which are the badges , the union , and the supports of christians . he ought to admonish , to reprove , and to comfort them , not only by his general doctrine in his sermons , but from house to house ; that so he may do these things more home and effectually , than can be done from the pulpit . he is to watch over their souls , to keep them from error , and to alarm them out of their sins , by giving them warning of the judgments of god ; to visit the sick , and to prepare them for the judgment and life to come . this is the function of a clergy-man ; who that he may perform all these duties with more advantage , and better effect , ought to behave himself so well , that his own conversation may not only be without offence , but be so exemplary , that his people may have reason to conclude , that he himself does firmly believe all those things which he proposes to them : that he thinks himself bound to follow all those rules that he sets them ; and that they may see such a serious spirit of devotion in him , that from thence they may be induced to believe , that his chief design among them , is to do them good , and to save their souls : which may prepare them so to esteem and love him , that they may not be prejudiced against any thing that he does and says in publick , by any thing that they observe in himself in secret . he must also be imploying himself so well in his private studies , that from thence he may be furnished with such a variety of lively thoughts , divine meditations , and proper and noble expressions , as may enable him to discharge every part of his duty , in such a manner , as may raise not so much his own reputation , as the credit of his function , and of the great message of reconciliation that is committed to his charge : above all studies , he ought to apply himself to understand the holy scriptures aright ; to have his memory well furnished that way , that so upon all occasions , he may be able to enforce what he says out of them , and so be an able minister of the new testament . this is in short the character of a true clergy-man , which is to be more fully opened and enlarged on in the following parts of this book . all this looks so great and so noble , that it does not appear necessary to raise it , or to insist on it more fully . indeed it speaks its own dignity so sensibly , that none will dispute it , but such as are open enemies to all religion in general , or to the christian religion in particular ; and yet even few of these , are so entirely corrupted , as not to wish that external order and policy were kept up among men , for restraining the injustice and violence of unruly appetites and passions ; which few , even of the tribe of the libertines , seem to desire to be let loose ; since the peace and safety of mankind , require that the world be kept in method , and under some yoke . it will be more sutable to my design , to shew how well this character agrees with that which is laid down in the scriptures concerning these offices . i shall begin first with the names , and then go on to the descriptions , and lastly proceed to the rules that we find in them . the name of deacon , that is now appropriated to the lowest office in the church , was in the time that the new testament was writ , used more promiscuously : for the apostles , the evangelists , and those whom the apostles sent to visit the churches , are all called by this name . generally in all those places where the word minister is in our translation , it is deacon in the greek , which signifies properly a servant , or one who labours for another . such persons are dedicated to the immediate service of god ; and are appropriated to the offices and duties of the church : so this term both expresses the dignity and the labour of the imployment . the n●xt ●rder carries now the name of presbyter , or elder ; which tho at first it was applied not only to bishops , but to the ap●s●l●s themselves ; yet in the succeeding ages , it came to be appropriated to the second ra●k of the officers in the church . i● either signifies a seniority of age , or of 〈◊〉 , in opposition to a neophite or novice , one newly converted to the faith ; but by common p●actice ▪ as senate or senator , being at first given to councellors , by reason of their age , came afterwards to be a title appropriate to them ; so the t●tle presbyter ( altered in pronunciation to be in english , pri●st ) or elder being a character of respect , denotes the dignity of those to whom it belongs : but since st. paul divides this title either into two different ranks , or into two different performances of the duties of the same rank , those that rule well , and those that labour in word and doctrine ; this is a title that speaks both the dignity , and likewise the duty belonging to this function . the title which is now by the custom of many ages given to the highest function in the church , of bishop , or inspector , and overseer , as it imports a dignity in him , as the chief of those who labour ; so it does likewise express his obligation to care and diligence , both in observing , and overseeing the whole flock , and more specially in inspecting the deportment and labours of his fellow workmen , who are subordinate to him in the constitution of the church , yet ought to be esteemed by him in imitation of the apostles , his brethren , his fellow-labourers , and fellow-servants . next to the names of the sacred functions , i shall consider the other designations and figures , made use of to express them . the most common is that of pastor or shepherd . it is to be remembred , that in the first simplicity of mankind for many ages , men looked after their own cattel , or employed their children in it ; and when they trusted that care to any other , it was no small sign of their confidence , according to what iacob said to laban . the care of a good shepherd was a figure then so well understood , that the prophet expresses god's care of his people , by this , of his feeding them as a shepherd , carrying his lambs in his bosom , and gently leading them that were with young . christ also calls himself the good shepherd , that knew his sheep , and did not as a hireling , fly away when the wolf came , but laid down his life for his sheep . this then being so often made use of in both testaments , is an expression of the great trust committed to the clergy , which likewise supposes a great , a constant , and a tender care in looking to , in feeding or instructing , in watching over , and guarding the flock against errors and sins , and their being ready to offer themselves to the first fury of persecution . the title of stewards , or dispensers , which is the most honourable in a household , is also given to them . these assign to every one his due share , both of labour and of provision ; these watch over them , and have the care and order of the other servants assigned to them . so in this great family , of which christ is the h●ad , the stewards are a post of great digni●y , but also of much labour , they ought to be observing the rest of this houshold , that they may be faithful in the distribution , and so encourage , admonish , reprove or censure , as there is occasion for it . they are also called ambassadors , and that upon the noblest and desirablest message , for their business is to treat of p●ac● between god and man ; to them is given the word or doctrine of reconciliation ; they are sent by christ , and do speak in god's name ; as if god did beseech men by them ; so do they in christ's stead , who is the mediator , press men to be reconciled to god ; words of a very high sound , of great trust and dignity , but which import likewise great obligations . an ambassador is very solicitous to maintain the dignity of his character , and his master's honour ; and chiefly to carry on that which is the main business that he is sent upon , which he is always contriving how to promote : so if the honour of this title affects us as it ought to do , with a just value for it , we ought at the same time to consider the obligations that accompany it , of living suitable to it , answering in some sort , the dignity and majesty of the king of kings , that has committed it to us ; and of labouring with all possible diligence , to effectuate the great design on which we are sent ; the reconciling sinners to god : the work having in it self a proportion to the dignity of him that imploys us in it . another , and yet a more glorious title , is that of angels , who as they are of a pure and sublime nature , and are called a flaming fire , so they do always behold the face of our heavenly father , and ever do his will , and are also ministring spirits , sent forth to minister to them that are appointed to be the heirs of salvation : this title is given to bishops and pastors ; and as if that were not enough , they are in one place called not only the messengers or angels of the churches , but also the glory of christ. the natural importance of this is , that men to whom this title is applied , ought to imitate those heavenly powers , in the elevation of their souls ; to contemplate the works and glory of god , and in their constant doing his will , more particularly in ministring to the souls of those , for whom the great angel of the covenant made himself a sacrifice . i do not among these titles reckon those of rulers or governours , that are also given to bishops , because they seem to be but another name for bishops , whose inspection was a rule and government , and so carried in its signification , both authority and labour . to these designations ▪ that carry in them characters of honour , but of honour joyned to labour , and for the sake of which the honour was due , according to that , esteem them very highly for their works sake ; i shall add some other designations , that in their significations carry only labour without honour , being borrowed from labours that are hard , but no way honourable . they are often called watchmen , who used to stand on high towers , and were to give the alarm , as they saw occasion for it : these men were obliged to a constant attendance , to watch in the night , as well as in the day : so all this being applied to the clergy , imports that they ought to be upon their watch-tower , observing what dangers their people are exposed to , either by their sins , which provoke the judgments of god ; or by the designs of their enemies ; they ought not by a false respect , suffer them to sleep and perish in their sins ; but must denounce the judgments of god to them , and rather incur their displeasure by their freedom , than suffer them to perish in their security . st. paul does also call church-men by the name of builders , and gives to the apostles the title of master-builders ; this imports both hard and painful labour , and likewise great care and exactness in it , for want of which the building will be not only exposed to the injuries of weather , but will quickly tumble down ; and it gives us to understand , that those who carry this title , ought to study well the great rule , by which they must carry on the interest of religion , that so they may build up their people in their most holy faith , so as to be a building fitly framed together . they are also called labourers in god's husbandry , labourers in his vineyard , and harvest , who are to sow , plant and water , and to cultivate the soil of the church . this imports a continual return of daily and hard labour , which requires both pain and diligence . they are also called soldiers , men that did war and fight against the powers of darkness . the fatigue , the dangers and difficulties of that state of li●e ar● so well understood , that no application is necessary to make them more sensible . and thus by a particular enumeration of ei●her the more special names of these o●●●ces , such as deacon , priest and bishop , rul●r and governour , or of the designa●ions given to them of shepherds or pastors , stewards , ambassadors and angels , it appears that there is a great dignity belonging to them , but a dignity which must carry labour with it , as that for which the honour is due : the other titles of watchmen , builders , labourers and soldiers , import also that they are to decline no part of their duty , for the labour that is in it , the dangers that may follow , or the seeming meanness that may be in it , since we have for this so great a rule and pattern set us by our saviour , who has given us this character of himself , and in that a rule to all that pretend to come after him , the son of man came not to be ministred unto , but to minister . this was said upon the proud contentions that had been among his disciples , who should be the greatest : two of them presuming upon their near relation to him , and pretending to the first dignity in his kingdom ; upon that he gave them to understand , that the dignities of his kingdom were not to be of the same nature with those that were in the world. it was not rule or empire to which they were to pretend ; the disciple was not to be above his lord : and he that humbled himself to be the last and lowest in his service , was by so doing , really the first . he himself descended ●o the washing his disciples feet ; which 〈◊〉 proposeth to their imitation ; and that came in latter ages to be taken up by princes , and acted by them in pageantry : but the plain account of that action , is , that it was a prophetical emblem ; of which sort we find several instances both in isaiah , ieremy and ezekiel : the prophet doing somewhat that had a mystical signification in it , relating to the subject of his prophecy : so that our saviour's washing the feet of his disciples , imported the humility , and the descending to the meanest offices of charity , which he recommended to his followers , particularly to those whom he appointed to preach his gospel to the world. chap. ii. of the rules set down in scripture for those that minister in holy things ; and of the corruptions that are set forth in them . i intend to write with all possible simplicity , without the affectations of a strictness of method : and therefore i will give one full view of this whole matter , without any other order than as it lies in the scriptures : and will lay both the rules and the reproofs that are in them together , as things that give light to one another . in the law of m●ses we find many very particular rules given for the washing and consecration of the priests and levites , chiefly of the holy priest. the whole tribe of levi was sanctified and separated from the common labours , either of war or tillage : and tho they were but one in twelve , yet a tenth of all was appointed for them : they were also to have a large share of another tenth ; that so they might be not only delivered from all cares , by that large provision that was made for them , but might be able to relieve the necessities of the widows and fatherless , the poor and the strangers , that sojourned among them ; and by their bounty and charity , be possessed both of the love and esteem of the people . they were holy to the lord ; they were said to be sanctified or dedicated to god ; and the head of their order carried on his mitre this inscription , holiness to the lord. the many washings that they were often to use , chiefly in doing their functions , carried this signification in them , that they were appropriated to god , and that they were under very strict obligations to a high degree of purity ; they might not so much as mourn for their dead relations , to shew how far they ought to rise above all the concerns of flesh and bloo● , and even the most excusable passions of human nature . but above all things , these rules taught them , with what exactness , decency and purity they ought to perform those offices that belonged to their function ; and therefore when aaron's two sons , nadab and abihu transgressed the law that god had given , fire came out from the lord , and devoured them ; and the reason given for it , carries in it a perpetual rule . i will be sanctified in all them that dr●w near to me , and before all the people i will be glorified : which import , that such as minister in holy things , ought to behave themselves so , that god's name may be glorified by their means ; otherwise , that god will glor●fy himself by his severe judgments on them . a signal instance of which we do also find in eli's two sons , whose impieties and defilements , as they made the people to abhor the offering of the lord : so they also drew down , not only heavy judgments on themselves , but on the whole house of eli ; and indeed on the whole nation . but besides the attendance which the priests and levites were bound to give at the temple , and on the publick service there , they were likewise obliged to study the law , to give the people warning out of it , to instruct them in it , and to conduct them , and watch over them : and for this reason they had cities assigned them in all the corners of the land ; that so they might both more easily observe the manners of the people , and that the people might more easily have recourse to them . now when that nation became corrupted both by idolatry and immorality , god raised up prophets to be extraordinary monitors to them ; to declare to them their sins , and to denounce those judgments which were coming upon them , because of them ; we find the silence , the ignorance , and the corruption of their pastors , their shepherds , and their watchmen , is a main article of their charge ; so isaiah tells them , that their watchmen were blind , ignorant , dumb dogs , that could not bark ; sleeping , lying down , and loving to slumber : yet these careless watchmen were covetous and insatiable , they were greedy dogs , which could never have enough ; shepherds they were , that could not understand ; but how remiss soever they might be in god's work , they were careful enough of their own : they all looked to their own way , every one to his own gain from his quarter . they were , no doubt , exact in levying their tythes and first-fruits , how little soever they might do for them , bating their bare attendance at the temple , to officiate there ; so guilty they were of that reigning abuse , of thinking they had done their duty , if they either by themselves , or by proxy , had performed their functions without minding what was incumbent on them , as w●tchmen , or shepherds . in opposition to such careless and corrupt guides , god promises to his people , to set watch-men over them that should never hold their peace day nor night . as the captivity drew nearer , we may easily conclude , that the corruptions both of priest and people increased , which ripened them for the judgments of god , that were kept back by the reformations which h●zekiah and iosiah had made : but at last , all was so depraved that though god sent two prophets , ieremy and ezekiel , to prepare them for that terrible calamity , yet this was only to save some few among them ; for the sins of the nation were grown to that height , that though moses and samuel , noah , iob and daniel , had been then alive , to intercede for them , yet god declared that he would not hear them ; nor spare the nation for their sakes : so that even such mighty intercessors could only save their own souls . in this deplorable state we shall find that their priests and pastors had their large share . the priests said not , wh●re is the lord ? they that handled the law , knew me not , the pastors also transgressed against me ; and their corruption went so far , that they had not only false prophets to support them , but the people , who , how bad soever they may be themselves , do generally hate evil priests , grew to be pleased with it . the prophets prophecy falsely ; and the priests bear rule by their means ; and my people love to have it so : from the prophet even to the priest , every one dealt falsly . and upon that , a wo is denounced against the pastors that destroyed and scattered the sheep of god's pasture . they by their office ought to have fed the people ; but instead of that , they had scattered the flock , and driven them away , and had not visited them : both prophet and priest was profane ; their wickedness was found even in the house of god. in opposition to all which , god promises by the prophet , that he would set shepherds over them , that should feed them ; so that the people should have no more reason to be afraid of their pastors , or of being mis-led by them ; and he promised upon their return from the captivity , to give them pastors according to his own heart , who should feed them with knowledge and understanding . in ezekiel we find the solemn and severe charge given to watch-men , twice repeated ; that they ought to warn the wicked from his wickedness ; otherwise , though he should indeed die in his sin , god would require his blood at the watchman● hand ; but if he gave warning , he had by so doing , delivered his own soul. in that prophecy we have the guilt of the priests set forth very heinously . her priests have violated my law , and profaned my holy things ; they have put no difference between the holy and profane , the clean , and the unclean , and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths ; the effect of which was , that god was profaned among them . this is more fully prosecuted in the th chap. which is all addressed to the shepherds of israel , wo be to the shepherds of israel , that do feed themselves : should not the shepherds feed the flock ? ye eat the fat , and ye cloath you with the wool , ye kill them that are fed , but ye feed not the flock : then follows an enumeration of the several sorts of troubles that the people were in , under the figure of a flock , to shew how they had neglected their duty , in all the parts and instances of it ; and had trusted to their authority , which they had abused to tyranny and violenc● ▪ the diseased have ye not strengthened , neither have ye healed that which was sick , neither have ye bound up that which was broken , neither have ye brought again that which was driven away , neither have ye sought that which was lost ; but with force , and with cruelty have ye ruled them ; upon which follows a terrible expostulation , and denunciation of judgments against them : i am against the shepherds , saith the lord , i will require my flock at their hands , and cause them to cease from feeding the flock ; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more . and in the th chap of that prophecy , one rule is given , which was set up in the primitive church , as an unalterable maxim , that such priests as had been guilty of idolatry , should not do the office of a priest any more , nor come near to any of the holy things , or enter within the sanctuary , but were still to bear their shame : they might minister in some inferior services , such as keeping the gates , or slaying the sacrifice ; but they were still to bear their iniquity . i have past over all that occurs in these prophets , which relates to the false prophets , because i will bring nothing into this discourse , that relates to sins of another order , and nature . in daniel we have a noble expression of the value of such as turn men to righteousness , that they shall shine as the stars , for ever and ever . in hosea we find among the sins and calamities of that time , this reckoned as a main cause of that horrid corruption , under which they had fallen , there being no truth , no mercy , nor knowledge of god in the land , which was defiled by swearing , lying , killing , stealing and committing adultery . my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge : to which is added , because thou hast rejected knowledge ( or the instructing the people ) i will also reject thee , that thou shalt be no priest to me ; seeing thou hast forgot the law of thy god ; i will also forget thy children . that corrupt race of priests attended still upon the temple , and offered up the sin-offering , and feasted upon their portion ; which is wrong rendred , they eat up the sin of my people ; for sin stands there as in the law of moses , for sin offering : because of the advantage this brought them , they were glad at the abounding of sin ; which is expressed by their setting their heart , or lifting up their soul to their iniquity : the conclusion of which is , that they should be given up for a very heavy curse , of , like priests , like people . in ioel we find the duty of the priests and ministers of the lord , set forth in times of great and approaching calamities , thus , they ought to be intercessors for the people , and to weep between the porch and the altar ; and say , spare thy people , and give not thine heritage to reproach , that the heathen ( strangers and idolaters ) should rule over them : wherefore should they say among the people , where is their god ? there is in amos , a very black character of a depraved priesthood , their priests teach for hire , and their prophets divine for money . these were the forer unners of the destruction of that nation : but though it might be expected , that the captivity should have purged them from their dross , as it did indeed free them from all inclinations to idolatry ; yet other corruptions had a deeper root . we find in zechary , a curse against the idol shepherd , who resembled the true shepherd , as an idol does the original : but he was without sense and life . wo be to the idol shepherd that leav●th the flock : the curse is figuratively expressed , the sword shall be upon his arm , and his right eye : ( the things that he valued most ) his arm shall be clean dried up , and his right eye shall be utterly darkned : but this is more copiously set out by malachi , in an address made to the priests ; and now , o ye priests , this commandment is for you ; if you will not hear , and if you will not lay it to heart , to give glory unto my name , i will even send a curse upon you , and i will curse your blessings ; yea i have cursed them already , because ye do not lay it to heart — then the first covenant with the tribe of levi is set forth ; my covenant was with him , of life and peace : the law of truth was in his mouth , and iniquity was not found in his lips : he walked with me in peace and equity , and did turn many from their iniquity : for the priests lips should preserve knowledge , and they should seek the law at his mouth ; for he is the messenger of the lord of hosts : all this sets forth the state of a pure and holy priesthood : but then follow terrible words ; but ye are departed out of the way , ye have caused many to stumble at the law : ye have corrupted the covenant of levi , saith the lord of hosts . th●r●fore have i also made you contemptible , and b●s● b●fore all the people ; according as ye have not kept my ways , but have been partial in the law. their ill example made many loath both their law , and their religion : they had corrupted their institution , and studied by a gross partiality , to bring the people to be exact in those parts of the law , in which their wealth , or their authority was concerned ; while they neglected the more essential and indispensible duties . thus far have i gone over the most important places , that have occurred to me in the old-testament , relating to this matter ; upon all whcih , i will only add one remark , that though some exception might be made to those ●xpressions , that import the dignity and sancti●ication of those who were then consecrated to the holy functions , as parts of that instituted religion , which had its period by the coming of christ ; yet such passages as relate to moral duties , and to the oblig●tions that arise out of natural religion , have certainly a more binding force , and ought to be understood and exp●ained in ● m●●e elevated and sublime sense , under th● new dispensation , which is i●tern●l and s●ir●●ua● , compared , to which , the old is c●lled the letter and the flesh : therefore the obligations of the priests , under the christian religion , to a holy strictness of life and conversation , to a diligent attendance on their flock , and for instructing and watching over them , must all be as much higher , and more binding , as this new covenant cancels the old one . chap. iii. passages out of the new-testament , relating to the same matter . this general consideration receives a vast improvement from the great example that the author of our religion , the great bishop and shepherd of our souls has set us ; who went about , ever doing good , to whom it was as his meat and drink , to do the will of his father that sent him : he was the good shepherd that knew his sheep , and laid down his life for them : and since he set such a value on the souls of that flock which he hath redeemed , and purchased with his own blood ; certainly those to whom he has committed that work of reconciliation which stood himself so dear , ought to consider themselves under very strict obligations , by that charge of which they must give a severe account at the great day , in which the blood of all those who have perished through their neglect and default , shall be required at their hands . yet because i will not aggravate this argument unreasonably , i will make no use of those passages which relate immediately to the apostles : for their function being ex●raordinary , as were also the assistances that were given them for the discharge of it , i will urge nothing that belongs properly to their mission and duty . in the character that the gospel gives of the priests and pharisees of that time , we may see a just and true idea , of the corruptions into which a bad clergy is apt to fall ; they studied to engross the knowledge of the law to themselves ; and to keep the people in ignorance , and in a blind dependance upon them : they were zealous in lesser matters , but neglected the great things of the law : they put on an outward appearance of strictness , but under that there was much rottenness : they studied to make proselites to their religion , but they had so depraved it , that they became thereby worse men than before : they made great shews of devotion , of praying , and fasting much , and giving alms : but all this was to be seen of men , and by it they devoured the estates of poor and simple people : they were very strict in observing the traditions and customs of their fathers , and of every thing that contributed to their own authority or advantage ; but by so doing they made void the law of god : in a word , they had no true worth in themselves , and hated such as had it : they were proud and spiteful , false and cruel , and made use of the credit they were in with the people , by their complying with them in their vices , and flatterring them with false hopes to set them on to destroy all those who discovered their corruptions , and whose real and shining worth , made their counterfeit shew of it the more conspicuous and odious . in this short view of those enormous disorders , which then reigned amongst them , we have a full picture of the corrupt state of bad priests , in all ages and religions , with this only difference , that the priests in our saviour's time were more careful and exact in the external and visible parts of their conversation , than they have been in other times : in which they have thrown off the very decencies of a grave and sober deportment . but now to go on with the characters and rules that we find in the new testament : our saviour as he compared the work of the gospel , in many parables to a field and harvest , so he calls those whom his father was to send ▪ the labourers in that harvest , and he left a direction to all his followers to pray to his father that he would send labourers into his harvest . out of which both the vocation and divine mission of the clergy , and the prayers of the church to god for it , that are among us fixed to the ember weeks , have been gathered by many pious writers . in the warnings that our saviour gives to prepare for his second coming , we find the characters of good and bad clergy-men stated , in opposition to one another , under the figure of stewards , the good are both wise and faithful , they wait for his coming , and in the mean while are dividing to every one of their fellow servants his portion to eat in due season , that is their proportion both of the doctrine and mysteries of the gospel , according to their several capacities and necessities : but the bad stewards are those who put the evil day far from them , and say in their heart the lord declareth his coming , upon which they eat , drink , and are drunken : they indulge their sensual appetites even to a scandalous excess , and as for their fellow servants , instead of feeding , of instructing , or watching over them , they beat them : they exerci●e a violent and tyrannical authority over them . their state in the next world is represented as different as their behaviour in this was , the one shall be exalted from being a steward to be a ruler over the houshold , to be a king and a priest for ever unto god , whereas the other shall be cut asunder , and shall have his portion with vnbelievers . the th . of st. iohn is the place which both fathers , and more modern writers have chiefly made use of to shew the difference between good and bad pastors . the good shepherds enter by the door , and christ is this door by whom they must enter ; that is from whom they must have their vocation and mission : but the thief and rober who comes to kill , steal , and de●●roy , climbeth up some other way : whatever he may do in the ritual way for forms sake , he has in his heart no regard to iesus christ , to the honour of his person , the edification of his church or the salvation of souls ; he intends only to raise and enrich himself : and so he compasses that , he cares not how many souls perish by his means , or thorough his neglect . the good shepherd knows his sheep so well , that he can call them by name , and lead them out and they hear his voice : but the hireling careth not for the sheep , he is a stranger to them , they know not his voice and will not follow him . this is urged by all , who have pressed the obligation of residence , and of the personal labours of the clergy , as a plain divine and indispensable precept : and even in the council of trent , tho' by the practices of the court of rome , it was diverted from declaring residence to be of divine right , the decree that was made to enforce it , urges this place to shew the obligation to it . the good shepherd feeds the flock , and looks for pasture for them ; and is ready to give his life for the sheep : but the bad shepherd is represented as a hireling that careth not for the flock ; that sees the wolfe coming , and upon that leaveth the sheep and flieth . this is , it is true a figure , and therefore i know it is thought an ill way of reasoning to build too much upon figurative discourses : yet on the other hand our saviour having delivered so great a part of his doctrine in parables , we ought at least to consider the main scope of a parable : and may well build upon that , tho' every particular circumstance in it cannot bear an argument . i shall add but one passage more from the gospels , which is much made use of , by all that have writ of this ma●●er . when our saviour confirmed st. peter in his apostleship , from which he had fallen by his denying of him , as in the charge which he thrice repeated of feeding his lambs and his sheep , he pursues still the figure of a shepherd ; so the question that he asked preparatory to it , was simon lovest thou me more than these , from which they justly gather , that the love of god , a zeal for his honour , and a preferring of that to all other things whatsoever , is a necessary and indispensible qualification for that holy imployment ; which distinguishes the true shepherd from the hireling : and by which only he can be both animated and fortified , to go through with the labours and difficulties , as well as the dangers and sufferings which may accompany it . when st. paul was leaving his last charge with the bishops that met him at ephesus , he still makes use of the same metaphor of shepherd in those often cited words , take heed to your selves and to all the flock over which the holy ghost hath made you bishops or overseers , to feed the church of god , which he hath purchased with his own blood. the words are solemn , and the consideration enforcing them is a mighty one ; they import the obligations of the clergy , both to an exactness in their own deportment , and to earnest and constant labours , in imitation of the apostle , who during the three years of his stay among them , had been serving god with all humility of mind with many tears and temptations , and had not ceased to warn every one both night and day , with tears : and had taught them both publickly , and from house to house : upon which he leaves them , calling them all to witness that he was pure from the blood of all men. there has been great disputing concerning the persons to whom these words were addressed ; but if all parties had studied more to follow the example here proposed , and the charge that is here given ; which are plain and easie to be understood , then to be contending about things that are more doubtful ; the good lives and the faithful labours of apostolical bishops , would have contributed more both to the edifying and healing of the church , than all their arguments or reasonings will ever be able to do . st. paul reckoning up to the romans the s●veral obligations of christians , of all ranks to assiduity and diligence , in their callings and labours , among others he numbers these , ministers let us wait on our ministring ▪ or he that teacheth on teaching , he that ruleth with diligence : in his epistle to the corinthians , as he states the dignity of the clergy in this , that they ought to be accounted of as the ministers of christ , and stewards of the mysteries of god. he adds that it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful . in that epistle , he sets down that perpetual law , which is the foundation of all the provision that has been made for the clergy , that the lord hath ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel . but if upon that , the laity have looked on thems●lves as bound to appoint so plentiful a supply , that the clergy might have whereon to live at their ease and in abundance ; then certainly this was intended that they being freed from the troubles and cares of this world , might attend continually on the ministry of the word of god and on prayer . those who do that work negligently , provoke the laity to repent of their bounty and to defraud them of it . for certainly there are no such enemies to the patrimony and rights of the church , as those who eat the fat but do not preach the gospel , nor feed the flock . happy on the ●ther hand are they , to whom that character , which the apostle assumes to himself , and to timothy , does belong ; therefore seeing we have received this ministry , as we have received mercy we faint not : but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty , not walking in craftiness , nor handling the word of god deceitfully , but by manifestation of the truth , commending our selves to every man's conscience in the sight of god. in the epistle to the ephesians , we have the ends of the institution of all the ranks of clergy-men set forth in these words . he gave some apostles , and some prophets , and some evangelists , and some pastors and teachers : for the perfecting of the saints ▪ for t●e work of the ministry , for the edifying the body of christ : till we all come i● the vnity of the faith , and of the knowledge of the son of god , unto a perfect man , unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of christ. in these words we see something that is so vast and noble , so far above those slight and poor performances , in which the far greater part do too easily satisfie themselves ; that in charity to them we ought to suppose that they have not reflected sufficiently on the importance of them . otherwise they would have in some sort proportioned their labours to those great designs for which they are ordained ; and would remember the charge given to the colossians , to say to archippus , who it seems was remiss in the discharge of his duty , take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the lord , that thou fullfil it . the epistles to timothy and titus are the foundation of all the canons of the church , in these we have the characters of bishops , and deacons , as well as the duties belonging to those functions , so particularly set forth that from the●ce alone every one who will weigh them well , may find sufficient instruction , how he ought to behave himself in the house of god. in these we see what patterns those of the clergy ought to be in word ( or doctrine ) in conversation , in charity , in spirit , in faith , and in purity , they ought to give attendance to reading , to exhortation , and to doctrine , that is both to the instructing and exhorting of their people . they ought not to neglect that gift that was given to them , by the laying on of hands , they ought to meditate on these things , to give themselves wholly to them , that so their profiting may appear unto all : and to take heed to themselves and their doctrine ; and to continue in them : for in so doing they shall both save themselves and those that hear them . those that govern the church are more particularly charged ▪ before god , the lord iesus and the holy angels , that they observe these things without preferring one before another , doing nothing by parti●lity , by domestick regards , the considerations of friendship , intercession , or importunity : and above all that they lay hand suddenly on no man ; to which are added words of great terror , neither be thou partaker of other mens sins : keep thy self pure . which ought to make great impression , on all those with whom the power of ordination is lodged : since they do plainly import , that such as do ordain any rashly without due enquiry , and a strict examination , entitle themselves to all the scandal they give ; and become partners of their guilt ▪ which if well considered , must needs make all such , as are not past feeling , use great care and caution in this sacred trust. bishops are the depositaries of the faith , which they are to keep pure ; and to hand down faithfully according to these words , and the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses , the same commit thou to faithful men who may be able to teach others also : upon this he prepares the bishop for difficulties to endure hardness as a good souldier of iesus christ. and according to that figure , since those that go to war , do not carry unnecessary burdens with them , which may encumber and retard their march , he adds , no man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life , that he may please him who hath chosen him for a souldier ; upon this it is that all those canons , which have been made in so many ages of the church , against church-mens medling with secular affairs , have been founded ; than which we find nothing more frequently provided against , both in the apostolical canons , in those of antioch , in those made by the general council of calcedon , and in divers of the councils of carthage : but this abuse had too d●ep a root in the nature of man , to be easily cured . st. paul does also in this place carry on the metaphor to express the earnestness and indefatigableness of clergy-mens zeal , that as officers in an army were satisfied with nothing under victory , which brought them the honours of a triumph , so we ought to fight , not only so as to earn our pay , but for mastery to spoil and overcome the powers of darkness ; yet even this must be done lawfully , not by deceiving the people with pious frauds , hoping that our good intentions will atone for our taking bad methods : war has its laws as well as peace , and those who manage this spiritual warfare , ought to keep themselves within the instructions and commands that are given them . then the apostle changing the figure from the souldier to the workman and steward , says , study to shew thy self approved unto god ( not to seek the vain applauses of men , but to prefer to all other things the witness of a good conscience , and that in simplicity and godly sincerity , he may walk and labour as in the sight of god ) a workman that needeth not to be ashamed ; rightly dividing the word of truth : this is according to the figure of a steward , giving every one his due portion ; and a little after comes a noble admonition , relating to the meekness of the clergy towards those that divide from them : the servant of the lord must not strive ; but be gentle to all men , apt to teach , patient , in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves , if peradventure god will give them repentance , to the acknowledging the truth . this is the passage that was chiefly urged by our reformers against the persecution that the roman clergy did every where set on against them : the extent of it ought to be well considered , that so it may not be said , that we are only against persecution when it lies on our selves ; for if it is a good defence to some , it is as good to others ; unless we own that we do not govern our selves by that rule of doing to others that which we would have other● do to us . in the next chapter , we find the right education of this bishop , and that which furnishes a clergy man , to perform all the duties incumbent on him : from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures , which are able to make thee wise unto salvation , through faith in christ iesus : that is the old testament well studied , by one that believed iesus to be the messias , and that was led into it by that faith , did discover to a man the great oeconomy of god in the progress of the light , which he made shine upon the world by degrees , unto the perfect day of the appearing of the sun of righteousness ) and to this he adds a noble character of the inspired writings : all scripture is given by inspiration of god , and is profitable for doctrine , for reproof , for correction , for instructing in righteousness , that the man of god may be perfect , throughly furnished unto all good works . the apostle goes on and gives timothy the most solemn charge that can be set out in words ; which if understood , as belonging to all bishops , as the whole church of god has ever done , must be read by them with trembling . i charge thee therefore before god , and the lord iesus christ , who shall judge the quick and dead at his appearing , and his kingdom , preach the word , be instant in season out of season , reprove , rebuke , exhort with all long suffering and doctrine ( that is with great gentleness in the manner , and clearness and strength in the matter of their instructions ) and a little after , watch thou in all things , endure affliction , do the work of an evangelist : make full proof of ( or fulfill ) thy ministry : and as a consideration to enforce this the more , he tells what a noble and agreeable prospect he had in the view of his approaching dissolution : the time of his departing drew nigh , he was ready to be offered up , as a sacrifice for that faith which he had so zealously and so successfully preached : and here we have his two great preparatives for martyrdom : the one was in looking on his past life and labours : i have fought a good fight , i have finished my course , i have kept the faith. the other was in looking forward to the reward that crown of righteousness which was laid up for him , which the lord the righteous iudge would gi●e him at that day : and not only to him , but also to all those that loved his appearing , and certainly more especially to those who not only lov●d it themselves , but who laboured so as to dispose others also to love it . to all these considerations , though nothing needed to have been added , to one upon whom they made so strange an impression , as they did upon timothy , yet one comes after all , which ought to teach us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling since st. paul tells timothy that demas , one of the companions of his labours , had forsaken him , and that which prevailed over him was the love of this present world. these are the rules and charges given by st. paul to timothy , and in him to all the bishops and pastors that were to come after him in the church . some of these are again repeated in his epistle to titus , where we have the characters set out ; by which he was to prepare and examine those elders or bishops , who were to rule the house of god : that those being well chosen , they might be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the gainsayers , and that he might do his duty with the more advantage ; he charges him to shew himself in all things a pattern of go●d works : in doctrine , shewing uncorruptness , gravity , sincerity ; and using such sound speech as could not be condemned : that so those who were of the contrary party ( the iudaizers who were studying to corrupt the christian religion by making a medly of it and iudaisme ) might have no evil thing to say of him ; and after a glorious but short abstract of the design of their holy religion ; he concludes that part of the epistle in these words , these things speak and exhort , and rebuke with all authority : to which he adds a charge , that may seem more proper to be addressed to others , then to himself , let no man despise thee : the same is likewise in his epistle to timothy , with this addition , let no man despise thy youth : but these words do import that it is in a bishop's own power , to procure due esteem to himself ; at least to prevent contempt ; since a holy and exemplary deportment , and faithful and constant labours never fail to do that . in the conclusion of the epistle to the hebrews , we find both the characters of those who had laboured among them , and had ruled them but who were then dead ; and also of such as were yet alive . remember them who had the rule over you ; who have spoken to you the word of god , whose faith follow , considering the end of their conversation : they had both lived and died , as well as laboured in such a manner , that the remembring of what had appeared in them , was an effectual means of perswading the hebrews to be steady in the christian religion : for certainly , though while a man lives let him be ever so eminent , there is still room for ill-nature and jealousie to misrepresent things , and to suspect that something lies hid under the fairest appearances ; which may shew it self in due time ; all that goes off , when one has finished his course , so that all appears to be of a piece , and that he has died as he had lived . then the argument from his conversation appears in its full strength , without any diminution . but the charge given with relation to those who then had the rule over them is no less remarkable , obe● them that have the rule over you ; and submit your selves , for they watch for your souls ; as they that must give account : that they may do it with joy and not with grief : for that is unprofitable for you : here obedience and submission is enjoyned , upon the account of their rulers watching over them , and for them : and therefore those who do not watch like men that know that they must give account of that trust , have no reason to expect these from their people : of a piece with this is st. pauls charge to the thessalonians , we beseech you to know ( or to acknowledge , ) them which labour among you , and are over you in the lord , and admonish you , and to esteem them very highly in love , for their works sake : here both the submission and esteem , as well as the acknowledgment that is due to the clergy , is said to be for their works sake : and therefore such as do not the work and that do not labour and admonish their people , have no just claim to them . there is another expression in the d epistle to the thessalonians , that is much urged by those who have writ on this head , that if any will not work he should not eat , which if it is a rule binding all men , seems to lie much heavier on the clergy . i shall conclude all that i intend to bring out of the scripture upon this argument , with st. peter's charge to the elders of the churches , to which he writ ; which is indeed so full , that though in the course of the new testament , it had not lain last , it deserved by the rules of method , to be kept last ; for the closing and enforcing all that has gone before , and for giving it its full weight . st. peter descends epistle ▪ ch ▪ ver . to a level with them , calling himself no better than a fellow elder and a witness of the suffering of christ : and also a partaker of the glory which was to be revealed . feed the flock of god ( says he ) which is among you , ( these words will bear another rendring as much as lieth in you ) taking the oversight thereof not by constraint ( as forced to it by rules , canons , or laws ) but willingly not for filthy ●ucre ( for though god has ordained that such as preach the gospel should live of the gospel ; yet those who propose that to themselves as the chief motive in entring into holy orders , are hereby severely condemned ) but of a ready mind , neither as being lords over god's heritage ( or not using a despotick authority over their several lots or divisions ) but being examples to the flock , not tyrannizing it over their people : but acquiring their authority chiefly by their own exemplary conversation . the conclusion of the charge , is suitable to the solemnity of it in these words : and when the chief shepherd shall appear , ye shall likewise receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away . with this i make an end of citations from scripture : i think it is as plain as words can make any thing , that such as are dedicated to the service of god and of his church , ought to labour constantly and faithfully : and that in their own persons . for it is not possible to express a personal obligation , in terms that are both more strict and more solemn then these are which have been cited , and all the returns of obedience and submission , of esteem and support , being declared to be due to them on the account of their watching over and feeding the flock of god , those who pretend to these , without considering themselves as under the other obligations , are guilty of the worst sort of sacriledge , in devouring the things that are sacred , without doing those duties for which these are due , and what right soever the law of the land may give them to them , yet certainly according to the divine law those who do not wait at the altar , ought not to be partakers with the altar : those who do not minister about holy things , ought not to live of the things of the temple : nor ought those who do not preach the gospel , live of the gospel . if i had a mind to make a great shew of reading , or to triumph in my argument with the pomp of quotations , it were very easie to bring a cloud of witnesses , to confirm the application that i have made of these passages of scripture : indeed all those who have either writ commentaries on the scriptures , ancient and modern , or have left homilies on these subjects , have pressed this matter so much , that every one that has made any progress in ecclesiastical learning , must know that one might soon stuff a great many pages with abundance of quotations out of the authors , both of the best , and of the worst ages of the church : not only the fathers , but even the schoolmen , and which is more the canonist have carried this matter very high , and have even delivered it as a maxime , that all dispensations that are procured upon undue pretences , the chief of which they reckon the giving a man , an easie and large subsistence , are null and void of themselves : and conclude that how strong soever they may be in law , yet they are nothing in conscience : and that they do not free a man from his obligations to residence and labour : and they do generally conclude that he who upon a dispensa●ion , which has been obtained upon carnal accounts , such as birth , rank or great ▪ abilities , ( and qualifications are not yet so good , as these ) does not reside , is bound in conscience to restore the fruits of a bene●ice which he has thus enjoyed with a bad conscience without performing the duty belonging to it , in his own person . but though it were very easie to bring out a great deal to this purpose , i will go no further at present upon this head : the words of god , seem to be so express and positive ; that such as do not yield to so undisputable an authority , will be little moved by all that can be brought out of authors of a lower form , against whom it will be easie to muster up many exceptions , if they will not be determined by so many of the oracles of the living god. chap. iv. of the sense of the primitive church in this matter . i will not enter here into any historical account of the discipline of the church , during the first and best ages of christianity . it is the glory of this church , that in her disputes of both han●s , a● well with those of the church of rome , as with those that separate from her ▪ she has both the doctrine and the c●nstitution of the primitive church of her side . but this plea would be more entire and less disputable , if our consti●ution were not only in its main and most essential parts , formed upon that glorious model ; but were also in its rules and administrations , made more exactly conformable to those best and purest times . i can never forget an advice that was given me above thirty years ago , by one of the worthiest clergy-men now alive ; while i was studying the controversie relating to the government of the church , from the primitive times , he desires me to joyn with the more speculative discoveries ▪ that i should make , the sense that they had of the obligations of the clergy , both with relation to their lives , and to their labours : and said that the argument in favour of the church , how clearly soever made out , would never have its full effect upon the world , till abuses were so far corrected , that we could shew a primitive spirit in our administration , as well as a primitive pattern for our constitution . this made even then , deep impressions on me , and i thank god the sense of it has never left me in the whole course of my studies . i will not at present enter upon so long and so invidious a work as the descending into all the particulars , into which this matter might be branched out ; either from the writings of the fathers , the decrees of councils , the roman law and the capitulars , or even from the dreg of all , the canon law it self , which though a collection made in one of the worst ages , yet carries many rules in it , that would seem excessively severe , even to us , after all our reformation of doctrine and worship . this has been already done with so much exactness , that it will not be necessary to set about it after the harvest , which was gathered by the learned bishop of spalato in the last book of his great work : which the pride and inconstancy of the author , had brought under a disesteem , that it no way deserves : for whatever he might be , that work was certainly one of the best productions of that age. but this design has been prosecuted of late with much more exactness and learning , and with great honesty and fidelity , where the interest of his church did not force him to use a little art , by f. thomasin , who has compared the modern and the ancient discipline , and has shewed very copiously , by what steps the change was made ; and how abuses crept into the church . it is a work of great use , to such as desire to understand that matter truly . i will refer the curious to these , and many other lesser treaties , writ by the iansenists in france , in which abuses are very honestly complained off , and proper remedies are proposed ; which in many places being entertained by bishops ▪ that had a right sense of the primitive rules , have given the rise to a great reformation of the french clergy . instead then of any historical deduction of these matters , i shall content my self with giving the sense of two of the fathers of the greek church , and one of t●e latin upon this whole business , of the obligations of the clergy . the first is gregory of nazianze whose father ordained him a presbyter , notwithstanding all his hum●le intercessions to the contrary , according to the custom of the best men of that age ; who instead of pressing into orders , or aspiring to them , fled from them , excused themselves , and judging themselves unworthy of so holy a character and so high a trust , were not without difficulty prevailed on to submit to that , which in degenerate ages men run to as to a subsistance , or the mean of procuring it , and seem to have no other sense of that sacred institution , then mechanicks have of obtaining their freedom in that trade or company in which they have passed their apprenticeship . it were indeed happy for the church , if those who offer themselves to orders ▪ had but such a sense of them as tradesmen have of their freedom : who do not pretend to it till they have finished the time prescribed ; and are in some sort qualified to set up in it : whereas , alas ! men who neither know the scriptures , nor the body of divinity , who have made no progress in their studies , and can give no tollerable account of that holy doctrine , in which they desire to be teachers , do yet with equal degrees of confidence , and importunity , pretend to this character , and find the way to it too easie , and the access of it too free . but this holy father had a very different sense of this matter . he had indeed submitted to his fathers authority , he being his bishop as well as his father . but immediately after he was ordained , he gives this account of himself in his apologetical oration , that he judging he had not that sublimity of vertue , nor that familiar acquaintance with divine matters , which became pastors and teachers ; he therefore intending to purifie his own soul to higher degrees of vertue , to an exaltation above sensible objects , above his body and above the world , that so he might bring bis mind to a recollected and divine state , and fit his soul that as a polished mirrour it might carry on it the impressions of divine ideas unmixed with the allay of earthly objects , and might be still casting a brightness upon all his thoughts , did in order to the raising himself to that , retire to the wilderness . he had observed that many pressed to handle the holy mysteries , with unwashed hands , and defiled souls : and before they were meet to be initiated to the divine vocation , were crouding about the altar , not to set patterns to others , but designing only a subsistence to themselves : reckoning that the holy dignity , was not a trust for which an account was to be given , but a state of authority and exemption . they had neither piety nor parts to recommend them , but were the reproaches of the christian religion , and were the pests of the church : which infected it faster than any plague could do the air , since men did easily run to imitate bad examples , but were drawn off very hardly by the perfectest patterns to the practice of vertue . vpon which he formed a high idea of the eminent worth and vertues which became those who governed the church : and of the great progress that they ought to be duly making , not contented with low measures of it , as if they were to weigh it critically in nice ballances ; and not to rise up to the highest degrees possible in it . yet even this , was not all : for to govern mankind which was so various , and so uncertain a sort of creature , seemed to him the highest pitch of knowledge and wisdom , as far above that skill and labour that is necessary to the curing of bodily diseases as the soul is superiour to the body , and yet since so much study and observation was necessary to make a man a skillful physician , he concluded that much more was necessary for the spiritual medicine : the design of which was to give wings to the soul , to raise it above the world , and to consecrate it to god , here he runs out into a noble rapture , upon the excellence and sublimity of the christian religion , and upon the art of governing souls , of the different methods to be taken , according to the diversity of mens capacity and tempers : and of dividing the word of god aright , among them . the difficulties of which he prosecutes in a great variety of sublime expressions and figures : but concludes lamenting that there was so little order , then observed , that men had scarce passed their childhood when , before they understood the scriptures , not to say before they had washed off the spots and defilements of their souls , if they had learned but two or three pious words , which they had got by heart , or had read some of the psalms of david , and pu● on an outward garb that carried an appearance of piety in it , these men were presently pushed on by the vanity of their minds , to aspire to the government of the chur●h . to such persons he addresses himself very rhetorically and asks them , what they thought of the commonest imployments such as the playing on instruments or of dancing , in comparison with divine wisdom : for acquiring the one they know great pains and mu●h practice was necessary : could they then imagin that the other should be so easily attained : but he adds that one may as well sow upon rocks , and talk to the deaf , as hope to work upon persons , who have not yet got to that degree of wisdom , of being sensible of their own ignorance . this evil he had often with many tears lamented , but the pride of such men was so great , that nothing under the authority of a st. peter or a st. paul , could work upon them . upon this mention of st. paul , he breaks out into a rapture , upon his labours and sufferings , and the care of all the churches that lay on him ; his becoming all things to all men , his gentleness where that was necessary , and his authority upon other occasions , his zeal , his patience , his constancy , and his prudence in fullfilling all the parts of his ministry . then he cites several of the passages of the prophets , particularly those of ieremy and ezekiel , zachary and malachi , which relate to the corruptions of the priests and shepherds of israel . and shews how applicable they were to the clergy at that time , and that all the woes denounced against the scribes and pharisees belonged to them , with heavy aggravations . these thoughts possessed him day and night ; they did eat out his very strength and substance ; they did so afflict and deject him , and gave him so terrible a prospect of the iudgments of god , which they were drawing down upon the church , that he instead of daring to undertake any part of the government of it , was only thinking how he should cleanse his own soul and fly from the wrath , which was to come , and could not think that he was yet while so young , meet to handle the holy things . where he runs out into a new rapture in magnifying the dignity of holy functions , and upon that says , that tho' he had been dedicated to god from his mothers womb , and had renounced the world and all that was charming in it , even eloquence it self , and had delighted long in the study of the scriptures , and had subdued many of his appetites and passions , yet after all this , in which perhaps he had become a fool in glorying , he had so high a nation of the care and government of souls , that he thought it above his strength ; especially in such bad times in which all things were out of order : factions were formed , and charity was lost ; so that the very name of a priest was a reproach , as if god had poured out contempt upon them : and thereby impious men daily blasphemed his name . and indeed , all the shew of religion that remained was in their mutual heats and animosities , concerning some matters of religion ; they condemned and censured one another , they cherished and made use of the worst men , so they were true to their party ; they concealed their crimes , nay , they flattered and defended some that should not have been suffered to enter into the sanctuary : they gave the holy things to dogs , while they enquired very narrowly into the failings of those that differed from them , not that they might lament them , but that they might reproach them for them . the same faults which they excused in some , were declaimed against in others : so that the very name of a good or a bad man were not now considered , as the characters of their lives , but of their being of or against a side . and these abuses were so vniversal , that they were like people like priest : if those heats had arisen upon the great heads of religion , he should have commended the zeal of those who had contended for the truth , and should have studied to have followed it . but their disputes were about small matters , and things of no consequence ; and yet even these were fought for , under the glorious title of the faith , tho the root of all was men's private animosities : these things had exposed the christian religion to the hatred of the heathen , and had given even the christians themselves very hard thoughts of the clergy : this was grown to that height , that they were then acted and represented upon the stage ; and made the subject of the peoples scorn . so that by their means , the name of god was blasphemed : this was that which gave him much sadder apprehensions , than all that could be feared from that wild beast , that was then beginning to vex and persecute the church , ( by which probably iulian is meant , ) the comfortable prospect of dying for the name of christ , made that a persecution was not so dreadful a thing , in his account , as the sins , the divisions , and distractions of christians . this then was the reason that had made him fly to the wilderness , for the state of the church had made him despond , and lose all his courage : he had also gone thither , that he might quite break himself to all his appetites and passions , and to all the pleasures and concerns of this life , that did darken the shinings of the divine image upon his soul ; and the emanations of the heavenly light. when he considered the judgments of god upon bad priests and many other strict rules in the old dispensation , and the great obligations that lay upon those who were the priests , of the living god , and that ought before they presumed to offer up other sacrifices , to begin with the oblation of themselves to god ; he was upon all these reasons moved to prepare himself , by so long a retreat . i have given this long abstract of his apologetical oration , not only to set before my reader the sense that he had of the sacred functions , but likewise to shew what were the corruptions of that age , and with how much freedom this holy father laid them open . if there is any occasion for applying any part of this to the present age , or to any persons in it , i chose rather to offer it in the words of this great man , than in any of my own . i wish few were concerned in them ; and that such as are , would make a due application of them to themselves , and save others the trouble of doing it more severely . i go next to another father of the greek church , s. chrysostome , whose books of the priesthood , have been ever reckoned among the best pieces of antiquity . the occasion of writing them , was this : he had lived many years in great friendship with one basil ; at last , they having both dedicated themselves to sacred studies , the clergy of antioch had resolved to lay hold on them , and to use that holy violence , which was in those times often done to the best men , and to force them to enter into orders . which when basil told chrysostome , he concealed his own intentions , but pressed basil to submit to it , who from that , believing that his friend was of the same mind , did not go out of the way , and so he was laid hold on ; but chrysostome had hid himself . basil , seeing he could not be found , did all that was possible to excuse himself : but that not being accepted of , he was ordained : next time that he met his friend , he expostulated severely with him for having forsaken him upon that occasion : this gave the occasion to those books , which are pursued in the way of a dialogue . the first book contains only the preparatory discourses , according to the method of such writings . in the d. he runs out to shew from our saviour's words to st. peter , simon lovest thou me ? what tender and fervent love both to christ and to his church , a priest ought to feel in himself before he enters upon the feeding those sheep , which christ has purchased with his own blood. to lose the souls of the flock first , and then ones own soul , for his remissness , was no light matter . to have both the powers of darkness , and the works of the flesh to fight against , required no ordinary measure both of strength and courage . he pursues the allegories of a shepherd and a physician , to shew by the parallel of these laid together ; the labours and difficulties of the priesthood , especially , when this authority was to be maintained only by the strength of perswasion ; and yet sometimes severe methods must be taken ; like incisions to prevent gangrenes , or to cut off a part already corrupted . in the managing this , great art and prudence was necessary : a bishop ought to have a great and generous , a patient and undaunted mind : therefore , chrysostome says that he found , tho he truly loved his saviour , yet he was so afraid to offend him , that he durst not undertake a charge , that he did not yet judge himself qualified for . it was not enough that a man was tolerably well esteemed by others : he ought to examine himself ; for that of a bishop's being well reported of , is but one of many characters , declared necessary by s. paul. he complains much that those who raised men to orders , had more regard to rank and wealth , and to much time spent in a vain search into profane learning ( tho christ chose fisher-men and tent-makers ) than to true worth , and an earnest zeal for the real good of the church . in the d. book , he runs out with a great compass on the praises of the priestly function ; he looked upon it as a dignity raised far above all the honours of this vvorld , and approaching to the angelical glory . a priest ought to aspire to a purity above that of other mortals , answering that of angels . vvhen a priest performs the holy functions , is sanctifying the holy eucharist , and is offering a crucified christ to the people , his thoughts should carry him heavenwards , and as it were translate him into those upper regions . if the mosaical priest was to be holy that offered up sacrifices of a lower order , how much holier ought the priests of this religion to be , to whom christ has given the power both of retaining and forgiving of sins : but if s. paul , after all his visions and labours , after all his raptures and sufferings , yet was inwardly burnt up with the concerns of the church , and laboured with much fear and trembling , how much greater apprehensions ought other persons to have of such a trust. if it were enough to be called to this function , and to go thr●ugh with the duties incumbent on it in some tolerable manner , the danger were not great ; but when the duty as well as dignity , together with the danger belonging to it , are all laid together , a man is forced to have other thoughts of the matter . no man that knows he is not capable of conducting a ship , will undertake it , let him be pressed to it never so much : ambitious men that loved to set themselves forward , were of all others the most exposed to temptations : they were apt to be inflamed by the smallest provocations , to be glad at the faults of others , and troubled if they saw any do well ; they courted applause , and aspired to honour ; they fawned on great persons , and trod on those that were below them ; they made base submissions , undecent addresses , and often brought presents to those in authority ; they durst not in any sort reprove them for their faults , tho they reproached the poor out of measure for their failings . these were not the natural consequences of the dignity of the priesthood ; but unworthy and defiled persons , who without true merit , had been advanced to it , had brought it under reproach . there had been no due care used in the choice of bishops ; and by the means of bad choices , the church was almost ruined , through the gross ignorance and unworthiness of many in that post. certainly , a worthy priest has no ambitious aspirings : those who fly to this dignity from that base principle , will give a full vent to it , when they have attained it . if submissions , flatteries , and money it self , are necessary , all will be employed : therefore it was an indispensable preparation to it , that one should be duly sensible of the greatness of the trust , and of his own unfitness for it ; that so he might neither vehemently desire it , nor be uneasie if he should happen to be turned out of it . a man may desire the office of a bishop , when he considers it as a vvork of toyl and labour , but nothing is more pestiferous than to desire it , because of the power and authority that accompanies it : such persons can never have the courage that ought to shew it self in the discharge of their duty , in the reproving of sin , and venturing on the indignation of great men ; he confesses he had not yet been able to free his mind from that disease , and till he had subdued it , he judged himself bound to fly from all the steps to preferment ; for the nearer he should come to it , he reckoned the appetite to it , would rage the higher within him ; whereas , the way to break it quite , was to keep himself at the greatest distance from it : nor had he that vivacity , or lively activity of temper , which became this function ; nor that softness and gentleness of mind , that was necessary to prepare him to bear injuries , to endure contempt , or to treat people with the mildness that christ has enjoined his followers , which he thought more necessary to a bishop than all fastings , or bodily mortifications whatsoever : and he runs out into a long digression upon the great mischiefs that a fretful and spiteful temper did to him that was under the power of it , and to the church , when a bishop was soured with it . it will often break out , it will be much observed , and will give great scandal : for as a little smoke will darken and hide the clearest object : so if all the rest of a bishop's life were brighter than the beams of the sun , a little blemish , a passion , or indiscretion , will darken all , and make all the rest be forgotten : allowances are not made to them , as to other men ; the vvorld expects great things from them , as if they had not flesh and blood in them , not a humane but an angelical nature ; therefore , a bishop ought by a constant watchfulness , and a perpetual strictness , to be armed with armour of proof of all sides , that no wound may hurt him . stories will be easily believed to his disadvantage , and his clergy about him will be ready to find them out , and to spread them abroad . he laies this down for a certain maxim , that every man knows himself best : and therefore whatsoever others might think of him , he who knew well that he had not in himself those qualifications , that were necessary for this function , ought not to suffer himself to be determined by that . after this he lays open the great disorders , factions , partialities , and calumnies , with which the popular elections were at that time managed : and the general corruption that had over-run the whole church ; so that the strictness and authority , the gentleness and prudence , the courage and patience , that were necessary to a bishop were very hard to be found all together . he instances to make out the difficulty of discharging the duty of a bishop , in that single point , of managing the widows : who were so medling , so immoral , so factious and so clamorous , that this alone was enough to imploy a bishop's prudence , and to exercise his patience : from that and another article relating to it concerning the virgins , he goes to consider the trouble , the difficulties , and censures that bishops were subject to , by the hearing of causes , that were referred to them : many pretending they were wronged by their judgments , made shipwrack of the faith , in revenge : and they pressed so hard upon the bishops time , that it was not possible for him to content them , and discharge the other parts of his duty . then he reckons up the many visits that were expected from bishops : the several civilities they were obliged to , which it was hard to manage so , as not to be either too much or too little in them : matter of censure would be found in both extreams . then he reflects on the great temper that ought to be observed in the final sentence of excommunication ; between a gentleness to vice on the one hand , and the driving men to despair and apostasie on the other . and he concludes that book with reflections on the vast burthen that follows the care of souls . in his th . book he runs through a variety of arts and professions ; and shews how much skill and labour was necessary for every one of them : from whence he concludes strongly , that much more was necessary for that which was the most important of all others ; so that no consideration whatsoever , should make a man undertake it , if he did not find himself in some sort qualified for it : more particularly he ought to be ready to give an account of his faith , and to stop the mouths of all gainsaiers , iews , gentiles , and hereticks : in which the ignorance of many bishops , carrying things from one extream to another , had given great occasion to errours . a bishop must understand the stile and phrase of the scriptures well . from this he runs out into a very noble panegyrick upon st. paul , in whom a pattern was set to all bishops . his th book sets out the labour of preaching the tentations to vanity in it ; the censures that were apt to be made if there was either too much or too little art or eloquence in sermons : to this he adds the great exactness that a bishop should use in preserving his reputation ; yet without vanity : observing a due temper between despising the censures of themultitude , and the servile courting of applauses : in his sermons he ought above all things to study to edifie ; but not to flatter his hearers : or to use vain arts to raise esteem , or admiration from them . since a bishop whose mind was not purged from this disease , must go through many tossings and be much disquieted : and upon that he runs out so fully , upon the tentations to desire applause for eloquence , and a readiness in speaking , that it plainly appears that he felt that to be his own weak side . the th book is chiefly imployed to shew how much a harder thing it was to govern the church , than to live in a desart , under the severest mortifications . i will go no further in this abstract , i hope i have drawn out enough to give a curiosity to such as have not yet read those excellent books , to do it over and over again . for to any that has a true relish , they can never be too often read : every reading will afford a fresh pleasure , and new matter of instruction , and meditation . but i go in the last place to offer st. ierom's sense in this matter . i shall not bring together , what lies scattered through his works , upon this argument , nor shall i quote what he writ in his youth upon it , when the natural flame of his temper joyned with the heat of youth might make him carry his thoughts further , than what humane nature could bear : but i shall only give an abstract of that which he writ to nepotion on this head , in his old age , as he says himself : a good part of that epistle being a reflection upon the different sense that old age gives of these things , from that which he felt during the ardour of youth . he begins with the title clerk , which signifying a lot or portion . imports either that the clergy are god's portion , or that god is theirs , and that therefore they ought to possess god , and be possessed of him . he that has this portion , must be satisfied with it , and pretend to nothing , but having food and rayment , be therewith content : and ( as men carried their crosses naked , so ) to be ready to carry his . he must not seek the advantages of this world in christ's wa●fare ; some clerks grew richer under christ , who made himself poor , than ever they could have been , if they had continued in the service of the god of this world : so that the church groaned under the wealth of those , who were beggars before they forsook the world : let the strangers and the poor be fed at your tables , says he , and in these you entertain christ himself . when you see a trafficking clerk , who from being poor grows rich , and from being mean becoms great , fly from him as from a plague . the conversations of such men corrupted good minds : they sought after wealth , and loved company , the publick places of conversation , fairs and market places : whereas a true clerk loves silence , and retirement : then he gives him a strong caution against conversing with women : and in particular against all those mean compliances , which some clerks used towards rich women ; by which they got not only presents during their lives , but legacies by their wills. that abuse had grown to such an intolerable excess , that a law was made excluding priests from having any benefit by testaments : they were the only persons that were put under that incapacity : heathen priests were not included in the law , yet he does not complain of the law , but of those who had given just occasion for making it . the laws of christ had been contemned , so it was necessary to restrain them by humane laws . it was the glory of a bishop to provide for the poor , but it was the reproach of a priest to study the enriching of himself . he reckons up many instances of the base and abject flattery of some clerks , to gain upon rich and dying persons , and to get their estates . next he exhorts him to the constant and diligent study of the scriptures ; but to be sure to do nothing that should contradict his discourses or give occasion to his hearers to answer him thus , why do not you do as you say ? then he speaks of the union that ought to be between the bishop , and his clergy : the affection on the one side , and the obedience on the other . in preaching he must not study to draw applauses but groans from his hearers . their tears was the best sort of commendation of a sermon , in which great care was to be taken to avoid the methods of the stage , or of common declamations . great use was to be made of the scriptures . the mysteries of our faith and the sacraments of our religion ought to be well explained : grimaces and solemn looks are often made use of to give weight and authority to that which has none in it self . he charges him to use a plain simplicity in his habit , neither shewing too much nicety on the one hand , that savours of luxury , nor such a neglect on the other , as might savour of affectation . he recommends particularly the care of the poor to him . then he speaks of clergy-mens mutually preferring one another ; considering that there are different members in one body , and that every one has his own function , and peculiar talent : and that therefore no man ought to over-value his own , or undervalue his neighbours . a plain clerk ought not to value himself upon his simplicity and ignorance , nor ought a learned and eloquent man measure his holiness by his rhetorick ; for indeed of the two , a holy simplicity is much more valuable , than unsanctified eloquence . he speaks against the affectation of magnificence and riches , in the worship of god , as things more becoming the pomp of the jewish religion , than the humility of the spiritual doctrine of christ. he falls next upon the high and sumptuous way of living of some priests , which they pretended was necessary to procure them the respect that was due to them ; and to give them interest and credit : but the world , at least the better part of it , would always value a priest more for his holiness , than for his wealth . he charges him strictly to avoid all the excesses of wine , and in opposition to that to fast much , but without superstition , or a nicety in the choice of such things as he was to live on in the time of fasting . some shewed a trifling superstition in those matters , as well as vanity and affectation ; that was indeed scandalous . plain and simple fasting was despised as not singular nor pompous enough for their pride . for it seems by what follows , that the clergy was then corrupted with the same disorders , with which our saviour had reproached the pharasees , while they did not study inward purity , so much as outward appearances ; nor the pleasing of god , so much as the praise of men. but here he stops short , for it seems he went too near the describing some eminent man in that age ; from that he turns to the government of a priest's tongue : he ought neither to detract from any one himself , nor to encourage such as did : the very hearkning to slande● , was very unbecoming . they ought to visit their people , but not to report in one place , what they observed in another ; in that they ought to be both discreet and secret . hippocrates adjured those that came to study from him , to be secret , grave , and prudent in their whole behaviour ; but how much more did this become those , to whom the care of souls was trusted . he advises him to visit his people rather in their afflictions , than in their prosperity ; not to go too often to their feasts , which must needs lessen him that does it too much . he , in the last place , speaks very severely of those who applied the wealth of the church to their own private uses . it was theft to defraud a friend , but it was sacrilege to rob the church . it was a crime that exceeded the cruelty of high-way men , to receive that which belonged indeed to the poor , and to withdraw any part of it to ones private occasions . he concludes with this excuse , that he had named no person , he had not writ to reproach others ; but to give them warning . and therefore since he had treated of the vices of the clergy in general terms , if any was offended with him for it , he thereby plainly confessed that he himself was guilty . chap. v. an account of some canons in divers ages of the church relating to the duties and labours of the clergy . i will go no further , in gathering quotations to shew the sense that the fathers had in these matters : these are both so full and so express , that i can find none more plain and more forcible . i shall to these add some of the canons that have been made both in the best and in the worst ages of the church , obliging bishops and other clerks to residence and to be contented with one cure. in that at sardica that met in the year . consisting of above . bishops two canons were made , ( the th and the th ) against bishops who without any urgent necessity , or pressing business , should be absent from their church above three weeks , and thereby grieve the flock , that was committed to their care : and even this provision was made because bishops had estates lying out of their diocesses ; therefore they were allowed to go and look after them , for three weeks , in which time they were to perform the divine function in the churches to which those estates belonged . many provisions were also made against such as went to court , unless they were called by the emperors , or went by a deputation from the church upon a publick account . there is not any one thing more frequently provided against , than that any of the clergy should leave their church , and go to any other church , or live any where else without the bishops leave and consent : nor is there any thing clearer from all the canons of the first ages , than that they considered the clergy of every church as a body of men dedicated to its service , that lived upon the oblations of the faithful , and that was to labour in the several parts of the ecclesiastical ministry , as they should be ordered by the bishop . in the th general council at calcedon pluralities , do first appear : for they are mentioned and condemned in the th canon , which runs thus , no clerk shall at the same time belong to two churches ; to wit , to that in which he was was first ordained , and that to which as being the greater , he has gone , out of a desire of vain glory ; for such as do so , ought to be sent back to that church in which they were at first ordained , and to serve there only ; but if any has been translated from one church to another , he shall receive nothing out of his former church ; nor out of any chapel or alms-house belonging to it : and such as shall transgress this definition of this general council are condemned by it , to be degraded . i go next to a worse scene of the church to see what provisions were made in this matter about the th century , both in the east and in the west : the worse that those ages and councils were , it makes the argument the stronger , since even bad men in bad times , could not justifie or suffer such an abuse . in the year . the second council of nice was held that setled the worship of images . the canon of it runs thus . no clerk shall from henceforth be reckoned in two churches , ( for every church had a catalogue of its clergy , by which the dividends were made ) for this is the character of trafficking , and covetousness , and wholly estranged from the ecclesiastical custom . we have heard from our saviour's own words , that no man can serve two masters : for he will either hate the one or love the other , or cleave to the one and despise the other : let every one therefore according to the apostles words , continue in the vocation in which he is called , and serve in one church : for those things which filthy lucre has brought into church matters are contrary to god. there is a variety of imployments , for acquiring the necessary supplies of this life : let every one that pleases , make use of these , for furnishing himself : for the apostle saies these hands ministred to my necessities , and to those that were with me . this shall be the rule in this town , which is guarded by god , but in remote villages an indulgence may be granted by reason of the want of men . it is upon this that the canonists do found the first of the two reasons , for which only they allow that a dispensation for holding two benefices may be lawful , one is , the want of fit and sufficient men for the service of the church . the foundation of the other will be found in the canon , which i shall next set down . it is the canon of the sixth council at paris , under lewis the good , in the year . this council came after a great many , that had been held by charles the great , and his son for purging out abuses , and for restraining the primitive discipline . these councils sat at frankfort , ments , aken , rheims , chalons , tours , arles , and this of paris was the last that was held upon that design . in these , all the primitive canons relating to the lives and labours , and the government of the clergy , were renewed . among others is that of calcedon formerly mentioned : but it seems there was no occasion given to make a special one against pluralities , before this held at paris , which consisted of four provinces of france , rheims , sens , tours , and rouen . the canon runs thus : as it becomes every city to have its proper bishop ; so it is also becoming and necessary that every church dedicated to god , should have , its proper priest. yet covetousness which is idolatry ( of which we are much ashamed ) has so got hold of some priests and caught them captives in its fetters , that they , blinded with i● , know neither whither they go nor what they ought to be or do ; so that they being kindled with the fire of covetousness , and forgetful of the priestly dignity , neglecting the care of those churches , to which they were promoted , do by some presents given or promised , procure other churches not only from clerks , but from lay-men , in which they do against law undertake to perform the ministry of christ. it is not known whether their bishops are consulted in this matter , or not ; if they are , without doubt their bishops become partakers of their sin : but if they presume to do it without consulting them , yet it is to be imputed to the bishops negligence . there is scarce a priest to be found who warreth worthily , and diligently in that church in which he is dedicated , to the divine service : but how much less will he be able to do that worthily in two , three or more churches ? this practice brings a reproach on the christian religion , and a confusion on the priestly order . the covetousness of the clergy is censured by their people ; the worship of god is not performed in places consecrated to him ; and as was observed in the former chapters , the souls of the people are thereby much endangered· wherefore we do all unanimously appoint , that no bishop suffer this to be done in his parish ( or diocess , these words being used promiscuously ) any more , and we decree , that every church that has a congregation belonging to it , and has means by which it may subsist , shall have its proper priest : for if it has a congregation but has not means by which it may subsist , that matter is left to the bishop , to consider whether it can or ought to be supported or not . but it is specially recommended to their care to see that under this pretence , no priest may out of covetousness hold two or three churches , in which he cannot serve , nor perform the worship of god. the last provisions in this canon are the grounds upon which the canonists found the second just cause of dispensing with pluralities , which is when a church is so poor , that the profits which arise out of it cannot afford a competent maintenance to a clark : but then the question arises what is a competent maintenance : this , they do all bring very low , to that which can just maintain him : and they have so clogged it , that no pretence should be given by so general a word , to covetousness , voluptuousness , or ambition . and indeed while we have so many poor churches among us , instead of restraining such pluralities , it were rather to be wished that it were made easier than by law it is at present ; either to unite them together , or to make one man capable of serving two churches , when both benefices make but a tolerable subsistance , rather than to be forced to have a greater number of clerks , than can be decently maintained ; since it is certain , that it is more for the interest of religion and for the good of souls , to have one worthy man serving two churches , and dividing himself between them ; than to have clerks for many benefices , whose scandalous provisions , make too many scandalous incumbents , which is one of the greatest diseases and miseries of this church . but a due care in this matter has no relation to the accumulation of livings , at great distances , ( every one of which can well support an incumbent ) upon the same person merely for the making of a family , for the supporting of luxury or vanity , or for other base and covetous designs . but i go next to two of the worst councils that ever carried the name of general ones , the third and the fourth of the lateran that we may see what was the sense of the twefth and thirteenth century in this matter ; notwithstanding the corruption of those ages . the thirteenth canon of the third lateran council , runs thus . forasmuch , as some whose covetousness has no bounds , endeavour to procure to themselves divers ecclesiastical dignities , and several parish churches , against the provisions of the holy canons ; by which means , tho they are scarce able to perform the office of one , they do claim the provisions due to many : we do severely require , that this may not be done for the future : and therefore , when any church or ecclesiastical ministry is to be given , let such a one be sought out for it , as shall reside upon the place , and shall be able to discharge the care in his own person : if otherwise , he who receives any such benefice , contrary to the canons , shall lose it , and he who gave it shall likewise lose his right of patronage . this canon not being found effectual to cure so great an abuse . the twenty ninth canon of the fourth councel in the lateran , was penned in these words . it was with great care forbidden in the council of the lateran , that any one should have divers ecclesiastical dignities , and more parish churches than one , which is contrary to the holy canons . otherwise , he that took them should lose them , and he that gave them should lose the right of giving them : but by reason of some mens presumption and covetousness , that decree has had little or no effect hitherto ; we therefore desiring to make a more evident and express provision against these abuses , do appoint that whosoever shall receive any benefice , to which a care of souls is annexed , shall thereupon by law be deprived of any other such benefice , that he formerly had ; and if he endeavours still to hold it , he shall lose the other likewise ; and he to whom the right of the patronage of his first benefice did belong , is empowered to bestow it upon his accepting another ; and if he delays the bestowing it , above three months , not only shall his right devolve to another , according to the decree of the council in the lateran , but he shall be obliged to restore to the church , to which the benefice belongs , all that which he himself ●eceived during the vacancy . this we do likewise decree as to personages ; and do further appoint that no man shall presume to hold more dignities or parsonages than one in the same church , even though they have no cure of souls annexed to them . provided always that dispensations may be granted by the apostolical see , to persons of high birth , or eminently learned ( sublimes & literatas personas ) or dignified in universities , for so the word literati was understood , who upon occasion may be honoured , with greater benefices . it was by this last proviso , that this as well as all other canons , made against these abuses became quite ineffectual ; for this had no other effect , but the obliging people to go to rome for dispensations ; so that this canon instead of reforming the abuse , did really establish it , for the qualifications here mentioned were so far stretched , that any person that had obtained a degree in any university , came within the character of lettered or learned , and all those that were in any dependance upon great men , came likewise within the other qualification of high rank and birth . this was the practice among us , during the reign of henry the th . and he when he was beginning to threaten the see of rome , in the matter of his divorce , got that act to be passed , which has been the occasion of so much scandal and disorder in this church . it seems to one that considers it well , that the clauses which qualifie pluralities were grafted upon another bill against spiritual persons taking estates to farm , with which that act begins : and that in the carrying that on , such a temper shewed it self , that the other was added to it . it contained indeed a limitation of the papal authority , but so many provisions were made , that the nobility , clergy , and the more eminent of the gentry , knights in particular , were so taken care of , that it could meet with no gr●at oppo●ition in the parliament ; but from the state of that time , and from several clauses in the act it self , it appears , it was only intended to be a provisional act ; tho it is conceived in the style of a perpetual law. by it then , and by it only ( for i have not been able to find that any such act ever passed in any kingdom or state in christendom , many having been made plainly to the contrary in france , declaring the obligation to residence to be of divine right ) were the abuses , that had arisen out of the canon of one of the worst councils that ever was , authorised and settled among us ; as far as a law of the land can settle them . but after all , it is to be considered that a law does indeed change the legal and political nature of things , it gives a title to a free-hold and property : but no humane law can change the moral or divine laws , and cancel their authority . if a false religion is settled by law , it becomes indeed the legal religion ; but is not a whit the truer for that . and therefore , if the laws of the gospel oblige clerks to personal labour , as was formerly made out ; an act of parliament may indeed qualifie a man , in law , to enjoy the benefice , whether he labours in it or not , but it can never dis●olve his obligation to residence and personal labour . but to bring this chapter to an end , i shall only add three decrees that were made by the council of trent , in this matter , that so it may appear what provisions they made against abuses , which are still supported by laws among us : a part of the st : chap. of reformation that past in the sixth session , runs thus : this synod admonishes all that are set over any cathedral churches , by what title soever , that they taking heed to themselves , and to all the flock , over which the holy ghost has set them , to govern the church of god , which he has purchased with his own blood , do watch and labour and fullfil their ministry , as the apostle has commanded : and they must know that they cannot do this , if as hirelings they forsake the flock committed to them , and do not watch over those sheep , whose blood will be required at their hands , in the last day . since it is certain that no excuse will be received , if the wolfe devours the sheep , when the shepherd does not look after them . yet since to our great grief it is found , that some at this time neglect the salvation of their own souls , and preferring earthy things to heavenly , are still about courts , and forsaking the fold , and the care of the sheep trusted to them , do give themselves wholly to earthly and temporal cares ; therefore all the ancient canons , which by the iniquity of times , and the corruptions of men were fallen into desuetude , are renewed against non-residents . to which , several compulsory clauses are added , which are indeed slight ones , because the execution of them was intirely put in the pope's power , and the punishment did only lie , if a bishop was absent six months in a year . this decree did not satisfie those who moved for a reformation ; so a fuller one was made in the d. session , st . chap. in these words : whereas , by the law of god , all those to whom the care of souls is committed , are commanded to know their sheep , to offer sacrifice for them , to feed them by the preaching of the word of god , the administration of the sacraments , and by the example of a good life , to have a tender care of the poor , and all other miserable persons , and to lay themselves out upon all the other functions of the pastoral care ; which cannot be performed by those , who do not watch over , nor are present with their flock : therefore this synod does admonish and exhort them , that they remembring the divine precepts , and being made an example to their flock , may feed and govern them in righteousness and truth . upon this they declare that all bishops , even cardinals themselves , are obliged to personal residence , in their church and diocess , and there to discharge their duty : unless upon some special provisions . by which indeed a door is opened to as many corruptions as the court of rome thinks fit to dispense with . yet without this , none may be absent above two , or at most , three months , in the whole year ; and even that must be upon a just reason , and without any prejudice to the flock ; and they leave this upon the consciences of such as withdraw for so long a time , which they hope will be religious and tender in this matter , since all hearts are known to god , and it is no small sin to do his work negligently . they declare the breaking this decree to be a mortal sin , and that such as are guilty of it , cannot with a good conscience enjoy the mean profits , during such their absence ; but are bound to lay them out on the fabrick , or give them to the poor : and all these provisions and punishments , they do also make against the inferior clergy , that enjoyed any benefice , to which the cure of souls was annexed , and the execution of that , is put in the bishop's hands , who is required not to dispense with their residence , unless upon a very weighty occasion , above two months ; and in this they give the bishop so full an authority , that no appeal or prohibition was to lie against his sentence , upon non-residents , even in the court of rome . in these decrees , tho the papal party hindred a formal declaration of the obligation to residence , by divine right , that so room might still be left for the dispensing power ; yet they went very near it , they applied passages of scripture to it , and laid the charge of mortal sin upon it . in the last place , i shall set down the decree that was made in the th . session , chap. . against pluralities , in these words : whereas the ecclesiastical order is perverted , when one clerk has the offices of many committed to him , it was therefore well provided by the holy canons , that no man should be put in two churches . but many led by their depraved covetousness , deceiving themselves , but not god , are not ashamed to elude those good constitutions , by several artifices , and obtain more benefices than one at the same time : therefore the synod being desirous to restore a proper discipline for the government of churches , does , by this decree , by which all persons , of what rank soever , even cardinals themselves , shall be bound ; appoint , that for the future , one man shall be capable of receiving only one ecclesiastical benefice . but if that is not sufficient for the decent maintenance of him that has it , then it shall be lawful to give him another simple benefice , provided that both benefices do not require personal residence . this rule must be applied not only to cathedrals , but to all other benefices whether secular , regular , or such as are held by commendam , or of what sort or order soever they may be . and as for such as do at present possess either more parish-churches than one , or one cathedral , and another parish-church , they shall be forced notwithstanding of any dispensations or unions that may have been granted them , for term of life , to resign within the space of six months , all that they do now hold , except one cathedral , or one parochial church ; otherwise , all their benefices , whether parochial , or others , shall be by law esteemed void ; and as such they shall be disposed of to others . nor may those who ●ormerly enjoyed them , receive the mean profits , after the term of six months , with a good conscience . but the synod wishes that some due provis●on might be made , such as the pope shall think fit , for the necessities of those who are hereby obliged to resign . these were the decrees that were made by that pretended general council : and wheresoever that council is received , they are so seldom dispensed with , that the scandal of non-residence , or plurality , does no more cry in that church . in france , tho that council is not there received , yet such regard is had to primitive rules , that it is not heard of among them . such examples are to us reproaches indeed : and that of the worst sort , when the argument from the neglect of the pastoral care , which gave so great an advantage at first to the reformers , and turned the hearts of the world so much from their careless pastors to those who shewed more zeal and concern for them , is now against us , and lies the other way . if the nature of man is so made , that it is not possible , but that offences must come , yet , woe be to him , by whom they come . chap. vi. of the declared sense and rules of the church of england in this matter . whatsoever may be the practice of any among us , and whatsoever may be the force of some laws that were made in bad times , and perhaps upon bad ends , yet we are sure the sense of our church is very different ; she intended to raise the obligation of the pastoral care higher than it was before : and has laid out this matter more fully and more strictly , than any church ever did , in any age ; as far at least as my enquiries can carry me . the truest indication of the sense of a church is to be taken from her language , in her publick offices : this is that which she speaks the most frequently , and the most publickly : even the articles of doctrine are not so much read and so often heard , as her liturgies are : and as this way of reasoning has been of late made use of with great advantage , against the church of rome , to make her accountable , for all her publick offices in their plain and literal meaning ; so i will make use of it on this occasion : it is the stronger in our case , whose offices being in a tongue understood by the people , the argument from them does more evidently conclude here . in general then this is to be observed , that no church before ours , at the reformation , took a formal sponsion at the altar , from such as were ordained deacons and priests . that was indeed always demanded of bishops , but neither in the roman nor greek pontifical , do we find any such solemn vows and promises demanded or made by priests or deacons , nor does any print of this appear in the constitutions , the pretended areopagite ▪ or the antient canons of the church . bishops were asked many questions , as appears by the first canon of the fourth council of carthage . they were required to profess their faith , and to promise to obey the canons , which is still observed in the greek church . the questions are more express in the roman pontifical , and the first of these demands a promise that they will instruct their people in the christian doctrine , according to the holy scriptures : which was the foundation upon which our bishops justified the reformation ; since the first and chief of all their vowes binding them to this , it was to take place of all others ; and if any other parts of those sponsions , contradicted this , such as their obedience and adherence to the see of rome , they said that these were to be limited by this . all the account i can give of this general practice of the church in demanding promises only of bishops , and not of the other orders is this , that they considered the government of the priests and deacons , as a thing that was so entirely in the bishop , as it was indeed by the first constitution , that it was not thought necessary to bind them to their duty by any publick vowes or promises ( though it is very probable that the bishops might take private engagements of them , before they ordained them ) it being in the bishop's power to restrain and censure them in a very absolute and summary way . but the case was quite different in bishops , who were all equal by their rank and order : none having any authority over them , by any divine law or the rules of the gospel : the power of primates , and metropolitans having arisen out of ecclesiastical and civil laws , and not being equally great in all countries and provinces : and therefore it was more necessary to proceed with greater caution , and to demand a further security f●●m them . but the new face of the constitution of the church , by which priests were not under so absolute a subjection to their bishops , as they had been at first , which was occasioned partly , by the tyranny of some bishops , to which bounds were set by laws and canons , partly by their having a special propety and benefice of their own , and so not being maintained by a dividend out of the common-stock of the church as at first ; had so altered the state of things , that indeed no part of the episcopacy was left entrirely in the bishop's hands , but the power of ordination . this is still free and unrestrained : no writs , nor prohibitions from civil courts ; and no appeals have clogged or fettered this , as they have done all the other parts of their authority . therefore our reformers observing all office of ordination , and they made both the charge that is given , and the promises that are to be taken , to be very express and solemne , that so both the ordainers and the ordained might be rightly instructed in their duty and struck with the awe and dread , that they ought to be under in so holy and so important a performance : and though all mankind does easily enough agree in this , that promises ought to be religiously observed , which men make to one another , how apt soever they may be to break them ; yet to make the sense of these promises go deeper , they are ordered to be made at the altar , and in the nature of a stipulation or covenant , the church conferring orders , or indeed rather , christ by the mininestry of the officers that he has constituted , conferring them upon those promises that are first made . the forms of ordination in the greek church , which we have reason to believe are less changed , and more conform to the primitive pattenrs , than those used by the latins , do plainly import that the church only declared the divine vocation . the grace of god , that perfects the feeble , and heals the weak , promotes this man to be a deacon , a priest or a bishop : where nothing is expressed as conferred but only as declared , so our church by making our saviour's words , the form of ordination , must be construed to intend , by that that it is christ only that sends , and that the bishops are only his ministers to pronounce his mission ; otherwise it is not so easie to justifie the use of this form , receive the holy ghost : which as it was not used in the primitive church nor by the roman , till within these five hundred years , so in that church , it is not the form of ordination but a benediction given by the bishop singly , after the orders are given by the bishop and the other priests joyning with him . for this is done by him alone as the final consummation of the action . but our using this as the form of ordination shews , that we consider our selves only as the instruments that speak in christ's name and words : insinuating thereby that he only ordains . pursuant to this in the ordaining of priests , the questions are put in the name of god and of his church . which makes the answers to them to be of the nature of vows and oaths . so that if men do make conscience of any thing , and if it is possible to strike terrour into them , the forms of our ordinations are the most effectually contrived for that end that could have been framed . the first question that is put in the office of deacons , is , do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the holy ghost to take upon you this office , to serve god for the promoting of his glory , and the edifying of his people ? to which he is to answer i trust so . this is put only in this office , and not repeated afterwards : it being justly supposed that where one has had this motion , all the other orders may be in time conferred pursuant to it ; but this is the first step , by which a man dedicates himself to the service of god ; and therefore it ought not to be made by any , that has not this divine vocation . certainly , the answer that is made to this , ought to be well considered ; for if any says , i trust so , that yet knows nothing of any such motion , and can give no account of it , he lies to the holy ghost ; and makes his first approach to the altar , with a lie in his mouth ; and that not to men , but to god ; and how can one expect to be received by god , or be sent and sealed by him , that dares do a thing of so crying a nature , as to pretend that he trusts he has this motion , who knows that he has it not , who has made no reflections on it , and when asked , what he means by it , can say nothing concerning it , and yet he dares venture to come and say it to god and his church : if a man pretends a commission from a prince , or indeed from any person , and acts in his name upon it , the law will fall on him , and punish him , and shall the great god of heaven and earth , be thus vouched , and his motion he pretended to , by those whom he has neither called nor sent ? and shall not he reckon with those who dare to run without his mission , pretending that they trust they have it , when perhaps they understand not the importance of it , nay , and perhaps some laugh at it , as an enthusiastical question , who , yet will go through with the office ? they come to christ for the loaves : they hope to live by the altar , and the gospel , how little soever they serve at the one , or preach the other ; therefore they will say any thing , that is necessary for qualifying them to this whether true or false . it cannot be denied , but that this question carries a sound in it , that seems a little too high , and that may rather raise scruples , as importing somewhat that is not ordinary , and that seems to savour of enthusiasme ; and therefore it was put here , without doubt , to give great caution to such as come to the service of the church ; many may be able to answer it truly according to the sense of the church , who may yet have great doubting in themselves concerning it ; but every man that has it not , must needs know that he has it not . the true meaning of it must be resolved thus ; the motives that ought to determine a man , to dedicate himself to the ministring in the church , are a zeal for promoting the glory of god , for raising the honour of the christian religion , for the making it to be better understood , and more submitted to . he that loves it , and feels the excellency of it in himself , that has a due sense of god's goodness in it to mankind , and that is entirely possessed with that , will feel a zeal within himself , for communicating that to others ; that so the only true god , and iesus christ whom he has sent , may be more universally glorified , and served by his creatures : and when to this he has added a concern of the souls for men , a tenderness for them , a zeal to rescue them from endless misery , and a desire to put them in the way to everlasting happiness , and from these motives feels in himself a desire to dedicate his life and labours to those ends ; and in order to them studies to understand the scriptures , and more particularly , the new testament , that from thence he may form a true notion of this holy religion , and so be an able minister of it ; this man , and only this man , so moved and so qualified , can in truth , and with a good conscience answer , that he trusts he is inwardly moved by the holy ghost . and every one that ventures on the saying it , without this , is a sacrilegious profaner of the name of god , and of his holy spirit . he breaks in upon his church , not to feed it but to rob it : and it is certain that he who begins with a lie , may be sent by the father of lies , but he cannot be thought to enter in , by the door , who prevaricates in the first word that he says in order to his admittance . but if the office of deacons offers no other particular matter of reflection , the office of ordaining priests , has a great deal ; indeed the whole of it , is calculated to the best notions of the best times . in the charge that is given , the figures of watchmen , shepherds , and stewards , are pursued , and the places of scripture relating to these are applied to them : they are required to have always printed in their remembrance ; how great a treasure was committed to their charge : the church and congregation whom you must serve is his spouse and body . then the greatness of the fault of their negligence , and the horrible punishment that will follow upon it , is set before them , in case the church or any member of it take any hurt or hinderance by reason of it : they are charged never to cease their labour , care and diligence , till they have done all that lieth in them , according to their bounden duty , towards all such , as are , or shall be committed to their care , to bring them to a ripeness and perfectness of age in christ. they are again urged to consider with what care and study , they ought to apply themselves to this ; to pray earnestly for gods holy spirit , and to be studious in reading and learning of the scriptures ; and to forsake and set aside , as much as they may , all worldly cares and studies . it is hoped that they have clearly determined by gods grace , to give themselves wholly to this vocation : and as much as lieth in them to apply themselves wholly to this one thing ; and to draw all their cares and studies this way , and to this end ; and that by their daily reading and weighing the scriptures , they will study to wax riper and stronger in their ministry . these are some of the words of the preparatory charge given by the bishop , when he enters upon this office ; before he puts the questions that follow to those , who are to be ordained . what greater force or energy could be put in words , than is in these ? or where could any be found that are more weighty and more express ; to shew the intire dedication of the whole man , of his time and labours , and the separating himself from all other cares to follow this one thing with all possible application and zeal ? there is nothing in any office , ancient or modern , that i ever saw which is of this force , so serious and so solemn ; and it plainly implies not only the sense of the church upon this whole matter , but likewise their design who framed it , to oblige priests , notwithstanding any relaxation that the laws of the land had still favoured , by the firmest and sacredst bonds possible to attend upon their flocks ; and to do their duties to them ▪ for a bare residence , without labouring , is but a mock residence , since the obligation to it , is in order to a further end ; that they may watch over , and feed their flock , and not enjoy their benefices only as farms , or as livings , according to the gross , but common abuse of our language , by which the names of cures , parishes , or benefices , which are the ecclesiastical names , are now swallowed up into that of living , which carries a carnal idea in the very sound of the word , and i doubt a more carnal effect on the minds of both clergy and laity . what ever we may be , our church is free of this reproach : since this charge carries their duty as high , and as home , as any thing that can be laid in words . and it is further to be considered , that this is not of the nature of a private exhortation , in which a man of lively thoughts , and a warm fancy , may be apt to carry a point too high : it is the constant and uniform voice of the church . nor is it of the nature of a charge , which is only the sense of him that gives it , and to which the person to whom it is given , is only passive : he hears it , but cannot be bound by another man's thoughts or words , further than as the nature of things binds him . but orders are of the nature of a covenant between christ and the clerks ; in which so many privileges and powers are granted on the one part , and so many duties and offices are promised on the other ; and this charge being the preface to it , it is stipulatory . it declares the whole covenant of both sides ; and so those who receive orders upon it , are as much bound by every part of it , and it becomes as much their own act , as if they had pronounced or promised it all , in the most formal words that could be , and indeed the answers and promises that are afterwards made , are only the application of this , to the particular persons , for giving them a plainer and livelier sense of their obligation , which yet , in it self , was as intire and strong , whether they had made any promise by words of their own or not . but to put the matter out of doubt , let us look a little further into the office , to the promises that they make , with relation to their flock , even to such as are , or shall be committed to their charge . they promise , that by the help of the lord they will give their faithful diligence , always so to minister the doctrine and sacraments , and the discipline of christ , as the lord hath commanded , and as this realm hath received the same , according to the commandment of god ; so that they may teach the people committed to their care and charge with all diligence to keep and observe the same . this does plainly bind to personal labour , the mention that is made of what this realm has received , being limited by what follows according to the commandment of god , shews that by this is meant the reformation of the doctrine and worship that was then received , and established by law ; by which these general words , the doctrine and sacraments and discipline of christ , to which all parties pretend , are determined to our constitution ; so that tho there were some disorders among us , not yet provided against by the laws of the land ; this does not secure a reserve for them . this is so slight a remark , that i should be ashamed to have made it , if it had not been urged to my self , slight as it is , to justifie in point of conscience , the claiming all such privileges , or qualifications , as are still allowed by law. but i go on to the other promises : the clerk says he will , by the help of god , be ready with all faithful diligence , to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines , contrary to god's word , and to use both publick and private admonitions , and exhortations , as well to the sick , as to the whole , within his cure , as need shall require , and as occasion shall be given : this is as plainly personal , and constant , as words can make any thing . and in this is expressed the so much neglected , but so necessary duty , which incumbents owe their flock , in a private way , visiting , instructing , and admonishing them , which is one of the most useful , and important parts of their duty , how generally soever it may be disused or forgotten : these being the chief instances and acts of watching over and feeding the flock , that is committed to their care. in the next place they promise , that they will be diligent in prayers , and in reading of the holy scriptures , and in such studies as help to the knowledge of the same , laying aside , the study of the world and the flesh : this still carries on that great notion of the pastoral care , which runs through this whole office ; that it is to be a man's intire business , and is to possess both his thoughts and his time . they do further promise that they will maintain , and set forward , as much as lieth in them , quietness , peace , and love among all christian people , and especially among them , that are , or shall be committed to their charge . these are the vows and promises that priests make before they can be ordained : and to compleat the stipulation , the bishop concludes it , with a prayer to god who has given them the will to do all these things , to give them also strength , and power to perform the same : that he may accomplish his work , which he hath begun in them , until the time that he shall come ▪ at the latter day , to judge the quick and the dead . upon the whole matter either this is all a piece of gross and impudent pageantry , dressed up in grave and lofty expressions , to strike upon the weaker part of mankind , and to furnish the rest with matter to their profane and impious scorn ; or it must be confessed that priests come under the most formal and express engagements , to constant and diligent labour , that can be possibly contrived or set forth in words . it is upon this , that they are ordained : so their ordination being the consummation of this compact , it must be acknowledged that according to the nature of all mutual compacts ; a total failure on the one side , does also dissolve all the obligation that lay on the other : and therefore those who do not perform their part , that do not reside and labour , they do also in the sight of god , forfeit all the authority and privileges that do follow their orders , as much as a christian at large , that does not perform his baptismal vow , forfeits the rights and benefits of his baptism , in the sight of god ; tho both in the one , and in the other , it is necessary that for the preventing of disorder and confusion , a sentence declaratory of excommunication , in the one , as of degradation in the other , pass before the visible acts and rights , pursuant to those rites , can be denied . to all this i will add one thing more , which is , that since our book of ordination , is a part of our liturgy , and likewise a part of the law of the land , and since constant attendance , and diligent labour is made necessary by it , and since this law is subsequent to the act of the st . of henry the th . that qualifies so many for pluralities , and non-residence , and is in plain terms contrary to it , this as subsequent does repeal all that it contradicts : it is upon all this , a matter that to me seems plain , that by this law , the other is repealed , in so far , as it is inconsistent with it . this argument is by this consideration made the stronger , that the act of king henry does not enact that such things shall be , but only reserves privildeges for such as may be capable of an exemption from the common and general rules . now by the principles of law , all priviledges or exemptions of that sort , are odious things ; and the constructions of law lying hard and heavy against odious cases , it appears to me according to the general grounds of law , very probable ( i speak within bounds , when i say only probable ) that the act of uniformity which makes the offices of ordination a part of the law of england , is a repeal of that part of the act of king henry , which qualifies for pluralities . to conclude , whatsoever may be the strength of this plea in bar to that act , if our faith given to god and his church , in the most express and plainest words possible , does bind , if promises given at the altar do oblige , and if a stipulation , in the consideration of which orders are given , is sacred and of an indispensible obligation , then , i am sure , this is . to make the whole matter yet the stronger , this office is to be compleated with a communion : so that upon this occasion , that is not only a piece of religious devotion , accompanying it ; but it is the taking the sacrament upon the stipulation that has been made , between the priest and the church : so that those who have framed this office , have certainly intended by all the ways that they could think on , and by the weightiest words they could choose , to make the sense of the priestly function , and of the duties belonging to it , give deep and strong impressions to such as are ordained . i have compared with it , all the exhortations that are in all the offices i could find , ancient and modern , whether of the greek or the latin church , and this must be said of ours , without any sort of partiality to our own forms , that no sort of comparison can be made between ours and all the others : and that as much as ours is more simple than those as to its rites and ceremonies , which swell up other offices , so much is it more grave and weighty in the exhortations , collects and sponsions that are made in it . in the roman pontifical no promises are demanded of priests , but only that of obedience : bishops in a corrupted state of the church , taking care only of their own authority , while they neglected more important obligations . in the office of consecrating bishops ; as all the sponsions made by them , when they were ordained priests , are to be considered as still binding , since the inferiour office does still subsist in the superiour ; so there are new ones superadded , proportioned to the exaltation of dignity and authority that accompanies that office. in the roman pontifical , there are indeed questions put to a bishop , before he is consecrated : but of all these the first only is that which has any relation to his flock : which is in these words : wilt thou teach the people over whom thou art to be set , both by thy example and doctrine : those things that thou learnst out of the holy scripture ? all the rest are general , and relate only to his conversation ; but not at all to his labours in his diocess : whereas on the contrary , the engagements in our office do regard not only a bishop's own conversation , but chiefly his duty to his people : he declares that he is determined to instruct the people committed to his charge , out of the holy scriptures : that he will study them , so as to be able by them , to teach and exhort , with wholsome doctrine ; and withstand and convince the gain-sayers : that he will be ready with all faithful diligence , to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine , contrary to god's word : and both privately and openly to call upon and encourage others to the same : that he will maintain and set forward as much as lies in him ; quietness , love , and peace among all men ; and correct and punish such as be unquiet , disobedient , and criminous , within his diocess : according to such authority as he has . in particular , he promises to be faithful in ordaining , sending , or laying hands upon others : he promises also to shew himself to be gentle , and merciful for christ's sake , to poor and needy people , and to all strangers destitute of help . these are the covenants and promises under which bishops are put , which are again reinforced upon them , in the charge that is given immediately after their consecration , when the bible is put in their hands ; give heed to reading , exhortation , and doctrine : think upon the things contained in this book ; be diligent in them , that the increase coming thereby may be manifest unto all men. take heed unto thy self , and to doctrine , and be diligent in doing them , for by doing this thou shalt both save thy self and them that hear thee . be thou to the flock of christ , a shepherd , not a wolf ; feed them , devour them not : hold up the weak , heal the sick , bind up the broken , bring again the out-casts , seek the lost : be so merciful that you be not too remiss : so minister discipline that you forget not mercy : that when the chief shepherd shall appear , you may receive the never fading crown of glory , through iesus christ our lord. in these words , the great lines of our duty are drawn , in very expressive and comprehensive terms . we have the several branches of our function , both as to preaching and governing very solemnly laid upon us : and both in this office as well as in all the other offices that i have seen , it appears that the constant sence of all churches , in all ages , has been that preaching was the bishops great duty , and that he ought to lay himself out in it most particularly . i shall only add one advice to all this , before i leave this article of the sence of our church in this matter ; both to those , who intend to take orders , and to those who have already taken them . as for such as do intend to dedicate themselves to the service of the church , they ought to read over these offices frequently ; and to ask themselves solemnly , as in the presence of god , whether they can with a good conscience , make those answers which the book prescribes , or not ? and not to venture on offering themselves to oders , till they know that they dare and may safely do it . every person who looks that way , ought at least on every ordination sunday , after he has once formed the resolution of dedicating himself to this work , to go over the office seriously with himself , and to consider in what disposition or preparation of mind he is ; suitable to what he finds laid down in it . but i should add to this , that for a year before he comes to be ordained , he should every first sunday of the month read over the office very deliberately ; and frame resolutions , conform to the several parts of it , and if he can , receive the sacrament upon it , with a special set of private devotions relating to his intentions . as the time of his ordination draws near , he ought to return the oftner to those exercises . it will be no hard task for him to read these over every sunday , during the last quarter before his ordination ; and to do that yet more solemnly , every day of the week in which he is to be ordained : and to joyn a greater earnestness of fasting and prayer with it on the fast-days of his ember week . here is no hard imposition . the performance is as easie in it self , as it will be successful in its effects . if i did not consider , rather what the age can bear , than what were to be wished for , i would add a great many severe rules calculated to the notions of the primitive times . but if this advice were put in practice , it is to be hoped , that it would set back many who come to be ordained , without considering duly , either what it is that they ask , or what it is that is to be asked of them : which some do with so supine a negligence , that we plainly see that they have not so much as read the office , or at least that they have done it in so slight a manner , that they have formed no clear notions upon any part of it , and least of all , upon those parts to which they themselves are to make answers . and as such a method as i have proposed would probably strike some with a due awe of divine matters , so as to keep them at a distance , till they were in some sort prepared for them ; so it would oblige such as came to it , to bring along with them a serious temper of mind , and such a preparation of soul as might make that their orders should be a blessing to them , as well as they themselves should be a blessing to the church . it must be the greatest joy of a bishops life , who truly minds his duty in this weighty trust of sending out labourers into gods vineyard ; to ordain such persons of whom he has just grounds to hope , that they shall do their duty , faithfully , in reaping that harvest . he reckons these as his children indeed , who are to be his strength and support , his fellow labourers and helpers ▪ his crown and his glory . but on the other hand , how heavy a part of his office must it be to ordain those against whom , perhaps there lies no just objection , so that according to the constitution and rules of the church , he cannot deny them ; and yet he sees nothing in them that gives him courage or cheerfulness . they do not seem to have that love to god , that zeal for christ , that tenderness for souls , that meekness and humility , that mortification and deadness to the world , that becomes the character and profession which they undertake ; so that his heart fails him , and his hands tremble when he goes to ordain them . my next advice shall be to those , who are already in orders , that they will at least four times a year , on the ordination sundays , read over the offices of the degrees of the church in which they are : and will particularly consider the charge that was given , and the answers that were made by them ; and then ask themselves as before god , who will iudge them at the great-day , upon their religious performance of them , whether they have been true to them or not that so they may humble themselves for their errours , and omissions , and may renew their vows for the future , and so to be going on from quarter to quarter , through the whole course of their ministry observing still what ground they gain , and what progress they make , to such as have a right sense of their duty , this will be no hard perforformance . it will give a vast joy to those that can go through it with some measure of assurance , and find , that tho in the midest of many tentations and of much weakness , they are sincerely and seriously going on in their work to the best of their skill , and to the utmost of their power : so that their consciences say within them , and that without the partialities of self love and flattery , well done , good and faithful servant . the hearing of this said within , upon true grounds , being the certainest evidence possible that it shall be publickly said at the last and great-day . this exercise will also offer checks to a man that looks for them ; and intends both to understand his errours , and to cleanse himself from them . it will upon the whole matter , make clergy men go on with their profession , a●●●e business and labour of their lives . having known the very good effect that this method has had on some , i dare the more confidently recommend it to all others . before i conclude this chapter , i will shew what rules our reformers had prepared with relation to non-residence , and pluralities ; which tho they never passed into laws , and so have no binding force with them , yet in these we see what was the sense of those that prepared our offices , and that were the chief instruments in that blessed work of our reformation . the th . chapter of the title , concerning those that were to be admitted to ecclesiastical benefices , runs thus . whereas , when many benefices are conferred on one person , every one of these must be served with less order and exactness , and many learned men , who are not provided , are by that means shut out ; therefore , such as examine the persons who are proposed for benefices , are to ask every one of them , whether he has at that time another benefice or not , and if he confesses that he has , then they shall not consent to his obtaining that to which he is presented , or the first benefice shall be made void , as in case of death , so that the patron may present any other person to it . chap . is against dispensations , in these words . no man shall hereafter be capable of any privilege , by virtue of which he may hold more parishes than one . but such as have already obtained any such dispensations for pluralities , shall not be deprived of the effects of them , by virtue of this law. the th . chapter relates to residence , in these words . if any man by reason of age or sickness , is disabled from discharging his duty , or if he has any just cause of absence for some time , that shall be approved of by the bishop , he must take care to place a worthy person , to serve during his absence . but the bishops ought to take a special care , that upon no regard whatsoever , any person may , upon feigned or pretended reasons , be suffered to be longer absent from his parish , than a real necessity shall require . these are some of the rules which were then prepared , and happy had it been for our church , if that whole work of the reformation of the ecclesiastical law , had been then setled among us . then we might justly have said , that our reformation was compleat , and not have lamented as our church still does in the office of commination that the godly discipline which was in the primitive church is not yet restored , how much , and how long soever it has been wished for . it is more than probable that we should neither have had schisms , nor civil wars , if that great design had not been abortive . if but the th . and th . titles of that work , which treat of the publick offices , and officers in the church , had became a part of our law , and been duly executed , we should indeed have had matter of glorying in the world. in the canons of the year . tho there was not then strength enough in the church , to cure so inveterate a disease , as non-residence , yet she expressed her detestation of it , in these words . the absence of a pastor from the lord's flock ; and that supine negligence and abandoning of the ministry , which we observe in many , is a thing vile in it self , odious to the people , and pernicious to the church of god ; therefore , we exhort all the pastors of churches , in our lord iesus , that they will as soon as is possible , come to their churches , and diligently preach the gospel , and according to the value of their livings , that they will keep house , and hospitably relieve the poor . it is true , all this is much lessened by the last words of that article , that every year they must reside at least threescore daies upon their benefices . by the canons made at that time , pluralities were also limited to miles distance . but this was enlarged to miles , by the canons in the year . yet by these the pluralist was required to spend a good part of the year in both his benefices . and upon this , has the matter rested ever since ; but there is no express definition made how far that general word of a good part of the year is to be understood . i will not to this add a long invidious history of all the attempts that have been made for the reforming these abuses , nor the methods that have been made use of to defeat them . they have been but too successful , so that we still groan under our abuses ; and do not know when the time shall come in which we shall be freed from them . the defenders of those abuses , who get too much by them , to be willing to part with them , have made great use of this , that it was the puritan party , that during q. elizabeth , and k. iames the sts . reign , promoted these bills , to render the church odious : whereas , it seems more probable , that those who set them forward , what invidious characters soever their enemies might put them under , were really the friends of the church ; and that they intended to preserve it , by freeing it from so crying , and so visible an abuse : which gives an offence and scandal , that is not found out by much learning , or great observation ; but arises so evidently out of the nature of things , that a small measure of common sense , helps every one to see it , and to be deeply prejudic'd against it . but since our church has fallen under the evils and mischiefs of schism , none of those who divide from us , have made any more attempts this way ; but seem rather to be not ill pleased , that such scandals should be still among us , as hoping that this is so great a load upon our church , that it both weakens our strength , and lessens our authority . it is certainly the interest of an enemy to suffer the body to which he opposes himself to lie under as many prejudices , and to be liable to as much censure , as is possible ; whereas every good and wise friend studies to preserve that body to which he unites himself , by freeing it from every thing that may render it less acceptable , and less useful . here i will leave this argument , having i think said enough , to convince all , that have a true zeal to our church , and that think themselves bound in conscience to obey its rules , and that seem to have a particular jealousie of the civil powers , breaking in too far upon the ecclesiastical authority , that there can be nothing more plain and express , than that our church intends to bring all her priests under the strictest obligations possible , to constant and personal labour , and that in this she pursues the designs and canons , not only of the primitive , and best times , but even of the worst ages , since none were ever so corrupt as not to condemn those abuses by canon , even when they maintained them in practice . she does not only bind them to this , by the charge she appoints to be given , but also by the vows and promises that she demands of such as are ordained . when all this is laid together , and when there stands nothing on the other side , to balance it , but a law made in a very bad time , that took away some abuses , but left pretences to cover others ; can any man that weighs these things together , in the sight of god , and that believes he must answer to him for this at the great day , think , that the one , how strong soever it may be in his favour at an earthly tribunal , will be of any force in that last and dreadful iudgment . this i leave upon all mens consciences ; hoping that they will so judge themselves , that they shall not be judged of the lord. chap. vii . of the due preparation of such as may and ought to be put in orders . the greatest good that one can hope to do in this world is upon young persons , who have not yet taken their ply , and are not spoiled with prejudices , and wrong notions . those who have taken an ill one at first , will neither be at the pains to look over their notions , nor turn to new methods ; nor will they by any change of practice , seem to confess that they were once in the wrong ; so that if matters that are amiss , can be mended or set right , it must be by giving those that have not yet set out , and that are not yet engaged , truer views , and juster idea's of things . i will therefore here lay down the model , upon which a clerk is to be formed , and will begin with such things as ought to be previous and preparatory to his being initiated into orders . these are of two sorts , the one is of such preparations as are necessary to give his heart and soul a right temper , and a true sense of things : the other is of such studies as are necessary to enable him to go through with the several parts of his duty . both are necessary , but the first is the more indispensible of the two ; for a man of a good soul , may with a moderate proportion of knowledge do great service in the church , especially if he is suited with an imployment , that is not above his talent : whereas unsanctified knowledge puffs up ; is insolent and unquiet , it gives great scandal , and occasions much distraction in the church . in treating of these qualifications , i will watch over my thoughts , not to let them rise to a pitch that is above what the common frailties of humane nature , or the age we live in , can bear : and after all , if in any thing i may seem to exceed ●hese measures , it is to be considered , that it is natural in proposing the ideas of things , to carry them to what is wished for , which is but too often beyond what can be expected ; considering both the corruption of mankind and of these degenerated times . first of all then , he that intends to dedicate himself to the church , ought , from the time that he takes up any such resolution , to enter upon a greater decency of behaviour , that his mind may not be vitiated by ill habits ; which may both give such bad characters of him , as maystick long on him afterwards , and make such ill impressions on himself , as may not be easily worn out or defaced . he ought , above all things , to possess himself with a high sense of the christian religion , of its truth and excellence , of the value of souls , of the dignity of the pastoral care , of the honour of god , of the sacredness of holy functions , and of the great trust that is committed to those who are set apart from the world , and dedicated to god and to his church . he who looks this way , must break himself to the appetites of pleasure , or wealth , of ambition , or authority ; he must consider that the religion , in which he intends to officiate , calls all men to great purity and vertue ; to a probity and innocence of manners , to a meekness and gentleness , to a humility and self-denial , to a contempt of the world and a heavenly mindedness , to a patient resignation to the will of god , and a readiness to bear the cross , in the hopes of that everlasting reward , which is reserved for christians in another state : all which was eminently recommended , by the unblemish'd pattern that the author of this religion , has set to all that pretend to be his followers . these being the obligations which a preacher of the gospel is to lay daily upon all his hearers , he ought certainly to accustom himself often to consider seriously of them ; and to think how shameless and impudent a thing it will be in him , to perform offices suitable to all these , and that do suppose them , to be instructing the people , and exhorting them to the practice of them , unless he is in some sort all this himself , which he teaches others to be . indeed to be tied to such an employment , while one has not an inward conformity to it , and complacence in it , is both the most unbecoming , the most unpleasant , and the most uncomfortable state of life imaginable . such a person will be exposed to all mens censures and reproaches , who when they see things amiss in his conduct , do not only reproach him , but the whole church and body , to which he belongs ; and which is more , the religion which he seems to recommend by his discourses , though his life and actions , which will always pass for the most real declaration of his inward sentiments , are a visible and continual opposition to it . on all these things , he whose thoughts carry him towards the church , ought to reflect frequently : nothing is so odious as a man that disagrees with his character , a soldier that is a coward , a courtier that is brutal ; an ambassadour that is abject , are not such unseemly things , as a bad or vicious , a drunken or dissolute clergy-man . but though his scandals should not rise up to so high a pitch , even a proud and passionate , a worldly minded and covetous priest , gives the lye to his discourses so palpably , that he cannot expect they should have much weight . nor is such a man's state of life less unpleasant to himself , than it is unbecoming . he is obliged to be often performing offices , and pronouncing discourses , in which if he is not a good man , he not only has no pleasure , but must have a formed aversion to them . they must be the heaviest burden of his life ; he must often feel secret challenges within ; and though he as often silences these , yet such unwelcome reflections are uncomfortable things . he is forced to manage himself wi●h a perpetual constraint , and to observe a decorum in his deportment , lest he fall under a more publick censure : now to be bound to act a part , and live with restraint ones whole life , must be a very melancholy thing . he cannot go so quite out of sight of religion , and convictions , as other bad men do , who live in a perpetual hurry , and a total forgetfulness of divine matters : they have no checks , because they are as seldom in the way to find them , as is possible . but a clerk cannot keep himself out of their way ; he must remember them , and speak of them , at least upon some occasions , whether he will or no : he has no other way to secure himself against them , but by trying what he can do , to make himself absolutely disbelieve them . negative atheism , that is , a total neglect of all religion , is but too easily arrived at ; yet this will not serve his turn , he must build his atheism upon some bottom , that he may find quiet in it . if he is an ignorant man , he is not furnished with those flights of wit , and shews of learning , that must support it : but if he is really learned , he will soon be beaten out of them ; for a learned atheism is so hard a thing to be conceived , that unless a man's powers are first strangely vitiated , it is not easie to see how any one can bring himself to it . there is nothing that can settle the quiet of an ill priest's mind and life , but a stupid formality , and a callus that he contracts , by his insensible way of handling divine matters ; by which he becomes hardn●d against them . but if this settles him by stupifying his powers , it does put also him so far out of the reach of conviction , in all the ordinary methods of grace , that it is scarce possible he can ever be awakned ; and by consequence that he can be saved ; and if he perishes , he must fall into the lowest degree of misery , even to the portion of hypocrites : for his whole life has been a course of hypocrisie in the strictest sence of the word , which is the acting of a part , and the counterfeiting another person . his sins have in them all possible aggravations ; they are against knowledge and against vows , and contrary to his character ; they carry in them a deliberate contempt of all the truths and obligations of religion ; and if he perishes , he does not perish alone , but carries a shoal down with him , either of those who have perished in ignorance , through his neglect ; or of those who have been hardned in their sins , through his ill example : and since all this must be put to his account , it may be justly inferred from hence , that no man can have a heavier share in the miseries of another state , than profane and wi●ked clerks . on all these things he ought to imploy his thoughts frequently , who intends to dedicate himself to god , that so he may firmly resolve not to go on with it , till he feels such seeds and beginnings of good things in himself , that he has reason to hope , that through the grace and assistance of god , he will be an example to others . he ought more particularly to examine himself , whether he has that soft and gentle , that meek and humble , and that charitable and compassionate temper , which the gospel does so much press upon all christians ; that shined so eminently through the whole life of the blessed author of it ; and which he has so singularly recommended to all his followers ; and that has in it so many charms and attractives , which do not only commend those who have these amiable vertues , but which is much more to be re●garded , they give them vast advantag●● in recommending the doctrine of 〈◊〉 saviour to their people . they are th● true ground of that christian wisdo● and discretion , and of that grave and calm deportment , by which the clergy ought to carry on and maintain their authority . a haughty and huffing humour , an impatient and insolent temper , a loftiness of deportment , ●nd a peevishness of spirit , rendring the lives of the clergy , for the most part , bitter to themselves , and their labours , how valuable soever otherwise they may be , unacceptable and useless to their people . a clergyman must be prepared to bear injuries , to endure much unjust censure and calumny , to see himself often neglected , and others preferred to him , in the esteem of the people . he that takes all this ill , that resents it , and complains of it , does thereby give himself much disquiet ▪ and to be sure , he will , through his peevishness , rather encrease than lessen that contempt , under which he is so uneasie ; which is both better born , and sooner overcome , by a meek and a lowly temper . a man of this disposition affects no singularities , unless the faultiness of those about him , makes his doing his duty to be a singularity : he does not study to lessen the value that is due to others , on design to encrease his own : his low thoughts of himself , make that he is neither aspiring , nor envying such as ▪ are advanced : he is prepared to stay till god in his providence thinks fit to raise him : he studies only to deserve preferment , and leaves to others the wringing posts of advantage out of the hands of those that give them . such a preparation of mind in a clergy-man , disposes him to be happy in whatsoever station he may be put , and renders the church happy in him ; for men so moulded , even though their talents should be but mean , are shining lights , that may perhaps be at first despised , as men of a low size , that have not greatness of soul enough to aspire , but when they have been seen and known so long , that all appears to be sincere , and that the principle from whence this flows , is rightly considered , then every thing that they say or do , must have its due weight : the plainest and simplest things that they say have a beauty in them , and will be hearkned to as oracles . but a man that intends to prepare himself right for the ministry of the church , must indeed above all things , endeavour to break himself to the love of the world , ●ither of the wealth , the pomp , or the pleasures of it . he must learn to be content with plain and simple diet ; and often even abridge that , by true fasting : i do not call fasting , a trifling distinction of meats , but a lessening of the quantity , as well as the quality , and a contracting the time spent at meals , that so he may have a greater freedom both in his time , and in his thoughts ; that he may be more alone , and pray and meditate more , and that what he saves out of his meals , he may give to the poor . this is , in short , the true measure and right use of fasting . in cold climates , an abstinence till night , may create disorders , and raise such a disturbance both in the appetite , and in the digestion ; that this managed upon the practices of other countries , especially in young persons , may really distract instead of furthering those who do it indiscreetly . in short fasting unless joyned with prayer and alms-giving , is of no value in the sight of god. it is a vast advantage to a man to be broken to the niceties of his palate , to be content with plain food , and even to dislike delicacies and studied dishes . this will make him easie in narrower circumstances ; since a plain bill of fare is soon discharged . a lover of his appetites , and a slave to his taste , makes but a mean figure among men , and a very scurvy one among clergy-men . this deadness to the world must raise one above the affectations of pomp and state , of attendance and high living . which to a philosophical mind will be heavy , when the circumstances he is in , seem to impose and force it on him . and therefore he who has a right sense , finds it is almost all he can do , to bear those things which the tyranny of custom or false opinions put upon him : so far is he from longing for them . a man that is truly dead to the world , would chuse much rather to live in a lowly and narrow figure ; than to be obliged to enter into the methods of the greatness of this world ; into which , if the constitutions and forms of a church and kingdom put him , yet he feels himself in an unnatural and uncouth posture : it is contrary to his own genius and relish of things ; and therefore he does not court nor desire such a situation , but even while he is in it , he shews such a neglect of the state of it , and so much indifference and humility in it , that it appears how little power those things have over his mind , and how little they are able to subdue and corrupt it . this mortified man must likewise become dead to all the designs and projects of making a family , or of raising the fortunes of those that are nearly related to him : he must be bountiful and charitable ; and tho' it is not only lawful to him , but a necessary duty incumbent on him , to make due provision for his family , if he has any , yet this must be so moderated that no vain nor sordid designs , no indirect nor unbecoming arts , may mix in it ; no excessive wealth nor great projects must appear ; he must be contented with such a proportion , as may set his children in the way of a vertuous and liberal education ; such as may secure them from scandal and necessity , and put them in a capacity to serve god and their generation in some honest employment . but he who brings along with him , a voluptuous , an ambitious , or a covetous mind , that is carnal and earthly minded , comes as a hireling to feed himself and not the flock , he comes to steal and to destroy . upon all , this great reflection is to be made concerning the motives that determine one to offer himself to this employment . in the first beginnings of christianity , no man could reasonably think of taking orders , unless he had in him the spirit of martyrdom . he was to look for nothing in this service , but labour and persecution : he was indeed to live of the altar , and that was all the portion that he was to expect in this world. in those days an extraordinary measure of zeal and devotion was necessary , to engage men to so hard and difficult a province , that how great soever its reward might be in another world , had nothing to look for in this , but a narrow provision , and the first and largest share of the cross : they were the best known , the most exposed , and the soonest fallen upon in the persecution . but their services and their sufferings did so much recommend that function in the succeeding ages , that the faithful thought they could never do enough to express their value for it . the church came to be richly endowed ; and tho' superstition had raised this out of measure , yet the extreme went as far to the other hand at the reformation , when the church was almost stript of all its patrimony , and a great many churches were left so poor , that there was not in most places , a sufficient ; nay , not so much as a necessary maintenance , reserved for those that were to minister in holy things . but it is to be acknowledged that there are such remnants preserved , that many benefices of the church still may , and perhaps do but too much , work upon mens corrupt principles , their ambition , and their covetousness : and it is shrewdly to be apprehended , that of those who present themselves at the altar , a great part comes , as those who followed christ , for the loaves : because of the good prospect they have of making their fortunes by the church . if this point should be carried too far , it might perhaps seem to be a pitch above humane nature ; and certainly very far above the degeneracy of the age we live in : i shall therefore lay this matter , with as large an allowance , as i think it can bear . it is certain , that since god has made us to be a compound of soul and body , it s not only lawful but suitable to the order of nature , for us in the choice we make of the state of life that we intend to pursue , to consider our bodies , in the next place after our souls : yet we ought certainly to begin with our souls , with the powers and faculties that are in them , and consider well of what temper they are ; and what our measure and capacity is ; that so we may chuse such a course of life , for which we seem to be fitted , and in which we may probably do the most good both to our selves and others : from hence we ought to take our aims and measures chiefly : but in the next place , we not only may , but ought to consider our bodies , how they shall be maintained , in a way suitable to that state of life , into which we are engaged . therefore tho' no man can with a good conscience , begin upon a worldly account , and resolve to dedicate himself to the church , merely out of carnal regard ; such as an advowson in his family , a friend that will promote him , or any other such like prospect , till he has first consulted his temper and disposition , his talents and his capacities ; yet , tho' it is not lawful to make the regards of this world his first consideration , and it cannot be denied to be a perfecter state , if a man should offer himself to the church , having whereon to support himself , without any assistance or reward out of its patrimony ; and to be nearer to s. paul's practice , whose hands ministred to his necessities , and who reckoned that in this he had whereof to glory , that he was not burthensome to the churches : yet it is , without doubt , lawful for a man to design that he may subsist in and out of the service of the church : but then these designs must be limited to a subsistence , to such a moderate proportion , as may maintain one in that state of life . and must not be let fly by a restless ambition , and an insatiable covetousness , as a ravenous bird of prey , does at all game . there must not be a perpetual enquiry into the value of benefices ; and a constant importuning of such as give them : if laws have been made in some states restraining all ambitus and aspirings to civil imployments , certainly it were much more reasonable to put a stop to the scandalous importunities , that are every where complained of ; and no where more visible and more offensive than at court. this gives a prejudice to men that are otherwise enclined enough to search for one , that can never be removed , but by putting an effectual bar in the way of that scrambling for benefices and preferments ; which will ever make the lay part of mankind conclude , that let us pretend what we will , covetousness and ambition are our true motives , and our chief vocation . it is true , the strange practices of many patrons , and the constitution of most courts , give a colour to excuse so great an indecency . men are generally successful in those practices , and as long as humane nature is so strong , as all men feel it to be , it will be hard to divert them from a method which is so common , that to act otherwise would look like an affectation of singularity ; and many apprehend , that they must languish in misery and necessity if they are wanting to themselves , in so general a practice . and , indeed , if patrons , but chiefly if princes would effectually cure this disease which gives them so much trouble , as well as offence , they must resolve to distribute those benefices that are in their gift , with so visible a regard to true goodness and real merit , and with so firm and so constant an opposition to application and importunity , that it may appear that the only way to advancement , is to live well , to study hard , to stay at home , and labour diligently ; and that applications by the persons themselves , or any set on by them , shall always put those back who make them : this would more effectually cure so great an evil , than all that can be said against it . one successful suiter who carries his point , will promote this disorder , more than twenty repulses of others ; for unless the rule is severely carried on , every one will run into it ; and hope to prosper as well as he , who they see has got his end in it . if those who have the disposition of benefices , to which the cure of souls is annexed , did consider this as a trust , lodged with them , for which they must answer to god , and that they shall be in a great measure accountable for the souls , that may be lost through the bad choice that they make , knowing it to be bad ; if , i say , they had this more in their thoughts , than so many scores of pounds , as the living amounts to ; and thought themselves really bound , as without doubt they are , to seek out good and worthy men , well qualified and duely prepared , according to the nature of that benefice which they are to give ; then we might hope to see men make it their chief study , to qualifie themselves aright ; to order their lives , and frame their minds , as they ought to do , and to carry on their studies with all application and diligence ; but as long as the short methods , of application , friendship , or interest , are more effectual than the long and hard way , of labour and study ; human nature will always carry men to go the surest , the easiest , and the quickest way to work . after all i wish it were well considered , by all clerks , what it is to run without being either called or sent ; and so to thrust ones self into the vineyard , without staying , till god by his providence puts a piece of his work in his hands ; this will give a man a vast ease in his thoughts , and a great satisfaction in all his labours , if he knows that no practices of his own , but merely the directions of providence , have put him in a post. he may well trust the effects of a thing to god , when the causes of it do plainly flow from him . and though this will appear to a great many a hard saying , so that few will be able to bear it , yet i must add this to the encouragement and comfort of such as can resolve to deliver themselves up to the conduct and directions of providence , that i never yet knew any one of those few ( too few i confess they have been ) who were possessed with this maxim , and that have followed it exactly , that have not found the fruit of it even in this world. a watchful care hath hovered over them : instruments have been raised up , and accidents have happened to them so prosperously , as if there had been a secret design of heaven by blessing them so signally , to encourage others to follow their measures , to depend on god , to deliver themselves up to his care , and to wait till he opens a way for their being imployed , and settled in such a portion of his husbandry , as he shall think fit to assign to them . these are preparations of mind , with which a clerk is to be formed and seasoned : and in order to this , he must read the scriptures much , he must get a great deal of those passages in them , that relate to these things , by heart , and repeat them often to himself ; in particular many of the most tender and melting psalms , and many of the most comprehensive passages in the epistles ; that by the frequent reflecting on these , he may fill his memory with noble notions , and right idea's of things : the book of proverbs , but chiefly ecclesiastes , if he can get to understand it , will beget in him a right view of the world , a just value of things , and a contempt of many objects that shine with a false lustre , but have no true worth in them . some of the books taught at schools , if read afterwards , when one is more capable to observe the sense of them , may be of great use to promote this temper . tully's offices will give the mind a noble sett ; all his philosophical discourses , but chiefly his consolation ; which though some criticks will not allow to be his , because they fansie the stile has not all the force and beauty in it that was peculiar to him , yet is certainly the best piece of them all ; these , i say , give a good ●avour to those who read them much . the satyrical poets , horace , iuvenal and persius may contribute wonderfully to give a man a detestation of vice , and a contempt of the common methods of mankind ; which they have set out in such true colours , that they must give a very generous sense to those who delight in reading them often . persius his second satyr , may well pass for one of the best lectures in divinity . hieracles upon pythagoras's plutarch's lives ; and above all the books of heathenism , epictetus and marcus aurelius , contain such instructions , that one cannot read them too often , nor repass them too frequently in his thoughts . but when i speak of reading these books , i do not mean only to run through them , as one does through a book of history , or of notions ; they must be read and weighed with great care , till one is become a master of all the thoughts that are in them : they are to be often turned in ones mind , till he is thereby wrought up to some degrees of that temper , which they propose : and as for christian books , in order to the framing of ones mind aright , i shall only recommend the whole duty of man , dr. sherlock of death and iudgment , and dr. scot's books , in particular that great distinction that runs through them , of the means and of the ends of religion . to all which i shall add one small book more , which is to me ever new and fresh , gives always good thoughts and a noble temper , thomas a kempis of the imitation of christ. by the frequent reading of these books , by the relish that one has in them , by the delight they give , and the effects they produce , a man will plainly perceive , whether his soul is made for divine matters or not , what suitableness there is between him and them ; and whether he is yet touched with such a sense of religion , as to be capable of dedicating himself to it . i am far from thinking that no man is fit to be a priest , that has not the temper which i have been describing , quite up to that heig●h in which i have set it forth ; but this i will positively say , that he who has not the seeds of it planted in him , who has not these principles , and resolutions formed to pursue them , and to improve and perfect himself in them , is in no wise worthy of that holy character . if these things are begun in him , if they are yet but as a grain of mustard-seed , yet if there is a life in them , and a vital sense of the tendencies and effects they must have ; such a person , so moulded , with those notions and impressions , and such only are qualified , so as to be able to say with truth and assurance , that they trust they are inwardly moved by the holy ghost to undertake that office. so far have i dispatch'd the first and chief part of the preparation necessary before orders . the other branch of it , relates to their learning , and to the knowledge that is necessary . i confess i look upon this as so much inferiour to the other , and have been convinced by so much experience , that a great measure of piety , with a very small proportion of learning , will carry one a great way , that i may perhaps be thought to come as far short in this , as i might seem to exceed in the other . i will not here enter into a discourse of theological learning , of the measure that is necessary to make a compleat divine , and of the methods to attain it . i intend only to lay down here , that which i look on as the lowest degree , and as that which seems indispensably necessary , to one that is to be a priest. he must then understand the new testament we●l . this is the text of our religion , that which we preach and explain to others ; therefore a man ought to read this so often over , that he may have an idea of the whole book in his head , and of all the parts of it . he cannot have this so sure , unless he understands the greek so well , as to be able to find out the meaning of every period in it , at least of the words and phrases of it ; any book of annotations or paraphrase upon it , is a great help to a beginner ▪ grotius , hammond , and lightfoot are the best . but the having a great deal of the practical and easie parts of it , such as relate to mens liv●s and their duties , such as strike and awaken , direct , comfort , or terrifie , are much more necessary than the more abstruse parts . in short , the being able to state right the grounds of our hope , and the terms of salvation , and the having a clear and ready view of the new covenant in christ iesus , is of such absolute necessity , that it is a profaning of orders , and a defiling of the sanctuary , to bring any into it , that do not rightly understand this matter in its whole extent . bishop pearson on the creed is a book of great learning , and profound exactness . dr. barrow has opened it with more simplicity ; and dr. towerson more practically ; one or other of these must be well read and considered : but when i say read , i mean read and read over again , so oft that one is master of one of these books ; he must write notes out of them , and make abridgements of them ; and turn them so oft in his thoughts , that he must thoroughly understand , and well remember them . he must read also the psalms over so carefully , that he may at least have a general notion of those divine hymns ; to which bishop patrick's paraphrase will help to carry him . a system of divinity must be read with exactness . they are almost all alike : when i was young wendelin and maresius were the two shortest and fullest . here is a vast errour in the first forming of our clergy , that a contempt has been cast on that sort of books ; and indeed to rise no higher , than to a perpetual reading over different systems is but a mean pitch of learning ; and the swallowing down whole systems by the lump , has help'd to possess peoples minds too early with prejudices , and to shut them up in too implicite a following of others . but the throwing off all these books , makes that many who have read a great deal , yet have no intire body of divinity in their head ; they have no scheme or method , and so are ignorant of some very plain things , which could never have happened to them , if they had carefully read and digested a system into their memories . but because this is indeed a very low form ; therefore to lead a man farther , to have a freer view of divinity , to examine things equally and clearly , and to use his own reason , by balancing the various views , that two great divisions of protestants have , not only in the points which they controvert , but in a great many others , in which though they agree in the same conclusions , yet they arrive at them by very different premises ; i would advise him that studies divinity , to read two larger bodies , writ by some eminent men of both sides ; and because the latest are commonly the best ; turretin for the whole calvinist hypothesis , and limburgh for the arminian , will make a man fully the master of all the notions of both sides . or if one would see how far middle ways may be taken ; the theses of sanmur , or blanc's theses , will compleat him in that . these books well read , digested into abstracts , and frequently reviewed or talked over by two companions in study , will give a man an entire view of the whole body of divinity . but by reason of that pest of atheism , that spreads so much among us , the foundations of religion must be well laid : bishop wilkins book of natural religion , will lead one in the first steps through the principles that he has laid together in a plain and natural method . grotius his book of the truth of the christian religion , with his notes upon it , ought to be read and almost got by heart . the whole controversie both of atheism and deism , the arguments both for the old and new testament , are fully opened , with a great variety both of learning and reasoning , in bishop stillingfleet's origines sacrae . there remains only to direct a student how to form right notions of practical matters ; and particularly of preaching . dr. hammond's practical catechism , is a book of great use ; but not to be begun with , as too many do : it does require a good deal of previous study , before the force of his reasonings is apprehended ; but when one is ready for it , it is a rare book , and states the grounds of morality , and of our duty , upon true principles . to form one to understand the right method of preaching , the extent of it , and the proper ways of application , bishop sanderson , mr. faringdon , and dr. barrow , are the best and the fullest models . there is a vast variety of other sermons , which may be read with an equal measure of advantage and pleasure . and if from the time that one resolves to direct his studies towards the church , he would every lords day read two sermons of any good preacher , and turn them a little over in his thoughts , this would insensibly in two or three years time , carry him very far , and give him a large view of the different ways of preaching , and furnish him with materials for handling a great many texts of scripture when he comes to it . and thus i have carried my student through those studies , that seem to me so necessary for qualifying him to be an able minister of the new testament , that i cannot see how any article of this can be well abated . it may seem strange , that in this whole direction , i have said nothing concerning the study of the fathers or church history . but i said at first , that a great distinction was to be made between what was necessary to prepare a man to be a priest , and what was necessary to make him a compleat and learned divine . the knowledge of these things is necessary to the latter , though they do not seem so necessary for the former : there are many things to be left to the prosecution of a divine's study , that therefore are not mentioned here , not with any design to disparage that sort of learning ; for i am now only upon that measure of knowledge , under which i heartily wish that no man were put in priests orders ; and therefore i have pass'd over many other things , such as the more accurate understanding of the controversies between us and the church of rome , and the unhappy disputes between us and the dissenters of all sorts ; though both the one and the other , have of late been opened with that perspicuity , that fulness of argument , and that clearness as well as softness of stile , that a collection of these may give a man the fullest instructions , that is to be found in any books i know . others , and perhaps the far greater number , will think that i have clogged this matter too much . but i desire these may consider how much we do justly reckon , that our profession is preferrable either to law or medicine . now , if this is true , it is not unreasonable , that since those who pretend to these , must be at so much pains , before they enter upon a practice which relates only to men's fortunes , or their persons , we whose labours relate to their souls and their eternal state , should be at least at some considerable pains , before we enter upon them . let any young divine go to the chambers of a student in the inns of court , and see how many books he must read , and how great a volume of a common-place-book he must make , he will there see through how hard a task one must go , in a course of many years , and how ready he must be in all the parts of it , before he is called to the barr , or can manage business . how exact must a physician be in anatomy , in simples , in pharmacy , in the theory of diseases , and in the observations and counsels of doctors , before he can either with honour , or a safe conscience , undertake practice ? he must be ready with all this , and in that infinite number of hard words , that belong to every part of it , to give his directions and write his bills by the patient's bed-side ; who cannot stay 'till he goes to his study and turns over his books . if then so long a course of study , and so much exactness and readiness in it , is necessary to these professions ; nay , if every mechanical art , even the meanest , requires a course of many years , before one can be a master in it , shall the noblest and the most important of all others , that which comes from heaven , and leads thither again ; shall that which god has honoured so highly , and to which laws and governments have added such privileges and encouragements , that is employ'd in the sublimest exercises , which require a proportioned worth in those who handle them , to maintain their value and dignity in the esteem of the world ; shall all this , i say , be esteemed so low a thing in our eyes , that a much less degree of time and study , is necessary to arrive at it , than at the most sordid of all trades whatsoever ? and yet after all , a man of a tolerable capacity , with a good degree of application , may go through all this well , and exactly , in two years time . i am very sure , by many an experiment i have made , that this may be done in a much less compass : but because all men do not go alike quick , have not the same force , nor the same application , therefore i reckon two years for it ; which i do thus divide : one year before deacons orders , and another between them and priests orders . and can this be thought a hard imposition ? or do not those , who think thus , give great occasion to the contempt of the clergy , if they give the world cause to observe , that how much soever we may magnifie our profession , yet by our practice , we shew that we do judge it the meanest of all others , which is to be arrived at upon less previous study and preparation to it , than any other whatsoever ? since i have been hitherto so minute , i will yet divide this matter a little lower into those parts of it , without which , deacons orders ought not to be given , and those to be reserved to the second year of study . to have read the new testament well , so as to carry a great deal of it in one's memory , to have a clear notion of the several books of it , to understand well the nature and the conditions of the covenant of grace , and to have read one system well , so as to be master of it , to understand the whole catechetical matter , to have read wilkins and grotius ; this , i say , is that part of this task , which i propose before one is made deacon . the rest , though much the larger , will go the easier , if those foundations are once well laid in them . and upon the article of studying the scriptures , i will add one advice more . there are two methods in reading them , the one ought to be merely critical , to find out the meaning and coherence of the several parts of them , in which one runs easily through the greater part , and is only obliged to stop at some harder passages , which may be marked down and learned men are to be consulted upon them : those that are really hard to be explained , are both few , and they relate to matters that are not so essential to christianity ; and therefore after one has in general seen what is said upon these , he may put off the fuller consideration of that to more leisure , and better opportunities . but the other way of reading the scriptures , is to be done merely with a view to practice , to raise devotion , to encrease piety , and to give good thoughts and severe rules . in this a man is to imploy himself much . this is a book always at hand , and the getting a great deal of it by heart , is the best part of a clergy-man's study ; it is the foundation , and lays in the materials for all the rest . this alone may furnish a man with a noble stock of lively thoughts , and sublime expressions ; and therefore it must be always reckoned as that , without which all other things amount to nothing ; and the chief and main subject of the study , the meditation and the discourses of a clergy-man . chap. viii . of the functions and labours of clergy-men . i have in the former chapter laid down the model and method , by which a clerk is to be formed and prepared ; i come now to consider his course of life , his publick functions , and his secret labours . in this as well as in the former , i will study to consider what mankind can bear , rather than what may be offered in a fair idea , that is far above what we can hope ever to bring the world to . as for a priests life and conversation , so much was said in the former chapter ; in which as a preparation to orders , it was proposed what he ought to be , that i may now be the shorter on this article . the clergy have one great advantage , beyond all the rest of the world , in this respect , besides all others , that whereas the particular callings of other men , prove to them great distractions , and lay many temptations in their way , to divert them from minding their high and holy calling of being christians , it is quite otherwise with the clergy , the more they follow their private callings , they do the more certainly advance their general one : the better priests they are , they become also the better christians : every part of their calling , when well performed , raises good thoughts , brings good idea's into their mind , and tends both to encrease their knowledge , and quicken their sense of divine matters . a priest therefore is more accountable to god , and the world for his deportment , and will be more severely accounted with than any other person whatsoever . he is more watched over and observed than all others : very good men will be , even to a censure , jealous of him ; very bad men will wait for his halting , and insult upon it ; and all sorts of persons , will be willing to defend themselves against the authority of his doctrine and admonitions ; by this he says but does not ; and though our saviour charged his disciples and followers , to hear those who sat in moses his chair , and to observe and do whatsoever they bid them observe , but not to do after their works , for they said and did not ; the world will reverse this quite , and consider rather how a clerk lives , than what he says . they see the one , and from it conclude what he himself thinks of the other ; and so will believe themselves not a little justified , if they can say that they did no worse , than as they saw their minister do before them . therefore a priest must not only abstain from gross scandals , but keep at the furthest distance from them : he must not only not be drunk , but he must not sit a tipling ; nor go to taverns or ale-houses , except some urgent occasion requires it , and stay no longer in them , than as that occasion demands it . he must not only abstain from acts of lewdness , but from all indecent behaviour , and unbecoming raillery . gaming and plays , and every thing of that sort , which is an approach to the vanities and disorders of the world , must be avoided by him . and unless the straitness of his condition , or his necessities force it , he ought to shun all other cares , such as , not only the farming of grounds , but even the teaching of schools , since these must of necessity take him off both from his labour and study . such diversions as his health , or the temper of his mind , may render proper for him , ought to be manly , decent and grave ; and such as may neither possess his mind or time too much , nor give a bad character of him to his people : he must also avoid too much familiarity with bad people ; and the squandring away his time in too much vain and idle discourse . his chearfulness ought to be frank , but neither excessive nor licentious : his friends and his garden ought to be his chief diversions , as his study and his parish , ought to be his chief imployments . he must still carry on his study , making himself an absolute master of the few books he has , till his circumstances grow larger , that he can purchase more . he can have no pretence , if he were ever so narrow in the world , to say , that he cannot get , not only the collects , but the psalms , and the new testament by heart , or at least a great part of them . if there are any books belonging to his church , such as iewels works , and the book of martyrs , which lie tearing in many places , these he may read over and over again , till he is able to furnish himself better , i mean with a greater variety ; but let him furnish himself ever so well , the reading and understanding the scriptures , chiefly the psalms and the new testament , ought to be still his chief study , till he becomes so conversant in them , that he can both say many parts of them , and explain them without book . it is the only visible reason of the iews adhering so firmly to their religion , that during the ten or twelve years of their education , their youth are so much practised to the scriptures , to weigh every word in them , and get them all by heart , that it is an admiration , to see how ready both men and women among them are at it ; their rabbi's have it to that perfection , that they have the concordance of their whole bible in their memories , which give them vast advantages , when they are to argue with any that are not so ready as they are in the scriptures : our task is much shorter and easier , and it is a reproach , especially to us protestants , who found our religion merely on the scriptures , that we know the new testament so little , which cannot be excused . with the study of the scriptures , or rather as a part of it comes in the study of the fathers , as far as one can go ; in these their apologies , and epistles , are chiefly to be read ; for these give us the best view of those times : basil's and chrysostom's sermons , are by much the best . to these studies , history comes in as a noble and pleasant addition ; that gives a man great views of the providence of god , of the nature of man , and of the conduct of the world. this is above no man's capacity ; and though some histories are better than others ; yet any histories , such as one can get , are to be read , rather than none at all . if one can compass it , he ought to begin with the history of the church , and there at the head iosephus , and go on with eusebius , socrates , and the other historians , that are commonly bound together ; and then go to other later collectors of ancient history ; the history of our own church and country is to come next ; then the ancient greek and roman history , and after that , as much history , geography , and books of travels as can be had , will give an easie and a useful entertainment , and will furnish one with great variety of good thoughts , and of pleasant , as well as edifying discourse . as for all other studies , every one must follow his inclinations , his capacities , and that which he can procure to himself . the books that we learn at schools are generally laid aside , with this prejudice , that they were the labours as well as the sorrows of our childhood and education ; but they are among the best of books . the greek and roman authors have a spirit in them , a force both of thought and expression , that l●ter ages have not been able to imitate : buchanan only excepted , in whom , more particularly in his psalms , there is a beauty and life , an exactness as well as a liberty , that cannot be imitated , and scarce enough commended . the study and practice of physick , especially that which is safe and simple , puts the clergy in a capacity of doing great acts of charity , and of rendring both their persons and labours very acceptable to their people ; it will procure their being soon sent for by them in sickness , and it will give them great advantages in speaking to them , of their spiritual concerns , when they are so careful of their persons , but in this nothing that is sordid must mix . these ought to be the chief studies of the clergy . but to give all these their full effect , a priest that is much in his study , ought to imploy a great part of his time in secret and fervent prayer , for the direction and blessing of god in his labours , for the constant assistance of his holy spirit , and for a lively sense of divine matters , that so he may feel the impressions of them grow deep and strong upon his thoughts . this , and this only , will make him go on with his work , without wearying , and be always rejoycing in it : this will make his expressions of these things to be happy and noble , when he can bring them out of the good treasure of his heart ; that is , ever full , and always warm with them . from his study , i go next to his publick functions : he must bring his mind to an inward and feeling sense of those things that are prayed for in our offices : that will make him pronounce them with an equal measure of gravity and affection , and with a due slowness and emphasis . i do not love the theatrical way of the church of rome , in which it is a great study , and a long practice , to learn in every one of their offices , how they ought to compose their looks , gesture and voice ; yet a light wandring of the eyes , and a hasty running through the prayers , are things highly unbecoming ; they do very much lessen the majesty of our worship , and give our enemies advantage to call it dead and formal , when they see plainly , that he who officiates is dead and formal in it . a deep sense of the things prayed for , a true recollection and attention of spirit , and a holy earnestness of soul , will give a composure to the looks , and a weight to the pronunciation , that will be tempered between affectation on the one hand , and levity on the other . as for preaching , i referr that to a chapter apart . a minister ought to instruct his people frequently , of the nature of baptism , that they may not go about it merely as a ceremony , as it is too visible the greater part do ; but that they may consider it as the dedicating their children to god , the offering them to christ , and the holding them thereafter as his , directing their chief care about them , to the breeding them up in the nurture and admonition of the lord. there must be care taken to give them all a right notion of the use of god-fathers and god-mothers , which is a good institution , to procure a double security for the education of children ; it being to be supposed , that the common ties of nature and religion , bind the parents so strongly , that if they are not mindful of these , a special vow would not put a new force in them , and therefore a collateral security is also demanded , both to supply their defects , if they are faulty , and to take care of the religious education of the infant , in case the parents should happen to die before that is done ; and therefore no god-father or god-mother are to be invited to that office , but such with whom one would trust the care of the education of his child , nor ought any to do this office for another , but he that is willing to charge himself , with the education of the child for whom he answers . but when ambition or vanity , favour or presents , are the considerations upon which those sureties in baptism are chosen ; great advantage is hereby given to those who reject infant baptism , and the ends of the church in this institution are quite defeated ; which are both the making the security that is given for the children so much the stronger , and the establishing an endearment and a tenderness between families ; this being , in its own nature , no small tye , how little soever it may be apprehended or understood . great care must be taken in the instruction of the youth : the bare saying the catechism by rote is a small matter ; it is necessary to make them understand the weight of every word in it : and for this end , every priest , that minds his duty , will find that no part of it is so useful to his people , as once every year to go through the whole church catechism , word by word , and make his people understand the importance of every tittle in it . this will be no hard labour to himself ; for after he has once gathered together the places of scripture that relate to every article , and formed some clear illustrations , and easie similies to make it understood ; his catechetical discourses , during all the rest of his life , will be only the going over that same matter again and again ; by this means his people will come to have all this by heart ; they will know what to say upon it at home to their children ; and they will understand all his sermons the better , when they have once had a clear notion of all those terms that must run through them ; for those not being understood , renders them all unintelligible . a disc●urse of this sort would be generally of much greater edification than an afternoons sermon ; it should not be too long ; too much must not be said at a time , nor more than one point opened ; a quarter of an hour is time sufficient ; for it will grow tedious and be too little remembred , if it is half an hour long . this would draw an assembly to evening prayers , which we see are but too much neglected , when there is no sort of discourse or sermon accompanying them . and the practising this , during the six months of the year , in which the days are long , would be a very effectual means , both to instruct the people , and to bring them to a more religious observation of the lord's day ; which is one of the powerfullest instruments for the carrying on , and advancing of religion in the world. with catechising , a minister is to joyn the preparing those whom he instructs to be confirmed ; which is not to be done merely upon their being able to say over so many words by rote . it is their renewing their baptismal vow in their own persons , which the church designs by that office , and the bearing in their own minds , a sense of their being bound immediately by that , which their sureties then undertook for them : now to do this in such a manner , as that it may make impression , and have a due effect upon them , they must stay , till they themselves understand what they do , and till they have some sense and affection to it ; and therefore till one is of an age and disposition fit to receive the holy sacrament of the lord's supper , and desires to be confirmed , as a solemn preparation and qualification to it ; he is not yet ready for it ; for in the common management of that holy rite , it is but too visible , that of those multitudes that crowd to it , the far greater part , come merely as if they were to receive the bishop's blessing , without any sense of the vow made by them , and of their renewing their baptismal engagements in it . as for the greatest and solemnest of all the institutions of christ , the commemorating his death , and the partaking of it in the lord's supper ; this must be well explained to the people , to preserve them from the extreams of superstition and irreverence ; to raise in them a great sense of the goodness of god , that appeared in the death of christ ; of his love to us , of the sacrifice he once offered , and of the intercession which he still continues to make for us : a share in all which is there federally offered to us , upon our coming under engagements , to answer our part of the covenant , and to live according to the rules it sets us : on these things he ought to enlarge himself , not only in his sermons , but in his catechetical exercises , and in private discourses ; that so he may give his people right notions of that solemn part of worship , that he may bring them to delight in it ; and may neither fright them from it , by raising their apprehensions of it to a strictness that may terrifie too much , nor encourage them in the too common practice of the dead and formal receiving , at the great festivals , as a piece of decency recommended by custom . about the time of the sacrament , every minister that knows any one of his parish guilty of eminent sins , ought to go and admonish him to change his course of life , or not to profane the table of the lord ; and if private admonitions have no effect ; then if his sins are publick and scandalous , he ought to deny him the sacrament ; and upon that he ought to take the method which is still left in the church , to make sinners ashamed , to separate them from holy things , till they have edified the church as much by their repentance , and the outward profession of it , as they had formerly scandalized it by their disorders . this we must confess , that though we have great reason , to lament our want of the godly discipline that was in the primitive church , yet we have still authority for a great deal more than we put in practice . scandalous persons ought , and might be more frequently presented than they are , and both private and publick admonitions might be more used than they are . there is a flatness in all these things among us . some are willing to do nothing , because they cannot do all that they ought to do ; whereas the right way for procuring an enlargement of our authority , is to use that we have well ; not as an engine to gratifie our own or other peoples passions , not to vex people , nor to look after fees , more than the correction of manners , or the edification of the people . if we began much with private applications , and brought none into our courts , till it was visible that all other ways had been unsuccessful , and that no regard was had either to persons or parties , to men's opinions or interests , we might again bring our courts into the esteem which they ought to have , but which they have almost entirely lost : we can never hope to bring the world to bear the yoke of christ , and the order that he has appointed to be kept up in his church , of noting those that walk disorderly , of separating our selves from them , of having no fellowship , no , not so much as to eat with them , as long as we give them cause to apprehend , that we intend by this to bring them under our yoke , to subdue them to us , and to rule them with a rod of iron : for the truth is , mankind is so strongly compounded , that it is very hard to restrain ecclesiastical tyranny on the one hand , without running to a lawless licentiousness on the other ; so strongly does the world love extreams , and avoid a temper . now i have gone through the publick functions o● a priest , and in speaking of the last of these , i have broke in upon the third head of his duty , his private labours in his parish . he understands little the nature and the obligations of the priestly office , who thinks he has discharged it , by performing the publick appointments , in which if he is defective , the laws of the church , how feeble soever they may be as to other things , will have their course ; but as the private duties of the pastoral care , are things upon which the cognisance of the law cannot fall , so they are the most important and necessary of all others ; and the more praise worthy , the freer they are , and the less forc'd by the compulsion of law. as to the publick functions , every man has his rule ; and in these all are almost alike ; every man , especially if his lungs are good , can read prayers , even in the largest congregation ; and if he has a right taste , and can but choose good sermons , out of the many that are in print , he may likewise serve them well that way too . but the difference between one man and another , shews it self more sensibly in his private labours , in his prudent deportment , in his modest and discreet way of procuring respect to himself , in his treating his parish , either in reconciling such differences as may happen to be among them , or in admonishing men of rank , who set an ill example to others , which ought always to be done in that way , which will probably have the best effect upon them ; therefore it must be done secretly , and with expressions of tenderness and respect for their persons ; fit times are to be chosen for this ; it may be often the best way to do it by a letter : for there may be ways fallen upon , of reproving the worst men , in so soft a manner , that if they are not reclaimed , yet they shall not be irritated or made worse by it , which is but too often the effect of an indiscreet reproof . by this a minister may save the sinners soul ; he is at least sure to save his own , by having discharged his duty towards his people . one of the chief parts of the pastoral care , is the visiting the sick ; not to be done barely when one is sent for : he is to go as soon as he hears that any of his flock are ill ; he is not to satisfie himself with going over the office , or giving them the sacrament when desired : he ought to inform himself of their course of life , and of the temper of their mind , that so he may apply himself to them accordingly . if they are insensible , he ought to awaken them with the terrours of god ; the judgment and the wrath to come . he must endeavour to make them sensible of their sins ; particularly of that which runs through most men's lives , their forgetting and neglecting god and his service , and their setting their hearts so inordinately upon the world : he must set them on to examine their dealings , and make them seriously to consider , that they can expect no mercy from god , unless they restore whatsoever they may have got unjustly from any other , by any manner of way , even though their title were confirmed by law : he is to lay any other sins to their charge , that he has reason to suspect them guilty of ; and must press them to all such acts of repentance as they are then capable of . if they have been men of a bad course of life , he must give them no encouragement to hope much from this death-bed repentance ; yet he is to set them to implore the mercies of god in christ iesus , and to do all they can to obtain his favour . but unless the sickness has been of a long continuance , and that the person 's repentance , his patience , his piety has been very extraordinary , during the course of it , he must be sure to give him no positive ground of hope ; but leave him to the mercies of god. for there cannot be any greater treachery to souls , that is more fatal and more pernicious , than the giving quick and easie hopes , upon so short , so forced , and so imperfect a repentance . it not only makes those persons perish securely themselves , but it leads all about them to destruction ; when they see one , of whose bad life and late repentance they have been the witnesses , put so soon in hopes , nay by some unfaithful guides , made sure of salvation ; this must make them go on very secure in their sins ; when they see how small a measure of repentance sets all right at last : all the order and justice of a nation , would be presently dissolved , should the howlings of criminals , and their promises of amendment , work on iuries , iudges , or princes : so the hopes that are given to death-bed penitents , must be a most effectual means to root out the sense of religion of the minds of all that see it ; and therefore though no dying man is to be driven to despair , and left to die obstinate in his sins ; yet if we love the souls of our people , if we set a due value on the blood of christ , and if we are touched with any sense of the honour or interests of religion , we must not say any thing that may encourage others , who are but too apt of themselves to put all off to the last hour . we can give them no hopes from the nature of the gospel covenant ; yet after all , the best thing a dying man can do , is to repent ; if he recovers , that may be the seed and beginning of a new life and a new nature in him : nor do we know the measure of the riches of god's grace and mercy ; how far he may think fit to exert it beyond the conditions and promises of the new covenant , at least to the lessening of such a persons misery in another state. we are sure he is not within the new covenant ; and since he has not repented , according to the tenor of it , we dare not , unless we betray our commission , give any hopes beyond it . but one of the chief cares of a minister about the sick , ought to be to exact of them solemn vows and promises , of a renovation of life , in case god shall raise them up again ; and these ought to be demanded , not only in general words , but if they have been guilty of any scandalous disorders , or any other ill practices , there ought to be special promises made with relation to those . and upon the recovery of such persons , their ministers ought to put them in mind of their engagements , and use all the due freedom of admonitions and reproof , upon their breaking loose from them . in such a case they ought to leave a terrible denunciation of the judgments of god upon them , and so at least they acquit themselves . there is another sort of sick persons , who abound more in towns than in the country ; those are the troubled in mind ; of these there are two sorts , some have committed enormous sins , which kindle a storm in their consciences ; and that ought to be cherished , till they have compleated a repentance proportioned to the nature and degree of their sin. if wrong has been done to another , reparation and restitution must be made to the utmost of the party's power . if blood has been shed , a long course of fasting and prayer ; a total abstinence from wine ; if drunkenness gave the rise to it , a making up the loss to the family , on which it has fallen , must be enjoyned . but alas , the greater part of those that think they are troubled in mind , are melancholy hypochondriacal people , who , what through some false opinions in religion , what through a foulness of blood , occasioned by their unactive course of life , in which their minds work too much , because their bodies are too little imployed , fall under dark and cloudy apprehensions ; of which they can give no clear nor good account . this , in the greatest part , is to be removed by strong and chalybeate medicines ; yet such persons are to be much pitied , and a little humoured in their distemper . they must be diverted from thinking too much , being too much alone , or dwelling too long on thoughts that are too hard for them to master . the opinion that has had the chief influence in raising these distempers , has been that of praying by the spirit ; when a flame of thought , a melting in the brain , and the abounding in tender expressions , have been thought the effects of the spirit , moving all those symptoms of a warm temper . now in all people , especially in persons of a melancholy disposition , that are much alone , there will be a great diversity , with relation to this at different times : sometimes these heats will rise and flow copiously , and at other times there will be a damp upon the brain , and a dead dryness in the spirits . this to men that are prepossessed with the opinion , now set forth , will appear as if god did sometimes shine out , and at other times hide his face ; and since this last will be the most frequent in men of that temper ; as they will be apt to be lifted up , when they think they have a fulness of the spirit in them , so they will be as much cast down when that is withdrawn ; they will conclude from it , that god is angry with them , and so reckon that they must be in a very dangerous condition : upon this , a vast variety of troublesom scruples will arise , out of every thing that they either do or have done . if then a minister has occasion to treat any in this condition , he must make them apprehend that the heat or coldness of their brain , is the effect of temper ; and flows from the different state of the animal spirits , which have their diseases , their hot and their cold fits , as well as the blood has ; and therefore no measure can be taken from these , either to judge for or against themselves . they are to consider what are their principles and resolutions , and what 's the settled course of their life ; upon these they are to form sure judgments , and not upon any thing that is so fluctuating and inconstant as fits or humours . another part of a priest's duty is , with relation to them that are without , i mean , that are not of our body , which are of the side of the church of rome , or among the dissenters . other churches and bodies are noted for their zeal , in making proselytes , for their restless endeavours , as well as their unlawful methods in it , they reckoning , perhaps , that all will be sanctified by the encreasing their party , which is the true name of making converts , except they become at the same time good men , as well as votaries to a side or cause . we are certainly very remiss in this , of both hands , little pains is taken to gain either upon papist or nonconformist ; the law has been so much trusted to ; that that method only was thought sure ; it was much valued , and others at the same time as much neglected ; and whereas at first , without force or violence , in fourty years time , popery from being the prevailing religion , was reduced to a handful , we have now in above twice that number of years , made very little progress . the favour shew'd them from our court , made us seem , as it were , unwilling to disturb them in their religion ; so that we grow at last to be kind to them , to look on them as harmless and inoffensive neighbours , and even to cherish and comfort them ; we were very near the being convinc'd of our mistake , by a terrible and dear bought experience . now they are again under hatches ; certainly it becomes us , both in charity to them , and in regard to our own safety , to study to gain them by the force of reason and persuasion ; by shewing all kindness to them , and thereby disposing them to hearken to the reasons that we may lay before them . we ought not to give over this as desperate upon a few unsuccessful attempts , but must follow them in the meekness of christ , that so we may at last prove happy instruments , in delivering them from the blindness and captivity they are kept under , and the idolatry and superstition they live in : we ought to visit them often in a spirit of love and charity , and to offer them conferences ; and upon such endeavours , we have reason to expect a blessing , at least this , of having done our duty , and so delivering our own souls . nor are we to think , that the toleration , under which the law has settled the dissenters , does either absolve them from the obligations that they lay under before , by the laws of god and the gospel , to maintain the vnity of the church , and not to rent it by unjust or causeless schisms , or us from using our endeavours to bring them to it , by the methods of perswasion and kindness : nay , perhaps , their being now in circumstances , that they can no more be forced in these things , may put some of them in a greater towardness to hear reason ; a free nation naturally hating constraint : and certainly the less we seem to grudge or envy them their liberty , we will be thereby the nearer gaining on the generouser and better part of them , and the rest would soon lose heart , and look out of countenance ; if these should hearken to us . it was the opinion many had of their strictness , and of the looseness that was amongst us , that gained them their credit , and made such numbers fall off from us . they have in a great measure lost the good character that once they had ; if to that we should likewise lose our bad one ; if we were stricter in our lives , more serious and constant in our labours ; and studied more effectually to reform those of our communion , than to rail at theirs ; if we took occasion to let them see that we love them , that we wish them no harm , but good , then we might hope , by the blessing of god , to lay the obligations to love and peace , to unity and concord before them , with such advantages , that some of them might open their eyes , and see at last upon how flight grounds , they have now so long kept up such a wrangling , and made such a rent in the church , that both the power of religion in general , and the strength of the protestant religion , have suffered extreamly by them . thus far i have carried a clerk through his parish , and all the several branches of his duty to his people . but that all this may be well gone about , and indeed as the foundation upon which all the other parts of the pastoral care may be well managed , he ought frequently to visit his whole parish from house to house ; that so he may know them , and be known of them . this i know will seem a vast labour , especially in towns , where parishes are large ; but that is no excuse for those in the country , where they are generally small ; and if they are larger , the going this round will be the longer a doing ; yet an hour a day , twice or thrice a week , is no hard duty ; and this in the compass of a year will go a great way , even in a large parish . in these visits , much time is not to be spent ; a short word for stirring them up to mind their souls , to make conscience of their ways , and to pray earnestly to god , may begin it , and almost end it . after one has asked in what union and peace the neighbourhood lives , and enquired into their necessities , if they seem very poor , that so those to whom that care belongs , may be put in mind to see how they may be relieved . in this course of visiting , a minister will soon find out , if there are any truly good persons in his parish , after whom he must look with a more particular regard . since these are the excellent ones , in whom all his delight ought to be . for let their rank be ever so mean , if they are sincerely religious , and not hypocritical pretenders to it , who are vainly puffed up with some degrees of knowledge , and other outward appearances , he ought to consider them as the most valuable in the sight of god ; and indeed , as the chief part of his care ; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. i know this way of parochial visitation , is so worn out , that , perhaps , neither priest nor people , will be very desirous to see it taken up . it will put the one to labour and trouble , and bring the other under a closer inspection , which bad men will no ways desire , nor perhaps endure . but if this were put on the clergy by their bishops , and if they explained in a sermon before they began it , the reasons and ends of doing it ; that would remove the prejudices which might arise against it . i confess this is an encrease of labour , but that will seem no hard matter to such as have a right sense of their ordination-vows , of the value of souls , and of the dignity of their function . if men had the spirit of their calling in them , and a due measure of flame and heat in carrying it on ; labour in it would be rather a pleasure than a trouble . in all other professions , those who follow them , labour in them all the year long , and are hard at their business every day of the week . all men that are well suted in a profession , that is agreeable to their genius and inclination , are really the easier and the better pleased , the more they are employed in it . indeed there is no trade nor course of life , except ours , that does not take up the whole man : and shall ours only , that is the noblest of all others , and that has a certain subsistence fixed upon it , and does not live by contingencies , and upon hopes , as all others do , make the labouring in our business , an objection against any part of our duty ? certainly nothing can so much dispose the nation , to think o● the relieving the necessities of the many small livings , as the seeing the clergy setting about their business to purpose ; this would , by the blessing of god , be a most effectual means , of stopping the progress of atheism , and of the contempt that the clergy lies under ; it would go a great way towards the healing our schism , and would be the chief step that could possibly be made , towards the procuring to us such laws as are yet wanting to the compleating our reformation , and the mending the condition of so many of our poor brethren , who are languishing in want , and under great straits . there remains only somewhat to be added concerning the behaviour of the clergie towards one another . those of a higher form in learning , dignity and wealth , ought not to despise poor vicars and curates ; but on the contrary , the poorer they are , they ought to pity and encourage them the more , since they are all of the same order , only the one are more happily placed than the others : they ought therefore to cherish those that are in worse circumstances , and encourage them to come often to them ; they ought to lend them books , and to give them other assistances in order to their progress in learning , 't is a bad thing to see a bishop behave himself superciliously towards any of his clergy , but it is intolerable in those of the same degree . the clergy ought to contrive ways to meet often together , to enter into a brotherly correspondence , and into the concerns one of another , both in order to their progress in knowledg , and for consulting together in all their affairs . this would be a means to cement them into one body : hereby they might understand what were amiss in the conduct of any in their division , and try to correct it either by private advices and endeavours , or by laying it before the bishop , by whose private labours , if his clergy would be assisting to him , and give him free and full informations of things , many disorders might be cured , without rising to a publick scandal , or forcing him to extream censures . it is a false pity in any of the clergy , who see their brethren running into ill courses , to look on and say nothing : it is a cruelty to the church , and may prove a cruelty to the person of whom they are so unseasonably tender : for things may be more easily corrected at first , before they have grown to be publick , or are hardned by habit and custom . upon all these accounts it is of great advantage , and may be matter of great edification to the clergie , to enter into a strict union together , to meet often , and to be helpful to one another : but if this should be made practicable , they must be extreamly strict in those meetings , to observe so exact a sobriety , that there might be no colour given to censure them , as if these were merry meetings , in which they allowed themselves great liberties : it were good , if they could be brought to meet to fast and pray ; but if that is a strain too high for the present age , at least they must keep so far within bounds , that there may be no room for calumny . for a disorder upon any such occasion , would give a wound of an extraordinary nature to the reputation of the whole clergy , when every one would bear a share of the blame , which perhaps belonged but to a few . four or five such meetings in a summer , would neither be a great charge , nor give much trouble : but the advantages that might arise out of them , would be very sensible . i have but one other advice to add , but it is of a thing of great consequence , though generally managed in so loose and so indifferent a manner , that i have some reason in charity to believe , that the clergy make very little reflection on what they do in it : and that is , in the testimonials that they sign in favour of those that come to be ordained . many have confessed to my self , that they had signed these upon general reports , and importunity ; tho the testimonial bears personal knowledg . these are instead of the suffrages of the clergy , which in the primitive church were given before any were ordained . a bishop must depend upon them ; for he has no other way to be certainly informed : and therefore as it is a lie , pass'd with the solemnity of hand and seal , to affirm any thing that is beyond one's own knowledg , so it is a lie made to god and the church ; since the design of it is to procure orders . so that if a bishop trusting to that , and being satisfied of the knowledg of one that brings it , ordains an unfit and unworthy man , they that signed it , are deeply and chiefly involved in the guilt of his laying hands suddenly upon him : therefore every priest ought to charge his conscience in a deep particular manner , that so he may never testify for any one , unless he knows his life to be so regular , and believes his temper to be so good , that he does really judg him a person fit to be put in holy orders . these are all the rules that do occur to me at present . in performing these several branches of the duty of a pastor , the trouble will not be great , if he is truly a good man , and delights in the service of god , and in doing acts of charity : the pleasure will be unspeakable ; first , that of the conscience in this testimony that it gives , and the quiet and joy which arises from the sense of one's having done his duty : and then it can scarce be supposed 〈◊〉 by all this , some will be wrought on ; some sinners will be reclaimed ; bad men will grow good , and good men will grow better . and if a generous man feels to a great degree , the pleasure of having delivered one from misery , and of making him easy and happy ; how soveraign a joy must it be to a man that believes there is another life , to see that he has been an instrument to rescue some from endless misery , and to further others in the way to everlasting happiness ? and the more instances he sees of this , the more do his joys grow upon him . this makes life happy , and death joyful to such a priest , for he is not terrified with those words , give an account of thy stewardship , for thou mayest be no longer steward : he knows his reward shall be full , pressed down , and running over . he is but too happy in those spiritual children , whom he has begot in christ , he looks after those as the chief part of his care , and as the principal of his flock , and is so far from aspiring , that it is not without some uneasiness that he leaves them , if he is commanded to arise to some higher post in the church . the troubles of this life , the censures of bad men , and even the prospect of a persecution , are no dreadful things to him that has this seal of his ministry ; and this comfort within him , that he has not laboured in vain , nor run and fought as one that beats the air ; he sees the travel of his soul , and is satisfied when he finds that god's work prospers in his hand . this comforts him in his sad reflections on his own past sins , that he has been an instrument of advancing god's honour , of saving souls , and of propagating his gospel : since to have saved one soul , is worth a man's coming into the world , and richly worth the labours of his whole life . here is a subject that might be easily prosecuted by many warm and lively figures : but i now go on to the last article relating to this matter . chap. ix . concerning preaching . the world naturally runs to extreams in every thing . if one sect or body of men magnify preaching too much , another carries that to another extream of decrying it as much . it is certainly a noble and a profitable exercise , if rightly gone about , of great use both to priest and people ; by obliging the one to much study and labour , and by setting before the other full and copious discoveries of divine matters , opening them clearly , and pressing them weightily upon them . it has also now gained so much esteem in the world , that a clergy-man cannot maintain his credit , nor bring his people to a constant attendance on the worship of god , unless he is happy in these performances . i will not run out into the history of preaching , to shew how late it was before it was brought into the church , and by what steps it grew up to the pitch it is now at : how long it was before the roman church used it , and in how many different shapes it has appeared . some of the first patterns we have , are the best : for as tully began the roman eloquence , and likewise ended it , no man being able to hold up to the pitch to which he raised it ; so st. basil and st. chrysostom brought preaching from the dry pursuing of allegories that had vitiated origen , and from the excessive affectation of figures and rhetorick that appears in nazianzen , to a due simplicity ; a native force and beauty , having joined to the plainness of a clear but noble stile , the strength of reason , and the softness of persuasion . some were disgusted at this plainness ; and they brought in a great deal of art into the composition of sermons : mystical applications of scripture grew to be better liked than clear texts ; an accumulation of figures , a cadence in the periods , a playing upon the sounds of words , a loftiness of epithets , and often an obscurity of expression , were according to the different tastes of the several ages run into . preaching has past through many different forms among us , since the reformation . but without flattering the present age , or any persons now alive , too much , it must be confessed , that it is brought of late to a much greater perfection , than it was ever before at among us . it is certainly brought nearer the pattern that s. chrysostom has set , or perhaps carried beyond it . our language is much refined , and we have returned to the plain notions of simple and genuine rhetorick . we have so vast a number of excellent performances in print , that if a man has but a right understanding of religion , and a true relish of good sense , he may easily furnish himself this way . the impertinent way of dividing texts is laid aside , the needless setting out of the originals , and the vulgar version , is worn ou● . the trifling shews of learning in many quotations of passages , that very few could understand , do no more flat the auditory . pert wit and luscious eloquence have lost their relish . so that sermons are reduced to the plain opening the meaning of the text , in a few short illustrations of its coherence with what goes before and after , and of the parts of which it is composed ; to that is joined the clear stating of such propositions as arise out of it , in their nature , truth and reasonableness : by which , the hearers may form clear notions of the several parts of religion ; such as are best suted to their capacities and apprehensions : to all which applications are aded , tending to the reproving , directing , encouraging , or comforting the hearers , according to the several occasions that are offered . this is indeed all that can be truly be intended in preaching , to make some portions of scripture to be rightly understood ; to make those truths contain'd in them , to be more fully apprehended ; and then to lay the matter home to the consciences of the hearers , so directing all to some good and practical end . in the choice of the text ▪ care is to be taken not to chuse texts that seem to have humour in them ; or that must be long wrought upon , before they are understood . the plainer a text is in it self , the sooner it is cleared , and the fuller it is of matter of instruction ; and therefore such ought to be chosen to common auditories . many will remember the text , that remember nothing else ; therefore such a choice should be made , as may at least put a weighty and speaking sentence of the scriptures upon the memories of the people . a sermon should be made for a text , and not a text found out for a sermon ; for to give our discourses weight , it should appear that we are led to them by our texts : such sermons will probably have much more efficacy than a general discourse , before which a text seems only to be read as a decent introduction , but to which no regard is had in the progress of it . great care should be also had both in opening the text , and of that which arises from it to illustrate them , by concurrent passages of scripture : a little of this ought to be in every sermon , and but a little : for the people are not to be over-charged with too much of it at a time ; and this ought to be done with judgment , and not made a bare concordance exercise , of citing scriptures , that have the same words , though not to the same purpose and in the same sense . a text being opened , then the point upon which the sermon is to run is to be opened ; and it will be the better heard and understood , if there is but one point in a sermon ; so that one head , and only one is well stated , and fully set out . in this , great regard is to be had to the nature of the auditory , that so the point explained may be in some measure proportioned to them . too close a thread of reason , too great an abstraction of thought , too sublime and ▪ too metaphisical a strain , are sutable to very few auditories , if to any at all . things must be put in a clear light , and brought out in as short periods , and in as plain words as may be : the reasons of them must be made as sensible to the people as is possible ; as in vertues and vices ; their tendencies and effects ; their being sutable or unsutable to our powers , to both souls and bodies , to the interests of this life as well as the next ; and the good or evil that they do to humane societies , families and neighbourhoods , ought to be fully and frequently opened . in setting these forth , such a measure is to be kept , that the hearers may perceive , that things are not strained in the way of a declamation , into forced characters , but that they are set out , as truly they are , without making them seem better by imaginary perfections , or worse by an undue aggravation . for the carrying those matters beyond the plain observation of mankind , makes that the whole is looked on as a piece of rhetorick ; the preacher seeming to intend rather to shew his skill , is raising his subject too high , or running it down too low , than to lay before them the native consequences of things ; and that which upon reflection they may be all able to perceive is really true . vertue is so good in it self , that it needs no false paint to make it look better : and vice is so bad , that it can never look so ugly , as when shewed in its own natural colours . so that an undue sublime in such descriptions , does hurt , and can do no good . when the explanatory part of the sermon is over , the application comes next : and here great judgment must be used , to make it fall the heaviest , and lie the longest , upon such particulars as may be within the compass of the auditory : directions concerning a high devotion , to a stupid ignorant company ; or of generosity and bounty , to very poor people ; against pride and ambition , to such as are dull and low minded , are ill suted ; and so must have little effect upon them . therefore care must be taken that the application be useful and proper ; that it make the hearers apprehend som of their sins and defects , and see how to perform their duty ; that it awaken them to it , and direct them in it : and therefore the most common sins , such as mens neglecting their duty to god , in the several branches of it ; their setting their hearts inordinately upon the world ; their lying in discourse , but chiefly in bargaining ; their evil speaking , and their hatred and malice , ought to be very often brought in . some one or other of thes● , ought to be in every application that is made , by which they may see , that the whole design of religion lies against them . such particular sins , swearing , drunkenness , or leudness as abound in any place , must likewise be frequently brought in here . the application must be clear and short , very weighty , and free of every thing that looks like the affectations of wit and eloquence ; here the preacher must be all heart and soul , designing the good of his people . the whole sermon is directed to this : therefore as it is fit that the chief point which a sermon drives at , should come often over and over , that so the hearers may never lose sight of it , but keep it still in view ; so in the application , the text must be shewed to speak it ; all the parts of the explanation must come in , to enforce it : the application must be opened in the several views that it may have , but those must be chiefly insisted on that are most sutable both to the capacities and the circumstances of the people . and in conclusion , all ought to be summed up in a weighty period or two ; and some other signal passage of the scriptures relating to it may be sought for , that so the matter may be left upon the auditory in the solemnest manner possible . thus i have led a preacher through the composition of his sermon ; i will next lay before him some particulars relating to it . the shorter sermons are , they are generally both better heard , and better remembred . the custom of an hour's length , forces many preachers to trifle away much of the time , and to spin out their matter , so as to hold out . so great a length does also flat the hearers , and tempt them to sleep ; especially when , as is usual , the first part of the sermon is languid and heavy : in half an hour a man may lay open his matter in its full extent , and cut off those superfluities which come in only to lengthen the discourse : and he may hope to keep up the attention of his people all the while . as to the stile , sermons ought to be very plain ; the figures must be easy , not mean , but noble , and brought in upon design to make the matter better understood . the words in a sermon must be simple , and in common use ; not savouring of the schools , nor above the understanding of the people . all long periods , such as carry two or three different thoughts in them , must be avoided ; for few hearers can follow or apprehend these : niceties of stile are lost before a common auditory . but if an easy simplicity of stile should run through the whole composition , it should take place most of all in the explanatory part ; for the thing being there offered to be understood , it should be stript of all garnishing : definitions should not be offered in the terms , or method , that logick directs . in short , a preacher is to fancy himself , as in the room of the most unlearned man in his whole parish ; and therefore he must put such parts of his discourse as he would have all understand , in so plain a form of words , that it may not be beyond the meanest of them : this he will certainly study to do , if his desire is to edify them , rather than to make them admire himself as a learned and high-spoken man. but in the applicatory part , if he has a true taste of eloquence , and is a master at it , he is to employ it all in giving sometimes such tender touches , as may soften ; and deeper gashes , such as may awaken his hearers . a vain eloquence here , is very ill plac'd ; for if that can be born any where , it is in illustrating the matter : but all must be grave , where one would perswade : the most natural but the most sensible expressions come in best here . such an eloquence as makes the hearers look grave , and as it were out of countenance , is the properest . that which makes them look lively , and as it were smile upon one another , may be pretty , but it only tickles the imagination , and pleases the ear ; whereas that which goes to the heart , and wounds it , makes the hearer rather look down , and turns his thoughts inward , upon himself : for it is certain that a sermon , the conclusion whereof makes the auditory look pleased , and sets them all a talking one with another , was either not right spoken , or not right heard ; it has been fine , and has probably delighted the congregation , rather than edified it . but that sermon that makes every one go away silent and grave , and hastning to be alone , to meditate or pray over the matter of it in secret , has had its true effect . he that has a taste and genius for eloquence , must improve it by reading quintilian , and tully's books of oratory ; and by observing the spirit and method of tully's orations : or if he can enter into demosthenes , there he will see a much better pattern , there being a simplicity , a shortness , and a swiftness , and rapidity in him , that could not be heard without putting his auditors into a great commotion . all our modern books upon those subjects , are so far short of those great originals , that they can bear no comparison : yet rapin's little book of eloquence is by much the best , only he is too short . tully has so fully opened all the topicks of invention , that a man who has read him , will , if he has any invention of his own , and if he knows throughly his matter , rather have too much than too little in his view , upon every subject that he treats . this is a noble study , and of great use to such as have judgment to manage it ; for artificial eloquence , without a flame within , is like artificial poetry ; all its productions are forced and unnatural , and in a great measure ridiculous . art helps and guides nature ; but if one was not born with this flame , art will only spoil him , make him luscious and redundant . to such persons , and indeed to all that are not masters of the body of divinity , and of the scriptures , i should much rather recommend the using other mens sermons , than the making any of their own . but in the choice of these , great judgment must be used ; one must not take an author that is too much above himself , for by that , compared with his ordinary conversation , it will but too evidently appear , that he cannot be the author of his own sermons ; and that will make both him and them lose too much of their weight . he ought also to put those printed sermons out of that strength and closeness of stile , which looks very well in print ; but is too stiff , especially for a common auditory . he may reverse the method a little , and shorten the explanations , that so he may retain all that is practical ; and that a man may form himself to preaching , he ought to take some of the best models , and try what he can do upon a text handled by them , without reading them , and then compare his work with theirs ; this will more sensibly , and without putting him to the blush , model him to imitate , or if he can , to excel the best patterns : and by this method , if he will restrain himself for some time , and follow it close , he may come to be able to go without such crutches , and to work without patterns : till then , i should advise all to make use of other mens sermons , rather than to make any of their own . the nation has got into so good a taste of sermons , from the vast number of those excellent ones that are in print , that a mean composition will be very ill heard ; and therefore it is an unseasonable piece of vanity , for any to offer their own crudities , till they have well digested and ripened them . i wish the majesty of the pulpit were more looked to ; and that no sermons were offered from thence , but such as should make the hearers both the better , and the wiser , the more knowing , and the more serious . in the delivering of sermons , a great composure of gesture and behaviour is necessary , to give them weight and authority : extreams are bad here , as in every thing else ; some affect a light and flippant behaviour ; and others think that wry faces and a tone in the voice , will set off the matter . grave and composed looks , and a natural , but distinct pronunciation , will always have the best effects . the great rule which the masters of rhetorick press much , can never be enough remembred ; that to make a man speak well , and pronounce with a right emphasis , he ought throughly to understand all that he says , be fully persuaded of it , and bring himself to have those affections , which he desires to infuse into others . he that is inwardly persuaded of the truth of what he says , and that has a concern about it in his mind , will pronounce with a natural vehemence , that is far more lively , than all the strains that art can lead him to . an orator , if we hearken to them , must be an honest man , and speak always on the side of truth , and study to feel all that he says ; and then he will speak it so as to make others feel it likewise . and therefore such as read their sermons , ought to practise reading much in private , and read aloud , that so their own ear and sense may guide them , to know where to raise or quicken , soften or sweeten their voice , and when to give an articulation of authority , or of conviction ; where to pause , and where to languish . we plainly see by the stage , what a force there is in pronunciation : the best compositions are murdered , if ill spoken ; and the worst are acceptable , when well said . in tragedies rightly pronounced and acted , though we know that all is fable and fiction ; the tender parts do so melt the company , that tears cannot be stop'd , even by those who laugh at themselves for it . this shews the power of apt words , and a just pronunciation . but because this depends in a great measure , upon the present temper of him that speaks , and the lively disposition in which he is , therefore he ought by much previous seriousness , and by earnest prayer to god , to endeavour to raise his mind to as warm a sense of the things he is to speak of , as possibly he can , that so his sermons may make deep impressions on his hearers . this leads me to consider the difference that is between the reading and the speaking of sermons . reading is peculiar to this nation , and is endured in no other . it has indeed made that our sermons are more exact , and so it has produced to us many volumes of the best that are extant ; but after all , though some few read so happily , pronounce so truly , and enter so entirely into those affections which they recommend , that in them we see both the correctness of reading , and the seriousness of speaking sermons , yet every one is not so happy : some by hanging their heads perpetually over their notes , by blundring as they read , and by a cursory running over them , do so lessen the matter of their sermons , that as they are generally read with very little life or affection , so they are heard with as little regard or esteem . those who read , ought certainly to be at a little more pains , than for most part they are , to read true , to pronounce with an emphasis , and to raise their heads , and to direct their eyes to their hearers : and if they practis'd more alone the just way of reading , they might deliver their sermons with much more advantage . man is a low sort of creature ; he does not , nay nor the greater part cannot consider things in themselves , without those little seasonings that must recommend them to their affections . that a discourse be heard with any life , it must be spoken with some ; and the looks and motions of the eye do carry in them such additions to what is said , that where these do not at all concur , it has not all the force upon them , that otherwise it might have : besides , that the people , who are too apt to censure the clergy , are easily carried into an obvious reflection on reading , that it is an effect of laziness . in pronouncing sermons , there are two ways ; the one is when a whole discourse is got by heart , and delivered word for word , as it was writ down : this is so vast a labour , that it is scarce possible that a man can be able to hold up long to it : yet there is an advantage even in this to beginners ; it fills their memories with good thoughts , and regular meditations : and when they have got some of the most important of their sermons by heart in so exact a manner , they are thereby furnished with topicks for discourse . and therefore there are at least two different subjects , on which i wish all preachers would be at the pains , to form sermons well in their memories : the one is the grounds of the covenant of grace , of both sides , god's offers to us in christ , and the conditions that he has required of us , in order to our reconciliation with him . this is so important a point , in the whole course of our ministry , that no man ought to be to seek in the opening or explaining it : and therefore that he may be ripe in it , he ought to have it all rightly laid in his memory , not only as to the notions of it , but to have such a lively description and illustration of it all , as to be able to speak of it sensibly , fully , and easily upon all occasions . another subject in which every minister ought also to be well furnished , is concerning death and iudgment ; that so when he visits the sick , and , as is common , that the neighbours come in , he may be able to make a grave exhortation , in weighty and fit words , upon those heads . less than this , i think no priest ought to have in his memory . but indeed , the more sermons a young beginner gets by heart , he has still thereby the more discourse ready upon those heads ; for though the whole contexture of the sermon will stick no longer than as he has occasion for it , yet a great deal will stay with him : the idea of the whole , with the most important parts of it , will remain much longer . but now i come to propose another method of preaching , by which a priest may be prepared , after a right view of his matter , a true understanding his text , and a digesting of his thoughts upon it into their natural and proper order , to deliver these both more easily to himself , and with a better effect both upon himself and his hearers . to come at this , he must be for some years at a great deal of pains to prepare himself to it : yet when that is over , the labour of all the rest of his life , as to those performances , will become very easy and very pleasant to him . the preparations to this must be these ; first he must read the scriptures very exactly , he must have great portions of them by heart ; and he must also in reading them , make a short concordance of them in his memory ; that is , he must lay together such passages as belong to the same matter ; to consider how far they agree or help to illustrate one another , and how the same thing is differently expressed in them ; and what various ideas or ways of recommending a thing rise out of this concordance . upon this a man must exercise himself much , draw notes of it , and digest it well in his thoughts . then he must be ready with the whole body of divinity in his head ; he must know what parts come in as objections to be answered , where difficulties lie , how one part coheres with another , and gives it light. he must have this very current in his memory , that he may have things lie before him in one full view ; and upon this , he is also to work , by making tables , or using such other helps as may lay matters clearly before him . he is more particularly to lay before him , a system of morality , of all vertues and vices , and of all the duties that arise out of the several relations of mankind ; that he m●y have this matter very full in his eye , and know what are the scriptures that belong to all the parts of it : he is also to make a collection of all such thoughts , as he finds either in the books of the ancien● philosophers , ( where seneca will be of great use to him ) or of christian authors : he is to separate such thoughts as are forced , and that do become rather a strained declamation made only to please , than a solid discourse designed to persuade . all these he must gather , or at least such a number of them , as may help him to form a distinct notion of that matter , so as to be able both to open it clearly , and to press it with affection and vehemence . these are the materials that must be laid together , the practice in using them comes next ; he that then would prepare himself to be a preacher in this method , must accustom himself to talk freely to himself , to let his thoughts flow from him , especially when he feels an edg and heat upon his mind ; for then happy expressions will come in his mouth , things will ventilate and open themselves to him , as he talks them thus in a soliloquy to himself . he must also be writing many essays upon all sorts of subjects ; for by writing he will bring himself to a correctness both in thinking and in speaking : and thus by a hard practice for two or three years , a man may render himself such a master in this matter , that he can never be surprised , nor will new thoughts ever dry up upon him . he must talk over to himself the whole body of divinity , and accustom himself to explain , and prove , to clear objections , and to apply every part of it to some practical use . he must go through human life , in all the ranks and degrees of it , and talk over all the duties of these ; consider the advantages or disadvantages in every one of them , their relation to one another , the morality of actions , the common vertues and vices of mankind ; more particularly the duties of christians , their obligations to meekness and humility , to forgive injuries , to relieve the poor , to bear the cross , to be patient and contented in every state of life , to pray much and fervently , to rejoice ever in god , and to be always praising him , and most particularly to be applying seriously to god through jesus christ , for mercy and pardon , and for his grace and spirit ; to be worshipping him devoutly in publick , and to be delighting frequently to commemorate the death of christ , and to partake of the benefits of it . all these , i say , he must talk over and over again to himself ; he must study to give his thoughts all the heat and flight about them that he can : and if in these his meditations , happy thoughts , and noble and tender expressions , do at any time offer themselves , he must not lose them , but write them down ; and in his pronouncing over such discourses to himself , he must observe what words sound harsh , and agree ill together ; for there is a musick in speaking , as well as in singing ; which a man , tho not otherwise critical in sounds , will soon discover . by a very few years practice of two or three of such soliloquies a day , chiefly in the morning when the head is clearest , and the spirits are liveliest , a man will contract a great easiness both in thinking and speaking . but the rule i have reserved last , is the most necessary of all , and without it all the rest will never do the business ; it is this , that a man must have in himself a deep sense of the truth and power of religion ; he must have a life and flame in his thoughts , with relation to those subjects : he must have felt in himself those things which he intends to explain and recommend to others . he must observe narrowly the motions of his own mind , the good and bad effects that the several sorts of objects he has before him , and affections he feels within him , have upon him ; that so he may have a lively heat in himself , when he speaks of them ; and that he may speak in so sensible a manner , that it may be almost felt that he speaks from his heart . there is an authority in the simplest things that can be said , when they carry visible characters of genuineness in them . now if a man can carry on this method , and by much meditation and prayer draw down divine influences , which are always to be expected , when a man puts himself in the way of them , and prepares himself for them ; he will often feel , that while he is musing , a fire is kindled within him , and then he will speak with authority , and without constraint ; his thoughts will be true , and his expressions free and easy : sometimes this fire will carry him , as it were , out of himself ; and yet without any thing that is frantick or enthusiastical . discourses brought forth with a lively spirit and heat , where a composed gesture , and the proper motions of the eye and countenance , and the due modulations of the voice concur , will have all the effect that can be expected from any thing that is below immediate inspiration : and as this will be of use to the hearers , so it will be of vast use to the preacher himself , to oblige him to keep his heart always in good tune and temper ; not to suffer irregular or forbidden appetites , passions , or projects to possess his mind : these will both divert him from going on in the course of meditation , in which a man must continue many years , till all his thoughts are put in order , polish'd and fixed ; they will make him likewise speak much against the grain , with an aversion that will be very sensible to himself , if not to his hearers : if he has guilt upon him , if his conscience is reproaching him , and if any ill practices are putting a damp upon that good sense of things , that makes his thoughts sparkle , upon other occasions , and gives him an air and authority , a tone of assurance , and a freedom of expression . such a method as i have been opening , has had great success with all those that i have known to have tried it . and tho every one has not that swiftness of imagination , nor that clearness of expression , that others may have , so that in this men may differ as much as they do in their written compositions ; yet every man by this method may rise far above that which he could ever have attained to any other way : it will make even exact compositions easier to him , and him much readier and freer at them . but great care must be used by him , before he suffers himself to speak with the liberty here aimed at in publick ; he must try himself at smaller excursions from his fixed thoughts , especially in the applicatory part , where flame and life are more necessary , and where a mistaken word , or an unfinished period are less observed , and sooner forgiven , than in the explanatory part , where men ought to speak more severely . and as one succeeds in some short excursions , he may give himself a farther scope ; and so by a long practice , he will at last arrive at so great an easiness , both in thinking and speaking , that a very little meditation will serve to lay open a text to him , with all the matter that belongs to it , together with the o●der in which it ought to be both explained and applied . and when a man has attained to a tolerable degree in this , he is then the master of his business ; he is master also of much time , and of many noble thoughts , and schemes that will arise out of them . this i shall prosecute no further ; for if this opening of it , does not excite the reader to follow it a little , no enlargements i can offer upon it , will work upon him . but to return to preaching , and so conclude this chapter . he that intends truly to preach the gospel , and not himself ; he that is more concerned to do good to others , than to raise his own fame , or to procure a following to himself , and that makes this the measure of all his meditations and sermons , that he may put things in the best light , and recommend them with the most advantage to his people ; that reads the scriptures much , and meditates often upon them ; that prays earnestly to god for direction in his labours , and for a blessing upon them ; that directs his chief endeavours to the most important , and most indispensible , as well as the most undeniable duties of religion ; and chiefly to the inward reformation of his hearers hearts , which will certainly draw all other lesser matters after it ; and that does not spend his time , nor his zeal , upon lesser or disputable points ; this man so made , and so moulded , cannot miscarry in his work : he will certainly succeed to some degree , the word spoken by him , shall not return again . he shall have his crown , and his reward from his labours : and to say all that can be said , in one word , with st. paul , he shall both save himself , and them that hear him . the conclvsion . i have now gone over all that seemed to me most important upon this head , of the pastoral care , with as much shortness and clearness as i could : so now i am to conclude . the discourse may justly seem imperfect , since i say nothing concerning the duties incumbent on bishops . but i will upon this occasion say very little on that head. the post i am in , gives me a right to teach priests and deacons their duty ; therefore i thought , that without any great presumption , i might venture on it : but i have been too few years in the higher order , to take upon me to teach them , from whom i shall ever be ready to learn. this is certain , that since , as was formerly said , the inferiour orders subsist in the superior , bishops must still be under all the obligations of priests : they are then , take the matter at lowest , bound to live , to labour , and to preach as well as they . but why are they raised to a higher rank of dignity and order , an encrease of authority , and an extent of cure ? and why have christian princes and states , given them great revenues , and an accession of secular honours ? all this must certainly import their obligation to labour more eminently , and to lay themselves out more entirely in the work of the gospel : in which , if the greatest encouragements and assistances , the highest dignities and priviledges , belong to them , then according to our saviour's example and decision , who came not to be ministred unto , but to minister ; and who declared , that he who is first shall be last , and he who is the greatest must be the servant of all ; then i say , the higher that any are raised in this ministry , they ought to lay themselves out the more entirely in it , and labour the more abundantly . and as our obligations to christ and his church , tie us to a greater zeal and diligence , and to a more constant application of our care and thoughts ; so the secular supports of our honours and revenues were given us to enable us to go through with that extent of care and iurisdiction that lies upon us . we are not only watchmen to watch over the flock , but likewise over the watchmen themselves . we keep the door of the sanctuary , and will have much to answer for , if through our remissness or feeble easiness , if by trusting the examination of those we ordain to others , and yielding to intercession and importunity , we bring any into the service of the church , who are not duly qualified for it . in this , we must harden our selves , and become inexorable , if we will not partake in other mens sins , and in the mischiefs that these may bring upon the church . it is a false pity , and a cruel compassion , if we suffer any considerations to prevail upon us in this matter , but those which the gospel directs . the longer that we know them before we ordain them , the more that we sift them , and the greater variety of trials , through which we make them pass , we do thereby both secure the quiet of our own consciences the more , as well as the dignity of holy things , and the true interest of religion and the church : for these two interests must never be separated ; they are but one and the same in themselves ; and what god has joined together , we must never set asunder . we must be setting constantly before our clergie , their obligations to the several parts of their duty ; we must lay these upon them , when we institute or collate them to churches , in the solemnest manner , and with the weightiest words we can find . we must then lay the importance of the care of souls before them , and adjure them , as they will answer to god in the great day , in which we must appear to witness against them , that they will seriously consider and observe their ordination-vows , and that they will apply themselves wholly to that one thing . we must keep an eye upon them continually ; and be applying reproofs , exhortations , and encouragements , as occasion offers : we must enter into all their concerns , and espouse every interest of that part of the church that is assigned to their care : we must see them as oft as we can , and encourage them to come frequently to us ; and must live in all things with them , as a father with his children . and that every thing we say to stir them up to their duty , may have its due weight , we must take care so to order our selves , that they may evidently see , that we are careful to do our own . we must enter into all the parts of the worship of god with them ; not thinking our selves too good for any piece of service that may be done ; visiting the sick , admitting poor and indigent persons , or such as are troubled in mind , to come to us ; preaching of● , catechising and confirming frequently ; and living in all things like men that study to fulfil their ministry , and to do the work of evangelists . there has been an opinion of late , much favoured by some great men in our church ; that the bishop is the sole pastor of his whole diocess ; that the care of all the souls is singly in him , and that all the incumbents , in churches , are only his curates in the different parts of his parish , which was the ancient designation of his diocess . i know there are a great many passages brought from antiquity to favour this : i will not enter into the question , no not so far as to give my own opinion of it . this is certain , that such as are persuaded of it , ought thereby to consider themselves as under very great and strict obligations , to constant labour and diligence ; otherwise , it will be thought , that they only favour this opinion , because it encreases their authority , without considering that necessary consequence that follows upon it . but i will go no further on this subject , at this time , having said so much only , that i may not seem to fall under that heavy censure of our saviour's , with relation to the scribes and pharisees , that they did bind heavy burdens , and grievous to be born , upon others ; and laid them upon mens shoulders , when they themselves would not move them with one of their fingers . i must leave the whole matter with my readers . i have now laid together with great simplicity what has been the chief subject of my thoughts for above thirty years . i was formed to them by a bishop that had the greatest elevation of soul , the largest compass of knowledg , the most mortified and most heavenly disposition , that i ever yet saw in mortal ; that had the greatest parts as well as vertues , with the perfectest humility that i ever saw in man ; and had a sublime strain in preaching , with so grave a gesture , and such a majesty both of thought , of language , and of pronunciation , that i never once saw a wandring eye where he preached ; and have seen whole assemblies often melt in tears before him ; and of whom , i can say with great truth , that in a free and frequent conversation with him , for above two and twenty years , i never knew him say an idle word , that had not a direct tendency to edification : and i never once saw him in any other temper , but that which i wished to be in , in the last minutes of my life . for that pattern which i saw in him , and for that conversation which i had with him , i know how much i have to answer to god : and though my reflecting on that which i knew in him , gives me just cause of being deeply humbled in my self , and before god ; yet i feel no more sensible pleasure in any thing , than in going over in my thoughts all that i saw and observed in him . i have also another reason , that has determined me at this time , to prepare this discourse , and to offer it to the publick ; from the present posture of our affairs . we arenow brought very near the greatest crisis that ever church or nation had . and as on the one hand , if god should so far punish us for our sins , for our contempt of his gospel , and neglect of our duties , as to deliver us over to the rage of our enemies ; we have nothing to look for , but a persecution more dreadful than any is in history : so if god hears our prayers , and gives us a happy issue out of all those dangers , with which the malice of our enemies threaten us ; we have in view the greatest prospect of a blessed and lasting settlement , that even our wishes can propose to us . now nothing can so certainly avert the one , or prepare us to glorify god in it , if he in his justice and wisdom should call us to a fiery trial of our faith , and patience ; as the serious minding of our functions , of our duties and obligations , the confessing of our sins , and the correcting of our errors . we shall be very unfit to suffer for our religion , much less to die for it , and very little able to endure the hardships of persecution , if our consciences are reproaching us all the while , that we have procured these things to our selves ; and that by the ill use of our prosperity , and other advantages , we have kindled a fire to consume us . but as we have good reason from the present state of affairs , as well as from the many eminent deliverances , and happy providences , which have of late , in so signal a manner , watched over and protected us , to hope that god according to the riches of his mercy , and for the glory of his great name , will hear the prayers that many good souls offer up , rather than the cry of those abominations that are still among us : so nothing can so certainly hasten on the fixing of our tranquillity , and the compleating our happiness , as our lying often between the porch and the altar , and interceding with god for our people ; and our giving our selves wholly to the ministry of the word of god , and to prayer . these being then the surest means , both to procure and to establish to us , all those great and glorious things that we pray and hope for ; this seemed to me a very proper time to publish a discourse of this nature . but that which made it an act of obedience , as well as zeal , was the authority of my most reverend metropolitan ; who , i have reason to believe , employs his time and thoughts , chiefly to consider what may yet be wanting to give our church a greater beauty and perfection ; and what are the most proper means both of purifying and uniting us . to which i thought nothing could so well prepare the way , as the offering to the publick a plain and full discourse of the pastoral care , and of every thing relating to it . his grace approved of this , and desired me to set about it : upon these motives i writ it , with all the simplicity and freedom that i thought the subject required , and sent it to him ; by whose particular approbation i publish it , as i writ it at his direction . there is indeed one of my motives that i have not yet mentioned , and on which i cannot enlarge so fully as i well might . but while we have such an invaluable and unexampled blessing , in the persons of those princes whom god hath set over us ; if all the considerations which arise out of the deliverances that god has given us by their means , of the protection we enjoy under them , and of the great hopes we have of them : if , i say , all this does not oblige us , to set about the reforming of every thing that may be amiss or defective among us , to study much , and to labour hard ; to lead strict and exemplary lives , and so to stop the mouths , and overcome the prejudices , of all that divide from us ; this will make us look like a nation cast off and forsaken of god , which is nigh unto cursing , and whose end is burning . we have reason to conclude , that our present blessings are the last essays of god's goodness to us , and that if we bring forth no fruit under these , the next sentence shall be , cut it down , why cumbreth it the ground ? these things lie heavy on my thoughts continually , and have all concurred to draw this treatise from me ; which i have writ with all the sincerity of heart , and purity of intention , that i should have had , if i had known that i had been to die at the conclusion of it , and to answer for it to god. to him i humbly offer it up , together with my most earnest prayers , that the design here so imperfectly offered at , may become truly effectual , and have its full progress and accomplishment ; which whensoever i shall see , i shall then with joy , say , nunc dimittis , &c. finis . books sold by richard chiswell . books written by gilbert burnet , d. d. now lord bishop of sarum . the history of the reformation of the church of england , in volumes . folio . — abridgment of the said history . octavo . — vindication of the ordinations of the church of england . quarto . — history of the rights of princes in disposing of ecclesiastical benefices and church-lands . octavo . — life of william bedel , d. d. bishop of kilmore in ireland ; together with the copies of certain letters which passed between spain and england in matter of religion , concerning the general motives to the roman obedience : between mr. iames wadsworth a late pensioner of the holy inquisition in sevil , and the said william bedel then minister of the gospel in suffolk . octavo . — some passages of the life and death of iohn late earl of rochester . octavo . — examination of the letter writ by the late assembly-general of the clergy of france to the protestants , inviting them to return to their communion ; together with the methods proposed by them for their conviction . octavo . — a collection of seventeen tracts and discourses written in the years to , inclusive . quarto . — a second volume , or a collection of eighteen papers relating to the affairs of church and state during the reign of k. iames the second . with twelve others published a little before and since the late revolution , to christmas , . — fast-sermon at bow-church ; march , . on luke . , . — fast-sermon before the queen ; iuly , . on psal. . . — thanksgiving-sermon before the king and queen ; octob. , . on psal. . , . — fast-sermon before the king and queen ; april , . on psal. . . — thanksgiving-sermon before the king and queen ; nov. . : on prov. . . — sermon at the funeral of robert boyle , esq ian. . . on eccles. . . dr. alix's remarks upon the ecclesiastical history of the ancient churches of piedmont and the albigenses . in two parts . quarto . the jesuits memorial for the intended reformation of england under their first popish prince . written by father parsons , and prepared to be proposed in the first parliament after the restoration of popery , for the better establishment and preservation of that religion . published from the very manuscript copy that was presented to the late king iames the second , and found in his closet . with an introduction , and some animadversions by edward gee , chaplain to their majesties . octavo . dr. c●mberland ( now lord bishop of peterborough ) his essay towards the recovery of the jewish measures and weights , comprehending their monies ; by help of antient standards compared with ours of england , useful also to state many of those of the greeks and romans and the eastern nations . octavo . dr. stratford ( now lord bishop of chester ) his disswasive from revenge . octavo . — the lay-christian's obligation to read the holy scriptures . quarto . — a discourse concerning the popes supremacy . quarto . dr. cave's dissertation concerning the government of the antient church by bishops , metropolitans and patriarchs . octavo . two letters betwixt mr. rich. smith and dr. h●n . hammond , concerning the sense of that a●ticle in the creed [ he descended into hell. ] octavo . dr. puller's moderation of the church of england . octavo . jacobi usserii historia dogmatica controvers . inter orthodoxos & pontificios de scripturis & sacris vernaculis . quarto , . tho. pope-blunt censura celebriorum authorum , sive tractatus in quo varia virorum doctorum de clariss . cujusque saeculi scriptoribus judicia traduntur . fol. . gul. camdeni & illustrium virorum ad gul. camdenum epistolae . quarto , . anglia sacra , sive collectio historiarum antiquitus scriptarum de archiepisc. & episcopis angliae , a prima fidei christianae susceptione ad annum . opera hen. whartoni , in vol. folio , . mr. rushworth's historical collections , the third part , in two volumes , never before printed ; from the beginning of the long parliament , to the end of the year : wherein is a particular account of the rise and progress of the civil war to that period . folio . . stephani chauvin lexicon rationale , sive thesaurus philosophicus , . folio . sam. basnagii exercitationes historico-criticae de rebus sacris & ecclesiasticis . quarto , . tho. crenii collectio consiliorum de studiis optime instituendis . quarto , . — ejusdem fascicul●s dissertationum hist. critico-philologicarum . octavo , . basilii fabri thesaurus eruditionis scholasticae , cum innumeris additionibus per aug. buchnerum & christoph. cellarium . lips. folio , . ludov. seckendorf historia lutheranismi . folio , . laurentii begeri observationes & conjecturae in numismata quaedam antiqua . quarto , . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e phil. . malach. . , , . jer. . . notes for div a -e tim . ● . isa. . . joh. . . cor . , ● . cor. . , . rev. . . ch . cor. . . . heb. , . . ezek. . cor. . . cor . st. matth. . st. matt. . , . cor. . . . philip. . st. matth. . . john . . levit. . levit. ▪ . le●it 〈…〉 l●●it . . ● 〈…〉 sam. d & d ch. isa. . . ●er . . ezek. . . jer. . . jer. . . jer. . . jer. . . v. . v. . jer. . . ezek. . . ezek. . . ezek. . . ●●ek . . v. . v. . v. . dan. . . hos. . , , . joel . . ch . . v. . zech. . . mal. . . s. matth. . st. lu●e . st. io. . acts . v. . v. . v. . 〈…〉 cor. . . cor. . . ●ct● . ● . cor. . . eph. ▪ . . ● col. . tim. . , , , , . tim. . . . tim. ● . , ● , . v. . v. . v. , , . tim. . . v. . . tim. . . . v. ● . v. . v. . v. . v. . tit. . tit. . . v. . tim. . . heb. . v. . cor. ● , . math. . , . the preachers plea: or, a treatise in forme of a plain dialogue making known the worth and necessary vse of preaching: shewing also how a man may profit by it, both for the informing of his iudgement, and the reforming of his life. by samuel hieron minister of the gospell at modbury in the countie of deuon. hieron, samuel, ?- . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the preachers plea: or, a treatise in forme of a plain dialogue making known the worth and necessary vse of preaching: shewing also how a man may profit by it, both for the informing of his iudgement, and the reforming of his life. by samuel hieron minister of the gospell at modbury in the countie of deuon. hieron, samuel, ?- . [ ], p. printed [by r. field] for simon waterson, london : . printer's name from stc. some print faded. reproduction of the original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data 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characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - megan marion sampled and proofread - megan marion text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the preachers plea : or , a treatise in forme of a plain dialogue , making known the worth and necessary vse of preaching : shewing also how a man may profit by it , both for the informing of his iudgement , and the reforming of his life . by samuel hieron minister of the gospell at modbury in the countie of deuon . . cor. . . seeing the world by wisedome knew not god , in the wisedome of god it pleased god by the foolishnesse of preaching to saue them that beleeue . london , printed for simon waterson . . to the honest and wel-disposed reader . it is the vsual maner of the most which publish bookes , to dedicate the same to some honorable personage , or to some one of speciall place , partly to shew thankefulnesse for some receiued fauors , partly to procure credite and countenance to their writings , that vnder so good protection , they may the more boldly passe forth to the common view of all men . if i now varie from this generall receiued course , think not i pray thee ( good reader ) that i do it in some humour , as if i either affected singularitie , or misliked the common custome : but know for a truth that there are these two causes of my so doing : the first is , the obscuritie of mine owne condition , who liuing here in a remote part , haue wanted either wil , or oportunitie , or both , to s●rowd my selfe vnder the patronage of some great person : the second is , the nature of this present treatise : for howsoeuer there be ( and that not farre frō the place of mine abode ) some of good qualitie , vpon whose acceptance , i thinke , i might haue presumed , yet considering , that this which i haue framed , is but a homely and course discourse , meant onely for men of the plainest fashion , i thought i should breake the rules of comelinesse and correspondence , if i should aduance the inscription of my labour ( if i may dare so to call it ) to a person of higher degree , then that meane and middle ranke , to the vse whereof , all that these following leaues containe , was alone intended . therefore ( friendly reader ) whosoeuer thou be , if thou be a true nathanael , a man of an honest and good heart , be thy outward condition as it may be , though thou lye among the pots , or art behind the ewes with young , or howsoeuer else , euen as it were bound in outward miserie , and of base esteeme in the eyes of men , yet thou art he whose patronage i affect , and in the hope of whose good allowance i take comfort . i know well that he which offereth any thing to the sight of the world , must make readie his backe for the long furrowes of euerie byting cēsurer . it was truly said of him ( though but a heathen ) that amongst men nothing can scape without a nippe . but what then ? if thy conscience shall giue this testimonie of mine endeuours , that thy heart is comforted thereby , in regard that thy iudgement is strengthened in so necessary a point , then let the most professed and sharpe-toothed carper say what he please : nay though ( as iob speaketh ) he should write a booke against me , yet i would take it vpon my shoulder , and bind it as a crowne vnto me . and as dauid reckened not of michols taunts in regard of the honour done vnto him by those religious maidens ; so will i also set at naught the malicious taxings of all gaine-sayers , if i shall approue my selfe to thy conscience in the sight of god. if thou now demaund of me , what it is which i do here offer vnto thee , know this briefly : it is a treatise tending to the discouerie of the worth and excellencie of the word preached ; teaching thee also , which art a continuall hearer , how thou maist by hearing edifie thy selfe in thy most holy faith ; as well by establishing thy heart in the soundnesse of truth , that so thou maist not be caried about with diuers and strange doctrines ; as by framing thy selfe to obey from the hart vnto the forme of doctrine , whereunto thou either art or shalt be deliuered . this is the summe . if thou demaund againe , what hath moued me to attempt this ? i answer in as few words . there are two questions common in the mouthes of many , either ignorant , or il-disposed persons , by which the beautie of preaching is and hath bene much defaced in the eyes of many not so well setled : the one is , what need all this preaching ? the other is , who knoweth whom to beleeue among these preachers ? these two demaunds were first hatched in hell , but since being cherished by anabaptisticall and popish spirits , and by them buzzed into the heads of vnlearned , vnstable , and irreligious people , they are brought vnto a diuellish perfection . somewhat i can say out of mine owne experience , that through a conceit that these two questions ( as they are pressed by some ●ly workemen ) are vnanswerable , our ministery is drawne into contempt , and the calling of a preacher is deemed of al other professions the most superfluous , and such as may wel be spared without any preiudice to the wel-being of gods church . the giuing answer to these hellish interrogatories , as it hath many times exercised me in the execution of my publike ministery , so it hath at this time drawne me to the compiling of this present treatise : both that those of these parts , who to my knowledge haue need , and do desire it also , may haue something by them , whereupon aduisedly to deliberate for the setling of their iudgments , and that others likewise elsewhere , who ( it may be ) haue experience of the like satanicall encounters , may ( in stead of a better help ) enioy the benefite of this that i haue laboured in . this is the maine occasion , this is my chiefe intent in this tractate : wherin , as i haue freely vttered that which i am perswaded is the truth , so will i be ready also either to alter or better my iudgement , if any man out of the word of god shall offer to instruct me : hauing learned this lesson , to teach what i know without grudging , and to learne that wherein i am ignorant without blushing . and though perhaps many know in this matter as much as i or any man can tell them , yet i am sure many are ignorant , and therefore i may well maintaine my course with that saying of augustine , it is better to giue him that hath , then to turne him away which hath not . it is meeter that they which know should be wearied with many repetitions , then those which are vnskilful sent away empire for want of instruction . as for writers in our times , directly of this subiect i know none . if there be none , i wish there may be ; for as the saying is , one man is no man : and by the more this truth is auouched , the better it is confirmed . if there be that haue laboured in this very kind wherein i now do , yet it can be no preiudice to my endeuour . the auncient prouerb is , that one bark cannot beare all passengers ; so neither can one author serue all men . augustine held it profitable , that of the same questions , many bookes should be made by sundry men in a differing stile , though not with a differing faith . all stomackes we see are not alike ; one kind of dressing pleaseth one , which hath no relish with another : and yet the same meate ordered after some other fashion , may fit his appetite also . as there is a difference of stomacks , so of humors and dispositions in men . the same matter diuersly handled , may find entertainement with diuers men ; which yet digested after one onely fashion , would haue acceptance but with a few . touching the maner of writing , i will promise thee nothing more then ordinary : it is not for me either to praise or discommend mine owne workes : the one were vanitie , the other folly . i submit all to thy iudgement . onely this i say somewhat to help my selfe : hierom saith there are two things requisite for diuinity-studies , silence and leisure . of the lacke of both these i may well complaine . houshold affaires , and the stirres occasioned by those businesses , cannot but breed distraction : and he which is exercised with the care of a congregation , shall meet with very seldome intermission . i intreat thee therefore , when thou shalt find me to faile in any thing ( from which i account not my selfe priuiledged ) impute it to this forenamed want ; and hope thus of me , that if i had had more freedome and more time , all things should haue bene brought to better perfection . i haue troden in an old beaten path , both by old and new writers , by diuines and heathen , namely , to frame my matter to the forme of a dialogue , a very good way ( in my seeming ) to help the vnderstanding of common men : i confesse it to haue haue eased me much in writing , i doubt not but it shall turne to thy benefite in reading also . well , whatsoeuer it is , ( good reader ) thine it is : and being thine , i am cōmanded by him that may command vs al , not to withhold it frō thee . receiue it therfore with the same hand with which it is deliuered to thee . vse it to thy comfort ; and whatsoeuer good thou receiuest by it , let the glory be the lords . all that i desire of thee by way of recompence , is that thou be a suter to god on my behalfe , that with his preuenting and following mercy in all needful things which i know not , he wold instruct me , in all truth which i do know he would vphold me , and in those things , wherein as a man i haue failed , he would reforme me , and the same god sanctify vs both throughout , that our whole spirit , and soule , and body , may be kept blamelesse , vnto the coming of our lord iesus christ . farewell . modbury in deuon . . september , . thine in the lord , sam : hieron . ❧ the preachers plea : or a treatise in forme of a plaine dialogue , making knowne the worth and necessitie of that which we call preaching : shewing also how a man may profit by it , both for the informing of his iudgement , and the reforming of his life . epaphras a minister . nymphas a priuat man. nymphas . sir , vnlesse i do very much mistake , i haue oftē heard you in your publike sermons vrge the sufficiency that ought to be in a minister , and especially for the clearing of doubts and cases of conscience among those of whō the holy ghost hath made him an ouerseer . epaphras . it is not vnlike , that among other points deliuered in the ordinarie ministery , you haue receiued this also : for i am well aduised , that of old it was the appointment of god , that the priests lips should preserue knowledge , and men should seeke it at his mouth . so that we all , as many as tender the good of the church of christ , haue cause to bewaile our countries estate , in which are so many vvels without water , as s. peter termeth them , and that not vnfitly : for as a well placed by the way side , in regard of the outward séeming thereof , putteth the poore thirsty traueller in hope of some refreshing ; who repairing to it , and finding nothing but emptinesse , goeth on his way with the greater discouragement : so these kind of men standing in the church of god , do by reason of their outward habite & semblance of grauitie , make the wearied , distressed & perplexed christian conceiue , that if he haue recourse to them he shall certainely be reléeued : but yet when he maketh triall , he findeth them to his greater griefe , not vnlike to the images of the heathen , vvhich haue mouthes and speake not ; not hauing the tongue of the learned , that they should know how to minister a word in time to him that is weary . but tell me neighbor , i pray you , this being granted , what you would inferre hereupon ? nymphas . surely , that which i would inferre hereupon is this , that you being by your calling a minister , are therefore able , and being also by the prouidence of god that minister , vpon whose labours i must especially depend , are willing also to enter discourse with me , and to affoord me your best helpe for my better vnderstanding in some points , wherein i haue of late dayes bene very much perplexed . epaph. for mine abilitie in this behalf , what it ought to be i know , and what i wish i it to be , i know also ; yet whatsoeuer it is , i shall be most willing ( as my dutie is ) to spend my time , to bestow my labour , and to employ my best endeuors in so holy a businesse as is your building vp in knowledge , and your furtherance in the wayes of godlinesse . and i do heartily wish , that both you and others of our neighbors would more often giue me the like occasion , i should then the better know your doubts , and so fit my selfe to speake in preaching to euery mans conscience , and you also should by that means be resolued in many things , which for lacke of conference must néeds breed scruple , especially in those which haue not yet through long custome exercised wits to discerne both good and euill . nymp. i am not a litle glad to heare this from you : for to tell you the truth plainely without flattery , i haue heard some complaine of a certaine strangenesse in you and others of your coate , which they say hath discouraged them from aduenturing to conferre with you . epaph. that may be but a pretence , & yet it will not altogether excuse either others or my selfe herein : happily we be not so tender ouer the wants of our people as we ought to be . howsoeuer to preuent any such feare in you for this time , i pray you be bold to speake your mind freely , and you shall find me far from seeming weary of you , or from giuing you any occasion to thinke that i am vnwilling to seeke to resolue you ( as i may ) in any thing that may trouble you . and i pray god , the god of all grace , euen for christs sake , so to blesse this our conference , by giuing to vs both a right iudgment in al things , that it may be both to his glorie , and to our further comfort . nymp. amen . well then , because i do euē long to acquaint you with that which hath ( when i haue bene by my selfe ) much disquieted me , you shall vnderstand , that the occasion mouing me at this time to craue your aduice , is this : since it pleased god to let the light of the glorious gospel of his sonne , by preaching to shine in these parts more clearely then in former yeares , it hath happened that i haue fallen into the companie , sometime of common men , sometime of men of better fashion , which in the world we call wise men ; sometime also of men of learning , and by profession ministers ; some of whom to my griefe i haue heard speake very disgracefully , some very scornefully , all of them to the lessening of that reuerent estimation which we ought to haue of the preaching of the word , and of the ordinary course thereof which is amongst vs. epaph. it is not vnlike , neither yet indeed is it to be maruelled at , as though some strange thing were come vnto vs. the diuell knoweth by long experience , that the preaching of the word is the ruine of his kingdom , & that therby he is made like lightning to fall downe from heauen . and therefore it hath euer bene his practise , at the very first entrance of sincere preaching , to raise vp some men of corrupt minds , to resist the truth , and to stop the happie proceedings of the gospell . the first preacher mentioned in the scripture , is enoch the seuenth from adam , together with the relation of whose doctrine , the text mentioneth also the cruell speakings , and violent curses of wicked sinners against him . the next after him was noah , which was a preacher of righteousnesse : and howsoeuer the storie mentioneth expresly no tumults raised vp against him , yet it may easily be gathered , in that he preaching so many yeares before the comming of the floud , yet all that while we do not find any one to haue bene reclaimed , but they all continued in their accustomed securitie , and knew nothing till the floud came and tooke them all away . passe from him to moses , of whose resistance the storie relateth many particulars : at his first vndertaking any authoritie among the people , in séeking to end a strife betwixt them , he was taken vp short with the common spéech , vvho made thee a man of authoritie and a iudge ouer vs ? after , when he was sent backe into egypt to deliuer the people from the bondage of pharaoh , the story is a witnes how often and openly he was gainsaid , sometimes by the people , they murmuring at him ; sometimes by iannes and iambre , two egyptians , somtimes by korah and his complices : so that though the lord wrought mightily by moses , yet he had daily experience of the malice of the wicked against the truth . now for the times of the prophets , one ieremie may be a sufficient witnesse : he saith , he heard the railing of many , and the word of the lord which he preached was a reproach vnto him , and in derision daily . if you examine the times after christ , at the first spreading of the gospell , this wil be more apparant . run through the book of the acts : the preaching of peter and iohn was entertained first with mocking : afterwards more open violence was vsed , & the men in authoritie tooke it grieuously that they taught the people , and by cōmon consent put them to silence . steuen was a man ful of faith and of the holy ghost , and they were not able to resist the wisedome and the spirit by which he spake , yet certaine arose euen of the synagogue , and moued the people against him . paul was mightily withstood , sometimes by elimas the sorcerer , sometimes by the iewes , sometimes by demetrius and those of that faction , somtime by phygellus and hermogenes , otherwhiles by hymeneus and philetus . thus we haue euen a cloud of witnesses to confirme this , that it hath euer bin the diuels course by all meanes to withstand the preaching of the truth . and therefore maruell not , good neighbor , at it , when you see the like in these times : these are satans old pranks , and he will thus bestirre himselfe to the end . nymp. blessed be god , you haue well satisfied me in this : so that i now see that those which loue the truth , haue cause to reioyce at it , rather then to be dismayed when they shall see the outrage of the world , and the fury of carnall men against the publishing of the gospell . epaph. you are not deceiued : for the diuel his strugling on this wise , sheweth that there is a stronger then he come , to bind him , and to take his armor frō him . and though the oppositions of men are at the first assault somthing troublesome , yet we haue euer cause to reioyce , when wee can say iustly , after this maner did they to the prophets . nymp. yet sir , by your leaue , i cannot but maruell , that seeing the preaching of the word is so excellent a thing as it is , euē the power of god vnto saluation , men should notwithstanding so eagerly resist it , and shew themselues so great enemies vnto it . epaph. you wil cease to wonder , when you shal truly vnderstand the causes mouing worldly and vnregenerate men to malice and maligne that , which indeed as you say , if the worth thereof were knowne , they ought rather with al reuerence to embrace : and if you thinke that it may be helpfull vnto you in that , wherein you desire to be resolued , i will open the same vnto you somthing more at large . nymp. you cannot content me better , then if you shall vndertake to discourse therof : for ( as i suppose ) when i haue once learned the true cause why preaching is so much misliked , i shall the losse feare the pretenced reasons which i dayly heare to be alleaged against it . epaph. the true causes why the course of preaching , when it is performed so as it ought , is so much repined at , are these three especially . the first is this . as men loue nothing more then their sinnes , so they loath nothing more then the discouery thereof : they can by no meanes endure to haue their secret coruptions ript vp : it is a death vnto them to be thoroughly & directly dealt withal . wicked ahab hated the sincere prophet of the lord michaiah , because he neuer prophesied good vnto him , but euill ; that is , he neuer spared him , but deliuered the truth of god vnto him plainly without flattery . now the preaching of the word , it is as the prouerb is , the finger in the bile ; it is euer rubbing vppon the gall : and being light , it maketh all things manifest , and discloseth euery mans close and secret vngodlines . in the dayes of blindnesse ( that is , in times and places where there is not a setled course of preaching ) many a man seemeth to himselfe and to others also to be vnreproueable , who when the light of the word by powerful application breaketh out , is discouered both to others , & especially to his owne conscience , to be nothing else then that which he was supposed to be . here is thē one cause of dislike : the word thus handled , openeth that which men of all other things desire most to be concealed : so that it is true of the word of christ , which he witnesseth of himselfe , the world hateth me , because i testifie thereof that the workes of it are euill . tell me now i pray you , what thinke you of this ? nymp. truly i cannot but beare witnesse to the truth hereof out of mine owne experience . for howsoeuer , i haue now learned , i thanke god , to say with dauid ; let the righteous smite me , for that is a benefite ; let him reproue me , and it shall be a precious oile that shall not breake my head : yet i well remember , when i first heard preaching , i was many times discontented : me thought the preacher was too peremptory , and a great deale more plaine then needed ; yea i had much ado at times , not to perswade my selfe that i was chiefly aimed at in some things , and that the preacher had receiued some secret informations touching me and my demeanour , which he there opened in the pulpit . so hard a thing is it for flesh and bloud to beare the words of reproofe , yea though in the witnesse of a mans owne conscience he hath euery way deserued the same . but i hartily beseech god on the behalfe of you and others of your sort , that he would enlarge your spirits , and giue vtterance vnto you , that you may open your mouthes boldly to publish the secret of the gospell . for i thinke there were neuer any dayes of greater securitie , in which it is needfull that the men of god should lift vp their voice like a trumpet , to shew the people their transgressions and the house of iacob their sins : because indeed as it was said of old , all the world sitteth s●ll and is at rest . and i wish vnfainedly , that the seuerall watchmen in their particular charges would remember that item which the spirit of god giueth by the prophet . ye that are mindfull of the lord keepe not silence . but sir i am afraid i do too much interrupt you , therefore i pray you proceed to shew the next reason of dislike . epaph. you haue said the very truth . we can be content to heare the word vntill it rifle vs. but as a purging potiō , as long as it is in drinking , is but as other drink vntil it worke , and then we could be content to cast it vp againe : so we can quietly heare the word vntill it work vpon vs , but then it seemeth a burden vnto vs. but to come to the opening of the second reason of the dislike of preaching : i haue by obseruation found it to be this , because preaching is ( as they suppose ) an enemy vnto libertie , a thing which by nature euery man desireth to enioy . in the second psalme we reade what is the opinion that men haue of christian obedience , they call it bands & cords , that is to say , meere seruilitie and slauery , a base and ignominious thing to be conformable . this is the very right conceipt which worldlings haue of yeelding them selues vnto the doctrine of christ iesus . when lot admonished the sodomites , & begā to perswade with thē to desist from violence against the strangers that were with him in his house ; they cried straite , shall he iudge and rule ? forthwith they began to repine against his godly aduise , as against a matter of too much tyrannie in lot , and of too great subiection in themselues . it was the imputation of korah and his adherents to moses and aaron , you take too much vpon you : they déemed the gouernement of moses too peremptery , as an enemy to their liberty , & therefore not to be endured . when the prophet amos preached , it was said , that the land was not able to beare his words : as who should say , his sermons were too censorious : men that were of a liberall and free disposition were not able to digest them . one reason which the iewes had against christ to stir vp themselues to find a meanes to suppresse him , was , because they supposed that if they let him alone , the romanes would come and take away both their place and nation . they thought bondage wold follow vpon his doctrine . this might easily be enlarged with the additiō of many examples : but our owne experience may be a sufficient confirmation . for euen at this day the world maintaineth the same opinion of obedience and conformitie in christian duties , that it is an abridgement to liberty , that it sauoreth of slauishnes & basenesse for a man at the words of a preacher to be restrained . nymph . truly sir it is euen so : for out of my poore experience i am able to witnesse thus much , that many men imagine that for them to liue without controlment , following the sway of their owne affections , if they may sweare and blaspheme , and be vicious and riotous , and drink with the drunkard , and profane the sabbaoth , and scoffe at zeale and sinceritie in religiō , and runne into all manner of excesse , this is libertie . on the other side , they repute the restraint from any of these things to be the greatest thraldome ; a misery it is to be kept within compasse , that a man may not sweare , may not spend the lords day in sports , or in worldly businesses , or in trauelling vpon his owne occasions , that he must set such a narrow watch before his mouth , as that there should be no filthines nor foolish talking , nor iesting : that he should be tied to the continuall hearing of the word , to often receiuing the sacrament , and the like , this is a misery of all miseries , a thing not to be endured : they crie when you tel thē these things , this is a hurd saying , who can abide it ? and determine as those of whom you spake , let vs breake their bands , and cast their cords from vs. but resolue me herin i pray you sir , is this liberty ? are not men herein altogether mistaken ? epaph. yes verily : for howsoeuer men think themselues iolly fellowes , because they can seeme to contemne all gouernement , yet in indeed of all conditions it is the basest , and of al thraldomes the most slauish for a man to be subiect vnto sin , to be giuen ouer to his owne lusts , to be led wholly by the corrupt affections of his owne hart , and to say the truth , euen in reason it must needs be so : for , as to be a slaue and a vassall is in it selfe very opprobrious , and such a thing as euen the nature of man doth abhorre : so the more vile he is to whom a man is in bondage , the more base and odious is it in the eyes of others , and the more tedious to himself if he be of any ingenious disposition . now what more vile thing can there be imagined then sinne is ? what more abhominable before god , what more dangerous to the soule of him that committeth it ? so that sin being a thing so vile , in how seruile an estate is he that is a slaue and a vassal therunto ? do you conceiue me in this ? nymph . i conceiue you well . but yet this breedes a further doubt : we may all complaine with the apostle , that we are euen captiue vnto the law of sinne : who then is he that may be called a slaue of sinne ? epaph. our sauiour shall make you answer : he that committeth sinne , is the seruant of sinne : to which , to make it more plaine , you may adde the saying of the apostle , know ye not that to whom soeuer you giue your selues as seruants to obey , his seruants you are to whom you obey ? the latter place is an expositiō to the other . he ( saith christ ) that cōmitteth sinne , is the seruant of sinne : he committeth sinne ( sayth paul ) that obeyeth sin : now he is said to obey sinne , that finding his corrupt heart to prouoke him to any thing , sets himself presently to performe the same , or as the holy ghost speaketh , taketh thought for the flesh to fulfill the lustes thereof . so the adulterer is a slaue to his sinne , because he is wholly at the commaund thereof , studying how to compasse the same , and to satisfie his vncleane desires to the vttermost . the drunkard is a vassall to his sinne , because it is as it were his businesse , to set himselfe to the committing of it , to get money to bestow vpon it , to gather company that he may haue fellowes in it , to rise early to follow it , to make his body able to beare it . the couetous person is a drudge to his money : for , for it he will do any thing , he will defeate one , and defraud another , and oppresse a third , and grind the fourth , and take vsury of the fift , and rake and wring , and extort , and lie and forsweare , and whatsoeuer else for his money . he is such a seruant to it , as the centurions seruants were to him : if money say to him , go , he trudgeth by and by : if it say come , it hath him at a becke : if it bid him do this , be it neuer so vile , vniust or vnlawful , eftsoons he doth it . in like maner the cōtinual gamester , is as it were in the state of villenage to his humor , he will neglect all other occasions , either of rest for his body , or of profite for his outward estate , or of religion for his soules good , to fulfill it : for his life ( if company be for him ) he is not able to forbeare it . in like sort , the ignorant man is in bondage to his blindnes ; for bring all the perswasions you can against it out of the word of god , yet ignorance shall still haue the vpper hand , either he will not conceiue you , or he wil not beleeue you , or he wil not be directed by you . so againe , the superstitious is in thraldome to his owne peeuishnesse ; for let god commaund what he will , or prescribe what form of worship he thinketh good , yet thus and thus it hath bene so long , and so it shal be , and so wil i do for euer . in a word , whosoeuer suffereth himselfe to be led by the corruption of his owne heart in any thing , without making resistance , without desiring the assistance of gods spirit to withstand it , whether it be pride , malice , reuenge , or whatsoeuer else , the same is a slaue to his sinne , a drudge to his owne humor , and the basest creature vnder heauen . nay he is more slauish by degrees , then those slaues whō they vsed in old times ( and as they do still in some countries ) to buy with money , and to vse at their pleasure . for there is no such slaue , but he keepeth a free mind in a seruile estate : but men generally being in this most filthy and wretched thraldome , thinke thēselues to be in the most happy estate that may be , and haue no will nor disposition to be freed , but are enemies to the meanes of their deliuery . thus haue i shewed you , that though men thinke themselues at libertie when they may liue licenciously , yet they are much deceiued : it may be said of them as noah said of canaan : seruants of seruants they be , doing the businesse of the diuell , not grudgingly or vnwillingly as bondslaues vsually do , but readily , greedily , and ioyfully . nymph . i am ( i thanke you ) well satisfied for this : yet by the way giue me leaue to demaund of you one thing , doeth not paul say to christians , brethren ye haue bene called into libertie : so that it seemeth there is libertie euē in christianitie , which what it is ( if any such be ) i pray you to instruct me . epaph. certainly the state and calling of a true christian , is a louely calling , a calling that calleth men vnto it , such a calling as that the beames thereof are able to rauish the eye . true it is , that euer since adam did eate the apple , all the mouthes of his posterity are so out of tast , that we can neither heare nor see , nor tast any thing that good is , so that if we looke vpon the estate of a christian liuing in obedience , with an eye of flesh , it looketh euē like christ for al the world , euen as a withered branch , and like a root in the drie ground ; when we see it , there is no forme that we should desire it . the eye of a natural man can sée no good in it , vnlesse it be good to cleane vnto the lord , or it is good to be afflicted , or it is good to run the way of gods commandements , and such like , which are like pilles , and to die for it , will not downe with a carnall man , yet if it be duly considered , it is the onely estate of libertie . it is not a fleshly libertie , a libertie for men to do and speake , and liue as they themselues please , euery man after his owne fashiō , as though the reines should be layed on euery mans neck , and he left to his owne disposition . it is no such liberty , for then the more libertine the better christian , and then all the world would soone be religious , for all the world are welneare libertines . but this liberty which christians haue , is a spirituall libertie , a heauenly liberty , a liberty of the soule ; not which giueth the body liberty from obedience , but which setteth the soule at liberty from destruction : not which maketh vs free to sin , but which setteth vs frée to serue god : not which giueth a man leaue to liue as caring for none , but which maketh him by loue a seruant vnto all : a fréedome it is from the bondage of satan , from the thraldom of sin , frō the heauy curse of gods law , giuing an interest into gods fauor , into the merits of christ , into the felicity of the chosen , into the eternal inheritance of gods kingdome . this is the liberty of christians ; of which , howsoeuer worldly men which sauor onely of earthly things may iudge , yet such it is and so great , & hath so many priuiledges annexed thereunto , as that all the enfranchisements and fréedomes of this world are not worthy therewith to be compared . for as the new ierusalem , which is from aboue , is of all other cities and incorporations the most glorious , so it is the greatest priuiledge that any man can attaine , to be , of a stranger and a forreiner , admitted to be a citizen and free denizen of that societie . thus at your request i haue giuen you a taste of the doctrine of christian libertie : the obedient christian is the true free-man , euen the lords free-man . nymph . doubtlesse this is a most excellent point , and to the soule of a christian exceeding comfortable : how much therefore are we bound to giue thankes to our heauenly father , who hath deliuered vs from the power of darknesse , and hath translated vs into the kingdom of his deare sonne . and i beseech god giue vs the grace , that being thus made free from sinne , we may become the seruants of righteousnesse : that so hauing our fruite in holinesse , the end may be euerlasting life . but now if it please you , i long to heare the third cause of the small regard of preaching . epaph. the third cause of contemptuous resistance , is the iudging of that which is taught by the outward semblance of the teacher : as for example : some great man in the world , that happily is a magistrate , or a man of note and special reckoning in the place where he liueth , comming to the church , and hearing his sinne reproued , and such and such duties perswaded , straite he casteth his eye vpon the person of the speaker , and him he seeth to be but some ordinary man , one that if he should come in place where he is , should be serued as the poore man in the torne coate , of whom s. iames speaketh , that should bee bidden to stand there aloofe off , or sit here at my footstoole ; eftsoone he beginneth to thinke with himselfe , that it would be a shame for him to suffer the words of such a one so far below him in the world , to cary so great authority with him , as that he should by and by conforme himselfe to his perswasions . another perhaps that hath had some good education , and thereby hath gotten some tast of learning , or is otherwise by obseruation & experience growne to be a man of some reach and capacitie : he when he compareth himself with the teacher , seemeth to sée as much ( if not more ) learning , iudgement , reading and vnderstanding in himselfe as in him : and therfore he sayth with himself , why should i yeeld to his instruction ? why should his opinion sway so far with me , as to draw me from mine owne courses ? why should not i be as wel able to iudge what is méete as he ? a third , that is ( it may be ) some gallant , a man of spirit , that thinketh it a part of his courage to be without feare euen of god himselfe , he hearing at a sermon threatnings denounced against sin , and against those very sins wherof his life is a continuall practise , in the greatnesse of his stomacke , and in the prophanesse of his heart beginneth to set all at nought , imagining that it cānot stand with that hardinesse and vndaunted resolution which he professeth , to be strikē with the words of a silly man , or to haue his heart terrified with a few idle spéeches . in a word , the people generally do not consider how well a thing is spoken , how sufficiently proued , how soundly seconded and made good by the word , this neuer entereth into their thought : but they see that he which preacheth , what is he but a man of their owne sort , one neither armed with authority to punish them , nor endued with power to constraine them , neither yet furnished with wealth to contend with them : and that al his force lyeth in his tongue , the exercise whereof when it is once past , there is all that he can do , and therefore they make a tush at his doctrine , and say of the preacher as they did of old , he is but wind , and what is he that he should command vs ? thus , this also is one cause of resistance to the holy doctrine taught , men looke no higher then the man , and they value all that is sayd by the quality of the speaker . nymph . this discourse of yours , so fully discouering the proud conceits of an vnreformed heart , calleth to my mind the commendation which paul giueth of the thessalonians when ye receiued of vs ( saith he ) the word of the preaching of god , ye receiued it not as the word of men , but as it is indeed the word of god : for so long as men haue no higher a conceipt of that which they heare , then that it is but a mans doctrine , the respect vnto it cannot choose but be very small ; so that i must needs yeeld vnto you in this , that this also may well go among the number of the causes why preaching is of so slender estimation here amongst vs. yet sir , men that are enemies in this case , do pretend other reasons , and will not be knowne of any of these to be the occasion or cause of their dislike . epaph. that is most true , for sinne doeth euer seeke shades , and it is a tricke which we haue learned of our grandfather adam , to sew figge-leaues together to couer our nakednesse . for shame men will not say that they are hereby moued to dislike : yet notwithstanding these be the true grounds , and men in their consciences know it to be so . if a man had asked of pashur why he smote ieremie the prophet , and put him in the stockes , no doubt but he would tell you a very formall tale , as that , he prophesied against the citie : he hath not sought the wealth of the people , but the hurt : and that he discouraged the hands of the men of warre , in speaking such wordes vnto them . this would be pashurs pretence , thus he wold pleade for his straite courses against the poore prophet , yet this is but a colour : for the very matter is , ieremie was a little too bold , he spake too plaine , his sermons were like a fire , and like a hammer that breaketh the stone , he kept not a word backe of al that the lord commanded him . nymph . indeede i haue heard much spoken by many , and diuers exceptions made against preaching , but i neuer heard any man acknowledge his dislike to proceede from any of these causes which you haue named : i wish therefore that you would instruct me how to stop the mouths of gaine-sayers , when i light into the companie of such . they will not perhaps say much to your faces that are preachers , but such as i am shall often heare them talke at libertie , and vtter the very bottom of their stomackes , and spend all their powder and shot to the beating downe of that which i hope they shall neuer be able to ouerthrow . epaph. assure your selfe of that : for we may be bold to say in the comfort of a good conscience , they that be with vs , are moe then they that be with them . and when we come on the same errand with ieremie , why may we not hope vpon the same promise , they shal fight against thee but they shall not preuaile against thee , for i am with thee to deliuer thee , saith the lord : yet notwithstanding , lest their conceipts should be any hindrance to those that are well affected , or it should be an encouragement to them in their euill , when they find those that séeme contrary minded , vnable to answer them , therfore i do both commend your care herein , and will be as helpefull to you as i am able in opening the vanitie of their seuerall exceptions , that are enemies vnto preaching . nymph . i thanke you for it : and i trust that he which commanded peter when he was himselfe conuerted , to strengthen the brethren , will both blesse your care to my profite , and render to you seuen fold into your bosome , the comfort that i shall receiue by your aduice . i will be bold therefore , as farre as i can call to mind , to make knowne vnto you euery thing that i haue heard obiected in this case . epaph. be so , i pray you , and faile not till you be fully satisfied , to vrge euery thing to the vttermost . nymph . you know sir that we haue in our countrie , men of diuers humours , and sundrie fashions ; some grossely ignorant , and meere sottish , chiefly in matters of religion ; some prophane , such as esau was , who care more for a portion of meate , esteeme more of a worldly cōmoditie , then of a heauenly treasure ; some wise and sensible , as the world calleth wisedome ; some learned also , and schollers by profession : now it hath bene my hap at some one time or other , to fall into conference with euery of these sorts , and as communication draweth in one thing after another , so to find out their seueral opinions : and though some of them be very simple , and to be called idle surmises , rather then grounded reasons , yet because you haue made me so kind an offer , you shall therefore haue all . epaph. be it so , i am well contented : and because ignorance is a mother sin , therefore let vs first heare i pray you the ignorant mans exceptions . nymph . one thing that i haue heard some ignorant men with vs alleage , is , that they can see no reason why there should be more vse of preaching now , then there hath bene in former times . they haue liued ( they say ) some thirtie , some fortie , some more yeares without a setled ministery , hauing onely ( vnlesse it were now or then at times ) the ordinary seruice read among them ; and all this while they felt no want of that which is now called teaching , and therefore they are minded not to esteeme that much for the remainder of their life , without which they haue liued and done wel enough hitherto . how like you this sir ? is not this a profound reason ? is not here good diuinitie ? epaph. indéede you may well call this the ignorant mans reason , it is so grosse , hauing in it but thrée errours , which you know is nothing to speake of in so short an allegation . first of all , they wil neglect preaching now , because they haue liued without it hitherto : as though it were wisedome for a man in his old or middle age , to refuse a kindnesse offered , because in his youth or childhood he had no meanes to enioy it . had it bene a good reason for paul , when christ called him from heauen , to haue said , o sir it is now too late , i am a man that haue spent the best part of my time without the knowledge of thee & of thy religion , & therefore i pray thée trouble me not now , i hope to shift out as wel for so much of my life as is behind , as i haue done so this day ? no man will be so without cōmon sense , as to say , that paul might iustly haue refused vpon such a pretence : and yet it had bin as good a reason as theirs . secondly they erre in this , in that they account the time of their ignorance to haue bin without danger , because they neuer saw the danger . alas , litle do they consider the extreme misery of those times . christ saith that he that walketh in the darke , namely without the bright shining light of gods holy word knowes not whither he goeth : he is euen in the valley of the shadow of death , a stranger from the life of god , walking after the course of this world , and after the prince that ruleth in the ayre , euen the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience . a man that hath bene in a swound , and is awaked out of it by the paines of his friends , he will tel you how pleasing the slumber therof séemed to his senses , and at the first beginning to be awaked , he will say perhaps , you should haue let me alone , why did you trouble me ? but when he is better aduised , he wil thank them that brought him again , because he knoweth that if he had bene let alone , it might haue cost him his life . so in this case , a man liuing in blindnesse and grosse ignorance , séemeth to himselfe for the present to be in a maruellous good state , and his soule in as good as any mans ; and when the preacher shall cry vnto him , awake thou that sleepest , and stand vp from the dead : oh thou ignorant person , why wilt thou die saue thy self from this froward generation . like enough he wil say , o m. preacher , trouble me not i pray you , spare your sides , i am well enough , my soule is in no such danger : but if the lord once open his eyes , and make him a new heart and a new spirit , then he wil blesse god for him that called him , because he will then perceiue , that otherwise he had euen runned on to his owne destruction . he that trauelleth by night vpon the edge and hanging of a steep hil , from which if he should fall he must needs breake his neck , goeth on without feare , because in the darke he seeth not the daunger : but ●et him be brought back at light of day , it wil make him euen quake to thinke vpon the peril he was in , & wonder that euer he should escape it . in like sort , he that is in the blindnesse of ignorance without the word , the same is hourely ready to fall into the pit of hell ; yet he feareth it not , because he seeth it not : but if euer he haue any remorce by the light of the gospel shining in his heart , it wil terrifie him to remember his former misery , and make his belly to tremble to consider it : so that here is the second errour in this ignorant obiection . men conclude there was no danger in the dayes of blindnesse , because they saw no danger , whereas indeed the daunger was so much the greater . a third error there is yet in this exception , & that is , that they consider not how that the refusall of gods mercy which is freely offered in the preaching of the word , doth double their sinne , and make their condemnation more iust by whom it is refused . if i had not come and spoken vnto them , they should not haue had sin , ( sayth our sauior ) that is , they had not bene chargeable with this sinne of contempt of me and of my doctrine : but now haue they no cloke for their sin , now they haue nothing to plead for excuse . if this were duly thought vpon , that the neglect of the word , when the meanes of making the same familiar vnto them is become common among them , did make them guilty of a greater sin before god , men would then not dare like the deafe adder to stop their cares , and to suffer the holy doctrine of god to fal to the ground vnregarded . thus i hope i haue shewed the vnreasonablenesse of this first reason . nymph . this that you haue spoken as it maketh me see plainly the idlenesse o● this ignorant exception , so it calleth to my remembrance a notable place of scripture which i once heard you alleage in one of your sermons to this or the like purpose : it is a part of paul his speech at athens . the time of this ignorance ( saith he ) god lightly passing ouer , now he admonisheth al men euery where to repent . it seemeth to me that this place may be applied fitly to this matter . epaph. it is well remembred : for indeed that spéech fitteth well with this point . paul there disputing with the heathen that worshipped dumbe idols , and thought the godhead to be like gold or siluer , or stone , grauen by the art and inuention of man : least they should obiect noueltie vnto him , and should say as the papists do at this day , how was it possible that all the world should for so many yeares be deceiued : he telleth them that it séemed good vnto god , for causes best knowne vnto himselfe , to permit the ignorance of so many thousands of yeares , yet so as that time of blindnesse being now determined , men should not pleade prescription , reckoning more of an old error thē of newly reuealed truth : but should open their eares and harts to this his generall summons to repentāce . i thank you for minding me of this place ; it sheweth notably what a fond thing it is , not to take notice of the truth reuealed , but to preferre a long continued ignorance before it . haue you any more exceptions of this nature , forged in the shop of ignorance ? like enough you haue ; for it is an old and a true saying , that error is infinite , though truth be but one . if this that you haue named haue any moe fellowes , bring them forth ; i doubt not , but by the grace of christ to discountenance them . nymph . yes sure : when the multitude heare it taught , that the preaching of the word is a thing of that nature and necessarie vse , that without it men ordinarily can not be saued , they crie out by and by ; and what is then become of our forefathers , they had no preaching , yet they were in their times good people , honest , and well esteemed in the places where they liued . if we should then yeeld to this , that this preaching is with so reuerent a regard to be depended vpon , we must needs condemne our progenitors out of whose loyns we are come , which to do were more then inhumanitie . i can tell you sir , this is an argument that hath a generall approbation , and therefore i pray you looke well to it that you can answer it . epaph. well , as hard as it is , yet it is not so intricate as was sampsons riddle , that in seuen dayes could not be interpreted , for indeed it is of no value . it is true , we are both by nature and by religion to honor the memories of our auncestors , and in all good things to be imitators of them ; but in maters of religion we are not to haue an eye to them or to their times , but we must consider what it is which the lord requireth at our hands . whether they were saued or no , it is not for vs to enquire : if the lord haue dealt more mercifully with vs then he did with them , we haue cause to magnifie his holy name , to looke to our selues that we despise not the riches of his bountie , and to leaue them to the lord to whom they stand or fall . it is a good saying of an auncient father to this purpose : if my predecessors ( sayth he ) either by ignorance or by simplicitie haue not kept and holden that which our lord hath taught them by his example and authority , the mercy of our lord might pardon them . but as the good doctor saith , we cannot hope for the like , hauing better meanes of instruction . when the outward ordinary meanes failed , gods hand was not shortened , but he was able euen in the middest of blindnesse to saue those which belonged to the election of grace . as for vs , it shall not be safe for vs to neglect this so great saluation , or to receiue the grace of god in vaine , foolishly aduenturing our selues vpon the vnknowne conditiō of our forefathers . and this i hope may suffice to take away the edge of this fancie . it is humanitie to thinke the best of our forefathers , but it is diuinitie to looke carefully to our selues . nymp. i am glad you haue furnished me with so sufficient an answer to this exception which i haue bene often assaulted with ; and indeed because of the common instinct of nature , it striketh the deeper impression , and is the more hardly remoued but i thinke this that you haue said may preuaile there where obstinate wilfulnesse hath not gotten the mastery and therefore i will lay this vp as safely as euer goliah his sword was layed vp , that i may euer haue it in a readinesse for such a purpose . but sir there are yet more obiections of the same stampe , which i must entreate you also to cleare , that so you may make me a perfect scholler in this point . epaph. who would think it possible that men so dull and vncapable in matters which concerne their greatest good , should be abounding with arguments wherewith to pleade euen against their owne soules . but the diuell is a cunning instructor , and laboreth to strengthen men in ignorance ( because it is the scepter of his kingdome ) as much as it is possible . let vs heare therefore what the ignorant , with whom it hath bene your hap to conuerse , haue yet further to alleage . nymphas . they say that the most learned of you all , who are called preachers , when you haue shewed the vttermost of your cunning , can say no more then they know already ; namely , that they must loue god aboue all , and their neighbours as themselues : and seeing they know this well enough already , what needeth ( say they ) any more instruction . epaphras . this is a conceipt scarce worthy the confuting ; yet lest my silence should breede an opinion in you , that there is more in it then indeede there is ; do but consider of it by the like : if a man speaking of husbandrie , and hearing another to discourse of the great skill and long experience that is requisit to make a man a good husband , should say by and by , tush , what talke you so much of skil and knowledge herein ? why ? it is nothing but this , to plow , to sow , and to reape : should not such a one deseruedly be laughed at , and be a scorne to those which heare him ? yes , and not without cause : for euery man knoweth , that though this be the sum of husbandry , yet there are diuers particulars belonging to these , which are neither soone learned nor easily practised : so that he who desireth to be a good husband , and to profit by his labors , and to make the best of euery thing , must not satisfie himselfe to know this , that there is nothing in husbandry but to eare the land , and to reape the fruite , but he must learne also what belongeth to the right performance of these , otherwise he may erre in sowing , play the foole in plowing , and come short in reaping . and euen so it is in this case : true it is , that the summe of all religion consisteth in this , in louing god aboue all , and a mans neighbor as him selfe : but what then ? if a man shall thinke by and by that he is a good christian , and knoweth enough , because he apprehendeth these generals , the same is exceedingly deceiued , for there are many other branches belonging to each of these , which vnlesse a man do know , he can neither loue god as hée ought , nor his neighbour as hee should : so that to my seeming , euen common reason is sufficient to conuince mens ignorance herein . there is not the meanest profession , the coursest trade , the plainest occupation , but it hath ( as we say ) a certaine mysterie in it , there are many rules belonging to it : which must be knowne , not in grosse onely , but euen very precisely , before a man can in any mediocritie practise the duties of the same . nymphas . it is true that you say , for mine owne part i confesse it : but yet ignorance will replie and say , will you then vrge vpon euery common man the knowledge of euery point which in preaching you deliuer : that seemeth very vnreasonable ; neither can men that want the helpes of learning attaine vnto it : and will not a good meaning make a supply for all this ? epaphras . how vnreasonable it may séeme in mens eyes to be vrged to such exact knowledge , i cannot tel : this i am sure of , that we that are ministers , are charged to shew the people the whole coūsel of god , & not to keep a word back . if we cannot be dispensed with to keepe secret any thing , how shal it be tolerated in the people to neglect the knowledge of that , which we are bound by vertue of our commission to deliuer ? it was but an idle prayer of the apostle , on the behalfe of the colossians , to begge of god that they might be fulfilled with knowledge of gods will , in all wisedome and spirituall vnderstanding : or for the philippians , that they might abound in all iudgement , and discerne things that differ . i say these were but idle wishes , if so be that full measure of knowledge is not required of euery christian . and if some certain rudiments , & as it were shreds of knowledge were sufficient , the hebrews might well haue complained of wrong , in that they were so sharply censured for their being dull of hearing , and for that they still after so much teaching needed the first principles of the word of god. and sure , if it be vnreasonable to vrge men to know so much , we must ( which were blasphemie ) challenge the wise god as an vnnecessary burdener of mankind , who hath reuealed so much . as it is curiositie to enquire into that which god hath concealed , so it is vnthankfulnesse not to take notice of whatsoeuer he hath left written for our learning . the secret things belong to the lord our god , but the things reuealed belong to vs and to our children for euer , sayth the scripture . i confesse , that if a man might attaine to the age of methuselah who liued nine hundred sixtie and nine yeares , and should in that space equall his diligence in searching the scripture vnto dauid , who made it his meditation continually , yet many things would escape him , and he should when he had done all , be faine to confesse , that the greatest part of that which he knoweth , is not the least part of that which he knoweth not : but what then ? because a man when he hath done best cannot know all , shall he therefore not labour to know any thing ? god forbid . ignorance by a kind of necessity may seeme to haue some excuse , but a voluntary neglect of that which a man may know , cannot haue so much as a colour of allowance . nymphas . yet me thinkes it is hard for the common people ( the greatest part whereof cannot so much as reade ) to attain to so much knowledge as you seeme to perswade , especially if withall they be such as liue by their labour , and haue charge of children , how shall they spare time for such occasions ? epaph. verily it is a wofull thing to consider the dulnesse that is amongst men ; and they do not know what they want that cannot reade ( a thing which notwithstanding of all other the parts of learning is the most easie , and as soone learned as to be able to play at the cards , if men were as desirous of the one as of the other ) : yet howsoeuer , in this case of knowledge in religion men do cast many mo perils then they need , and are like the slouthfull man , of whom salomon speaketh , who saith , a lion is without , i shal be slaine in the streete . for knowledge is easie to him that will vnderstand : and the yoke of christ , it is easie , and his burden light : wherefore serueth the scripture but to giue vnto the simple sharpnesse of wit , and to the child knowledge and discretiō ? the entrance into thy words ( saith dauid ) sheweth light : as soone as a man in humilitie , and in a true desire to know god , doeth but begin to apply himselfe to the meanes of knowledge , he shall secretly feele such a sodaine light cast in vpon his vnderstanding , that he shall be able to apprehend euen the very secret of the lord , and the great mystery of godlinesse ; and so shall go from strength to strength , vntill he be filled with all the fulnesse of god. and we see by comfortable experience , with what gifts of iudgement and good vnderstanding and speech , yea and of prayer also , the lord furnisheth many , who notwithstanding haue wanted the helpes of good education : wherein the lord maketh good that auncient prophesie touching the kingdome of christ , that he would in it poure out his spirit euen vpon seruants and maides , so that the eyes of the blind should be lightened , and the eares of the deafe opened , and the dumbe mans tongue be able to sing . and thankes be vnto god for his vnspeakeable gift . so that it is a causelesse feare which men haue , who imagine the knowledge of the doctrine of saluation , to be a matter of that exceeding difficultie . now for the multitude of worldly businesses , the necessary following whereof men pleade partly as a matter priuiledging them , partly as a thing hindring them from intending these better occasions : if men had learned what this is , seeke ye first the kingdome of god , and his righteousnesse , and all these things shall be ministred vnto you : or this , what shal it profit a man though he should win the whole world , if he lose his owne soule ? then they wold be ashamed either to thinke religion a hindrance to their worldly thriuing it being a furtherance rather , because it is the blessing of the lord which maketh rich ) or else to mind onely earthly things , spending all their time about that which is on the earth , and neglecting that durable riches , euen the vnsearchable riches of christ . i know the businesse of the world must be followed ; he that laboureth not , let him not eate , saith paul : and if there be any that prouideth not for his owne , and namely for them of his houshold , he denieth the faith , and is worse then an infidell . yet i know too , that he who will walke circumspectly , not as a foole , but as a wise christian , must redeeme the time , and in the midst of his worldly employments remember that one needfull thing , which when al other commodities become that which they are , euen nothing , wil tary by him , and shall neuer be taken from him . moreouer , put case a man be either so tied by the nature and quality of his calling , that he can spare no time ( so as among others , day-laborers and other poorer trades-men seeme to be ) or else is destitute of meanes to further his knowledge when he is priuate and at home , yet if a man would be conscionably carefull of profitable spending the sabbaoth day , learning euery such day , though but one point , and caring to keepe it and to hide it in the heart , and to ponder it in the weeke following , that he may by that means make it his owne , it is incredible to a man that trieth it not , to what store of spirituall knowledge euen a common man shall attaine , and what vnderstanding he shal haue in the mystery of christ . wée haue a saying touching earthly things , that light gaines make heauy purses : we shal surely find it true in this , he that shall labour to grow richer euery sabbaoth but by one point , he shall before he is ware of it grow to a very comfortable portion of the sauing knowledge of gods truth . nymph . i haue very carefully attended to this which you haue spoken , and i praise god i find much comfort in it ; yet there is one thing behind which i haue still looked for , which i am bold to put you in mind of , lest you should forget it , and that is touching the good meaning which the common sort so much trust vnto : they say their heart is good though their skill be small , and they hope that god will accept it . i pray you satisfie me in this also , and then i shal be reasonably furnished against the plea of the ignorant . epaph. you do well to mind me of it , howsoeuer i was euen now of my selfe comming to it : an honest and good heart is a thing in the eyes of god much esteemed ; and it is the especiall thing he craueth of vs , to giue him our heart : yet generally that which men call a good heart to god-ward , is nothing lesse then that which it is called : for so long as a mans heart is a dull , ignorant , vnregenerate and vnreformed heart , it is wicked aboue all things . there can be no goodnesse in that heart where there dwelleth grosse & blockish ignorance of god and of his truth : it is no good heart which loueth foolishnes and hateth knowledge , and casteth the word of god behind it . it is no good heart which maketh not the mouth to speake out of the abundance of it , and to be able to giue a reason of the hope that is in it . there may be a zeale of god , where there is no knowledge of god ; but it is but a blind zeale , and god esteemeth it not . they which kil and persecute gods seruants , may haue a kind of good meaning , and may thinke that in so doing they do god seruice , yet this cannot helpe them , so that men are deceiued in their good meaning : for no meaning is good , but that which is guided by knowledge : yea though the thing meant be in it owne nature good , yet if the meaner be not assured of the goodnesse of it frō gods word , his meaning is naught , & that by the the rule of scripture , which telleth vs , that whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne . nymph . i must needs yeeld to this that you say , that it is true ; and yet me thinkes it is somthing hard : for i remember i haue read in a good author ( whose iudgement i thinke you will also approue of ) that there are many , who though they are ignorant in many things , yet they haue a meaning of true faith , and that which is wanting in knowledge is supplied in affection : this is a very comfortable saying , and to my seeming also it doeth something fauour the conceit which men haue of being excused by their good meaning . epaph. i do approue of the author you alleage , as of a worthy instrument in gods church : i agree also to that which you haue cited out of his writings : for ( as he also saith ) all men haue not that sharpnesse of conceit , and fastnesse of memorie , to be able to wade into the depth of euery point , and to remember euery particular . and indeed an exact knowledge of the misteries of religion , so as to be able to dispute schollerly of them is not required of euery common man : to which end is the speech of s. augustine ; it is not ( saith he ) the quicknesse of vnderstanding , but the simplicitie of beleeuing which is safest for the people : all this is true , but yet it maketh nothing for the defence of that brutish ignorance which men seeke to colour with the pretence of a good meaning : for this rule , that good affection supplieth the want of knowledge , holdeth onely in those who hauing in some small measure felt the sweetnesse of knowledge , do labor to increase in it . in such it is true , that the sinceritie of the heart maketh a kind of recompence for the defect of knowledge : but where there is a setling of a mans self vpon the drogs of ignorance , without grieuing and sorrowing for his owne dulnesse , without caring & endeuoring to thriue in knowledge , there this rule hath no place , there the pretended good meaning is but sottishnesse , and that kind of ignorance maketh a man a stranger frō the life of god. and therefore it is well said of a learned man , that whereas god forgiueth manifold ignorances in his children , yet he requireth that we be teachable , and not hardned in our owne dulnesse and sluggishnesse . nymphas . you haue fully satisfied me touching this doubt : there is onely one thing more behind , which ignorance pretendeth , and it is common in many mens mouthes : let them ( say they ) preach and we will pray : they hope their deuotion in praying will do them more good then all your preaching . epaph. it is a world to sée the cunning of the diuell , who goeth about to ouerthrow one holy dutie by another , and to oppose those things which ought to go as it were hand in hand together . but what thing is there so senslesse , whereto ignorance in the scripture may not be perswaded ? it is our english prouerbe , the blind eateth many a flie : and so indeede the ignorant in the booke of god embrace many grosse and ridiculous absurdities : for if men knew what the scripture saith in this case , they would neuer cast out such an idle speech : salomon saith , he that turneth away his eare from hearing the law , euen his prayer shall be abominable . what thinke you shall become of their prayers then who resolue not to affoord the vse of their eares vnto gods word ? do they not make a faire hand , when by their contempt of preaching they bring a curse vpon their praying ? adde hitherto that paul sayth expresly , that as men cannot call on him in whom they haue not beleeued , so neither can they beleeue without hearing , nor heare without a preacher . can men credite paul in this , and yet thinke to pray well without the helpe of preaching ? surely no. how can men pray aright , without knowledge of their owne wants , without the apprehension of the promises of god , vpon which to build their assurance to be heard ? and how can they attaine to either of these ordinarily , but by the preaching , expounding , opening & applying of gods word ? that which men commonly call praying , is but a lip-labor , consisting in the recitall of a few words , the sense & meaning whereof is not vnderstood , and it is méere babling in the eares of god ; it may be well called the sacrifice of fooles : and it may truly be said of such blind deuotions and tongue-prayers , which the heart doeth not conceiue , as it was sayd of the hypocriticall ceremoniousnesse of the iewes ; the soule of the lord hateth them , they are a burden vnto him , he is wearie to beare them . i thinke i haue sufficiently discouered the weaknesse of this silly obiection . nymph . i praise god i do also see the vanitie of it ; and i hope i for my part shall learne so to esteeme of preaching , as that i shall also reuerence that good meanes which god hath in his wisdome ordained for my help in the performance of that holy dutie , that so by often hearing i may learne to pray , and by praying i may make good vse of the things i heare . well sir , now that you haue armed me against the common pretences of the ignorant sort , whereby they make themselues beleeue , or rather are made beleeue by the diuell , that it is no daunger to contemne preaching . i must challenge your promise , and craue your helpe also touching another sort of men , who as they are ignorant in the matters of god , so are they come to a higher degree of hardnesse , and haue euen almost taken vp their seate in the chaire of scorners , and do not onely not regard preaching ( which is the fault of those of whom i haue spoken hitherto ) but scoffe at it , and endeuour by lading it with sundry reproaches altogether to disgrace it . epaph. i am as willing to performe my promise as i was to make it ; and yet i know that in regard of these prophane ones themselues , this will be but a thanklesse peece of seruice : for a scorner loueth not him that rebuketh him , neither will he go vnto the wise . therefore i wil do it rather in desire to satisfie you , then in any great hope i haue to reclaime them . nymph . indeed i haue sometimes cast in a word according to my skill , when i haue bene in the companie of such ; and they haue for the most part still shewed themselues like the foole , who maketh a mocke of sin , to whom it is euen a pastime to do wickedly : yet it is good to be able sometimes to answer them according to their foolishnesse , least they should be wise in their owne conceit . wel then , to come to the matter without circumstance , the exceptions of profane men against preaching are diuers , some against the persons of the preachers , some against the hearers , some otherwise , as you shal vnderstand in seueral . first , touching you that are the preachers , it is common in their mouthes : who be worse then they ? if there be any couetousnes , or pride , or ambition , & the like , where shal you find it but in the clergie ? when they are in the pulpit , they must needs say somewhat ; and therfore , though when they be there , they be very hote and eager against vice , yet in their owne courses they are as bad or worse then other men . this is one exception . epaph. the answer to this wretched exceptiō ( not for the waight of argument that it carieth , but for the variety of leudnes & error which is in it ) wil diuide it self into many particulars . first of all therefore , touching them that obiect this , they are very properly by a learned man of our times compared to foule gamesters , who when they haue lost all at the cards , and haue the last dealing in their hands , and perceiue that not likely to proue to their mind , rise vp in a chafe and fling downe all , and say there hath bene foule play playd , when indéed the fault is chiefly in themselues : so many being naught them selues , & being ( as the apostle speaketh ) damned by their owne consciences , when they haue no other shift , crie out vpon preachers , thereby to cloke their owne iniquity : therein not much vnlike to him that in a throng at a fair or market , bids men beware of the cut-purse , that he in the meane time ( being a man of the trade ) may practise his diuing into mens pockets with the lesse suspicion . and marke it when you will , you shall neuer find them any other then méere sensual men , yea and for the most part openly noted for some one bad course or other , of drunkennesse , oppression , vsury , couetousnes , adultery , or the like , that make this obiection . secondly , ( because there may be truth in an obiection , though there be little truth or honestie in him that maketh it ) know this therefore for the substance of this cauill , that put case it were so , ( which thankes be to god is not so ) that all preachers did confute their owne sermons with their euill life , and had esaus hands with iacobs voice , and were like a file which smootheth other thinges , it selfe remayning rough : yet this could make nothing against preaching . for is physicke naught , because many physitians perhappes liue contrary to their owne rules of phisicke ? or is law damnable , because some professors thereof do liue lawlesse , giuing rules of equity to others , themselues keeping none but ill rule ? no man wil be so without sense to affirme it : why thē ? shal the course of preaching be cōdemned , for the supposed misdemeanor of them which preach ? god forbid . is any mā so vnwise as to disobey a warrant comming apparently frō a man of authority , because the constable or tithingman is a naughty fellow that bringeth it ? who then but either a foole or a froward hart wil tread the holy doctrine of god vnder his feete , because he is a man of no good cariage that deliuereth the same ? thirdly , men are to consider this also , that all are not ministers which are so called , neither all true preachers come frō god that stand vp in the pulpit : for in these corrupt times many are crept into the church of god by the window , whom god did neuer set apart to that holy seruice : now it is vnpossible but that such as these ( though they may a long time couer their double iniquity vnder a dissembled sanctitie ) yet at last breake out into extremities . now it is against common reason to turne their miscariage into the generall disgrace of all honest ministers . there be many counterfeit dog-leaches and pretenced surgions , that hauing gotten a litle rubarbe or balsamum , and some few words of art , run about the country and beguile the people , and cozen them of their mony , purging their purses and scouring their bags vnder colour of clensing their bodies & searching their sores . shal we say therefore that al phisitions though they be neuer so well learned , neuer so well experienced , neuer so conscionable and wary in their courses of administring , are cozeners , and that it were pittie but the countrey were rid of them all ? it were an indignitie once to imagine it . there is no profession , but it hath as it were a certaine scumme , and there are some that make shew of it , that are altogether vnworthy of it . shall the vilenesse & vnbeseeming cariage of those that are but the refue , and as i may so speake the taile of an honest profession , be cast into the face of all the rest that belong vnto it ? reason it selfe sayth it is vnméete . and men would soone yéeld to this , were it not that the diuell hath taught them to be wise in any thing , sauing in religion , to fauor any profession sauing that of the ministery . men are herein like vnto many lawyers , who if you put them a case , without naming the parties , will tell you truly what is law : but whē they vnderstand who they be whō the matter concerneth , then they change their opinion , and the law is altered . so in the world , ask you any man of cōmon vnderstanding this questiō , whether it be meet that all of a trade or company should be chalenged , because some such or such are worthy to be punished ; he will tell you there is no reason for it : but come to particulars touching preachers , thē he is of another mind , he wil be ready to say that al christs disciples were naught because iudas was a diuel : & because he ( it may be ) knoweth some two or . sir iohns or some other ( perhaps of better note in the eyes of the world , but yet scarcely worthy of their places ) to be climing with diotrephes , or embracing this present world with demas , or carying themselues insolently with pashur , or otherwise kéeping bad rule with him , who imagining that his master doth defer his coming , begins to smite the seruants and the maidens , and to eate and drinke and to be drunken : by and by he concludeth , that they are all naught , and voweth that he will neuer beléeue any of them , for all their shewes of holinesse . fourthly , for the further cleering of this point , this is also to be considered , that ministers and preachers do not thinke themselues freed from common infirmities , or endued with some greater power or larger priuiledge against sin , then others : & therefore euery slip is not by & by to be taken hold of ( as the maner is ) and to be turned to the blemishing of a whole profession . he is said to be a man of vpright conuersation , not who slippeth neuer , ( for who is he that can vnderstand his faults ? ) but he who by his seldome slips , and by his not continuing in any one knowne euill , sheweth himselfe to be a man that vnfainedly desireth to haue his cariage such , as becometh the gospel of christ . lastly , mark this also & you shal find it true , those who are euer harping vpon this string , touching the liues of preachers , let thē be vrged to particulars , you shal perceiue that either their euill speaking is occasioned by such kind of ministers as i before named , or else if they haue any exception against any of the better and painfuller sort , it is such , which if it be well examined and throughly looked into , will be found rather to sauor of malice in the speaker , then to argue any great error in the accused . i told you i should be long in this point , but now i haue done , vnlesse you haue ought further to vrge therein . nymph . the most that i haue to say , is , that men of the world that shall heare this plea of yours , will straightway say , that you can speake well for your selues , and that though you aggrauate other mens sins vpon occasions , yet you can salue vp matters that concerne your selues , and helpe to couer your owne infirmities . epaph. the diuell doth well answer his name ; for there is nothing can be so wel spoken , but he and his can cauil at it : for mine owne part , i striue with my self to speake vnpartially . the profession i must loue , because god hath called me vnto it ; yet were i not of it , god hath taught me to honor it , because the feet of them are beautifull which bring glad tidings of peace . and howsoeuer many do so far exalt themselues in their birth , in their riches , in their wisedome , in their personage and bloud , that they think it a disparagement vnto them to consecrate all their life to the ministerie of the gospell : yet as christ himselfe disdained not the title of a minister , so among all the titles of kingdomes and countries , this was to that great king the most honorable , solomon the preacher . i must therefore as a minister , but especially as a christian , endeuor to maintaine the credit of the ministery . and yet i am not so caried away with a humor of magnifying the profession , but that i do see and bemone both mine and other mens imperfections . i know , that though it be true , that we are many times slaundered by soule mouthes , yet we often faile , and giue great offence euen vnto those that feare god , who depending vpon vs , are either grieued in heart , or ( which is worse ) grieuously mis-led , by our want of watchfulnesse ouer our selues . and i heartily beg of god so to stablish vs in euery word and good work , that while we liue we may be an example to them that beleeue : and when we haue finished our course , the people may haue cause to remēber vs , & to follow our faith , considering what hath bin the end of our conuersation . nymph . my heart saith amen vnto your good praier : and god forgiue vs our backwardnes in that we make so seldom mentiō of you which are our ministers in our prayers vnto him . but now to the next exceptiō which is against the hearers ; the common saying is , that there are none vsually so bad as these puritanes ( for so in their ignorance , not knowing truly what a puritane is , and in their malice seeking to disgrace honest men , they terme euery mā that makes conscience of hearing the word , for the building of himself in holy faith ) they are nothing but a pack of hypocrites , men that are not to be trusted for all their faire shewes , holy horses , and the like names of disgrace , which hell can inuent : and out of this puddle of reprochfull speeches against the louers of preaching , they gather vp filth to cast into the face of preaching it selfe . epaph. this exception , and that which went next before , are so wel like , that they do easily appéere to haue had one father , euen the diuel , who was a slanderer from the beginning : but blessed be god that it is no matter of any great difficultie to discouer , euen the deepenesse of satan to be meere simplicitie . first then , for this touching the hypocrisie of our hearers , it is but a meere slander ; for ( to the glory of god be it spokē ) there are many of those that reuerence this so much contemned course of preaching , who haue not onely a shew of godlinesse , but do also feele the power thereof ; and are careful , as they beleeue in god , so to shew forth good works ; so that their liues do adorne the doctrine of god our sauior , yea and ( which is the cause of the so great malice of the vngodly ) euē reproue the leudnes of the irreligious . secondly , suppose it to be so ( as it may well , hypocrites mingling themselues with the soundest christians ) that some of those which cary a face of holinesse and zeale , & loue to the word , do notwithstanding hold fellowship with the vnfruitfull workes of darknesse , liuing after the lusts of men , and running with the wicked to the same excesse of riot ; yet who is able to say that euer they receiued any encoragemēt by preaching so to do ? hath that taught them any such matter , and not rather the cleane contrary ? let malice speake , if it be not constrained for very shame to kéep silence . doth the preacher perswade any man to be an vsurer , an oppressor , a hard dealer , a drunkard , a whoremaster , or the like ? nay it is well knowne , that it testifieth to one & other , that the lord is auenger of al such things & that for them his wrath commeth vpon the children of disobedience . these two things , namely the falshood of the exception , and the bad consequence of it , if it were true , may stop their mouthes which vse it : but you told me ( as i remember ) that there be sundry arguments of this kind . i pray you let vs heare them : no doubt you shal see them all when they are arraigned and brought to receiue their trial at the tribunall seat of gods word , to be condemned for lying vanities , and to be no more able to stand before it , thā the philistins dagon could keepe his shrine ( though no doubt he was fast nailed to it ) when the arke of iehouah came in place . nymph . the next exception is of a larger scope , and fighteth against you with the generall wretchednesse of this last generation . you shall see it in it owne likenesse , that you may the better iudge of it . it commonly runneth thus : in former times when there was lesse preaching , and the scripture was more geason then now it is , the world ( they say ) was much better , there was more loue , more hospitalitie , more truth , more mercie , more good dealing amongst men then is to be found at this day : so that whereas there is now much lawing , much contention , much oppressing , much cruelty , and sinnes of the like nature , al this is layd vpon the backe of preaching : this is the leauen that hath put the whole world out of taste ; this is also a peece of dagon ; stump . i make no doubt but the lord hath furnished you with weapons mightie through him , to cast downe holds , and euery high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of christ iesus . epaph. i perceiue the diuell much doubteth the ruine of his kingdome : and therfore though preaching amongst men is thought to be but wind , yet he féeleth his state begin to totter with the power of it , so that he doeth stretch his wit , and set his pollicy on worke , and spareth for no engines to beat downe that which he shal neuer be able to ouerturne . and that as we haue seene hitherto , so i doubt not but we shall further sée it in the examination of particulars . for those elder times ( as men call them ) first it is to be noted , that it is true indeed that many of those who liued in thē , were in the eies of men very commendable for those morall vertues ( as they are termed ) of hospitalitie , of bountie , of humanity , of plain dealing , & the like : the reason was this , satan let them alone in these things , because he did hold them captiue at his will in the principal . though he doth hate these specialties in their owne nature , being an vtter enemie to all goodnesse , yet he was content to giue way in those lesser things , so long as he could nuzle them in ignorance of god and of his word , which he well knew was both hold enough for himself , and sufficient inough also to blemish and disgrace all those reputed vertues before god. but now the light of knowledge being come into the world , and spreading it self further by the more common vse of preaching , sathan secretly perswadeth many , that it is enough for them to haue knowledge , though they neglect practise , & he laboreth also by killing mens care to shew themselues forward in these duties of ciuilitie , to lessen the credit of the gospel , & to haue matter of slaunder against the knowledge of gods truth . secondly to speake more specially of this last and worst age of the world : if it be well vnderstood , preaching may be sayd to be the occasion , though not the naturall cause of the extreame wretchednesse thereof : according as paul sayth , that sinne tooke occasion by the commaundement , and when the commaundement came , sinne reuiued , and grew out of measure sinfull . now the preaching & publishing of the truth , may be sayd to be the occasion of much euill in these last times , in two respects : first , because of the fuller discouery of sin : in the dayes of former ignorance many of the same grosse sins were which now are , but either they were smothered in the darknesse of the times , or if they were a litle discried , yet they were reputed nothing so odious . but althings when they were reprooued of the light , became manifest ; for it is light that maketh all things manifest : so that now sin being seene more , is thought also to be more ; for sinne not espied , is in mens iudgements as no sin . so then partly in this respect it may be said , that since there was so much preaching , the world hath bin worse , because the holy doctrine which is taught , condemneth many things for sin , which the blind world estéemed as no sin , and because the liues of those which are conuerted by preaching , do shew more euidently the monstrous sins of those which are giuen ouer to vngodlinesse . secondly , the preaching of the word is an occasion of sin , ( as also the law of god is ) not in it selfe , or in it owne nature ; ( for it reproueth sin , and setteth it selfe against all maner of vngodlinesse : ) but it is so , partly through the corruption of our nature , partly thorough the iust iudgment of god : the corruption of our nature is alwayes the more furious , the more it is restrained , striuing still to do that most which is most forbidden : euery humor desireth that most , whereby it may be most encreased . let a physitian forbid a melancholike man such and such meates , he shall find himselfe to haue an appetite to no meate so much , as to that which is inhibited . i do verily think the other trees in paradise affoorded fruite as pleasant to the eye , and as good for meate as the forbidden tree : but when as satan had made a little entry , then euen that circumstance that it was forbidden , did set an edge vpon the womans desire , and made her more faine to eate of that one , then of any of the rest which were allowed . paul sayth that the law is the strength of sinne , both because it encreaseth the guilt of sinne , and because sin thereupon becommeth more outragious : according as ieremie witnesseth out of his owne experience : i cried out ( sayth he ) of wrong , and proclaimed desolation , therefore the word of the lord was made a reproch vnto me : it séemeth that vpon his preaching the people grew to greater insolencie . besides , there are many points of necessitie to be taught , which though they be deliuered with neuer so great circumspection , yet the leudnesse of mans heart , not being ouer-ruled by the power of gods spirit , will abuse the same . so we see , the doctrine of iustification by faith only , breedeth negligence in good works , as appéereth by the caueat of the apostle , what shall we say then ? shal we cōtinue stil in sin that grace may abound ? god forbid . so the doctrine of our fréedom by christ from the curse of the law , bringeth forth carnal libertie : that made paul so carefull to vse that restraint , only vse not your libertie as an occasion to the flesh . in like maner this point , that we are insufficiēt to kéep the law , & that we cannot so much as think a good thought , but as god worketh it in vs : satan works by & by vpon a supposed aduantage , & draws ( as much as he may ) to carelesnes thereupon . and therfore the spirit of god in his great wisdome , together with the teaching of that point , that it is god which worketh in vs both the will and the deed , coupleth this exhortation , make an end of your owne saluation with feare and trembling . the same might be shewed by many other points , which yet notwithstanding is so , not in the nature of the doctrine , but in the wretched disposition of mans hart , who abuseth the comfortable doctrine of the gospel , and turneth the grace of our god into wantonnesse . againe , as sin through the corruptiō of nature taketh occasiō to multiply it self by the doctrine preached , so it falleth out by the iust iudgement of god , that the contempt of much preaching bringeth forth abundance of iniquitie . my word ( saith god by the prophet ) that goeth out of my mouth , shal not returne vnto me void . and therfore in the same place it is compared to the raine ; because as the raine maketh the ground , if not more fruitful , surely then more vnprofitable : so the word of god , either maketh men hearts softer , and themselues more fruitfull in good workes , or else harder , and their liues more abominable . and yet is this no fault in the word , for that is vnto god the sweete sauour of christ , euen in them which perish . i haue bene longer in this point then i thought ; but because it is so much stood vpon by many , i haue the rather endeuored to manifest the ful truth in this behalfe . nymph . truly for mine owne particular , i must needs confesse , that you haue taught me more touching this point then i haue heretofore obserued . indeed i haue many times wondred how it shold come to passe , that there being now ( as i thinke ) much more preaching against sin , then hath bin in the dayes of our forefathers , yet there should be that aboundance of extreme impietie : but now i see the reason of it . first , ignorance in gods word , is the supporter of satans kingdome , and he hauing drowned men in that , gaue way to other things , which being good in their owne nature , and approued of in the eyes of men , yet lost their grace , being done without knowledge . secondly , mans corrupt nature , spider-like turneth the wholsome doctrine into poison , and striueth more when it feeleth it selfe limited . thirdly , it is iust with god , to giue them vp into vile affections , and to lay iniquitie vpon their iniquitie , that they may worke all vncleannesse , euen with greedinesse , who receiue not the loue of the truth that they might be saued . this i thinke is the summe of all which you haue spoken touching this . epaph. you haue well obserued it ; that is the very substance of my answer to that exception , which i thinke is sufficient to satisfie those whom the truth of god grounded vpon the scripture may satisfie . i pray you now proceed to the next , if there be any more of this kind . nymph . there is onely to my remembrance one more , and that is taken from the tumults & diuisions which accompany your doctrine : they say it many times breedeth difference euen among those betwixt whom formerly there was the best agreement . epaph. my good neighbor , maruell not at this : for as i shewed you in the beginning of our conference , that resistance doth alwayes accompany the first publishing of the truth , so also doth diuision of hearts follow it : and to this end is that spéech of christ to his disciples ; thinke not that i am come to send peace into the earth , ( that is , such peace as the world dreameth of ) i came not to send peace , but the sword . we read that when paul exercised his ministery at iconium , there was much ado , and the people of the citie were diuided , and some were with the iewes , and some with the apostles . this made him to be accused before the ciuill magistrate , for a pestilent fellow , and a mouer of sedition , according as at this day , factious and humorous is a common imputation . now a diuision cannot choose but follow preaching : for when as among the hearers , some mock , some cleaue vnto the teachers , some beleeue and others beleue not , and men fall to haue great reasoning among thēselues , there cannot but follow a kind of diuisiō & siding : so that they which in their ignorance accorded together touching religiō , are by the working of the word sundred , & some become zealous folowers , others malicious oppressors , laboring to stop the passage of the gospell , & to peruert the strait waies of the lord ; & some neuters neither cold nor hot , but iust of deputy gallio his religion , who cared nothing for those things . the preaching of the word is the fan in the hand of christ by which he parteth his wheat from the chaffe ; and whereby he maketh way for that great day of separation , in which the beleeuing sheep shal be separated from the rebellious and vnbeléeuing goates . againe , let it not be forgotten that the word in the right applying of it , is called a light which maketh all things manifest . when things lie his in the darknes , though they al differ each from other in colour , yet they séeme all ●o like ; but the light approching , the variety of colours is soone descried . so though men in the duskishnes of ignorance are reputed to be knit together in the vnitie of affection , yet when the bright beames of gods word breake in among them , the thoughts of many hearts be opened , and then you shall see diuers humors , and varietie of dispositions . by these things it appeareth , that if it be well vnderstood , diuision and tumult ( especially at the beginning and first entrie of it among an vntaught people ) must needes follow the soundnes of setled preaching ; though those that are reclaimed and brought to the knowledge of god , are al of one heart and of one soule , proceeding by one rule , minding one thing ; and endeuouring to keepe the vnitie of the spirit in the bond of peace . nymph . you haue ( thankes be to god ) at least to my iudgement , well quit your selfe against this sort of men . the next that you haue to do withall , are more dangerous , being such as paul saith , which do seeme wise in this world , and do both liue after a good ciuill fashion , and doe also make shew to be not altogether enemies vnto religion . they haue also some insight into the scripture , and are wont to reade it , and other good bookes priuately : onely this their resolution is to keepe a certaine temper in matters of religion , to carrie themselues in an allowable conformitie , and not to be ouerforward as many seeme to be , whose zeale they account rash and heady indiscretion . epaph. the daunger of this kind of people , is most of all in respect of themselues , becauss this , to be wise in a mans owne eies , and to feare god , cannot stand together ; otherwise for answering any thing that they are able to obiect , it is a matter of no such great difficulty : for the foolishnesse of god is wiser then men : and as waxe melteth before the fire , so shall their best framed conceipts vanish at the very name and presence of the scripture . nymph . i am glad you are so confident : for to tell you true , these things being as they are , very agreeing to mans reason , haue much troubled me , and i haue not vpon the sodaine knowne well what to answer , when in my presence these things haue bene vrged by such as are thought in the world to be men of good discretion . first then it is demaunded why preaching should be the most excellent meanes of spirituall instruction , and wherefore you should take so much vpon you , as that your speaking is able to saue mens soules : you be but men as others are , and it is but your pride , who because you would be thought some body , do thus endeuour to extoll the worth and necessitie of your profession . epaph. here is indéed a perillous argument , it sauoreth altogether of the sawcinesse of an ignorant and vnhumbled heart . it is come to a proper passe , when as the sonne of man , who dwelleth in a house of clay , whose foundation is in the dust , and which is but a worme , shall dare to talk so presumptuously , and so to set his mouth against heauen , as to aske of god a reason of his doings . is it not enough that the lord hath made it knowne vnto vs , that his will is by the foolishnes of preaching to saue those which beleeue ? o man , who art thou which pleadest against god ? and yet behold a reason , though this kind of men generally are wiser in their own conceit then seuen men that can render a reason ; and a man may haue more hope of a foole then of them . looke what reason there was , why the lord would haue the walles of iericho beaten downe , onely with the sound of rammes hornes , and with a shout : looke also why the lord would haue no more circumstance obserued , in the cleansing of leprous naaman but onely this , wash and be cleane ; the same is the reason why god hath sanctified the ministery of man to so excellent a worke , as is , the casting downe of the holds of sathan , and the gathering together of his saints . god vsed no engines of warre , no pollicies of men , in the ouerthrow of the walles of iericho , to the end the people might haue cause to say : this was the lords doing , and it is maruellous in our eyes . so likewise the prophet vsed so little ceremonie about naaman , that he might sée the finger of god in his recouerie . the same may be said of preaching ; the lord hath sanctified hearing to be the outward meanes to beget faith , and hath imparted to vs the treasure of his word in earthen vessels , to the end that the whole glorie of our conuersion may be his , and that he that reioyceth in the renewing of his mind , and the reclaiming of his soule , may reioyce in the lord , and acknowledge with humilitie , the excellencie of that power , which by so meane a meanes could bring so mightie things to passe . it is a generall rule , and holdeth in the whole course of our saluation , that gods power is made perfect ( that is , apparant and more conspicuous ) through weaknes . great is the pride and arrogancie of the heart of man ; and if it may find it selfe able , though but by a thought , to further and helpe forward it owne saluation , it prides it selfe foorthwith , and to it self secretly it more magnifieth the litle , which it imagineth to be in it own power , then all that which it receiueth frō the lord. for this cause , and for the preuention of this euill , god in his great wisedome , hath so caried the whole mysterie of godlines , from the first foundation of it in heauen , ( his election according to his foreknowledge ) vnto the last perfecting of it vntill the day of iesus christ , that when a man shall enter into a déepe consideration of it , and withall marke the order and progresse of his own conuersion , he may lay his hand vpon his mouth , and in the truth of his soule may say : not vnto me ô lord not vnto me , but vnto thy name giue the glory . this is the sum : the reason why the lord hath thought good to commend the hearing of a preacher and teacher , aboue other courses , for the calling of vs from the power of darknesse into the kingdome of his deare sonne , is , because it maketh most for the setting forth of gods glorie , which is the thing chiefly respected by him , and for which he made all things , euen to this very end , that all being of him , and through him , and for him , to him might be glorie for euer . if it were left vnto man by his owne wisedome to find out god in the wisedome of god , in the pride of his heart fearing his owne disparagement , he would neuer make choise of preaching , ( for we see how the world in the wisedom thereof doth euen scorne it ) but he would either drowne himselfe in the puddle of ignorance , as the most do , or else trust to his owne iudustrie , as many do , vpon whom this curse iustly falleth , that they become vain in their imaginations , and when they professe themselues wise , proue meere fooles , thinking they know much , but yet knowing nothing as they ought to know . if this reason cannot satisfie those , who wil néeds haue a reason of gods ordinance , i know not what will satisfie them . once i am sure , that as many as haue learned the first lesson of christianitie , to denie themselues , and to vnderstand according to sobrietie , they wil yeeld to this truth , and by yéelding , no doubt they shal haue comfort . now whereas we are thought to take too much vpon vs , so often as we endeuor to make knowne the worth and excellencie of our office , it is a méere slander : for i hope we haue learned to preach not our selues , but christ iesus , and to account our selues no more then the ministers by whom ye beleeue . we confesse the increase to be the lords : we leaue the purifying and opening of the heart onely to him . god forbid that we should dare ( as it were ) to encroch vpon the lords right , seeing we know that he is a iealous god and wil not giue his glory to another . this is our opinion of our selues herein , and if any man be so suspicious or so hardly conceited of vs , that he will not otherwise be perswaded , let him remember that loue thinketh not euill . and yet i must néeds adde this also , that so is the lord pleased to blesse the labors of painful ministers in his church , that he douchsafeth them the name of gods labourers , nay which is more , workers together with his grace , and sauers of them which heare them : the lord for the gracing and crediting of the instrument , and to preserue it from contempt , attributeth that to it , which is in his owne onely power to effect . tel me now , whether this answer doth in your opinion silence this grand obiection . nymph . a man would thinke , that this which you haue spoken , should stop their mouthes which are otherwise minded : but yet they do replie and say , that you doe much streighten the grace and power of god , and seeme as it were to tye the working of gods spirit ( which yet bloweth where it listeth ) to your tongues : as though without preaching , there were no saluation : whereby you seeme also to cut them cleane off from any hope of heauen , which either heretofore haue wanted , or now enioy not the common and ordinary vse of preaching . epaph. it is no wrong done vnto the grace of god , to limit it to those means , which god in his wisedome hath set apart for the conueyance thereof vnto vs. when paul was in his daungerous sea-voyage , in the night there stood by him the angell of god , saying , lo , god hath giuen vnto thee all that sayle with thee : yet notwithstanding , when as afterwards , the mariners were about to flie out of the ship , and had let downe the boate into the sea , purposely to make escape , paul said to the centurion and the souldiers : except these abide in the ship , ye cannot be safe . did paule herein streighten the almightie power of god , in saying , there could be no safetie without the staying of those mariners in the shippe ? was the lords hand shortened , that he could not deliuer , but by the skill & industrie of those men ? surely no : but , because paul knew , that god was not pleased otherwise to giue deliuerance : therefore he said that vnlesse the mariners taried , the company could not be preserued . the learned do thus distinguish of the power of god : it is an absolute power , by with he can do infinite things which he will not do : so iohn said of him , that he was able of the very stones to raise vp children vnto abraham . againe , it is an actuall or a working power , which he executeth in the gouerning of the world and the things therein : now when we speake of the power of god in this sense , it may be truly said , that he cannot vs that which he will doe . so touching preaching , we may say without any restraint of gods power , that except there be preaching men cannot be saued : not that god is tied to the voice of man , that without it he cannot saue ; but because the scripture hath reuealed to vs , that these things are linked together with an indissoluble knot , praying , faith , hearing , preaching , sending . there is no praying without faith , there is no faith but by hearing , there is no hearing to beget faith but of a preacher sent , that is furnished with gifts frō aboue , for the feeding of the flock of christ depending vpon him with knowledge and vnderstanding . if it shall be vrged ( as me thought you also touched it ) that we shal by this , preiudice them who haue either liued & died without preaching , or those who enioy it not now : i answer , that it is one thing what god can do where the meanes is wanting , another thing what he will doe where the means is supplied . when the people of israel were in the wildernesse , and were destitute of the vsual helpes of tillage , the lord gaue them bread from heauen to eate : but as soone as they came into the promised land the man ceased , neither had the children of israel man any more . euery man was then to fall to his worke , and not to hope by those extraordinary meanes to be releeued . to strengthen the faith of hezekiah , the lord sayd to him , thou shalt eate this yeare such as groweth of it selfe , and the second yeare such things as grow without sowing ; but in the third yeare , sow ye , and reape , and plant &c. he that ( those two yeeres being expired ) had trusted to the former courses , neglecting husbandry , out of al doubt he might haue bene starued : and yet before , he that had called gods power , to furnish them with foode without sowing into question , had bene worthy to be punished . in the beginning of the worlds creation , god for the manifesting of his owne power and glory , made light to be , & the earth to bud forth : before the sun ( which to vs is the fountaine of light , and the cherisher of the vital heat which is in all things ) was created : yet now god hauing established an orderly course , we cannot hope either for light in the ayre , or for life among the creatures vpon the earth without the sun. i do apply al these things thus : the want of the meanes of publicke preaching in former ages , could not be any hindrance vnto god in sauing those which he knew before , and who were ordained vnto eternall life . and i am out of doubt of it , that in the dayes of popery in this land , whē the key of knowledge was vtterly taken away ; and the law perished from the priest , counsell from the wise , and the word from the prophet ; so that if a man did wander from sea to sea , and did run to and fro from the north euen vnto the east to seeke the word of the lord , yet he could not find it . i say , i am cleere in it , that many then in that great darknes , did as the prouerbe is ) see day at a very litle hole , & very strāgely came to the knowledge of the truth , some by the sight of some parcels of scripture , some by the writings of good men , some by conference with others , though the same were both very seldom & very secret , some by knowing little more then the lords prayer in english , & yet had they the assurance of the truth of it , & felt that cōfort , & receiued the sweetnesse by it , that ( as the histories of the church make mention ) they were contēted to sacrifice their liues , & to spend their best blood to beare witnes vnto it : which the lord did , both that it might appeare to all ensuing ages , that he : ●ed a small remnant , euen as the shepheard taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs , or a peece of an eare : then when as the daugther of sion was become as sodome , and not much vnlike vnto gomor●h● and withal , that at the day of christs app●e●ng , when he shal consume that man of sin with the breath of his mouth , and abolish him with the brightnes of his coming , he may haue witnesses against him out of all ages , both of the deceiuablenesse of his superstitious doctrines , & of the cruelty of his tyrannous and bloody proceedings . that which i say touching the times of the egyptian darknes of popery , may be said also of many parte of the realme , which notwithstanding the long flourishing of the gospell in this land , yet i know not through whose default ) neuer enioyed the benefit & comfort of setled preaching : for though for the most part it be true , that where the lord hath much people , there he is not wāting to send some , who may continue with them , and teach the of god among them ; yet as he sometimes vouchsafeth a preacher to impudent and stif-necked children , who will not heare , to to that end , that in the day of vengeance they may know there hath bene a prophet among them : so also it pleaseth him by secret and hidden , yea and very vnlikely courses , to affoord vnto some hearts the blessing of inward conuersion , vppon whom he hath not bestowed the benefite of outward instruction by a preacher . but what then ? yet this remaineth cercertaine , that as when the good meanes is wanting , and cannot by any meanes be procured , the power and mercie of god must not be distrusted : so when the meanes is bestowed , his bountie cannot without great sin be despised . it is herein , as it is in the case of the sacraments : it is not simply the want of them ( when a man cannot , though faine he would , become partaker of them ) but the contempt which is damnable . as for example , if a father vnnecessarily deferre the baptisme of his child longer then the time appoynted by the order of the church , it is a sin in him , if the child die without baptisme : so likewise for a man vsually to turne is backe from the administration of the lords supper , making no reckoning of the cōfort offred therein , it is doubtlesse a fault , which god will not let to go away vnpunished . the same may be said of the word preached , if a man be depriued of it through a kind of vnauoydable necessitie , simply there is no preiudice to a mans saluation thereby , if so be these things be ioyned with it : first , that in this straite , the soule do pant after that great benefit of which it is depriued : secondly , that a man do both desire & require that one thing of the lord , euen to behold the beautie of the lord , namely the light of the glorious gospel of christ , which is the image of god : thirdly that he be careful to vse all such helps of reading the scripture , and of other godly treatises , and of conference with men of knowledge , as may possibly be procured . but if so be a man may by any meanes enioy the benefite and comfort of preaching , though it be with some both charge and trauell ; if then he carelesly neglect it , and trust to other meanes , no doubt the lord will curse those meanes vnto him , which for all that in their owne nature are good , and might profite , if they were not vsed with contempt of the principal . this is my iudgment touching this supposal , that by pressing the worth of preaching , we do confine as it were gods grace , and ●e it to our tongues , & do cut them short of al hope of saluation , which by any occasion haue liued or do liue without it . nymp. wel sir , this kind of men for all this is not satisfied , but being beaten by argument and scripture from one fond conceit , they forthwith ●un to another , and seek not so much how to make a direct reply , as to heape vp diuersity of obiections . and therfore when they haue said all they can , for the pressing of those particulars ▪ the vanity whereof you haue layed open to the full ; then ( hoping to obtaine that with multitude of words , which with waight of reasō they cannot . ) they wil needs know a reason why there may not be as much good gotten by their owne priuate reading in the bookes of the scripture , and in other good sermons and treatises which are set forth , as by hearing a preacher in the church . epaph. touching priuate reading of the scripture , i am so far from disliking it any way , that with that learned chrysostome i do alwayes exhort , and will not faile in stirring vp the people , that they should not onely diligently attend to matters spoken publikely , but endeuour themselues also to reade and peruse the scriptures priuatly . god forbid , i or any other of my profession , should maintaine that popish maxime , that the common vse of the scripture is the cause of all heresies , and not rather the contrary taught by christ , and seconded by the learned in gods church , namely , that the cause of all euill , whether it be error in iudgement , or corruption in manners , is the ignorance of the scripture . we might well reioyce in the happinesse of our times , if we might be occasioned by our peoples experience in the booke of god , to say as one said of o●d : you may ( saith he ) see commonly our opinions and rules of religion to be held and maintained not onely by the masters of the church and teachers of the people , but euen by smithes , and shoo makers , and husbandmen , and hedgers , and heard-men , yea and by women and seamsters : the comfort which we should take herein , should make vs litle to esteem the scoffes of ismaelitish papists , who obiect it to vs as a matter of disgrace , that we haue prophaned the scripture by making it common to artificers and women . now that which i say of the priuate reading of the scripture , i say also of the perusing of godly treatises , & sermons , & the like . i wish mens care in this kind encreased , and i know that thereby there commeth much comfort vnto gods people . but yet i dare not to ascribe that to priuate exercises , which by the doctrine of the scripture belongeth to the publike ministerie , namely the begetting of faith , and the gathering together of the saints of god into his church . i find in the holy historie , the teaching by the ministerie of man to be preferred before those things to which i suppose no man will dare to equal his owne priuate industry . when christ called paul from heauen , and paul demanded , lord what wilt thou that i do ? a man in reason would haue thought that there could haue bene no more excellent means for pauls instructiō , then if christ should haue discoursed to him with his owne mouth ; yet to maintaine the credit of gods ordinance , and to make knowne the blessing that followeth it , paul is commanded to depend vpon the ministery and direction of ananias . not much vnlike is that example of cornelius : it pleased god to send an angell vnto him , to testifie vnto him the remembrance of his almes and prayers with the lord : why then did not the same angell proceed to instruct him in the mystery of christ ? what credite would the words of so glorious a creature haue caried ? saith flesh & bloud : and yet the lord in his wisedom thought it the most fitting course to put ouer cornelius to the ministery of peter , ( send mē to ioppa & cal for simon ; he shall tel thee what thou oughtest to do : ) to the end that it might appeare , that it pleaseth him to vse mans voice as his instrument , and to tie our faith vnto it . shall any man dare to put his owne priuate courses of reading into the ballance with publike preaching , when as it hath seemed good to the wisedome of god to preferre it ( in regard of mans vse ) before the immediate teaching of christ , or the instruction of an angell ? christ a litle before his death , among other things whereby he endeuored to comfort the harts of his disciples , deliuered to them this promise , verily , verily , i say vnto you , he that beleeueth in me , the workes that i do he shal do also , and greater then these shal he do . it was a promise made vnto the whole church , neither peculiar to the apostles , nor common to euery christian . if any man demaund what be these greater workes , which shall be done by men , which christ did not : i confesse with the learned , that it was in part verified in the myracles of the apostles ; as namely in that of peter , who cured the diseased with his shadow , which may be thought greater then that of christ , who healed with the touch of his garment : yet thereby was chiefly meant the conuersion of the world , by the preaching of the gosspell , to which it pleased our sauior to depute his apostles and their successors : a worke indeed far greater then any of those myracles which he wrought here vpon earth by his owne immediate power . his worke it is , i confesse , the conuersion of sinners , ( for neither is he that planteth any thing , neither he that watereth ) yet he thought it most agréeing to mans infirmitie and weaknesse , and the best meanes both for the furtherance of his owne glory , and the triall of our obedience , to put men in the seruice of his church , that they might pray the people in christs sted to be reconciled vnto god. who then can without great presumption , & no lesse contempt of gods maiesty , rely vpon any other meanes for his spirituall edification , when as the lord hath thought it meeter to put his words in the mouth of a man and to be with it , thē to speake from heauen by an immediate voice , or to employ those ministring spirits in that seruice , which notwithstanding are sent forth for their takes which shall be heires of saluation ? great is the benefite of priuate reading , especially of the bookes of holy scripture : but yet as giuing at endance to reading in a minister , is to make him the better able to discharge his publike dutie , in exhortation and doctrine : so the chiefe end of priuate searching the scripture by priuate mē , is in respect of the publike ministery , that before hand they may be prepared to it , & afterwards may the better know how to profit by it : for the former of these two ( namely preparation by reading to the publike hearing ) ; it is a fit saying of chrysostome : we do ( sayth he ) oftentimes tell you before hand , the text whereof our purpose is to entreate , that in the meane while you ( taking your booke , and weighing the summe and state of the place ) may make your minds fitter to receiue those points which shal after be deliuered . as indéed the ignorance of the people in the language of the scripture , and the generall course & story of the bible maketh preaching to be much lesse profitable vnto them . now for the latter , to wit , the vse of priuat reading for profite after hearing , we haue that memorable example of those worthy gentlemen of berea , who hearing the apostles preach , and receiuing the word with all readinesse , searched the scriptures dayly whether those things were so . nymph . why , but ( may it be said ) is not the scripture the ground and foundation of all your doctrine ; and are you able to say more or to speake better then many both auncient and later learned men , whose excellent sermons are put in print , and whose godly treatises are extant for the benefite and comfort of gods people ? epaph. if we preach vnto you any other doctrine then that which the scripture will allow , we are worthy of pauls curse ; we know and confesse the bible to be the most exact rule , and square , and canon , by which all our sermons must be tried : we acknowledge also that holy mē which haue written touching matters of religion , and haue published their wel labored , & zealously deliuered sermons , haue ( many of them ) set downe the truth of god soundly , and bene the meanes of much comfort to well affected people : but yet , though the doctrine be the same in substance , that is read priuately , & which is publikely deliuered , yet the like fruite cannot follow vpon both . if you demaund a reason , i can giue no better then that which christ gaue of gods reuealing those things to babes , which he hid from the wise and prudent , euen so it is , because the lord his good pleasure is such . when the people of israel were in their iourney to canaan , and were fed with bread from heauen : we read that if vpon the week dayes any man had reserued of the manna til the morning , it was full of wormes and stanke ; but being kept the day before the sabbaoth vntill morning , it stanke not , neither was there any worme therein . i would faine sée who could giue me any other reason , why the manna should at the one time corrupt , at the other continue swéete , but onely this : god shewed his power in preseruing it at the one time , because it was his own ordinance for the better sanctifying the sabbaoth , and he shewed his iustice in rotting it at the other time , because he had forbidden it , to teach them to depend vpō his prouidence . after the same sort , one man he taking himselfe to be a wise man , & thinking himselfe to be as able to draw good matter out of the books of the scripture , and other writings , as the best preacher of them all , either contemneth or else neglecteth the publike ministery . another , he in obedience to gods commaundement , vvatcheth dayly at the gates of the lords house , and giueth attendance at the postes of his doores , framing all his priuate readings and meditations to the fitting of himselfe for the assembly exercises . you will aske me , why should the knowledge of the former rot ( as it were ) and putrifie , and become nothing worth , he being a man of good capacitie and vnderstanding , & reading none but sound authors : and the other thriue in knowledge and in the power of godlines , that yet for all that learneth no other doctrine then he findeth in his good bookes at home ? i might happily , but verily for mine owne part i will seeke no other answer but this : god hath promised to blesse the latter course , saying , if thou cause thine eares to hearken vnto wisedome , and incline thine heart to vnderstanding ; then thou shalt vnderstand the feare of the lord , and find the knowledge of god. but for the other , because it is a course of mans owne deuising , sauouring of inward pride , therefore the lord turneth it ( as hee doeth all humane wisedome ) into foolishnes : so that the knowledge so gotten ( i meane by another by-way , & not by that old trodē path of hearing ) either becometh as the apostle speaketh , vaine iangling , or els if it be sound , in regard of the apprehension of truth , yet it swimmeth onely in the braine , and neuer worketh to the renewing and seasoning of the heart . nymph . there is yet one thing more touching this conceit which men haue , to game more by their owne priuate courses then by the publike ministery , and that is this : men that write , write with great deliberation and aduice ; as for you when you preach , you speake many times at aduenture , and nothing so iudicially as do those who commit things to writing . besides that , many of you are but nouices and yong schollers , whom s. paul seemeth not so well to approue of . and for these causes , as they must needs be iealous of your iudgement in many things , so neither can they receiue that profit by your preaching , as they may by priuate reading . epaph. alas , a poore excuse : it is true , if men write as they ought , they write with iudgement and heedfulnesse : and so do they also preach with good aduice , who haue learned to feare him , that hath said , cursed be he which doeth the worke of the lord negligently . i will not go about to patronise the negligence and carelesnesse of any man : i wish we would all studie to shew our selues approued vnto god , workemen that neede not be ashamed , diuiding the word of god aright : that so when the fire shall trie euery mans worke of what sort it is , ours may abide . yet this i will say , that if you compare like with like , that is , sound writers with sound preachers , you shall find the sermons of the one framed with as good iudgement , as the bookes and writings of the other . and if that be a commendation ( as i see no reason but it should ) for a mans labors to smell of the candle , no doubt you shall perceiue euen the ordinarie exercises of painefull and conscionable preachers to sauour of as much art and industrie , as the treatises of your most iudicious and grauest writers . neuerthelesse , because as the scripture sayth , in many things we slippe all , both preachers and writers , both readers of bookes and hearers of sermons , therefore there is a necessitie of care and iudgement in those that seeke to reape benefite by other mens labours , that like bées they may sucke out the best and sweetest , and most wholesome doctrine from them both . now for the youth of many ministers , which men ( as you say ) pleade , and seeme also to ground their conceit vpon the scripture : i answer : first , that it is greatly to be lamented to sée the ouerforwardnesse of many young men , who not considering the weight of that holy calling , do sodainly thrust themselues into it , and vndertake ( as the saying is ) to teach others , before they themselues are well instructed ; so that i do verily thinke , there are not at this day more nouices and punies of any profession , then there are of the ministerie . and for the preuenting of this euill , were those decrees of the auncient councels , which set downe a certaine age , before which a man was not to be admitted to the office of a minister or bishop in the church . secondly , i adde this withall , that the graces of god are not to be limited to any age . it was a good distinction of the heathen man , betwixt a yong man in yeares , and a yong man in conditions : it is not méete that yong men should say with elihu , the dayes shall speake , and the multitude of yeares shall teach wisedome . and yet it must be remembred which is also there noted , that it is the inspiration of the almightie which giueth vnderstanding , and that the aged doe not alway vnderstand iudgement . young dauid by the studie of gods word , may come to vnderstand more then the auncient . paul biddeth timothy that no man should despise his youth . if we shall distinguish the age of man , according as some philosophers did , then timothy could not be aboue fiue and twentie when paul so wrote vnto him . touching the place it selfe ( that a bishop must not be a young scholler ) it must not be vnderstood of a yong man in yeares , but of one lately conuerted to the christian faith , and newly planted in the church . timothy liued in asia , and therefore was necessarily to furnish the church out of gentilisme : for this cause paul aduiseth him to make choise of such as were setled in the doctrine of christianitie , and not to aduaunce men to the dignitie of a bishop by and by after their conuersion . so that , howsoeuer i confesse that maturitie of yeares is yet to be respected in a minister , because in the ordinary course it is accompanied with ripenesse of iudgement , yet neither doeth that place of the apostle prescribe a law for the debarring of young men from the ministery , neither doeth any place of scripture disable that age , or make it vncapable of the ministery , so that it be graced with gifts sufficient for so excellent a function . and this i thinke may be answer full enough to this obiection . nymp. what exception these wise men will make against this your answer , i know not ; you haue resolued me to the full : and concerning yong ministers , i heard once an acquaintance of mine , who was brought vp in the vniuersitie , say , that he knew many schollers in his time , that when they were yong and fresh , were of very great hope , and were also very zealous , and had a good gift in preaching , who notwithstanding in time grew cold , and lesse able for gifts , both of iudgement and zeale , and vtterance to do good in gods church : but these points i will not mell with , onely your discourse brought that into my mind which i heard a friend of mine say a good while since . i must craue your iudgement yet a litle further , touching these men ; besides al these pretended reasons , they stand much vpon two things , which flesh and bloud doth well approue of : one is , that few of the great men of the world do esteeme preaching ; the other is , that it is not wisedome for a man in matters of religion to be too forward . what say you to this ? epaph. i say , it is a hard matter for those men to come to amendment out of the snare of the diuell , which are taken of him at his will : and we had néede to beg of that god , who commaunded the light to shine out of darknesse , that he would shine in our hearts , to giue the light of his knowledge : for if a man be once entangled in error , sathan hath so many deuises to hold him in , that it is a hard matter for him to get from him : yet if men haue any grace , or wil yeeld to any reasō , they may soone sée the vanitie of these perswasions , as i wil briefly declare vnto you . in the former there are two things to be noted : first , that if the practise of men were a sufficient rule in matters of religion , there are ( thankes be to god ) many honorable personages , many nobles , many gentlemen , many of good note for worldly respects , who do vnfainedly reuerence and heartily embrace the preaching of gods word , and no doubt it is vnto them the ioy ▪ and reioycing of their hearts , and they estéeme of it to be euen as it is , the power of god vnto saluation : so that if the approbation of men were a reason of force , it is not wanting vnto preaching : but as god hath a people out of all , so that also hath friends and fauourers among all . secondly , suppose that this course of preaching were vtterly despised , and all the great wise men of the world did euen scorne it , and tread it vnder their feete , yet this were a poore argument , vnlesse we will say , it was a good reason which they vsed against christ , doeth any of the rulers or of the pharisees beleeue in him ? the best things haue not commonly the most voices , and many times according to the prouerbe , the greater part is too hard for the better part . there was a voyce put vp for making a golden calfe , and there was not one against it . there was a voyce , what should be done with iesus , and all cryed , crucifie him . another was , whether god should be god , or baal should be god : and none held with god but eliah . s. augustine saith , that the church was sometimes in one abel , and in one enoch : god forbid we should be in the number of those , who define the church by the multitude ; we are content to leaue that absurditie to the papists : we know that christs flocke is a little flocke ; and we must endeuor to grow to that resolution , to say , lord , though that all men should be offended by thee , yet will i neuer be offended . now for that other perswasion , that it is not good to be too eager in matters of religion , i know it to be the common perswasion of a great many : but yet this is a sure rule , that that man who thinketh himselfe to haue knowledge , and zeale , and religion enough , the same hath no knowledge , no zeale , no religion at all . for wheresoeuer the graces of god are in truth , there is ( in regard of the sweetnesse which a man findeth in them ) a forgetting that which is behind , and an endeuouring a mans selfe to that which is before , grieuing more for that which is yet wanting , then reioycing in that which already is attained . in the parable of the talents , it is said , that from him that hath not , euen that he hath shall be taken away : but in another of the gospels it is said , from him shall be taken euen that which it seemeth that he hath . so that it is but a conceit and opinion of grace , where there is no desire to increase in grace . it is a good saying , when a man is come to that passe that he hath no desire to be better , then he quite leaueth off to be good . and therfore men do but deceiue themselues , in neglecting the benefit of preaching , vpon a conceit , that it is best to keepe a temper in matters of religion , and to content themselues with a certaine portion of knowledge , and with a set measure of zeale , and neuer to proceede further ; for we must desire the sincere milke of the word , that we may grow thereby . and indéed if so be that we haue tasted how bountifull the lord is , we shall neuer be able to satisfie our selues , either in the laboring after knowledge in religion , or in the zealous profession and practise of religion . nymph . now that you speake of being too forward and precise in matters of religion , it putteth me in mind of a saying of salomons , which i well vnderstand not , be not thou ( saith he ) iust ouermuch . it may seeme to agree with their opinion , which would not haue men to be too straite , as they call it . epaph. it is a good rule of the learned , that for the finding out the true meaning of a place of scripture , we must consider what goeth before , and what followeth : this rule obserued will soone cleare this place . in the verse going before , salomon had spoken of the confusion ( as may seeme ) which is in the world : there is ( saith he ) a iust man that perisheth in his iustice , and there is a wicked man that continueth long in his malice . now to represse the rash headinesse of mans disposition , which is ready to censure gods courses at pleasure , the wise man addeth this , be not thou iust ouermuch ; that is , beware thou take not vpon thée , vnder pretence of iustice , to charge these courses of gods prouidence with iniustice . it was an error we know , that dauid by his owne confession had welneare fallen into . and ieremy the prophet , craued leaue of god that he might talke with him of his iudgement : he could hardly at the first satisfie himselfe in it , how god could be iust , and yet suffer them to be in wealth that rebelliously transgresse . this taxing of gods procéedings in the gouerning of the world , is ( i take it ) chiefly forbidden in this precept , be not iust ouermuch : and this to my seeming is the meaning of that place : howsoeuer it be taken ( as i know some otherwise interprete it ) yet i am sure it condemneth not that warie and zealous course in the practise of religion , which though the world is pleased to call ouerholinesse , yet i am well aduised the scripture vrgeth , bidding vs to walke circumspectly or exactly , and by a rule , and to abstaine from all appearance of euill . nymph . the lord in his mercie enable vs so to do : for surely the wicked and vngodly , as they are bold in euill , so that the very triall of their countenance testifieth against them , so also they do adde drunkennesse to thirst , labouring to grow to a kind of perfection in vngodlinesse . and therefore great shame shall it be for vs , who professe to know god , to waxe cold and faint hearted , and timorous in the duties of pietie , and not to striue rather to go from strength to strength , and to increase in holines , as fast as prophane godlesse men thriue in iniquitie . i haue hitherto ( as farre as my experience in obseruing , and my memorie in recounting hath enabled me ) propounded vnto you the seuerall obiections against preaching , vrged ordinarily by three sorts of men ; the grossely ignorant , the wretchedly prophane , and the worldly wise ; and you haue ( i thanke you ) opened vnto me the blindnesse of the first , the vilenesse of the second , and the vanitie of the last . the contentment that i haue receiued by your discourse hitherto , maketh me to presume further vpon you , and to request your patience in hearing , and your skill in resoluing some exceptions made by a fourth sort of men : last in order , but not least in argument , because they are by education learned , and by profession ( some of them ) ministers and preachers , and yet do not altogether fauour those courses of preaching , which some do magnifie so exceedingly . epaph. neighbor ( to say nothing of my dutie ) i am bound by my promise to endeuor to satisfie you : and howsoeuer i am of hieroms mind , & am vnwilling to oppose my self against any learned men of mine owne profession , least i should séeme desirous of contention : yet because the truth is to be preferred before all other respects , and to giue titles is a thing so dangerous , therefore i will forget all things which might hinder me in frée speaking that which in my conscience i am verily perswaded is the truth , and wil set before me only the glory of god , and the common good and benefite of his church . nymph . being then assured of your readinesse , i will tell you what i haue marked partly out of the speeches , partly out of the sermons of some that are reputed learned men : i am no scholler , and therfore you must not expect any precise order at my hands ; yet to my seeming their exceptions are either against preaching it selfe , or against the maner of it , as by some it is performed . epaph. your methode is good enough : but do you know any professing the ministery , which do vtterly mislike and disallow preaching ? nymph . i do not say so : for they who are the most eager in this matter , if you fall to reasoning with them , cannot for shame but say , that preaching is the most ordinary and vsuall meanes which god vseth to worke by in the hearts of the hearers : and againe , that preaching doeth profite more then reading . and yet for al that , in their ordinarie discourse they make knowne their opinion thus , that the word of god is as effectuall when it is read , as when it is preached , and that reading is preaching . epaph. certainly i cannot but maruell , that men of learning and professed diuines , should vndertake the maintenance of such an opinion , yea though it were but for their credits sake : for put this case , that in the vacancie of an ecclesiasticall preferment , there were ioynt suters for it , a man of note & quality , that hath spent many yéeres in study , and runne through the whole circle of sciences , and is graced also with degrees of schooles , the testimonie of his desert : and another , an ordinary fellow , that hath had but reasonable breeding , and no seasoning but in a countrey schoole , and therefore is able to do little perhaps saue onely reade faire , and go by his rubricke : thinke you that your vniuersitie scholler would not think himself greatly wronged , and grow into a maruellous discontentment if that other should be preferred before him ? yes doubtlesse : he would renew that old complaint of salomons , and say , folly is set in great excellencie , i haue seene seruants on horses , and princes walking as seruants on the groūd . he would say , it were enough for such a one as he , if he were appointed to some lower office in the church , where he might ca●e a morsel of bread : and that if he were so well prouided for , as was michah his leuite , with ten shekels of siluer by the yeare , and a sute of apparell , and his meate and drinke , surely then he were as well preferred as he deserueth . like to these , would be the priuy thoughts of a wel deseruing scholler , being disappointed of his hoped preferment , by so vnworthy a competitor . and for mine owne part , i thinke him to haue very iust cause so to complaine . but yet this being held for a truth , that reading is as effectuall as preaching , and that an ordinary man may doe as much good , saue as many soules , draw as great a multitude to heauen with his distinct reading , as the other with al his vniuersitie learning and long labored for diuinitie , surely then the scholler hath no reason to thinke him self wronged in missing his preferment : for why should there be a disparitie in reward , where there is no great precedēce in respect of the possibilitie to do good in gods church ? so that i say , me thinks if it were for no other cause , yet men of learning and preachers by profession , should neuer go about to equal bare and naked reading vnto preaching . nymph . this may perhappes be some reason in policie ; but i hope you haue some better proofe then this for the matter : otherwise i know what the world will say , ( euen that which it spareth not to speake alreadie ) that you preachers are so earnest in the extolling of preaching , onely for your owne priuate credites sake , that you may be the better esteemed . epaph. god be thanked , variety of sufficient proofes is not wanting in this cause ; but yet this i thought good to obserue , as it were by the way , to the end that men ( who it may be haue a good opinion of their owne well deseruing ) may see what an inconuenience is like to follow by the defence of such an opinion . nymph . i am very desirous to heare what may be said in this case touching the comparison that is made betwixt reading and preaching , and therefore i do euen long til you come vnto it . epaph. well then ( to cut off all preambles and vnnecessary circumstances ) for this point touching the efficacy of preaching aboue reading , i will stand vpon two reasons chiefly : the one is experience , the other is gods ordinance , who hath appointed the abilitie to preach , as a matter of necessity in euery one that is called to the ministery . experience is sometimes called the mistresse of fooles , but by it in this point wise men may learne a good lesson : first of all , if there be a view taken of all the places & parishes where there hath bene onely reading , and of those which haue bene furnished with a setled preaching minister , whose care hath bene to diuide the word of truth aright : the different estate of the places wil soone make known the worth of preaching aboue reading : for looke into those who haue euer rested themselues satisfied with a reading minister , neither séeking nor caring for better meanes of instruction , and you shall find generally wofull ignorance , lamentable blindnesse in the matters of god , men altogether childrē in vnderstanding , popish , superstitious , heathenish , in one word , to speake with the apostle , walking in the vanitie of their mind , hauing their cogitation darkned , and being strangers from the life of god through the ignorance that is in them , because of the hardnes of their hearts . this is the generall condition of such places . but looke againe to those , who haue bene taught in the word , & haue made conscience to profit by the good meanes wherewith god hath blessed them , there shall you see the seale of the ministerie , euen the conuersion of soules , comfortable knowledge & conscionable cariage , the lords saboth sanctified , his word accounted precious , the sacraments reuerently vsed , priuate families trained vp in instruction and informatiō of the lord , & euen a very church in euery house . i know indéede that there are many good people dwelling in parishes wanting preaching , and many ignorant and vngodly ones in places well furnished with teaching , but yet let these circumstances noted by me be remēbred , of resting wel enough satisfied with bare reading , and of reioycing in the benefite of an able preacher , & then it wil be found true which i haue said , and be a sufficient testimony of the power of preaching aboue reading . secondly , whereas the scripture is a witnes of the bad opinion which the world will haue of the ministery of the word , assuring them that are called to that office , that the faithfull discharge of their duty shal be rewarded with affliction , with hatred , with all maner of euill sayings ; let any man examine his owne obseruation , and sée in which of the two , the reader or the preacher , this is best verified . it is an old saying , that by the market folkes you shall vnderstand how the market goeth . take me therefore a common man whom you méet by chance & question with him touching the place where he dwelleth , & about his minister ; if he be but a reader , you shall haue him say straite , truly we haue a good honest quiet man , mary indeed he cānot preach , but he liueth peaceably , & medleth with no mā , & is very wel beloued amongst vs ; for why , he is a fellow like man , &c : but put case the minister be a painful preacher , one that seeketh to draw the people from their godlesse and superstitious courses , to the knowledge of god , then you shall heare him in another tune ; he wil say thē , there we haue a man , some say he is learned , but sure i am he hath troubled vs all , a good many of vs wish he had neuer come amongst vs , we were all quiet before , but now all is out of frame , there is such reprouing & finding of fault , & bringing vp of new fashions & orders , that we know not what to do , some of the best of our parish will do what they can to remoue him : these & the like are the thoughts and speeches of no small many , and the same no fooles in the eyes of the world , who do indeed iustifie preaching by condemning it , & shew it to be the power of god by resisting it . thirdly , for one other specialty drawn frō experience : i wil appeale vnto mens cōsciēces , whether they be such as feare god or otherwise . they which feare god , & tremble at his words , & do in humility desire to know the secret of the lord , cānot but acknowledge , that they do much more increase both in the knowledge of the truth , which is according to godlinesse , & in the power of godlinesse , do find their iudgements better strengthened , their faith more confirmed , their consciences more wrought vpon , & their affections more quickened by the word when it is effectually preached & applied , then when it is but only read vnto them . and no maruell , for indeed it cannot be , that a briefe clause of holy scripture , wherin in a short tenor of words ( such is the riches of the sacred text ) many particulars are comprised , being onely read , should profit so much , as if by preaching it were expounded , and according to occasions applied vnto gods people . if a mā ( saith the heathen orator ) come into a wardrobe , where many rich garments are folded vp together in a narrow roome , it cannot so satisfie him , as if the same might seuerally be layed forth to his view , time being graunted to take notice of euery particular ; because being lapped vp , he cannot see the whole beautie , and being together , he is not able to obserue euery specialty : euen so it fareth with the scriptures : if a man heare them read , it cannot but draw him to admire the maiesty and riches of them , and it wil cast some glimmering light vpō the vnderstanding : but when he heareth them laid open by preaching , it will much more astonish him , it wil euen rauish him as it were , casting a cleerer light vpon his iudgement , & working more mightily vpon his affections . this truth , al which truly feare god are able to iustifie out of their own experiēce . now for others , i know they also must yéeld to this , that they find the word being vrged and pressed by preaching , to be far more powerful , more piercing , more maiesticall , more awaking the conscience , more entring through euen vnto the diuiding asunder of the soule & the spirit , more discerning the thoughts and the intents of the hart : and this is my first reasō fetched frō experience , against which there can be no disputing : for it is in vain to go about to perswade a man that the thing is not so , with he by obseruatiō hath stil foūd to be so . nymph . i haue wel marked your speech , & duly considered the course of your argument : and as i am wel strengthened by it in that good opiniō which i haue alwaies had of preaching , so i am glad of one thing which i obserued in your discourse , namely that you seem not altogether to condemne reading , nor to desire the banishing of it out of the church . i can tell you , it is commonly said that you and others such as you are , do mislike the reading of the scriptures . epaph. god forbid that i or any man should hold so grosse an error , as to condemne a course of that antiquitie : moses was read in the synagogue euery sabboth day ; & there was the lecture of the law & prophets . and our sauior christ coming into the synagogue on the saboth day , stood vp to reade . and for mine owne part , i agrée to the opiniō of a learned man of our later times , that reading of the holy scriptures in the congregation is good , to that end , that the phrase & maner of speaking of the scripture , & the scripture it self might be more knowne & more familiar to the people : and i confesse also with him , that by that meanes the iudgment of the people is confirmed in al points of religiō , so that thereby they are made able to iudge of the interpretation of the scriptures , & of the doctrine taught them by their own teachers or others : all this i willingly acknowledge . and howsoeuer mē are disposed to interpret it , yet that which is spokē in the praise of preaching , tendeth rather to the countenancing then to the disgrace of reading : for he who obserueth it shall find , that none in priuate examine the scripture more carefully , none in publike hear it read more respectiuely , then those whō preaching hath taught to see the excellency of gods word , & the worth of the scripture . nymphas . you haue done very well to make knowne your iudgement touching the reading of the scripture ; for the conceit that you think basely of the word read , is a great preiudice to you in many places , and in many mens opinions . if it please you , come now i pray you to your secōd reason . epap . the second reason which i haue for the maintaining the efficacy of preaching aboue reading , is grounded vpon the abilitie to preach , which the lord requireth in euery minister . for this being taken for graunted , that the lord would both in the riches of his loue , and the depth of his wisdome set downe that course which should be most for the behoofe of his church : it must néeds follow that if he haue not thought it sufficient for a minister to be able to reade , but to performe some further dutie of instructing , then surely there is something more in preaching then in reading , and more profite like to folllow by opening the text , then by bare propounding it . nymph . your reason is good , if you be able to proue it ; for it seemeth to some a hard doctrine , to say that god requireth euery minister in the church to be able to preach , and therefore i wish you may be able to make it good . epaph. how hard soeuer and incredible it may séeme to some , yet i doubt not but to proue it , especially if we will be content to stand to the iudgement of the scripture , and to that sure word , as s. peter calleth it ; endeuouring by a reuerent kind of examination , to search out the secret and hidden meaning of gods spirit . and first of all , i will place in the front as it were of this proofe , that worthy place in the tenth chapter of the epistle to the romanes , how shall they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard , and how shall they heare without a preacher , and how shall they preach except they be sent ? the summe of the place is this : that the hearing of a preacher which is sent , is the ordinary meanes ordained of god to beget faith . from thence ariseth another point : that he whose ministery must be the meanes and instrument to beget faith , must be a man sent ; for how can they preach except they be sent ? onely that man is a preacher , which is sent . now if we shall examine what it is to be sent , it will appeare to be true , that a sufficient minister to cal gods people , must be a man of better qualitie then a bare reader of the scripture . to be sent therefore is this , to be appointed and deputed of god , and ( as the lord speaketh of ieremie ) sanctified , or ( as paul sayeth of himselfe ) put apart to that seruice . were it not now a presumptuous and ouerbold imputation of a certaine dissolute carelesnes vnto the wisest and most prouident god , to say or thinke that he would put any man in his seruice , for the worke of the ministery , vnlesse the same were so gifted and qualified , as is méete for the discharge of so weighty a businesse ? salomon sayth , that he that sendeth a message by the hand of a foole ( that is , of a man vnable to deliuer the tenor of his message , and to open it to him to whom it is sent ) is as he that cutteh off the feete . it is as if he should bid a man go , and yet chop off his feete wherewith he should trauel . a prince purposing an ambassage to another prince , thinketh it not enough that the man whom he wil employ in that seruice , be able to cary his errand written in a paper , and faithfully to deliuer it according to directions ( for that euery ordinary currer and common post may do ) but he maketh choise of one that hath had the best bréeding , a man of good vnderstanding , of good discourse , of good behauior , and of no lesse discretion , who is in these respects able to debate and manage those great affaires , as may be most for the behoofe and honorable aduantage of him that sendeth him . shall we thinke god to be lesse carefull for the businesse of his church , then earthly princes be for their state causes ? shall a man of the best qualitie be sought out for the carying of a message from one man to another ? and shall one of the meanest sufficiency haue the ministery of reconciliation betwixt god and man giuen vnto him ? god forbid . let all these things then be put together : first , that he whose ministery shall be the means to breed faith , is a man sent , which the text auoucheth . secondly , that to be sent , is to be gifted in that measure , as is agréeing to the waight of so great a calling , which cōmō sense will not suffer vs to deny . thirdly , that to be able only to reade the scripture , is a common gift , and a facultie of no great note , which euery man wel knoweth . let these things i say be put together , and you shall find them as a threefold cord , not easily broken , building vp and strengthening this truth , that the man not graced with any more then the power to reade , is not the minister appointed by god for the working of faith in the hearts of his people . againe , to presse this place yet further , this is the constant doctrine of the scripture , that no minister can haue comfort in the day of the lord , but onely he who is able to say with ieremie , i haue not thrust my self in for a pastor . for wo shall be vnto those of whom the lord shall say , i haue not sent these prophets , yet they ran . so that it standeth euery man vpon , who desireth that worthy worke , the office of an ouerseer in gods church , to be wel assured of his calling , least in the day of suruey it be said vnto him as was said vnto the guest without the wedding garmēt , friend how camest thou hither ? or as to the wicked in the psalm , what hast thou to do to declare mine ordinances , that thou shouldest take my couenant in thy mouth ? now , by what meanes can a man know himselfe to be sent and called of god to the seruice of his church ? there is no reuelation to be looked for , neither is it to be expected that god should call by some immediate voyce , as he did that prophets , or as he did paul : & yet there is a meanes and course as certaine herein , as if the lord should say directly by a voyce sounding in our eares , go , behold haue not i sent thee ? it is in this matter , as it is in that of election . a man that is carefull ( according to the rule of the holy ghost ) to make his calling and election sure , must not presume to search the vnsearchable counsels of god , neither yet waite for some speciall intelligence from heauen , but he must enter into his owne heart , and rise vp by degrees from the fruites of sanctification to his being iustified , from iustification to his effectual calling , from thence to election , and from all these conclude eternall glorificatiō in gods kingdome : this is a sure course , to be led by the streames vp to the well head . not much vnlike is the course in iudging of a mans calling to the ministery . i may in some sort apply the spéech of paul in another case to this purpose : say not thou that affectest the ministery , who shall ascend vp into heauen , to assure mée what is gods purpose touching mée : for there is another way , the testimonie of thy being sent ( if thou art sent ) is neare thee , euen in thy mouth , and in thy heart . inquiry must be made by a man in this behalfe , in what measure god hath fitted him to be a minister of the new testament . now may a man with a safe conscience , or with any good ground make himselfe beléeue that god hath sent him , and called him to the ministery , because he is able to reade distinctly the text of holy scripture ? can this one facultie be a sufficient testimonie to a mans owne soule , that he is one of the appointed labourers for gods haruest ? shall a man aduenture to vndertake the cure and care of soules vppon so slender preparation ? surely ( for as much as i can conceiue ) the doctrine of the scripture , describing the office of a minister , is against it . this vse i haue made of this place : the summe is this : the ordinary meanes to beget faith , is the hearing of a preacher sent , that is , so furnished with gifts sutable to his calling , that both in respect of the tenor of his message , and his abilitie , to manifest the riches of the glorious mysterie of christ , his very feete may deserue to be called beautifull : but neither is bare reading to be numbred among those gifts which might argue a man to be sent , neither is it safe for any man to aduenture vpon no better sufficiencie . therefore there is more required in him who must be heard for the breeding of faith , then the naked facultie of deliuering to the people out of a booke the letter of the scripture . nymph . but by your leaue sir , that which you speake touching sending , i feare me how it will be well taken : for hath not the church the power of sending and calling to the ministery ? if then a man able onely to reade the scripture , be by the church appointed to that office , is not that a suffient warrant to him in this case ? epaph. the calling by the church , i acknowledge to be so necessary , that without it ( a setled forme of church gouernement being established ) no man is to be reputed a lawfull minister , though he be otherwise of neuer so great sufficiencie . god i know calleth men extraordinarily sometimes , as namely , in the first founding & planting of the church : so were the apostles and euangelists called : and when the church of god is defaced , & an vniuersall apostasie spread ouer it ; so it is thought they were called who restored the sinceritie of religion , after the long night of popery . but this extraordinary kind of calling neuer taketh place but when ordinary calling faileth . now though the calling and allowance of the church is necessary , yet it is not sufficient to the being of a minister . the office of the church is onely to approue , it is god that maketh a minister . and therefore the church is tied to a law , to lay hands sodainly vpon no man , but to proue first , and to vse a very precise examinatiō before they separate any mā to the office of a minister . the churches duty is to search out what men the lord hath chosen , to take a part in the ministration . i know there may be an error committed herein , and men in their choises and elections may be deceiued . it fareth many times with the gouernors of the church , as it did with ioab in the campe . when absolom was slain , & the army of those which ioyned with him in the conspiracie was ouerthrowne , ioab was purposed by a messenger to informe dauid of the successe of the battel : hereupon one ahimaaz offered himselfe to be the carier of tidings : ioab put him backe , taking another , one cushi to be the fitter for that seruice . ahimaaz notwithstanding continued to importune ioab , what ( i pray thee ) if i run also after cushi ? and againe , yet what if i runne ? and neuer left vntil he had obtained licence to run also . hauing gotten this leaue to run , he ran by the way of the plaine and ouer-went cushi , and came first to dauid , and made wise , as if he could haue told great tidings . but when the king came to particulars , then he was silent , i saw a great tumult , but i knew not what . the case so standeth many times in the church . the spiritual ioabs , the leaders of gods people , intend perhaps to send none but cushies , men of whose faithfulnesse and sufficiencie they haue good experience : but yet happely some ahimaaz or other , some that might well stay to beare tidings another time , steppeth in and putteth forward himselfe , and by importunitie purchaseth that which otherwise desert could not obtaine , and so runneth by the way of the plaine ( that common and too much troden path of symony ) and ouergoeth the worthier ; and being first come into the face of gods church , séemeth to be able to bring out of his treasure , things both old and new . but if you grow with him into particulars , you shall find him like the guest in the gospel , euen speechlesse , so that he must be fain to stand aside till cushi cometh to resolue you . thus i say an error may happen , and an ouersight may be committed euen by the best ouerseers . but when this negligence becommeth a custome , and it waxeth an ordinary matter , to make of the lowest of the people priests of the high places , so that in a maner who will may consecrate himselfe , then a man may well crie with dauid , it is time for thee lord to worke : arise , o god , and lift vp thine hand . and how feareful a thing it is , for those which willingly suffer it , may appeare by an example not much vnlike . god sent samuel to annoint one of ishai his sons , to be king ouer israel : samuel séeing eliab , because of his countenance & the height of his stature , said , surely the lords annointed is before him . the like conceipt had he of the rest of his brethren : but yet he receiued still a secret information , the lord hath chosen none of these . put case that samuel notwithstāding this direction giuen him , had tooke the horne of oile and annointed some other beside dauid , had it not bene great contempt to haue proceeded contrary to commaund ? so in this case , they to whom the office and functiō of laying on of hands belongeth in gods church , when the lord shall say expressely in his word , i haue not chosen this man , he is not gifted for this weightie businesse : if they for all that shall giue the outward allowance of a minister to him , whom in their certaine knowledge god hath not graced with gifts sufficiēt for the calling of a minister , what punishment in all likelihood ths rashnesse is liable vnto , i leaue it to euery mans conscience that feareth god to examine . and i pray god giue them whom it concerneth hearts to consider it . nymph . i ioyne with you in your good desire : and yet perhaps men of place may pleade a kind of necessitie , to admit men of no better sufficiencie , there being not that store of learned men and preachers , to furnish euery seuerall congregation . epaph. what is to be borne withall in cases of ineuitable necessity is one thing , & what is to be permitted when the good means is not wanting is another thing : for this our land , first i think there was neuer any trial taken , whether the number of learned men were proportionable to the tale of seuerall parishes : secondly the vniuersities are like to the market place , in which stand many of good quality , of whom if you demaund why stand ye here ? they wil answer , because no man hath hired vs. and the seuerall colledges , be ( as it is said of the téeth of the spouse ) like a flock of sheepe in good order , which go vp from the washing , which euery one being out twins , and none is barren among them . thirdly , the scripture telleth vs , that christ ascended vp on high to giue gifts vnto men : why then should we think his hand so shortned , as that it should be déemed vnpossible to furnish this whole church with preaching ministers ? fourthly , if that be true which some say , that there are more learned men in england then in all the reformed churches of europe besides , then there is no cause to plead any such necessitie . and therfore i account that as a colour rather then any argument . nymph . i feare me sir , i haue too much interrupted you : i pray you therefore proceed in your proof of this point , that there is a necessitie layed vpon euery minister that shall vndertake the cure of soules , to be able to do more then barely to reade the holy scriptures vnto the people . epaph. the next reason which i haue to strengthen this principle , is grounded vpon this , because i find by the scripture that it is a matter of very great difficultie to be a good minister . there are two things principally required in a minister : the one , that he be able to exhort with wholesome doctrine : the other , that he haue skill to improue them that say against it . whereto agreeth that saying of augustine , that he must be a maintainer of truth , and a withstander of errour . for which cause the spirituall builders in gods building , which is his church , are not vnfitly compared to those who builded the temple in nehemias his time , who did the worke with the one hand , and with the other held the sword . it is a shame for a minister , if it shall fall out with his spirituall worke as tobias the ammonite sayd in scorne of the reedified city and temple by the iewes , although they build , yet if a fox go vppe he shall euen breake downe their stonie wall . so , i say , it shall be a blemish to a teacher in gods church , if he shall build so weakely that those foxes , those little foxes ( of whom the spouse complaineth ) shall be able by & by to breake downe the building . well then , let any man consider either of these two , and tell me whether it be not a matter of very great difficulty in any good measure to performe it . the prophet i say sayth , that the lord had giuen him a tongue of the learned , for the one péece of seruice , that he might know to minister a word in time to him that is wearie : and yet this is but one branch of a ministers office . if we shall adde to it other particulars , such as are wisedome in admonishing , courage in reprouing , soundnesse in opening the treasure of the holy text , discretiō in applying according to times & persons , with the like , which are required of euery minister in his place : then we cannot but yeeld , that he had néed to be able to do something more then reade , who shall seek to behaue him self in the house of god as he ought to do . now for that other part , which standeth in stopping the mouthes of vaine talkers and deceiuers of mens minds , which oppose them selues against gods truth : it is ( as augustine well sayth ) a matter requiring more painefull and plentifull learning , as shall appeare to him that shall consider either the multitude of false opinions , or the quality of those which do defend them . for the multitude , this is a cleare case , that whereas euery former age hath brought forth some one or moe , to the disturbance of the peace of gods church , and to the exercising of the best learned that each time could affoord , all these are flowne together into this last age as into a common sewer . so that there is not any error which the former times knew , and withall condemned to the pit of hell , but this our age hath raked it vp againe , and set ( as it were ) a new glosse vpon it , and made it by addition much more dangerous . besides , we haue popery , which is a fardle of heresies , and the very compound of all the rest . now for the quality of those which are the patrons thereof , ( of popery especially ) it is well knowne that though they haue among them , as it was said of old , many woodden priests , all whose learning hangeth at their girdle in their portuis , yet they which in these our times haue put forth themselues to support the drouping and decaying kingdome of antichrist , are no punies , but many of them men of excellent wits , deepe learning , and vnwearied industry : by their writings , and bookes , and disputations , making good the saying of our sauior christ , the children of this world are in their generation wiser then the children of light . now then to discouer the force of my intended reason , i draw it to these heads : first , i know that whosoeuer should vndertake out of the scripture to describe the office of a pastor , he cannot without a palpable betraying of the truth leaue out these two things which i haue named , the ability to teach the obedient childrē of the church , and the skill to oppose himselfe against the enemies of the church . secondly , this i know also , that he that shall either by discourse examine , or by personall eperience try the difficulty of well performing these duties , will say with s. paul , vvho is sufficient for these things ? and acknowledge with bernard , that the ministery is a burden , which the angels themselues may wel tremble at . thirdly , i am as cléere in this , as in any of the two former , that there is no such difficulty in the faculty of reading , which as it is the first step to learning , so it is of all other things incident to a scholler the most easie . so that , seeing to hold opinion , that an onely reading minister is a sufficient minister , maketh that calling of all other the most easie , which in it own nature , as it is described to vs in the scripture , is most laborious , requiring so studious preparation to it , and so great intention & diligence in the performance of it , i must needes settle my selfe vpon this point , & perswade others also to it , that there is more required in a minister of the new testament , then to reade the scripture , though i still hold that a part of his duty , and ( as i haue sayd before ) a matter very behouefull for the spirituall benefite of gods church . nymp. i could easily agree to that which you haue said , onely this doubt something stayeth me : if you hold no man a full minister , except the same be able to preach , what shall we think then of the sacraments administred by such ; how can they be true sacraments if such be no true ministers ? epaph. for answer to that doubt , first this is a true and a receiued rule , that a sacrament is not to be estéemed by the hand of him which administreth it : neither doeth the dignitie of the deliuerer , adde worth to the sacrament , nor the indignity lessen the true nature of it . secondly , he which hath an outward calling by the church , though happely he be vnworthy and vnméet for the place whereto he is called , yet he is to be reputed as more then a priuate man : and therefore because by the appointment of the church he standeth in the roome of a right and lawfull minister , if there be no fault in the substance of the action of administring , the sacraments are true sacraments , though the party executing that office be not altogether so allowable . the scribes and pharisées , who were the doctors of the iewes , many of them were of other tribes then of the tribe of leui , and crept in by corruption and bribery into those places , and were of vnsound iudgement in many things , as many easily be gathered by the story of the gospell ; yet our sauior willed his disciples to heare them , because they sate in moses chaire . their entrance was naught , yet their ministery was to be esteemed , so long as they failed not in the substance thereof . and this ( i thinke ) may resolue you for that matter . nymphas . i will rest satisfied with this answer , til i shal find either by mine owne priuate meditation , or by conference with others ( better skilled in these points then i ) what further to reply . i desire to heare you yet further in this matter , touching the necessitie of preaching in a minister . epaph. i am very willing to procéed , onely i would haue you to remember what i sayd at my first entrance into this matter , namely , that i would stand onely vpon proofes of scripture . s. augustine sayth , that that was the auncient order of disputing , to haue the bookes of holy scripture by , and to stand to the triall thereof . and therefore it was an excellent & memorable course of constantine the emperor , who commaunded the fathers met together in the councell of nice , to refer that great controuersie then in hand , touching the godhead of christ , to the decision of the scripture . and it is gods owne voyce that we should to the law , and to the testimonie . wherefore wishing you to looke for no proofes from me , but such as are fetched out of the scripture , i set this downe as my third reason , that whereas the lord made very good prouision for the maintenance of those who were to minister about holy things , i find not either in the old or new testament that any were prouided for by such allowāce , but onely such as were able to instruct the people by opening and expounding the law . the office of the leuites in the old law , stood vpon two things , one was to put incense before the lords face , and the burnt offering vpon his altar ; therein they were the peoples mouth vnto god : the other was to teach iaakob gods iudgement , and israel his law : in that they were gods mouth vnto the people : for this cause it was the ordinance of god ( according as i noted to you the place in the beginning of this conference ) that the priestslips should preserue knowledge , and they should seek the law at his mouth : for ( sayth the text ) he is the messenger of the lord of hoasts : that is , one appointed to be the opener and declarer of the will of god among the people . and lest any man should thinke , that the law which the people were to seeke at the priestes mouth , was nothing but the bare letter and written text of the law , we may remember first , that the people had the frée vse of the law in their priuat houses , so that they had no such neede to seeke that at the priests hands . secondly , that it was the vse of the leuites when they did reade in the booke of the law , to giue the sense also , and to cause the people to vnderstand the reading . and hence it was , that when our sauior christ stood vp to reade on the sabbaoth day , ( according to his office , as some thinke that he was chosen one of the odinary two and twenty priests of the temple ) when he had closed the booke , the eyes of all that were in the synagogue were fastened on him ; because it was the order that presently vpon the reading of the law , followed the exposition of the law . thence also was it that paul & barnabas being at antioch vpon a sabbaoth day , after the lecture of the law and the prophets , the rulers of the synagogue sent vnto them , to intreate them , that if they had any word of exhortation , they would be pleased to deliuer it . this their request arose vpon the custome of ioyning still the opening and interpreting of the law with the publike reading thereof ; whereto agréeth that saying of iames that moses was of old time in euery citie , both read and preached euery saboth day . thirdly , this may be noted also , that whereas the lord threatned to refuse them , that they should be no priests to him , who had refused knowledge : by that refusing of knowledge is to be vnderstood both their ignorance in the doctrine of the law , and their negligence to informe the people in it : otherwise to thinke that there was nothing reproued in them more , then an vnabilitie to reade the law , were a very grosse conceit . and thus much to proue that for the times of the old testament , none had the allowance of priests , but such as were able to instruct . now for the times of the gospell , s. paul thus declareth the continuance of the equitie of that auncient law , that like as of old , they which did minister about the holy things , did eate of the things of the temple , and they which did waite at the altar , were partakers of the altar : so also it is ordained by the lord , that they which preach the gospel , should liue of the gospell : none haue any right to liue of the gospell , that is , of the exhibition and salary of the church , but those which preach the gospell . if you demand of me what it is to preach the gospell , paul shall resolue you in another place ; namely it is this , to labour in the word and doctrine : which whether it be not more then to reade the word , i refer it to any mans iudgement . chrysostome sayth , that these words require of a minister , that he do preach , and teach , and make sermons : and the old rule of the law , which paule applieth to the purpose , requireth so much , thou shal not muzzle the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne . the oxe that is allowed to eate of the corne , is not he onely which treadeth vpon the corne , but which treadeth it out , that worketh it out of the huskes , that it may be fit for mans vse . so he is to eate of the maintenance of the church who is able to set the word of god ( the spirituall foode ) before the people , not only in the eare ( as it were ) in the words and letter of the scripture , but in the true sense and interpretation of it . it is an excellent saying of s. hierome , let vs not thinke ( sayth he ) that the gospell is in the words of the scripture , but in the sense , not in the outward face , but in the marrow thereof : and as basill speaketh , not in the sound of the ayre , but in the power of the things meant . i would haue thée ( sayth tertullian ) exercise thy selfe to the sense of the matter , and not to the sound of the word . it is a rule among lawyers , that not the bare words is the law , but the meaning of the law . and in the scripture , they are sayd to teach the law , which shew the sentence or substance & matter of the law . so then , he is a teacher allowed to liue vpon the common charge , which treadeth out ( as i may so speake , alluding to the similitude of the oxe ) the sense of the scripture out of the letter of the scripture ; and stayeth not ( as hierome speaketh in the fore-remembred place ) in the leaues of words , but searcheth to the roote of the vnderstanding thereof . you may ( if you wil ) adde hereto that other place of paul to this purpose , let him that is taught in the word , make him that hath taught him partaker of all his goods . he that wil haue a share in the temporal goods of the people , must let them receiue spirituall good from him . he who looketh to eate of the milke of the flock , ( that is as it is expounded by augustine , of that which is giuen by the people for the sustenance of their ouerséers ) must in equity not be wanting to affoord them that which may be for the building vp of their soules in christ iesus : otherwise there is no proportion . and were it not that men did more affect pride then painfulnesse , the fat and the wooll of the flocke , then the feeding of the sheep , this doctrine would neuer be gainsayd ; we should not then haue that iust cause to lament the state of so many , whom we see scattered abrode as sheepe hauing no shepheard : neither to complaine with augustine , that there are many who reioyce in the name of pastors , but care not to fulfill the office of pastors . thus haue you my third reason , which though it hath bene stretched out by something a large discourse , yet it may be reduced to this briefe : the word of god prouiding a maintenance of honor for the ministers of his church , hath not giuen allowance to any to liue by it , but onely to men able to instruct , by opening the scripture , therefore there is more required in a minister then to be able to reade the scripture . nymph . you haue so well and throughly satisfied me for this matter by these your three reasons , that i will not vrge you further ; onely i wil pray you to teach me how to answer some exceptions and pretenced reasons , some against the necessitie of preaching , some for the sufficiencie of reading . epaph. i am willing to follow you , séeing i entred into this matter for your sake : and if hereafter any doubt shall arise in your mind vpon further scanning , touching these things which haue bene sayd , i hope god will affoord vs oportunity further to debate them . if you will therefore let me heare what you haue heard pleaded by those which are of a different opinion . i doubt not but by the grace of christ you shall find the truth to be as it is wel called , an eternal victory : and that ( as that worthy romane sayd sometime ) though it be often too much withstood , yet it can neuer be cleane extinguished . nymph . it is sayd by some , that this opinion touching the necessitie of expounding and opening the scripture by preaching , doeth derogate from the dignitie of the scripture , and doth seeme to fauour the doctrine of poperie , touching the obscuritie and darknesse of the holy writte , as though there were such necessitie of a teacher to come to the vnderstanding of it . epaph. the answer to this is easie . touching the scriptures , god forbid but we should acknowledge that they are both in their owne nature light , and such also , which by the beames thereof do giue light vnto the eyes . and it is true which s. austine sayth , that all matters necessary to faith and manners , are to be found in those things which are set downe plainely in the scripture : and therefore , we do both exhort to the reading of the scriptures priuately , and commend the publike rehearsing of them in the congregation . yet this is no whit contrary to the opinion touching the necessitie of preaching . and so much shall euidently appeare , if we marshall our hearers into three companies . the first sort are grossely ignorant , and extremely negligent in the matters of god. the second are of some better both care to looke into the scriptures , and capacitie to conceiue them . the third are as well able to sound out the truth by the priuat study of the scripture , as those who be professed diuines . there is no hearer ( i meane among our people professing the present religion ) but he belongeth to one of these thrée rankes . now for the former of these , preaching cannot but be most necessary : for as in their negligence of themselues they will neuer seeke for knowledge , but it must euen in a kind of violence be put vpon them , so in their ignorance the plaine text read wil profit them nothing , vnlesse with it be ioyned the skilfull industry of some painefull workman , who by framing himselfe to the shallow capacitie of the silliest , and by adding precept to precept , line to line , here a little and there a little , may drop in some knowledge , and thorough often sharpening of the necessary points of religion , may make something to enter . secondly for the next sort , which according to christs commandemēt do search the scripture , though i know they shall find their spirituall hunger to be satisfied by many plaine and comfortable places , yet they shall many times be so plunged & set as it were , that they shall say with the eunuch , how can i vnderstand , except i had a guide ? it is gods wisedome , as well to exercise vs with hard places , as to feede vs with those which are perspicuous , both to teach vs to pray with dauid , that the lord would open our eyes that we may see the wonders of his law , and withall to establish the necessity of the publike ministery , and to teach vs humilitie , when we must be faine to depend vpon the instruction of others . as for the third kind , who perhaps are able because of education in good letters , to search out the mistery of the text by their owne priuate industry , as well as the most sufficient preacher , yet as i doubt not but the same shall euen better their iudgements by the meanest sermon ( if that be a fit tearme to be giuen to a sermon , in which gods truth is soundly deliuered ) so i am sure they shall find hearing to be very behoouefull , if it be for no other thing , yet ( as a learned father well obserueth it ) for their owne sluggishnes , that so they may be quickened vp to good duties , we being all in nature so proue though we know much , yet to be weary of well doing , and to be idle and vnfruitful in the knowledge of our lord iesus christ . it is an excellent saying of the apostle paul writing to the romanes , and well fitting this purpose : i my selfe ( saith he ) am perswaded of you my brethren that ye are also full of goodnes , and filled with all knowlege , and are able to admonish one another : what greater cōmendation could be ? these men might seem not to néed any further instruction : but marke what followeth , neuerthelesse brethren , i haue somewhat boldly after a sort written vnto you , as one that putteth you in remembrance , through the grace that is giuen me of god. though a man haue attained to neuer so great perfection in knowledge , yet he standeth stil in néed of a preacher , though it be but to be a remembrance● vnto him . theophilus was wel instructed in the mystery of christ , yet lukes gospell was néedfull for him , that he might acknowledge the certaintie of those things . preaching is not superfluous , though a man were neuer so cunning . this briefe view of the state of our seuerall hearers , may serue to make this good , that to vrge the necessitie of preaching as the meanes to beget faith , is no derogation to that doctrine which we hold , touching the brightnes and plainnes of the scripture . the scripture is as a light shining in a dark place , but neither do all looke into it , neither can al that heare it read publikly conceiue it , vnlesse they be prepared to it by some former familiar instructiōs , neither do al that peruse the booke of god , so fully vnderstand all that they neede no teacher , neither yet can any man though of neuer so good parts , attaine to that fulnes , as that he shal not ( at the least ) stand in néed of an admonisher . it is a good obseruation ( in my iudgement ) of him , who saith that the word is indeed light , but the preaching minister is as the candlestick , of which christ speaketh , by which the word of god giueth light vnto all that are in the house . and indéede this similitude may haue the better approbatiō , if we note how by the candlesticke which the lord iesus threatneth to remoue out of the church of ephesus , is meant especially the ministery of the word . god doth all things by means ( ordinarily ) . christ is the true light , which giueth light to them that sit in darknes , yet the faithful ministers of seuerall congregations are said to be staires in his right hand , by which he giueth light vnto his church . if this be true , i see not what inconuenience can follow vpon it , if we say , though the word be a lanterne , yet it then giueth best , & cléerest , & fullest light when it is lifted vp as it were , and the brightnes thereof caused to spread forth into euery corner , by the skill and paines of a sufficient minister . nymp. another exception vsed by some , whose endeuour is to equall ( if not to preferre ) bare reading vnto preaching , is , that there is more certaintie in the word read , then in that which you preach : that which is read , men are sure is gods word , but they haue not the like assurance of that which is preached . epaph. if you desire a short & direct answer to this exception , take it thus , this allegation touching the certainty of tho word read aboue the doctrine preached , is not true . there are in our congregations thrée sorts of people especially : first , ignorant persons : secondly , cauillers : and lastly , iudiciall and carefull hearers . the ignorant are as vncertaine touching that which we call the scripture , whether it be be the word of god , as they be touching our preaching : they haue no assurance of it , but tradition and report , which is a poore certainty , & they haue as good an opinion of the apocripha books , as of the other which we call canonical . besides that , it is buzzed into many of our common peoples eares , by whispering papists , & it is thereby become ordinary in many mouthes here in the country that our bible is no true bible , and that our translation is iustly to be doubted of . secondly , those that are possessed with a humor of cauilling , may as wel demand how they know the scripture to be scripture , & those things to be true which are writtē in it , as how they may be resolued that our preaching is the truth . thirdly , your best hearers , which heare as christ sayth with a good and an honest heart , to them the certainety of the truth in the written text and in the sermon is both alike : for as they haue a certaine secret teaching by the spirit of god ( which s. iohn calleth by the name of an ointment from him that is holy ) whereby they are perswaded of the truth of the scripture , and do account it the oracle of god , ( in respect whereof they are said to be taught by god : and austine sayth , god speaketh to our hearts ) : so also they are enabled by the same spirit to iudge of that doctrin which they heare by the scripture , and equally to embrace points confirmed by it , and those which are expresly and in so many words reuealed in it . so thē there is no more certainty of the text , then of the doctrine preached out of the text . those which are ignorant , or dispose to cauill , are doubtful of both alike : for the one are blockish & know nothing , the other are humorous and will be satisfied with nothing . again , those which are gods children , are alike assured of both : of the text by the secret perswasion of gods spirit : of the doctrine , by triall taken of it by the text . i remember a saying of s. hieromes ; i know ( sayth he ) that i otherwise esteem of the apostles , then of other treatisers : the apostles i know spake alwayes the truth ; the other as men in many things were deceiued . the spéech may well be applied to this purpose ; the books of holy scripture we must yeeld consent vnto them without refusall , because it is certaine that they are all giuen by inspiration of god , so that there is nothing in them of any priuate motion but as for the writings and preachings of men , they are not to be credited before they be tried whether they are of god. thus much willingly is acknowledged : but yet after this triall made , and by the dayly searching of the scriptures , those things which in preaching are deliuered are found to be so ; then the doctrines though drawne out of the text by the art and wit of man , and otherwise amplified , enlarged , and vrged by the helps of learning , are not to be called the opinions of a man , but the words of god. it is a good rule of the learned , that those points which are collected out of the scripture , are of like authority with those which are directly writtē in it . whē paul being at thessalonica went into the synagogue of the iewes , and disputed with them by the scriptures , i hope no man wil say , but that those things which he by argument & discourse drew out of the writtē word , were of equal authority with points expresly mentioned . paul pleading before agrippa , stood stiffely to the iustifying of his doctrine , because he had said no other things but those which the prophets & moses did say shold come . his doctrine was the same with the doctrine of moses and the prophets , yet not in words , but in sense and substance . and the same apostle is not afraid to call his preaching the counsell of god , though it were in regard of the tenor and course of speech , differing from the expresse letter of the text . if it shall be said vnto me , that there is a difference betwixt our sermons and pauls , i willingly confesse it ; but yet i say , that euen pauls sermons were subiect to the like triall that ours be , as appeareth by the practise of the noblemen of beraea . and therefore as his preaching was not to be estéemed as the word of god , till triall , and being tried was equally to be reuerenced as the written word it selfe : so neither are our sermons to be by and by credited vpon our bare word , but to be thoroughly examined ; but being once found to hold at the touch-stone , then they are so to be reputed gods word , that it may be safely said , he that despiseth them , despiseth not man but god. and indéed vnlesse we shall giue equall credit and respect to matters soundly proued by scripture , and to points expressed in it , we shall hazard the truth of many , and the same no pettie principles of religion , which i know are substantially confirmed by the scripture , but yet are not word for word so to be found in the sacred text , as we maintaine them . and this i think may be a sufficient answer to this obiection . tell me , i pray you , how you do conceiue it ? nymph . as far as i can coniecture , your answer is this : that when that course of due triall ( which is meete ) is taken , touching things taught by preaching , then the scripture being found to giue allowance to thē , there is as great assurance of the authoritie of the one as of the other ; and that is as much to be accounted the word of god , which the scripture warranteth , as that which by name in so many words it expresseth . epaph. that is indéede the summe of the answer : to which ( if you will ) you may adde this , that by preaching men come to be better assured of the authoritie of the scripture : for , the better they vnderstand it , the more comfort they find in it , and the more they feele the power and working of it , ( all which , by the blessing of god are the effects of preaching ) the more are they assured that the scripture is the very thing which it is said to be , euen a perfect , pure and sweete doctrine , conuerting the soule , reioycing the heart , and able to make a man wise vnto saluation . it is truly said , that the scripture standeth not in reading , but in vnderstanding . what shall it auaile men to cary a kind of conceipt of some diuine authoritie to be in the scripture , so long as they are ignorant of the mysterie of it , and without any apprehension or tast of the comfort which is intended in it ? nymph . i am sory that i am constrained to make you tary so long in this matter , and that so much the rather , because there are many other things yet behind , wherein i am as desirous of your helpe as in these already handled : yet because i haue this good oportunitie , and do find you also so willing to instruct me , i will yet further acquaint you with one other allegatiō , which being answered , i shall ( i thinke ) be well prouided , both to satisfie those of my acquaintance which shall perhaps seeke help from me , and also to say something to those who with their quirkes and shewes of reasons , thinke to put downe such plaine men as i am when we come into their companie . i named it to you before ( though happely by length of communication it is slipped from you ) and it is this , that euen reading it selfe is preaching : and that they seeke to proue by those reasons : first , they say , to preach is nothing but to publish the gospell , and that is done by reading : secondly , in hearing the scriptures read , we heare the sermons of the prophets , of christ , and of his apostles , which passe all other sermons which any man now can make . thirdly , there is ( they say ) euen in reading that which we so much commend preaching for , namely expounding and applying ; for the new testament is the expounder of the old , and the epistles of paul and peter and the rest do apply both vnto mens consciences . thus , though in our common speech we account reading to be one thing , and preaching to be another , yet by these deuises we are many times shrewdly puzled , and know not sodainly what to answer . epap . these reasons , what shew soeuer they may make at the first view , yet are they neuer able to proue that for which they are alleaged , as shall ( god willing ) appeare in the seuerall examination of them . first , for that which is said , that preaching is nothing but a publishing of the gospell , i yéeld vnto it , if it be well and rightly vnderstood : and when it is so vnderstood as it ought to be , then it will appeare that the reading of the bare context , cannot properly be tearmed preaching . i find in the new testament foure words especially to be vsed , when preaching so farre forth as it is incident to the office of an ordinary pastor in gods church is mentioned . the first signifieth , to deliuer good tidings , because the gospel is , as it was by the angels to the shepheards , tidings of great ioy to all gods people . the second & third words signifie , to make manifest , to discouer , to make knowne , to set forth to open view , and so to handle a matter , as the prophet was commaunded to deale with a visiō which god had shewed him , namely , to make it plaine vpon tables , that he which runneth may reade it . this shall appeare to be true to any man , that shal take the paines to examin and duely to ponder those places of the new testament , in which these words are vsed in the gréeke , which being applyed to the minister his office , are translated by the word preach . and these kinds of words , do fitly set forth the duty of a preacher , which is especially that , which paul exhorteth the ephesians to begge of god on his behalfe , to wit , to make knowne the secret of the gospell , which ( seeing it must be sought for as siluer , and searched for as for treasure ) is not ordinarily to be looked for in the vpper face as it were , but to be with paines and industrie digged out of the very bowels and heart of the scripture . the fourth word signifieth to publish , and as an herald or a crier , to deliuer a matter in open place , in the hearing of a multitude , that many may take notice of it . for this cause the prophet isaiah was willed to crie aloude , and to lift vp his voice like a trumpet ; and ieremiah was commaunded to stand in the gate of the lords house , and to crie the word there . and hence also it is , that the wisdome of god , is said to stand in the top of the high places , and to make as it were a publike proclamation : o men ! ô ye foolish ! who so is simple let him come hither . ho , euery one that thirsteth : come vnto me al ye that are wearie , &c. by this it may appeare what it is to preach , and in what sense preaching may be tolerably defined to be a publishing of the gospell : namely , it is an open and comfortable discouerie by word of mouth , making plaine vnto the people of god , the mysterie of godlinesse , euen the secret of the gospell . now , as no man duly considering the nature and vse of the forenamed words , can denie preaching ( by a minister lawfully called ) to be euen such a kind of publishing the gospell , as is now set downe : so neither can he with any face or colour affirme , the action of reading the scripture to be answerable to this description . so that though it be granted , that the text of scripture is the gospell , and the very word of god ; and withall , that reading is after a sort a publishing thereof , because thereby the letter of the text is recited with a lowd voice , from an eminent and conspicuous place , in the audience of a multitude : yet when we shall enter into a more exact examination of things , it will then appeare , that reading simply cannot be called a publishing of the gospell , in that sense , as it is required of ministers and teachers to be spreaders abroad and proclaimers of gods truth . adde hereto , that that which is the principall thing looked for of a preacher in the publishing of the word , the bare reader in the act of reading , neither can nor doth performe : and that is , the deuiding the word of truth aright : and ( to apply christs words in a case not much vnlike ) a giuing to them of the houshold ( which is the church , . tim. . . ) their portion of meate in season . a minister , is one to whō the dispensation ( or stewardship ) is committed in the familie of god : and his office is , out of the store-house of the scripture , to share out to euery one , that which he shall find by his caring to know the state of his flocke , to be best fitting and agréeing to him . as for as example : milke ( that is , the first principles of the word of god ) to those which are inexpert in the word of righteousnesse : strong meate ( that is , doctrine of greater depth ) for them , who are able to beare it : meeknesse of instructing for those which are contrarie minded : a rodde and sharpe rebuke of slow bellies , that they may be found in the faith : improuing ( or conuincing ) of gainesayers , that their mouths may be stopped : admonition for them that are vnruly : comfort for the feeble minded : a discréet and respectiue framing of exhortation to seuerall ages and degrées , to the elders , as to fathers , to the younger men as to brethren , to the elder women as to mothers , to the yonger as to sisters . after this sort , euery mans portion must be allotted out vnto him : and this ordering of that prouision , which the lord ( as a carefull housholder ) hath left for his spirituall familie is committed vnto the minister . the scripture i confesse is profitable for these purposes , and able to make the man of god absolute and perfect vnto all the good works of his calling , and it is no wholesome foode , vnles it be deliuered out of that garner : but yet , vnlesse there be more performed , thē is done by naked reading , to wit , a propounding to the houshold , the whole store , as it were in grosse , it cannot be but whilst euery one is left to be his own caruer , the young ones will be starued , and the riotous and misgouerned surfet themselues , with greedie and vnbeséeming taking that vnto them , which they are neither fit nor able to receiue . and this , i thinke , may serue to shew how litle reason there is in this first reason , why reading of the scripture shold deserue the honorable name of preaching : when as both our common speech , and which is more ) the language of the holy ghost , hath put an apparant difference betwixt them . nymph . indeed i acknowledge that to be true out of my owne experience : for though by priuate reading the scripture as also by hearing it read , i haue receiued much comfort : ( the memorie of things taught thereby renewed , and the truth of them confirmed ) yet i haue often bene quite set , often bene altogether mistaken , and still affraid of my owne iudgement euen in plainer places , vntill i haue found the publike exposition giuen by the minister to iumpe and accord with my opinion . but what say you to the second reason : namely , that in the scriptures read , we heare the worthie sermons of christ , of the prophets , and of his apostles : and therefore reading is preaching ? epaph. i say it is a very weake argument . that the sermons of christ , the prophets and apostles were excellent sermons , and that the summe & abridgement of them is to be found in scripture , no man goeth about to denie : yet this being granted , will neuer prooue a reader to be a preacher . for he is not a preacher , who reciteth publikely things of another mans inditing , but he which deliuereth matters ( though not inuented ) yet in respect of art and industrie compiled and framed by himself . if it be said , that the sermons of christ , &c. though they be not of his framing that readeth them , yet being read may turne to the profite of the people , i answer , that the question is not , whether they may be profitable , but whether the reading of them may be called preaching . god forbid any man should denie the publike reading of them to be for the behoofe of gods people , ( i hope you haue not forgotten what i told you as my iudgment in this case ) but how it may be said , that he which hath read them to the people , hath performed that office of a minister which we call preaching , neither can i conceiue , neither ( as i thinke ) is any man able to set downe . besides , if the word sermon , shall be precisely vrged , that which was the sermon of christ , or ieremiah , or paul , when they liued , and the same vttered by them , cannot be now being recorded in the bible , and read out by another , so properly called a sermon ; because in our common speech a sermon requireth the tongue and voice of him that framed it . and therefore to say ( as some do ) that christ or some one of the ancient prophets or apostles preacheth to vs , when we heare the summe of their sermons read vnto vs , is but a borrowed kind of spéech , vsuall amongst scholers . such as that is , that the bloud of abel speaketh ; and that he being dead yet speaketh ; or which is said of the heauens and firmament , that there is no speech nor language , where their voice is not heard ; and the like , common in the scripture . againe , let the nature and estate of those which are called the sermons of the prophets , of christ , and his apostles be a litle considered . first in generall this is to be knowne , that we haue but the briefe and summe , and as it were the heades of their sermons related in the scripture : for if al that euery one of these spake publikely by way of teaching had bene written , we might well say as s. iohn said , touching the ●as and sayings of our sauiour christ , the world could not containe the bookes : and therefore ( if profite be desired ) there must necessarily be some course taken , by which the things abridged , by the penmen of the holy ghost in their writings , may be enlarged . secondly , the sermons of moses , are so interlaced with iudiciall ordinances and ceremoniall rites , appertaining onely to the pollicie of those times , that for the peoples behoofe , it is more then conuenient , that they should enioy the benefite of an able minister , who may informe them herin , what things be morall , and what be temporarie , what is the substance of euery ceremoniall shadow , and what the perpetuall and vnchangeable equitie of euery iudiciall constitution . thirdly , touching the preachings of the prophets ; though they be full of comfort and abounding with sweet cōsolation , because the maine scope and drift of them all , is to foreshew the renewing and restoring of the church by christ , and though they do also notably make knowne the iust iudgement of god against sinne ; yet they are so intermixed with mysticall prophecies , with hidden parables , with historicall narrations , and descriptions of countries , with borowed spéeches , and proprieties of that holy language in which they were deliuered : that , howsoeuer sometimes a lambe ( as the prouerbe is ) may find a foord easily to be waded through , yet vnlesse there be added the helpe and guidance of some learned ezra , some messenger , or interpreter , as elihu fitly calleth him , and the same no ordinarie man , but ( as the text speaketh ) one of a thousand , the people cannot possibly reape that good which god hath intended in the reuealing of those things . fourthly , for the sermons of our sauiour , as we haue but the very short summe of many of them ( according as i said before ) so for those which are reported more largely by the euangelists , i perswade my selfe there is no man , but ( if he will speake the truth , out of his owne conscience ) he will confesse , that he learneth more by them when by preaching they are explaned , then when they are onely read vnto him . fiftly , we haue in the bible very few copies of the apostles sermons : those that be , are in the booke of the acts , and yet many times , this is all which is said of them : they preached in iesus the resurrection from the dead , they went to and fro preaching the word , preached christ , preached the things that concerne the kingdome of god , and many the like spéeches : all which are like vnto the litle cloud , which the seruant of elias saw ; which though at the first it was but like a mans hand , yet at last it couered the face of heauen : so these being clauses of very few words , yet minister iust matter of many large discourses , & the same also very néedfull for the well vnderstanding of them . if it shall be said that the apostles writings were sermons , i answer , they cannot properly be called their sermons . paul writing to the romaines , saith , that besides this labour of writing , he was readie also to preach the gospell vnto them : so that he did not account his writing to be preaching . the epistles of the apostles were the summes of that doctrine which they had taught by word of mouth , and according to the tenour whereof , their desire was , that the ministers of the places to whom they wrote should proceede . i know they were read in the churches , according as it was méete , that a matter written to a whole congregation should be communicated to all in publike : but what then ? i doubt not , but the pastors in the seuerall assemblies , did ( as we now do ) preach vpon those epistles , and open and apply them to their auditories : & so much may easily appeare , as by other places , so especially by that speech to the hebrewes , by the author of the epistle written to them : i beseech you also brethren , suffer the words of exhortation : for i haue written vnto you in few words : which spéech ( as it is well obserued by two learned interpreters of our later times ) the apostle purposely vsed , lest his writing should be an occasion to any , of lessening that due estimation , which the ordinarie course of preaching did deserue . it is all one as if the apostle had said : brethren , notwithstanding al this which i haue written vnto you , yet i pray you continue your accustomed reuerence to the labours of your owne ministers : i , as the nature of an epistle requireth , haue written briefly , therefore you shall still need the assistance of your watchfull and learned ouerseers , who shall enlarge these points , which i haue drawne as it were into a narrow roome , and by powerfull exhortations apply them either to your comfort of reproofe , as their knowledge in your estate from time to time shall direct them . this is the meaning of that place , plainely prouing the necessitie of ioyning the pains of a preaching minister , with the writings & epistles of the apostles of christ iesus . and thus haue you my answer to this second stout reason , why reading shold be preaching , because forsooth , therby is cōmunicated to vs the summe and substance of the worthy sermons which christ , and the prophets and apostles haue formerly deliuered . the weaknesse of which reason , i hope this short discourse , hath made you to perceiue . nymph . for these two alleaged reasons , you haue indifferently satisfied me . i do now expect , what you wil say , touching the last reasō , why reading shold be preaching . epaph. the third reason ( as i remēber ) was , that reading may therefore truly be called preaching , because in our church the reading of the scripture is so ordered , that first , there is a portion of the old testament read , next of the new , and thirdly some parcell of the epistles : which they will haue to be called preaching , because as the new testament is an exposition of the old , so the epistles are the applying of both vnto gods people . this i think , is the third reason , that you told me of . nymph . you haue hit it right , if you can answer it as fully , as you haue rehearsed it truly , then it shall neuer be any occasion of scruple to me hereafter . epaph. to make a short answer to a slight reason , this is that i say : it is true , if we compare the whole new testament , with the whole old testament , that the latter is an exposition of the former , because it maketh knowne vnto vs , that all the ancient promises , touching the messias , are yea and amen in christ iesus : so that the substance both of old and new is this , iesus christ yesterday , and to day , the same also is for euer . and hereupon is that saying of augustine : the old testament ( saith he ) is reuealed in the new , and the new , was as it were lapped and folded vp in the old : the same may also be acknowledged touching the epistles , that in thē the doctrine both of the old & new testament is applyed & pressed vpon mens consciences by wholesome exhortations . but what then ? though this hold in general , that the new testament is the cōmentarie to the old , and the epistles , the applyers of both , yet it will scarcely be found to hold in particulars : namely , that such a parcell of the new testament which cometh in order to be read , is an expositiō of the special doctrine , and matter of that portion of the old testament , which was read before it , or that that part of the epistles , which followeth both , is a direct and expresse vrger of both . so that howsoeuer when we diuide the scriptures into these thrée parts , the old testament , the history of the gospell , & the epistles , it be true , that this is the cōmon nature & state of them , that the second part giueth light vnto the first , & the latter raiseth exhortations out of both , yet when we come to single out these parts into seuerall portions , we shall not find that precise and exact correspondence , as that the exposition of the same points , shall be said to follow one the other . and this is all which i wil oppose to this third reasō : which though perhaps it may make a shew among those that are of lesse iudgement , yet it can deceiue no man , that hath any ordinarie skill in the state of an argument . nymph . this point hath held vs longer then i either wished or imagined : but i was willing , seeing god had giuen this oportunity , to mention as much as i could remember of things which i haue heard spoken touching these points ; neither is there now any thing behind , ( that i can call to mind ) which i may further propound vnto you , concerning this matter . epaph. it is no maruell though the examination of this one point , hath spent vs so much time : for this is certaine , that euery short obiection , wil require a large confutation . now for the matter it selfe , there may perhaps be some other obiections , differing from these in shew , but yet they will all in the end be found to be the same . i remember i haue read of a vain glorious boaster , who hauing but one onely seruant , yet because he would be thought to kéepe a great retinue , would call that one seruant by many seuerall names , that men might imagine , he had sundrie seruants : so , men may set new names , and new formes vpon these allegations which we haue examined , that so they might affright vs with the name of multitude , but when they are looked into , they will prooue the same things , varying in colour and pretence , but agréeing in substance . nymph . that i may then reape benefit by your aduice in respect of that which followeth , i said ( if you remember ) that the exceptions in which i desired to be resolued , were some against preaching it selfe , some against the manner of it : the exceptions against preaching it selfe , i haue ( as memorie wold serue ) acquainted you with : there are three things in the manner of your preaching that are much disliked and discommended : the first is , rudenesse : the second is roughnesse ; the third is ouermuch commonnesse . touching the first , it is said , that you preach vnlearnedly without eloquence , without allegation of fathers and of other authors , and therefore you are accounted but as a company of english doctors , which preach vpon the sodaine what cometh in your heads , without study , which causeth your doctrine to be the lesse regarded . epaph. verily for mine owne part i do as much mislike rashnesse in preaching without due preparation , and rudenesse in handling the word of life , as any man. i know he is cursed that doeth the worke of the lord negligently . and as it is méete for euery man when he entreth into the house of god , to take heed to his foote ; so it is much more requisite for him that must enter as it were into the seate of the lord , and speake vnto the people in christs stead , to be very well aduised before he take the couenant of god in his mouth . and indéed , the bold hardinesse of many now adayes , is greatly to be pitied , who so ordinarily hand ouer head ( as we say ) step vp into the pulpit , and when they are there , do litle better then beat the aire , & behaue themselues many times like the madde man of whom salomon speaketh , who casteth firebrands , and arrowes , and mortall things : and so ( as the prouerbe is ) though they speake much , yet say litle , by that meanes exposing the neuer enough reuerenced exercise of preaching , vnto the reproches & scoffes of euill speakers . besides , for learning , i confesse that it is necessarily required in preaching . s. paul sayth , preaching must be discharged in all learning . all liberall arts and sciences are handmaids to diuinity , and doe owe a kind of seruice vnto gods church . it is said , a minister must be a workeman , rightly deuiding the word of truth : now if he want his knife , that is , his art and cunning , well he may teare and rend it , and violently dismember it , but that he should rightly deuide it , that is vnpossible . yet withall , this i adde , that if to preach after a popular and familiar fashion , with desire to speak to the conceipt & capacity of the simplest , and to stand most vpon allegation of the holy text , very seldome & very sparingly mentioning other testimonies , eyther of profane or diuine writers : if i say to preach on this wise be to be termed rude and vnlearned preaching , truly for mine owne particular , i had rather acknowledge that fault , then séeke to put it from mee . nymph . what is then your opinion touching humane learning , and the writings of the auncient fathers of the church , are they not very behouefull for you that are students and professors of diuinitie ? epap . for the study of humane learning , i wold not haue you conceiue otherwise of me , but that i hold it very expedient for him that intendeth the profession of diuinity : i am of his mind which wold haue a scholler like the witty bee , which gathereth hony out of euery flower : and i willingly yéeld to s. augustines conceit . who cōpareth the knowledge of humane sciences & profane authors , to the spoiling of the egyptians by the israelites . howbeit i wold also stil giue my allowāce to these studies with this cautiō , namely if they be vsed to prepare the wit & not to detain it , & kéep it too long from grauer studies : for séeing as the saying is , learning is long & our life but short , it must néeds be a preposterous course , to spend the most and best time in those things which are but as it were circumstances to the principall science . againe , for the fathers , this i say in few words , i reuerence them , and do a kind of homage to their very names , and i am contented to acknowledge that of them all which was sayd of two of them , to wit , that they are euen the hammers of heretikes , and the eyes of the world . our later heretikes , as the antitrinitarians , the anabaptists , the suencfeldians , the libertines , the papists , haue reuiued the auncient heresies of elder times , against which those holy men euen spent themselues : and it is to be reputed as great a blessing of god , and an argument of his especial care and prouidence for his church , that their writings are preserued to this day , by which we are the better fitted to grapple with the enemies of gods truth . and yet in the study of the fathers , there is many times a double error cōmitted : the one is , that men begin the study of diuinitie with the reading of their workes ; which course for the most part bréedeth both confusion for want of methode , and error also through the lacke of knowledge in the rule and proportion of faith , by which to trie all things , that so onely that which is good may be kept : the other error is , that many are ouermuch deuoted to thē , being ready almost to sweare to any thing which is affirmed by them ; whereas indeed they both might and did erre in many things , often altering their iudgements , retracting and repealing many things , séeing more in their grauer yeares , then at the first they did perceiue . hierome confesseth that he was of one mind in some things when he was a youth , and of another when he grew more in yeares . he acknowledgeth also that in some things he played the rhetorician , and did discourse something idly after the manner of declaimers . augustine in many things was led more by affection then by iudgement , speaking sometimes that whe● of he was not fully resolued , as touching purgatory and prayer for the dead , out of the abundant loue to his mother monica ; sometimes forbearing to vtter that which he thought , through lothnes to incur the offence of some , yea & frankly he acknowledgeth , that his ignorance in scripture was greater then his knowledge . and origen was so iealous of his owne iudgement , that he would neuer aduenture to write any thing till he was lx . yeeres old , neither would he suffer those things which he had taught publikly , to be takē by notaries , whose intent was to make them cōmon to the world . and therefore though it be very profitable & expedient for a diuine to be wel studied in the fathers , yet it is good to reade their workes as the works of mē . it was a good aduice which augustin gaue to a friend of his ; i would not ( saith he ) haue thee follow my authority , as though you should thinke your self bound to beléeue whatsoeuer i say , because i say it . it is wisedome to hold that rule in the perusing of them al. but i forget my selfe , to enter into this discourse to you , whom it doth not so prop●y concerne . howsoeuer , by this that i haue now said , you may vnderstand my opinion touching both the fathers & other ( as you call it ) prophaner learning . nym. but i pray you sir , why may not the testimonies and writings of men be as lawfully vsed in the actiō of preaching , as in the priuate preparation for it ? epap . it is no good consequence , to say that they may be alleaged in the pulpit , because they may be perused in the study . when as salomon made preparatiō for the building of the temple , he had . masons in the mountaines ; and among so many , there could not chuse but be much hewing & knocking , and hammering , yet there was neither hammer , nor axe , nor any toole of irō heard in the house while it was in building . after the same maner it is in gods spiritual building : those things may lawfully be vsed in the making prouisiō for it , which are not of the like necessitie or lawfulnes in the actuall performance of it . but to speak more directly , ( because these similitudes serue more to giue light then strength to a matter ) if you be desirous to know a reason why we ought to be very sparing in the vse of mens testimonies in our ordinary sermons , this is ( as i think ) the principal , namely , that our faith should not be in the wisdome of men , but in the power of god : that is to say , that our iudgmēt in matters of religiō might be groūded not vpō the opinions & verdicts of mē , but vpō the certain & vndouted truth of god : what is it to the cōsciēce of the hearer that this is such a mans opinion , or that saying of such a doctor , it being so wel knowne that they might erre ? surely the conscience can neuer find sure footing vntill it cometh to the scripture . it is a good speech of chrysostome , if any thing ( sayth he ) be spoken without scripture , the knowledge of the hearers halteth : his meaning is , that the iudgement is neuer firme till scripture hath resolued it . it is of no force ( saith augustine ) to tell the people , this i say , and this such a one sayth : onely this , thus saith the lord , that striketh the stroke , and doth either conuince or confirme the hearers conscience , it maketh him either to agree to it , or not to be able to say against it . nymp. do you then thinke that it is not at all lawfull for a preacher in a sermon to alleage the fathers , or to insert the sayings of heathen poets , orators , philosophers , and such like ? epaph. i do not say that it is absolutely vnlawfull to alleage a sentence out of an auncient writer , or out of a heathen author : for besides that many graue , godly , and well learned men do sometimes so ; there may be as i thinke some ( at least ) tolerable causes to alleage thē . as for example ; the papists ordinarily giue out ( & it is common in the mouthes of our subuerted proselites ) that the ancient fathers of the church are all on their side . for this cause , sometimes in some speciall points of difference betwixt them and vs , i take it not to be disallowable , if the preacher for the taking away of that scruple out of the minds of mē , do shew the consent of the elder writers , that men may sée it is but a vaine brag which our aduersaries make when they say that their religion is sutable to the iudgement of the auncient church : yet withall , i would not haue a man make this ordinary . and besides , i hold it fit for him to admonish the people that it is done , not to derogate from the sufficiencie of the scripture , neither to tie them to the opinions of men , but onely to remoue that doubt which by the whispering of wandring papists may arise in the minds of those that are not so well setled in religion . so likewise , for the spéeches and sentences of prophane authors , to bar them vtterly out of sermons , i dare not , because i find them vsed by that worthy paul thrée seuerall times ; yet this i say , that as pauls example warranteth , so it limiteth the vse of such testimonies , and sheweth that it must be done wisely and soberly , & that vpon two occasions chiefly : the one is to conuince atheists and irreligious persons , which estéeme not the scripture , that they may be driuen to say , we are pierced with our owne quils , & by that meanes may be either conuerted or silenced . another occasion is , by some either actions or spéeches of theirs to shame those that professe themselues christians . i remember how god threatneth to prouoke the people of israel with a foolish nation : according as many times the prophets to reforme the backwardnesse and slacknesse of the iewes , preach to them of the forwardnes and zeale that shal be in the gentiles after their conuersion . the same kind of reasoning no doubt a preacher may sometimes profitably vse , by the morally good precepts and actions of the heathen to checke the carelesnes of men professing christianity . thus , now & then i hold a man may tolerably alleage a sentence of a profane writer , & a spéech of a heathē author . as for the strange maner of preaching which is in vse in many places , both in the vniuersities & elsewhere , there is no man well affected , but if he knoweth it , he doeth excéedingly pitie it . one , as though the pulpit were but as a scaffold , in which he like a master of defence were to play his prizes , and to giue testimony of his wit , playeth vpon euery word , and descanteth vpon euery letter in his text , & as though the scripture were but a rattle for children and fooles to make sport withal , he tos●eth it hither and thither , & will not faile to offer it any violence , to frame it to an imagined conceit , & to draw it to an idle purpose . another , as if his purpose were onely to amaze the vulgar , & to affright & astonish the multitude , mounteth aloft , & is all in his great words , & new coyned phrases , more fit for some mimick or tragedian , then a minister of the gospel . a third , to gaine the opiniō of a profound man , that looketh into matters of more depth then the common sort , rubbeth ouer the vnsauory writings of some moth-eaten frier , & by an vncouth fashion of teaching , together with a multitude of allegories & intricate distinctions , mazeth both himselfe and all those whose vnhappy chance it is to be his hoarers . a fourth , to be reputed a good linguist and a man of great reading , s●uffeth his sermon with a legion of allegations , and enterlaceth it with many shreddings of latine and gréeke , and by that meanes , though his doctrine perhaps may be profitable , yet he confoundeth the memory of the diligent and attentiue hearer . thus while men being sicke of the pharisaicall disease , loue the praise of men more then the praise of god , and prefer the ostentation of their owne supposed learning before the edification of gods church , the people is brought either into such an amazednesse , as they thinke that any thing may be made of the scripture , or to such an vnsetlednesse in iudgment , as that they do rather hunt after variety of teachers for their strange maner of preaching , then séeke for sound instruction for their owne better edifying . thus haue you my iudgement touching the vse of humane testimonies in the exercise of preaching . nymphas . i willingly agree vnto you in that which you haue said touching some mens course of preaching : i haue sometimes my selfe bene at some mens sermons which haue had the name of great clarkes and learned men , and yet ( it may be mine owne dulnesse was the cause ) such hath bin their maner of handling , so full of schoole-points and termes , and sayings of men , that neither hath my iudgement bene bettred , nor my conscience any whit comforted thereby . but i do not yet see how you will make the parts of your owne speech to agree : you say preaching must be learned and eloquent , and yet you are straite in allowing the vse of those things which may testifie learning , and garnish and set forth your sermons : for i tel you , in the countrey here you are not thought learned , nor yet eloquent , so long as you speake nought but english , and withall common and ordinarie words , and alleage nothing but places of scripture , which euery man can fetch out of the bible as well as you . i pray you therfore recōcile these two , how there shall be that plainnesse in your sermons , and yet learning too . ep. the matter is not what men think , but what men ought to think . it is possible for a man to be skilful in the tongues , and yet to be farre from a learned man : and much reading , though it argueth industry , & may be a witnesse of a good memory , yet it is no certaine argument of sound iudgment . that man is most learned , who by his skill can make another man learned : for this is the end of preaching , to make men schollers : and he is most eloquent , that can make him who heareth him , vnderstand that which he him selfe conceiueth . the intent of learning , is not the men which haue it should therby bréed astonishmēt in their hearers , & gain admiration to themselues , but that by it they shold be profitable & helpful to those which are without it . so likewise , the vse of eloquence is not to be as it were a mist before a mans spéeches , to cause him to be the more hardly vnderstood , but to giue lustre ( as i may so speake ) thereto , & to bring both light & delight to the dull apprehensiō of the hearers . and therfore whosoeuer so preacheth , as that because of the depth of his learning ( as men cal it ) he passeth the capacity of the meanest hearer : again , whosoeuer so speaketh , as that his eloquence ( as men terme it ) maketh him to be as it were an alient to his ordinary audience , surely the same is neither truly learned , nor truly eloquent , because his learning not conceiued profiteth not , & his eloquence not vnderstood benefits not . so that this being considered , that he is most learned whose preaching is most profitable ; and he most eloquent , whose maner of speaking best entreth into euery ordinary conceit : it is an easie matter to reconcile these two , that our preaching must be learned , yet familiar eloquent , and yet so plaine , that it may be truly said of it , that if it be hid , it is hid to them that are lost . nymp. yet it will be thought that preaching will grow into very great contempt , and seeme but base in the eyes of wise men , if choise speaking & quaint words , which in other discourses are thought very commendable , shall be banished from your sermons . ep. why man , did you neuer heare of this phrase , the foolishnes of preaching ? when the gospel was first preached in the world , the reason why it had so cold entertainement was this : the iewes they wold either haue it confirmed by some extraordinary signes , or els they wold not credit it : ( the iewes require a signe : ) the gentiles being men of great learning , as appeareth , they seeing paul and the rest comming after a very meane fashion , men for their personage silly , for their profession , making shew to know nothing but one christ , & the same crucified , and for their course and cariage in the ministery , plaine , auoyding purposely the enticing words of mans wisedome , they by & by scorned it , and déemed it folly to be caried away by a thing of that simplicity : ( the grecians seeke after wisdome ) : hereupon this epithete was cast by the reprochful world vpon the best kind of preaching , to cal it foolishnes , and al for this one cause , because as for the substance of it , it is crossing to mans reason , so for the fashiō of it , according to the world , it is cleane out of fashion , onely beautifull in this , because it is not beautified with that , without which the nice and giddy world thinketh euery thing to be deformed . so that the opinion of men reputing it to be but foolishnesse , because it wanteth that garish garnishing which mens itching eares are much delighted with , ought to be no disparagement to it in the sight of those that are truly religious : and i pray god giue vs all grace that are called to the ministerie , to be so set for the glorie of god in the conuersion of soules , that we may more affect foundnesse of teaching , then finenesse of speech , and may thinke it our best art to secret art , & to take héede of that bastard eloquence , with this worst age of the world , seeketh to make legitimate . it is is a good aduice of ierome , to auoid a pompous kind of speaking in theologicall discourses : for a man ( saith he ) that handleth holy matters , a low and ( as it were ) a foote oration is necessarie , and not such as is thickned with artificiall framing of words . it is no matter , though the papists continue to call vs in scorne inke diuines , because of our close adhering to the holy text , so long as the soules of gods seruants shall receiue comfort by vs : for then i am right sure , this being sought for , the litle flocke shall pray for vs , and the great shepheard shall be good to vs. nymp. you haue ( at least to my vnderstanding ) well remoued this imputation of rude vnlearnednesse : i pray you therfore come to the next , which is that your maner preaching is too austere : you haue nothing in your mouths but hell , and condemnation , and the iudgements of god , which ( as some say ) is the next way to bring men vnto despaire . epap . i confesse indéed , that there is a great error committed by some , whose zeale doth sometimes so farre ouer carrie them , that they forget the apostles rule , of suffering the euill men patiently : and it may not vnfitly be said to many such , as christ said to his disciples , when they would needes haue had leaue to commaund fire to come downe from heauen , to consume them which would not receiue him ; they know not of what spirit they are . yet notwithstanding , the conceipt of the most , who wold haue nothing but peace preached to them , when as it may be truly said to them as iehu said to the seruant of iehoram , what haue they to do with peace ? is not at any hand to be giuen way vnto . it is méet for a preacher to take héed , that he breake not the bruised reed , nor quench the smoaking flaxe : so it is méete also to beware , how he taketh the childrens bread and cast it to whelpes . the course warranted to vs by the scripture is this : first , to indeuour the softening of our hearers hearts by bringing them to the fight and sense of their owne wretchednesse , before we aduenture to apply the riches of gods mercie in christ iesus . the preaching of the gospell is compared by our sauior himselfe vnto the sowing of seed : as therfore the ground is first torne vp with the plough , before the seede be committed to it : so the fallow ground of our harts must first be broken vp with the sharpnesse of the law , and the very terror of the lord , before we can be fit to entertaine the swéet séede of the gospell . they who desire as liuely stones to be made a spirituall house , euen the habitation of god by the spirit , must yéeld themselues to be squared and hewne , and smoothed by the well applying of the law : that so they may become fit to be coupled together with the rest of the building , and to grow vnto an holy temple in the lord. we must haue our mouths stopped by the law , and in our owne féeling , stand culpable before god , and euen as it were concluded vnder sinne , before we can be admitted to thinke our selues to haue any the least interest in the glad tidings of the gospell . to preach mercie and grace vnto them , which feele no néed of mercie , and know not the worth of grace is no better then to cast pearles before swine , and to expose the louing kindnesse of god vnto contempt . the person that is full despiseth an hony combe , saith salomon ; and what doth a proud pharsee , or a churlish nabal , or a scoffing ismael , or a politique gallio , care to heare of the breadth , and length , & depth , & height of the loue of god in his son iesus ? the doctrine of that nature , is as vnfitting such vncircumcised eares , as the snow the sommer , and the raine the haruest . vnto the horse belongeth a whip , to the asse a bridle , & a rod to the fools back . so long as mē wil be like an horse , and a mule which vnderstandeth not , and manifest their folly by hating knowledge , and by making a mocke of sinne , what other thing should they haue , but that which of right belongeth to them ? let the soule be once humbled , & brought to hunger and thirst after righteousnesse , & then a word in season , wil be as the cold waters to a wearie traueller , & as good newes from a farre countrie ; then will mercie be as welcome as the raine vpon the mowne grasse , & as the showers that water the earth . besides we find it true by common experience , that the greatest part are so dead in sin , that if a preacher should deale after some such mild fashion , as old eli dealt with his sons , his sermō will be but like a dreame when one awaketh : the hearer happily when he is gone will think he heard somthing , but he knoweth not what , and because he was reprooued but softly , he wil imagine that he sinned but sleightly , & so wil let al slip as easily as it came gently . so that a man that intendeth to do any good in this frozen generation , he had néed to be rather boanerges , one of the sons of thunder , then bar-ionah , the son of a doue . in the prophet ieremy we read , that the word of the lord is like an hammer : now if you adde that to it which salomon saith , that the words of the wise , are like nailes it wil follow thence , that he which is a wise maister-builder in the lords house , and a workman that needeth not to be ashamed , when he handleth this same hammer of the word , he will be sure to driue the nails of his exhortations to the head , that they may leaue some impression in the hearts of those which heare him . well then , this is the substance of my opinion in this point : i would haue a preacher to preach peace , and to ayme at nothing more , then the comfort of the soules of gods people , yet i would haue him withall frame his course to the manner of gods appearing to elijah : the text saith , that first a mightie strong wind rent the mountaines , and brake the rockes : then , after that came an earthquake , and after the earthquake came fire : and after all these , then came a still and a soft voice . after the same manner , i would not haue the still and mild voice of the gospell come , till the strong tempest of the law , hath rent the stony harts of men , & hath made their bellies to tremble , and rottennesse to enter into their bones , and to cry with that good king hezechiah : o lord it hath oppressed me , cōfort me : or at the least , because our auditories are mixt , consisting of men of diuers humors , it shall be good for him to deliuer his doctrine with that caution , that neither the humbled soules may be affrighted with the seuerity of gods iudgements , nor the profane and vnrepentant , grow presumptuous by the aboundance of gods mercie . nymp. indeed i am verily perswaded , that this course which you haue named is the best : for to this best agree those properties of the word which the apostle makes mention of : to wit , sharpnesse and entring through , to the diuiding asunder of the soule and the spirit , and discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart . but yet in the world this is a course that men like not of . epaph. no maruell : for ( as i haue in part told you before in the beginning of our conference ) it is the greatest enemy vnto that which men loue best , and that is their owne sinne : vntill god be pleased to put a new spirit within mens bowels , and to take the stonie heart out of their bodies , there is nothing that they do hate more , then to be reformed . but the truth is , that though no reproofe for the present seemeth to be ioyous but grieuous , yet at the length , when men are better aduised , he that rebuketh shall find more fauor , then he which flattereth with his lips . yea , and the time will come , that those who cannot suffer wholesome doctrine , will curse the day , that euer they knew , or heard those sweet-tounged chaplaines , and soothing zidkijahs , which haue sowed pillowes vnder their armeholes , and haue caused them to erre by their flatteries : and they wil also crie shame vpon those , whō they now thinke too cholericke & censorious , that they did not speake more throughly vnto them : therfore whatsoeuer mens acceptance is , it is best for vs to order the matter so , by speaking directly to the reproofe of sin , that we may be pure from the bloud of all men ; and that no man who liueth vnder our ministery may haue cause in the day of the lord to impute his slownes in repenting , to our too cold , too mild , and couert maner of reproouing . nymph . but what say you now , sir , to the third accusation : which is , that you make your preaching too common , and so by that means draw it into contempt , & make it to be the lesse esteemed among men ? i can tell you there be many that are preachers themselues be of that opinion . epaph. i am the more sorie : and to tell you what i thinke plainly , i am of that mind , that those which blame often preaching as a fault , what colour soeuer they may set vpon it , yet they do it chiefly for the couering of their own shame , that their negligence may not be taken notice of . i remember the old fable of the foxe , who hauing had a mischance & lost his taile , coming into the assembly of the beasts of the same kind , fell to perswade them euery one to cut off his taile , pleading the cumbersomnesse and waightinesse of it , with many the like circumstances : but the matter coming to further scanning , it was found , that the wily foxe did it onely to couer his owne deformitie , which ( if to be without tailes had once bene a fashion ) should neuer haue bene espied . i leaue you to apply it . only i wold wish all such so minded , to follow hieromes counsell , in which he admonisheth one calphurnius , vpon some such occasiō as this , that if he wanted téeth himselfe , he should not be enuious against those with were able to eate . when one counselled moses to silence eldad & medad , imagining that their prophecying in the hoast , might haue eclipsed moses his credite , moses liked not the aduice , but wished that all the lords people were prophets . but lest i should seeme too tart against this kind of mē , of whō yet there is some hope , i wil be cōtent to examin their reasons , because ( as i gather by your spéech ) they séeke ( as the prouerbe is ) to be mad with reason . they say , the ouer-commonnesse of preaching , will breed contempt of preaching . first of all , suppose it fareth with some , in respect of preaching , as it did with the vnthankfull israelites , which loathed the manna , wherwith the lord so miraculously fed them in the wildernesse , so they also seeme to be ( as it were ) glutted , with the continuall vse of the word preached : yet this can be no reason why a diligent and frequent preacher should remit any thing of his former industrie , and speak more sparingly , drawing his sermons into a smaller number , then he was wont . it is truly said , that there are thrée very good mothers , which haue three very bad daughters , and they are these : . truth , which yet in the world bréedeth hatred . . peace , a great blessing of god , and yet through our corruption it causeth idlenesse . . familiarity , and the cōmon vse of a good thing , which is notwithstanding mostly recompenced with contempt . and yet this is not in the nature of these things , but onely in our corruption . for as the nature of god is so perfectly good , that he doth turn euen very euill things , into very good things : ( as he made the malice of the iewes , in putting his sonne to death , to be a meane of our saluation ) so our nature is so absolutely euill , that it turneth very good things into euill : as sometimes the grace of god into wantonnesse , and christian libertie into an occasion vnto the flesh , & so in these particulars which i haue named . now because truth is generally hated , shall men therefore banish it from their speeches , and frame their toungs to flatterie ? because many abuse the blessing of peace , shall we therefore voluntarily raise tumults , or desire god to put an end to our happie dayes of quietnesse ? there is in the world no reason for it . neither is there any iust cause , why we should go about to make our preaching , as it were , something more dainty , because it may séeme to some raw and ill disposed stomackes , to breed a kind of fulnesse and satietie . secondly , if we looke better into it , we shall see , that the true cause of mens contempt of preaching , is not so much the common vse of it , as the ignorance of the worth and excellencie of it . the sun , the water , the fire , what things more common , and yet what things lesse despised ? and the reason is , because we all know , we cannot liue without them . let men be once perswaded of this , that neither the sunne , nor water , nor fire are more necessary for the outward man , then preaching is for the soule and spirit , and that where it is wanting , there the people decay , thē they will neuer be cloyed : or at least , if satietie through the in-bred corruption of our nature créepe vpon them , by the remembrance hereof it will quickly be recouered . thirdly , do but marke , what course of preaching it is , which pleaseth some to call ouer-common : namely , a setled course for euery sabboth , and it may be some wéeke day lecture , as it is called vsually . now i would faine sée , how any man can say with reason , that this is ouer often . paule commaundeth to preach in season . if this charge carie any waight , what better season can there be , then the sabboth , a day of leasure , a day in which men , if not for conscience , yet for custome and because of the lawes assemble themselues in one place , for the performance of one common dutie and seruice vnto god ? i remember , it is premitted as a circūstance to the historicall relation of some of christs sermons , that when he saw the multitude , and great troupes resorted to him , then he spake many things to them : and in another place it is said , that beholding the swarmes of people , and considering their spirituall wants , euen his very bowels did worke within him , and he began to teach them . so no doubt it is , & ought to be with euery good minister : he cannot ( as we say ) find in his heart , to dismisse a multitude assembled to worship god , without some word of exhortation . me thinketh , that when a pastor of a parish is comen into the church vpon the sabboth day , & beholdeth his whole flocke gathered together as one man , he should euen imagine , that the very presence of the people doth cal to him , as the rulers of the synagogue did to paul and barnabas ) that if he haue any word of exhortation for them , he should say on . so that if to preach in season , be a minister his dutie ; and the fulnesse of an assembly vpon the sabboth be a seasonable occasiō , ( as no man can deny it ) i cannot see how : so seasonable an exercise , can be charged with ouer-commonnesse , or blamed as a meanes to make the word of god lesse precious amongst men . god requireth , that we should call the sabboth a delight to consecrate it : now , how can that day be hallowed and consecrated as it ought , if so speciall a part of gods spirituall worship , as preaching is , be left out ? how must not the whole other seruice of the day , be euen as a lame and maymed sacrifice before god ? i know indéed it pleaseth some to say , that the méeting of the people together to the hearing of the word preached ( a phrase scoffed at , as though it were not the language of the scripture ) is not the chiefe institution of the lords day . but whatsoeuer mens idle conceipts be , yet the truth is , that the most excellent part of gods seruice , consisteth in the exercise of his word : the faithfull dispensing whereof is the beautie of the lords house , and the very life of the sabboth . the other parts of gods publike worship , do but as it were waite and giue attendance vpon this . for , wherefore is prayer , but to prepare vs to the word , and to begge of god to bestow those blessings which are promised in the word ? and if we will credite the scripture , men cannot pray till by preaching they are taught to pray . how shall they call on him , vpon whom they haue not beleeued , &c. the place is knowne well inough . againe , what is the vse of the sacraments , but to be seales to the word ? the preaching of the word is the tenor of the couenant betwixt god and vs : the sacraments are seales , to assure vs of the performance of the gracious promises , made vnto vs in the word . so that indéed the other specialties of gods worship , are of no vse , but onely so farforth as they haue reference to the word . in the second of isaiah his prophecie , where the state of the church of the gospell is described , the people are brought in , prouoking one another to ascend vp to the mountaine of the lord , to the house of the god of iacob : to encourage themselues and other hereunto , they vse this reason , he will teach vs his wayes : no doubt in their méetings they were to vse both prayer and the sacraments . but yet , that there they shold be taught , was vsed as the principall motiue ; because , as to be taught the wayes of the lord , is the principall blessing , so obediently to heare is the principall seruice . wherein hath the lord so great pleasure , as in this , when his voyce is obeyed ; and how can his voyce be obeyed till it is known , and what other ordinarie meanes of knowledge shall we trust vnto besides preaching ? séeing then the sabboth day is a fit time in regard of peoples assombling together , and seeing also the preaching and hearing of the word , is a main part of the worship of god , and by consequence especially intended in the first institution of the sabboth , he that indeuoureth to entertaine his people euery lords day , with the opening and applying the scriptures , cannot iustly be accused to be one , who by too much familiaritie draweth the ordinance of god into contempt . nymph . well , suppose it be yeelded vnto , that it be good to continue the exercise of preaching euery sabbath day , yet it may seeme superfluous to draw the people to hearing vpon the weeke dayes , when men are otherwise in their worldly affaires to be employed . epaph. that is it which i was now next about to speake of : i cannot say it is a matter of necessity for a minister to ty himselfe or his auditors to a wéeke-day sermō : yet if a preacher be willing so to bestow his paines , and the people , in respect of their dwelling together , as in cities and greater townes , be ready to redeeme some time for so good a purpose , i hold it very commendable . when paul and barnabas preached at antioch , we reade that the gentiles besought them that they would preach those words to them , in the space betwixt that and the sabbaoth day . now though i will not say that that example is a law , yet i must needs say it is an allowance to such a course : and that which was commendable in them , cannot deserue blame in others of gods childrē , who are willing to diuert some of their time allowed for outward businesses to spirituall occasions , as namely for the increasing of their knowledge , and for the edifying themselues in their most holy faith . neither can such a course be more an occasion of bringing preaching into contempt , then the established order for méeting on wednesdayes and fridaies to praier & reading of the scriptures , can be or is an occasion to make these good exercises to be despised . nymph . i haue heard some say , that it is sound and learned preaching which we that are the people must wish for , and not often and continuall preaching : and that the word of god is compared to raine , which though it be in measure profitable , yet in abundance maketh the seede rotten vnder the clods . in like maner they say that preaching in moderation may do much good , but if it exceed , may be an occasion of barrennesse among the hearers . epaph. it is a wofull thing , that men should so far stretch their wits to deceiue their own soules , & to beguile others also . i would we had all learned the apostles rule , not to do any thing against the truth , but for the truth . to satisfie you touching this that you haue named , hauing obserued it ( as you say ) out of the spéeches of some : it is worthy the marking , how satan in his subtlety vnder the color of allowing & vrging sound preaching , would ouerthrow diligent preaching ; therein building vpon a false ground , namely , that a man cānot preach often & preach soundly too : which how false it is , the vnreprouable labors of many industrious ministers in this land , are a sufficient witnes . it is a wise & holy spéech of salomon , & may be wel applyed to this purpose , a slouthfull hand maketh poore , but the hand of the diligent maketh rich : and againe , there is that scattereth & is more increased , but he that spareth more thē is right , surely cometh to pouerty . men of excellent gifts many times , whilest either in nicenesse fearing to hurt their bodies , or in pride , being as it were vnwilling to make thēselues too common , they are more sparing in this exercise of preaching ( which is the glory of a minister ) through the iust iudgment of god loose their former perfection , & as through disuse they grow lesse willing , getting a kind of habite of negligence , so also they become lesse able to do good in the church of god then they were before . now when preaching ( through defalt of oftē inuring thēselues vnto it ) becometh more irksom , they being to seek in many things when they fal to make preparatiō for it , then straite because of their owne vnaptnes ( the iust punishment of idlenes ) they conclude , that those who preach so oftē ( as they call it ) preach carelesly without study and without learning . on the other side , men ( it may be ) of meaner ( yet commendable ) gifts , who remembring the necessitie which is layed vpon them , and the woe which shall follow , if they preach not the gospell , do euen deuote themselues and all their studies and endeuours to the seruice of the church , and do so long after their people from the very heart roote in iesus christ , that for their spiritual furtherance they could beteame to deale euen their owne soules vnto thē : such i say , through the blessing of god vpon their holy labours , do so increase in iudgement and in zeale , and haue such a doore of vtterance opened vnto them , to speake the mysterie of christ , that as they themselues placing a kind of felicity in the doing of their dutie , find in themselues a certain facultie in that heauenly exercise , so the church of god committed to them , is instructed by their soundnesse of doctrine , and whetted on by their zealous exhortations . so that to say , that sound preaching is for the peoples behoofe , and not frequent preaching , is a méere collusion , presupposing that which is most false , namely , that soundnes of doctrine and oftenesse of teaching cannot go together . how litle i approue of rash aduenturing vpon this kind of exercise , that which i haue spoken formerly may witnesse : and how small reason there is to separate these two , profitable preaching and often preaching , i referre it to any indifferent iudgement . nymph . but because some that are reputed learned , affirme that often preaching is not so much for the peoples profite ; shew me i pray you some good reason to the contrary , that i may be able both to preuaile against mine owne backwardnes when i beginne to grow weary of diligent hearing , and to prouoke others also , when i shal behold them as it were glutted with multitude of sermons . epaphr . there is a certaine disease which we are all more or lesse infected with : our sauior christ calleth it slownes of heart : this euill sicknesse being accompanied with a kind of spirituall sléepinesse and lethargie , maketh vs as it were a very lumpe of fluggishnesse , slow in attention , slow in vnderstanding , slow in remembring , slow in practising . first for attentiō , we sée it by euery days experience , how like the most of our hearers are vnto the idols of the heathen , of whom the psalme saith , that they haue eares and heare not . it is true that elihu sayd to iob , god speaketh once or twise , & one seeth it not : many excellent things are spoken which we obserue not : we heare generally with the hearing of the eare , so that we haue all need to haue that of the prophet often vrged , he that heareth , let him heare : that so we might endeuour to fetch vp our hearts to our eares , that one sound may at once pierce thē both : this is our slownes in attention : there is nothing that is heard more idly , then that which ought to be listened vnto most carefully . secondly , for conceit & vnderstāding , our slownes therin equalleth our slothfulnes in the former : many points are taught , & that with as much plainnes as is possible ; in which notwithstanding he that speaketh seemeth as it were a barbarian vnto vs. that same natural man which perceiueth not the things of the spirit of god , sometimes beareth too great a stroke within vs : somtimes also ( god permitting it for our better hūbling ) the god of this world blindeth our minds , that the light of the glorious gospel of christ cānot shine vnto vs. the blind man whō christ healed at bethsaida , when his sight began in some degrees to be restored , being asked if he saw ought , he looked vp and said , i see mē walking as trees : he saw at the first not distinctly , but after a confused maner . i apply it thus : we are all by nature blind in the best things , and because they are spiritually discerned , of our selues we cannot see them : now when it pleaseth that god which commandeth the light to shine out of darknes , to shine in our hearts , we haue at the first but as it were a certain glimpse of heauenly matters , the precise & exact knowledge is not by and by attained . thirdly , touching memory , how great weaknes there is in it , i cal euery mans conscience to witnes . indeed we see how surely and how long men can remember matters of the world . the vncharitable and malicious man will remember an euill turne many a yeere , wayting still an oportunity to reuenge it . the old man hath so fresh an impression of the toyes & vanities of his youth , that he wil make you as perfite a relation of them with euery circumstance , as if they had bene done but yesterday . the couetous worldling , though perhaps he can neither write nor reade , nor hath any to keepe his reckonings , yet he can remember all his bargaines , all his conditions in bargaining , all his dayes , and houres , & places , either for the payment or receipt of any thing . the young man or woman can soone learne without book many a ballad or idle loue-song , tending to the increasing or stirring vp of vncleannesse : and so it fareth in other particulars . but come now to matters of religion & piety , alas how true is it that the conceipt of them is as soone gone from our minds , as the sound from our eares ? when dauid enquired of ahimaaz comming from the camp , touching absolom , his answer was , i saw a great tumult , but i knew not what . like to this will be the answer of a great many , when at their returne frō the house of god they are demaunded touching the particulars there deliuered ; they will say , they saw a man speaking , and heard the noise of his voice , and beheld his gesture , but they know not what , they can tell litle of that which was vttered by him . lastly , for slownesse in practise , it is long before , after long hearing we are brought to incline to a good dutie , and yet after some good disposition to it , there are so many delayes , and so many pul-backes , yea and after a reasonable beginning so many fallings backe , and so much waxing weary of well doing , that we are too well like salomons sluggard , who it may be maketh many offers of rising , yet whilest he crieth , yet a litle sleepe , a litle slumber , the time stealeth away , and his vineyard is all growne ouer with thornes for want of husbandry . this is our drowsie sicknes of slownesse of heart : the best ordinary remedy against this disease , is often preaching , as you shall see if you well examine it . continuall calling vpon , at last through a kind of importunitie will win vs to attention . often repetition of the same points will both cleare the vnderstanding and settle the iudgment also . it grieueth me not ( saith paul ) to write the same things to you , and for you it is a sure thing . that which after many times deliuery is stil committed to forgetfulnesse , yet at the last it is laid vp in the mids of the hart , and by the negligence and backwardnes of many yeeres , yet in the end ( the words of the wise preacher being like goades ) is drawne vnto some cōfortable perfection . if oftē preaching may lawfully be comcomplained of , who haue iuster cause to grone vnder the burden of it , then we that are ministers ? for besides the wasting of the bodies health , and the consuming of the vitall parts thereof , what a griefe is it to a mans soule , to lift vp his voice to them which wil not heare ? what a death and toyle to make infinite repetitions of the same principles ? what a vexation to beate the aire ? what a discouragement and euen the killing of a mans heart , to haue to do with those whose neck is an iron sinew , & their brow brasse ? and yet though these things might make a man to resolue with ieremy , to speake no more in gods name , yet we haue no such commission to giue ouer , but we are commaunded still to be instant , with all long suffering , prouing if god at any time will giue repentance . if a preacher should put forth such a question to christ touching preaching , as peter did touching forgiuing , & should say , master how long willt thou that i preach vnto a stif-necked and obstinate people ? vnto seuen times ? i doubt not but he would returne him the like answer that he did to peter , i say not to thee , vnto seuen times , but vnto seuentie times seuen times . when peter & his company had trauelled in fishing all night , & had takē nothing , neuertheles at thy word ( sayd he to christ ) i wil let downe the net : the lord hath called vs to be fishers of men . and though it be a great hart-breaking to haue laboured long to small purpose , yet for our masters sake there is further triall to be made , hoping that yet at the length that long-expected draught will come , and accounting our selues happy , and all our paines wel bestowed , if with all that we can do , we shall gaine one soule vnto god. to shut vp this point then , if we shall duely weigh our owne backwardnes , and withal the ministers duty , of whom that instant diligence is required , we shal then sée that it is much and often preaching which we must wish for , beseeching the lord to pardon that aboue all things , if we shall find the word through the common vse of it to grow vile before vs. nymph . you haue said well to this point , onely you haue forgotten the similitude of the raine , which may be some oc●n of doubt to vs that are common men ●th because we find in the scripture the word of god to be compared to the raine , and because also in common experience we feele the inconuenience of too great abundance of raine . epaph. i had not forgotten it , though if i had , it were not much materiall , it being indeed ( but for the satisfying of your minde ) scarce worth the answering . we haue a rule in schooles , that borowed speeches do make no grounded arguments ; and for scripture similitudes it is certaine , that by pressing euery thing that is applied by the spirit of god for some speciall illustration , a man shall run into a world of absurdities : according as the papistes in their violent wringing of many parables , to giue some colour to their vile opinions , affoord vs no small number of examples . it is true , the word of god is in the holy scripture compared to raine , and that very fitly : because as the raine falling vpon the land , maketh it either more fruitful or more barren , according to the nature of the soyle vpon which it falleth ; so the word that goeth out of the mouth of the lord , doeth not returne vnto him vo●le , but it becommeth either the sauour 〈◊〉 life vnto life , or of death vnto death to those which heare it : making the thildrē of god more zeasons of good workes , and the wicked more outragious . i do not find in the scripture the similitude of raine when it is applied to the word to haue any further meaning : and therfore to stretch it further according to a mans owne priuate fancy , is to forget the apostles rule of vnderstanding according to sobrietie ; and wilfully to continue in such a practise , is no other but to peruert the scriptures to a mans owne destruction . the lord doeth in the scripture threaten it as a plague , to take away the prophet , and to send a famine of hearing the word ; and he promiseth it also as a blessing , to giue pastors which shall feede the people with knowledge and vnderstanding , and watchmen which all the day and all the night continually shall not cease : but i do not remember that euer i read , either often preaching threatned as a curse , or seldome and thinne preaching promised as a blessing . and surely , if , as abundance of raine , so abundance of preaching were a punishment , i doubt not but the good laws of our church which haue prescribed a prayer against ouer-much raine , might well set downe the same course in respect of much preaching : from which notwithstanding euery honest mans eares would abhorre . and therefore i will be bolde to conclude , that this reason pressing the similitude of rayne and moysture to the washing away of diligent preaching and hearing from out of gods church , is a very dry reason , which though it may appeare to haue some taste of witte , yet hath scarcely any smacke of honestie . nymp. i pray god therefore we may remember to make the prayer which our sauior taught vs , namely , that the lord of the haruest would send forth laborers into his haruest , and that he would so furnish them with gifts of knowledge , of vtterance , and of zeale , that they may vrge and call vpon vs continually : for ( as you truly sayed ) we are so slow and backward , that except we be dayly pricked forward and rouzed vp , we shall grow cold and carelesse , and be euen frozen vpō the dregs of our owne securitie . i know sir , that in good manners it is now high time to forbeare troubling you any further , yet i would gladly craue your direction in one thing more ; and that is this : for mine owne part i thanke god , i both do , and euer ( since i had any tast of goodnesse ) hue loued preaching , onely i find a great defect in my selfe , that i cannot so profite by it as i would , and as i see many do . i am bold therefore to intreate you to shew me how and by what meanes i may heare profitably , both for the setling of my iudgement , and for the increase of holinesse in my common conuersation . the humours of many men , are herein verie strange : some say that there are such differences of opinions among you that be learned , that a common man knoweth not which of you to beleeue : others hold opinion , that it is not for priuate ordinarie persons , to take vppon them to iudge of the things they heare ; so that the resolution of the greatest part is , that it is the wisest way either not to heare , or else if for satisfying the lawes they must heare , yet not to giue credit . besides , there are many of vs which heare vsually , and yet are little bettered by it : their knowledge is but vaine iangling , and their conuersation not much differing from the irreligious mulitude : they are like the fish in the sea , which howbeit it liueth in the salt water , yet is without all tast of saltnesse . so though they liue vnder a setled ministery ( which is the salt of the earth ) yet being tasted , wil be found vtterly without any true seasoning . now if it might be , i would be loth to be in this number : and therfore my last ( though not my least ) suite vnto you , is to affoord me your best counsell in this case . epaph. i must néeds commend your good care in this matter : for indeed whatsoeuer men think , there is nothing so ful of danger as is idle and vnprofitable hearing . those things which are in their owne nature best , being ill vsed become most hurtfull . hearing is the ordinance of god to draw vs vnto himselfe : but being vsed carelesly and vnprofitably , it turneth to our greater condemnation : and therefore you cannot be too carefull herein . it is true that men pretend many things whereby to shift off the diligence which is required in this behalfe : but their pretences being examined will become lighter then vanitie it selfe . they say , we that are preachers , cannot agree among our selues ; that is not absolutely true ; for blessed be god many of vs do proceede by one rule , and do mind one thing . besides , so long as we liue here in the world , our vnderstanding is mixed with the darknesse of ignorance , and by reason thereof , there cannot chuse but be differences of opinions in some things euen among the best . take me three or foure , or halfe a doozen , which are dimme sighted , and cannot see without spectacles , if you set them to descrie a thing a farre off , they will be of diuers and contrarie opinions touching it : now saint paul sayth , that in this life , we do but see , as in a glasse darkely : and therefore our iudgements in all things at all times cannot be the same . moreouer , it pleaseth the lord sometimes for their punishment , which haue not receiued the loue of the truth , and for the discouerie of those which are sathan to be a false spirit in the mouths of some , and to suffer them to come amongst vs in sheepes clothing , though inwardly they are rauening wolues . now the possibilitie of being deceiued when we heare , ought rather to increase our care in hearing , then to be an occasion of vnwillingnesse to heare . this may be manifested by a plaine similitude : salomon exhorting vs to be carefull to obtaine the knowledge of gods truth , deliuereth his exhortation in these words , buy the truth : from this kind of speech i reason thus : if a man wanting necessaries , as meat and rayment , and being aduised to furnish himselfe from the market , should make this answer : the world is so full of deceipt , that a man knoweth not whom to trust , those which sell , many of them wil not sticke to beguile their owne fathers , and the trickes and deuises that tradesmen haue are infinit , so that it is twenty to one , but a man in chafering with them shall be beguiled , i had rather therefore go neare the wind , and want necessarie prouision , then put it to the aduenture of buying . if i say , a man pleade thus , what would we thinke of him , but that either he were very foolish or very froward ? and indéed we might well so estéeme him , because we know that the fraud of others must be preuented rather with care and circumspection , and not vsed as an occasion of abridging a mans selfe of necessaries . is not he then as much a foole , who wanting the sauing knowledge of the truth , and being called vpon to repaire vnto the house of god , ( which is as it were the lords market , in which the hid treasures of wisedome and knowledge are laid open to the view and offered freely to the vse of all men ) shall eftsoones plead the deceiueablenesse of false doctrine , the corruption of many preachers , the shew of some contrarieties among them ? yes verily , for is he to depriue himselfe of the necessarie foode of his soule , because it may be for lacke of care , that in stead of hoping to be fed , he may be poysoned ? nay rather , he is to become the more warie , the more diligent in prayer , the more exercised in the scripture , that when he cometh to buy the truth he may not be deceiued . nymph . truly you say well : onely it seemeth you build vpon a false ground ( at least in the opinion of some , ) namely , that we which are priuate men , may iudge of that which we heare , and examine it whether it be the truth or no : i desire therefore that you would proue that point well vnto me . epaph. indéed it is the opinion of poperie , that it is not for euery particular person of himselfe , to examine , trie or iudge , which is true or false doctrine , who is a true or false doctor : and it is a principle in that church , that it suffiseth a commō man to giue his consent to the church and to beleeue as the pastors beléeue . but all the true ministers of iesus christ are of another iudgement : for howsoeuer we do vrge all reuerent respect to the preaching of the word , as to the ordinance of god , yet we take not vpon vs to haue dominion ouer the faith of our hearers , as though we would bind them to giue credite to euery thing we speake , by the authoritie of our name ( as ambrose his words are ) therefore because we speake it . and in truth there is nothing more manifest in scripture then this , that the people ought iudicially to examine the doctrine taught , before they dare to entertaine it . paul to the galathians sayth thus , though we or an angell from heauen preach vnto you otherwise then that which we haue preached vnto you , let him be accursed . now if he with preacheth contrary to the reuealed truth be accursed , surely the case of him which giueth credite to him must needes be dangerous : and therefore for the auoydance of the danger , it is meete for euery man to be fully perswaded in his owne mind , that he may discerne things that differ one from another . the thessalonians are willed to trie all things : those to whom saint iohn wrote , are counselled to trie the spirits . salomon hath branded him for a foole , who will belieue euery thing . it is a disgrace for men professing religion to be like children caried with euery wind of doctrine . it is an honor to be like the gentlemē of beraea , who searched the scriptures daily , whether those things which the apostles taught were so . christ saith , that his sheepe know his voice , and will not follow a stranger . what can be more expresse then these testimonies ? let any man consider the places and the parties to whom these commaundementes of taking triall of the doctrine were directed , and he shall find that no one man is exempted from this dutie of examining . nymph . indeed me thinketh it standeth with some reason , that we should trie the doctrine which we heare before we credit it : for otherwise we may soone be drawne into many errors : we haue a prouerbe , that a man must tell mony euē after his own father , not in distrustfulnesse as though we thought he would deceiue , but in wisdom , because vnwittingly he may be deceiued . no doubt we ought to be much more circumspect in matters of doctrine , because euen the best that teach , in that they are men may erre , and because also in matters of that nature to be deceiued , is so exceeding dangerous . but all the matter is , how to iudge , and by what meanes to be able to know truth from falshood , wholesome from vnwholesome doctrine . epaph. know this therefore for a truth , that in all cases and controuersies of religion , the scripture onely must be admitted as vmpire , and euery thing must stand or fall at the determining thereof : for therefore hath the lord commanded it to be written and to be made common to all , that by it all controuersies might be decided , all doubts resolued , all heresies confuted , all truth confirmed , euery conscience guided , euery mans life framed . nothing is sound that is disagreeing frō it , nothing vnsound that is consonant thereunto . we are well contented to let that absurditie dwell with the parents of it , the papists : namely , that the scripture is rather to be tearmed an admonisher then a iudge : let it be their glorie , to thinke basely of the written word , and to ascribe the authoritie of iudging to vnwritten verities and traditions , rather then to it : we haue learned that the law which is come foorth of sion , and the word of the lord that hath issued from ierusalem , must be iudge amongst the nations : and we are commanded to appeale still to the law and to the testimonie , assuring our selues , that there is no light in them , which speake not according to this word . we find that our sauiour himself stood to the iudgement and triall of the scripture . paul submitted his doctrine to the same rule . we read the learned in former ages , to giue the priuiledge of iudging onely to the scripture . augustin disputing with a chief arrian , saith thus : let vs dispute by the authoritie of the scriptures , which are indifferent witnesses to vs both . and in another place : the epistles of bishops giue place one to another , and councels are amended one by another , but the canonicall scripture , that is the rule of all , and must correct all . basill the great demandeth that against all heretiques the scripture only be the vmpire . cyprian saith , that the rules of all doctrines haue flowen from the scripture . chrysostome willeth his hearers to fetch all things from the scripture . but what shold we stand vpon the testimonies of men , when the fore-alleaged places out of the written text are so apparant ? therefore to prepare you to the trying of the doctrines which you heare , hold this firme ground , that all points must receiue their allowance from the scripture . nymp. i could easily agree to you in this that you haue said , but that there is this difficultie therin , namely , how to make vse of the scripture , and to apply it to this worthy purpose of finding out the truth thereby . you that are scholers , and haue the helpes of learning , and of the artes and tongues , may make better shift in these cases , then we plaine men of the country can . there is no man that preacheth , but he alleageth the scripture , and so carieth it , that it may seeme to be absolutely for him in that which he auoucheth : so that vnlesse we be taught , how to iudge by the scripture , we shall still be in suspense . epaph. you haue made a very néedfull motion ; and therefore , if you will listen to it , i will acquaint you with that course whereof my selfe both in my priuate studies , and in hearing others publikely , haue had very comfortable experience . first of all , when you haue occasion and oportunitie to heare , you must remember salomons aduice , to take heede to your foote , & to vse some preparation before hand , praying the lord to open your eyes , that you may see the wonders of his law , and that his spirit of truth may be with you to leade you into all truth . secondly , you must labor by all meanes , to subdue & suppresse the seeming wisedome of your owne heart , resoluing to yeeld vp your self to whatsoeuer the lord reueales , though it be altogether crossing to your owne reason , and displeasing to nature . for as god resisteth the proud , and maketh them which professe themselues wise to become fooles : so he will guide the meeke in iudgement , and teach the humble his way , and reueale his secret to them that feare him . thirdly , when you haue thus framed and fitted your self by prayer and humilitie , be sure to remember this rule especially ; namely , that that doctrine is the truest , which maketh most for gods glorie , most for the comfort & reliefe of a wounded conscience , most for the restraining and curbing of our corrupt nature , and fleshly affections . mark a litle , and i will shew you the reason of this rule . first of all , the end why god made all things , was the glorie of his owne name : the thing especially aymed at by him , in that great and admirable worke the redemption of mankind , and in all the particulars of it , euen from the first foundation of it , his eternall election , vnto the last end hereof , our glorification in heauen , is : that no flesh might glorie in his presence , but that he that glorieth might glorie in the lord. this being then the maine end of all gods courses , to kéepe the glorie of al things entire vnto himselfe , it must needes be , that that doctrine is the most sound , which doth not admit the least empeachment of gods glorie . secondly , one chiefe end of the scripture is , as to beate down man , and to cleane strippe him of all goodnesse and inclination thereunto , for the kéeping of gods glorie whole vnto himself , so also to put gladnesse into all distressed hearts , and to bring the ioy of saluation to all afflicted spirits . dauid saith it is one propertie of the word of god to reioyce the heart : and paul affirmeth that the drift of all the scripture is , that we through patience and comfort thereof might haue hope . so that , looke what doctrine bringeth the fullest comfort , to a poore soule when it is euen at the depth of sorrow , that must néedes be wholesome doctrine , séeing it concurreth with the whole scope of the scripture . thirdly , one thing principally intended , in the discouerie of that grace of god which bringeth saluation vnto all men , was , that vngodlinesse and worldly lusts should be denyed , that the flesh with the affections and lustes shold be crucified , that the body of sinne should be destroyed , and that mortifying our members which are on the earth , we should serue the lord all the dayes of our life in holinesse and righ●eousnesse before him . and therefore that doctrine which presseth vpon men , the most procise and strict obedience to gods will , not giuing any the least toleration to any the smallest sinne , but still bridling mans naturall inclination vnto euill , that is the truth of god which euery seruant of god ought to entertaine . tell me now , vnderstand you this direction ? nymph . yea truly , i do in some measure vnderstand it ; yet if you shall please by one or two examples to shew the vse of it , i shal the better perceiue it , and know the rather how and after what sort to apply it . epaph. i will not sticke with you for that : because i am very willing to satisfie you in this matter . for the first branch therefore touching the glorie of god , take this example . we teach at this day , that faith onely iustifieth : our meaning is , that the very thing , which maketh a man stand righteous before god , and to be accepted to life euerlasting , is , the imputed righteousnesse of christ iesus : which righteousnesse is appropriated and applyed to vs onely by faith . others ( as the papists ) say , that to the iustifying of a sinner before god , two things are required , remission of sinnes , and the habit of inward righteousnesse , that is to say , charitie with the fruites thereof . so that we exclude , they establish the merit of mans works . well then , in this difference of opinion , there being learned men on both sides , and scripture alleaged on both sides , you desire to know which is the truth : bring them both to the touchstone , & sée which of the two maketh most for the glory of god , & the matter wil soone be answered , the doubt will quickly be cleared . consider therfore how euen the apostle paul by this rule decideth this controuersie : by what law ( saith he ) that is , by what meanes of saluation , is boasting excluded ? not by the law of workes , but by the law of faith . hereupon he concludeth , therefore a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the lawe . and indéede the reason is excellent : for if man could by any of his owne doings , further his owne saluation , or procure the increase of glorie in heauen , he had then some matter of glorying , and might ( as it were ) account himselfe the lesse beholden vnto god. but iustification by faith onely , taketh all vtterly from man , and ascribeth his whole saluation , the beginning , middle , and ending vnto the lord : haue you both an example of this rule , and warrant for it , being vsed by the apostle to decide so great a controuersie : and i am sure , that you shall find it of very great vse in many main points of our religion . secondly , for the second branch of the rule which is about the cōfort and reliefe of a distressed and distracted conscience ; marke this particular for the manifestation of the force of the rule . it is taught and maintained in our church , that a christian man may be vnfallibly certaine of his saluation in his owne conscience in this life , and that by an ordinarie and speciall faith . others there are ( both papists , and some also amongst our selues ) which hold that the certainetie of saluation , which in this life can be attained to , is onely coniecturall and probable , grounded onely vpon likelihoods : and this certaintie they confesse to be vncertain , and such as many times doth deceiue . behold , here is a great controuersie , and much is said on either side : now you that are a priuate man , would gladly know to which part you may safely encline , and what to rest vpon as the alone truth in this case . my aduise is therefore , that for your full satisfaction herein , you scan the matter by this rule : suppose a spirit déepely wounded , a conscience set as it were vpon the racke , seeing nothing in god but iustice and maiestie , and a consuming fire ; finding nothing in it self but sinne and corruption , and infinite matter of despaire , so that by this meanes it is brought to such an exigent , that it knoweth not which way to turne , but is euen readie to crie out with paul , who shall deliuer me ? enquire now which of those two doctrines doth affoord the best comfort in this wofull case , that will quickly appeare : for the one holdeth the conscience in a continuall suspence , the other laboureth to settle it in the firme assurance of gods vnchangeable loue in christ iesus : the one bringeth a plaister , but much too litle for the sore , telleth of the riches of gods mercie , of the depth of his loue , of the vnsearchable sufficiencie of christs merite , but yet denyeth the soule to be assured of a particular interest into it , and by that meanes rather increaseth then relieueth the anguish : the other applyeth the medicine to euery part of the wound , sheweth christ , discouereth the riches of christ , and putteth the amazed heart into a full , assured , and comfortable possession of christ . so that whatsoeuer shall be argued to the contrarie , you may be bold to build vpon that which bringeth the most ioyfull and welcome tidings to an affrighted conscience : that is best agréeing to the scope of the scripture , that cometh nearest to the nature of the gospel . come now to the third brāch , which is concerning the libertie of the flesh , and let me giue an instāce of that also . there is at this day a doctrine , ( almost openly taught , or at least tolerated by many that shold teach otherwise ) namely , that a man may do well inough , without so much preaching : that it is not a matter of that great necessitie to frequent the places of gods publike seruice , but that a body may do well inough at home , with some priuate deuotions : that common men néed not trouble themselues greatly with the scripture , or with knowledge in religion : that the religious spending of the sabboth is a thing indifferent : that often communicating at the lords table is not of any great importance , but that once or twise in a yéer is as good as euery day : that it is not good to be too forward in matters of religion , ouerstrait in conuersatiō : that god wil beare with many smal matters , &c. on the other side , there is a doctrine that telleth vs and proueth vnto vs , that if we desire to walke and to liue so as may please god , and as becommeth christians , we must make conscience of often hearing the word , we must as new born babes desire the sincere milke thereof , that we may grow thereby , neuer contenting our selues with any measure of knowledge : we must striue & straine our selues , though sometime it be with some trouble and diseasing of our bodies , to come to the places of gods worship , and to giue attendance at the postes of the doores of the lords house : we must call the saboth a delight to consecrate it , resting not onely from labour , but from al things that may disable vs and make vs more vnfit for gods seruice , either in respect of preparation before it , or of conference and meditation after it : we must for the strengthning of our faith , and the solemne remēbring of the death of christ oftē communicate : we must in our liues walk circumspectly , with zeale & courage and opennesse in the practise of religion : we must make conscience of the smallest sin , & neuer thinke we haue done enough in the duties of holy obedience . here is againe a new question , and you perhaps in some of these particulars , through the diuersity of opiniōs , may be vnresolued . if you demaund of me , how you may be stablished , i refer you to this rule ; search & consider which of the two tendeth most directly to the yoking & hampering and restraining of mans natural disposition : that wil soone appéere , if you look out into the world , & hearken how these doctrines are entertained : for the former , who so shall teach it , or séeme to approue it , no doubt that man shal haue many followers and many fauorers : for doth not euery man almost like it & wish it , that there should be lesse preaching ? that it should be free to spend the sabboth , euery one as himselfe listeth ? to receiue the communion when men think good ? to neglect knowledge ? to banish the bible out of their houses , or else to let it ly like old harnesse rusting for lacke of occupying ? wil it not by and by be receiued , that it is not good for men to be precise , to be ouer scrupulous , to stand too nicely vpon points ? surely he that shold teach this , i might say of him as the prophet spake of old , he were a preacher for the people . but now for the other doctrine , see what an acceptation it hath in the world : fie vpon it will one say , what a tedious thing is this to heare so many sermons , what a trouble to come so often to the church , what a misery to be restrained from our sunday-sports , what a dull time wil it be and how long will the day seeme if thus we be limited ? what need so many communions ? what shold men be so hot and earnest in religiō ? if this once take place , farewell all mirth , farewell all good company , adieu to all thriuing , if this be hearkned vnto . this is and will be the entertainment of this doctrine : it will be reputed as the prophets sermons were of old , euen the burden of the lord. so by the generall yéelding or gainesaying of the multitude , it may soone appeare which of the two is the greatest enemy to the flesh : and therefore you both may and must conclude with the latter doctrine , that that is from aboue , because it meeteth with our corruption at euery turne , and is still beating it downe , labouring to keepe it within compasse . and by this rule ( to gaine it the more credit ) paul tooke vp the question among the galathians , touching the vse of christian libertie , setting it downe for a ground , that it is then best vsed when it is not vsed as an occasion to the flesh , but with a holy respect to become seruants each to other by loue . thus i haue ( for your better vnderstanding ) giuen you an example of euery branch of this rule , that you may know how to apply it ; assuring you out of mine own poore experience , that there are very few of the fundamentall points of religion , which directly concerne the worship of god , or our conuersation with men , but they may receiue their triall by this canon , and may truly be sayed to stand or fall , according to the iudgement and verdict thereof . nymph . i thanke you vnfainedly for this direction ; yet touching this latter branch , it seemeth to me that there may be some doubt made , because the popish religion is thought to restraine and punish the flesh more then ours : for it imposeth many very straite things and vnpleasing , as fasting , penance , going barefoote , pilgrimage , payings of money , to purchase prayers when men are dead , and diuers the like : i pray you therefore cleare me in this onely doubt , and then i am satisfied . epap . i say in one word of all these , as paul did of things very like , they haue indeede a shew of wisedome in voluntarie religion , and humblenesse of mind , and in not sparing the bodie : but yet another way they giue greater libertie : for when it is taught that these things are meritorious , and of worth to do away many sinnes , what will not a man be content to do , for a wéeke or an houre , or a short time , for the remouing of the sinnes of his whole life ? and who will not be content when he is dying , to giue all that away which hee must needs leaue behind , for the deliuery of his soule from a supposed purgatory ? who wold not go an hundred miles on pilgrimage to the shrine of such or such a saint , to be assured that it shal be his discharge for the remainder of his life ? so that though these bodily impositions may seeme something straite one way , yet they giue trebble libertie another way , and therefore may truly be sayd , rather to be an occasion to the flesh , then to li-limit the corruption of the flesh . nymph . it is very true ; for what will a man feare to do , so long as he is taught , and by teaching perswaded , that by almes-deeds and fasting ( falsly so called ) and some legacies bequeathed to religious vses ( as they terme them ) or by conformitie to the penall iniunctions of a priest , he may make sufficient satisfaction ? therefore i hold this for answer enough to that obiection . epaph. well neighbor , to let that passe , & to follow the motion which you made , i must to the former rule adde one thing , which is this : take heed by all meanes of such eares as the apostle calleth itching eares , and of delighting to get an heap of teachers . it is a dangerous humor to affect variety of instructors , and it must needs cause distraction : it filleth mens heads with a world of idle questions , & draweth them into vaine iangling . it is satans policy as long as he can to hold men in ignorance , and in the contempt or neglect of knowledge : when he cannot preuaile that way , but men will listen to instruction , then he will endeuor to busie them with prophane fables and vaine bablings , which breed questions , rather then that godly edifying which is by faith : that so he may withdraw their thoughts , and steale away their hearts from those things which ought principally to be looked vnto . especially remember the aduice of paul to his sonne timotheus , continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and art perswaded thereof , knowing of whom thou hast learned them . note the place . the apostle presseth a stiffe and firme continuance in truths receiued , whē as these two things concurre therewith ; a mans owne perswasion ; and the consideration of those which first taught vs. first , for a mans owne perswasion , i pray you to obserue it , lest i should séeme in stéed of grounded setlednesse , to commend selfe-willed péeuishnes . by being perswaded , paul meaneth thus much , as if he had sayd to timothy , if it be an opinion which thou hast not sodainly entertained , but vpon good aduice , if it hath seated it selfe in thy iudgement then when as thou with care & conscience , with humilitie , with vsing the ordinary means , with prayer vnto god , with heartie desire to be guide● in the truth hast enquired after knowledge , surely thou oughtest not , being by these degrees brought vnto it , and in this maner perswaded in it , rashly and sodainly to forgo it . this is that which is meant by perswasion in this place . a setlednesse of iudgement , following vpon an orderly course to bring a man thereunto . the second thing that must concurre , is the consideration of the parties of whom we haue learned : as if paul had sayd , obserue and marke well what kind of men they are , by whose ministery thou hast bene instructed ; if they be men , who by their fidelity in teaching , and by the blessing of god vpon their labors , in vsing their ministery to conuert mens soules , do cary with them the seale of their ministery ; nay if thine owne conscience can witnesse for them either of these out of thine owne feeling , then beware of a contrary doctrine : though i would not haue thee tie thy selfe to any mans authoritie , yet be well aduised before thou alter thy iudgement confirmed by such a ministerie . this was pauls meaning : and if you care to follow it , you shall in experience find it good counsell . thus i haue acquainted you with the best course i know as yet , both for the first informing , and the after-setling of your iudgement in gods truth . nymph . i pray god to enable me by his holy spirit , both to remember and to practise this your good aduice . i will now make this onely request : you know it is not inough to be a man of knowledge , vnlesse a man do with knowledge ioyne obedience . if you know these things ( saith our sauiour ) blessed are yee if you do them . wherefore as you haue taught me how to heare profitably for the gayning of knowledge , so i pray you direct mee how i may make good vse of hearing for the gouernement of my life . epaph. in the first place therefore remember , as to pray to be guided into all truth by the spirit of truth , so to begge of god to direct the preachers tongue , that he may speak vnto your conscience , and that his sermons may be as a glasse , in which you may behold the very true estate of your owne soule . secondly , labour to put away from you that which salomon calleth a froward heart , that is , a heart that cannot beare reproofe : remember it wel , and think seriously vpon it , that there can be no greater testimony of true wisedome then to loue him that rebuketh you : and therupon resolue with your selfe beforehand , that whatsoeuer is spoken against your sin , be it neuer so tart or vnpleasing , yet you will receiue it with all meeknesse , and esteeme it as a precious oyle . thirdly , in hearing , endeuour when the preacher hauing layed the grounds of his doctrine cometh to application , to obserue what is spoken by way of exhorting , what by way of reproofe , what with an intent to minister comfort : each point being referred to these heads , shall much the better be remembred . fourthly , when you are departed from the sermon , forget not to find a time as soone as is possible , whilest things heard are most fresh , in which to commune with your owne heart , and to ponder , and scanne , and search diligently those things which were deliuered . this is that which we call meditation , an exercise which dauid exceedingly delighted in : it is the same to the mind , that digestion is to the body : that which we heare is by it made our owne , so that the soule receiueth nourishment thereby . now in the practise of this dutie , it is good to consider what things are presently necessary , and what otherwise . those things which are of present vse , are eftsoones to be layed hold vpon , and a certaine secret oath is to be made betwéene god and a mans owne soule , to make hast and not to delay a speedy and diligent executiō : yea though the dutie inioyned be both in shew painfull , and an enemy to worldly profit , an abridger of carnall delight , and a meanes by all likelihood to darken estimation and credit amongst men . if it be a matter of spirituall consolation , or of prouocation and incoragement to persist in a good duty , it must be reputed as a chearing from heauen , and heart ( as we say ) to be taken thereby against all , either inward assaults or outward discouragements whatsoeuer . as for other points , which may seeme not to be of so present vse , they are not to be neglected , but to be hidden and kept in the middest of the heart , that they may not be to seeke when the lord shall offer occasion to employ them . you must do in this case as you do in household matters : if you find an implement which you know not how forthwith to bestow , you will say , it is pitty to cast it away , it will be no charge to keepe it , once in seuen yeares it may serue for a purpose , for the which you would be loth to lacke it : so though some things which you heare , are not ( as may seeme ) presently needfull , yet you must make conscience safely to preserue them , because a time of vse may come hereafter , in which , as it would be a griefe to want direction , so the lord ( it may be ) may then in iustice deny that , which formerly being offered was entertained with contempt . in a word , looke to it that you be well furnished for all occasions , and know it to be the chiefe duty , and the especiall marke of a good christian , to take heed , and alwayes to haue respect vnto the holy directions which are soundly deliuered from gods word ; so shall you become wise vnto saluation , and perfect vnto all good workes . this is the shortest and most familiar direction that i can giue you , for the religious gouernement of your life by the forme of doctrine , which in the ordinary ministery of the word shall be deliuered vnto you . larger directions the many good bookes which good men haue written of that matter , will plētifully affoord you . this may serue at this time , and it may be god will offer vs an occasion to talke of this matter more at large hereafter . nymp. i hope so too : and i shall for my part be ready to take any oportunitie , being incouraged both by this your kindnesse , and by the benefite and comfort which i must needes confesse i haue receiued by this present conference . for this time therefore i commit you to god , whom i heartily beseech so to blesse your labours in the ministerie , that you may turne many to righteousnesse , and may take that heede vnto your selfe and vnto learning , that you may both saue your selfe and them that heare you . epap . i thank you for your good praier : i do also desire the same god for his son christs sake , to giue you that good vnderstanding in all things , that you may be fulfilled with the knowledge of his will , and that he would also strengthen you with all might through his glorious power , that you may be fruitful in all good works , and may keepe the profession of your hope without wauering to the end . and so god be with you . to him be glorie for euer , of whom , and through whom , and for whom are all things . rom. . . finis . faults escaped . in the preface , pag . line . reade generally . p. . l. . put o● haue in the booke , p . l. . put out l. p. . l. . reade l p. l. . reade courses p. . in margin reade . tim. p. . l. . reade lesse p. . in marg . reade ioh . p. . in ma● reade p l reade forbidden f● p . l . put in his ( when a man ha● done hi● best . p in marg reade pro. . p. ● . in marg . read rom. . ● p. in marg reade heb. p . l. ● reade 〈◊〉 marg . reade . l m p. . l. . reade ref● p. ● . l. . reade mens . p. ● l ● . reade opposers . p. l. . reade hearts . in marg . reade l ● . . p. ● in marg . reade iob. . p. l. . reade , ●t which he will not do . p. . l vlt. word , left out p. l ● . reade his p. l reade ( it may be ) p. . l. reade c●rie● . p. . l. . reade may . p. . l. vlt. of wanteth . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e iohn . . . luke . . . psal . . . psal . . . psal . . . psal . . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . clearch● apud athen . iob . , . . sam. . . . cor. . . the summe of the treatise . iude . heb. . . rom . . the causes of writing it . . pet. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . basil . epist . . ad greg. na●an . august de bap. contra dona● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . theog . diuerso stylo non diuersa fide augustin . de tri●s . lib. . cap. . s●ip s● laudare va● , v●tup●rare , st●s est . la●rs . de arist . hieronym . ad marcellinam . prou. . . vt pr●nie● & subseque● misericordia , quaecu●que sci●da nescio doceat me , in his quae vera nous custodiat me , in quibus vt homo fallor corrigat me . fulgen . ad mou. l● . . thess . . . notes for div a -e mal. . . . pet. . . psal . . . isa . . the profit of conference betwixt the minister and his people . heb . the occasion of the whole dialogue . resistāce doth euer accompany the preaching of the truth luke . . ● . tim. . . inde . ● pet. . . mat. . . exod. . exod. . . tim ● . numb . . ierem. . ● . act. . . act. . . ver. . act . . . act. . . act . act. . . tim. . . & . . lu● . ● . luke . . rom. . . the causes of the dislike of preaching the first cause king. . . vng● in where eph. . iohn . . psal . . . eph . isa . zach . isa . . the second cause of the dislike of sincere preaching psal . . . gen. . num. . . amo● . . iohn . . rom . iohn . . rom. . . rom. gen. . ● . gal. . . isa . ● . ● col. . ● . rom . ver ●● the 〈◊〉 cause 〈◊〉 the ●ke 〈◊〉 preaching . iam. . ierem. . . . thess . . gen. . . ierem. . . chap. . . chap. . ierem. . . king . . ierem. . . luke . the seueral excepters against preaching . the ignorant peoples exceptions against preaching . iohn . ephes . . ● . ephes . . . ephes . . ezech. . . act . ezech. . ● . ioh. . act . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . iudg. . cypr. li. . ep . . heb. . ● . . cor. . ● sam ● . act . ier. . . col. . philip. . hebr. . . ● rom. ● deuter. . ● . g● psalm . ● prouerb . . prouerbs . . mathew . prouerb . psalm . . psalme . timoth. . p●al . . eph●● . ioel ● isay . . . cor . . math. ● . prouerb ● . phil. . . col . . prouerb . . . ephes . . ● thessal . . ● . timoth. . . ephes . . . luke . prouerb . . . p●e . luke . . ephes . . . luke . . prouerb . . ier. . . prouerbs . . psalme . mathew . . . pet. . . rom. . . iohn . roman . . . pe●●ath . whit de sacra script . q●est . . august . in lib. contra epistol . ●nd . cap. . ephes melan●h●n prouerb . . rom. . . eccles . . . isa . . psal . . . prouerb . ● . prouerb . . . prouerb . . prouerbs . the obiections of prophane men against preaching . m. greenham . t● . . . s●ta s●ct● 〈◊〉 est duplex 〈◊〉 . iohn . . iohn . timoth . . ierem. . . . luke . . psal . . phil. . . romanes . romanes . . pet. ● . . th . . . timoth . ● hebr. . . iude . reuel . tit. . ● tit. . ephes . . . ephes . . pet. . . . thessal . . . ephes . . sam. . ● . . corin. . ierem . . rom. . . . . ephes . . . . corint . . ● ier. . . rom. . . gal. . . p● . . , . i●de . isay . . ● . verse . cor ● , ● . rom. . . psalm . . . ephes . . . . thessal . . math. . . act. . . acts . . acts . . acts , . acts . . acts . . reu. . acts . . matthew . mathew . ephes . . luke . . acts. . . phil. . . ephes . . . corinth . . prouerbs . . cor. . . psalme . the allegatiōs of worldly wise men against preaching . iob . iob . . psalme . , . cor. . ● . rom. . ● prouerbs . verse . io● . . ●● . kings . . . corinth . ephes . . psalme . corinth . . . . corinth . ● ● corinth . . . co●th . ● . timoth. . ● . peter . ● . philip. . . prouerbs psalme . ● . col. . ● . prouerbs . . romanes . . cor. . . rom. . ●● . . cor. . . luke . ● . rom. . cor . cor. . . verse . acts . . exodus isay . . corinth . . . cor. . corinth . . . . timoth. . iohn . ● . acts . . . verse . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 damas . ● . . ad calcem . mathew . . hoc sol● non potest deu● , quod non 〈◊〉 aug. 〈◊〉 lib. do sy● . dei posse velle est , ●o posse , nolle . tert. ●n . pras . . pet. . ier. . . iohn . . iosh ● isay . gen. . . . ● romanes . acts . luke . ieremie . . amos . is●y . a● . thessal ● . acts . ve●e . ezech. . . . psalme . psalme . . co●th . . . chrys . homil. . de lazaro . alphons . de cast●●b c. . de 〈◊〉 . unit . haret ▪ mathew . . chrys . homil. . in epist . ad colos . theodoret lib . de corrigend . or● . aff● . hosius de sacr● ver●a . uid legendo . rom. ● eph. . acts . . a● . . verse . . caluin vpon that place . iohn caluin vpon that place . augu tract . in joh● chrys● hom. . in acta . apost . acts. . mathew . august . tr●c● . 〈◊〉 ioh . origen . hom. . in isa . cyril . li. . c. ● . . corinth . . . corinth . . ieremie . exodus . hebrewes . . timothy . chrys . homil. . de lazaro . acts . . gal. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chrysost . homil. . ● . corinth . math. . . exodus . . verse . prouerbs . . prouerbs . . . corinth . . . timothy ● . timothy . ier. . . timothy . ● . corin. . , olere lucernam iames . . prim ad docendum , quàm ad discendum . con. carth . c. cons. agat . c. con. totes . . c arist . ●th . lib. . iob . . verse . . psalm . . tim. . la●rs . lib. . 〈◊〉 vita pythag. chrys . obserueth that paul sayth not vs● but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . timothy . . corinth . . . ieremy . rom. . . iohn . . maior pars vincit meliorem . exod. . mathew . . king. ● . aug in psal . ● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . nava● luke . . mathew . phil. . . non quid egeris , sed quid supersit curandum : si dixisti sufficit , defec●sti . mathew . luke . . vbi incipis nolle f●ri melior , the defi● esse bonus . . peter . . verse . ecclesiast . . augustine . verse . psalme . ieremy . . ephes . . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gal. . . . thessal . . isay . . deut. . . tit. . . psalme ● . . non audeu scribore contra episcopum commu●nis m●a . hieronymus ad augustin . pl●s omnibus & amanda & prafe rendaest veritas . dyonis . alexan. iob . . the exceptiōs of some seeming learned . eccles . ● . . . . sam. . . iudg. . . . tim. . . cor. . . ephes . . . . gal. . . . cor. . ● ephes . . . palem . . tim. . . iohn . . iohn . . mat. . . isay . . psalme . . tit. . ● . . tim . . cic. de oras . lib. heb . ● . acts . . acts . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . luke . . b●cer vpon ephes . ca 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . bas . ep . . pet. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . epip . hae. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . basil . de spirit● sancto . cap. . ieremy . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . rom. . . . tim. . . ephes . . . prouer. . . . cor . . eccles . . . ieremy . . . ieremy . . . timothy . . . mathew . psalme . . acts . pet. . . rom. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . corinth . . . mat . . ●ol . . rom. . . . timoth. . timoth. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . act. . . . sam. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . heb. . . mathew . . mathew . . . kings . . . psal . . . psalme . . . . sam. . mathew , canticles . . ephes . . . tit. . . ve●tat● prop●gnator & ●rro● expugnator . aug de doctr. chr. lib . cap. . . corinth . . n●hem . . . nehem. . ● canticles . isay . . . timoth . . titus . . . . operosioris , vberior●que doctrina . aug. in euch. ad laur. lignes sacerdotes . boniface . luke . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . . cor. . . on● est vel ipsis angel● formicandum ber● . colum. iust . lib. ca. sect . . mathew . . epist . . theodor. 〈◊〉 . . c. isay . . deuter ● . mal. . deuteron . . . nehemiah . . luke . &c. su●das in dictione . i● . acts . . acts . . hos . . . cor. . . . . timot. . . vt pradicit , doceat & concionetur . in com. . cap. ad galaias : non in verbu sed in sensu , non in superficie sed in medu●a . basil lib. . contra e●nomium . tertull aduersu● pra● . ad sensum rei non ad s●um vocabuli . sensus legis , lex est non nuda verba . deut. . . . jn ser●mum folijs . adra●em ra● . gal. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . augusti● in ● . de paster● . pastum homin● quam pastum o● ber●ad eu●gr . ezech. . . math . ● . sunt qui pastor● nomine gauden● . pastorum autem officium impie● nolunt in lib. de pastoribus . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . tim. . . veritas eterna victoris . aug de c●s . dei l . c. ● . fab max apud liu , li. saep● laborare n●mis , ●qu●ng . psalm . . . psal . . . paule ascribeth to the worde both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 light . and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enlightning : . cor. . . aug de doctr. chr. lib. . cap. . in ijs quae apec posita s●s . . timoth. . ad ●fantiū & ●actenium cap. citatem . augan psal . isay . . deut. . acutè ingeres tre● . iohn . ● . spiritus sanctus fa● nostra consi●lis in locu apertioribus augustin . de doctr. chr. lib. . cap. . acts . . pascit manisostu , exercit occul●is . august . tract . a● io● psal . . chrys . h●m . in opire impers●to in matth. vt alij essent doctores , alij disc●pu● . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . chry●om . . 〈◊〉 . thes . . thessal . . . . pet. . . rom. . . . luke . . . pet. . . wolph . in n cap. . mat. . . reue●● iohn . . luke . . reuel . . . psalme . luke . . . . iohn . . rom. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . . thes . . loquitur and c● vn●sc●squ● nostrum . ep. . epist . . ad theophi● . cap. . s●e ●lla re●usanone . august . de nat . & gra . ca. . . tim. . . . pet. . . iohn . acts ● . . pet . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . perinde sunt ea qua ex scrip . colligūtur atque ea qua scribuntur . nazian lib. . de theolog. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 acts . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . acts . . acts . . acts . . . thess . ● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . psal . . . psal . . . . timoth . . non in legendo , sed in intelligend● hieron . contra luc. rom . . . cor. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . luke . . luke . ● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . act 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . hab. . . rom. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 act. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 act. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . co. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ephe. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . prou . . tim . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . isa . . . ier. . . pro. . . . . . . . isa . . . mat. . . what preaching is . . tim. . . luk. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . cor. . . pro. . . heb. . . . vers . . . cor. . . . tim. . . . cor. . . tit. . . . vers . . . . thes . . . . tim. . . . ● . tim. . . . act. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 heb. . . cap. . . psal . . . . ioh. . . neh. . iob. . . mat. . . luk. . . act. . . act . . . . . king. . . rom. . . col. . heb. . . caluin and iunius . . cor. . . heb. . . ve●us testamentum in nouo reuelatum , no●um in vetere velatum . aug. in psal . . athen●us . exceptions against the maner of preaching . ieremy . . eccles . . . . corintl . . psalme . . . corinth . . prouerbs . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . tim . . timothy . ●allē ag●ster● cuipā , quàm doprocar● . pic. ●a● . api agumento a similu . h●y . de doct chr. l. . ca. . si praparent ingen● non de●●ca● senec. a●s longa vi● 〈◊〉 . ego illos venerot & tantu nominibu● semper assurgo sen. l. . ep augustine was called haereticor● mall●us , and ambrose orbis terrarum oculus . . thessal . . . iura● in verba● witnes austins retractations . rhetori●atis●mus & in mor● declamatori● pa●sper lusimus co●er a holuid . in enc ad lau● . ad janu●um in ipsis sanctis script . multo nes●m plura qua sciam . epist . picu● . mir● ex euseb . nolo author● meā sequaru , vt 〈◊〉 p●tes tibi aliquid necesse esse ●redare , quiniam a ma dicitur . ad paulinum . . kings . ● . . kings . . . corinth . . . . corinth . . . si quid dicatur ●ique scriptur : cudi●orū cognitio● a●dicat . in psal . . nō valet , ha● ego dico , hac tis dicis , haec i●e dicit , sed ●c decit dominus . ad vin● . acts . . corint tit●s . . prud● & sobr● . za●h . p● pe● 〈◊〉 ●mur the● hist . lib . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ta●qud ar● crep● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 proc● ▪ ampu● & se● verba . iohn . how a sermon may be plaine & yet learned . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mathew . . . cor. . . cor. ● . . non ornamenta , sed documenta aug. de doctr . christ lib. . c. magra est ar● celare artem . phae●leratam orationem in theologicis tra●ationibus de reb● 〈◊〉 tracta● pedestris oratio necessaria est , non quae ver●or ● compositione frondescat . ad damasum . atramentales theolog. ecki● . ● tim. . . luk. . . . isa . . . math. . . ma● . . ier. . . cor. ● . pet. . . ephes . . ● vers . ● . rom. . ● gal. . ● . luk. . mat. . prou. . . eph. . . act. . . pro. . vers . . psal . . pro. . . pro. . . matth. . . isa . . . pro. . psal . . ● . . sam. . . mar. . . mat. . . ier. . eccl. . . . tim. . . kin . . . nab. . . isa . ● . . heb. . ● . ezec. . ● . psal . . . heb. . . pro. . . . tim. ● ier. ● . . . king. . ezec. . . ier . act . ne vescenti● deutibus , edeutulus in● . le a● . epist . . num. . ●. . . c●nra● i●sandre . num. . . iud. . gal. . . prou. . . . tim . . mat. . . . ● . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . mar. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . act. : isa . ● . . . tim. . mark. . . preaching the principall exercise of the sabboth . rom. ● isa . . . sam. . . of weeke-day lectures . ephes . . . acts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iude ioel . . . corinth . . prouerbs . . . chap. . . corinth . . phil. . . . thess . . colos . luke . the necessity of 〈◊〉 preaching psalme . . . iob . . iob ● . . ezechiel . . . corint . . . corinth . . . corinth . . mark. . . . . corinth . ● . corinth . . . . sam. . . gal. . . poruerbs . . prouerb . . . phili. . . prouerb . . . eccles . . . isay . occid● n●seros crambe rep . . ● . magistr●s . . corinth . isay . ier. . . . timothy . . . chap. . . mathew . . luke . . matthew . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 isay . . . . corint . . . titus . . romanes . . . peter . . isa . . . amo● . ● . iere. . . isay . . mathew . . tim. . mat. . . phil. . . cor. . . . thess . . . cor. . . king. . matth. . . pro. . rhem testa . vpon . joh. . . priuate men may and ought to iudge of that which they heare . . cor. . . ambros . in . thess . cap. . gal . . rom. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 phil. . . . thess . . . . ioh. . . prou. . . eph. . act. . ● . ioh. . . . a similitude like to this , in the same case chrisost . vseth hom. . vpon . cor. the scripture the only iudge of doctrine . commo●toriu● non regula . bell. l●na . lib. . pan●p . cap. . isa . . ● . isa . . iob. . ● . act. . . c . . aug. contra max. arrian lib. . cap. . lib de pastor . bas . epist . . cyprian . in s●r. de bapt. cir. chrysost hom . in . cor. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . how to make vse of the scripture for the trying of the truth . eccles . . . psal . . . ioh. . . . pet. . . rom. . psal . . . . prou. . . . cor. . . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . psal . . . psal . . . rom. . . tit. . . . gal. . ● . rom. . . col. . luk. . . bellarm. de i●stif . lib. cap. . rom. . . ● . rom. . . . pet. . . prouet . . . isay . . micah . gal. . . col . . . tim. . . tim. . . . tim . chap . . timoth. . . iohn . . how to draw things heard into practise . prouerb . . ●● . prou. . . iames . . psalm . . psalme . . luke . . . psalm . . . psalme . ● vers . . psalme . prouerbs . . . pet. . psalme . . ● . . tim. . . ● . rom. . . 〈◊〉 . . . . tim. . ● . tim. . . colos . . . . heb. . . the proofe of a good preacher the right art of hearing : that good counsel is seldom well taken : that wilful offenders are as witlesse as wicked : with an apologie for wholesome truth, how distasteful soever / by j.f. younge, richard. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing y estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the proofe of a good preacher the right art of hearing : that good counsel is seldom well taken : that wilful offenders are as witlesse as wicked : with an apologie for wholesome truth, how distasteful soever / by j.f. younge, richard. [ ], , [ ] p. printed by william leybourn, london : . written by richard younge. cf. wing ad bm. caption and running title: good counsel seldome well taken. reproduction of original in cambridge university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng clergy -- early works to . preaching -- history -- th century. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - taryn hakala sampled and proofread - taryn hakala text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the proofe of a good preacher . the right art of hearing . that good counsel , is seldom well taken . that wilful offenders , are as witlesse as wicked . with an apologie for wholesome truth , how distasteful soever . by j.f. london , printed by william leybourn . . good counsel , seldome well taken : with an apologie for wholesome truth , be it never so untoothsome , &c. sect . i. philosophy teaches , that admonitions and corrections are the chiefest offices of love : that it is the onely true love , which to profit and do good , feareth not to hurt and offend : that to connive at our friends faults , is to make them our own . that sharp reprehension is the healing of the soul ; and that love to the soul , is the very soul of love . whence euripides exhorts men to get such friends , as would not spare to displease them . whence scipio the elder , when his friends for so doing turned his enemies , was able to say , i have given my enemies as great cause to love me , as my friends . and indeed he that loves not such a friend , hates himself . and commonly , he that will not tell us of our faults , will be very ready to tell others of them : whereas one that is faithful , will speak of our faults to our face , of our virtues behind our backs . but see farther the sweet fruit of sharp reprehension ; suppose one should be stung by a bee , ( when asleep ) whereby he is delivered from a serpent , which otherwise had stung him to death : hath he cause to complain ? and not to chide a friend , lest we offend him , is to let him drown , rather than catch him by the hair . wherefore give me such a friend as photion , who when a friend of his would have cast himself away , suffered him not , saying ; i was made thy friend to this purpose . all which is found divinity , neither wants it scripture-seal to confirm it . not to admonish our brother , is to hate him , as the holy ghost witnesseth , levit. . . but to scorn our brother should admonish us , is more to hate our selves ; in that open rebuke is better than secret love . and for that the very wounds of a lover are faithful , and better than the kisses of an enemy , prov. . , . yea , experience teaches , that no friend is so commodious in this case as an enemy ; because he tels us of that , which otherwise we should never be so happy as to hear of . nevertheles , resolved sinners scorn reproof : admonition to them , is like goads to such as are mad already : or like powring oyl down the chimney , which may set the house on fire , but never abate the heat ; which is not for want of ignorance : for by refusing to hear in this case , they become ( like amaziah ) wilful murtherers of their own souls , as wise solomon affirms , his words are , he that refuseth admonition is bruitish , and destroyeth his own soul , prov. . . and . . yea , he goes further , and sayes , a man that hardeneth his neck when he is reproved , shall suddenly be destroyed , and cannot be cured , prov. . . and . , , . of which you have most remarkable and dreadful examples , sam. . . chron. . , . sect. . neverthelesse , how few are there so wise , as to take admonition well ? for , reprove a scorner ( that is , a fool ) and he will hate thee ; reprove a wise man , and he will love thee , prov . . to which we may add prov. . . a wise man foreseeth the evil , ( that is the evil of hell , sayes bernard ) and preventeth it ; but fools go on and are punished . now that these bruits and soul-destroyers , may the better be known to themselves and others , and the greatnesse of their folly and madnesse , together with what a world of them there are amongst us , ( for to be wise , according to wise solomons description , is the portion but of a few , as daily experience witnesseth . ) i will paint them out in a small table , or map ; and so expose them to view . in the first place you shall know them by this mark : a man no sooner tels them of a fault , but it works in their brains as yeest in a barrel , until they have requited their admonisher with a mischief ; being like gunpowder , to which you no sooner give fire , but they fly in your face . admonition may move them to choller , never to amendment . who when they have heard an untoothsom truth , like waters after a tempest , are full of working and swelling against their admonisher . we read that in the law of jealousies , if the suspected wife were guilty , that drank of the bitter waters of trial , she would presently swell , if otherwise , she was well enough . and it is a sure signe the horse is gauled , that stirs too much when he is touched ; so when they swell against their reprehender , and hisse like serpents , if we trouble their nests never so little , you may justly conclude them guilty persons . for no greater signe of innocencie , when we are accused , than mildnesse , as we see in joseph , gen. . . . and susannah , susan . ver . , . and hannah , sam. . , . neither is there a greater symptome of guiltinesse , than our breaking into choller , when we have any thing laid to our charge : witnesse cain , gen. . . that hebrew which strook his fellow , exod. . , . saul , sam. . , . abner , sam. . . jeroboam , kin. . . ahab , kin. . . amaziah , chron. . . uzziah , chron. . . herod the tetrach , luke . , . the men of nazareth , luke . , . the pharisees , john . , . the high priests and scribes , luke . , . and the like touching a mans wisdome and humility . plato being demanded , how he knew a wise man , answered , when being rebuked he would not be angry , and being praised he would not be proud . and to this accords that of the wise man , prov ▪ . . and ● . but for one that is so wise , there is a thousand of those fools i am to decipher , who with balaam will grutch to be hindered in their way to hell , and fly upon those that oppose their perdition : even such as think it better to fry everlastingly in a furnace of fire and brimstone in hell-flames , than to inherit a celestial and eternal kingdome , and weight of superabundant glory in heaven , to enjoy a paradise of pleasure , where are such joyes , as eye hath not seen , nor ear heard , nor can ever enter into the heart of man to conceive , cor. . . this is most mens depth of brain , and thus it fares with all wilful and impenitent sinners . but how hath the devil bewitcht them ? is it possible that the reasonable soul of man ( not professedly barbarous ) should be capable of such a monster ? certainly if i did not know the truth and probate of it , by occular and experimental demonstration from day to day , i could hardly bring my understanding to beleeve it ! but to make this further appear , though i have small hope to prevail with the parties themselves ( for they that have no reason , will hear none ; and he that learns of none but himself , hath a fool for his teacher . ) guilty sinners will swell against their reprehender , innocent souls will be cheered and cleered by it , numb . . , . resolved offenders being reproved , in stead of penitence break into choller , fury sparkles in those eyes which should gush out with water , and in stead of embracing the counsel , will rage at the counsellour . crossed wickednesse proves desperate , and in stead of yeelding , seeks for revenge of its own sins upon others uprightnesse : whereas if anothers simple fidelity shews it self in reproving the honest-hearted , he loves his monitor so much the more , by how much the more he smarteth , allowing of truth as well when it hurts him , as when it helps him . but unsound flesh loves to be stroked , the least roughnesse puts it into a rage ; a festered conscience will not endure a drawing plaster , a putrid and scabbed limb delights to be scratcht and rubbed , foule faces would have false glasses : diomedes must have a crooked shooe for his wry foot : caligula must be adored as a god , forsooth , though he live like a devil , poysoning his unckle , and deflowring all his sisters . thorns must be touched with a gentle hand , not grasped ; these ulcers must be no further searched into , than the dead flesh reaches , for if you but touch them to the quick , you shall quickly hear of it , and be sure to smart for it . sect. . but to bring this home to you of this place , with whom my businesse lyes ; for hitherto i have but spoken in the air , as the apostle speaks , or onely paved a way to my intended matter , or at uttermost but given you a preparative before hand , as physicians do to their patients , that their physick may work the more kindly , your pastour hath for many years preached in the metropolitane city , where they are more civilized and better bred , without any clamour ; yea , with much approbation : for they enterteined him as lot did those angels , that came to fetch him out of sodom : but you enterteine him as coursely , as the ammonites did davids messengers . nor did the devil ever so rage in this rude place , as he hath done since his preaching hath awakened your consciences , and by the looking-glasse of the law , and light of the gospel , shewen you the deformity & filthiness of your souls . a notable argument that satan fears he shall be routed , and his kingdome more shaken in your quarters , than hath fallen out in former times , or by the preaching of any that have gone before him , for he daily rages more and more amongst you . as for instance , at first he was opposed by a few simple sectaries , and that was no small honour to him , as hiram told austin in the like case . but now his preaching against drunkennes , deceitfulnes , swearing , sabbath-breaking , ignorance , formality , and such other common sins , hath brought all the parish about his ears ; not alone the wit-foundered drunkard , but the civil justiciary , the formal hypocrite , the ignorant animal , and all sorts of impenitent sinners . and why ? but because the virtue and efficacie of gods word , which is quick and powerful , and sharper than any two-edged sword , to divide between the soul and spirit , joynts and marrow , as it is heb. . . hath discovered and made manifest to your selves and others , the very secrets and most inward intents of your hearts . insomuch that your consciences are forced to bear witness against your selves , that you are the parties to whom he speaks , as if he named you , or each of you in particular , as you have an instance , cor. . , . heb. . . whence your guilty consciences suggest , that he aims at you in particular , though he names none , when indeed it is onely the prerogative and spirituallity of the word above all other writings , to discover the hearts , and speak home to the consciences of all that hear it delivered with power and authority . as for the messenger , the truth of his heart gives him boldness to profess before him who onely knows it , that he strives against no man but his strife , malignes no man but his malice , envies no man but his envie , as hierome speaks . yea , he could be more glad to see any mans ( even his greatest enemies ) amendment , than his punishment . this ( i say ) is the genuine reason , why hundreds of you fret , and chase , and fume , and swell , and storm , and rage , and are ready to burst again when you hear him . your sins and deformities are so discovered and detected , your presumptuous confidence of being christians good enough , and of your going to heaven so questioned , that your peace is disturbed , and you will be revenged of some body . it is observable , that when our saviour sent forth his apostles to preach abroad in the world , having first taught them the way , his words to them were , behold , i send you forth , as sheep amongst wolves , matth. . . are not you these wolves ? not onely wolvish , but meer wolves ; yes , you are , and will be , until the gospel shall have wrought a change in your hearts and natures , hebr. . . acts . . and . . again , matth. . . he sayes , cast not your pearls before swine , lest they tread them under their feet , and turning again all to reut you . are not you those unreasonable beasts and swine ? if not , who are ? yea , you are more bruitish than a swine , or any other unreasonable creature . for whereas christ by his ministers , would reconcile you to god , as joab did absalom to david , by the woman of tekoah ; you cry they come to torment you before the time , matth. . . your case is just like his in the gospel , that called himself legion , who having been possest with devils a long time , was at length very loth to part with his guests : yea , he thought himself tormented , when christ came to cast out them , and save him , mark . . luke . . sect. . now what course do you take to be revenged of him ? for this makes you hate him above measure , mis-construe his actions and intentions , rail on him , slander him , curse him , withstand and contrary his doctrine , watch for his halting , combine together and lay plots how you may do him the most mischief , which is all you are able to do : for else you would bring him before the magistrate , imprison , smite , wound , and put him to death , as the jews served christ , as i could shew you from a world of testimonies and examples out of the word . see onely john . , . matth. . . matth. . , , . luke . , , . and . , : but our comfort is , you have not so much authority as malice ; resembling the serpent porphyrus , which abounds with poison , but can hurt none , for want of teeth . though your punishment shall be never the lesse ; for good and evil thoughts , and desires , in gods account , are good and evil works , and shall so be judged in that court of justice where is no partiality . but since you cannot do as you would , you will do what you can ; as it fared with zoilus that common slanderer , or as it does with the devil , revel . . . for if the law binds your hands , yet you will be smiting with your tongues ; and if the law so keeps you in awe , that you dare not smite him on the mouth , as the high priest did paul , acts . . yet you will do what you dare , you will smite him with the mouth , as ziba did honest mephibosheth , sam. . . and the like touching his maintenance , because you cannot out him of his living , you will defraud and rob him of his means and livelihood , and neither pay him a peny your selves , nor suffer others , so far as you can help it , which is a plot to pluck up all religion by the roots : for how should our pastours feed our souls , if we feed not their bodies ? how should the lamp burn , if we take away the holy oyl that should maintein it ? and in case it burn not , there will be but a dark house . so that to expect that ministers should preach without maintenance , is as if you should shut a bird into a cage , give her no meat , and yet bid her sing . never the lesse it pleases you , that you can ( as you think ) displease him , and withall pleasure your selves in saving your silver , little dreaming what you do ; for look but narrowly into it , and you shall see that this is not onely persecution , theft , sacriledge , murther of bodies and souls , of provoking god to send a famine of his word , and the like : but you become by it guilty of high treason against god , in thus using his ambassadour , and against christ and all his members , as i have elswhere made manifest . though it is wicked enough for you to impeach his credit , asperse his spotlesse name , and take away his reputation , that so none else may hear him , or regard what he delivers , which is a wickeder plot than your blind souls are able to discern . besides , a good name ( sayes salomon ) is better than a good ointment : and to be chosen above great riches , prov. . . indeed his life is so well known , that all the harm you do him is , but as a candle to a white wall : that may much black it ( among such sensualists as your selves ) but cannot burn it , though that be too much , for a mans good name is like a milk white ball , that exceedingly gathers soil even with tossing . nor can he expect to fare better , so long as he tarries with you , where satan hath his throne , in a place that mostly consists of swearers , drunkards , and drink-sellers . he hath by his powerful preaching raised the devil in many of you , but it will be hard laying him again : yea , once to expect it ( when god hath given men over to their own lusts ) were an effect of frenzie , not of hope . for can he with crabronius , be ever pudling in a wasps nest , and think to escape their stings ? or be still blowing in the dust , and not endanger his eyes ? it is no way possible . for , he that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith . he that reproveth a scorner , purchaseth to himself shame : and he that rebuketh the wicked , getteth himself a blot , prov. . , . see jer. . though i speak not this to dis-hearten him , whom god hath placed over you : for gods glory we are bound to redeem with our own lives . and a conscionable minister is like david , who would venture upon a bear , rather than lose a lamb. or jacob , who would endure heat by day , and frost by night , rather than neglect his flocks . or moses , who would fight with odds , rather than the cattle should perish with thirst . onely a balaam wants this mercie . nor can i wish him to spare you ever the more , by delivering himself in a gentler tone ; as you , like the men of bengala , would have onely words of down and honey , have him speak nothing but pure ro●es , preach unto you peace , peace , and prophesie of wine and strong drink , then should he be a welcome prophet to you : but this were to fulfill the proverb , like pastour like people , hos . . . yea , this were , for the blind to lead the blind , that both might fall i●to the ditch together , luke . . alas , the fault lies nat in the word , nor in his delivering it , but in the wickednesse of your hearts that are the hearers : who like the spider , will suck poison from the self same flower that the bee does honey . nor will any truth ( be it never so untoothsome ) offend any , but ill minds , michah . . yea , even the same words that are lansets to a bad mans conscience , will be as balm to penitent sinners . the word being like some mighty wind , that bears over tall elms or cedars , with the same blast that it raiseth a stooping reed , exod. . . sect. . every good line of gods word , adds sinew to the vertuous mind , and withall heals that vice which would be springing in it : the very judgements of god to a good man , are sweeter than the honey and the honey-comb , psal . . . but alas , the same report , wherewith the spirit of rahab melts , hardens the king of jericho , josh . . sergius paulus was converted , elymas obdurated at the same sermon , acts . yea , even the same face of the judge , without any inward alteration , is seen with terrour to the guilty , with joy and confidence by the oppressed innocent , the same rod that brought plagues to the egyptians ▪ brings deliverance to israel . but i dare refer the case to thine own conscience to determine , ( if the custome of sin , and the god of this world hath not totally blinded thee ) where the fault lies , and who is to be blamed in this particular ? is the physician to be blamed for the pain of his patient , or the disease ? the chirurgeon or the wound , which he endeavors by all means to cure ? yea , what is the genuine reason , why the worst men and members of a parish evermore regard a good minister least ? complain of his bitterness , and seek by all means to remove him ? is it not because they are feet , and legs , and thighs , and arms out of joynt , and so cannot endure the touch of the chirurgeons hand , & the acrimony of his medicines . alas , every good physician h●d rather cure a disease by sleep and diet , than by scammony and castorium : but an intemperate sick man maketh a cruel physician and in case the disease be desperate , he must use the extremity of physick . nothing will ease the pluresie , but letting of bloud : and to such as are sick of a dead apoplexie , they are forced to give a double quantity of physick , or their faculties will not be awakened . which is the very case of these desperate sinners , who if they wanted not brains , would in stead of complaining be thankful . the physician and chirurgion heals us not without pain , and yet we reward them . yea , had any of you but a leg , or an arm putrefied and corrupt , you would even give money , and think your selves beholding too , to have them cut off , because it is the onely way and means to preserve the whole body . and if so , what love and thanks can be too much , that is exprest to them who would ( would you give them leave ) pluck you out of satans clutches , and bring you to life eternal ? nor can he ever be thankful to god ; who is not thankful to the instrument , or means , by whom god does , or would do him good . besides , it were a breach of justice , not to proportion the rebuke to the crime : for , for a minister to use gentle reprehension , in case of capital offences , that is in case of thefts , rapines , sacriledges , adulteries , and incests , to say to his people , as eli to his sons , why did you so ? is no other than to shave that head which deserves cutting off . for as it is with ill humours in the body , that a weak dose doth but stir and anger them , not purge them out ; yea , if physick be not strong enough to purge out choller , it encreaseth choller ; the humours it would have purged and expelled ( if it had been strong enough ) it inflameth , exasperateth and sharpeneth . and as the sun in the spring-time breedeth agues , and other distempers , because it stirreth humours and doth not waste them ; so it fareth with sins in the soul . an easie and gentle reproof doth but encourage wickedness , and make it think it self so slight , as that rebuke importeth ; which is to patronize evil in stead of reproving it . and experience shews , that cold preachers make bold sinners . however , such being like ill archers , that draw not their arrows up to the head , seldome convert these sinners . nevertheless , resolute sinners would have dissolute teachers ; would have the law according to their lives , not their lives according to the law. that pleas●th them which is sweet to the sence , not that which is wholesome to the conscience , as the holy ghost informs us , isa . . . kings . . mich. . . like wanton children , they care not to be mended , but to be commended : he that praiseth them , pleaseth them . but wo to such preachers , as shall heal the hurt of these people with sweet words , saying , peace , peace , and give them comfort ( as jezabel did ahab , kings . , , . ) when they rather deserve a curse , jer. . . for this is no other than guilded treason , like that of hazael to his master , who told him with his mouth that he should recover , when on the morrow he stifled him with his hand , and a wet cloth , kings . , . whence the holy ghost brands all flattering preachers , that sow pillows , for false prophets , jer. . . and indeed it is but a mountebank trick , to heal an ulcer , and leave in the core . a good physician , either for soul or body , first tels the state of the disease with its symptomes , and then prescribes ; and in prescribing , first puls down the body with purgatives , and then raiseth it with cordials . and take this for a rule , such as fear god , & are ministers of his sending , wil think is better to lose mens favors than their souls , and be sure to discharge his conscience from the burthen of any ones bloud , ezek. . . and . . yea , an ingenious patient should be so wise as to know , that the stomack should ra●her be pleased than the pallate : and experience tels us , that those things ( for the most part ) that are least pleasing , are most wholesome . rue is an herb most bitter to the taste , yet in regard of the vertue which is in it , we usually call it herb of grace . and physicians find , that though mithridate , of all other electuaries it be the most distasteful , yet of all others it is the most wholesome . and so it fares touching spiritual truths . whence a good preacher cares not so much to stroke the car , as to strike the conscience : being like a good physician , who gives sharp medicines , and bitter potions , that he may make sho●t diseases , and procure sound health . the true method of preaching , and the likeliest way to undeceive the deceived , and ( with blessing from above ) to pluck sinners out of satans snares is : for a minister to deal with his hearers , as the prophet did by hazael , when he plainly told him the abominable wickedness of his heart , and what evil ( even beyond beleef he should shortly do or execute , had he been wise enough to have been warned thereby . or as nathan did by david , when he so cunningly made him pronounce sentence of death against himself . or as jonah did by the nin●vites , when with that short thundering sermon of eight words , he converted that great city . or as peter by his converts , when he told them they were the men , that had crucified the lord of life . or john baptist by herod , and all that came unto him . or as christ by the woman of samaria , when he so represented the very thoughts of her heart unto her conscience , that she was forced to confesse , he hath told me all thing● that eve● i did . or as he did with saul , when he spake to him from heaven , which wo●ds made him tremble , and fall to the earth with astonishment . which makes one of the fathers say , that the crown of preachers is the tears of their hearers . and saint basil , that sha●p reprehension is the healing of the soul . and chrysostom say to his hearers , if i make you smart give me the more thanks for it . nay , says busil , it may well be feared , that ministers open not the word aright , when wicked men kick not against it . and luther was of that judgement , tha● he thought if ministers should preach the word as they ought , they should stir up all the furies of hell against themselves . sect. . now what 's the reason , why down right truth is so unpleasing to carnal minds ? when none can deny , but it is by far the more wholesome . it is this , all men love the light as it shines , but as it discovers and dir●cts , the most of men hate it none so bad , but they can away with pleasing truths , and promis●s of mercie . or let the minister walk in generals , and labour more to fill the head with knowledge , than the heart with grace ; to please the sence , than speak to the conscience , by driving an application close home to them in particular , touching some one sin of theirs ( which is the soul of preaching ) so long they will like him ; yea , he is a fair and good church ▪ man , a great scholar . but let him act the part of boanerges , thunder out the judgements of god against sinners , let him do as god commands ezekiel to do , ezek. . . answer them according to their idols , preach to their necessities , presse them to holy duties , reprove them for their unholy practices , make known to them what evil consciences they have ; then they turn their backs upon him , and hate him to the death ; as ahab did eliah and michaiah ; herod and herodias , john baptist , the jews , our saviour ; and the galatians , paul. see amos . . yea , they will say , away with such a fellow from the earth , for it is not meet that he should live . the case of all incorrigible , and cauterized sinners ; as well the covetous as the riotous ; the civil , such as seek to fill their chests , as those that are all for satisfying their lusts , for let a minister but rowze and raise them out of their security , saying , awake thou that sleepest , and stand up from the dead , all are instantly about his ears . then the wit-foundered drunkard cries out , saying , he subverts the state of the world , and troubles our city ; then the covetous oppressour is ready to tell the prophet ( as the sodomites lot ) away hence , he is come alone as a stranger , and shall he judge and rule ? then the whole rabble ( furiously raging together against the lord , and against his anointed ) conclude peremptorily , that a peece of a pulpit , & half a benefice , is too much for such an unquiet spirit , such a fire - ? ? ? slinger . as let paul but touch demetrius his copy-hold , preach down his profit , he and all of like occupation will rore out of measure , acts . . wherein they shew as great policie , as did the sodomites , who made haste to turn out lot and his family , that fire and brimstone might make haste to destroy them . a guilty conscience loves application as dearly as a dog loves a cudgel . sore eyes cannot endure the light of the sun , nor bankrupts the sight of their counting-books ▪ nor deformed faces of the true glass . a man were as good take an elephant by the tooth , or seek to rob a bear of her whelps , as go about to make them better . for let a minister charge them from god , like rusty or ill-wrough● peeces , they will recoyl in his face ; and like serpents , not onely be deaf to his charming , but turn their tails to sting him . wherein they resemble the mad man , that wounded his physician , while he was administring physick to him for his recovery . they more seek for a rag to cover their sins , than for a plaster to heal them : as it fared with david , while he slept in that foul sin of adultery , sam. . , , &c. now if they are so startled and terrified at the ministers telling them of one or a few sins , what will they do when satan , and the searcher of hearts , shall lay open all the sins that ever they have committed , & spread them before them ? if it be so dreadful to hear of what they shall suffer , if they repent not , how terrible will it be to feel it ? the law wasp-like stings shrewdly , but satan that hornet will sting worse a great deal . but if men will be warned by the former , they may prevent the latter : only these want that we commonly call reason ; therefore , like children and cowards , they rather shut their eyes , and chuse to feel the blow , than to see and endeavour to avoid it . owoful wretches ! that had rather be everlastingly damned for their sins hereafter , than endure to hear of them now , to their eternal comfort . but i hope better things of some amongst so great a number . gods truth , if you mark it , would cry down mens sins , as preaching would have done demetrius his trade : and therefore ●o marvel , if the trades-men of iniquity are up in arms against the gospel , as demetrius was against paul. and did not the gospel crosse their sins , they would not crosse the gospel : but the waves do not beat or rore any where so much , as at the bank that restrains them . the pharisees could not endure jesus , because he came to break their customes , luke . . the masters of the pythonesse , acts . . objected this against paul and silas , that they did teach contrary to their customes . for this cause was that uprore at ephesus , acts . . to . paul had never become their enemy , but for telling them the truth , & dealing so plainly and roundly with them . and why did more than forty of the jews bind themselves with a curse , neither to eat nor drink till they had killed him ? acts . not for the evils they found in him , but for the vices he reproved in them . by all which it appears , that obstinate sinners are as witlesse as wicked : and that they would , if they durst , deal with their faithful pastours , as the jews did by stephen , who in their blind zeal were so furious and merciless , that they put him to death , for shewing them the way to eternal life , and stoned him for a blasphemer against god and his law , who was a man full of faith , and power , and of the holy ghost , acts . , &c. it hath ever been the manner of wickedness , to be head-strong in the pursuit of its own courses , impatient of opposition , cruel in revenge of the opposers . the great spite and spleen therefore , that men bear to the word , must be wreaked upon the minister , he must be hated , outed , and persecuted : yea , if they durst , they would stone him to death , as the jews did stephen : for as their hearts brast for anger , as they gnashed at him with their teeth when they heard him , acts . . so fares it with these touching their minister . but in the meantime , what horrible , what hellish ingratitude is this , if it be looked upon with an impartial eye ? are not these the very worst of monsters ? o you sottish sensualists , what can you alledge for yourselves , or against your minister ? is he any other to you , than those three messengers were to lot ? that came to fetch him out of sodome , that he might not feel the fire and brimstone which followed , gen. . or than the angel was to peter , that opened the iron-gates , loosed his bands , brought him out of prison , and delivered him from the thraldome of his enemies ? you shew just as much reason in it , as if those blind , deaf , diseased , distracted , possessed , or dead persons spoken of in the gospel , should have railed upon our saviour for offering to cure , restore , dispossesse , recover and raise them again . and are like those wicked , witless , and ingrateful jews , judg. . who when god , in great love , sent samson to deliver them from the slavish thraldome of their enemies ; they in requital bind him , ( in whom all their hope of deliverance lay ) and deliver him up to those enemies that kept them under , to the end they might slay him , and still make slaves of them . here is your case right : are you not ashamed to be such sots ? were there ever such fools , or frenzie men did commit a greater folly ? for shame think of it before it prove too late , before you have sinned away all hope of mercie : in the mean time , as our saviour said of his murtherers , father , forgive give them , for they know not what they do : so may your minister say , adding thereto that prayer of stephen when they stoned him : lord , lay not this sin to their charge , acts . . sect. . but that i may , if it be possible , fetch tears from your eyes , and bloud from your adamantine hearts , i will yet acquaint you with that which is worse , and more considerable than all , i pray mind it : all the indignities and wrongs that are done to christs ministers and ambassadours , redound to him ; and he that traduceth , or any way wrongs a minister , for the discharge of his place , his envie strikes at the image of god in him , and he so takes it , as a world of places shew . he that despiseth you , despiseth me , sam. . . isa . ● . . saul , saul , why persecutest thou me ? acts . . revel . . , . psal . . . to spurn at the messenger , is to strike at the image of god , whose message it is . what saith paul , cor. . i have not spoken , but the lord : and therefore as the lord said unto saul , acts . . that he persecuted him ( though in heaven ) so they who resist any truth delivered out of the word , do resist god himself , and not his messenger . but see further what you do , by what your fellow-persecutours have done before you . with such impatience does a gauled heart receive admonition , that when god himself came to reprove cain for killing his brother abel ; he had no sooner spake these words , where is abel thy brother ? but he returns to god himself this churlish answer , am i my brothers keeper ? gen. . . again , the scribes , pharisees and elders , were filled full of madness against our saviour , and communed one with another , what they might do to jesus , and how they might destroy him , ( the which you would also do , if he were your minister , & now upon earth ) for being so bitter , luke . . ( for if you cannot away with the light of a candle , you would much lesse endure to look upon the glorious sun. ) now if god himself was so served , if christs own doctrine could not escape persecution , no marvel if his messengers cannot . here then is some comfort for your minister , honey out of a lion. nor is it his shame to suffer what christ suffered , nor your honour to do as cain , judas , and the rest did , as cyprian speaks . but secondly , take notice what our saviours counsel is to his ministers , when his holy precepts and prohibitions , do either harden men as the sun hardens clay , and cold water hot iron : or else inrage them , as a furious mastiffe-dog , is the madder for his chain . what his counsel & method is , may be seen both by testimonies and examples not a few . as , cast not your pearls before swine , mat. . . into whatsoever citie you shall enter , if they will not receive you , go your wayes out into the sreets of the same , and say , even the very dust which cleaveth on us of your citie , we wipe off against you , for a witnesse unto you . notwithstanding know this , that it shall be easier for sodome and gomorrah at the day of judgement than for you , luke . , , . those mine enemies which would not that i should reign over them , bring hither , and slay them before me , luke . . and that this is an evident signe of one that shall eternally perish , is plain , pro . . read the words and tremble , a man that hardeneth his neck being often reproved , shall suddenly be destroyed , and that without remedy . see more prov. . , , , to . whence it is the prophet tels amaziah , i know that god hath determined to destroy thee , because thou hast done this , and hast not obeyed my counsel , chron. . , . and that the holy ghost , speaking of eli's sons , saith , that they would not hearken unto , nor obey the voice of their father ; because the lord was determined to destroy them , sam. . . yea , it is an observation of livie , that when the destruction of a person , or a nation is destined : then the wholesome warnings both of god and man , are set at nought . and in reason , that sin is past cure , that strives against ●he cure . herbs that are worse for watering , trees that are lesse fruitful for dunging and pruning , are to be rooted out , or hewen down . even salvation it self will not save those , that spill the potion , and sling away the plaster . when men are the worse for gods endeavour to better them ; the best and onely way is , to leave them to their judge . those beasts we cannot master , we must give up . if babylon will not be cured , she must be left to her self , given up to destruction without further warning . my people would not hear my voice ( saith god ) and israel would none of me , psal . . and what follows ? so i gave them up to the hardnesse of their hearts , and they walkt in their own counsels , vers . , . all further patience would prove fruitlesse : so he layeth by his rod to take up his sword ; as god hath messengers of wrath for them that despise the messengers of his love . sect. . now to end with a word of exhortation , to as many of you as have heard what hath hitherto been delivered , ( from one that is no party , and so lesse subject to be partial ) and that are not yet given over . in the first place , be not any longer offended with your pastour ; for he is appointed a watch-man over your souls , and doth but discharge his office that god hath placed him in , ezek. . and he should be guilty of high treason against christ , and the souls committed to his care , if he should do lesse . as the centinel or captain , that doth not what he can to maintain the wals , doth what he can to betray the city the word is no other than christs , though delivered by a weak instrument . who ever be the crier , the proclamation is the king of heavens . ( while it goes for mans , it is no marvel if it lye open to despite . ) so that in hating your minister , and complaining of his bitterness , you do as wisely and justly , as if the people should impute the cause of the war to the herald , or accuse the trumpet for all that their rebellion hath brought upon them . yea , consider who is the authour of the word , what the cause and ends of the ministers delivering it ; and that there is nothing can cure your grief , but the same word that caused it : and then thou wilt receive him as an angel of god , yea , even as christ jesus ; as the primitive christians did the apostles , gal. . . who acknowledged to owe , even themselves , to their spiritual pastours , philem. . and would , if it had been possible , have pluckt out their own eyes , and have given the same unto them , gal. . , . and . . you have heard sufficiently , that this is the true method of preaching , though it be little used ; because discretion ( with many ) eats up well nigh all true devotion . their discretion and moderate stayedness , much abates of their zeal , honesty and goodness . nor can there be a better argument to prove , that a minister studies more to profit than to please men with his wholesome counsel ; than when he will not let them sleep and snort in their sins , but cry aloud against their abominations . i grant corrasives are not to be used in all cases , lenatives and cordials are of no lesse use to weak constitutions . whence the care of every wise and able minister , that hath skill to divide the word of god aright , must be and is , to give to each man his due portion ; comfort to whom comfort belongs , terrour to whom terrour is due : observing the same rule that st. paul did , who meeting with an elymas , one that resisted the truth , and laboured to keep others from it , entreats him not with fair and sweet words , as he did agrippa , who was hopefully coming on to embrace the truth . wherefore the same apostle sayes to the one , o full of all subtilty and all mischief , thou child of the devil , and enemy of all righteousnesse , acts . . but when he speaks to the other , it is in a more mild , gentle , and winning tone . or as our saviour himself used , ( that lamb of god , who would not break the bruized reed , nor quench the smoking flax . ) as how doth he multiply wo upon wo , and threaten double damnation , when he was to deal with hard-hearted hypocrites , opposers of the gospel , those scribes and pharisees , matth. . and indeed , the best musick is made by a judicial correspondence of sharp and flat . let all merciful & meal-mouthed preachers , such as flatter sin and flout holiness , such whose scope of their preaching is but to feed the people with hopes , though they give them no grounds for it : that heaven shall meet them at their last hour , be their condition never so wretched ; which is the reason that most men walk in the broad way , and yet every man thinks to enter in at the straight gate . let these , i say , take notice of this . as also scorners of their teachers & instructors , and more of their godly instruction : then will they love where and what they now hate , and hate where and what they now love . but you have no cause to complain of either extream : for in the sermons , against which you except , there is matter of instruction , of reprehension , of consolation , of exhortation ; for the ignorant , for the sinfull , for the faithfull , for the despairing soul and drooping spirit : not gospel without law , nor law without gospel : but a sweet composition of severity and mercie , wherein law and gospel meet , as moses and christ met upon the mount : the one to direct your obedience , the other to answer for your disobedience , if you will but repent and turn unto god , with such christian moderation , as may argue zeal without malice , and desire to win souls , no will to gaul them . for as sauls servants did not onely tell him that he had an evil spirit , but withall told him a remedy , and helpt him to the party that gave him ease , sam. . , . so your pastour , with a discovery of your sins , shews you a means of cure and recovery for your souls . yea , do but submit , and the very same word ( like the sword of achilles ) will heal again , whom it hath wounded . whereas if you forthwith flye from your admonisher , it is as if one that is launsed should flye from his chirurgian , before his wound can be bound up . sect. . again , slight not him whom god hath placed over you , lest hereafter , when you lye gasping on your death-beds , and come to a sight and sence of your sad condition you wish ; oh that i had now but the opportunity , to converse with such a minister ; as saul slighted samuel while he lived , but would fain have heard and conversed with him , when he was dead . a case which often fals out , for when godless persons are in any distress , they still pray the people of god to pray for them : and commonly those too , whom they have most slighted , hated , and abused . for the oppressour is in no mans mercie , but his whom he hath trampled upon ; and injuries done us on earth , give us power in heaven . whereupon jeroboams hand being dried up , for stretching it out against the prophet , he sueth to the man of god , saying , i beseech thee pray unto the lord thy god , and make intercession for me , that my hand may be restored unto me , and the man of god besought the lord , and the kings hand was restored , kings . , . and thus it fared between the israelites and samuel , sam. . . between miriam and moses , numb . ▪ . thus when the lords wroth was kindled against eliphaz and his two friends , nothing would appease the same , but the prayer of job whom they had so contemned , job . , . thus simon the sorcerer prayes peter to pray for him , acts . . yea , of whom did dives , being tormented in hell flames , expect and seek for ease , but from lazarus whom lately before he had despised , luke . . for though the wicked scorn and despise the godly in their prosperity , yet in their distress they onely are set by for advice , and to pray unto god for them , who are more ready to sollicite god for their mortallest enemies and persecutours , than they to desire it , be it at the time when they wrong them most , witness stephen when they stoned him , act. . . and our saviour christ when they crucified him , luke . . yea , they account it a sin , to cease praying for their worst enemies , sam. . . to all which i might add , how such as have wronged and persecuted the servants of god , are not seldome forced to confess their own folly , wickedness , and unthankfulness ; the godlies superlative goodness , &c. as laban did to jacob , genes . . . and pharaoh to moses , exod. . , . and again chap. . , . and saul to david , saying , i have sinned , i have done foolishly , and have erred exceedingly : thou art more rightous than i , for thou hast rendered me good , and i have rendered thee evil , &c. sam. . . & . . rare acknowledgements from heathen and christian kings to their own subjects . yet god will have it so , and conscience will compell them to do so ; though perhaps afterwards , when the rod is off their backs , they are apt to harden again , and return to their old byass , as did the same pharaoh and saul . for no longer than they smart , no longer can they see : and unless affliction opens their eyes , there is no perswading them , but the righteous man is worse than his neighbour : yea , none so vile , as haman thought and reported of mordecai and the jews , and ahab of elijah , and saul of david . and this i can assure you beyond all exceptions , that if ever your eyes be opened , before you drop into hell , when the mask of prejudice is taken from before your eyes , you will be cleer of another mind to what you are : you will love that down right preaching which now you hate , and hate those clawing and rhetorical discourses , that now you so much adore and admire . sect. . wherefore , receive with meekness the ingrossed word , which is able to save your souls , jam. . . entertain it with an honest and good heart , and in so doing , you shall entertain both god and christ with it , as our savior himself plainly tels you , joh. . . see also chron. . , . yea , hear the word indifferently and impartially , and the rather from such as thou hast hated for their bitterness ; perhaps god will conver● and save thee by no other means or minister , than such as he hath placed thee under . saul , if you observe it , when he was possest with an evil spirit , ( as all are that persecute their faithful pastours ) all his spite was at david , from whom he received more benefit than from any one man in his kingdome besides : yet by gods special appointment , none could give him ease but david . despise not the meanest of christs messengers , that delivers his word purely , aims at his glory and the good of souls . as what sayes luther , if god speaks to thee as he did unto balaam by an asse , thou must have so much wisdome and humility , as to hear him : gods word is the sword of the spirit , that killeth our corruptions , and that unresistable cannon-shot , which beateth & battereth down all the strong holds of sin & satan . but above all resist it not , kick not against it , mock not at gods word or messengers . o do not sport away your souls into those pains , which are easeless , endless , and remediless . do you beleeve there is a god ? are you willing to be saved ? if you are , break off your sins by repentance , dan. . . cease to do evil , learn to do well , isa . . , . seriously grieve & bewail for the millions of times that you have provoked god , and never more commit the like impiety : yea , as you tender the everlasting happiness and welfare of your almost lost and drowned souls , set upon the work presently , before the draw-bridge be taken up . provide with joseph for the dearth to come , & with noah in the dayes of your health , build the ark of a good conscience , against the flouds of sickness : yea , do it while the yearning bowels , and compassionate arms of jesus christ lye open to receive you , abjure and utterly renounce all wilful and affected evil , lest when it is too late , it vex every vein of your hearts , that you had no more care of your souls . again , if god by his spirit shall work this upon your consciences , ( as you will have cause to blesse his name , that ever you met with such a stop , so ) resemble not the rustick sailour , who when he is in danger of shipwrack , will promise to change his life ; but when the storm is overpast , he returns to his former vomit , making no conscience nor account of his vows and protestations . but remember that perseverance is the crown of graces , and heaven the crown of perseverance . if you are convinced , and resolve upon a new course , let you resolutions be peremptory and constant , and take heed you harden not again as pharaoh , the young man in rhe gospel , pilate and judas did : resemble not the iron , which is no longer soft than it is in the fire , lest your latter end prove worse than your beginning , matth. . , . as it fared with julian the apostate , and judas the traytour ; for millions are now in hell , who thought they would repent hereafter . god will not give his heavenly and spiritual graces at the hour of death , to those who have contemned them all their life . if in any reasonable time we pray , he will hear us ; if we repent , he will pardon us ; if we amend our lives , he will save us : but for want of this timely consideration , dives prayed , but was not heard ; esau wept , but was not pitied ; the foolish virgins knockt , but were denied . and so it fares with all such fools , they died as they have lived , and commonly go from despair unto destruction . if you would prevent the like , lay not hold upon mercy , until you be thoroughly humbled . the onely way to become good , is first to beleeve that you are evil . god does not pour the oyl of grace , but into a broken and contrite heart . would you truly know how evil and miserable you are by nature , and be very sensible how evil & wicked your hearts are , seriously consider these three particulars : the corruption of your nature by reason of original sin ; your manifold breaches of gods righteous law by actual sin ; the guilt and punishment due to you for both . this being done , you will see and find your necessity of a redeemer , who came to save none but the weary and heavie laden sinners , even the lost sheep of the house of israel , matth. . . and . . and indeed the sence of our wretchedness , and the valuation of our spiritual helps , are the best trial of our regeneration . all which , if you would obtain , omit not to pray for the divine assistance of gods spirit . for of our selves we cannot think a good thought , a cor. . . john . , . swift we are to all evil , but to any good immoveable . wherefore beg of god , that he will give you a new heart , and when the heart is changed , all the members will follow after it , as servants after their lord. onely let me add , be sure you wholly and onely rest on your saviour jesus christ for salvation , abhorring to attribute or ascribe ought to doing . to conclude , if you receive any power against your corruptions , forget not to be thankful ; & when god hath the fruit of his mercies , he will not spare to sow much , where he reaps much . this do , and my soul for yours , god by his grace , will more than supply what is wanting ; ( as may be seen in his entertainment of the prodigal son ) and thou shalt be for ever happy , luke . . which is the prayer , and hope , and should be the joy of your impartial monitor , j.f. finis . vindiciæ literarum, the schools guarded, or, the excellency and vsefulnesse of humane learning in subordination to divinity, and preparation to the ministry as also, rules for the expounding of the holy scriptures : with a synopsis of the most materiall tropes and figures contained in the sacred scriptures : whereunto is added, an examination of john websters delusive examen of academies / by thomas hall ... ; in the end is annexed an elaborate defence of logick by a learned pen. hall, thomas, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) vindiciæ literarum, the schools guarded, or, the excellency and vsefulnesse of humane learning in subordination to divinity, and preparation to the ministry as also, rules for the expounding of the holy scriptures : with a synopsis of the most materiall tropes and figures contained in the sacred scriptures : whereunto is added, an examination of john websters delusive examen of academies / by thomas hall ... ; in the end is annexed an elaborate defence of logick by a learned pen. hall, thomas, - . [ ], , [ ], - , [ ] p. printed by w.h. for nathanael webb, & william grantham ..., london : . reproduction of original in huntington library. "vindiciæ literarum" and "centuria sacra, about one hundred rules for the expounding ... of the holy scripture" each have a special t.p. dated . "rhetorica sacra" and "histrio-mastix ... an examination of one john websters delusive examen" each have a special t.p. with imprint: london, printed in the year, . errata: p. 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ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng webster, john, - . -- academiarum examen. clergy -- training of. humanities. preaching -- study and teaching -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - judith siefring sampled and proofread - spi global rekeyed and resubmitted - judith siefring sampled and proofread - spi global rekeyed and resubmitted - judith siefring sampled and proofread - judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion vindiciae literarum , the schools guarded : or , the excellency and vsefulnesse of humane learning in subordination to divinity , and preparation to the ministry ; as also , rules for the expounding of the holy scriptures : with a synopsis of the most materiall tropes and figures contained in the sacred scriptvres . whereunto is added , an examination of iohn websters delusive examen of academies . by thomas hall , b.d. pastor of kings-norton in worcester shire . in the end is annexed an elaborate defence of logick by a learned pen. london , printed by w.h. for nathanael webb , & william grantham , at the beare in pauls church-yard , near the little north-door . . reverendis evangelii ministris , tam doctrinâ & industriâ , quàm pietate & zelo , conspicuis , d no martino topham , d. petro watkinson , d. tho. shelmerdine , d. rob. porter , d. ioh. oldfeild , d. everardo poole , caeterisque presbyterii wirksworthiensis in comitatu derbiensi symnistis charissimis : omnia quae ad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pertinent . fratres dilectissimi , mihique multis nominibus ▪ plurimùm observandi ! peracto pulpitorum & baptisteriorum tutamine , ad scholarum vindicias progredior . quibus verò hanc literarū tutelam pitiùs consecrarem , quàm vobis ( v●ri verò venerandi ) qui ad auxilium iehovae contra potentes & pravalen●es chananaeos advenistis ? necnon in decumana illa to●●us penè reip. apostasiâ inconcussi hactenus permansistis : imò duces & operarios quamplurimos sanos , sanctos , probatos & cordatos , in hac 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 t●mpesta●e , ost●o ordinationis , non ostio caesareo , a●t portâ aureâ confusionis , in messem domini emisistis : et quod majoris est gloriae , salarium vobis à magistratu ( ordinationis ergò ) concessum , ad alendum & fovendum adolescentulos academicos gratis & ●nanimitèr devov●stis , dedicâstis . dignissimum sanè aemulatione exemplar . indignum verò , ingenuè confiteor , vestro patro●●nio munusculum hoc levidense ▪ spero tamen amoris & honoris culpam mihi facilè indulgeb●tis : malim eu●m me parùm prudentem quàm parum officiosum ; immorigerum quàm ingratu● videri . ferunt artaxerxem cum plebeius aquam palmâ è fluvio subla●am exhibuisset , humani●èr admis●sse ; pluris dantis animum , quàm do●● p●etium aestiman●em : imò vel duo mi●u●a aereola in gazophylacium animo prompto immissa regi règam fuere accepta . sic capitur minimo thuris honore deus . opus itáq ▪ hoc tripartitum vobis sese offer● , non ut tot tan● ásque 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 erudirem , absit meo , procul absit animo talis & tanta arrogantia . qui mecum habito , & nôrim , quàm sit mihi curta supellex . tyronibus parantur hae vindiciae , non veteranis ; neophytis , non presbyteris : sed ad vos haec veniunt ut amoris . gratitudinis & observantiae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , propter gratiam & benevolentiam ●●●am , tam mihi , quàm fi●i●s me is ●uperrimè exhibitam , &c. hîc obiter inscitiam & impudentiam inscii istius cerdonis how , mundo petefa●tam invenietis : scientia nullum habet mimicum praeter ignorantem . f●stinante verò calamo prorepit webster , errorum sterquilinium , familistarum coryphaeus , complanatorum antesignanus , cùm partu suo elephantino : hic aranearum texit telas quae musculas nonnullas teneant , volatilia verò ●obustiora facilè perrumpunt . coaxat hic , imò plenis vociferatur buccis non solùm contra literatos , sed & literas ; & tanquam hercules furens , non mino●● gentium diis sed & aristoteli , galeno , & omnibus academiis bellum publicè indixit , & convitiorum plaustris oneravit . hic tanquam alter alexander , bellum cùm captivis & foeminis gerere non potest , armati sint oportet quos hic prosequitur . clamore tamen suo tanquam sorex suam prodit ignorantiam , stultitiam suam : nam cum somnia sua nec rectâ ratione , nec aristoleticis principiis tueri posset ; ad nescio quam pyrotechniam , magiam , & astrologiam confugit . dignum patella operculum ! hic inant ventositate jactatus , ampullis & sesquip●dalibus verbis technas occultat suas , & pr●fert paradoxa omnibus stoicorum paradoxis , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : nonnulli enim haeretici ( ut rectè notavit theologorum facilè princeps calvinus ) similes sunt latronibus illis , quos vocant aegyptios , qui incognitis vocibus & insolenti sermone suam tegunt improbitatem . in fruticoso gaudet aucept , piscator in turbido , fur in tenebris . utinam tandem r●ip . gubernatores , tales haeresium satores , satana legatos , & populi sed●ctores , vel virgis punirent , vel ( si insanabiles ) è medio tollerent , ne latiùs serpat à paucis in universos malum ; malum enim quò communius , eò pejus . ad summam , aliquot hîc reperietis regulas theologicas , quae sacras explicant scripturas , i●ter omnia d●i dona verbo suo nihil praestantius , nihil utilius : hoc enim pedibus lucerna , vitae regula , clavis coel● , speculum sacrum , animae pabulum , mentis denique medicina . hoc est lydius ille lapis , quo aduiterinum à puro puto dignoscitur auro ; hoc est malleus ille quo heterodoxas ho●●●num opiniones nullo negotio conteruntur . hoc in adversis solamen , in secundis moderamen , pietatis alt●r , adolescentiae doctor , aetatis denique ingrav●scentis ductor . hoc est lex illa pura , perfecta , vera , recta , perpetua , sincera , oculos illuminans , car laeti●icans , convertens animum : hoc melle dulci●● , auro pretiosius , ut testatur psalmist a ( psal. . . ad . ) optime itaque de ecclesia mer●erunt scriptores illi , qui in hoc interpretando , illustrando , enodando operam & oleum consumpsere suum . ad me quod attin●t , si opusculum hoc vobis arriserit ▪ spondeo propediem ( favente deo ) apologiam pro ministerio ecclesiastico , in q●a ejus digni●as , necessitús , efficacia & vtilitas , contra omnes d●i & ministeri● ejus hostes planè & plenè ostendetur . interim haec omnia ( viri ornatissimi ) vestro subjicio judicio , acri●ri quàm ut caecuti●e , sinceriori quàm ut adulari velit aut possit . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 levinscula candorem petunt vestrum ; gravi●ra , limam & censuram . deus opt. max. synodum vestrā servet incolumem , tam ab epidemicis hujus ultimi & pessimi temporis haerosibus ; quàm à malis illis moribus qui totum terrarum orbem pervaserunt . ille vobis fortitudinem largiatur athleticam , ut domum domini pro virili tueamini ; ut lucos & altaria tam romani , quàm anabaptistic , baalis fund●●ùs aboleatis . tubarum vestrarum cla●gor muros babylonicos pon●ùs evertat , sit arcus vester ut arcus ionathae qui à sanguine interfectorum & a●●pe fortium nunquam rediit vacum . hac ut confestim fiant , deus vos spiritu suo sancto regat ac roboret , gubernatores tuos ipse gubornet laboribus v●stris affa●im benedicat , in filiorū tuorum cordibus inscribat ille vanita●is & voluptatis mundanae odium ; necnon varitatis & pietatis accendat amorem : gratiâ suâ vos omnes beet in hac vita , & aetornâ felicitate in faturâ . it a precatur sympresbyter vester devotus , & collega dovinctus , thomas hall. ● mus●o meo norton-regis in agro wigorn. sept. . . vindiciae literarum , the schools gvarded : or , the excellency and usefulnesse of arts , sciences , languages , history , and all sorts of humane learning , in subordination to divinity , & preparation for the mynistry , by ten arguments evinced , ten cavils raised against it by familists , anabaptists , antinomians , lutherans , libertines , &c. are refelled and answered , and many cautions to prevent all mistakes are added . by thomas hall , b. d. and pastour of kings-norton . iohn . . search the scriptures . quaerite legendo , & invenietis meditando , pulsate orando , & aperietur vobis contemplando . augustin . non est syllaba neque apiculus in scriptura in cujus profundis non lateat grandis quispiam thesaurus . chrysostome . crede , stude , vive , pinge aeternitati . à lap. with an addition of about one hundred rules for the expounding of the scriptures ; and a synopsis of all the most materiall tropes and figures contained therein . london , printed by w. h. for nathanael webb and william grantham , at the sign of the bear in st pauls church-yard near the little north door . . to the candid and courteous reader . observing that dangerous tenent of the anabaptists to spread like a gangrene , over most parts of the land , viz. that arts , sciences , languages , &c. are idols , antichristian , the smoak of the bottomlesse pit , filth , froth , dung , needlesse and uselesse for the right understanding of the scripture : the spirit alone ( say they ) is sufficient without these humane helpes , and therefore the taylor-king of leyden , burnt all books save the bible . i shall therefore take some pains to discover the vanity of this erroneous tenent , that i may prevent ( if possible ) the sad consequences of it ; to this end i shall shew , . what we grant them , & how far we go . . where we part . . we willingly grant that the assistance and direction of gods holy spirit , is absolutely necessary for the sound and saving understanding of the scripture . 't is it that must inlighten , enliven , sanctify , and fit us for the work , for without him we can do nothing , iohn . . . as we acknowledge that this guift comes from the spirit of god , so we likewise acknowledge , that he bestows it now in the use of meanes ; by prayer , reading , study , skill in arts , sciences , languages , &c. true , in the apostolicall times , god poured out an extraordinary measure of his spirit on many , who had learning and languages by immediate infusion , wee now by acquisition ; they had it given , we gotten ; they by revelation and inspiration , we now by industry and study : and yet even then we read that paul had his books and parchments , tim. . , . which some conceive to be note books of his own making ; and in the person of timothy he commands all ministers to give attendance to reading , meditation , &c. and to give up themselves wholly to them , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , be in them . ( ) be intent and industrious in studying , sis totus in illis . he must read , and then exhort , that like a good scribe he may bring out of his treasury , things both new and old . . hee must meditate on these things , and so digest them , turning them in succum & sanguinem , that so he may be able to speak non ex ore , sed è pectore , experimentally , powerfully . god hath ordained meanes for the attaining of every thing , and he that contemns the meanes , contemns the blessing ; 't is gods blessing on the diligent hand , which as in all other things , so in this , doth make men rich ; as nemo casu fit bonus , so nemo casu fit doctus , virtus discenda est , saith seneca : we must therefore , so read , study , search , &c. as if we were to doe all our selves , and yet when we have done all , so rest upon god for aid , as if we had done nothing . truth like treasure , lies deep and hidden , and cannot be found without search , and study ; we must therefore serve providence in the use of meanes , else we tempt god , pro. . , , . if thou criest after knowledge , there is prayer , and seekest her as silver , there is indeavour in the diligent use of meanes ; then shalt thou understand the feare of the lord , there is successe ; and therefore it was a good prayer of sir thomas moor , domine deus fac me in iis consequēdis operam collocare pro quibus obtinendis soleo ad te orare . . wee grant that the abuse of philosophy , when it is preferred before divinity , or puffs men up with pride , or is used to adulterate and corrupt the truth and simplicity of the gospell , that then it is odious and abominable . but this is not our question , whether the abuse of philosophy be unlawfull , this is granted on all hands : but the question between us and the anabaptists , is , whether the right and sober use of philosophy , and other humane learning be requisite for a divine . this we affirm , the anabaptists , &c. deny . i shall therefore set down this antithesis to their thesis , and will confirme it by arguments , viz. that the knowledge of arts , sciences , history , languages , &c. are very usefull and needfull qualifications for a minister of the gospell . chapter i. i come now to the arguments , for the clea●e● convincing of our judgements , in the truth of this point . the first is drawne from the necessity of humane learning : thus , that which is necessary for a divine , may not be contemned , [ whether the necessity be absolute , or onely of expediency . ] but humane learning is necessary for a divine , ergo , it may not be contemned . the major no sober man will deny : the minor i will prove by its parts . . the languages , latine , greek and hebrew , are some part of humane learning , and these are necessarie for a divine . for latine , many learned commentaries are written in that language , which a man cannot enjoy without some knowledge of this tongue ; besides , many english words of much use in divinity , are borrowed of the latine , which no man can well understand without some insight in this language . . the greek tongue is necessary , because the new testament was written in it ; besides , many latine words are derived from it , which we cannot fully understand without some knowledge here : also many termes of art ( in grammer , rhetorick , logick , physicks , metaphysicks , &c. ) are borrowed from hence . what grosse errors did many of the antients run into , and what lame interpretations , doe they oft make , for want of insight in the originall languages ; yea we had never enjoyed the translation of the bible , if some men had not attained this part of humane learning , the bible would have been as a sealed book ; for how could men , women , and children be able to read the scripture , had there not been learned men , who by great paines and study obtained the knowledge of the originals ? . some insight in the hebrew is necessary , because it is that sacred language in which the old testament was written , besides it hath a certaine idiome , and peculiar form of speaking , which cannot well be expressed in a translation , without some losse ; all authors being best and purest in that language , in which themselves writ . . the emphasis and force of the word is more clearly seen in the originall text , then in a translation . . there aré great differences amongst interpreters , which cannot well be reconcil●d without some insight in the originals . thus , in points of controversie , when one saies it is thus , and another thus , we must then of necessity have recourse to the fountains . . because they are immediately sent from god to us by the prophets and apostles . . the apostles themselves did sometimes correct the translation of the e. g. the say i have called my sonnes ; but ma● . . . saith , i have called my son out of egypt . . he that understands the originall , seeth with his owne eyes , when he that peruseth translations , sees with the eyes of others . scit● & sanè claris . ille whitaker . de scripturâ controvers . . qu. . cap. . mihi p. . ad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & proprietatem vocabulorum intelligendam , quae sanè admodum latè patet , fontes sunt utiles ; nam in fontibus omnia sunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quàm in quarumvis translationum rivulis , &c. cui suffagratur epigrammatista . multum crede mihi , refert , à fonte bibatur . quae fluit , an pigro quae stupet unda lacu . mart. v. plura apud hyperium de ratione stud . theolog. l. . c. . & bowles pastor evangel . l. . c. . p. . . the necessity of arts and sciences , will appear if we look into the body of the scripture . there are physicks in genesis , iob , ecclesiastes ; how oft doe we read in scripture , of the sunne , moon , stars , fire , haile , snow , winds , thunder , lightnings ; and also of fowles , fishes , beasts , plants , trees , seas , fountaines , minerals ; besides , many diseases , as the leprosie , palsi● , feaver , pestilence , &c. without some insight in naturall philosophy , we canno● so exactly know the nature of all these ▪ yea we shall find ethicks in the proverbs , and oeconomicks in pauls epistles ; politicks in sam. kin. geometry in the building of solomons temple , and astronomie in iob , &c. with metaphysicks of god , angels , truth , good , &c. ad rem & opposit● claris . ravanel . ea est scripturarum amplitudo , ut res metaphysicae , physicae , ●stronomicae , geographicae , musicae , ethicae , oeconomicae , politicae , imo ipsae mechanicae , & quae ad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 specta●t passim contineantur . cut astipulatur doctiss à lap s. scripturahabet objectum omne scibile , disciplinas omnes , & qu●cquid sciri potest suo sinn complect●tur , ideoque universitas quaedam est scientiarum , scientias omnes vel formaliter , vel eminenter continens ▪ v plura alsted praecog . lib. . cap. . & . hyperium l. . c. . &c. ☜ l. verulam advancement of learning , p. . to . nec non claris . schiblerus in proaem●o ad metaphys . c. . clarissimè ●vincit , philosophiam utilem esse ad theologiam ; ac itidem doctis . paraeus tripli●em fatetur esse physicae usum . . ad explicandos terminos theologicos communes de rebus naturalibus . . ad illustrauda● rerum naturalium cognitionem . . ad adjuvandam cognitionem dei ; [ qu●a eju● 〈◊〉 sibilia ex visibilibu pervidentur , rom. . , . paraeus in colos. . . ubi plura . . grammer is requisite to explain the words , termes , and phrases of scripture . . the scripture also is ful of rhetorick , many tropes and figures are there , what abundance of metonymies , ironies , hyperboles , hypallages ? see illyrious claris. script . and westhemerut . the scripture is full of learning and * eloquence all the eloquence of cicero , and flowers of demosthenes , with the rest of those learned heathen , is but as chaffe to wheat , and dros●e to refined gold : for the pen-men of scripture , were not simply men , but men inspired with the holy ghost . . logick is necessary for anal●sing defining ▪ dividing , and more orderly resolution of a text ; also for argumentation and defence of the truth against an adversary . the apostle would have a minister 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ tim. . . to divide the word aright . now , without some skill in arts , he 'll rather teare it with his teeth , and pull it a sunder with his nailes , then rightly divide it ; and although it be the spirit of god that helpeth us to the sence of scripture , in a spirituall saving way , for we are not able by our will to beleeve it , to apply it , to conform to it ; yet as it is a text consisting of words , and a coherence to make up the sence ; so the instrumentall way to discover that , is by the help of arts , and therefore ▪ those that are unlearned , are said to * ●●rest the scriptures , pet. . . to mangle and torture them to their own destruction ; as a * reverend divine hath wel observed ▪ neither is logick a profane thing , ( as some profane ones imagine ) for the scripture it selfe useth many logicall arguments , from the cau●e , the effect , the consequent , from mercies , judgements , and from the old testament , it s written , &c. e. g. god is a spirit , ergò he will be worshipped in spirit . so , he that commits sin is the servant of sin , but yee commit sinne , ergò . a good shepherd laies down his life for his sheep : but i ( saith christ ) am that good shepherd , ergo , see a clear syllogisme in the second figure , iohn . . whosoever is of god , heareth gods word , but yee heare not his word , ergo , yee are not of god. this may stop the mouths o● some that say christ never used logick , nor had any humane learning . . ecclesiasticall history is necessary ; many things in scripture receive light from iosephus , eusebius , q. curtius , xenophon , besides , they will furnish a man with examples of gods judgements on his enemies , and his blessings on his people ; being rightly used , they will much enrich a man. they may be read at succisive houres for recreation , after strong labour . with what cautions and conditions they are to be read , i shall for brevity sake , referre you to two learned authors . now as humane learning is necessary for the better understanding of the scripture , ●o without it we cannot understand many classicall authors , as lactantius , ierom , austin , ambrose , basil , &c. who borrowed much of cicero , quintilian , virgil : and thus we see the usefulnesse and ornament of learning every way ; to which i shall add the testimonie of a sweet divine , whose judgement may peradventure take with some men , more then another mans . he that is learned in something , ( saith he ) covets after more still , and certainly none but ignorant people are enemies to learning ; those that never knew the worth of it , these are they that cry it down : therefore those that are contented with little , nay and think their little too much sometimes , are of poor , mean , and base spirits , far from following on to know the lord. yea , how himselfe confes●eth . that humane learning being sanctified is an excellent helpe to the right understanding of scripture , and that in it selfe it is a good thing , and good in its proper place , which is for the repairing of that decay which came upon man for sinne , and so it is fit for statesmen , physitians , lawyers and gentlemen , yea and all men so farre as they can attaine to it , are as men beyond and above others that are without it , yea and beyond all other excellencies that this world can afford . well said and well sowed sam : these stitches will hold ; yet see how like a ●ight sectary he plaies fast and loose , like the curst cow , that having given a good messe of milk , knocks down all with her heels again : for mark his following words : but bring it once to be a help to understand the mind of god in holy scriptures , and there its detestable ●●lth ▪ dross and dung , good for nothing but to destroy , and cause men to erre . &c. quo teneam vultus mu●antem protea nodo . the second argument . that which is commanded by god , and commended to us by the example of his servants , ought still to be practised by us , [ unles●e any one can shew a counter-mand and prohibition , which in this case none ever yet could do . ] but reading , study , meditation and humane industry is commanded by god , and commended to us by the example of his servants , ergo. the major is undeniable , the minor i prove by its parts . . humane industry and learning is commanded , tim . , . give attendance to reading meditation , &c. yea , he must give up himselfe wholly to them , that so like a good scribe , he may be able to bring out of his treasury , things both new and old , mat. ▪ ● . now look what paul enjoynes timothy , concerns all the ministers of the gospell successively to the end of the world ; but to what end is all this diligence required , if the spirit 's teaching were solely sufficient . . it is commended to us by the example of gods servants , they are oft commended in scripture for their skill and dexterity in humane learning . thus moses is said to be learned [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , he was instructed therein from a child ] in all the wisdome of the egyptians , [ amongst whom in those dayes learning flourished much ] and was mighty in words and deeds , acts . . now the learning of the egyptians is said to be foure-fold , viz. mathematicks , physicks , ethicks and divinity ; their wisdome ( what ever it was ) appeares to be very great , for when the lord would set forth the wisdome and great abilities of solomon , he tels us that it excell'd al the wisdome of egypt , kin. . . . solomon was a very great philosopher , so that he could discourse from the cedar to the shrub , he had great insight in the nature and qualities of fowle , fish , beasts , herbs , trees , insosomuch , as they came from all the parts of the earth to hear his wisdome , kin. . , , . as he was most wise , so he was most eloquent , an absolute orator , one that found out acceptable words , [ eccle. . . ] adorned with many tropes and figures , farre surpassing all the eloquence of cicero , demosthenes , &c. cum divina fuerit in eo eloquentia , in eum confluxisse par est credere , quicquid in variis olim oratoribus seorsim emicuit suavitatem socratis , subtilitatem lysiae , acumen hyperidis , sonitum aeschinis , vim demosthenis , gravitatem africani , lenitatom lael●i , & siquid ●ale in laude positum sit , & eloquentissimis quibusdam viris tributum à cicerone lib. . de oratore . rivet . . i say ( as 't is conceived ) * of the blood royall , was an excellent rhetorician , and had the tongue of the learned given him , isaiah . . as appears throughout his whole prophesie . . christ himselfe honoured learning so farre , ( though he be not tied to schools or means ) as to sit amongst the doctors , both hearing them , and asking them questions ▪ and in his disputations he used logicall consequences and reasonings from the old testament to the new. the apostles also had excellent abilities , insomuch , as the pharisees wondred that unlearned and ignorant men should have such gifts , but by this they knew they had been with jesus . [ acts . . ] and were trained up in his school , which is farre beyond all the schools of the scribes and pharisees ; they were not therefore simply unlearned , but onely in the pharisees esteem , and in respect of the ordinary means of attaining learning . . apollos is commended for his eloquence , acts . . ingenio valebat dialectico , mathematico , & oratorio . dr prideaux concio . . . daniel and his three associates , had knowledge and skill in all the learning and wisdome of the caldaeans , dan. . , . and though daniel had a great measure of the spirit , yet it is worth observing , that he gave himselfe to study , and reading books for all this , dan. . . i daniel understood by books the number of yeers , &c. yea so exquisite was he in all naturall , acquired , and spirituall perfections , that it was then a proverb : art thou wiser then daniel ? ezek. . . . paul was bred up at the feet of learned gamaliel , and could speak languages more then they all , cor. . . he was so eloquent , that at lystra he was taken for mercury , the god of eloquence , acts . . he was an exlellent orator , as appears , acts . and an excellent disputant ; he disputes philosophically at athens , with the philosophers : he was well versed in the writings of the heathens ; hence he cites epimenides the poet , to convince the cretians , tit. . . and aratus to convince the athenians , acts . . and menander to silence the corinthians , cor. . . yea it is said of all the prophets , that they used meanes by inquiring and searching into the gospell , pet. . . by all this it appears , that gods dearest servants formerly , made use of humane learning in carying on the work of the lord , and therefore we conclude it is lawfull and usefull still . the third argument . humane learning is necessary for the convincing and confuting of a learned adversary , how shall we be able to preserve the truth in its purity , to stop the mouth of a subtle jesuite , or learned heretick , without learning ? this sanctified and rightly improved , is an excellent meanes to bring downe antichrists kingdome ; and therefore 't is well observed , that errors were never higher , and truth lower , then when ignorance prevailed , and learning was suppressed and contemned , when 't was suspitious for a man to have greek , and heresie it selfe to have hebrew . popery never fell , till learning rose ; it 's a darke religion , it grows and spreads it selfe by ignorance and barbarisme , no way so speedy to bring down these wals of iericho , as the promoting of all kind of good literature and learning . . if we would convince an heathen , it 's necessary that we have some knowledge of their authors , that we may wound them with their own quils : this made * iulian complain , [ propriis configimur pennis è nostris enī libris arma capiunt , quibus in bello adversus no● utun●ur . ] and thereupon he made a law , tha● children should not read philosophers or poets . the israelites furnisht themselves with the spoils of the egyptians ; david helpes himselfe with goliath's sword ; paul strikes the heathen with their owne writings , and makes their books like hand-maids to wait upon divinity : therefore when he came to athens amongst philosophers , he disputes with them ▪ from their own principles , acts . . . if we would convince a christian of his ingratitude , unrighteous dealing , stupidity , private-spiritednesse , &c. it may be usefull sometimes to quicken our auditors , by setting before them what excellent things very heathens by the light of nature have done . thus the lord sends the revolting jewes to learn better things of heathens , ier. . . and sometimes sends us to the teaching of nature , cor. . . all that hath been said , may be summed up in this argument , thus that which is necessary for the convincing of a learned adversary , an heathen and a deboist christian may in no wise be contemned . but humane learning is necessary for the convincing of a learned adversary , an heathen and deboist christian , ergo. a fourth argument . a min●ri ad majas . if humane learning be requisite for lawyers , polititians , physitians , &c. then ( a fortiori ) it is much more requisite for a divine , [ whose calling is more weighty , being about the soule , and therefore cals for the best accomplishments . ] but humane learning is necessary for lawyers , politicians ▪ physitians , &c. ( according to sam : how 's own confession ) ergo , i conclude it is much more necessary for a minister . a fifth argument . holy men thus accomplisht are fittest for gods use ; this appeares in all ages . god sends a lea●ned moses and aaro● to oppose the learned egyptians ; he sends a learned isaiah , ieremy , ezekiel , to oppose the false prophets : he raised up a learned athanasius , to oppose arrius : a learned austin , to oppose pelagius : a learned iewell , whitaker , fulke , perkins , &c. to oppose the subtle jesuites : a lear - camero , moulin , ames , twisse , &c. to oppose arminius , &c. true ▪ god can extraordinarily worke by weake unlearned instruments , and out of the mouths of babes , and sucklings , can confound his foes ; but ordinarily he fits and qualifies such as he appoints for high and noble implovment , with accomplishments answerable to their worke . god never sends any , but hee first fits and prepares them ; all idle ignorant sots ▪ he rejects , as none of his sending . hosea . . dyers when they would colour scarlet or purple , doe first prepare the cloath for it , by laying some ground colour : so those whom god intends for choise service , hee first pr●pares them and sharpens their wit by humane learning , that they may be ves●els of honour fit for the masters use . to make this plain by an instance ; take two godly men of equall naturall abilities , they both have the spirit of god , we will suppose the one to be a private christian , bred up to a trade , wanting humane learning ; but the other is bred up to learning , accomplisht with arts , sciences , languages , &c. give them both one text , and equall time for preparation ; though the good man that want● learning-may deliver honest things ▪ yet for want of the languages , and other endowments , he 's like a pigmy to a gian● , &c. the like may be said of their ●●●putations with a ●●arned adversary ▪ a carpenter may as well build a house without axes , hammers , and other instruments , as a man make sermons the● hath no learning . and that all the world may see the folly of those s●cta●ies , which want humane learning ; i shall here present you with a wes●e of sam : how 's nonsquiturs the bare rehearsall of them is confutation sufficient , and thus he begins his cobling logick . moses forsook the treasures of egypt . ergò , he forsook his learning too , which was a part of that treasure ; paul counted all but losse for christ , ergò , he cast off his learning for him . the ephesian converts burnt their magick books , [ act● . , . ] ergo , we must burn our logick books . beleevers shall all be taught of god , ergò , they need no humane learning : humane learning puffs men up , ergo , we must throw it away : the spirituall man discernes all things , ergò , he hath no need of humane learning : god forbids us to add any thing to his word , ergò , away with humane learning : humane learning is attained by our own industry and paines , ergo , away with humane learning , as being fitter for egypt and babylon , the●●for the church of christ : simon magus must repent of his wickednesse , ergo he must repent of his humane learning : god respects no mans person , ergo , unlearned men are fitter for the ministery , then learned : god chooseth the foolish to salvation , ergo , he chooseth the foolish for administration : since the gospell is foolishnesse , ergo , it must have foolish teachers . contraries must not be put together , but the gospell and hu●ane learning are contraries . that which is cursed , and we must beware of being spoiled by it , that must be abhorred , but such is philosophy , col● . . there 's a great woe fals on the world . rev. ▪ . to . now , part of this woe is humane learning , the very smoak of the bottomlesse pit , e●go . thus wee see what it is to want humane learning , and how this mans illogicall consequences do agree , like harpe and harrow , and come as neer together , as st germans lips , which were nine miles asunder . a sixth argument . that which is the badge and practise of wicked men ▪ may not be practised of the people of god ; [ they ●ust not conforme the●selves to the wicked of the world . ] ▪ but to seek the destruction of humane learni●g , is the badge and practi●e of w●cke● men ▪ i never read in any history , ●acred or divine , of any but w●cked men that ever did oppose it ; iulian the apostate was one , he sought to destroy ●chools of learning , that with their down●all , he might the better destro● the christian faith. fidel●bus prohebu●t ●●tam philosophiam liberales ar●es , lectionem e●hnico●um scriptorum , fieri non potest quin vehementer prosit ▪ quod hostis prohibuit . aretius . . the next that i read of , was that wicked pope paul the second , who so hated humane learning , that he called al scholars hereticks , or such as should but ●ame an university in jest or earnest , perswading the romans not to bring up their children in learning , saying , that 't was sufficient if they could but write and read : sure sam : how , tom : coll●er , and this pope , were kinsmen , they speak all one dialect . . the last are the tumultuous anabaptists , familists , antinomians . and li●ertines in germany , they cried down humane learning , and burnt all books save the bible ▪ &c. but we know their end . the seventh argument . if humane learning be needlesse , then the erection of universities and schools of learning would be vain ; [ for to what end were it to set up schools of philosophy , arts , sciences , &c. if none might learn the●● . ] but the erection of universities and schools of learning , is not vain : for wee read in scripture of schools and colledges , where the sonnes of the prophets were trained up in learning , and studied the law of god , that they might be fit to teach others . thus samuel kept a school a n●ioth in ramah , sam. . , . elisha erects a school at gilgal , and there like a * tutour or master instructs those young men , called the sonnes of the prophets , kings . . wee read of another school at bethel , kings . . and another at iericho , ver . . and another at mount ephra●m , kings . . paul was brought up at the feet of a learned gamaliel , acts . with ● . . by him 't is like he was informed in humane learning , wherein he did excell ●s appears by his writings : and therefore all zealous constantines have in their severall generations , been carefull to erect and incourage schools and nurseries of good literature and learning , with all their might . true , the place can doe little if the spirit be wanting ; [ as * gregory super ez●k in another ca●e ●aies ] but yet the spirit works by mean● , and 't is good to ●it in the winds way , we shall ●ail the sooner and the better for it . ob. there is no such expresse command in scripture , for any such schools of learning . an. yet there is that which is equivalent to it , for we read of the schools of the prophets , and of a colledge , kings . ▪ huldah the prophetesse dwel● in the * colledge ( i ) in the place where the prophets , and such as were children of the prophets , had their usuall abode . [ as the late learned annota● . well observe ] we read also that the sonnes and pupils of the prophets , had a peculiar place to dwell together in , which upon their increase , was too little for them , and therefore they desire it may be enlarged , kin. . . , &c. a school to teach children to write and read , is no where in expre●s tear●s commanded ; yet sam : how and collier ( as ●lack as he is ) acknowledge tha● children ought to be taught to wri●e and read . he that would see al the objections made against universities more fully answered , let him peru●e that lea●ned , modest , elaborate treatise o● mt ●lake , vindiciae foederit . chap. . 〈◊〉 ca●v●nus scho●as aperir● & doctores constitu● nec●sse est : nam si haec ordinaria media neglexerimus , & librorum aliarúmque●erum ad studia necessariarum curam abjecerimus , qu●bus erudiantur & praeparentur futari ol●m divinae voluntatis testes , & qui ecclesiam aliq●o ordine regant , horrenda● sanè confusionem in e●clesiam , & in nostra capita derivabimus . the eighth argument . if the quilders of babylon have been , and still are at great cost and charges to promote learning , that they may the better destroy the t●uth , surely then the builders of zion ( who have farre better worke , and shall have better wages ) ought to be more active this way ; but the builders of babylon have been , and still are at great cost and charges to promote learning , that they may the better destroy the truth ; [ hence they have set up eighteen universities in spain , eleven in italy ▪ many in france , and shall england have none to oppose them ? ] some have pictured the world with its feet upwards , to note unto us , that all things in it are turned upside-down ; surely if universities and schools of good learning , which our pious ancestours have been at such cost to erect , should now be destroyed , this picture of the world would soon be ours ▪ and a flood-gate would be opened to all errors , heresies , blasphemies , profanenesse and barbarisme it selfe , as we see amongst the savage indians . hence this present parliament acknowledge , that for the propagation of the gospell in new england , universities ▪ schools and nurseries of literature must be setled there , for instructing and civilizing them . see the act for promoting the gospell in new england . the ninth argument . that which in it selfe considered , is an excellent gift of god , and is ordained by him for excellent ends and uses , may in no wise be contemned by us : but humane learning in it selfe considered , is an excellent gift of god , and is ordained by him for excellent ends and uses . ergo , it may in no wise be contemned by us . the major is cleare . the minor i prove by its parts . . humane learning is an exc●llent gift of god , farre surpassing all the rich●s and treasures of the world ; those adorne but the outward ●an , this helps to enrich and enoble the soule , which is the better part ; and therefore the holy ghost commends the godly for their excellency in this particular , as we have seen in the second argument . . god hath ordained it for excellent ends and uses : it 's an excellent meanes to prepare us for the true religion , it helps to civilize us , and to mollifie the harshnesse , and mitigate the fiercenesse of our natures , it roots up barbarisme , bea●tlinesse , cruelty , &c. on● of their own could say , — ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes . emollit mores , nec sinit esse feros ▪ ovid. it helpes to preserve humane societies in peace ; it s also a meanes to improve and perfect our naturall gifts and abilities . it fits us for noble atchievements , and excellent imployments , both in church and state. the tenth argument . that which ha●n ●e●n commended to us by the unanimous consent of the a●c●ent fathers , and by the church of god ever since in its ●uceeding generations , ought not to be lightly rejected of us ; but the so●er and modest use of humane learning , hath been commended to us by the antient fathers , and by the church of god ever since in its succeeding generations , ergo , it ought nor to be lightly rejected of us . the major no ●ober ●an will deny . the ●●nor i prove . . see austin de doct christiana l. . total . ( and epist. ● . ) where he pleads for ●ra●mar , rhetorick , logick , &c. . see ierom epist . ad magnum , & . ad marcellam & praef. in iob. so clemens al●xandr●nus , l and● . stromat . i●a b●si● us ma●n●● ▪ ad nepotes de legendi● e●● nic●s scriptor b●s . ter●ul in apolog & in apocal. c. . ●ust●n martyr orat ad gentil & s n ▪ r●m cyp●ian epist ad ●ornelium . n●●z●anzon ▪ ●●udite● em basil●●● eth●tcis scriptorious vehem●e●ter c●mme●dat lactant●● ille firm●●nus ●mn●a 〈…〉 is , orat●ribus , & p●ilosophis confirma● , &c. diluuntur sophismata . chap. ii. i come now to answer al the cav●ls and objections which anabaptists , antino● ians , familists and libe●●ines . &c. have fiamed against humane learning . when one had made a long o●ation in the praise of hercules , ne asked hi● , quis illum vi●u●e●avit ? who ever di●praised him ? implying that 't was a needless thing to pra●se that which n●ne ever yet dispraised : but if any should ask me who ever dispraised humane learning ▪ i think ther● is no part of the land but can tell him . yet i wish there were not some that have been trained up to learning , that do despise and dispraise it ; if wisedome must be beaten , let it be by her foes , not friends ▪ by fools , not wise men , by barbary and not by athens : what their great bulwarks , and strong ●olds are , i come now to examine . . ob , their achilles and chiefe argument is , colos. . . beware lest any man spoile you through philosophy , and vaine deceit , after the traditions of men , after the rudiments of the world ▪ and not after christ ; from hence they argue thus ; whatsoever the scripture condemns , that must not be practised : but the scripture condemns philosophy , ergo. ans. the major must be limited thus , whatsoever the scripture really and absolutely condemnes , that may not be practised by us ; [ for there be many things in scripture , which are comparatively and seemingly condemned , which yet are not absolutely condemned , nor unlawfull , as * hos. . . iohn . , &c. i will have mercy and not sacrifice ( ) comparatively mercy rather then sacrifice . ] and then the minor is false . but all philosophy is really and absolutely condemned in scripture . for the apostle doth not in this place condemn all p●ilosophy , but on●ly abusive philosophy , such as spoiles and corrupts the soule with its delusions ; and is * falsely so called . the words are plain , beware lest any man spoile you [ or make a prey of you , by causing you to err from the faith ] through philosophy : so then it is not all philosophy , but spoiling philosophy , vaine philosophy , such as the false apostles used ; whom he compares to theeves , who labour secretly and subtilly to make a prey of the flock , when they cannot doe it violently . [ so much the originall will beare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . qui depraedetur vos , verbum militare , quod significat praedam eligere . ] this will further appear . . from the context . . by the exegesis . . by the apostles practice . . from the context , ver . let no man beguile you with intising words . see , t is not simply and absolutely words , but beguiling entising words which the apostle condemns : so it is not simply and absolutely philosophy , but deceitfull beguiling philosophy , which draw● the heart away from christ , and the simplicity of the gospell . non verum usum syncer● philosophiae , sed abusum , qui est confu●io philosophiae cùm evangelio , prohibet ; vel potiùs sop●●sticen illam rejicit , quam falsi aliqui philosophiae titulo venditant ▪ cum sit tantùm inanis quaedam deceptio , p●zel . . by the exegesis , the latter part of the verse ( as it is us●all in scripture ) doth expound the former . beware lest any man spoile you through philosophy ; but what philosophy doth the apostle mean ? why he tels you , such as brings forth * vain deceit ▪ and is full of sophistry , and captious subtilty . now not all philosophy is such ; for true philosophy is the truth of god , and the fruit of right reason , rom. . . . 't is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ipsius , much of god may be seen in the nature of the creatures , acts. . . . the philosophy which paul condemnes is such as is according to the traditions of men , not according to the mind of christ , but such as is pleasing to flesh and blood . it is founded in the rudiments of the world , and withdraws men from christ ; and then the best ethicall philosophy in ●lato , aristotle , &c. when it in is put the name of christ , must be rejected . . the apostles practice shews that he doth not condemn all philosophy , for himselfe oft used it , in disputing philosophically , with the philosophers at athens , and confounding th●m out of their own writings . acts . . rom. . and was well ver●ed in humane authors , as appears by his prompt quotations of them now see what a paralogism here is [ fallacia à dicto secundum quid , ad dictum simplicite● ] because the apostle condemnes spoiling philosophy , vain philosophy , beguiling , false , frivolous philosophy , ergo , he condemns true philosophy , which is a gift of god , and a great help to the knowledge of divinity 't is plain , that the apostle condemnes the abuse , and not the true use of philosophy . now if the abuse of a thing must take away the use of it ; away then with the sunne , which some idolaters worshipped by day , and with the m●on , which they worshipped by night , and so were atheists by day and night ; yea away them with bread , drink , cloaths , fire , air , water , &c. for all these are abused by men , ergo , by this anabaptisticall logick , they must be all cast away . we must therefore know , that when the scripture or fathers condemn philosophy , 't is the vanity , errors , figments , and abuse of philosophy , which they speake against , and not that knowledge of the truth found out by the light of naturall reason , whereby we come to know much of god , this being an excellent gift of his , granted to man for his good , being no way repugnant , but subservient to divinity . ad rem & appositè tilenus , [ syntag. p. . p. . ] quae a●versus philosophiam , vel p●ulus , vel prijc● pa●res paulò inclementiùs dixisse videntur , abusum ipsi●s , non ipsam , sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 q●and●m & insan●entem sapient●am , philosophiae nomine 〈◊〉 in . è dignam , perstring●n● . the 〈◊〉 me of the apostles words is this q. d. have a speciall care , lest any false teachers make a prey of you , and beguile you with their vain philosophy and worldly wisedome , mixing divine things with humane , and measuring heavenly m●steries by their naturall reason , drawing you from the truth of christ , and from the simplicity of the gospell , to the traditions of men , and beggarly rudiments of the world . the second obiection . rom. . , . the apostle condemnes the gentiles ( say they ) that had but meer naturall knowledge , because they did not glorify god , but became unthankfull , vain in their imaginations , foolish and dark , &c. so cor. . . the wisedome of this world ( i ) philosophy ( say they ) is condemned as foolishness : from hence they argue thus ; that which breeds idle speculations , vaine deceits , aiery nothings , but fils men full of foolishnesse and darknesse , that must be avoided ; but philosophy doth so , ergo. an. i answer to the minor by distinguishing of philosophy , which is two-fold . . philosophia propriè sic dicta , philosophy truly so called , which is an excellent gift of god , and a part of divine wisedome , whereby we come to know much both in divine and humane things , so farre as by the light of nature they may be known . this the scripture never condemnes ; but rather condemnes men for not walking up to such knowledge , and answerable to such light rom. . . there is phil●so●hia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , impropriè & ●busivè sic dict● , philosoph false●y ●o called , wh●n men follow the idle dreames ▪ vaine speculations , and a●r● nothings of their owne braine , besides , and contrary to the word of god. this , and this alone is that which the scripture so oft condemnes , 't is not true philosophy , but va●●e philosophy , not the right use , but the vain ▪ and foolish abuse of it , as appears , ephes. . . and . . cor . ●im . . and . . and . ● . tit. . 't is that science falsely ( not truly ) so called , which exalts it ●el●● against go● . and co●●upts the simplicity of the gospe●l which the holy ghost in scripture ●o o●t blames no ● this is meere fallaci●us arguing ( 〈…〉 former from col. ) to 〈…〉 the abuse of a thing 〈◊〉 ●ll the true use of it ; and would ●ve●●hrow all things qui●kly . ad rem & apposi●e partus . deus philosophiam per se non rejicit , quae alioqui inter eximia dei dona censetur ; sed quia ábsque vera illa sapientia , quae in agnitione & timore dei consisti● mera est vanitas omnis humana prudentia & eruditio . pareus . the like answer serves for cor. . . the apostle there condemnes not the use , but another abuse of philosophy , in that they set it above divinity , when like a hand-maid , it should onely have waited on it . this appeares from the circumstances in the text , they preferred their own wisedome , and made it the rule of their lives , contemning the crosse of christ , and its doctrine as foolishnesse , ver . , . they preferred their humane reason , and philosophicall conceits before the plaine preaching of christ crucified , which they accounted foolishnesse ▪ all that these gentiles sought for , was wisedome , wisedome ( ) a wisedome con●ormable to naturall reason , beleeving no more in religion , then they can see naturall reason for . this is that the apostle blames them for , as calvin well observes . non simpliciter damnat ●postolus aut naturalem perspicaciam , aut prudentiā usu & experientiâ collectā , aut cultum ingeui● literis comparatum , sed hoc totum ad perspiciendam spiritualem sapientiam nullius esse momenti affirmat . the third obiection , the ancient fathers doe of● condemne philosophers ; irenaeus confutes many of their vaine opinions ; irenaeus adversus haereses , l. . c. ● . so lactantius institut . l. . c. . tertullian declaims against them very much , he cals philosophers the hereticks patriarks , because many of the hereticks drew their errors out of their writings , as the valentinians , arrians , marcionites . &c. ans. they speak not against philosophy , but against some vaine philosophers , who abused philosophy , to the maintaining of errors and heresies . now à persona ad rem non valet consequentia , because some men abuse wine , or a sword , it doth not therefore follow that wine is naught , or a sword evill ; the fault is in the person , who abuseth the wine to drunkennesse , and the sword to violence . . 't is one thing to reject the errors and vanities of philosophers , and another thing to reject philosophy it selfe ; the fathers condemned the one , but not the other . sanè & soli●è claris . ille theolog. professor ; patres abusum , non usum legitimum rationis exagitant , nec de vera philosophia , sed perperam philos●phantium fucis , frauae , subtili●ate , aut ignorantia , eorum dicta sunt intelligenda , &c. dr ●rideaux . lect. . s. page . ubi plura . the fourth obiection . the saints are all taught of god , they have the inward teaching of the spirit , which is sufficient in it selfe ( ●aith sam : how ) ergo , they need no outward teaching by men brought up in humane learning an. subordinata non pugnant . the outward teaching is subordinate , but not opposite to the inward ; nor doth gods inward teach●ng by his spirit , any way exclude , but rather include the outward teaching ; for whom god teacheth now , he teacheth not immediately a● formerly , but mediately , by meanes ; and therefore he that promised to teach them by his spirit , promised also to give them prophets , pastors , teachers , accomplisht with all needfull abilities for the better edifying of his church , eph. . , . . i answer , à pari : if humane learning be needlesse because the spirits teaching is sufficient , then by the same argument , naturall reason should bee needlesse ; for such as condemne arts , may as well condemne reason , for what are arts , but reason brought into rule and order ? the fifth obiection . paul counted all but dung for christ [ phil. . , . ] but his humane learning was a part of this all ; [ for he was a pharisee , and they excelled in knowledge , and were the chiefe teachers of it in christs time . ] ergo , he counted it but dung for christ. ans. this is a dunghill-argument , and is easily answered by limiting the major ; paul counted all but dung for christ comparatively , not simply ; and so when riches , pleasures , honours , &c. come in competition with christ , they must be esteemed in comparison of him , as drosse and dung : if a man have riches , he must not cast them away , but he must cast away his confidence in them ; so if he have learning , and skill in arts , he must not cast it away , ( for in it selfe it is a good gift of god , exod. . , , , . ) but he must cast away his pride ●nd glorying in it , he must glory in none but christ ; thus paul cared not to know any thing in comparison of the excellent knowledge of christ crucified , cor. . . thus nazianzen , a very learned man , accomplisht with much athenian eloquence , rejoiced that he had any thing of worth , to esteem as nothing in comparison of christ. the sixth obiection . from rom. . . the wisedome of the flesh is enmity against god , and cor. . . the weapons of our warfare are not carnall . ans. learning sanctified is no carnall thing , but the good gift of god , and so is not enmity to god , but pleasing to him ; nor doth the apostle by the wisedome of the flesh mean philosophy , but the corruption and depravation of our natures ; and therefore he doth not simply condemne wisedome , but fleshly wisedome , such as proceeds from the pravity of the flesh , and makes us rebell against god. . though logick ▪ philosophy , rhetorick &c in themse●ves considered are not able to convert a soule , ●et being spiritualliz'd and improved to the right opening and expounding of the scripture ▪ they may be a meanes the better to convince our judgements , and work upon our affections , and so help forward our conversion . plowing , sowing , and breaking the clods &c. of it selfe cannot make the corn to grow , yet 't is a meanes which god hath ordained for that end , and we must use it if we expect his blessing . the seventh obiection . cor . . paul would not preach the gospell with the wisedome of words , ergo. we may not do it . ans. it is one thing to preach in the wisedome of mans words , and another thing to make use of learning in our preparations for preaching . the apostle therefore doth not simply condemne learning , eloquence , freedome of speech , &c. ( which in themselves are the good gift of god ) for paul used much of it himselfe , and was able to speak more tongues then they all ; but that which he condemnes is vaine , affected straines of eloquence , and pompous words , whereby the simplicity of the gospell was corrupted , and souls kept thereby from christ : now this is the abuse and not the right use of learning , which paul condemnes . the scripture it selfe is full of divine eloquence & rhetorick * and it may lawfully be used by a minister of the gospell , not for ostentation , but edification , for being sanctified , it is a furtherance and not a hinderance to the hearers . non laudatur ruditas , sed simplicitas ; nec vituperatur eruditio , sed oftentatio ; improbat apostolus non omnem , sed affectatam eloquentiam , & mixturam sapientiae humanae cum doctrinâ evangelii , ut quàm scitissimè acutissimus pareus in locum . the eighth obiection . philosophy is contrary to divinity● now contraries ( saies sam : how ) must not be put together , but the gospell and humane learning are contraries , ergo. ans. nogatur minor. philosophy and humane learning is not contrary , but subservient ; not opposite , but subordinate to the gospell . [ raetionem supponit , non opponit , instruit non destruit sacra theologia ] hence the lord oft commands us to make use of our reason ▪ to judge ▪ examine , try al things , that we may discerne truth from falshood , and light from darknesse , eph. . . and . . cor. . . see this more fully handled in the first caution following , &c. the ninth obiection . christ was destitute of humane learning , ( saith how the cobler ) yea it is blasphemy ( saith he ) to affirm he had humane learning ; since the jews admiring , said , how knoweth this man letters or learning , having never learned , iohn . . it s therefore enough ( saith how ) for the disciple to be as his lord , he being destitute of humane learning , his disciples may well be without it also , as it appeares they were , acts . . ans. here 's a coblers end indeed , had it appeared at another season , it might have had a fire instead of an answer . . then i utterly deny that christ had no humane learning ; for isaiah . , . and . . tels us expresly , that he had the tongue of the learned given him , and that the spirit of wisedome ▪ understanding , counsell , might and knowledge should rest upon him , and make him quick of understanding , and therefore there are said to be hid in him treasures of wisedome and knowledge , col. . . now , how he came by it , whether by infusion from heaven , or the personall union , or education at schools , it 's not materiall ▪ since it 's apparent by scripture , that he was full of wisedome ; insomuch , as the pharisees wondred that christ a carpenters son , never taught at schools and universities , should be able to speak so learnedly , promptly and fully : now had they not been grosly blinded by unbeliefe , they might easily have seen , that since christ had not his learning by ordinary and usuall meanes , therefore he had it extraordinarily , and immediately from god , and so have acknowledged the evidence of gods spirit therein . . 't is true , the apostles were unlearned in respect of education . they were never brought up at unive●sities , but in respect of inspiration they were not unlearned ; for christ made them learned , and fitted them before he sent them ; ( as i have proved at large in another treatise ) insomuch as the scribes wondred at their boldnesse and abilities , acts . . and how , they being unlearned , should come by such learning . in a word , they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , illiterate men , or men without letters , not simply , ( for they had spent some time in studying the scriptures , & were al 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , taught of god , ioh. . and . thes. . . pet. . . ) but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the pharisees esteem they were unlearned , ( who conceited that the empire of learning was within their own dominion ) . because they were not brought up in ordinary schools of learning , though they were brought up in the school of christ , which was incomparably better . the learning is still the same , onely the way of attaining it , is different now from what it was in the primitive times ; christ , the prophets and apostles had it by supernaturall and immediate revelation and infusion , we now by reading , teaching , education , study , and pains , in schools and universities . the tenth obiection . but there are many errors amongst philosophers , poets , heathens , &c. what shall we doe in such a case ? ans. the apostle tels you , thes. . . try all things , and what upon try all you find to be sound and good , hold that fast . we must therefore read with judgement , and not like children , swallow all that 's put into our mouths ; and this brings me to the cautions , which are ten . chap. iii. ten cautions . first , beware of the two extreams , set not philosophy , and arts too high , nor yet too low ; medio tutissimus ibis . the anabaptists offend in the defect , and totally cry down all humane learning . others offend in the excesse , preferring it before divinity ; they set hagar the servant in the chaire , and make dame sarah wait . this is to abuse it , and not to use it : then a thing is abused , when it is not used in that manner , and for that end to which god hath ordained it ; when we set it higher then god would have us , idolizing it , resting in it . philosophy is ordained by god to be an help and furtherance in the study of divinity ; now when men make it an hinderance to the prejudice of the scripture , hurt of the hearers , vain-glory in the teachers , &c. this is to abuse , not use philosophy ; which ought alwaies to be subservient , but never superiour to divinity ; and therefore when hagar begins thus to u●urp over her mistris , it 's time to cast her out till shee submit her selfe . philosophy is a good servant , but an ill mistris to divinity , and therefore luther wittily compares it to the asse on which christ rode , which must be subject , not superiour to christ and his gospell . it is the folly of many young wits , that they prefer aristotle before paul , and are so wedded to the opinion of the one ▪ that they scarce ever affect the truth taught by the other , in sincerity : these like penelopes suitors , leave the mistris , and fall in love with the maids . heare what the learned à lapide saith in this case ; ancillantur theologiae quasi dominae & reginae omnes liberales disciplinae , omnes scientiae atque artes , quae certis singulae terminis continentur . sacra autem haec scientia ambit omnia , complectitur universa , omniumque usum suo jure sibi assumit ; ut proi●de quasi omnium perfect●ssima , omnium finis & scopus , ultimo loco veniat addiscenda . cui suffragatur claris . walaeus . artes & scientiae ancillentur veritati theologicae , non praesint ; leges ab ea accipiant , nullas praescribant . ●mp●um est humana inventa caelest● veritati praeferre aut divina mysteria angustis humant ingenii mensuris circumscribere ; ex hoc vitio pleraeque haereses ortae sunt , &c. sane & sci●è ●ic aquinas . theologia accipere potest aliquid à philosophicis disciplinis , non quod ex necessitate ●is indigeat , sed ad majorem manifestationem eorum , quae in hac scientia traduntur non enim accipit sua principia ab aliis scientiis , sed immediatè à de● per revelationem , & ideo non accipi● a● aliis scientiis tanquam à ●uperioribus , sed ut ●●ur eis tanquam inferioribus & ancillis , &c. the second caution ; beware of mixing and confounding philosophy with divinity ; this hath brought many heresies into the church . this was the fault of the false apostles , whom paul blames , for mixing the works of the law with faith , and bringing philosophicall tenents into divinity , and in this kind the school-men were grossly guilty , who made divinity stoop to philosopy , and went about to prove its deepest supernaturall mysteries , by naturall reason out of aristotle , and so are become a dunghill of errors ; and are compared by some , to one having bread and good wine hanging ●on both sides them , yet himselfe hungrily gnawing a flint stone . [ theologiam in mataeologiam converterunt , eorum doctrina philosophica magis fuit quà● theologica , quique magis ratiunculis humanis ▪ quàm testimoniis divinis nituntur & disputant ] wee must not bring down the mysteries of religion to be scanned by philosophy , but we must make philosophy wait and submit to divinity . every science must keep its proper bounds , for many things which are true in philosophy , yet are not so when applied to divinity ; & è contra . e. g. ex nihilo nihil fit , of nothing , nothing is made , this is true in philosophy , yet in divinity wee know that god created all things of nothing . so , a privatione ad haebitum non datur regressus . this is true in philosophy , and according to the course of nature ; but not in divinity , since god by his omnipotency works above nature , and can raise the dead . so the righteousnesse by which a man is just and righteous , is inherent in himselfe , and not in another . so , virgo non est mater , nec homo deus . philosophicè haec sunt vera , non theologicè ; physicè , non hyperphysicè . abusus itaque est cum rerum physicarum propria transferuntur ad res hyperphysicas . intra terminos oportet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , nec licèt temerè cantare canticum domini in terra aliena , ne fiat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ( i ) transitus in aliud genus . . beware of abusing these particular arts and sciences . . grammar god hath ordained it as a means to explain phrases and termes in scripture : now when men play upon the words , and look more at them , then at the matter , this is an abuse of the art : so when men fall to logomachies , and contending about words , which paul condemned , tim. . . and . , . . rhetorick is , a●used when men coin figures , and change the literall into an allegoricall sense , as origen did , this is a corrupting of this go●d art , and is condemned , col. . . it 's an abuse of logick , when by sophistry and false reasoning , we labour to draw men into errors . dialectica ad omnia pexetranda & dissolvenda plurimùm valet ; tantùm cavenda est libido rixandi , & puerilis quaedam ostentatio decipiendi adversarium . august . de doct. christiana . lib. . cap. , , , . . it 's an abuse of mathematicks , ( which includes arithmeticke , astronomy , and geometry ) when men take upon them to cast a figure , or from the stars , to calculate mens nativities , or to foretell the states of kingdomes and commonwealths ; a sinne which gods word oft condemnes , and therefore rancks astrologers with sorcerers , to whom they are neer allied , isaiah . , , , ▪ . it 's an abuse of physicks , when we pore so much on the creatures , that we forget their creator , and look so much after second causes , that wee forget the first . . it 's an abuse of metaphysicks , when men labour by dark termes , improper phrases , idle questions , and vaine subtleties , to corrupt the truth , draw men to atheisme , and make them meer scepticks in religion . sic scholastici doctores in papa●u metaphysicis terminis res theologicas contaminârunt , pareus in col. ▪ . ubi plura . wee must therefore bring humane learning home to divinity , to be pruned and pared with spiri●uall wised●me , and then it may lawfully and profitably be used ; as the israelites might not marry with a micianite whom they had taken in warre , till shee was purified . ( i ) they must shave her head , pare her nailes , and put off the garment shee was taken in , and then they might marry with her , numb . . , ● . and deut. . ● , , . . beware of pride in humane learning , let it not so puffe you up , that you cannot submit to the simplicity of the gospell , cor. . . for as learning is the ornament of the minde , so humility is the ornament of learning : many insult over their brethren , and contemne the people of god that want these qualifications , like the pharisees , ioh. . , whereas the having of t●o●e should make us more humble , considering the great account such have to make , for according to mens gifts , helps and talents , must their account be ; they that have received great abilities , and have either idlely buried them , or basely abused them by drawing ignorant persons into error of life or doctrine , such shall receive the greater condemnation . . we may not stuffe our sermons with philosophy , though we may use it in our preparations , yet we must sparingly mention it in publick . artis est celare artem . 't is not aristotle , tully , horace , &c. but the holy scripture that can convince t●e iudgement , and make it yield : we must therefore do by our humane learning , as abraham did by his asse and his servant . gen. . . it may go with us , to the foot of the hill , but not ascend into the sanctuary . god will have no plowing with an ox and an ass , deut. . . but if any man speak , it must be with that feare and reverence , with that preparation and discretion , as becomes the oracles of ●od , pe● . . . for what is the chaffe to the wheat saith the lord ? ier. ● . . quid facit cum psalterio horatius ? cum evangelio maro ? cum apostolis cicero ? nonne scandalizatur frater si te viderit in idolioracumbentem ? hieron . eustachio . vaine rhetoricall , philosophicall florishes doe savour of ostentation , wast the time which might be better spent , and hinders the edification of the hearers ; for as in all things , so especially in preaching , all things should be done to edifying , and therefore 't is observed that gods servants , moses , christ paul &c. though they were singularly learned , and well accomplisht with all kind of learning , yet they concealed it , and seldome or never shewed it in their publick preaching , but came with holy simplicity , and in the demonstration of the spirit ; and thus in our age did holy perkins , greenham , baine , b●field , sibs , preston , &c. minimè probi illorum affectatam vanitatem , qui undique corr●gatis sententiolis infarciunt suas conciones , scrip●urarum interim prorsus immemores , &c. ut appositè acutissimus davenant in col. . . v. plura ames . cc. lib. . cap. . q. . & zep. de arte concion . l. . c. . . spend not too much time in them , rest not here ; many study heathens so long , till they become almost heathenish , like the man that studied school-divinity so long , that at last he had forgot the lords prayer . many of origens errors , came from an over-w●ening love of philosophy . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , hippocrat . omne nimium vertisur in vitium . i have known some in my time in the university , that doted so long on philosophy , that they proved errant drones , and could never relish divinity : what we say of a meer logician , is also true of a meer philosopher , merus philosophus , merus asinus . these studies are but the elements and preparations onely to divinity , they are but the way , not our mark and chiefe end , and therefore our learning of these sciences ( as austin well observes ) must be modesta & succincta , else it may prove vinum inebrians , implens non nutriens , infla●s non aed●ficans , saith bernard . these prepare the wit for higher studies , but we must not rest here . nam si exotica illa cum scripturae thesauris comparentur ; nihil nisi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , nugae erunt & quisquiliae , tilenus . has itaqu● disciplinas , paucis ▪ & velut ad majora utilioráque properan● percurre . hyperius de rat . stud . theolog. l. . c. . p. . ubi plura . . i speak not this to discourage any young beginners , ( as if i would have none to be ministers ▪ but such as can read a lecture in philosophy ) who strive and studie for competent abilities , in arts and languages , nor any who have reall abilities , and shall be judged sit by a presbytery , and so called to the ministery , though for the present they be defective this way : for humane learning doth not impower , but fits us to preach ; it doth not make us ministers , but it maketh us able ministers of the gospell : it 's necessary , not simply ad esse , to the being , but ad b●ne esse to the well being of a preacher : 't is requisite necessitate expedientiae & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ non necessitate absolutâ , as if a man could know nothing in divinity without it . ●he wan● of it is a blemish and defect , which by all good meanes we should labour to remove ; for though a man may be a preacher and a disputant without it , yet he shall never be so compleat a preacher , not dexterous a disputant , as he that hath it : and therefore i would advise all such , ( i have known some that having strong naturall part● , in a short time have gained good insight in the arts and languages ) though they cannot attaine that perfection which others have , yet to get such a competent measure of knowledge herein , as to be able to help themselves , and to see with their own eyes , and when doubts arise , not to be quite to seek , else the profane of the world will soon di●cover their weaknesse , and they shall be sure to hear of it to their sorrow , unlesse they be very humble , gratious , and wise to prevent it ▪ &c. v. plura apud claris. hyperium . l. c. . p . get your learning sanctifyed ; a learned head and an unsanctified heart is a fit instrument for the devill to doe much mischiefe withall : such oft prove the ●o●est enemies to religion ; who more learned then the egyptians , yet who more gross idolateis , and greater enemies to gods people ? who more learned then the scribes and pharisees , yet who more gracelesse in their lives ● paul meets with most opposition at athens , amongst the learned philosophers , acts . so true is the proverb , the learnedst clerks , are not alwaies the wisest men , they are like an asse deck● with costly ornaments . all the humane learning in the world cannot bring a man to salvation , it may help to curb corruption civilize a man , and prepare him for better things , but 't is the saving knowledge of the word , which giveth more grace , iames . there onely true comfort is to be found ; hence it 's called by way of exclusion , the word of life , and the word of comfort , excluding all true comfort from any other word or writings , which hath made the godly to preferre it before all the treasures in the world . wee should therefore moderate our delight in other studies , and make them all subservient to this ; for this is not the end of our lives to get humane learning ▪ nor must it be preferred , much leste be equallized to the knowledge of god in his word , but alwaies kept in subordination to it ; else what will it profit us to be good grammarians , and have skill in tongues , to have our he●●s full of knowledge , and our hearts empty of all goodnesse ; or to be good logicians , and ●ki●●ull in answering fallacies , yet suffer the devill to delude us with his sophistry , or to be good historians , and know what 's done abroad , yet be ignorant of the state of our soules at home , &c. consider that humane learning is but a common gift of the spirit , which is oft bestowed on reprobates and heathens , as well as on gods people ; and therefore the lord in his wisedome oft passeth by the learned , proud , selfe-conceited rabbies of the time , and chuseth the poor , the simple , and meek of the earth , to set forth his praise , cor. . , . . yet beware of offending in the defect : let not the abuse of any thing , take away the lawfull and sober use of it . god would have us to use all helps , ( for now we have nothing by inspiration , revelation , or any such extraordinary way , but all by study , paines and industry ) he would have us make use of our reading and rea●on , and not be like horse and mule , which have no understanding , psal. . . nor like children tossed to and fro with the delusions of men . eph. . ● . the worship which he cals for , must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , rationalis ( i ) agreeable to right reason . away then with those fanaticks , enthusiasts , anabaptists &c. who boast of the spirit , and of their revelations ( the common 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and refuge , when they are at a stand for scripture to prove their errors , then they fly to revelations , as the papists when non-plust , fly to traditions ) and under this pretence , they cry down languages , arts , sciences , universities , &c. but let their pretences be never so specious , they are but back friends to religion , that decry humane learning . iulians edict forbidding christians the use of schools , and exercises of learning , was esteemed a more dangerous engine to overthrow the christian faith , then all the bloody persecutions of his predecessors , &c. coronis . labantibus literarum studiis , & maximae rei-publicae utilitates simul concidunt ; pro cognitione & scientia , turpissima rerum omnium ignoratio ; pro sincero dei cul●u , anilis superstitio ; pro dicendi facultate , stupida infantia ; pro consilii copia & ubertate , mentis & judici● inopia ; pro exculi â morum elegantia ▪ agrestis & inamaena rusticitas ▪ pro mansuetudine & humanitate , barbara quaedam feritas in vitam hominum invadit . cooper . certainly much respect is to be given to the learning & godliness of men . there is a great delusion in many mens hearts , that makes them think it to be halfe popery , to give any respect to learning ; although the abuse of learning hath done much evil , against that much hath bin ▪ & may be said : but i dare avow this , that never since the beginning of the world could a man be found to speak against learning , but an ignorant ●an ; neither is it like ; nay i may aver it it is impossible , that any but such will be found to the end of the world ; learning hath so much of god in it , that it never had , nor will have any enemy but ignorance , &c. when we see grace added to learning , it should add much to our esteem of such a man , it is the orient pearl in the gold ring , &c. burroughs irenicum , chap. . p. , . sam : how the preaching cobler , or the cobling preachers epitaph , by r. o. what how ? how now : hath how such learning found , to shrow arts curious image to the groūd ? cambridge and oxford may their glory now , vaile to a cobler , if they knew but how : though big with arts , they cannot overtop , the spirits teaching in a coblers shop . reader , if thou an humane artist be , let humane learning be no judge for thee : lay down thy arts , then try this coblers end , and see , if it be by the spirit penn'd . meane time adue , yee arts and a●●ists all , the spirits teaching may attend the aull ; and thou brave cobler blow another blast upon their learning , though thou blow thy last . r. o. an answer to r. o. his verses made in commendation of a book of samuell how , a cobler . who 's this , r. o. a psychopannychist , rather the la●e pamphleting mortalist ? if it be he , no wonder that he so admire the cobler ▪ and even kisse his toe ; and nothing make o' ● ' vniversity , compared with his awll-suffic●ency . 't is just with god , ●ha● he that vilifies the glorious sunne should ●lowwormes idolize ; and he that smels no sweetnesse in a rose , should judge a dunghill fittest for the nose , and he that mortall ma●●s the soule ▪ should call this samuell h●w , doctor angelicall , yea think this sa●u●ll prophesies as well , as ever did the prophet samuel . indeed for mortall soules he is as fit as lasts can be for sho●es or sho●es for feet : and fitter then the noble ● muses sonn●s , all whose brave blood , a course immortall runnes ; except this one degenerate , r. o. who may unto his learned cobler goe , a●d to his cure with his old sh●oes commend his deca●d soule , since sam : can both amend . doubtlesse he will doe thus ; and perhaps too , he will at last be taught to patch a shooe ; and to his end prof●ss à cobler be , imagining some rare d●vinity lies in that art , whe●e men have every houre , fresh charge of soles , and over them such power . i wish he may wax wiser . but if he , for sam : how 's sake , will needs a cobler be , let him be one in grain sam : hath set forth a k●ocking p●●ce of wo●ke , of lasting worth ; which ought to be dispe●sed by transl●tions , for englands honour and the good of nations . t●is let r. o. latinis●e : then all may him translatour ●f translatours call . d. hallophilus . on samuell how the cobler , lately turned preacher , &c. who is sufficient for the m●nistry ? cri'd once the gentiles doctor . that am i , thinks every tradesman in these dregs of time. even how the cobler dares the pulpit climb . belike he thinkes the difference is but small between the sword o' th' spirit and the awle . and that he can as dexterously divide the word of truth , as he can cut an hide : and that the soules of people cannot choose , but be as tractable as the soles of shooes . in time perhaps he may his error see , and say , none e'r was more deceiv'd then he. the faults of shooes he doth no sooner spy , but he knows how to cure them presently . the faults of men he may his spirits spend upon , and irritate , but not amend . 't is not so easie in the ministry , to set men upright that doe tread awry , as in the gentle craft . the holyest hearts ioin'd with the greatest prudence , paines and parts , have , oft complain'd that they could doe no good , on this and that and th' other peece of wood . our shooes are soon prevailed with , to quit their ancient soles , and new ones to admit . men will not be so soon perswaded to put off the old man , and put on the new. but we may feare , that how ▪ and such as hee , mechanicks , that invade the ministry , have no such end ▪ as sinners to convert , but ( o mischievous madnesse● ) to pervert such as are converts , or are comming on in a faire way toward conversion . they presse not the new man , but such new wayes , as lead men from the ancient of dayes . whether we new creatures be or not , wee see they doe not care , so we their creatures be . against our reverend clergy they inveigh , because it is a mountain in their way . could they remove that once , all would be theirs ; the fathers outed ▪ they should be brave heires . iust s●ch as absolom , had he overthrown his father david , and p●ss●ss'd his thr●ne . the l●berall arts they likewise doe decry , those needfull hand-ma●ds to divinity . this high bo●n lady , they would leave as bare as new shorne sheep , or naked indians are . the spirit they say sufficient is they might say too , the mo●n affords sufficient light , without this train of starres ; ye starres be gone ; wee 'll be contented with the moon alone . but against learning would they blaterate , unlesse themselves were so illiterate ? the ape much fault with foxes tayle doth find , because himselfe can nothing shew behind . the fox those grapes doth greatly vilifie , though ne'r so pretious that doe hang too high . could tailes he had , they 'd well enough please apes ; and foxes could they reach them would praise grapes . these animals too , had they the arts they want , they would them prize , and scorn the ignorant . to strike all dead , those pillars of our land , jachin and boaz may no longer stand tabor and hermon , mountaines that maintain the gowned nation they would make a plain . what need , say they , o' th' two fold athens now , or mothers breasts , when we past children grow ? our land can now well spare those two great eyes . yes , so it can , if it will heathenize . i 'm sure it may well spare such mouths . if god permit them long , we may cry● ichabod . for such wild preachers , whatsoe'r they say , will preach true preaching , and even christ away . th. elshmor . centuria sacra . about one hundred rules for the expounding , and clearer understanding of the holy scriptures . to which are added a synopsis , or compendium of all the most materiall tropes and figures , contained in the scriptures . psal. . . i have seen an end of all perfection , but thy law is exceeding large . mat. . . heaven and earth shall passe away , but not one jot or tittle of gods word shall passe away . iotaunum , & apex unus non cadet de scriptura , nihil ergo contemnendum aut parvi faciendum in sacris literis . illyricus . adore plenitudinem scripturarum . tertullian . london , printed by w. h. for nathaniel webb and william grantham , at the sign of the bear in s pauls church yard , near the little north door . . to the candid and courteous reader . reader , when i had perused the theologicall rules of mr ▪ wilson , which came but lately to my hands by reason of their scarcity , they being printed . i conceived it might be an acceptable service to the publick , to reprint them with some additionall rules ; especially now , when errours abound so much through ignorance of such rules . but when i perceived by the printers , that the presse at this time ( when trading is so dead ) would not beare the volume , i was constrained to take another course , and to set forth my owne rules single by themselves ; yet have i given the succum & sanguinem , the marrow of mr wilson's rules , there is not a rule of his , that is very materiall , but thou hast it virtually , though not literally here . these rules i have been gathering many years for my owne private use ; here thou hast them enlarged with references ( for brevities sake ) to such as handle any rule more fully . to them is added an alphabeticall table , which will be very usefull for the finding out of any thing that is materiall . i have also added many tropes and figures , with explanations of the quotations where need required , &c. now the blessing of god go with it , and give it favour in the eyes of his people , the lord make it mighty and succesfull for the destruction of sin and satans kingdome , and for the advancement of the kingdom , of his dear son ; this is and shall be the prayers of him who is from my study in kings●orton sept. . , thy servant in and for the lord. th. hall. rules to be observed for the right interpretation of scripture . first , they that would understand the meaning of gods spirit , must be men of spirituall minds , cor. . . the spirituall man ( i ) the regenerate man judgeth all things ( i ) he is not only certaine of the truth which himselfe holds , but he can also judge and clearly discerne the errors that are held by others . they have received an unction from the holy one ( ) they have the holy spirit of god , and this benefit they have by him , that they know all things , [ ioh● , , . ] not simply all things that are knowable , but all things that are necessary to salvation ; and herein the poorest idiot ( being a sound christian ) goeth beyond the profoundest clerks that are not sanctified ; for he hath his own heart instead of a commentary , ●o help him in the understanding of the most needfull points in scripture . he then that would interpret scripture , must come with a scripture-frame of spirit ; he must have a holy and heavenly heart , sutable to the holinesse and heavenlinesse that is in the word . the scriptures spiritualnesse , cals for a heart filled with scripture spiritualnesse , to set forth its excellencies : for as no man can rightly sing davids psalmes , without davids spirit ; so no man can rightly expound the word of god without the spirit of god. carnall , sensuall hearts , and such divine , spirituall work , will never agree . a vessell that 's full of poyson , cannot receive pure wa●er ; or if it could , yet the vessell would ●aint it . sincerum est nisi vas , quodcunque insundis acessi● . hor. 't is the nature of the word to be facile and comfortable to such as are of a semblable disposition to it , [ micah . . ] but dark , harsh , and hard to the wicked , unregenerate , unmortified men . sin in the affection , will quickly breed error and darknesse in the understanding ; pride , covetousnesse , &c. blind the judgement , iohn . . luke . . we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds , before ever we can prove what is that good and perfect will of god , rom. . . for the secrets of the lord are revealed to none but such as feare him . psal. . , . pro. . . and . . rule . he that would know the mind of god in scripture , must earnestly beg for the direction and assistance of the spirit of god , that so he may be taught of god , to know and doe his will. nature is blind here , cor. . . the naturall man perceives not the things of god : he may peradventure know the history , but not the mystery ; hee may read the words , but shall never savingly know the mind of christ without his spirit : 't is this eye-salve which must make us see , and lead us into all truth . we must therefore take davids course , goe unto god by prayer , and beseech him to inlighten thy understanding , that thou mayest see into those deep mysteries , and wonders of his law , [ psal. . . ] he that would have this wisdome , must aske it of god ; for the scripture can never be rightly interpreted without the assistance and teaching of that spirit , by whom they were inspired that wrote them . no scripture is of private interpretation , [ pet. . ▪ ] that is private which is meerly of man , as ver . . private is not here opposed to publike , but to divine , or to the holy ghost : now our interpretations comming from the spirit , are falsely called private , because 't is that spirit teacheth us , which teacheth all the faithfull . this is the chiefest work , and as it were the foundation of all the rest , without which all other meanes are vaine , therefore begin and end with prayer . now though a man be godly , and have the spirit , yet he must use the means which god hath ordeined for the right understanding of scripture , for god will be found onely in his own way . . the originall languages must be studied , they have many speciall ididioms , proprieties , phrases and elegancies , which cannot be fully expressed in our own o● any other language , and therefore 't is necessary that we understand them in some competent measure ; that so in our doubts we may have recourse to the fountain it selfe , from whence the waters drink most sweetly . the ignorance of greek and hebrew hath been the cause of many errors in the ancients , and especially amongst monks and fryars . till we understand the words ; we can never find out the sense ; nor without them shall we be able to defend our selves , or offend an enemy . to give an instance or two , gen. . . the vulgar latine , bellarmine , and the school-boyes of d●way , say , [ ipsa ] shee shall break ; we say ipse , he shall break . now by having recourse to the originall , the doubt is e●sily answered . the pronoun is masculine [ ●his ] he , or it , ( i ) the seed , zera , which in the hebrew is of the masculine gender : 't is not [ h● ] shee , in the feminine gender : the promise is confined to christ , the promised seed , this glory must not be given to his mother , who ingenuously confesseth him to be a saviour to her selfe , as well as unto others , luke . . thus the rhemists would prove free-will from that text , luke . . peace on earth , to men of good will ; but what saies the originall ? the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies gods free love to us , but never our free will to good . so ephes. . . the vulgar latine saies we are gods workmanship created in christ , in operibus bonis , in good works ; but our translation saith , to good works ; and so saith the originall , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ad , non in . besides the tongues , a sound and solid interpreter had need of rhetorick to understand tropes and figures which are frequent in scripture : also logick to analyse a text , philosophy , naturall morall , oeconomicall , with some knowledge in ecclesiasticall histories ; all which rightly improved will give us great light into the scripture . . ever observe very carefully the circumstances in a text ; as who speaks , when , to whom , the scope , the end , the matter , especially observe the context what goes before , and what followes . the rule of the lawyers hold well here , iudicandum non est de jure ex sola line â. we must not judge of the law by one line , but observe the drift and scope of the place ; this gives great light to a text , and helps to overthrow many errors . one sound reason thus drawn from scripture , is of more worth and strength then the opinions of a thousand chrysostoms , origens , austins , &c. remember this distich of glassius , quis , scopus , impellens , sedes , tempusque , locusque , & modus ; haec soptem , scripturae attendito loctor . the author , scope , occasion , theam , time , place ; and next , the forme , these seven let him attend that reads the text. the scripture lies not in the naked words , or letters , but in the true senic and scope of the words , there lies the life and soule of the scripture . mens legis est lex : not the bare words , but the meaning of the law is the law. . darke and hard places are to be expounded by plain ones ▪ for the scripture is both text and glos●e , and ever hath light in some place , to clear the darknes●e of others : one scripture oft expounds , but never contradicts another . amicae semper scripturarum lites . in scripture there are places where th● lamb may wade , and the elephant may swimme ; some places are clear and plaine to instruct our ignorance , others are dark and difficult , [ pet. . . ] to quicken our diligence , to make us dig and * search , [ iohn . . . ] to make us fervent in prayer , humble in meditation , to make us prize his word , which containes in it such high and heavenly mysteries , and to worke in us a love to the ministery , which god hath set apart for the opening of these mysteries . if ever wee would be good interpreters , we must oft compare one place with another , and dark places with plaine ; for what is obscure in one place , is made plain in another , so that the scripture is the best expounder of it selfe . thus isa . . look to the rock from whence you were hewne ; what 's that ? ver . . to abraham your father , and sarah your mother . so ioh. . christ having spoken of eating his flesh , presently adds , that he spake of a spirituall , not a corporall eating . thus the lord in his wisedome hath left some things dark to exercise us , that by search and comparing it with other scriptures , we might be at last acquainted with the whole scripture , and not rest contented with the knowledge of some part of it , but might have it richly dwelling in us . hence he makes the prophets to expound moses , and the old testament is explained in the new. e. g. exod. . i am that i am ; what 's that ? the prophet isaiah will tell you , isa. . i am the first and the last , ( i ) the eternall jehovah . thus christ confutes the devill by comparing one place with another , mat. . . those holy levit●s , * nehemiah . , and paul in the acts . . and . . they gave the sense , comparing scripture with scripture . parallell texts ( like glasses ) set one against another , cast a mutuall light , and as the lapidary brightneth his hard diamond with the dust shaved from it selfe : so must we clear hard scriptures by others that are plaine and perspicuous , as an * acute and pious divine hath wel observed . . we must beware of taking those words literally , which are to be understood figuratively , or of taking things figuratively , when they should be interpreted literally ; wee may not make figures where the scripture makes none , nor make it bleed with straining it too hard . this was origens fault , sometimes he would take that literally , which was to be understood mystically ; thus mistaking that place , matthew . . hee gelt himselfe ; and many times hee allegorizeth even plaine scripture , and therefore often misseth the true sense . now if a word admit of many significations , by the scope and circumstances of the place we may find , which is the most proper signification ; and where the text will beare it , wee may make use of both . . all all our expositions must agree with the analogy of faith , romans . . wee must prophesie according to the proportion or analogy , [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] of faith ; which is nothing else but the constant tenour of the scripture , in the plain points of religion , as the articles of our faith , the lords prayer , the creed , and the fundamentals in our catechi●e , all which are proved by cleare scripture . now in expounding , still have an eye to this , and know , that what ever interpretation contradicts this analogy of faith , is alwaies false . e. g. this is my body , it cannot be true literally , because it is contrary to the analogy of faith , which tels us that christs humane nature is ascended into heaven , and the heavens must containe him till his second comming , acts . . it must therefore be understood figuratively . so rom. . . to feed our enemy , and give him drink , are to be taken literally ; because they are agreeable to the analogy of faith ; but to heap coales of fire on his head , must be taken figuratively , because in the letter it is contrary to the sixth co mandement , so mat. . . we should therefore take speciall care to be well grounded in the fundamentals and principles of religion ; for ignorance is virtually every error . mat. . , yee err not knowing the scripture : and seminally 't is every sin , this made paul a persecutor , tim. . . and the jews to crucifie christ , acts . . . you must come to this worke , with an humble heart . * purge out all pride , selfe-conceitednesse , and prejudicate opinions , lay aside all by-ends and aimes , become a fool in thy selfe , that thou maiest be wise in god , submit thy judgements , will and affections to his his will , and then he will teach thee , ps. . isay , . mat. . . god will not vouchsafe to shew us so much as the form of his house , till we are humbled , ezek. . . * a proud person is fit to make an heretick , he doth not take the sense which scripture yields , but impo●eth his sence upon it ; he is ready to interpret that for gods wil , which is most sutable to his own , psal. . . these like the spider , turn all to poyson . get an humble heart , and then thou wilt look on every truth of god , as infinitely above thee , and so wilt willingly receive it from any ; even a child with scripture-reasons may lead thee , isa. . then , and never till then , wilt thou say with baldassar , a germane divine , let the word of the lord come , let it come , had we six hundred necks , they should all submit to it . we must not do ( as many doe in our daies ) who bring the scripture in subjection to their opinions , conceits and practises , when they should humbly and readily conform their opinions and practices to the scripture . . ignorant persons that cannot use these meanes , must goe to such as are godly , and have skill , as the blind man that cannot see himselfe , will seek out for a guide . ma● . . . the priests lips must preserve knowledge , and the people must seek gods law at his mouth . they must read good books , get sound commentators , conferre much , humbly suing to god for direction , who first or last will resolve our doubts . to the diligent hand that makes rich in spirituals as well as temporals , and if we be active for knowledge , and in despight of all oppositions , can follow on to know the lord , he hath then promised that we shall * know him , hos. . . if we be diligent in searching , god will be faithfull in revealing ; and if we sincerely doe our duty , we shall quickly find the blessing . . practice the truth , when the lord shall make known any truth to you , presently obey it , and submit to it , so shall you know more of gods mind , iohn . . when our workings and walkings bee scripture-explications . god then delights to reveal himselfe unto us : if david will but keep the precepts of the lord , he shall be wiser then the ancient , wiser then his teachers , [ psal. . . , . ] and wiser then his subil● enemies . oh then let our practice come up to our light , and our gospell-principles be answered with gospell-conversations , and our gospell-light , with gospell lives ; for then the lord finding us faithfull in a little , will shew us yet greater things , phil. . . and if we be carefull to obey his truth , he hath then promised to give us his spirit , [ acts . . ] which shall be in us a spring of illumination , sanctification , consolation , &c. . words of knowledge imply affection and practice , ec●l . . . remember ( i ) know , fear , love and obey god. so cor. . . doe it in remembrance of me ; ( i ) with care , feàr , love , delight ; for 't is not a bare historicall remembrance , but a sin crucifying , soul-affecting remembrance . so deut. , . psal. . , . and . . and . . tim. . . the hebrews instead of an epithet , doe put the substantive in the genitive case ; as men of mercy , for mercifull men a land of desolation ( i ) a very desolate land , a man of desires , ( i ) a man very desirable and lovely , dan. . . the son of perdition ( i ) one ordained for damnation , iohn . . the man of sin , thes. . . there is an emphasis in it ( i ) a very sinfull man , a man made up of wickednesse , being as it were sin it selfe in the abstract . so benmavoth , a son of death , sam. . . ( i ) one that shall surely dye ; a sonne of belial ( i ) one notoriously wicked , sam. . . so eph. . . children of wrath . ( i ) by nature we are all poor , damned , undone creatures ' 't is an hebraifme very frequent in scripture : hence christ is called a man of sorrows , isaiah . . . ( i ) a man even compacted and compounded of all kinds and degrees of sorrows . so ieremy ( . . ) was counted a man of contentions ( i ) an exceeding contentious man : thus genitives are put for adjectives , and doe increase the signification . . one proper name is oft given in scripture to severall persons : as the name of pharaoh , was a common title to all the kings of egypt ; ioseph stands before one pharaoh , moses is sent to another , &c. * writers observe ten of that name in scripture , as the philistines called their kings abimelech , and the romans called their emperours , caesar ; so the egyptians called their kings by the name of pharaoh . thus we read of three herods . . herod the ascalonite , in whose raigne christ was born . mat. . . . herod the tetrarch , who beheaded iohn . . herod agrippa , who killed iames , acts . . when a text admits of several interpretations , which must i chuse ? . observe the context , the scope and drift of the place , and see which exposition agrees best with that , and cleave to that ; it s stronger then the sayings of a thousand origens , austins , &c. . observe which agrees best with the analogy of faith , and other places of scripture . e. g. pro. . , . rom. . . if thy enemy hunger , feed him , &c. by so doing thou shalt heap coales of fire on his head : some by coales here understand , coales of confusion ; others coales of conversion ; though both may stand , yet the last is farre more safe and genuine . because it agrees best with the context , which forbids private revenge , and commands us to love our enemies , as ver , . before the text , and ver . . after plainly shew , be not overcome with evill , but overcome evill with good , ( i ) by thy goodnesse , and unexpected kindnesse , thou shalt so melt and humble him , ( as a great fire makes the hardest iron and steel to melt ) that of a foe he shall become a friend . . this exposition is most agreeable to the analogy of faith , which commands us to love our neighbour , yea though he be our enemy , and to seek his good , but never his ruine : now that sense which cals us from malice to charity , is ever best . thus that act of naaman , [ kings . , . ] in going to the house of rimmon , is very much controverted ; some say he sinned in so doing , others as godly and as learned , say no : what shall we here doe ? scan the text , and we shall find it probable , that he did not sin : for . 't is concluded by all , that naaman was a true convert , and the text clears it . . he will doe nothing without the prophets direction and approbation . . whereas before he was an idolater , and sacrificed to false-gods , now he resolves to worship onely the true god. ver . . and if so , is it likely that hee would desire a toleration to sinne ? or doth he not rather beg pardon for his former idolatry ; for the words may be read in the preter tense , as well as in the future . q. d. the lord pardon thy servant , that when my master went to the house of rimmon to worship there , and leaned on my hand , and i bowed my selfe , &c. . naamans bowing , was not a religious worship given to the idol , ( for he had openly disclaimed all idolatry before ) but his bowing was onely in a civill respect , that the king might lean on his shoulders , and this he did , ( as mr perkins well observes ) with open and publick protestation , that he would worship none but the true god , and therefore to him he resolves to build an altar in his own country . . the prophet would never have bid him goe in peace , had he begged for a toleration in idolatry ; for what peace can there be to the wicked ? ob. he begs for pardon , therefore he sinned in what he did . ans. he being tender conscienc'd , and scrupulous ( as most young converts are ) craves pardon for this his bowing , though but in a civill respect , as fearing it might be interpreted a religious worshipping of the idol , &c. this is a charitative interpretation , and they say it is best offending on this hand : love takes doubtfull things in the best sense . take but one more perplexed text , and i have done , eccl. . . be not righteous over-much , &c. . say some , these are not the words of solomon , but of the atheist , and carnall polititian , who hearing ver . . of the righteous mans perishing in his righteousnesse , and the wicked mans prolonging his daies , presently the carnall man with his corrupt reason concludes , be not then righteous over much . q. d. seeing righteous men fare so ill , carry things with indifferency , and be not too precise and too holy , and more wise then other men ; be discreet and wary lest thou bring thy selfe into danger and trouble . . say others , here is condemned all rigour in justic● , whether vindictive , distributive , or commutative . magistrates must not be too severe in executing extream justice on every slight occasion and sin of infirmity ; but they must use a discreet moderation and equity , not being too severe on the one hand , nor yet too remisse in sparing or favouring wickednesse on the other hand : so private persons must not stand too much upon their own right , nor yet suffer their innocence to be too much wronged ▪ but in charity and wise integrity we should yield sometimes to others , considering our humane frailty . . some conceive that here is condemned curiosity and carelessnesse . q.d. doe not curiously search into those mysteries which are not revealed ; lest by thy pride and curiosity , thou bring gods judgements on thy selfe ; nor yet be so wicked and carelesse as to neglect the truth that is revealed . . say others , here is condemned , not true righteousnesse , or true wisedome , ( for so we can never be too righteous , too wise , or too religious and forward ; in justice , as it is justice , wee cannot exceed , though in respect of the circumstances , as the persons to whom , when , and where we do justice , we may exceed or come short , as pro. . . to condemne the just is the excesse , and to spare the wicked , is the defect of justice ) but solomon here condemnes phari●aicall righteousnesse ; when men are not content with the righteousnesse which gods word reveales , but out of their pride and selfe-conceitednesse , they will have a righteousnesse of their own beyond the word ; thus the pharisces trusted so much to their owne righteousnesse , traditions and works , that they contemned christ. these , these are the men that are over-righteous : such are papists and all will-worshippers with their merits , works of supererogation , &c. thus the anabaptists are over-righteous and rigid , they boast of their perfection ; when he that hath but halfe an eye , may plainly see their grosse imperfections ; they tell us that the church must not be a mixt society , they ● ust all be saints , reall saints say some , &c. what is this but to be over-wise ; even wise above that which is written ? vanitas ●îc notatu● hypocritarum osten●antium non suas vir utes , sed virtutum umbras quibus prae aliis semper apparere student . r gidi s●l●nt esse viriutis satellites & praecones , neque satis est i●●is si sint re●iquis similes , qui n●scio quia peculiare semper affectant . ●ayus in locum . though i shall condemne none of these opinions , yet the second and the last in my judgement are most sound , agreeing best with the context and analogy of faith . . the hebrews often use the imperative mood for the future tense , to shew the certainty of a thing , as amos . seek the lord , and live yee ( i ) yee shall certainly live . so deut. . . . the lord bids moses goe up to m●unt neoo and dye there ( i ) thou shalt certainly dye there ▪ and on the contrary , they sometimes put the future tense for the imperative mood , as exod. . thou [ shalt ] not kill , steal &c. for doe not kill , steal , &c. so mal. . shall preserve knowledge ( i ) let them preserve knowledge . . then a thing is said to be done in scripture phrase , when it begins to be done ; thus ieremy tels the people that after years captivity in babylon , they should returne from thence , yet many were left in babylon after that time ; but because the returne from thence beganne that year , therefore it s said to be done then . thus christ is said to be crucified at the third houre . marke . . becau●e the jews then cryed , crucifie him , crucifie him , and pilate consented to them , commanding that he should be scou●ged , and as it were prepared for the crosse , but at the end of the third houre , the sixth beginning , pilate juridically condemned him , and presently they crucified him . marke then declares the originall and beginning of christs crucifying at the third houre , but matthew [ , ] with the rest , set forth the execution and complement of it at the sixth houre ; or dividing the day into four quarters ( houres to each quarter ) it was in the third of them , that christ was crucified . . in parables we must alwaies look more to the sense and scope , then to the letter . now in a parable there are three things considerable . . cortex , the words and termes . . radix , the scope it aimes at . . fructus , the fruit which may be gathered from thence . hence we say , that borrowed speeches make no grounded arguments ; they illustrate , but they prove nothing ; they are comparisons , but not foundations . thus mat. . , , &c. the parable of the tares mixed with the wheat , doth not argue a toleration of all ●ects , but the scope of it is to shew that there wi●l be a mixture of good and bad in the church to the end of the world . . in scripture many times lesse is spoken then is ● ea●r as psal. . . a broken heart god will not despise ( i ) he highly prizeth a broken heart . so thes. . . despise not prophesying ( i ) see that you highly prize the preaching of the word . so heb. . if any apostatise , gods soule will take no pleasure in them ( i ) hee detests and abhors them cor. . . but with many of them , god was not wel pleased ( i ) he was highly displeased . psal. . . pro. . . 't is not good ( i ) it 's very evil , exod. . . not hold him guiltlesse ( i ) he will certainly punish him , mat. . . never remitted ( i ) certainly punished . . in scripture there are also many hyperbolicall speeches , by way of amplification ; as , thy seed shall be as the sand of the sea. gen. . . sam. . . psal. . . as the starres of heaven . heb. . . as the dust of the earth , gen. . . numb . . . a land flowing with milk and hony , exod. . . i will make your heavens iron , and your earth brasse , levit. . . swifter then eagles , stronger then lyons , sam. . . iudges . . rivers of teares run down mine eyes , psal . . not a tear or two , but abundance of teares . so psal. . , . and iohn . ult , by these instances 't will be easie to observe more . . christ and his apostles citing testimonies out of the old testament , doe often follow the septuagint , rendring the sense but not the words , because the scripture lies not in the bare words and syllables , but in the sense and meaning . hence sometimes they change something for illustration . thus michah . . compared with mat. . . micah cals bethlehem little , in respect of outward pompe and riches ; matthew cals it famous and great , because christ should be born there . thus mal. . . with mat. . . and hos. . . with rom. . . sometimes they omit a word , sometimes they add something for explication sake , as mat. . , . and . . rom. . , , , , . cor. . . . these words [ for ever , and from generation to generation , &c. ] do oft signifie in scripture phrase , not eternity , but onely that which shall endure a long time , for some ages and generations of men , as gen. . . and . . exod. . . levit. . . deut. , . chro. . . psal. . . and so the word [ no more ] doth not totally deny , but onely signifies many times some delaying of time , as sam. . . the philistines came [ no more ] into the coast of israel : how can this be , when it is apparent they came divers times after , both in the daies of samuel , saul and david ? the answer is easie , q. d. the philistines were so shattered and broken by the immediate hand of god , that they durst [ no more ] at this time , adventure to set upon israel . so isaiah . . ezek. . , . tyre shall sing [ no more ] nor be built [ any more ] yet after some time shee was re-built and returned to her former mirth and merchandise . . false , unprofitable , uselesse things , in scripture-dialect , are accounted as no things : thus a wicked gracelesse , unrighteous man , is accounted as no man , ieremy . . run to and fro through the streets of ierusalem , and see if you can find [ a man ] why ? the streets were full of men , yea , but because they were not good men , god accounts them as no men . thus the wicked are said to have [ no heart ] hos . . i. no heart to goodness , and then as good have no heart at all . thus the wicked are said [ not to hear ] the law , because they doe not hear it rightly , obediently . thus the priests are said [ not to know ] the lord , ier. . . they were priests , and so could not be totally ignorant , but because their knowledge was meerly notionall and speculative , without obedience and practise , god esteems it as no knowledge . . by an euphemismus or anti-phrasis , the scriptures sometimes put a faire name on a foule vice . thus , i kin. . . naboth is said [ to blesse god and the king ] ( i ) to curse them . so iob . . it may be my sons have sinned ; and [ baruch , have blessed god ] ( i ) have ●ursed him . thus the vessell wherein nature doth ease it selfe , is vailed with the periphrasis , a vessell wherein is no pleasure , ier. . . hos. . . so deut. . . iudges . . and . . iob . . psal. . title . david went in to bathshebah . so rom. . , , . . 't is a safe way , where a text admits of many ( but not contrary ) senses to take in all , lest we misse the meaning : where no reason doth constrain , we are not to restrain the words , but may take them in the largest sense , if there be nothing to hinder us , neither matter , phrase , context , or scope ; nothing contrary to other scriptures , nor the analogy of faith ; then may you take all ; for in a scripture which may without impeachment of any truth , admit divers senses , i may not be so positive in one , as to reject all others . e. g. pro. . . buy the truth , what truth ? why truth in judgement , truth in affection , truth in doctrine , truth in discipline , truth in words , and truth in works : all these must we labour for , but the two first being most genuine , and the foundation of all the rest , are principally to be sought after . so ephes. . . redeem the time , why but the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , opportunitas temporis ; yet because the word is taken promiscuously in the new testament , we may make use of both , and say , redeem time , and especially the seasons of time . thus in that much tortured text , cor. . . there was given me a thorn in the flesh , the messenger of satan to buffet me . interpreters vary here very much : so many men , so many opinions , so that as one saith in a like case , i think this text had been clearer , if some had never medled with it , especially the ancients are much mistaken about this thorn in the flesh , &c. . some of them thinke it to be some bodily sickness , some say 't was a perpetuall head-ach , others , the gout , or a paine in the small guts , or weaknesse of stomack , or fleshly lusts , or at least some disease laid on him by the devill : these are most of them ridiculous . — would the magnanimous apostle ( think wee ) that had gone thorough so many difficulties and dangers , have begged so oft and earnestly to be delivered from a poor disease ? nor is it probable that so mortified , so laborious , so temperate a man , should be troubled with lust , or if it had been so , no doubt but he would have used that remedy , which he prescribed to others in that case , cor. . besides , the remedy being spirituall , v . it is not probable that the malady was corporall : others think this thorn to be some cruell persecutor , such as alexander the copper-smith , of whom he oft complaines , tim. . . he by his persecution and reproaches , seemed to be the devils agent to buffet him , but this sense is stil too narrow , for these were but externall thorns , of which the apostle used to glory , and not complain . . others more genuinely take it metaphorically , for internall temptations , which are fitly called * buffetings , because they come so thick upon a man , that he can hardly take breath ; the devil dogs good hearts with foulest lusts , sometimes with atheisme , idolatry , blasphemy , &c. in all or any of which , if the soul be meerly passive , ( as the word buffeting here implies ) they are satans sins , & our crosses onely ; and therefore the most pious and judicious , doe conceive this thorn in the flesh , & * messenger of satan , to be some inward corruption edg'd with a temptation , which satan stirred up in his heart to vex him ; or originall corruption set on by the devil ; others conceive it to be a wound in the spirit , the sting of conscience pressing him downe to the lowest hell , ( in his own sense ) who before was taken up to the highest heavens ; and this seems best to agree with the scope of the place , for ver . . he tels us , that he had abundance of revelations ias at his first conversion , acts . . . when hee was called to macedonia , acts . . . when he went to corinth , acts . . . when he was sent to the gentiles . acts . . . when he was in danger of shipwrack , acts . . and here when he was caught up into the third heaven , v. . ] now lest the apostle should be exalted above measure [ he doubles that saying ] god in his wisedome lets satan loose upon him , to humble him , to buffet and vex him , and keep him low : now because this somewhat hindered him for a while in the chearfull discharge of his calling ; it 's fitly compar'd to a thorne in the foot , with which a man cannot goe but lamely , and with very great paine , &c. briefly , the paraphrase may be this , q. d. god hath vouchsafed me many glorious revelations , with the number of which lest i should be exalted , and too much puffed up ( as our fraile nature is easily transported ) there was through the holy permission , and wise ordination of god , way given to some strong and violent corruption , edged with a temptation from satan , to humble and afflict me , lest i should be exalted above measure ; whereupon i oft and earnestly besought god , that he would be pleased to rebuke the ●empter , and to free me from those violent injections , which satan darted in upon me , and from those troublesome suggestions of the fiend : but he said unto me , content thy selfe to wrastle a while with this temptation , knowing that 't is sufficient that i doe by my power defend thee , and by my grace uphold thee from the prevailing power thereof ; besides , the glory of my power will be the more seen in thy weaknesse , &c. now when paul saw that god gained glory , and himselfe humility by it , he was contented to beare it , yea he resolves to glory in it , since he saw it was a medicine to cure him of pride , and not a poyson to destroy him : so that here as in a glass , we may see why the lord suffers his choisest servants to be vext by satan , and afflicted with variety of temptations . viz. to hide pride from their eyes , and to keep their graces in exercise ; i shall shut up all with that excellent counsell of musculus on the place . cogitandum est hîc prohomini , quàm proclive sit carni ut propter qualemcúnque praerogativam infletur ac superbiat : etenim si hoc erat apostolo tot laboribus ac periculis depresso úsque adeò timendum , ut singulari quadam antidoto opus haberet , per quod contra tentationem superbiae in humilitate ac modestia contineretur ; quid nobis non est multo timendum amplius qui et si parem revelationum excellentiam consequuti ron sumus ▪ multò tamen minus habenius roboris ad resistendum tentationibus superbiae , quantumcunque levibus ac minutis , quàm habuerit ille contra tam graves superbiendi occasiones . quare admo●um desipiunt qui studio dignitates ac honores in hoc saeculo ambiunt , non considerantes quantis seipsi periculis obnoxios reddant . now in this variety of opinions , i shall leave the judicious reader to his choice . ego enim facilè patior unumquemque abundare suo sensu . luther . . some numbers in scripture have a kind of eminency and excellency in them ; especially these three : three , six and seven . hence the scripture when they would inlarge or multiply the sense , they use one of these numbers . thus ier. . . they cry the temple of the lord , the temple , the temple ( i ) they did oft repeat that word . so ier. . . o earth , earth , earth , heare the word of the lord ; that threefold repetition makes the speech more emphaticall and vigorous . so ezek. . . i will overturne , overturne , overturne it , ( i ) i will mightily and surely overturn it . so when the angell would shew the greatnesse of gods plagues , he cries , wo , wo , wo , rev. . . thus eccl. . . a threefold cord ( i ) a cord of many folds . so the most holy god , is proclaimed the thrice holy god , isaiah . . thus even heathen authors have used the word , and when we would expresse the greatnesse of a mans happinesse or honour , wee stile him thrice happy , thrice honourable , &c. thus the number three implies compleatnesse and excellency , as exod. , . and . . and . . deut. . . and . , . . the number six , notes perfection , as may be seen in the worke of creation , the lord could as easily have made the world in a moment , as in six daies ; but the lord saw it good to take a compleat number of daies , for so compleat a work , gen. . u●t . thus when the lord would bring a full and compleat judgement on wicked gog , ezek. . . sextabo te . i will smite thee with six plagues ( as in the margin of our bibles ) ( i ) i will punish thee full sorely . . seven is a famous number , implying , . multitude . ▪ perfection , levit. . , , , . i will plague you yet seven times more ( i ) many times more , or more extrea●ely . deut. . . they shall flee before thee seven waies ( i ) many ways , a certain number for an uncertain gen. . . vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold ( i ) he shall have manifold punishment . ruth . . better to thee then seven sons ( i ) then many sons . so psal. . . and . . pro. . . and . . falleth seven times ( i ) he falleth oft into trouble , yet riseth againe . sam. . the barren hath borne seven ▪ ( i ) many , shee is a compleat mother , and hath a flourishing family . so micah . . zech. . . mat. . . seven unclean spirits ( i ) a multitude of devils , &c. . ordinary examples of the saints approved in scripture , being against no generall precept , have the force of a generall rule , and are to be followed , yet in following examples we must observe . . how they did a thing . . when they did it . . where they did it . . why they did it , as the learned weemse hath well observed , to whom i shall refer you for full satisfaction in this point . see more , rule . . the order of time is not alwaies kept in scripture , but sometimes that is placed first which was done last ; the saints looked more at the s●●stance , then at small circumstances in their writings ; and therefore the placing of things must not be strictly urged in scripture ; for 't is usuall by a prolepsis or anticipation of time to relate that first which is last , as iohn . . 't is said mary anointed the lord , yet 't is mentioned in the next chapter per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & est una de regulis ad intellig●ndam scripturam sanctam necessariis . luth. loci com . p . . arguments drawn from silent authority , in matters of fact , conclude nothing . e. g. there is no mention made of adams repentance of his sacrificing or performing any pious exercise whilst he lived on earth ▪ yet it doth not follow therefore , he did none of these things . we read of no parents melchisedech had , yet we cannot therefore conclude that he had none : if all should be written , the world it selfe could not containe the books , iohn . ult . and therefore it will not follow , because the scripture doth not mention such a thing , therefore it was not done . . hee that will understand the proverbs , must marke their opposition , if parables , their scope , if other places , their dependance . . interrogations ( oft times ) are emphaticall and strong affirmations or negations , as gen. . . if thou doe well , shalt thou not be accepted ? this interrogative is in sense a vehement assertive or affirmative . q. d. thou shalt surely be accepted both thou and thy sacrifice , if thou dost well . thus gen. . . and . . ioshua . , , . have not i commanded the ? ( i ) i have without all question assuredly commanded thee , for this interrogation with the hebrews , is a strong affirmation . so gen. . . sam. . . kings . . iohn . . marke . . and ier. . , . . sometimes they are strong denials , as gen. . . is any thing too hard for god ? mat. . . rom . . and . , . . sometimes questions doe diminish and abate the sense , zech. . . who art thou o great mountaine ? thou lookest very big and great , but who art thou ? i will tell thee o proud oppress●r , and opposer of my people , though in thy owne conceit thou art a mountaine invisible , unmoveable , yet in my peoples eyes thou art but a mole-hill , and shalt shortly be made a nothing , even as a plain before them . thus when david would abate himselfe , he cries , who am i ? what is my house ? sam. . . . sometimes they intend , raise , and heighten the sense , by way of admiration , ps. . . exod. . . who is a god like unto thee ? let all the world if they can , shew such a god as thou art . so m● . . . the question puts the brightest glory upon god , in pardoning sin ; there is no sin-pardoning god , but our god only . . sometimes they are expostulatory , & complain , ps. . . why hast thou forsaken me ? ier. . . wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper ? is. . . . when the scripture would strongly affirme , it doth it oft times by denying the contrary . so isaiah . . thou shalt dye , and not live , ezek. . . ( i ) thou shalt certainly die . deut. . . he shall make thee the head , and not the taile . iohn . . he confessed and denyed not . isaiah . . ier. . . * iohn . . 't is very familiar with the hebrews , by affirming and denying to expresse the same thing for stronger confirmation of it . negatio contrarii auget vim affirma●ionis . deut. . . pro. . . sam. . . iohn . . . . the scripture speaks many things negatively , which are to be understood onely comparatively , as hos. . . mat. . . i will have mercy , and not sacrifice . ( i ) comparatively , i desire mercy [ rather ] than sacrifice . so * ier. . . they shall no more teach every man his neighbour . the words must not be taken simply , & negativè , for a pure negation ( as some libertines would construe them ) but comparatively , ( i ) there shall be farre greater knowledge and clearer light under the new testament , then was under the old , isa. . . not that there shall be no teaching at all , ( for christ hath given some to be pastors and teachers , ephes. . , . ) but in gospell times they shall not onely be taught by men , but they shall be taught inwardly and experimentally by god himselfe , isa. . . his spirit shall lead them not onely unto , but into truth , ioh. . . so cor. . . not to baptize . ( i ) comparatively , christ sent mee rather to preach then to baptize , iohn . . love not in word [ onely ] but [ rather ] indeed and in truth , mark . . he receives not me , but him that sent me ( i ) he [ rather ] receives the father sending , then me sent , because he receives me for his sake , col. . . doe it as to the lord , and not ●o men ( i ) rather to the lord then to men , because yee serve them for the lord christs sake . . when the hebrews would expresse any excellent , great , or glorious thing , they oft join the name of god with it , 't is a frequent hebraisme : thus abraham is called a prince of god , gen. . ( i ) a mighty prince , the mountaines of god ( i ) high and excellent mountaines , exod. . . and . . psal. . . the city of god ( i ) a glorious city . psal. . . so cedars of god ( i ) tall cedars , psal. . . a river of god , psal. . . wrastlings of god , gen. . . harps of god , rev. . . ( i ) excellent harps . res dei hebraeis dicuntur eximiae , deo opt. max. dignae . paraeus . thus great haile is called gods haile , el-gabbish . so a strong lion is called the lion of god , ariel . sam. . . moses is said to be faire to god ( i ) exceeding faire , acts . . so nineveh was great to god ( i ) very great , ionah . . . when the literall sense is against any commandement of the law , then the words must not be taken properly ; else the grammaticall and most immediate sense , is ever soundest , unlesse some apparent error in doctrine , or mischiefe in manners follow : for when a sense crosseth any truth taught in other texts of scripture , 't is alwaies a false sense ; but if it agree with the originall , the scope of the place , and the analogy of faith , 't is good . austins counsell is good , there are foure things ( saith he ) to be observed in ex●ounding scripture . . phrasis sc●ip●urae . . circumst●●●iae . . collat●●●●orum locorum . . analogia ●●dei . . words of fact , are oft put for words of speech , as exod. . . sanctify the first born ( i ) command them to be sanctified . ier. . . i have sent thee to destroy , &c. ( i ) to preach , and thereby to declare , that i the lord will doe it . iohn . . christ is said to baptize ( i ) he commanded his disciples to doe it . . 't is usuall in scripture , to put the abstract for the concret , to set forth the excellency of a thing . thus god tels abraham that he shall not only be blessed , sed erit ipsissima benedictio , gen. . . ( i ) affluens omni benedictione , & non tam benedictus , quàm ipsa benedictio dicitur . so the sanctum sanctorum , dicitur ab heb●aeis sanctitas sanctitaetum ( i ) eximiè sanctum . so christ is called , cor. . . not righteous , but righteousnesse , sanctification , &c. ( i ) summus & saptentissimus justificator & sanctificator noster . so cor. . . and circumcision for the persons circumcised . rom. . . phil. . . so abomination oft put for abominable , pro. . . and . . and . . the conjunctive particle [ and ] doth not alwaies di●tinguish ●ivers things , but is oft used by way of explanation , as mat. . . he shall baptise you with the holy ghost , and with fire ( i ) with the holy ghost , which shall be like fire to purge out your drosse . iohn . . except a man be born again of water and the spirit ( i ) with spirituall water , or the spirit which is like water to cleanse , cool , and refresh us . spiritum & aquam pro eodem posuit , frequens loquendi mos est in scriptura , cum de spiritu fit mentio , ad exprimendam ejus vim , aquae vel ignis nomen adjungi . calvin . . where one and the same word is used in divers senses , in divers places of scripture , the circumstances of the text , must judge and declare in what sense it is to be taken there . . whatsoever is truly and soundly collected from scripture ( by good consequence ) is scripture , as though it were expressely written . e. g. the word trinity , sacrament , thou shalt baptize infants , are not literally and syllabically in scripture , yet since by good consequence they may be gathered from thence , it is equivalent as if in so many letters they were written there , mat. . , . else disputations , sermons , and books consonant to scripture should not be credited . see this more fully cleared in my font-guarded . p , . and mr sidenham against anabapt . p. , , &c. . contemne not the judgement of those learned , godly , orthodox lights which god hath raised up in this latter age of the world , whose names are pretious in the church of god , for their piety and fidelity in his work ; as calvin , beza , bucer , bullinger , peter martyr , wolphius , marlorate , musculus , zanchy , perkins , paraeus , piscator , rivet , &c. many green heads ( out of pride and selfe-conceitednesse ) contemne these famous lights , and trust to their own wit , and so run themselves on many rocks : it 's good for young men , especially at their first setting forth , to make use of the labors of godly and orthodox divines ; not that i would have any to pin their faith on any mans sleeve , be he never so godly , or learned ; onely i would not have men rashly , without good ground and strong reason , to dissent from the common iudgement , and received opinion of those whom the church of god hath found faithfull in expounding scripture . . when the scripture affirms a thing earnestly , as being a matter of great concernment , it useth to double the asseveration , as iohn . . and . , &c. no evangelist but iohn , useth this double affirmation , and he useth it nineteen times in his gospell , this he did the rather to strengthen our beliefe , and to shew how sparing he was of an oath ; and for the greater certainety of the thing . as pharaoh's dream was doubled , to shew the certainty of it , gen . . in scripture there is a threefold amen . . assenting , deut. . . and cor. . . . assuring , mat. . . . assevering , so here , amen , when prefixed , is a certaine and earnest asseveration , when affixed at the end of our prayers , &c. it notes our assent and assurance . q. d. quae ego dic● sunt amen amen ( i ) vera vera , hoc est , verissima certissima , & omni alia veritate veriora , omni alia certitudine certiora . à lap. in iohn . . . suppositions in scripture , are no positions , when the speech is only hypotheticall , it concludes nothing ; for a conditionall proposition doth not simply affirme , and therefore conclusions gathered from it , as if it were affirmative , will not hold , e. g. ezek. . . if a righteous man turne from his righteousnesse . hence the arminians conclude , that a righteous man may fall from grace : but . this is but a supposition , and so concludes not . . the text doth not speak of evangelicall righteousnesse , but of a legall , civill , morall righteousnesse , which may bee lost . so ezek. . [ i● ] noah , iob and daniel should pray for them , &c. it doth not therefore follow , that the saints departed , doe pray for living saints . mat. . , . [ if ] ●he mighty works which were wrought in thee , had been done in tyre and sidon , they had repented , &c. it doth not therefore follow , that there was some inclination in tyre and sidon to repentance , as luke . . if these should hold their peace , the stones would speak ; it will not follow that therefore there was some inclination in the stones to speak . . when the scripture doubles any thing . . in denouncing judgements , it notes the certainty , celerity , and frequency of them , as gen. . . dying thou shalt dye ( i ) thou shalt surely dye . so * gen. . . . in promising mercies , it notes reality and earnestnesse . isaiah . . ezek. . , . isaiah . . come , come , come . hab. . . hos. . . thrice i will betroth thee : the iteration implies affection , intention , and reality . . in prophesies it notes the speedinesse and certainty of them , gen. . . exod. . . heb. . . . in prayer it notes the servency , and earnest desire of him that praies . * iames . . he prayed in prayer ( i ) he prayed earnestly : many pray , but they doe not pray in prayer , mat. . . . in narrations and repetitions , they serve either for confirmation to assure us that the matter is true , and worthy to be noted , or else for explication , the latter clause exegetically expounding the former , as deut. . . usually it is emphatically , as ier. . . come let us devise devises ( i ) let us be earnest and active to plot ieremie's ruine . so iohn . . i must work the works of him that sent me ; there is an emphasis in the expression , and it notes christs strong intention on the worke of god. ita conduplicat paulus quaedam ad majorem emphasin , maxime in gradibus comparationis , idque ut plurimum excessum significet , ut ad phil. . multò magis meliùs ( i ) longè meliùs ; à lap. so eccl. . . . sometimes it signifies distribution . chro. . a gate and a gate ( i ) every gate , and chro. . levit. . . a city and a city ( i ) every city . ezek. . . man , man ( i ) every man. levit. . . psal. . . . it notes variety or diversity , as pro. . . a waight and a waight ( i ) divers waights , an heart and an heart ( i ) a diverse and a double heart . . it notes excellency , as cant. . . song of songs , god of gods. psal. . . king of kings ( i ) most high and excellent . . an adverbe double , doth increase the deniall , as mat. . ▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , yee shall not , not ( i ) in no wise enter . so rev. . . and heb. . . there are five negatives , i will not , no i will not , i will not leave thee nor forsake thee . . of scripture weights and measures . first , there was the common cubit , from the point of the elbow to the top of the middle finger . . there was the cubit of the sanctuary , which was more then the common cubit . deut . . the cubit of a man was ordinarily a foot and a halfe , or halfe a yard ; this was the common cubit ; but the holy cubit , or the cubit of the sanctuary was a full yard containing two of the common cubits : by this moses measured the tabernacle , and solomon the temple . . there was a geometricall cubit , which contained six common cubits , and according to these ( its thought ) that noahs arke was built , gen. . , . . the hebrews had measures of capacity , and those were of two sorts . . some were for dry things , as corne , seed &c. . some for liquid things , as wine , oyle , &c. . the measures of dry things , were especially . . a kab . . an omer . . modius , a measure . . the ephah . . the homer . . the measures of liquid or moist things , were three especially . . the log. . the hin . . the bath . . the kab was the first and the least measure , which the hebrews had , they used it in the measuring of dry things ; 't was the eighteenth part of an ephah ( say some ) the sixth part of a satum , it conteined the quantity of egge shels ; t was equall to our quart. the famine in samaria was so great , that a fourth part of a kab of doves dung , was sold for five pieces of silver , kings . . an asses head ( though it could have but little meat on it , yet in that extremity ) was sold for ten pounds , ( say some ) and the fourth part of a kab of doves dung , which is conceived to be about a pound and one ounce ( i ) * ounces , was sold at . s. . d. this was gods just judgement on them for their idolatry and sin , that they who set at naught the word of god , that heavenly manna , and most pretious food of the soule , should now be enforced thorough necessity to pay most dea●e for base things , and at other times contemptible , and all to satisfie their hunger . . an omer was the tenth part of an ephah , exo. . . some call it gomer , because y is pronounced by h or g. it contained about three pints and an halfe . . modius a measure , or satum was a gallon and halfe , we translate the word in generall , a measure , ki●g● . . to morrow a measure ( i ) a satum of fine flower shall be sold for a shekell . . the ephah was the tenth part of an homer , equall with the [ bath ] in liquid things : about an english bushell , it contained three pecks and ten gomers , levit. . . sam. . . and . . isaiah . . amos . . . the homer as the talent , was the greatest weight ; so the homer was the greatest measure , it contained ( say some ) as much as a camell could well beare at once : about ten bushels ( say others ) about five bushels others say . ezek. . . it contained ten ephahs ( i ) gallons , or bushels and gallons . . the measures of liquid things were , . the log , it was the least measure of liquids , 't was the twelfth part of an hin , containing in quantity six egge shels , about halfe a pinte , levit. . , , , , . . the hin contained about three quarts , exo. . . and . . numb . . , . ezek. . . . the bath , the tenth part of an homer , equall with the ephah , the same which in greek is called hydria , in latine cadus ; it contained four gallons and an halfe , ezek. . , , . isaiah . . . concerning the coynes that were among the hebrews , as the mite , the quadrans , the gerah , didrachmum , stater , denarius , a shekell , a talent , &c. interpreters vary much about them : those that have done best both on weights and coines , are à lapide in the end of the pentateuch . weemse , vol. in the end p. , &c. godwin iewish antiq l. . c. . breerwoods little tract , de ponder . & pretiis vet . nummorum cum rec●ntioribus collatione ; and above all , our last large and learned annotations on the whole bible , are so . . the imperative mood commanding , is oft put for the optative , wishing , as cant. . . let him kisse me , for , oh that he would kisse me . so mat. . , . let thy name be hallowed , let thy kingdome come . q. d. oh that thy name might be hallowed , and thy kingdome come . . many imprecations are not so much prayers , as prophesies ; foretelling what shall be , rather then desiring they should be . . there is a singular variety , but no contrariety in the scriptures ; there is a sweet harmony and consent in them , the old testament agreeing with the new , moses with the prophets , and the apostles with them both , if any place seem to contradict another , the fault lies in our own blindnesse , and not in the scripture , which is alwaies at peace with it selfe . e. g. christ is called davids lord , psa. . . and elsewhere he is called davids sonne , mat. . , , , . the answer is easy , christ was davids lord in respect of his divinity , and davids sonne , in respect of his humanity . so , as he was god , the father and he were one ; but as he was man , so the father was greater then he . thus christ and the gospell simply considered in themselves , bring inward peace . iohn . . . my peace i give you ; but accidentally meeting with the corruptions of men and the malice of satan . so mat. . . i came not to send [ outward , worldly ] peace , but a sword . satan and his agents being inraged at the publication of the gospell , will raise up stirres and oppositions against it . thus mat. . a staffe is forbidden the apostles , yet marke . , . a staffe is allowed them . ans. we must distinguish of staves . there are striking defensive staves , which cumber those that carry them , and are a burthen to them , these are forbidden . . there are itinerary staves , whereon . travellers doe ease themselves , gen. . . these walking staves mark means . duplex tum fuit in usu baculus . s●●l . defensiorius & portatorius , itinerarius seu sustentatorius : loquun●ur evangelistae de defensorio & portatorio qui oneri fuit portantibus : christus verò apud marcum , itinerarium & sustentatorium baculum adjumenti loco permittit . sharpius . . whatsoever is said in scripture , for the comfort of one , must be applyed by al in the like case and condition . that promise which god ●ade to ioshua [ ioshua . ] is by the apostle applyed to all the fai●●full , heb. . . that promise which belongs to one beleever , as a beleever , belongs to every beleever ; what he promiseth to one he promiseth to all that a●e in that state : for though some may have mo●e grace , yet none have more 〈◊〉 . look what promise god made to abraham , david , paul , &c. as believers ▪ we 〈◊〉 and must apply them as ours ▪ for all the promises are our heritage ▪ and belong to us , as well as our fore-fathers ; to us gentiles , as well as to the jewes . acts . . the promise is to you and to your children , and to such as are afarre off . rom. . . ephes. . . . examples may bee followed where there are the like causes . circumstances and conditions ; when the equity of the thing is universall and the cause common ; else extraordinary cases will not make an ordinary rule . e. g. ehud killed eglon [ iudg. . , . ] therefore a fryar may kill a king. ans. non sequitur , for ehud had a speciall commission from god , to doe what he did , he raised him up to be a deliverer of his people , ver . . and therefore this can be no president to any , to murther princes , though they be hereticks and tyrants . so samsons killing himselfe , is no ground for selfe-murther [ iudg. . . ] for what he did , was done by an extraordinary motion , and instinct of gods spirit , nor did he directly and primarily intend his owne destruction , but the ruine of gods enemies . elijah by extraordinary calling , called for fire from heaven , and burnt the captaines , therefore the disciples may call for fire from heaven to burne the samaritans [ luke . . ] this will not follow , because they acted not by the same spirit ; elijah was led by a spirit of zeale , but these by a fiery , furious , rash spirit . thus the act of phinehas was extraordinary , numb . . , . nor will it follow , because the apostles anointed the sick with oyle , and cured them [ iam. . ] therefore we may doe so to ; for that gift was miraculous and peculiar to those apostolicall times , and is now ceased ; besides , that oyle was ad sanationem , for health and recovery ; but the papists is ad viaticum , for a journey , when men are dying and past recovery . thus because in the apostolicall times , there was an extraordinary gift of prophesying and interpreting scripture by revelation without any study , it doth not follow that therefore the same gift abides still , and all may prophesie . . the word [ untill ] in scripture , is oft taken for never ; it importeth not alwaies , any definite space of time , but signifieth an infinite time , or to eternity . thus mat. . . untill shee had brought forth , &c. ( i ) never . so mat. . . until thou hast paid the utmost ●arthing ( i ) never . so gen. . . and . . sam. . . and sam. . . psal. . . mat. . . cor. . . . the word [ none ] is oft put for few , as ier. . . no man repented ( i ) none comparatively , they were very few . so cor. . . none of the princes of this world ( i ) few , isaiah . . . the present tense being put for the future tense , doth signifie the certainty of a thing , as isaiah . . rev. . . babylon the great fallen , is falled ( i ) it shall as certainly fall , as if it were already done , the doubling of it also implies the greatnesse , neetnesse , and certainty of it● downfall . cecidit significat actum instantem & quasi inch●antem . . cecidit ( i ) j●m cadere incipit , ac brevi prono casu c●det babylon . à lapids . . the word [ rather ] is not alwaies put comparatively , when two persons or things are compared , as like and unlike : but sometimes negatively , as a denying particle , instead of [ not ] as luke . . this man went away , [ rather ] justified then the other . q.d. not the other , but he went away justified ; for the pharisee was not at all justified , mat. . ● . neither is there more or lesse in justification ; but our saviour here useth a popular kind of expression . so iohn . . men loved darknesse [ rather ] then light . q.d. they loved not light , but darknesse . . an indefinite speech in scripture , is equivalent to an universall , as iob . . man that is born of a woman ( i ) every man. so pro. . . blessed is [ the man ] that fears alwaies ( i ) blessed is [ every man ] that truely fears god. so he that beleeves shall be saved ( i ) whosoever he be . so , blessed are they that mourn , &c. ( i ) all they inclusively , and onely they exclusively , &c. the scripture abounds in such kind of speeches . . the scripture oft puts a thing in the participle of the present tense , to note a continued act . thus cain is said to be building [ gen. . . ] to denote his earthly affection , and that he made it , as 't were , his onely work to build cities ; he did not onely build , but hee was [ building ] as if hee meant to live here for ever . thus to encourage us to pray , 't is gods prerogative royall to be a god [ hearing ] prayer , psal. . . he not once or twice heareth , but is continually [ hearing ] he makes it ( as i may say ) his great work to be still hearing , observing , and answering the prayers of his people . so pro. . . he that walketh [ ambulans heb. ] with wise men shall be wiser ( i ) he who is continually amongst them , and trades ( as 't were ) with them , shall in time learn wisdome from them . so mat. . . the sin of the old word is thus described , they were eating , drinking , marrying ; not that 't is a sinne in it self , to eat , drink , marry ; but when men eat and drink excessively , so much the participles imply * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( i ) edentes , like brute beasts , they did not onely eat , but they were alwaies eating , it was their trade and work ; they passed without intermission from eating to drinking , from drinking to marrying , &c. they followed it close , as if it had been their onely work , and they born for no other end . so tim. . . ministers must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , laborantes ; still labouring for god , and spending themselves in his service . so ephes. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , gratias agentes , we must not give thanks for a day or two but alwaies , on all occasions we must be giving thanks . . the scripture sometimes denounceth judgements , and promiseth blessings to the parents , which yet were fulfilled to their children onely . thus noah cursing ha●s . gen. . , . a servant of servants shall he bee to his brethren , &c. this was fulfilled in his posterity , the canaanites , who served the israelites under the conduct of ioshua . god promised the land of canaan to abraham , gen . . yet not hee , but his posterity enjoyed it foure hundred years after , in ioshua's time . thus isaack said to iacob , gen. . . be lord over thy brethren , and let thy mothers sonnes bow downe to thee . this was not fulfilled in esau , who instead of serving , did rather lord it over iacob , but this prophesie was fulfilled in esau's posterity , when the idumaeans and moabites were brought under the subjection of david . so gen. . i wil divide them in iacob , &c. where by iacob and israel , is not meant the person , but the posterity of iacob or israel . exact , clear , and satisfactory in this kind , that i shall onely refer the reader to them , for full satisfaction in his doubts . if any desire yet fuller satisfaction , and more rules , let him peruse atte●soll on numbers . p. . and p. . and p. . b. andrews large catechism . p. , , , &c. i can give you no more but the bare quotations of these two , being plundered of them in the troubles . see weemse jewish synag . c. . p. , &c. perkins art of prophesying , c. . and . stoughton , davids love to the word . c. . p. , &c. bernards faithfull shepheard . l. . c. . p. . mr white of dorchester's rules for reading scripture . c. . p. . hyperius de ratione studii theol. l. . c. , , , , &c. a little book , but of great worth ▪ its full of excellent directions for young men in their studying of the scriptures , &c. . rules to direct us in the right expounding of the law. the knowledge of the law in its utmost extent and spirituality , is very necessary for every christian. wee are all by nature , pharisees , and have high conceits of our selves ; and though many will confesse themselves to be sinne●s in grosse , yet descend to particulars , and then i have had many that could keep all the commandements : now when such shall be made to see the spirituall nature of the law , and how it condemnes , not onely the gross act , but also the secret corruption of our hearts ; heart-murther , heart-pride , heart-theft , heart-adultery , &c. they wil us , humble make us poor in spirit , sensible of our own impotency , and inability to any goodnesse ; when in this glass we shall see the numberlesse number of our sins , and those seas of wrath due unto us for them ; this wil make us fly to christ , as to our city of refuge , and prize a saviour above all the kingdomes of the world , &c. . as the law is a glasse for detection , so 't is a rule for direction , by which all beleevers must frame their lives , serving him who hath redeemed them , in righteousnesse and holinesse all their dayes : and therefore it 's very necessary for all gods people , to know what vices are forbidden , that they may shun them ; and what duties he enjoines us , that we may practise them . to this end i have taken some paines to collect all the rules ( which in my little reading i have met with ) that give any light into the commandements , that having a compendium of them at hand ▪ we might have recourse to them on all occasions : as for the particular opening of every commandement , i shall refer the reader to mr brinslyes watch , mr whately , and dr downhams expositions of the commandements . rule . every precept of the morall law , is both affirmative and negative , 't is not sufficient that we fly evill , but we must doe good , psal. . . mat. . . and ▪ . isaiah . , . for every commandement hath two parts , the first , affirmative , commanding a duty , the neglect whereof is called a sin of omission . . the negative , forbidding vice , the doing whereof , is called a sin of commission . . under the negative , the affirmative is alwaies comprehended : when a sinne is forbidden , the contrary grace is commanded ; he that saies we shall not kill , commands us also to preserve the life of our neighbour . occidisti si non fovisti . aug. qui prohibet impedimentum praecipit adjumentum . . when a sinne is forbidden in any commandement under it , ( by a synecdoche ) all the sins of the same kind , are forbidden also . e. g. under adultery is condemned fornication , incest , ●apes , sodomy , &c. under murder , is forbidden malice , ra●h anger , ●ighting , &c. with all kind of murther , mentall , verball , reall , iohn . . . and thus christ himselfe expounds the law , mat. . , . and the reason why god puts the name of the great sinne upon the lesser , is to make us see the hainous nature of it to hate a man , or give way to rash anger , ●any think it a small matter ; but when the lord tels us it is murther , then wee see the greatnesse of it : thus rebellion is called witchcraft , sam. . . . every precept is spirituall , rom. . . the law is spirituall . mans law binds the hands and tongue ; but gods law binds the heart and soule , iohn . it requires not onely outward obedience in words and works , but also inward in the heart and mind ; god sees , and punisheth as well for inward sins , as for outward , mat. , . it takes notice of heart-adultery ; and herein this royall , excellent law of god [ iam. . . ] excels all humane lawes . . mens ●awes take no notice of every small offence , but gods law observeth and condemneth even the least sins , even gnats as well as camels ; the nazarite must not only forbeare the wine , but he must not so much as eate the kernell of the raisin [ numb . . ] nor the huske . . mens lawes take no notice of thoughts , they cannot punish for them ; but gods law reacheth the heart , and binds the most secret cogitations . gen. . . god takes notice of the evill of the imaginations and thoughts of our heart , he sees our wrath , and observes our very countenance . gen. . why art thou wroth ? and why is thy countenance falle● ? and the g●ashing of the teeth . acts . making mouths , isaiah . . pointing with the finger , isaiah . . those small things which men think nothing , yet gods law condemnes . . the law is perfect , requiring perfect obedience , both inward and outward , both of parts and degrees : therefore when any duty is commanded , there the highest degree of it is commanded , mat. . , . and where a vice is forbidden , there the least degree of it is forbidden , and beares the name of a grosse sin , that we might esteem no sin small . . when a duty is commanded , the meanes to attain it are commanded also , and when a vice is forbidden , the allurements thereto are forbidden ▪ e. g. when the lord commands us to worship him alone , this includes praying , reading , hearing the word , watching over our hearts and wayes , and frequenting good company ; hence david bids the wicked depart , that so he might keep the commandements of the lord , psal. . . . where any virtue is commanded , a vice forbidden , there also the signes are commanded and forbidden , as well as the things themselves . e. g. hee that commands us to be gracious , commands us also to shew forth the fruits of him that hath called us , and that our light should shine before men , and our moderation be known to all , &c. . for vices , we must not only shun the sinne , but the shews also and appearances of sinne ▪ thes. . . iude . lofty looks and strange apparell , &c. which are signes of pride , must be avoided . isaiah . . zeph. . . tim. . . wee must shun lewd company , suspected places , lewd speeches , and all the signes of incontinency : wee must not onely abhor the devils beefe , but his broth too . isaiah . . iacob must bury the ear-rings , lest they make an idol . gen. . . the men of ephesus repenting , burne their books of sorcery : the lord condemnes the dregs of sinne , as well as the sinne it selfe ▪ he that saies we shall not kill , saies also we shall not revenge , no nor once remember the wrong . le. . . . all men are bound to a religious observation of gods commandements , none are exempted , god hath not made one commandement for the rich , and another for the poor ; but high and low , rich and poor , jew and gentile , bond and free , of what nation sex or condition soever they be , they must observe gods righteous commands ; as god is lord of all the world , so he expects obedience to his commands , from all . hence the commandements are published in the second person singular [ thou ] speaking particularly to all , &c. thou lord , thou beggar , &c. . the law must not onely be observed , but also preserved by us . e. g. 't is not sufficient that the master keep the sabbath himselfe , but he is bound to see that all his family observe it also ; & so in every other commandement ; 't is not , sufficient that i doe not kill , but i must doe what in me lies , to preserve others from killing . we must therefore in our places and callings , by instruction , direction , correction , &c. labour to prevent sin , in all about us , else we may become accessaries to other mens sins , and that seven waies . . mandando . . comm●nda●do . . permi●tendo . . provoca●do . . consentiendo . . difendendo . . consociando . . mandando , by commanding and giving direction . david did not kill uriah with his own hands , but giving directions to ioab , and writing to him how it should be done , 't was his murther . sam. . . saul killed the priest , in commanding doeg to doe it , kings . . . laudando , by commending men for their pride , drunkennesse and profanenesse ; 't is in a manner all one , to commit a sin , and to commend it . ro. . . nihil interest faveásne sceleri an illud facias . seneca . . permittendo , by conniving at the sins of others , and not restraining them when it is in their power . thus eli became accessary to the sinne of his sons , sam. . . and pilate to christs death , iohn . . and ahab is said to kill , when he suffered letters to be written in his name , to have naboth killed . king. . . . provocando , by incitation , stirring men up , and provoking them to doe wickedly . thus did iobs wife , iob. . . and iesabel , king. . . a sinne forbidden , gal. . . . consentiendo , by consenting . thus saul was accessary to stevens death , acts . . and . . the hypocrite consents with theeves , and partakes with adulterers , psal. . . . defendendo , by justifying the wicked , and condemning the just , pro. . . calling evill good , isaiah . . . . consociando , by being familiar with men in their sin . god hath ordeined our non-communion and withdrawing of our selves from them to be a meanes of their reclaiming . thes. . . have no company with such , rom. . . iohn . cor. . . . the negative commandements bind most strongly , they bind us alwaies , and to all times , 't is unlawfull at any time to sin , i may never blaspheme , curse , lye , &c. in the negative , the acts of vice are alwaies forbidden , but in the affirmative , the acts of virtue are commanded , with due consideration of circumstances ; for although they bind us alwaies , yet they bind us not to all times ; we must admonish our brother , read , pray , hear , give almes , &c. yet are we not bound to these at all times : hence all the commandements almost , are negative . . because negative commandements bind more strongly . . they worke on our minds , and more then affirmative ones , . because our nature is exceeding prone to evi●l . . this is the true order of repentance , first to cease from evill , and then to doe good . . we must apply the curse particularly , to the breach of every commandement ; if wee have profaned the sabbath , taken gods name in vain , &c. the curse is due to every one of these sins , deu. . ul . gal. . . & so the blessings , though they be not particularly expressed , yet must be applyed by every one that yields sincer● obedience to the law. . remember , that the first and last condemne the very motions of the heart , against god , or our neighbour , though wee never yield consent unto them : this humbled paul so exceedingly , rom. . . sins against the first table , are greater then sins against the second ( caeteris paribus ) comparing thoughts with thoughts , words with words , & works , the comparison must be equall , as blasphemy , and the highest degree of sinne against god , is greater then theft , or murther : but if the comparison be not equall , it will not hold , for adultery is a greater sin , then the least breach of the sabbath ; and murther is a greater sinne then the least abuse of gods name . . the second table must give place to the first ; hence mat. . . christ cals it the first in order and nature , because the love of our neighbour flowes from the love of god. . the great commandement in excellency and dignity , because it more immediately commands things concerning god. our neighbour must be loved but onely in and for the lord , so far as may stand with his glory : 't is no dishonour to our fathers on earth , to see their heavenly father served before them , ephes. . . acts . . and . . this rule holds in morals , but not in ceremonials , for god would rather have a ceremony omitted , then our neighbours safety endangered , hos. . . mat. . , , to chap. . , . . we must obey gods commands , purely for the commands sake , many will seem to observe them for self-ends , to merit , get praise , &c. but we must have respect to them all , simply , because our god commands them . . precepts presuppose faith ▪ e.g. doe this , and thou shalt live ( i ) doe it in christ. so eccl. . . keep the commandements ( i ) in christ or by faith in him . so , thou shalt love the lord , with all thy heart ( i ) evangelically . . god who made the law , can dispense with his owne law in things that touch not upon his nature , justice , purity , &c. god cannot sinne , because purity is naturall to him , he cannot lye , because truth is essentially and intrinsically in him ; but for things which are out of him , and belong to his soveraignty , he is an absolute lord , he is lord of dayes , and lord of goods and life ; here he may dispense , and command abraham to sacrifice isaack , and the israelites to spoyle the egyptians , exod. . . and solomon to make pictures and cherubins ( which wee may not ) for , . he had gods expresse command to make them . . they were types of christ , they foreshewed his glory , whom the angels worship . . they were placed in the holy of holies , where the people could not see them , much lesse worship them . see rules more by mr white of dorchester , in his directions for reading the scripture , p. , &c. sit vice coronidis illud tileni , syntag. c. p. . praecipua ad script●r is rectè interpretandas media sunt haec : frequens oratio , linguarum cognitio , fontium inspectio , verborum propriorum & figuratorum distinctio , argumenti & scopi consideratio : causarum circumstantiarum , antecedentium & consequentium notatio : logica analysis : locorum obscuriorum cum illustrioribus , similium cum similibus , atque etiam dessimilium cum dissimilibus comparatio , historiae naturalis & humanae peritia , ac postremò fidei analogia , ad quam tanquam ad amussim & norman certissimam , exigenda est cujuslibet loci interpretatio . finis . rhetorica sacra : or , a synopsis of the most materiall tropes and figures contained in the sacred scriptures ; by the knowing of which , we may of our selves observe many more like unto them . many texts of scripture are here expounded , many errors confuted , and the marrow of most rhetoricians ( in reference to divinity ) collected . all the tropes and figures are set in an alphabeticall order , for the more easie finding of them , and illustrated with variety of instances for the better understanding of them . christus iudaeos ad scripturarum non simplicem & nudam lectionem , sed ad investigationem perquam diligentem relegavit : non enim dixit , legite scripturas , sed scrutamini ( i ) diligenter quaerite & quasi essodite latentes in câ thesauros .. à lapide è chrysostomo sacrarum literarum haud postrema intelligentiae pars posita est i● tropis & formulis loquendi cuique linguae familiaribus . westhimer . habent hebraei linguam ut vocabulis augustam , ita densitate troporum cum primis augustam . idem . london , printed in the year , . to the christian reader . since the sacred scripture abounds with tropes and figures of all sorts , and is like a pleasant garden bedeckt with flowers , or a rich garment beset with pearles , or a fruitfull field , full of precious treasures ; i conceived it might bee time well spent , to dig into those sacred minerals , for the better finding out of those metaphors , metonymies , synecdoches , &c. which lye hid there : for the bare reading of the scriptures , without searching into its heavenly mysteries and meaning , is like the comming into a treasury , wherein wee see many costly things folded up , and some ends appearing out , but when they bee all uncovered , then doth their glory more affect us for the present , and leave in us a deep impression of their excellency . besides , the ignorance of rhetorick is one ground of many errours amongst us , as will appear in the opening of the tropes , where you have not onely bare instances , but many texts cleared and expounded , &c. if it may any way bee serviceable to thee , give god the glory , and let the weak instrument have thy prayers . anadiplôsis , when a word that is used in the end of one sentence , is repeated in the beginning of the next , as psal. . , . our feet shall stand in thy gates o ierusalem , ierusalem is builded , &c. so v. . there are the thrones of judgement , the thrones of , &c. psa. . . the lord is nigh to al that cal upon him , to al that call upon him in truth . so deut. . . the lord bringeth thee into a good land , a land of brooks . so isaiah . . ieremy . . and . . luke . , . anaphora , when the same word is repeated in the beginning of sentences , as psal. . . to . the voice of the lord is upon the waters , the voice of the lord , &c. so psal. . . and . , , . and . , . and . , , , , and ● , , , ▪ . so ier. . , , . a sword is upon the caldeans , a sword is upon the lyars . ier. . , , . ezek. . , , , , . rom. . , , . thou , thou , thou , cor. . and cor. . . phil . . amos . ▪ , . antimetabole , is an inversion or change of words , as cor. . . man is not of the woman , but the woman of the man. so cor. . . children ought not to lay up for their parents , but parents for their children . antitheton , is the illustration of a thing by its opposite , as isaiah . . i looked for grapes , and behold wild grapes , for judgement , and behold oppression ; we looked for light , but behold obscurity ; for brightnesse , but wee walke in darknesse . anthropopathia , is a figure very frequent in scripture , as when it speaks of god after the manner of men , and by bodily things sets forth his divine excellencies . thus passions , as joy , anger , griefe , &c. are attributed to god. thus he is said to have eyes , signifying his omniscience , a hand , signifying his power , wings , to shew his care and protection of his people , nostrils , noting his indignation ▪ &c. ar●siópesis , when out of an holy anger or vehemency , wee cut off some word or part of a sentence , which yet is understood , as psal. . but thou o lord , how long ? q. d. how long wil● thou delay to send me help and soccour . so luke . o if thou hadst known ! q d. how happy had it been for thee , if thou hadst known . so k●n . . dost thou now governe the kingdome of israel — arise . q.d. art not thou a king ? then mayest thou doe what plea●eth thy selfe , therefore arise speedily and bee doing . remember this was the counsell of a iesabel . so psal ▪ . . and heb. ▪ . to whom i sware in my wrath * if they enter into my rest ▪ q.d. they shall never enter into my rest , if they come there , let me not be god , or let me not be true . so psal. . so cor. . i will say the truth — ●ut now i forbeare . so * hosea . trumpet to mouth . heb q.d. ●et the trumpet to thy mouth , as an eagle . heb q.d. the enemy shall fly swif●ly , as an eagle , isaiah . . i cannot bear your sinne . vehemen issimam indignationem repraesentat . apostrop●e , is the turning of a speech from one person to another , many times abruptly . thus psal. . . the prophet sets forth gods judgements against the enemies of christ : then ver . . he presently turnes his speech to the great ones : bee wise now therefore , o yee kings . so isaiah . . the prophet finding the people to be rebellious , turns his speech to the inanimate creatures , heare o yee heavens , and harken o earth . so gen. . . iudg. . , psal. . . asyndeton , or dialyton , hath no copulative , as cor. . , , . charity suffereth long , charity envyeth not , &c. so thes. . . to . rom. . . to . psal . , rom. . . tim. . . catachrésis , an improper kind of speech , as exod. . . yee have seen that i have talked with you ( i ) ye have heard the lord speak . so exod. . . thou shalt not seeth a kid in her mothers milk , mother is not so proper a terme with us , for a dumbe creature . so isaiah . . o that thou wouldest ●end the heavens and come downe ! hee speaks of god after the manner of men : if a man were in heaven , and should descend , he having a body , which is a grosse substance , must needs divide and rend the heavens , but god being a most pure spirit , passeth through all things , with out any dviding or rending ; yet is there in these divine condescentions of speech , a singular excellency ; the lord in his goodnesse , considering our weaknesse , doth even stammer with us , the better to instruct us . thus teachers are said to have a voice , psal . . and . . the lord hath heard the voice of my weeping . climax , or gradation is frequent in scripture , when the succeeding clauses transcend each other , as mat. . , . aske , seek , knock ; t is not a simple repetition , but a gradation . so rom. . , , . tribulation worketh patience , patitience , experience ; and experience hope . so rom. . . whom he did predestinate , them he also called ; whom he called , them he justified , and whom he justified , them he glorified . so hos. . , . i will heare the heavens , and they shall heare the earth , &c. so rom. . , . how shall they call on him , on whom they have not beleeved ? and how shall they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shal they heare without a preacher , &c. so iam. . , , . temptations prove us , probation brings forth patience , and patience help● on towards perfection . so pet. . , , . add to your faith , vertue ▪ and to virtue , knowledge ; and to knowledge , temperance ; and to temperance , patience , &c. so iudges . . a work of divers colours is excellent . . a work of divers colours of the needle , is more . . wrought on both sides , that 's most of all . so cor. . . the head of every man is christ , and the head of the woman is the man , and the head of christ is god. so iohn . , , , . ellipsis , the defect or wanting of a word , as exod . . z●pporah took a sharpe [ stone or knife ] is understood . so isaiah . . i cannot iniquity ( i ) i cannot beare iniquity . so hos. . . [ see before , aposio●ésis . ] enallage or heteresis is , . of the gender , so●etime the feminine gender is put for the masculine , thus effeminate men are called women , isaiah . . . of the person , thus one person is oft put for another , as the second for the third , and the third for the first . . of the number , thus the singular number is oft put for the plurall , and so on the contrary . epanalepsis , when the same word is put in the beginning , and the ending of a sentence , as phil. . . rejoice in the lord alwaies , and againe i say , rejoice . so psal. . , . and . . ult . the same sentence is put in the beginning and ending of the psalme . so cor. . , . all things are yours , whether things present , or things to come , all is yours . so rom. . . whatsoever things were written aforetime , were written for our learning . so cor. . . i will pray with the spirit , and with the understanding also . i will sing with the spirit , and with the understanding also . cor. . . if our gospell be hid , to them that perish it is hid . so it runs in the originall . epanodos , when the same word is repeated in the beginning and middle ; or in the middle & end , as psal. . , , , . ezek. . . this is the lamentation , where with they shall lament her , the daughters of the nations shall lament her , they shall lament for her , &c. iohn . . he that is of god , heareth gods word , yee therefore heare them not , because yee are not of god , rom. . . the good that i would , i doe not ; but the evill that i would not , that i do , gal. . . i live , yet not i , but christ liveth in me , and the life which i now live , i live by faith . so cor. . , , . epanorikósis , or correction , is the reinforcement of the clause last uttered , by the subsequent . so gal. . . and . , have ye suffered so many things in vain ? if it be yet in vaine . so luke . . when the woman cryed , blessed is the wombe that bare thee , christ converts he . verse . yea rather blessed are they that heare the word of god , and do it . so kings . . the lord shall raise up a king , who shall cut off the house of ieroboam that day ; but what , even now ? so rom. . . and cor. . . i have laboured more abundantly then they all , yet not i , but the grace of god which was in me . epistrophe , when there is the like ending in sentences , as psa. . per totum . for his mercie endures for ever . ezek. . , . and shall yee possesse the land ? yee stand upon your sword , &c. and shall yee possesse the land ? so ioel . , . and my people shall never be ashamed , and yee shall eat in plenty , &c. and my people shall never be ashamed . so amos . , , , , . yet have yee not returned to me saith the lord , &c. so haggai . , . and cor. . . when i was a child , i spake as a child , i understood as a child , i thought as a child . so a cor. . . are they hebrews ? so am i. are they israelites ? so am i. epizeuxis , when the same word is doubled by way of emphasis , as isaiah . . comfort yee , comfort yee my people . isaiah . . i , even i am he that comforts you . isaiah . . the living the living , he shall praise thee . mat. . . o ierusalem , ierusalem , which killest the prophets . the name is doubled , to expresse the great affection of the speaker so sa. . . o my son absalom , my son , my son , &c. thus deborah quickens her selfe . iudg. . . awake , awake , deborah , &c. so isaiah . . and ezek. . . . i will overturne , overturne , overturn it ( i ) i will certainly overturn it . and this is done sometimes by way of amplification , as psal. . . the lord is nigh to all that call upon him , even to all that call upon him in truth . so psal. . . the kings of armies do fly , do fly [ fugiunt , fugiū● ] q.d. they fled amain . ●o ioel . . multitudes , multitudes ( i ) great multitudes . . by way of transition , as hosea . . i will heare the heavens , and the heavens shall heare the earth , and the earth shall heare the corn , &c. e●phenismus , is a fair kind of speech , as gen. . . adam knew eve. see the like mo●est expression , numb . . . mat. . . luke . . thus incest and adu●●ery is sometimes exprest by a modest terme of uncovering the nakednesse . levit. . . and . , . ezek. . . t●us to sanctify , is put for to defile . d●ut . . . so an harlot is called kedesuh , a holy woman . gen. . . by a contrary meaning , as being most unholy and uncleane . thus words sometimes have contrary significations , as barac signifies to blesse or curse . chesed signifies piety or impiety , levit. . . but psal. . . it signifies goodnesse . exclamatio is that whereby we expresse our affection . it is sometimes used per modum optationis , when wee earnestly desire a thing , as chro. . . oh that one would give me of the water of the well of bethleem ! isaiah . . o that thou would●t rend the heavens , and come down ! psal. . . . per modum admirationis , by way of admiration , as rom. . . o the depth of the riches , both of the wisedome and knowledge of god! . per modum objurgationis , by way of reproof , as gal. . . o foolish galathians , who hath bewitched you ? so acts , . . per modum dolentis , by way of lamentation , rom. . . oh wretched man that i am , &c. exegesis , it is usuall with the scripture , having said a thing in one member of a sentence , to repeat the same againe , by way of explication or confirmation in the later part as psal . . and . . kings . . remember o lord , how i have walked before thee , in truth ; what 's that ? an● with a perfect heart , and have done that which is right in thy sight . so isaiah . , . and . , . iohn . . rom. . . god hath given them the spirit of slumber , what 's that ? eyes that they should not see , and eares that they should not hear . so tim. . . he tels us in generall , that the last dayes shall be perillous , then verse , , , . he tels what particular vices should raign , and make the times so perillous . yea , such is the goodnesse of god to his people , that when the scripture hath spoken any thing darkly , it useth oft times to join some plain thing to give light to it , as isaiah . . what is somewhat dark in that verse , is presently explained in the second . so deut. . . they must not match with idolaters , why so ? v● . . first , because by this meanes , they will draw you to worship their gods . . this will provoke god to anger . . you are an holy people , sequestred for gods speciall service , &c. thus oft , not alwaies , we have the sense at hand : yet sometimes wee must search and goe farther off to finde out the sense of some places , which wee read . hendyadys , when one thing is divided into two , as mat. . . in the region and shadow of death , for , the shady region of death . so mat. . . worshipping and desiring ( i ) desiring by worshipping . hypallage , when the order of the words is changed , as iob . . thou hast hid their heart from understanding ( i ) thou hast hid understanding from their heart . so isaiah . . the asse knowes his masters crib , or , he knowes the master who feeds him in his crib . so heb. . . through the deceitfulnesse of sin ( i ) by deceitfull sin . hysterologia , or hysteron-proteron , is a placing of that before , which should be after , and somethings after , which should bee before . the pen men of scripture , doe not alwaies observe the just order of things , but the truth of the history ; they set them down , in that order , in which they came to their minds , and not in that order , which they fell out in . psal . . he travelleth with iniquity , and hath conceived mischiefe . here the birth is set before the conception . [ see more in rule ] hyperbole , is two-fold . * auxésis , when we increase the signification of a speech . so gen. . . iacob is said to hate leah , when he only neglected her , and loved her lesse . so mat. . . compared with luke . . and iohn . . we must not simply hate father , mother , life , &c. but comparatively , when they come in competition with christ. so pro. . . he that spares the rod , hates his son ( i ) he doth not truly love him , that lets him goe astray to his own destruction , and so acts the part of one that hates him . thus gen. . . abrahams seed shall be as the dust of the earth , and starres of heaven ( i ) his posterity shall be very many . so psal. . . whiter then snow . lam. . . whiter then milke , more ruddy then rubies . so sam. . . swifter then eagles , stronger then lyons . sam. . . swift as a roe . isaiah . . i have laboured in vaine yet not altogether in vain , though for little good . so gen. . . and . . isaiah . , . ioel. . . the hils shall flow with milk , and the mountaines with wine . so canaan was stiled a land flowing with milk and honey , numb . . , , . cities fenced up to heaven , deut. . . so psal. . . they mount up to heaven , and goe downe to the depths ( i ) they are sorely tossed up and downe . gal. . ye would have plucked out your own eyes , and have given them me ; 't is a proverbial speech , q.d. you would have parted with your dearest things , to have done me good . iohn . . the whole world would not containe the books ( i ) they would be very many . iohn . . the whole world goeth after him ( i ) many follow him . luke . . pray * alwaies ( i ) bee constant and persevere in the duty . mat. . . acts . . mat. . . it 's easier for a camell to go through the eye of a needle . [ see more , rule . ] . me●ósis , litote , tapinósis ; when lesse is spoken , and more is meant . pro. . . despise not the lords correction ( i ) highly esteem it . rom . . despise not the riches of his goodnesse ( i ) prize it highly . mal. . . shee is thy companion ( i ) thy chiefest and choicest companion . heb. . . whoremongers and adulterers god will judge , ( i ) he will plague them here , and condemne them hereafter . heb. . . my soul shall take no pleasure in him ( i ) i greatly abhorre him . psal. . . touch not mine anointed ( i ) hurt them not . sam. . . whom dost thou pursue , a dead dog , a ●●ea ? ( i ) a poor , weak , contemptible person . mat. . . depart from me , i know you not ( i ) i detest you , and will for ever punish you . marke . . shall never be forgiven ( i ) shall be eternally punished . mat. . . a bruised reed he will not break ( i ) he will cherish and preserve it . psal. . , . thou art a god that takest no pleasure in wickednesse ( i ) thou greatly hatest it . iohn . . lazarus sleeps ( i ) is dead . levit. . . thou shalt fly at the shaking of a leaf . rom. . . not weak in faith ( i ) very strong in faith . revel . . . they loved not their lives unto the death ( i ) they exposed their lives to all danger , for the cause of christ. cor. . . with many of them , god was not well pleased ( i ) he was highly displeased . [ see more , rule . ] insinuation , is a holy rheroricall winding our selves into mens affections ; sometimes by loving and sweet compellations , as rom. . . i beseech you brethren . sometimes by appeal , as cor. . . iudge in your selves is it comely . sometimes by anticipation , as acts . . beleevest thou the prophets ? * i know thou beleevest : he would even perswade him , that he beleeved , and verse . i would to god that not onely thou , but that al that hear me this day , were both almost , and altogether such as i am , except these bonds ; they yet knew not that bonds and suffering for christ , was a great honour , and therefore hee puts in this exception . ironia , ironicall , taunting speeches may lawfully bee used , as occasion serves . . god himself used them . gen. . . the man is become as one of us ( i ) as one of the trinity , wherby god declares his great disdaine of their affectation of an impossible preheminence in being like to god. q. d. by his sin he is become most unlike to us . see how well satan hath performed his promise to man , is not he become like one of us ? and hath not hee gained a goodly measure of knowledge , both of good and evill ? so iudg. . . go , cry to the gods which yee have chosen . 't is an ironicall upbraiding them for their idolatry , which they found so comfortlesse , in their greatest need , their idols being no way able to deliver them . so isaiah . , . god himselfe teacheth his people to de●ide the proud king of babylon . . christ used it , mat. . . sleep on . q.d. goe to now , sleep on , take your rest if yee can , behold a perillous time is at hand , wherein yee shall have little list or leisure to sleep . . elijah used it to the worshippers of baal . kings . . he mocks them , and bids them cry aloud to their drowsy or busie god , peradventure their baal was asleep , or in a journy , &c. so mica ah bids ahab goe up and prosper ( i ) go up and perish , kings . . so io● [ . . ] taunts at his fal●e friends , in an ironicall expression : no doubt but yee are the people , and wisedome shall dye with you . q. d. in your owne conce●t , there are no men in the world but you . no doubt but reason hath left us , and is given wholly unto you ; yea wisedome is so tyed to your persons , that her conservation and mine depends on yours . so amos . , . come to bethel , and transgresse at gilgal , multiply transgressions , &c. q. d. since by no meanes yee will bee reclaimed , but are desperately set on sin ; goe on , and fill up the measure of your sin . thus solomon , without any breach of charity , or staine of holinesse , checks the young mans ●olly , with an nony , eccl. . . rejoyce o young man , &c. but know , &c. by an ironicall concession , he bids him 〈◊〉 joyce and take his pleasure , &c. and then maries all wi●h a s●inging but , in the end . so paul with an holy scoffe , derides the corinthians , cor. . , yee are full , ye are rich , you reign as kings , &c. we are fooles , ye are wise , &c. wee are nothing , you are all . &c. [ ironica est concessio , exprimens corinthiorum de seipsis corruptam opinionem . aretius . ] a sarcasme , which is a biting taunt , is neer to an irony , but that it 's somewhat more bitter , as gen. . . behold the dreamer comes ! thus michal spits out bitter reproaches against david , sam. . . how glorious was the king to day ? ( i ) how contemptible and inglorious ? thus shimet reviled him , sam. . . thus the people taunt at moses , exod. . . because there were no graves in egypt , hast thou brought us to dye in the wildernesse ? thus the jewes reviled christ , mat. . , . luk. . . they mocked him , saying , haile king of the jewes . nah. . . mycterismus , is a kinde of scoffe , neere to the former . thus the pharisees derided christ , luke . . they did not simply contemne him , but they shewed their contempt of him by their gestures ; they blow their noses at him , as the originall imports , [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , deridebant eum , vel sannis eum excipiebant . beza . metalepsis , when there are many tropes in one word , as mat. . . all the city was moved ; the city put for ierusalem , by a synecdoche generis , and ierusalem put for its inhabitants , by a meton . subj . so mal. . wings put for beames , by a catachresticall metaphor , and beams for comfort and refreshing , by a metaphor . mimesis , is an imitation of the words of others . thus david useth the words of rebellious rulers , psal. . . let us break their bonds asunder , &c. so paul useth the words of the epicures . cor. . ● . and the prophet speaks in the language of the prophane jewes , who made a mocke at gods word and threatnings . isaiah . . manda , remanda , expecta , reexpecta , tsulazu , kaw , lakau , kau lakau , micah . ● . metaphors are frequent in scripture , for our apprehension sake . thus christ is called a rock , a vine , a lamb , a lyon , a shepheard , a door , a wav , an husbandman . so man is called a shadow , a flower , grasse , a woolfe , beare , dog , isaiah . . thus we read of metaphors from leaven , salt , trees , seed , bread , &c. besides many hyperbolicall metaphors , as psal. . . the fields sing . hab. . . the stone out of the wals shall cry . lam. . . the waies mourne . gen. . . thy brothers blood cryes . [ hee that would see more scripture metaphors , from seeing , hearing , smelling , touching , tasting , &c. let him peruse peachams rhetorick . metonymia , . of the efficient cause , thus moses is oft put for the writings of moses . luke . , , and . . iohn . , . thus sinne is put for the punishment of sin , gen. . . sin lyeth at the door ( i ) the punishment of sinne . so numb . . . your sinne will finde you out ( i ) the punishment of your sinne . thus iohn . . the holy ghost was not yet given ( i ) the miraculous and sanctifying gifts of the holy ghost , were not to fully given , as they were after christs ascension . so gal. . . ye have put on christ ( i ) ye are made partakers of his benefits . psa. . . lab●ur , put for the food gained by the labour of the hands . . a metonymy of the subject . thus by a sacramental metonymy the scripture oft gives to the sacraments , the names of the things signified by them . thus circumcision is called the covenant , gen. . . when 't was onely a seale of the covenant , and the paschall lambe is called the * passeover , exod. . . and baptisme is called the new-birth , titus . . and the bread christs body , of which it is a signe , mat. . . so the cup is put for the wine in the cup , luke . . ( i ) vinum poculo contentum , continens pro re contentâ ] thus the earth is put for the men in the earth , gen. . . the earth was corrupt . so ierusalem , iudaea , samaria , are put for their inhabitants . so the house for the people in the house . luke . . salvation is come to thy house , act. . . pr. . . thus hel is put for the devils in hell & heaven , for god who dwels in heaven . luke . . i have sinned against heaven ( i ) against god who dwels in heaven . so mat. . . thus the dayes are put for the men that live in those daies . ephes. . . and the nest , for the young ones in the nest . deut. . . as an eagle stirreth up her nest ( i ) provokes her young ones to fly . so the heart is put for all in the heart , the will , affections , and the whole soule , because the soul keeps its chief residence there , though it be in the whole body , and every part of it . ier. . . the heart is deceitfull ( i ) the soule with all its faculties and affections . so deut. . . psal. . . commune with your heart ( i ) with your soule . ier. . . wash thy heart ( i ) thy whole soule . thus the gate is oft put for the judges , who ( among the jews ) sate in the gate , mat. . . sam. . . and . . psal. . . so the tongue is put for the speech . pro. . . the tongue of the just , is as choise silver . so pro. . . the city rejoyceth ( i ) the men in the city . so cor. . . the end of this world ( i ) of the wicked who live in the world . so cor. . . the woman hath power on her head ( i ) shee hath a vaile or cover , which is a signe of her husbands power & superiority over her . . a metonymy of the adjunct , thus the governour is oft put for his army . saul hath slaine his thousand . so christ is put for his members . mat. . . i was hungry , and ye gave me meat ( i ) my faithfull members . so acts . , . i am jesus whom thou persecutest ( i ) whose disciples thou persecutest . psal. . . the lines are fallen ( i ) the portion divided to me , by cords o● lines . isaiah . . psal. . . thus the abstract , is oft put for the concrete . psal. . . the righteous lord loveth righteousnesse ( i ) righteous men . iacob sware by the feare of his father isaack , gen. . . ( i ) by the lord , whom isaack feared . so ephes. . . col. . . cor. . . helps , governments , for helpers , governours . so circumcision , for the persons circumcised . gal. . . so paul is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , acts . . not onely a pestilent fellow , but the very pestilence and plague it selfe . pro. . . false weights are an abomination ( i ) men that use false weights are abominable . so the belly is put for a belly-god . tit. . . and wickednesse for wicked men , gen. . . [ see more , rule . ] thus the signe is oft put for the thing signified , as , the scepter for the kingdome , gen. . . the sword for authority , it being a signe of it . rom. . . the keyes , for ecclesiasticall ▪ power . mat. . . thus the name is oft put for the thing it selfe , rev. . . thou hast a few names ( i ) men professing the truth . pro. . . the name of the lord ( i ) the lord himselfe . phil. . . ephe. . . acts. . . thus the time it selfe is put for the thing done in time . cor. . . * mans day ( i ) ●ans judgement ; save me from this houre ( i ) from this danger . iohn . . so iob . . dayes should speak ( i ) the aged who have seen many daies . . a metonymy of the effect . kin. . . death is in the pot ( i ) poyson or some deadly thing , which causeth death . so mar. , . a dumb spirit ( i ) making men dumb . rom. . . to be carnally minded is death , ( i ) tendeth to death , or bringeth death . so rom. . ult . and . . is the law sin ? ( i ) is it the cause of sin ? heb. . . they received not the promises ( i ) the fruit of the promises , for they had the promises , but the accomplishment was in the time of the gospell . iohn . . this is the condemnation ( i ) a speciall cause of condemnation . iohn . . this is life eternall ( i ) 't is the way to life eternall . gen. . . two nations ( i ) the fathers of two nations . thus the law is said to be pure , righteous , &c. psal. . , . because it makes men so . . a metonymy of the matter . gen. . . dust thou art ( i ) thou art formed out of the dust . psal. . . he was laid in iron ( i ) in setters . psal. . . their idols are silver and gold ( i ) made of such metall . paranomasia , is a pleasant sound of words , as psal. . . in te confisi , nunquā confusi . so isa. . . in the original , is an excellent paranomasia . mispal mispach , zadaca zeaca . so rom. . . in quae al●um damnas , teipsum condemnas ▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . so in the greek there is an exc●llent paranomasy . cor. . , . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. haesitamus , at non prorsus haeremus . so mat. . . let the dead bury the dead . tim. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . so tim. . . rom. . . mat. . and . . phil. . . . . [ see the originall ] cor. . . as poor , yet making many rich , as having nothing , and yet possessing all things . so bethel shall be beth-aven ▪ amos . . psal. . . gna● ani , af●flictus ego &c. hosea . . a●abu hebu am●nt ●ona . periphrasis , is the using many words for one thing . thus iohn . the disciple whom jesus loved ( i ) iohn . the fruit of the vine ( i ) wine . to lay down this tabernacle ( i ) to dye . the doctor of the gentiles ( i ) paul. the father of lying and murther ( i ) the devill . so death is called the going the way of all the earth ▪ because none can escape it : and solomon cals it our long home , &c. pleonasmus , the most wise god condescending to our rude and weak capacity , oft useth sacred p●eonasmes , ●or the better clearing of things to our understanding , and beating them into our dul apprehensions . so deut. . . those inculcations are not vaine , but serve to worke things the better upon our hard hearts . so deut. . . o foolish people and unwise . iohn . . wee have seen with our eyes , &c. iohn . . and . , , . mat. . , &c. christ cals himself seven times there the bread of life . the psalmes are full of such pleonasticall inculcations . the scripture is o●t exegetical , what it speaks darkly in one place , it explains in another . polyptoton , is a variation of cases , as rom. . . of him , from him , to him , &c. iohn . . cor. . luke . . polysyndeton , when words and sentences are knit together , with many copulatives , as cor. . , , . and though i have the gift of prophesie , and understand all mysteries , and all knowledge , &c. so gal. . . ro. . , . prolepsis , or hypophora , is the prevention of an objection , as pro. . . honour the lord with thy riches . ob. so i may beggar my selfe : he prevents this objection , so shall thy barnes be filled . so mat. . . first seek spirituals , above and before temporals . ob. so i may impaire my wealth , health , &c. he prevents this , all these things shall be cast as an over-plus into the bargaine . so iohn . . [ see more , rule . ] prosopopaeia , the faining of a person , as when wee bring in the inanimate creatures , speaking or hearing , &c. so kings . . o altar , altar , thus saith the lord : he speaks to the altar , as if it were a person that heard him . psal. . . . let the sea roare , and the floods clap their hands , and the hils rejoice . rom. . , , . the apostle brings in the creature waiting , groaning , travelling . so isaiah . , . he attributes joy and singing to the wildernesse . see a most lively , rhetorical , prosopopeical description of the terrible army of the babylonians , ioel . . . so ioshua . . this stone shall be a witnesse , for it hath heard all the words of the lord. isaiah . . heare o heavens &c. iudges . . iotham brings in the trees , speaking like men . the olive will not leave his fatnesse , nor the figtree his sweetnesse , nor the vine his wine , to reigne over others ; but t is the bramble , that affects soveraignty and dominion , a base , scratching , worthlesse , fruitlesse shrub , good for nothing but to stop gaps , and keep out beasts , from spoyling the pleasant fields , and afterward to bee burnt . [ rhamnus exilis est , unde vix umbram jacit quae protegar , ac sub se delitescentes pungit & stimulat . à lap. synecdoche generis , when a generall word comprehends the particular . mar. . . goe preach the gospell to every creature ( i ) to every rationall creature . psal. . . the lord knowes the way of the righteous . viz. with a knowledge of favour and approbation . so amos . . they sweare by the sin of samaria ( i ) by the idol that is placed there ( i ) the golden calves . thus wickednesse is put for idolatry , zach. . . and for incest , levit. . . thus the philistine is put for goliath , the apostle for paul , our saviour for christ. mat. . . iohn came neither eating nor drinking . viz. after the common manner . gen . . iacob fled over the river ( i ) euphrates . psal. . . the law of the lord ( i ) the whole word of god. cor. . . all things are lawfull ( i ) all adiaphorous things . ier. . . no man ( i ) very few . thus the whole is oft put for a part , as mat. . . all iudaea went forth ( i ) a great part . so kings . . all the earth went to heare the wisedome of solomon . mat. . . he healed all diseases ( i ) all sorts of diseases presented to his cure . luke . . all the world was taxed ( i ) all the provinces belonging to augustus . tim. . . who will have all men to be saved , &c. ( i ) all the elect , of what nation or degree soever . rom. . god is rich to all ( i ) to all that truly call upon him . heb. . . he tasted death for every man ( i ) for every sanctified man. ver . . all in scripture , is oft taken distributively , for some of all sorts , not collectively for the whole masse of mankind . the ignorance of this distinction is the ground of many errors amongst us . thus the plurall number is put for the singular , as mat. . . the thieves ( i ) one of the thieves upbraided him . . synecdoche speciei , when a particular implies the generall , mat. . . and * . . bread ( i ) all kind of food . so gen. . . thus peace is oft put for all temporall blessings . so a brother is put for a kinsman , mat. . . thy brethren are without ( i ) thy kinsmen caesar for the chiefe magistrate . mat. . . thus a part is put for the whole , rom. . . let every soule ( i ) let every man be subject . so the roof is put for the house , mat. . so gen. . . all the soules that came out of egypt . eze. . the soule that sinnes . so the body is put for the whole man. rom. . . thus prayer is oft put synecdochically for the whole worship of god. luke . . two men went up to the temple to pray ( i ) to worship god. so rom . , . ioel . . acts . . gen. . . and . . first , because it is a speciall part of gods worship , very pleasing to him . . because prayer must accompany every ordinance , luke . . i fast twice in the sabbath ( i ) in the week . thus oft the denomination is given from the better part ; as sion for all ierusalem , and ierusalem for all iudah . thus the feare of the lord is oft put for the worship of god. pro. . . psal. . . deut. . . acts . . psal. . and . . thus the hand is put for the whole man , pro. . . and the head for the whole man , pro. . . blessing shall be upon the head of , &c. pro. . . grace to thy neck ( i ) to thy whole man. thus the singular number is put for the plurall . ier. . . the stroke knows her time ( i ) the strokes . numb . . ▪ . the kenite ( i ) the kenites shall be wasted . iob . . man ( i ) all men have but a short time . thus a certaine number is put for an uncertaine . zach. . . christ is said to have seven eyes ( i ) many , to signifie his singular care over his church . so rev. . . and . . deut. . . . ●●y seven wayes ( i ) many wayes . psal. . . iob . . psal. . . seven times a day . pro. . . the righteous falleth seven times a day ( i ) oft . eccl. , , . mat. . . seven other spirits , &c. if any desire to see these tropes and figures more fully explained , let him peruse the learned , glassius his philologia , the second part. finis . an index of all the figures contained in this tract . anadiplósis . anaphora . antimetabole . antitheton . anthropopathia . aposispésis . apostrophe . asynde●on . catachrésis . climax . ellipsis . enallago . epanalepsis . epanados . epa●orrhósis . epistrophe . epizenxis . euphemismus . irsi●natio ironia . metalepsis . mimesis . metaphora . metonymia . mycterismus . paranomasia . periphrasis . pleonasmus . polyptoton . polysyndeton . prolepsis . prosopopeia . synecdoche . ieroboamus ille impius rex apostatarum ab ecclesia & à regno iuda ▪ sicut corruperat religionem , sic everterat sebulas ; quoniam seiebat ibi per fidos prophetas conservari puritoatem doctrinae & religionis . sed elias & elisaeus cum scirent , non posse religionem puram servari sine scholis , illas instanrârunt cumque impii reges vectigalia quae de bebantur sustentandis scholis transtulissent partim ad suos privatos usus & partim in adulatores & ventres : mul●i boni viri conserebant è suis facultatibus ad sustentationem studiosorum , qui modico contenti , fortiter veram doctrinam defenderunt adversus sacerdotes baal . zarich . in . praecept l. . c. . an alphabeticall index , for the speedier finding out of the most materiall points in this treatise . a. abstract oft put for the concrete . rule amen , doubled , what it signifies . rule analogy of faith , what it is . rule and , how used in scripture . rule anticipation , what it is . rule . anthropopathia , what it is . see in the figures . arguments drawn from silent authority , conclude not . rule . aposiopests , apostrophe , asyndeton . see in the figures . b. when a thing begins to be done , it s said to be done . rule . c. catechresis . see the figure . circumstances in a text to be marked . rule coales of fire what . rule comforts spoken to one , must be applyed to all in the like case . rule commandements , rules to expound them , at the end of the rule . comparing of scripture , usefull rule scripture consequences , are scripture . rule coynes in scripture , what . rule d. darke places are opened by plain ones . rule doubling a word in scripture , what it signifieth . rule e. for ever , what it signifieth in scripture . rule euphemismus , what . rule examples when they bind . rule exegesis , what it is , and when used . see in the figures . expound one place by another . epanelepsis , epanados , epanorth●sis , epistrophe , epizeuxis , &c. see in the figures . f. figures in scripture , expounded . see the appendix in the end . wee must not take figurative for proper speeches . rule . future tense put in the imperative mood . rule g. genitive case put for adjectives , rule god , added to a thing , notes its excellency . rule h. th●re is an harmony in the scripture . rule heart , what it implies . see metonymia subjecti . read with humble hearts . rule humane learning , its excellency , with many arguments in defence of it , &c. see the preface . hyperbole , rule . see the figure . hypotheticall speeches conclude not . rule hypallage , and hysterologia . see in the figures i. imperative mood , oft put for the optative . rule . interrogations , their manifold use in scripture . rule irony , see that figure . k. words of knowledge , imply the affection . rule l. languages needfull . rule law , seventeen rules to expound it , at the en● of rule the judgement of the godly learned to be prized . rule . m. measures and weights in scripture , what . rule m●i●sis , what . rule . see the figure . modest termes in scripture . rule moses put for his writings . see metonymia efficientis . mimesis , metalepsis , metaphora , metonymia , mycterismus . see in the figures . n. naaman , whether he sinned . rule no more , how used . rule none , put for few . rule not ▪ put comparatively . rule numbers how used . rule p. parable how used . rule paranomasia , periphrasis , prolepsis , prosopopaeia , polysyndeton , &c. see in the figures . things put in the present tense , signifying certainty . rule men partake of other mens sins , seven wa●es . rule in expo●●ding the law. practise , the best way to understand scripture . rule prayer , needfull to understand scripture . rule one proper name is given to severall persons . rule q. questions in scripture , what they signifie . rule r. rather , not alwaies comparative . rule . and who are righteous overmuch , where that much controverted text , eccl. . , is explained . rule s. sacraments have the names of the things signified . see metonymia subject● . expound scripture in the largest sense . rule the sense kept , not alwaies the words . rule scripture oft affirmes , by denying the contrary . rule the scope of a text must be observed . rule . bring a spirituall mind to the reading of scripture . rule synecdoche , generis , speciei , &c. see the appendix . t. thorn in the flesh , what it is , where that perplexed text , cor. . . is fully explained . rule vntill , oft signifies in scripture eternity . rule uselesse things are oft accounted as no things . rule . w. words of fact oft put for words of speech . rule histrio-mastix . a whip for webster ( as 't is conceived ) the quondam player : or , an examination of one iohn websters delusive examen of academies ; where the sophistry , vanity , and insufficiency of his new-found-light ( tending to the subversion of universities , philosophers , physitians , magistrates , ministers ) is briefly discovered , & the contrary truth asserted . in the end there is annexed an elaborate defence of logick , by a very learned pen. phil. . . beware of dogs , beware of evill workers : who hatch the cockatrice eggs , and weave the spiders web ; hee that eateth of their eggs dyeth , and that which is crusht , breaketh out into a viper , isaiah . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mortalibus omnibus doctrina est honori . qui veritati contradicunt , & in sua vanitate decepti decipiunt , ranae sunt , taedium quixem afferentes auribus , nullos autem praebentes cibos mentibus . august . de convenient decalogi . london , printed in the year , . the preface to the reader . courteous reader , after i had finisht my vindiciae literarū , or schools guarded , my stationer sent me downe one webster , an enemy to arts and artists , desiring me to send some briefe answer to it ; upon this i fell to examine websters examen and found him so soul false & bitter against humane learning , and vniversities ( both which i defended in my vindiciae ) that i thought it convenient to vindicate what i had asserted , and to leave the logicall and philosophicall part to be examined by those whom it more especially concerned : which since i penned my discourse , i find to be done so elaborately and accuratly , by two very learned pens ( in their vindiciae academiarum ) that i was resolved to lay my own answer by , and had done so , but that i received a very learned defence , of aristotelian logick , which i judged worthy of the publick view . if thou reap any benefit by this tract , let god have the praise , and the reverend ●cute logician thy thanks , whose elaborate animadversions , have drawn this , from thy friend and servant in the lord , thomas hall . kingsnorton s●p●e●b . . . examen examinis : or , a word to mr webster , concerning his examination of academies . sir hercules , ( for in that title i perceiue you glory ) in your epistle to the universities , you tell us that you never feared any adversary , for his supposed strength and if any one inquire who , or what you are , you tell him , that you are neither prelaticall , presbyterian , nor independent . but what shall we then call you ? if any one aske , tell him ( say you ) that hercules is easily known by his foot , and the lyon by his paw , &c. we see then who you are , viz. an herculean-leveller , a famalisticall lion , a dissembling fryar , a profane stage-player , and professed friend to judicial astrology and a●●rologers , such as lying ly-ly , booker , culpepper , &c. a great stickler for the fire and furnace of chymestry , for magick and physiognomy , &c. i must confesse i never ●et saw your person ; but let me tell you , i have seen your lions paw , and levelling club , wherewith you think to beat down universities , humane learning , &c. and in their stead , to set up your owne idle and addle conceits . what spirit leads you , appeares [ page of your book ] where you tell us , arrius is called a heretick , but you question how justly [ a tender conscienced n●an indeed ] but as for the orthodox , wo to ●hem ! for you tell us they all wrest the scriptures to make good their tenents [ a heavy charge , could you make it good ] the proverb saies , ne hercules contra duos sed t●● contra ducentos , imo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . if hercules may not ●ight against two , what an hercules are you , that dare oppose more then two thousand , and goliath-like , bid defiance to all the academies and armies of the living god : you tel us plainly , that in your ●igh flowne conceit , homo is a common name to all men . all those viri dei , those holy-learned men of god , which are in the land , if they be not of your familisticall-levelling-magicall temper ; they are all in your eye , but h●mines , plebeian , low and common men , &c. how much better had it become you , like hercules , to have endeavoured the cleansing of that augaean stable of errours , heresies and blasphemies , which like a morphew , have over-spread the face of the church ; to have cut off those hydra's heads , and helpt our atlasses to hold up the heaven of the church . it had been more for your credit and comfort to have imployed your time and talent in defence of languages , arts and sciences , ( especially in such a season as this , when so many decry them ) then thus to weave the spiders web , which may peradventure catch some feeble flies , when stronger ones break thorough . 't is true , sometimes you gild over your errors with golden words , and set a glosse upon your false wares : but poyson is never the better for being drunke out of a golden cup , the whore of babylon deales so with her guests , rev. . . and the apostle tels us , that false teachers , with faire words and fine speeches , do deceive the simple , with plaistred words , they parget over the matter . rom. . . pet. . . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , fictitiis verbis quia more plastis ac figuli multa confingunt , ut haeresis suae idolum velent , vestiant & ornent . but that you may see your folly the better . . i shall begin with your contradictions . sometimes you plead for academicall learning , and anon you cry it downe ; like a thiefe , we sometimes find you in the way , and presently you are crossing it againe . thus [ page . ] you cry up humane learning as good , excellent , and of manifold transcendent use ; whilest moving in its owne orbe , it enables men for all kind of undertakings , military and civill , without which , men doe not differ much from beasts , &c. [ so page , . ] yet as if you had forgot what you had said , in the same page you tell us ( how truly let the world judge ) that this humane learning , disables men for the ministry , is a vaine tradition , and makes men uncapable of gospell mysteries , &c. quo teneam vultus mutantem protea nodo ? so , one while you plead for teaching children without the grammar rules [ page ] yet page . you cry up mr brinslyes way of teaching , which every one knowes ( who knowes the method of that godly man ) hath reference to rules . . your sophistry , and fallacious arguing is very frequent , to give you a taste onely , ( for as you desire to stirre up some to plead your cause , so i doubt not but some of the lords worthies , who have more time and talents for such worke , will arise and plead his cause more fully . ) . you tell us , that humane learning puffs men up , makes men selfe-confident and proud ; that it is but a carnall thing , a fleshly power , ( just so say your brethren , the familists , and anabaptists ) that the * apostles never taught or practised any such matter , but bad us beware of philosophy , col. . . for it is a fleshly weapon , earthly , sensuall , divelish , an idoll of mans inventing , spirituall sorcery or inchantment , yea reason is a monster , and the very root and ground of all infidelity , &c. answ. behold here that damask-web , ( as his verifying friend cals it ) which mr webster weaves . . he argues from the abuse of a thing , to the taking away its use ; because some men abuse humane learning to pride , and selfe-conceitednesse , therefore away with humane learning , non sequitur ; for then , because some men abuse , meat , drinke , cloaths and riches ; wee must throw away meat , drinke , cloaths and riches . . it is not philosophy simply , that the apostle condemnes , col. . . but vaine , spoyling , abusive philosophy ; as you may see more fully in my vindication of that place . . neither is humane learning a carnall , fleshly , sensuall idoll of mans inventing ; but the good gift of god , comming from the father of lights , who is purity it selfe : as i have proved at large , in my vindiciae literarum . . neither is reason a monster ▪ ( as you monster-like affirme ) but being rightly improved , is a great helpe in religion ; as is excellently proved , by the learned culverwell in his profound discourse , of the light of nature : fit it is fit we should give unto reason , the things which are reasons , and to faith , the things which are faiths . ob. but 't is the spirit ( saies master webster ) that must teach us , and the spirit that must unlock the scriptures , and the spirit that must inlighten us , &c. answ. true , but yet the spirit of god works by meanes ( as i have proved before in my vindiciae . ) who ever expects helpe from god , must not sit still and dreame the spirit will help him ; but he must arise , and serve providence in the use of meanes ; for the spirits teaching doth not exclude , but include the use of all good meanes , &c. yet that you see mr webster's herculean strength , he comes now to grapple even with aristotle himselfe [ c. . ] this chapter he spends wholly , in combating with him ; no lesse adversary then the prince of philosophers can try his strength . . he tels us , that aristotle was but a man , and so might erre ; and is not mr webster a ma● ? and doth he not erre with a witnesse ? he tels us , that what aristotle hath written , was rather by a diabolicall , then a divine instinct [ i rather suspect that he is led by a diabolicall instinct , that speaks it . ] his principles are false , his manners corrupt , many of his books spurious ; besides , hee is ambiguous , briefe , ●ame intricate , erroneous &c. in a word , a blind pagan , the proud stag●rite . i wish he were not more blind , corrupt and proud that speaks it ] qu. but since aristotelicall philosophy wil not downe with mr webster , what new-light shorter cut , and easier way hath this hercules found out : for like another caesar , viam aut invenie● ▪ aut faciet . he 'll ●ither find a way , or fra●●e you one out of his empty sconce ? ans. why , 't is magick [ page , &c. ] that noble , and almost divine science ( as he cals it ) of naturall magick . this key ( if you will believe him ) will better unlock natures cabinet , then syllogismes ; yet he co●plaines , that this is neglected by the schools , yea hated and abhorred , and the very name seems nauseous and execrable to them . [ and that very justly considering whether your magick leads men ] but o magick , magick , where hast thou ●ame hid so long , that mr webster is faine to conjure thee up againe , and none but he and his associates , could find out this short cut before ? 't is true , there is astronomy , which is an art that considers the divers aspects , and naturall properties of the starres , and this is lawfull . but then there is * magia diabolica , a divelish magick , when men take upon them , to foretell things contingent , by the stars , those are called judicial astrologers , and in scripture they are oft joyned with witches , wizards , and sorcerers , deu. , . dan. . , &c. yet this devilish art , doth mr webster plead for [ page ] and spends welnigh a page , in the commendation of astrology and astrologers , such as &c. . he cals it a science or art. the learned * weemse hath proved the contrary ; yea , the lord verulam ( whom he cites so oft ) is here against him . astrology ( saith he ) is corrupted with so much superstition , that there is hardly to bee found , any sound part in it . s. austin that had studied this way , yet concludes , astrologia est magnus error , & magna dementia , &c. 't is a great errour , a great madnesse , and superstition easily refelled . . yet he cals this a high , a noble , an excellent * science , and usefull to all mankinde ; a study , not unbeseeming the best wits , and greatest schollars , no way offensive to god or true religion , &c. a dangerous and false assertion , the contrary whereof , is most true in the judgement and experience , of all godly learned men such as calvin beza , perkins , weemes , gataker , geree vicars &c. they all condemne it , as a most ignoble , dangerous study , unbesee●ing choice wits , offensive both to god , and all good men . hence these judiciall astrologers were formerly excommunicated , and cast out of the church ; and by the decrees of emperours , banisht out of the common-wealth . never more need of punishing such offenders , when they are grown so bold , and brazen-faced , as to publish their lies and abominations in print to the world , and so provoke god to forsake us , isaiah . . therefore thou hast forsaken thy people , because they be replenished from the east , and are southsayers , like the philistines . 't is an art that leads men to the devil , i have conferred with some , and read as much of others , who have gone about to study this art ( as webster cals it ) they have been faine to throw away their books , for feare of satans appearing ; so readie is he to step in , when once he finds us out of gods way usuallie , such are wisards , and therefore i cannot but wonder how mr webster durst be so impudent , as to commend the worth , vertue , and learning , not onely of these lying , deluding prognosticators , booker and culpepper , but he also extols that lying , rayling , ignorant wizard , ly-ly , who hath not onely reviled the most learned and reverend mr gataker , with the orthodox ministry of the land ; but with his lies , hath abused both church and state , to the great dishonour of the nation : as appeares by the pious and judicious mr gataker's vindication of his annotations , on ier. . . and since mr webster talks so much of this noble science , and what sufficient reasons he could give in defence of mr lillie's astrology , he may doe well in his next pamphlet , to prove it a science , and to bring forth his strong reasons . in the meane time i shall love humane learning the better , whilest i live , because 't is opposed by star-gazers , and judiciall astrologers : as david loved gods law the more , because wicked men sought to destroy it , psal. . , . the father tels us , nil nisi grande aliquod bonum quod à nerone damnat●m , it must needs bee good , which wicked nero hates . so humane learning must needs bee good , which astrologers and wizards hate and oppose . and that you may see the same spirit which breaths in lilly , dwels in webster , he useth the lying , railing language of lilly. shall the thundring pulpit-men ( saies lillian webster ) who would have all mens faith pinned upon their sleeves [ this is as true as all the rest ] and usually condemne all things they understand not [ it seems mr webster knowes more in this art , then honester men doe , ] make mee silent in so just a cause ? [ oh no , t is a ●ime of liberty , and you think you may be bold , but such as you must know , that though you may for a time , escape the punishment of men , yet you cannot escape the revenging hand of the almighty , but as you have sinned against the lord , so be sure first or last , your sinne will finde you out . and yet that all the world may see what spirit leads this man , t is worth observing , whom he commends , not only lilly and booker , but also fryar bacon [ sic mulus mulum , it becomes one fryar to claw another ] and paracelsus , a libertine , a drunkard , a man of little learning , and lesse latine ; he was not only skilled in naturall magick , ( the utmost bounds whereof , border'd on the suburbs of hell ) but is charged to converse constantly with familiars , and to have the devill for his purse-bearer , yet this is one of mr websters society . noscitur ex comite , &c. like lettice , like lips ; such as his company is , such is he . add to this , his praising the study of physiognomy , as an excellent , laudable , and profitable science ; [ which yet the learned judge vaine and foolish ] also his extolling of chymistry , and preferring it before aristotelian philosophy , and advising schollars to leave their libraries , and fall to laboratories , putting their hands to the coales and furnace . [ so they may quickly find pro thesauro carbones , beggary instead of learning , and walking thus in the sparks of their owne fire , lie down in sorrow , isaiah . ●● . ] this is mr webster's short cut , a quick way to bring men to the devill or the devill to them . . mr webster having sufficiently railed on aristotle , the prince of philosophers , next he fals foule on galen , the father of physitians , onely for building on aristotles principles ; out of his ignorance , hee cals him an ignorant pagan , an idoll , a blinde guide , &c. and at last fals foully on the physitians themselves [ page . ] . he comes now to ministers , and railes on them , for suffering themselves to be stiled by that blasphemous title of divines ; this the priests ( that title to shew his contempt of the ministry , hee puts on the ministers of the gospell , though that title be never given them , quà ministers in al the new testament ) blasphemously assume to themselves . ans. . 't is false , the title is not blasphemous , for 't is given to s. iohn , who is called by way of eminency , and distinction , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the divine . as theology and divinity are termes convertible in our language , so is a theologue and a divine , the same in sense , though it differ in sound : and therefore if the scots do well ( as you say they do ) in calling their ministers theologues ; then ours do not ill , in speaking plaine english , and calling them onely for distinction sake , divines ( i ) men set apart for the study of theology or divinity . now see the wit , or if you will the malice of this magus , this magitian ( for hee pleads for the lawfulnesse of such titles . ) the scots ( saith he ) may call their ministers theologues ; but our people , may not call their ministers divines . this distinction is like the mans , that said , pepper was hot in operation , but cold in working . . 't is false that we assume it , much more that we blasphemouslie assume it to our selves ▪ if people will give us that title , onely for distinction sake , who can hinder him ? . the ground hee builds on , is rotten . viz. . because holinesse is essentiallie proper to god. . be cause wee are holy and divine by participation onely , therefore wee may not be called holy and divine . ans. the answer is easie . though to be holy and divine , be essentially proper unto god , yet by way of analogie and resemblance , it is also given to angels and men . hence the godly in this life , are called saints , holy , and in the very letter , partakers of the divine nature , [ pet. . . ] not essentiallie , but analogicallie , partaking of those graces whereby we resemble god. . he fals foule on magistrates , and te●s them plain●ie [ page . ] that they must not at all intermeddle with the things of god , lest miser●e and destruction follow them to the grave , &c. ans. what is this but to destroy the magistracie ? to rob them of their coercive power , and make them like saint george , that sits with a drawn sword , but never strikes ( a sit emblem of mr websters magistrates . ) ob. but mr webster would have them punish theeves , murtherers , adulterers and drunkards , onely they must not punish the saints , lest god require the blood of his saints at their hands . [ page . ] ans. . if the magistrate must punish theeves , murtherers , &c. then à fortiori he must much more punish spirituall murtherers , theeves , &c. for as 't is a greater sinne to kill the soule , then to kil the body , so they deserve severer punishment . 't is no policy , but cruelty , to suffer woolves and foxes to destroy the flock : neither is the coercive power of the magistracy , under the law , abolished by the gospell , as is excellently cleared by mr prin , in a treatise called the sword of the magistrate ; and since by mr cobbet on the same subject . . the saints must bee considered under a double notion . . as saints walking up to their principles and living in the feare of god , and hee that abuseth and kils such saints simply on this account , must look to answer for their blood . but . consider the saints , as erring and wandring from their principles , by adultery , murther , drunkennesse , heresie , &c. and so they may and must be punished , though not as saints , yet as sinning and transgressing saints : yea though they should plead conscience for what they doe , and say , as mr burroughs in his irenicum ▪ c. . p. proves . thus you see , how mr webster is against learning , against aristotle , against magistracie , against ministrie , against physitians , and against all that is truly good : like ismael , his hand is against every man , and therefore it 's just that every mans hand should be against him . q. but what is the summe of mr websters desires , and what would hee have us to studie ? a. hee tels you . . that you must lay aside al your paper idols , and sleight aristotle , who hath in him , many things frivolous , vaine , false and needlesse . . he tels you , that you give up your selfe to mathematicks , opticks , geometry , geography , astrology , arithmetick , physiognomie , magick , protechny , chymistry , pneumatithmy , stratarithmetry , dactylogy , stenography , architecture ; and to the soule ravishing study of salt , sulphure & mercury [ a medicine for a hor●e ] these , these , if you will believe mr webster , are the onely excellent studies for academians . but sir , if these inferiour arts ( the alwfulnesse of some of them being justlie questionable ) be so usefull and excellent as you affirme , then à fortior● logique ( which you sleight as prejudiciall to theology ) and physicks , ethicks , &c. with the superiour arts and sciences , must needs be much more excellent , and therefore mr webster is much to be blamed , for crying up those low , inferiour , emptie things ; and crying downe those choice , ingenious , usefull arts and sciences , which doe so much fit and further men in their preparation to divine studies . to conclude , the world may here see , what stuffe still comes from lame giles calvers shop , that forge of the devil , from whence so many blasphemous , lying , scandalous pamphlets , for many yeers past , have spread over the land , to the great dishonour of the nation , in the sight of the nations round about us , and to the provocation of gods wrath against us , which will certainly breake forth , both upon the actors & tolerators of such intollerable errours , without speedy reformation and amendment . since i framed this discourse , there came to my hands , a very accurate and learned examen , of mr websters illogicall logick , which now followes in it's order . examen examinis . an examination of mr websters illogicall logick , and reasoning even against reason . this mr webster ( as i suppose ) is that poet , whose glory was once to be the author of * stage-plaies , but now the tutor of universities . but because his stage-players have been discountenanced by one of the late parliaments ; does he● therefore addresse himselfe to the army ▪ for the like force , and as little favour in behalfe of all humane learning ? for advancement whereof , the best way being already found , he that seeks for another , desires worse ( and so none at all ) though he pretend to a reformation . for my own part , i could wish that his poetry still had flourished upon mr iohnson's account , in his epistle before one of his playes ( the fox ) to the two most equal sisters ; the unniversities ( a far better address , then this here ) but it is odious to be like the fox in the fable , who having lost his owne orna●ent , envied his fellows theirs , by pretending burthen or inconvenience . i have neither leisure nor lust , to examine all his examen ; but yet to know hercules by his foot , i cannot but observe ▪ how in his chapter of logick , he reasons against reason : and as diogenes accused plato , with a worse pride of his owne ; so he prosecutes aristotle , under the name of arch-sophister , indeed with his owne sophisms ; which what may we call but envy and pride , those two mothers ( saith aquinas ) of discord : whil'st one through envy , recedes from the way and will of another , through pride , to prefer his owne as quintilian ( if that dialogue de oratoribus be his ) condemnes the oratory of his time , as abused to incense the people in principes viros , ut est natura invidiae : not sparing ( not onely sy●la and pompey , but ) even scipio himselfe ; or as livy : et ante alios in caemillum . but what if oratory be thus abused to calumniating , should there be therefore no oratory at all ? or if logick to cavilling , no right reason at all ? as indeed there is none such without the orderly use of it , for rationis est ordinare ( saith aquinas ) and that is best done , not by the web which is here woven , to unravell all humane sciences , but by the art of logick . such a master whereof , was aristotle ▪ that of him we may say for knowledge , as for vertue , valerius maximus of the said scipio , quem deus immortalis nasci voluit , ut asset in quo se virtus per omnes numeros hominibus efficaciter ostenderet . but let us see , what against so gloria light , and to falsifie the sight or sense of all ages hitherto , is here produced by him , who hoc tantùm rectum quod sap●t ipse pu●at . chap. . § . . what here he saith , is no more then may be objected against any science or art ( though never so much by himselfe approved ) e. g. his owne late poetry , and now beloved astrology ( yea the gospell of peace it selfe may bee abused for war and discord : ) but whatsoever * the aim of the logitian is , the * end of the art is truth . as to that of aristotle , for which so vehemently he inveighs against , or rather proudly insults over him ; the more strongly the opponent maintaines his part ( for which purpose in his topicks , he supplies him with store of arguments ) the respondent his , the more effectuall is their disputation , for the end thereof , viz. the di●covery of truth : as scaliger saith , ut ex silice & ferro elicitur ignis , it● conflictu ingeniorum veritas . and besides , in his politicks also , he observes the rules to be kept for upholding tyranny : but will mr webster therefore conclude , that he allows of that way of government ? sect. . or is truth his owne end , in accusing whole universities of most rationall men , and even logick it selfe , as proceeding very preposterously , whereas , logick is indeed the mistriss of all due method to all sciences , and to himselfe if methodicall . as if the prince in whom as supream consists the order of the whole community , should be accused himselfe for breaking it , which as such , whether good or evil , he keeps , though if evill , not so well as he might ; and by keeping his subjects in it , preserves them by it : for all things consist in order , which confounded , they come to naught . logick , as such , proceeds orderly , directing the minde in the knowledge of truth , as first in the apprehension of simple termes , and then in the composition and division of the same , and last of all in discourse , without confusion , falshood , or fallacy . in which last , it proceeds as well à posteriori , by induction , to find out the truth , or to know that such an affection is the true property of such a subject : as à priori , by demonstration , to perfect the knowledge of it : for then is the knowledge distinct and perfect , when the thing is known as it is , as the effect by the cause , as it is by its cause , which is the order of nature : and not the cause by its effect , which is our method , through the imperfection of our intellect , deriving its notions from sense , and so beginning à posteriori , but à parte rei , indeed preposterous . first , then doth logick proceed preposterously , because to advance our reason as neer as may bee , to the angelicall manner of understanding , by knowing things ( as they are distinctly and perfectly ) it teacheth us to proceed in the order of nature , or to begin à priori ? . as to say that induction hath altogether been layed aside , is most false , and against sense : so reason requires that syllogismes ( wherein we prove and demonstrate the effect by the cause ) be preferred before it . so that whilest he extols ( and for a new method of his own , against all establisht and approved order ) so highly cries up induction before syllogismes , his owne is the errour which he condemnes , and therein hee proceeds preposterously . sect. . here also the defect pretended , is his owne ; in not acknowledging , both how fit are the denominations of genus , sp●cies , &c. to the notions thereby exprest , and these notions adequate to the things we conceive by them . for gathering of which notions , the certaine rules which he seems to desire , but indeed rejects them , are these two . comparison of things , as to that wherein all agree , for the community , and abstraction thereof , from differences , whether essentiall or accidentall , for the unity of the simple essence , which hath thus the generall denomination of an universall , and is either of one kind comprehending infinite singulars , accidentally onely different , as homo , and so is fitly exprest by the word species : or generally comprehensive of divers kinds , both constituted in themselves , and distinct one from another , by their proper essentiall differences , as animal , animatum , compositum , corpus , substantia , and so as fitly is called genus ; which is either summum , and so is not at all ; as a species it selfe subordinate , as substantia , or subalternum , which in re●pect of a superiour , genus it selfe is a species , and to alterno respectu both , as corpus , compositum , animatum , animal . the genus then is divided into severall species , which are either subalternae , as having under them other species , in respect whereof they are also genera : or infimae , as superiour to no species at all , but onely to its owne singulars ; in which the division rests , as in so many individuals . now , have we not here , both notions adequate to the things , and words as fit to expresse these notions ? or in all this excellent order , can mr webster invent confusion ? but he would shew , that hee hath read , and seems to understand the lord bacon , in his novum organon , though his testimony be nothing for him , * as hypotheticall , and so not * positiv●ly true , till the condition be first proved : but without any proofe thereof mr websters thesis is absolute , and so false . sect. . the said notions , and determinations , concerning which , there , are given a few , plaine , ca●e , necessary and usefu●l precepts , are some of the hardest passages wherein are exercised the unski●full and tender wits of young men : and so far are the questions and disputes , which are agitated by riper judgements , from derogating from their art , that rather they add to it , &c. ans. whereas here he objects that they do not see that they act as foolishly ( even those of the best judgements ) while they dispute of the very art of disputing , as he that endeavours to see the proper vision of his owne eye : his owne is indeed the blindnesse , in not seeing the difference of understanding and sense . turpe est doctori , cum culpa redarguit ipsum . for the eye , or the outward sense , apprehends not its own act , being neither colour , nor light , nor the difference of its owne , from the proper objects of other senses . e. g. that which pronounceth white to differ from sweet , is neither the sight nor tast , whereof each apprehend but one of them , and so cannot judge of both . but the inward or common sense , as judge of the acts and objects of all the outward : whereas the understanding , whose object is universall , or all things knowable , is re●flexive to know it selfe , it s owne acts and objects ▪ and then ▪ as the soule of man is both the object , subject , and author of its owne disputes , while by reflexion , it knows it selfe . so the logician reflecting upon his owne faculty , may dispute of what sort it is , whether science or art , which , as directing the mind by its denominations , propositions , syllogismes , where the end is to act accordingly , is an art ; and yet as reflecting upon it selfe , it s owne acts and objects , where the end is knowledge , may be called a science too . sect. . how can hee blame the stagirite , for not defining or disputing , what logick is , what a category is , what substance or quantity is ; if herein hee should act as foolishly , as he that endeavours to see the proper vision of his owne eye . but ad rem . neither is he indeed , nor his interpreters , guilty of such defects , as here he fancies , and fastens on him , whose end is contention , to make the contention endlesse . but for the proposition and distribution , two of his subjects . magnus aristoteles trutinando cacumina rerum ▪ in duo divisit quicquid in orbe fuit . the members of which two heads , he handles in their order : nor is therefore his organon , so organized , a confused headlesse piece . but such is his owne objection against his booke de interpretatione , where the moods of propositions , are made neither more nor fewer then four , viz. necessary , impossible , possible , and contingent . for what is so plaine , as that the matter of all discourse , is either necessary , or impossible , or possible , or contingent ; and so may well be reduced to these foure . manners or moods , so called , because they specifie , how the predicate belongs , or not , to the subject of the proposition ; for all that we can conceive or expresse , is either necessary , if it cannot but bee , or impossible if it cannot bee , or possible , if it may be , though it be not yet , nor ever shall bee ; or contingent , if it be or shall be , though it might not have been , or may never be . but see here , how mr webster , so subtle and quick-sighted in seeing the defects of aristotle , is blind in his owne . see it in his owne instances . having pr●mised the definition of a mood , that it doth modificate the proposition ( i ) indicate how the predicate is in the subject , he infers , and insults , may not all adjectives by the like right be moods ? no , because they are all reduced to those foure before mentioned : but hee saith , if this be a modall proposition , it is a necessary thing , that man is a living creature , these also are modall ; it is an honest thing , that a man should be studious of virtue ; it 's a just thing , a sonne should obey his father ; it 's a gallant thing to dye for ones country . where , if his propositions be these , man is studious of virtue , the sonne obedient to his father , one dyes for his country , their matter is all contingent . or if these ; man to be studious of virtue , is an honest thing , a sonne to obey his father , a just thing , one to dye for his country , a gallant thing ; so his adjectives are no moods at all ( to shew how the predicate is in the subject ) but themselves the predicates , and in all his propositions , the matter is onely necessary . so that his errour is , as if aristotle had designed to assigne the modall , as a distinct species of proposition , and not onely to give one generall rule , for all the species before enumerated , as that their matter is either necessary , or impossible , or possible , or contingent . sect. . nor is he more orthodox or busie , to better purpose , in the matter of definition , where the office of logick is , onely to give the precept or rule , how it ought to be made , which to explaine by example , it takes the instance from other sciences : nor is logick to define what homo or animal is , this being the part of naturall philosophy , as to treat of it's proper subject . now the precept which logick gives for the definition of things in actu signato , as that it ought to consist of the next genus , and a constitutive difference , is ●ost true , exact , and infallible : and therefore i● in actu exercito , animal rationale , be not indeed the true definition of man , the errour is the philosophers , who must find out for his owne subject , the next genus , and constitutive difference ( as religiosum , or the like , i● not rational● ) according to the rules and precepts , which in logick he hath for both ; to make ( by the rules for that too ) the definition exact and perfect : so that the same which mr webster before objected against logicians , as that they seem to make logick a part of physicks , hee is guilty of here himselfe . but because as an open enemy to our physicks , as well as our logick , he would equally glory in the defects and errours of both ; the truth is that the errour is all his owne : for that bruit beasts are irrationall creatures , and so rationall the proper difference of man , it appeares . . by comparing , as man with angels , so the said bruits with man : for angels are intuitive , meere or simple intelligences , as seeing both in the sight of the subject , what is attributed or denyed to it without composition or division : and in the sight of the principle , what flowes from it without discourse● and so we men also are intelligent creatures , but not as angels , the operation of whose intellect , is onely the apprehension of simple termes , and not lyable to falshood ; for besides that we have two other , to compound or divide , and to discourse , and so are rationall too ; which being thus our essentiall difference , little lower then the angels , is yet common to us with bruit beasts . . that rationale is not a graduall onely , but our essentiall difference , it is evident at least by this , that whereas gradus ●on variat speciem , in us specifically distinct , is the principle of reason , from any in bruit beasts , as appeares à posteriori , by the properties of it , as aptitude to speak , &c. which we have as rationall . and whereas further he saith , that irrationall is negative , and so can positively prove nothing . this his sequell were true , if it were negative secundum rem and not onely se●undum ●ocem . e.g. immortall is also negative , and yet if st pauls argument from the word mortall , be of force , when he saith , 〈◊〉 not sinne raign● in your mortall bodi●s ; how much more is that of st peter ▪ abstaine from fleshly lusts , which warre against your [ immortall ] soules . now as immortall ( applyed to god , angels , and the reasonable souls of men ) implyes more then a meere negation of dying , for otherwise , all things but living creatures , should be imortall . so irrationall , speaks the positive and specificall nature of a bruit beast , as rationall , that of man , though in so great a scarcity and inequality of words to things we bee destitute of a better way to expresse the same : for why doe wee say , that the ox● is irrationall , and not as well that the stone is so , since the negative of reason in both is alike , and the habit undue to both ; but that irrationall ▪ implyes ▪ that positive nature , whereof the one is partaker , and not the other . . i should wonder that one who is so contentious , seeking all occasions to cavill , should omit division ; were it not hereby evident , that hee hath nothing to say against it . but why doth hee make such hast in his wrath against reason , to come to argumentation ? or what can be made more absolute ( without addition or alteration by some curious wits , in so many ages of men ) or so exact as our art of syllogizing . but novelists moved with the spirit of pride and envy , are out of love as with all that others have invented , and not themselves , so even most with the best , for the greater glory of reformation . yea whereas other inventions are concerning such outward things ▪ as we use more seldome , wee have continuall use of our owne reason ▪ and yet still is our art of syllogizing , so imperfect a thing , that now one should presume to abrogate it ? he mislikes , that so many sorts of our syllogismes conclude negatively , since it is sufficiently known , that de negativis non da●●r scientia ▪ but doth he not know as well , that por negativa datur ? yea , himselfe saith , and alledgeth his author for it , that humane science doth consist in a certaine negation of falsity , rather then in the affirmation of verity . it is undenyably true ( saith he ) that the knowledge of the premises is more certaine , then the knowledge of the conclusion , and therefore undoubtedly certaine , that the knowledge of the conformity , betwixt the premises and the conclusion , doth praeexist in us ; where both the consequent may bee true , and the antecedent ; but how doe they hang together ? grammatically indeed in the copulative words , and therefore : but hee defies all logicall wayes of arguing . or how is it that the said knowledge before , and without the syllogisme , may bee said to be , or praeexist in us ? not in act , but onely in aptitude ( as one saith , that aptitudo ad rem est aliquid ipsius rei ; ) which aptitude is reduced to act ( without which it should bee in vaine ) or the knowledge ( saith mr webster himselfe ) excited by syllogizing ; and yet is syllogizing also in vaine ? or in procuring that act , uselesse ? else why doth he say , and therefore why dost thou torment and macerate thy selfe in that question , which is more subtile to despise then to dissolve ? which ( since nothing can bee inferred from a thing wherein it is not contained ) is another therefore without inference ▪ subtilty beyond sense , and a sleighting or despising ( not of some vaine question , but ) of so useful a thing , as the best of logick it selfe , against reason . ob. and so is that which here hee objects , saying , that sometimes from false premises , there doth follow a true conclusion , as in this syllogisme , nullum adorabile est creator , omne simulacrum est adcrabile , ergo , nullum simulacrum est creator . nor can it therefore be judged , that the conclusion of syllogismes , doth of necessity compell assent , or that the conclusion doth necessarily depend upon the premises , as the truth is not contained in a lye , nor the knowledge of it . ans. . we say not that that in syllogisms , which of necessity compels , assent is the conclusion it selfe , but the premises , when out of them it is rightly proved ( i ) when the premises both are true and well ordered in mood and figure , assent to the conclusion is made necessary ; for ex veris nil nisi verum , and that by vertue of the right order and disposition in mood and figure , for otherwise out of true premises , there may follow a false conclusion : as omnis asinus est animal , omnis homo est animal , ergo , omnis homo est asinus . so then we are taught in the first and second part of our logick , to make the premises true , and in the third , so to dispose and order them , as to necessitate assent to that , which we make our conclusion from ; and yet is all this so despicable , that mr webster extolling his owne subtlety , and the force of his understanding , should not onely , not seek , but reject it 's true helpes ? . the conclusion indeed doth necessarily depend upon the premises , in respect of the forme at least , as the conclusion of a true syllogisme , and so doth that of his syllogisme before mentioned : or in respect of the matter too , as a true conclusion ▪ and so not . . whereas it is objected , that as the truth is not contained in a lye , so no more is that true conclusion in the false premises . the premises both are true ( i ) they are true propositions for the substance , categoricall , for the quantity universall , for the quality , vocis ; the one negative , the other affirmative ; and re● , both false ; yea even because false , they are therefore true propositions . for in simple termes , and in speeches not enuntiative , there is neither ●alshood nor truth ; but if you make homo , or homo albus , either true or false , you make a true proposition of it ; and if to one such , you add another in mood , and figure , there is true disposition too , for a true syllogisme . so that even the true conclusion of false premises is contained in and deduced out of them , in respect of the forme , for so are they also true ▪ though not in respect of the matter , since that is false . lastly , to all that in the residue of the chapter , he objects or cavils against logick , may that serve , which before was answered ? as that by direction thereof wee doe defend the truth , as the true definitions of things , and infer out of true premises , rightly ordered , undeniable conclusions , whereby wee have not onely bare opinations , putations , or probable conjectures ; but infallible science , and apodicticall to informe and satisfie the intellect , by evidentiall demonstration . whereas mr webster cavilling against all reason , contradicts and confounds his owne . as first , when he saith [ numb . . ] a chymist when he shews me the preparation of the sulphur of acrimony , the salt of tartar , the spirit of vitrioll and the uses of them , he teacheth me that knowledge , which i was ignorant of before , the like of which no logick ever performed : having said immediately before , that demonstration , and the knowledge of it , is in the teacher , in whom it serves to demonstrate and to shew it others , who learn it of him . againe [ num. . ] he condemnes all logick , as conducing to no other knowledge , then such as is duely probable and conjecturall ; as if that were not more then such , which is acquired by demonstration . besides , he most highly extols astrology , and the now professors thereof , his friends , as common enemies with him , as well even to divinity it selfe , as to logick and humane learning ; who presume by their art , to foretell * such future contingencies , as depending on mans free will , are not known to angels themselves , unlesse by * conjecture onely , or revelation . and have any the best astrologers , so cleare a light , as to see by the heavens more , then these heavenly lights themselves , or as mr webster , then all wise men ? yea how grossely have they failed in things even meerly naturall , conjecturing at * raine and showers , during all the late winter drought ; but not at all of the later rain , as if god had provided both to discover their grand imposturage and presumption , if not impiety , in taking men off from himselfe the first , to ascribe all or too much to nature , and second causes . all which is to me , a sufficient evidence , that this great examiner , notwithstanding his faire pretences of reformation and truth , might , if thoroughly examined himself , be found not steering his course indeed by right zeale to these , but by that which he also seems to disclaime , even selfe-interest . however , certaine it is , that truth or reformation , cannot be truly sought in a way against nature as is here mr websters in preferring himselfe , before all the wisest and best in all ages , to inform and reforme his mothers , the universities ; for nunquam aliud natura , aliud sapientia dicit . nature gods owne true wisedome is , and then , is never tharted by the truth of men . truth and truth can never jarr● . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . aristot. finis . books printed , and are now to bee sold by nathanael webb and william grantham , at the black bear in st pauls church-yard , neer the little north - doore of pauls church . master isaac ambrose , prima , media , & ultima , first , middle , and last things , in three treatises of regeneration , sanctification , with meditations on life , death , hell , and iudgement , in . mr nathanael hardy , severall sermons preached upon solemne occasions , collected into one volume , in . history survey'd in a briefe epitomy , or , a nursery for gentry , comprised in an intermix● discourse , upon historicall and poeticall relations , in . dr stoughton's sermons , being an introduction to the body of divinity , in . dr john preston , the golden scepter , with the churches marriage , and the churches carriage , in three treatises , in . mr walter cradock , gospell-liberty , in the extension and limitation of it , in . mr thomas parker , the visions and prophesies of daniel expounded , wherein the mistakes of former interpreters , are modestly discovered , in . reformatio legum ecclesiasticarum ex authoritate primùm regis henrici inchoata , in . mr george strode , the anatomy of mortality divided into eight heads , viz. . the certainty of death . . meditations on death . . preparations for death , &c. in . dr daniel featly , the grand sacriledge of the church of rome , in taking away the sacred cup from the laiety , at the lords table , in . mr richard lewthart , vindiciae christi & obex errori arminiano , a plea for christ , in three sermons , in . welch common prayer , with the singing psalmes , in . mr john lawsons gleanings and expositions of some of the more difficult places of holy scripture , in . mr john cotton , the way of the churches of christ in new england , in . mr edward thorp , the new birth , or , birth from above , in sermons , in . mr john vicars , the schismatick sifted , &c. in . — colemanstreet conclave visited , and that grand impostor , the schismaticks cheater in chiefe , truly and duly discovered , in . roberti heggi , dunelmensis in aliquet sacrae paginae loca lectiones , in . mr john lewes contemplations upon these times , or the parliament explain'd to wales , in . dr john preston , a position delivered in cambridge , concerning the irresistiblenesse of converting grace , in . the beacon flaming , with a non obstante against those that plead for liberty of printing and publishing popish books , in . the rauters reasons resolved to nothing , or the f●stification instead of the iustification of the mad crew , &c. in . mr nathanael stevens , a precept for the baptisme of infants out of the new testament , in . mr josiah ricraft , a nosegay of rank smelling flowers such as grow in mr john goodwins garden , &c. in . sermons in . dr robert gell ▪ a sermon touching gods government of the world by angels , preach'd before the astrologers , the of august , . in . dr john whincop , gods call to weeping and mourning , a sermon preached at a fast before the parliament , of jan. . in . mr george walker , a sermon preached at a fast before the parliament , jan. in mr valentine , a sermon preached at a fast before the parliament , in . mr john warren of hatfield-regis in essex . the potent potter , a sermon preached at a fast before the parliament , the of aprill , . in . mr william good ▪ jacob raised , a sermon preached at a fast before the lords in parliament , of december , , in . dr thomas goodwin , the great interest of states and kingdomes , a sermon preached before the parliament of feb. , in . mr samuel kem , the king of kings , his privy markes for the kingdomes choyce of new members , a sermon preached upon the choice of burgesses , for the city of bristoll , in . mr ben. hubbard sermo secularis , or a sermon to bring to remembrance the dealings of iehovah with this kingdome of england , ab , usque ad annum in . mr j. p. a sermon preached the of september , upon mat . . wherein is set forth the kings due in part , and the peoples duty , in . octavo . mr robert young , a soveraigne antidote against all griefe , with the victory of patience in . mr benjamin needler , notes with practicall observations , towards the opening of the first chapters of the first booke of moses called genesis , by way of exposition in several lords-days-exercises , in . mr john simpson , the perfection of iustification against the pharisee , the purity of sanctification against the stainers of it , the unquestionablenesse of glorification against the sadduces , &c. in . bishop william cooper , the triumph of a christian , in three excellent treatises . . jacobs wrastling with god , &c. in . mr john robotham , the preciousnesse of christ to believers &c. in . the bee-hive of the romish church , a worke of all good catholicks to bee read , and most necessary to be understood , in . testament roman letter , scotch print , in . mr thomas hall , the loathsomnesse of long haire : a treatise wherein the question is stated , many arguments against it produced , &c. in . — vindiciae literarum , the schools guarded , or the excelleny and usefulness of arts , sciences , languages , history , and all sorts of humane learning , in subordination to divinity , with an appendix in answer to mr webster . mr john warren of hatfield in essex , principles of christian doctrine illustrated with questions and scripture answers , for the use of the inhabitants of hatfield brodoake , in . mr nicholas byfield , the marrow of the oracles of god : or , divers treatises containing directions , about of the weightiest things can concerne a christian in this life , in . mr john jackson , the true evangelicall temper , wherein divinity and ecclesiasticall history , are interwoven and mixt , &c. in three sermons , in . mr joshua mullard , celestiall soliloquies , composed of severall divine meditations and prayers drawne from the holy scriptures , in . francis thin esquire , the perfect ambassador , treating of the antiquity , priviledges and behaviour of men , belonging to that function , in . finis . errata . page . line . oppo●ito for ●ppositè . l. . ac , deleatur . p. . l. . by our will , for , of our selves . p. . l. . i say , for isaiah . p. . l. . divine , for humane . p. . l. . in the name , for in the roome of christ. p. . marg . avidentis , for accidentis . p. . marg . opibus , for operibus . p. . marg . christo , for christum . p. . marg . oculavit , for ●os mutavit . p. . l. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. . marg . constet , for constat p. . l. . to , for ' t is . p. . l. . are so , dele p. . l. . falled , for is fallen . p. . l. . us humble , for will make us humble . p. . l. . a vice , for or vice . p. . l. . priest. for priests . p. . l. . works with works . p. . l. . teachers , for teares . p. . ● . c●nverts the , for corrects them . p. . dele in marg . commiserationis ergô . this author hath lately published a book inti●led , ●he beauty of holinesse . as also another . treatise , intitled , comarum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the loathsomness of long haire . 〈◊〉 appendix against painting , spots , naked breasts , &c. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e i.e. commendatione regū . ●extor hic res ●anitestissi●as in dubiū●ocar , itaque●on tam ratinibus eget●uam plagi● . notes for div a -e samuel how , the preaching cobler , or the cobling preacher , is full of such tatchings , viz. that the seven liberal sciences are but profane , vaine bablings . how 's sufficiency of the spirits teaching . some ignorant people would have all men as ignorant as themselves , that so their owne ignorance might not be discovered . like those whom st ierom taxeth , who accounted rusticity and lack of learning , to be sanctity . crassam illi rusticitatem solum pro sanctitate habent . hieron . epist. . & . ad marcellum . to the understanding of the formale externum , or letter of scripturo , arts and tongues are necessary , as the assistance of the holy ghost is to the formale internum , or genuine sence of it . waterhouse apol. page . libros vocat vetustiores ab aliis scriptos ; membranas recentiores à se conscriptas ▪ à lap. apparet apostolum jam morti vicinum non tamen à lectione destitisse ; hinc r●f●llitur fanaticorum ●uror , qui libris contemptis damnataque omni lectione selos suos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 joctant . calvin noverat timothy diligent-●am , & tamen illi commendat assi duam lectionem . idem . divina summ● indigent diligentia● ▪ thesaurus no● in superficie , sed profundo reconditur . chrysost. admotâ manu invocand● est minerva . we come now to understand scripture by ordinary meanes of study , learning , prayer , &c. not by extraordinary revelation . see doctor hammond in his preface to his annotat. on the new test. see the necessity and excellency of humane learning dr reynolds preface to the passions . notes for div a -e et si sine illâ quidam non inutiles ecclesiis fuerunt , cum tamen lingua illa totius christianismi quasi quoddam commune sit vinculum , & omnes penè ingenio●um faetus in hac lingua sint editi , mutilam oportet esse cognitionen quae sine hujus linguae notitiâ habetur . walaeus habet omnis linguae sua propria locuti●num genera , quae cum in aliam linguam transferuntur , videntur absurda . hyperiu● l. . obs . . p. . propter interpretum diversitat●s cognitio hebrae● & graecae linguae est necessaria . augustin . cognitio fontīum necessaria est . . quando 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 explicare volumus . . ut plures sensus inveniamus . . ut idi●mata , phrases , & prover●ialinguae sanctae cognoscamus . . ut menda corrigamus . . ut quaedam loca meliùs intelligamus . . ut latini sermonis ambiguitatem vitemus . mel. can. l. . c. . physica davidis est contracta in unum velut● systema , psal. . alsted . philosophia est lorica dominicae vineae . clem. alex. lib. iobi omni doctrinae genere refertus ( i ) poetices , dialectices , rhetorecies , phy●●ces , astronomiae . rive● . metaphysicā ad theologos jam adultiores remitto , quia citra firmos atque in theologia exercitatos sensus errorum faecunda est nutrix . walaeus orat. . p. . troporum cognitio scripturarum ambiguitatibus dissolvendis est necessaria . aug de doct. christ. lib. . caep . . * vide rivet . isagog . ad scrip . cap. . see more fully perkins on heb. . . page ● . . see more fully perkins on heb. . . p. . . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , set them on the rack to make them speak what they never meant . mr ant. burges , ser. . page . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , set them on the rack to make them speak what they never meant . mr ant. burges , ser. . page . historia plurimùm nos adjuvat ad sanctos libros intelligen dos . aug. dè doct. christ l. . cap. . hyperius l . c. . bowles pastor evangel . l. . c. . p. . ●●rough● , ● . . . sam : how 's sufficiency of the spirits teaching . ob. . and ob. . moses eruditus fuit in omni , in omni sapientia , in omni sapientia aegyptiorum ▪ prid. tractat theologica , ethica , o●●onomica , idque verbis tam ●ppositis & significantibus , sententiis tam gravibus , figuri● adeò lepidis & scitè picturatis tropis , ut ●um non solùm philosophum summum , & summum theologum , sed & summum orato●rem ac poëtam necessario sint agnituri qui in ejus lectione cum judicio versab●●tur . rivet . * amos isaiae pater , frater fuit regis amasiae , qui unus fuit ex majoribus christi . arcular . in magno hoc scriptore nihil est rusticum , nihil inconditum , nihil improprium , nihil eximio orature , i● eximio pr●phetâ nono currit dign●mum . rive● sagog . ad s●● c. . p. plura veritas ●st veritas à quocunque dicatur . * theodoret triparttit . hist. l. . c. . v plura apud davenant in col. . . p. . ab ●thnicis si quid benè dictum , ab iis tanquam ab injustis possessoribu● in usum nostrum est vindicandum . nonne aspicimus quanto auro & argentosuffarc●natus exierit de aegypto cyprianus dr. sua●●ssimus , & martyr beatissimus ? quanto lactantius ? victorinus , optatus , hilarius● aug. de doct . christ. l. . c. . benè dicta philosophorum sunt peculia christianorum . iust. martyr . quomodo quis institueretur ad prudentiam humanam ▪ vel ad quemcunque actum sine literis , cum instrumentum sit ad omnem vitam literatura ? tert. de idol . apud g●acos n●mosatis inst●uctus habitus est ad docendam religionem nostram nisi ver●atus in philosophicis discipn●s . arctius . nec dubitamus , ●aeteris paribus , maj●rem & ple●●rem mensuram communi●ari publicis ●ccl●siae administris , ●ive in una aliqua particulari , ecclesi●a munn● suum ●heant ; sive in caet is aliquo leg●time , & in christi nomine congregato , de ve●● scripturae sensu inter se c●●serant , quam singulis & privat●s , qui neque tot don●s instructi sunt , neque ●ot ocul ●v●dent , ●●que privatâ & si●plic● medita●●one , aequare p●ssunt muliaum collectionem & d●squis●●●onem . rivet . if there be any thing here that needs an answer , you shall have it in the answers ●he objc● v. nazianz. orat. . socrat. l. . c. ● . . humanitatis studia ita oderat & contemnebat , ut ejus studiosos uno nomine haereticos appellaret , &c. platina in vit . pauli . pag. . hic erat caetu● & collegium prophetarum . * regens , docens dirigen● , quasi dux & magister , ● lap. hinc colligimus quasdam fuisse prophetarum scholas , in quibus sormarentur , qui deinde ver am religionem docerent , purilaté ●que doctrinae retinerent , calvin . * si desit ss . non adjuvat . locus ; idem enim l●t q●i in sodomi● sanctus ex●●tit , in monte peccavit , primus nuster pareus , in paradisa concidit , & si locus servare po●uisset , satan de c●lo non cecidisset , greg. * quo loco d●batur opera eruditio●● & doctrinae ; in eo enim habitabant prophitae & doctores , ● lap. among the ●●ralites cities wer● appointed ●or the levites , which were as the common schools and universities for the ●hole kingdom . pu● h●● pilg. lib. . cap. . s. how con●es●eth that humane learning in it sel● ▪ is a good thing , and good in its proper place , for the repair●ng of that dec●y which came u●on man for sinne . n●w i● humane learning be to good , then the more of it the better , there can be no ●xc●●●e of what is good in it selfe . p●rit philosophia ingenuitatem , quâ redduntur ingenia liberalia , atque it● p●aeparātu● ad mu●us vitae rectè ob ū●ae alst. non 〈◊〉 sed persi●● not●●●as naturales ; persicit intellectū q ▪ parit cognitionē de● & creaturatum , alsted . notes for div a -e oportet sapientiam ab insipientibus feriri , diogen . * see more , appendix , rule * philosophia falsa & fut●lis , philosophia no●e est uisi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 camerarius . sub philosophiae nomine tantum damnat omnes adulterina● doctrinas quae nascuntur ex humano c●pi●e , qualemcunque habeant ●●tionis colorem . calvin in loe . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , qui ●alsò ra●●●cinando ▪ fallit . ▪ cavete à philosophia quae nihil aliud est quam inanis deceptio . calvin . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , vana ●ec●ptione . v●r● philosophia est partus rectae rationis , & ae●erna veri●●●i● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ( ) ●vul●● particula , c●em . alex. sirom . . n●que s●mplici●e● damnatur ab apostolo philosopia , sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( ) quatenus sese intra fines sues non continet , nec ad gloriam dei f●rtur , nec verbo dei regi s● sinit . beza . fallacia aridentis . si philosophiam damnare● apostolus , damna●et utique lum●n rationis , & deum ejus authorem summâ of ●●ceret injura●â . davenant in col. . . ubi plura . res dei ratio . tertullian . secuti sunt non veritatem cordibus impressam & in operibus dei ●lucen●e● , sed vanissi●●● suos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & disq●●si ●●es . pareus de mundanae sapienti● vanitate lequitur . calvin . qui vult sapiens fieri in aristotele , stul●i ficetur in christo , ut catechismus regat philosophiam , non regatur ab câ ▪ luther . haereticorum patriarchae philosophi . tertul. l. de anima c. ● . plato nem omnium haereticorum condimentum vocat . errata artificum non sunt imputanda ips● arti , nec philosopha●●umerr●res ipsi philosophiae . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( i ) res omnes , eloquentiam , opes , delicias , gloriā , &c pro. christo damna , imò ster●●ra existimo . ● lap. spoliavit se paulus non opibus . sed perversâ fiduciâ óperum . calvin . in oratione prima . taxat pseuda postolos quod rhetoricati sint in christo praedicando neglect â evangelii simplicitate . musculus . eloquentia ipsa non est culpabilis , sed eâ malè utentium perversitas . aug. * see more fully , mr perkins on heb. . . p. . qui dedit petrum piscatorem , dedit & cyprianum rhetorem . aug. verum vero contrariari non potest , a● vera philosophia est veritas dei , roma . . deus non est sibi contrarius in lumine naturae & gratiae . philosophia sana non pugnat cum theologia , sed ipsi ancillatur . alsted . christ and his apostles made use of tongues and logick for opening of the scripture , some times they make use of the hebrew text , and translate it into greek , and sometimes they draw logicall consequences from the old test. to prove the principles of the new , as exod. . . compared with ma● . . . indoctos elegit christus sed oculavit in prudentes ; simúlque dona dedit & ministeriae . pulpit guarded , ob. . p. nunc cum confirmatum habeamus evangelium & ecclesia const tutam expectare ulteriùs enthusiasmos , neglectis ● mediis , vertiginosi est cerebelli ad anticyras potiùs quàm ad aegypttos relegandi . d. prid. conci● . . notes for div a -e philosophia tanquam famula sit theologiae subdita ; ancilletur , non dominetur . à lap. com . in gen. p. . orat. . p. . aquinas par . q. . art. ●, . ubi plura ex philosophorum ingeniis omnis haeresis onimatur . tertullian . hipotiùs superstitionibus & subtilitatibus litant , quàm textùs simplicitati . al●ing . nihil odiosius nimio acumine . v bowles pastor evangel . l. . c. . p. . deceptoria est philosophia cum sertur extra proprios limites ( i ) cumstatuere conatur de illis rebus quae non possunt dijudicari , &c. divenant in col. . . ubi plura . see more fully mr g●ree against judiciall astrology . and mr waterhouse in that excellent treatise of his in defence of humane learning , p. , . metaphysica in utrámque partem disputat omnia , vix quicquam certi habet , distinctiuncul●s f●volis & ineptis omnia elidit & eladit , m●●er omnis sophistica & dec●ptionis . al●ingius . termini philoso●hici i● rebus theologicis applicandi , antequā 〈◊〉 , ab omni imperfectione liberentur . dithmar . peccatur à mu●tis quod conciones populares mag●s exornen● poëtarum versibus quàm scripturae testimoniis . areti . the lesse colour is in the glasse , the lighter and better it is . pulchrè perversa doctrina paleae comparatur quae medullam non habet , nec potest credentes nutrire . hieron . tropos ignaris tra●ere non decet , ne artem grammaticae docere ●id●amur . aug. in philosophiae indagatione ●●m●um tempo●is ne insumatur , nec speculationibus ●●u●malibus aetas ▪ quae se●i●s impendi deb●t , te●atur . walae . rudimenta sunt non opera . sen. praparent ingenium , non detineant . sen. philosophia theologo est necess●ria non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , non quoad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ( i ) non quoad notitiam simpli cem & absolutam , s●d quoad no●itiam pleniorem & solidiorem . dithma● . literatus stultus , phaleratus asinus . e●si illa naturalis cognitio usum suum insignem habet , sine theologiae tamen supervent● salutaris esse non potest . qumtum ergò corpus ani●ae , terrena coelestih●s , externa & fragili● ae●●ni● & spi●itualibus ●edunt ; tantùm caeterae omnes scientiae hu●● c●dere libe●●er debent . wal. maneat usus , tollatur abusus . notes for div a -e ignorantia scripturarum peperit haereses . chrysost. notes for div a -e sit mens nostra terrenâ faece perpurgata , passionum discussis nebuli● , sancta & sublimis e●●ecta , ut apta ▪ habilisque reddatur ad coeles●ia haec dogmata ba●ri●da . à lap. deus amicis suis arcana animi sui communicat . iohn . . sine pur● m●nte & sanctorum imitation● , nemo compre●enderit sanctorum verba . athanas. d●us se puris videndum praebet in verb● suo in ●ac vita , & visione gloriosá ●n suturâ mat ▪ . rive . nunquam pauli sen●um ingreduris , nisi pauli spiritum im●ib●ris . be● . luce● scriptura , sed fi●is lucis . tilen . pium & prudentem requirit lectorem . benè orasse est bené studuisse . luther . vbi deus magister est , quàm ci●ò discitur , quod docetur . leo. v. bowles pastor evangel . page . hanc veram sapientiam non lectio docet , sed unctio ; non litera , sed spiritus ; non eruditio , sed exercitatio in mandatis domini . ber. in canto ser. . sine s●iritu arcana spirit●s quaerere , nihil est aliud quàm fine luce videre velle . rive . o●ationi lectio , l●ctioni succedat●o●ati● , hie. od i●aetam . ad mentis puri●at●m industria & ex●rcitati● diligen●●st ad●ungenda . rive . ●sagog ad script . cap. p. ● . non est in lege vel una litera ● qua non montes magni dependeant . rabbin . hebraei sontes hibunt , graeci ( . ) sept. rivo● , latini paludes . sphinx . bonus grammati●us , bonus theologus . bell. lib. c. . de verbo dei see more , d● prideaux ▪ fascicul . q . p. . evincit hoc do●tis . p●rcus r●● . . in locum . quis , cui , causa , locus , quo tempo●c , prima . sequela . vt âbsque fundamento imbecilla est aedificatio , ita nisi invento scopo scriptura est mutilis . chrys. ex antecedentibus & consequentibus colligitur verus scripturae sensus . aug. vide hyperiū de ratione studii theolog. lib. . cap. . & illyricum tract . . page . , &c. see m●●● fully master roberts preface to the key of the bible . page . and bernards faithfull shepherd lib. cap. . page . ne putemus in verbis scripturarum esse evangelium , sed in sensu ; non in superficie , sed in medulla , no● in sermonum foliis , sed in radice rationis . hieron . in gal. . vnus locus per pl●ra intelligi debet , obscura per apertiora . aquinas pars . q. . aut . scriptura est catenae similis , quae tota si●i ●o●s●et chrys. magnificè & salubriter ss●a scriptu●as modifi●avit , ut locis ap●rtioribus fami occurreret , obscuri●ribus autem ●astidia deterge●et nihil ●nim ●erè de illis obscuritatibus eruit quod non plam●ssimè dictum alibi reperiatur . aug lib. ● . cap. . de doctr . christiana . moris est scripturarum obs●uris manifesta sub●ict●re . scriptura est oratio una copulativa , qu●r●●●na pars confirmat , clucidat . exponit alieram . 〈◊〉 * n●n dixit ligite script●ras , sed s●rutamini ( i ) cum labore & diligentia ●ffodite arcanos scriptura●am ●hes●ur●s , 〈◊〉 qu●m v●a● metall●●● aurum & argentum studiose scrutantu● . chrysostome . see more bernards fai●hfull shepherd . l. . c. . p. . * mephorac● exponendo sensum dabant intelligentiam per scripturam ▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 collatis testimoniis demonstrans ; c●rti facti ex collatione scripturarum . see more fully roberts key . p. . rule . * trap. com . on mat. . . in scriptura explicanda manifesta est haeresis sicut figurata propriè accipere , ita quae sunt propriè dicta ad tropicam locutionem detorquere . aug. de doct , christ . l. . see more , weemse vol. p. , , &c. vbi malè nemo pejus . fas est interpreti ex duabus interpretationibus cum utraque textui congruit , alter utram absque vitio sequi . ravenel . tim. . . heb. . . per analogiam intelligimus non tanti●m quod totidem verbis expressè in ssreporitur , sed etiam quicquid ex iis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . per consequentiam necessariam deducitur d. morton , apolog. analogia est cum veritas unius scripturae ostenditur veritati alterius non repugnare . aq● p. . q . art . . see more , bernards faithfull shepheard . l. . c. . p. . * s. licèt per se clarissima , suverbis tamen est abscura ob corum caecitatem & pravum af●ectum . luth. * mater omnium haereticorum superbia . aug. ss . vult in ●imore & humilitate tractari , & magis studio piae orationis penetrari , quàm acumine ingenii . l● de scrip . sicut demost in eloquentia , pronunciationi primas , secundas , tertias de dit : ita ego in christi sapientia primas , secundas tertias , dabo humilitati , quam dominus noster ut doceret ▪ humiliatus est nascens , vivens , mor●ens . aug. veniat , venias verbum domini , & submittemus ei , sexcenta si nobis essent colla . mel. ada. is optimus interpres qui sensum è scriptura potiùs retulerit , quam attulerit , hilar. * cognitione approbationis , no● apprehensionis experimentali & affectivâ , non discursiv● bonum est scire & sequi . via rectè judi candi de doctrina est , si praepa●etur animus ●●udio placendi deo & faciendi ipsius volunta tem . rolloc . in iob. recordatio dei notat cu●um dei : ut impii oblivisci deo dicu●tur . sibel . vanitas vanitatum , est hebr. ( i ) summa , vanissima vanitas . v. à lap. in eccles. . . ubi plura . homo ille merum scelus : haec enim est vis idiotismi hebraeici . beza . col. ● . . filius dilectionis ( i ) dilectus & . . viscera misecordiae ( i ) visceralem misericordiam . vir dolorum ( i ) undique doloribus obsi●us , ex doloribus conflatus , & non nisi dolor , imò pelagus dolorum esse videretur . ● lap. pharaonis vocabulum non personā , sed dignitatem notat . * v. ravanel . in verbo pharao . intellige carbones ignis esse urentes poenitent ae gemitus , quibus superbia sanatur ejus qui dolet se inimicum f●isse hominis à quo ejus m●s●ri●e seri● subvem●ur . aug. de doct. christ. l. . cap. . fuit curvatio politica & civilis , non ●eligiesa . ● lap. obsequium suit domino debitum à ser● o , id●ò null â ●ege prob●itum . sanctius ▪ haee verba sunt ejus , qui postulata concedit . san. consule g. abbat praelect . p. , &c. dubia in parte meliori sunt interpretanda . see more weemse . . vol. l. . ch. . p. ▪ wendelin theolog. l. . . . p. . dum furor in cursu est , cur●enti cede furori , say politicians . loquitur de justitia illa severa quâ saepè proximos judicamus . scarpius . est iustitia absoluta , sic nemo justus ; iustitia inchoata ▪ sic justus p●rit , justitia aequivoca ▪ sic ne sis justus nimis . v. con●i● . dr halli coram synod . dordreit . p. ▪ propriè nullus est nimis justus , temperaus , &c. quia quò major est justitia vel virtus , ●ò est perfectior . ● l●p . quisquis plus justo non sapit , ille sapit . ma●● . see more fully mr baxters cc. direction . v. pagnin l. . inst●● . cap. . res tum demùm dicuntur fieri , cum incipia● manifestari . reg. patrum . tò crucifixerunt actum inchoatum significat , non perfectum . ● lap. in iohn . . . in illis quae metaphoricè dicuntur , non oportet accipere similitudinens secundum omnia . reg. schola . theologia symbolica , sive parabolica , non est argumentativa . aquinas . meiósis . iob . . tim. . . and tit. . . sam. , . which cannot profit ( i ) which will greatly hurt you . ier. . . which i have not commanded ( i ) i have seveerly forbidden . scriptores sacri in ●itandis . v. t. testimoniis non tam verba sequuntur aut numerant , quàm expendunt sententias , quae si serventur de verborum qualitate ac numero non laborant . sanctius . christ and his apostles did follow the septuagint , which gives the sense and not the words see more fully weemsee iewish synag . c. . p. , &c. d. prid. fascicul . cont . q. page . . aeternum pro diuturno . hyperbole . . typicè aeternum . so canaan was a type of heaven an eternal inheritance . . catachrest●e aeternum , that which endured a long time , was said to be eternall , thus circumcision was a covenant for ever ( i ) till christ came , weemse . vol. p. . see mr leigh heb. crit. in verbo g●olam . p. . fol. v. plura apud s●lmeron . prolegomen . . formul . . see more weemse . . vol. l. . c. . p. , &c. nescio an hic locus ●acilior suisset si nemo cum exposuisset . maldonat . caro hîc meo judicio non corpus , sed partem animae nondum regeneratam significat ; q. d. mihi da●us est stimulus ▪ quo caro mea pungeretur : neque enim adhuc sum ad ò spiritualis cum obnxious sim tentationibus s●cundum carnem . calvin in locum . * hoc in meditato habeant qui praestant eximiis virtutibus : si qua habeant admissa vitia , si quibus odiis impetantur , si quibus sugill●entur maledictis , non tantùm ●erulas ess●cael●stis m●gistri , s●d colaphos , qui verecundtam incutiant , & retund●● omne su●erb●● & seraciam . calv. in locum . * by the messsenger of satan , some conceive i● meant , some sin whereunto paul was tempted , as a means to keep him humble , for nothing is matter of so great humiliation to a gracious hear● , as the feeling of the power and strength of sin within it . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , est aculeus corpor●●nhaer●ns , vel spin● pedem pungens . ego sub hoc vocabulo comp●●hendi arbitror omne genus tenta●●o●nis quo paul● , exer●●batur . calvin ▪ attendant omnes pii quantum sit superb●ae venenum , quod non po●●●● nisi veneno cura●i . aug. conside●emus diligenter quis hîc loquatur , vicerat tot p●ricula , tormenta & alia mala ; triumphum de omnibus christi hostibus egerat , expulerat mortis timorem , mundum renuntiaverat , necdum tamen subegerat penitùs su●erbiam ; imò ad●ò anceps illi certamen restabat , ut vincere non posset nisi colaphis caesus calv ▪ in locum . numerus ternarius symbolum est multitudinis & universitatis tria enim sum ōnia . scilicet , p●●ma . aris. — o térque quantérque beati . virg. agit de pleno gog inter●●u & excidio . à lap numerus sep tenarius significat in scripturis . . multitudinem . . perfectionem . percu●am vos plenâ , perfectâ & multiplici plagâ . à lap. v. se●●enarii numeri vim apud anl. gell. l. ▪ c. . weemse iewish synag l ch . . p. . in scriptura non est prius & posterius . tò unxit accipitur non de unctione praeterita , sed futura , per anticipationem . à lap. argumentum ab authoritate ●eg●nte , sed non ab authoritate negativa , v●let in theologicis . there are five kinds of questions in scripture . . q. dubitans , a doubting question , as psal . , . . q. docens , ● teachi●g q. is. . . it teacheth us the multitude of those th●t shall ●l●ck after the means of grace . qu disc●ns , ma●k . he desi●es to learn the way to heaven . so acts . . . q. a●●irmans , kin. . & . . ier. . . . q. negans , as psa. . . who can understand his errours ( i ) no man can understand the full depth of them . abbot . see more fully ● hyric . cla. de tropis . p. . epitasis sive auxésis est non vulgaris cum affirmatur aliquid , & contrarii ipsius adjungitur negatio . sanct. * ( i ) deus est lux purissima . * so iohn . ● . and heb. . cor. . ● . and . so gen. . . ( i ) he shall rather be called israel , then iacob . pr. ( i ) buy wisedome rather then gold . luke . , . ( i ) rather the ●o●r then the rich ▪ eph. . . luke . . ioh. . . q. d. they shall not eve●y man teach his neighbour , so obscu●ely by ceremonies , types and figures . so psal. . . . the words must not be taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & absolutè , sed comparatè . q.d. t is not so much the outward , as the inward sacrifice which god requires . in cōparationibus saepè negatur illud quod nō est excludendum , sed tantùm alteri postponendum . dav. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & est epitheton omnis rei admirandae & magnae . wemsee . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . si videtur flagitium jubere , aut beneficentiam vitare , ●igurata est locutio . aug. when the literall sense is against modesty , piety , or good manners , it must be left . weemse vol. l. . c. . p. . aug. de doct. christ. l. . c. . erit b●racha benedictio ( i ) ita plenè per omnia benedictus , ut videatur esse ipsa benedictio ▪ à lap. rom. . . veritas pro vero cultu , mendacium pro falso . talis hebraismus plerúmque est significantior , ut scelus pro scelesto , ste● quui ●inium pro curpi . conjunctio [ & ] non semper diversa distinguit , sed expositivae particulae saepè vicem gerit perfiguram quam vocant hendiadis . and is oft taken comparatively , for much more as psal. . . and the lord is about his people . q. d. as the mountaines are about ierusalem [ ●o for●ifie and d●f●nd it ] so much more is the lord about his people [ to fortifie and defend them ] so amos . . for three transgressions , and , ( i ) much more for a fourth i will punish , &c. sola expresse dicta in probando fundamentali dogmate admittunt sociniani : hos refellit doctis . horne beck contra socinian . l. . c. . p. , . &c. amen est vox non jurantis , sed affirm m●s & graviter asseverantis & ●apissime opta● is . adverbio●um geminatio vel emphasin , vel dist●ibutionem notat , ut lev . . manè , manè , ( i ) quolibet ma● tutino tempore ; ita eze. . . suppositio nihil ponit in esse . v. greenhill on ezek. . . see more fully illyric . de tropis . p. . * multiplicando multiplicabo ( i ) valdè multiplicabo dolorem tuum . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . precibus precatus est ( i ) ferventer precatus est . so isa. . . ier. . geminatio idiomate h●b●aico nomina aliquando distribu●● . sanctius in ezek. : vir . vir . he● . ( i ) quicunque vir . of the line . . reed . . palm , &c. see godwins iewish antiq. l. . c. . in aridis fuit , quod cad erat in liquidis . cum hannibal casilinum obsideret , mus unus vend●batur ducentis denariis . val. max. l. . c. . * reckoning ounces to the pound , and not , as wee usually do . see more , wilkins ecclesiast . p. . ult . edit . mos est scripturae , ut optare videatur malum , cum non optet , sed praevideat . aug. quae pugnare videntur nostrâ culpâ ac ignorantiâ talia esse existimantur , q●res non intelligimus , velcircumstantias non expendimus : illyricus . christus qui per se & propriè est pacis autor ; per accidens , ●rop●er hominum malitiam turbarum est occasio . cal. non veni mittere pacem ( i ) terrenam & mundanam ; non pacem spiritua●em mentis , & pacem unionis fidelium inter se , ac cum deo & angelis eju● christum allaturum praedixit isaias . , . & . . 〈◊〉 . à l●p . see most seeming contradictions reconciled very satisfactorily , in sharpius his symphony . deus erga similes similiter se gerit . quod convenit tali , quā talis , connveit omni tali . v●i similes causae & circumstantiae , ibi locum habet exemplum . fecit hoc ehud dei instinctu , eóque hostem potiùs interemit , quam populi rectorem tyrantium . à lap : samson ( singulari inflinctu ) directè intendebat philistaeos occidere , indirectè seipsum ▪ ames . e● si [ donec ] aliquando terminum significat , tamen ple●úmque infinitum tempus significat . paraeus . anadiplosis propl●●●c● , pro cadet , 〈◊〉 est ce●●ò , brevi , peni●us . pareus . so jude the lord commeth ( i ) he will as surely come , as if he were now comming . impropria est comparatio , neque enim quasi 〈◊〉 ambobus sit justitia , publicanum christus gradie tant●●● aliquo praesert , sed intelligit cum suisse grat●m deo : quum pharisaeus in totum rejectus fuerit . calvin . propositio indefinita aequipollet universal● . keckerm . fuit aedificans . montanus . audi●ns orationem . mont. * significat brutorum instar fo rs ventri deditos . beza . edere & bibere non est peccatum , his verò negotiis immori , vel deditum esse cum dei contemptu , scelus exitiosum est . pareus . canaan datur abrahamo in praesentia , de jure : posteris verò poss●ssione . parcus . see rules more , in à lap. prolegom . epist. ad romanos . p. . sunt non nulli qui plures regul●s co●●igerunt , qui à studiosis diligenter versandi sunt ; imprimis andreas hyperius in utilissimo libro de ratione studii theologici . riv. psal. . . gods law is exceeding broad , and reacheth further then duties or vice● expresly there named . blake on the covenant . p. . omnia praecepta synecdochic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concepta sunt , ideóque ex vitiorum interdictis contraria virtutum mandata sunt intell●genda . tilen . a principaliori crimine caetera quóque minora e● assi●●a intellige . à lap. m●mento plus ●esse semper in praeceptis ac interdict●s quam verbis ●x●rimitur . in omnibus mandatis ●am interna quam externa 〈…〉 p●aec●p●●r . de minutis n●n cu●a● lex . reg. iuris . cogitationis poenam in nostro ●o●o nemo luat . ●uriscons . praeceptum ultimum per superiora omnia deducendum , ut intelligatur non exteri●res tantum actus , sed interiores etiam pr●vos motus in illis , prohiberi . ge●hard . i●a sabba●hum externo ore & interna devotione sanctificandum ▪ prohibet deus non externam tan●ùm opus homicidii , su●ti , adulterii , sed internas etiam cogitationes occidendi , &c. wendel . quando mand●tur aliquid , mandatur & omne per quod pervenitur ad illud . regula . quando aliquid prohibetur , prohibetur & illud per quod p●rvenitur ad illud . reg. iuriscons . futuro utuntur hebraei pro imperativo . non occides ( i ) ne occidito , &c. lex non solùm observanda , sed etiam conservanda . quod quis per alium f●cit , id per se fac●re videtur . reg. ●●ris . ●e patratis s●●leribus gl●●●ari , patrantibus abbland●ri , id de plora●ae est improbitat●s . parcus . qui non vetat peccare , cum possit , jubet . obligant semper & ad semper , in omni loco & tempore . affi●mativa non obligant ad semper licet semper spectanda sunt pro loco , sed pro tempore varias accipiunt limitationes & interpretationes . obedientia primae tabulae derogat secundae , quando utrâque simul locum habere nequit . ut luc. . . gerhard . lex ceremonialis cedit mo●ali . reg. notes for div a -e see more fully glassius his philologia , edit . . p. . more ●umano deus in seri●turis ad homin●s loquitur . aug. asf●ctus ●●ibu●n●ur den seem dum ●s●●ctus . plena effectû● reticentia . bucer . see glossius . p. . * si , apud hebraeos ●st nota jurantis , ut sam. ▪ . * ver●a abrupta ad sestinationem re● notan●●m , & ad ●rep●da●ionem m●●●●dam . pa●●us . quasi sensu percepistis . corre●tio , q.d. quid dico suscitabit ? imo ●am constitutus est , & in regno versatur . iunius . commiserationis ergô . commiserationis ergò , &c. see more rule . h●c schema ecclesiastae frequenter usu● erit , quoties res poscit affectum n●si enim i●er●s quod docere vis , praetervolat oratio nec acule●s in animis audientium relinquit . dress●r . dominum praesepis ( i ) cognovit dominum in praesepio se alentem . à lap. crebrâ hysterologiâ utitur ieremia . * vel epitasis ( ● ) intentio , cum verbi vires intenditur . * tô semper , idem est quod sedulò perseveranter , assiduè . à lap. * est in hâc apostrophe acer stimulus quo pungit agrip pam , ut creda● in christum . à lap. voluit adam nobis per esum pomi sieri similis , en quàm factus est dissimilis ! voluit scire bonum & malum , en in quale ignorantiae barathrum corruit . à lap. si sapis , metu mortis & divini judicu resiaena tuas voluptat●s , resiste tuis cupid●tatibus , amores va●●s ●uri si●a , ut jud●i qui concissi● earum usum . ●ed v●●u it abusum con●ruonired●las rationem . ● lap. in gestu magis quàm verbis ostenditur , fitque , cum naso suspenso quippiam fastidimus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enim est nasus . see mr leigh on the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 irrident verbum dei , habentque pro balbutie ineptâ . musculus . n●x● caput sequitur & paena culpam individuā , uti lictor ●eum , conitatur * fuit s●gnum illius transitus . met. sub . hebraei per m●tonymiam , quâ continens pro contento ponitur , deum vo●can● scamaim ( i ) ●oelum . à lap. iustitia est adjunctum hominis . sic scelus pro scelesto , & exi●●iale vocant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( i ) exitium , per autonomasiam . à lap. * q. d. i expect another day , beside mans day ; now man carries all before him , he hath all the doings now , he may judge & censure as he pleaseth , it is but his day , and i regard it no● . stultitiae est , ab●ect ● libertate , spresis piis magistratibus , omnem potestatem impio , improbo , crudeli nebuloni committere . wolphius in locum . * per panem , ●ntellige o●nia hujus vitae admi nicula , ut cibum , potum , vestimenta . a potiori die hepdomas vocatur sabbathum . à lap. notes for div a -e dr wilkins , and dr ward . notes for div a -e iesuita est omnis homo . our webster is some kin to them , for he can change with every time , &c. bibitur auro venenum . * alludit ad mercatores qui verb●s fictis & arte compositis , supra veritatem laudant & extollunt suas merces , ut faci● ùs cas extrudant , & cariùs vendant . sic haeretici ut suam haeresim divendant , & spargant , ●am blandis & elegantibus v●●bis adornant , & quasimeretricem sermonis lenocinio fucant , ut videatur pulchra & elegans inslar helenae . 〈◊〉 lapide in locum . i find it done already , very acurately , by dr ward in his vindiciae academiarum . he 's against learning . * i have proved the contrary in my vindiciae literarum ▪ v. vindiciae literarum . c. . page . v. vindiciae literarum , prefu . he 's against aristotle . no●e , 't is diabolicall magick , which webster pleads for , as appea●s by his commending lilly the wizard . * see perkins vol. p. ▪ and , . * weemse . tom. on the magitian . page . lord verulam's advancement of learning . p. . aug. de doct . christian l. . chap. . * astrologia judiciaria non est scientia . thes. cantab. . see wendelius physic. c. , . page . . and weems magitian . sect . . see more , fullers ho●y state , lib. . cap. . . he 's against galen , and physitians . . he'● against ministers . he 's against magistrates * as the d●vils law-case . reperto quod est optimum , qui aliud quaerit , pejus vult . quintil. * finis operantis * finis operis . * sin●tiones ipsae confusae sin● , &c. * propositio hypothetica nibil ponit in esse . as mr webster saith , that wee know nothing in nature , but à posteriore , and from the affections and properties of things must seek for their causes . alex. alens● metaphys . * as the fall of law and divinity . * durand and others . * as mr sanders , one of the most learned of them . in his epistle dedie . quicquid exprimitur in natura , imprimitur ab intelligentia , scil ▪ explicante , mediante natur● . alex. alcus● &c : opus naturae est opus intelligentiae . good advice to the pulpits deliver'd in a few cautions for the keeping up the reputation of those chairs, and preserving the nation in peace. gother, john, d. . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing g estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) good advice to the pulpits deliver'd in a few cautions for the keeping up the reputation of those chairs, and preserving the nation in peace. gother, john, d. . [ ], p. printed by henry hills ..., london : . attributed to john gother. cf. halkett & laing ( nd ed.). 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ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching -- great britain. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - elspeth healey sampled and proofread - elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion good advice to the pulpits , deliver'd in a few cautions for the keeping up the reputation of those chairs , and preserving the nation in peace . published with allowance . london , printed by henry hills , printer to the king 's most excellent majesty , for his houshold and chappel ; and are sold at his printing-house on the ditch-side in black-fryers , . to the reader . we have been a distracted nation these many years , and some are of opinion , that amongst other causes , the pulpits have in no small measure contributed to the improving its misfortunes . i here meddle not with the truth of this supposition ; whilst in this time of liberty , every one may be of what judgment they please ; but being heartily sensible , that his majesty do's at this time earnestly desire the peace and welfare of the nation , i think it ought to be the concern of every good subject , to endeavor , as much as in them lies , to remove all obstacles that may any ways possibly hinder the effecting so good a work. and because amongst the many engines , that move the people , the pulpits have the strongest influence ; 't is of some concern , that all abuses should be secluded from those chairs , by the moderation of a christian , a loyal , and a wise spirit . what i speak here is of all pulpits , whether of conformists or dissenters , of what sort soever , whether protestant or papist ; and not at all concerning my self with their several interpretations of the gospel , and differing sentiments in mysteries of faith , i only desire , that however they disagree in these , they be yet perfectly united in the spirit of loyalty and love , and in desiring the peace of the nation : and to this end i know of no better rule to be observ'd , than that of the congregational persuasion , in their address to his majesty from great yarmouth : we faithfully promise your majesty , that we will neither preach nor teach , nor suffer any thing to be so preach'd or taught amongst us , which may any ways tend to alienate the hearts of your people from your majesty's person and government ; but shall endeavor to contribute the uttermost assistance thereunto we are capable of , in our several stations . this is a promise and a rule of peace , and i wish 't were writ over every pulpit of the kingdom , that it might there stand as a test for preachers ; that nothing might be dispens'd from those places , but what did agree with these measures . i would not have any preacher boast of his loyalty , till his sermons have pass'd this trial : for if it be the part of an open enemy and a treacherous mind , to alienate the peoples hearts from their sovereign ; i cannot tell how he that do's this in the pulpit , should be loyal , when he that should do it in the field would be a traitor . to the end therefore that these abuses may have no access to pulpits , but that these may contribute to the peace of the nation , to the removing all animosities , and establishing a general satisfaction in the hearts of all his majesty's subjects , to the uniting them in one knot of loyalty and love ; i think it may not be amiss to lay down a few cautions , which may give some directions in order to the arriving at this end. 't would be a bold presumption , i am sensible , to undertake to teach the teachers ; but if it be so contriv'd , as to let the teachers teach themselves , it may not be so obnoxious to censure , especially when the design is so general a good. good advice to the pulpits . first caution . for the preserving a firm peace , and good understanding amongst his majesty's subjects , and shutting a gate against all the endeavors of malice and envy ; 't is very convenient for every division of believers in this nation to take care , that if any wicked villains , or prostitute wretches , should appear against any one party , blackning it with infamous crimes , charging it with the foulest of wickedness , and then back all with protestations and oaths , and pawn their souls for the truth of what they assert ; 't is very convenient , i say , that men of all other persuasions , in this case , should take care , that these accusations do not presently get up into the pulpit ; and that their teachers be cautious , not to catch at every thing they hear thus protested at the bar by an informer with a bible at his lips , nor dispense it to their congregation , as if they had discover'd it in the gospel , which they hold in their hands . this difference betwixt the bar and the pulpit ought to be carefully observ'd , because the pulpit is only for the delivery of the word of god ; and all that is at the bar is not so , but many times lies , perjuries , malicious inventions , putid calumnies are there advanc'd : and , besides , that these do ill become the house of god ; what a violation must there be of charity , when the oath of a miscreant is made the religion of the people ; and they are taught to hate those for conscience sake , whom by the law of god they are commanded to love ? this caution all preachers ought to carry along with them , that so they be not instrumental in disturbing the peace of this nation , which 't is their duty , both as they are christians and subjects , to preserve . and this i say , tho' the parties accus'd happen to be such whose principles they dislike , and to whose interest they are highly disaffected ▪ the matter is of concern , and therefore 't will not be improper to elucidate it by example ; and because the aversion against those call'd papists is most general , i 'll let them be the instance . suppose therefore that they were accus'd by men of infamous lives , of the worst of crimes , of designing against the life of their sovereign , against the religion establish'd , against the liberty and property of their fellow-subjects , and these accusations shou'd be press'd against them with the most sacred protestations and repeated oaths of the accusers : yet would it not be convenient for the teachers of any other persuasion , to proclaim these men guilty from the pulpit , and incense their congregation against the suppos'd criminals , however advantageous their downfall might be to the interest of their party . and therefore 't would be very rash and unchristian in this case , if any minister should get up into his pulpit , and from thence declaim against that people at a country assizes , and declare them guilty of all the crimes of which they stand accus'd . suppose after this manner . of late they have given us the compendium and abstract of all their villanies , in that horrid and execrable plot , which is yet on foot , and which in despite of all discoveries and opposition that can be made , they have the face and insolence still to push forward and manage with the utmost of a restless and implacable vigor and malice . a design so horrid and ghastly in its aspect , so contrary to all true sentiments of piety , humanity and allegiance , that i do not wonder , that they use all their arts , either to stifle its discovery , or to divert the odium of it from themselves upon others . or thus , of all those former practices , there is no one can parallel that execrable , hellish plot , which was now set on foot against us , and is still going on ; and if god have not mercy upon us , doubts not of success , to sink the protestant religion , which we profess , so far as never to rise again . or thus . our enemies slept not , they were contriving how to make us return back into egypt , or submit , not our necks only , but our souls and consciences , to that tyrannical yoke of the roman slavery ; and thought the design so well laid , that it was upon the point of being executed . then did it appear , that god was still watching over us for good ; and he that saw all these secret contrivances , so closely carry'd , and cemented with so many sacred ties , disappointed all their councils , and brought all their designs to light , when we were least aware of it ; being , tho' sensible of a great danger hanging over us , yet little apprehensive that it was so near us , and was to break out in such a manner . or thus . their loud cry is not for diana , but for the silver shrines ; not for the state of the church , but for the state and pomp of the church-men , to make the pope and his clergy absolute lords of all powers , and pleasures , and profits of the world ; as in the discovery of the late horrid plot for the subversion of our religion and government , we find they design'd for themselves the most beneficial places both in church and state. or thus . providence hath discover'd another plot and confpiracy , contriv'd by those , who act according to their principles . a dangerous plot , deeply laid , secretly carry'd on , and that stumbles at nothing that lies in their way ; not at the life of the king himself , tho' a prince of so much clemency and mercy , that he is inferior to none that sways a scepter , or sits upon a throne . and therefore i doubt not , but that you ( my lords ) and the rest of the great council of the nation , who have now the weighty concerns both of church and state before you , will consider , that ad triarios deventum est , the concerns of your religion , your sovereign , your laws , your lives are before you . therefore , if you have any love of your religion ( as i know you have great love for it . — if you have any love of that true , reform'd , approv'd religion ; any abhorrency of the grossest superstitions , — if any regard for the life and safety of his majesty ; if any concernment for the peace and welfare of the nation ; if any care of self-preservation , to escape horrid massacres , and the utmost rage of persecution ; — it highly concerns you to take into your speedy and serious consideration , what remedies are fit and suitable to be apply'd . or thus . o that god would give us all hearts to consider this , — that so we may no longer expose our selves and our country , our lives and fortunes , and the best religion in the world , to the advantages of blood-thirsty and deceitful men , who have at this day conspir'd against us , to take away both our place and nation . — but it seems that we are not yet quite cast off , by that wonderful discovery which god hath made amongst us of a hellish plot , for the assassinating of our king , and the subversion of our government and religion . or thus . how visibly and near did god in his infinite mercy , by way of warning , hold it ( the rod ) forth to us in his late discovering that hellish plot of our blood-thirsting enemies , the popish priests , who had contriv'd to murder , not only our bodies , but our souls also , by taking from us the light of the gospel , which is the life of our souls , and to cast us into the dungeon of popish darkness ? — truly there needs no more than the popish priests , whom tho' you banish the whole land , you may be sure they will not sit idle abroad , but night and day labor to make assisting parties in italy , spain , and france . we find they have all contributed mony to carry on that devilish work ; and doubtless they will go on to contribute both mony and men also , as occasion shall serve ; they will not easily sit down and suffer themselves to be baffled in this design , they thought themselves so sure of . or thus . the instances are so many , and so very well known , that i need not name them : but if they were all forgot , the late , shall i say , or the present popish plot , for the taking away the life of his sacred majesty , and subverting the protestant religion , and the establish'd government of this kingdom , now brought to light ; this alone , tho' all the other instances were worn out of memory , would sufficiently shew us , what we are to expect from these roman principles , as to the security either of our prince , our liberties , or our religion . or thus . at this very time , since the discovery of so barbarous a design , and the highest provocation in the world , by the treacherous murder of one of his majesties justices of the peace , a very good man , and a most excellent magistrate , who had been active in the discovery of this plot ; i say , after all this , and notwithstanding the continu'd and insupportable insolence of their carriage and behavior , even upon this occasion , no violence , nay not so much as any incivility , that i ever heard of , hath been offerd to any of them . — and now what remains , but to make our most devout and thankful acknowledgment to almighty god — for the wonderful discovery of the late horrid and barbarous conspiracy against our prince , our peace , and our religion . or thus . even this hath enrag'd our adversaries of the roman church , and made them the more restless to destroy it , ( the reformation ; ) and to stick at no means , which they thought might tend to its ruin. o blessed jesus ! that ever thy holy name should be assum'd by traytors and murderers ; or that the promoting thy true religion , should be made the colour for the most wicked practices ! — be astonish'd , o ye heavens , and tremble , o earth , that hast brought forth such a generation of vipers , who are continually making way through the bowels of their mother , and , as we have reason to believe , have design'd to destroy the father of their country . if these be the kind embraces of one that pretends to be the mother church ; if this be the paternal affection of the holy father at rome ; if this indeed be the zeal for the catholic cause ; if this be the way to reconcile us to their communion : have we not great reason to be fond of returning into the bosom of such a church , which may strangle us as soon as it gets us within her arms ? — but there are some whose concernment it is , to make men believe there was no such dangerous plot intended ; i meddle not with that evidence , which lies before you ; but there is one notorious circumstance obvious to all persons , and sufficient to convince any , which is the horrid murther actually committed on one of his majesties justices of the peace , in cold blood , with great contrivance and deliberation . do men imbrue their hands in blood for nothing ? why no other person ? why at such a time ? why in such a manner ? there was a reason for all this ; he had taken the examinations ; he knew too much to be suffer'd to live ; and they hop'd by his death to stifle the evidence , and to affrighten others from searching too far : and they manag'd that matter so , as tho' they had no other end in taking away his life , but to prevent a farther discovery . and they whom his death doth not convince , neither will they be convinc'd , tho' he should rise agen from the dead . or thus . that we heard it bluster abroad for so many years together in a formidable tempest , which hath drench'd and drown'd so great a part of christendom in blood , and yet the storm hath hitherto flown over us ; that the clouds have been gathering at home too , and so long hung black o're our heads , and yet not pour'd themselves forth in showers of vengeance ; that gebal , and ammon , and amalek , and the rest ; that hell and rome , and their partizans , our enemies on all hands , both foregn and domestic , have been so long confederate against us , saying , come , and let us root them out , that they be no more a people , that the name of the reform'd church of england may be no more in remembrance ; that they have so long look'd grim and soure , and roar'd and rampt upon us . — and now when restless and unquiet men ( the true spawn of him , whose tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven , and cast them to the earth ) would fain by their hellish plots and contrivances bring us down agen from thence , even down to the very ground , and lay all our honor in the dust : when by their secret machinations they are at work on all hands to hurry us back into the old confusions ; in hope , that out of that disorder'd mass , they may at length rear up a new world of their own ; ( but what a world ? a world made up of a new heaven of superstitions and idolatries , a new earth too of anarchy first , and pretended liberty , but of tyranny insufferable at next remove ) — the devils of sedition and faction , of treason and rebellion , those familiars of rome , and rhemes and st. omers , ( the jesuits i mean , that have so long possess'd and agitated a wretched part of this nation ) will never go out from hence , and leave us at quiet , no not by prayer and fasting only . nay , the best laws we have , the best you can make ( if they be not steddily and severely executed ) will prove too slight a conjuration for those sturdy evil spirits of disobedience . there is another and a better flagellum daemonum , than that of hieronymus mengis and his fellow exorcists . holy water is a trifle , and holy words will not do it . there is no such thing as medicina per verba , words and talk will never cure the distempers of a nation . deaf adders refuse all the voice of the charmer , charm he never so wisely . if in good earnest we would be rid of this legion , and say as our lord to the deaf and dumb spirit , go out , and enter no more ; ( what shall i say ? ) solomon's rod for the back of fools that grow troublesom or dangerous , ( as it may be prepar'd and manag'd ) is a very powerful and effectual exorcism . untam'd horses , and skittish mules , that will have no understanding , are not edifi'd by calm reasonings and instructions , and meek remonstrances , nor in any other method so well as by david's expedient ; in fraeno & camo , their mouths must be kept in with bit and bridle , that it may not be possible for them to fall upon you , and so you may be secure of them — viriliter agite . if any , i say , upon these grounds , should after these , or other such like manners , declaim from the pulpit against these people , and assert them guilty of all the crimes , that by villanous informers are charg'd against them at the bar , 't would be highly prejudicial to the peace of the nation , much against charity and the love we owe to our neighbor , contrary to the christian spirit of meekness recommended in the gospel , and consequently a very severe reflection upon those that shall proceed in this manner . these and infinit other ill consequences are the necessary attendants of such proceedings : for what peace can there possibly be expected , when it shall be in the power of men of prostitute consciences to distract the nation , to fill it with fears and jealousies , and so to influence the pulpits , as to make them square the gospel , to the support and proof of their calumnies ? what charity can there be in those , who upon such mens suggestions , can be positive in pronouncing their neighbors guilty of the blackest of crimes ? and what meekness , whilst upon such motives , they are so easily fill'd with gall and bitterness , and change their gospel of peace into such exasperating invectives ? and whilst these christian endowments are wanting in teachers , how low must their credit and reputation sink with all sober men , who know that where these qualities are not , there can be no more of a preacher besides the name and a noise ? for my part , i think 't is the common interest of all that call themselves christians , to be careful in avoiding these inconveniences , which do ill suit with that name ; and most especially it seems to be the concern of all pulpits , of what sort soever , to see that the spirit that moves there , should be only that of the gospel . for if once it be permitted , that in those sacred places there be access for interest , affection , prejudice or passion , &c. and that the doctrins from thence enforc'd to the people , be not only according to the dictates of the holy ghost , but likewise what is suggested from the information and narratives of such vile men ; 't will bring all preaching into a disrepute , and give too plausible an occasion to atheists of ridiculing all religion . will it not be a temptation likewise to thinking men , to have a less value for those chairs , when they find them subject to these infirmities : when they see them lie as open to passion and railing and such like weaknesses , as other places , which for that reason are esteem'd prophane ? men are willing generally , where they trust their consciences , to find something above the ordinary mass , some more than ordinary sanctity , a steddy conduct , a conquest over the common frailties and temptations of other ranks , and such other like qualities , which may naturally work a confidence in men , and be as arguments to convince them , that the spirit that there moves is above nature , and capable of directing others in order to vertue and truth . but where they find not men thus qualifi'd , when they experience those , who pretend to be guides , to fall in with the mobile , to be expos'd to their levities , so as to take fire at every flash ; when they see them instill jealousies , look grim and soure , roar , ramp , and insult over the oppressed ; 't will only breed a disesteem of them in the observers , and put them upon thinking , that however they may go to church to hear for fashion sake ; yet to rely upon such mens directions will not be very safe , whilst they see them go to the bar for their doctrins , and fetch their proofs more out of the law than the gospel . besides , if any should hold forth in any of the forms above , what a scandal would it be to their profession ? how odious would it appear to considering men , to hear preachers out of their pulpits , inciting judges against the defendants at the bar ; stirring up their gall , and imbittering their spirits , so to prepare them to a hearing of the cause ? and how much worse would it still be , to hear them from those chairs of peace , pronouncing sentence against the suppos'd criminals , and then calling for the halter and ax for execution , and the effusion of blood ? to hear all this at a sessions-house might be something tolerable ; but to go to church , and after the text out of the gospel , to hear so much of severity and of the instruments of death , makes it look more like a slaughter-house , than the house of god ; and lays grounds enough to think , that such harangues as these are only for the filling the judges and law-givers with fury and vengeance ; and that 't is fear'd these would be too meek and merciful , unless some clergy-cruelty were instill'd into them out of the pulpits . and then how convincing an argument will this be , that 't is not only the state that persecutes , and is for penal laws , but the church too ; whilst the state being hearers , and for receiving direction ; these churchmen are inciting them to the speedy and severe execution of the laws ; conjuring them by the love they have for the approv'd and reform'd religion , to take into their speedy and serious consideration , what remedies are fit and sutable in such a case : assuring them , that the best laws will not serve , if they be not speedily and severely executed ? will not this sound penal laws and blood all over ? but above all , 't is not fit preachers should run out into these cruel extravagances ; because , if after the preaching up such accusations and horrid crimes taken up against men at the bar , it should prove that the informers were villains , and the accused appear innocent , what a reflection would this prove upon such teachers , and upon their religion ; when it shall be manifest to the world , that they have preach'd up so many notorious lies in their pulpits , have asserted the truth of them , have spread so many unjust calumnies against their neighbor , have expounded libels and narratives instead of gospel , and been as positive in such doctrins of perjur'd knights of the post , as if they had been deliver'd by the evangelists ? and if these preachers happen to be men of honesty and conscience , will it not , do you think , be a disturbance to their inward peace , when they see the men , they have so severely traduc'd from their pulpits , and blackn'd with the foulest crimes ; to be clear and innocent ; and that those villanies they so positively laid to their charge , prove only calumnies and malicious forgeries ? what a damp must this be upon their souls , when they consider how instrumental they have been in wronging the innocent , in attesting lies and perjuries , and promoting the devil's cause instead of god's ? how will those characters they have given of their neighbor in their sermons , look ghastly and tormenting , when they reflect upon them ; when they consider how they have proclaim'd them guilty of an execrable and horrid plot ; of insolence and implacable malice ; of want of piety and humanity ; of a hellish plot ; of its being upon the point of being executed , for the subversion of the religion and government ; of designing to themselves the most beneficial places both in church and state ; of a dangerous plot , deeply laid against the life of the king , against the peace and welfare of the nation , for horrid massacres , and the utmost rage of persecution ; of being blood thirsty and deceitful men , engag'd in a hellish plot , for assassinating our king , and subversion of our government and religion ; of being traitors and murderers , a generation of vipers ; of being the spawn of the devil , designing hellish plots and contrivances for the setting up of anarchy and tyranny ; of being devils of sedition and faction , of treason and rebellion , &c. how will these characters , i say , look , when they discover , they have thus injur'd and abus'd their innocent neighbor , in such choleric and blood-drawing expressions , in so vile and unworthy a manner ? and if they consider again , that they have not only done this to the people , but likewise before the judges and the greatest tribunal in the nation ; may not they have some scruples , and begin to question , whether they have not been instrumental , and concurr'd to the death of such persons , as wrongfully suffer'd for these forgeries ? may not their consciences , if there be any tenderness in them , begin to be troublesom , and suggest to them such afflicting thoughts as these ? so many men were put to death , condemn'd for those crimes , which we pronounc'd them guilty of in the pulpits : and who knows how far the magistrates and judges were influenc'd by our sermons ? and that they receiv'd directions from our preaching , as well as from the evidences , which they could not but have some reason to suspect of malice and subornation ? it may be likely our seconding the witnesses , and pleading their cause , by urging the circumstances , the time , the place , the person , and then asserting that they whom this do's not convince , neither will they be convinc'd , tho' one should rise from the dead ; it may be likely that this might work more upon the auditory , than all the affidavits at the bar. and if the judges did not pronounce sentence , nor jury bring them in guilty , meerly upon the authority of our attestations ; yet 't is very probable , that by our bitter exaggerations and severe reflections ; we did heighten their aversion , and incline them to believe all that was urg'd against the prisoners , and by this means , tho' not as instruments , yet by way of disposers , did concur to the condemnation of the accus'd , and the effusion of innocent blood. may not the consciences , i say , of such as have rashly inveigh'd against innocent men , suggest to them such afflicting thoughts , and disquiet their minds , for fear the many wrongs , abuses , affronts , banishments , pillories imprisonments , chains , racks , starvings , gibbets , and blood of those that suffer'd upon the score of those suppos'd crimes , should in some part lie at their door , and be requir'd at their hands , who in their sermons did so far contribute to the reputation of the witnesses , to the incensing the people , the juries and judges ? 't is very possible such may be the effects of their more sedate and serious thoughts ; and that as they expect mercy from god , 't is their obligation to make restitution of all the wrongs they have done their innocent neighbor , and publicly declare them guiltless , whom to their congregations they have so often proclaim'd for criminals . these and many other may be the consequences and mischiefs of such kind of preaching , and therefore 't is evidently much better for the peace of the nation , for the good of our neighbor , for the credit of the clergy , to forbear all such kind of reflections and invectives in their sermons : if they leave state-affairs to the state or civil magistrate , and make the enclosure of their province in the gospel , 't would be much more agreeable to the order of things , and for the peace of christendom , and this is my first caution and desire that it be so . second caution . that , if preachers do at any time think fit to lay open the crimes of any people to their auditory , they be careful not to urge their accusations farther , than they are certain and know them to be true. and therefore for instance ; if there be found an ungrounded and ill-told tale , of the papists contriving the death of charles i. of a jesuit flourishing his sword when the fatal stroke was given , &c. 't is not convenient nor christian , that this should be presently made a pulpit truth , nor infinuated into the people for a matter beyond question , to the defaming of so many thousands . and therefore methinks , 't is not warrantable , that upon such grounds as these , any one should thus hold forth to the people , viz. before god and the world , i confess my self abundantly satisfi'd , that popish jesuits were in that horrid plot , ( the king's murder ) to execute which some protestant jesuits were the instruments and hands . — that roman priest and confessor is known ( saith my author ) who , when he saw the fatal stroke given to our holy king , flourish'd with his sword , and said , now the greatest enemy that we have in the world is gone . and when the news of that horrible execution came to roan , some jesuited persons there told a protestant gentleman ( of good credit ) that now they were reveng'd upon the king of england , for not re-establishing the catholic religion . or thus . it will be no improper thing , to shew you how justly the church of rome is accus'd of this ( the king's murder ) and how unjustly it is cast on those of the reform'd religion . — what hand they had in this execrable crime , and how far they disguis'd themselves into all the forms and divisions about religion , that were among us , i shall not positively assert , it has been done with very much assurance , by persons of great worth and credit ; and there are many probabilities to induce us to believe it . or thus . from the same place ( rome ) our late dreadful confusions were highly fomented : and that sacred and royal blood , which so much sully'd the honor of our religion , and still cries so loud for vengeance , was not shed without their concurrence and assistance ; the mischievous and busie jesuit being so wicked , as to promote the design , and so impudent , as to boast of it when it was done . . if there be a story amongst the people , that such a sort of men help'd to fire the city ; 't is not prudent for any , unless upon certain grounds , to deliver this from the pulpit , and thence endeavor to convince the congregation of the truth of it : as thus . there might be evil instruments in this judgment ( of the fire of london ) and it seems , we are satisfi'd , who they were — the year , had been long presag'd to be a fatal year , and been often assign'd for the downfall of rome , by some , that had been too busie with apocalyptic visions . there could never therefore be a fitter time for them to consute these bold predictions , nor any confutation , that in all probability would more affect the world , and advantage their cause , than to cause london to fall , just then when it expected rome should ; and it hath been said , how they have glory'd and triumph'd in this thing . for that supposing them their craft-masters ( and we have too many reasons to think them to be so ) it could not be well thought , that such an opportunity would be let slip , or some such counsel not pitch'd upon . — such things as these are now become their last refuge , it seems ; and the arguments in which ( i am persuaded ) they expect most success : they find how miserably fruitless all rational attempts against us are , and how they still recoil against themselves ; and they despair of ever convincing us like men , and therefore are resolv'd to beat out our brains ( if they can ) like beasts . . if there be a popular rumor , that jesuits in disguise insinuate themselves among dissenters , and from their pulpits preach to them schism and sedition ; it do's not look rational that this relation should be made a sermon-discourse , preach'd up as a truth , unless upon surer grounds than a report , or the assurance , that such a one knows the person that saw the man beyond sea that did it . and therefore how vn-pulpit-like would such a discourse as this look in a sermon ? it is their business and endeavor to keep us at odds , the better to carry on their own designs ; and therefore they have their emissaries up and down to preach schism and sedition into peoples ears . by such arts as these they insinuate themselves among the poor deluded people of our separate congregations , and joyning with them in their clamors against the church of england , crying it down for superstitious and popishly affected , they pass there for gifted brethren , and real popery is carry'd on by such disguises . preachers , i think , ought to be very cautious , how they carry up such kind of stories as these into the pulpits ; because , tho' there may be grounds enough to make them a table or coffee-house discourse ; yet scarce enough to qualifie them for a sermon , or to make them a fit attendance for a text out of the gospel : i am for having nothing have admittance into the pulpit , besides what is certainly and unquestionably true : that place ought to be kept sacred , and nothing have access there , that is prophane , or in any likelihood may prove to be a lie. 't is necessary this caution be observ'd , that so all preachers and sermons be maintain'd in their just authority and respect . for nothing can more contribute to the lessening their reputation with the people , than to hear vulgar rumors , ill-grounded stories , peevish jealousies , held forth , and as passionately defended by them , as if they had been inspir'd truths . what respect can i possibly have for a preacher , that makes no better choice of what he delivers ? is it likely he should prevail upon my understanding or will , that suffers himself to be impos'd on ? when i go to church , i expect to hear the word of god , and such solid truths expounded to me , as may be a comfort to my soul , and direct my steps in the ways of bliss . but if with a light sprinkle of this , i am put off with fulsom invectives , and a relation of such stories , as i am confident , the preacher knows no more the truth of than my self ; i cannot but be scandaliz'd , and begin to fear , that such an one is better conversant in the news of the town , than in the sacred text or fathers ; and me-thinks , it has so much the relish and air of a coffee-house , that i cannot but look about me , to see where we are . and now if people should once seriously reflect on this , and consider with what empty stories preachers content themselves , for the patching up their sermons , it cannot choose but raise a great prejudice in their minds , and discourage them from relying much upon their teachers , whilst they see them either so very credulous , in thus taking up every vulgar rumor for a truth ; or very insincere , in delivering that to their auditory , which they don't believe themselves . either of which is a very ill quality to recommend a minister to his congregation . upon which score i cannot but heartily desire all preachers , of what sort soever , to take this into a serious consideration , and to be very careful in the choice of the matter and history , which they deliver to their people . i conjure them by their sacred function , by the gospel they expound , by the truth they pretend to ; that they would think of nothing but truth , that they would preach up nothing but truth , and consequently that they would deliver nothing in their sermons for a truth , which may be a lie for all as they know . this i press the more earnestly , because i am sensible how much preachers may lose themselves for want of this care. for besides the offence against god , and the wrong they may do their neighbor , 't is certain they ruin their own reputation . 't is no small reflection upon a preacher , when it is with truth said of him , that instead of teaching the gospel in meekness , he has preach'd up lies in a passion . every man ought to be true in his way ; and if he that puts off counterfeit wares in his shop for true ones , must of necessity pass for a cheat ; how circumspect is it necessary every preacher should be , whilst to him his pulpit is his shop ; and the injury , if done there , is the more considerable , by how much the affairs of the soul and eternity , are above all the concerns of this world ? and as these kind of stories do not suit well with the pulpit , so neither do they agree with a dedicatory epistle , especially from a faithful pastor addressing himself to his parishioners : and therefore when dr. tenison , making apology for his expressions of more warmth and less strength , in a conference held about religion with a jesuit , pretends that he has reason above most others , to give severe language to that sort of men , because his father being turn'd out of his living by a committee , and another taking his place and revenue , without restoring any thing , who after a few years , preaching up purgatory , and other points , was turn'd out again by the same committee , and soon after ( as it were ) vanish'd away . when he makes this apology , i say , for his peevish and severe language to a jesuit , he do's not seem to do the office of a good and faithful pastor ; for besides the giving that ill example to his flock , of entertaining a grudge in his mind near about thirty years , and giving now ill language to a stranger , for a suppos'd injury done his father in the last age , and so letting one evil be the excuse for another : besides his being mov'd with indignation against a person , who ( as he tells the story ) did not turn his father out of his living , but did only take possession of it , when his father had been before outed by the committee . besides , his conceiving an hatred against a whole body of men , for the sake of one suppos'd member thereof , and being fill'd with suspicion and jealousie against them all , upon his score ; which is a piece of christianity and justice fitly to be retaliated by the jesuits , if they should be jealous of every parson they met , for fear he should by perjury swear them to the gallows , because one of that coat help'd five of their brethren , not out of their livings , but out of their lives , most infamously and barbarously , not in the last age but only seven years ago ; besides the spiteful insinuation into his parishioners , that the father he discours'd with , was a hypocrit and a dissembler , something of the like nature with his own father's old friend , and by this vile and undeserv'd character , raising a prejudice in the minds of his readers , that being thus prepossess'd , they might the easier give the doctor the victory over his antagonist , whom they had found knock'd down in the very first leaf with a calumny . besides all this , i say , is it not a very uncharitable presumption in the doctor , thus by insinuation to make a jesuit of that oubbard , who succeeded his father , and preaching up purgatory prov'd an hypocrit and dissembler ? do's the doctor know he was a jesuit , that he so confidently , not now in the heat of dispute , but in the cooler management of his pen , exposes all the body of jusuits , as infamous , to his parishioners , upon his score ? is he certain he was a jesuit , that now he serves up this story to confirm his flock , that the jesuits in disguise , become teachers to the dissenters ? if the doctor knows it to be a truth , 't is more than he has yet made appear ; for all as i see in the story , as he has told it , 't is as likely he was a church of england dissembler , as a jesuit . don't every body know , there 's many a church of england divine has had popery enough in them , to be mark'd for jesuits , , and to be censur'd and turn'd out for such , by the men that made up the committee in those days ? what if mr. thorndike had preach'd to such a congregation his doctrin of praying for the dead , and requested of them ( as he did in his will ) that they would pray for his soul , when departed ? don't the doctor think , that he had said enough of purgatory to have been cashier'd by the committee , and outed for a papist ? if m. montague had deliver'd there his opinion of the use of images , of the cross , of traditions , of admitting the pope for arbitrator in controversie , &c. would not they as certainly have cast him by for a papist , as they did gubbard ? so that , i believe , if the doctor will seriously consider upon the point , he 'll find , that many church-of-england-men have had popery enough in them to have been turn'd out in those times for jesuits , and to have pass'd for so many gubbards . this i say as to his popery ; and as to his pretending a kindness to their cause , 't is more likely again he was a church of england divine than a jesuit ; whilst 't is well known , what the church-divines did at that time for livings : of the ten thousand benefic'd men , there being many hundreds , that comply'd with the times , whether really or pretendedly , let the doctor determine . if he can shew only five jesuits that did as much , 't will be more than ever was done yet ; and if he should , 't will be still , i believe , a thousand to one , that his friend gubbard was a church of england divine , rather than a jesuit . and yet the doctor will have him to be nothing but a jesuit , he 's still angry at the jesuits , for his sake ; and he tells his parishioners the occasion of it , that this wrought upon him when he was young , and he cannot yet wear it off ; but i hope there are some amongst them that will have so much compassion on him , as to be sorry , that in all this time the doctor has not worn out the impressions of his childhood : for my part , i am sorry to find such a malicious story set forth by a pastor to his parishioners , and that he has so little consideration and charity , as to expose the reputation of so great a body , under the black colours of dissimulation and hypocrisie upon such a bare presumption . would the doctor like well to be thus serv'd ; and that he and his brethren should be thus trampl'd upon , upon such slight imaginations ? these methods , i know , serve well enough , to keep fast the people , and to make them averse to the jesuits . but i hope those whom the doctor has endeavor'd to make appear as hypocrits , will shew themselves men of better consciences , than to follow him in so ill an example . but let us now proceed to our cautions . third caution . that if any preacher be zealous to prevent his flock from going over to any other communion , which he judges to be erroneous ; he would be careful , not to use any insincere or unwarrantable means , for the working this effect : that he would not be so passionately earnest in the discouraging his people from such a change , as to forget both honesty , justice , truth and charity , while he 's warm in his dissuasives . and therefore if for the setling his congregation , and ridding them of all uneasiness , scruples and pangs of conscience , he chooses that topic of making the other party odious ; he ought to be very cautious in his charges , and not to lay blacker colours on them , than in truth and justice belongs to them . 't is a very difficult task to make characters of adversaries , for such especially , whose interest it is they should be contemn'd and thought ridiculous . how easily do passion , aversion , interest , education here insensibly steal in ? and when these influence the pencil , there never wants any thing of deformity or monster , that 's requisite to make the bugbear out ▪ 't is advisable therefore here , that preachers be watchful that none of these stand at the elbow while they are laying on the colours : that they abstain from all indirect and unjustifiable methods , while they are exposing their neighbor : that they describe not the doctrins of a church from the opinions of private authors , from the extravagances of some professors , from the loose practices of others : that they take not every thing by the wrong handle ; give not out their own wrested interpretations , horrid misconstructions , for the faith of the church ; and especially that they give not too much rope to their inferring faculty . this one thing of drawing consequences , is enough to ruin the soundest reputation in the world ; and there is not any church , religion , profession or persuasion , of all that call themselves christians that is so securely fenc'd , but may be soon made as deform'd as turcism by this single artifice , all these sinister ways are therefore to be avoided , especially in pulpits ; for no character can be just where these are made use of , i instance in the case of the papists : if any one to discourage his auditory from looking that way , should call in any of these auxiliaries to his assistance and thus describe them or their religion , viz. their different orders of religion amongst them , are neither better nor worse than so many sects and several casts of religion ; only they have that advantage in managing their divisions , which we have not , to pack up their fanatics in convents and cloisters , and so bring them under some kind of rule and government . or thus . in the roman church it ( the sacrament ) must now be no longer a representative , but a real propitiatory sacrifice for the living and for the dead ; and christ's natural body must be brought down from heaven upon a thousand altars at once , and there really broken and offer'd up again to the father , and his blood actually spilt a thousand times every day . or thus . popery is the worst religion , or pretended religion in the whole world , for she puts out the understandings of those of her own communion , and tears out the hearts of all others : whom she cannot deceive , she will destroy . upon which account she is the common enemy of mankind , and of us in particular , whom she has threatned with extirpation . — it would be endless to rip up the absurdity of auricular confession , where a man unlades himself of all his sins , by whispering them into priests ears . — of transubstantiation , where men must renounce all their five senses at once . — the doctrin of the pope's infallibility keeps a good decorum with the rest . for tho' he has by his authority spread those false and absurd doctrins over a great part of the world , and tho they seem to be unreasonable ; yet they are really true , because he that delivers them is out of a possibility of erring ; he alone cannot err , and all others , without some of his assistance , cannot but err. but it is very hard to believe , that one single man in the world is more than a man , and that all the rest are less than men ; that if he place himself in his chair , he cannot err , if he would , and that others lie under as fatal a necessity of erring , if they be left to themselves , without his guidance and direction , or thus . she professedly edifies the people in ignorance , by praying and prophesying in an unknown tongue ; she makes no other use or account of confession , than what professed drunkards do of vomiting . or thus . it is still more detestable in the practice of the church of rome , that so long a beadrol of saints shall be invoked by a rabble of worshippers in a solemn procession , as if neither they nor god could be prevail'd upon without abundance of importunity or clamor . — it is much less lawful to pay our devotions to any saints departed , however pious and exemplary they may have been ; and much less to those that have been canoniz'd for mony or for treason , and owe their saintship to their friends on the one hand , and , which is still more horrid and detestable , to their crimes and villanies on the other ; who are prefer'd to heaven for disturbing the earth , and mounted into the blessed regions of light , and peace , and love , as a reward of strife , disobedience , hatred and contention , and every evil work. — neither is it sufficient to say in this case , that his ( god's ) substance being invisible , and not to be discern'd by mortal eyes , or human senses , there is therefore need of a sensible memorandum , altho' the worship be terminated in himself ; for at this rate all the idolatry of the heathen world may be excus'd ; for no man is so sensless to believe their worship was terminated in a stick or stone , at least we ought not to believe it , without very good proof ; and if it could be prov'd , yet even this would be parallel'd in the church of rome , where they pray ( p. . ) to the crucifix of wood or stone , as well as to christ himself , and attribute as much satisfaction and expiation to it , as they do to the blood of their crucifi'd redeemer , as appears undeniably from the romish missals , which are extant at this day , and may at any time be produc'd against them . — god do's not expect ( p. ● . ) that we should make a particular confession of our sins to men , the consequence of which is only to make our selves uneasie in the company of those to whom we have confess'd , to run an apparent hazard of being undone in many cases , by knaves for interest ; or by fools out of levity , inconstancy , and a blabbing humor ; and indeed i know nothing it can be good for , but to let men , that have nothing to do , to pry into such matters , into the secrets of families , and to put our selves perfectly at the mercy of a priest , who will sometimes be treacherous as well as other men ; besides , that instead of keeping up a wholsom discipline , it is the way to corrupt it , and tends to the debauching both laity and ●l●rgy , in as many ways as there are sins to be committed , when the confession and the penitent begin to discover and understand one another . or tbus . they have all along consecrated their devilish practices by these glorious names . the churches interest is the center of their religion , and their consciences turn upon the same pin ; that every thing is pious , conscientious and meritorious , that makes for the cause ; and there 's no sin with them like ill-luck and miscarriage — the supernumerary articles of the trent conventicle , have almost every one of them a plot in them , either to destroy others , or advance themselves . but their politic creed , wich serves to keep up the state and grandeur of holy church , is most fatally pernicious , tending to the subversion of all christian monarchs in the world : the articles whereof are such as these . — that the king is the pope's or the peoples creature ; for it is indifferent to their great machiavils the jesuits , whose he is , so he do but belong to either ; take him whole , or divide him , or how you please , so that god , to whom alone he belongs and is accountable , may have the least share in him . — if the people contend to have him all to themselves , the jesuit's a fair chapman , and will rather give up the spiritual interest of the chair , than dispute it . that if the people do but depose him , ( p. . ) be it for tyranny , be it for heresie , nay , be it for popery , or suspicion of popery , do but depose him , and he is contented . or thus . whatever doctrin gives licence to sin , must needs proceed from the devil . — yet in the church of rome such doctrins as these are solemnly constituted as essential parts of the christian religion , and impos'd upon the christian world with the same authority as the most fundamental articles of the christan faith. or thus . would we but change our scripture into legends , our service into a mass-book , our prayers into beads , our sacraments into shows , our priests into puppets ; would we communicate in one kind , read prayers in an unknown tongue , adore the pope little less than we do god , preach purgatory instead of repentance , sell masses for a groat , bestow indulgences and absolutions to the worst of men. — tho' instead of scripture we set up rotten tradition ; tho' instead of faith we preach up faction ; tho' instead of obedience we became guilty of treason ; nay , should we murther princes , and prove false and deceitful to mankind , yet euge bone serve , all would be well , and we in an instant thought worthy of a better kingdom by the papists . — if they ( jesuits ) cannot peaceably compass the same , they are to do it by fire and sword , halter or poyson , never minding the lawfulness of the means , provided the thing be but done . — i confess , i should admire their zeal , and applaud their order ; but since one of them must go with dagger in his hand , another with a pistol , a third with a bowl of poyson , ( most of them with one mischief or other ) to murder the king , and massacre the people , to breed confusions , and unhinge the government , to destroy religion , and plant idolatry ; i cannot but utterly quarrel and blame their zeal ; and yet no pharisee ever compass'd sea and land like them : no difficulties scare them , no improbabilities amaze them , no dangers repel them : tu regina jube ; let but the pope ( he or she ) command them , and away they go with as much alacrity and readiness , as the evil spirit to persuade a●ab , that he may go up and fall at ramoth gilead . or thus . there is great boast made of alms in the romish church , they sound the trumpet of them perpetually in our ears . but what is the end to which a great part of this charity tendeth ? — the scope they too often vainly aim it , is the blessing of a presumed saint , who is ignorant of them ; security from the external force of evil spirits , by the charms and spells of monkish conjuration , a sort of ecclesiastic magic , which those very spirits invent and encourage — nay , sometimes the scope is that very wicked one of compounding with heaven by their liberal alms , for their unforsaken sins . and here in this nation ( whilst the island was enchanted with popery ) there were granted indulgences ever for what they call deadly sins , for many thousand years to come . or thus . a jesuit being once ask'd , what ways and means the papists design'd to take for the introducing their religion into england ? gave this reply . — we intended at first to do it either by persuading and convincing the people with strength of reason and argument ; but because these have prov'd so often vain , therefore of late years we have pitch'd upon two new methods and resolutions . the one is to debauch and vitiate the nobility and gentry , and to bring them off by degrees from all sense , and care , and kindness for religion ; which is easily to be done , by representing to them a sinful , pleasurable life , both lawful and safe . the other is to divide the commons into several sects . — now how far the papists have thriven in these designs , i shall leave to the judgment and determination of every sober and unprejudic'd reader . or thus . for maintenance whereof ( their prelatical pride and rapacity ) all their pious frauds and cheats , all their lying miracles , indulgences , purgatories , limbusses , crosses , images , — fopperies , plots , and sham-plots are calculated , design'd and contriv'd . i do not think that every silly papist knows these things ; for they ( poor puppets ) dance , creep to the cross , cringe , bow , drop beads , cross themselves , sprinkle themselves with holy-water , mumble their aves , and shew tricks , as the masters of the puppet-play , with wires ( within the curtain ) actuate them , and make them frisk so ridiculously , curvet , and shew such gambols in religion , especially at processions ( which i have seen in portugal ) that the soberest countenance cannot forbear a smile , mixt with pity . but there 's never a jesuit amongst them , pope nor cardinal , but knows that i here write god's truth , and cannot forbear laughing among themselves at these frauds ; only they sanctifie these cheats with a mollifying epithet , calling them pious frauds . they hold ( p. . ) that the pope is alter deus in terra , god upon earth ; and others say , christus in coelo praesidet , papa in terris residet ; christ is prince in heaven , the pope on earth . nay , their hebrew gloss upon deut. . . says , si dixerint tibi quod dextra sit sinistra ; talis sententia tenenda est . if they ( the pope and his emissaries ) tell thee , that thy right-hand is thy left-hand , or thy left-hand is thy right-hand , yet you ought to believe them , and be of that opinion . another says , sit ergo domina nostra roma baculus in aqua fractus , absit tamen ut crederem , quod viderim ; let our mistriss rome be a stick that in the water seems crooked , yet god forbid that i should believe my own eyes . — no man therefore ( i say ) can be a papist , but he whose eyes are blinded by education , or he who puts his own eyes out by atheism . or thus . this council ( of trent ) expresseth its allowance of picturing the divinity it self ; and accordingly pictures of the blessed trinity , ( oh hateful sight ! ) are ordinarily to be beheld in popish churches . — nay they pray unto them ( images ) not only for temporal or ordinary blessings , but for spiritual and supernatural , such as the pardon of their sins . what think you of their doctrin of transubstantiation ? this is the most prodigiously contradictious , doctrin , that , i will not say , the wit , but the madness of men can possibly invent ; 't is a most wonderful complication of most horrid contradictions , and absolute impossibilities . but this is not the worst of it ; it is also the foundation of so gross and foul idolatry , as is scarcely to be nam'd among the gentiles , or to be found parallel'd in peruvia it self , or the most barbarous parts of india . — here you see , that the bread and wine are worshipped by them , not as representations of god , but as god himself . what say you to their doctrin of purgatory ? — by this doctrin the poor people are brought into a most slavish state ; by the means hereof their merciless tyrants the priests hale them into worse than an egyptian bondage ; who instead of enjoyning them the most reasonable duties , to which the precepts of their saviour oblige them , and which are most admirably adapted to the cleansing of their natures , &c. impose upon them a great number of ridiculous services of their own invention . — and as this doctrin of theirs is groundless , so is it as wicked ; it being a most vile affront to the merits and satisfaction of our blessed saviour : for in order to the establishing of this doctrin they teach , that the passion of christ takes away only the gullt of mortal sins , ( p. . ) not their eternal punishment ; which is as nonsensical , as false and impious . what say you to their well-known doctrin of the non-necessity of repentance before the imminent point of death ? — what say you to the doctrin of opus operatum ? which makes the meer work done in all acts of devotion , sufficient to divine acceptance : particularly the bare saying of prayers , without either minding what they say , or understanding it : and agreeably hereunto , the romish church enjoyns the saying of them in a language unknown to the generality of her children . or thus . he ( the pope ) takes out of their hands the holy scriptures , the greatest gift of the holy ghost ; — and instead of it puts a legend ; for the word of life and truth , undeniable fabulous traditions ; for bread , a stone ; for fish , a serpent . — he takes from them the knowledge of the prayers offer'd in their name , and lets them not understand their own desires . so are the people to appear before god dumb and sensless , like one of their idols . all is to be referr'd to the priest , the pardon of their sins is to depend on his discretion . — that princes may not complain of respect of persons , they absolve in some cases from the obedience of god himself ; and avowedly allow what he as positively forbids : authorize incestuous conjunctions , and licence perjury , o monstrum horrendum ! pass pardons for all sins committed against the divine majesty . — they give divine honor to bread ; which they call ( p. . ) a god : and to an image ; which to the eye they might better transubstantiate : and to cover their idolatry , they commit sacrilege , steal away one of the ten commandments , and by their index expurgatorius blot the two tables themselves . or thus . tho' they ( the papists ) have nothing of good works at all ; nay , tho' they be guilty of very great immoralities , yet , if they confess to a priest , and receive absolution ( which may be had at an easie rate ) they are then declar'd as innocent as the child that is new born — nor is it necessary to this absolution , that they should be contrite , or heartily sorry ; for attrition ; with auricular confession , shall pass instead of contrition : that is to effect , if they be but sorry for the penance , tho' they be not sorry for their sin ; or if all this should fail , 't is but being at the charge of an indulgence or pope's pardon ; that is , to purchase so many penyworth of other mens merits , — which remain stor'd up in the church's treasury , to be dispended at the pope's pleasure , to those who will give so much mony for them . — and this is what they require , by way of commutation , instead of regeneration , sanctification , holiness and a godly life . or thus . we must not use any unlawful or indirect means . — this is the most pernicious and damnable doctrin of rome , tho' not always publicly own'd , yet greedily swallow'd among them , and prov'd sufficiently from their unwearied practices ; that in order to the propagation of their faith or church , any thing , every thing becomes lawful ; killing and massacring no murder , lying and perjury no sin or injury : that so good and great an end will sanctifie all actions . or thus . for auricular confession , their great intelligencer and lieger-nuncio , the main curb of the laity , whereby the clergy hold them in awe , in being admitted to all the secrets of states and families , thereby to work their purposes , their plots and projects ; and should that go down , then farewel popery . — these and many other doctrins of the like nature , are matters of meer interest and advantage ; and if there were no gain to be reap'd from them , their chiefest champions would be asham'd of them . to these we may add many other inventions of that church ; as ignorance , the mother of their devotion , which they are bound to vow , and under the severest penalties ; so that it is a mortal sin so much as to doubt of any part of their religion . and this is their children's play , to blind-fold men , that they may beat them . or thus . 't is a religion , whose avow'd principles , are to keep the people in ignorance as much as they can ; for with them ignorance is the mother of devotion . — it is a religion , in which you are so far from being permitted to try all things , and hold to that which is good , according to the apostle's command , that you must wholly submit your reason and understanding to the dictates of an infallible judge , even so far ( if one of their greatest authors say true ) to be bound to believe vertue to be bad , and vice to be good , if it shall please his holiness to say so . — it is a religion that will bring you back to the old paganish idolatry , or to that which is as near it as can be . — nay , it is a religion , that will engage you in a more unnatural idolatry , than ever the pagans were guilty of , &c. — all these things put together , may perhaps rid you of a great many uneasinesses and scruples , and pangs of conscience , with which you might ( p. . ) otherwise be troubled , and which would not be so easily cur'd in the way that you are now in . or thus . would the doctors go to school again ? a school where they shall be taught better manners , than to rely upon the all-sufficient merits of their saviour ; than to be subject to any other power than that of the pope . and in order thereunto , they must learn a new lesson , to live a single life , ( whether they can do it honestly or no , it makes no matter ) for fear lest having wives and children , they should give the state security of their obedience to their undoubted and lawful sovereign . if any preachers ( i say ) in hopes to discourage their flocks from looking towards popery , should make use of these or such like dissuasives , 't would be a severe reflection upon their reputation , upon their charity , upon their prudence , upon their sincerity , with most sober and thinking men. for who is there , that would not discover these to be invectives and satyrs , instead of sermons and the delivery of the word of god ? how much heat and passion do's appear in them at first sight ? how do they seem drench'd in choler and gall ? and what satisfaction can it be to a christian congregation , to see their directors thus hurry'd away into all the extravagances of an exasperated mind , and laboring to blow up their flock to the same degree of animosity , and make them as furious as themselves ? 't is certain , anger and passion never look so ill , as in a pulpit : and it ought to be the chiefest care of a preacher , to shake of those weaknesses before he gets up into that chair . for if once men come to take the bible in hand , as others do the sword , with a mind embitter'd and gall'd , 't is no wonder if they strike blindly ; no wonder if they do more than is warrantable , and if for the working their ends , they at last seem to st●er by that principle of dolus an virtus , quis in hoste requirit ? no question 't was the ill effects of this kind of holding forth , luther discover'd in his days , when he complain'd , the world grows every day worse ; men are now more revengeful , covetous and licentious , than they were ever in the papacy . and upon the same score , no question , erasmus made this challenge ; bring forth , says he , but one , whom this ( reform'd ) gospel has made sober , gentle , meek , modest , and i will shew you many , that by it are made worse than they were before . and a little after : truly it never happen'd to me , to know any one man , that was not the worse for this kind of gospelling . and indeed , what better fruit can be expected from such kind of preaching as this ? when the guides go out of the way , ten thousand to one , but those that are under their conduct , will keep 'em company in all their extravagances . how is it possible , that the congregation should come out meek and sober , when those that are in the pulpit have been for a whole hour beating an alarm to them upon their cushions , and sounding to battel ? how should they be otherwise than furious and revengeful , when so much venom has been infus'd into them from those high-places ? 't is natural for the sheep to follow their pastors ; and i know of no benefit possibly to be reap'd from such furious invectives ; but only such as the lacedemonians intended to their children , when they shew'd 'em drunken men , thinking there could be no more powerful argument to discourage them from being in love with that vice , than to let 'em see the deformity and beastliness of it in those who were overtaken by it . such as this indeed may be expected from these pulpit-satyrs ; for to behold , how ill that railing and haffing humor looks in those places , is caution enough to any reasonable man , to make him take care of preventing the like distempers in himself . and this most especially , if he considers the manner and methods by which these work . for such kind of dissuasives as these , are not only bare dissuasives , laying down solid grounds and reasons , why their flock should not joyn with such a communion ; but they are made up of prophane scurrility , unmannerly jeers , spiteful exaggerations , groundless inferences , unworthy charges , empty sophistry , and all those petty artifices , which wit and malice can possibly invent , to make an adversary odious . and what can be more odious than all this in a pulpit ? to see a man ascend into that seat of the gospel , with a gospel-gown , a gospel-look ; and the gospel in his hand , and when he has taken his text out of that sacred volume , with a short preamble of prayer , immediately to fall to character-making , to an exposing of his neighbor , with all the arguments that passion and prejudice can suggest to him , is so detestable an entertainment in the church , that i know of nothing like it , but that of the jews taking up stones in the temple to sling at christ . for all this declaiming is really nothing better than flinging of stones , 't is to knock down their neighbor , and break his head. and those who will but look back , and see how many heads have been broken by these kind of stones slung out of the pulpit , will easily be of my mind . such as this may however be tolerable in a rabble , who are suppos'd to know no better , and whose complements are to shout , revile and abuse : but to hear this from scholars , from gown-men , from the clergy , from the pulpits , is a most absurd prophanation , and most unworthy especially of those who pretend to a reformation . i cannot therefore but advise all sorts of preachers , in case they fear their congregation may be seiz'd with doubts , and tempted to leave their communion , that they would seek other sorts of arguments to secure and settle them . for however these kind of ungentile satyrs , may perhaps rid them of a great many uneasinesses , and scruples and pangs of conscience ; yet i cannot think the method to be apostolical . 't would certainly be more according to the spirit of the gospel , to preach nothing but gospel truths , to be meek and moderate , and peaceable ; to spread no calumnies , inculcate no falsities , to exaggerate nothing , to misconstrue nothing , to make no false inferences , and half-descriptions ; and as not to encourage or connive at vice , so neither to practise it in the way of preaching against it . 't is very ridiculous to see a man doing the very thing he condemns ; to hear a man pronouncing sentence against equivocating and lying , with an equivocation or lie in his mouth : to hear another condemning cruelty , and at the same time inspiring his auditory with blood and revenge : to hear a third reproving some principles to be the doctrin of devils , with such arguments , as require the assistance of a fiend at the elbow . these , i say , and such like , are very ridiculous ; and therefore i look upon it more becoming all pretenders to the gospel , to avoid all such indirect and unjust means . if they have any thing to say against the doctrins or practices of their neighbors , let 'em do it as becomes christians . honesty and plain-dealing are commendable every where , and most of all in the pulpit ; and amongst all sorts of cheats , there are none worse than the pulpit-cheat . if the papists religion be judg'd to be false and erroneous , the way to shew it , would be to produce their avow'd and receiv'd doctrins , and prove them to be contrary to scripture , and to the practice of the primitive church ; this done without passion and indirect means , would not be unjust nor so offensive : but why should false things , and such doctrins as they disavow , be laid to their charge ? why should it be positively asserted in the pulpits , . that the different orders amongst them , are so many sects , and nothing but fanatics pack'd up in convents . . that the sacrament with them is a real , propitiatory , but not a representative sacrifice . and that christ's body is really broken , and his blood actually spilt on their altars . . that in transubstantiation they renounce all their five senses . . that the pope in his chair cannot err , if he would ; and all others , without his assistance , cannot but err. . that they prophesie in an vnknown tongue . . that they make no other use of confession , than what profess'd drunkards do of vomiting . . that their saints are canoniz'd for treasons , detestable villanies , as a reward of strife and every evil work. . that they pray to a crucifix , as well as to christ himself , and attribute as much satisfaction to it , as to the blood of their redeemer . . that confession tends to the debauching both laity and clergy . . that every thing is meritorious with them , that is for the church's interest . . that they change scripture into legends , the sacraments into shews , preach purgatory instead of repentance , and faction instead of faith. . that to be false and deceitful , is to become worthy of heaven . . that sometimes with mony they compound with heaven , for their unforsaken sins . . that if the pope and his emissaries say the right-hand is the left , the papists are bound to believe it . . that no man can be a papist , but he whose eyes are blinded by education , or he who puts out his eyes by atheism . . that they pray unto images for pardon of their sins . . that the passion of christ takes away only the guilt of mortal sins , not their eternal punishment . . that the bare saying of prayers , without minding what they say , are acceptable to god. . that they appear before god in their churches dumb and sensless , like an idol . . that they avowedly allow , what god positively forbids . . that to confess and be absolv'd , is sufficient for the forgiveness of sins , tho' there be no sorrow for the sins at all , but only for the penance . . that an indulgence or pope's pardon purchas'd with mony , serves with them instead of sanctification and a godly life . . that auricular confession is the means whereby the clergy work their plots and projects , 't is a matter of meer interest , and were there no gain in it , their chief champions would be asham'd of it . . that they are bound to vow ignorance under the severest penalties . . that their avow'd principles , are to keep the people in ignorance . . that they teach their people better manners , than to rely upon the all-sufficient merits of christ . . that their clergy must live a single life , whether honestly or no , it makes no matter . . that the reason why they must live singly , is for fear , lest having wives and children , they should give the state security of their obedience to their sovereign , &c. why should these things , i say , be so positively charg'd against them from the pulpits ? 't is certain the papists disown these doctrins , and preach against them as much as those very doctors who appear so zealous to condemn them . if the representer had but read such sermons as these , he needed not have look'd farther , to have made good his charge of misrepresenting . the most that can be said of these points , is , that some of them are mistakes of the preachers ; others exaggerations ; others inferences from some single author , or some abuse in practice others absolute falsities , and wicked calumnies . and which of all these sorts of arguments are fit for the pulpit ? 't is certain whatsoever is deliver'd thence , ought to be weigh'd with the greatest caution and exactness possible , because 't is deliver'd with the bible in hand , which is little less than swearing with the hand upon the bible ; t is accepted by the people as the word of god and truth ; 't is suppos'd to be their duty , and in the service of god. and now if instead of all this , mistakes , weak inferences , peevish exaggerations , falsities and calumnies are advanc'd , and as positively laid down , as the very scripture ; good god! what an abuse both of the place , the time , the function and the flock ! what a wrong to neighbors , whilst they are most unjustly traduced , made contemptible and scandalous ! and what a disturbance to the nation , whilst animosities are created and fomented among subjects ! and the pulpit ( i am asham'd to say it ) become the fountain of these mischiefs both to soul and body . is not this to turn the seat of the gospel , into a chair of pestilence ? this is so visible and great an abomination both before god and man , that i hope there 's no need of arguments to lay it open ; 't is to be hop'd , that none that takes up the gospel , will so lay by his conscience at the same time , as to fall into these unchristian extravagances . for , to say all in a word , i think , he that will accuse his neighbor falsly in the pulpit , may with the same conscience do the like at the bar. the latter may be more infamous ; but the former is the greater crime . fourth caution . that , when preachers pretend to refute the tenets of any other church , they would forbear all scurrility , prophaneness , irreverent expressions , and comical declamations , which do not at all suit with the subject of religion , and are no-where so absurd as in the pulpit . and therefore if in the confuting some doctrins or practices of the catholics , any minister should deliver himself after this manner : pilgrimages , going bare-foot , hair shirts and whips , with other such gospel artillery , are their only helps to devotion . — it seems that with them a man sometimes cannot be a penitent , unless he also turn vagabond , and foot 's it to jerusalem . — he that thinks to expiate a sin by going bare-foot , do's the penance of a goose , and only makes one folly the atonement of another . paul indeed was scourg'd and beaten by the jews ; but we never read , that he beat or scourg'd himself : and if they think his keeping under his body imports so much , they must first prove , that the body cannot be kept under by a vertuous mind , and that the mind cannot be made vertuous , but by a scourge ; and consequently , that thongs and whipcord are means of grace , and things necessary to salvation . the truth is , if mens religion lies no deeper than their skin , it is possible they may scourge themselves into very great improvements . — but they will find that bodily exercise touches not the soul ; — and consequently that in this whole course they are like men out of the way ; let them slash on never so fast , they are not at all the nearer to their journeys end . and howsoever they deceive themselves and others , they may as well expect to bring a cart as a soul to heaven by such means . or thus . what say you to the popish doctrin of the sacrifice of the mass ? — according to this doctrin , our blessed saviour must still to the end of the world be laid hold on by sinners , be ground with their teeth , and sent down into their impure paunches , as often as the priest shall pronounce this charm , hoc est enim corpus meum : and it seems that he was a false prophet , when he said upon the cross , it is finished , seeing there was such an infinit deal of loathsom drudgery still to be undergone . or thus . for purgatory , 't is not material in it self , whether it be , or where it be , no more than the world in the moon : but so long as that false fire serves to maintain a true one , and his holiness's kitchin smoaks with the rents he receives for releasing souls from thence , which never came there , it concerns him and his to see to it , that it be not suffer'd to go out . if any minister , i say , in confuting the doctrins or practices of the catholics , should deliver himself in this manner , 't would be a thing very unbecoming the pulpit : because all things that concern religion , ought to be treated with a certain modesty , gravity and decorum . every minister should bear in mind , that as he is distinguish'd from other ranks of mankind , by the modesty and decency of his habit ; so he should be careful , that the same good qualities appear in the performance of every part of his duty ; and that every action should speak as plainly his character , as the habit he wears . upon this score it is , that as it would be very scandalous , to see ministers habited like men of other stations , of the street , of the court , of the stage ; so is it as ridiculous , to hear them in their pulpits , under shew of expounding the gospel , fall into all the scurrility of the stage , the profaneness of the mobile , and the drolling of petty declamators . 't is certain , no men love to be laugh'd out of their religion . and even those who have made choice of the wrong , yet through mistake are so fasten'd to it , that whosoever turns their worship or belief to ridicule , shall most certainly raise their animosity , and make them peevish , but never win them from their error . for who can be pleas'd to see that which is most dear to them , abus'd , and treated in pulpits with the rudeness of the streets ? if any churchmen have so much charity , as to labor for the recovery of such , whom they judge to be in error , they ought to deal with them with all the moderation imaginable , open their wounds with a tender hand : for as compassion softens and heals , so roughness and inhumanity serve only to gall and increase the sore . when men have done their best to secure their salvation in the choice of religion , and having search'd the scriptures , examin'd antiquity and fathers , and amongst other points of their faith take the real presence , for instance , for a christian truth ; 't is certain they must have a respect for the mystery , and adore the goodness of god , who is wonderful in all his works . and when they are thus affected , how must it move them , to hear this scoff'd and mock'd at under the irreligious and prophane terms , of legerdemain , hocus pocus , a trick , a cheat , a drudgery for christ , &c. can any thing appear to them more unworthy of a christian spirit , than this sort of barbarous logic ; than this inhuman and enflaming eloquence ? to see things most sacred thus daub'd over with pulpit dirt and mire , far beyond all the prophanation of belshazzar , who only drank out of the sacred vessels of the temple , but never so vilifi'd them , as to expose them to the contempt of the mobile ! but the scriptures are to be fulfill'd ; these assure us there shall come mockers in the last time : and the next verse tells us who they are th●se be they , who separate themselves , sensual , having not the spirit : for tho' michael , as 't is observ'd by st. jude , in disputing even with the devil , brought no railing accusation against him ; yet these sort of men , shall both rail and blaspheme ; their very mark being to speak evil of those things which they know not . hi autem , quaecunque quidem ignorant , blasphemant . as therefore preachers desire to have no share in this character , i think 't is convenient they should be careful to avoid all kind of contemptuous and mocking reflections upon the religion of their neighbor ; treating all parties with a becoming modesty ; and as not to approve of errors , which soever they be , so neither to forget themselves while they undertake to refute them . let all mockery and drolling be left to the stage , and a decent gravity be observ'd in the pulpits . fifth caution . that , if any preacher should in his sermon peevishly lash out against the religion of his prince , he would be careful not to dedicate such a sermon to his prince , whose religion he has expos'd as infamous and ridiculous . and therefore if any doctor should in the heat of his zeal in this or the like manner inveigh against the church of rome . as to the guilt of the former , i. e. of the church of rome , whom in the parallel i here call israel , will not their usurped supremacy , so contrary to the doctrin of christ , mat. . . and afterwards their pretended infallibility , the only prerogative of heavens crown , taken in to justifie that and every other usurpation whatever , too too nearly resemble the apostacy of israel ? and what have these calves of dan and bethel ( to follow the allusion ) ever since bleated out , but the excommunicating , deposing and extirpating of princes , and hell and damnation to all , who would not joyn with them in the holy cheat ? the ill consequences whereof , have been felt no-where more than in these kingdoms , whereof we are ; witness the slavery in which ( p. . ) prince and people , for so many ages together were held by it ; and when the yoke was cast off , what plots , conspiracies and treasons were still hatching by those of that communion ? so notorious , so hateful were their practices , till at length all that befel the nation , was suspected to arise from thence ; so general was the odium of that name , that like a common thief , every felony , by whomsoever committed , is charg'd upon them , &c. if any doctor , i say , should in this manner inveigh against the church of rome , the preacher ought to be careful , when he prints his sermon , not to dedicate it to his sovereign , a member of that communion . for certainly , a sermon that accuses the church and religion of catholics , of tyranny , vsurpation , cheating , of being hateful and odious , do's not seem very fit for the patronage of a catholic king. i think there can be no greater affront , than for a preacher thus to expose his prince's religion under all the hateful forms that can be , and then to desire his prince's protection for the infamy he has cast upon it . this is just as if he should say to him , may it please your majesty , i have abus'd and ridicul'd your religion behind your back to your subjects ; and now i am come to do it over again before your face , and i expect you shall uphold me in it . what greater piece of confidence and presumption can there be than this ? 't is a thing not to be ventur'd on to a subject , tho' but of a middle rank ; for who is there so phlegmatic amongst them all , that can hear his religion derided and render'd odious , and think himself oblig'd by the abuse ? i am confident at least , there 's no preacher whatsoever , would take it for a complement , to have his people and persuasion made contemptible in print , and then to have a present made to him of the satyr . what a rashness then must it needs be , to do this to a prince ? is it to be thought , he has not as much kindness for his religion , as any gown-man for his ? can he spend so many hours in prayer , be so exemplary pious in his devotions , and so exact in all observances of his church , and after all take it kindly to see his church vilifi'd and contemn'd ? at least , can it enter into the heart of any rational man , that a prince who has hazarded three kingdoms for his religion , should be welcom'd to his crown with the present of a sermon , in which his religion is thus expos'd to the scorn of all his subjects ? certainly none can be so absurdly stupid . i hope therefore there 's no necessity of enforcing this caution with any farther arguments , the improbability of the attempt making that needless . neither would it be a piece of much better manners , if a prince of the catholic communion being come to the crown , and having call'd a parliament to settle the affairs of the nation , a doctor of another communion should in these terms hold-forth to the members of the lower house . to conclude , i would desire you to observe , that 't is a church-of-england loyalty i persuade you to ; this our king approves , commends , relies on , as a try'd and experienc'd loyalty , which has suffer'd with its prince , but never yet rebell'd against him ; a loyalty upon firm and steddy principles , and without reserve . and therefore to keep us true to our prince , we must be true to our church , and to our religion . it is no act of loyalty , to accommodate or complement away our religion , and its legal securities ; for if we change our religion , we must change the principles of our loyalty too , and , i am sure , the king and the crown will gain nothing by that ; for there is no lasting and immoveable loyalty as that of the church of england . — i deny not , but some who are papists , in some junctures of affairs , may , and have been very loyal ; but , i am sure , the popish religion is not ; the english-man may be loyal , but not the papist ; and yet there can be no security of those men's loyalty , whose religion in any case teaches them to rebel . if any doctor should hold-forth , i say , in these terms , 't would not be a piece of the best manners ; because there can be no greater rudeness in the world , than for a minister thus abusively to reflect upon his prince , and to tell his subjects , that they have a sovereign , whose religion teaches to rebel . what greater affront can there possibly be offer'd to a crown'd head , than to be thus vilely expos'd to his own subjects , and by a subject too ? 't is certain , to a generous and noble-hearted prince , who knows how to value his word , and makes conscience of his duty , nothing can be no more displeasing , than to hear of false-heartedness , treachery and disloyalty ; to hear of it , i say , even in subjects , must of necessity be odious to him : and what must it be , when his own subjects are assur'd from the pulpit , that even he himself professes a religion , which encourages disloyalty , and in some cases , even teaches to rebel ? can a prince who has an abhorrence to treachery and disloyalty , be pleas'd to hear , that what he so much detests in others , is found in the religion , he nourishes with in his own breast ? certainly , next to the striking at his crown , as nothing can be more disrespectful , so nothing can be more offensive than this . besides , must not a prince be very sensible of such kind of mockery in preaching , whilst his subjects are encourag'd to be loyal , but with an argument in the close , which is enough to blow a trumpet to rebellion : for what more powerful argument to ill-designing men , than to have this assurance of the religion of the prince ? and then again , when a prince has call'd a parliament in order to a settlement of the affairs of the nation , what a kind of good subject must he be , who in this manner sets himself to raise an aversion in the hearts of this assembly against their prince , by exposing his religion under so vile a character , that 't is impossible , where the charge is believ'd to true , to entertain very kind thougts for any that is a professor of such unnatural principles ? 't is well known , that when a prince and parliament meet , 't is the sovereign's desire , there should be a mutual good understanding between ●imself and that council ; and that none can more affront the prince , than to raise jealousies in their heads , and disturb their minds with foul idea's touching himself and his religion : what need then of further arguments to discourage such kind of preaching ; since , however it may sound big of being loyal and true to the king , it do's notwithstanding work the quite contrary effect , and even answer the wishes of the most wicked enemies of the crown ? in this manner it injures him as sovereign ; and were there nothing of this in it ; yet must it be very unwelcome to him , to hear such a character of the subjects of his own communion , that there can be no security in their loyalty ; since being but newly come to the crown , he cannot but remember , that 't is but a little time since he was a subject himself . and how near this comes to his own person , let every one consider . i meddle here nothing with the controversie ; but i believe , that all honest men , that know how hearty a lover this our sovereign is of loyalty and fidelity , and how sincere in his religion , need no other argument to conclude him a calumniator , who has thus aspers'd his religion , and set it forth as disloyal , and teaching to rebel : since if it really were so whosoever profess'd a love to it , and loyalty together , must of necessity be a dissembler on the one side or the other ; there being no possibility of being heartily loyal , and yet be true to a church , which teaches to rebel . all that remains here worthy of consideration , is , whether it be wise or mannerly for preachers , to make their prince's religion odious and contemptible to his subjects , tho they make no dedications of it , or do not preach it to a parliament-house ? the reasons for the doubt are these : . because it do's not look like the part of a good subject , to undervalue his prince to his own people . and yet he that inveighs against his religion , seems to do so : for when such and such points of his faith are painted out and condemn'd as ridiculous , nonsense , prophane , impious , the effects of madness , full of contradictions , contrary to sense and reason , charms , hocus-pocus , cheats , gross idolatry , worse and more vnnatural than that of barbarians and pagans . are not all these most severe reflections upon his sense , his judgment and reason ? whilst he being suppos'd to approve and embrace all those tenets , that are stampt with these ignominious and unworthy titles , is at the same time suppos'd not to know the difference between sense and nonsense , reason and contradictions , judgment and madness , christianity and idolatry ; and especially when after these black characters this conclusion brings up , these things are so plain , that any man of sense , any child may see it . is not this within one step of ranking all of that communion in the list of madmen or fools ? it leaves 'em all , at least , at the mercy of the congregation , by their inferring faculty , to make what they please of them . . because such a way of preaching reflects upon the government of their sovereign . the reason is evident ; because when they set forth the religion of their prince , as teaching and encouraging usurpation , tyranny , massacres , all sorts of cruelty and treachery , of introducing slavery , and making no conscience of any thing that is for the interest of mother-church : this certainly fills the subjects with fears and jealousies , makes them uneasie under such a government , and indisposes them for giving a hearty service to such a prince , who , they are made to fear , intends nothing better for them , than violence and slavery . whosoever considers the temper of this nation , how susceptible the people are of fears , how jealous of their liberty , how credulous at the noise of plots and designs ; cannot but know , how far a hint or sly insinuation will go with them ; and that one innuendo , that touches upon the right string , will set them more in a ferment , than open danger will do any other nation in the world. 't is strange , how sensibly the noise of a cloud , or a storm , or a snake in the grass , works upon them , tho' in the quiet of a general calm : to talk to them of patience , non-resistance , of being ready to suffer all that god shall permit for their sins , is to fill their heads with fire and fagots ; and a word of slavery carries their fancies into the middle of egypt . now when a people is thus dispos'd , how can those preachers be good subjects , who cannot get six steps above their congregation , but immediately they discover clouds hanging over the people's heads , they fright them with storms and tempests , and then pretending to allay their fears with the comfort of have but patience , be ready to suffer , all this will blow over , they fright them ten times worse than before , and slily improve their comforts into a second storm ? now what kind of subjects must these be , and how wonderfully loyal , that by these contrivances and subtle insinuations , can fill his majesty's people with as much disturbance , and render them as vneasie under the most benign influence of a gracious and indulgent prince , as if they had the heavy weight of tyranny galling their shoulders ? i know the pretence is religion , and to preferve them from error : and 't is no more than a pretence ; for 't is certain , men may be taught to be good christians , without being made bad subjects ; and the disturbing the government , is no necessary preparation for directing people the way to heaven . patience and resignation may be easily taught without the help of storms ; the scripture furnishes matter and examples enough without going up into the clouds . and i wish this modern way of teaching patience , be not a new kind of pulpit-drum to alarm people into the spirit of rebellion . i would not be for raising scandals against any society of men much less against those who pretend to the gospel . but when i see the effects of such kind of preaching , how it raises discontents and jealousies , and becomes an aggrievance to the prince , i cannot but wish , that such as follow this method , and intend the mischief , were more loyal ; and such as intend it not , were more wise . howsoever it be , i am sure the method is unwarrantable , and not at all becoming those , who would willingly be thought the best preachers in the world , and the best subjects . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e gazette june . notes for div a -e sermon july . . at the assize at hunting . pag. . by b. smith . sermon on mat. . . april . . on the fast-day . serm. before the commons decemb. . . at s. margar. west . p. . dr. burn. b. e. before the lords in westm . ab. nov. . . p. . ibid. p. , , . sermon of mr. jane , april . . before the commons p. , . b. h. nov. . . p. , . dr. sharp , april . . to the commons p. . dr. tillots . nov. . before house com. . p. , , . dr. still . nov. . . before the commons , p. , , . a.b.c. no. . . before the lords in west . abby , p. , , , , . pelling before judges at westm . jan. . . p. . burn. before l. mayor , jan. . / p. . b. smith at hunt. assis . july . . p. . h. hesketh , before lord mayor at bow , sep. . . j. okes , before judges at reading , july . . p. , . true account of a conference betw . a. p. and dr. t. sermon on vnity , eph. . . at whitehall , march . . pag. . th. smith , august . . at oxford , pag. . mr. johns . at guildhall palm-sund . . epist . . p. , . dr. standish , mar. . / ; . at hertford ass . p. . j. turner , at lincolns-inn , sep. , . p. . w. wray , no. . . pag. , . j. james , at guildhall decem. . . p. . nat. bisby , serm. call'd the modern pharisees , . pag. , . pag. . tho. tenison , at s. sepul . apr. . . p. . w. orme , at guildhall march . . p. . hickeringil at colchester july . . postscript , p. . as david did before the ark dr. fowler before the judges at glocester , august . . p. . , . quod si aliquando historias & narrationes sacrae scripturae , exprimi & figurari contigerit , doceatur populus , non propterea divinitatem figurari , quasi corporeis oculis conspici , vel coloribus , aut figuris exprimi possit . concil . trid. sess . . dr. hooper before the king , no. . . p. . dr. wallis at s. maries oxon. before the vniversity , oct. . . p. . dr. calamy before the l. mayor , may . . p. . b. e. before the lords , no. . . dr. sharp before commons , apr. . . p. , . dr. butler at windsor , decemb. . . p. . post evang. dom . . adv. spong . adv . hatten . joh. . . dr. south before the court at christchurch oxon. pag. , dr. fowler before the judges at glocester , august . . b. e. before the lords , no. . . jude , ver. , . ib. v. , . d. b. w. in a sermon preach'd jan. . / . but publish'd afterwards , and dedicated to king james ii. pag. . dr. sherlock to the commons , may . . pag. , . quo warranto, or, a moderate enquiry into the warrantablenesse of the preaching of gifted and unordained persons where also some other questions are discussed : viz. concerning [brace] ministerial relation, election, ordination : being a vindication of the late jus divinum ministerii evangeliei ... from the exceptions of mr. john martin, mr. sam. pette, mr. frederick woodal ... in their late book, intituled the preacher sent / by matthew poole ... poole, matthew, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing p estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) quo warranto, or, a moderate enquiry into the warrantablenesse of the preaching of gifted and unordained persons where also some other questions are discussed : viz. concerning [brace] ministerial relation, election, ordination : being a vindication of the late jus divinum ministerii evangeliei ... from the exceptions of mr. john martin, mr. sam. pette, mr. frederick woodal ... in their late book, intituled the preacher sent / by matthew poole ... poole, matthew, - . [ ], p. printed by j.h. for j. rothwell ... and s. thomson ..., london : . imperfect: print showthrough, pages cropped with loss of text. reproduction of original in the union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preacher sent. preaching. religious education. clergy. lay ministry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - mona logarbo sampled and proofread - mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion quo warranto ; or , a moderate enquiry into the vvarrantablenesse of the preaching of gifted and unordained persons . where also some other questions are discussed : viz. concerning ministerial relation , election , ordination . being a vindication of the late ius divinum ministerii evangelici , so far as concerns those points ; from the exceptions of mr. iohn martin , mr. sam. petto , mr. frederick woodal : ministers in suffolk , in their late book , intituled the preacher sent . by matthevv poole , at the desire and appointment of the provinciall assembly of london . london , printed by i. h. for i. rothwell , at the fountain in goldsmiths-row in cheapside ▪ and s. thomson , at the bishops head in pauls church-yard . . the epistle to the reader . it is the great unhappinesse of most men , that they judge of things by appearance , and not according to truth ; that those wayes and doctrines which are most specious in shew , which seemingly look most to the promotion of gods honour , the advancement of holinesse , and the liberties of gods people , are most taking with many of that sort of persons , who have a due sence of those excellent things upon their spirits : and such an opinion , i take this to be , which is the principall subject of this following treatise , which is asserted by our brethren ; viz. that gifted persons may preach publickly : an opinion wherein there is a double compliance , with the apprehensions and affections of men , whereby it gets entertainment among them : either , because it gives an opportunity for the declaration , and demonstration of a mans abilities to others , ( a disease incident to good men ) or because it puts a man into a capacity of honouring god in a more eminent way : ( which a gracious soul is very apt to thirst after ) and , if , to these be added , and upon these do follow a third thing , to wit , an experience of some honour brought to god , and some good done upon others , this puts it out of doubt , with divers good men , and makes them sit down with a confident perswasion of the truth of it . and on the other side , when a minister undertakes to refute and overthrow that opinion , he lies under this great prejudice , of minding his own interests , of envying the lords people this glorious priviledge , and desiring to monopolize it to himself ; and so , whatever he saith upon that account , is rather taken as the issue of his own passions , then the sence of the scripture : but , because i have learned to judge of things otherwise then by events and appearances , and the humours or censures of men . i dare not decline a necessary work upon the account of any reflections which may be cast upon me thereby , but shall leave the vindication of my credit , and the bringing forth of my righteousnesse to god , and ( as in duty i ought ) ingage for the assertion of the truth in this particular : which i am the more willing to do , because ( if the providence of god may be observed , and if the tree may be judged by the fruit ) there is hardly any one principle , which hath been more scandalous to thousands of the most judicious of gods people , ( both ministers and others ) and more unhappily instrumentall to the introduction , and propagation of all those loose , false , vain , frivolous and pernicious doctrines ( which abound in the nation ) then the profession and practise of this specious opinion of liberty of prophesying . nor doth this onely flow from the abuse of that principle , ( as our brethren would insinuate ) but from the very principle it self , as they state it : for so long as they hold , that , it is the duty of every gifted man , as such , to exercise his gifts , ( which they assert pag. . ) and that , if he have received gifts to teach publickly , he must use them also publickly ; ( which they avow , pag. . ) and that , he himself may judge of his gifts , and may preach , though it be not so expedient , without any further call : ( which they professe , pag. . ) what can be expected , but that this doctrine should be a trojan horse , whence the adversaries of the truth may break out , and destroy the city of god , a pandora's box , from whence all sorts of mischievous and foul poysoning opinions may fly out , and that without remedy . it must be here seasonably remembred , that the point here discussed is no triviall point , but one that nearly concerns the very vitals of the church , to whose welfare nothing under god and his word , is more necessary and conducible , then the ordinance of the ministery ; and therefore nothing requires greater care in the disposal of it , then that doth , and in nothing were the apostles more solicitous then in committing this office and worke to fit persons , and nothing would have been more incongruous to the wisdome and faithfulnesse of the head of the church , then to prostitute them to the fancies and humours of every invader , nothing more unbecoming the carefulnesse of our great shepherd , then to suffer any wolfe ( that saith or thinks he is fit for it ) to take the office of the shepherd , or to do his work , both which come to one , and are utterly pernitious , to the flock . the consideration of these and such like things , occasioned the provincial assembly to take it into their serious thoughts , not onely to assert the office of the ministry , but also to regulate the work of the ministry , and to confine it within those just boundaries which god and man have set for it : this was done in that late piece called jus divinum ministerii evangelici , a piece which as it hath through gods blessing been satisfactory to the consciences of many persons , so hath it had a contrary effect upon others , ( as might in reason be expected ) to draw forth and derive opposition upon it , from divers hands , and among others , those of our brethren , with whom i have now to do : and although it is not fit , nor usuall for assemblies to take notice of the contradictions of particular persons ; yet , because our brethren have with united force undertaken the refutation of part of that treatise ; and because they have indeavoured to manage it with scripture arguments and evidence , ( which justly bear most sway in these times ) and because divers well-meaning persons , ( and that not onely such as being injudicious , are inconsiderable , but also such as seem to be pillars in their way ) have declared their high approbation of it , and asserted the unanswerablenesse of it . it was therefore thought fit that something should be done by way of reply : and accordingly the provinciall assembly was pleased to lay it upon my shoulders , and i ingaged in the work , and as i love not unnecessary delayes , so i hoped long since to have given the world an account of it : but it pleased that supream providence ( which orders all affaires ) unexpectedly to surprize me , with a sad and dangerous convulsion , which being seated in the head , did not onely disinable me for the present , but a pretty while after overawe me , so that i was disswaded from medling in any thing , whereby the brain might be exercised , and discomposed : and moreover , it is not unknown to many , that a work of far greater concernment , and paines , and trouble , and care , did lie in my hands all along , interfering with this , which indeed required the whole man ; besides many other occasions not inconsiderable , which is needlesse and impertinent , for me here to speak of : onely thus much i have here mentioned by way of apologie , why this reply comes forth no sooner , and it may further apologize for the frequent defects which may be observed in it , because i was so continually incumbred with distracting cares , about other affaires , whereof i have many witnesses . this delay therefore the reader is intreated to pardon , and to accept of the service , as it is now tendred , wherein , though i doubt not , it will be easie to the wise to observe many weaknesses , yet god and my conscience are my compurgators , that i have managed it with sincerity , and i hope my reader will witnesse that i have handled it with the same candor and moderation which our brethren have shewn , and which i think ought to be shewn in such differences as these . for the successe of this work , as i am not without hope , that there will be found some , ex meliore luto , who laying aside partiality , will own the evidence here brought , and yeeld to it , ( for i may without vanity say , that there is some evidence and cogency , at least in some things in difference ) so i must confesse , when i consider , how weak and injudicious most are , and unable to discern between things that differ , how supine and carelesse the generality even of good men are , in the weighing of things of this nature , ( and yet usually such as are least knowing , are most confident and heady ) how apt the most are to be led by the reputation of some particular men of their party for ability and piety , how deeply mens interests are concerned herein ; and in particular their honour in not seeming to be bafled , and deserting that way they are once ingaged in : i say , when i consider these things , i am full of fears , lest what is here said , and whatever is spoken hereafter , will vanish into the air , without any successe . however this is sufficient incouragement to me , that i have born witnesse to the truth of god in these declining times , and hope it may be usefull , if not for the reduction of such as are gone astray , yet for the confirmation and settlement of others , who may be wavering herein . there are three sorts of readers , principally which i expect to meet with . . weak and well-minded soules , who are in this much to be pitied , that being insufficient to see by their own eyes , and to look through the vail of holy pretences , and pious ends , are apt to be abused by others , and to be carried to and fro , by every wind of doctrine : these , i wish they had followed the apostles direction , and never given way to doubtfull disputations . but having once entertained them , and being overthrown by them , if they do not give very diligent heed , and receive not more then ordinary assistance , are never like to recover themselves . . proud , wilfull , and self-conceited persons , the pride of whose hearts , hath led them into wayes of singularity , and will oblige them to make good their ground . their motto is , cedo nulli . and because a recesse from their received perswasions would import something of weaknesse , and humane frailty , they , being conscious to themselves , of their own great worth , are resolved , and unmoveable from their present apprehensions . . there are an intelligent and ingenuous sort of men , who being sensible of their own weaknesse , dare not suppose themselves beyond a possibility of mistake , and therefore alwayes have an eye open to discern further conviction , when ever it is offered , and keep one ear open for the adverse party , whose language is that of jobs , that which i know not , teach thou me , and wherein i have thought amisse , i will do so no more . it is for the sake of those , that i have taken this trouble upon my self , and i hope as to persons of this allay , my labour may not be in vain in the lord. but i shall detain thee no longer in the porch , but let thee into the house , desiring the god of truth , to lead us into all truth , which is the hearty prayer of thine in the lord , matthew poole . touching the relation of the ministry . concerning the epistle prefixed by our brethren to their book , i shall say nothing , because they run out into impertinent controversies concerning the catholick visible church , the matter of a church , church covenant , &c. and indeed it is needlesse i should say any thing about them , they having been so fully ventilated by so many learned authours , as hudson , rutherford , wood , cawdrey , and many others ; and dr collings in particular hath answered this epistle , whither i referre the reader : and therefore i come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to the answer of the book . wherein i shall crave no more liberty then our brethren took , and i shall use their own words , pag. . though i intend not to reply to every particular , yet i shall give such animadversions upon the most considerable things , as will leave it unnecessary to speak to the rest . this i shall solemnly promise , that i will not willingly decline any thing , which is either strong , or plausible , or considerable , but only such passages , as , the foundations being shaken , do fall of themselves : and under this promise i hope i may be excused from following our brethren 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ ( which commonly occasions personal reflections , and heterogeneous excursions . ) and , although it were easie to cast the work into a more convenient mold , yet , that the reader may with greater ease compare their book and the answer , i thought fit to observe their order , and to distinguish it according to their chapters . chap. i. . they question , what is meant by the ministry ? and here ( to passe by impertinencies ) because a minister is called so from ministration , they infer , that gifted men , whose ordinary work or calling is to preach , may properly be called ministers of the gospel ; pag. . for my part i shall never blot paper with contending about words : our question is not about names , but things ; and if the word minister may be applied to twenty persons , we are not concerned in it ; for the question is not , whether a gifted brother , whose work or calling is to preach , may be called a minister ? ( for even he who never preaches , if he any other way minister to the gospel , may be called a minister of the gospel , according to their own arguments ) but whether such a gifted brother may preach ? and whether the title minister , in its special and distinct acception may be applied to him ? and in both these we hold the negative . . their second question is not much more important , viz. whether the office of the ministry be a relation to the work of the ministry , or to the church ? and here they tax the assembly , for saying that the office of the ministry is better defined by relation to the work , than to a particular people . where i desire it may be observed , that the assembly did not say , the office of the ministry is better defined by relation to the work , than to the church in generall , but than to a particular church : it was not the design of the assembly to deny the ministry to be a relation to the church , nor yet was it their businesse accurately to insist upon the notions of relate and correlate ; they never called the work of the ministry , the correlate , but only obiter and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , they asserted the office of the ministry to be better defined by relation to the work , than to a particular church , which our brethren have not here disproved ; but only endeavoured to prove that the office of the ministry rather consisteth in relation to the church in general , than to the work ; so that all their labour , as to that particular , might have been spared . to which may be added , that we must distinguish between the abstract ministry , and the concrete a minister . and although the minister in the concrete have the church for his correlatum , yet that the ministry in the abstract should have relation to the work , is no more absurd , then that the office of a king should have relation to ruling , which , i think , no sober man will deny ; and especially when such a thing is brought in occasionally by a person not minding , nor obliged to minde the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of words ; it were a vanity in any man to batter down such an expression by a quaternion of arguments , which our brethren have attempted to do . to which may be added , that that rule upon which their first argument hangs , viz. relata sunt simul , & do mutuo se ponere & tollere , is true only of predicamentall , but not of transcendentall relations , such as this is ; whose being is not wholly respective , as the masters of the metaphysicks inform us . and the same answer also may serve for the second argument ( which indeed is but the same ) viz. that relations must be together , but the office is a means to the work as an end , and so the office must needs be first , and therefore they are not relatives . to which i answer , . as before , the rule holds not of transcendentall relations . . a potentiall being is sufficient in relations : my knowledge of a rose to be in the spring is related to that rose even in winter ; and yet the rose doth not actually , but only potentially exist in winter . the other two arguments are trivial , and therefore i shall dilate no further about them , because this is a logical and no theological controversie . chap. ii. & iii. qu. whether ministers are only ministers to their particular flocks ? in handling of this i shall . state the question plainly and faithfully . . i shall offer some arguments for the negative . . i shall enquire what our brethren have to say for the affirmative . for the state of this question we must take notice of another question , whence it hath its rise and being , to wit , whether besides particular congregational churches , there be any other visible political churches mentioned in scripture ? it hath till these last times been universally received in the church of god , that , besides that union and communion , whereby the members of a particular church meet together in a congregation for the word and sacraments , there is another union and communion , whereby particular churches do by their delegates ( because in their persons they all cannot ) meet together , combine , consult and conclude in common , as they judge most expedient for the good of their particular churches . this sufficiently appears from the constant practise of the church in all ages , even from the apostles times , acts . and so downwards ; which was , when ever necessity required and opportunity was offered , to meet together in synods , and in common to govern all their churches . and as these meetings were greater or lesse , so they received a differing denomination , being called synods oecumenicall , provincial , &c. and this is at this day the judgement of all the reformed churches in the world , some few amongst our selves being excepted , and our dear brethren in new-england , both known by the name of congregationall men , so called from this their first principle , that the scripture owns no visible church but one congregation . from hence it must needs follow , according to our brethrens mind , that ministers are ministers only to their own congregations . as on the other side , they that own another church , besides congregational , do assert , that ministers have a double relation , the one to their own particular flocks , the other to the whole church . and thus much for the rise of the question . for our brethrens mind we shall not need to go far , they affirm possitively , that officers stand in relation to a particular church onely , and they deny them to be officers to a church universall , or to any but their owne flocks , pag. . but here i cannot but take notice of a weighty difference amongst our congregational brethren , in which they should do well to be reconciled before they endeavour too eagerly to obtrude their notions upon the world ; it is this : mr. shepheard and allen in their answer to the nine questions assert , that though ministers are officers only to their own flocks , yet they may perform acts of their office towards others , pag. . and learned mr. norton 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concludes , that a minister preacheth to another congregation non tantum virtute donorum & charitatis , sed ex vi vocationis , &c. i. e. not only as a gifted brother , but as an officer ; and it is sufficiently known that it is the judgement of persons of greatest note in that way among us in england . now on the other side , reverend mr. hooker expresly affirmeth that when a minister preacheth to another congregation , he preacheth not as a pastour , but as a gifted man , survey part . p. . and our brethren in this book fall in with him , and will not allow ministers either to be officers , or to act as officers towards any , except their owne congregation . for the better clearing of the present question i shall premise two considerations which indeed do strike at the root of all their objections . i. that there are two waies whereby a minister may be a minister to the whole church . . actu secundo , actually , immediatly , absolutely and independently , so that he may without any other warrant undertake to teach and govern the whole church , if it were possible ; this was peculiar to the apostles , and surely this is abundantly sufficient to distinguish them from ordinary pastors . . one may be an officer to the whole church actu primo , habitually , aptitudinally , mediatly , conditionally , and dependingly , so that he hath a jus or power to teach every where ( go preach the gospel to every creature ) but may not exercise that jus or power , every where , but by the consent of the church or rulers , not as if there was any defect in his authority , but only because there is a manifest inconveniency and disorder in such a promiscuous and unlicensed exercise , which therfore is unlawful because it is repugnant to order , and obstructive to edification : and this is the case of ordinary pastors . ii. i shall premise another consideration , which being well digested is sufficient to enervate all that is said by our brethren as to this point : it is this , a generall respect to the whole church is not inconsistent with a peculiar respect to some one church . suppose one having a vast number of sheep , needeth and chuseth twenty shepheards to look to his sheep , and these shepheards because each of them cannot possibly look to all , do therefore distribute the sheep into twenty parcels , and each undertakes to look to his share , yet so , as that in things of common concernment to all the sheep , they all meet and consult together , &c. but in matters of private concernment every man looks to his own parcel : in this case every shepheard hath a double relation , the one general to the whole , the other particular to his own parcel , which he doth more especially take care for , and feed , and keep , and watch over , &c. and in case any of those sheep which properly belong not to his charge go astray , if he see them and can keep them in , he is obliged by vertue of his office to do it , and if through his neglect they miscarry , he doth not only sin against charity but against his office. this is the case of the church , and so it was out of doubt with the apostles , unto whom christ committed the care of his sheep indefinitely : and because each of them could not look to all , therefore the sheep were divided into parcels , and every apostle takes upon himself a special relation unto some one parcel , and had his proper line ; cor. . and because the sheep multiplied so fast , that to look to them all was a work too heavy for the apostles shoulders , therefore the flock was divided into more parcels , and they ordained more shepheards , who although peculiarly entrusted with their proper charge , yet were not freed from their care of the whole , but in things of common concernment did meet together with the apostles in their daies , act. . and afterwards among themselves . or as it is in germany , where every elector and prince of the empire sustains a double relation ; he is related more especially to his owne peculiar territory to which he is an officer , acting ordinarily , and constantly , &c. but over and besides his , he hath a general relation to the whole empire , and is an officer to the whole , not singly and by himself , but together with others , being intrusted with a joint-power of governing the whole , as in case of chusing of an emperor , or other weighty affairs of the empire , as the necessities and occasions of the empire require . just so it is in the church , which is one entire body ( as the empire is ) governed by one systeme of laws , and molded under one government , every minister hath a double relation , the one special and peculiar , to his owne flock which he is to feed constantly ; the other general to the whole church , which he is to feed occasionally , as far as his ability will reach , and as the churches exigencies command , and which he together with others hath a power to govern . this will be put out of doubt by considering more fully that which even now was intimated of the apostles themselves , who also had this double relation , one to the whole , whereby they were pastors of the whole church , and yet because they could not possibly each of them look to all the churches , therefore the work was divided among them , and they undertook a special relation to some particular parts , as peter to the jews , and paul to the gentiles , iames to ierusalem , &c. which division did not proceed from any defect of authority in the apostles to feed the whole , but from the impossibility of the thing in regard of the vastnesse of the work , and because they were to carry on all church-work as most suited with edification . in like manner we that are ordinary pastors , sequimur patres , non passibus aequis ; and though every minister is a minister of the whole church , and hath an authority extending to it suo modo , yet because it is impossible for every one to look to every church , and all things are to be managed with special respect to the churches edification , therefore ministers are forced to divide the work , both as to teaching and ruling ; yet so , as that there still remains a relation to the whole , whereby he is obliged to teach , and with others to rule other churches , so far forth as his ability reacheth , and the churches necessities require . and by the way , i cannot but take notice of a remarkable difference between teaching and ruling , in point of the possibility of the thing , and the edification of the church ( which is the great rule in all church-administrations ) for a minister may jointly with others rule a far greater proportion than he can teach . david as a king , could rule all israel , but david as a prophet , could not vivâ voce , teach all israel , at least not ordinarily and constantly . and the apostles , though it was impossible for every one of them actually to teach every church , ( they neither could do it , nor did it ) yet it was possible for each apostle joyntly with the rest , to govern every church , and they did actually rule all the churches , at least all the churches there mentioned , in that famous synod , acts . ( in which , whether they acted as apostles , or as ordinary elders , all is one to the present question . ) and this may serve for answer to that specious argument so much insisted on by the reverend and learned dissenters , taken from the conjunction of teaching and ruling . these things premised , i shall now come to the arguments : and here i shall have a double work ; . to lay down an argument or two , to prove that ministers are officers , and act as officers to more than their own particular churches . . to answer their arguments , and to justifie those inconveniences objected by the provincial assembly to the contrary opinion . for the former , i shall not here dilate , only i shall propound three arguments . the first argument is this , if ministers are officers , and act as officers towards convertible heathens , then they are not officers only to their particular congregations : but ministers are officers , and act as officers towards convertible heathens . the minor is the only proposition that can be denied , and that i shall now endeavour to prove . . the case is plain in the apostles : that apostles were constituted officers before the visible gospel-church was erected , is undeniable , and appears plainly from mat. . the apostles , at that time , were officers for they had actually received their commission ; they being relata , must have a correlatum : a correlate there was none , but those who were to be made disciples , who were to be converted : so that , one of these two must necessarily be granted , either that the apostolical relation wanted a correlatum ( which to say , is grosly absurd ) or that the heathens and jews to be converted , were the correlatum to them . there is but one thing that can be said , to wit , that at that time there were divers already converted christians , who were a sufficient correlatum to the apostolical office. to which i answer , if we suppose that all such christians had died , or forsaken the profession of the faith , ( which might have fallen out without any detriment to the perpetuity of the church , seeing the essence of the church had been preserved in the apostles , if they only had continued in the faith ) i say , suppose they all had thus fallen away , yet had the apostles been officers , and therefore the heathens had been their correlatum . . and such indeed are clearly expressed , matth. . , . to be the primary and immediate object of the apostolical office and relation . from whence will follow , that a minister may be a minister , though he have no particular church to which he stands related : just as the eunuch was a member of the church visible , though there was no particular church into which he was admitted , acts . the only probable answer which i can apprehend is this , that the argument no way holds from apostles to ordinary ministers : but in this case i conceive it doth . for , . the apostles as well as pastors ( say our brethren ) are officers only to the church . chap. . p. . they say of ministers , that it is lawfull for them to go and preach to unbelievers ; and they instance in the apostles preaching to heathens , acts . & . and yet ( say they ) they are no officers to such unbelievers : whereby it is plain that they deny not only ordinary pastors , but also apostles to be officers to heathens ; which also further appears by the reason they adde , why such ministers are no officers to heathens ( which is common to apostles with other ministers ) viz. because they cannot as officers exercise church-government towards them ; which holds true even of the apostles ; what have we to do to judge them that are without , cor. . now if the apostles , who were ( according to our brethren ) only church-officers , yet acted as officers towards such as were wholly without the church , and towards heathens , much more is it true of ordinary pastors , that , albeit they are officers in special to their particular flock , yet they are officers , and act as officers , towards other churches . . apostles and pastors are paralleld in this case , eph. . , . and he gave some apostles — and some pastors and teachers , for the perfecting of the saints , for the work of the ministry , for the edifying of the body of christ. from whence it is most evident , that the object of the apostolical and pastoral office is one and the same , both of them being by office related to the saints , not only that are actually brought in , but also to those that are to be gathered : and the offices were appointed , and the officers bestowed for this very end , for the edifying of the body of christ : by which body of christ , we must with judicious interpreters , necessarily understand the whole collection of all christs members in all ages of the church ; all which , in scripture phrase , go to the making up of christs body , so that if one of them were lacking , jesus christ should want his fulnesse ( as he is pleased to express himself ) eph. . . and answerably to this the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or edifying , is not to be understood , as in some other places , for building up of such as are brought in only , but also for the bringing in of those who are yet without ; for that indeed was the great end why the ministry was instituted , mat. . , . and the very phrase of building , implies as well the gathering together of stones for the building , and the laying of the foundation , as the raising up of the building ; and the nature of the body , as we have now explained it , necessarily requires , that this edifying should be understood extensively , as well as intensively . i shall contract all this into a short syllogism , the body of christ in its latitude is the correlatum , or the object of the pastoral office ; but the body of christ includes heathens : therefore heathens to be converted are the object and correlate of the pastoral office. the major is plain from the text , and what hath been said ; the minor also is no lesse evident , that heathens are a part of christs body : they are called his sheep , iohn . . other sheep i have which are not of this fold . heathens to be converted christ laid down his life for ( else they had never been converted ) and yet he laid down his life only for his body , eph. . and therefore they are his members and part of his body , and therefore they are the object and correlate of the pastoral office. and as the whole church in all ages ( to wit , including persons yet uncalled , but by election belonging to it ) is the correlatum of the ministers and ministerial office in all ages , so the whole church in one age ( including such as by predestination , though not yet by actual vocation and congregation , belong to it ) is the correlate of the ministers and ministerial office in that one age : so that not only a particular church is the correlate of a minister , but also such as are not yet members of any particular church , nor of any church at all . the second argument may be taken from cor. . . where the reconcilable world , which consists of such as are yet without and no members of the church , are made the chief object and correlatum of the office of the ministry ; and from thence i shall thus argue , to whom ministers act as ambassadours , to them they act as officers : but ministers preach as ambassadours to heathens convertible and to be converted , ergo. the proposition is evident from the terms , to be an ambassadour , is nothing else but to be an officer ; and it may receive further light and strength from this consideration , that ministers are not ambassadors a pari ad parem , from one king to another as equal , but a superiori ad inferiorem , from one superiour in authority to all ; from a prince to his subjects , whom he is calling in ; from one who may and doth require all heathens , as well as others , to hear and obey his ambassadors , i mean from the lord christ. for the assumption , that ministers preaching to heathens , do preach as ambassadors ( where all the doubt lies ) i proceed to make good . . if the scripture makes no difference between a ministers preaching to his own church and to others ; then there is no difference , ubi lex non distinguit , non est distinguendum . but the scripture makes no difference , &c. wherever a minister preacheth , he is to preach with all authority . strangers are as well obliged to obey him as his own people . . even heathens are bound to hear ministers preaching to them , and that not only ex vi materiae , because of the matter they treat of , but virtute muneris , by vertue of their office. he that heareth you , heareth me , and he that despiseth you , despiseth me , luke . . and therefore as the jews and heathens were bound to hear christ , not only in regard of his message which he brings , but also in respect of his office as he was the mediator and the great prophet in the church , deut. , , . so also it is with ministers , who act as in christs stead , they are to be heard even by heathens , for their office sake , as well as for their doctrine . and those jews or heathens which disobeyed the doctrine of the apostles , are not only charged with the guilt of rejecting the truth , but also of contemning the persons and offices of the apostles , which could not have been , if the apostles had not preached as officers to such . and surely it must needs be reputed strange doctrine , to say , that a minister , yea an apostle , preaching to heathens , doth preach no more authoritatively , than any woman or child that is occasionally discoursing to such of the things of god. the apostles might challenge maintenance of those heathens to whom they preached , mat. . . cor . which such women and children could not pretend to ; which clearly demonstrates that the apostles preached not as gifted persons , but as officers to them . the apostles preaching to such had a power authoritatively to pronounce pardon , or to denounce wrath to them , upon their believing or disobeying , ( which are the two acts of the keys ) and which to do requires an office-relation to them . if it be objected that this may be true of the apostles , that they were ambassadors , and preached as ambassadors to heathens , and yet not true of ordinary pastours . i answer ; either ordinary ministers are ambassadors , or else christ hath not had any ambassadors in the world since the daies of the apostles , but christ hath had , and hath ambassadors still in the world ; therefore ministers are ordinary ambassadors : the major is plain , for if only extraordinary officers be ambassadors ; then where there are no such extraordinary officers , there are no ambassadors : the minor also is no lesse clear , that the office of gospel ambassadors was a continuing ordinance , and it is most ridiculous to think , that while the design and work of the ambassador lasts his office should not continue ; and besides , christ hath perpetuated the office , mat. . , . if it be said they are ambassadors indeed , but it is to their own people , not to heathens : i answer , yes rather they are ambassadors to heathens : for as the great work of other ambassadors is to make peace , so also gospel-ambassadors their great businesse is to beseech men to be reconciled to god , and therefore their principal object is not the church who are already supposed to be reconciled , but heathens and strangers who are yet unreconciled : and seeing ordinary ministers preaching to heathens , have a power upon their repentance to remit sin , i. e. to declare their sins remitted officially , it must needs follow , that they are ambassadors to such : and the apostle in this place ascribes both the name and work of ambassadors unto ordinary ministers , speaking in the plural number , we then as ambassadors , &c. and he attributes the name to himself , upon a ground common with him to ordinary ministers , i. e. because he besought them as in christs stead to be reconciled to god : and as we rightly infer the assurance of salvation of ordinary believers from the apostles assurance , because he fixeth his assurance not upon any peculiar revelation , but upon grounds common to all christians ; so may we that are ordinary ministers , justly take to our selves the name and office of ambassadors , because the apostles assum'd it upon such grounds as are common to all ministers : and not upon such as are peculiar to the apostolical dignity . and this may suffice for the enforcement of this second argument : but there is one block that must be removed . it is plausibly objected by mr. allen and mr. shepheard , in there answer to the nine questions , that ministers , though officers to their own flock , yet may do the acts of their office towards others , as a steward of an house acteth as an officer in the entertainment of strangers , &c. and thus ministers may preach as officers to others , and yet be only officers to their own congregations . to this i answer , . this concerns not our brethren here , who do possitively determine , that ministers preaching to others , do preach only as gifted men , not as officers , p. . so that i might without disparagement wave this objection . . this is a meer fallacy , the resemblance it self is misunderstood or mis-applied : for a steward of an house , it is true , he acts as a steward in the entertainment of strangers , but how ? he acts as the steward of that house , not as a steward to them whom he entertains : but a minister preacheth as an officer with authority , not only in relation to his own church , but any others that occasionally hear him , as hath been proved . and yet . if the similitude were well laid , there is a further dissimilitude in the case in hand ; for a steward of an house is a steward only to that particular family , but ministers are stewards to the whole church , all which is called one family , and one houshold , tim. . . how thou shouldst behave thy self in the house of god. gal. . . do good to all , especially the houshold of faith . eph. . . you are fellow citizens of the saints , and of the houshold of god. and the reason why the steward of an house is no officer to strangers , is because the lord that makes him a steward hath no authority to make him a steward over strangers , nor further then his house or jurisdiction reacheth . but christ , who makes ministers stewards , hath authority to make them such over the whole church , yea , over heathens ; and indeed so he hath done , as the former arguments have proved : and he requires of the world to own his ministers as ambassadors , and will severely punish their rejection and contempt of them . the third and last argument shall be this ; if the conversion of heathens , &c. be the principal ground and end why the office of the ministry was instituted , and the principal work of the ministry , then the office of the ministry is related to heathens : but the conversion of heathens , &c. is the principal end why the office of the ministry was instituted , and the principal work of the ministry so instituted , therefore the office of the ministry is related to heathens . for the major it is evident from the very terms ; every minister is unquestionably related to those among whom his work lies . and as it is plain in christ jesus , our great bishop , that the church or his sheep , are his correlatum , because his end and his work was their salvation ; so also must it needs be in ministers , that their relation must be towards those among whom their great work lies . for the minor no man can doubt of it that hath read the scriptures , especially those fore-cited places , mat. . & eph. . if it be said , conversion indeed was the great work of the apostles , but not so of ordinary ministers ; those were to build up what the apostles brought in : i answer . both those places do evidently relate as well to ordinary ministers , as to the apostles : for eph . they are equally named ; and for mat. . it is clear , because those ministers who are there spoken of , and set apart for that work of the conversion of heathens , they are assured by god that they shall continue to the end of the world , which is not true of the apostles in their own persons , unlesse to them you adde their successors , the ordinary ministers . and cor. . . who is paul , and who is apollo , &c. but ministers by whom ye believe . and that text will continue true to the end of the world , faith comes by hearing , rom. . of ordinary ministers , as well as the apostles . . if conversion be a work common and necessary in these daies , as well as in the apostles daies , then ministers are now appointed for that work as well as formerly they were : for while the cause and reason remains , the effect also must needs remain : but conversion is a work common and necessary now as well as then ; for though men are not heathens now as they were formerly , yet many are but professors and titular christians , by vertue of their church-membership , and so do need a work of conversion . . either the ordinary ministers of the church were appointed for conversion , or else christ hath appointed no officers to take care of the greatest and most principal work , which is the conversion of sinners : but this is highly absurd that christ should take least care , where there was most need : and therefore ordinary ministers were instituted for conversion . and thus i have done with the first thing , which was to prove , that ministers are officers and act as officers to others besides their own congregation . the second thing propounded was , to answer their arguments , and to vindicate the arguments offered by the provincial assembly against that contrary opinion , that ministers are officers only to their own congregations . and for the better methodizing of it , i shall first with all brevity propound the assemblies arguments , then our brethrens answers , and then adde a reply : and this i chuse to do in this place , although these things are discussed by them under another head , p. , &c. because they properly concern this question . but i shall passe them over with more brevity , because it is but a collateral question , and our brethren are lesse accurate in this , than in the other point . . this opinion is unheard of in the church of christ , before these late years . provinc . ans. it sufficeth that it is heard of in the scripture . reply . but you know that is denied ; and for the churches judgement , as it is not to be advanced into gods throne , so it is not easily to be slighted , where there is an universall consent of all churches ( as there is in this case ) which it is hard to shew in any errour : nemo pacificus contra ecclesiam . . this opinion is contrary to our br●threns practise , who hold the administration of the sacrament to be a ministeriall act , and yet give it to members of other congregations . provinc . to this there is a double answer given by our brethren . . the main answer where they lay most stresse which therefore i propose first , is this , that in ministerial acts some things are common to men as men , as the word and prayer ; some are common to them as church members , or as confederates with any particular church , not considering this or another church , as the sacraments ; other things as special and proper to a particular church , &c. as excommunication , election , &c. so that a man may claim the sacrament as a confederate with any church : and as a father giving instruction to his children and servants , teacheth them as a father and master ; but , if strangers come in and partake of the instruction , he teacheth them not by vertue of any such relation ; so if a pastor preach and give the sacrament occasionally , he acts not as a pastor and officer to them . this is the strength of what our brethren say , p. , , . reply . if our brethren perceive not how they have overshot themselves , i question not but any judicious reader will quickly discern it , how they are fallen from their own principles . indeed the answer were tolerable , if preaching and giving the sacrament were of the same nature and quality , and did proceed pari passu , but seeing it is generally granted by our congregational brethren , that preaching is not alwaies an act of office , and that it is an act which may be done by gifted men ; and that the administration of the sacrament is alwaies an act of office , and cannot be done but by one in office , it is most incongruously done to jumble these two together , and to make them alike in this very case where they acknowledge the difference . . to the sacrament two things are required , which are warily to be distinguished ; . a right in the receiver to claim , and that indeed we have in the supposed case , according to our brethrens principles . . a power in the giver to administer , and this none hath but an officer , and none can do it but as an officer , and therefore no man can give it to any , but to them to whom he is an officer , and acts as an officer , and therefore they cannot give it to any member of other congregations . and this acute mr. hooker is so sensible of , that he grants it in terminis , using these words ; touching the partaking of the sacrament by some of one congregation in another , it hath been a course which i have ever questioned , and against it i have alledged many arguments , professing the course unwarrantable , for this reason ( among others ) because the administration of the sacrament is a ministerial act , and cannot be done but by a pastor or teacher , and what authority hath he to do it , and they to receive it from him to whom he is no pastor ; as he is cited by cawdry , inconsistency of indep . way , p. . nor do i see how this can be fairly avoided by any that stick to congregational principles , and i think such a strange paradox as this , asserted by so considerable a person , and flowing from such principles , may justly render them suspected to all impartial judges . and whereas our brethren here imply the contrary , and talk of a pastors giving the sacrament to strangers not as a pastor ; . let all men take notice that in this they have deserted their own principles , and have through incogitancy precipitated themselves into the gulf of anabaptism , which , i doubt not , in their next , either their prudence or their ingenuity will ob●ige them to retract . . the provincial assembly were not obliged to take notice of the excentrical opinions of every particular congregational man , but of those which were owned by the generality of them , and by such as seemed to be pillars among them ; and sure i am , such will reject this notion of a mans giving the sacrament as a gifted brother . they know the rule , quod competit rei qua tali competit omni tali ; if a pastor gives the sacrament to strangers not as a pastor or officer , but as a gifted brother ( for that is the other member of the distinction ) then every gifted brother may administer the sacrament , which i suppose our brethren will tremble to grant , and therefore they must call back their own words too loosely delivered . . but however ( say they ) this is an argument against our practise , not the assertion . reply . yes , it may give just cause of suspicion of the truth of that assertion , which inevitably draws along with it such a strange conclusion as this , that no man may receive the sacrament any where but in his own congregation , which is in a great measure to cut the sinews of christian and church-communion ; and yet for ought either i or mr hooker see , either this conclusion must be embraced , or the principle rejected . i passe on to the reasons . there are ( say the assembly ) seven ill consequences which follow this assertion , that a minister can perform no pastorall act out of his own congregation : i shall reduce them to two or three . . then a minister at the same time preacheth to his own members as a minister , and to others as a gifted man only . . then a minister baptizeth only into his own congregation , not into the catholick church , contrary to cor. . . and so a minister can baptize none but those that are members of his own congregation , and so there is no way to baptize heathens converted , nor the children of such parents as cannot be members of any congregation . and here our brethren bring in that argument mentioned by the provinc . that a minister ministerially admits into and ejects out of the church-catholick , and therefore is a minister of the church-catholick , and not only of his particular congregation , p. , &c. let us now hear what our brethren have to answer . . they say , we see no absurdity in saying that a minister preacheth to some as an officer , and at the same time preacheth to others not as an officer . reply . this is a conceit for which there is no shadow in the scripture : nay it is not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not only without , but against the evidence of scripture . ministers wherever , or to whomsoever they do the work of ambassadors , whomsoever they beseech to be reconciled , to them they act as ambassadors : and whose sins soever they remit doctrinally ( which is an act of office ) they are remitted ; and whose sins soever they retain , in preaching , they are retained , whether their hearers be strangers , or of their own congregation : and this they do by vertue of their office. surely it is very harsh to say that all strangers which hear a minister , are no more bound to hear and obey him , then to hear or obey any woman discoursing privately of those things ; and that a stranger rej●cting his message , is no way guilty of the contempt of his office , ( it will be an happy thing if that will be a sufficient plea at the last day . ) nay by this rule the very apostles themselves ( as we have more largely seen ) must , when preaching to heathens , be canton'd into the order of gifted men ; and if that be true , it was no act of their office to disciple nations , and to gather in the saints : and all those heathens which are now converted by ministers , are not converted by vertue of the ministers office , nor was the office of the ministry appointed for the gathering in of souls , but only for the building up of such as are brought in , contrary to mat. . & eph. . as hath been argued . . they argue against that position , that a man is made a member of the church by baptism , p. . whereas indeed it is none of our assertion , and so all that labour , both of theirs and mr hookers is lost . they cannot but know that we allow infants to be born church-members , and make their church-membership the ground of their baptism , and a par , a heathen converted , and professing the fai●h , is a church-member inchoatè before baptism ; this only we say , that the solemn , publick and visible way of admission of members into the church , is by baptism ; and this cannot be easily denied by any one that looks either to the jewish or christian church : for as since the new testament began , it hath alwaies been the door of admission , so was it also unto proselytes in the old testament , who used to be admitted into the jewish church by baptism , as divers learned men have proved . or if our brethren question that , yet at least , circumcision ( to which our baptism answers ) was the door of admission into the jewish church . but of this more hereafter . . they deny that a min●ster ejects out of the catholick church . not the minister , but the person renouncing his profession ejects himself out of it ; he may be ejected with , and not by excommunication and how can a mans being ejected out of a particular church , make him no member of the catholick church ; if being ejected out of office in a particular church , doth not make a man no officer to the catholick visible church . p. . reply . here two things are opposed which may be conjoyned ; for both the person ejects himself , and the minister ejects him : he ejects himself meritoriously , the minister efficiently and juridically . . either a minister ejecting a man justly out of his own church , ejects him out of all other churches ( and that cannot be but by vertue of a catholick church , &c. ) or he is not juridically ejected out of other churches , and so he is in a capacity of being received into other churches , ( which what horrid confusion it would introduce into the church of god , and how incongruous it is unto his wisdom , in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge , to appoint a remedy so short and insufficient for the disease , i leave to all sober men to judge . ) and this is not a bare suggestion , for experience shews that the effect of this principle is such , and persons juridically and justly ejected out of one church , have been admitted into another church ( who it may be , apprehend him to have been unjustly dealt with ) and according to this principle there is no remedy , but so it must be . . for the ejecting of officers , i say , . that a church in their sense , i. e. the body of the people , hath no power of ejecting of officers , as our brethren suppose . . that when a minister is juridically ejected out of office in a particular church by deposition , he ceaseth to be an officer to the catholick church . . they say , according to our way also we cannot baptize heathens , for if there be a catholick church , ministers are only officers in the church , and not to the heathens converted , so cannot baptize them . reply . ministers are officers not only to those that are actually members of the church , but to all that shall be brought in , as we have shewn ; they are officers even to heathens , in the sense before explained , as they do ex officio offer them a pardon , and give it upon their repentance , so they do ex officio admit them into the church . . they say , in such a case heathens may joyn as members to some church , and so be baptized . reply . our brethren should not obtrude such uncouth notions upon the world without evident proof . their answer implies as if there were some other way whereby a man might be made a compleat church-member , without baptism , whereas in scripture there is ne 〈◊〉 quidem of any other door of admission : if there be , let our brethren shew it ; sure we are the new testament way was by baptism . but of this more by and by . and this is all of any moment which our brethren have to say by way of answer to the foregoing argument . . another argument used by the provincial assembly , was this , that from hence it will follow , that when a minister leaves , or is put from his particular charge , he ceaseth to be a minister ; and so when he taketh up a new charge , he needs a new ordination , which is absurd , because every minister is seated in the catholick church , cor. . eph. . and as a private christian removing from his church , doth not cease to be a member of the visible church ( for then his baptism should cease , for every baptized person is a church-member ) and needs not to be baptized a new ; so a minister going from a congregation , needs not to be ordained a new . to this our brethren answer divers things . . they say , this runs into direct anabaptism , for by this rule , an excommunicate person ceasing to be a member , his baptism ceaseth , and so he needs to be re-baptized when he is re-admitted . p. . reply i. but this followeth not for a double reason . . it may be said , that an excommunicate person ordinarily is a member , though a diseased member , thess. . — admonish him as a brother . he towards whom i owe the duty of a fellow-member , is a fellow-member : but i owe the duty of a fellow-member , viz. fraternal admonition to such an one . again , he who is under a church ordinance appointed for his good , is a church-member , though diseased , and under cure : but such an one is under an ordinance , ergo. . though his baptism ceaseth at present actual●y and really , as to all the actual priviledges of it , and so ceaseth , that while he repents not , he is to be looked upon after a sort , as an unbaptized person , or as an heathen ; yet when he doth repent and renew his covenant , and re-admit himself to the church , he needs no new baptism , for as much as god is pleased to impute to him his former baptism , and the church accepts of it ; and this is the benefit of his repentance , that god looks upon his sins repented of , as if they had never been committed , and so in that case he looks on him , as if he had never fallen from his baptism ; and so he needs no new one : just as it was in the case of circumcision , when any turned heathen or idolater , and renounced his circumcision , he was to be reputed as an heathen , while such ; and yet whenever he repented , he needed no new circumcision , but his former circumcision was accepted by god for him . ii. the argument fals upon our brethrens principles , not upon ours : for to us ( who assert that baptism is the door of admission into the catholick church ) it is uncontroverted , that a man removing from one church , may be admitted to any other , because his baptism gave him a compleat visible and political membership , not only with that church he was admitted into , but with all others : and this membership and baptism , though they were lost in the sense before spoken , yet upon his repentance are recovered . but our brethren , who make baptism only the door of admission into a particular church , they must own this conclusion , that upon every removal there must be a new baptism . even as it is in civil corporations , which because they are distinct from one another , and there is no general corporation of which each of these are members , therefore whenever a member passeth from one to another , he needs to be admitted a new , by what way soever they use in the admission of members . and to save them from this intollerable inconvenience , they have no shelter but one , which comes in the next place . . they say , baptism doth not admit , or make a man to stand in relation to any church , either general or particular , but it is a solemn sign of a persons taking the name of christ upon him , and therefore that remains wherever he removes . pag. . reply . our brethren granted even-now , that baptism was a sign of a mans admission to the church . . this may well stand with its being a sign of a persons taking the name of christ , nay indeed it is the same thing in substance , for what is a church but a company of men professing the name of christ ? and what then is it to be a solemn sign of a mans admission into the church , but to be a solemn sign of his being a professor of the name of christ ? . what a monstrous paradox is this , baptism makes not a man to stand in relation to any church : this should not have been dictated without any proof , but demonstrated by clear evidences , it being against the judgement of the whole church . surely the apostle was not of this mind , when he said , we are all baptized into one body , cor. . . by which it is most evident , that baptism gives a man relation to some body , and it is also plain that he speaks of a visible body , because it is an organical body , having the distinction of teachers and taught , &c. and this body , if it be the church catholick , ( as we say , and as the place proves , for as much as jews and gentiles are all members of it ) then we have our desire : if it be a church particular , then baptism makes us to stand in relation to such a church . and if this were meant of the invisible body , and this baptism of internal baptism , yet it rationally follows , that as the inward baptism makes a man stand in relation to the invisible church , so doth the external baptism make him stand in relation to the visible church . again , that which makes a man visibly stand in relation to christ , that makes him visibly to stand in relation to the church : but baptism makes a man visibly to stand in relation to christ , ergo. the major is plain , because the church and the church only , and the members of it , stand in visible relation to christ : the minor is evident from rom . . know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into iesus christ , were baptized into his death . gal. . . for as many of you as have been baptized into christ , have put on christ ; therefore baptism makes a man stand in relation to the church . again , that which makes a man visibly to stand in a covenant relation , makes a man to stand in relation to a church : but baptism makes a man visibly to stand in a covenant relation ; ergo. the major cannot be denied , because of the identity of a covenant and church relation : all and only they that are really in covenant , are really members of the invisible church : and all and only such as are visibly in covenant , are members of the visible church : the minor must needs be granted by every one that understands the nature of baptism : baptism is the seal of the covenant ; and to say the seal of the covenant makes not a man to stand in relation to the covenant , is a contradiction . lastly , that which makes a man capable of church-priviledges , makes him stand in relation to a church : but baptism makes a man capable of church-priviledges , v. g. of the supper , &c. ( which unbaptized persons are not capable of ) ergo it makes a man stand in relation to a church . so then this paradox being disproved ( that i may reduce these things to my main scope ) and it being evident that baptism makes a man stand in relation to some church , and that visible too ( which all grant ) it remains either that there is a catholick visible church , to which baptism makes a man to stand related ; or if the church into which it admits a man be only a particular church , then upon every removal , there must be , as a new admission , so a new baptism . . they say , an officer may be said to be set in the whole church , though his authority reacheth only to a part : as it may be said , there are set in the commonwealth , iustices , constables , &c. and yet this proves not that besides their relation to their precincts , they have a relation to the common-wealth , and a power to act there . reply . that phraseology sufficiently implies that the commonwealth , wherein they are set , is one political body , and so a pari , that phrase , god hath set in the church , whatsoever that church is , it proves it to be one political body . . the case wholly differs , for justices , constables , &c. have limited commissions , confined to their particular precincts ; whereas the commission of ministers is large and universal ( as hath been proved . ) if our brethren would chuse a fit resemblance , let them take it from that of the empire before mentioned , wherein the princes are set in and over the whole empire , and he that shall say , in the empire are set princes , states , &c. shall imply that such princes and states , besides their special relation to their particular territories , have another relation to the whole empire . . it is not barely the phrase we rest upon , but the sense and the explication of the phrase given us by other scriptures , and which necessity requires in this place , as plainly appears from the apostles , who were so set in the church , that they were also set over the church ; so are not justices , they are in , not over the commonwealth ; and who , besides a special relation to their particular parts ( which we have before discoursed of , ) have also a relation to , and over the whole church : and so have other ministers to , suo modo , as hath been proved ; and both apostles and ministers are equalized in this , that they are in and over the whole church , and so have a relation to it . . they say , the church , in cor. . may be taken for this or that church ; and so the body to be edified , for this or that particular body , eph. . reply . that cannot be , for it is one church in which all the apostles and ministers are set , cor. . it is one body which all the apostles and pastors , &c. were given to edifie and perfect . it is that body into which we all are baptized , both jews and gentiles , cor. . . it is that one body which is christ , i. e. mystical , which is made up of all the members of christ , v. . it is that one body which is called the whole body , eph. . . from whom the whole body fitly joyned together , &c. and surely he had need have a good confidence of his abilities , that will assert , that all this is true of a particular church . another argument used by the provincial assembly was this , that hence it follows that if a people unjustly through covetousnesse , starve a minister from them , or through heresie or schism vote him down , in that case it is in their power to nullifie the office of a minister . to this our brethren answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that . though the people sin , yet indeed they do nullifie the office of a minister , as if they should murther a minister , they nullifie his office , and if they may debar him from the exercise of his office , why may they not make void his office ? reply . our brethren confound two things vastly differing , to wit , the nullifying of the office , and the hindring of the exercise of the office ; it is true , the peoples opposition , nay indeed one mans violence may hinder the exercise , but cannot nullifie the office. . i demand whether this hold of the apostles or no : the apostles were made officers to the church only , ( say our brethren ) and they say they were constituted officers by the church , alledging acts . ( although the scripture tell us the apostles were neither of man , nor by man ▪ ) well then , this being premised , suppose when the catholick church was confined to one congregation , this congregation had proved hereticall , and voted down the apostles : i only suppose it , and suppositions are allowed by all , and to deny that liberty is a tergiversation : nor doth this supposition imply any contradiction to that promise that god hath made , that he will preserve his church , for that might have been preserved in the apostles alone . i now quaere , whether in this case the apostolical office had been null or no ? if they affirm it , as it is a strange assertion , so it is also false : for . the apostles were not constituted by man , and therefore their office could not be nullified by man. . the apostles in such a case had a power officially and authoritatively to denounce the wrath of god against them , mat. . . and whosoever shall not receive you , nor hear your words , when ye depart — shake off the dust of your feet . . they were apostles even to heathens to be converted , as we have proved . if they deny it , i prove it thus , that it must needs follow from their principles : for . the church being , according to them , the adequate correlatum of the apostles , the church ceasing , they must needs cease also . . ejusdem est instituere & destituere , and seeing they allow the institution and constitution of the apostles to the people . . i thus disprove that monstrous paradox : that which renders it in the power of mens lusts or humours to nullifie the promises of christ , the authority , end and use of christs ambassadors , is most absurd . that which makes it in the power of men , whether there shall be any officially to preach peace , to remit sins , &c. is highly dangerous ; but such is this doctrine . i prove the minor by these steps ; . there are now none but ordinary ministers in the church . . the essence of a minister ( say our brethren ) consists in relation to a particular church , which is his correlatum , and sublato uno relatorum tollitur alterum , so that when that relation ceaseth , his ministry ceaseth . . it is in the power of the people to dissolve that relation , to eject a minister ; so say our brethren , and it is generally asserted by congregational men . . that which one congregation may do , another may do , and so every one may do : suppose then that there are twenty , and but twenty congregations in the world , if each of these resolve severally to eject their ministers , through covetousnesse , heresie , &c. i say , then it is in the power of these men to falsifie christs word , and destroy the authority , end and use of christs ambassadors . but you will say , it is in the power of men to kill these ministers , one as well as another , and so thereby , as well as by our way , it is in the power of men to disanull the promise of christ. and therefore as it would be answered in that case , that the bones of christ were breakable , yet by divine providence were kept from being broken ; so though it is remotè in the power of men to kill all those ministers , yet god will restrain them from the act of killing them , that he may keep his promise ; in like manner though it is in the power of such churches to depose them , yet god will hinder the act , &c. i answer the case is wholly different , the one is an act of horrid violence , the other a juridical act , and here is the great inconvenience for a man to assert , that jesus christ hath given to every congregation a juridical power to depose their ministers when ever they please , for the power of judging is left by our brethren in their hands ; and to disanul an ordinance of christ , and to punish an officer and ambassador of christ without his fault , and without all hope of remedy : in what a sad condition were gospel ministers , if it were in the power of their people upon every capricio , when ever the humour takes them , to rob a godly minister , it may be for the faithful discharge of his duty among them , of that which he accounts better than a world , and that without any possibility of redresse , forasmuch as he hath none to make his appeal to . how secure might a people be in their wickednesse , if when a minister reproves them sharply for their sins , they might take away from their minister the power of reclaiming their sins , or officially denouncing wrath against them . but they have a second answer to relieve them . if such a rejection of their officers do not nullifie his office , the reason is , because he is de jure , and of right still over that church as their officer , though hindred from the exercise of his office. and this indeed is much more tolerable than the other , but our brethren have lost the benefit of this refuge , forasmuch as they positively acknowledge , that the people have a power to annull his office : and besides it helps them not at all ; for if the people , and they only , they beyond appeal , have a full juridical power of deposing and rejecting their ministers ( as our brethren hold ) then they only have a power to judge whether the cause of the deposition be just or unjust , and be it just , or unjust , the minister hath no way but to acquiesce in their sentence ; for if once this gap were opened , either in church or state , that a person judged and censured might thwart the judgment of the supream court , by his private opinion , it would introduce intolerable confusion : it is true in such a case he may appeal to god , and find comfort in this , that in fero dei his cause is good , but as for the forum humanum he is gone irrecoverably : and however neighbouring churches , or ministers may endeavour to convince and rectifie such a church , and to perswade them to own him as their minister , yet , if they will persist , they must all be contented , and he must not be owned for a minister . and thus much may serve for the vindication of those arguments which were urged by the assembly . i shall now take notice of two or three of their arguments . their chief argument is this : a minister is a pastour only to his own flock : but it is only a particular church which is his flock ; ergo he is a pastour only to his particular church : the minor is proved thus , all that is a mans flock , he is commanded actually to feed , and to take heed to , and he sins if he do not , acts . . but no bishop is commanded actually to feed the whole church , ergo the whole church is not his flock , p. . ans. . the major of the first syllogisme is untrue : a minister is a pastour to his own flock especially , but not only . . the major of the second syllogism is denied , a minister is not obliged actually to feed all his flock ; and i suppose i shall give an unanswerable reason for the deniall of it : every apostle was a catholick pastour , and so had the whole church for his flock , mat. . , . here our brethren are consenters : but every apostle was not obliged actually to feed the whole church , and all nations , they neither did it , nor was it possible for them to do it , and therefore their work was divided among them ; the circumcision being more especially committed to peter , and the uncircumcision to paul : and yet , although by this distribution , paul had a special relation to the gentiles , and was obliged to feed them more especially , yet he had upon him the care of all the churches , and it was his duty , as far as his ability and occasions reached , to feed the whole church , and no farther : and so it is with ordinary ministers , though they are especially obliged to feed their own flocks , and indeed can do no more constantly , yet according to their ability and opportunity they are bound to feed the whole church , by teaching , and consulting , &c. and this is the only argument urged formally in this place against our assertion . but because there are some other passages which seem to be argumentative , though scattered elsewhere , i thought fit to do them that right , as to bring them in here , that so the reader might see all their strength together . their second argument is this ; this makes the power of ordinary ministers as extensive and large as that of the apostles . ans. i answer plainly and clearly , that the difference between apostolical and pastoral power lies not in the extent of their relation ( if any assert it , let them prove it ) but in the independency , superiority , and singularity of jurisdiction , which , if it be not sufficient to distinguish between apostles , and ordinary ministers , besides their excellent and infallible gifts , i dare make our brethren judges . their third argument is this ; ministers are only pastours to them whom they can govern , as well as teach : but ministers cannot exercise church-government towards heathens , for they are not their flock ; and therefore in preaching to heathens they act not as officers , but as gifted brethren , p. . the answer to this is not difficult ; if the not exercising of government be a sufficient foundation for this assertion , that a minister preacheth not to such as a pastour , then the apostles did not preach as officers to heathens , for towards such they could not exercise church-government : what have i to do to judge them that are without , cor. . . but the apostles did preach as officers to heathens , which hath been already fully proved . their fourth argument is ; that this brings in episcopacy , to make one man an officer over many churches . and this argument i have often wondred to meet in all sorts of anti-presbyterians , greeks , and barbarians , wise and unwise , learned and unlearned , all agree in this charge ; and they prosecute it with so much confidence , and eagernesse , that if a man had so much charity , or so little judgment as to beleeve them , he would think there were no difference between geneva and canterbury . for answer , to omit other differences which might be insisted on , as . that the episcopal way leaves to inferiour ministers nothing but the name and title of officers , all power of jurisdiction being ingrossed into the bishops hands ; whereby all other ministers are made a strange kind of men , being officers without office , rulers without rule , &c. whereas in the presbyterian way , every particular officer is confessedly invested with , and hath liberty for the exercise of his office , and power as need requires . . that government by bishops , is a government by forreigners , as it were , the power of ruling being neither in the hands of the people , nor of any chosen by them , ( as it is in the presbyterian way ) but in the hands of persons wholly extraneous to most of the churches they rule , and generally , neither knowing of , nor known to those whom they undertake to govern . but i wave these things and many other , as being extravagant in this place : this only i observe for the present purpose . the formality of episcopacy lies in this , in the superiority of one pastour to another , and to many other ; and of one church to all the rest in a diocesse ; not in the superiority of a colledge of pastors , or convention of churches over one pastour or church : will any indite the apostles for introducing episcopacy , because all the apostles met together , acts . did assume a superiority over paul , ( who was there met , as the rest , in the capacity of an elder ) and examine and judge of his doctrine ? shall any man say the united provinces in the low-countries are under a monarchy , because every particular governour , &c. is subject and accountable to the rest of the governours , the states generall ? this no man will say but he that understands not the difference between government by one , and by many : and therefore it is equally absurd to charge us with episcopacy , because we would have every particular officer and church subject ( not to any one man , that , and that alone is episcopacy ) but to a convetion of officers , &c. and therefore for the future i shall desire our brethren to forbear such frivolous and intemperate accusations . and this is all that i shall say to this present question , closing only with this intimation , that i principally recommend the serious and impartial consideration of what is here said , unto such , who though they professe they will be ordained ( and we are obliged to believe their professions ) yet for the present refuse it , because they are not called to any particular charge ; i hope what hath been said will satisfie some at least , that although it is convenient that every minister should have relation to some one church , yet he hath also a relation to the whole , and his relation to a particular church as a lecturer is foundation fully sufficient for his ordination . chap. iv. the principall question is this : whether gifted persons may preach ordinarily without ordination . state of the question . i shall not need to take much pains about the stating of the question , that being fully done in the assemblies . book . these things only i shall say , . we speak of persons truly gifted , not every one that conceits himself to be gifted ; not of them , who , however in their own conceits they are gifted , yet indeed have need to be instructed in the principles of religion : and that is the true case of many of our gifted preachers in england : for such our brethren say they do not plead , and yet i cannot tell what to make of this , if it look not that way , when they say , though one that is really gifted , for ought we know may lawfully preach without approbation , from the church or others , yet it may be inexpedient ; so that hereby it is left to every man ( as to the lawfulnesse of it ) to judge of his gifts , and to preach , if he think himself fit . this also must be said , that the assertion of this doctrine was that which opened the gap unto all that crew , and which hath been the unhappy occasion of involving this poor church and nation in those crouds of errors and confusion which are now too rise amongst us . . we dispute not what may be done in cases of necessity , either in preaching to heathens , &c. or in preaching in order to trial , ( which is necessary to take an account of a mans sufficiency for the work. ) . we do not in this place restrain ordination to our way of ordination : whether it belongs to the presbytery or to the people to ordain , we are not concerned in this question , which is barely this : whether a solemn mission or setting apart be necessary for a mans ordinary preaching ? our brethren deny . we affirm . but for the full understanding of the question , i refer the reader to our ius divinum ; wherein , because out brethren acquarrell some things , i shall take notice of what deserves animadversion . the main thing is this , they find fault with the definition given of preaching , and they say , any publishing , opening or applying gospel-truths to any persons for the uses and ends they serve to , yea though it be but to a single person , is preaching . by this rule we are all preachers , bond and free , male and female , wise and unwise , seeing this is frequently done by persons of all sorts , and in this sense , both men and women are said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , such preaching we dispute not against , but enjoyn it to people of all sorts . in that sense we do , as moses , wish that all the lords people were prophets : this is that which upon all occasions we press private christians to ; that they would instruct the ignorant , admonish the unruly , &c. privately . and truly this businesse conscienciously managed , would so take up the gifts and time of most christians , that they would never be charged at the last day for wrapping their talents in a napkin , though they never assumed the publick work of the ministry . it is then publick preaching that we dispute against , we will not quarrell about words : if that shall be preaching which our brethren will call so , be it so ; then in that sense we dispute not against preaching , but preaching publikely . there is another thing which they cannot digest , to wit , the distinction which we made between preaching , and the speaking of a general to his army , &c. wherein the object is a congregation , not sacred , but meerly civil , &c. to this they say , it is preaching , though the object of it be a congregation not sacred , but prophane and idolatrous , for infidels are to be preached to : and if the general of an army open and apply scriptures , not for a civil end chiefly , but for the instruction and edification of those he speaks to , and this , not in an intermixed way to qualifie civil actions , how this can be denied to be preaching , we know not . to which i reply , . in that case we must distinguish between finis operis , and finis operantis ; the end of the work in its own nature , and the end of the worker . suppose a philosophy professor is reading a philosophicall lecture of the existence of god , or the immortality of the soul , ( wherein he takes occasion to open and apply divers scriptures ) possibly he being a good man , may aim at the spiritual and eternal good of his hearers , yet none will call this preaching , because though the end of the reader was , their salvation , yet the end of the reading was quite of another nature . so if a religious general in speaking to his army , when going to fight , principally aims at the salvation of their souls , yet this is not preaching ; for though his end in speaking be their salvation , yet indeed the end of the work in it self ( and that is it by which all actions must be estimated , for the end of the actors may be various and infinite ) i say , the end of the work is to encourage them to the battel . . a company of heathens met together in the case supposed , though they are not a sacred congregation , yet the end of their meeting ( suppose to hear paul preach to them ) is sacred , i mean , the end of the work , though not the end of the workers ; and however it is with the hearers , yet the end of the actor or speaker is purely and solely the salvation of their souls ; and so it is truly , and may properly be called preaching . . but in this case , i say , a general may not publickly open and apply scriptures to his army , unlesse in a case of necessity , or in order to a civil end , i. e. their encouragement to battel . there is one thing more in the stating of the question , which they trouble themselves much about , concerning our sense in the use of that phrase of authoritative preaching , and how they tell us , that authority is sometimes taken for a right or power to do some publick work ; sometimes for the majesty ▪ fervor and gravity which is to attend the dispensation of the gospel ; sometimes for that power which an officer hath over his people ; and ( say they ) we judge that our brethren take authoritative preaching in this sense , because they oppose it to brotherly charitative preaching . but this is to seek a knot in a bulrush , for our meaning was sufficiently plain , and we did not speak of an authoritative preaching , as if we did allow any publick preaching which is not authoritative , but only put it as a character of , and convertible with publick preaching ( unlesse in cases of necessity ) and so the assembly expressed themselves clearly and fully ; we distinguish , say they , between a private , brotherly teaching , &c. and an authoritative publick-teaching . and this is all i shall say for the stating of the question , which now i come to discusse , and i shall do it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in this method : . i shall propound and answer their arguments . . i shall propound and vindicate our arguments . and this method ( though somewhat preposterous ) i chuse , because i would follow the order of their book as farre as i can with any conveniency . chap. v. their first argument is this : election must go before ordination : but a person must preach , yea preach frequently and ordinarily , before election , for without this the people cannot discern his gifts , &c. ergo persons not ordained may ordinarily preach . ans. . they know their major is not beyond exception , but i let that passe , because afterwards we shall handle it more fully . . for their minor , if it be true , then preaching frequently and ordinarily in that case is necessary , i. e. for the trial of their gifts , and that we dispute not about , but whether out of a case of necessity one may preach ordinarily without ordination . but this first argument i suppose they intended only for velitation : their second argument is the achilles , which i must now come to grapple with . there are two pillars of their cause , scripture precept , and scripture example alledged ; and indeed either of these shall serve turn : but we must not take them upon their bare word , but weigh what they have said in the ballance of the sanctuary . it is scripture precept which is here discussed . their second argument then is this : such as are commanded to preach may preach : but some men not ordained are commanded to preach ; ergo. the minor they prove thus ; all that are apt to teach , are commanded to teach : this they attempt to prove from pet. . , . but by their favour let us adde v. . to it , for our brethren represent the place imagint luscâ , with an half face . the whole 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is this , v. . use hospitality one to another without grudging . v. . as every man hath received the gift , even so minister the same one to another , as good stewards of the manifold grace of god. v. . if any man speak , let him speak as the oracles of god ; if any minister , let him do it as of the ability which god giveth . where any indifferent reader will observe the words mainly insisted upon , to be like a little isthmus of land between two seas , to either of which it may be related : or like a tree standing in the confines of two counties , it being hard to determine to which county it belongs . it may look backward and relate to hospitality ; it may look forward and relate to speaking and ministring ; and the words will bear either sense , but both senses it cannot bear , that being an undoubted truth , that sensus unius loci literalis non est nisi unicus ; and to demonstrate that it must relate to this , and cannot relate to the other , will be found very difficult , if not impossible : and yet upon this doubtfull place our brethren hang the weight of their cause . i find a threefold sense given of these words : some referre it to the gift of speaking by any , &c. others , to the office of speakers . others , to the giving of alms : of these i shall speak in order , premising onely one thing , ( which is well suggested by dr collings ) i. e. that whatever the sense of the place is if it be a command to preach , yet this epistle being written to strangers , and in a scattered estate of the church ; that might be lawfull to them in that case of necessity , which otherwise is unlawfull : but i will not presse that too far . first then , their sense is this ; that whatsoever gift a man hath he is required to exercise it ; if he hath a gift to preach , and that publickly , he must preach , &c. and to prove this sense , i observe they use three arguments , which i shall propound and consider . . it is a gift indefinitely , and therefore it may extend to all gifts . p. . ans. . and suppose it do extend to all gifts , it is a truth granted by us , that whatsoever gift a man hath , he ought to exercise it , but still , as he is called to it , and in his own sphear . . nothing more usual then for an expression indefinite in words , to be definite in sense , and to be limited pro subjectâ materiâ , according to the matter in hand . it would be vanity to multiply instances in a case so known . if our brethren were discoursing with an arminian , about the extent of christs death , who should urge the word world , and mankind , and infer as they do , that the word being indefinite , it is to be taken of all mankind , they would quickly find an answer , that such indefinite expressions are to be compared with , and explained by other places , where they are restrained ; and the same answer may stop the mouth of this argument : so that to argue from the indefinitenesse of the phrase is but loose reasoning . . they say , this general expression must be interpreted and limited by that which follows , if any man speak , &c. pag. . ans. . it may every whit as well be limited and interpreted by the foregoing words , and if so , then all that our brethren say from these words fals to the ground . . if it must be limited by the following words , so it may , without any prejudice to our cause , in this manner , v. . he laies this down in the general , that every man that hath a gift must use it ; then in the th verse , he instanceth in two sorts of men that have received gifts , to wit , ministers and deacons , who must be carefull to use their gifts , and therefore in like manner all others are obliged to use the gifts that god hath given them : or if they will not allow these to be officers , it may be limited , according to their own apprehensions , that as every man in general is to use his gifts , so in particular every man that hath preaching gifts is to use them ; but how ? i. e. as far as god doth call him forth to the use of them , but no further ; and to us there appears no ordinary way now of gods calling forth men to this work , but by ordination . . they argue from the particle as ; as he hath received , i. e. according to the nature of his gift , he that hath private gifts , must use them privately ; he that hath publick gifts , i. e. gifts fit for publick use , must use them publickly , p. . ans. . the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may well be understood causally , because he hath received it . . and if it be meant thus ( which we say is a truth ) that god expects an use of talents , proportionable to what he gives , yet every one must act in his order , and in his place and sphear , and as god cals him forth , as we shall see more fully by and by . . but what if this proportion be meant of almes-giving ? then all that they say fals to the ground . thus we have seen how our brethren sense this place , and what are the reasons that prevail with them so to do , which whether they be of that consequence as to justifie them in the holding of an opinion so offensive to thousands of sincere christians , and so introductory of all confusion , i leave to sober readers to judge . and yet their own sense doth draw after it such grosse and manifest absurdities , that they dare not abide by it absolutely , but qualifie it with an exception sufficient to invalidate all their argument . they say , by this text all gifted persons are commanded to preach , unlesse there can be shewn some scripture-prohibition to forbid their preaching . p. . to which i reply two things ; . hereby the plea is removed to another court , and the question lies here , whether elsewhere there be any prohibition ? which must be judged afterwards , by comparing our arguments and their answers . . it lies not upon us to shew a prohibition to restrain them from preaching , but upon them to shew a warrant for preaching ( seeing for instituted worship we must have a positive warrant ) which this place we see affords not , and whether any other place affords , we shall see hereafter . but we must not yet part with our brethrens argument from this place . there are three or four difficulties with which it is gravel'd . the first is that urged by dr collins , here is not only a liberty granted , but a duty enjoined , so that by this text , gifted persons not only may , but must preach , and that without election or calling , for the churches neglect of their duty , must not make him neglect his . the full vindication of this , i shall leave to that reverend author , but i cannot wholly let it go untouched : i shall form the argument thus , they who are by vertue of a divine precept to preach the gospel , are to do it necessarily , necessity is laid upon me , yea , wo is unto me if i preach not the gospel , they are to do it in season and out of season , they are to give themselves wholly to these things , they are not to leave the word of god to serve tables : but all that have preaching gifts are not under such obligations , our brethren being judges . ergo , they are not obliged to preach the gospel . the major i prove , ubi lex non distinguit , non est distinguendum . the scripture takes no notice of two sorts of preachers , whereof the one may preach seldomer or oftner as they please , and as the church desires ; and the other must preach frequently , constantly ; and even those upon whom the lest obligation lies in our brethrens opinion , are commanded . it is true no preachers are in scripture obliged to preach in such or such a place , nor to preach so often ( the determination of these and other like circumstances , is left to the rules of prudence , and general direction of the word ) yet all are obliged to be instant and diligent in the work : and as the service of the church is unspeakably to be preferred before the best merchandize , and gods glory before their own wordly interest ; so when a man hath received gifts for the service of preaching , if these commands oblige him to preach , they oblige him to throw off all the impediments of that noble work , and to give himself wholly to these things : and the rather , because of our brethrens own argument ; a man must exercise his gift as he hath received it . now if a man have ability to preach ordinarily and constantly every lords day , if he would use sufficient diligence , such a man dischargeth not his trust in preaching sparingly and occasionally only . obj. but they say , that the case of a minister and a gifted brother are alike in this , a minister sins not , if he be put out of employment , and cast into a place where his gifts are not desired , &c. and so it is with gifted men , &c. ans. will our brethren then say , that others not desiring a man to exercise his gifts , will justifie him in the not exercising of it ? can any man dispence with anothers wrapping his talent in a napkin ? what if paul had come to a place where he was not desired to preach , ( which often was his case ) was he then free from his necessity of preching ? or what if a church grow weary of hearing and preaching , so that they desire not their pastour to preach among them , will this excuse him , if he throw off preaching ? for my part i must professe , were i in that case , though i might think it more advantageous to the church to dispose of my self in some other place . yet should i by no means look at it as a dispensation from the work of preaching , though no man should desire me , ( were there but any that would hear me . ) nay more , where the apostles were not only , not desired , but forbidden to preach , yet they accounted it their duty to continue in that work . whether that hold in ordinary ministers , i shall not now dispute ; this only i shall say , ( and that is fully sufficient for our purpose ) that if a minister be put out of employment , or be in a place where he is not desired to preach , yet if he may be permitted to preach , and the affairs of the church require it , he ought to do it , or to employ himself in some other way , which may be equivalent for the churches service . i shall adde but one argument to our brethren , taken from their own words ; whatsoever duty a man may lawfully do , that he is bound to do : but one that is really gifted for preaching ( for ought we know ) may lawfully preach without approbation from a church , or from others , say they ; therefore , one that is really gifted is bound to preach , although neither the church nor others do approve it , much lesse desire it . the major is most clear , and it were a contradiction to say , that such a thing is a duty , which may in such a case be lawfully done , and yet that it is not his duty , or that he is not bound to it : the minor is their own words . and this is the first inconvenience their sense of this place runs upon . a second is this , that hereby it will follow that women may , nay must preach . a third is , that by the same rule , every one who hath a gift to be a general , magistrate , &c. may undertake those places : to these our brethren say something by way of answer ; but the reply i must leave to him who is more concerned in them : they are so fully and largely discussed by divers already , that it is needlesse to say any thing more of them , and we may have occasion to speak of them hereafter . but the fourth and principall thing is this : it is true , every one is to exercise his gift , but in his own sphear , publick persons publickly , private persons privately ; and so did aquila and priscilla , acts . and those women , phil. . . and because here the shoe pincheth , our brethren make a strong attempt against this assertion , and endeavour to batter it down by divers considerations . for the examples of aquila and priscilla , they say , . it appears not whether they were apt to preach publickly or no. p. . ans. . it appears that they were excellently gifted , in such a measure that paul cals them his co-workers , or fellow labourers ( for so much the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports ) in the work of the gospel , rom. . . nor is it in the least intimated that they were not gifted to speak in publick ; and therefore seeing the excellency of their gifts is mentioned , without any note of restraint or diminution , it is most ingenuous and reasonable , to conclude they were apt to speak publickly . . they instructed apollo privately , for that was most expedient . p. . ans. it is true it was most fit to do it privately , yet not so , as that it was inconvenient to advise apollo to be a diligent hearer publickly : they might have taught apollo ( with others ) publickly , without any reflection upon him : seeing therefore we reade of their doing it privately , not a word of their doing it publickly ; it is a certain truth which we assert , that they instructed privately , and but a meer supposition that they did , or might do it publickly . . as to the main objection they say many things : to take notice of all they say will be needlesse : the strength of what they have , lies in these things : . private men may do the same work with preaching , i. e. they may open and apply scriptures , exhort , rebuke , &c. p. . and because they know we grant this , and say they may do the same work , but not in the same manner , not publickly , they adde . that every church-member is obliged to teach and admonish every fellow member , as occasion requires , p . ans. if they mean that every member is bound to do this publickly ( else it is nothing to the purpose , for to do it privately we allow ) then not only gifted brethren , but all the brethren , yea and sisters to , not only may , but must turn publick preachers . . a publick gift cannot be fully improved , if it be not used publickly , but privately only , p. . ans. . if therefore any really have publick gifts , and desire to use them publickly , let them with the houshold of stephanas , addict themselves wholly to the work of the ministry , and not interlope betwixt two callings . . i would know of our brethren , whether this general rule ( upon which their argument hangs ) be true or false , to wit , that the bare having of a gift fit for publick use , is of it self a sufficient ground for that publick use of it , without any other call . if they say that it is not true in the general , but only true in this particular case , then they discover to all the world , that it is but an hypothesis of their own , meerly taken up for the defence of a prae-conceived opinion : if they say it is true in the general , then , what if a woman is gifted to teach ? or a man gifted to rule ? the argument is every whit as strong . i will return their own argument upon them thus . every man ought fully to improve the gift he hath , and if he have a publick gift , he ought to improve it publickly : but many private men have the gift of ruling , judging , leading an army , &c. and this gift cannot be fully improved , but by the publick exercise of it : therefore such private men ought publickly to exercise such gifts . there is no way to avoid this conclusion , but by saying that besides these gifts a call is required , which till a man hath , he is not obliged to exercise his gifts publickly . and the same answer ( if our brethren will be candid ) may satisfie them , that besides preaching gifts , there is a call required ( whatever that call be ) and till a man hath that call he is not to exercise his preaching gifts publickly , nor do his gifts oblige him or warrant him thereunto . . they say , publicknesse in acting is not so material a thing , it doth not make an act to be an act of office , the publickness of the act doth not make it preaching ; private men spake publickly , acts . . any private men may give almes publickly in the assembly , which is the deacons office . p. . ans. . though bare publicknesse of speaking makes it not preaching , yet that is one main ingredient of that preaching which is now in question , and ( as we judge ) a property of authoritative preaching : and so material is the difference between publick and private teaching or preaching ( call it what you will , for i hate logomachies ) that although this latter is allowed to women , and was performed by priscilla , yet publick teaching , or teaching in the church-assembly is forbidden to women upon this account , because it is an authoritative act , as is most evident from cor. . . & tim. . , . where the very reason given why they must not teach in publick , is because they must not usurp authority ; concluding beyond contradiction , that to preach publickly is an act of authority , and inconsistent with a state of subjection , and therefore not to be performed by any who are in a state of subjection , and under obedience to officers , whether men or women . yea further , whereas some of our brethren contend , that although preaching constantly in publick be unlawfull to gifted men , yet preaching occasionally may be lawfull . i offer it to their consideration , that it is not only preaching constantly , which is here forbidden to women , but also preaching occasionally , though but once in publick , seeing even such preaching is accounted an act of authority : and therefore by a parity of reason gifted men are forbidden to preach , not only constantly , but also occasionally ( further then necessity requires , &c ) . for acts . we allow private men , though not to preach , yet to speak publickly in divers cases , as at vestries , synods , &c. sometimes propounding questions , desiring to be further satisfied , &c. . for the last clause it is a meer fallacy ; for though in that case a private man give his alms publickly , yet indeed he doth not give the publick alms ( which is the deacons office ) but only his own private alms he gives in a publick way . . they say , it is usuall for a man being requested , to do the work of another mans calling ; one that is no schoolmaster may tend a school occasionally for a few daies , and yet he doth not go out of his sphear . p. . ans. the parallel no way holds , for , though for other reasons the gift of some schoolmasters places is limited , yet indeed in it self , neither the office nor work of a schoolmaster is restrained , either by divine or humane law ; any man that is fit , may manage it , and we see ordinarily persons uncalled set up schools without any authority , and yet without any blame . if they would have a fit parallel , take that of a magistrate ; what if a justice of the peace request another man to sit for him upon the bench ? may he do it ? i trow not . they say , a man may chuse it as his calling to preach , and fit himself for it , &c. ( though he do not own ordination as that which gives him a call ) now in this case , he doth not go out of his calling to preach . men who have other callings , may leave them and become teachers , heb. . . nor doth the cor. . . forbid a change of callings , but only command a man in his calling to abide with god , v. . p. . ans. i. designation of a mans self to a calling , is one thing , and a solemn inauguration into that calling is another thing : suppose a man design himself for the service of a state , &c. untill he be by authority installed into some office of state , he is but a private person ( notwithstanding all his intentions and preparations for that work ) and if he should undertake to do the acts of an officer of state , before he receive a civil ordination ( as i may call it ) he should go out of his sphear . in like manner , whosoever designes himself for the ministry , and intends that calling , yet , if he undertake to do the acts of the office before he be called to it , he goes out of his place . ii. for heb. . . i must needs declare that i am sorry to see good men take such liberty to wrest the scripture to serve their conceits : o how great is the power of prejudice ! but i answer , . do our brethren indeed believe that it was the duty ( duty i say , for paul speaks not what they may do , but what they ought to do ) of all the hebrews , men and women ( for to both he writes promiscuously ) to be publick teachers ? . say that all must endeavour to be teachers , what then ? must they needs be publick teachers ? a genere ad speciem non valet illatio affirmativa . they ought to be able to teach their families , to teach heathens , to teach babes in christ , and this will run smoothly and take in all . it is the duty of all men and women to grow in knowledge , and to be able to teach others , according as their place and opportunity inables them . obj. but he speaks of such teaching as babes in christ do not attain to , and such as is attained by long time , and such as belongs to grown christians , v. , , . whereas all believers and babes in christ are teachers in that private brotherly way , and therefore this cannot be meant of private , but of publick teaching , p. . ans. it follows not : the teaching here spoken of , though private , yet was not attained unto by the hebrews , by babes in christ , they were ( according to the apostl's description ) unable to teach their families , or to instruct an heathen privately , if he had desired information from them , for he tels us , they had need that one should teach them again , which be the first principles of the oracles of god. our brethren perplex themselves by confounding two things much differing , to wit , the duty and the ability : for babes in christ it is their duty to teach , i. e. privately , yet they may want ability to teach . . teachers are here taken for such as are apt to teach , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not that the apostle injoyns it upon all the hebrews , as their duty actually to turn publick teachers ( if the whole body were the eye , where were the hearing ? ) but only to be fit to teach , id est , in the sense explained : as gal. . . he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , id est , word for word , condemned , blamed , that is , he was to be blamed . so tully , quis te damnatior ? that is , who is more to be blamed than thou . iii. for cor. . . although i conceive not that every man is so obliged to continue in his calling , that he may not upon weighty reasons change it for another ; yet surely that text forbids a rash and groundlesse removing from one calling to another : as it is true , whether a man keeps his old calling or enters upon a new one , he ought to do it with god ( which is all that can be collected from the th verse ) yet v. . servants , and so others a pari , are plainly commanded not to change their callings , i. e. rashly and causelesly . . they cite a command , heb. . . but exhorting one another , i. e. in those church-assemblies , to which the opposition clearly referres it : not only officers , but all christians are to do it , p. . and whereas they know it will and may justly be replied , that by this rule all christians are commanded to exhort publickly , they endeavour to take that off by saying , only those that were able to do it are intended , as if a father bid all his children go to work , he doth not include the child in the cradle : but here is a manifest halt ; for all the grown christians were able to teach , though not all alike , ( as of the grown children some could work better , some worse , yet by their supposition all that can work quovis modo , are commanded to work . ) some had better , some had meaner gifts , but the very meanest could provoke to good works , and might say something to admonish , to counsel and comfort others , to perswade them to persevere , &c. nay to that purpose a sincere hearted man , though of very mean abilities , might speak more effectually then some able teachers : so that if this place prove any thing to our brethrens purpose , it will prove that it was the duty of every one , gifted or not gifted , to preach in the publick assembly , which is not only false , but contrary to their own opinion . but i answer further ; their assembling together is not the modification of the exhortation ( as if they were to do it in the publick assembly ) but the matter of the exhortation , they were ( every one according to his place privately or publickly ) to exhort one another , to what ? even to this , that they would not forsake the assembling of themselves together , i. e. that they would not apostatize from the christian religion , and christian worship , and christian assemblies , nor relapse to judaism , but that they would persevere to the end , that they would hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering , v. . and this concerns the first sense put upon the place , as if it obliged all gifted men to preach . in the second place the assembly take notice , that by gift , may be understood the office , he that speaketh , i. e. the publick office-preacher , let him do it , &c. and he that ministreth , i. e. the deacon : and thus also others unconcerned in this quarrell , understand the words . but against this our brethren offer divers exceptions . . they say , neither the context nor subsequent verses referre to officers , but to christians in general , therefore this doth not , p. . ans. nothing is more common in scriputre , than for general and special exhortations to be joyned together , and for the apostles to make a transition from a general to a special exhortation , and from a special to a general , as almost every interpreter of scripture observeth . . they say , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are far more usually taken for gifts , than for an office , p. . ans. . it sufficeth that sometimes it is taken for an office , and therefore so it may be taken here . . and if it be granted that gift is taken in their sense in this place , it availeth them not , for the verse may be a general rule , wherein every man is commanded to exercise whatsoever gifts he hath received , and to exercise them in a right manner ; and in the verse he comes to instance in two particulars ; the publick teacher , saith he , as he hath received gifts for teaching , and the gift of the office , so let him speak , &c. and so the deacon , &c. and this shall suffice to speak of the second sense . a word now of the third , which is this , that this gift is meant of estates , &c. which a man is to use for gods glory and the good of others , for so the dependance upon the foregoing words carries it ; use hospitality , &c. and then he addes a reason , because they have received it , and so may and ought to lay it out ; or ( if you will ) as a rule to guide persons in the management of it , that they should lay out according to what they receive in . to this there are but two things objected : . they are here called stewards , not of this worlds goods , but of the grace of god , and not of one grace only , to wit , charity , but of the manifold grace of god , p. . ans. the grace of god which properly signifies an attribute of god , is commonly in scripture taken for the gracious effects and actings of that grace towards men . and whereas these effects and actings of grace are of two sorts , some concerning this life , and some concerning the other life , either of these , or any effects of grace may be called the grace of god metonymically , and in respect of such temporal effects ( as well as spiritual . ) god is frequently said to be gracious , exod. . — it is his raiment — and when he crieth unto me , then i will hear , for i am gracious : so also amos . . sam. . . kings . . and indeed , although this may possibly seem strange to him that is praepossessed with the common use and acception of the word grace in the english tongue ; yet can it not seem improbable to him who knows the use of the greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( and that is the language which the holy ghost used ) which is indeed nothing else but a favour or blessing , so that , all that we are here exhorted unto , is to be good stewards of the manifold favour of god , or of the manifold blessings which come from the grace and favour of god. and thus far our brethren agree with us , that by the grace of god we are to understand the effects thereof towards us ; only here lies the difference between us , that they will needs expound it of the spiritual and internal acts of this grace ( because that seems to favour their cause most ) when , as we say , it may be understood of the external and temporal effects of that grace , for of such things he spake in the foregoing verse : and in that sense the word grace is taken in relation to men , viz. for the temporal effects of their grace or favour towards others , cor. . . who was chosen to travel with us , with this grace which is administred unto us , i. e. with this charitable contribution , as all interpreters agree . so that no man can justly stumble at that sense of the word here . and for the addition of the word , the manifold grace of god , who knows not that gods temporal favours ( of all which we are to be good stewards ) are manifold ? there is as great multiplicity and variety in temporall as in spirituall blessings . . they say , this will destroy the connexion of this verse with the rest . ans. . what more common then for exhortations of divers sorts , in pauls epistles , to be joyned together without any coherence . . this doth not dissolve the connexion , but only varies the connexion , for whereas they annex it to the following verse , this sense joynes it to the foregoing verse . and this may fully serve for the vindication of this place of scripture ; wherein , though i have not taken notice of every word said by our brethren , yet any ingenuous reader that compares theirs and mine together , will discern that i have not omitted any thing which is either considerable or plausible , and for other things i have not so much spare time as to throw it away upon them . and thus much for their second argument . chap. vi. the third argument will not call for much labour . they argue from a gospel promise , mat. . . unto every one that hath shall be given : whatsoever gifts a man hath , if he improve them , god will increase his gifts . ans. it is true , every one is to exercise his gifts , but every one suo modo , and debito ordine , as hath been frequently said , according to his capacity and place , and after a right order . what if a man be prudent and very fit to manage the deacons work , and to distribute the church-alms ? must he undertake it ( upon pretence of exercising his gifts ) before he be called to it ? no surely ; tim. . . let them first be proved , then let them use the office of a deacon . or if a man hath gifts to rule a state , must he take upon him that work , before he be called to it ? surely no : and therefore a preacher also , however gifted , yet must not publickly exercise his gifts till he have a call , some call i say or other , for i meddle not now with particulars , what that call is ; only i say , besides gifts a call is required , without which he sins not , in the not exercising of his gifts in such a way ( although exercise them he may divers waies . ) and if our brethren allow this in the office of the ruling elder and deacon , that how well soever they are gifted for those works , yet without a call , a call ( i say ) distinct from that which may be pretended by vertue of their gifts , they may not exercise those gifts , why should they not allow it in the preaching ministry ? why should not only the offices , but also the works of these inferiour offices be inclosed , and that higher and much more difficult work of the ministry lie in common ? and this shall suffice for their second argument , wherein though divers things are said , yet nothing of strength is added , which hath not been considered and enervated under the foregoing argument . their third argument is taken from gospel presidents or examples : they instance in two , . in apollo . . in the scattered saints , acts . . . in apollo , and the marrow and strength of what they say of him is this ; he preached publickly , &c. and yet was not ordained , for he knew only the baptism of john ( not the baptism of christ ) to which the institution of ordination was subsequent ; he had but an imperfect knowledge of the doctrine of christ. unto this instance divers things are said , which our brethren take notice of , and attempt to confute . . whereas some answer , that apollo was an extraordinary officer , that he is ranked with paul and peter , cor. . . that he is called a minister , cor. . . to this they answer , . let him prove it that will assert it : all that the text saith of him is , that he was eloquent and fervent , &c. which a man may be without those extraordinary gifts , p. . reply if this place doth not , yet others do imply that he was an extraordinary officer , cor. . . exc. but that was afterward , when he went to corinth ; he might be a gifted man first , and yet afterwards an officer &c. p. . ans. that apollo had extraordinary gifts is very probable from that cor. . . being ranked with persons so qualified , but when he received them , the scripture is silent : the scripture intimates that he had them at corinth , but that he received them not before , ne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quidem . the distance of time is not so great between his being at ephesus , that is acts . . and in achaia , that is v. . of the same chapter : and therefore it is most probable he had those extraordinary gifts when he was at ephesus . if it be objected against this , that he was ignorant in many truths , instructed by aquila and priscilla , p. . the answer may be this , that this is not inconsistent with his being a prophet : god revealed not all his mind at once to all his prophets . those prophets , cor. . were to hear and learn of others , as well as to speak themselves . the apostles had extraordinary gifts when christ lived , though not in such a plentifull and glorious manner as afterwards , and yet were ignorant of those great and glorious truths of christs death and resurrection , &c. inst. but after his departure the people of ephesus were ignorant of those gifts of the holy ghost , acts . , . ans. that might be , neither they nor apollo might know distinctly what these gifts of the holy ghost were , and yet apollo might have them ; his face might shine and he not know it : as a man may be converted and yet not know that he is converted , nay possibly he may not clearly understand what the work of conversion is . . whereas it is further said , that apollo's might have a commission from john to preach . they say , let them prove it that can , the gospel is silent as to that , p. . reply . our brethren must remember the proof lies upon them to make good that he was not ordained , not upon us to prove that he was ordained : for if we lay down this position , that meerly gifted men ought not to preach , &c. if they offer any instances to the contrary , they must make this good , that such were only gifted men , and not ordained : they are not so unacquainted with the laws of disputation , as not to know that the proof lies on the opponents part , which they manage in this place . . the gospel is silent as to the mission and ordination of divers others : we reade nothing of the ordination of titus , of epaphroditus , of the pastors of the seven asian churches , rev. , & . shall we therefore conclude they were not ordained ? . whereas it is said he preached only where there was no church : they say , let them prove that it is more unwarrantable to preach where a church is , than where no church is . reply this will easily be proved by that ingens telum necessitas : i hope there is a far greater necessity of gifted mens preaching where ministers are not , than in a church where they are . . to these i may adde , that we do not find apollo's preaching in a christian church , but disputing in a jewish assembly , a liberty which we as readily allow to gifted men , as to write in defence of the truth . . say that apollo's were not ordained ( which is all our brethren can extort or desire ) yet this gives them no help at all , for the extraordinarinesse of his gifts might well supply the defect of an ordination , and that is no president for such whose gifts are but ordinary . and thus much for their first example . the second is that locus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that famous instance of the scattered saints , acts . about which i shall not ingage my self , nor detain the reader with repeating those various answers that are given to it by the provincial assembly , which might easily be vindicated from their exceptions . i shall not stand upon this ; that the persons scattered were , if not solely , yet mainly the officers of the church , who might therefore preach , &c. but that which wholly invalidates this place as to their purpose , is that which is commonly said , that this was an extraordinary case , a case of necessity . and mark the weight of our brethrens deduction from this place : because the scattered disciples in a persecuted state of the church , in a time when all church-order was broke , preached and taught jesus christ to heathens and unbelieving jews , occasionally ( it may be in private , or with paul in the market places &c. or in their synagogues disputing with them ) therefore now unordained persons may preach publickly and solemnly to a christian church settled and constituted , wherein are plenty of able and godly pastors , and where as their preaching is not necessary , so to many fearing god it is highly scandalous . this is the true state of the argument , and if our brethren be not sick of this consequence , i shall say they have good stomacks . but this must not passe so , and therefore they make an assault upon it , and there are three or four things which they say ( lest they should say nothing ) which stand in the room of answers , with which i must professe i wonder how sober ingenious and conscientious men ( such as i hope our brethren are ) can satisfie themselves . but such as they are we shall give them a fair hearing . . they say , persecution laid no necessity upon them to preach , p. . ans. yes , it laid a necessity upon them , i. e. in order to gods glory , and the salvation of souls , which could not be had without preaching , rom. . and preaching could not now be had in an ordinary way ; upon this supposition , that in those times god would have all men to be saved , and to come to the knowledge of the truth , it was necessary that they should preach , for as much as there can be no salvation without preaching , rom. . . they say , it is questionable whether necessity can make that lawfull , which is in it self unlawfull , as to forswear a mans self , p. . ans. there are two kinds of evil and unlawfulnesses , some things are simply and absolutely evil , and prohibita quia mala , forbidden because they are intrinsecally evil ; as to forswear , to blaspheam god , &c. and these no necessity can excuse : but there are other things which are in themselves indifferent , and only mala quia prohibita , are therefore only evil because they are prohibited , and because they are against positive precepts . now those things which are only evil this latter way ( and such is preaching without ordination ) they may , though not ordinarily , yet in cases of necessity do . thus in a case of necessity , david might eat the shew-bread , the rest of the sabbath might be violated , periculum mortis pellit sabbathum : and of this kind is order in a state or church , which is a duty to be observed ordinarily , and yet in case of evident necessity may be violated . and , as in a state , in such a case , every man is a constable , so in the church , in such a case , every man may be a preacher . . they say , it is an extraordinary case when ordination cannot be had in gods way , i. e. when election doth not go before it , p. . ans. . that election must necessarily and continually go before ordination , is but one of their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and suppositions to be confuted hereafter . . and if ordinarily election must go before ordination , yet , as we say of preaching , when ordination cannot be had , it may be done without it ; so it is true of election when it cannot be had , ordination must be taken without it ; and when ordination cannot be had exactly in gods way , as to all the particulars , it must be had , as it may . the shew-bread was ordinarily according to gods way , to be eaten by the priests alone , but in cases of necessity it might be eaten out of gods way , it might be eaten by others . . it is not every extraordinary case that carries it , it must be a case of necessity , such as this is not ; for what if neither election nor ordination can be had by them in gods way ? there is no necessity of their preaching in a church which is constituted . and thus we see how firmly this answer stands against all their exceptions , and that all their assaults are but like the beating of a storm against the wall . so that there is one flaw in their argument which will for ever condemn it of insufficiency . but that is not all : mark how the argument is laid by our brethren ; those who were scattered abroad they preached : but many unordained men were scattered abroad ; therefore many unordained men preached , p. . ans. . you shall see what an hopefull argument this is : i will make use of their own argument against them , and i desire no other umpire . they who were scattered abroad they preached : but many ungifted persons were scattered abroad ; therefore such preached : and because this example they bring as a president for us , therefore ungifted persons may now preach publickly ; which because it is not only false , but contrary to their own sense , therefore ( that we may not be put to deny the conclusion ) we must find fault with one of the premises , and that can only be done our way , i. e. by saying that , not all that were scattered preached , but only some of them preached : only here is the difference , these some that preached , say we , were officers ; say they , they were gifted men , which yet they cannot prove , and if they could , it reacheth not our case , nor our times , for it was a case of necessity , as hath been argued . if they like not this , i will put it in another dresse : they who were scattered , preached : but women as well as men were scattered , so they say , the scattering was subsequent to pauls haling men and women , &c. and that the all that were scattered , were not all the officers , but all the church . so that by this argument here is a warrant for women-preachers , if this example be a president : nor let them fly to their usual refuge , that women are elsewhere forbidden , for although they were ordinarily prohibited , yet in cases of necessity ( such as this was ) they might do it , as that woman did who preached to the iberians , and converted them . to this i may adde , that all that can be extorted from this place is this , that they preached ; which we may grant without any prejudice to our cause , for there are divers kinds of preaching or teaching , they might do it divers waies . it might be true of all , that they preached and taught jesus , but not all alike , nor all in the same capacity ; the officers might teach publickly , the rest privately ; the officers constantly , the others occasionally ; the officers might preach officially in a christian church , the rest might discourse to a company of heathens , or dispute with them ; and all these may be called teaching or preaching . so that our brethrens argument is a genere ad speciem affirmativè , which will not hold water . for what they say , that it is indefinitely said that they that were scattered , preached . ans. they know that indefinite propositions , in materiâ contingenti , in a contingent matter ( such as this unquestionably is ) are not equivalent to an universal : supposing that officers and people were scattered , i say , that if the officers alone had preached , that had been sufficient ground to say of the whole they preached , as oftentimes that is said to be done by all israel , which was done by the officers of the congregation . and thus we have seen those two great topicks of our brethren , from scripture precept , and scripture president overthrown . and so much for the third argument . their fourth argument is that principall place and pillar of their opinion , which if i shall satisfactorily answer , there will be little ground left for our brethrens confidence in this cause . cor. . , . whence they draw this argument , all that are prophets may publickly preach : but some men who are not ordained officers , are prophets ; therefore some men who are not ordained officers , may publickly preach . which argument may be cut off in a word , for their conclusion may be granted without any detriment to our cause ; and our brethren might have known , and ought to have considered , that we grant , that persons unordained may preach , in a double case ; . in the case of necessity . . in case of extraordinary gifts , and an immediate commission from god , which we take to be the case of these prophets , of which more hereafter . in the mean time let us follow them : for their major it is granted on all hands : for their minor , it is this , that some men who are not ordained officers are prophets ; where there is a double defect and insufficiency to the proof of what they intend . for . the prophets might be officers , though not ordained ; so were the apostles , neither of man nor by man. . if the prophets were not officers at all , yet the extraordinarinesse of their gifts was a sufficient warrant for the publick exercise thereof : but neither of these are to be found in the case of those unordained preachers we plead against , but they differ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from them , for neither are they officers at all , ordained or not ordained , nor are their gifts extraordinary ; so that the minor might be granted , and yet the truth not wronged . but let us see how they proceed : i fear it will prove ominous to them , thus to stumble in the threshold : they argue thus , to prove their minor , all that have the gift of prophesie are prophets : but some men who are not ordained officers have the gift of prophesie ; ergo , some men , who are not ordained officers are prophets . for the major , though we grant it , yet , according to our brethrens principles , it might be denied ; for , if it were as they say , that those prophesiers here spoken of had the gift , but no office , i should deny such to be prophets , because the name of prophet , both in vulgar acception , and in scripture use , connotes an office ; caiaphas did prophesie , ioh. . — and yet i beleeve our brethren are not so hardy , as to say that caiaphas was a prophet . the minor will lead us to the main point , which is this , some men not ordained officers have the gift of prophesie ; which they attempt to prove by three steps : they say , this prophesie . is a gift , not an office. . that it is a gift still continuing . . and which some unordained persons have , p. . and if these things be proved , they say something to the purpose ; but let it be considered , if there be a flaw in any one of them , their whole argument fals , and how much more , when every one of them will be taken tardy . the last proposition they place first , and use three arguments to prove it , whereof the last is that which the other propositions treat of , the two former are these which follow . . ( say they ) some not ordained have this gift of prophesie , because we find no scripture warrant for the ordaining of prophets . ans. . what if there be no particular warrant , it is sufficient that there is a general rule for the ordaining of all church-officers , pastors , teachers , elders , &c. and ( at least , if these be ordinary officers , as our brethren make them ) a parity of reason ( which is a sufficient argument to sober minded men , such as i take our brethren to be ) will prove that they also are to be ordained . . but if they be extraordinary officers ( as the provincial assembly affirm ) preferred before the evangelists , and having this priviledge above the evangelists ( for ought we read ) to be immediatly and infallibly indued , &c. then what wonder if in this they partake with the apostles , who as they were not of men , so neither by men , and needed no ordination , nor had it , unless in relation to some special work , as acts . . . ( say they ) they must be discerned to have the gift before they be ordained , and therefore some not ordained may have the gift of prophesie . ans. this argument is built upon the former mistake , as if there were a necessity of such a prophets ordination ; whereas , i say , gods indowment of him with extraordinary gifts , is a kind of ordination , and supplies the defect of an ordination by men . but ( complying thus far with our brethren , to own these prophets to be unordained persons , and their gifts but ordinary ) i further answer , that this is wholly impertinent ( as was intimated before ) for in the case of a pastor , the question is not , whether one not ordained may have pastoral gifts , which we assert he may have , nay he must have , and must be known to have them before he be ordained ; but the question is , whether a man not ordained may commonly and ordinarily exercise those pastoral gifts , which is quite another thing : it is one thing to have gifts , another thing to exercise gifts . a man may lawfully have divers gifts , ( v. g. of ruling an army or a state , &c. ) which yet he may not lawfully exercise . but let us now come to their next proposition , which is more to the purpose , viz. that this prophecying is not an office but a gift . if this be proved , it amounts to something , but i doubt the premises will fall a mile short of the conclusion . i passe by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they run into , which dr. collins takes notice of , and shall rather consider how they attempt to prove it ; which they do by two arguments . . all who have the gift of prophesie are prophets : but all that have the gift are not officers . ans. if these prophets were ordinary persons , i deny the major , for then besides the gift , they must be ordained ( as in other ordinary cases : ) but if these prophets were extraordinary persons , i deny the minor , for the very having of such a gift extraordinarily inspired , is an immediate call , and makes them extraordinary officers , as it was in the prophets of the old testament . arg. . that which ought in duty , and might in faith be coveted by every member of the church of corinth , was not an office but a gift : for . god no where promised to make every one an officer there . . this was impossible , for then all the body had been the eye ; and if these were extraordinary officers , much lesse might they covet to be such : but now this prophesying they ought and might covet in faith . v. . . ans. . the major is denied : . an office might be coveted as well as a gift , tim. . . if a man ( gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , if any man ) desire the office of a bishop , he desireth a good work . yea an extraordinary office might be coveted , as is evident from the desires and endeavours of the sons of the prophets in the old testament . . let our brethren shew where god promised to every member of the church of corinth these extraordinary gifts , and i will shew them where god promised to every one of them to be officers . . if extraordinary gifts might be desired , ( as our brethren say ) why not an extraordinary office ? if an extraordinary office might not be desired , this is either because this is an office , or because it is extraordinary ; not because it is an office , that hinders not but it may be coveted , as we have shewn ; nor , because it is extraordinary , for then extraordinary gifts might not be desired . that extraordinary gifts might be desired , appears from the very words cited by our brethren , cor. . . desire spiritual gifts , but rather that ye may prophesie ; whence it is most evident , that not only prophesying , but the other gifts mentioned there , i. e. of tongues , interpretation , &c. were to be desired : so that our brethrens argument is feeble to prove this to be an ordinary gift , because it was to be desired . for every member in the church of corinth to be an officer was not impossible : true , it was impossible for all to be officers there in that church , but not to be officers in other places : and this i would desire our brethren to ruminate upon , whether , supposing , that all the members of the church of corinth might in faith desire , and so obtain gifts fitting them for office ( which our brethren grant ) & supposing that the exigencies of the church required their office-relation , which might well have been in those times , and that their being in other callings ought not to hinder it ( as our brethren sufficiently intimate , pag. . ) i say , whether , supposing these things , it were either impossible or unlawfull for every member of the church of corinth to desire to be an officer , where he might be serviceable to the church : that in this case it is unlawfull or impossible , i suppose our brethren will not readily say ; and if they say it , nothing more easie then to disprove it : and if they grant it to be possible and lawfull , then all their argument fals to the ground , then every member ought in duty , and might in faith , covet , as to have gifts necessary for an office , so ( in due order and fit time ) to be officers , though not in that church , yet in some church , which is enough to our purpose . adde to this that if this prophesie be an office , this is no more then that wish of moses so much insisted upon , at least according to their sense of it , i would that all the lords people were prophets . and thus i have shewn the insufficiency of their proofs alleadged for the defence of their first and most considerable position , that the prophesying here spoken of , is a gift , not an office : this position they uphold only by two arguments , which i hope any ingenuous reader will discern to be so farre answered , that they have no great reason to be confident upon these grounds : and yet i must intreat the reader to consider , that here lies the great stresse of the cause ; for if it be not a bare gift , ( which you have seen our brethren cannot prove ) but an office , then the preaching of these prophets is no warrant nor example for the preaching of any that are not officers : now although i might acquiesce here , for as much , as , if any assert that these were barely gifted men , it lies upon them to prove it ; yet , ex abundanti , there is a reason given , whereby it doth more then probably appear , that these prophets were officers . in the mean time , let this be remembred , that if we could not prove that these preachers , cor. . were officers ( no more then they can prove that they were only gifted persons ) yet our cause stands unshaken , and all that would follow in that case would be this , that this place must be laid aside , both by our brethren , and by us , as not demonstrative to the point in hand . this being premised , i come to our argument , which is taken from cor. . eph. . where the prophets are enumerated amongst officers , and ( which is most considerable ) placed before the evangelists . i know our brethren think to blow away this with a breath . they say , nothing can be gathered from the order of the words ; seeing oft-times the worse is placed before the better , as priscilla before aquila , the woman before the man , p. . and thus far it is true , that the bare order is no sufficient argument to prove a priority in dignity ; and that the same things are sometimes in scripture placed first , sometimes last , so that in all cases the order is not to be regarded , and yet in some cases it is not to be slighted , especially when it is punctually observed , that wherever prophets in concrete are mentioned , they are placed next after the apostles , and that this is done so solemnly , and with such emphaticall words , cor. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , first apostles , secondarily prophets , &c. and as it may fairly be collected , that the apostles are the chief of these officers , because generally they are placed first , and that the pastors and teachers are the lowest of them , because generally they are placed last , so also it is considerable ( and i doubt not our brethren would make good use of it , were it for their cause , as much as it is against it ) that prophets are generally placed in the second order . for what they adde , if prophets be officers , cor. . eph. . then those places must be understood of extraordinary prophets , who did foretell of future events , as acts . yet this hinders not , but this prophesying , cor. . may be only by gift , &c. ans. . it was not the sole work of office-prophets , ( that i may accommodate my discourse to our brethrens conceptions ) to foretell future events ; for iudas and silas as prophets , did exhort , acts . . . to say that there should be two sorts of new-testament-prophets , the one by office , the other by gift , as it is but a begging of the question , so it will by wise and indifferent readers , be lookt upon but as subterfuge , and why may we not as well make two sorts of apostles , two sorts of evangelists , &c. the one by office , the other by gift ? it had been somewhat tollerable , if these in cor. . had been said to prophesie , but not called prophets ( seeing , as our brethren say , the doing of some acts occasionally , as v. g. ones teaching occasionally , doth not denominate a man a teacher ) but seeing they are also called prophets ; impartiall men will easily gather , that they are the same which are known by that name in other places . thus much for the first proposition ; which being dispatched , i now come to the second , and shall try whether that succeed better in our brethrens hands ; and that is , that prophesying is an ordinary gift , and still continuing in the church . this they undertake to prove as followes : arg. . prophesying was in use , and no gospel rule can be shewed for the repeal or ceasing of it , p. . ans. a gift may cease in the church two waies . . either by a positive act of god in his word forbidding it : or . by a privative act of god in his providence withdrawing it . who knows not that the gift of tongues , praediction , and infallible explication of the scripture is ceased ? and yet it would be a most vain argument to dispute against the cessation of it thus , because there is no gospel-rule for the repeal of them . arg. . this prophesying is ordinary , ergo still continuing . ans. the proposition is altogether needlesse , for if it be ordinary that is sufficient , and indeed that is the antithesis of the assertion of the provinciall assemby ( that this prophesying is extraordinary ) and therefore let us hear what they have to say , or what they alledge to prove it ordinary . for the self-contradiction they say god hath left us to , p. . i shall only say this , wise men before they had made such a bold charge ( especially making use of the dreadfull name of the lord ) would have understood the grounds of it , which indeed are none at all : for the authours of the ius divinum regiminis ecclesiastici , were only three or four reverend city ministers , whereof one or two are since gone out of the city ; and , not one of them was a member of the provincial assembly when the ius divinum ministerii came forth : and being different persons , though agreeing in the main of this controversie ; it is no disparagement to any of them to differ in some circumstance : however all of them do agree in that which our brethren here oppose , i. e. that the gift was extraordinary . besides , i suppose , our brethren would be hard put to it to prove that there is any contradiction , for these two may very well consist together , to say that these prophets were extraordinary officers in respect of their gift , and yet the ordinary pastours of corinth in regard of their office and relation : and seeing there was a competent number of extraordinary officers residing in that church , it was most fit they should be the ordinary pastours of that church quoad exercitium muneris : and in this sense we may safely embrace both what the worthy authors of that excellent piece ius divin . regim ▪ affirm , and also what learned mr rutherford asserts , i. e. that these prophets were the ordinary pastours of that church and yet both grant , that for their gifts they were extraordinary ; and that is the thing now in question : so that in stead of a contradiction feigned , here is a real agreement found out ; all of us agreeing in the two principles which our brethren here oppose : and all asserting , . that these prophets were officers . . that they were extraordinary as to their gifts : to which their special relation to corinth , and residence there , and doing the acts of pastours is no more a prejudice , than it was to the apostles , who though they were extraordinary officers , yet some of them at some times were as pastours to some churches , &c. which occasioned that apprehension that iames was bishop of ierusalem , &c. that this prophesying was ordinary , our brethren offer some arguments to prove . arg. . the rules to regulate the work are ordinary , p. . ans. i see no rule but what may very well agree to extraordinary officers . extraordinary officers , . must act orderly . . must speak in a known language , . must speak to edification . . must be subject to the trial of other officers , yea people also , as the provincial assembly fully proves ; of which our brethren take no notice : paul commends the beraeans for examining his doctrine . arg. . the work of these prophets is ordinary , i. e. to speak to edification and exhortation , and comfort . ans. . this also was the work of apostles . . the work indeed was ordinary , but the manner of doing it was extraordinary , in as much as these did it infallibly , and by immediate revelation . arg. . but here is no mention of extraordinary work , of a gift of praediction , which is required to all extraordinary prophets , but the contrary is intimated , and this prophesying is here said to be , not a sign for them that believe not ( which praediction of events is ) but for them that believe . ans. . date non concesso , that these prophets had not the gift of prediction , that no way hinders but they might be extraordinary officers , for besides this they had another extraordinary gift , to wit , a gift of infallible teaching by immediate revelation . divers of the apostles had not this gift of praediction , that we read of , and yet i hope our brethren will give them their passe for extraordinary officers . . for my part i am prone to conceive ( and let our brethren disprove it ) that the praediction of future events was rather a priviledge indulged to some new testament prophets , than common to all prophets : the gift of miracles was a gift bestowed upon prophets , and yet some wanted it ; for iohn ( though a prophet ) yet did no miracle , ioh. . . however , the great and principal work of these new testament prophets ( and the old also ) was preaching , &c. and therefore ( although these prophets , cor. had the gift of praediction ) yet it is no wonder that the title of prophesying should be appropriated to the most common principal , and famous part of the work , which is preaching . . and how poor an evidence is this to prove , that these prophets could not foretell future events , because it is not mentioned in this chapter ? the rather because he here speaks of the prophets , not in relation to unbeleevers ( for whose-sake the gift of prediction was given ) but in relation to beleevers , and to the church , and concerning the ordering of the work of prophesying or preaching in and to the church-assembly . . we readily grant all which can be proved from this place , which is only this , that the preaching of these prophets ( for it is that act of the prophets which is here called prophesying ) is not for them that believe not , but for them that beleeve : it is not said , that these prophets were given not for a sign to them that beleeve not , &c. ( which had been more to the purpose ) but that , that act of their office there spoken of was not for a signe , &c. . if they had not that particular extraordinary gift of praediction , yet had they divers other extraordinary gifts , as that of tongues , and the interpretation of them , &c. and that was sufficient to make the persons extraordinary , though they wanted some other extraordinary gift . arg. publick prophesying extraordinary was allowed to women , luke . , . but this publick prophesying was not allowed to women , v. . let your women keep silence ; therefore this publick prophesying was ordinary p. . ans. that extraordinary prophesying was allowed to women in publick , either in the old or new testament , hath been often said and supposed ; but never yet could i see it proved ; nor can one instance be given of it , that i know of , to wit , that any woman did preach in a publick assembly ; and there lies the stresse : anna might speak to all , i. e. severally , as they came by turnes to the temple , and so might priscilla occasionally speak privately , as she had opportunity : and indeed we read that when she preached , she chose to do it privately , act. . but neither of them in a publick assembly . but that argument is so fully handled by others , that i shall not need to dilate upon it here . and thus we have seen how infirm our brethrens arguments are , which are brought to prove that this prophesying was ordinary . in the next place i should come to lay down arguments to prove that it was extraordinary : i shall not insist upon all the arguments used to prove it : some were proposed by dr. collings , and are by him vindicated in his last piece ; others i dare venture to stand upon their own legs , and refer the comparing of them and the answers here given to any indifferent reader : and besides , dr. collings hath eased me of that burden . this only i take notice of , that this prophesying was by revelation , v. . every one ( i. e. of you prophets ) hath a psalme , a doctrine , a tongue , a revelation , an interpretation . and v. . if any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by , let the first hold his peace . to which our brethren answer two things . . they say , all these enumerated were not extraordinary : a doctrine is ordinary ; the ordinary elders have a doctrine , p. . reply . it is true of ordinary officers , they had a doctrine ; it is true also of extraordinary officers , they had a doctrine , but not both in the same way ; in the one it was extraordinary , in the other ordinary , so that from the bare mention of a doctrine , it can neither be collected that that doctrine was ordinary , nor that it was extraordinary , but that must be gathered from the circumstances of the place ; and for this place , whereas the office here spoken of is extraordinary ( as we have proved ) and the word doctrine is at least ambiguous : it is more probable that this doctrine is meant of an extraordinary kind ( as the rest are which are there enumerated ) than that it is meant of an ordinary doctrine , when nothing else here spoken of s ordinary . . they say that the word revelation is somtimes taken for a revelation in an ordinary way , that is by the word , &c. ans. that is readily granted , and needed no proof , but it must be added that somtimes also it is taken in an extraordinary sense ; so that now we are to enquire which way it is to be taken here , and which way the circumstances of the text restrain that common word : now that it is meant of extraordinary revelation four things will procure belief with unbyassed readers . . that the word is of the present tense , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , if it be revealed , not if it have been revealed , as it should have been , for the revelation of the word was past . . the posture in which it is revealed , when he sitteth by . . the effect of such a revelation , that it gives a stop to the others discourse : . that this revelation was not common to all the church , but peculiar to these prophets , and not common to all the prophets neither , but peculiar to one , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , some one that sitteth by , and therefore surely it cannot be the revelation by the word , which is common to all the prophets , yea , all the church . nor is there any weight in what is further objected by our brethren , that if this revelation should command silence to a prophet speaking by immediate revelation , then the same spirit should clash with it self : for though these prophets did speak by immediate revelation , yet not so as that they did not at all exercise their ordinary gifts , or that they never spake as ordinary men : for even the prophets and apostles themselves , sometimes spake their own private opinions : and why might not these prophets after the delivery of their revelation amplifie it , and open it according to their private opinion , by the help of their excellent , though ordinary gifts ? which ( though they were much to be valued and respected ) yet well might be corrected by some immediate revelation manifested to another . but ( say they ) this requiring the first to hold his peace , doth not necessarily forbid his proceeding so far as he intended , or command a sudden silence , &c. but only commandeth so to contract a mans discourse , as there may be opportunity for others . and i confesse nothing is more easie then to dictate ; this is soon said , but if you ask our brethren for a proof , i am afraid they will stick in the mire : in the mean time , they having offered no proof for it , must needs allow me to rely as much upon my affirmation , which yet is not mine , but the apostles , as they upon their negation . it is plain from the words , that it was a thing that fell out beyond expectation , and therefore is brought in conditionally , if any thing be revealed , which condition was needlesse , if the revelation spoken of was ordinary and common . and this may be abundantly sufficient for the vindication of this place , from which i may justly expect this fruit , that ingenuous men of a contrary mind to us , may abate some of their confidence , and see cause to make a further enquiry into this point then yet they have made . and this may suffice for answer to their arguments , whereby they attempt to prove that gifted persons may preach . let us now see , whether we have not more convincing arguments to prove that they may not preach : albeit this must needs be said , that in course of disputations , it is not incumbent upon us to prove the negative , but upon them to prove the affirmative , asserenti incumbit probatio . so that i might here take take up , and having shewn the invalidity of their arguments , i might supersede further trouble : and this memorandum i shall leave upon the file , that this assertion of our brethren , that unordained persons may preach ordinarily , is neither commanded by any gospel precept , nor countenanced by any gospel example ( which hitherto hath been alleadged . ) but because our arguments , whereby we have proved our assertion , are assaulted by our brethren , it will be convenient to say something by way of vindication . chap. vii . the first argument is put into our hands by the apostle , and it is rom. . . how shall they preach except they be sent ? i. e. how can they do it lawfully ? the summe of our brethrens answer lies in this , that the mission here spoken of , is not ministeriall , whereby they are constituted in their office ; but providentiall , whereby they are sent into any place : and that this mission is indeed necessary to preaching , i. e. naturally , not morally ; as it is true , how can a man preach except he have health , strength , &c. and besides , it may be morally necessary , and yet not constitutive of a minister : for it is morally necessary to a ministers preaching , i. e. lawfully , that he have all the gospel qualifications required to a preacher , and yet though he want some of these , he may be constituted a minister . to which i reply , . to the last clause , there is an apparent fallacy , which will plainly appear by this one distinction , that a mans preaching may be unlawfull two waies ; . circumstantially , when there is a defect in the principles , or in the manner of acting , &c. . substantially , when there is a defect in the substance of the act , both as to the matter and manner of it : when a minister wants some necessary qualification , &c. he preacheth lawfully for the substance of the act , though he sins in the manner of acting ; but when one that preacheth wanteth mission , the very substantial act of preaching is unlawfull . as when a magistrate acts vaingloriously , he sins in the manner of his acting , but his act is lawfull in it self ; but when a man usurps the power of a magistrate , there he sins in the substance of the act , because he wants authority , &c. or as it is in the case of the lords supper , it is wholly unlawful for a scandalous sinner to receive it , but it is lawfull for a regenerate man ( though weak in grace ) to receive it , though he sins in the receiving of it . in a word , the act is lawfull , quoad specificationem actus , for the kind of it , and per se ; though it is sinfull , quoad exercitium actus , in the exercise of it , and per accidens . . it must be granted that the word sending is vocabulum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , taken variously in diyers places : sometimes it is taken for the mission of a person already authorized to any place or people , but sometimes also it is taken for the authorization of a person to a work or office , yea , so it is frequently taken as ioh. . . as my father hath sent me , so send i you , i. e. as the father authorized and sealed me to the office of a mediator , so do i authorize you to be apostles , &c. cor. . . christ sent ( i. e. commissionated me ) not to baptize , but to preach . john . . a man sent of god. thus christ often said , that he was sent , in answer to that question of his enemies , by what authority doest thou these things ? . this providential mission , and ministerial mission need not to be opposed to one another , but may well consist together : a providential sending of a minister to any place ( such as that of paul , acts . to macedonia ) doth not at all exclude , but rather presuppose a ministerial ' mission , that paul was an apostle before hand . nay indeed upon further search these will be found to be much coincident : how can they preach unless they be sent ? sent , by whom ? they say , by god : well then , we must enquire in the scripture how god sends preachers : thus much is apparent , that god sends them by some call ( distinct from the gifting of them . ) whether this call be by people , or by officers , that is another dispute , which now i shall not meddle with ; this is sufficient to our purpose , a call authorizing men to preach , is that whereby god sends men to the work of preaching : if they were extraordinary officers , then god sent them oft-times immediatly ; if ordinary , then god sent them by the ministry and mediation of men : and all those that were providentially sent by god to any place , were called either one way or the other ; and this calling or designation of them to their office and work , is that which is commonly known by the name of sending . this authorization of isaiah , is called the sending of him , isa . so it is called sending by moses , exod. . and this sending is that which is denied to the false prophets , ier. . . i have not sent them ; were this meant of a providential sending , this were not true , for so god did send them ; and therefore the meaning is , i did not authorize them . in this sense also christ bids us pray the lord , that he would send forth labourers into his harvest : how send them ? for that , let christ's example interpret christ's words , he sent forth the twelve , matth. . i. e. by giving them command and commission : so luke . . after these things the lord appointed other seventy also , and sent them — and conformable to this , was the example of the apostles , who used to send men into the ministry , by fasting and prayer , and laying on of hands ; and this way of sending is granted on all hands , our brethren cannot deny it : but for another way of sending that remains yet to be proved . hitherto we have had no example of it , as hath been seen . . let it be considered that our brethren observe that this is brought in as a justification of the calling of the gentiles , and of the sending of preachers to them by the apostles , which the jews grumbled at : upon which i ground this inference , that the cannot here , how can they preach unlesse they be sent , must be understood of a moral impossibility , and not of a natural impossibility , as our brethren would have it : for if it be taken of a natural impossibility , it is false , for though the apostles had not sent them , they might have gone of their own accord , or some other way : but if you take it for a moral impossibility , it runs smoothly ; whereas you jews grumble at us for sending preachers to the gentiles , we do no more then what is necessary ; for seeing god hath promised that the gentiles shall be saved by calling upon the lord , and they cannot call on god without beleeving , nor beleeve without hearing , nor hear without preaching , nor preach without sending , i. e. not preach lawfully , unlesse they be sent , either by an immediate call , or else by us or others , who are authorized by god for that work , and therefore we are not to be blamed for sending of them . exc. but ( say they ) all the other interrogations are to be understood of a natural impossibility ; it is naturally impossible for one to call upon him on whom he beleeves not , or to beleeve on him of whom he hears not , &c. and that this only is meant of a moral impossibility , will be hard to conclude . but the answer is easie , that it is a very frequent thing in scripture , for the same word to be used in divers senses ; as , let the dead ( i. e. spiritually ) bury the dead ( i. e. corporally . ) and ( to keep to the very phrase ) the word cannot is thus used , ier. . . can the aethiopian change his skin ? &c. there is a natural impossibility , then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil , there is a moral impossibility : so in that comparison of our saviour , a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit , neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit , there is a natural impossibility ; how can ye being evil , speak good things , here is a moral impossibility . . if this be only a providential mission , by which these preachers are here said to be sent , then none at all are excluded ; nay the very devils themselves , if they should preach christ ( as they did sometimes in possessed persons ) must necessarily be taken into the number of the preachers here spoken of , ( for even such would be providentially sent ) then which what can be more absurd . and i wish our brethren would duly consider that there is a necessity of granting one of these two things ; either that the devils may be the preachers here spoken of , or that the mission here spoken of is not providential . i shall adde no more upon this account , only there are some arguments which they offer to prove that this mission here spoken of is not constitutive of a minister . . they say , the apostles were officers and yet had mission afterward , mat. . . ans. . officers indeed they were while christ lived , they were constituted preachers , matth. . but they were not apostles of the gentiles untill matth. . and therefore it is not strange that when they were inaugurated to that new and solemn work , they had a new and solemn mission . . this argument is founded upon the ambiguity of the word sent , or mission , which sometimes is taken for a mans authorizing to a work , and so they had but one mission to one kind of work ; sometimes for a bare disposall of them to this or that particular place or work , and in this case they might have a hundred missions : god sent paul to macedonia , and to corinth , and to rome , &c. yet surely our brethren will not make all these to be several missions in the sense of the present dispute . . mission ( they say ) may be repealed ( so cannot a call to an office : ) mat. . & . compared . ans. that is taken off already : the apostles had in each place a distinct call to a distinct work . . they say , the seventy disciples had mission to preach , who were not officers that we find . ans. . this is a contradiction , for if they had a mission from christ , that made them officers , at least protempore ; for what is the making of one an officer , but a solemn designation of him for that work , by a person impowred to authorize him . . they might be officers , though we do not reade of it . . they say , then the instructions of none can be usefull to work faith , but of officers only ; for this hearing is necessary to beleeving . ans. that follows not , for though the only ordinary means of begetting faith , is the hearing of a gospel-minister , yet god is not bound up , he may and doth oft times use private instructions of private men to that end : and as it follows not , that it is simply impossible for a man to beleeve that heareth no preacher , because the apostle saith , how shall they hear without a preacher ? ( seeing god may work faith by immediate inspiration ) so it follows not that it is simply impossible for any man to be converted by hearing of one who is not ordained , &c. because the apostle saith , how shall they preach unlesse they be sent ? but this only follows from both , that the hearing of a preacher sent , is the only ordinary means of working faith and salvation . but we must not part thus , our brethren adde that this text is not cogent , because though it did prove a necessity of a mission , yet it doth not prove a necessity of ordination ( which was the thing to be proved ) seeing this mission is not ordination . ans. i shall not contend about words , nor is it pertinent to enter into a particular dispute about ordination . this is sufficient for our purpose , this mission is not the bare gifting of them , but it is an authorizing of them to the work , or the giving of them commission to preach : now there are but two scripture waies of giving men commission to preach that we know of , the one extraordinary , from god immediatly ( which our brethren have too much modesty to pretend ) the other ordinary , by men setting them apart to that work ( whether the officers set them apart in the name of christ , or in the name of the church , all is one as to this question ) it sufficeth us that some solemn designation or setting apart is necessary , and that gifted men may not preach meerly because they are gifted , unlesse they have some further call or mission ; which although our brethren here seem to grant , ( in saying that the bare gifting of men is not the sending of them ) yet indeed they are obliged to deny by vertue of their interpretation of that text , pet. . . where the meer having of that gift is propounded as a sufficient ground to put a man upon the use of it . but however let us hear what they have to prove that this mission is not ordination . . they say , we cannot find it . ans. if you cannot finde it in expresse terms , yet others have found it in clear consequences . . then deacons are sent , for they were ordained , acts . . ans. very true , deacons were sent and had mission : what advantage can our brethren pick out thence ? . mission may be repeated . ans. that was answered before . . a parochial presbytery , if sufficient , &c. may ordain one for that church , but they cannot send one to themselves . ans. . that presbytery doth not send an officer in such a case to themselves , but to the church , and so there is a sufficient distinction between the person sending , and the person sent . . a locall distinction is not necessary between the person sent , and the persons to whom a man is sent . isaiah was sent to the whole house of israel ; now put case isaiah be in the temple when he is sent , and with him divers jews , i say , he is in scripture phrase sent as well to those that are locally present , as to those that were absent . . they adde , that mission is propounded at the end of ordination , mark . . and he ordained twelve , that — he might send them forth to preach . ans. . the strength of this argument lies in the ambiguity of the word sent , which , as we readily grant , sometimes it signifies a locall mission to a place , so again , at other times it signifies a constitutive mission to an office. . though the words in the english make some shew for them , yet indeed if one look into the greek , it is but a meer shew , for it is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , acquisivit , comparavit , he got , procured , took twelve into his family , bred them up under his roof , that he might fit them for , and so send them into the work of the ministry ; so that indeed the word whereby their ordination is signified , is plainly that of sending ; and the other , however it came to be rendred by our translators , he ordained ( who neither meant it in such a sense as our brethren do , nor ever dreamed that it would be so made use of ) yet indeed signifies nothing but barely the taking of them into his family , his constituting of them members of his family , and not his ordaining of them to be officers in his church . and thus i have dispatched all that hath any moment , which is alleadged by our brethren , as to this place . there are divers other things they adde , which being lesse material , i may trust the judgement of any common reader with them ; as when they say , it is not a church , nor a presbytery , but christ who sends ministers : which if they understand thus , that christ only doth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 soveraignly , authoritatively , they have not us for their adversaries ; but if they so mean it ( as they must , or else it is nothing to the purpose ) that men cannot send 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ministerially , it is too gross to be beleeved by any man that reads the new testament , and therein finds so many rules and examples of gods sending by the ministry of men , as acts . acts , &c. so when they say , that the mission of ministers is not by a presbytery , but by the word ; and that christs command to go and preach , is a mediate calling to all lawfull preachers , though no presbyters should urge it upon them ; and that a presbytery only sends in a doctrinal way , as a private christian also may do , by saying , go and teach . where we have almost as many absurdities as words . . two things are opposed that ought to be conjoyned , to wit , the agent and the rule , the presbytery sends , but this they must do according to the word . . all manner of calling , either by a presbytery , or by a church , is made wholly superfluous ; for they here plainly assert , that christ's saying , go preach , is a calling and a mediate calling to all lawfull preachers , and that gifted men are lawfull preachers , is their great businesse to prove ; and if they say a call is further necessary , here is a call reaching to all gifted men : i am much mistaken if many of their own brethren of the congregational way , will not reject and abhor such loose assertions as these . . they allow as much to a private christian , as to a presbytery , both of them send in a doctrinal way . but the very mention of these paradoxes is an ample confutation . and thus much for the first argument . chap. viii . the second is taken from heb. , . no man taketh this honour , &c. but he that is called of god — to this they answer two things . . if this prove a call , yet it proves not a call by imposition of hands , which is that they contend for . ans. we are not now medling with that particular kind of call , nor is this place alledged to prove it , but only to prove this in the general , that notwithstanding the highest gifts and qualifications fitting them for any office , they must also have a call and designation to that office , and that remains unshaken by all that they have said . . they say , he speaks not of gospel ministers , but of priests , and of the high priests only , which are an higher order than ministers , and prefigured christ , and it follows not , because a call was necessary to the highest order of officers , therefore it must be necessary to an inferiour order . reply . let me take the boldnesse to question whether the gospel ministers are an inferiour order to the high priest or no ? if it be affirmed upon this ground , because they are types of christ , then upon that account the inferiour priests were of an higher order . ( that i say not , the goats , and sheep , and buls , &c. which also were types of christ. ) if this be the reason , because they expiated sin , they did it only ministerially and declaratively , and by typifying and applying the true expiatory sacrifice ; and that also is the office of a gospel-minister , ioh. . . whose soever sins ye remit , they are remitted . — however it is , sure i am the lord jesus doubts not to preferre iohn the baptist before all the old testament officers , and that in regard of his work , and to preferre the meanest new testament minister before him . . if the work of the high priest was higher , and that must be weighed on the one hand , then let it be weighed on the other hand , that the gifts of christ were more glorious . and this assertion i may venture to lay down , that jesus christ had more warrant to undertake the highest office in the church without a call , than one who is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a meer man hath to take the meanest office without a call . the third and fourth arguments i shall omit , because there is nothing that i find in our brethrens answer , which will need a reply . the fifth argument is taken from those rules laid down about the calling of men into the ministry , and about the tryall of their qualifications , and one main reason of it was this , that false doctrine might be prevented , tim. . , . t it . , , . to this they answer , . this concludes for the ordaining of officers only , not against the preaching of gifted brethren , who lay no claim to the office. reply . the best clew for the guiding of us in the interpretation of every law is the reason of the law : now if one great reason why the apostle was so carefull to try and approve of officers , &c. was this , to prevent false doctrine ; then upon the same account , he was obliged to be as careful to try all preachers , for else he had made a hedge about the sheep , and yet left one gap open , which indeed was enough to frustrate the design of the hedge : what if none be allowed to be shepheards by office , but such as are called , will it not be of as bad consequence , if the wolves be allowed to take upon them the exercise of the shepheards work ? we see by experience , some gifted men preaching occasionally and disseminating their pernicious opinions , have done more to poison the people , than an able minister by his instant and diligent labours could do to preserve and nourish them . what is the ground of the apostles strictnesse in admitting men into the ministry ( lay hands suddenly on no man ) but this , the difficulty and importance of the work ? and what work is more difficult and important than that of preaching , to do it as becomes the gospel ? paul prefers it before the rest , cor. . and in regard of this work , it is that he cries out , who is sufficient for these things ? cor. . . so that it were a strange incongruity and self-contradiction for the apostle to use so much care in the constitution of office-preachers , and yet to be wholly carelesse as to another sort of preachers , who may preach frequently ( yea as often as the other , according to our brethrens principles ) without coming under such a harsh and ungratefull examination and ordination . . they say , there ought to be care to chuse officers that are sound in the faith , but this the people must look to in election . ans. but this relieves them not , for what care shall be taken as to their gift-preachers , who may preach without the churches election , nay are under a command to preach , as they are pleased to expound pet. . a command of god i say , which no man can dispense with : i know our brethren say , that to a mans exercise of his gifts in this or that place , there is required a call from the people or the magistrate , p. . but this will not help them ; for i demand , whether in case the apostles had neither been called by people nor magistrate , whether that had been a sufficient discharge to them from the execution of their office ? i trow not : nay they preached when they were forbidden ; and why ? but for the reason now mentioned , to wit , that they were under a command of god , which no mortal man could dispense with : and therefore if gifted men are under a like command , pressed with the highest penalties , to preach ( as our brethren say ) they may and must preach , though they have no call , neither from people nor magistrate . the sixth argument i am sure will stand upon its own legs , taken from that confusion which will necessarily come into the church by this means , which indeed the sad experience of our church in these daies doth so unquestionably demonstrate , that i shall need to confute him that denies it , only as the philosopher did confute him that said there was no motion by walking before him ; so i shall only point him unto reall arguments , and desire him to make use of his own eyes , reason and observation , and he will quickly be of the same opinion . but these arguments were not directly levied against our brethren , ( whom we acknowledge to be more sober ) but against such as pleaded for a promiscuous assumption of the office. the next position laid down by the provincial assembly indeed doth more nearly concern them , which is this , that none may do the work of the ministry without ordination . chap. ix . and to this purpose they urge eight arguments , which to me still seem very considerable , and my perswasion is , that if any judicious man of another minde , could but redeem himself from the prevailing power of prejudice , and duly ponder our arguments and their answers , he will find that all the assaults they make against them are vain and ineffectual : but it shall not be taken upon my word . i will . propound our arguments . . take notice of their answers ; wherein i promise them not disingenuosly to conceal or neglect any thing wherein their strength lies . . i shall adde something ( where it is needfull ) for the vindication of those arguments . arg. . that work , for the doing of which , god hath designed special officers of his own , neither ought , nor may be done by any others ; but god hath designed special officers for this work of preaching . the minor is granted ; but all the doubt lies about the major , and that is the proposition which our brethren deny , and they give three instances to the contrary ; prayer is the special work of ministers , acts . . we will give our selves to prayer : and so is exhorting and reproving , &c. t it . , &c. distribution of worldly goods is the deacons work , and yet others may pray , exhort and rebuke , give almes , &c. reply . for prayer , it is true , it is the duty of all men , and of ministers more than others , but that it was a work for which the office of the ministry was appointed , neither doth this text assert , nor did ever any man dream , and so that is wholly impertinent to the case in hand : one may as well say , that the office of the ministry was designed for the work of hospitality , because they especially must be given to hospitality , tim. . . as to say , that it was designed for the work of prayer , because they especially must give themselves to prayer . . for the deacons work , that is not barely the distribution of worldly goods , but the distribution of the churches goods ( which our brethren here do either subtilly or unwarily , which i rather think , confound ) and this latter none but the deacon may do , so that this may be retorted upon them , that as the appointment of the deacon for that work of distributing the churches almes , is a sufficient reason to prove that no private man ought to do it , so also is the appointment of a minister , for the work of preaching , a sufficient intimation that other persons may not undertake that work . . for that work of reproving and exhorting , they may do it , but privatly , not publickly . against this our brethren object two things . . if an officer rebuketh a member in private , this he doth as an officer , so that the publicknesse of an act is not necessary to make it an act of office. reply . this depends upon a meer mistake . it is one thing to say the publicknesse of the act of exhorting , &c. makes it an act of office , or that a publick act is an act of office , that we affirm . it is another thing to say that no act but a publick act is an act of office ( as our brethren mistake it ) this we affirm not , nor is it for our purpose to assert it ; nay , we assert that an officers private rebuke is an act of office. . they say , if it be the different way and manner of acting , that maketh an act to be an act of office , then their argument concerns not the work it self , but the manner of working , and so all which it proves is this , that none ought to do the officers work in the same manner as he doth it , i. e. not officially , and this we readily grant . reply . our argument concerns the work , but then it must be the work in question , and that our brethren well know was not exhorting in general , but publick exhorting : but of this more hereafter . it must now be remembred , that the provincial assembly confirmed the major by three arguments . the first was this , because god hath severely punished such as have done those works , for which he hath appointed special officers , as saul , uzzah . to this our brethren answer two things . . that these were cases of necessity , and so if they prove any thing , they prove that gifted men may not preach , no , not in a case of necessity , which is allowed by your selves . reply . the case is not parallel , nor is the necessity alike , of preaching and sacrificing ; preaching ( as our brethren will grant ) is absolutely necessary to salvation , so is not sacrificing ; nor was sacrificing necessary in that case for israels deliverance ( if god had denied an opportunity of sacrificing ) i conceive the paralell will lie right between their sacrifices and our sacraments , neither of which are necessary to salvation , necessitate medii . and hereby the argument will receive further light and strength , i. e. because god hath appointed peculiar officers for the administration of our sacraments ( as well as their sacrifices ) therefore they ought not to be administred by persons out of office , no , not in any case of a pretended necessity ( forasmuch as there is no absolute and real necessity of either sacrifices or sacraments to salvation . ) and thus far our brethren must consent with us , unlesse they will turn grosse separatists , and allow a liberty also for gifted men to administer the sacraments , which i am confident they will not . . they say the case is not alike ; for there was an express prohibition of these acts to any , except officers , num. . . & . . numb . . . & numb . . , . the preaching of gifted men is not thus forbidden : and besides not only the manner but the matter of these workes were forbidden to others . reply . a thing may be prohibited two waies , either in expresse terms , or by solid consequence : i suppose our brethren are far from that dotage which divers anabaptists and socinians run into , that we are not to be satisfied with scripture consequences , but to look for express scripture , as if men must not beleeve what god saith , unlesse he speak it in their way : there are many things confessedly unlawful , which are not prohibited in express terms , but only by some general rules and scripture consequences : what if i should keep to the instance of uzzah ? who was punished not principally , at least not solely , because he did touch the ark with his hands , but because he did not bear it upon his shoulders ; which the levites were to do : now ( i say ) as in this case , gods command that the ark should be carried upon the levites shoulders , was a command that it should be carried so only , and it was a prohibition to the levites or any other , to carry it any other way ; so in our case , gods appointment of officers to preach , is a prohibition to others to invade that work . again , let me make this supposition ( which no ingenuous man can disallow of , ) suppose that paul had not expresly prohibited women to preach , i desire our brethren to answer me , whether , in that case , it had been lawfull for gifted women to preach publickly or no : if they say yea , then i argue thus against them , that paul doth not establish a new law , but revives and interprets an old law , cor. . . let your women keep silence — for it is not permitted unto them to speak , but they are commanded to be under obedience , as saith the law. so that it was forbidden by the law before that time , and had been unlawful , though paul had never prohibited it . if they say , no , then i argue thus , that an expresse prohibition is not necessary , for such there had not been in the case supposed , nor had women been prohibited any other way but thus , preaching was committed unto certain men in authority , commissionated for that work : ergo , it was prohibited to persons under authority , and because all women are under authority , therefore are they universally excluded from this work : i add further , that it is a granted case in the businesse of the sacraments , the administration whereof is prohibited to all un-officed persons ( our brethren themselves being judges ) and how prohibited ? there is no more an expresse prohibition to restrain men from administring the sacraments , then from preaching , but only it is therefore judged prohibited , because god had appointed officers for the doing of that work , and therefore implicitly prohibited the doing of it by others ; and surely the prohibition doth equally concern both preaching and administring the sacraments by others , forasmuch as both the manner of prohibition is the same in both , and the reason of the prohibition , to wit , because officers were appointed by god for those works : and thus i have vindicated the first proof of the major , wherein i have been the larger , because it is a principal point , and because what our brethren excepted had some colour of reason , although i am not without hope , that our brethren themselves by this time may see , that it was a colour only , and no substance . . the major was proved thus , that otherwise the officers god hath appointed are made void , or at least unnecessary and insufficient . to this they say , this will prove as strongly that officers are unnecessary , at least to the work of private exhortation , seeing private christians may do it . reply . it is very true , and naturally follows , that because private christians may reprove privatly , therefore there needed no peculiar officers to be set apart for that work of private reproving , and if that were the whole work of a minister , there would need no officers for the work of the ministry : but because there is another , and an higher work of the ministry , which private christians may not do , i. e. the work of publick preaching , therefore it is that there are officers appointed for it . . hereby the order instituted by god in the church is confounded . to this they say , it is not . as a fathers teaching of his children doth not destroy the order of schoolmasters , nor take away the distinction between master and schollar , &c. reply . it is true that a father teaching privately , doth not destroy the relation of a schoolmaster and schollar , but if fathers did , and might promiscuously teach in a publick way , this would destroy , or at least much prejudice that comely order . in like manner , that a father or any christian teach others privatly , is no way prejudicial to publick teaching , but eminently subservient to it , and we heartily wish it were more conscientiously and diligently practised ; but if publick teaching were promiscuously allowed to all gifted men ( whether masters or schollars ) surely this would be repugnant to the order instituted by christ , that one member of christs body should usurp the acts of another . and thus much shall suffice for the vindication of the first argument used by the provincial assembly . the second argument was this , no religious service may be performed by any persons not appointed , nor warranted thereunto : but persons gifted are not appointed nor warranted thereunto . our brethren deny the minor , they say , gifted persons are appointed to preach . against this , was argued as followeth , if they are appointed to preach , then every gifted man that preacheth not is guilty of a sin of omission . to this they answer , he is not guilty , if he want an opportunity , a call from others to exercise his gifts . reply . i would gladly know whether the apostles had been excused if they had refused to preach at all , for want of a call from men to preach ; what if both magistrates and people had not desired them to preach , whether did this give them a supersedeas or no ? if they say it did , i suppose many are not of their mind , i am sure for one , that was peter , when he was not only not call'd to preach , but forbidden to preach , yet he accounted it his duty to preach , act. . . we ought to obey god rather than men . if they say it did not discharge them from preaching , then i demand why it did not ; surely all the account which can fairly be given of it must be this , they were by god appointed and obliged to preach , and therefore no men can dis-oblige them : and upon the same ground ; if gifted men were appointed by god for that work , the negligence of men not desiring them , ( provided they would permit or hear them ) would not dis-ob●ige them : add to this , that whatever gifts a man hath , he is bound to exercise them wherever he can ( where he is not restrained , and put under some kind of impossibility of doing it ) whether he be desired or no : a christian having received a gift of private instruction , he is obliged to instruct persons not only when they desire him , but when they do not , whenever he can have conveniency and opportunity so to do : and in like manner ( if our brethren say true , that all gifted men as such , are appointed by god to preach ) if a man have a gift of publick instruction , he is obliged to use it whenever he can be permitted so to do , and not only when others call him to the exercise of his gift . and this is the more forcible against them , because they reduce those preaching gifts unto the talents spoken of mat. . which talents whoever useth not , is under a most dreadfull curse and commination : now , as it is in other talents , if a man have received riches , honour , parts , interest , &c. he must use and exercise them for gods glory , whether he be desired or no ; so in like manner according to their hypothesis , his preaching talent must be laid out , whether the people desire it or no. our third argument was this , no man may do the office of a magistrate or deacon , who is not called to it : ergo none may do the office of a minister , who is not called thereunto . to this argument they answer divers things . . if this argument hold , then , as no man that is no magistrate , may do one act of the magistrates , so no man that is not ordained , may do one act of the minister , he may not preach once , though as a probationer , which is against our brethrens own principles . ans. there is a double flaw in this discourse ; for , . there is not par ratio ; there is not equal necessity of mens trials in order to both works : it is necessary a minister should do the work of a minister , viz. preach in order to his trial and ordination to that work . but it is not necessary a man should do the work of a magistrate in order to his trial , for his abilities may be fully known other waies . . in cases of necessity private men may do the work of the magistrate : it is proper to the magistrate to take away a mans life , and yet in a case of necessity , as if a private man be assaulted by a rogue upon the high-way , it is lawfull for him , if he can , to take away his life . . they answer , care may be taken otherwaies , there may be approbation without ordination . reply . it is true , men may devise twenty waies of their own , as indeed there is a marvellous pronenesse in men to set up their own devises in gods worship ; and whenever they are convinced of the necessity of using any means in order to an end , rather to contrive means and waies of their own , than to use such as god hath already appointed , which , i fear , is our brethrens miscarriage here : god hath appointed an ordination , and an examination and approbation in order to ordination , and of ordination the scripture speaks more clearly and frequently , than of any other approbation ; nor do i remember that ever it speaks of the approbation of any preachers , but in order to ordination ; our brethren have forsaken this institution of god , and introduced a new device , of approbation without ordination . and because the occasion here leads me to it , i cannot but take notice of one thing , whereas i am informed some persons , through carelesnesse or oscitancy , or wilfulnesse , or ignorance , have taken up this conceit , that an approbation from the commissioners appointed for the tryall of publick preachers , is a kind of ordination , and may serve in stead of it : i would have them here to take notice , that this is not only false in it self , but against the very words of that act whereby they are constituted , wherein an expresse protestation is made ( as elsewhere hath been observed ) that they themselves do not intend that this shall be taken as an ecclesiasticall call , but only a civil dispensation of the magistrates right to particular places . and whereas it was urged , that the work of the ministry being a work of greater consequence and difficulty , than the work of the magistrate or the deacon , it requires greater care . they answer , men may perform some works of greater consequence , who yet may not perform works of lesse consequence . to beleeve is an act of higher consequence , than to do the work of a deacon , yet every christian may beleeve . reply . this is a meer fallacy , for though beleeving is a work of greater difficulty and consequence in relation to a mans self , yet not in relation to the church and other men , and that is it we are treating of ; so that the work of beleeving is altogether impertinent in this place , for we are speaking of such works as relate to others , and wherein there is a care required in relation to others , but beleeving is a work confined to a mans self . our fourth argument was this , none may administer the sacraments who is uncalled ; therefore none may preach who is uncalled , for these two are joyned together in that commission , mat. . , . and preaching is the greater work , cor. . . our brethren make many exceptions against this argument . . they say it makes against us , for you ( say they ) separate between preaching and baptizing , you allow men to preach probation-wise , not to administer the sacraments probation-wise . reply . the reason of the difference is apparent , preaching probation-wise is simply necessary in order to their approbation and ordination , for the trial of their gifts , and so this preaching is in a case of necessity , and therefore allowable ; but there is no necessity at all of trying their gifts by administring the sacraments , seeing there are none of their gifts exercised there , but such as are fully discovered by their trial in preaching , &c. . they say , matth. . is no commission authorizing them either to preach or baptize , ( that commission they had afore , mark . & joh. . ) and therefore could not now be constituted afresh . reply . . give me leave however to propound it as my private opinion , though i shall not be positive in it , and i know there are some difficulties in the way , that the apostles were indeed officers before , but not officers of the same kind , and therefore might well require another commission : if a man be a captain in an army , he is an officer ; but if he be made a collonel , he must have a new commission : if a man be a deacon in a church , he is an officer ; but if he be made a minister , he needs a new commission : if a man had been made a pastour and teacher in the apostles daies , this man had been an officer ; but , if he had afterwards been made an apostle , he had needed a new commission : and this i take to be well-nigh a parallel to our case : for the apostles it is true , were officers before this , but i humbly conceive they were not apostles before this ; which i think will be probable by these three considerations . . that an apostle strictly so called , was a new testament officer , and therefore such an office was not in being before the new testament began : but the new testament did not begin till the death of christ ( as all intelligent divines grant ) for that was it which rent the vail , and abolished the jewish pedagogy . . they were not apostles properly and formally , untill they had apostollicall gifts : but these gifts they had not before the death of christ. . they wanted universality of jurisdiction ( which was the constant character of an apostle ) nay indeed , so far were they from having a jurisdiction over all nations before that time , that they had not jurisdiction over all the jews , nor ( to speak strictly ) over any of the jews , for as much as they were , till christ death , subject to the jurisdiction of the jewish priests , that being not taken away but by the death of christ : and surely it is something strange to fancy them to be apostles without any jurisdictions . i conclude therefore , they were rather prophets , or extraordinary teachers , than apostles , ( and so mr firmin affirms of paul before act. . mat. . ) and had not their commission as apostles , till matth. . , . . put case that mat. . is not a formal commission , yet it must needs be granted , that it is a renewing and confirming , and enlarging of their former commission , and therein their work is afresh proposed to them , and enjoyned upon them , and that is sufficient for our purpose ; for this work is double , preaching and administring the sacraments , which being equally imposed upon them , must by like reason be equally restrained to them , unlesse better grounds can be shewn to the contrary , than have yet been given . . they say , it is denied by some that preaching is a greater work than baptizing . the sealing of a deed is a greater work than the writing of it ; every clerk may write it , but only the conveyancer can seal it . ans. the question is not , whether preaching or baptizing be greater in regard of the dignity of the work ? but in regard of the difficulty of it : as in the instance proposed ; the sealing of the deed is a work of greater dignity , but the writing of the deed is a work of more difficulty , and therefore belongs to him who is appointed for such works , and who hath more skill in the management of such works : so in this case , preaching which answers to the writing of the deed , being a work of far greater difficulty , than the applying of the seal , it was requisite that greater or at least equal care should be taken in it , and that it should be managed by none but such as are both fitted for , and appointed to the work . the fifth argument was this , to usurp authority is a sin ; but preaching is an act of authority , and therefore for persons not in office to preach , is to usurp authority , and so to sin , thes. . . heb. . the losse is blessed of the greater : women must not preach , because they must not usurp authority , tim. . in preaching the key of the kingdom of heaven is used , which is an authoritative act . against this our brethren offer divers exceptions , some whereof are impertinent , and some frivolous : all that hath any appearance of probability , i shall take notice of . . they say , preaching is no act of authority , for if a man preach to heathens , where no church is ; how can he usurp authority over the church ? reply . true , he cannot usurp authority over the church , but authority he useth towards them to whom he preacheth , when paul preached to heathens , it was an authoritative act , no lesse than when he preached to the church : he preached as an ambassadour to one as well as to the other : and seeing that paul or any other minister preaching to heathens , or such as are yet unreconciled , preacheth as in christs stead , it can be no other than an act of authority . . they say , there may be other waies to give authority to men to preach , besides ordination . reply . our brethren should do well to remember that golden saying of ignatius , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to bring in nothing without scripture evidence : ordination , we know , and there are clear scriptures warranting that , and much more clear and undoubted for that , than for election ( as hath been often observed ) but for a scripture warrant for another way of authorizing men to the work of the ministry without ordination , we know none , and if our brethren know any , they should do well to inform us . . for heb . they say , indeed he that blesseth by an original , inherent power , as christ doth , he is greater than he that is blessed , and of such a blessing the text speaketh ; but he that blesseth ministerially , and instrumentally is not alwaies greater than he that is blessed . reply . this is very grosse , and contrary to the text , which evidently speaks of melchizedek , who blessed only ministerially ( and not by any original power ) and yet that kind of blessing the apostle alledgeth as an evidence of his superiority over abraham as the party blessed , and if this were not spoken of melchizedek , it were wholly impertinent to the present cause , which was to prove that melchizedek was greater than abraham . . they say , there is a plain difference between teaching and usurping authority over the man , so the text runs : but i suffer not a woman to teach , nor to usurp authority over the man , but to be in silence , tim. . . reply . this should not have been said by such as pretend to know any thing which belongs to the interpretation of scripture , wherein it is so familiar a thing , to use a conjunction disjunctive , or a word disjoyning one thing from another , when indeed the one explains the other : shall any , who reads rev. . . for without are dogs , and sorcerers , and whoremongers , thence infer that these sorcerers , &c. are not the dogs there intended , because they are distinguished from them ? this would be plainly childish . and ( to give an instance in the very same kind of conjunction ) gal. . . speaking of the gospel , he saith , for i neither received it of man , neither was i taught it , but by the revelation of iesus christ ; where the latter is not distinct from , but expositive of the former , for how could he receive it from man , any other way then by being taught it ? . for their phrase in this place , the apostle hath so hem'd it in on both sides with an exegesis , that no rational man can doubt of it : on the one side of it teaching is forbidden ; on the other side silence is enjoyned : and nothing can be more evident , then that he speaks of that usurpation of authority which consisted in teaching , and is opposed to silence . and for what they adde , that the apostle speaks of her usurping authority over the man , i. e. her husband , not over the church . answer , this is indeed to seek a knot in a bulrush : for , the man here is not to be understood singularly , for her husband ( there is nothing in the text which either commands or warrants such a sense ) but indefinitely , for any man : for the apostle is comparing sex with sex in the general , not husband and wife in particular : and if this text concerns such women also as have no husbands ( which i beleeve our brethren will not deny ) then the apostle speaks of usurping authority over the male kind in the church , not over an husband . to which may be added , that the authority here spoken of , is not an oeconomicall , but a politicall , an ecclesiasticall authority ; not an authority in the family , but in the church ; not an authority assumed in some family administration , but in a church affair . if it be further said ( for i shall improve their argument to the highest ) that the apostles forbidding this usurping of authority to the women , allows it to the men ; i answer , it no way follows , no more then it follows , that the french laws , when they prohibit women from usurping authority , or wielding the scepter , do allow it to all men ; or then it would follow , if a law were made , that no woman should usurp authority in a corporation , that therefore every man ought to do it , which is so far from being true , that on the contrary such an act would not only forbid women also , but all others untill they were called to it . . to shut the door to all such cavils and unhandsome wrestings of the text , a parallel place will put an end to it , cor. . . let your women keep silence — it is not permitted for them to speak , but to be in subjection , as saith the law : whence the inference is plain and undeniable , that to speak , i. e. in the church , is unlawful for those who are in a state of subjection : and because all unofficed persons are in a state of subjection as well as women , therefore by the same reason they are forbidden to preach , for my part , this is so clear , that he that shall resist such evidence , i shall despair of ever seeing him convinced by man. i shall pass over this only taking notice of two things , which concern our present controversie . . that it is not only constant preaching , but even occasionall preaching which is here forbidden them : and so , by a parity of reason , gifted men unless in case of necessity , and with order to trial for ordination , which also is necessary , as hath been argued , may not so much as preach once and their preaching though sparingly , is as clearly , though not so grossly contrary to this prohibition , as to preach constantly . . that it is the work , and not the manner of working , which is here forbidden : the very work of publick preaching is here forbidden them : this i say , to prevent a common evasion of our brethren , that gifted men may not and cannot preach in the same manner as ordained persons , i. e. they cannot do it authoritatively , yet the work they may do : and why may not i have the same liberty , and apply it to the case of women , and say that they may do the work , although they cannot do it in the same manner , i. e. with authority : if i should say so , it would be easie to silence me , by saying , that the very act of preaching is spoken of , as an act of authority , and that may justly silence them too . the sixth argument was this , the scripture reproves uncalled men for preaching . jer. . , . they are reproved not onely for preaching false doctrine , but for preaching without a call , for running without being sent . to this our brethren return this strange answer ; that these were prophets rightly called by god ; and they are blamed for this that being prophets they did not prophesie right things pag. . reply . this is a little too grosse , to say , they are by god called to be prophets , of whom god professeth , they ran but he sent them not : whether shall we believe god or our brethren ? and this is the more considerable , because it was not with prophets as it is with ordinary gospel-ministers ( who besides the delivery of a message to them from god , must also have a solemn mission and authorization for the work ) for the prophets had no other call then this , or at lest , this was gods usuall way of calling them , he immediately inspired them with an extraordinary message : and when god vouchsafed to send such a message , that was taken for an authorization of them , or a call to be a prophet , as plainly appears in the case of samuel , sam. . where after god had delivered a message to and by samuel , it followes , v. . and all israel knew that samuel was established to be a prophet of the lord : and therefore on the contrary seeing these prophets were such as had not any message at all from god that we read of ) thereby it is evident that they were not prophets , and he that faith , they were such , as he asserts it gratis , so it is plaine , it is but an opinion taken up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to gratify their cause . and i am perswaded had not our brethren been hurried into this fancy by the favourable aspect it hath to their doctrine , they would have rejected it as wholly ridiculous . whereas they urge that saying , if they had stood in my counsell , and had caused my people to hear my words , then they should have turned them from their evil way , but the lord would not have entailed his blessing upon the labours of false prophets . i answer . . as the words are here rendred , they no way oppose our doctrine , for , the standing in gods counsell , and speaking gods words , implies a call , as hath been shewed ; as if he had said if they had waited till i had sent them , and delivered my message to them , then they might have expected a blessing . . it must be observed that there is another reading proposed by some learned men , which as it is very conformable to the hebrew text , so it is more probable in it self , and more consonant to the context , to read it thus , if they had stood in my counsel , i. e. if they had stood till i had sent them , &c. they would have profited this people and they would have turned them from their evil way ; whereas now they did encourage them in it ; so that he brings in this as an evidence , that they were false prophets . the seventh argument used by the provinciall assembly was this : the ministers of christ have been as carefull to make proof of their mission as of their doctrine , cal. . joh. . , . luk. . . to this they say : . if it prove a call , yet it proves not that this call is ordination . ans. that is not the businesse , to speak of this or that particular call , ( that is proved in another proposition ) but onely in the generall to shew , that over and besides gifts , some other call , mission , or designation from god , either immediate , or mediate , is required ; and this is sufficient against our brethren , who assert , that any man having gifts , is eo nomine , called by god to preach , and his gifts alone sufficiently warrant him , though he have no other call . . they say , the reason why paul proves his mission , was but for his doctrines sake , and although it was necessary for paul to prove his immediate call ; and to prove the divinenesse of the doctrines of the gospel , yet there is no such reason to make it necessary to prove a mediate call . reply . . i do not understand that the proof of pauls extraordinary mission was necessary to prove the divineness of his doctrine , for then , those ordinary officers that preached in that time could not have proved the divinenesse of their doctrine . besides , there are , and were diverse other excellent and sufficient mediums to prove his doctrine by , he proved it out of the law and the prophets , by miracles , by ocular witnesses of christs resurrection , &c. it is true he proves his mission for his doctrines sake , and that makes not against us at all , but for us , seeing if paul had preached without a call , he had given just occasion to suspect his doctrine and to doubt of the certainty of it , ( because they that reject gods warrant to the office , have no reason to promise to themselves gods blesin the work ) and therefore it followes strongly , that much more ought ministers , who have far lesse gifts then paul had , to prove their mission and call , or else they must give men leave to doubt of the certainty of their doctrine . it is true ( what our brethren say ) that , the proofe of an ordinary call is no sufficient argument to prove the truth of the doctrine , seeing ordinary lawfull ministers may erre : but yet when a man cannot prove his call , that may render his doctrine doubtfull , and the reason is , because , bonum oritur ex integris , malum ex quolibet defectu . to make a mans preaching regular many things must concurre , he must be called , he must preach agreeable to the word , &c. but the want of any one of these will make it irregular . other things they say , but because they are triviall , i wave them , as not having such store of time as to throw it away to no purpose . the eighth and last argument was this . that work may not be performed which cannot be performed in faith : but preaching by a gifted brother , not called , &c. cannot be done in faith ; for , . such have no precept to preach . . there is no precept for people to hear them or maintaine them . . they have no promise of assistance , of protection , of successe , &c. to which our brethren say something : but because they adde nothing of any weight , except that which hath been said by themselves before , and by us answered ; to avoid tautologies , i shall ease my self , and reader , of the trouble of following them : there is one thing onely which is very observable , that they say nothing as to that which is most considerable in the argument , which is the matter of maintenance ; which i must desire them seriously , and conscientiously to peruse , and let them take it in this form , and give me leave to improve it . all scripture-preachers may challenge maintenance : but all gifted men ( though preaching ) cannot challenge maintenance , therefore they are no scripture-preachers . the major is the maine thing liable to doubt , and therefore i shall prove it . either all scripture-preachers may challenge maintenance , or onely such preachers as are in office-relation to those to whom they preach , and of whom they challenge maintenance : but not onely such preachers may challenge maintenance as are in office-relation to them ; therefore all scripture-preachers may challenge this maintenance . the minor ( for that onely is liable to exception ) i prove thus : the apostles ( say our brethren ) were onely in office-relation to the church , and other teachers are onely in office-relation to their particular churches ( as they assert ) but these might challenge maintenance from others . the disciples luke . had no office-relation to them to whom they preached ; they were no officers in the jewish church , and the christian church was not then erected , and yet for their very work they may require maintenance . v. . and in the same house remaine eating and drinking such things as they give , for the labourer is worthy of his hire . and paul , where ever he sowes spirituals ( though it be among heathens ) he may require carnals , cor. . and generally in scripture , the maintenance is rather thrown upon the work then upon the office . the double honour , tim. . . and the high estimation , thes. . . is for their works sake . and the oxe that treadeth out the corn ( though it may be he treadeth not out his own masters but another mans corn ) ought not to be muzled : i would desire our brethren to answer me this question : suppose a man will go into wales to preach the gospel , whether in that case , they do not believe the people are obliged to give him carnalls for his spiritualls ? if they affirme it ( as i believe they have too much ingenuity to deny it , and the foregoing places fully evince it ) then we have gained thus much , that the maintenance is not due onely to such as are office-wise related to those to whom they preach , but to all scripture-preachers , which was the thing to be proved , and so we have secured the major . for the minor , it is needless to spend time about it , for our brethren grant it , and besides it speakes for it self : for if all gifted men be bound to preach ( as our brethren assert ) and if in churches , many men are , and all ought to covet to be so gifted ( which also they assert ) then the maintenance of such would be both absurd and impossible . and thus much shal suffice for the vindication of the provinciall assemblies arguments , to prove that none ought to preach without ordination : and so i have done with the principall question : onely that the reader may be able more judiciously to compare things together i shall present him with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or enumeration of the arguments on both sides . the arguments alledged by them to prove that unordained men may preach . i am the more willing to propound all their arguments together , because i would not take them at advantage , but set the best glosse upon their cause , for , it oft times falls out , that , quae non prosunt singula , juncta juvant , those arguments which when they are pull'd asunder , have but little strength in them , being united together , seem considerable ; so that if their cause have any reall strength in it , we shall see it here , when the arrowes are all put together in one bundle , or else we may conclude , that there is neither strength nor truth in it . their first argument is this . election must go before ordination ( which they take for granted , though it never was proved ) but a person must preach before election and therefore before ordination , and so one not yet ordained may preach : so that their argument is this : because a man unordained may preach in a case of necessity , i. e. when he is to be tried for election or ordination , therefore he may preach where there is no necessity . arg. . gifted men unordained are ▪ commanded to preach . and here because peter , pet. . , , . commands every man to exercise his gift they inferre from thence , that this gift must needs include preaching ( though it may as well relate to hospitality ) and that this gift must needs be exercised in a publick way , by such as have no further call thereunto . arg. . they argue from examples , because apollos ( who was a man extraordinarily indowed , and an officer cor. . . ) spake publickly to divers iews , though not gathered together in a church assembly ; and because the scattered saints ( who it is doubtful whether they were officers or no ) in a case of persecution and necessity spake occasionally of the things of god to persons they met with , therefore any gifted men may ordinarily , and without a case of necessity preach publickly in a church assembly . arg. . because some persons , who are called by the name of officers , prophets , and therefore may well be concluded to be in office , because such being inriched with extraordinary gifts did prophesie , therefore persons who are unquestionably no officers , and whose gifts are but ordinary , may preach . and this is bonâ fide the whole strength of their opinion , which , whether it be of sufficient force to transport a man beyond the sentiment or judgement of the church , in all ages , of the generality of the reformed churches of the present ages , of the far greater part of learned and godly divines among us : i desire our brethren , and all that are concerned in it , in the fear of god to consider . and now let us see whether we cannot give a better account of our assertion , and whether it doth not stand upon a firmer basis . the arguments alledged by us , to prove that unordained men may not preach . arg. . none may preach lawfully , unlesse ( besides their gifts ) they have a mission from god , rom. . arg. . neither aaron , no nor the lord jesus would undertake their offices , nor-do any work of their offices , untill ; over and above their excellent gifts , they had received from god a call and designation thereunto . and therefore persons farre inferiour in excellency and gifts ought not upon the account of their gifts , either undertake any office , or any work of any office , without a further call thereunto ; nor are they by pet. . or any other place obliged to it . arg. . gospel-preachers are called by names importing an office : embassadors , stewards , &c. and therefore such preachers are onely officers , for names must answer to things . arg. . gifts and calling , are constantly distinguished . . diverse rules are laid down to guide and caution men in the admission of persons to the office of preaching the gospel , all which , are superfluous , if gifted men are , eonomine , warranted to preach . . to allow the preaching of unordained men , opens a door to all confusion . . god hath punished such as ( though sufficiently gifted and qualified for the work they did ) undertook to do a work , to which they were not called , as uzzah , saul , uzziah . . none may performe any religious service to god , but such as are appointed , or otherwise warranted thereunto : but all gifted men are not appointed to preach , for then they sinne if they neglect it , &c. . none may do the work of a magistrate or a deacon , who is not called to it , and therefore none may , without a call , do the work of a minister , which is a work of far greater difficulty and more importance . . none may administer the sacraments , because he is gifted , unlesse withall he be solemnly set apart for the work . ergo none but such an one may preach , for as much as god hath joyned both these together . . preaching is an act of authority , and therefore must not be done by such as are under authority , by such as are not officers . . scripture reproves uncalled men for preaching . . christs ministers have been alwayes carefull to prove their calling as well as their doctrine . . gifted men uncalled cannot preach in faith , neither are they commanded to preach , nor people to hear them , &c. . all scripture-preachers may challenge maintenance , but all gifted men , though preaching , cannot challenge maintenance : therefore they are not scripture-preachers . the tenth chapter concerns doctor collings , and is by him answered . chap. xi . thus we have dispatched our main work , now it onely remains that somewhat be spoken as to the businesse of election and ordination ; and here a threefold question should be ventilated . . whether election by divine right belong to the people . . whether the essence of the ministerial call consists in election or ordination . . whether ordination may be done by the people . for the first , whether election by divine right belong to the people , there is no need to say any thing about it , because it hath been so fully ventilated by others ; only for those three places alledged in favour of this election , and answered by the provincial assembly , which they have here undertaken to vindicate , it will be convenient to say something , as also of the absurdities objected by the assembly to the affirmative . the first place is acts . . it was answered : . these words , they appointed two , do in all probability relate to the apostles , v. , , , . to this our brethren reply , the exhortation about chusing was given to the brethren and therefore they did chuse . reply . it was not an exhortation to chuse , nor a direction in chusing ( here is not a word of the knowledge , piety , prudence , &c. of the person to be chosen , which useth to be the subject of the apostles discourse , when he exhorts to , or directs in chusing ) but onely a declaration that one must be chosen , which was very congruous and convenient , whether the apostles or people did appoint ; and however the apostles might and did appoint , yet it was fit the people should consent and be satisfied . i forbear other things as to this place , because they will recur in the next place , whither i refer them ; only this i leave to the consideration of ingenuous men , that it is at least doubtful who it was that are here said to appoint two ; the grammatical construction and logical connexion possibly will bear either ; i am sure it will beat the apostles , and therefore great stresse cannot be laid upon this place . the next alledged text is that , acts . . concerning the choice of deacons . to which it was said , that the people were guided and limited in their choice by the apostles ; so that if they had swerved from the apostles directions , the apostles would not have ordained them . to this they answer , that lawes and rules directing in the choice , hinders not the entireness of the choice : a corporation have entire power of chusing and yet are limited by lawes . reply . it is true , regulation by dead lawes and rules is no prejudice to the peoples sole power in election , but a regulation by living judges doth destroy it , to wit , the regulation being such , as here it is , wherein the apostles ( or their vicegerents the ministers ) have not only a bare vote in the election , but a negative voice , whereby it is in their power either to chuse or refuse : so it was here , and therefore surely the apostles had a share , yea , the great share in the choice , and therefore the people had not the whole and sole power in the choosing of deacons , which was to be proved : this case is not unlike our colledges , when the fellowes have a power to chuse , &c. yet under the direction and regulation of the master , who hath a power to chuse or refuse the person chosen by the fellowes : can any sober man in this case say that the sole power of choosing is in the fellowes ? is it not in the master also ? and so it was in the apostles . . our brethren forget the maine thing that was driven at which by their own acknowledgement was this , that , the essence of the call consists not in election , and that plainly appeares from this place : for if the apostles had refused any of those chosen by the people upon just grounds , i desire our brethren to answer whether they think they would have been deacons notwithstanding , whether the apostles would or not . if they say , yea , that is so injurious to the apostles , and their jurisdiction , that they will have few followers ; if they say no , then the essence of the call to the office of the deacon ( and so of the minister by their own argument ) consists not in election , unlesse they will say , that a man can be a deacon and yet want the essence of a deacon . excep . if this election had been frustraneous it had not been for want of ordination but for the neglect of observation of gospel-rules in chusing . ans. nay , on the contrary , it had been the want of ordination ▪ for suppose the people had proceeded according to go●pel-rules , in the election and choosing a person visibly fit , and the apostles by the spirit of discerning , seeing something in him which renders him unfit , had denied ordination ; in this case , the election had been null , though according to rule , ergo , the want of ordination makes it null , efficiently , or rather deficiently , though the want of fit qualification makes it null meritoriously . and againe , let us suppose that both the people and the apostles had not exactly kept to the rule in choosing ( for the apostles might erre in matters of fact though not in matters of doctrine ) and the people had chosen , and the apostles ordained a man not fit for the office according to rule , in that case , to say that this call had been null , would be a venturous assertion : it is harsh to say , of every man chosen to the office of a deacon who is not full of the holy ghost and wisdome , ( for those are the required qualifications ) that his choice is null . i am confident our brethren have too much modesty to affirme it , and if they do not affirme it , then that which in this case had made the election null , had not been the not observing of gospel-rules , but the want of ordination . . it was said , that , though the people might have the sole power of chusing deacons , yet not of ministers . a minore ad majus non valet argumentum affirmativè . to this they answer , that we use that kind of arguing , when we argue thus ; we use ordination in the choice of deacons ; ergo , of ministers much more , so christ argues from the lesse to the greater ; god takes care of lillies , ravens , &c. ergo , he will much more take care of you . mat. . reply . our brethrens answer runs upon a grosse mistake , for they inconsideratly confound two canons which vastly differ ( though both of them belong to the same topick . ) . their argument is fetcht from this canon : cui competit minus , competit majus : if a power of choosing deacons , which is the lesse , belongs to the people , then a power of choosing ministers , which is the greater , belongs to them . to this the assembly well answered : a minori ad majus , non valet affirmativè . it is very false to argue thus : the power of choosing a captaine belongs to the colonel , ergo , the power of chusing a generall belongs to him : or thus , the members of such a company have a power to chuse their own officers ( which is the lesse ) and therefore they have a power to chuse the city officers , which is the greater . it is a true rule , a majori ad minus , valet affirmativè . i. e. cui competit majus , competit minus : but it is false to argue , a minori ad majus affirmativè , or thus , cui competit minus , competit majus . . but there is another canon , much differing from the former , and that is this ; quod competit minori , competit etiam majori : if ordination was required to the meaner and lesse considerable office , which is that of the deacons , much more is it required to that which is the greater and weightier office. and this was the argument used by the assembly . and to this belongs the argument , mat. . . if the care of gods providence reacheth to lillies ( which are the lesse ) much more will it reach to you , which are the greater . the third text alledged for the peoples election , was act. . . when they had created them elders by suffrages , ( for so they say the word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is generally used ) in every city : and this they say , may have reference to the disciples , as well as to paul and barnabas , for they were spoken of before . reply . one would think nothing more can be said , or desired by any sober man for the elucidation and vindication of this text , then the making out of these two things . . that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is frequently used for a simple chusing or appointing , though without suffrages . . that it cannot be taken here for chusing by suffrages . from these two , it followes most evidently , and irrefragably , that this place , ( which is alledged as a pillar to prove the peoples election , &c. ) doth no wayes inforce it , but rather overthrow it . for the first , that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , are not alwayes used for a chusing by suffrages , but oft times , for a simple chusing , or appointing , &c. is most plaine , from acts . . and may be made good by a multitude of instances , for which the provinciall assembly , referred you to other authors , and especially selden de synedriis , it being needlesse to transcribe . . how oft the use of words varies from the etymologie , no man can be ignorant , that is not wholly a stranger to the greek tongue . but our brethren say , it is strange , that luke should use the word in such a sense as was different from the custome of all that writ before him . i answer . . it is so used by others , as was now said . . it is no new thing , to find a word , used in scripture in a different sense , from that which it hath in other authors . and if our brethren acknowledge that luke useth the word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , acts . . in a sense , never used in any author before him ; why may we not expect the same favour for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ? . although this ( if nothing else could be said ) were sufficient to answer their argument , which is taken from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and it be incumbent upon them to shew , that the word must needs be so understood in this place , yet , ex abundanti , we assert ; that this word cannot be taken in their sense : and in this case by their own allowance , we may recede , from the native signification of the word , because it is repugnant to the context . and for proof of this , i shall but desire any candid reader , diligently to read the whole context , especially in the greek tongue , and i perswade my self , he will judge it but a few removes from an impossibility to understand it in our brethrens sense . . they are said to ordaine to them , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not to themselves , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as it should have been , if the people had done it . and although it be true , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is sometimes taken for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , yet that is but seldome ( and then also it is , for the most part , aspirated , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and the common use of the word , ( by which our brethren will have us guided in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and therefore we expect the like from them in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) i say , the common use of the word is otherwise , and especially this is considerable , if you take notice of other circumstances , which oblige us to this sense , as namely : . the same persons are said to ordaine in severall cities and churches : therefore it must needs be meant of them that had an authority over severall churches . . they ordained , &c. who going away , commended the people to the lord , and surely that was the apostles : it is a lamentable shift to say , that the disciples are spoken of in the foregoing verse , and therefore it may be understood of them . true , they are spoken of and so are the apostles spoken of , and , seeing both are spoken of , we must inquire , to whom this must be referred , and for that , the very first rudiments of grammer will determine , that the reference must be towords of the same case . now then , in the . verse , the disciples are spoken of in the accusative case , and as passive under the apostles confirming , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , with which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by no meanes agrees , as being active , and of the nominative case : but now if you understand it of the apostles , all things run handsomly . the same persons are brought in as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , vers . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , v. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , v. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , v. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , v. . &c. all of them of the nominative case , and the active signification : and whoever take out the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from all the rest , wherewith it is hedged in on both sides , as they offer manifest violence to the text , so they will be judged by indifferent persons , meerly to take it up in favour of a praeconceived opinion . and therefore our brethren , do well take up , and at last come to this faint conclusion ; though this do referre to the apostles , yet the people may be comprehended in it : so that whereas in the first canvasing of this text , we had much adoe to get in the apostles ; and this text hath been often alledged by our brethren to shew , not that the people may , but that the people must , ordaine and chuse themselves elders , now all that it amounts to , is a m●y be , they may be included here . all the answer it deserves , and that i shall give is this ; the people may not be included here : at lest non liquet , it appears not from the text at all , that they are comprehended here . however , let the question lie here , between us and our brethren , whether this text , and this ordaining belong to the apostles ( who are here expresly said to do it ) or to the people ( of whose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not a word is spoken here ) and i suppose impartiall arbitrators will quickly end the difference . but , ( say they , who ever did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet ) this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cannot be meant of ordination , seeing it is mentioned as distinct from ordaining by prayer and fasting , when they had chosen — and had prayed with fasting , and if ordination were intended , here were a tautologie . reply . i would ask our brethren this question , whether in case the people were they who are here said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to chuse elders , whether they did not manage that work with prayer and fasting , and whether this text doth not sufficiently speak for it self , that this prayer and fasting was used in relation to the choice of officers : if they assent , then the tautologie remaines on their part as well as on ours . . but indeed , we must take heed of calling it a tautologie , when ever we find the same thing expressed in divers phrases , which is a familiar practice in scripture . . albeit the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , when put by it self , did signify , to ordaine by fasting , and prayer , and laying on of hands , yet common reason and frequent use will teach us , that when fasting and prayer are expressed , then , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be understood onely of imposing of hands . . our brethren forget the present work , we did not alledge this place , or this word , to prove that ordination is to be done by fasting , prayer , and laying on of hands , nor were we drawing any argument from this text ; but we were upon the defensive part , and our work was onely this to maintaine , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , doth not here signify a creating by the suffrages of the people , which being proved , our brethrens attempt from this text is frustrated , and the place sufficiently vindicated . these three places being cleared , and redeemed from misinterpretation , there is but one thing remains to be done , which is a little to inforce those absurdities objected by the provinciall assembly against their opinion . i shall take notice onely of the first , as being most materiall , which is this : every one that is to be made a minister , must first be tried , tim. , . whether he be apt to teach ▪ able to convince gaine sayers . now in many congregations , the major part are very unfit to judge of ministeriall abilities . to this they answer : that true churches are fit to judge of ministeriall abilities , christs sheep know his voice , john . and the church could judge of the qualifications of deacons , act. . reply . . i dare venture the question upon this point , and although i shall not determine it concerning every congre●ation ( whereof possibly some learned men may be members by accident ) yet , for the generality of congregations ( including such as are constituted according to our brethrens principles ) i say they are not able to judge of a mans soundnesse in the faith , and his ability to convince gaine-sayers . i will onely suppose that ( which generally is true ) a congregation to consist of such as are unacquainted with the affaires of learning , and i will suppose a crafty heretick to come before them , i say , he may most easily conceale his heresies , so that they shall never discover it , nor be able to try his soundnesse in the faith . i might instance in divers cases , suppose a socinian is to be tried by the people , they ask him whether he believe christ to be god , he will answer yes , i believe him to be the true god , to be one with the father , to be equall with god : how apt would a company of honest soules be to be cheated with such pretenses and how readily would they be his compurgators ; whereas , if this man were to be called by ministers , they know that these are but words , and that though he acknowledge christ in word , yet in deed he denies him , and allowes him to be god , onely as the magistrate is a god ; so there are many other weighty points , wherein it is impossible for the people to try a mans soundnesse in the faith . how many grosse errors are there about the providence of god , the person and natures of christ , the fall of man ; which any learned man may so hide under ambiguous expressions , that it shall be impossible for an ordinary congregation to discover them , unlesse they plow with the heifer of ministers or scholars : so for a mans ability to defend the truth , and convince gain-sayers , how unfit people are to judge of that ▪ no man can be ignorant , that considers how sadly , and frequently , the judgements of people of all sorts , and opinions , and waies , are misplaced , applauding some highly for their sufficiency that way , who are known to understanding men , to be miserably defective therein , and vilifying others , who are unquestionably far more sufficient . to convince gain-sayers , is a great part of learning , and that unlearned men should be able to judge of a mans learning , will then be believed , when it will be credited , that a blind man can judge of colours , or , a deaf man of sounds , or an ordinary ignorant man , of the great affaires of state. . for that in iohn , i hope our brethren will be ashamed to alledge it to this purpose , when they shall consider that it is a character given by christ to all his sheep , my sheep know my voice . it is true of wise men and weak men , of men , women , and children , which are the sheep of christ : so that , unlesse they will say , that the silliest woman in a congregation , who is godly , is able to judge of a ministers ability to convince gain-sayers , ( then which nothing can be more highly absurd ) they must confesse this text was impertinently alledged . . for the peoples fitnesse to judge of the deacons abilities it is a strange instance , that because people are able to judge of a mans prudence , faithfullnesse , piety , &c. therefore they are able to judge of his learning , and sufficiency . and you may as well argue thus , that such a man is able to build an house well , therefore he can mold a state. and thus much shall suffice , to speak of the first question ; which , when a judicious , and candid reader , hath duely weighed , i may groundedly hope , that he will be thus far convinced , that the necessity of popular election is not so clear , as hath been conceived , nor indeed so manifest , as ordination . and sure i am , if we had no better evidences for ordination , then such as these , we should have sufficiently heard of it from our brethren . chap. xii . the second question is this : whether the essence of the call to the ministry , lie in election or ordination . and here also i must take the same liberty i have used , and that is not to transcribe every word nor to take notice of such passages as are inconsiderable , but onely such as have most strength , and most appearance of truth in them . in the doing of which , as i have the witnesse of god , and my own conscience , so i doubt not i shall have the attestation of any disinterested person , who shall compare both together . but , before i come to handle the point , i must needs do my brethren that right , as to let the world know , how far they are from that generation of men that despise and deride ordination ; they say , we do highly esteem of ordination as an appointment of iesus christ , p. . onely here they differ , they give election the praecedency to ordination , and they place the essence of the ministeriall call in election , not in ordination . but good reason , we should not condemn them unheard : i shall therefore do them the justice as to consider what they offer by way of argument , and that is onely this : ordination doth not give the essence ; ergo , election doth ( for their first argument from acts . vers . . hath been discussed before . ) that the essence of the call lies not in ordination , they indeavour to make good by three arguments . their first argument is this , that which doth not set a man over a church of christ , or commit it to his charge , that doth not give the essentials of the ministeriall office : but ordination doth not set a man over a church of christ , &c. because without election a man cannot be over any flock . i answer to the minor , and the proofe . . that it is but a begging of the question , and hath been before disproved , that without election a man cannot be over any flock . . although a man could not be over a flock without election , and election were necessary to his call , yet the essence of the call may lie in ordination : election may be necessary , as the causa , sine qua non , and yet ordination may be the causa formalis of the call to the ministry . suppose by some ancient charter , the people of such a city , are invested with a right to chuse their own minister ; so that without their election , he is not their minister ; yet so , as that it belongs to some gentleman , to present the person so elected , unlesse he can shew reason to refuse him , in this case election is necessary , and yet the essence of the eivil call , lies in his presentation . or suppose 〈…〉 of canterbury , had been to chuse the a 〈…〉 shop of canterbury , yet , notwithstanding the n 〈…〉 of their election , the essence of the arch bishops c 〈…〉 did lie in another thing , to wit , civilly in the gift of the king , ecclesiastically , in his consecration by the bishops : so , though the election of the people were necessary , yet the essen●e of the call , may lie in the ordination of the minister● . although election determine a mans imployment to this or that particular place , yet ordination sets him over a church of christ , viz. over the whole church : his ordination sets him over a church indefinitely : his ●●●●tion sets him over this or that particular church . as the act of the university , makes a man a doctor of physick , but the choice of such a city , or such a noble family , makes him the physitian of that city , or family . the second argument is this : ordination is to be consequentiall unto a mans having the whole essence of the call to the office , acts . . paul and barnabas had the essence of their call before from god , they were not of men , gal. . and this example is a binding rule to us . answ. . i might say , as divines say of vocation , that there is a calling , ad foedus , to the covenant , and ad munus , to an office. so likewise for ordination , there is a double ordination , the one , ad munus , to an office , the other , adopus , to a work. the ordination which we spake of , and wherein the essence of the ministeriall call doth consist , is an ordination to an office ; and such an ordination the apostle never had , gal. . . and such an ordination , this text , peradventure , speaks not of , but of an ordination to a work , nor is there any ground to wonder , that men should be solemnly ordained to such a work as this , a work so great , so uncouth , so difficult , so much exposed to contradiction , nor was it unusuall in the church either of the old or new testament , to use fasting and prayer , or laying of hands , as well in the designation of a person to a work , as to an office. . this argument will fall as heavy upon election as ordination : it must be remembred that they assert that the essence of the call lies in election ; and to prove this , they urge the election of an apostle , acts . now from hence , i thus argue against them : if this was the prerogative of the apostles , that they had their call neither of man nor by man , &c. then the essence of their call doth not lie in election : but this was the prerogative of apostles , that they were neither of men nor by men ; so that although ordination and election were both used in reference to the apostles , yet the essence of the call did lie in neither of them : and it is certain that in acts . the essence of matthias his call , did not lie in the election of the people ( for that barsabas had , as well as matthias ) but in the designation of god : and therefore , as our brethren would say for themselves , in that case , that we are to distinguish between what is ordinary and what is extraordinary , between what was peculiar to the apostles , and what was common to other officers ; and that this was common to the apostles , with other officers to be admitted by election , which therefore is a president for us in the call of other officers , but that the essence of their call should not lie in election , but in gods designation , this was peculiar to them , and so is no rule to us ; the same liberty , i hope they will allow us , to say , that in this ordination here was , . something ordinary and common to the apostles , with other officers , which was to be ordained , which therefore doth strongly justifie the use and necessity of ordination to other officers . . something extraordinary and peculiar , to wit , that the essence of their call did not lie in this ordination , but in the immediate appointment of god , which therefore cannot be applied to ordinary officers . to say nothing of that which peradventure may be said , that paul had the essence of his call from this ordination , and yet no prejudice to that other assertion that paul had his office neither of nor by man , gal. . for though men were used as instruments in the dispensation of the rites belonging to pauls ordination , yet to speak properly it was not men but god , that was pauls ordainer , for the holy ghost said , separate me , &c. it was not men that nominated paul to be an officer , but god did it , from heaven . their third argument is taken from the nature of ordination , ordination ( say they ) is nothing else but the solemn separation of an officer by prayer and fasting ( they after adde , and laying on of hands ) to the work whereunto he is called : it can be imagined to consist but of three things . . fasting , and that is no act of worship . . laying on of hands , and that was not essentiall to ordination then , and it is questionable , whither it be still continuing or not . . prayer , which therefore must be the act giving essence to ordination seeing the others do not . now upon all this , they build a double argument . . ordination consisteth in an action performed to god only , i. e. in prayer , therefore it cannot give the essence of an externall call to office , from men . . that action which cannot be performed in faith , before a man have his outward call to office , cannot give him that outward call : but ordination is such an action , &c. for how can a man pray in faith , for his blessing upon a person in a work of an office , before he can conclude , that he is so much as outwardly called to that office . for answer . . for the last clause , i also would ask our brethren one question ; suppose the essence of the ministeriall call did consist in election , and that prayers are to be used for the person to be elected , before his election ( which i know our brethren will not diflike ) in this case i ask them their own question how can they pray in faith for a blessing upon that person in the work of his office , before he have the call to the office ? whatsoever they shall reply with reason , will serve for our use as well as theirs . . in such cases , our prayers have ( as most frequently in many other cases ) a tacit condition , that god would blesse him in the work , viz. if he shall be set apart for it . i may pray in faith , that god would go with me in a journey , that god would blesse me in the exercises of the lords day , &c. although i do not certainly know that i shall live either to go one step in my journey , or to do one exercise upon the lords day . . all their argument proceeds upon a grosse mistake and unacquaintednesse with our principles : in a word , we hold that the essence of ordination , consists in none of those three things mentioned , neither in fasting , nor prayer , nor laying on of hands , ( all which are only the modifications of the work ) but in something else , to wit , in this , the designation of fit persons by officers unto the work , which designation indeed , is signified by imposition of hands , and deservedly introduced , with fasting and prayer , as being a work of greatest weight , yet still the essence of it lies not in this . . for imposition of hands , it is granted by most presbyterians , that i know of , that it is not so essentiall to ordination , as that they will pronounce that ordination null , which wanted it , although they conceive in being a rite instituted by christ , cannot without sinne , be neglected by men . whether imposition of hands ought to continue in the church , is excentricall to our present question , and therefore i shall wave it , leaving onely this memorandum for the readers consideration . that the great argument used for the abolition of it , because it was used in those daies for the collation of the extraordinary gifts of the holy ghost , hath to me , very little cogency in it ; both because by the same reason , preaching must be now laid aside , because when peter preached , the holy ghost fell upon them that heard him , acts . . and because it continued all along in the old testament , notwithstanding this , that sometimes it was used in those times for the collation of extraordinary gifts , as deut. . . and ioshua was full of the spirit of wisdom , for moses had laid his hands upon him . but i must recall my self , and remember that it is not now my task to meddle with that point , but only to shew that our brethrens arguments are not unanswerable . and now that we have seen the weaknesse of their arguments alledged to prove that the essence of the ministerial call consisteth in election , not in ordination , i shall consider whether we cannot find stronger arguments to prove the contrary , that the essence of the call doth not lie in the election of the people , but in the ordination of the ministers . chap. xiii . i shall confine my self to one argument , which i shall desire our brethren to chew upon , which is this . the essence of the call to the ministry , must lie in the act of those only , who by divine appointment are and ought to be in a capacity to give it : but the people neither are , nor by divine appointment are necessarily required to be in capacity to give the essence of the call to the ministry : ergo , the essence of the call doth not lie in the act of the people , i. e. not in election . for the major , it is a plain case : wherever god puts a man upon a work , he requires that he be fit for it . god will have no man to undertake any work , of magistracy , ministry , &c. for which he is not fit . the teacher must be apt to teach , &c. and if it be one of the works of a minister to send forth other ministers , then god requires this of him , that he be in a capacity to do it . and so doubtlesse , if election be the priviledge of the members of the church , as such , and the essence of the ministeriall call lies in it , then by divine appointment this is a necessary qualification for every church-member to be in a capacity to give it . for the minor which is this , that the people neither are , nor by divine appointment are necessarily required to be in a capacity to give the essence of the call to the ministry : this i shall prove from those things which are requisite to put men into such a capacity . and thus i argue : authority and ability to judge of the fitnesse of a minister , are necessary to make a man capable of giving the essence of the ministers call : but people neither have , nor is it necessarily required that they should have these : ergo they are not capable of giving the essence of the ministeriall call : i shall prove both propositions . . for the major , there are two ingredients , &c. of both i shall speak in order . . i say , to give the essence of the ministeriall call is an act of authority , i think this is unquestionable in all other cases ; wheresoever the power of calling to any office lies , there is an authority in relation thereunto : for instance , in a corporation , if it belongs to the court of aldermen to give the essence of such an office , it is an act of authority in them : so if it belong to the court of common councel to do it , it is an act of authority in them . et sic in caeteris . it is true a man may give an office to another , which he himself hath not . but if he have it not formally , he must have it virtually . in democraticall governments , where the officers are chosen by the body of the people , there , i say , the authority resides , and upon that very ground , the people taken collectively , are superiour in authority unto the officers to whom they give the call. and as the apostle saith , the lesse is blessed of the greater , so may i say , the lesse is called of the greater . and as it is in civil respects , in some parishes where the people are patrons of the place , and give the essence of the civil call to a minister , to be the minister of the place , as to all legall rights , &c. there , i say , the people are , eo nomine , invested with authority , for that worke , and their collation of this place upon that minister , is an act of authority : so in like manner , if it belong to the people to give the essence of the ecclesiasticall call unto a minister , then the people hereby are impowred with an authority , and their act is an act of authority . and this is the first branch . authority is necessary , &c. the use of this we shall see when we come to the minor ; in the mean time we must prove the other branch of the major , or rather , that is proved already , that ability to judge of a ministers fitnesse is necessary to put a man into a regular capacity to give the essence of the call to the ministry . and therefore i now come to the proof of the minor , where i must shew ; . that people have no authority , &c. . that they neither have nor by divine appointment are required to have ability to judge of a mans fitnesse for the ministry . . that people have no authority nor can do any act of authority in the church , is plain from hence , because they are by gods appointment placed in a state of subjection , at lest it is a cleare case concerning women , who are forbidden to do an act of authority ( i. e. to preach publickly ) because they are in a state of subjection : and this is the more considerable , because in that instance which our brethren so much insist upon , acts . in that election of an apostle , not only the men , but women also did concurre , which they could not have done , if election were an act of authority , or if it were that act which gives the essence to an officer . . as they want authority , so they want ability . and here there are two branches . . they have not . they are not required to have ability to judge , &c. . the people have not ability to judge of a mans fitnesse for the ministry ; this we have proved before , and thither i refer the reader ; and indeed , if our brethrens principles did not oblige them to the contrary , it would be out of doubt that for the body of almost all the congregations in the world , they are exceeding unable to judge of divers of those abilities which are required to the ministry . it is little lesse then a contradiction to say , that unlearned men should be fit judges of another mans learning ( and that learning is of necessary use to a minister , neither will our brethren deny , nor can any one doubt , but he that is wholly a stranger to it ) and it is no lesse absurd to think , that those persons who are unacquainted with the stratagems and subtilties of gainsayers and hereticks , should be competent judges of a mans ability to convince gainsayers . if it be said , it is true , the people are not able to judge of these things themselves , but they should and may call in the help of neighbouring pastors . i answer . they may do it , and they may forbear it : according to our brethrens mind , this is not necessary to the being , but to the well being of it : it is the people that have the whole and sole power of giving the essence of the ministeriall call ; so that if they will perversly or proudly refuse the help of pastors , ( as some of our brethrens mind have experienced the giddinesse and unrulinesse of congregations , even when they have had ministers to guide them , and much more when they have been left to themselves ) they may do it : or what if a congregation be in an island , or where there are no pastors to help them ? in that case they want ability to judge . . who ever they are , that are intrusted with a power to give the essence of the ministeriall call , they are to see with their own eyes . and surely they that blamed the bishops , because they delegated the pastorall work to others , which they ought to have performed personally , cannot excuse the people ( if they were indeed intrusted herewith ) that they manage it by others care and wisdom . or else , . this great inconvenience will follow , that christ hath intrusted this great power in such hands , as are unable of themselves to manage it . and thus i have dispatched the first branch , and shewed that the people are not able to judge . the second branch is this ? the people are not necessarily required to be able to judge of a ministers abilities , as they ought to be , if it did belong to them to give the essence of the ministeriall call. i say , if it doth belong to every church-member , as such , as his priviledge , to have a joint power to give the essence of the ministeriall call , then it belongs to every church-member as his duty , and he ought by divine appointment to be fit to judge of a ministers abilities , and this would be a necessary qualification in every church-member , not onely that he be pious , but also judicious , and prudent , &c. and in all respects able to judge of a mans fitnesse for the ministry , so that if a man were never so godly and desirous of church-membership , &c. if he were apparently unfit to judge of a ministers abilities ( as many hundreds of godly people , unquestionably are ) he ought not to be admitted a church-member , because he wanted one necessary qualification for that relation : which because it is a grosse and manifest absurdity , therefore it is not necessarily required that church-members should be able to judge of a ministers fitnesse , and by consequence , it follows that the people are not intrusted with giving the essence of the ministeriall call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which was the thing to be shewn ; and thus much might serve for that point . onely , whereas there were divers arguments urged by the assembly , to shew , that the essence of the call did not lie in election , which our brethren here praetend to answer : i am under some necessity of attending their motion : but because , some of them do manifestly refer to such things as have been fully discussed before , i shall not need to follow them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but onely take notice of such things , as have hitherto been omitted , or are now more strongly fortified . . it was argued from acts . where the apostles are said , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. to constitute appoint , acts . . deut. . . exod. . . they answer , if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , be taken for the constituting act in some places , so is the word chusing taken for the constituting act , in other places . luke . . and of them he chose twelve , whom he named apostles , and the people here are said to chuse , and that expresseth the putting of a man into office . reply . it is true when chusing , is put by it self , it may signifie an appointing , if it be ascribed to one that hath a power to appoint , as it is , luke . but it is far otherwise , where chusing and appointing are distinguished from , and opposed to one another , and the act of chusing , ascribed to the inferiours , the people , and the act of appointing , asscribed to the superiours , the apostles , in such a case to say chusing is appointing , or to say , that the constituting act , was that which was done by the inferiours , is but one remove from impossible , that i say not ridiculous . . it was argued from tit. . . i left thee in creet to ordaine , &c. what was he left there to give an adjunct of their call ? it must be considered , in what state the church then was , and how usefull the paines of titus might have been in other places , which necessarily called for his help ; so that we may rationally conclude , if the people could have given the essence of the call without him , and if ordination had been but an unnecessary adjunct , it is no way credible that the apostle would have diverted titus from so great , essentiall , and excellent a service , for the doing of a businesse , which was but circumstantiall . the onely answer they give , that signifies any thing is this : that titus was left in creet , not onely to ordaine elders , but also to set in order the things that are wanting . but that relieves them not , for the setting of things in order ( it which concerns onely the well being of the church ) was not to be put in competition with those other glorious services , which titus might have done in the mean time , ( and which concern the very essence of the church . ) ● . it was argued from the nature of election of a people ▪ which is not the making of a man a minister , but their minister : the people deut. . . did look out men , but it was moses that made them rulers : if the people have not office power , neither formally nor eminently , they cannot make an officer , for , nihil dat quod non habet . they answer many things . . that election makes a man a minister . reply . that is a meer begging of the question . . the act of moses is not parallel either with ordination or election , but rather with christs act in making church-officers , because onely christ is the king of the church ; as onely moses was the supreme magistrate . reply . . to speak strictly , not moses , but god was the supreme magistrate of the iewes , and that policy was not a monarchy , but a theocrasy , as iosephus well calls it , and moses indeed had no regall nor arbitrary power at all , but was onely gods secretary , to write his mind , and gods instrument , to publish and execute gods lawes : and look what moses was to the iewes , that are ministers unto the church : moses was the publick interpreter of gods law , and gods vice-gerent , who in gods name , and according to gods word was to governe the people , and they were to be ruled by him ; and albeit in some cases the people might have the power of election , yet indeed it was moses his act which was the constituting act in the creation of officers : just thus it is in our case , ministers are the publick interpreters of christs lawes , and christs vicegerents , who in christs name , and according to christs word , are to governe the people , and they are to be ruled by them ; and albeit the people have a power of election , yet indeed it is the act of the ministers , which is the constituting act of an officer : so that here is no difference at all in the power and authority of moses and ministers ( in both it is depending and limited ) onely the one is civil , the other ecclesiasticall . . that rule ( they say ) is not universally true , nihil dat quod non habet , for freeholders by chusing , may make burgesses and parliament men . the freemen of a corporation give the essentialls of their call to a bailiffe , and why may it not be thus with the church . answ. there is dispar ratio , because all things are to be regulated by law and institution , civill things by a civill institution , and ecclesiasticall things by a divine institution : now what such freemen , &c. do , they have a charter , and a warrant for , whereby they are quantum ad hoc authorized for the work . if our brethren can shew a parallel divine institution , for the peoples being authorized to give the essentials of the call to a minister , then they do their businesse : but that they have not been able to do : in these cases the people have such office-power eminently in them , though not formally : and though each of the people considered distributively , are inferiour to such a magistrate after he is chosen , yet , all the people taken collectively , are ( as to that act ) superiour to him who is to be chosen . another argument was this . that if the essence of the call lie in election , then it will follow , that a minister is onely a minister to his particular charge , and that he cannot act as a minister in any other place , which is a strange and false assertion . and this the assembly prove by diverse considerations and arguments , to which our brethren answer . but because all that is here said doth more properly belong to that former question i. e. whether a minister be a minister onely to his own particular church , &c. i thought it more meet to bring it in there , and thither i refer the reader for a reply to all that here they say , which hath any sinews or substance in it . againe the provinc . urged this : that thence it will follow that there must be churches before ministers , which cannot be , for every church must consist of persons baptized , and baptize them none can , but he that is a minister . christ therefore chose apostles before churches , and the apostles ordained elders to gather churches . to this they answer , . a church must needs be before an officer , because he that is an officer is made an officer onely to a church , and therefore the church is presupposed . reply . this is a meer begging of the question ▪ and we have already at large confuted it , and shewen , that a minister is an officer , and acts as an officer even to such as are no church . . the apostles were extraordinary officers , and therefore that instance proves not that ordinary officers must be before churches . reply . our brethren must take heed of denying the exemplarinesse of the apostles to ordinary ministers in the administration of church affaires . they themselves do oft make use of it : and it cannot be denyed by any rationall , or ingenious man , that the apostles , as in some things they did act as extraordinary officers , and are no president for us , ( as in single , and absolute , jurisdiction , &c. ) so in other things , their acts were ordinary , and there examples binding as to us , as their preaching , baptizing , &c. and that this case is of the same nature , may appeare from hence because the same reason which made it necessary fo● apostles to be before churches , made it also necessary for other ministers to be before them : for the reason why the apostles were to be before churches , was this , because , by them churches were to be gathered and baptized ▪ and thus it was with the ordinary ministers of those times , they also were instituted then , and are so now ( by that lasting institution eph ▪ . &c. ) not onely for the building up of churches already constituted , but also for the bringing in of those who are not yet gathered , and therefore it was and is necessary still that ministers be before churches . . they say , acts . . when they had chosen them elders in every church , the churches therefore were before the chusing of elders . reply . . that instance doth not at all enervate our assertion , for although some churches may be before some elders , ( which we never denyed ) yet in the generall , a minister must needs be before a church . and thus much shall suffice for the vindication of those arguments which the assembly used to shew that the essence of the call doth not lie in election . it now remaines that i undertake the defence of those arguments which they used to shew that the essence of the ministeriall call doth consist in ordination : wherein i must still crave the continuance of the liberty i have used , i. e. not put my self or the reader to unnecessary trouble in animadverting upon every passage , but onely to observe such things as are argumentative and have not yet falne within our cognizance . chap. xiiii . the assembly urged tim. . . and tim. . . they answer , . it is questionable whether laying on of hands be here meant of ordination , for that ceremony was used in the collation of gifts also . reply . but forasmuch as this laying on of hands was done by an ordinary presbytery , which had not such a power of conferring gifts by the laying on of hands ( that being the peculiar priviledge of extraordinary officers ) therefore it cannot here be rationally supposed to be so used in this place , but onely for ordination : and therefore this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here said to be conveyed , must needs be rather concluded to be an office ( which we often read to have been conferred by ordinary officers ) then a gift ( which we never read that an ordinary officer was intrusted to convey ) but that our brethren will not beare with : for , . they say this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not an office , and here they repeat mr. hookers reasons , so that in answering one i shall answer both , and i must needs acknowledge that what is spoken upon this place is said very plausibly . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 most commonly signifies gift , not office . . a man is not said to forget the office that is in him ( he is in his office , rather then his office in him ) a man is said to stirre up his grace , not his office . . an extraordinary office ( such as this was ) could not be collated by ordinary officers . lastly , they observe that this gift is said to be given , not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the laying on of their hands as the cause , but onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with , noting onely the concurrence and connexion . to all which i reply , . that both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are used in scripture for office as well as gift , our brethren themselves will grant , so that the word being indifferent , we must see which way other considerations will determine it . for the second ( where most difficulty lies ) i reply . . a man may properly be said to neglect his office , or to disregard 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to be carelesse in his office , or in the execution of his office : i know no absurdity in it , either in the english , or in the greeke tongue : if a magistrate be slothfull , carelesse , &c. we may properly say he neglects that office that god hath put him in , he neglects his place . and as a man is said to neglect himselfe , when he neglects those things , and those actions which concerne himself ; so a man neglects his office , that neglects the works of his office : so for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , strip it of the metaphor , and it is no more but this , put forth , actuate , exercise thine office . pauls bidding him stirre up his ministry , is no more then what elsewhere he bids him , fulfill thy ministry , do the work of an evangelist . he that neglects the work of his ministry , invalidates his office , disuseth , neglects his office , and he that fulfils the works of his ministry , stirres up his office : for that other criticisme , that a man is in his office , not his office in him , the office is ad●oyned to him , not inhaerent in him : that is hardly worth taking notice of , because the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used so variously , sometimes for one preposition , sometimes for another , sometimes for that which is inherent in him , sometime for that which is adjoyning to him ( as all know that are not wholly strangers to the greek tongue ) that it is a vanity to lay any stresse upon it : sometimes it is taken for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sometimes for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sometimes for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. and sometimes in for apud , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is for a man to be apud se , for a man not to be besides himself ; so here the office , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , apudte , with thee , which is committed to thee : and as men are said to be in sin , though indeed it is sin that is in them ; and they are said to enter into their masters joy , though to speak properly their masters joy enters into them , and a man is said to be in drinke , though drinke be in him : so it cannot seeme strange if an office be said to be in a man , though in propriety of speech he be in his office . for the third branch : . an extraordinary office might be conveyed in this case by ordinary officers : for . it is commonly thought that paul did concurre in this ordination with that presbytery . . they ordained him by divine direction : and as it was no dishonour to paul and barnabas that they were ordained to that work acts . , . by persons inferiour to them , seeing those persons did it by the immediate appointment of the holy ghost , so neither is it any prejudice to the extraordinarinesse of timothies office , that it was conferred by ordinary officers , seeing they conferred it by the conduct of propheticall designation . . what more ordinary both in state and church , then for a person to have an office conveyed to him , viz. ministerially , by such as are inferiour to him , as the king by some of his subjects , the arch-bishop , by bishops , the officers of a church in our brethrens way by the people , whom i hope they will allow to be inferiour to their officers , at lest they professe that they do so . for the last clause , i say two things . . that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in other places besides this ; acts . . god brought israel out of egypt , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , with , i. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by an high hand , as it is elsewhere phrased : so acts . . they told what things god had done 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with them , i. e. by them ; especially seeing the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here , is expounded by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the other place , which our brethren suppose to be parallel , that puts it out of doubt : and the reason wherefore the apostle rather useth the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , was onely for better sound sake , ( which the apostles were not neglective of ) it had been unhandsome to have said , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and therefore he elegantly varies the word , and puts in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in stead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : but if you will needs have the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be taken in another sense then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , viz. for with , and the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be understood of a gift , then why may we not acquiesce in this sense , ( which will both fully take off all your objections , and yet no way praejudice our cause ) neglect not the gift , &c. with the laying on of hands : i. e. neglect not the gift , &c. nor the laying on of hands used in ordination , whereby thou wast solemnely set apart for , and obliged to the discharge of thy ministeriall gifts , and office ; do not slight , forget , disregard that injunction &c. and this sense i am sure the greeke will beare very well , and the english doth not exclude it . againe , if this satisfie not , it may be further added , that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be understood of the gift in tim. . . ( forasmuch as the power of conferring such gifts was the priviledge of apostles and extraordinary officers ) and the same word tim. . . may be understood of the office , the conveyance of which did fall within the verge of the ordinary presbyters : and if you take it thus , then you may groundedly suppose , that the laying on of pauls hands , was not done at the same time , nor to the same end , with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery , but that this latter did convey the office at one time ( which is said most properly to be neglected tim. . . ) and the former did convey a gift at another time , which he is called upon to stirre up , tim. . . and this fully takes off all the difficulty . nor can any wonder at the different sense of the same word , and same phrase , for that is so common a thing , not onely in divers epistles , but in the same epistle , yea the same chapter , yea the same verse sometimes , that one and the same word or phrase is differently to be understood , that none can justly stumble at it here . but lastly , it must be remembred that ( if this place were to be understood in their sense , and did not contribute any thing to our cause ) the truth we assert doth not so depend upon this place , that it must needs fall , if this place do not uphold it , forasmuch as it is founded upon divers other important places , as hath bin shewed . the assembly argued further : the persons ordaining , were apostles , prophets , evangelists , and presbyters , whom it is not likely that christ would appoint to convey onely the adjunct of the ministeriall call , and leave the great work of conveying the office-power to the people . to this they say two things . . in stead of giving an answer , they offer an argument ; that because one relate gives being to another , therefore the people must needs give being to the minister . reply . this is a meer fallacy : relata , are considerable two wayes , as i may say , in esse constituendo , & in esse constitute , either as they are to be constituted , or as they are compleatly constituted : it is true , relata considered in esse constitute , do give being one to another , the father is not a father unlesse he have a son . but then consider , relations in esse constituendo , as they are to be constituted , and so somewhat else gives being to them , when they are relata , the one gives being to the other , but there must be some other person or thing , which puts them into that relation , and it is that which we speak off : for instance , the husband gives being to the wife , and the wife to the husband : but there is something else which legally constitutes them in that relation , to wit the act of the justice , or the minister : a vice chancellour is the correlate of the university , yet the chancellours act doth constitute him in the relation , and gives him the essence of his call . . they say , though ordination be but an adjunct , yet , it consisting chiefly , if not onely , in prayer , christ might imploy the elders in adding such an adjunct . reply . but what sober man can imagine , that if this were all , the apostles should take so many journeyes about ordination ; and should leave titus , ( who could ill be spared ) in crete to ordain elders : what , would he leave him onely to pray for a blessing upon persons to be constituted by others ? it is strange he should leave him to a worke no way peculiar to his office , and a worke which a brother might performe as effectually as an officer ? and this shall suffice for the second question . chap. xv. the third and last question is this , whether ordination may be done by the people ? wherein i shall need to say little , because indeed they say little to the purpose , and what they do say , is for the most part , either nothing else but a repetition of their disproved principles , or so infirme , that i may safely leave things to any ingenuous reader , who shall compare our arguments and their answers . neverthelesse i will not wholly omit this task also , but , where i can pick up any thing that requires an answer , and hath not been already dispatched , i shall here take notice of it : they offer divers arguments to prove this proposition : that in a church which wants officers , some beleevers may lawfully ordaine without officers . . else ordination were unattainable , for there is neither precept nor president of an ordinary officers acting in ordination out of the particular church he is over . in the places which speak of ordination , to wit acts . and . . tim. . . tim. . . the persons ordaining were all extraordinary , and so no president for ordinary officers : and for tim. . . we see nothing to convince us that it was an ordinary presbytery . answer . . there are divers practises lawfully used ( even in our brethrens judgment ) which yet we find no president for , but such as extraordinary persons are concerned in : i will instance but in one , and that is excommunication , which we never read practised but by the authority and concurrence of an extraordinary officer . paul practiseth it ; i have delivered him to satan . and the church of corinth practiseth it , but not without pauls expresse command , and positive warrant and concurrence , cor. . , . for i verily as absent in body , but present in spirit having judged already , &c. — when ye are gathered together , and my spirit : and yet our brethren allow , and inferre this as a president for the practise of excommunication by ordinary churches , and ordinary persons : and therefore good reason they should allow us the same liberty . . and the rather , because this makes against our brethren as well as us ; it is their own grant , that ordination is an institution of christ now in force , and that it is to be managed by the officers of the church , where there are such : so that both they and we are thus farre agreed , that ordinary officers may ordaine . now if what they say be true , then there is neither precept nor president for the ordaining of officers , and so it followes from hence , not onely that none but officers may ordaine ( which we assert ) but also that officers may not ordaine at all ( unlesse they will say officers may do that for which they have neither precept nor president ) so that our brethrens argument , either doth not praejudice us , or else it enervates their own principles . . the true way therefore to discern what acts of extraordinary officers are presidentiall to ordinary , and what not , is this : those actions which were proper to those times , those actions which were the results of extraordinary gifts , those actions which were appendants to an extraordinary jurisdiction ; those are no presidents for us . the apostles healing the sick by anouncing with oyl , their preaching without study , their ordering of the church affaires by their single jurisdiction , these things are unimitable by us . but now on the otherside ; those actions of extraordinary officers which are common to all the ages of the church , those , which may be transacted by ordinary gifts , and ordinary jurisdiction , those are presidents for us : the apostles publick praying , and preaching , administring the sacraments , authoritative rebuking , ruling , censuring , &c. i say , their acting of those things , is and was ever by the church taken to be a president for ordinary officers acting the same things . now forasmuch as ordination is allowed by our brethren , to be one of those new testament practises yet to be continued , by virtue of these instances , &c. it followes that the practice of the apostles therein ( though they were extraordinary officers ) is a president for us , onely here is the difference ( wherein i am willing any indifferent man should be umpire ) whether it is a president for the peoples ordaining , ( who , though in things belonging to them , they did act distinctly from , and concurrently with the apostles , as in the businesse of election , yet never do we find them ordaining or joyning with the apostles in the work of ordination ) or whether it be not rather a president for ministers ordaining , who are the undoubted successors of the apostels , and who did act with them in such works . . and lastly , for that tim. . . how faintly and impertinently do they speak ? what if you meet with nothing that convinceth you , that this was an ordinary presbytery ? sure i am you meet with nothing that convinceth you they were extraordinary : and it is a great deal more rationall for us to think they were ordinary persons ( of whom we read nothing which was extraordinary ) then to fancy them to be extraordinary , ( of which we have no evidence at all ) the proof lies upon their side . i need no positive proof to perswade me to take a man for an ordinary person , he is justly presumed so to be , till some indicia , or discoveries of an extraordinary state break forth : but now , if one will assert , that another is an extraordinary person , he must have positive proof for it , which if our brethren can bring , to prove this presbytery to be extraordinary , we shall submit to them , but , till then , they must not take it ill , if we believe them to be ordinary . thus much for their first and principall argument . . they argue thus ; those that may act in making decrees in a synod , they may ordaine ; but believers ( who are not officers ) may act in a synod , &c. acts . , , . i answer to both propositions . . the major may be questioned , because all those things are to be regulated by scripture , now if we have scripture precept or example for the one , i. e. for acting in a synod ( which they say here is ) and not for the other , which we have proved there is not , then believers may do the one and not the other . . for the minor , i deny , that the brethren may act in making decrees in a synod , i deny they did so in this place , we read not a word of it : all that we read is , that the whole church consented to the decrees , and resolved upon the execution of them , which they might do , though they neither acted nor were present at the making of the decrees : even as thousands consent to acts of parliament , that have no hand in the making of them . and if our brethren think to prove this , they must bring better arguments then any they have yet brought . another argument they urge is this ; that ordination consisteth in such acts is may be done by the people ; the people may fast and pray , and ( which may seem to be most doubtful ) they may impose hands if that be a rite still to continue , as appeares from numb . . where the children of israel laid their hands upon the levities . to this instance , the assembly gives such satisfying answers , that i wonder how our brethren could resist the evidence of them ; and indeed their replies are so inconsiderable , that i count it but lost time to make a rejoynder , and all that i shall desire of the reader is this ; that he would but use his reason , and lay aside his passion and prejudice , and compare what is said on both hands together , and i doubt not he will see , that all their assaults against them , are but like the dashings of the waves against a rock , whereby they break themselves to pieces . but if all that satisfie not , i shall adde two answers more . . extraordinary instances are no presidents for ordinary cases . this was apparently an extraordinary case . the levites and church-officers were not yet instituted : and to argue thus , that , because the people did lay on hands before those church-officers were created ( who were afterwards to do it ) therefore they might do it when such officers were created and appointed for that work ; it were as if a man should argue , gifted men may preach where there are no apostles nor ministers to be had , therefore they may do it where there is plenty of ministers : or thus , david might eat the shew-bread when he could get no other , therefore any man may eat it when his table was spread with other bread . . forasmuch as it is ridiculous to think that all israel did lay their hands upon the heads of the levites , therefore this was onely some of them , and those some ( no doubt ) were the first-born . now it must be remembred , that as the levites were taken instead of the first-born , num. . , . so the first-born till then were in stead of the levites , and till god instituted the ecclesiasticall offices and officers in israel , the first-born were officers ; and so it concerns not the people at all , nor proves any right in them to do the same thing . in the next place they come to answer some arguments which are urged by the assembly , to prove that ordination did not belong to the people . their answers to the two first , are nothing else but repetitions of what hath been already discussed , and therefore i here wave them . for the third , the assembly observed ; that all that is written in the epistles concerning the ordainers and the qualification of the party ordained , is mentioned in the epistles to timothy , and titus , who were church-officers ; not in those epistles which are written to the churches . they answer . . charges may be directed to officers , and yet the people required to concurre , as rev. . and . if timothy and titus were to act these alone as evangelists , then they are no presidents for us , if , with others , why not with the people as well as the officers ? reply . they were to act alone in ordination as evangelists , and yet are a president for us . for , here are two things to be considered . . the work , viz. of ordination , which was common and ordinary , and this is imitable . . the manner of doing it which was extraordinary ; i. e. by their single power , and this is inimitable . you will say , if the manner of this ordination was extraordinary , then timothy's practice in ordination is no more a president for ordinary officers ordaining , then for the people ordaining . i answer , yes ; there is a different reason , because timothy was one of the officers or persons ruling ; and an extraordinary one , who alone might stand in the room of all other officers ; it may be there were no officers present when timothy did ordaine ; however his acting in this as an officer , though extraordinary , may well be president for his successors , such as are officers for the doing of the work ( which is ordinary ) though not for the doing of it by his single jurisdiction , which was extraordinary . but now on the other side , for the people or the persons rulled , timothy was not one of them , but sustained a distinct person from them , and there were people at that time unquestionably present , when ever timothy and titus ordained ; and the people even in the dayes of those extraordinary officers , did retain their distinct liberties , and exercise those things , which did belong to them as people , as is plain in the case of election , which they injoyned and practised . and had ordination belonged to the people as well as election , certainly ( notwithstanding the agency and presence of the apostles therein , yet ) we should have heard somewhat , at least , concerning the peoples concurrence ; which because we hear not a syllable of , we therefore justly conclude , that election did , and doth , belong to the people , but ordination doth not . i adde onely this ; that look what reasons our brethren have to look on the apostles , &c. baptizing , &c. to be a president for ministers baptizing , and not for the peoples baptizing ; the very same reasons have we to conclude , that their ordaining is a president for officers ordaining , not for the ordination of the people . . they say , all may be written to timothy and titus , because they were to direct others how to act in them . and therefore the apostle writes to them about other things ( which yet were not to be acted by them alone , but by the people ) as the making of prayers for kings , clothing of women in modest aparrel , &c. reply . by this rule , all things should have been written onely in the epistles to timothy and titus , for they were to direct the people in all other things . but it is not simply the putting of a thing in this epistle , which makes that act peculiar to officers ; but this is it which is justly insisted on , and which our brethren should do well againe to consider , that , paul , who was so carefull to order the affaires in every church ; yet in all his epistles to those churches , speakes not a word about the businesse of ordination . surely the scriptures silence is argumentative as well as its speech , and it is oft urged in scripture : melchisedek is said to be without father , &c because the scriture is silent as to his geniallogie , so heb. . — our lord sprang of iuda of which tribe moses spake nothing concerning the preisthood . and surely , it is not to no purpose that the scripture is so silent , as to the point of direction about the mission of ministers , in all those epistles to people , but insinuates thus much to impartiall readers , that the holy ghost looked upon the people , as persons not intrusted with that work . the last thing urged by the assembly was this ; that ordination is an authoritative mission , an act of jurisdiction , an act which gives the essentialls of the call. private persons can no more conveigh power to another to administer sacraments , then they can do it themselves . they answer . that ordination is no act of jurisdiction , nor would it be so though it did convey the office-power : freemen do convey office-power to their bailiffs , &c. yet do no act of jurisdiction . reply . . this hath been answered before , to wit , freemen have that power by a constitution , but there is not any constitution for the peoples conveying the office-power to ministers . . if the word jurisdiction be taken strictly , there is a difference made between ordination and jurisdiction , but if by an act of iurisdiction they mean nothing else but an act of authority ( for that is the thing in question ) then we have before proved that it is an act of authority , and it were easie to make it good by arguments . we never find ordination practised either in the old or new testament , but by persons in authority towards their inferiours . moses ordained aaron ; aaron his sons , christ his apostles , the apostles other ministers : and if in all these it be granted to be an act of authority , surely to deny it to be so in other ministers , carrying on the same work , is an assertion neither true nor probable . again , ordination is that act which constitutes a man in office , and therefore must be an act of authority : but i must remember my work is not now to prove , but to answer , and therefore i forbear , and shall give my self and the reader a writ of ease . only that the reader may see the fruit of our brethrens opinion ( as indeed posito uno absurdo , sequuntur mille ) i shall present him with a list of some novel and strange assertions which they have been hurried into by the force of their principles . novel and strange passages . . they implicitly deny jesus christ to have preached to the iews as a teacher by office , for thus they say , p. . a man is not a teacher by office to all that he may preach to : if he preach to heathens — such as will not receive iustruction , yet they are said to be taught , though they stumble at the word , mat. . . he ( i. e. jesus ) taught them , and yet v. . they were offended at him . but a man is not a teacher by office unto such heathens . and the apostles , according to them , were no officers to heathens ; for they thus argue , pag. . that such are no officers to people as cannot exercise church-government over them : but ( say i ) the apostles cannot exercise church-government over heathens . what have i to do to judge them that are without . cor. . . ergo. . one that is really gifted for preaching ( for ought we know ) may lawfully preach without approbation from a church , or others , p. o. . it is the work of god and christ onely , to send preachers , let it be proved wherever a presbytery was impowred to send . pag. . and the church is in no better case with them ; for they say , the person sending is christ , neither a church nor a presbytery , pag. . and afterwards . sending is nothing else but christ commanding to go and preach , not by a presbytery , but by the word . and how a presbytery can send , but by exhorting to follow the command of christ , we know not . and in such a doctrinall way ( for ought we see ) a private christian may exhort to go and teach , pag. . so that now both presbytery and church are thrust out of office , and every one that is apt to teach , is commanded to preach , though neither presbytery nor church send him ; and every private christian hath as great a power to send ministers , as either church or presbytery , which who can read without wonder ? . if the major part of a congregation be wicked , we suppose then it is no true church ; and if once it were a true church , yet now it ceaseth to be so , or is unchurched . pag. . . they talk of pastors administring the sacraments not as pastors ; for thus they say , if pastors preach and give the sacraments to their own flock , they act as pastors , but if they perform these acts to any , not of their own congregation , they do it not as pastors , pag. . then they do it as gifted-men , for that is the other branch of the distinction . he that preacheth to strangers not as a pastor , preacheth as a gifted-brother ( that they grant ) . and therefore he that administreth the sacraments to any not as a pastor , doth it as a gifted-brother . . we see no inconvenience in asserting that heathens converted to christianity may be a church , before they be baptized , pag. . . a minister as oft as hee changeth his place and people , needeth a new ordination , pag. . . they say , it is our mistake , when we assert that baptisme doth admit , or make a man stand in relation to a church , whereas baptizing is not into a church , but into the name of christ , pag. . . they say , if a people turn hereticall , or starve a minister , or combine to vote him out ; the sin of the people doth nullify the office of the minister , pag. . and , that i may tread in our brethrens steps who were so ready to catch at the appearance of a contradiction in the provinciall assembly , i shall put them in mind of two or three 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or seeming repugnancies at least , if not grosse contradictions . self contradicting passages . they say , pag. . that one that is really gifted for preaching may ( for ought we know ) lawfully preach without approbation from a church or others , pag. . and they urge pet. . . to prove it the duty of gifted persons to preach , and surely if it be a duty , then it obligeth whensoever a man may do it lawfully . and yet , pag. . they say , we grant , that to a mans exercise of his gifts in this or that place , there is praerequired a call from the people , or magistrate : and how can any man preach but he must preach in this or that place ? quod nusquam fit non fit . . they say , when an ordained minister removes from one charge to another , they chuse him not as one that is to be made a minister , but as one already made and now to be made their minister , pag. . and yet , pag. . they say , when he removes , he is to have a new ordination , and a new election . the gospel knoweth no difference between making a man a minister , and making him their minister . pag. . . they say , men to be sent to the heathens to convert them , should be ordained , because the conversion of soules is a proper work of the ministry ; pag. . and yet , pag. . they say ; when men are sent to heathens , if they be officers , yet they preach not as officers : the conversion of souls is the work of the ministry , not the proper work . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e suarez metap . predestinati nondum congregati . aug. right foot . hammond . selden . analogum per se positum sum●●ur pro famosiore analogata . an antidote against lay-preaching, or, the preachers plea in a discourse answering such objections which were given to a conscientious friend : who for his satisfaction requested a resolution : in which discourse is proved that preaching of the word is a peculiar calling to be undertaken by none without a speciall call : and that more is required in such who undertake it than abilities : in which likewise other incidentall questions and cases concerning the profession of preachers are discussed. bewick, john. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing b ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing b estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; :e , no or :e , no ) an antidote against lay-preaching, or, the preachers plea in a discourse answering such objections which were given to a conscientious friend : who for his satisfaction requested a resolution : in which discourse is proved that preaching of the word is a peculiar calling to be undertaken by none without a speciall call : and that more is required in such who undertake it than abilities : in which likewise other incidentall questions and cases concerning the profession of preachers are discussed. bewick, john. [ ], , [ ] p. printed for andrew crook, london : . copy :e. , no. lacks additional page at end. attributed to john bewick. cf. blc. reproduction of original in thomason collection, british library. eng preaching. great britain -- religion -- th century. a r (wing b ). civilwar no an antidote against lay-preaching, or the preachers plea· in a discourse answering such objections, which were given to a conscientious frie bewick, john d the rate of defects per , words puts this text in the d category of texts with between and defects per , words. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - judith siefring sampled and proofread - judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an antidote against lay-preaching , or the preachers plea . in a discourse answering such objections , which were given to a conscientious friend ; who for his satisfaction requested a resolution . in which discourse is proved , that preaching of the word is a peculiar calling , to be undertaken by none without a speciall call : and that more is required in such who undertake it , than abilities : in which likewise other incidentall questions and cases , concerning the profession of preachers , are discussed . the lord gave the word : great was the company of those that published it , psal. . . no man taketh this honour unto himselfe , but he that is called of god , as was aaron , heb. . . london , printed for andrew crook , anno . the vvriting occasioning the ensuing discourse . the places of scripture underwritten , which some doe bring to prove that a man who hath the gift of the spirit , and can preach , may preach the gospel of what calling soever he be . to prove it lawfull , they quote acts , . from which place they understand , that not only they that have been at the university , and have gotten learning , that they only should be teachers ; but they also to whom is given the gift : ergo if i can teach and edifie my breathren , and my brethren can teach to edifie me , it is lawfull although we be but tradesmen ; for the apostle did labour with his hands , and yet a teacher ; and many others besides , thes. . . by way of reason , thus . . a teacher is knowne to be called of god by those qualifications and gifts which hee hath received : but many of gods people have the gift to teach and resolve doubts ; ergo they are called , and therefore bound to teach . . every man who hath a gift which is spirituall , it is his talent ; and he who useth not his talent , god will take it from him , and cloath him with shame and a curse : ergo men are bound to use their gifts . and this is the way which we have prescribed . . joel . . isaiah . cor. . . cor. . , and ver. the reason is given , god is not the author of confusion , but of peace ; which doth prove , as they understand , that when men can prophesie , and doe not , it causeth confusion , and not peace . numb. . would god all could prophesie . acts . compared with the third and fourth verses of that chapter . from which places they understand , that any one poore or rich , weak or strong , if they could teach , they became dispensers . the same times are now for the want of publick meanes ; they were scattered , so are we . therefore if god enable us , we will take a course in private . if men send us to prison , god will send prison-comforts . pet. . , . as every man hath received a gift , so let them administer the same one to another . in this thing i desire to be resolved , being of my selfe but weak , and not able fully to answer it . an answer to the former vvriting . i have seriously pondered the paper ; and according to your desire have returned an answer , to help you to a satisfaction in those things , wherein some have sought to scruple you . all which ( by the assistance of god ) i have throughly sifted , and i hope shall discover what bran was presented by the objectors in stead of the pure manchet of gods word . the maine assertion in the paper is this . a man that hath the gift of the spirit , and can preach , may preach the gospel , of what calling soever we be . the proofs alledged seeme to prove two things . first , that any , of any profession , may preach , being enabled . and secondly , that such ought to doe so , especially in the want of publique meanes . i conceive , that the affirmers of these things doe not understand by this word preaching , and teaching : preaching , as it is largely taken for any kinde of notifying , and making known the gospel of christ , or the oracles of god : for then what need this controversie , since it is well knowne , that there are many wayes thus to doe ? as namely , by conference , so aquila and priscilla expounded to apollos the way of god more perfectly . or by catechising ; so theophilus was instructed , that thou mightest know the certainty of those things , wherein thou hast been catechised ; so is the originall , though in our english transion it is rendred , instructed or by writing , in which respect solomon is called a preacher , because by his writings he published those truths wherewith the spirit inspired him . or by reading ; and so the prophecy of ieremiah , and the minde of the lord was made knowne to the jewes by barucks reading . yea any other meanes by which the truth is made knowne , may in a sense be called preaching : but i think they meane not this generall kinde of preaching ; but by preaching they meane ( as it is in a restricted sense taken ) an expounding of scripture by doctrinall deducing of instructions , and conscientiall applications of them to the hearers by way of dilating or enlargement . or more briefly : by preaching they mean a speaking unto men for exhortation , edification , and comfort . i beleeve they meane this , by the word preaching ; for so their proofs seeme to prove . and therefore i will propose against their phancy , of the lawfulnesse for any ( of any calling being able ) to preach , five propositions , as an antidote : which when i have discussed , i will punctually answer the paper . the propositions considerable are these . preaching or dispensing of the word is a peculiar calling distinct from other callings . not any of another calling ought to dispense the word ( preachingly ) till they are thereunto called . in the call to preach , more things are required than endowments to preach : without which things no man hath a call to that function . men of other professions , though enabled with spirituall gifts , yet are not to undertake preaching , till they are thereunto lawfully called . such as take on them that calling , after lawfull call thereunto , ought not to intangle themselves in worldly emploiments , and follow their wordly calling . of all these i will say something ; and then come to answer the paper . chap. i. the first proposition . preaching of the word ( that is , an expounding or interpreting it , thence drawing out doctrines of instruction , and applying them to severall sorts of hearers gathered together to heare ) is a peculiar calling , distinct from other callings . a calling is a certaine kinde of life , ordained and imposed on man by god , for the common good . now it is certaine , that god hath constituted , and appointed some men to spend their dayes in finding out acceptable words , even the words of truth ; that they may the better publish the word of god , and fasten it as masters of the assemblies , according to the command given from one shepherd : goe and teach all nations . this truth is evident from two scriptures , to name no more . the first place is , rom. . how shall they heare without a preacher ? and how shall they preach , except they be sent ? the apostles gradation is remarkable : as faith must be before invocation ; and hearing of the word , before faith ; and preaching , before hearing what is preached : so divine call or mission to preach precedes preaching ; intimating that none can savingly , with a good conscience , and with hope of successe , preach , unlesse they be divinely sent and appointed thereunto . the second place is ephes. , . when christ ascended , he gave some to be ▪ apostles , and some prophets , and some evangelists , and some pastors and teachers , for the perfecting of the saints , for the work of the ministry , for the edifying of the body of christ : and s. paul she wes what this work is , acts . by this place in the ephesians we see that the calling of preachers is ordained , and the end of it is very profitable . in one scripture it is called a teaching priesthood , without which the people were miserable : in another it is called vision , without which the people perish . s. paul calls it the ministry , and likewise teaching , and shewes that it is a distinct calling from others , . rom. . i will shut up this proposition with an observation not to be despised . in the numb. . god commands , that every tribe of the israelites should be ranked into severall orders , and that they should all keep to their own standers . after this in numb. chapter . he commands that the levites should be appointed to their office . israel was now in the wildernesse , journeying to canaan , a type of the church of christ thorough many tribulations and afflictions travelling to heaven . in the campe of israel the severall orders and ranks assigned , were to bee kept , and none were to usurpe the priests office ; and the israelitish camp was never so comely as when every one in it kept within order . even so it is with christs people , they are ranked into two sorts , him that is taught , and him that teaches : and both sorts are to attend to the proper and peculiar services , according to the rank into which god hath put them . and none of christs people ( unlesse called ) must usurpe the sacred and most honoured calling , ordained for men , in things pertaining unto god . and the church of christ never flourishes so stately against her adversaries , as when every one in it ( as it were in an army ) keeps him to his owne function ; for then the church ( as christ describes it ) is terrible like an army with banners . in one word , as there are severall and distinct effices in an army ; so are there in the church militant . one is a teacher , another is taught : and as the lord saw it necessary for israel in the wildernesse , to have the levites a distinct order among them ; even so hee sees it is necessary for his people on earth to have preachers among them , a distinct calling from others : and therefore he hath erected a ministry in his church , by whose foolishnesse of preaching hee pleases to save them that beleeve . all this makes it evident , that preaching of the word is a peculiar calling distinct from other callings . chap. ii. the second proposition . not any of another calling ought to dispense the word preachingly , ( that is , as wee have before explained the word preaching ) till they are thereunto called . the reasons proving this , shall bee only two ; because prolixity is to be avoided in a matter well knowne to every one , who is conversant in holy scriptures . first reason is , because god disapproves , yea detests , and complaines against such , who undertake preaching without a call . i sent not ( saith hee ) these prophets , and they have runne ; i spake not to them , and they have prophesied . yea the lord makes it a character of a false teacher , to teach , being uncalled to that office . i sent them not , nor commanded them ( saith god , ) therefore they shall not profit this people at all . and our blessed saviour intimates no lesse , in bidding us beware of false prophets , which come ( saith he ) unto you in sheeps cloathing , but inwardly they are ravening wolves . these words are very remarkable , and describe such as are false and dangerous teachers by two decypherings . . they are such as come unto you . the true prophets are sent , but these come ( to wit ) of their owne accord , being unsent of god . the phrase of comming to any , when it is in the new testament applied to forbidden teachers , intimates both their presumptuous rashnesse , and sacrilegious boldnesse to teach , being not sent thereunto . and therefore our saviour saith , all that have come before mee , are theeves and robbers : all that have come ; not all that were sent . moses and the prophets were before christ ; but these were sent to the people of god : others there were who ( though unsent ) would undertake to prophesie , and teach , and these our blessed saviour brands with the name of theeves ; because they usurped anothers calling : and with the name of robbers , that is , ( as the word signifies ) such as make a prey of others . this is their first description . they come unto you ( sayes our saviour ) in sheeps cloathing . in every thing outwardly they seeme sheep : they have a forme of godlinesse ; they pretend scripture , and use many goodwords ; in these they glory ; and by these they work dece it fully , transforming themselves into the ministers of christ ; they use smooth insinuations , creeping into houses ; they are full of flattering and enticing language : thus outwardly they seeme sheep . yet their allurements to withdraw christs flock from hearing christs voice in the pastors set over them , are an evident manifestation of them to bee no other than ravenous wolves , though their pretences and outward shewes seeme otherwise ; for they are no other but such who intend to prey upon christs flock , having once divicted them , and withdrawne them from the shepherds tents : therefore one apostle tells us , that through cove to rcusnesse , they with fained words will make merchandize of us : and another exhorts , to mark such , and avoid them ; for they are such as serve not our lord jesus christ , but their owne belly ; and by good words and faire speeches , they deceive the hearts of the simple . this is another description of the usurpers of sacred preaching . the summe of this reason is ; god and christ detests , that any of other callings should undertake preaching , uncalled thereunto : yea , and bids us beware of such ; therefore such ought not to dispense the word preachingly , or by way of preaching . second reason is ; because wee cannot read , either in the old or new testament , of any godly preacher who taught others , by preaching , before hee was thereunto divinely called . this is apparent from the enumeration of particulars . . enoch , the seventh from adam , is said to have prophesied , but not without gods call thereunto ; for in old time , holy men of god ( such an one was enoch , who before his translation had this testimony , that hee pleased god , heb. . . ) spake as they were moved by the holy ghost . . noah is called a preacher of righteousnesse , but not without gods warrant ; for hee did according to all that god commanded him : namely , hee built the ark , and forewarned the world of gods judgement ; every stroke hee gave , and every naile also which hee drave in the building , was a reall sermon of repentance . . abraham is called a prophet , but the lord assigned him his work . . the levites were instructors ; but god appointed them to that function . . let us descend to the prophets , every one of them mentions his call . isaiah sayes , i heard the voice of the lord , saying , whom shall i send , and who will goe for us ? then said i , here i am send me . and hee said , goe and tell this people , &c. jeremiah tells us of his commission ; and ezekiel of his ; yea , and all the rest were sent of god . amos professes , that hee was of another calling , before the lord called him to prophesie : i was ( saith hee ) no prophet , nor the sonne of a prophet , but i was an herdman and a gatherer of sycomore fruit : and the lord took mee as i followed the flock , and the lord said to mee , goe prophesie unto my people israel . passe wee from the old testament to the new . . john baptist came and preached repentance ; but not without command from god : there was a man sent from god whose name was john . . our blessed saviour himselfe did not preach without a call thereunto ; hee was sent to doe so . and this sending christ to preach , was fore-prophesied in isaiah . . & isa. . . &c. which last scripture , our saviour saies , was then fulfilled , when he took up a book and read , and expounded . . the apostles were immediately called to this work by christ , and so s. paul was called to bee an apostle . . the apostles set elders to teach the churches and congregations which were obedient to the faith , and so did s. paul and barnabas . and wee read of the elders of ephesus , whom s. paul exhorts to take heed to the flock over which the holy ghost had made them overseers . and s. peter exhorts all elders to the like : these you see had an apostolicall call to preach the gospel . . the apostles appointed certaine to ordaine others to preach , that the preaching of the gospel might continue ( after their departure ) in an order of men , thereunto lawfully ordained . and as they themselves were immediately called to preach , by christ ; so likewise all such , who , according to command apostolicall , are ordained , are called by christ to preach , but mediately ; namely , by such , who , under christ , are appointed to bee over certaine places to ordaine preachers . s. paul tells titus , that , for this cause hee left him in ( reet , that hee should set in order the things that are wanting , and ordain elders in every city , as hee had appointed him . and hee commands timothy , that , the things which hee had heard of him , among many witnesses , the same hee should commit to faithfull men , who shall be able to teach others also . now these faithfull men ( to whom the apostles committed the power of ordination ) did ordaine others , and by this meanes the order of preachers is successively to continue , till christs second comming . so then they ( whom christ calls to preach ) are ordained thereunto by men , whose authority hath been derived unto them from the apostles ; and the authority apostolicall to ordaine such , who should have power to ordain others , was from god ; and accordingly , christ promises to bee with them alwayes , to the end of the world : namely , in blessing the ministry , which , according to your appointment from me , is settled in my church . i will bee with them ( in the gifts and assistance of the spirit ) who ( by ordination apostolicall ) are sent to teach all nations , and baptize them ; while they teach them to observe whatsoever i commanded you . the summe of this historicall narration is this : wee cannot read in the old or new testament of any pious man ( being of another calling ) who took on him to preach the word , till hee was called : therefore i conclude , that it is an unlawfull act , without any holy president , as this second reason shewes ; and likewise , because it is without any precept , as the first reason sufficiently declared . the second proposition is thereforetrue ; namely , not any of another calling ought to dispense the word preachingly , till they bee thereunto called . chap. iii. the third proposition . in the call to preach , more things are required than endowments to preach , without which things no man hath a call to that function . or more briefly thus : more is required in the call to preach , than abilities thereunto . the very relating of the sundry requisites to this calling evidences the truth of this proposition : they are in all three . . divine position into the function . . personall qualifications for the discharge of it . . ecclesiasticall authorization for its fulfillance . that all these are requisite in the call to preach , wee may two wayes collect . . the church of christ is considerable both as it is a communion and society of the faithfull , whose government ( so considered ) is spirituall : it is ruled by the spirit of christ ; therefore it is requisite , that whosoever is set over the flock of christ , should have his designation thereunto , from christ . divine position into this calling , is therefore needfull . hence our ministry , among other reasons , is called , the ministry of the spirit ; because , as it is in spirituall things , so it is from the spirit of christ , working in the heart of some , according to his ordinance , to undertake this calling . againe , the church of christ is also considerable , as it is an externall society ; and so ( according to the large circuit . of it ) it hath severall companies , which are to be governed by the word of christ , and by the sword of those magistrates ( gods vice . gerents ) who rule over such severall companies : therefore , accordingly , such personall qualifications ( as the word hath appointed ) are required to bee in such , who execute the ministery in these severall christan societies ; and likewise publike authorizing them so to doe , from such who are appointed to bee over these societies , is very requisite . . the necessity of the three forenamed requisites , is also thus to be gathered . christ is the king of the church : hee hath the keyes , and therefore hee must open the doore of gifts and abilities , and endue such whom hee appoints to this work . againe , hee hath also committed the keyes to his church ; and therefore the power delegate under christ , of such who are to see thereunto , is requisite , that they may open the door of entrance for such who are truly qualified to discharge this function . so that it is apparent , that abilities to preach is not all that which is required in the entrance into this sacred function . yet to make all this more evident , i will punctually explicate these requisites severally . . the first requisite is divine position into this function . this s. paul mentions in his call ; hee counted me faithfull , putting mee into the ministry . and this is requisite in every ones call to it ; because god is the lord of the harvest , and must bee prayed unto , to thrust out labourers into the harvest : the word signifies to cast them out , as it were by a strong hand . so then , god must put them into this work , and thrust them into it . and this divine position into the ministeriall calling is styled in scripture , the opening of the door . now god opens two doors to every one , whom hee puts into the office of teaching . . hee opens the door of gifts : wee are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves , but our sufficiency is of god , who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament . this ability , by our saviour is called a mouth of wisedome : and by s. paul , a door of utterance . by opening the door of utterance we are to understand not only opportunities to preach , as it is sometimes taken ; but likewise abilities and endowments to prech : an internall faculty fitting for the ministry . god first furnishes the mind with knowledge of divine things , hee first gives abilities to manifest them , before one have opportunity ; therefore hee is said to commit to us the ministry of reconciliation : hee first teaches what wee shall say , before hee sends us on his message : till god hath opened the door of gifts , there is no sending from him on his embassage . hee opens the door of the heart to desire this office , and to be willing to spend its gifts , and be sent in it : every one truly called by god to preach , hath a work of god on his spirit , bending and framing it to addict it selfe to this call . such a work had the house of stephanas on them ; and such a work was wrought on isaiah , his tongue was touched , god gave him gifts , and then made him exceeding willing to employ them ; and such a work was on s. paul , whereby so much as in him was , hee was ready to preach the gospel : and such a work is wrought on all their hearts , whom god sirs up to feed his flock willingly . so that when god hath bent the strong delights of the mind on such kind of learning , which are most proper and conducent to the ministry ; and when a man finds his gifts and parts more sutable to this than any other learned calling ; and when the desire of his soul is to serve in the church , then doubtlesse god hath called such an one to preach ; because hereunto hee hath opened his heart : which opening containes the desires of the soul to enter into this calling , and also the willingnesse of the heart to embrace the worke of it . they then are by god put into the ministry , to whom hee hath given both ability and an heart to teach . many have gifts , but no heart ; these god doth not call ; for hee first gives the preparations of the heart . againe , many affect this calling , but want gifts : neither are they hereunto called by god ; for hee rejects such from teaching : but such are undoubtedly put into the ministry by god , in whom ability to teach , and a will to teach concurres . a man who ( as elihu ) is full of matter , hath abilities , and the spirit within him constraines him : whose spirit the lord hath stirred up , as hee did the temples builders , hee surely is a spirituall builder , one who is called by god to preach . this is the first requisite . the second requisite is personall qualifications : he is not a teacher sent of god , who wants the essentiall qualities of a teacher . and these are two . . abilities to teach ; . fidelity in that function : both these the apostle mentions in one verse , the things which thou hast heard also among many witnesses , the same commit to faithfull men , who shall be able to teach . ability then and fidelity is required . the key of knowledge is committed to them who are called to preach ; that they may faithfully open the whole councell of god to his people . first , ability and skill above ordinary beleevers must be in a preacher . the man of god must bee throughly furnished unto every good work : and particularly hee must have . ability to expound scripture : being a work-man who needs not to bee ashamed , rightly dividing the word of truth ; like apollos , being one eloquent and mighty in scripture : therefore hee is called an interpreter . hee must be one ( like john ) who hath taken gods book , and in some measure hath eaten it . hee must also have . ability to instruct . hee must be a store-house of knowledge : the priests lips shall keep knowledge , and they shall seek the law at his mouth ; for hee is the messenger of the lord of hoasts . every scribe ( saith our blessed saviour ) which is instructed unto the kingdome of god , is like an householder which brings forth out of his treasury things old and new . hee must have . ability seasonably to apply the truth . hee must have the tongue of the learned , that hee may know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary . he must be gods steward , knowing how to give a portion of meat in due season to his houshold : ministring milk to babes , and strong meat to riper christians : he must have skill to feed christs lambs , and christs sheep . hee must have . ability to refute and convince the adversaries of sacred truth . these abilities , at least in some competency above ordinary christians , are requisite in a teacher : all which requires store of learning , both humane and divine ; that the man of god may have dexterity both in diving into the scripture , and in refuting the adversaries . and therefore , they are very bold intruders into the calling of teaching others , who both are unlearned themselves , and likewise have given no attendance to reading ; especially to such kinds of learning which are subservient to the ministry , and without which one of necessity can be but meanly qualified for that calling , and will be very lame in the discharge of it . secondly , fidelity is another essentiall quality required in a teacher : let a man so account of us , as of the ministers of christ , and stewards of the mysteries of god : moreover , it is required in stewards that a man may be found faithfull . a teacher is a dispenser of the pretious blood of christ , of the pretious promises of the gospel , of the word of god , and of the unsearchable riches of christ ; and therefore hee must faithfully dispense these : concealing no necessary truths : being no way negligent , but instant in season , and out of season , to exhort , rebuke , instruct , to doe the work of an evangelist , and to make full proofe of his ministry . these are the personall endowments required in a preacher : and this is the second requisite . thirdly ; the third requisite is ecclesiasticall authorization . as god opens the door of gifts , and of the heart , which is the invisible opening of the door to the good shepherd , or his invisible call to the work : so for the execution of it , hee must have a visible call by those who are delegated under christ to ordain such , who are to fulfill the work of the ministry . this visible call , i name ecclesiasticall authorization , which is not only a solemne declaration , that such and such are chosen of god to this work ; but likewise it is a committing of the ministry of christ to them . and this hath two parts , which whosoever wants , hee ought not to doe those acts on which the edification of christs people publikely depends . . ordination : which is the consecrating and setting apart for that work of the ministry , with imposition of hands and prayer , such who are deemed , upon tryall of gifts and life , fit for it . thus s. paul ordained elders , and left titus in crete to doe so : that blessed apostle glories that hee was separated to preach the gospel : separated , namely , as by god in his counsell and decree , so also ( according to gods own appointment ) hee was hereunto separated by the church . hee then who is called according to gods own appointment , must bee separated or set apart by the church governours ( i mean bishops ) to give himselfe wholy to teach . which separation being done solemnely , by prayer , and imposition of hands , is called ordination . . derivation of actuall power to fulfill the ministry , is the other branch of ecclesiasticall authorization : and this is after the tryall of gifts and life . let these also ( saith the apostle ) first be proved , and then let them minister , being found blamelesse : the words import , that both ministers and deacons must be proved ; and being found fit , then they should be permitted to execute their office . this admission to execute their office , is called gods allowing them to preach . this is the third requisite , ecclesiasticall authorization , which consists in the ordaining and allowing , by the churches overseers , such , who shall teach : and without this , notwithstanding there be competency of gifts for that work , yet none can have a complete call to preach . to conclude therefore this proposition : since to the entrance into the ministeriall calling there is required both gods putting one into it , and authorities ordaining and setting one apart thereunto , together with its deriving actuall power , to such who undertake it , to fulfill it , as well as personall gifts for its discharge ; therefore i take this third proposition is undeniably true ; namely , in the call to preach , more things are required than endowments to preach , without which things no man hath a call to that function . chap. iv. the fourth proposition . men of other professions , though enabled with spirituall gifts , yet are not to undertake preaching , till they are thereunto lawfully called . though the arguments proving the second proposition will also sufficiently confirm this ; yet these two shall likewise serve to evince it . first reason : because every man is bound to abide in his own calling . this is proved from two scriptures : one is this ; let every man abide in the same calling wherein hee was called . these words are very emphaticall . . exempting none ( though proving afterward well qualified and endued with gifts and graces ) from their personall calling . . enjoyning to every one continuance in their particualr function ; let him abide , or make his mansion in it , even dwell on it . . intimating that the state of christianity frees none from the calling in which god hath set them . and there is good reason for it ; because christianity as it is a profession of true autarchy , or self-contentednesse with ones own station or condition ; so likewise it is a religion abhorring all ataxy , or disorderly enormities ; and particularly , the confounding ( in one person by presumptuous usurpation ) such callings which god hath disjoyned . another scripture proving that every one ought to abide in their own calling , is this , study to be quiet , and to doe your own businesse , and to work with your own hands , as wee commanded you . which words , . commend a calm conversation , opposite to tumultuous turbulency and restlesse intermedling with things which concern us not ; study to be quiet . . they confine our employments within the limits of our own calling ; doe your own businesse , or those things which are personally and properly yours . . they command mechanicks , or manuall crafts men to work with their own hands : whereupon it will follow , that therefore they ought not ( uncalled ) to undertake preaching , seeing they are not freed from their manuall works , from which every dispenser of spirituall things is freed ; that hee might sow spirituals ; and for his maintenance hee is to reap the carnall things of others . seeing then every man is bound to abide in his own calling , therefore such who are of other professions , though they be enabled with spirituall gifts , yet are not ( being uncalled thereunto ) to undertake preaching . second reason is , because holy writ affords no president of any who did so , but rather the contrary : for as wee cannot read of any holy man undertaking ( without call thereunto ) the office of preaching , as the second reason of the second proposition proved ; so wee may read of such , whose gifts being very sutable to that function , yet without call would not undertake it , nor leave their callings . two examples shall serve in stead of many . david , though a man after gods own heart , and one who had more under standing than all his teachers , yet forsook not either his calling of feeding sheep , or of governing the people , to become a preacher : and though hee was a prophet , and extraordinarily inspired and fitted to preach , yet wee read not that hee did so in any synagogue or assembly ; but still hee abode in his calling , and taught publikely no otherwise ( if my observation fail not ) than by his writings : in which , though dead , hee yet speaks , and preaches to the churches , as oft as any thing of davids is read in them . the other example is our blessed saviour , who was ( it seems ) in profession a carpenter ; and though hee had gifts beyond angelicall and humane conception , all fulnesse dwelt in him ; yet till about thirty years of age hee did not ( so farre as wee read ) preach or leave his calling . and when hee began to preach hee was thereunto first called , as in the second reason of the second proposition hath formerly been manifested . so then , both from precept and example , i conclude , that the fourth proposition is an unshaken verity : namely , men of other professions , though enabled with spirituall gifts , yet are not to undertake preaching , till they are thereunto lawfully called . chap. v. the fifth proposition . such as take on them that calling , after lawfull call thereunto , ought not to entangle themselves in worldly employments , and follow their worldly calling . the reason of this is ; because such are wholly to intend the work of this calling which they have undertaken . the apostles , though some of them had been fishers , and some of other professions , yet affirm joyntly , that they would give themselves continually to prayer , and to the ministry of the word : neither would they meddle with a businesse which in its own nature might well have stood with their ministeriall function ; because of some inconveniences in it : it is no reason ( say they ) that wee should leave the word of god and serve tables . s. paul would have timothy , and in him all ministers , wholly to inure themselves to the paines , and whatsoever other hardship accompanies or followes their ministry , and not be busie in secular negotiations . hee takes a similitude from a souldier , who having undertaken military service , doth wholly addict himselfe to his commanders service : even so such who undertake christs service must seek to please christ , by doing his work ; and therefore must not frame themselves to those employments in which they were enwrapt before christ chose them to his pecular service . the words are very plain ; thou therefore endure hardnesse , as a good souldier of christ : and again , no man that warreth entangleth himselfe with the affairs of this life , that hee may please him who hath chosen him to be a souldier . and there is good reason why ministers should wholly intend the ministeriall employment and no other ; both because other employments make them unfit to discharge this freely and fully . he who enters into this calling and will secularly be employed , is unfit for this calling , even as hee who layes his hand on the plough , and looks back , is unfit for the kingdome of god : and likewise , because any one work which is enjoyned the ministry , is sufficient alone to take up the whole man , and his whole time . as to name but that one mentioned by s paul ; hee is to give attendance to reading and meditation , and to give himself wholly to these , that his profiting may appear unto all . now this is work enough for a man : yea it is set out in scripture , to bee a toylsome and tiresome work ; much study is a wearinesse to the flesh . god compares it to the work of husbandmen , who are in continuall employment , either breaking up the fallow , or sowing , or harrowing , or manuring , or reaping , or gathering into barnes , and then renewing again their labours . and hee compares the service of the ministry to fishing : a trade in which is no loitering but labouring ; not meanly but toughly , sometimes all day , oft all night , and many times for nothing . such , yea greater is a ministers work , it is a constant continuall labour : he prayes he reads , hee marks , hee meditates , hee writes , hee utters the meditation of his heart ; and when hee hath done , hee must return to his daily task , and weekly spending , being every moment employed , save at the times of due intermission , till hee hath fully finished his course , and the time of departure approaches . preaching is a toylfull work , and greater than to speak by an hour-glasse . again , it is set out in scripture to bee an enfeebling work : so the prophet found it , i have ( saith hee ) spent my strength for nought , and in vain . and so our blessed saviour found it , who in the prime of his years , little past thirty , was reckoned by the jewes to be towards fifty . it is supposed by divines , and probably too , that hee so spent himselfe in preaching , and winning soules , that hee seemed to the jewes to bee much elder than hee was . the ministeriall work well followed makes one weak in strength , and old in youth : it consumes the lungs , wasts the spirits both animall and naturall , parches the radicall moisture , draines the blood , looses the joynts , rivells the face , and wears the brain . they who speak other mens labours , ( and such it seemes there were in the apostles times ) count preaching nothing , because they know not experimentally what it means ; but such who labour in the word and doctrine ( as the apostle did ) will with him acknowledge , that in preaching they spend and are spent , and that they sacrifice themselves for their people . lay all this together : and seeing the ministeriall calling hath in it employment for the whole man , and for his whole time ; and seeing other callings will distract in fulfilling the ministery , therefore it must be granted , that they who undertake this calling , ought not ( save in the cases mentioned in the answers ) to divert from the employments of this calling , being busie in worldly employments ; and so i conclude this fifth proposition to be very true : namely , such who take on them that calling ; after lawfull call thereunto , ought not to entangle themselves in worldly employments , and follow their worldly calling . chap. vi . i now come to discusse the contents in the paper . wherein , to prove that a man , who hath the gift of the spirit , may preach the gospel , of what calling soever hee be , is quoted acts . , . the words are these : it shall come to passe in the last dayes , saith god , i will poure out my spirit on all flesh , and your sonnes and your daughters shall prophesie , and your young men shall see visions , and your old men shall dreame dreams : and on my servants , and on my handmaids i will poure out in those dayes of my spirit , and they shall prophesie . from which place they understand , that not only they that have been at university , and have gotten learning , that they only should teach ; but they also to whom is given the gift . therefore : if i can teach and edifie my brethren , and my brethren can teach to edifie me , it is lawfull , although wee be but tradesmen ; for the apostle did labour with his hands , and yet a teacher ; and many others besides . . thess. . . i answer to all this . though the distinction of learning gotten , and learning given ; or ( as scholars speak ) touching learning obtained by study , pains , industry , and investigation either at university , or any other place ; and learning conferred by inspiration , or by any other immediate way of divine donation may be admitted ; yet the inference thereupon ( that any of any calling whatsoever having given learning may preach ) is unsound : because , the very having of learning , either acquiredly or inspiredly , is not sufficient to authorize preaching without a speciall call . which as i have proved , so this history in the second of acts confirms : for they of whom it speaks had abilities to preach , they had been with christ , and hee had breathed on them the holy ghost ; yet would they not preach till they had a speciall call , and were authorized thereunto by power from on high , according to christs command . the pouring out of the spirit on them ( as the history relates ) was a speciall and publike declaration of their call , that god had chosen them to teach the whole councell of god , to plant the gospel in all nations ; and therefore god accordingly endued them , extraordinarily , with all languages , and all infallible sacred knowledge . such then , who propose these as a president for layteachers , should doe well to consider these particulars . that inspiration apostolicall served only for the planting of the gospel : since , god inspires so none ; and therefore the pretence of having learning given , not gotten , is a boast of things without their measure ; and a vaunt of the distribution of gifts on them , which god never granted to any but to the first planters of his church . that they should consider , that though any were endued with abilities apostolicall ( which i suppose none will arrogate to themselves , but such who have no other knowledge than that which puffs up ; ) yet such ought not to assume the divine function , untill hee have also ( with these here ) the apostolicall call . if hee should without that call doe so , hee were but an intruder , and a false apostle . and therefore . though thou be able to teach thy brother , and thy brother thee ; yet neither of you ought ministerially to doe so , till thereunto you have ( as these apostles ) a speciall call . so then this history gives no countenance to any , though gifted , to undertake preaching , uncalled . they should ponder , that these apostolike men did nothing in a corner . they had no private undertakings ; for the whole multitude came together , saw and heard ; therefore such who resolve on a private , close course of preaching in secret , cannot justifie themselves by these apostles here . neither yet follow they our saviours example who spake openly to the world , and ever taught in the synagogue , and in the temple , whither the jewes alwayes resort , and in secret said nothing . they should consider , that these apostolicall men , having ( by this extraordinary pouring out of the spirit on them ) their complete commission to preach , gave themselves wholly to prayer , and to the ministry of the word : and therefore , hence cannot be raised a justification for any lay-men ( continuing so ) to preach the word . the history affords these irrefutable collections . butthe objectors inference no wayes results out of the quoted words ; namely , that any of any calling who hath gifts may preach . my reason is ; because they mention the gifts of the spirit poured on some , whom god prohibits to preach , as on women : your daughters and my handmaids ( saith the text ) shall prophesie ; and yet god permits not such to teach . therefore for the clearing of this place from the absurd collection , wee must explaine these words , and they shall prophesie . know then : these were joels words ; but are here alledged by s. peter to satisfie the multitude , who were confounded , seeing the cloven tongues like fire sitting on the disciples heads , and hearing them speak in their own tongues , the wonderfull works of god : hee tells them , that now joels prophesie is fulfilled ; namely , i will poure out &c. after hee tells them , that , jesus christ being exalted to gods right hand , hath shed forth this which they now saw and heard : which they saw in the tongues , and their speaking of gods wonderfull works . this is the briefe relation of the story , which makes much for the understanding of the quoted scripture : wherein we may observe , . that in the day of pentecost god poured out of his spirit in great measure both on men and women , who were with one accord in one place . . that these were thereby enabled to prophesie . and . their prophesying was , no more but , both a cleare understanding of former prophesies , as appears by s. peters applying this and two more , and also a praising gods , as his and the others speaking of gods wonderfull works shewes , so then these words ( your sons and your daughters shall prophesie ; and again , my servants and my handmaids shall prophesie ; ) imply only thus much : these your sons and your daughters which are my servants and my handmaids , shall have of my spirit bestowed on them , whereby they shall understand the former prophesies , touching the kingdome of god , and the mystery of salvation : which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men , as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit . i take this paraphrase is the genuine meaning both of joel and peter , and best shewes how both the sons and daughters of god are said to prophesie in the last dayes . it would be therefore shewed plainly , and without wresting the words , how the conceit ( that any of any calling , having gifts , may preach ) can bee grounded on them . the words speak of such a kind of prophesying , wherein both men and women may have a part ; and that is no other than either a clear understanding of gods mysteries , formerly vailed in dark prophesies , but now explained and known since the spirits descent , according to these prophesies of the gospels time , isai. . jerem. . . joh. . . or else it is a lauding and praising of god for his wonderfull works . one of these , or rather both , is the prophesying meant in this place : and so both sons and daughters may prophesie . but that kind of prophesying which consists in interpreting scripture , thence deducing doctrinall and practicall conclusions for the instruction of others , ( i am sure ) cannot bee meant in this place ; because in that kind of prophesying the daughters of god have no part nor fellowship with the sons of god ; for god hath excluded them , as hath been shewed . let this suffice for answer to the quotation in acts . . . chap. vii . to that which is added , that trade smen may preach , because the apostle did labour with his hands , and yet a teacher ; and many others besides . thes. . . i answer . . it followes not , because the apostle or any other , having a call to teach , did in some cases labour with their hands , therefore that such who are tradesmen , having no calling thereunto , should preach , i think this consequence cannot possibly be made good . i answer . all which can be collected , for imitation , from the apostles labouring with his hands is , that a minister , in some cases , ( there being thereby no impediment to his preaching , or other ministeriall duties ) may voluntarily use any lawfull art or calling , manuall or mentall , to supply his necessities . the causes why s. paul laboured with his hands , are recorded in scripture to be these . first , hee would not be burdensome . the penury of the thessalonians was such ( they being poor artificers ) that they could not conveniently contribute towards s. pauls reliefe : besides , that little which they had was liable to be preyed upon by their persecuters ; therefore the apostle , in compassion , remitted his right , and rather than hee would burthen them hee wrought with his hands . and for this cause the ministers of the waldenses did work to sustaine themselves ; because they found that the exacting of due maintenance ( which yet they might have took ) was burthensome to the church , being for their poverty termed the poor men of lions : which men yet professed , that they were sorry that they had not sufficient staied livings for their ministers , whereby they might have more time to their studies , and greater opportunity to instruct them with necessary doctrine and knowledge . secondly , s. paul wrought with his hands , because hee would avoyd appearing scandall . . in respect of some corinthians , who , being covetous , would have detested the faith , if they had found it any way chargeable : being like the gadarens , who would rather part with the ministry of christ , than forgoe their swine . lest the corinthians should hereupon reject the gospel , s. paul forbears his right , and so farre a based himselfe , to work with his own hands . herein , being an example to others , not to use their lawfull liberties , unlesse wherein they see an expediency . . in respect of false apostles among the corinthians , to stop their mouth . they , likely , would have accused him for making advantage of the gospel , and would , perhaps , have reported that hee only taught for gain ; therefore the apostle to cut off all occasions of such thoughts from them , would not challenge any thing from the corinthians , but wrought with his hands . doubtlesse , in like case and condition , a minister may take on him another calling , what hee likes ; so it bee not an hinderance of his preaching , nor any offense of men . thirdly , s. paul wrought with his hands , to gain thereby authority and credence to his doctrine touching labour : hee had taught , at thessalonica and ephesus , a necessity of working ; therefore to shame them from their loitering and idleing , hee so farre abased himselfe below his apostolicall function , as to worke in tent-making . hee tells the thessalonians , that hee did not eat any mans bread for nought , but wrought with labour and travell night and day , that hee might not be chargeable to any of them . not because hee had not power , but to make himselfe an ensample for them to follow him . and hee tells the ephesians , you your selves know , that these hands have ministred unto my necessities , and to them that werewith me . and again , i have shewed you all things , sic how that so labouring , yee ought to support the weak , and to remember the words of our lord jesus christ , how hee said , it is more blessed to give than to receive . and questionlesse it is lawfull for a minister ( being of excellent parts and abilities , abundantly sufficient to discharge his calling ) for the provocation of others to double diligence in their callings , to undertake ( if hee please ) either such a calling which is subservient , or subordinately conducent to his theologicall profession ; as teaching , or tutoring of youth ; for so samuel , a prophet , had a school of young prophets at ramah , and elisha at gilgal : or hee may employ himselfe in any manuall work ; yet still remembring the caution , that it hinder not his pastorall function , nor be any offense to others . fourthly , s. paul did labour with his hands , because the prophane corinthians forced him partly to it : they would not give him needfull reliefe , though hee might ( if hee had pleased ) justly have commanded it . even unto this present houre ( saith hee ) wee both hunger and thirst and are naked , and are buffetted , and have no certain dwelling place , and labour , working with our own hands : being reviled , we blesse ; being persecuted , wee suffer it : being defamed , wee entreat , &c. and then hee concludes , i write not these things to shame you , but as my beloved sonnes i warne you . it seems hee had but hard entertainment , and therefore was forced to relieve himselfe by his labours , till the brethren of macedonia supplyed what was lacking unto him . a minister may be driven to great exigency , and though hee have power and authority to claime maintenance , yet from a way ward people hee cannot ( it may be ) have it : they will disobey gods command in gal. . . the wickednesse of their covetous hearts sets them to devise meanes of muzling the oxe that treadeth out ( for their good ) the spitituall corn . now in this case a minister may undertake callings lawfull , though unbefitting his person and function . the case of learned musculus was lamentable ; hee was a man learned and godly , yet after much paines in his publike ministry , was so ill used , that hee was glad to get into a weavers house , and learne weave , thereby to get bread for himself and his family : at last , the weaver thrust him out of his house , and then was worthy musculus forced to goe to the common ditch of the town , and work with his spade to get his living . this may well be recorded , that posterity may shunne such corinthian humours , as to suffer their pauls to be miserably needy , and not relieve them ; but force them rather to manuall labours . these were the causes of s. pauls working with his hands , which sufficiently warranteth ministers , in like cases , to doe the like ; but no wayes justifies any tradesmen to usurp teaching . thus did s. paul , and thus did barnabas , both ministers ; but of more ministers who did so , i read not . i am sure the apostle peremptorily sayes , i onely and barnabas , have not wee power to forbear working ? and that any of other professions , uncalled , did ministerially preach , much lesse many others besides , i suppose the objectors will never read it in gods book . chap. viii . the first reason brought by the objectors , is this : a teacher is known to be called of god , by these qualifications and gifts which hee hath received : but many of gods people have the gift to teach and resolve doubts ; ergo , they are called , and therefore bound to preach . answer . this reason proves not , that every lay-man , having abilities , is called and bound to teach , which yet should have been concluded , if the objectors would , by reason , have made good that selfe-same fancy of theirs . but passing by the just exception which might be taken against this reason , both in assuming one thing , and faisly concluding another , as also other defects of art , which a scholar may easily espy in it ; let this answer suffice to it , as it is : namely , if by these words in it [ many of gods people ] be meant such , who are ministerially called to teach , then the whole is true ; for these have gifts to teach , and resolve doubts ; and they likewise are called of god and the church to teach , and are therefore bound to doe so . but though these , many of gods people , have gifts , and a call to teach ; will it therefore follow , that others of gods people , having no call may doe so ? the consequence is too irrationall to be defended . but if by these words [ many of gods people ] be understood many among gods people which are lay-men ; then i answer , that though it be true , that some of them have personall gifts and abilities ; yet in as much as they want the other qualifications of a teacher , mentioned in the exposition of the third proposition ; therefore they are neither bound ministerially to teach , nor are they called to teach ; neither ought they to be known or acknowledged for such whom god hath called to teach . if they desire to employ their gifts ministerially , then they should in modesty tender themselves and their abilities to be tryed by such , who can authorize them to exercise them : and being approved , they may minister . but if such in authority admit not , then ought they to think , that ( notwithstanding their gifts ) god hath not designed them to this function . once for all ; know , that gifts to teach and resolve doubts cannot justifie any in their undertakings to preach , unlesse , withall , they have the other qualifications required hereunto . till the objectors prove the contrary , they say nothing to the purpose . chap. ix . the second reason of the objectors is this : every man who hath a gift which is spirituall , it is his talent ; and hee who useth not his talent , god will take it from him , and cloath him with shame and a curse : ergo , men are bound to use their gifts . answer . it is true , that every spirituall gift is a talent , and must be used , lest shame , confusion , and a just ablation of it otherwise succeed : and yet it is as true , that talents are no otherwise to be used , than according to the call to use them . some have talents conferred on them , to be publikely employed for the good of others , and accordingly these talents must be improved : others have talents given them only for their own private use , and the private use of some others , and accordingly such must employ their talents , if any lay-man have abilities to preach , hee must use that ability , only , according to those ends for which god gave him such a talent : first , thereby to teach his wife , and bring up his children and family in the nurture and admonition of the lord . secondly , that thereby with greater prudence hee may discerne what is publikely taught by his pastor , and so retain that which is good , and that which will arme him against a time of tryall and affliction ; wherewith , perhaps , god intends to exercise him more than others of his rank and vocation , and accordingly aforehand fits him by extraordinary abilities , giving him for the better preparation against extraordinary troubles in his own calling , but not for ostentation of parts , by an extravagant intrusion into anothers calling . such therefore need not feare cloathing with shame and a curse , for not using their talent ministerially ; it is sufficient to free them from feare of both , if , without arrogancy , they onely employ it to their own , and their families good . if this satisfie not , i am then sure that the objectors are deluded ; and so thought blessed martin luther before me , who ( upon that verse in the psalmist , out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength , or , perfected praise , ) answers the objection , and his words shall be the conclusion of my answer . his words are these : * hitherto also they belong , who conscious to themselves of their great learning may dreame of some great danger to themselves , if they instruct not others ; alledging that they hide in the earth the talent given them , and doe expect with the evill servant the heavie doom of the lord ; satan doth so delude their fancies with ridiculous trifles . who , by this verse instructed , ought to know , that it is not wee who teach , neither is it our word which is taught , but onely our mouth may doe service unto his word if hee will , and call . thou ( hee saith ) hast perfected praise : not they , not we . and so in the gospel , the lord truly delivered talents to his servants , but they were first called : therefore doe thou also expect till thou be called . in the mean time , thou maist not desire it , thou maist not voluntarily presse into it , thy knowledge will not burst thee . they ran ( saith the lord in the prophet ) but i spake not by them . this temptation miserably vexes many , that it grieves and repents them of their vocation . the devill doth this to disquiet them who have begus well , and at length consume them with irkesomnesse . therefore hee who is called , let him offer his mouth , receive his word ; let him be an instrument , not the author . hee who is not called , let him pray to the lord of the harvest , that hee may send labourers , and perfect strength one of the mouth of infants . chap. x. the objectors say , that this is the way which is prescribed : and they alledge sundry scriptures for proofe . their first allegation is in joel . . the words are , i will poure out of my spirit on all flesh , and your sons and your daughters shall prophesie , &c. answer . these words of joel prescribe nothing ; they only declare what god will doe in the last times : hee will ( say they ) poure out of his spirit on all flesh , and your sonnes and your daughters shall prophesie . that is , they shall apply the ancient prophesies , seeing plainly that they are testimonies of jesus christ and his kingdome ; and they shall speak of gods marvellous works . this god shall doe saith joel , and this they did , saith the story , in the second of acts ; and this is the prophesie which these words speak of : but i think it passeth the skill of an understanding and judicious divine , to espy in them an injunction that lay-men should preach ministerially . till i see proofes , naturally concluding , that there is in these words such a prescription , i shall repute the assertion of it to be but a groundlesse fancy . the second proofe is in isaiah . . the words are these , i will poure water upon him that is thirsty , and floods upon the dry ground : i will poure my spirit upon thy seed , and my blessing upon thine of spring . answer . these words prescribe nothing ; they only promise an effusion of the word of grace , and the comforts of grace , and of the spirit of grace , and blessing upon the churches children , both jew and gentile . but i conceive it is a very hard task for the objectors to prove , that they prescribe lay-men , uncalled , to teach ▪ for though the lord bee pleased upon the gentiles ( who were as a thirsty and dry ground ) to poure out his water , that is , make them partakers of the word of grace , according to the comparison by moses ; and of the floods , that is , of the comforts of grace , these living springs , as our saviour calls them ; yet it is ridiculous to say , that therefore lay-men , uncalled , may prophesie : and as inconsequentiall it is , to say , that because god will poure his spirit on the seed of the church , and his blessing on her of-spring , therefore lay-men may preach . though god poure his spirit on the seed , yet the seed is not bound to poure out ; but must stay till god have sent , and given a commission to goe and drop the word , as hee did to the prophet . besides , the very next verse in isaiah . shewes , that the pouring of water , and floods , and the spirit on the seed , is not a pouring that the seed should poure , but that the seed should grow and encrease : namely , in piety , and in the exercise of the severall graces of the spirit , this place therefore proves not the objectors fancy . another proofe they produce out of cor. . . let the prophets speak two or three , and let the other judge . and verse . yee may all prophesie one by one , that all may learn , and all may be comforted . and the reason is given , verse . for god is not the author of confusion , but of peace . which doth prove , as they understand , that when men can prophesie and doe not , it causeth confusion and not peace . answer . this allegation proves not , that lay-men may preach . here , indeed , the prophets are commanded to dispense the word orderly ; but such who are no prophets have hence no command for its dispensation . the apostle would have but two or three of the prophets to speak in their meetings or congregations . a course much like to that in the synagogues , wherein one read moses , and another ( as it is thought ) read in the prophets ; and when these had done , another expounded and spake a word of exhortation . this course the apostle enjoynes , and shewes in the . verse the conveniency of it ; because hereby yee may ( saith hee ) all prophesie . hee meanes not all the promiscuous company of the godly , for hee accounts it an absurdity to think all are prophets ; but hee meanes , all who are prophets may prophesie . and from the twelfth chapter wee may gather , that three things must concurre in the prophesying of which hee speaks in this place . . the operation , that is , the act of prophesying . . the administration , that is , the office or calling to prophesie . . the gift , or the enablement ; so the apostles meaning here is , all , that is , all who have not only the gift , but likewise the calling from those prophets , to whom the spirit of the prophets are subject , may exercise themselves in prophesying by course , or in their severall turnes . and hee gives the reason of this course which hee prescribes ; because it is of divine institution from god , for two ends : both that there may be no confusion in their meetings ; and likewise , that peace may be maintained in them . and he further tells the corinthians , that , this course is observed in all the churches of the saints . this then is that which the apostle prescribes , that the prophets should exercise their gift of prophesying orderly ; but here hee enjoynes no lay-men to become prophets or preachers . i therefore exceedingly wonder , how the objectors can affirm , and understand , that these words prove , that when men can prophesie and doe not , it causeth confusion and not peace ! that which may be proved from them is , that men in their owne callings , and particularly , preachers in theirs , doing all thins orderly , shall avoyd confusion , and obtain peace in so doing . but it is an idle conceit , that these words teach , that men able to preach , and actually not doing so , cause confusion . did our blessed saviour ( being able , never any abler to preach , yet not doing so for thirty years , ) cause any confusion in the jewish church all that time ? i think the objectors dare not utter so blasphemous an affirmation . even so gods people , though able to preach , yet cause no confusion , though they are not actors in so holy an employment . confusion would then be caused , if what the objectors plead for , were admitted ; because an eversion of the distinction of callings must needs succeed ; for the sacred would hereby be blended with others , and every one ( upon his owne selfe-conceiteidnesse of parts and abilities ) might appoint himselfe a teacher : which any may discern is near to confusion , who have read both that god hath appointed stewards over his houshold , watchmen and leaders over his flock , labourers in his harvest , divers administrations , as well for the preservation of peace in the church , as for the edification of it ; and likewise , that none takes this honour on him , but such who are thereunto called . this quotation therefore will nothing advantage the objectors . the next place alledged , is , numb. . . would god all could prophesie . answer . this scripture doth not prove that lay-men may preach . . because the prophesying here mentioned , is not a salvificall teaching others , but a politicall discoursing unto others : it is an uttering wise and grave apothegmes or councells , ( as moses did ) concerning the publike affairs of israel . the spirit of prophesie , put on the seventy , was , that they with moses should beare the burthen of the people , that is , rule them : and their prophesying , therefore , was no more but a prudentiall speaking of things appertaining to rule . moses his wish therefore is not , that all were able to preach , but that all were able to rule ; and so proves nothing for the objectors . . moses his wish is , that all could prophesie , that is , that they were called to prophesie , and enabled thereunto , as these seventy in the history were called , in that their names were writ to enter into the tabernacle , v. . and they were enabled from god , hee put his spirit on them ; therefore this wish doth not justifie the intrusion of any into anothers office , who is either uncalled , or ungifted . so that moses his wish that all were prophets , yet imports also , that till they are prophets , as well by calling as enablement , they must not prophesie . . moses doth not absolutely wish , that all the people could prophesie ; but hereby hee only intimates , that it would be no impeachment to him and his authority , though all the camp ( if god thought fit ) could prophesie ; that is , be able to governe . his words are an answer to joshuahs jealousie , lest the prophesying of eldad and medad , in the camp , should derogate from moses his authority ; moses tells him , that for his sake hee would have none prohibited from prophesying ; that is , from ruling ; but hee wishes that all the people were fellowshelpers , and able assistants to him in governing . this is the very true meaning of his wish . which teacheth pious men , not to envy at the gifts and calling of others in the same vocation with themselves ; but it no way prescribes men of other callings , to undertake , without call thereunto , the office and function of others . therefore from hence , lay-men can have no warrant for their undertaking to preach . another place alledged , is acts . . at that time there was a great persecution against the church , that was at hierusalem , and they were all scattered abroad thorowout the regions of judea and samaria , except the apostles . compared ( say the objectors ) with verse . and . as for saul hee made havock of the church , entring into every house , and haling men and women , committed them to prison . therefore they that were scattered abroad , went every where preaching the word . from which place , the objectors understand , that any , poor or rich , weak or strong , if they could teach , they became dispensers . the same times ( say they ) are now ; for the want of publike meanes , they were scattered , so are wee ; therefore , if god enable us , wee will take a course in private : if men send us ( say they ) to prison , god will send prison-comforts . i perceive that the objectors collect hence three things , . that any , of what condition soever may preach , though they bee no ministers . this i conceive they prove from verse . all were scattered thorowout the regions of judea and samaria , except the apostles , compared with verse . therefore they who were scattered abroad , went everywhere preaching the word . . that the agreement of our times with these primitive times , in dissipation or scattering , warrantizeth any , though no ministers , to preach privately . . that if trouble should befall them for this their attempt , they should find like comfort in prison to that which these primitive christians found , being committed to prison . answer . these three collections will find no defense from this scripture , as shall be made apparent by our answer particularly to every one of them : and therefore , i answer to the first , that this quotation proves not that any , rich or poore , weak or strong , being of other callings , did ministerially dispense the word . it is onely an history what was done upon the persecution of hierusalem : as , . it sayes , that all were scattered , except the apostles , that is , many , or the most of beleevers : for wee must not think that none ( but the apostles ) who professed the name of jesus abode there , seeing wee read , that devout men carried stephen to his buriall , verse . and that the apostles ( during this persecution ) sent barnabas as farre as antioh , to the gentiles , who had turned to the lord . and secondly , the history relates , that all who were scattered did preach . the objectors supposing that some of these were lay-men , hence imagine , that lay-men may preach . answer . though it be granted that some of the scattered were lay-men , and that they did preach , yet i dare confidently affirme , that not one of them who were lay-men did ministerially dispense the word . this will be evident , if wee find what kind of preaching these used . the text ( according to the originall ) saith , they all who were scattered did evangelize , that is , did shew the glad tidings of the word , or , did bring the word of glad tidings : all did thus . and if wee look further into the history , wee shall find , according to the two ranks of the scattered , two kinds of evangelizing by them . such of them who were ministers did ministerially evangelize ; but such who were lay-men did evangelize only discoursively . in the thirteenth verse it is said , that the samaritans believed philip evangelizing ; it is rendred preaching : and the fifth verse tells how , and in what manner hee evangelized , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , hee preached ( as an ambassadour ) christ . againe , some of those who were scattered , were men of cyprus and cyrene , and these also according to the quotation did evangelize ; and yet the holy ghost tells us how , and in what manner they did so ; {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , they talked , or , discoursed of the glad tidings of christ jesus ; first , only to the jewes , and then also to the greeks . so then , this evangelizing or preaching was but their discoursing and telling the jewes and greeks the good tidings of christ , which any may doe . and this discourse is a kind of preaching ; but yet it is not the preaching which is properly so called . and it is to be noted , that their talking and discoursing was available to the conversion of others . if any reply , that the holy ghost useth the same word touching peter and johns preaching at samaria , acts . . and therefore it is likely these men of cyprus and cyrene did ministerially preach . i answer ; peter and john did two wayes preach at samaria : first , by their discourse they testified the truth of that which philip had taught ; and so may any godly man doe . but secondly , they did evangelize ▪ in many villages of the samaritans , which i believe was as philip before had done , by speaking as ambassadours from christ ; which only ministers ( as they were ) may doe . the men of cyprus and cyrene did discoursively preach , as peter and john did ; but they preached not ministerially , as john and peter . and i the rather think so , because the holy ghost , speaking of their preaching , useth a word signifying an ordinary talking , but no artificiall speaking ; whereas in describing philips preaching , hee useth a word signifying his uttering as an ambassadour ▪ and deciphering peter and johns preaching , hee useth not barely the word of ordinary conference , but joynes with it another of witnessing and evangelizing ; thereby shewing there was more than an ordinary discourse . and lastly , in setting down barnabas his preaching , when hee came to antioch , hee tells us , it was by publike exhortation : giving us in all to note a difference of ministeriall preaching from that manner of divulging by discourse , divine things , which is permitted to lay-men . their second collection from this scripture in acts . is , that the agreement of our times with these primitive , in point of dissipation , warrants any lay-man to preach privately . for they suppose , that upon the persecution , there was a prohibition , or a non-permitting the word to be publikely taught at hierusalem . and then they imagine that there was private preaching in houses by those who were no ministers . and hence they conclude , that if god enable them , they will take a course in private . answer . though wee grant that the publike dispensing of the word was interrupted by the persecution , and thereupon likewise , that the christians met in private houses , where together they enjoyed the ordinances of the word and sacraments ; yet still it is to bee denyed , that the word was preached among them in any private house , by any lay-man . i believe ( as most congruous to scripture ) that when they met in houses , either an apostle , or some other minister among them did only teach . the objectors must first prove , that any lay-men in these primitive times did at all , either in private or in publike , ministerially preach , before they conclude hence the lawfulnesse of lay-preaching . i have already shewed the contrary , and till it be as clearly disproved , neither i , nor others have reason to believe their bare affirming it . and to their resolution i say , this scripture will not warrant it . . because it relates nothing what these primitive christians did in private ; and therefore they cannot be brought as a president of that , which is not recorded . . that which this scripture teaches for imitation , is , that if the church of god should be scattered through persecution , then the scattered may doe what they can to plant a church elsewhere : even as philip preacht to the samaritans , and barnabas to them of antioch ; so ministers at such times may dispense the word ( if they can ) in popish , and unbelieving countreys . and as the men of cyprus and cyrene did by discourse win many to the faith ; so may lay-men ( in those barbarous countreys whither they shall come , ) assay by discourse and conference to gain soules to the acknowledgement of christ . this scripture therefore allowes no private undertakings of lay-men . the third collection ( which i suppose by their words they make ) is , that if trouble should befall them for attempting a private course of preaching , they then shall find like comforts , in prison , to that which these primitive christians found , being committed to prison . answer . if authority shall commit any private undertakers to prison , for their clancular and private preaching , surely there is no cause for such to expect or claime comfort from god in prison ; because the cause of their sufferings is not good . the primitive christians suffered for their faith , for true religion , for righteousnesse sake , and so found prison-comforts ; but these undertakers will suffer for their own fancy , for a groundlesse opinion , for their unrighteous usurpation of anothers function , and so may be sure they have no ground of comfort . s. peter prohibits christians to suffer as a busie-body in other mens matters ; the word is , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , as a bishop in anothers circuit or diocesse . if any uncalled will needs play the bishop , in ordaining himselfe a teacher , and take on him a function , not committed to him , and shall for this presumption either be imprisoned , or otherwise suffer , hee ( in s. peters opinion ) shall not suffer as a christian , but as an evill-doer . and therefore such must not look for prison-comforts , if men send them to prison . let this suffice to this allegation . the last proofe is pet. . . as every man hath received the gift , even so minister the same one to another . answer . the words of s. peter exhort every man to help one another , according to those abilities which god hath given ; but they are no command of lay-men to turne preachers . the objectors , supposing that many lay-men have ministeriall abilities , imagine that these words prescribe them ministerially to dispense them . answer . such a collection cannot be made hence , without wrong to the text . s. peter allowes all to minister their gifts ; but withall gives the limitation , or rather the direction how to minister them ; namely , as they have received them . such then who have received gifts ministeriall , and publikely to be dispensed to others , ( according to the text ) must so dispense them ; but such who have no such receiving of their gifts to be so employed , can from this text have no warrant for the ministeriall dispensation of their gifts , it onely commanding so to minister them , as every man hath received . some have gifts given , yet they themselves are not given ; and therefore they must not ministerially dispense their gifts without call . others ( namely such who are ministers ) have both gifts , and themselves are also given , for the perfecting of the saints , for the work of the ministry , and for the edifying of the body of christ . and therefore they are accordingly bound to dispense themselves , and their gifts . this text only enjoynes in the generall , how the gifts of every one in their severall callings are to bee employed ; but it no way enjoynes a dispending of personall gifts , in a calling not personally our owne . in one word , though some lay-men may be supposed to have ministeriall abilities , or gifts , yet seeing they want ministeriall faculties , or allowance , ( being neither by god , nor his church thereunto called ) they are not bound ministerially to employ their gifts . and i believe it will be a hard work for the objectors to make it evidently apparent , that these words of s. peter enjoyne lay-men to preach . according to your desire , i have endeavoured fully to resolve you . these meditations ( as you desired ) were penned at spare times , ( which were but few ) for the justification of a pretious truth against a vain fancy ; and for the defense of gods wisedome , in distinguishing the holy and other callings from some mens folly , who by their presumptuous conceit would bring in a confusion . the lord blesse to you , and to every reader what is writ , and deliver you all from the leaven of presumption . so sayes your friend , the servant of jesus christ , and of his servants which are in bengeo . john bewick . thanks be to god , through our lord jesus christ , cor. . . finis . the authour to the printer . i vnderstand that you have a perfect copy of a treatise , entituled , an antidote against lay-preaching : or , the preachers plea . it was intended for the satisfaction of a private friend , and of such to whom hee pleased to communicate it . the importunity of some who have seen it , hath prevailed with me , not to be against its printing . doe therefore your duty , if you conceive ( either by your selfe , or some others ) that thereby some abler pen-man may be awaked , the ministry encouraged , the contrary minded better instructed , the churches peace and gods glory more promoted . your friend , i. b. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a e- acts . luke . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . eccles ▪ . ierem . cor. . . notes for div a e- perkins in his treatise of callings . eccles. , . mach , . chron. . , , . prov. . ● colos. . tim. . . numb. . gal. . rom. , s , . heb. . cant. . notes for div a e- ser● . verse . mat. . . ioh. . . tim. . . rom . cor. . , . tim. . . pet . . pet. . . rom. . , . iude . pet. . . pet. . . gen. . . gen. . . gen. . . heb. . . isa. . . ler. . . ezek. . . luk. . . amos . . mat. , . ioh. . . mat. . . luk. . . mat . . rom. . . acts . acts . . pet. . . tit. . . . tim. . . mat. . , . notes for div a e- cor. . . tim. . . mat. ● . cor. . , . luk. . . colos. . . cor. . . cor. . . cor. . . isa. . , . rom. . ▪ pro . . hos. . iob . . hag. . . tim. . . luk. . . acts . . tim. . . tim. . . acts . . iob . . revel. . . mal. . . mat. . . isa. . . luk. . . heb. . , . ioh. . , , , tit. . . tim. . . cor. . , . acts . . tim. . , . ioh. . tit. . . rom. . . g●l . . . acts . . tim. . . tim. . . tim. . . thess. . . notes for div a e- cor. . . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . thess. . . cor. . . sam. . . psal ● . . psal . , , . mar. . . colos. . . luke . . notes for div a e- acts . . verse . tim. . , . ●u● . . . tim. . , , . eccles. . . mar. . . luk. . . isa. . . ioh. . . cor. . , , , . . tim. . . cor. . . phil. . . chap. . notes for div a e- ioh. . . luk. . . cor. . , ioh. . . acts . . tim . . . cor . ▪ . ephes. . . notes for div a e- ● thes . ● . so they professe in their answer ad l●teram augustini olmucensis , anno . edit. ambros. in cor. . forma vult este caeteris , ut ubi vident non exped●re , et am 〈◊〉 non utantur . cor. . . acts . . thes. ● . . . acts . . sam. . . king. . . cor . , . vers . . cor. . . tim. . . melchior . a●amus in vita musculi . cor. . . cor. . . notes for div a e- tim. . . notes for div a e- cor. . . eph. . . thes. . . * huc pettinent & illi qui sibi conscii magnae doctrinae suae , periculum 〈◊〉 m●●iant longè maxim ur , si non alios doceant ; cansantes ses● talentum sibi a tum in terra defodere , & cum servo do mi●● duram sententiam domini expectare , adeò ridiculis nugis diabolus ludit horum phantasias . qu●s hoc versa instructos oportet scire no● non esse qui docemus , nec verbum nostrum docendum , sed solùm os nostrum posse verbo ejus servire , si ipse voluerit & vocaverit . tu , inquit , perfecisti laudem , non illi , non nos . sic in evangelio , tradi●it quidem dominus talenta servis , sed non nisi vocatis : expecta igitur & tu , done● voceris . intereà ne ambias , ne te ingeras , non enim te rumpet scientia tua . currebant ( inquit dominus apud prophetam ) & ego non loquebariis . multos haec 〈◊〉 miserè vexat , ut eos instituti sui pigeat & poeniteat . diabolus haec facit , ut inquietot eos qui bene caeperunt , & ●an ●em taedio consumat . igitur qui vocatur , praebeatos , & recipiat verbum ; sit o gano● , & non autor . quib non vocatut , 〈◊〉 dominum messi● , ut mittat opera●ios , & perficiat virtutem ex ore infantum . luther in com . psal . notes for div a e- revel. . . deut. . . ioh. . . ezek. . . acts . . cor. . ● . numb. . . acts . . acts ▪ , . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . plut in alcib . acts . . ● pet. ▪ . ephes. . , . die sabbathi . april. it is this day ordained and declared by the lords and commons in parliament assembled, that no person be permitted to preach who is not ordained a minister ... proceedings. - - england and wales. parliament. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (thomason .f. [ ]). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing e thomason .f. [ ] estc r this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) die sabbathi . april. it is this day ordained and declared by the lords and commons in parliament assembled, that no person be permitted to preach who is not ordained a minister ... proceedings. - - england and wales. parliament. sheet ([ ] p.) printed for john wright at the kings head in the old bayley, london : . title from heading and first lines of text. steele notation: lords shall that. reproduction of original in the folger shakespeare library. eng preaching -- early works to . preaching -- england -- early works to . lay preaching -- early works to . great britain -- history -- civil war, - -- early works to . broadsides -- england a r (thomason .f. [ ]). civilwar no die sabbathi . april. . it is this day ordained and declared by the lords and commons in parliament assembled, that no person be permi england and wales. parliament d the rate of defects per , words puts this text in the d category of texts with between and defects per , words. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - mona logarbo sampled and proofread - mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion die sabbathi . april ▪ ▪ it is this day ordained and declared by the lords and commons in parliament assembled ▪ that no person be permitted to preach who is not ordained a minister either in this or some other reformed church , except such ( as intending the ministery ) shall be allowed for the triall of their gifts by those who shall be appointed thereunto by both houses of parliament . it is this day ordered by the lords and commons in parliament assembled , that this ordinance be forthwith printed and published ; and that it be forthwith sent to sir thomas fairfax , with an earnest desire and recommendation from both houses , that he take care that this ordinance may be duly observed in the army , and that if any shall transgresse this ordinance , that he make speedy representation thereof to both houses , that the offenders may receive condigne punishment for their contempts it is further ordered by the lords and commons , that this ordinance be forthwith sent to the lord maior , and committee of the militia in london , to the governours , commanders , and magistrates of all garrisons , forces , places of strength , cities , towns , forts , and ports : and to the severall and respective committees of the severall and respective counties , with the like iniunction unto them respectively , that they take care that this ordinance be duly observed in the places aforesaid respectively , and that they make speedy representation to both houses of such as shall offend herein , that they may receive condigne punishment . ioh. brown cler. parliamentorum . london printed for john wright at the kings head in the old bayley . . the preachers charge, and peoples duty about preaching and hearing of the word : opened in a sermon, being the first fruits of a publike exercise, begun in the parish church of lownd, for the benefit of the island of louingland in suffolke / by iohn brinsley ... brinsley, john, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a stc . estc s ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the preachers charge, and peoples duty about preaching and hearing of the word : opened in a sermon, being the first fruits of a publike exercise, begun in the parish church of lownd, for the benefit of the island of louingland in suffolke / by iohn brinsley ... brinsley, john, - . [ ], p., [ ] folded leaf of plates. printed for robert bird, and are to be sold by thomas carre in norwich, london : . signatures: [a]⁴ b-e⁴. reproduction of original in the harvard university. library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -- n.t. -- timothy, nd, iv, -- sermons. preaching -- sermons. sermons, english -- th century. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - john latta sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the preachers charge . and peoples dvty . about preaching and hearing of the word . opened in a sermon , being the first fruits of a publike exercise , begun in the parish church of lownd , for the benefit of the island of louingland in suffolke . by iohn brinsley minister of the word in great yarmovth . london , printed for robert bird , and are to be sold by thomas carre in norwich . . to the right vvorshipfvll , sir iohn vventvvorth of somerley-ton in the county of suffolke , knight : sauing health and eternall happinesse . right worshipfull , i here send you the first fruits of your owne ; your owne by countenance , your owne by maintenance . what you heard with attention , i questi●n not but you will willingly reuiew , and in what concernes you , readily practise . the charge which is here opened is directly ours , but by consequence yours , and whose not . the preaching of the gospell being a publike worke , though it requires not euery mans mouth , to preach it ; yet his eare , and his hand it doth , to receiue it , to vphold it . this arke of the new couenant ( more is the pity it should be so frequently laid vpon the cart ) is properly for our shoulders to beare , but yet none are debarred from touching of it . it is not onely the liberty , but the duty of euery priuate christian to further the cause of the gospell in what hee may , much more of them whom the common-wealth calleth forth for publike imployments ; i blesse god that i haue no need to presse this charge vpon your particular , or if i doe , my arguments must bee commendations . the bellies of the poore of these parts blesse you already in these times of scarcity , i hope some of their soules shall blesse you for the bread that perisheth not . this religious exercise which god hath made you the instrument to erect , and i hope to contiue , shall honour you in the eyes of god and his saints . the lord make it as prosperous as it is needfull , and giue you the true comfort of it here , and hereafter ; so prayeth your worships euer in the lord iohn brinsley . a table for the prophets chamber . parts ● the ministers charge . a duty inioyned . preach : where is explained the thing : what preaching is . the signification of the word , implying the preachers office , viz a cryer , a herald . manner of discharging it , viz. to whom he is to speake : to all . in whose name : his masters . how boldly . faithfully . plainly the word . christ. the gospell of christ. consisting in foure particular actions . manner of performance . generall : be instant . earnest with themselues . others . diligent . particular . in season . at the set ordinary time : the lords day . speciall seasons and opportunities . out of season : when the word seemeth to be so in respect of the speaker . hearer . both : viz. on the weeke day . the peoples dutie , by way of application , in fiue particulars . . heare . . the word : not being offended at the simplicity of it . . be instant . earnest with themselues , in exciting to the dutie . in the dutie . others god : that he would giue to his ministers ability . liberty . efficacy man ministers themselues , exciting them to their dutie , by christian exhortation , which must be done with loue. wisedome . respect to their paces . incouragements . verball . reall . competency of maintenance . honor and respect due to their callings . entertaining the word with gladnesse , in receiuing . practising . priuate persons , stirring them vp to attend vpon gods ordinances . diligent . . in season . at the set time : the lords day . when god disposeth the heart after a speciall manner . . out of season . on the weeke day , as occasion shall be offered . when outward occasions may withdraw or hinder . when inward indisposition may discourage . the preachers charge ▪ and , peoples dvtie . tim . . . preach the word , be instant in season , out of season . in all solemne assemblies , and publike meetings vpon ciuill affayres , the first act , vsually , is to open and reade the commission which may warrant the businesse to bee vndertaken . this course i haue thought good to obserue and follow , in making entrance vpon this holy and religious exercise : first , to open vnto you the commission , which may warrant and beare out the duty wee are now to goe about ; and that , not onely in the substance , but also in the circumstance . in this exercise there are but two things subiect to question : the exercise it selfe , and the season for the performance of it . the exercise it selfe , the preaching of the word . carnall minded men , who sauour not the things of god , will happly conceiue of it , at the least , as not so necessary : the season for the performance of this exercise ( being on the weeke day , ) others perhaps will censure it as not expedient . to both these the spirit of god , in the words i haue now read , giueth vs an expresse warrant ; and that not by way of allowance onely , but by way of iniunction ; as of things that not onely may bee done , but must bee done . to the exercise it selfe , [ preach the word , ] not onely a toleration , but a peremptory command . to the circumstance of time , the season for the performance of it , [ be instant in season , out of season : ] no season vnseasonable for this so necessary a duty : euen that which may seeme to carnall reason , to flesh and blood to bee out of season , is yet seasonable . though it may seeme vnseasonable to the hearers , yet it is seasonable in the speaker . this is saint pauls charge to timothy in particular , and in him to all the ministers of the gospell , [ preach the word , be instant in season , out of season . in this apostolicall charge , there are two things present themselues to our consideration , the duty inioyned ; and , the manner of discharging it : the duty that is inioyned , is , preaching of the word , preach the word : the manner how this duty must be discharged , is , with earnestnesse and diligence , with vndaunted resolution , with indefatigable industry ; bee instant in season , out of season . to begin with the duty it selfe : preach the word . this is a duty imposed by god vpon all the ministers of the gospell : they must preach the word . this is the charge , we see , which s. paul here imposeth vpon his sonne timothy , and he doth it with as much seriousnesse and earnestnesse as possibly can be conceiued : i charge thee before god , and the lord iesus christ , who shall iudge the quicke and the dead at his appearing , and his kingdome , preach the word . did you euer heare a charge set on with more pressing arguments , with more compulsiue and commanding perswasions ? i , but in imposing this charge vpon timothy , doth not saint paul deale , as our sauiour saith of the scribes and pharises , who binde heauy burthens vpon other mens shoulders , but they themselues will not moue them with one of their fingers ? nothing lesse : what he imposeth vpon timothy , he conceiueth and acknowledgeth to be as deepely charged vpon himselfe : necessity is laid vpon me , yea , wee is vnto mee of i preach not the gospell . so deeply did this great doctor of the gentiles account himselfe to stand charged with this duty . there was a necessity lay vpon him for the performance of it ; that necessity backt with a woe if hee should neglect it . the like necessity , the like woe lyeth vpon all the ministers of the gospell in their seuerall places and stations : they must preach the word : woe is vnto them if they doe it not : i must not dwell vpon confirmation . this was the first and the last charge which our blessed sauiour gaue to his apostles , when he was to send them forth into the world after hee had told them whither they should goe ; the first charge he giueth them , is , as ye goe , preach , when hee himselfe was to leaue the world , and to take his last farewell of them , the last charge he giueth them , is , goe ye into all the world , and preach the gospell to euery creature . preaching of the gospell was the alpha , and the omega in their apostolicall ministration ; and it is one of the maine businesses which the ministers of the gospell must attend vnto ; they must preach the word . by way of explication , and illustration , i will here vnfold vnto you two things : what is meant by preaching ; what by the word . for the first : to preach in a generall and large acception of the word , is to declare , or any wayes make knowne the will of god vnto man : in this sense euery declaration of the will of god , be it by any of his mercies , chastisements , iudgements , creatures , may improperly be called preaching : the heauens declare the glory of god , and the firmament sheweth his handy work . neuer a creature in heauen and earth but readeth a lecture , preacheth to the eye of the beholder , the mercie , wisedome , power and goodnesse of god : and so in this generall sense , reading may also be called preaching . but more specially and properly , in the ordinary phrase of the scripture , preaching importeth a ministeriall action , wherein the will of god is made knowne to the church , after a speciall manner , by the ministers of the gospell . to speake distinctly . the ministers of the word , being agents betwixt god and his people , their office consisteth in two things : . in dealing with god for the people . . in dealing with the people for and from god. first , they are to deale with god , for and on the behalfe of the people ; to be , as it were , their mouthes vnto god , in putting vp their suits , and supplications , and thanksgiuings vnto god , in expressing their desires vnto god , to pray for them : god forbid that i should sinne against the lord , inceasing to pray for you , saith samuel vnto the people . and secondly , as they are to be the peoples mouth to god , in praying for them , so they are to bee gods mouth to the people , in instructing them , in declaring his will to them . if thou take away the precious from the vile , thou shalt be , as it were , my mouth , saith the lord to the prophet ieremy . the prophets of god , the ministers of the word , are gods mouth , whereby he speakes , and makes knowne his will to his people . the will of god is made knowne to the church , by the ministers of the gospell , two wayes : by visible signes , by audible voyce . by visible signes : the sacraments , which , being presented to the church by hands of the ministers , are as visible words to make knowne and ascertaine to euery beleeuer , the eternall gracious purpose , the euerlasting good will of god towards him in his sonne . but secondly , and principally , by audible voyce : by audible voyce the will of god is declared to the church by the ministers of the word in two ministeriall actions ; in reading ; in preaching : in reading the text , the letter of the scriptures ; in preaching , interpreting , expounding , applying them to the edification of the church : both these ministeriall actions you haue ioyned together in the practice of ezra and the leuites in nehe. . . they read in the booke , in the law of god distinctly , and gaue the sense , and caused the people to vnderstand the reading . that which we haue here to deale withall , is the last of these ministeriall actions , preaching , properly so called , which , to speake shortly and fully , is an action of the minister of the word , soundly interpreting and opening the sense of the scriptures by the scriptures , with application of them to the vse of the church by doctrine , instruction , exhortation , reproofe , conuiction , comfort . this is properly preaching : you now see the thing : looke we backe a little vpon the word , that will afford vs something worthy our obseruation , preach ; the word in the originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a word borrowed from publike cryers or heralds sent from kings , princes , states , to proclaime and make knowne their mindes , edicts , determinations vnto others . the metaphor is no lesse elegant than fruitfull : it readeth vs , the ministers of the gospel , a double lesson : first , what our office is : secondly , how we are to behaue our selues in the discharge and execution of that office : it first putteth vs in minde what our office is : we are cryers , heralds , sent from the lord of hoastes , the king of heauen , from god himselfe , to declare and proclaime his will to the church . this was the office of iohn the baptist , he was a cryer : the voyce of a cryar in the wildernesse : a cryer sent to proclayme to the world the comming of the messias , to worke the redemption of his people . this was the office of the apostle saint paul : he was ordayned to bee a preacher and an apostle , as himselfe telleth vs : tim. . . tim. . . a preacher : the word in both places is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a cryer , a herald ; one sent from god to proclaime and make knowne to the gentiles the glad tidings of saluation by christ. this is our office : and secondly , it putteth vs in minde , how wee are to behaue our selues in the discharge and execution of this office , in declaring the will of god to the church ; and that in three particulars : to whom we are to speake ; in whose name we are to speake ; and , how we are to speake : . to whom we are to speake ; generally to all : criers , heralds , they make publike proclamations , that all the people may heare and vnderstand : it is the speech of babshakeh to eliakim , ( we may make vse of the actions of wicked men , as our sauiour doth of the vnrighteous iudge in the parable , ) when hee was sent by his master , the king of ashur , as an herald to giue a summons vnto hierusalem : hath my master sent mee to thy master , and to thee , to speake these words ; hath hee not sent me to the men which sit vpon the wall . heralds make proclamations , they speake to all the people . thus must the ministers of the gospell declare the will of god , publish the glad tidings of saluation , offer christ to all , so runs our commission giuen to the apostles by christ himselfe : goe preach the gospell to euery creature : that is , to iewes and gentiles , to bond and free , of what state , of what degree , of what condition soeuer . thus the prophet esay maketh his proclamation , esay . . hoe , euery one that thirsteth , come ye to the waters . there are none excepted , none excluded out of our commission : wee must tender christ vnto all : so must wee preach to the churches , as s. iohn writeth to them in his reuelation : he that hath an eare , let him heare what the spirit saith to the churches : preach the gospell to all . . in whose name we must preach : heralds speake not in their owne names , but in the names of them that send them : thus saith the great king , the king of ashur , saith rabshakeh to the inhabitants of hierusalem : so must we speake to the inhabitants of iudah and hierusalem , in the phrase of heralds ; not in our name , but in the name of him whose messengers we are , in the name of god : thus saith the king , the great king of heauen and earth . thus spake the prophets of old , the word of the lord ; the burthen of the lord : thus did our sauiour himselfe ( as he was man ) come vnto his people : blessed is he that commeth in the name of the lord : thus were the apostles to preach vnto the people : it is our sauiours owne charge to them a little before his ascension ; that repentance and remission of sinnes should bee preached in his name . and those outcasts in the gospell , when they would plead , as they thought , effectually for themselues , they doe it in this phrase , lord , lord , haue we not prophesied in thy name . ministers must speake to the lords people , not as lords ouer them , but as messengers , as heralds , in the name , in the authority of him that sendeth them : in the name of god. how wee are to speake and deliuer the will of god to the people , namely , as heralds should doe : how is that ? why , . boldly : . faithfully : . plainely . boldly , as hauing authority , as representing the person of the prince that sends them : faithfully , neither adding to , nor detracting from what they haue receiued in instruction from their masters : plainly , that all they to whom they are sent , may heare and vnderstand their message : thus should the ministers of the word behaue themselues in the dispensation of the gospel , in preaching of the word : deliuer it , . boldly , as standing in the place , representing the person of god himselfe : not fearing the faces of them to whom they are sent : behold , i haue made thy face strong against their faces , and thy fore-head strong against their fore-heads , as an adamant , harder than flint , haue i made thy fore-head , saith the lord to the prophet ezekiel . such an vandaunted boldnesse , such an inuincible resolution should there be in the ministers of the word , in deliuering the will of god to the people ; in instructing , exhorting , conuincing , reprouing ; they must doe it with boldnesse . they that preach christ , must so preach him , as christ himselfe preached , when hee was vpon the earth , as hauing authority : it is saint pauls charge , in expresse words , to titus : these things speake and exhort , and rebuke with all authority : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : that is , with a ministeriall authority . in this , christs preaching , and our preaching of christ , differ ; he preached , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as hauing authority in himselfe , from himselfe : wee must preach with authority too , but not as hauing authority in our selues , but with a deriued , a ministeriall authority , deriued from him whose ambassadours we are , whose person we represent : preach with authority : boldly . . faithfully : deliuer the will of god , his whole will , nothing but his will , neither adding to it , nor detracting from it : thus did the apostle saint paul preach and deliuer the will of god to the churches : what hee deliuered to others , he first receiued himselfe ; i haue receiued of the lord that which also i deliuered vnto you . and as he receiued what he deliuered , so hee deliuered what he receiued ; he kept nothing backe : i haue not shunned to declare vnto you all the counsell of god : they are his owne words to the elders of ephesus at miletum . thus must we deliuer the counsell of god , his reuealed will ( for that is meant by counsell in that place , not his secret decrees and purposes , but his reuealed will , specially his counsell and purpose touching the way and meanes of saluation , by christ , and christ alone ) we must deliuer it faithfully ; not adding to it , nor baulking any thing necessary to be knowne . exemplary to vs is that resolution of the prophet michaia , when hee was sent for to prophesie before king ▪ ahab : at the lord liueth ( saith he ) whatsoeuer the lord saith vnto me , that will i speake . deliuer the will of god faithfully . and thirdly , deliuer it plainely : heralds speake distinctly with an audible voyce , in a knowne language , to the vnderstanding of those to whom they are sent : rabsaketh , when he was sent as an herald to the people of the iewes , he would not speake to them in the aramites language , as eliakim would haue had him , but in the iewes language , that the people might vnderstand his arrand . thus must gods heralds , the ministers of the word , in deliuering his embassage , in preaching of the word , they must speake plainely , distinctly , in a knowne language , to the capacity of the hearers : thus did ezra and the leuites , in that forenamed place ; they read in the booke , in the law of the lord distinctly , and gaue the sense , and caused the people to vnderstand . and it is noted of the apostles , at the day of pentecost , as an exemplary president to the ministers of the gospell for euer : that euery man heard them speake in his own language : that is , they spake to euery man in his own language ; not that the hearers heard that in diuers languages which they spake but in one , as some haue ( not without some colour in the words ) coniectured ; for then ( as mr. caluin vpon the place well obserues ) the miracle had beene in the hearers , not in the speakers , whereas the clouen tongues rested vpon the apostles , not vpon the people . their tongues were clouen , they spake to the people in their owne languages , that they might vnderstand as well as heare : for a herald to deliuer a message of importance in a strange language , which none vnderstand but himselfe , he had as good bee silent . they that take vpon them the preaching of christ , must speake in the language of christ , and the language of the people ; they must speake plainely . this it is properly to preach , viz. to deliuer the will of god , as heralds doe the commands of their masters : to speake vnto all : to speake in the name of god , with boldnesse , faithfulnesse , plainenesse . you now see the first question resolued and cleared : what is meant by preaching : but what must we preach ? the voyce saith to vs , cry ; but what shall wee cry ? that is the second thing to be vnfolded : the text telleth vs , the word : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , we must preach the word . this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( the word ) it admits of many and diuers significations in the scriptures : in this place it may be taken two wayes : first , for christ himselfe , who is sometimes in the phrase of the scripture called ( the word , ) in the beginning was the word : that is , the eternall sonne of god , the vncreated , essentiall word of the father . christ is called the word ( to omit other more witty than solid coniectures ) principally for two reasons : first , because he is the summe and substance of that word , that first and great word , that word of words , the word of promise made by god himselfe to his church at the beginning ; and afterwards , in effect , from time to time renewed and ratified vnto the patriarchs : the seed of the woman shall breake the serpents head : the substance of this promise is christ himselfe , the seed of the virgin , in him this promise is verified and made good , and therefore called the word : secondly , he is ( the word , ) because by him the will and purpose of god is made knowne to the church , as our mindes are expressed to other men by our words ; no man hath seene god at any time , but the onely begotten sonne of the father , he hath declared him : declared him : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , saith the originall ; the word signifieth to conduct , and direct , and leade a man , as it were , by the hand to the finding out of something that was hid before . the will of god was a thing that was locked vp in the breast of his secret counsell , a thing hidden from our eies , as the purpose of a mans heart is from the knowledge of another . now christ hath led vs to the knowledge of this will by declaring of it , as a mans words lead another to the knowledge of the intents and purposes of his heart , and therefore called the word . secondly , by the word , here wee may vnderstand the reuealed will of god made knowne in his word in the scriptures : specially his will concerning his sonne , and the saluation of his people by him : the word of the gospell : the gospell is called ( the word ) the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : the whole bible , euery part and parcell of it is the word of god ; but the gospell is the pith , the marrow , the quintessence , the summe and substance of this word , and therefore called , by way of eminency , the word of the gospell : that the gentiles might heare the word of the gospell : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : the word by way of eminency : this is the word which the spirit of god is pleased to honour with so many honourable additions and compellations in the scriptures ; sometimes calling it the word of life , the word of eternall life : master , thou hast the words of eternall life , saith peter to our sauiour . the law is a word of death , a killing letter : the gospell is a word of life , a quickening word , giuing life , leading vnto life : sometimes againe , the word of truth : in whom yee also beleeued after that ye heard of the word of truth . euery word of god is a true word , the gospell is the word of truth : sometimes the word of the kingdome : whensoeuer a man heareth the word of the kingdome . the word of the kingdome , because by this word , as by his scepter , christ ruleth like a king in the hearts of his people : and by this word he maketh them kings , bringing them by it , to the kingdome of grace here , and of glory hereafter : sometimes againe , the word of saluation : to you is the word of this saluation sent , saith paul to the men of antioch . the word of saluation , because it is the power of god to saluation . there is a singular excellency and eminency in this word of the gospell , and therefore here in the text , called the word . now to which of these two interpretations we should incline , it matters not ; there is no materiall difference betwixt them ; whether christ , or the gospell of christ , all commeth to one : christ is the subiect of the gospell , and the gospell is the doctrine of christ ; the sense is still one and the same : that which timothy and the ministers of the gospell must preach , is nothing but the word , christ , the gospell of christ : they must preach christ : him did philip preach vnto the samaritans ; he preached christ vnto them . him did paul preach immediately after his conuersion ; straightway he preached christ in the synagogues : to this subiect did he euer confine his preaching : we preach christ crucified : hee preached christ , nothing but christ : i determined not to know any thing among you saue iesus christ. thus must wee preach christ , and the gospell of christ : they are the expresse words of our commission , goe preach the gospell : here is then the subiect of our preaching , nothing but christ , the gospell of christ. true indeed , we must preach moses , we must preach the law ; but how ? wee must preach moses as a harbinger to christ ; wee must preach the law , but in reference to the gospell , that we may thereby , with iohn the baptist , prepare the way of the lord , and make his paths straight : that we may by this meanes leuell and smooth the way for christ , that the offer of saluation by him may finde the better entertainment : that which we must principally eye and looke at in our preaching , is , this word , christ , and the gospell of christ. to preach christ and the gospell of christ , is a great worke : if you would know what it is , it consisteth principally in foure ministeriall actions : i will but name them : . in reuealing of christ ; in laying open the truth of doctrine concerning christ ; his owne person ; his two natures , godhead and manhood ; his three offices , kingly , priestly , propheticall ; with the seuerall workes of either ; the seuerall passages of his incarnation , birth , life , death , resurrection , ascension , intercession , comming againe at the last day . . in reuealing the will of god concerning christ : viz. that it is his will to saue sinners by him , and him alone ; that he hath set him forth as a meanes of reconciliation ; that he hath giuen him as an all-sufficient sacrifice for the sinnes of the world : so making a generall offer and tender of christ to all that will receiue him as a sauiour , and a lord. . in reuealing the way to come vnto christ , and to god by him : viz. by faith , and faith alone , which is the onely hand and instrument ordayned of god to apprehend and take hold of christ , to apply the merit of his actiue and passiue obedience vnto eternall life . . and lastly , in giuing and applying christ particularly to euery poore penitent sinner that is heauy laden vnder the burthen of sinne : commanding him in the name of god to beleeue in christ , to receiue him as a sauiour , to take hold of him , and to rest vpon him : assuring him withall , in the name of god , that christ dyed for him in particular , and that the merit of his death and passion belongeth to him , and shall be imputed vnto him ; so by this particular application , forming christ in the soule , from whence will follow a through change , and conuersion both in heart and life . this it is to preach christ , and the gospell of christ. and this is the duty which s. paul here imposeth vpon timothy , and which all the ministers of the gospell should principally be imployed about . i might here now giue you some reasons of the necessity of this duty of preaching the word after this manner : to omit all other : the reason of reasons is , because it is the ordinance of god ; his power vnto saluation : that is , his powerfull instrument which he hath in his wisedome appointed and set apart for the working of the saluation of his people ; for the begetting , beginning of grace , increasing of grace , perfecting of grace in the hearts of his chosen , and so consequently to bring them through grace to glory . the time preuents mee , giue mee leaue now to passe from the duty it selfe , to the manner of performance : i shall make the application of both together . the manner how this important duty should bee discharged , is set downe , first , generally , then illustrated and explayned more particularly : generally , [ be instant ] particularly , [ in season , out of season . ] i will be briefe in all . be instant , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , saith the originall : the word signifieth to stand to , or ouer a businesse : our english word expresseth it fully , be instant : to bee instant in a businesse , imports two things ; earnestnesse , and diligence . thus must the ministers of the gospell be instant in preaching of the word ; they must stand to , and stand ouer the worke . with earnestnesse : . with diligence . first , they must be instant and earnest about this worke of preaching the word : earnest , . vvith themselues ; . with others . . they must bee earnest with themselues , and that in stirring and exciting vp themselues to the worke , in putting themselues forward vpon this seruice : great need of earnestnesse this way . there are many auocations which will be ready to diuert and turne vs aside , to call vs away , to plucke vs back from the worke : profits , pleasures , preferments , ease , quietnesse and the like : flesh and bloud will alwayes be whispering in our eares , as peter in his masters , master , fauour thy selfe . besides these auocations , wee must make account to meet with many discouragements , many dangers , much hardship , beares and lyons in the way , stormes and tempests enow to make vs not onely to looke backe , but euen to leaue the plough of god in the open field . besides these discouragements , much resistance , much opposition : euery paul must make account to meet with an elimas ; euery moses with a iannes and iambres : alwayes in one kinde or other , wee must make account to finde satan standing at our right hands , when we are to goe about this worke , as hee stood at the right hand of iehoshuah , to resist him , when he was to stand before the lord to execute his office . great need of earnestnesse to put our selues forward in a seruice where we shall meet with so many auocations , so many discouragements , so much opposition : all our earnestnesse will bee little enough to make vs beare vp head against this tide . strange it is how farre these haue preuailed many times against the faithfull messengers of god , to the disheartning , almost to the silencing of them : it was the prophet ieremies owne case : such was the entertainment that he met withall , in the discharge of his office , that hee had euen resolued with himselfe not to make mention of god , not to speake any more in his name . it made him almost to silence himselfe from preaching any more : and had not the word beene in his heart , as a burning fire shut vp in his bones ( as he there speakes ) hee had beene for euer silent : such defamations , such minting and coyning of slanderous reports , such catching at his words , such watching for his haltings , such lying in wayt to intrap him , ( as himselfe telleth vs in the next verse ) that he had euen resolued to turne his backe vpon his office . if any of the messengers of god meet with better measure in the discharge of their duties , it is more than god hath promised them , or they can promise to themselues . great need therefore to stand vp to the worke , that wee may ouerlooke and ouerleape all these blockes that lye in the way : great need to be earnest , euen to offer a kinde of holy violence to our selues to stirre vp our selues to the worke . euen as the cocke , the true embleme of a minister of the word , first awakens himselfe by the clapping of his wings , that hee may awaken others by his crowing ; so must wee offer a kinde of holy violence to our selues to awaken and stirre vp our selues to the worke of our ministry , that being stirred vp our selues first , wee may . awaken and stirre vp others : ministers must bee instant and earnest with others as well as with themselues , offer violence to others , in preaching the word , as well as to themselues . the kingdome of heauen should suffer violence as well in the speaker , as in the hearer : in the mouth of the one , as in the heart of the other : it is the charge which the master of the feast giueth vnto his seruant , when hee sendeth him forth into the high wayes to fetch in guests to the supper ; compell them to come in . thus should wee preach the gospell , inuite men to the participation of christ with commanding arguments , with compulsiue perswasions , so as to take no deniall . so should we deale with the soules of men , as the angels did with the bodies of lot and his family , plucke them as fire-brands out of the flames , and that with a holy violence . it is the charge which the lord giueth to the prophet esay , esa. . cry aloud , spare not : great reason the ministers of the word should cry aloud , they often speake vnto dead men , such as are dead in trespasses and sinnes : doe we see men sleeping and snorting securely in their natural states and conditions , without sense , without remorse , cry aloud : maledictum silentium quod hic conniuet ; cursed silence that now spares to speake : doe wee see men walking on securely in the paths of hell and of death , liuing in any sinfull course , posting on to hell and destruction , cry aloud , spare not : crudelis misericordia ; cruell is that mercy that suffers a man rather to bee drowned than to pull him out of the water by the hayre of his head . thus must wee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , be instant about this worke of our ministry , bee earnest both with our selues and others : secondly , we must be instant againe , that is , diligent : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sta cum diligentiâ , so the syriacke renders the word in this place , stand to the worke with diligence . ministers must be diligent , as well as earnest . this is the commendation of that eloqueut apollos , he was not only seruent in the spirit , but also , hee spake and taught diligently the things of the lord. ministers , in the dispensation of the gospell , are gods seeds-men to sowe the seed of eternall life in the hearts of his chosen . now it is the seeds-mans charge , giuen by the preacher ; in the morning sowe thy seed , and in the euening let not thine hand rest . the preaching of the word must be a ministers worke , his daily worke , not his recreation ; a continuall worke : we are gods husbandmen , his people are his tillage , as saint paul maketh the comparison : now it is the husbandmans portion , redit labor actus in orbem ; his worke goeth round in a circle , it is neuer at an end ; spring , summer , autume , winter , no vacation in any : they that put their hands to gods plough , must put on an indefatigable resolution to follow the worke with diligence : it is the reason which the apostles giue , why they would haue deacons chosen to take care of their poore ; because ( say they ) we will giue our selues continually to prayer , and to preaching of the word : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , insta●imus , saith the vulgar latine , wee will be instant in it , attend vnto it . thus must wee , whom god hath honoured so farre as to make vs dispensers of his sacred mysteries ; we must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , attend vpon the worke , stand to it , be instant in it , first , with earnestnesse ; secondly , with diligence . this in generall : more particularly , be instant in season , out of season : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : i will bee briefe in both . in season ; the word may be vnderstood two wayes : . it may be taken for the ordinary set time appoynted and set apart for this exercise : the ordinary time set apart by god himselfe for this duty , is the sabbath day , the lords day : and then to preach the word , is to preach it in season . the sabbath was , and the lords day is a signe of sanctification vnto the people of god ; neuer are the meanes of sanctification so properly in season as then . this season did our sauiour and his apostles vsually obserue . before his resurrection they went into the synagogues and taught vpon the sabbath dayes : after his resurrection , they met together euery first day of the weeke , vpon the lords day , as at the day of pentecost , and at other times . and this season the ministers of the gospell are to obserue after a speciall manner . in this there is a difference betwixt the word of god and that mannah which came downe from heauen in the wildernesse ; that fell vpon euery day of the weeke except the sabbath , this spirituall mannah neuer falleth so seasonably as then . . in season : that is , at such times and seasons when the word may be most acceptable , most profitable vnto the hearers . there are certaine seasons when the word is likely to finde better acceptance and entertainment , to take place rather than at other times : as , viz. when men are humbled vnder the hand of god , when the heart is broken vnder some great affliction or other , whether present or feared , that is a season when the word is like to finde easier passage , and to make a deeper impression : so againe , when the heart is warmed and melted with the fresh apprehension of some new mercy , that is a season when the word is likely to finde a wide and effectuall doore opened to it to let it into the soule : so againe , there are certaine seasons when some particular doctrin is more seasonable , than others ; as to minister comfort and consolation to an afflicted deiected soule : when the heart is pricked , wounded , when the spirit is broken vnder the apprehension of sinne and gods wrath due to it , then to preach , comfort is like the powring in balsome into a bleeding wound , or like a showre of raine falling vpon the new mowne grasse , it is a word in season . now ministers should obserue , and watch , and apply themselues to these seasons . we know what commendation the wiseman giueth of words thus spoken in season , how good is a word in due season ? and againe , a word spoken fitly , ( super rotissuis saith the originall , spoken vpon his wheeles ; that is , with a due concurrance and obseruation of all circumstances , of time , place , person , and the like , which are as the wheeles vpon which our words and speeches should runne ) is like apples of gold with pictures of siluer , both delectable & profitable . herin should the wisdome of the ministers of the word be exercised in taking hold of these opportunities to improue them for the best aduantage , that they may minister a word in due season . they must be instant in season ; and a. out of season . what , is the word euer out of season : that which seasoneth all other things , is that euer vnseasonable ? ans. in it selfe , in truth it is not ; but in the opinion of men , in the eye of carnall reason , in the iudgement of flesh and blood it seemeth sometimes to be out of season . out of season three wayes , in three respects : . in respect of the speaker : . in respect of the hearer : . in respect of both . first , in respect of the speaker , the minister himselfe , the preaching of the word seemeth to bee out of season , when his ease , his pleasures , his profits , his worldly imployments , some vnnecessary auocations or other , draw him another way . when there is no constraint , no necessity of preaching , the law of the land requires it not , neither is there any benefit , but perhaps danger likely to accrew to himselfe by preaching ( as in times of persecution ) then it may seeme to him to bee out of season . in respect of the hearers , when their farmes , their oxen , their particular calling , domesticall imployments , perhaps sports , pastimes , recreations draw them another way : when they cannot repayre to the hearing of the word without some paines , without some hardship in respect of the season , the weather , ( * as it falleth out this morning , ) or otherwise , then the preaching and hearing of the word , seemeth to them to be out of season . thirdly , to both speaker and hearers it may seeme out of season . when it is preached not onely at the set ordinary times , vpon the sabbath , the lords day , but also at other times , vpon other occasions , vpon the weeke day ; then flesh and blood will be ready to think it as a showre of raine in the midst of haruest , out of season . now at these times , which to carnall reason may seeme vnseasonable , must the ministers of the gospell stand vp to the worke of their ministery , take all occasions , all oportunities , and aduantages of preaching publikely , of instructing priuately . thus did our sauiour and his apostles , they went about , preaching : as they went into the synagogues on the sabbath dayes , so they tooke all other occasions on the * weeke day to instruct the people publikely , beside their teaching from house to house : and here is our warrant for this religious exercise , into which , i haue this day made an entrance . it may seeme , perhaps , to some to bee out of season , being in the weeke day , when men should attend vpon their particular callings , and other imployments : if it doe , yet we dare not neglect it : the spirit of god here giueth vs a warrant for it , nay , layeth a charge vpon vs to embrace the occasion , to take hold and make vse of this aduantage which god and authority haue put into our hands : here is our commission , preach the word , &c. i haue dwelt long vpon the doctrinall part of the text , perhaps you may thinke too long . all this time you may say , what is this to vs ? to make you amends in that which remaines , giue me leaue to turne my speech now wholly vnto you . the doctrine hath beene ours ( i wish we may make it ours by practise ) the application shall be yours . you see what charge it is which the spirit of god here imposeth vpon vs : preach the vvord , bee instant in season , out of season : doe but turne the tables , the charge is yours ▪ heare the vvord , be instant in season , and out of season : this charge hath many parts ; to set it on the better , i will breake it in pieces . first , heare the vvord : preaching and hearing are relatiues : if there lye a necessity vpon vs to preach , by the same rule there lyeth a necessity vpon you to heare : hee that ordained vs to preach the gospell , hath also ordained you to heare the gospell : and therefore let me exhort you , in the name and feare of god , to attend vpon this ordinance of god : i call it his ordinance : and so it is as well in the hearer , as in the speaker : faith commeth by hearing , and hearing by the word of god. hearing , by the word of god ; that is , by his ordinance , by his commandment , as mr beza most naturally interprets the word . attend vpon it therefore , and that because it is his ordinance . there is a great deale of force and strength in this argument , to perswade men to attend vpon the hearing of the word preached , because it is gods owne ordinance . a man may alwayes expect to finde god when he seeketh him in his owne way . then may a man comfortably assure himselfe of a blessing , when hee seeketh it in the ordinance of god , in that way which god himselfe hath chalked out , and appointed for that end and purpose . it is the ordinance of god that maketh euery thing to bee vsefull vnto vs , that maketh euery comfort to bee comfortable , that maketh euery meanes of our good to be helpefull and seruiceable to vs : why doth bread nourish vs more than the grasse of the field ? it is gods ordinance , there is a word of command that goeth along with the one , and not with the other , which hath ordained , appointed , and set it apart for that particular vse , and hath giuen it a speciall efficacy for that end and purpose . now such a word there is in this ordinance of god , the preaching and the hearing of the word : god hath , in his counsell and purpose , set it apart , as the onely ordinary meanes for the beginning , increasing , perfecting the worke of grace in the hearts of his chosen , and so to be his power vnto saluation ; and hath giuen it a speciall efficacie for this end and purpose . surely , if men did but seriously consider , and certainely beleeue this , they would wait and depend vpon it with more confidence , with more assurance of successe . what is the maine reason why men make so little account of it , and reape so little benefit by it . amongst others , this i take to be the principall , they doe not esteeme it , nor attend vpon it as gods ordinance , but as mans ordinance . if they come to the hearing of the word , they looke vpon it with a squint eye , they come to it out of some base , by , sinister respect , and not in obedience to god , to wait vpon him in the vse of his ordinance : and this it is that hinders the fruit , the efficacy of it , that they doe not finde the arme of the lord reuealed to them in this ordinance . this day you haue heard it , that preaching , and so by necessary consequence , hearing , is the ordinance of god himselfe ; and therefore bee exhorted to submit and to subiect your selues vnto it , to come to it , to wait , attend , depend vpon it as his ordinance . and secondly , bee not offended with the simplicity of this ordinance of god : you see that our preaching is confined to one subiect , from which it may not swarue or stray ; viz. the vvord : christ , and the gospell of christ ; we must know nothing else amongst you : doe not you desire to know or heare any thing else from vs : this is the property of saint peters new borne babe , one borne againe of water and the spirit , to desire the sincere milke of the word : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : milke that is pure as it commeth from the breast , without the mixture of any thing else with it . if wee feed you with this sincere milke be not you nauseated with it , take heed of loathing of it : a sincere heart will desire after sincere milke : so much longing after mixture in the preaching of the word , as a man shall finde in his heart , so much insincerity is in it . if we preach the bare word to you , if we present christ vnto you , and naked christ , without the cloathing of humane wisedome , the wisedome of words , as saint paul calleth it ; bee not you offended at it . wee must preach christ as saint paul preached him , christ crucified : now he was crucified naked ; euen so must we preach him vnto you . this is the excellency of preaching , not to set forth christ vnder a veyle , as it was in the time of the law , but to lay him naked , that euery one may see him with open face : so to present christ vnto the eares and hearts of the hearers , as saint paul himselfe presented him vnto his galathians , to draw him out to the life , to crucifie him before them : so to present him , as he was presented to the eyes of the iewes , when they saw him hanging vpon the crosse. be not offended therefore with the simplicity of christ , and the doctrine of christ , we must preach nothing but this word . be instant ; wee must , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , stand vp to the worke , so must you in your place and station . be instant , and that as we must be instant : . with earnestnesse : . with diligence . . be earnest about this worke : it is good to bee earnest ( or zealously affected ) alwayes in a good thing : sure i am , you cannot be earnest , or zealous in a better cause than this ; it is gods cause , it is the churches cause , nay , it is your owne cause , a cause that concerneth you neerely , your soules cause , your welfare , your happinesse , your life and liuelihood , your saluation depends vpon it : if euer you will be earnest in any cause , be zealous in this . be earnest , . with your selues ; . with others . . with your selues , and that both to stirre vp your selues to the duty , and in the duty . first , bee earnest to stirre vp your selues to the duty : great need of earnestnesse in exciting and stirring vp your selues this way . for . there is a naturall auersnesse in euery man , that sets him off from the duty : flesh and blood finde no taste , no relish in this ordinance of god , the word purely preached : this is one of those things of god , of which saint paul speaketh , that the naturall man receiueth not , discerneth not , vnderstandeth not : great need therefore to vse all holy meanes to quicken and to excite spirituall appetite . and . besides this naturall auersnesse , you shall finde many pull-backes , many auocations , many lets and impediments to draw you aside , to hinder you . those in the gospell ( which i named before ) are too common ; farms , oxen , domesticall affayres , ciuill imployments . the worlds businesse will steale away the time from gods businesse : our bodies will seeke to starue our soules ; our particular callings will ingrosse all the time , that there shall be little left for the generall . . besides these auocations , you must make account to meet with many discouragements : it may be taunts and reproaches from prophane and wicked men ; it may bee an ouerly countenance from friends and alliance : some dust or other satan will bee ready to stirre vp to blinde your eyes withall , that you should not see to finde the way to the house of god , to attend vpon this his ordinance . great need of earnestnesse to excite and stirre vp your selues , that you may ouerlook all these seeming lets , impediments , discouragements . secondly , be earnest to stirre vp your selues in the duty : as there is a naturall auersnesse in vs to the duty , to keepe vs from it , so there is a naturall slothfulnesse , deadnesse , dulnesse , wearinesse , which will be ready to seyze vpon vs in the duty , to make vs performe it carelesly , formally , negligently : the best of gods people haue often experience of this malady in themselues . sometimes our bodies will be disposed to drowsinesse and sleepinesse ( as it was with eutichus at saint pauls sermon ) and that perhaps rather now than at any other time ; but oftner our hearts , our soules : i sleepe , but my heart waketh , saith the spouse . in hearing of the word , wee may often inuert the sentence , i wake , but my heart sleepeth : our bodies are present , but our soules , our hearts , are absent . great need to awaken our selues , that we may heare , and heare with attention ; that we may watch vnto hearing , as the apostle exhorts the colossians concerning prayer , that ye should continue in prayer and watch in the same : so , continue in hearing , and watch in the same : watch lest we should bee ouertaken with this spirituall deadnesse and drowsinesse , which is so ready to creepe vpon the soule , to come ouer the heart , to bind vp the senses , the affections of it . our sauiour reproueth his disciples that they could not watch with him one houre , when as he himselfe was yet absent from them . the reproofe will lye as iustly against vs if we cannot stirre vp our selues to watch with christ one houre , especially when as christ himselfe is present with vs , and that after a speciall manner , as he hath promised to be in the midst of this his ordinance . and therefore when we draw neere vnto god in this part of his worship and seruice , let vs in his feare , as in his presence , awaken our hearts , intend our spirits , that we may attend vnto what the lord shall say vnto vs. it is lydiaes commendation , after that god had opened her heart and wrought effectually vpon her , she attended to the words that paul spake . thus should christians attend vpon the word ; euen hang vpon the lips of the speaker , as the babe doth vpon the brest : watch euery word to take it before it fall to the ground . thus should christians bee earnest with themselues , in stirring vp themselues to the duty , in the duty . they that will take the kingdome of heauen , dispensed by the ministers of the word , they must take it ( as they did in the dayes of iohn the baptist ) with violence . . as you must be earnest with your selues about this worke , so also with others , and that both with god , and with man. first , be earnest . with god : it is he that holdeth the bottles of heauen , the clouds in his hand , that causeth it to rayne vpon one place and not vpon another : it is hee that watereth his owne inheritance , his garden , his church , where , and when , and how it pleaseth him . and therefore forget not to be instant and earnest with him : . that he would send forth faithfull labourers into his haruest , such as may be indued with ministeriall abilities for the discharge of this worke : . that hee would giue liberty vnto them , that hee would set open for them a dore , a wide dore of vtterances : . that he would giue efficacy to their labours : that he would not onely set open a wide , but also an effectuall dore ; that the gospell may haue free passage in their mouths , and in the hearts of the elect people of god : ability , liberty , efficacie in the dispensation of the gospell , depends all vpon god himselfe : and therefore be you instant with him , that hee would bee pleased to water your inheritances with this dew of heauen : it is achsaes request ( i remember ) to her father caleb , that seeing he had giuen her the south-country , hee would giue her the springs of water also . god hath allotted vnto you in this island , a seat pleasant enough , euery wayes accommodated with all other requisite conueniences : you want nothing but the springs of water , springs of those waters , those liuing waters , flowing out from the sanctuary . be instant with your god , your heauenly father , that hee would strike the rocke for you , that he would giue vnto you these springs from aboue , that hee would more abundantly refresh and make glad your dwelling places with these liuing waters : be instant with god. . bee instant also with men about this worke , and that both with the ministers themselues , and others ; with the one to preach , the other to heare the word , both to attend vpon this ordinance of god. . be earnest first with vs the ministers of the word , to put vs forward vpon this seruice : it is not only your liberty , but a part of your duty to put vs in mind of our duty , whom god hath set ouer you : say to archippus , it is saint pauls charge to the colossians , it is a principall part of our duty to preach the word , if wee neglect it , grow slacke and remisse in it , as it was the case of that angell of the church of ephesus : bee you instant with vs , put vs in minde of it , stirre vs vp to it : wee are but men , and therefore subiect to forget you and our selues , to forget our duty , though we haue neuer so much cause to remember it : ionas falleth asleepe in the hold of the ship , in the midst of that stresse , when hee should haue been praying for himselfe and those that were with him . thus it fareth , many times , with the ministers of the word , wee are subiect to a supine forgetfulnesse , to bee rockt asleepe with the profits and preferments of the world , whilst , in the meane time , our flockes , our charges , nay , our selues too are in eminent danger . let vs craue that fauour from you , that in this case you would play the marriners part , that you would awaken and stirre vs vp to the discharge of our duty , which concerns you and our selues so neerely , stirre vs vp : but how ? why , . by christian exhortations , friendly aduice and counsell . awaken vs by word of mouth : herein onely obserue three cautions ; that this be done , . with loue , . with wisedome , . with a due respect to our places and callings . with loue , that it may be without bitternesse , without any tincture of priuate spleene against our persons : dip your reproofes and exhortations in oyle , they will driue the better ; with wisedome , with a due poyzing and weighing of all circumstances , as time , and place , and the like , as also a due consideration of our strength and ability , for the discharge of this duty : with respect vnto our callings and functions : it is saint pauls charge to timothy ; rebuke not an elder , but exhort him as a father : tart and masterlike reproofs out of your mouths , though we deserue them , yet doe not become you . exhort vs as fathers : thus stirre vs vp by exhortations : and , . stirre vs by incouragements : what incouragements ? why , not onely verball , but reall incouragements ; viz. . competency of meanes and maintenance , sutable to our paines and charge : take heed of being accessary to the staruing of this ordinance of god and your owne soules , by muzling the mouth of the oxe : let them that wait vpon and serue at the altar , liue , and liue comfortably by the altar : . by giuing due honour and respect to our places and callings . though our persons , perhaps , deserue little , yet our callings are honourable . paul himselfe was of a mean presence ( his bodily presence was weak , ) of a low stature , of a meane personage , but his function challenged respect : . by accepting our labours , lending vs your presence , your eares , your hearts , your liues , giuing entertainment to the worke of our minister : no incouragement to the ministers of the word like vnto this ▪ when the people are . ready to receiue the word at their mouthes ; the one as ready to heare , as the other to speake : when they hang vpon the priests lips for knowledge . this is e●en like sucking of the breast , which maketh the nurse to giue downe the milk more freely , more plentifully , euen whether she will or no : it is the want of this sucking of this sincere milk that hath made so many dry breasts in the church of god : that hath disheartned and discouraged so many forward and hopefull instruments in the church , if not to the stopping of their mouthes , yet at the least to the damping of their spirits , to the quelling of the life and power of their ministery . and . when they profit by the word , grow and thriue in grace by it . no such incouragement to an husbandman as when he seeth his tillage to prosper , no such incouragement vnto a nurse , as when shee seeth her childe battle and thriue ; it maketh them thinke no paines too much : whereas on the contrary , a barren soile , and a starueling nursery kill the hearts of both . no incouragement vnto the ministers of the gospell like vnto this , when they finde the worke to thriue and prosper in their hands ; when they see that the seed which they sow is not cast away , when they see that their labor which is not vain in the lord , is not in vaine neither in the hearts and liues of the hearers . this will make vs stand vp to the worke , watch when we should sleepe ; labour when we could be content to be at ease and quiet ; thinke no paines too much . thus stirre vp the ministers of the word , be instant and earnest with them . and . be instant with others , priuate persons , neighbours , friends , acquaintance ; stirre them vp to wait and to attend vpon this ordinance of god , with more diligence , with more care , with more conscience : come , let vs goe vp to the house of the lord : philip calleth nathaniel : the woman of samaria fetcheth her neighbours to come vnto christ : thus should priuate christians excite and stirre vp one another , labour by friendly exhortations , perswasions , incouragements to bring their friends and neighbours to meet with christ in this his ordinance : this will be our comfort another day , that we haue euery one of vs , in the seuerall places and stations wherein god hath set vs , bin instant & earnest in the cause of god , zealous and forward for the furtherance & propagation of the gospel . be earnest : and . be diligent in this worke ; the diligent hand maketh rich , saith the wise-man . it is no lesse true in spirituall than in temporall riches . doe you desire to be rich in grace and holinesse , the best riches ; attend , wayt vpon this ordinance of god with diligence , with cōstancy . if god be not weary of speaking , be not you weary of hearing . frequent the house of god vpon all occasions . what euer the world thinks and speakes of it , it is no disgrace to be accounted a frequenter of sermons , so that other necessary duties be not neglected : christians must be like the bee that goeth from flower to flower , to gather a little honey from euery one to carry to the hiue , to make vp the store . we shall haue need of a stocke , a store of grace , and therefore let vs goe from flower to flower , ( i speake the more liberally and freely , because in these parts there is not the like feare of surfetting of the word preached , of erring on the right hand by an vnwarrantable running from sermon to sermon , to the neglect of mens particular callings , as may seeme to be in some other parts of the kingdome ) imbrace euery occasion which the lord offereth in the publike ministry of his word , for the gathering of honey , the gathering of grace to carry home to the hiue , to lay vp in the heart , to make vp a stocke , a store against the winter , against hard times , euill dayes , the dayes of triall , sicknesse , death : we shall then finde all to be little enough , and therefore whilest our summer of health , and liberty , and peace lasteth , vp and be doing ; euery day be increasing of the store ; get something from euery sermon , from this which you haue this day heard ; if you carry away nothing else , yet carry away this resolution , that by the grace of god inabling you , you will endeuour to make better vse of all the publike means of grace which god shal hereafter in this or in any other place afford vnto you . one flowre will not load a bee , neither will one sermon , though neuer so excellent , load the head and heart of a christian to make him rich in grace : and therefore be instant , as earnest , so diligent . this is the third vse : to draw towards an end in the fourth place : be instant in season : and that . at the set ordinary times , set apart for this exercise ; the sabbath day , the lords day , then goe forth to gather this heauenly mannah , to make your prouision for the weeke ensuing . then may you expect a speciall blessing from god in attending vpon this holy exercise , because as the exercise it selfe is gods owne ordinance , so the day also is set apart by the like ordinance , for that exercise : . be instant in season ; viz. at those speciall times and seasons when the lord is pleased to fit and to dispose you vnto the duty , after a speciall manner . there are certaine seasons , certaine gales of grace ( as we may call them ) which the experience of euery christian can informe vs of , when the lord is pleased to breath more kindly , more sweetly , more effectually vpon the heart and soule , to the quickening and inlarging of it , than at other times : sometimes when it is kindely humbled and broken vnder some affliction , either outward or inward ; sometimes when it is warmed , and suppled , and melted with the fresh apprehension of some new mercy , especially with a clearer glimpse of the light of gods countenance , a more full and rauishing apprehension of the vnspeakeable loue and fauour of god in iesus christ : sometimes againe , it is after a secret and vnexpressable manner moued , and inclined , and moulded to a more chearefull , a more acceptable performance of all dutie . now these are seasons which should be very pretious in the eyes of christians , which they should not let slip without a speciall improuement : take hold of them , make vse of them , as for other duties , so for this : when the wind blowes , whilst the spirit of god breatheth vpon the soule with a fresher gale in sweet motions , inclinations , affections , resolutions , hoyse vp the sayle , make vse of that aduantage , in hearing and applying of the word ; to heare it with more frequency , with more power , with more life , with more intention of spirit : thus in season . . and lastly , be instant out of season : and that . at other times , beside the set , the ordinary time , set apart by god himselfe ; vpon the weeke day , as well as vpon the sabbath day , when god shall offer a fit occasion . the word in it selfe is not , cannot bee out of season at any time . the word is the bread of life , shadowed out ( amongst other mysteries ) by the shew-bread vnder the law , which signified not onely christ himselfe , but all other spirituall repast which the church hath with , and before god , and the meanes of their repast . now bread , we know , is neuer out of season : all other meats , almost , haue their times and seasons when they are in season , out of season , but bread is alwayes in season . the like we may say of this ordinance of god , the word preached , it is neuer out of season : some other ordinances of god there are , as holy and religious fasting and feasting , humiliation and thanksgiuing , they haue their times when they are in season and out of season . but this exercise of preaching of the word , it is alwayes in season , on the sabbath day , on the weeke day ; as the shew-bread stood vpon the table in the presence of god , vpon the weeke day as well as vpon the sabbath : no time vnseasonable to appeare before the lord in this ordinance of his . . out of season ; when it may seeme to flesh and blood to be something vnseasonable , and that in respect of other occasions which may draw vs aside from it : if those occasions be not important , if they be such as may either bee neglected altogether without any great preiudice to our selues or others , or such as may be dispatched sooner , or deferred longer ; in this case let the lesser giue place to the greater . if it be with some small detriment to thy selfe in outward respects , yet remember what dauid saith to araunah ; he will not offer a sacrifice vnto god of that which cost him nothing : borrow a little from thy body , thy estate , thy worldly imployments , to bestow it vpon thy soule : make bold a little with other occasions , to purchase some time for god and his worship and seruice . . and lastly , be instant out of season , euen then when thou findest thy selfe vnfit & indisposed vnto the duty : yet euen then when thou findest a present indisposition hanging about thee , attend vpon this ordinance of god : it is a word of life , a quickening word , as well to put life into the soule , and to stirre it vp when it is dead , as to preserue and increase it : it is an anabaptisticall frenzie that christians should neuer attend vpon this or any other duty , but when the spirit moueth them : wee often see ships riding a long time in a road stead , when they might bee in the hauen ; wherefore is it ? that they may bee in the winds way ( as we say ) to take the first oportunity that shall bee offered : euen thus should christians anchor , as it were , in the house of god , euen then when they seeme to be becalmed , that they cannot stirre and moue themselues about holy duties as they were wont to doe , yet euen then ride it out , wait vpon god in the vse of this ordinance : though vnfit for the present , bemoane and bewayle thy vnfitnesse , looke vp vnto god for life , and seeke it from him in thy attendance vpon this ordinance . this is gods owne command ( as for vs to preach ) so for you to heare the word , to be instant in season , out of season . finis : notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e diuis . doct. verse . mat. . . cor. . ▪ mar. . . mark. . . cor. . . what preaching is . psal. . . wherein the office of the ministers of the word consists . sam. . . ier. . . neh. . . preaching defined . the signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , preach . ministers are criers , heralds . mat. . tim. . . tim. . . they must deliuer the will of god to all. king. . . marke . . esay ● . reu. . c. ● c. in the name of god. mat. . . luk. ●●● . . mat. . . boldly . ezek. . , . mat. . . tit. . . faithfully . cor. . . acts . . king. . . plainly . king. . , . neh. . . act. . v. . calu. in loc . v. esa. . . the word taken two waies . . for christ himselfe . are in text . ioh. . . gen. . . ioh. . . . the gospel ▪ acts . . ioh. . ephes. . . mat. . . act. . . the subiect of preaching , is christ and the gospell . acts . . acts . . cor. . . cor. . . mark ● . . mat. . to preach christ , and the gospel of christ , consisteth in foure parts . luk. . . act. . . to cor. . . rom. . . ioh. . c. ver . . act. . . cal. . . reas. rom. . . cor. . . ministers must be instant two wayes : earnest , and that with themselues . reas. . zach . . ier. . . vers. . others . luk. . . iude . esa. . . ministers must be diligent . acts . eccles. . . cor. . ● . acts . . in season , ta● he●● . . wayes . for the set time , the lords day . exod. . . ezek. . . mark. . . luk. . , &c. act. . . act. . act. . . other special oportunities . prou. . . prou . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . out of season so the word seemeth to be three wayes . in respect of the minister . hearer . * a snowy morning . to both . luk. . . vlt. mark. . * luk. . . act. . . act. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : v ▪ d. bezam in an . not . in margintransl . engl. the peoples duty in fiue parts . vse . heare . rom . . bezannot , inl●cum . matth. . . esa . . vse . the word ; without offence at the simplicity of it . pet. . . cor. . . gal. . . vse . be instant two wayes , earnest . gal. . with themselues , exciting them . seues , to the duty . reas. why , cor. . . in the duty . act. ● . . cant. . . col. . . ma 〈…〉 ma 〈…〉 act. . . mat. . . be earnest with othe●● and that with god amos . . for three things . mat. . . col. . . thes. . ● . iosh. . . be instant with men : and that ministers themselues , to stirre them vp to their duty . col. . . reu. . . ion. . by christian exhortations , wherin three cautions . tim. . . by incouragements , chiefly reall in three things . cor. . be earnest with others psal. . . ioh. . ioh. . diligent . p●ou . . . vse . in season ; . wayes . cor. . . vse . out of season three waies . sam. . . the preaching bishop reproving unpreaching prelates being a brief, but faithful collection of observeable passages, in several sermons preached by the reverend father in god, mr hugh latimer, bish. of worcester, (one of our first reformers, and a glorious martyr of jesus christ) before k. edw. the sixth; before the convocation of the clergy, and before the citizens of london, at pauls. wherein, many things, relating to the honour and happiness of the king (our most gracious soveraign) the honourable lords, the reverend judges, the citizens of london, and commons of all sorts, but especially, the bishops and clergy are most plainly, piously and pithily represented. latimer, hugh, ?- . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing l estc r this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the preaching bishop reproving unpreaching prelates being a brief, but faithful collection of observeable passages, in several sermons preached by the reverend father in god, mr hugh latimer, bish. of worcester, (one of our first reformers, and a glorious martyr of jesus christ) before k. edw. the sixth; before the convocation of the clergy, and before the citizens of london, at pauls. wherein, many things, relating to the honour and happiness of the king (our most gracious soveraign) the honourable lords, the reverend judges, the citizens of london, and commons of all sorts, but especially, the bishops and clergy are most plainly, piously and pithily represented. latimer, hugh, ?- . [ ], p. printed, and are to be sold by booksellers, london : . reproduction of the original in the christ church library, oxford. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching -- england -- early works to . bishops -- england -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - judith siefring sampled and proofread - judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the preaching bishop reproving unpreaching prelates . being a brief , but faithful collection or observeable passages , in several sermons preached by the reverend father in god , mr hugh latimer , bish. of worcester , ( one of our first reformers , and a glorious martyr of jesus christ ) before k. edw. the sixth ; before the convocation of the clergy , and before the citizens of london , at pauls . wherein , many things , relating to the honour and happiness of the king ( our most gracious soveraign ) the honourable lords , the reverend judges , the citizens of london , and commons of all sorts , but especially , the bishops and the clergy are most plainly , piously and pithily represented . he that hateth reproof , is brutish , pro. . . london , printed , and are to be sold by book-sellers , . quem dabis mihi de numero praelatorum , qui non plus invigilat subditorum vacuandis marsupiis , quam vitiis exterpandis ? o utinam tam vigiles reperirentur ad curam , quam alacres currunt ad cathedram , barn. serm. . in cant. to the reverend fathers , the bishops of england . my lords , the name of bishop latimer is of all good men had in great veneration , and therefore it is not to be doubted , but your lordships will afford him a favourable reception : where should the labours of a reformed bishop and martyr , find a safer patronage , then under the wings of the bishops of the reformed churches ? you succeed him in place and dignity , tread also in the steps of his zeal and diligence . the tongues and pens of men are very busie with you ; but be confident , if you be clad with the zeal of your quondam brother , they will be as loath to part with you , as they are now willing to be rid of you : for who is he that will harm you , if ye be followers of that which is good ? your reverend brother tels you in these following pages , that , though in the time of king edward the sixth much was done in the work of reformation , yet all was not done that was necessary : the greater rubbish of popery was thrown out , but ( saith he ) the house is not clean swept yet : the broom is once more in your lordships hands , sweep clean , we beseech you , out with the dust of ceremonies and superstition , as well as with the garbidge and filth of idolatry . take not from a thred to a shoe-latchet , lest rome should say , i have made england rich , if ornaments and ceremonies ( though judged indifferent ) be so necessary , can no other be pitcht upon , then such as are found in the idols temple ? why should the spouse of christ be arrayed in the attire of an harlot ? your pious brother pleads very heartily for the ordinance of preaching , lifting it up above all other parts of worship , and tels you more then once , take away preaching , take away salvation ; a sentence most worthy the mouth of a bishop , and fit to be engraven on the doors of your palaces , and porches of your churches . and your lordships know what that jewel of bishops said , oportet episcopum concionātem mori : oh imitate the zeal and forwardness of your famous predecessors , both in your persons and clergical charge . my lords , by a series of merciful providences , we are brought under the government of the best king in the world , whom one of your brethren not undeservedly stileth , a prince of the greatest suavity : his majesties gracious declaration for the ease of tender consciences , ( like a silken thread ) hath tied a faster and closer knot of love and loyalty upon the hearts of his subjects , then all the cords and cables of your severest canons ; had your lordships seconded his majesties clemeney , with a profession of your future moderation and gentleness towards ministers and people , how well had it savoured ? my lords , barnard gives you good counsel , in serm. . super cantica . audiant hoc prelati , qui sibi commissis semper volunt esse formidini , utilitati raro . discite subditorum vos esse matres debere , non dominos , studete magis amari , quam metui ; & si severitate interdum opus sit , paterna sit , non tyrannica , matres fovendo , patres vos corripiendo exhibeatis : mansuescite , ponite feritatem , suspendite verbera , producite ubera , pectora lacte pinguescant , non typho turgeant . quid jugum vestrum super eos aggravatis , quorum potius onera portare debeatis ! — . you live , my lords , in a discerning and jealous age ; you are like to find the good old asse more skittish now , then in former times . your fathers made our yoke grievous , let it be your glory , to make the heavy yoke they put upon us , lighter , and we will serve you . let not all the trouble seem little before your eyes , that hath come upon us , on our kings , on our princes , on our parliaments , on our ministers , on this famous city , and on all this people . we cannot be deaf to those sad complaints ( his late majesty , our dear sovereign hath left behind him ) of the vulgars violence and tumults in the dawning of our late unhappy differences : whence blew the wind that raised the noise and madness of those raging waves ? came it not out of your quarter ? remember , and forget not your & caetera oath , innovations in worship , corruption of your courts discipline , the decay of the soul-saving ordinance of preaching , the swarming of scandalous and idle clergy , the steighting and silencing of pious and painful ministers . these ( my lords ) with much more , were those vapours ( which being not purged out , but ) by your countenance pent up in the bowels of the kingdom , caused that hate overturning earthquake . after this earthquake ( through the working of our good god ) a still small voice is heard , a voice of peace from his majesty , speaking peace to all his people . a voice of praise from his people , rejoycing and blessing god for such a king. beware my lords , you step not back into your old circle , and conjure up again the dangerous spirit of this mobile vulgus . my lords , his majesty hath bin twice crowned since his happy arrival , once , by the commons of england , with a crown of hearts , and lately , by the nobles of england , with a crown of gold. it is much in your hands , to continue and encrease the glory of the first and best crown . the management of that indulgence , his majesty in his pious declaration , offers to his subjects , is like to be committed to your care : be tender of his majesties honour , before the people ( of which his majesty is very tender ) clip not his royal bounty . let ministers and people under your charge , tast the fruit of it in its greatest latitude . what if you decrease in some irregular excesse ? if his majesty encrease his dominion over the best part of his subjects possessions , their hearts , let it be no grief of heart to you . this you may observe ( in that which is here dedicated to your honours ) was the genuine temper and bent of the spirit and labours of , your reverend brother , hugh worcester . postscript . lest this reverend bishop should lie under the suspition of singularity and phanaticisme , your lordships may observe the same spirit breathing in one whom you will judge far enough from such an imputation ; it is cornelius a lapide ; whose zeal for englands return to rome , stands a tipto : yow shall find him upon his knees at prayer , in his commentary on zechar. c. . v. . moraliter id ipsum dicamus , id ipsum oremus & obsecremus pro anglia , scotia , dania , suetia , germania , in quibus stetit , statque haeresis — usquequo domine non misereris angliae ? yet this devout orator speaks the same sense , though in another language , in his commentary on ezekiel , c. . v. . with this reverend father . take his own words , as followeth ; audiant has prophetae minas ecclesiastici , pastores & praelati illi , qui ex beneficiorum proventibus lucris in hiantes , , arcarum opes quaerunt , non animarum ; qui beneficia beneficiis , pensiones pensionibus accumulantes , quaestuarii potius sunt quam beneficiarii . nonne hi detondent oves , tonsasq , & nudas aliis misellis pascendas relinquunt , qui pastoratus , canonicatus , episcopatus resignant in alios , ac fructus pene omnes sibi reservant ; ut si aureos mille annue det beneficium , ipsi ducentos vel trecentos cum eo resignent , sed oct●ngentos caeteros sibi praetextu pensionis reservent . nonne hos directe jaculo suo ferit & configit hic deus ? dicens , vae pastoribus israelis , qui pascebant semetipsos : lac comedebatis , & lanis operiebamini , & quod crassum erat occidebatis , gregem autem meum non pascebatis . nonne in hos detonat jeremias ? c. . v. . a minore usque ad majorem , omnes avaritiae student , & a propheta usque ad sacerdotem , cuncti faciunt dolum . & isaias , c. . v. . ipri pastores ignorarunt intelligentiam , omnes in viam suam declinaverunt , unusquisque ad avaritiam suam . sanctio prisca ecclesiae est , beneficium dari propter officium . quomodo ergo hi beneficii commoda & lucra captant , qui officium non praestant , sed illud in alium transferunt ? haeccine , fuit mens fundatorum ecclesiae , alere homines in ea nihil agentes & otiosos ? nonne si ad nos redirent , protestarentur ( imo jam in coelo aut in purgatorio degentes protestantur ) sua legata & testamenta everti , se sua bona legasse ecclesiae ad alendos pastores & ministros , qui reipsa per se fideles christi docerent , pascerent , regerent , non ut iis alii , qui nihil ecclesiae suae conferunt , fruerentur & ditescerent ? ●onne dei hominumque fidem implorarent , ut haec iis quibus ipsi ea legarunt restituerentur ? ingens sane est haec iniquitas ? primo , in deum & christum . christi enim patrimonium christi ecclesiae ministrantibus deputatum , ab iis evertitur , & in extraneos non ministrantes transfertur . secundo , in ecclesiam quamque particularem , quae hisce suis proventibus spoliatur ; ac proinde doctos & insignes pastores & ministros nancisci nequit , sed pauperes , misellos , quin & ignorantes & inidoneos qui quodvis stipendium acceptant , ut vivant . quod si quando dignos nanciscatur illi pro dignitate officium administrare , imo vivere nequeunt . tertio , in populum & fideles , qui ab hisce misellis ita erudiri , corrigi , formari , & dirigi in vita christiana nequeunt , uti a doctis & cordatis erudirentur & dirigirentur ; quare multorum salus periclitatur , imo de facto multi pereunt , & damnantur ministrorum ecclesiae ignorantia , inexperientia , incuria , qui salvati fuissent , si ministros dignos , quales poscebant opes ecclesiae , nacti fuissent . annon hasce animas , christus in die judicii requiret ab hisce lucrionibus ? quarto , in ipsos fundatores , quorum ultima voluntas , ipsaque legata & donationes evertuntur , ut dixi ; ipsi enim rogati dicerent , aliam prorsus fuisse suam mentem , nunquam se in hasce pensiones , imo , lacerationes & distractiones suarum oblationum consensisse , nunquam consensuros . quinto , in canones omnes antiquos , qui hasce pensiones vetant , statuuntque ut non nisi justa & gravi de causa , praesertim bene de ecclesia meritis , & emeritis assignentur , idque ut habet communis mos , ea proportione , ut tertiam fructuum beneficii partem non superent . sexto , in ecclesiam universalem , cui ingens datur scandalum . rident & subsannant haeretici , sicubi vident hasce avaritiae in praelatis ecclesiae nundinationes . gemunt fideles . clerici imitantur , ut pastorum & praelatorum exempla sectentur , ac pensionibus similibus inhient . septimo , in episcopos & patres omnes priscos & sanctos , quorum sanctiones , vita & exempla violantur . haec lucra , has pensiones , non sectatus est , imo in nullo suorum admisit s. august . qui teste possid . in episcopatu non opes , sed animas quaesivit ; ideoque opes suas in pauperes erogavit : non s. gregor . cujus liberalitatem & eleemosinas depraedicat ecclesia romana : non s. ambrosius , non chrysostomus , non basilius , non nazianzenus , non athanasius . patres in ea invehuntur , quasi in crimina , imo , sacrilegia , eisque inhiantes , sacrilegii accusant : tum quia patrimonium christi diripiunt ; tum quia indignos & inidoneos se faciunt suo gradu , dignitate & officio : officium enim eorum est verbo , & magis vita docere . dominus pars haereditatis meae & calicis mei , ille est , qui restituet haereditatem meam . clericus enim a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , id est , sors , dicitur , quod scilicet sortem non ambiat in terra , sed quod instar levitarum & sacerdotum veteris testamenti ; sors ejus sit dominus , a quo haereditatem expectat in coelo . clericus ergo profitetur se non quaerere opes in terra , sed in caelo se cor habere fixum in deo. jam si quis lucris terrenis studeat , contrarium profitetur , clamat enim re ipsa cor suum non esse in aethere , sed in aere , sortem suam non esse deum , sed mammonam . rursum , officium eorum est , praedicare regnum coelorum , quod christus & apostoli praedicarunt , ut scilicet homines a carne & terra ad spiritum & coelum avocent ; ut a superbia , gula , avaritia , homines ad humilitatem , temperantiam , opum contemptum traducant . jam quomodo praedicabunt opes coelestes , qui toti terrestribus inhiant ? quomodo oppugnabunt avaritiam , qui non nisi pensionibus accumulandis student ? quomodo aeternitatem & bona aeterna inculcabunt , qui non nisi temporalia & caduca sectantur ? s. hilarius can. . in matth. explicans illud christi , vos estis sal terrae , ait , quod apostoli & eorum successores sint rerum coelestium praedicatores , & aeternitatis velut satores , immortalitatem omnibus corporibus , quibus eorum sermo aspersus fuerit , conferentes . merito igitur sal terrae sunt nuncupati , per doctrinae virtutem salientes , aeternitati corpora reservantes . at quomodo aeternitatis erunt satores , qui toti temporalium sunt messores ? quomodo erunt sal terrae , qui quasi sal infatuatum in terram & terrena conversi sunt ? qui ut subdit s. hilarius , sensu accepti saporis amisso , vivificare corrupta non possunt , & projecti de ecclesiae promptuariis , cum iis quos salierint , pedibus incedentium proteruntur . denique in hos graviter invehitur s. scriptura & patres . clamat zachar. c. . v. . o pastor & idolum , derelinquens gregem , q. d. videris esse populi pastor , sed revera es idolum & larya pastoris , es fictus & pictus , non vivus & verus pastor , qui gregem deseris , & te pascis . pascentes semetipsos culpat s. judas . lex apostoli est , qui in sacrario operantur quae de sacrario sunt , edunt ; & qui altari deserviunt , cum altari participant , cor. . . qui ergo sacrario & altari non deserviunt , ex eo non edant , ex eo non vivant , nec deservientes stipendiis sibi constitutis defraudent , eaque ad se transferant . apostoli ( quorum hi sunt posteri ) fidenter dicunt christo , matth. . ecce nos reliquimus omnia , & secuti sumus te . quomodo hi relinquunt non omnia , sed sua , qui inhiant alienis ? act. . . s. petrus ait claudo , petenti eleemosynam ; argentum & aurum non est mihi , quod autem habeo , hoc tibi do . ac per hoc meritus est id , quod ait s. aug. in psal. . dicens , prorsus totum mundum dimisit petrus , & totum mundum petrus accepit : quasi nihil habentes , & omnia possidentes . quomodo haec dicent s. petri asseclae & discipuli , qui immodice aurum auro , pensionem pensioni , beneficium beneficio , & quasi talpae terram terrae accumulant ? merito de his quaestus est s. bonifacius , germaniae apostolus , & in frisia martyr , anno christi , . atque ex eo conc. triburiense , c. . & habetur de consecr . dist . . c. vasa quibus , olim , inquit , sacerdotes aurei celebrabant in vasis ligneis , nunc sacerdotes lignei celebrant in vasis aureis . et s. gregor , hom . in evangel . pensate , ait , fratres , quantae damnationis est , sine labore percipere mercedem laboris ; quanti criminis , peccatorum pretia accipere , & nihil contra peccatum praedicando dicere . — s. bernard . epist. . ubi de his inter alia dicit , quicquid praeter necessarium victum , ac simplicem vestitum de altari retines , tuum non est , rap ina est , sacrilegium est . s. nazianz. apolog. . spiritualis omnis prefecturae , ait , finis est , privata utilitate neglecta , commodis aliorum inservire . denique inter alia , de pensionibus ita sancit concil . tridentinum , sess. . c. . omnes cathedrales ecclesiae , quarum redditus summā ducatorum mille ; & parochiales quae summam ducatorum centum non excedunt nullis pensionibus aut reservationibus fructuum graventur . — o aeterna veritas , vera sanctitas , sancta foelicitas , illumina tenebras nostras , aperi oculos mentis nostrae , ut nulla nos seducat , nulla inquinet , nulla condemnet phylargyriae vanitas . eja , aspiret dies , & lux tua , & inclinentur umbrae . infunde cordi nostro justitiam , ut quae ecclesiae sunt ecclesiae , quae dei sunt , deo reddamus . infunde continentiam , ut modico ( pro modicâ enim viâ hujus vitae modico opus est viatico ) victu & amictu contenti , sobrie , juste , & pie vivamus in hoc seculo , beatam spem expectantes , & adventum gloriae magni dei. infunde religionem & pietatem , ut non mammonae iniquo sed tibi domino nostro serviamus in sanctitate & justitiâ , omnibus diebus nostris . infunde charitatem , ut animam magis diligamus quam arcam ut pauperes & inopes magis amemus , quam aurum & opes . infunde sapientiam , ut veras divitias ambiamus & coacervemus , quae nobiscum perennent in coelis , non vanas & mox perituras in terris . da nobis sic transire per bona temporalia , ut non amittamus aeterna . da , ut domos , nomen & familiam construamus non apud homines brevi morituros , sed apud te & s. angelos , beatos & gloriosos , quae in omnia secula durent & aeternent . da ut simus sal terrae , & lux mundi , ut tam exemplo , quam verbo omnes trahamus ad te , eosque doceamus reipsa contemnere terrena , & amare coelestia , ut in magno illo decretorio mundi die , a te judice audire mereamur , euge serve bone , quia in pauca fuisti fidelis , super multa te constituam , intra in gaudium domini tui , amen . to the reader . christian reader , here is presented to thee some gleanings out of the labours of that eminent instrument of gods glory , bishop latimer ( who may worthily be stiled our english luther . ) the times wherein he liv'd and preach't , and the enormities against which he strugled , bear so great a conformity with ours , that with a little variation , he seems to speak to us , both as to our maladies and remedy : which as it was an invitation to the transcribing of these passages ; so if thou be one that longest after the peace and purity of the church , they will be found worthy of all acceptation ; thou wilt here see a most glorious pattern of zeal , piety and godly simplicity , fit for the imitation of the bishops and ministers of this age . thou wilt find also our first reformation ( how much soever gloried in ) not brought to its desired perfection , even by the confession of one of the prime reformers . that there are so many stops and pauses in the several pages , is not , because the rest that is omitted , is not worthy to be known , but meerly to avoid the trouble of transcribing , and prevent thy charge , it is desired that these few rivulets may entice thee to visit the fountain , the book it self ; wherein as thou wilt prove the sincerity of these collections , so thou wilt receive fuller satisfaction in any obscurities , occasioned by this brevity . the reformation and edification of the church is the only project of bishop latimer the preaching bishop reproving unpreaching prelates . part of a sermon that the reverend father in christ mr hugh latimer bishop of worcester , made to the convocation of the clergy . luk. . . filii hujus seculi , &c. christ in this saying , touched the sloath and sluggishness of his , and did not allow the fraud and subtilty of other : neither was glad that it was indeed as he said , but complained rather that it should be so ; as many men speak many things , not that they ought to be so , but that they are wont to be so . nay this grieved christ , that the children of this world should be of more policy then the children of light ; which thing was true in christs time , and now in our time it is most true . who is so blind but he seeth this cleerly , except perchance there be any that cannot discern the children of the world , from the children of light ? the children of the world conceive and bring forth more prudently , and things conceived and brought forth , they nourish and conserve with much more policy , then do the children of light : which thing is as sorrowfull to be said , as it seems absurd to be heard . when ye hear the children of the world , you understand the world as a father ; for the world is father to many children , not by the first creation , but by imitation and love . he is not only a father , but also the son of another father . if you knew once his father , by and by ye shall know his children ; for he that hath the devil to his father , must needs have devillish children . the devil is not only taken for father , but also for prince of the world , that is , of worldly folk . it is either all one thing , or else not much different , to say , children of the world , and children of the devil , according to that that christ said to the jews , ye are of your father the devil ; whereas undoubtedly he spake to the children of this world . — then this devil being such a one as can never be unlike himself ; loe , of envy , his welbeloved lemmon he begat the world , and after left it with discord at nurse : which world after it came to mans state , had of many concubines , many sons , he was so secund a father , and had gotten so many children of lady pride , dame gluttony , mistress avarice , lady lechery , and of dame subtilty , that now hard and scant ye may find any corner , any kind of life , where many of his children be not : in court , in cowl's , in cloisters , in rochets , be they never so white , yea where shall ye not find them ? howbeit , they that be secular and lay men , are not by and by children of the world ; not the children of light , that are called spiritual , are of the clergy . no , no , as ye may find among the laity many children of light , so among the clergy ( how much soever we arrogate these holy titles unto us , and think them only attributed to us ; vos estis lux mundi , peculium christi , &c. ye are the light of the world , the chosen people of christ , a kingly priesthood ; an holy nation , and such other ) ye shall find many children of the world , because in all places the world getteth many children . — these be our holy , holy men , that say they are dead to the world , when no men be more lively in worldly things , then some of them be . but let them be in profession and name farthest from the world , most alienate from it , yea so far , that they may seem to have no occupying , no kindred , no affinity , nothing to do with it ; yet in their life and deeds they shew themselves no bastards , but right begotten children of the world , as those which the world long since had by his dear wife dame hypocrisie ; and since hath brought them up , and multiplied to more than a good many , encreasing them too much , albeit they swear by all he-saints and she-saints too , that they know not their father nor mother , neither the world , nor hypocrisie ; as indeed they can semble and dissemble all things , which thing they might learn wonderful well of their parents . i speak not of all religious men , but those that the world hath fast knit at his girdle , even in the midst of their religion . — and i marvel , if there be not a great sort of bishops and prelates , that are brethren german unto these ; and as a great sort , so even as right-born , and worlds children , by as good title as they ? but because i cannot speak of all , when i say prelates ; i understand bishops , abbots , priors , archdeacons , deans and other of such sort , that are now called to this convocation , as i see to intreat here of nothing , but of such matters as both appertain to the glory of christ , and to the wealth of the people of england ; which thing i pray god they do as earnestly as they ought . but it is to be feared , lest as light hath many of her children here , so the world hath sent some of his whelps hither . i know there can be no agreement betwixt these too , as long as they have minds so unlike , and so contrary affections , and judgments so utterly divers in all points : but if the children of this world be either moe in number , or more prudent than the children of light , what then availeth us to have this convocation ? had it not been better , we had not been called together at all ? for as the children of the world be evil , so they breed and bring forth things evil , and yet there be moe of them in all places , or at least . — and as now i much pass not how you were ingendred , or by what means ye were promoted to those dignities that ye now occupy , so it be honest , good and profitable , that ye in this your consultation shall do & ingender . the end of your convocation shall shew what ye have done ; the fruit that shall come of your consultation , shall shew what generation ye be of . for what have ye done hitherto , i pray you , these seven years and moe ? what have ye ingendred ? what have ye brought forth ? what fruit is come of your long and great assembly ? what one thing that the people of england hath been the better of an hair ? or your selves either accepted before god , or better discharged toward the people committed unto your cure ? for that the people is better learned and taught now , than they were in time past , to whether of these , ought we to attribute it , to your industry , or to the providence of god , and the foreseeing of the kings grace ? ought we to thank you , or the kings highness ? whether stirred other first , you the king , that ye might preach , or he you by his letters , that ye should preach ofter ? is it unknown , think you , how both ye and your curates were in a manner by violence enforced to let books be made by prophane and lay persons , and sold abroad , and read for the instruction of the people ? i am bold with you , but i speak latine , and not english ; to the clergy , not to the laity . i speak to you being present , and not behind you backs . god is my witness , i speak whatsoever is spoken , of the good will that i bear you : god is my witness , which knoweth my heart , and compelleth me to say that i say . now i pray you , in gods name , what did you , so great fathers , so many , so long a season , so oft assembled together ? what went you about ? what would you have brought to pass ; two things taken away ? the one , that ye ( which i heard ) burned a dead man : the other , that ye ( which i felt ) went about to burn one being alive : him , because he did , i cannot tell how , in his testament withstand your profit ; in other points , as i have heard , a very good man , reported to be of honest life , while he lived , full of good works , good both to the clergy & also to the laity . this other , which truly never hurt any of you , ye would have raked in the coals , because he would not subscribe to certain articles , that took away the supremacy of the king : take away these two noble acts , and there is nothing else left , that ye went about , that i know , saving that i now remember , that somwhat ye attempted against erasmus , albeit nothing as yet is come to light . ye have oft sit in consultation , but what have ye done ? ye have had many things in deliberation , but what one is put forth , whereby either christ is more glorified , or else christs people made more holy ? i appeal to your own conscience . how chanced this ? how came this thus ? because there were no children of light , no children of god among you , which setting the world at naught , would study to illustrate the glory of god , and thereby shew themselves children of light ? i think not so : certainly , i think not so . god forbid , that all you which were gathered together under the pretence of light , should be children of the world . then why hapned this ? why i pray you ? perchance either because the children of the world were more in number , in this your congregation , as it oft hapneth , or at the least of more policy than the children of light in their generation . vvhereby it might very soon be brought to pass , that those were much more stronger , in gendring the evil , than these , in producing the good : the children of light have policy , but it is like the policy of the serpent , and is joyned with dovish simplicity ; they ingender nothing but simply , faithfully , and plainly , even so doing all that they do . but the children of this world have worldly policy , foxly craft , lion-like cruelty , power to do hurt , more than either aspis or basiliscus , ingendring and doing all things fraudulently , deceitfully , guilfully . — the children of this world be like crafty hunters , they be mis-named children of light , forasmuch as they so hate light , and so study to do the works of darkness . if they were the children of light , they would not love darkness . it is no marvel , that they go about to keep others in darkness , seeing they be in darkness , from top to toe overwhelmed with darkness , darker than the darkness of hell. vvherefore it is well done , in all orders of men , but especially in the order of prelares , to put a difference between the children of light , and children of the world , because great deceit ariseth in taking the one for the other . great imposture cometh , when they , that the common people take for the light , go about to take the sun and light out of the world . but these be easily known , both by the diversity of minds , and also their armors ; for whereas the children of light are thus minded , that they seek — these worldlings set little by such works as god hath prepared for our salvation , but they extol traditions and works of their own invention : the children of light contrary . the worldlings , if they spy profit , gains or lucre in any thing , be it never such a trifle , be it never so pernicious , they preach it to the people ( if they preach at any time ) and these things they defend with tooth and nail ; they can scarce disallow the abuses of these , albeit they be intollerable , least in disallowing the abuse , they lose part of their profit . the children of light contrary , put all things in their degree , best highest , the worst lowest . they extol things necessary , christian , and commanded of god. they pull down will-works feigned by men , and put them in their place . the abuse of all things they earnestly rebuke . — now to make hast , and to come somwhat nigher to the end , go ye to ( good brethren and fathers ) for the love of god , go ye to , and seeing we are assembled , let us do something whereby we may be known to be the children of light . let us do somwhat , lest we which hitherto have been judged children of the world , seem even still to be so . all men call us prelates ; then seeing we be in council , let us so order our selves , that as we be prelates in honour and dignity , so we may be prelates in holiness , benevolence , diligence and sincerity . all men know , that we be here gathered , and with most fervent desire they can , hale , breath and gape for the fruit of our convocation . as our acts shall be , so they shall name us , so that it now lieth in us , whether we will be called children of the world or children of the light . wherefore lift up your heads ( brethren ) and look about with your eyes , spy what things are to be reformed in the church of england . — how think you by the ceremonies , that are in england , oftentimes with no little offence of weak consciences continued , more often with superstition so defiled , and so depraved , that you may doubt whether it were better for them to tarry still , or utterly to take them away ? have not our fore-fathers complained of the ceremonies , of the superstitions , and estimation of them ? do ye see nothing in our holy-dayes ? of the which very few were made at the first , and they to set forth goodness , virtue , and honesty . but sithence , there is neither mean or measure in making new holy-dayes : as who say this one thing in serving of god , to make this law that no man may work . but what do the people on these holy-dayes , do they give themselves to godliness , or else ungodliness ? see you nothing brethren ? if you see not , god seeth : god seeth all the whole holy-dayes to be spent miserably in drunkenness , in glossing , in strife , in envie , dansing , dicing , idleness , and gluttony . thus men serve the devil , for god is not thus served , albeit ye say ye serve god ; no the devil hath more service done unto him in one holy-day then on many working dayes ; let all these abuses be counted as nothing , who is he that is not sorry to see in so many holy-dayes rich and wealthy persons to flow in delicates , and men that live by their travel , poor men to lack necessary meat and drink for their wives and children , and that they cannot labour upon the holy-dayes , except they will be cited , and brought before our officials . were it not the office of good prelates , to consult upon these matters and to seek some remedy for them ? ye shall see ( my brethren , ) ye shall see once what will come of this our winking . what think ye of these images . — if there be nothing to be amended abroad , concerning the whole , let every one of us make one better . if there be nothing at home or abroad to be amended and redressed ; my lords , be ye of good cheer , be merry : and at the least because we have nothing else to do , let us reason the matter how we may be richer ; let us fall to some pleasant communication ; after let us go home , even as good as we came hither , that is right begotten children of the world , utterly worldlings . and while we live here let us all make boon cheer . for after this life there is small pleasure , little mirth for us to hope for , if now there be nothing to be changed in our factions . let us say , not as st. peter did : our end approacheth nigh , this is an heavy hearing , but let us say as the evil servant said : it will be long ere my master come . this is pleasant ; let us beat our fellow servants : let us eat and drink with drunkards . surely as oft as we do not take away the abuse of things , so oft we beat our fellows . as oft as we give not the people their true food , so oft we beat our fellow . as oft as we let them dye in superstition , so oft we beat them . to be short , as oft as we blind , lead them blind , so oft we beat , and grievously beat our fellows . when we welter in pleasures and idleness , then we eat and drink with drunkards . but god will come , god will come , he will not tarry long away . he will come upon such a day as we nothing look for him ; and at such an hour as we know not . he will come and cut us in pieces . he will reward us as he doth the hypocrites . he will set us where wailing shall be , my brethren , where gnashing of teeth shall be , my brethren . and let here be the end of our tragedy , if ye will. these be the delicate dishes , prepared for the world 's well-beloved children . these be the wafers and junckets provided for worldly prelates , wailing and gnashing of teeth : can there be any mirth , where these two courses last all the feast ? here we laugh , there we shall weep ; our teeth make merry here , ever dashing in delicates , there we shall be torne with teeth , and do nothing but gnash and grinde our owne : to what end have we excelled others in policy : what have we brought forth at last ? ye see brethren what sorrow , what punishment is provided for you , if you be worldling ? if ye will not thus be vexed , be ye not the children of the world : if ye will not be the children of the world , be not stricken with the love of worldly things , leane not upon them , if ye will not dye eternally , live not worldly . come , go to ; leave the love of your profit , study for the glory and profit of christ , seek in your consultations , such things as pertain to christ , and bring forth something at last that may please christ. feed ye tenderly with all diligence the flock of christ. preach truly the word of god , love the light , walk in the light : and so be ye the children of light while ye are in this world ; that ye may shine in the world that is to come bright as the sun , with the father , the son and the holy ghost ; to whom be all honour , praise and glory . amen . part of a sermon preached by mr. hugh latimer at paul's church in london , the title of which sermon is the plough . — i told you in my first sermon ( honourable audience ) that i purposed to declare unto you two things . the one , what seed should be sowen in gods field , in gods plough-land . and the other who should be the sowers . that is to say , what doctrine is to be taught in christ's church and congregation , and what men should be the teachers and preachers of it . the first part i have told you in three sermons past , in which i have essayed to set forth my plough , to prove what i could do . and now i shall tell you who be the plowers ; for gods vvord is a seed to be sowen in gods field , that is , the faithful congregation , and the preacher is the sower . as it is in the gospel , exivit qui seminat seminare semen suum . he that soweth , the husbandman , the ploughman went forth to sow his seed , so that a preacher is resembled to a plowman , as it is in another place ; no man that putteth his hand to the plough and looketh back , is apt for the kingdom of god. that is to say , let no preacher be negligent in doing his office . albeit this is one of the places that hath been racked , as i told you of racking scriptures . and i have been one of them myself , that have racked it , i cry god mercy for it , and have been one of them that have believed and have expounded it against religious persons that would forsake their order which they had professed , and would go out of their cloyster : whereas indeed it toucheth not monkery , nor maketh any thing at all for any such matter . but it is directly spoken of diligent preaching of the word of god : for preaching of the gospel is one of gods plough-works ; and the preacher is one of gods ploughmen : ye may not be offended with my similitude , in that i compare preaching to the labour and work of plowing , and the preacher to a plow-man . ye may not be offended with this my similitude ; for i have been slandered of some persons for such things . it hath been said of me , oh latimer ! nay , as for him , i will never believe him while i live , not trust him , for he likened our ever blessed lady to a saffron . bag ; where indeed i never used that similitude . — but in case i had used this similitude , it had not been to be reproved , but might have been without reproach : for i might have said thus ; as the saffron-bag that hath been full of saffron , or hath had saffron in it , doth ever after savour and smell of the sweet saffron that it contained : so our blessed lady , which conceived and bare christ in her womb , did ever after resemble the manners and vertues of that precious babe which she bare . and what had our blessed lady been the worse for this ? — ye may not then i say , be offended with my similitude , because i liken preaching to a plow-mans labour , and a prelate to a plow-man . but you will now ask me , whom i call a prelate ? a prelate is that man , whosoever he be , that hath a flock to be taught of him , whosoever hath any spiritual charge in the faithful congregation , and whosoever he be that hath cure of souls . and well may the preacher and plow-man be likened together , first , for their labour in all seasons of the year ; for there is no time in the year , in which the plow-man hath not some special work to do ; as in my country , in leicestershire , the plow-man hath a time to set forth his plow , and other times for other necessary works to be done . and then also they may be likened together , for the diversity of works , and variety of offices that they have to do . for as the plow-man first setteth forth his plow , and then tilleth his land , and breaketh it in furrows , and somtime ridgeth it up again ; and at another time harroweth it , and clotteth it , and somtime dangeth and hedgeth it , diggeth it and weedeth it , purgeth it , and maketh it clean : so the prelate , the preacher , hath many , divers offices to do . he hath a busie work to bring parishioners to a right faith , as paul calleth it ; and not a swerving faith , but to a faith that embraceth christ , and trusteth to his merits , a lively faith , a justifying faith , a faith that maketh a man righteous without respect of works as ye have it very well declared in the homily . he hath then a busie work , i say , to bring his flock to a right faith , and then to confirm them in the same faith ; now casting them down with the law and threatnings of god for sin ; now ridging them up again with the gospel , and the promises of gods favour ; now weeding them , by telling them their faults , and making them forsake sin ; now clotting them by breaking their stony hearts , and by making them supple-hearted , and making them to have hearts of flesh , that is , soft hearts , and apt for doctrine to enter in ; now teaching to know god rightly , and to know their duty to god and to their neighbours ; now exhorting them , when they know their duty , that they do it , and be diligent in it ; so that they have a continual work to do . great is their business , and therefore great should be their hire . they have great labours , and therefore they ought to have good livings , that they may commodiously feed their flock : for the preaching of the word of god unto the people , is called meat : scripture calleth it meat , not strawberries , that come but once a year , and tarry not long , but are soon gone ; but it is meat , it is no dainties . the people must have meat that must be familiar and continual , and daily given unto them to feed upon . many make a strawberrie of it , ministring it but once a year ; but such do not the office of good prelates : for christ saith , quis ( putas ) est servus prudeus & fidelis ? qui dat cibum in tempore . who , think you , is a wise man , a faithful servant ? he that giveth meat in due time : so that he must at all times convenient preach diligently : therefore saith he , who , trow you , is a faithful servant ? he speaketh it , as though it were a rare thing to find such a one ; and as though he should say , there be but a few of them to find in the world : and how few of them there be throughout this realm , that give meat to their flocks , as they should do , the visitors can best tell : too few , too few , the more is the pity , and never so few as now . by this it appeareth , that a prelate , or any that hath cure of souls , must diligently and substantially work and labour : therefore saith paul to timothy , qui episcopatum de siderat , hic bonum opus de siderut . he that desireth to have the office of a bishop or prelate , that man desireth a good work : then if it be a good work , it is work ; ye can make but a work of it . it is gods work , gods plow , and that plow god would have still going : such then as loyter , and live idly , are not good prelates or ministers . and of such as do not preach and teach , god saith by his prophet jeremy , maledictus qui facit opus dei fraudulenter , guilfully or deceitfully ; some books have negligenter , negligently or slackly . how many such bishops , how many such prelates ( lord for thy mercy ) are there now in england ? and what shall we in this case do ? shall we company with them ? o lord , for thy mercy shall we not company with them ? o lord , whither shall we flee rfom them ? but cursed be he that doth the work of god negligently , or guilfully : a sore word for them that are negligent in discharging their office , or have done it fraudulently ; for that is the thing that maketh the people ill , but true it must be that christ saith : multi sunt vocati , pauci vero electi , many are called , but few chosen . here i have an occasion by the way , somewhat to say unto you ; yea , for the place that i alleadged unto you before out of jeremy . and it was spoken of a spiritual work of god , a work that was commanded to be done , and it was of shedding-blood , and destroying the cities of moab . for ( saith he ) cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from shedding of blood . as saul when he kept back his sword from shedding of blood ( at what time he was sent against amalek ) was refused of god , for being disobedient to gods commandments , in that he spared agag the king : so that , that place of the prophet was spoken of them that went to the destruction of the cities of moab , among the which there was one called nebo , which was much reproved for idolatry , superstition , pride , avarice cruelty , tyranny , and for hardness of heart , and for these sins was plagued of god and destroyed . now what shall i say of these rich citizens of london ? what shall we say of them ? shall i call them proud men of london , malicious men of london , merciless men of london ? no , no , i may not say so , they will be offended with me then ; yet must i speak , for is there not reigning in london , as much pride , as much covetousness , as much cruelty , as much oppression , as much superstition , as was in nebo ? yes i think , and much more too . therefore i say repent o london , repent , repent . thou hearest thy faults told thee , amend them , amend them . i think if nebo had the preaching that thou hast , they would have converted . and you rulers and officers , be wise and circumspect , look to your charge , and see you do your duties , and rather be glad to amend your ill living , then to be angry when you are warned and told of your fault ; what a doe there was made in london at a certain man , because he said ( and indeed at that time on a just occasion ) burgesses ( quoth he ) nay butter-flies . lord ! what a doe there was for that word . and yet would god they were no worse then butterflies . butterflies do but their nature , the butterflie is not covetous , is not greedy of other mens goods , is not full of envy and hatred , is not malicious , is not cruel , is not merciless . the butterflie glorieth not in her own deeds , nor preferreth the traditions of men before gods word , it committeth not idolatry , nor worshippeth false gods ; but london cannot abide to be rebuked , such is the nature of men , if they be pricked they will kick , if they be rubbed on the gall , they will winch : but yet they will not amend their faults , they will not be ill spoken of . but how shall i speak well of them ? if you could be content to follow the word of god , and favour good preachers , if you could bear to be told of your faults , if ye could amend them when ye hear of them , if ye would be glad to reform what is amiss : if i might see any such inclination in you , that you would leave to be merciless , and begin to be charitable , i would then hope well of you , i would then speak well of you . but london was never so ill as it is now . in times past , men were full of pity and compassion ; but now there is no pitty , for in london their brother shall die in the streets for cold , he shall lie sick at the door between stock and stock , i cannot tell what to call it , and perish there for hunger , was there any more unmercifulness in nebo ? i think not . in times past , when any rich men died in london , they were wont to help the poor scholers of the universities with exhibition . when any man died , they would bequeath great sums of money toward the relief of the poor . when i was a scholer in cambridge my self , i heard very good report of london , and knew many that had relief of the rich men of london , but now i can hear no such good report , and yet inquire of it , and hearken for it ; but now charity is waxen cold , none helpeth the scholer , nor yet the poor . and in those dayes , what did they when they helped the scholers : marry , they maintained and gave them livings that were very papists and professed the popes doctrine : and now that the knowledge of gods word is brought to light , and many earnestly study and labour to set it forth , now almost no man helpeth to maintain them . o london , london , repent , repent , for i think god is more displeased with london , then ever he was with the city of nebo . repent therefore , repent london , and remember that the same god liveth now that punished nebo , even the same god and none other , and he will punish sin as well now as he did then , and he will punish the iniquity of london as well as he did them of nebo . amend therefore . and ye that be prelates look well to your office , for right prelating is buisy labouring , and not lording . therefore preach and teach , and let your plough be going . ye lords i say that live like loiterers , look well to your office , the plough is your office and charge , if you live idle and loiter , you do not your duty , you follow not your vocation , let your plough therefore be going and not cease , that the ground may bring forth fruit . but now me thinketh i hear one say unto me , wot you what you say ? is it a work ? is it a labour ? how then hath it hapned , that we have had so many hundred years , so many unpreaching prelates , lording loiterers , and idle ministers ? ye would have me here to make answer , and to shew the cause hereof ? nay , this land is not for me to plough , it is too stony , too thorny too hard for me to plow. they have so many things that make for them , so many things to say for themselves , that it is not for my weak team to plough them . they have to say for themselves long customes , ceremonies , & authority , placing in parliament , and many things more . and i fear me this land is not yet ripe to be plowed . for as the saying is , it lacketh withering : this geare lacketh withering , at leastwise it is not for me to plow. for what shall i look for among thorns but pricking and scratching ? what among stones but stumbling ? what ( i had almost said ) among serpents but stinging ? but thus much i dare say , that since lording and loitering hath come up , preaching hath come down , contrary to the apostles times , for they preached and lorded not ; and now they lord and preach not . for they that be lords will not go to plough ; it is no meet office for them , it is not seeming for their estate . thus came up lording loiterers , thus crept in un-preaching prelates ; and so have they long continued ; for how many unlearned prelates have we now at this day ? and no marvel , for if the ploughmen that now be , were made lords , they would clean give over ploughing , they would leave off their labour , and fall to lording too outright , and the ploughstand . and then both ploughs not walking , nothing should be in the common-weal but hunger . for ever since the prelates were made lords and nobles , the plough standeth , there is no work done , the people starve . they hawk , they hunt , they card , they dice , they pastime in their prelacies with gallant gentlemen , with their dancing minions , and with their fresh companions . so that ploughing is set aside ; and by their lording and loitering preaching and ploughing is clean gone . and thus if the ploughmen in the country , were as negligent in their office as prelates be , we should not long live for lack of sustenance . — but they that will be true ploughmen must work faithfully for gods-sake , for the edifying of their brethren . and as diligently as the husbandman ploweth for the sustentation of the body : so diligently must the prelates and ministers labour for the feeding of the soul. both the ploughs must be still going as most necessary for man. and wherefore are magistrates ordain'd , but that the tranquility of the common-weal may be confirm'd limiting both ploughs . but now for the fault of unpreaching prelates , me-think i could guess what might be said for excusing of them . they are so troubled with lordly living , they be so placed in palaces , couched in courts , ruffling in their rents , dancing in their dominions , burdened with ambassages , pampring of their panches , like a monk that maketh his jubilee , mounching in their mangers , and moiling in their gay mannors and mansions , and so troubled with loitering in their lordships that they cannot attend it . they are otherwise occupied , some in kings matters , some are ambassadours , some of the privy counsel , some to furnish the court , some are lords of the parliament , some are presidents and comptrollers of mintes . well , well , is this their duty ? is this their office ? is this their calling ? should we have ministers of the church to be comptrollers of the mintes ? is this a meet office for a priest that hath cure of souls , is this his charge ? i would here ask one question : i would fain know who controlleth the devil at home at his parish , while he comptrolleth the mint ? if the apostles might not leave the office of preaching to be deacons , shall one leave it for minting ? — in this behalf , i must speak to england ; hear my country england , as paul said in his first epistle to the corinthians chapt . . for paul was no sitting bishop , but a walking and a preaching bishop : but when he went from them , he left there behind him the plough going still , for he wrote unto them , and rebuked them for going to law , and pleading their causes before heathen judges . i speak , saith he , to your shame , is there not a wiseman , &c. so england , i speak it to thy shame , is there never a noble man to be a lord president , but it must be a prelate ? is there never a wiseman in the realm to be a comptroller of the mint ? i speak it to your shame , i speak to your shame : if there be never a wiseman , make a water-bearer , a tinker , a cobler , a slave , a page comptroller of the mint . make a mean gentleman a groom , a yeoman , make a poor begger lord president . thus i speak , not that i would have it so , but to your shame , if there be never a gentleman meet nor able to be lord president . for why are not the noblemen and young gentlemen of england , so brought up in knowledge of god and in learning , that they may be able to execute offices in the common-weal ? the king hath a great many of wards , and i trow there is a court of wards , why is not there a school of wards , as well as there is a court for their lands ; why are they not set in schools where they may learn ? or why are not they sent to the universities , that they may be able to serve the king when they come to age . if the wards and young gentlemen were well brought up in learning and in the knowledge of god , they would not when they come to age so much give themselves to other vanities . and if the nobility were well trained in godly learning , the people would follow the same train . for truly , such as the noblemen be such will the people be , and now the only cause why noblemen be not made lord presidents , is because they have not been brought up in learning . therefore , for the love of god , appoint teachers and school-masters , you that have charge of youth , and give the teachers stipends worthy their pains , that they may bring them up in grammer , in logick , in rhetorick , in philosophy , in the civil law , and in that which i cannot leave unspoken of , the word of god. — it is as unmeet a thing for bishops to be lord presidents , or priests to be minters , as it was for the corinthians to plead matters of variance before heathen judges . it is also a slander to the noblemen , as though they lacked wisdome and learning , to be able for such offices , or else were no men of conscience , and not meet to be trusted . a prelate hath a charge and cure otherwise , and therefore he cannot discharge his duty , and be a lord president too ; for a presidentship requireth a whole man , and a bishop cannot be two men . a bishop hath his office , a flock to teach , to look unto ; and therefore he cannot meddle with another office , which alone requireth a whole man. he should therefore give it over to whom it is meet , and labour in his own business , as paul writeth to the thessalonians : let every man do his own business , and follow his calling . let the priest preach , and the nobleman handle the temporal matters . moses a marvellous man , a good man , moses was a wonderful fellow , and did his duty , being a married man ; we lack such as moses was . vvell , i would all men would look to their duty , as god hath called them , and then we should have a flourishing christian common-weal . and now i would ask a strange question ? who is the most diligent bishop and prelate in all england , that passeth all the rest in doing his office ? i can tell , for i know him who it is , i know him well . but now i think i see you listning , hearkning , that i should name him . there is one that passeth all the other , and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all england : and will ye know who it is ? i will tell you , it is the devil : he is the most diligent preacher of all other , he 's never out of his diocess , he is never from his cure , you shall never find him unoccupied , he is ever in his parish , he keepeth residence at all times , ye shall never find him out of the way ; call for him when you will , he is ever at home , the diligentest preacher in all the realm , he is ever at his plow , no lording nor loytering can hinder him , he is ever applying his business , you shall never find him idle , i warrant you . and his office is to hinder religion , to maintain superstition , to set up idolatry , to teach all kind of popery . he is ready as can be wished for , to set forth his plow , to devise as many ways as can be , to deface and obscure gods glory . where the devil is resident , and hath his plow going , there away with books , and up with candles , away with bibles , and up with beads , away with the light of the gospel , and up with the light of candles , yea , at noon-daies . where the devil is resident , that he may prevail , up with all superstition and idolatry , censing , painting of images , candles , palms , ashes , holy water , and new service of mens devising , as though men could invent a better way to honour god with , than god himself hath appointed . down with christ's cross , up with purgatory pick-purse , up with him , the popish purgatory , i mean. away with cloathing the naked , the poor and impotent ; up with decking of images , and gay garnishing of stocks and stones . up with mans traditions and his laws , down with gods traditions , and his most holy word . down with the old honour due to god , and up with the new gods honour . — but here some men will say to me , what sir , are ye so privy of the devils counsel , that ye know all this to be true ? truly i know him too well , and have obeyed him a little too much , in condescending to some follies . and i know that he is ever occupied , and ever busie , in following his plow . i know by st peter , which saith of him , sicut leo rugiens circuit , quaerens qu●m devoret : he goeth about like a roaring lion , seeking whom he may devour . i would have this text well viewed . — there was never such a preacher in england as he is : who is able to tell his diligent preaching ? who every day and every hour laboureth to sow cockle and darnel , that he may bring out of form , and out of estimation , and room , the institution of the lords supper , and christ's cross. — the devil by the help of that italian bishop yonder , his chaplain , hath laboured by all means that he might , to frustrate the death of christ , and the merits of his passion . and they have devised for that purpose , to make us believe in other vain things ; as to have remission of sins for praying on hallowed beads , for drinking of the backhouse bole , as a canon of walton abbey once told me , that whensoever they put their loave ; of bread into the oven , as many as drank of the pardon-bole , should have pardon for drinking of it . a mad thing , to give pardon to a bole ! — wo worth thee , o devil , wo worth thee , that hast prevail'd so far , and so long , that hast made england to worship false gods , forsaking christ their lord ; wo worth thee devil , wo worth thee devil , and all thy angels . — when the kings majesty , with the advice of his honourable council , goeth about to promote gods word , and to set an order in matters of religion , there shall not lack blanchers , that will say , as for images , whereas they have been used to be censed , and to have candles offered unto them , none be so foolish to do it to the stock or stone , or to the image it self , but it is done to god and his honour before the image . and though they should abuse it , these blanchers whould be ready to whisper the king in the ear , and to tell him , that this abuse is but a small matter ; and that the same , with all other abuses in the church , may be reformed easily ; it is but a little abuse , say they , and it may be easily amended . but it should not be taken in hand at the first , for fear of trouble or further inconveniences ; the people will not bear sudden alterations , and insurrection may be made after sudden mutations , which may be to the great harm and lofs of the realm : therefore all shall be well , but not out of hand , for fear of further business . these be the blanchers that have hitherto stopped the word of god , and hindred the true setting forth of the same . there be so many put offs , so many put by 's , so many respects and considerations of worldly wisdom . and i doubt not , but there were blanchers in the old time , to whisper in the ear of good king hezekiah , for the maintenance of idolatry done to the brazen serpent , as well as there has been now of late , and be now , that can blanch the abuse of images as other like things : but good king hezekiah would not be so blinded , he was like to apollo , fervent in spirit , he would give no ear to these blanchers , he was not moved with these worldly respects , with these prudent considerations , with these policies , he feared not insurrections of the people . he feared not , lest his people would not bear the glory of god ; but he ( without any of these respects , or policies , or considerations ) like a good king , for gods sake , and for conscience sake , by and by plucked down the brazen serpent , and destroyed it utterly , and beat it to powder : he out of hand did cast out all images , he destroyed all idolatry , and clearly did extirpate all superstition . he would not hear these blanchers , and worldly wise men , but without delay followeth gods cause , and destroyeth all idolatry out of hand . this did good king hezekiah , for he was like apollo , fervent in spirit , and diligent to promote gods glory . and good hope there is , that it shall be likewise here in england ; for the kings majesty is so brought up in knowledge , vertue and godliness , that it is not to be mistrusted , but that we shall have all things well , and that the glory of god shall be spread abroad through all parts of the realm , if the prelates will diligently apply their plow , and be preachers rather than lords . but our blanchers which will be lords , and no labourers , when they are commanded to go and be resident upon their cures , and preach in their benefices , they will say ; what! i have set a deputy there , i have a deputy that looketh well to my flock , who shall discharge my duty . a deputy ( quoth he ) i looked for that word all this while . and what a deputy must he be , trow ye ? even one like himself , he must be a canonist , that is to say , one that is brought up in the study of popes laws and decrees , one that will set forth papistry as well as himself , and one that will maintain all idolatry and superstition , and one that will nothing at all , or else very weakly , resist the devils plow ; yea , happy it is , if he take no part with the devil ; and where he should be an enemy to him , it is well , if he take not the devils part against christ. but in the mean time , the prelates take their pleasures , they are lords , and no labourers ; but the devil is diligent at his plow , he is no unpreaching prelate , he is no lordly loyterer from his cure , but a busie plow-man ; so that amongst all the prelates , and among all the pack of them that have cure , the devil shall go for my money ; for he still applieth his business . therefore ye unpreaching prelates , learn of the devil to be diligent in doing your office. learn of the devil : and if ye will not learn of god and good men , for shame learn of the devil ; ad erubescentiam vestram dico , i speak it for your shame , if you will not learn of god nor good men , to be diligent in your office , learn of the devil . howbeit there is now very good hope , that the kings majesty being by the help of good governance of his most honourable counsellors , trained and brought up in learning and knowledge of gods word , will shortly provide a remedy , and set an order herein ; which thing , that it may so be , let us pray for him ; pray for him good people , pray for him , ye have great cause and need to pray for him , amen . part of the first sermon preached by the reverend father , master hugh latimer , before our late soveraign lord , of famous memory , king edward the sixth , within the preaching place in the palace at westminster , . the eight of march. rom. . quaecunque scripta sunt , ad nostram doctrinam scripta sunt . — in taking this part of scripture , ( most noble audience ) i played as a truant , which when he is at school , will chuse a lesson wherein he is perfect , because he is loath to take pain in studying a new lesson , or else feareth stripes for his sloathfulness . in like manner i might seem now in my old age , to some men , to take this part of scripture ; because i would wade easily away therewith , and drive my matter at my pleasure , and not to be bound to a certain theam . but ye shall consider that the foresaid words of paul are not to be understood of all scriptures , but only of those which are of god written in gods book , and all things which are therein , are written for our learning . the excellency of this word , is so great , and of so high dignity , that there is no earthly thing to be compared do it . the author thereof is great , that is , god himself , eternal , almighty , everlasting . the scripture because of him , is also great , eternal , most mighty , and holy. there is no king , emperor , magistrate and ruler of what state soever they be , but are bound to obey this god , and to give credence unto his holy word , in directing their steps ordinately according to the same word : yea truly , they are not only bound to obey gods book , but also the ministry of the same , so far as he speaketh sitting in moses chair . — for in this world god hath two svvords , the one is a temporal svvord , the other a spiritual . — the king correcteth transgresson vvith the temporal svvord , yea , the preacher , if he be an offender . but the preacher cannot correct the king , if he be a transgressor of gods word , vvith the temporal svvord : but he must correct and reprove him vvith the spiritual svvord , fearing no man , setting god only before his eyes , under vvhom he is a minister , to supplant and root up all vice and mischief by gods word . — therefore let the preacher teach , reprove , amend and instruct in righteousness , vvith the spiritual svvord , fearing no man , though death should ensue . thus moses did reprove pharaoh . — thus micheas did not spare to blame king ahab , for his vvickednes , and to prophesie of his destruction , contrary unto many false prophets . — these foresaid kings being admonished by the ministers of gods word , because they vvould not follovv their godly doctrine , and correct their lives , came unto utter destruction . — let the preacher therefore never fear to declare the message of god unto all men : and if the king vvill not hear them , then the preachers may admonish and charge them vvith their duties , and so leave them to god , and pray for them . but if the preachers digress out of christs chair , and shall speak their ovvn phantasies , then in stead of vvhatsoever they bid you observe , that observe and do . change into these vvords follovving , beware of false prophets , change , quaecunque jusserint , into cavete à fermento pharisaeorum . — all things written in gods book , are most true , and profitable for all men ; for in it is contained meet matter for kings , princes , rulers , bishops , and for all estates : wherefore it behoveth every preacher , somwhat to accomodate himself and his matter to the comfort and amendment of the audience to which he declareth the message of god. if he preach before a king , let his matter be concerning the office of a king , if before a bishop , — i have thought it good to intreat upon these words following , which are written in the seventeenth chapter of deuteronomy , from verse . downwards . — as the text doth rise , i will touch and go a little in every place . — to have a king , the israelites did with much importunity call unto god , and god long before promised them a king , and they were fully certified thereof , that god had promised that thing : for unto abraham he said , gen. . . kings shall come out of thee . these words were spoken long before the children of israel had any king ; notwithstanding here yet god prescribed unto them an order , how they should chuse their king , and what manner of man he should be , where he saith , when thou shalt come , &c. as who should say , o ye children of israel , i know your nature right well , — i know that thou wilt chuse a king to reign over thee , and to appear glorious in the face of the world , after the manner of the gentiles : but because thou art stiffe-necked , wild , and art given to walk without a bridle or line , therefore now i will prevent thy evil and beastly manners , i will hedge strongly thy way , i will make a durable law which shall compell thee to walk ordinately , and in a plain way , that is , thou shalt not chuse thee a king after thy will and phantasie , but after me , thy lord and god. thus god conditioned with the jews , that their king should be such a one as he himself would choose them . this was not much unlike a bargain that i heard of late , should be betwixt two friends for a horse , the owner promised the other should have the horse if he would , the other asked the price , he said . nobles ; the other would give him but four pounds ; the owner said he should not have it then , the other claimed the horse , because he said he should have him if he would . thus this bargain became a westminster matter , the lawyers got twice the value of the horse , and when all came to all , two fools made an end of the matter . howbeit the israelites could not go to law with god for choosing their king , for , will they , nill they , their king should be of his choosing , lest they should walk inordinately — for as they say commonly , qui vadit planè , vadit sanè ; that is , he that walketh plainly , walketh safely . and the jews were stiff-necked , and were ever ready to walk inordinately . no less are vve englishmen given to untovvardness and inordinate vvalking . — there is a great error risen novv : dayes among many of us , vvhich are vain and nevv fangled men climbing beyond the limits of our capacity and vvit , in vvrenching this text of scripture hereafter follovving after their ovvn phansie and brain , their errour is upon this text , sam. . . they wrench these words after their own fantasies , and make much doubt as touching a king and his godly name . they that so do , walk inordinately , they walk not directly and plainly , but delight in balks and stubble way . it maketh no matter by what name the rulers be named , if so be they shall walk ordinately with god , and direct their steps with god , for both patriarches judges and kings had , and have their authority from god , and therefore godly . but this is to be considered which god saith , thou maist not set a stranger over thee . it hath pleased god to grant us a natural liege king and lord , of our own nation , an englishman one of our own religion , god hath given him to us , and he is a most pretious treasure , and yet many of us do desire a stranger to be king over us , — let us follow daniel , let us not seek the death of our most noble and rightful king , our own brother , both by nativity and godly religion . let us pray for his good estate that he live long among us : oh what a plague were it , that a strange king of a strange land , and of a strange religion should raign over us : where now we be governed in the true religion , he should extirpe and pluck away all together , aud then plant again all abomination and popery , god keep such a king from us . well , the kings grace hath two sisters , my lady mary , and my lady elizabeth , which by succession and course , are inheritors to the crown , who , if they should marry with strangers , what should ensue ? god knoweth . but god grant ( if they so do , whereby strange religion cometh in ) that they never come to coursing not succeeding . therefore to avoid this plague , let us amend our lives , and put away all pride , which doth drown men in this realm , at these daies ; all covetousness , wherein the magistrates and rich men are overwhelmed , all lechery , and other excessive vices , provoking gods wrath ( were he not merciful ) even to take from us our natural king and liege lord ; yea to plague us with a strange king for our unrepentant hearts . wherefore if as ye say , ye love the king amend your lives . — now i hear all things shall be ended after a godly manner shortly . make hast , make hast , and let us learn to convert to repent and mend our lives : if we do not , i fear , i fear , lest for our sins and unthankfulness an hypocrite shall reign over us . — let us pray , that god maintain and continue our most excellent king here present . — he doth rectifie us in the liberty of the gospel , in that therefore let us stand . — he shall not prepare unto himself many horses , &c. in speaking of these words ye shall understand , that i do not intend to speak against the strength , policy and provision of a king , but against excess and vain trust that kings have in themselves , more then in the living god , the author of all goodness and giver of all victory . many horses are requisite for a king , but he may not exceed in them , nor triumph in them more then is needful , for the necessary affairs and defence of the realm . what meaneth it , that god hath to do with the kings stable ; but only he would be master of his horses , the scripture saith : in altis habitat , he dwelleth on high ; it followeth , humilia respicit , he looketh on the low things , yea upon the kings stables ▪ and upon all the offices in his house . god is a great grand master of the kings house , and will take account of every one that beareth rule therein ; for the executing of their offices , whether they have justly and truly served the king in their offices , or no. yea , god looketh upon the king himself , if he work well or not . every king is subject unto god , and all other men are subjects unto the king. in a king god requireth faith , not excess of horses , horses for a king be good and necessary , if they be well used , but — neither shall he multiply wives , &c. — let us not think that , because we read that kings among the jews had liberty to take more wives than one , that we may therefore attempt to walk inordinately . — for christ hath forbidden this unto us christians , and limiteth unto us one wife only . and it is a great thing for a man to rule one wife rightly and ordinately ; for a woman is frail , and proclive unto all evils ; a woman is a very weak vessel , and may soon deceive a man , and bring him into evil . many examples we have in scripture , adam by eve. — how did wicked jezebel ? — therefore let our king , what time his grace shall be so minded to take a wife , chuse him one which is of god ; that is , which is of the houshould of faith — and that shee be such a one as the king can find in his heart to love , and lead his life in pure and chast espousage ; and then shall he be the more prone and ready to advance gods glory , and to punish and extirpe the great lechery used in this realm . therefore we ought to make a continual prayer unto god , for to grant our kings grace such a mate as may knit his heart and hers , according to gods ordinance and law , and not to consider and cleave only to a politique matter or conjunction , for the enlargeing of dominions for surety and defence of countries . — we have now a pretty little shilling , indeed a very pretty one , i have but one i think in my purse , and the last day i had put it away almost for an old groat , and so i trust some will take them ; the fineness of the silver i cannot see : but therein is printed a fine sentence , that is , timor domini fons sapientiae . the fear of the lord is the fountain of wisdom . i would to god this sentence were printed in the heart of the king in choosing his wife and all his officers . for as the fear of god is fons sapientiae , so the forgetting of god is 〈◊〉 stultitiae , the fountain of foolishness ; though it be never so politique . — let the king therefore chuse unto him a godly wife , whereby he shall the better live chast , and in so living ▪ all godliness shall increase , and righteousness be maintained . notwithstanding i know hereafter , some will come and move your grace toward wantonness , and to the inclination of the flesh , and vain affections . but i would your grace would bear in memory , and history of a good king , called lewis ( that travelled towards the holy land ) which was a great matter in those dayes , and by the way sickned , being long absent from his wife , and upon this matter , the physitians did agree , that it was for lack of a woman ; and did consult with the bishops therein , who did conclude , that because of the distance from his wife ( being in another country ) he should take a wench . this good king hearing their conclusion , would not assent thereunto , but said , he had rather be sick even unto death , than he would break his espousals . wo worth such counsellors , bishops ! nay rather buzzards . nevertheless , if the king should have consented to their conclusion , and accomplished the same , if he had chanced well , they would have excused the matter ; as i have heard , one being reproacht for such counsel given , he excused the matter , saying , that he gave him none other counsel , but if it had been his case , he would have done likewise ; so i think the bishops would have excused the matter , if the king should have reproved them for their counsel : i do not read , the king did so ; but if he had , i know what would have been their answer , they would have said , we give you no worse counsel , than we would have followed our selves , if we had been in like case . well sir , this king did well , and had the fear of god before his eyes . — let the king therefore chuse a wife which feareth god , let him not seek a proud wanton , one full of rich treasures and worldy pomp. neither shall he multiply to himself too much silver and gold. &c. he shall not multiply unto himself too much gold and silver : is there too much think you for a king ? god doth allow much unto a king , and it is expedient that he should have much ; for he hath great expences . — necessary it is , that the king have a treasure alwaies in readiness for such affairs as be daily in his hands : the which treasure , if it be not sufficient , he may lawfully and with a safe conscience , take taxes of his subjects ; for it were not meet , — but who shall see this too much , or tell the king of this too much ? think you any of the kings privy chamber ? no. for fear of loss of favour . shall any of his sworn chaplains ? no. they be of his closet , and keep close such matters . but the king himself must see this too much , and that he shall do by no means , with corporal eyes : wherefore he must have a pair of spectacles , which shall have two clear sights in them ; that is , the one is faith , the other is charity : by them two , must the king ever see when he hath too much . — i will tell you , my lords and masters , this is not for the kings honour : yet some will say , knowest thou what is for the kings honour better than we ? i answer , the kings honour is most perfectly painted forth in scripture ; of which , if ye be ignorant , for lack of time , that ye cannot read it , though your counsel be never so politick , yet it is not for the kings honour . what his honour meaneth , ye cantot tell . it is the kings honour , that his subjects be led in the true religion : that all his prelates and clergy be set about their work , in preaching and studying , and not be interrupted from their charge . also it is the kings honour . — part of the second sermon preached by mr. latymer before king edward . and when the king is set in the seat of his kingdom , he shall write him out a book , deut. . i told you in my last sermon , of ministers of the kings people , & had occasion to shew you , how few noblemen were good preachers . i left out an history then , which now i will tell you . there was a bishop of winchester in king henry the sixth's daies . — this bishop was a great man born , and did bear such a stroak , he was able to shoulder the lord protector ; it chanced the lord protector and he fell out , and the bishop would bear nothing at all with him , but played me the satrapa ; so — was not this a good prelate ? he should have been at home preaching in his diocess with a wanniaunt . this protector was so noble a godly man , that he was called of every man the good duke humphrey : he kept such a house , — . and the bishop for standing so stiffly by the matter , and bearing up the order of our mother , the holy church , was made a cardinal at calice , and thither the bishop of rome sent him a cardinals hat : he should have had a tyburne-tippet , a half peny halter , and all such proud prelates . when he sitteth upon the throne , what shall he do ? shall he dance and dally , banquet , havvk and hunt ? no forsooth sir. what must he do then ? he must be a student ; not thinking , because he is a king , he hath license to do vvhat he vvill , as these vvorldly flatterers are vvont to say , ye trouble not your self , ( sir ) ye may havvk and hunt , and take your pleasure ; as for the guiding of your kingdom and people , let us alone vvith it . these flattering clavv-backs are original roots of all mischief ; and yet a king may take his pastime in havvking and hunting , or such like pleasures , but he must , — it follovveth in the text , deut. . . he shall have it with him , in his progresse . — he shall read in it , not once a year , but all the daies of his life . where are these worldlings novv ? these bladder-puft-up vvily men ? wo vvorth them , that ever they vvere about any king. but hovv shall he read this book ? as the homilies are read ? some call them homilies , and indeed so they may be vvell called , for they are homely handled . for though the priest read them never so vvell , yet if the parish like them not , there is such talking and babling , that nothing can be heard . and if the parish be good , and the priest naught , he vvill so hack and chop it , that it vvere as good to be vvithout it , for any vvord that shall be understood . and yet ( the more pity ) it is suffered of your graces bishops in their diocess unpunished . but i vvill be a suitor to your grace , that you vvill give your bishops charge ere they go home , upon their allegiance , to look better to their flock , and to see your majesties injunctions better kept , and send your visitors in their tayls , and if they be found negligent in their duties , out vvith them , i require it in gods behalf , make them quondams , all the pack of them . but ye vvill say , where shall vve have any to put in their rooms ? — your majesty hath divers of your chaplains , well learned men , and of good knowlede , and yet ye have some bad enough , hangers on the court , i mean not these , — what an enormity is this in a christian realm to serve in a civility , having the profit of a provostship , and a deanry , and a parsonage ? but i will tell you what is like to come of it : it will bring the clergy shortly into a very slavery . i may not forget here my scala caeli , that i spake of in my last sermon ; i will repeat it now again , desiring your grace in gods behalf , that you will remember it . the bishop of rome had a scala coeli , but his was a masse-matter : but this scala coeli that i now speak of , is the true ladder that bringeth a man to heaven : the top of the ladder , or first greese is this ; whosoever calleth on the name of the lord shall be saved . the second step , how shall they call upon him , in whom they have not believed ? the third stair is this , how shall they believe in him , of whom they never heard ? the fourth step , how shall they hear without a preacher ? now the nether end of the ladder is , how shall they preach except they be sent ? this is the foot of the ladder . so that we may go backward now , and use the school-argument , a primo ad ultimum . take away preaching , take away salvation . but i fear one thing . — ever since the bishop of rome was first in authority , they have gone about to destroy the gospel , but god worketh wonderfully , he hath preserved it , maugre all their hearts , and yet we are unthankful , that we cannot consider it . i will tell you what a bishop of this realm said once to me , he sent for me , and marvelled , that i would not consent to such traditions as were then set out . and i answered him , that i would be ruled by gods book , and rather than i would dissent one jot from it , i would be torn with wild horses . and i chanced in our communication , to name the lords supper : tush , saith the bishop , what do you call the lords supper ? what new term is that ? there stood by him a dubber , one doctor dubber , he dubbed him by and by , and said , that this term was seldom read in the doctors . and i made answer , that i would rather follow paul , in using his terms , than them , though they had all the doctors on their side . why , ( said the bishop ) cannot we without the scriptures order the people ? how did they before the scripture was first written ? but god knoweth , full ill yet would they have ordered them . for seeing , that having it , they have deceived us , in what case should we have been novv vvithout it ? but thanks be unto god , that by so vvonderful a miracle he hath preserved the book still . — it is in the text , that a king ought to fear god , he shall have the dread of god before his eyes . work not by vvorldly policy , for vvorldly policy feareth not god. take heed of these clavv-backs , these venomous people , that vvill come to you , that vvill follovv you like gnato's & parasites , if you follovv them , you are out of your book , if it be not according to gods word , that they counsel you ; do it not fo● any vvorldly policy , for then you fear not god. — but vvherefore shall a king fear god ? it follovveth in the text , that he may prolong his daies in his kingdom . — remember this , i beseech your grace ; and when these flatterers and flebergibs , another day shall come and claw you by the back , and say , sir , trouble not your self : what , shall you study ? why should you do this or that ? your grace may answer them thus , and say , what sirra ! i perceive you are a weary of us , and our posterity : doth not god say in such a place , that a king shall write out a book of gods law , and read it ? learn to fear god. and why ? that he , and his might reign long . i perceive now , thou art a traytor . tell him this tale once , and i warrant you , he will come no more to you , neither he , nor any , after such a sort . and thus shall your grace drive such flatterers and claw-backs away . — you have heard how a king ought to pass the time . — he may learn at solomon . — : what was solomons petition ? lord , said he , da mihi cor docile : he asked a docible heart , a wise heart , and wisdom to go in and to go out . — so your grace must learn how to do of solomon . you must make your petition , now study , now pray . — now when god had given solomon wisdom , he sent him by and by occasion to occupy his wit. for god never gave a gift , but he sent occasion at one time or other , to shew it to gods glory : as if he send riches , he sendeth poor men to be helped with them . — one word note here for gods sake , and i will trouble you no longer . would solomon , being so noble a king , hear two poor women ? they were poor , for as the scripture saith , they were together alone in a house , they had not so much as one servant betwixt them both . would king solomon , i say , hear them in his own person ? yea forsooth . and yet i hear of many matters before my lord protector , and my lord chancellor , that cannot be heard . i must desire my lord protectors grace to hear me in this matter ; that your grace would hear poor mens suites your self : put them to none other to hear : let them not be delayed . the saying is now , that money is heard every where ; if he be rich , he shall soon have an end of his matter . — hear mens suites your self , i require you in gods behalf ; put it not to the hearing of these velvet-coats , these up-skips . — i cannot go to my book , for poor folkes come to me , desiring me , — i walk somtimes in my lord of canterburies garden , looking in my book , as i can do but little good at it ; but somthing i must do , to satisfie this place : i am no sooner in the garden , anon my man cometh , and saith , sir , there is one at the gate would speak with you : when i come there , then it is some one or other , that desireth me , that i would speak his matter may be heard ; that he hath lien thus long , — a gentlewoman came to me , — there is a poor vvoman that lyeth in the fleet. — i beseech your grace that you will look to these matters , hear them your self , view your judges , and hear poor mens causes . and you proud iudges hearken what god saith in his holy book . audite illos , ita parvum ut magnum : hear them saith he , the small aswell as the great , the poor aswell as the rich . regard no person , fear no man , why ? quia domini judicium est , the judgment is gods. mark this saying thou proud iudge . the devil will bring this sentence at the day of doom : hell will be full of these iudges : if they repent not and amend . they are worse then the wicked iudge that christ speaketh of , that neither feared god nor the world . — our iudges are worse then this iudge was : for they will neither hear men for gods sake , nor fear of the world , nor importunateness , nor any thing else . yea , some of them will command them to ward , if they be importunate . i heard say , that when a suitour came to one of them , he said , what fellow is this that giveth these folk counsel to be so importunate , he would be punished and committed to ward . marry sir , punish me then , it is even i that gave them counsel , i would gladly be punisht in such a cause . and if ye amend not , i will cause them to cry out upon you still : even as long as i live . i will do it indeed . but i have troubled you long : beati qui audiunt , &c. part of the third sermon of mr. hugh latimer , preached before king edward . a preacher hath two offices . to teach true doctrine ; to confute gainsayers . — vvhy you will say , will any body gainsay true doctrine ? — vvas there ever yet preachers , but there were gainsayers . — ieremy was the minister of the true vvord of god. — elias had baals priests supported by iezebel , to speak against him . — iohn baptist , and our saviour christ. — the apostles had gainsayers , acts . . this sect is every where spoken against . — in the popish masse time there was no gainsaying . — so long as we had in adoration , the popish masse we were then without gainsaying . — vvhen sathan the devil hath the guiding of the house he keepeth all in peace . — vvhen he hath the religion in possession , he stirreth up no sedition , i warrant you . how many dissentions have we heard of in turky , — look whether ye hear of any heresies among the jews . — and if ever concord should have been in religion , when should it have been , but when christ was here ? ye find fault with preachers , and say , they cause sedition : vve are noted to be rash , and indiscreet in our preaching : yet as discreet as christ was , there was diversity . — there was never prophet to be compared to him , and yet there was never more dissention , then when he was , and preached himself . — this day i must do somewhat in the second office. — but first , i will make a short rehearsall to put you in memory . — the peevish people in this realm , have nothing but the king , the king in their mouths , when it maketh for their purpose . as there was a doctor that preached , the kings majesty hath his holy water , he creepeth to the cross ; and then they have nothing but the king , the king in their mouths . these be they my good people that must have their mouths stopt : but if a man tell them of the kings proceedings , now they have their shifts and their put ofts , saying we may not go before a law : we may break no order . these be the wicked preachers , their mouths must be stopt , these be the gainsayers . — now to my confutation . there is a certain man that shortly after my first sermon , being ask't , if he had been at the sermon that day ? answered , yea . i pray you said he , how liked you him ? marry , said he , as i liked him alwayes , a seditious fellow oh lord , he pinched me there indeed nay , he rather had a full bit at me yet i comfort my self with that , that christ was noted to be a stirrer up of the people . — it becometh me to take it in good part , i am not better then he was . in the kings dayes that dead is , a many of us were called together before him , to say our minds in certain matters . in the end , one kneeled me down , and accused me of sedition , that i had preached seditious doctrine . a heavy salutation , and a hard point of such a mans doing , as if i should name him , ye would not think it . the king turned to me , and said , what say you to that sir ? then i kneeled down , and turned me first to mine accuser , and required him ; sir , what form of preaching would you appoint me to preach before a king ; would you have me to preach nothing , as concerning a king in the kings sermon ? have you any commission to appoint me what i shall preach ? besides this , i asked him divers other questions , and he would make no answer . then i turned me to the king , and submitted my self to his grace , and said i never thought my self worthy , nor ever sued to be a preacher before your grace , but i was called to it , and would be willing ( if you mislike me ) to give place to my betters . for i grant there be a great many more worthy of the room then i am ; and if it be your graces pleasure so to allow them for preachers , i could be content to bear their books after them . but if your grace allow me for a preacher , i would desire your grace to give me leave to discharge my conscience . give me leave to frame my doctrine according to my audience , i had been a very dolt to have preached so at the borders of your realm , as i preached before your grace . and i thank almighty god , which hath alwayes been my remedy , that my sayings were well accepted of the king , for like a gracious lord he turned into another communication : it is even as the scripture saith : cor regis in manu domini , the lord directeth the kings 〈◊〉 . certain of my friends came to me with tears in their eyes , and told me they looked i should have been in the tower the same night . thus i have been ever more burdened with the word of sedition . i have offended god grievously , transgressing his law , and but for this remedy and his mercy , i would not look to be saved . as for sedition , for ought that i know , methinks , i should not need christ , if i might say so . but if i be clear in any thing , i am clear in this , so far as i know mine own heart , there is no man farther from sedition then i ; which i have declared in all my doings , and yet it hath been ever laid to me . another , when i gave over mine office , i should have received a pentecostal , it came to the summe of fifty and five pound , i set my commissary to gather it , but he could not be suffer'd , for it was said a sedition would rise upon it . thus they burdened me ever with sedition . so this gentleman , cometh up now with sedition : and wot ye what ? i chanced in my last sermon to speak a merry word of the new shilling ( to refresh my auditory ) how i was like to put away my new shilling for an old groat , i was herein noted to speak seditiously — when i was in trouble , it was objected to me that i was singular , that i took a way contrary to all . marry sir , this was sore thunderbolts , i thought it was possible it might not be true he told me . — i have gotten one fellow a companion of sedition ; and wot you who is my fellow ? esai the prophet . i spake but of a little pretty shilling , but he speaketh to ierusalem after another sort , esai . . , , . and was so bold to meddle with their coin . — ah seditious wretch , what had he to do with the mint . — was not this a seditious harlot , to tell them this to their beards ? to their face . — i am content to bear the title of sedition with esai . thanks be to god i am not alone . — in the latter end of my sermon , i rehearsed a parable of a wicked judge . belike good judges were rare at that time ; and trow ye , the devil hath been asleep ever since ? no , no , — the common manner of wicked judge , is neither to fear god or man. he considereth what a man he is , and therefore careth not for man ; he seemeth to be in a protection t well shall he escape ? ho , ho , est deus in coelo . there is a god in heaven , he accepteth no persons , he will punish them . — cambises was a great emperour , such another as our master is — it chanced , he had under him in one of his dominions , a briber , a gift-taker , a gratifier of rich men , a handmaker in his office , to make his son a great man ( as the old saying is , happy is the child whose father goeth to the devil ) the cry of the poor widdow came to the emperours ear , which caused him to slay the iudge quick , and laid his skin in the chair of judgment , that all iudges that should give judgment afterwards should sit in the same skin . surely it was a goodly sign , a goodly monument , the sign of the judges skin ; i pray god we may once see the sign of the skin in england . — i do it charitably , for the love i bear to my country . god saith , ego visitabo . i will visit . god hath two visitations : the first is , when he revealed his word by preachers , and where the first is accepted , the second cometh not ; the second visitation is vengeance . he went to visitation , when he brought the judges skin over his ears . — germany was visited twenty years with gods word , but they did not earnestly embrace it , and in life follow it , but made a mingle mangle and a hotch potch of it . i cannot tell what , partly popery , partly true religion mingled together . they say in my country when they call their hogs to the swine-trough , come to thy mingle mangle , compyr , compyr ; even so they made mingle mangle of it ; they could clatter and prate of the gospel , but when all cometh to all , they joyned popery so with it , that they marred all together . we have now a first visitation in england ; let us beware of a second . we have the ministration of his word , we are yet well ; but the house is not clean swept yet . god hath sent us a noble king in this his visitation , let us beware , let us not be unthankful and unkind , let us beware of by-walking and contemning of gods word . — part of the fourth sermon preached by mr. hugh latimer before king edward . i remember well what st. paul saith to a bishop , and though he spake it to timothy being a bishop , yet i may say it now to the magistrates , for all is one case , all is one matter ; thou shalt not be partaker of other mens faults , be not hasty in making of curates , in receiving men to have cure of souls , that either cannot , or will not do their duty ; do it not . now me thinks it needs not to be partakers of other mens sins , we shall find enough of our own . and what is it to be partaker of other mens sins , if this be not , to make unpreaching prelacy , and to suffer them in their unpreaching prelacy ? if the king and his council should suffer evil judges to take bribes , and suffer the great to overgo the poor , and should look through his fingers , to wink at it , should not the king be partaker of their naughtiness ? and why , is be not supreme head of the church ? what ! is the supreme a dignity , and nothing else ? is it not countable ? i think it will be a chargeable dignity , when account shall be askt of it . oh! what advantage hath the devil ? vvhat entry hath the vvolf , when the shepherd tendeth not his flock ? st. paul doth say , qui bene praesunt presbyteri , honore digni sunt . vvhat is this praeesse ? it is as much as to say , is to take charge and cure of souls , we say , ille praeest , he is set over the flock , he hath taken charge upon him ; and what is benè praeesse ? to discharge the cure well , to rule well , to feed the flock with pure food , and good example of living . — there was a merry monk in cambride , in the colledge that i was in , and it chanced , a great company of us to be together , intending to make good cheer , and to be merry , ( as schollers will be merry when they are disposed ) one of the company brought this sentence , nil melius quam laetari & facere bene . there is nothing better than to be merry and to do well : a vengeance of bene , quoth the monk , i would that bene had been banished beyond the sea ; and that bene were out , it were well ; for i could be merry , and i could do , but i love not to do well , that bene marres all , i would bene were out , quoth the merry monk , for it importeth many things to live well , to discharge the cure. indeed it were better for them if it were out ; and it were as good to be out , as to be ordered as it is : it will be a heavy bene for some of them , when they shall come to their account . but peradventure you will say , what and they preach not at all ? yet praesunt . are not they worthy double honour ? is it not an honourable order they be in ? nay an horrible misorder , it is an horrour , rather than an honour , and horrible , rather than honourable , if the preacher be naught , and do not his duty . and thus go these prelates about to wrestle for honour , that the devil may take his pleasure . — are they not worthy double honour ? nay rather , double dishonour , not to be regarded , not to be esteemed among the people , and to have no living at their hands ? for 〈◊〉 good preachers be worthy double honour , so unpreaching prelates be worthy double dishonour , they must be at their doublets . but now these two dishonours what be they ? our saviour christ doth shew ; si sal , — if the salt be unsavoury , it is good for nothing , but to be cast our , and troden of men . by this s●lt is understood preachers , and such as have cure of souls , what be they worthy then ? wherefore serve they ? for nothing else but to be cast out . make them quondams , out with them , cast them out of their office : vvhat should they do with cure , that will not look to it ? another dishonour is , to be troden under mens feet , not to be esteemed or regarded . st. paul in his epistle qualifieth a bishop , and saith , he must be apt to teach ? vvhat shall a man do with aptness , if he do not use it ; it were as good to be without it . a bishop came to me the last day , and was angry with me for a sermon that i made in this place . his chaplain , he complained against me , because i had spoken against unpreaching prelates . nay , quoth the bishop , he made so indifferent a sermon the first day , that i thought he would marre all the second day ; he will have every man a quondam , as he is . as for my quondamship , i thank god , that he gave me the grace to come by it by so honest means as i did , i thank him for mine own quondamship ; and as for them , i will not have them made quondams , if they discharge their office ; i would have them do their duty , i would have no more quondams as god help me . i owe them no more malice than this , and that is none at all . this bishop answered his chaplain , vvell saies he , well , did i wisely to day , for as i was going to the sermon , i remembred that i had neither said mass nor mattins , and homeward i gat as fast as i could , and i thank god , i have said both , and let his unfruitful sermon alone . unfruitful , saith one , another saith seditious : vvell , unfruitful is the best , and whether it be unfruitful or no , i cannot tell , it lieth not in me to make it fruitful ; and god work not in your hearts , my preaching can do you but little good . i am gods instrument but for a time , it is he must give increase , and yet preaching is necessary : for , take away preaching , and take away salvation . — christ is the preacher of all preachers . — as wisely , as circumspectly , as he preached , yet the fourth ground only was fruitful ; and if he had no better luck , that was preacher of all preachers ; what shall we look for ? yet there was no lack in him , but the ground . and so now there is no fault in preaching , the lack is in the people , who have stony and thorny hearts . i beseech god to amend them . and as for these folk that speak against me , i never look to have their good word so long as i live : yet i will speak of their wickedness as long as i shall be permitted to speak , as long as i live , i will be an enemy to it , no preachers can pass it over with silence . it is the original root of all mischief . as for me , i owe them no other ill will , but i pray god amend when it pleaseth him . — oh that a man might have the contemplation of hell , that the devil would allow a man to look into hell , to see the estate of it , as he shewed all the world , when he tempted christ. — if one were admitted to view hell , and behold it throughly , the devil would say , on yonder side are punished unpreaching prelates , i think a man should see as far as a kenning , and see nothing but unpreaching prelates , he might look as far as calice , i warrant you . and then if he would go on the other side , and shew where bribing judges are , i think he should see so many , that there were scant room for any other : our lord god amend it . part of the fifth sermon of master latimer , preached before king edward . sam. . . &c. it came to passe when samuel was old , &c. father samuel , a good man , a singular example , and a singular pattern , a man alone , few such men as father samuel was . — he thought his sons would have proved well . but samuels sons walked not in his wayes . — vvhy is the son alwayes bound to walk in the fathers way ? no , ye must not take it for a general rule ; all sons are not to blamed for not walking in their fathers wayes . hezekiah did not follow the steps of ahaz , and was well allowed . — samuel would never have thought his sons would have been so corrupted , they felt the smack of this world , a perillous thing . it is a perillous thing , a dangerous state to be a judge — i have told you of scala coeli : this i am sure is scald inferni , the right way to hell , to be covetous and take bribes , and pervert justice . if a judge would ask me the way to hell , i would shew him this way . first , let him be a covetous man , let his heart be poisoned with covetousness ; then let him go a little farther , and take bribes ; and at the last pervert judgment . lo , here is the mother , and the daughter , and the daughters daughter : avarice is the mother , she brings forth bribe taking , and bribe taking perverting of judgment . there lacks a fourth thing to make up the messe ; which ( so god help me ) if i were judge should be hangum tunum , a tiburn tippet to take with him , and it were the judge of the kings bench , my lord chief judge of england ; yea , and it were my lord chancellor himself , to tiburn with him . — one will say you speak unseemly , so to be against the officers , for taking of rewards in doing pleasures . you consider not the matter to the bottom ; their offices be bought for great sums , how should they receive their money again ? — and is it so , trow ye ? are civil offices bought for money ? lord god! who should have thought that ? — god fore-fend that ever any such enormity should be in england , that civil offices should be bought . — and if ye be a selling civil offices , ye are as they which fell their benefices , and so we shall have omnia venalia . i marvel the ground gapes not , and devours us . surely , it is the great lemity of god that suffers it . o lord , in what case are we . — there was a patron in england , that had a benefice faln into his hand , and a good brother of mine came to him , and brought him thirty apples in a dish , and gave them to his man to carry them to his master ; it is like he gave one to his man for his labour , to make up the game , and so there was thirty one . this man cometh to his master , and presented him with the dish of apples , saying ; sir such a man hath sent you a dish of fruit , and desireth you to be good unto him for such a benefice . tush , tush , quoth he , this is no apple matter , i will none of his apples . i have as good as these ( or as he hath any ) in my own orchard . the man came to the priest again , and told him what his master said : then quoth the priest , desire him yet to prove one of them for my sake , he shall find them much better then they look for . he cut one of them and found ten pieces of gold in it . marry , quo●h he , this is a good apple . the priest standing not far of , hearing what the gentleman said ; cryed out and said , they are all one apples i warrant you sir , they grew all on one tree , and have all one tast . well , he is a good fellow , let him have it , quoth the patron . get you a graft of this tree , and i warrant you it shall stand you in more stead then all st. pauls learning . well , let patrons take heed . — part of the sixt sermon of mr. latimer , preached before king edward . i intend this day to intreat of a piece of scripture , out of the first chapter of luke v. . , , &c. i am occasioned to take this place by a book sent to the kings majesty that dead is , by master pool . it is a text that he doth greatly abuse for the supremacy , he racks it , and violents it to serve for the maintenance of the bishop of rome . — the text saith , the people pressed upon him ; so that christ was in peril to be thrust into the pond . a wonderous thing , what a desire the people had to hear our saviour preach . — vvhere read you that a great number of scribes and pharisees , and bishops followed him . there is a doctor that writeth of this place , his name is dr. gorrham , nicholas gorrham : i knew him to be a school doctor a great while ago : but i never knew him to be an interpreter of scripture , till of late ; he saith thus : major devotio in laicis & vetulis quam in clericis . there is more devotion , saith he , in lay folk and old wives , and in these simple and vulgar people , then in the clarks : they be better affected to the word of god , then the clergie . i marvel not at the sentence ; but i marvel at such a sentence in such a doctor . if i should say so much , it would be said to me , it is an evil bird that defiles his own nest . — our saviour had said , luke . . that he must preach the kingdom of god to other cities also ; for therefore am i sent , — is it not a marvellous thing that our unpreaching prelates can read this place , and yet preach no more then they do ? i marvel that they can go quietly to bed , and see how he allureth them by his example , to be diligent in their office. — the preaching of the gospel , is the power of god to salvation , to every one that believeth , rom. . , . beware , beware ye diminish not this office , for if ye do , ye decay gods power . christ saith , jo. . . except a man be born again . — what is this regeneration ? it is not to be christned in water ( as these fire brands expound it ) and nothing else . how is it to be expounded then ? saint peter sheweth , pet. . , , . it is the circumstance , and collation of places that make scriptures plain . we are born saith he , not of corruptible seed , but of incorruptible , by the word of god. — by the word of god , by the word of god preached and opened . thus cometh in our new birth . here you may see how necessary this office is to our salvation . this is the thing that the devil wrastleth most against : it hath been all his study to decay this office ; he worketh against it as much as he can , he hath prevail'd too much , too much in it . he hath set up a state of unpreaching prelacy in this realm this seven hundred years , a stately unpreaching prelacy , he hath made unpreaching prelates . he hath stirred up heaps to persecute this office in the title of heresie : he hath stirred up the magistrates to persecute it in the title of sedition . and he hath stirred up the people to persecute it , with exprobrations and slanderous words — and with impropriations he hath turned preaching into private masses ; if a priest should have left masse undone on a sunday within this ten years , all england would have wondred at it ; but they might have left off the sermon twenty sundaies and never have been blamed . and thus by these impropriations private masses were set up , and preaching of gods word trodden under foot . but what doth he now ? he stirs men up to outragious rearing of rents , that poor men shall not be able to find their children at the school to be divines . what an unreasonable devil is this ? he provides a great while before hand , for the time that is to come . he hath brought up now a most monstrous kind of covetousness that ever was heard of ; he hath invented a fee-farming of benefices , and all to decay this office of preaching ; insomuch that when a man shall hereafter have a benefice , he may go where he will , for any house he shall have to dwell upon , or any glebe-land to keep hospitality withall ; but he must take up a chamber in an ale-house , and there sit and play at tables all day . a goodly curate . he hath caused also patrons to sell their benefices . yea , what doth he more ? he gets him to the university and causeth great men to send their sons thither , and put out poor schollers that should be divines : for their parents intend not they shall be preachers : but that they may have a shew of learning . but it were too long to declare unto you , what deceit and means the devil hath found to decay the office of salvation . — it is in the text he taught sitting ; preachers be-like were sitters in those dayes , as it is in another place , they sit in moses chair . i would our preachers would preach sitting or standing one way or other . it was a goodly pulpit that our saviour christ had gotten him here , an old rotten boat. and yet he preached his fathers will , his fathers message out of this pulpit . he cared not for the pulpit , so he might do the people good . indeed it is to be commended ; for the preacher to stand or sit as the place is , but i would not have it so superstitiously esteemed , but that a good preacher may declare the vvord of god sitting on a horse , or preaching in a tree . and yet and this should be done , the unpreaching prelates would laugh it to scorn . and though it be good to have a pulpit set up in the churches , that the people may resort thither , yet i would not have it so superstitiously used , but that in a prophane place the vvord of god may be preached sometimes . — to have pulpits in churches it is very well done to have them , but they would be occupied , for it is a vain thing to have them as they stand in many churches . i heard of a bishop of england that went on visitation ( and as it was the custome ) when the bishop should come and be rung into the town , the great bells clapper was faln down , the ty-all was broken , so that the bishop could not be rung into the town . there was a great matter made of this , and the chief of the parrish were much blamed for it , in the visitation . the bishop was somewhat quick with them , and signified that he was much offended . they made their answers , and excused themselves as well as they could , it was a chance said they , that the clapper brake , and we could not get it mended by and by , we must tarry till we can have it done it shall be mended as shortly as may be . among the other there was one wiser then the rest , and he comes to the bishop . why ( my lord ) saith he , doth your lordship make so great a matter of the bell that lacketh his clapper ; here is a bell ( saith he ) pointing to the pulpit , that hath lacked a clapper this twenty years . we have a parson that fetcheth out of this benefice fifty pound every year , but we never see him . i warrant you the bishop was an unpreaching prelate , he could find fault with a bell that wanted a clapper to ring him into the town ; but he could not find any fault with the parson that preached not at his benefice . ever this office of preaching hath been least regarded , it hath scant had the name of gods service . they must sing salve festa dies about the church , that no man was the better for it , but to shew their gay coats and garments . i came once my self to a place , riding on a journey homeward from london , and i sent word overnight into the town , that i would preach there in the morning , because it was holy-day ; and me thought it was a holy-dayes worke , the church stood in my way . and i took my horse and my company and went thither , ( i thought i should have found a great company in the church ) and when i came there , the church door was fast locked , i tarried there half an hour and more ; at the last the key was found , and one of the parish comes to me , and sayes ; sir , this is a busie day with us , we cannot hear you , it is robin-hoods day . the parish are gone abroad to gather for robin-hood . i pray you let them not . i was fain there to give place to robin-hood . i thought my rochet should have been regarded , though i were not , but it would not serve , it was fain to give place to robin-hoods men . it is no laughing matter , my friends , it is a weeping matter , a heavy matter , a heavy matter , under pretence of gathering for robin hood , a traytor and a thief , to put out a preacher , to have his office less esteemed , to prefer robin hood before the ministration of gods word , and all this hath come of unpreaching prelates . this realm hath been ill provided for , rhat it hath had such corrupt judgments in it , to prefer robin hood to gods word : if the bishops had been preachers , there should never have been any such thing ; but we have a good hope of better . we have had a good beginning , i beseech god to continue it . but i tell you , it is far wide , that the people have such judgments : the bishops they could laugh at it , what was that to them ; they would have them to continue in ignorance still , and themselves in unpreaching prelacy . part of the seventh sermon preached by mr. latimer before king edward . many speak of faith , but few there be that have it . this faith is a great state , a lady , a duchess , a great woman , and she hath ever a great company and train about her ( as a noble state ought to have . ) first , she hath a gentleman usher , that goeth before her , and where he is not , there is not lady faith. this gentleman-usher is called agnitio peccatorum , knowledge of sin , when we enter into our hearts , knowledge our faults , and stand not about to defend them . he is none of these winkers , he kicks not , when he hears his fault . now as the gentleman-usher goeth before her , so she hath a great train behind her , following after her ; the fruits of good works , the walking in the commandments of god. he that believeth , will not be idle , he will walk , he will do his business . have ever the gentleman-usher with you : so if you will try your faith , remember this rule . consider whether the train be waiting upon her : if you have another faith than this , you are like to go to the scalding house , and there you shall have two dishes , weeping and gnashing of teeth , much good do it you , you see your fare . — not long ago , a great man said in an audience , they babble much of faith , i will go and lie with my whore all night , and have as good a faith as the best of them all : i think he never knew other , but the whoremongers faith ; it is no such faith that will serve . it is no bribing judges nor justices faith , no whoremongers faith , nor no sellers of benefices faith. — if you will believe and acknowledge your sins , so you shall attain to everlasting life , to which the father of heaven bring you and me , amen . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e see his sweet memorial in the book of martyrs . ● pe. . . rev. . bish , reinolds . england so called formerly by the pope . then sadly complained of . kings . . sir harbottle grimston's first speech in the banquetting house at whitehal . see his majesties speech to the lords house . the kings declaration mentions some that censure his majesty for want of zeal to the church , because he presseth not a general conformity to lyturgies , &c. notes for div a -e stabitque here latimer leaves him . nota. nota. nota. idle clergy guilty of sacriledge . nota. note , fas est & ab hoste doceri . notes for div a -e brevis esse laboro , obscurus fio . notes for div a -e mat. . pet. . note , doth not the king in his declaration do so . note . note . o glorious zeal ! excellent counsel fit to be taken by this convocation . note . note . was it not so of late . this winking caused god to open his eyes , and so sorely to visit us as of late . . pet. let the bishops learn their duty from this blessed saint . math. . . prelates have a busie work to do . strawberry preachers once or twice a year . tim. . idle ministers make evil people . math. . ier. c. . o london see thy self in this glass . what would he have said if he had seen so many eminent ministers as are now in london ? note . look to it citizens . is this amended at this day . iniquity aboundeth and love waxeth cold . oh shame . hearken london . hear ye bishops . note . prelacy hath lain a withering this years . it is hoped it will not be so churlish as formerly . note . note . note . note . note this ye nobles . the devil a busie preacher . satan the great hinderer of religion . note . note . pet. . pope the devils chaplain note . why our reformation is so imperfect note this wel . note . note . note , who hindred a more perfect reformation . little hope of good by curates . excellency of gods word . hear ye preachers ex. . , . kin. . note . mat. . . luk. . let court preachers note this let our wild phanatiques observe this . deut. . . this is our mercy . note this ye king-killers . latimer proved a true prophet ▪ note . the true roaylist . 〈◊〉 mercy at this day . let courtiers observe this . our present duty a good wish . note . note , a good motion . note . it is now upon the matter a common prayer matter . rom. note , note . latimer desired gods word to be the rule of reformation . note . note . latimer a faithful bishop . note this court preachers note . luke . o zeal ! note . note . note . note . note . confession of sin . note . note . note . tim. . note . tim. . note . note . note . note . ver. . ver. . note , note . note . note . note . note . math. . note . note . note . note . the question to whom it belonged anciently to preach and whether all priests might or did discussed out of antiquity : as also, what preaching is, properly / by meric casaubon ... casaubon, meric, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - taryn hakala sampled and proofread - taryn hakala text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the question , to whom it belonged anciently to preach : and whether all priests might , or did : discussed out of antiquity : as also , what preaching is , properly . by meric casaubon , d. d. and one of the prebends of ch. ch. canterbury . london , printed for timothy garthwait , at the kings head in st. pauls church-yard . of preaching , as anciently used . since the late directions to ministers , sent by his grace of canterbury to all parishes ; a question was put to me by a friend , a pious orthodox minister , and well affected to the government , what ground there was for those words in the said directions ; that preaching was not anciently the work of every priest , but was restrained to the choicest persons for gravity , prudence , and learning : not that he so much doubted , as i suppose , the truth of what was alledged , or scrupled at the obedience and submission , but that his obedience and submission ( for to that purpose he expressed himself ) upon fuller information and evidence , might be more rational ; or rationally justifiable before god and men , if there should be occasion . i cannot say i use his very words , but to this effect i am sure , as i apprehended him . his question came to me by a letter , and by a letter answer was made . in my answer , i was forced to contract my self as much as i could , being then wholly taken up by some other more pressing duties of my place . but afterwards when i was more at leisure , consulting with my adversaria , and finding , that as many ( known to me ) as had treated of that argument , had not only done it very slightly , as i thought , but also committed divers mistakes in setting down the practice of antiquity ; and that it might be the case of more then this one , who had addressed himself to me for further satisfaction : i thought it would not be unseasonable service , if i published what by diligent reading was come to my observation upon this argument . i shall not keep my self so precisely to the words of the question , but take the liberty of any thing that offers it self by the way , having some reference to it , and may be useful and fit to be known of its self . and first of all , that there may be no mistake about the word , wherein some men of no small account , for want of a right understanding , have been misled in their judgements and opinions ; it will be very requisite , that we consider and agree , what preaching is in general ; and what is that preaching particularly , and by what names known unto the ancients , which is the subject of this discourse . i will not insist upon the latitude of the words , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in greek ; or of concio , or sermo , and such others , whether in greek or latin. though optatus bishop of milevis in africa , was once put to it , when he wrote , episcopalis tractatus , probatur ab omnibus sanctitate vestitus : salutatione scilicet geminata : yet i think there is no man so ignorant in these dayes , but can distinguish between a set speech or oration in general , of any common subject , ordinary or extraordinary , publick or private , but publickly delivered , or fitted , at least , for publick audience , ( besides the difference , either of places , or persons ; ) and that which we usually call a sermon , though both go often under one title in ancient books . but whether any set speech publickly delivered ( setting aside the consideration of the speaker at present ) tending to reformation of life ; as , a serious exhortation to vertue , and contempt of the world , disswasion from vice , and all sensuality , and the like , may be called preaching , may be some question , and the resolution of it of some consequence . it is very certain , that long before and since christ , both among the romans and graecians ( not to speak of other nations less known in those dayes ) such a practice was , answerable in many respects , to what we now call preaching . certainly , if the visible fruits of what we call mortification and renouncing of the world , if outward abstinence and sobriety in life and conversation , if liberal distributing to the necessities of others , if strictest bonds of mutual love and amity be the proper effects and evidences of powerful preaching , it cannot be denied , but such have been the effects often of that kind of preaching which hath been in use among heathens ; for which we have not the authority of the heathens only , but of christians also , fathers and others , who bear witness and tell us of particular examples . and though it is not improbable , that many such things might be done for ostentation only , or some other worldly end , as among christians but too often : yet there is more ground to believe , that more frequently speakers dealt with all simplicity , aiming at the edification ( as we now speak ) of their hearers , as may appear by that excellent passage of musonius the philosopher ( who lived under nero the roman emperour ) recorded by aulus gellius l. v̄ . c. . and by sundry epistles of seneca , as particularly the . and . well worth the reading . whence it is , that the greek fathers use the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( especially st. chrysostome ) so frequently , for piety and godliness and this may be some reason too , which made some of the greek fathers ( as understood by many , at least ) to extend the power 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in general , so far as to maintain , that even before the true and essential 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( or word ) the second person of the trinity was fully revealed unto the world ; the natural 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( reason , or speech , though natural , yet the gift of god , that too ) well managed and improved with care and industry , was able to save ; of which assertion , for it , and against it , much hath been written by some late writers . but though for the matter of their moral discourses and exhortations , they might have much affinity , those that were made by heathens , with those that were made by christians , called sermons ; yea , and excell too for the most part in pregnancy of wit , and ornaments of speech ; yet one main difference is this , that their grounds and motives related unto this life only , as having no knowledge , much less assurance of another life after this : which will much aggravate the case of christians at the day of judgement , who having so much more to ground upon , as promises of eternity , and being partakers of the divine nature , have therefore the more to answer for ; if exhortations do not work more potently upon them , then they did upon heathens , among whom nevertheless they did produce such wonderful effects . now if we look into the property of the greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , usually translated into latin , praedicare ; from whence our english , to preach , is derived ; it doth import a solemn proclaiming , or announcing of somewhat of publick concernment which was not known before ; so doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 too : both which words have particular relation unto christ his blessed incarnation for the redemption of the world . his coming into the world , who was the subject of so many prophesies before , and the expectation ( as both the greek and latin translation render it , gen. . . ) and the desire of all nations , hag. . . as it was solemnly proclaimed or preached by angels at the first , so it is still the proper subject of all preaching ; and though moral discourses and exhortations be also necessary , as a consequent of christ his coming into the world ; yet are they not properly preaching , such as the church may challenge as peculiar unto it self , except they be grounded upon christ , whether as a priest , or a prophet , or a king , in the authority of his commands , the obligation of his example and sufferings , and the excellency of his rewards . for the truth is , the consideration of christ laid aside , though good language and excellency of wit may go far with some men to perswade , and with all , or most , to please , and delight ; yet bare vertue of it self , all things soberly considered , will prove generally but a weak plea ; and as brutus at his death is said to have bemoaned himself ; rather words , then reality . we conclude therefore , first , that moral discourses and exhortations by set speeches and elaborate elocution are not properly preaching , but as grounded , not implicitly only , ( which may be said of the speeches of philosophers in some sense ) but explicitly and expresly upon christ , and the ends of his coming unto the world . secondly , that all publick performances ( by speech , or word of mouth ) tending to the manifestation of christ , and his coming unto the world , and the ends of his coming , ( to which end , holy dayes were instituted and are of special use , ) may truly and properly be called preaching . i say publick , because indeed the original word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , doth import some kind of publickness . but then we must know that a man may be said to preach publickly , as well he that goes from house to house , so far as he can , or is permitted , as he that doth it in a publick auditory before a multitude : for which we have ground in the scripture it self , acts xx. , . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : publickly and from house to house : in socrates his expression upon the like occasion , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . gregory , pope of rome the first of that name ( not unworthily surnamed the great ) in one of his epistles , hath these words concerning deacons : iniquum esse , ut in diaconatus ordine constituti , modulationi vocis inserviant , quos ad praedicationis of ficium , eleemosynarumque studium , vacare congruebat . bellarmin . de cler. l. . c. . doth quote this passage , to prove that deacons were sometimes allowed to preach . but this doth not prove , that they were allowed sometimes , but that it was part of their duty at all times . again , in the council of ancyra , can . . lapsed deacons , though permitted upon their repentance to continue in the place ; that is , to retain the title and honour of it , yet not permitted to discharge the duties , not to minister at the holy table , by distributing the consecrated bread and wine , nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to preach . filesacus , a learned antiquary , doth quote this canon ( as bellarmin , st. gregory ) to prove that deacons were allowed to preach sometimes . but by this canon ( as by gregories passage ) it would appear , that it doth belong unto them as part of their office : and which is worse , because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , are promiscuously used often , to signifie preaching ; in stead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the canon ; filesacus either by a mistake of memory , or purposely , thinking to interpret the one by the other , doth substitute 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which doth much alter the case , and would oblige us to believe , that the canon did intend it of preaching indeed ( as preaching is ordinarily understood ) as part of the deacons duty . but otherwise , it is sure enough , that neither the canon by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , nor pope gregory by praedicare did intend any such thing , as is now understood by preaching . in two respects deacons were then said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or praedicare , according to the propriety of the words , the greek especially . first , in that it was part of their office to read the gospel at the administration of the sacraments : for though there were the lectores besides , whose peculiar office it was to read the scripture to the people generally ; yet at certain times , as peculiarly at the time of the administration of the sacrament of christs body , the deacons read the gospels : so that as the lectores were properly said praedicare , when they read in the church , audibly and distinctly , both the mysteries of our faith , those especially that concern christ revealed , and the instructions and exhortations contained in the word of god ; decret . . dist . . c. . so for the same reason and respect were the deacons too when they read the gospels . and so is the word used in the very scriptures , acts xv . . where moses is said to be preached , that is , read ( as st. iames doth interpret himself ) in the synagogues every sabbath day : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the word there . but gregory doth explain himself , when what he called before praedicationis officium , he doth afterwards as it were expound by evangelicae lectionis officium . again , deacons were said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or praedicare , when by loud voice or proclamation , they did warn the people in several parts of the service what was done , or to be done , that accordingly they might prepare and order themselves , both in their hearts and with their bodies , agreeably to that which was done or performed by the ministers of god , that all things might be performed with good order and due reverence . so they were said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( praedicare ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and the like . among other cryes belonging to every part of the liturgy ( in the greek church ) one was , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in giving warning to the people ( which was the innocency of those holy times , which had some ground also upon the custom of the times : ) when they should salute one another with a holy kiss : which continued till cyrill of ierusalem , as doth appear by his catecheses , which catecheses i have , compared with an ancient manuscript with many additions and alterations . but this is according to the printed copy ; which must be corrected ( according to the translation ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . which doth very well fit the coherence . the heathens also in their sacra , had their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to the same purpose , to regulate the carriage of the people , and to prevent confusion ; mentioned by athenaeus , in his fourth book , and by others . but this , by the way only . after so much of preaching in general , and different notions of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and praedicare : which are the most ordinary words , by which preaching in ancient books is expressed ; to make some application of what hath been said to the question proposed , and so to a positive decision , or determination of it : i say , first : that preaching at large ; by way of catechisme , or by way of familiar , but solid and sober reasoning ; tending , not only to the publishing or spreading of the gospel of christ , and conversion of infidels ; but also to the confirmation , and further edification of them that were already converted ; did alwayes belong , as unto all devout christians in general , as opportunity did offer , and ability did afford ; so particularly unto all priests , as part of their charge and ministry . i say secondly , that at the very beginning of christianity , it is the opinion of some , that all things or most things at least , were common to all men . so the author of the comment upon the epistles , ascribed unto st. ambrose , who upon the fourth chapter of the epistle to the ephesians , hath these words : tamen postquam omnibus locis ecclesiae sunt constitutae , & officia ordinata ; aliter composita res est , quàm coeperat . primùm enim , omnes docebant , & omnes baptizabant , quibuscunque diebus vel temporibus fuisset occasio . nec enim philippus , &c. vt ergo cresceret ecclesia , & multiplicaretur , omnibus inter initia concessum est , & evangelizare , & baptizare , & scripturas in ecclesia explanare . at ubi omnta loca circumplexa est ecclesia , conventicula ( in a good sense , as frequently in ancient books ) constituta sunt , & rectores ; & caetera officia in ecclesiis sunt ordinata , ut nullus de clero auderet , qui ordinatus ( appointed , licensed ) non esset , praesumere officium , quod sciret non sibi creditum , vel concessum , &c. hinc ergo est , quod neque diaconi in populo praedicant ; ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , here ) neque clerici vel laici baptizant ( so all editions i have seen ; and so quoted by learned men : but i know not what sense can be made of the words , except we read : neque ubi clerici , laici baptizant : or to that effect ; which is agreeable to what tertullian , and others witness of those times : that where a clergy-man was not to be had ; that is , in case of necessity ; it was lawful for any to baptize . except clerici be here intended properly the inferioris gradus clerici : that is , all under the order of a deacon . for episcopi , presbyteri , and diaconi , were often joyned under the title of sacerdotes , in general ) neque quocunque die credentes tinguntur , nisi aegri . but it was not so long ; nor then neither , generally , so : but at extraordinary times , and occasions only . thirdly , i say : that as soon as matters of the church came to some regulation ; and a certain government by bishops , priests , and deacons established : bishops within their own diocess , had the sole power of holy functions : priests and deacons were added to them , to help them , and to be employed by them , according to their degree and abilities , as they should see occasion . so that a priest might not baptize , nor administer the communion , nor teach , or interpret the scriptures de loco superiore sedis ecclesiae , as st. augustin calls it , or de cathedrâ , as st. ambrose : as a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a doctor : ( for so they were then called , that did it , either by their own authority as bishops ; or were allowed it , as priests : which is the preaching now in use ) without peculiar allowance of the bishop of the diocess . in many places priests generally were not allowed it : it was not then thought to belong unto them , but unto bishops only . for baptizing , and the administration of the lords supper , we have ignatius his testimony , in those words which are found in the ancient copies , & are warranted by the old interpreter , to be genuine ; the words are these , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . and a little after , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. the latin there is , nemo praeter episcopum aliquid agat eorum , quae ad ecclesiam pertinent . firma eucharistia reputetur , quae ab episcopo concessa fuerit , &c. propterea non licet sine episcopo neque baptizare , &c. so tertullian of baptism : dandi quidem ( baptismum ) habet jus summus sacerdos , qui est episcopus . dehinc presbyter , & diaconus , non tamen sine episcopi authoritate , propter ecclesiae honorem , quo salvo , salva pax est . and so st. ierome , ecclesiae salus in summi sacerdotis dignitate pendet : cui si non exors quaedam , & ab hominibus ( s . omnibus ) eminens detur potestas , tot in ecclesiis efficientur schismata , quot sacerdotes . inde venit , ut sine chrismate ( which chrisma therefore was provided , and for that purpose distributed to the priests , at certain times of the year , by the bishop of every see , as by ancient canons doth appear ) & episcopi jussione , neque presbyter , neque diaconus , jus habeat baptizandi . as for the communion , or eucharist ; besides ignatius , whom we have heard but now ; the author of the epistle , ad rusticum narbonensem , de septem gradibus ecclesiae , by divers ( and indeed it hath much of ierome in it , and is ancient enough , whosoever is the author ) ascribed unto st. ierome ; and in the canon law , decret . distin . . c. . registred under that name ; nec ego dico praesentibus episcopis atque astantibus altari , presbyteros posse sacramenta conficere . sed si fortè usus exegerit , &c. we might add to those , the supposed dionysius areopagita ; whom though we do not acknowledge under that name ; and could give some reasons , if need were , that have not yet been given , to prove him counterfeit : yet we acknowledge him , and all men must , ancient enough to bear testimony in this cause . he speaks as peremptorily , as any doth ; and ascribes all power , both of baptizing , and of consecrating , and teaching , to the bishop : but he is not easily to be understood , but by them that are acquainted with his style ; and worse in a translation , except a man take the liberty of a paraphrase , then in his own original language . but it may suffice to have named him ; there is no need of his words , which have so much of affected obscurity . now , though it might easily be granted perchance , that those who were not allowed to baptize , or to consecrate , without permission ; were much less allowed to preach : yet there is much to be said in that behalf , of preaching particularly , which is our particular undertaking here ; and therefore , not to be omitted . but i will first inquire into the reasons , or grounds , why it was so ordered ; and produce my testimonies , in their orders . the first ground , or reason was , because the bishop , representing more immediately christ himself , in his office ; he was looked upon , as the well-spring , from whom all holy duties were derived : which made him so absolute in his diocess , that it was accounted great usurpation for any man , to challenge any power in the church ( in spiritualibus ) but under him ; and by his deputation . this is well expressed , by the forenamed author , who goes under the name of dionysius areop . where he doth tell us : that the supream order in the ecclesiastical hierarchie , is both supream , and lowest too : as comprehending all others within its self . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , saith he , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . which is yet more fully set out by maximus , the greek scholiast . st. ambrose also , speaks much to the same effect , where he saith , nam in episcopo omnes ordines sunt , quia primus est sacerdos , & princeps & propheta , & evangelista , & caetera , ad implenda officia ecclesiae in ministerio fidelium . and so strict were they in those times , to preserve this absoluteness of a bishop in his diocess , that by some canons of the church , no less then deposition was the mulct , if one bishop had presumed to preach in anothers diocess , without his leave first obtained : and this too , in those times ; when bishops , whereever they were , at home ( within their own diocess ) or abroad , if no lawful impediment , as age , or other accidental indisposition of body ; or some other more advantagious imployment to publick concernments did hinder ; thought themselves bound , and by some canons of councils in some places , were bound to preach every sunday . i have heard , when young my self , from some ancient divines , that it was so in queen elizabeths time ; which among the common people could not but add much to that veneration , which is due from all men unto their place . a second ground , or reason , was , the insufficiency of many priests , in those dayes ( and when was it not so ? ) for so great an employment . what seneca somewhere saith of his philosophy , is very applyable here : damnum quidem fecisse philosophiam , non erit dubium , postquam prostituta est : sed potest in penetralibus suis ostendi , si modo non institorem , sed antistitem nacta est . and this he speaks upon occasion of the many philosophers of his time , who thought themselves brave fellows , because people did run after them to hear them , and with loud cries & acclamations testified their great esteem , & approbation of their performances . this made them to applaud themselves , because applause was the thing they sought after , & chiefly proposed to themselves : but whether their admirers were really the better in their lives , and conversation , for what they heard , was no part , or the least part , at least , of their care : it being generally observed , that they profited ( or edified ) least , who were most ready to applaud , and by outward expressions , shewed greatest pleasure . these he calls institores , and saith , that philosophy was prostituted by them . and st. austin hath much to that purpose too : and so divers other fathers . but this is not my business . when that is done , we may think of it again in the end . that insufficiency was a great reason , and that preaching ( such pulpit preaching , or teaching by way of authority , which gave them the title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or doctores ) was thought too great a work , then , for every priest ( who might find work enough otherwise , if they acquitted themselves , as they were bound ) to undertake , or to be trusted with ; one passage of st. chrysostome , will so clearly evidence , that we shall not need to seek further . upon those words of s. paul , in his first epistle to the corinthians and first chapter ( ver . . ) for christ sent me not to baptize , but to preach the gospel : treating of the labour and toylesomness of it ( besides the danger , which he doth not here mention , but elsewhere he doth ; vain glory and popularity ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . that is , to preach the gospel of christ ( out of the pulpit as a doctor , must be supplyed in the words ) it is well , if one or two may be found that are fit : but to baptize , any man that is but a priest . and a little after , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . therefore , saith he , to this day we commit that ( baptizing : he doth only mention baptizing , though much more did belong unto priests , because baptizing only is mentioned by s. paul ) to the weaker : but the business of preaching ( or teaching ) to them that are more learned ( or wise : ) nothing can be clearer , or more express , then this . to st. chrysostome , we shall add balsamon , who was well acquainted with ecclesiastical businesses , both of his time , and of former times , ( and though no friend to the pope , yet is commended for his diligence by divers papists ) whose assertion upon the councils , inmore then one place , is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that priests are not preachers , or teachers ; and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . that to teach the people ( that is , de loco superiore , or out of the pulpit ) is granted unto the bishops only ; ( or unto them , who have authority from the bishops , must be supplyed out of others , though not here expressed . ) the same more fully , upon the sixty fourth canon of the council in trullo : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. to teach the people of god , and to interpret the divine decrees ( 〈…〉 the scriptures ) is granted by the grace of the holy spirit unto bishops only , and unto them that are permitted ( or authorized ) by them . it is true , that the same balsamon elsewhere , doth seem to contradict himself , when upon the fifty eighth canon of those called the apostles , having first laid down that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . he doth add , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. that such also ( teachers ) priests , ought to be , as they that have the priviledge of higher seats , ( in the quire , or church ) next unto the bishop . but in effect , there is no repugnancy ; neither in the words of balsamon , nor in the words of the canon . for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( which is the expression of the canon ) to instruct to godliness , in general : there is no question , but priests also are bound by their office , as priests : and in case they be allowed by the bishop , as doctors , to teach , or to preach out of the pulpit , and neglect it , ( which is all that can be made of balsamons interpretation of the canon , compared with other places ) they are lyable to censure . indeed upon the twentieth canon of the synodus trull . we find somewhat , that hath much more appearance of repugnancy : in those words : sacerdotis autem munus ; accipe etiam de docendi munere ; & non de sola sacrificii celebratione . sacerdotes enim antiquitùs , necesse habebant etiam docere . but whose words these are , i know not : for i find no greek in the text , to answer to this latin. now for the latin church : of the churches of africa , so numerous in those dayes ; we have good records , attested by the most eminent of the latin fathers , as st. ierome , and st. augustin : that till valerius his time ( by whom st. augustin was consecrated ) priests were not allowed to preach ; or to speak more properly , that the pulpit was one of the bishops peculiar priviledges . valerius , they all say , was the first , that did alter the custom in his church : whose example , was soon followed by others : as peculiarly by aurelius bishop of carthage ; for which he was much commended by st augustin : as may appear by those congratulatorie letters of his unto the said aurelius , upon that occasion . baronius hath it at large out of possidonius , ierom , and st. augustin . tentavit s. valerius ( saith baronius ) quod ante nullus episcoporum africanorum attigerat ; nempe ut presbyter evangelium praedicaret , cum non nisi episcopi id obirent muneris . which also is attested by optatus milevitanus , a bishop of those dayes , in his books against the donatists , who doth not argue it , but delivers it upon occasion , as a thing notoriously known , that tractare , est episcoporum . however , those testimonies in baronius , deliver it not so generally ; that it was not lawful , absolutely : but not lawful , or allowed , that they should do it , praesente episcopo . but to our purpose , it comes all to one , whether they might not absolutely , before , till valerius had broken the ice , and others followed his example : or , whether it was praesente episcopo only , that it was not lawful ; certain it is , that all did not ; and none did , but those that were licensed by the bishops . and certainly , that was the practice over all churches in those dayes : neither do i believe , that one priest of a hundred , was allowed it , or ever did it . but we must distinguish of times too . for there was a time , when all priests had their maintenance from the bishop immediately ; and were called sportulantes presbyteri ; and were employed by him , as he saw occasion . then , after the increase of christianism , parishes came to be divided ; and upon that division , particular parishes assigned to particular priests . since which time , it is apparent by some canons of later councils , that priests ( now persons ) were not only allowed ; but also , called upon , and enjoyned to preach in their parishes ; to which end pulpits were erected in most parishes . but of all things i have read upon this argument , i have alwayes most wondred at the relation of sozomens , the greek historian ; who , where he treats of different customs , in different places , doth attest , that as in alexandria ( which is also attested by socrates ) the bishop only did preach , or teach : so in rome , neither bishop , nor any body else : his words are , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. and then , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . it is translated by cassiodorus , in his , historia , tripartita , apud romanos in unoquoque anno , semel psallunt alleluja ; primo die paschae , it a ut romani velut pro juramento habeant ( a ridiculous mistake : he found it in his copy , as we have it to this day , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; the true reading , certainly ; that is , pro re difficili & multi laboris habeant ) ut hunc hymnum audire mereantur ( that is ; audiant . ) in qua ecclesia , neque episcopus , neque alter quisquam coram populo docet . there is so much to be said against this , as that i must needs mistrust a mistake . and yet it were as hard to believe , that sozomen , either ( wittingly or willingly ) would misinform , where he could be so easily convinced : or could be misinformed himself , in a thing of so publick observation . i conceive the mistake may lye in those words , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which may import ( being translated , in ecclesia ) that it was not the fashion in rome , for any body to preach in the middle of the church : but in the quire only ; or from the staires , or ascent , tending to the quire , as in divers other places . history records tell us , that chrysostome , by reason of the multitude of people , that flocked from all places to hear him , was forced to change his place . baronius saith , he did , suggestum in medio ecclesiae collocare ; but i think he is mistaken . for his authors , though he name them not , were no other , certainly , then sozomen , and nicephorus : both which say , that he did it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : ex lectorum ambone , seu pulpito : from the readers pulpit , seated in those dayes , in the middle of the body of the church . now it is probable , that others , both before , and since chrysostom did the same . socrates also , speaking of origens preaching , hath the same words , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . it seems therefore , that it was usual enough , in those places : but not so at rome . if so , then cassiodore was much mistaken , in rendring those words , in this place ( for otherwise the words will bear it very well ; and of the two , it is the most warrantable translation , as to the words ) coram populo : where it was intended , in ecclesia ; of the place , precisely . or it may be , because sermons were in the quire , not in the body of the church , as elsewhere : though the people might come and hear ; yet not so many as when , or where , in the body of the church : therefore not thought so properly to preach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is , populo . if any man can devise any thing more probable , i shall be glad ; for i have no great confidence in this . but i have not yet met with it , i am sure . however , this occasion being given me , i cannot but profess my great dislike , that service , and sermon , should be parted any where ; the one , in one place ; the other , in another ; if it may possibly be avoided . especially at such a distance , as it is here with us , in the cathedral and metrapolitical church of christ in canterbury . i conceive it to be one main reason , that so few are acquainted , and by consequent , not more in love , with the service : which if better known unto them , and the many benefits they might reap , by observing diligently every part of it ( which the ancient fathers of the church , do often refer their auditors unto ) would certainly be in far greater request ; that i say not , admiration : which yet i profess to believe , that it doth highly deserve , at the hands of all both religious and wise . that the place is not so convenient for many to hear ( though i believe there be but few quires in england , either more spacious , or more stately ) is but a weak plea , against such apparent mischief , by contempt of the service , and therein of god himself ; of his holy word especially , which makes a great part of the service . but this by the way only ; out of a deep sense of the abuse , and earnest desire of redress . we will now consider , what can out of antiquity ( for that is all we have to do ) be objected to the contrary ; in opposition , i mean , to that assertion , ( the subject of our discourse ) that preaching was not anciently the work of every priest . franciscus bernardinus ferrariensis , ( to begin with him first ) one of the doctors of the colledge of milan , in his book , de ritu concionum , printed at milan , a. d. . takes upon him to prove , jam inde à primis ecclesiae temporibus , concionandi munus etiam presbyterorum fuisse : that it belonged unto bishops principally ; ( episcoporum maximè proprium fuisse ) he doth not deny . but he adds , sed & presbyteros , ijsdem primis ecclesiae temporibus , publicè concionari solitos , quoniam quidem non satis notum ijs videtur , qui multa in hanc rem collegerunt , nos ex apostolicarum constitutionum autore , &c. it should seem by him , some that had undertaken the same before him , had performed it but very slenderly , as he thought ; and therefore did expect he should do them no small pleasure . his chief , and as i may say , only author ( for the rest prove nothing of ancient times ; much less , de primis ecclesiae temporibus ) is the compiler of the apostolical constitutions ; so intituled . what some protestants , great pretenders to the knowledge of antiquity , have made bold to affirm , concerning these constitutions , i know well enough . but great undertakers , are not alwayes the surest men , either to perform , or to be trusted too . the most learned papists , have given them over long ago , as bellarmin , baronius and others , as not justifiable : and he that desireth further satisfaction , let him read the prolegomena of that truly pious and learned prelate , james vsher , archbishop of armach , to his edition of ignatius his epistles : who is of opinion , that the book , as now interpolated , was not known to the world , till the sixth age after christ . and in case it had been known before , some part of it ; yet being a counterfeit book , at the first ; what credit his testimony , or , a testimony rather ( if it be the work of many hands ) taken out of him , may deserve ; let the reader judge . the other testimonies , which he doth produce , they concern later times , and import no more then this , that power is given unto priests : or , that for the time to come , they are appointed and commanded to preach in their parishes ; or lastly , that bishops were to take care , that those whom they knew able , should be employed : which rather shews , that anciently it was not so ordinary for priests to be employed ; but not at all , that till licensed , or appointed by the bishop of the diocess , they did ever presume ( or might legally ) to do it . it is not doubted , but that all priests , by vertue of their ordination , have a legal capacity to preach , as now understood : but their ordination doth neither confer ability of performance , in point of parts : nor giveth power of actual execution at pleasure , for time , or place : the tryal of the one , and the allowance of the other , altogether depending of the bishop , in those times . so that in effect , all that ferrarius doth bring to prove his assertion , for which he did expect thanks , it seems , from some , who had attempted it before , but with little success ; is no more then what we grant , and may grant , without prejudice to our assertion , and present undertaking . the reader may take notice , that the words of the constitutions , quoted by ferrarius out of turrianus his translation ; are by bovius ( episcopo ostunensi ) very differently translated , quite to another sense , which hath nothing of preaching in it . i had not at this time ( i once had , i am sure ) the original greek to consult . but i guess , that turrianus was in the right ; and bovius mistaken . but again : possidonius in the life of st. augustin , where he speaks of the custom of the african churches , that no priest , absolutely , saith baronius ; no priest before his bishop , saith possidonius ; might preach ; and how that custom was altered by valerius ; et eidem presbytero ( augustino scil . ) potestatem dedit coram se in ecclesia evangelium praedicandi ; ac frequentissimè tractandi , contra usum quidem , & consuetudinem africanarum ecclesiarum . vnde etiam ei nonnulli episcopi detrahebant . then follows , sed ille vir venerabilis ac providus , in orientalibus id ex more fieri , sciens , utiliter ecclesiae consulens , &c. what can we infer upon this ? this , as i conceive : not that a priest , by the custom of the place might preach in the eastern church , without a license from the bishop : but that , once licensed and allowed , he might without offence preach before his bishop , as well as in his absence . again , some ground of objection against what we here maintain , may be taken from the words of the epistle , adscribed unto s. ierome ( which , as i intimated before , hath much of st. ierome his sense and spirit in it , though for some other reasons it is very likely that it is not his ) ad rusticum narbonensem episcopum , de septem gradibus ecclesiae . nemo hinc episcoporum ( saith he ) invidiâ diabolicae tentationis inflatus , irascatur in templo , si presbyteri interdum exhortentur plebem ; si in ecclesia praedicent ; si plebibus , ut scriptum est , benedicant , &c. and then tells us , that romae , and in oriente , in italia , in creta , in cypro , in africa , in illyrico , in hispania , in britannia , and , ex parte , per gallias : it was so . if this be true , then france was the only place at that time , where priests were not allowed , or licensed to preach at all . or at least , not to preach , praesente episcopo : which those words , irascatur in templo , may seem to import . but because in this whole chapter , he doth alwayes speak , absolutely , without any such limitation , or intimation , as praesente episcopo : i rather suspect a transposition ; ( not by any fault of the copy ; but from the author himself ; which is ordinary enough to best writers ) and that those words , in templo , belong not to nemo episcoporum ; but to , si presbyteri exhortentur , &c. what then shall we , or can we make of this testimony ? this , certainly , and no more : that priests who for learning and other parts , were found fit , which formerly in many places , whether fit , or not fit , would not be granted ; were then in most places , allowed , or licensed to preach : or , being allowed , and licensed ; might do it praesente episcopo ; as well as when he was out of the way . but when all is done , or said , that can be said upon this subject ; we must acknowledge , that according to difference of times , and places ; great variety may be observed ; as in other things , observed by ecclesiastical writers ; so in this particular . we do not therefore undertake to prove , that alwayes , and in all places of christianity , it hath been so : but that in ancient times , and most generally , priests did not preach ( in that sense as preaching is now generally understood ) except they were called , and licensed to it , by the bishop . i know well enough , that upon some extraordinary occasions , some deacons : and some , who were neither priests , nor deacons , have been allowed , and employed : but this proves nothing against what we maintain : and i hope there hath been enough said , to satisfie , that it is so indeed . now from the consideration of all that hath been said : if without offence i may , i would by way of corollarie , propose it to the consideration of all , truly sober , and impartially judicious ; whether those men that have reduced , or endeavoured to reduce , all holy duties , or functions , belonging to a priest , or presbyter , to pulpit preaching ; leaving men to the liberty , not of moral discourses , at large , only , ( in which kind i dare undertake , that some discourses of ancient heathens , judiciously selected , may pass for good sermons ) but also of politick speculations , and passages of the time ( witness many , if not most sermons under the late rebellion and tyranny : ) and those churches , ( we will call them so ) where pulpit preaching is , or hath been the only publick exercise of religion : without any standing liturgy ; any administration of the sacraments , ( as many were in those dayes ) any observation of holy dayes , properly relating to christ ; ( for the observation of the sunday , or lords day , as pressed by many ; is rather jewish , then christian ; if not antichristian : contrary to the judgement and practice of purest antiquity : ) whether i say , those men , in the judgement of antiquity , so far as may be gathered by the premises ; would have been : or should any of those ancient fathers of the church , whom for their labours and their sufferings , for christ and his church , all true christians so much honour , and reverence ; now revive ; would be accounted right priests , worthy of that name and title : or those churches , true christian churches . i leave all men to the liberty of their judgements : let them consider of it soberly . but this must be understood as proposed of priests and churches , in times of peace and liberty , not of persecution : which in many particulars may alter the case . and since we have said so much of preaching in general ; i think it will not be amiss , before we end , to enquire a little further into the nature of that we call pulpit preaching ; and wherein the true advantage , and excellency of it , lyeth . the end , as i conceive , of all preaching , tending to edification ; ( which all preaching doth pretend unto ) is , either to inform , or to reform : that is , to teach , or to perswade . where both those may effectually be attained , whether out of the pulpit , or without : it will be granted i hope , that that may be called preaching . of teaching , there will be less question , or difficulty : perswasion is the thing that publick preaching doth especially aim at . some men are of opinion , that no preaching is effectual to perswade ; that is not set out with some ardor , and vehemency of speech , and action : which they call , the life of preaching : and upon that account speak scornfully of homilies , or reading of homilies , as destitute of that life , which they require . indeed flectere , or persuadere , is by rhetoricians ordinarily made the proper effect of that which they call , grandis oratio . and st. augustin in those elaborate books de doctrina christiana , ( for the most elaborate part whereof , he was much beholding to tully ) he seems to be of that opinion too ; he is very copious in the commendation of it . however , upon better consideration , both of the nature of things , and of the nature of men , it will easily appear , that there be more wayes to perswade ; and some perchance not less powerful , then that so much extolled faculty . it is a noble question in the schools , and in the speculation of nature , vtrum voluntas necessariò determinetur ab intellectu ? for my part , notwithstanding that ordinary objection from the poet , — video meliora , proboque deteriora sequor ; i profess , i am very inclinable ( if the matter be rightly stated ) to believe that it is . my meaning is , that all or most sins proceed from ignorance . let a man be rightly informed , wherein true happiness doth lie ; what is truly expedient , and profitable , and what is not : that this , or that particularly is against his interest , and main end : so informed , that he believe it ; and be fully satisfied , or convicted , in his mind , or understanding , by clear light and evidence of reason , that it is so indeed : i think he will need no other perswasion . seneca hath two epistles of this argument , whether the dogmata of philosophy , by which the understanding is rightly informed , be sufficient to produce good living ; without particular precepts , or , rhetorical exhortations : it is argued on both sides very learnedly , and copiously ; according to the exuberancy of his wit. et fortasse , rebus ipsis cognitis , it● movebuntur , ut eos non opus sit majoribus eloquentiae viribus jam moveri : st. augustin saith , even where he doth so amply set out his grandis oratio . besides , as all kind of musick doth not fit all ears , either to please , or to stir affections : so neither doth one kind of oration , equally prevail with all men . flumen alijs verborum , volubilitasque cordi est ; qui ponunt in orationis celeritate eloquentiam : distincta alios , & interpuncta ; intervalla , moraeque , respirationesque delectant . nay , not particular men only , differ in their judgements , in point of oratory , but whole nations : some affect one way , some another : so that what among some is applauded and admired ; is by others exploded , and vilified , as foolish and ridiculous ; as by the same grand master of rhetorick is well observed . i do not deny , but ardent and vehement speech , is generally most plausible and powerful : yet i find that some accounted learned and judicious , have avoided it , as having too much affinity , with madness and distraction . wise men are apt to suspect any thing that is accompanied with passion ; as knowing that passion and reason seldom go together ; and that a calm temper of the mind , is the best temper , for the discovery of the truth . neither is that , which is most popular , and plausible , alwaies most profitable . vehement language , with voice and action suitable , is most apt to stir up the affections , we grant it : but as the wind upon the water , whilest it bloweth ; so that , whilest it is heard , or read : when the sound is out of the ear , and the impressions out of the fancy , which will soon be : the stir of the affections is abated , and men for the most part , are the same as before . but when by strength of reason and ratiocination , the judgement is convicted ; and a mans reason fully satisfied , that it is so , and so ; and in point of practice ought to be so ; the fruits and effects of such conviction , are usually more durable , and of greater operation upon the soul and affections . if to perswade , be the chiefest and noblest work of rhetorick , or eloquence ; and which gives the grandis oratio , the preheminence above the two other kinds ; as we are taught by the masters of that art : i do not doubt , but we may find the power of perswasion in some other faculties and wayes , as eminent , as in vehement language . how admirably did socrates work upon the affections of men , even to astonishment , if we consider the effects ; meerly by familiar interrogations ? or , if not only so ; yet chiefly so , i am sure , as by best records of those times may appear . the ancients had a way ; it was much used in ancient times ; and it hath much affinity with christ his way , by parables ; to perswade men by moral apologues , and fables ; which made aesop so famous in his dayes . and do not we read of wonderful things atchieved this way , when no other oratory would prevail ? did not menenius agrippa , when the common people of rome , provoked by the cruelty of usurers , were gathered together in a seditious manner , and had taken arms , to the great terror of the senate , and whole city ; pacifie them , and to the admiration of all men , by that famous apologue , of the members of the body ( st. paul , romans the twelfth , hath much of it ) reduce them to obedience ? so arsinoe the queen , as we read in plutarch , when nothing could allay her immoderate weeping and lamentation for the death of her son ; one of the philosophers of those times , found a way by such an apologue of his own devising , to perswade her to patience . and what use did nathan , the prophet , make of such a device or made story , to make david his king , who perchance would not have endured it another way ; sensible of his great unthankfulness towards his god , who had done so much for him ; in that in despight of gods commandement , thou shalt not commit adultery , he had seized upon another mans wife ; and because his plot would not take , which he had plotted , to save his credit , ( as one sin doth often beget another ) was provoked to plot the death of her husband ? if therefore , the chief end of preaching , be to teach , or to perswade : conversion , or reformation ; how it can be said , that eloquence , or studied oratory , is the only way , i leave it to the judgement of men , who are more led ( which few are ) by reason , then prejudice , or prejudicate opinions . for my part , i think , catechising , if rightly used , hath much the advantage of it . there is another way too , which with men who are more for reason , then words , is of great force ; and that is , by short aphorismes . my opinion is , that the frequent reading of epictetus ( especially , as fitted anciently for the use of christians ) may go much further to perswade a man , that is rational ; then many sermons , such as he may hear in many churches . and so may ludovicus vives his introduction to wisdome ; digested and compiled by certain short rational aphorismes . it is true , that much good may be done by rhetorick : but , as much good ; so , much evil also ; for which reason it hath been forbidden formerly in some judicatories . but since speech and oratory ( as once among the athenians , when it ruled all there ; and since that , among the romans ) is now become in so much request , among both great and small ; that nothing almost is accounted religion , or learning , but what cometh out of the pulpit : and that this is the very way , which the enemyes of the churches peace , and government , since the reformation of religon , have ever gone in england , to gain credit with the people : this way , this popular way of preaching , though perchance , less of it otherwise , might serve in some places , if all other things were duly performed ; ought to be in great request unto all , unto whom , the peace and prosperity of the church is dear and precious : so that still care be taken , so far forth , as by good means it may be prevented ; that none be allowed , or licensed to preach , but such as are true sons of the church . however , though for divers respects , we maintain the necessity of this way ; yet it were very requisite , i think , that people should be made to understand every-where , how much , and how dangerously they are deluded , when they are made to believe , that there is no other preaching effectual to the conversion of souls ; and that this is the word of god , that which is uttered out of pulpits ; so much commended , and so necessary to salvation . which conceit , when men are once prepossessed with ; it makes them to despise the true word of god ( the infallible true word of god , i mean ; for sermons also , if orthodox , may be called the word of god at large ) when it is read in the church , out of the old , and new testament : and this contempt of it , bereaves them of the benefit , which they might reap by it . i am perswaded , that all the blasphemies , which some papists have belched out against the scriptures , being put together ; will scarce make one half , of what the puritans and precisians of england have done , to advance the honour of pulpit preaching , wherein they did conceive ( and they were right in that ) their advantage to lie . let them be beaten off from that advantage , which may easily be done , if care be taken ( and god be praised , care hath been taken in london of late , the chiefest city : might it be so too in all other places ) it is to be hoped , that the quarrel will soon be at an end . but see ( i pray the reader to give me leave ) the impudency of some of those men ; far be it from me , to censure all . the author of that infamous pamphlet , called puritanismus anglicanus ( a man , both for this , and his other writings ; some of which have been printed , i am loth to say where : of no small account , among them that are bred that way ) the very first mark , by which he doth describe , and set out an english puritan , is , that , verbum dei , prophetarum & apostolorum scriptis comprehensum , numeris omnibus perfectum esse , arctè tenent , ( so he speaks ) accurateque defendunt . whereas in very deed , of all things ( not a few ) that can be laid to the puritans charge , i know not any thing , either more notorious , or more detestable , then this very thing , that they so vilifie the pure word of god , comprehended in the writings of the prophets and apostles , dayly read in churches , at the time of divine service ; as to make it of no use at all to the conversion of souls : appropriating as much , as in them lyeth , that sacred title of gods word , to their own pulpit preaching . which also they will often call the gospel , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and without any limitation , whereby people ( deluded silly people ) are brought to believe , that there is no other gospel , but what is preached out of pulpits : and in case any of that party ( though the occasion be never so just ) be prohibited to preach , that the gospel doth suffer thereby , and is in danger . another great and dangerous error , in this business of preaching , which would be looked into , is , that many , because they hear sermons with joy ; and are eager after them ; through ignorance of the nature of speech , in general ; and of former times , withall : without any further examination , what operation it hath upon their lives ; they are ready to flatter themselves , that this love they bear unto the word , must needs be an argument of grace ; and an effect of the spirit of regeneration ; and in this confidence , they live secure , and regardless of any thing else , by which they might edifie : and not only so , but become proud , insolent , and censorious ; many of them . whereas there is nothing more certain , then that it is the nature of speech , whatever the argument be , if it be fitted to the ears of the auditors , to be winning , and be witching : not only to delight , but even to ravish : to cause admiration , and astonishment : in brief ; to have the same effects as musick , even the best musick and melody can have upon the minds of men . it is a secret of nature , which every body doth not understand : but i have argued it elsewhere at large ; and clearly by evidence of reason , evinced it , that there is musick in words , in the composition of words ; in the ordering ; in the pronounciation : in the tone , and action of the speaker : briefly , in all that belongs unto oratory . and such hath been the power of speech and oratory , in former ages among heathens , that whole towns and villages have been forsaken ( for a time ) of inhabitants ; whilest men both rich and poor , did run after some sophist , or philosopher , who would entertain them , it may be , with some moral discourse ; it may be with somewhat else , that had no reference at all to life , and manners ; much less , to godliness and piety : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , indeed ; amazement and astonishment , was the very thing , that sophists did affect , and propose to themselves ; and he that could not attain unto it ( great indeed was the labour they did undergo to bring this to pass ) was accounted to have miscarried in his profession . what operation the moral discourses of ancient philosophers , have had upon some men , as not only to produce plentiful tears at present , but also a sudden change of life ; yea sometimes an absolute forsaking of the world , and the pleasures of this life : hath been touched before . but it is as certain , and examples of it have been produced elsewhere , that many , notoriously wicked and impious , yet were very studious to hear such discourses , as pleasant and delightful for the excellency of speech . to which may be added , that anciently many profest heathens , enemies to the christian religion ; did studiously repair to the sermons , and homilies of some learned , and eloquent bishops ; not to edifie by their doctrine : but to partake to the pleasure of good language . some perchance , for what i have said ( for i cannot expect it should please all men ) will be ready to suspect , or to traduce me , for one that is no friend to sermons . truly , i should be sorry to give just cause : i wish , where there is one , there might be two ; so the ministers be orthodox , and that it be not to the prejudice of gods holy word . i think the better of them , because i doubt much , when they come to be disused , or less used , learning in general ( for the extempory pratlings of illiterate phanaticks , and enthusiasts , i do not call sermons ) will suffer ; as at this day , in moscovia , and divers other places . but i must suspect his sincerity to religion , that is not sensible of the wrong done unto gods holy word , by those , who seem ( but for their own ends , i doubt ) to be most zealous for sermons . st. chrysostome , what he was for a preacher , his very name or surname rather , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) is some argument : but his works yet extant , a stronger evidence . somewhat was said of him before . it grieved his pious soul , when he observed , that there was no such crowding , when the word of god was read in time of divine service , as when he preached . in one place , he doth expostulate the matter with his auditors : and among other things , sticks not to tell them , that preaching ( pulpit preaching ) was not absolutely necessary , but only for the daintiness of men : the bare word of god , that was read in the church , being sufficient to salvation : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( saith he ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( so printed ; i think it must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is : it is our daintiness ( or sloathfulness : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is a great word in s. chrysostome , very comprehensive , and not easie to be expressed : propter fastidia plurimorum , etiam ipsa , sine quibus vivi non potest , alimenta condienda sunt : saith st. augustin , upon the like occasion ) that hath made this need ( to wit , of pulpit preaching ) all things are plain and obvious to the eyes ; all things manifest , that are necessary , in the divine scriptures . but because you must hear with pleasure , that is it , that makes you to require this way of preaching also . and then he meets with another objection ; that it is tedious and unpleasing , to hear the same thing ( though it be the scripture ) over and over , often : which they must needs do , if they did constantly , as was required , attend the service . it is excellently well answered by him . o , that all popular preachers ( i intend it not as a reproach ; for i look upon it , as a great blessing , if it be well used ) would imitate this pious mans zeal , for god and his holy word ! who are so far from it , many of them , that it is their endeavour and main design ( it is for their honour and reputation : but for their profit too ; and to the advantage of their cause , most of all ) to maintain the people in that conceit , that sermons are the only word of god ; that there is no preaching of the word , but that : that to love sermons , and to run after sermons , is a certain sign of grace and regeneration ; that god loves them , and they love god : and in that conceit , though their lives and their actions shew nothing of the power of godliness ; how many live and dye ! this was the zeal of this holy father , for gods holy word , read in the church publickly , in time of divine service . who nevertheless himself , was a zealous constant preacher of the word , as any age ( though most bishops , great preachers , then ) hath known : and as much followed , and admired , by all sorts of people . some part of the year , he preached every day ; and yet could not preach often enough , to satisfie the longings of the people : a man indeed endowed with extraordinary parts , for that holy function . and least any man for want of piety and industry ( though piety indeed , if true and real , will make a man industrious ) should be ready to take the advantage of these words of st. chrysostome , that sermons are not needful : let them know , that though just indignation , and a holy zeal , for gods holy word , and the church service , made him say so here : yet that it was not his opinion , absolutely and positively ; as may appear , not only by his practice ( the best evidence ) but also by what he writes elsewhere ; as particularly upon tim. . . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( saith he ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and shortly after ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where be they now , who say , there is no need of sermons ( o● teaching ) — whereas in very truth , it is a great thing : i say a great thing ; and of great concernment for the edification of the church , that the governours of it ( bishops , properly : but it may now extend to all that are called rectores ecclesiarum , and their substitutes ; curates , and vicars ) be teachers , or preachers : and the want of it , is the occasion of much evil in the church . certainly , the church will be happy in it , if both in the one , and in the other : in his zeal for the true word of god , as it is read daily in the church : and in his diligence to preach the same ( which in regard of the intention , or institution of preaching , may be called the word of god also ) he may have many followers . god grant it . and here i end . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e plat. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. . greg. mag. epist . lib. . . ad rom. fil. varia de episcoporum authorit . c. . p. . cyr. hieros . catach . myst . . p. . ignat. epist ad smyrn . ed. . p. hieron . cont . lucif . . . p. . dion . areop . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ambros . ubis . p. . sen. ep . . p. . bals . ad cens . . syn. const . & can. . syn. trull . pag. . opt. l. . contra don. fran. bern. fer. l. . c. turr. p. . bovi . ed. p. . hieron . to iv. ( vellx . ) ed. plant. p. . &c. cic. in ora. cic. ibid. aberat tertia illa laus : — neque erat ulla vis atque contentio : sive consilio , quod eos quorum altior oratio , actioque esset ardentior , furere & bacchari arbitraretur : sive , &c. purit . angl. sive praecipua , &c. francof . . auctore gulielmo amesio . august . de doct. chri. c. xii .