The Beauties of Bethel, Treatise · Answer 6 – Question 6
An. To which I answer that euen we (secondarily) are to be heard and receiued with the same respect and certainty so farre forth as wee follow and deliuer to the Church the doctrine of the Apostles. For herein we also are the Angels of the Lord of hostes, and Ambassadors Malac, 2.7, 2 cor, 5. 21.in the stead of Christ.
And all the partes of the Ministry in our hands (wee following the word) are as sure and infallible, as if an Angel or Christ from heauen should execute them. If we threaten it is as if ye Lion of ye Tribe of Iudah should roare: if we cōfort it is as sure & sweet to the beleeuing soule as if the Angels should comfort vsus as they did Christ in his agonie. Yea or Christ him-selfe from heauen, as hee did the women that sought him after hee was risen. If wee admonish, exhort, perswade, it is all one as if Christ should do it, who hath said: he that heareth you, heareth me. And in eueryevery of these the sheepe of Christ heare his voyce, who is the great pastor of the sheepe, and not so much ours, and with Iohn, 10.the spouse of Christ saith: this is the voice of my welbeloued.
4. Hereby the wisedom of God would giuegive vsus to conceiue that seeing wee are taught by man; the one half (as ye Queen of Sebah spoke of Salomon) of the blessednesse prepared for them yt louelove God is not, nor cannot while we liue here be made known to vsus; seeing it cannot enter into the heart of man, much lesse be vttered with his tongue. And therfore we should raize vp our hearts after that blessed reuelation, wherein Christ himselfe shall become our teacher, and reueale The office of Angels is not to preach but to set men & protect them in Preaching.vntounto vsus our full happinesse.
And further as the mercy, louelove and wisedome of God hath established this ordinance, so also it will not be amisse in a word to see how hee hath euer maintained this his owne order in his Church.
And first the Angels hauehave another office designed them by God in the Church then to vsurpe the Ministry. And although the LORD imployed them in priuate messages vntounto priuate persons; yet I remember not that euer in the publicke Ministry their office was to preach, but to set men on preaching, and preserue them in teaching: we read that they were to reueale from God to his Prophets some part of his will: which the Prophets were to deliuer to the Church, but the Church was not to depend on the ministry of the Angels but on ye Ministry of man. One Zach. 2.4.Angel commaundeth another to teach Zachary a prophecy which he must deliuer vntounto the church concerning the building and repayring of the Citty and Temple, Go tell this young man. But nether of the Angels might publish this prophecie vntounto the church.
So the Eunuch sitting in his Chariot Act. 8. 26.reading the Scriptures and not knowing what hee read; an Angel sendeth Philip to teach him. But why did not the Angel teach the Eunuch him-selfe? Was it because he could not? Or if he could might not hee in such an extraordinary time hauehave saued Philip that tedious iourney between Gaza & Azotus, which were distant a sunder about six & thirty miles? Yes hee could hauehave taught him, but hee would not, nor might not; but sendeth him an ordinary meanes, teaching vsus that if there be a Philip wee must from him seek instruction, and not from the mouth of an Angel.
In like manner an Angel in a vision Act, 16. 9.stood before Paul like a man of Macedonia, & praied him saying, come & helpe vsus in Macedonia; which was a calling of Paul to teach that people in the way of God. But why did not the Angell him-selfe in whose mouth the Word would seem to carry much more authority, and who would hauehave beene much more respected then Paul; why doth not hee go and preach in Macedonia? Surely because it was as farre as his calling extended to set Paul to this businesse; and he would not meddle with a calling destinated vntounto man.
The Lord Jesus him-selfe when he vndertook that function in which hee declared himself the chiefe Doctor of his church; would first take flesh and become man; and in that flesh declare his fathers name to his brethren. To which purpose the Apostle saith: that God in these last daies hath spoken by his son: that is very familiarly by his son made man. Yea further when he was ascended into his glory, hee would from thence shew him-selfe powerfull to Paul to the casting him to the ground, to ye humbling Act, 9. 6.of his heart by terror & astonishment, and so to the preparing and fitting of him vntounto instructiō: but when he comes to be taught he sendeth him into the Citty: he leaueth al yt function vntounto Ananias. Wherin he expresly in his own example teacheth that it was his good pleasure that, that ministry of Pastors, and teachers which hee hadde a little before his ascension established in the Church, for the gathering together of his Saintes, for the worke of the Ministry and the edification of the body of Christ should bee inuiolably Eph, 4. 12, 13.preserued in the Church till his comming againe, wherein wee shall all meete together in the vnity of the faith and knowledge of the sonne of GOD, vntounto a perfect man and vntounto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christ.
And lastly as we hauehave already sufficiently Vntrue that those who would bee taught by Angels would beleeue.shewed the folly of such who wil needs be wise aboue and against God, so also in one word the Scripture sheweth vsus how false that is which they alledge. For those who hauehave Moyses and the Prophets and will not beleeue thē, neither would they beleeue if one shoulde come from the dead. So we say that those who will not beleeue the Lord speaking in our Ministery, lette an Angel come from heauen, lette a diuell come from hell, yet will they not beleeue. And the reason is plaine; because in the begetting of faith wee must not consider the maked word; but as it is ioyned and accompanied with the spirit of GOD whose worke properly it is. Now seeing that the spirit ordinarily worketh in the meanes appointed by God; it followeth that who-soeuer despiseth the meanes in which the spirit worketh, wanteth that spirit of God which ordinarily worketh not without those meanes, which spirit so long as they want, they would not beleeue Angels nor men, dead nor liuing, neither Moses, nor the Prophets, Obiections of idle and lazie protestants.neither Peter nor Paul, no nor Christ himselfe if he were liuing againe vpō the face of the earth. And thus hauing somwhat more largely satisfied yt allegation, we come to take out of the wayes of two sorts of protestants such Lions as they faine, to lye betweene them and the Church. The former sort are idle and lazie Protestants, that are so farre from being at the cost of seeking and sending for the worde: that when it commeth to seeke them, and freely offereth it selfe vntounto them; yet will they not disease them-selues to stirre ouer their threesholds for it. Saluation commeth almost eueryevery day euen into their houses, but they by shutting it out of doores make themselues vnworthy of it, nay rather they will liue starke beggars, and die in their spirituall pouertie, then receiue our treasures offred them freely. And truly too common is the experience of the lamentable fruites hereof in very many (in their owne and others account) Christians, whose hearts and loues are full fraught with noysome lusts threatning destruction; that the field of Salomons sluggard was neuer more ouer-growne with weedes and thistles, and nettles; then the thoughts and courses of these idle and sluggish Protestants with weedes of earthlinesse, voluptuousnesse, pride, enuie, atheisme, hypocrisie, and such other not a few, most noysome both for their sight, and sent vntounto God and his people; and all is because their sinfull negligence suffereth them not to come vnderunder Gods pruning knife in the ministery of the word.
Ob. But that wee may see that idlenesse hath sewed her selfe some pillows to lay her head on; they alleadge it is an vnreasonable wearisome thing to bee tyed to two sermons eueryevery Sabboth day, and perhaps to one beside in the weeke day: they know those (whom they trust to God come to heauen) and yet hauehave sermons but once a monethmonth at the most, or once in the quarter, and one sermon well learned, were farre better then all this preaching.