The Cure of Church Divisions, Directions to pastors 2 · Direction 2
DIRECT. II.
…t is needful to the peoples edification and concord, that their Pastors much excel them in knowledge and utterance, and also in prudence, holiness and heavenliness of mind and life: that so both the reverence of their calling and persons may be preserved, and the people instructed by their examples.
I Doubt not but the ministrations of a weak and of an ungodly Minister, are valid and may be effectual to the flock; And that the innocent people forfeit not their priviledges in acceptable worship and effectual Sacraments, though a wicked Pastor may forfeit his own acceptance and reward with God. But yet because there are none of us so innocent, whose consciences may not justly tell us that we have deserved to be afflicted in that kind, and because God useth to work by means, and vary the success according to the quality of the means and instruments, we may well conclude that the Gifts and Holiness of the Pastors is a very excellent and needful help, to the peoples setled Piety and Pence: And that where this help is wanting, that ordinary means is wanting, by which God useth to convey this blessing.
I have met with many who are either insufficient or ungodly themselves, or are guilty of bringing such into the Churches, who use to make very light of this, and say, God is not tied to mens goodness or abilities in distributing his graces: which is true, but nothing to the purpose: He is not tied by any force or necessity; nor is he so tied as that he cannot do otherwise: But yet this is his ordinary way of working: which hath made it a maxime, that as to means, Infused graces are obtained in the same way as acquired gnifts: And let the contrary minded answer me these questions.
First, If it be only the Office of the Ministery, and not the Gifts and Graces that are ordinarily needful to their success, why doth Religion decay and perish in all parts of the world, where the Gifts and Graces of the Ministers decay? Why are almost all the Greek Churches, the Armenians, the Russians, the Abassians, so lamentably ignorant? and most of them as vicious as ignorant; in so much that the notorious wickedness of their lives, and contemptibleness of their understandings, doth keep Christianity out of most of the Heathen and Infidel Nations of the world, that are acquainted with them? and keepeth up the reputation of Mahometanism and Heathenism. Is not the experience of all the Christian world a sufficient proof? The Greeks and other such corrupted Churches, have a truly ordained Ministery as well as we, if that were enough to serve the turn.
Secondly, What is more evident among our selves than that Parishes do much vary in piety and concord as their Pastors vary in ability, piety, diligence and fidelity.
Thirdly, Though Parents have all equal authority to instruct and rule their children and families, is any thing more notorious, than that notorious ignorance and impiety prevaileth in most families where the Rulers are ignorant and impious? Yet they have as true a power from God to do their duty, as the Pastor hath to do his: yea and promises from God for the success.
Fourthly, What is the Office, but an Authority and Obligation to do the Ministerial work? And will work succeed well that is not done? Or will it be done by bare Authority and Obligation to do it? Will it serve to the building of your house, to the conduct of an Army, to the healing of your sores or sicknesses, that you have an Architect, a Captain, a Chyrurgeon, and Physician, whose office is to do these works?
Fifthly, What need men study or bestow so many years at the University, if Ordination and Office be enough?
Sixthly, Interpreting the Original Text is one part of the Ministerial work: If the bare Office without the Tongues, did never make any of you a good Translator and Expositor, why should the bare office serve turn for other parts of the work, without proportionable abilities?
Seventhly, Why do you lay so much blame on the Ministers who dissent from you, or that are the teachers of the dissenting people, as if all the divisions were caused by them, if the difference of teachers make no difference in the work and flocks.
Eighthly, Why is it that in most ages of the the world, the Pastors of one mind have desired the silencing or deposing of those that were against them, as being injurious to the flocks, if all Ministers be alike to them, what need there so much silencing, imprisoning and banishing as the world hath seen, if the Office alone do make sufficient Pastors?
Ninthly, Why also is there so much difference between the Pastors reputations and their labours when they are dead? Why is the name and works of an Augustine, a Hierome, a Basil, a Nazianzen, more honourable than of any other Pastor, who had as true ordination and office as they?
Tenthly, Why should the Kingdome be at so much cost upon the Ministery? And why should one have more maintainance than another? If the Office alone be all thats necessary, one Ab…na may serve for ordination in all the Empire of Abassia, and a few Priests may be had for ten pounds a year, who have the same ordination as the ablest men. But having sufficiently shamed this errour I dismiss it.
If the reverence due to the Office be once lost, the labours of all the Ministery will be obstructed: And if only the Person lose the reverence of his place, his own labours will be hindred: The contempt of the Office, and so the whole Ministery tendeth to Infidelity or Atheism: And the contempt of particular Ministers, tendeth to Schism, and to the ignorance and corruption of their flocks. And though the contempt of the person is bad enough of it self, yet if it fall on many, and there remain not a considerable number who preserve their necessary reputation, it turneth to the contempt of the Office it self, and consequently of the Gospel.
And it must be apparent worth, that must preserve the persons honour. The silver lace did make the Apprentices in Apelles shop to reverence a foolish gallant a while; but when he began to talk, they all fell on laughing at him. Our grave attire will go but a little way, to keep up our reputation, without some better testimony of our worth. An empty head, a stumbling and hesitant tongue, dry and dull and disorderly preaching; and sensless, cold or confused praying, a vain and frothy kind of talk; a common and carnal conversation; all these or any one of these, will more abate the reverence of our persons, than the title of Doctors, or the length of our clothing, or the enlarging of the philacteries, will advance it. Math. 23. 5. Mark. 12. 40. Luk. 20. 47. It is their double measure of the spirit, of wisdome, and Goodness, which must procure a double measure of honour to the Ministery.
And if we excel them never so much in Learning, it will not suffice unless we excel them in our proper Ministerial gifts of preaching exhortation and prayer, which are the works of our Office, it will neither preserve the honour of our Office, nor attain its ends. When many of the people can open the case of their souls in prayer, in more orderly, clear and congruous expressions than the Pastor can, it tendeth to bring down the honour of the Pastor, in the peoples esteem. Some think to repair this, by casting out all prayer except that which is read out of a book, or recited by memory alone; that so there may be no observable difference of mens abilities: But this is so far from curing the peoples disease, that it increaseth it: And they still say, all this is no more than we can do our selves, or then a child of ten years old can do. And if you extend the case to all other parts of the Ministery, where the reason is the same, they will say [what reverence is due to such? or why should we maintain and honour men, for doing no more than our children can do?]
And the Popish devise, to make a disparity, by keeping the people in ignorance, is the basest and most pernicious plot of all. When the Pastors instead of excelling the people, would keep down the people from increasing in their knowledge and expression, this is so notorious a discovery of envy, pride and malignity conjunct, that the people presently flye from such Pastors, as supposing them to be ministers of the Devil, because they see them bear his image. What do we teach them for, if we would not have them learn and profit? What greater honour can a Teacher have, than to make his Schollars as wise and able as himself? Every one who is a child of Light, and believeth in him who is the Light of the world, will suspect that man to be a Minister of the Prince of darkness, who is a malicious adverstry of Light. This is that brand of the Roman iniquity, the hindering men from the reading of the Scriptures, and magnifying ignorance, which maketh men so commonly think them to be the Ecclesia malignantium and the Antichristian brood. Thus Cardinal Wolsey declaimed against the Art of Printing, as that which would take down the honour and profit of the Priesthood, by making the people as wise as they. It is not by keeping them down, or envying their abilities, that we must keep our distance from the people; but by rising higher our selves, and excelling them in all ministerial gifts. Else why should we be thought any fitter to be their Teachers and Guides, than they to be ours?
Yea though we excel them in all these abilities, it will not serve turn to the ends of our Ministery, unless we also excel them in holiness and every Christian vertue. The Devil knoweth more than Ministers: And if he have a tongue to speak he wanteth not utterance. He is the most excellent and honourable, who is likest to God, and hath most of his image. And God hath more proposed himself to mans imitation in Goodness, than in Greatness: He hath not said, Be Great, for the Lord your God is Great: but [walk in the Light, as he is in the Light, 1 Iob. 1. 7. and Be holy for the Lord your God is holy. 1 Pet. 1. 16. Lev. 20. 7. & 19. 2. & 21. 8. To be Great and Bad is to be able to do mischief: To be Learned ingenious and Bad, is to be wise to do evil, and a crafty and subtle instrument of the devil, Ier. 4. 22. It was no laudable description of Elymas, Act. 13. 8, 10. [O full of subtlety and all mischiefs, thou child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right wayes of the Lord? Satan would never transform himself into an Angel of Light, nor his ministers into the Ministers of Righteousness; nor would Pharisees and hypocrites cover oppression by long prayers, if Light, Righteousness, and long prayers, were not laudable in themselves, and necessary in the preachers of the word of God, and had not a goodness in them capable of being a cloak to their iniquity. 2 Cor. 11. 14, 15. Mat. 23. 14. God is Light. 1 Iob. 1. 5. And God is Holy: If therefore Satan or any hypocrite would credit their falshood and wickedness, they must pretend to Light and Holiness: And he that will keep up the true honour of his Ministery, and be accepted with God, and reverenced by good men; m…st do it by real Light and Holiness. An ungodly Minister hath a radicated enmity to the holy doctrine which he preacheth, and to the holy duties and life which he exhorteth the people to: And how well, how sincerely, how readily, how faithfully, they are like to do the work which they are enemies to, you may easily judge. The carnal mind is enmity to God: for it is not subject to his law, nor indeed can be. Rom. 8. 6, 7, 8. I kno… that they are not enemies to the honour nor to the maintenance: and therefore may force themselves to do much of the outside of the work: But where there is an inward enmity to the life and ends of it, we can expect but a formal, unwilling, and unconstant discharge of such unpleasing duty. Truth is for Goodness: The Knowledge which maketh you not Good is lost, and hath mist its end. If therefore your Love to God and man, your mortification and unblameableness of life, your heavenly mindedness, be no greater than the peoples (or perhaps much less) do not wonder if you lose your honour with them, and if you grow contemptible in their eyes. Mal. 1. 10. 14. I have no pleasure in you saith the Lord— Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing. Mal. 2. And now O ye Priests, this commandement is for you: If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, I will send a curse upon you—The Law of truth was in Levi's mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: He walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn away many from iniquity! For 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, ye have corrupted the Covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts: Therefore also have I made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my wayes, but have been partial in the Law.
1 Sam. 2. 17. 24, 30. The sin of the young men was very great, before the Lord; for men abhorred the offering of the Lord:—Ye make the Lords people to transgress—Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice, and at my offering, which I have commanded—I said indeed that thy house—should walk before me for ever: But now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me, I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
If as Moses you stand nearer to God than the people do, you must be so much holier than they, and your faces must shine with the beames of God in the peoples eyes. They that with open face behold in Christ as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3. 7. 17, 18.
If therefore by your low and common parts, and carnal lives, you make your selves contemptible, instead of exclaiming against the people, cry out against your selves, and lament your sins; and the more you have aggravated the crimes of Schism and other errors in your flocks, the more penitently bewail your sin which caused it, and remember that you have aggravated your own transgression. If you are children in parts and goodness your selves, you are unfit either to upbraid the people with their childish weaknesses, or to cure them.