The Holy State, Book 2 · Chapter 9
CHAP. 9. The faithfull Minister.
VVE suppose him not brought up by hand onelyonly in his own countrey studies, but that he hath suckt of his Mother University, and throughly learnt the arts: Not as S. *Camb. Brit. in Northamptonshire.Rumball, who is said to have spoken as soon as he was born, doth he preach as soon as he is Matriculated. Conceive him now a Graduate in arts, and entred into orders, according to the solemn form of the Church of England, and presented by some Patrone to a pastorall charge, or place equivalent, and then let us see how well he dischargeth his office.
Maxime 1He endeavours to get the generall love and good will of his parish. This he doth not so much to make a benefit of them, as a benefit for them, that his ministry may be more effectuall; otherwise he may preach his own heart out, before he preacheth any thing into theirs. The good conceit of the Physician is half a cure, and his practice will scarce be happy where his person is hated; yet he humours them not in his Doctrine to get their love: for such a spanniel is worse then a dumbe dog. He shall sooner get their good will by walking uprightly, then by crouching and creeping. If pious living and painfull labouring in his calling will not win their affections, he counts it gain to lose them. As for those which causelessely hate him, he pities and prayes for them: and such there will be; I should suspect his preaching had no salt in it, if no gald horse did winse
He is strict in ordering his conversation. As for those who clense blurres with blotted fingers,2 they make it the worse. It was said of one who preach'd very well, & liv'd very ill, That when he was out of the Pulpit, it was pity he should ever go into it, & when he was in the Pulpit, it was pity he should ever come out of it: But our Minister lives Sermons. And yet I deny not but dissolute men, like unskilfull horsemen which open a gate on the wrong side, may by the virtue of their office open heaven for others, and shut themselves out.
His behaviour towards his people is grave and courteous. 3Not too austere and retired; which is laid to the charge of good Mr *Fox, Acts and Mon. in his life.Hooper the martyr, that his rigidnesse frighted people from consulting with him. Let your light (saith Christ) shine before men; whereas over reservednesse makes the brightest virtue burn dimme. Especially he detesteth affected gravity (which is rather on men then in them) whereby some belie their register-book, antedate their age to seem farre older then they are, and plait and set their brows in an affected sadnesse. Whereas S *Athanasius in ejus vita.Anthony the Monk might have been known among hundreds of his order by his cheerfull face, he having ever (though a most mortified man) a merry countenance.
He doth not clash Gods ordinances together about precedency. 4Not making odious comparisons betwixt Prayer and Preaching, Preaching and Catechising, Publick prayer and Private, Premeditate prayer and Ex tempore. When at the taking of new Carthage in Spain two Souldiers contended about the Murall crown (due to him who first climbed the walls) so that the whole army was thereupon in danger of division, *Plutarch in Scipio's. life, pag. 1807.Scipio the Generall said, He knew that they both got up the wall together, and so gave the Scaling crown to them both. Thus our Minister compounds all controversies betwixt Gods ordinances, by praysing them all, practising them all, and thanking God for them all. He counts the reading of Common-prayers to prepare him the better for preaching; and as one said, if he did first toll the bell on one side, it made it afterwards ring out the better in his Sermons.
5He carefully Catechiseth his people in the elements of religion. Except he hath (a rare thing) a flock without lambs, all of old sheep; and yet even Luther did not scorn to professe himself Discipulum Catechismi, a scholar of the Catechisme. By this Catechising the Gospel first got ground of Popery▪ and let not our Religion now grown rich be ashamed of that which first gave it credit and set it up, lest the Jesuites beat us at our own weapon. Through the want of this Catechising many which are well skilled in some dark out-corners of Divinity have lost themselves in the beaten road thereof.
6He will not offer to God of that which costs him nothing; but takes pains aforehand for his Sermons. *Plutarch in the life of Demosth.Demosthenes never made any oration on the sudden; yea being called upon he never rose up to speak, except he had well studied the matter: and he was wont to say, That he shewed how he honoured and reverenced the people of Athens because he was carefull what he spake unto them. Indeed if our Minister be surprised with a sudden occasion, he counts himself rather to be excused then commended, if premeditating onelyonly the bones of his Sermon he clothes it with flesh ex tempore. As for those, whose long custome hath made preaching their nature, that they can discourse Sermons without study, he accounts their examples rather to be admired then imitated.
Having brought his Sermon into his head, he labours to bring it into his heart, 7before he preaches it to his people. Surely that preaching which comes from the soul most works on the soul. Some have questioned ventriloquie, when men strangely speak out of their bellies, whether it can be done lawfully or no: might I coin the word cordiloquie, when men draw the doctrines out of their hearts, sure all would count this lawfull and commendable.8
He chiefly reproves the raigning sins of the time, and place he lives in. We may observe that our Saviour never inveighed against Idolatry, Usury, Sabbath-breaking amongst the Jews; not that these were not sins, but they were not practised so much in that age, wherein wickednesse was spun with a finer thred: and therefore Christ principally bent the drift of his preaching against spirituall Pride, Hypocrisie, and Traditions then predominant amongst the people. Also our Minister confuteth no old Heresies which time hath confuted; nor troubles his Auditory with such strange, hideous cases of Conscience, that it is more hard to find the case then the resolution. In publick reproving of sinne, he ever whips the vice, and spares the person.
He doth not onelyonly move the bread of life, and tosse it up and down in generalities, 9but also breaks it into particular directions: drawing it down to cases of Conscience, that a man may be warranted in his particular actions, whether they be lawfull or not. And he teacheth people their lawfull liberty as well as their restraints and prohibitions; for amongst men it is as ill taken to turn back favours, as to disobey commands.
The places of Scripture he quotes are pregnant and pertinent. 10As for heaping up of many quotations, it smacks of a vain ostentation of memory. Besides, it is as impossible that the hearer should profitably retain them all, as that the preacher hath seriously perused them all: yea, whilest the auditours stop their attention, and stoop down to gather an impertinent quotation, the Sermon runs on, and they lose more substantiall matter.
11His similes and illustrations are alwayes familiar, never contemptible. Indeed reasons are the pillars of the fabrick of a Sermon, but similitudes are the windows which give the best light. He avoids such stories whose mention may suggest bad thoughts to the auditours, and will not use a light comparison to make thereof a grave application, for fear lest his poyson go farther then his antidote.
12He provideth not onelyonly wholsome but plentifull food for his people. Almost incredible was the painfulnesse of Baronius, the compiler of the voluminous Annals of the Church, who for thirty years together preached *The words being somwhat ambiguous are thus, In audiendis confessionibus, & sermonibus ad populum ter in hebdomada quàtérve habendis per triginta & ampliùs annos diligentissimâ assiduitate laboravit, Spondivus in vita Baronii, pag. 2. part. 7.three or foure times aweek to the people. As for our Minister, he preferreth rather to entertain his people with wholsome cold meat which was on the table before, then with that which is hot from the spit, raw and half roasted. Yet in repetition of the same Sermon, every edition hath a new addition, if not of new matter of new affections. Of whom, saith S. Paul, we have told you often, and now we tell you weeping.
13He makes not that wearisome, which should ever be welcome. Wherefore his Sermons are of an ordinary length except on an extraordinary occasion. What a gift had John *Mercator Atlas in the descrip. of Austria.Haselbach, Professour at Vienna, in tediousnesse? who being to expound the Prophet Esay to his auditours read twenty one years on the first Chapter, and yet finished it not.
14He counts the successe of his Ministry the greatest preferment. Yet herein God hath humbled many painfull pastours, in making them to be clouds to rain, not over Arabia the happy, but over the stonie or desert: so that they may complain with the Herdsman in the Poet,
He… mihi, quam pingui macer est mihi taurus in arvo?
My starveling bull,
Ah woe is me,
In pasture full,
How lean is he?
Yet such Pastours may comfort themselves that great is their reward with God in heaven, who measures it not by their successe but endeavours. Besides, though they see not, their people may feel benefit by their Ministry. Yea the preaching of the Word in some places is like the planting of woods, where though no profit is received for twenty years together, it comes afterwards. And grant, that God honours thee not to build his temple in thy parish, yet thou maist with David provide metall and materialls for Solomon thy successour to build it with.
To sick folks he comes sometimes before he is sent for, 15as counting his vocation a sufficient calling. None of his flock shall want the extreme unction of Prayer and Counsell. Against the Communion especially he endeavours that Janus his temple be shut in the whole parish, and that all be made friends.
He is never plaintiff in any suit but to be rights defendant. 16If his dues be detained from him, he grieves more for his parishioners bad conscience then his own damage. He had rather suffer ten times in his profit, then once in his title, where not onelyonly his person, but posterity is wronged: And then he proceeds fairly and speedily to a tryall, that he may not vex and weary others, but right himself. During his suit he neither breaks off nor slacks offices of courtesie to his adversary; yea though he loseth his suit, he will not also lose his charity. Chiefly he is respectfull to his Patrone, that as he presented him freely to his living, so he constantly presents his Patrone in his prayers to God.
17He is moderate in his tenets and opinions. Not that he gilds over lukewarmnesse in matters of moment with the title of discretion, but withall he is carefull not to entitle violence in indifferent and in concerning matters to be zeal. Indeed men of extraordinary tallnesse, (though otherwise little deserving) are made porters to lords, & those of unusuall littlenesse are made ladies dwarfs, whilest men of moderate stature may want masters. Thus many notorius for extremities may find favourers to preferre them, whilest moderate men in the middle truth may want any to advance them. But what saith the Apostle? If in this life onelyonly we had hope we are of all men the most miserable.
18He is sociable and willing to do any courtesie for his neighbour Ministers. He willingly communicates his knowledge unto them. Surely the gifts and graces of Christians lay in common, till base envy made the first enclosure. He neither slighteth his inferiours; nor repineth at those who in parts and credit are above him. He loveth the company of his neighbour Ministers. Sure as ambergreece is nothing so sweet in it self, as when it is compounded with other things; so both godly and learned men are gainers by communicating themselves to their neighbours.
19He is carefull in the discreet ordering of his own family. A good Minister and a good father may well agree together. When a certain Frenchman came to visit *Pantaleon de Illustr. Germ. in vita Melanch.Melanchthon, he found him in his stove with one hand dandling his child in the swadling-clouts, and in the other hand holding a book and reading it. Our Minister also is as hospitable as his estate will permit, and makes every almes two by his cheerfull giving it. He loveth also to live in a well-repaired house, that he may serve God therein more cheerfully. A Clergieman who built his house from the ground wrote in it this counsell to his successour,
If thou dost find an house built to thy mind
Without thy cost,
Serve thou the more God and the poore;
My labour is not lost.
Lying on his deathbed he bequeaths to each of his parishioners his precepts and example for a legacie:20 and they in requitall erect every one a monument for him in their hearts. He is so farre from that base jealousie that his memory should be outshined by a brighter successour, and from that wicked desire that his people may find his worth by the worthlesnesse of him that succeeds, that he doth heartily pray to God to provide them a better Pastour after his decease. As for outward estate, he commonly lives in too bare pasture to die fat▪ It is well if he hath gathered any flesh, being more in blessing then bulk.