Apology for the Ministry and its Maintenance, Chapter 3
CHAP. III. Arguments and Reasons evincing the Necessity, and efficacy of a Gospell… Ministry.
1. THe Necessity of the Sacred Ministry doth appear by God's command given, Mark. 16. 15. Preach the Gospel to every creature; that is, to all men: Man being the Master-piece of the Creation is exalted; the Creature, by way of Eminence, as by our Saviour here, so by the Apostle Paul. Col. 1. 23. The like not onelyonly Commission, but command ye may finde, Matth. 28. 19. Act 10. 42. where you have Christ expresly commanding to preach to the people. And the Apostle Paul, about to die, and so to leave his Office, gives this as his last Charge to Timothy) to the observance of which he strongly ad…ures him) that he preach the Word in every opportuni…y, and with all importunity, 2. Tim 4. 12. This task Christ impos'd, or rather, this honour Christ con…err'd upon Peter, and in him upon all his Ministers, that they should feed, and feed, and again feed his sheep, Iohn 21. 15. 16. It is not a humane Invention, but a Divine Institution, and therefore not arbi…ra…y, but Necessary.
2. A Ministry is not onelyonly necessary by a necessity of the Precept, but also by a necessity of the means; not onelyonly as being ordained by God, but as being ordained for man, and his s…lvation: and it is so necessary in this regard, as that, it is called in ordinary Speech, the means or the means of grace. This is the ordinary way, the King's high-way to heaven, Rom. 10. 14. 15. 1 Cor. 1. …1. Act. 11. 14. 1 Tim. 4▪ 16. By this the Spirit is received, Gal. 3. 2. Act… 10. 44. This is the arm of the Lord, and the power of God to salvation, Rom. 1. 16. This was the employment which our blessed Saviour was diligent in, Matth. 4. 17. and 11. 1. Luke 4. 18▪ 19. and therefore God sent Cornelius, not to an Angel, but to Peter, who should tell him what he ought to do▪ Act. 10. 5. 6. and Paul, although extraordinarily called, yet for the honour of the Ministry, was sent to school to Ananias, Act. 9. 6▪ 10. and the Eunuch must have Philip to preach to him, Act. 8. 19. For so it seemed good to God, by men to reveal his will to men: This treasure God hath committed to earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be o… God, 2 Cor. 4. 7. God hath ordained it to be the primary mean… of our Regeneration and Conversion unto God. Mal. 4. 5, 6. Iames 1. 18. 1 Pet. 1. 23. 1 Cor. 4. 15. And as the Word of God preacht is the seed whereof the Christian man is borne, so it is the food whereby the new born Christian is nourished. Hence it is compared to meat, Ierem. 3. 15. to shewers, and dew, Deut. 32. 2. Isa▪ 55. 10. to light, Act. 26. 18. Psal. 119. 105, to the face of God, Psal. 27. 4. and 105. 4. Now without meat no li…e, without shewers no increase, without light no comfort, without the face of God no joy: It is this Word of God that enlightens the eyes, Psal. 19. 8. cheareth the heart, Mic. 2. 7. raiseth up the drooping, Isa. 57. 19. comforts the sad, Isa. 40. 1, 2. enlivens the dead, Iohn. 5. 25. heateth the cold like fire, breaketh the obstinate, like a hammer, I…rem. 23. 29. and confers the spirit of Adoption, whereby we are sealed unto the day of Redemption. This is a sign of God's blessing, Exod 20. 24. In whatsoever place the name of God is recorded, there he blesses the people, in hearing prayers, directing in doubts, and enriching them with all internall and external goods: Micah, although upon a false ground, had great confidence of this blessing, upon this account▪ Iudg. 17 13. Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my Priest. But truer, and diviner is that of the divine Musician, Psal. 65. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple: to which truth our Saviour also gives his testimony, Luke 10. 23. Blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see, and this seeing compre…ends hearing▪ and so consequently, hearing has the blessing also, vers. …4.
They must necessarily, and most deservedly perish then, that neglect and reject this spiritual Food and Physick. Cursed be also those damnable Apostates that bring in Damnable Errors, whereby they drive the sheep of Christ from his Folds, and drive them into the mouthes of the Wolves, bewitching them with their Fancies and Dr…ams, and so at last dreaming them into hell: and cursed be the Presumption of those inspired Spirits, who despising the sacred Ministry of the more sacred word of God, pretend and profess Revelations, and Enthusiasms, as false as new, and as dangerous as either. These God …uffers to fall into the temptations of pride, and into the snares of Sathan; having reserved the blacknes… of everlasting darknesse to be the Conclusion of their new Lights, 2 Pet. 2. 17. Iude 13.
3. The Nec…ssity and Efficacy of the Ministry appear's by the ends for which it was ordained; which being many, the Apostle comprises in few, but full phrases, Ephes … 4 11. &c. 1. Christ ordained a Ministry for the Restauration of the Saints, for the setting of them as of disjointed members in their proper places: There was a disjuncture made by the fall of our first parents, and hence it is that all of us have variously erred and gone astray: Therefore God to restore us, hath given variety of gifts to his Ministers, to knit us to Christ our head▪ and us all together, as fellow-members. And as for the Restauration of the Saints, so 2. For their Edification. He hath given us Teachers, that we may be built up▪ in knowledg; Preachers of the Word, that by them we may be built up in our most holy Faith, which comes by hearing. 3. For the settling and establishing us in the Truth, that we may arrive at a staid manhood in Christianity, and not like children be tossed too and fro with every winde of Doctrine, no… be drawn aside by the fle…ght and cunning craftiness of men, whereby they lye in wait to deceive▪ 4. For the conservation of the Unity and Harmony of the Church, in the Worship of God, that we may speak the truth in love.
4. Our Infimities and Miseries do sufficiently speak a Necessity of a Minist…y. We are all by nature sick of an Here … tary Disease, and do therefore need a savo…y and …ving Ministry, to keep us that we die not of this Sickness, and to restore us again to pe…fect …. Nay, we are all by nature distanced from the mercy of God, are destitute of all i…ate strength, whe…by to help our se…ves: Nay, we are not onelyonly sick, and unable to restore our selves to health, but even dead in sin, Eph. 2. 1. and therefore b… sure unable to restore our selve to life; and so we are obnox…us to the hea…st wrath of tl… M…migh…y God. And does not this sad condition call for A…istry of Reconciliation?
5. …he Necessity of a Ministry appears: by the sad condition of them that are destitute of the preaching of the Word, as may be exemplified in the I…ws sometime wanting it, and the Heathens at this day, without a teaching Priest, and without the true God, are put together, 2 Chron. 15. 3. And the Heathens that want this Ministry are without God in the world, without Christ, without hope, Eph. 2. 12. When Moses the Iews Minister was a way but five or six weeks, the people presently become idolatrous, Exod. 32. 1. After Paul's departure, grievous Woolves are seen entring in amongst the people, Act. 20. 29. where there is no vision the people perish, saies Solomon, prov. 29▪ 18. Where there is no Ministry of the Word, we may exspect whatever evi…l is exprest or signified by the Hebrew word (foreign) which we translate (perish) 1. Denudation, or stripping off the true and saving knowledg of God, faith, love, with the whole Armour of God, as also of Divine safeguard, and protection. 2. Rebellion, viz. against God, and against men. 3. Cessation from the study of good learning, performance of good duties, and practice of good works. 4. Separation, not onelyonly from God by Apostasie, but one from another, by cruel enmities, and carnal Errors, as sheep having no Shepherd, and (as when there was no King in Israel, so) if there should be no Preacher in Israel, every one would do what seemed good in his own eyes, Nay, I doubt not to say, if Israel were nothing else but Kings, yet, if there were no Preacher, they would all do so▪
We see some good fruits which God is pleased to hand over to us by the Ministry, some sad fruits of the want of it, and some Arguments▪ evincing the necessity and efficacy thereof: What remains, but that we maintain and stick to this Ministry; love, and reverence the Ministers, at least for their work sake.