Shepherdy Spiritualized, Tract · Chapter 5
CHAP. V.
Shepherds ſeek for their Flocks water that's meet;
Chriſt feeds his Flock with Ordinances ſweet.
Obſervation.
HE leadeth me beſide the ſtill waters: leads me gently, and by little and little, accommodating himſelf to my ſtrength, Iſa. 40. 11. as a Shepherd is wont to lead out his Sheep to water, Iſa. 49. 10. by, or near, or beſide, or unto waters of refreſhment, ſo the Septuagint; the Hebr. is, of reſts, i. e. pleaſant and flowing ſlowly, which are without all danger: of ſuch waters Sheep love to drink: not unto rapid Torrents, which by their noiſe frighten, and by their ſwiftneſs endanger the Sheep: Waters of reſt, ſuch, as were wont to be in Guttors and Troughs, in which they watered their Sheep, Gen. 24. 20. and 29. 2. and 30. 38. In theſe our Northern Countries we uſe little of this to prepare water for our Sheep; but in thoſe Eaſtern parts of the World they had more ſcarcity of Rain, and need of water; eſpecially the ſoil being for the moſt part ſandy and dry; hence a well of Water was ſuch a choice commodity in thoſe parts, for themſelves, Flocks and Herds to drink out of; ſo that we find a conteſt about ſuch a Well, Gen. 21. 25. and 26. 20. Rain alſo was ſeldom in thoſe parts. We Northern Nations are ready to ſuſpect the Southern parts as a-fire with a feaver: Whilſt Southern Countreys may fear leſt our Lands be drowned with a Dropiſe; ſuch is the ſuperfluity of Rain and Rivers among us. Judaea (beſides Rivers) was uſually watered only with the former and latter rain, which, like trade winds on ſome Seas, came at ſet ſeaſons, at ſeed time, and before Harveſt, the reſt of the year dry: Heaven (as it were) keeping a conſtant ordnary for them, as ingenious Mr. Fuller, in his Piſgah-ſight, &c. expreſſeth it. Hence was their uſe of watering their Flocks, of which ye read often, Gen. 29. begin. Ex. 2. 16. &c. little though in uſe among us: yet I remember ſome where to have ſeen a Rams-park fenced in, with a ſmall brook of water running by it, for the Rams to drink of. Now the Waters which their Sheep delighted to drink of, were
Firſt, Sweet, freſh and clean Waters: larger Cattle like to drink of ſtanding and puddle water; not ſo Sheep: they are for what is clean and running, though but ſlowly. Hence. Gen. 29. 2, 3. a mCautio neceſſaria erat, ut greges ſalubriús, puriús & copioſiús potarentur: ne que enim …rant copioſi latices, Men. ex A lap.ſtone was kept on the Well's Mouth, and when the water was drawn, put on again, that their Sheep might drink the more purely and cleanly, as well as plentifully: and that it might run a little, they put it into Gutters, &c.
Secondly, not ſwift and fiercely running waters: an Horſe will like to drink where the water is a little ſtickle, not ſo Sheep: Waters of quietneſs, nItae leniter fluentes, ut quieſcere videantur. Piſcat.that is running ſo ſlowly, that they may ſeem to ſtand ſtill; being a fearful creature, it cares not to come near ſuch waters as run with ſwiftneſs and a noiſe: Hence have ye mention of watering in troughs; Gen. 30. 38. Streams with any violent current will endanger to carry away the ſilly Sheep; as ye ſee by your experience yearly in your waſhing, if through neglect of man in a River, a Sheep ſhall get into the ſtream, how eaſily it is carried down, unleſs by care recovered; quiet, pleaſant, and ſilently gliding water they chooſe therefore to water their Sheep at.
Thirdly, it may be called Water of reſt, from the Effect, oQuae potantibus ovibus quietem aſſerunt dum ſitim extinguunt, Id.which gives reſt to the Sheep, quenching their thirſt, and ſo refreſhing them.
Laſtly, by mentioning Graſs and Water, Meat and drink, he intends pcommemorat hic ſuſtentationem liberalem victu ſalubri & jucundo, tum cibo, tum pot…u. Id.liberal and free and bountiful ſuſtentation: not ſparing, and ſhort Commons, but ſuch as is plentiful, and affords abundant ſupplies.
Application.
pAd ſpiritualia ſaepiús refertur haec Metaphora, at que it a hîc accipi debet, de Doctrinâ & inſtitutione Dei in Eccleſiâ, &c. River. in Pſal. 23.Theſe things are but repreſentative of things ſpiritual, and ſupply thoughts to us of the full ſupplies which the Lord maketh for his in his Church. The Great Shepherd of his Sheep careth for his, and maketh proviſion for them of water, as well as graſs. Whether by theſe matters we underſtand (as ſome) the Doctrines of the Goſpel, eſpecially the promiſes of Grace and Life, which run in and out in the Scriptures, as ſtreams do in the earth, and theſe are ſweet, and exceedingly refreſhing to poor Souls: theſe indeed (like the waters of Siloah) run ſoftly, gently, yet taſt pleaſantly. Iſa. 8. 6. So Claudian ſpeaks of Nilus.
Lene fluit Nilus, ſed cunctis amnibus extat
Ʋtilior; nullas confeſſus murmure vires.
The Divine Oracles come not with thoſe loud ſounding words, which make a great noiſe in the ear; but with mighty power and unexpreſſil…e ſweetneſs reach and refreſh the heart. Thus God appears in the ſtill and ſweet words of his promiſes to his peoples ſolace, as to Elijah once in the ſtill voice, 1 King. 19. 11, 12, 13. But becauſe the Doctrines of the Goſpel, even in the ſweet promiſes of it, were formerly hinted to, as underſtood by the ſweet budding graſs with which Chriſt doth feed his; I would rather here by waters underſtand the ſpecial priviledging and refreſhing ordinances of the Goſpel, viz. Baptiſm and the Lord's Supper, which like water, are
Firſt, Cooling, when the Soul is parched with the ſenſe of the wrath of God, and is even dried up as a Potſherd, as David ſpeaks Pſal. 22. 15. qVigor vel viror meus, i. e. humor & ſuccus vitalis ſive radicalis, Mu. Sic dictus, quia per eum vivimuus, Vat. Is autem moerore exhauriri & abſumi ſolet, Pro. 17. 22. Mu. Internos animi aestus cutis rigens prodit, ut in Febribus, Riv. Aeſtus irae Dei torruit me, Coc.my ſtrength i. e. my vital or radical moiſture; ſo called, becauſe by it we live: this by grief is wont to be conſumed: A rough skin ſpeaks inward heat and drought, as in feavers. Hence ſome render that Text, the heat of the wrath of God doth parch me, and judge that thirſt of Chriſt to come hence, John. 19. 28. The faithful addreſs to, and application or improvement of thoſe bleſſed Inſtitutions, how cooling and allaying the heat is it? Baptiſm is of perpetual uſe to ſave, not only at the inſtant of its adminiſtration, but throughout the whole life, by a faithful reflection upon it, and improvement of it: So the Apoſtle ſaith, Baptiſm doth now ſave us, 1 Pet. 3. 21. even long after himſelf and thoſe to whom he wrote, were baptized. The blood of Chriſt, or the Spirit of God, (whichſoever be the Antitype to the water in Baptiſm, the latter probably) doth remove that ſcorching heat of the Lords indignation, and gives the Soul to lift up the head. The Lord's ſupper alſo, how uſeful is it this way? When the Lord ſhall ſeal his love, yea ſhed it abroad in the heart, whereby the wrath of God is removed from the Soul, by that fleſh broken, by that blood ſhed for Sin. Ah how often is Chriſt pleaſed in this Wine-cellar, (Cant. 2. 4. Hebr. houſe of Wine; i. e. either where wine is kept, as ſome, or rather where Wine is drunk, Ainſw. wine both quencheth thirſt, and cheers the heart, Pſal. 104. 15. and drives away grief, Pro. 31. 6, 7.) to caſt the banner of his love over his poor ones? That which may preſerve them from all ſcorching flames of Divine indignation.
Secondly, cleanſing, purifying. Hence water uſed in Baptiſm, to mind us of our natural pollution, probably in alluſion to the waſhing when come firſt out of the Womb, Ezek. 16. 4. hence Saul is called upon, Act. 22. 16. to waſh away his ſins: not that this gives any encouragement to that Popiſh Hereſie, that Sacraments give grace, ex opere operato; but the Holy Ghoſt ratifying thine external Baptiſm by the inward Applicaon of the blood and ſatisfaction of Chriſt, for the purification of thy Soul before God, and for regeneration to newneſs of life; hence is added, calling on the name of the Lord, i. e. by means of calling upon God in faith, to obtain from him his effectual cooperation in the ſacrament, Diod. in loc. Yea, it is called a waſhing of Regeneration, Tit. 3. 5. viz. God uſing the means of Baptiſm, made effectual by the inward operation of the Holy Ghoſt, applying the blood of Chriſt for the expiation of ſin, &c. Id. Luther reports of a Virgin in the Primitive daies, that was wont to repell all Temptations to Sin, with, I am a Chriſtian, I have been baptized, &c. And can Sin live in that Soul which ſeeth the blood of the Lord Jeſus poured out for ſin, and drinks of it in remembrance that Chriſt died to do away ſin, to undoe the work of the Devil? Glad experience teacheth many a poor Chriſtian, that nothing more effectually maketh their hearts riſe againſt Sin, to hate it paſt, to fear and watch againſt it for the future, than to ſee Chriſt crucified before their eyes, and to feed on him, who gave himſelf that he might purifie to himſelf a people, &c.
Thirdly, cheering and comforting water in thoſe hot Countries eſpecially, was very refreſhing; hence that promiſe, Iſa. 44. 3. ſo is there Cordial vertue in Chriſts appointments, which revives the hearts of his Children, and that abundantly. Though that falſe Jeſuit did but belie himſelf, yea, and the Holy Ghoſt too, who being ſent over from one of their Colledges beyond Seas, to divide the Chriſtians in England, and coming to New-Caſtle upon Tine, finding the Anabaptiſtical party in great repute, joyned in with Mr. Tilham of Hexam, and when he was dipt by him, coming out of the water, being perceived to ſmile, and being asked why he ſmiled, ſaid he was ſo filled with the joy of the Holy Ghoſt, that he could not forbear; though afterward upon his detection, he acknowledged, he ſmiled only to conſider their folly in crediting his pretended turn to them, accounting that as no ordinance: Though this Villain, I ſay, dealt treacherouſly, yet many a ſincere heart finds much ſweetneſs in a reflect act upon his Baptiſme; conſidering his being thereby ſolemnly given up to the Lord, to be His, as David, Pſal. 116. 16. Truly I am thy Servant, &c. rforeign q. d. meritiſſimè te amo, Benigniſſime Domine, Gei, Eſt vox confitentis, & A. E. in Mu. uti que Jehova, Vat.and how cheered many a drooping heart hath come from the Lords Table, the comfortable remembrance of many of his Dear Ones, ſpeaks to his glorious praiſe. When God hath awakned them as out of ſleep, how have they ſhouted like a mighty man by reaſon of Wine, Pſal. 78. 65. and that love they find warming and cheering their hearts much more than Wine. Theſe Ordinances of Chriſt are, and ſhould be kept,
Firſt, pure and clean; not defiled with the mud and dirt of mens inventions. The poor people under the Papacy are forced to drink ſad puddle, fouled with the feet of thoſe filthy Shepherds, who have defiled every thing they come near. Eſpecially ſince the ſecond Angel poured out his Vial on the Sea that Council of Trent, and it became as the blood of a dead man, and every living Soul dyed in that Sea, Rev. 16. 2. Witneſs that Heatheniſh decree of the Council, equalizing, if not preferring the Apocrypha to the Canonical Scripture, the Vulgar Tranſlation to the Original, Traditions to Holy Scripture, and affirming that the holy Ghoſt himſelf is not to be though he bring never ſo plain Scripture for himſelf, sNiſi accedat meretricis purpurantae effrons interpretatio. D… Prid. lect. de Teſtis.unleſs the Church ſo interpret. So before them the Council of Conſtance comes in with a non obſtante, againſt Chriſts inſtitution, to withhold the Cup from their communicants. tLie… Chriſtus poſt caenam inſtituerit, & …is diſcipulis administraver it, &c. Caranza ſum. Concil. ſeſs. 13.Our endeavours ſhould be to keep the Stone of Divine Inſtitution upon the Ordinances of Chriſt, that his Sheep may drink this water clean, and not defiled. Paul hath taught us, upon any encroachments on the Ordinances of Chriſt to have recourſe to their Inſtitution, 1 Cor. 11.
Secondly, not deſpiſed, becauſe not making a great noiſe, or having any pompous ſhow. It is the way of God, to chooſe things that are poor and weak and deſpiſed by men, to effect great things, 1 Cor. 1. 27. 28. 'Tis a very unequal return to God, that our eye is evil, becauſe he is good. What is a little water to the body of a Child? What a Morſel of bread, and a draught o… Wine? True, and might not men as well ſay, what was the ſounding of Rams horns to batter a City Walls? Yet ſo they fell down. 'Twas better reaſoning which Naaman's ſervants uſed to him, 2 Kin. 5. 10,-15. The ſimplicity of Chriſt is ſtill much miſtaken by the mad World, ever beſides it ſelf in matters of Salvation. People looking upon Gods Ordinances with Syrian Eyes, deſpiſe the fooliſhneſs of preaching, the ſimplicity of Sacraments, the ſeeming inefficacy of cenſures, &c. But it is the word, the Appointment of the Almighty which putteth efficacy in thoſe means, which of themſelves are both impotent and improbable.
Thirdly, Eſteemed full and enough to refreſh and keep up the Soul: they need from the inventions of men. As the Scriptures of truth are able throughly to furniſh the man of God, i. e. the Preacher, unto every good work, that he need not go down to the Philiſtines for Sword or Spear: ſo Chriſts, Ordinances are fully enough for Chriſtian, or ſociety.
Reflections.
How haſt thou, O my Soul! looked with a ſlighting eye on the Inſtitutions For the deſpiſer of Goſpel ordinances.of Chriſt, as only fit for Babes, and beneath one of thy growth? Alas! that we are caſt upon daies, wherein men pretend not only to be wiſer than Paul (of whom the Romaniſts have long time ſpoken very ſlightingly) but even than Jeſus Chriſt himſelf, the Wiſdom of the Father; He that was faithful in all his houſe, as was Moſes, after his Reſurrection, before his Aſcenſion, uforeign: Helleniſmi ea vis eſſe videtur, ut intelligamus Chriſtum Diſcipulis ſuis univerſam Doctrinam Evangelicam copioſe ac lucutenter expoſuiſſe, Bez.ſpeaking to his Diſciples of the things of his Kingdom, Act. 1. 3. Yet theſe things are now low and mean, fit only for that diſpenſation of the Apoſtles, and too carnal for theſe pretended ſpiritual ones. But who hath given thee knowledge above the Head and King of his Church? Who hath given thee Commiſſion to abrogate his Inſtitutions, and arrogate to thy ſelf to appoint Laws in his houſe? Wouldſt thou take it well that any one ſhould thruſt himſelf into thine houſe, and take to himſelf ſuch authority? xforeign vir vacuus, velinanis, mente ſc. & judicio. …xpers omnis cognitionis.Vain man would be wiſe, Job. 11. 12. would be wiſer than God, and preſcribe to him. It is a good Note of Peter Martyr's on, 2 King. 5. 11. I thought, He will ſurely come out to me; yNota humani ing…nit perverſitatem, quae dona Dei malit aſſequi viis difficilibus a ſe ex cogitat…, quam facilioribas a Deo deſcriptis.the perverſeneſs, ſaith he, of man's nature is here obſervable, that had rather have the gifts of God in difficult waies of his own ſeeking, than in more eaſie ones of Gods appointment. But thou wilt one day know, O my Soul, to thy ſorrow, that the fooliſhneſs of God is wiſer than man, 1 Cor. 1. 25. The Eagle and the Lyon were not offered in ſacrifice, as were the Dove and the Lamb. Gods Inſtitutions will be found to have power, becauſe they are his Inſtitutions. Hath Chriſt lead me theſe many years by theſe ſtill, ſweet, and For the unprofit able receiver of Ordidinances.pleaſant waters, and yet am I parched, parched ſtill? Have no growth, no peace, no ſtrength for God, but ſtill a Babe in knowledge and underſtanding! Alas, O my Soul! is it wont to be thus with Chriſts Sheep? ſhall I hereupon caſt off Ordinances (as the manner of ſome is) and ſay God is departed from them, becauſe I have thriven no more, have found no more good in and by them? Is not the fault in my ſoul rather than in the inſtitutions of Chriſt? See Heb. 4. 2. Ill humours, obſtructions within, hinders my getting good, ſhall I impute this to what was deſigned for good unto me? Were it not wiſdom rather to remove hinderances, that ſo my profiting might appear unto all? Saints of old found good in Chriſts Ordinances, and were Men and Women Saints as of old, they would ſtill experience the profit in and by them. Chriſt's meat is for Chriſt's Friends, his Drink for his beloved, Cant. 5. 1. what wonder then if ſuch as throng in among his without a Wedding Garment, be caſt out ſpeechleſs? Mat. 22. 12.zChriſtus hoc in loco & ſponſus eſt, & cibus, & veſtis, &c. Gomar.
Wait thou, O my Soul! and be not weary of waiting upon God in For the humble waiting Soul.his waies. Remember and do the charge of David to Solomon his Son, 1 Kin. 2. 3. So ſhalt thou be bleſſed. Pro. 8. 32. What though this fect be every where ſpoken againſt? What though Chriſts Miniſters that are chiefly ſet up by him to beat down the Kingdom of Satan, be the Butt of the malice of Devils and men? And the Ordinances of Chriſt, which have no Grandeur in them, nor outſide Glory to take men,. be the ſlight of men? Yet after that way that theſe men call Sect, Hereſie, worſhip thou, O my Soul! the God of thy Fathers. Keep cloſe to Ordinances, uſe them conſcientiouſly, not only cuſtomarily; and faithfully, not ſlightly, and thou ſhalt experience them the conveyances of great things: Golden pipes to convey the Golden Oyl of Grace from Chriſt to thy Soul. Tell me therefore, O thou whom my ſoul loveth, where thou feedeſt, where thou makeſt thy Flock to reſt at noon! for why ſhould I be as one that turneth aſide by the aGreges ſociorum tuorum] Ad eorum coetus qui ſe falſo ſocios Chri…ti venditant, Men. Ad falſos Doctores, qui ſe iactant ſoci os tuos, Piſc. Innuit Eccleſia ſg non poſſe, niſi Chriſti beneficio ſedem ſuam indicantis, pgriculum effugere falſorum fratrum & cultuum, Men.Flocks of thy companions? i. e. the Company of thoſe that falſly boaſt themſelves the Companions of Chriſt; falſe Teachers, falſe Worſhippers.