nerationis pignora intra spei tuæ cubiculum clausum tenes." No man was ever a loser by God. 3. This work must be carried on prudently, orderly, and by degrees. Milk must go before strong meat: the foundation must be first laid before we build upon it. Children must not be dealt with as men at age. Men must be brought into a state of grace, before we can expect from them the works of grace. The work of conversion, and repentance from dead works, and faith in Christ must be first, frequently and thoroughly taught. The stewards of God's household must give to each their portion in due season. We must not go beyond the capacities of our people, nor teach them perfection, who have not learned the first principles. As August. saith, li. 12. de Civit. "Si pro viribus suis alatur infans, fiet ut crescendo plus capiat: si modum suæ capacitatis excedit, deficit antequam crescat:" and as Gregor. Nysen. saith, Orat de Pauper. amand. "As we teach not infants the deep precepts of science, but first letters, and then syllables, &c. So also the guides of the church do first propound to their hearers certain documents, which are as the elements, and so by degrees, do open to them the more perfect and mysterious matters." Therefore did the Church take so much pains with their Catechumeni,' before they baptized them, and would not lay unpolished stones into the building; as Chrysostom saith, Hom. 40. Imperfect; operis (or whoever else it be, p. (mihi) 318.) " Ædificatores sunt sacerdotes, qui—domum Dei componunt, sicut enim ædificatores, nodosos lapides et habentes torturas, ferro dolant, postea vero ponunt eos in ædificio, alioqui non dolati lapides lapidibus non cohærent: Sic et Ecclesiæ doctores vitia hominum quasi nodos acutis increpationibus primum circumcidere debent, et sic in Ecclesiæ ædificatione collocare: alioquin vitiis manentibus Christiani Christianis concordare non possunt." 4. Through the whole course of our Ministry, we must insist most upon the greatest, most certain and necessary things, and be more seldom and sparing upon the rest. If we can but teach Christ to our people, we teach them all. Get them well to heaven, and they will have knowledge enough. The great and commonly acknowledged Truths are they that men must live upon, and which are the great instruments of raising the heart to God, and destroying men's sins; and therefore we must still have our people's necessities in our eyes. It will take us off gawds, and needless ornaments, and unprofitable controversies, to rememember that one thing is necessary. Other things are desirable to be known, but these must be known, or else our people are undone for ever. I confess, I think necessity should be a great disposer of a minister's course of study and labour. If we were sufficient for every thing, we might fall upon every thing, and take in order the whole Encyclopædia: but life is short, and we are dull; eternal things are necessary, and the souls that depend on our teaching are precious. I confess necessity hath been the conductor of my studies and life; it chooseth what book I shall read, and tells when and how long it chooseth my text, and makes my sermon for matter and manner, so far as I can keep out my own corruption. Though I know the constant expectation of death hath been a great cause of this, yet I know no reason why the most healthful man should not make sure of the necessaries first, considering the uncertainty and shortness of all men's lives. Xenophon thought," there was no better teacher than necessity, which teacheth all things most diligently." Curtius saith, Efficatior est omni arte necessitas." Who can in study, preaching, or life, aliud agere,' be doing other matters, if he do but know, that this must be done? Who can trifle or delay, that feeleth the spurs of hasty necessity: As the soldier saith, Non diu disputandum, sed celeriter et fortiter dimicandum ubi urget necessitas.' So much more must we, as our business is more important. And doubtless this is the best way to redeem time, and see that we lose not an hour, when we spend it only on necessary things: It is also the way to be most profitable to others, though not always to be most pleasing and applauded; because through men's frailty, it is true that Seneca complains of, that "Nova potius miramur quam magna.” 66 Hence it is, that a Preacher must be often upon the same things, because the matters of necessity are few. We must not either feign necessaries, nor dwell much upon unnecessaries, to satisfy them that look after novelties: though we must clothe the same necessaries with a grateful variety in the manner of our delivery. The great volumes and tedious controversies, that so much trouble us and waste our time, are usually made up more of opinion than necessary verities. : 66 For, as Marsil. Ficinus saith, "Necessitas brevibus clauditur terminis; opinio nullis." And as Greg. Nazianz. and Seneca often say, Necessaries are common and obvious: it is superfluities that we waste our time for, and labour for, and complain that we attain them not." Ministers therefore must be observant of the case of their flocks, that they may know what is most necessary for them, both for matter and for manner and usually matter is first to be regarded, as being of more concernment than the manner. If you are to choose what authors to read yourselves, will you not rather take those that tell you what you know not, and speak the needful truth most evidently, though it were with barbarous or unhandsome language, than those that will most learnedly, and elegantly, and in grateful language tell you that which is false or vain, and 'magna conatu nihil dicere?' purpose to follow Austin's counsel, (li. de. catech.) " Præponendo verbis sententiam, ut animas præponitur corpori: ex quo fit, ut ita mallem veriores quam discretiores invenire sermones, sicut mallem prudentiores quam formosiores habere amicos." And surely as I do in my studies for my own edification, I would do in my teaching for other men's. It is commonly empty, ignorant men that want the matter and substance of true learning, that are over curious and solicitous about words and ornaments, when the ancient, experienced, most learned men, abound in substantial verities, usually delivered in the plainest dress. As Aristotle makes it the reason why women are more addicted to pride in apparel than men, because being conscious of little inward worth and ornament, they seek to make it up with borrowed ornaments without : so it is with empty, worthless preachers, who affect to be esteemed that which they are not, and have no other way to procure esteem. 5. All our teaching must be as plain and evident as we can make it; for this doth most suit to a teacher's ends. He that would be understood, must speak to the capacity of his hearers, and make it his business to make himself understood. Truth loves the light, and is most beautiful when most naked. It is a sign of an envious enemy to hide the truth; and a sign of an hypocrite to do this under pretence of revealing it and therefore painted, obscure sermons (like the painted glass in the windows that keep out the light,) are too often the mark of painted hypocrites. If you would not teach men, what do you in the pulpit? If you would, why do you not speak so as to be understood? I know the height of the matter may make a man not understood when he hath studied to make it as plain as he can ; but that a man should purposely cloud the matter in strange words, and hide his mind from the people whom he pretendeth to instruct, is the way to make fools admire his profound learning, and wise men his folly, pride and hypocrisy. And usually, it is a suspicious sign of some deceitful project and false doctrine that needeth such a cloak, and must walk thus masked in the open daylight. Thus did the followers of Basilides and Valentinus, and others among the old heretics; and thus do the Behmenists and other Paracelsians now; who, when they have spoken that few may understand them, lest they expose their errors to the open view, they pretend a necessity of it, because of men's prejudice, and the unpreparedness of common understandings for the truth. But truth overcomes prejudice by mere light of evidence, and there is no better way to make a good cause prevail, than to make it as plain, and commonly, and thoroughly known as we can; and it is this light that will dispose an unprepared mind. And at best it is a sign that he hath not well digested the matter himself, that is not able to deliver it plainly to another. I mean, as plain as the nature of the matter will bear, in regard of capacities prepared for it by prerequisite truths. For I know that some men cannot at present understand some truths, if you speak them as plainly as words can express them; as the easiest rules in grammar most plainly taught, will be no whit understood by a child that is but learning his alphabet. 6. Our whole work must be carried on in a sense of our insufficiency, and in a pious, believing dependance upon Christ. We must go to him for light, and life, and strength, who sends us on the work: and when we feel our own faith weak, and our hearts grown dull, and unsuitable to so great a work as we have to do, we must have recourse to the Lord that sendeth us, and say, Lord, wilt thou send me with such an unbelieving heart to persuade others to believe? Must I daily and earnestly plead with sinners about everlasting life and death, and have no more belief and feeling of these weighty things myself? O send me not naked and unpro vided to the work; but as thou commandest me to do it, furnish me with a spirit suitable thereto.' As Austin saith, (de Doct. Christ. 1. 4.) " A preacher must labour to be heard understandingly, willingly and obediently, et hoc se posse magis pietate orationum, quam oratoris facultate non dubitet: ut orando pro se ac pro aliis, quos est allocuturus, sit prius orator quam doctor; et in ipsa hora accedens, priusquam, exeat, proferat linguam ad Deum, levet animam sitientem, &c."" Prayer must carry on our work as well as preaching; he preacheth not heartily to his people, that will not pray for them. If we prevail not with God to give them faith and repentance, we are unlikely to prevail with them to believe and repent. Paul giveth us frequently his example, of praying night and day for his hearers. When our own hearts are out of order, and theirs so too, if we prevail not with God to mend and help them, we are like to make but unsuccessful work. 7. Our work must be managed with great humility; we must carry ourselves meekly and condescendingly to all; and so teach others, as to be as ready to learn of any that. can teach us, and so both teach and learn at once: not proudly venting our own conceits, and disdaining all that any way contradict them, as if we had attained to the top of knowledge, and we were destined for the chair, and other men to sit at our feet. Not like them that Gregory M. mentioneth in Moral. 1. 24. par. 5. c. xii. " In quorum verbis proditur, quod cum docent, quasi in quodam sibi videntur summitatis culmine residere, eosque quos docent, ut longe infra se positos, velut in imo respiciunt, quibus non consulendo loqui, sed vix dominando dignantur." Pride is a vice that ill beseems them that must lead men in such an humble way to heaven. And let them take heed, lest when they have brought others thither, the gate should prove too strait for themselves. Fer, as Hugo saith, "Superbia in cœlo nata est, sed velut immemor qua via inde cecidit, istuc postea redire non potuit." God that thrust out a proud angel, will not entertain there a proud preacher, while such. Methinks we should remember at least the title of a minister, which though the Popish priests disdain, yet so do not we. It is indeed this pride at the root that feedeth all the rest of sins hence is the envy, the contention, and unpeaceableness of ministers, and hence the hindrances in all reforma |