wilt find my advice good and I did the rather propose it to thee because of the abounding wickedness of the Age for though almost every man calls himself a Christian and thinks himself affronted if he be not so esteemed yet true Christian Piety is owned by very few and it is become as disgraceful truly to practise it or to plead for it more is our misery as it is to disown that good name which should never be without it and therefore we take it to be as much our duty now thus to own the cause of it against the vile Practices of those who sottishly reproach and persecute it even whil'st they call themselves Christians as it was of old the duty of Christians to own the Name and profession against the Persecutions of the Heathenish and unbelieving World Certain it is That Christ is as well confessed by maintaining and defending that real Holiness which he came to implant in the Hearts and lives of Men as he is by the Belief and Acknowledgment of those things which he was pleased to do and suffer in order to it and therefore on the other hand the Denying the dissembling or not owning our obligation to this Holiness or our resolution to imbrace and live in it when ever we have a just cause to own it is as truly Denying of Christ as our protesting in case of danger that we know him not or belong not to him can be thought to be Be not afraid nor ashamed then to make thy self known to the World to be in the resolution of thy Heart a true Christian that Christ may not be ashamed of thee before the Angels of God in that day when all the Secrets of mens hearts shall be made manifest Those vile Wretches that live to the dishonour of him whose name they are called by and to be Reproach of humane Nature blush not as thou may'st observe to make known the baseness of their Designs and the lewdness of their actions they commit their wickedness in the sight of the Sun and are not ashamed to boast of it when they have done and shouldest thou be ashamed to live worthy of Christ to be truly a Son of God and to have a design upon Glory and Immortality No let them be ashamed that do shameful things but for thee thy design is honourable and worthy of a man and thy resolution is becoming a Christian and it is necessary to thee being one There is a shame we are told that ends in death and surely this is that when men are ashamed of that which is truly their Glory and dare not be what they know they ought to be because they may be reproached when they are known to be so § 6. There is but one thing more to be added in this matter viz. That thou wilt do well to seek out some good men that have taken up the same resolution and to acquaint thy self with them and if possible thou can'st to make them thy familiar and bosome-Friends Let them know thy Design and Purpose of living Holily and Christianly Tell them what an Esteem thou hast for them because thou perceivest that they design to do no less beg their good opinion and their Love according as they shall behold thy sincerity and reality in the profession thou do'st make desire their Prayers their Instruction their reproofs their Encouragements according as they shall see thee stand in need of them and that they will look upon thee as a poor and unworthy member of that Holy body to which they do belong and of which Christ is the head and that hopes by the mercy of God to be glorified with Christ one day together with them and that they will therefore have that Regard and tenderness for thee which the members of the same body have for one another and desire them to accept of the like Regard and Love from thee and of all the good offices that true Christian Charity can enable thee to do for them I confess it will be no easy matter for thee to find such persons the number of them is but small and they are generally no great pretenders but modest and reserved and perhaps more reserved all things considered than they ought to be for though the vile Hypocrisy of pretenders to Holiness in this last Age and the dayly Abuse of its good name by men that seek themselves in the Ruine of the Church may seem to commend their closeness and Desire of being unknown yet the growth of Atheism and Prophaneness which those false pretenses have occasioned and the danger we are fallen into of Losing those great advantages for the Practice of Piety which our Church affords us does more strongly require them to lay open that Piety which they practise in secret and to let the World know by actions suitable to a good profession That there are some that own the Cause of real Holiness without Hypocrisy and Guile And let me tell thee by the way that if these good men of this Church will thus shew themselves and unite together in the several Parts of the Kingdom disposing themselves into Fraternities or friendly Societies and engaging each other in their several and respective Combinations to be helpful and serviceable to one another in all good Christian wayes it would be the most effectual means for restoring our decaying Christianity to its Primitive Life and Vigour and the supporting of our tottering and sinking Church But not to lead thee too far from the matter I was about If thou can'st find any of these good people I have spoken of I charge thee let thy heart cleave unto them and let there not be the least strangeness so far as lies in thee between you Be all as one man thus it was with the Primitive Christians Act. 2. and so march forward in the good wayes of God against all opposition observing and considering one another to provoke unto love and to good works as the Apostle's expressions are Heb. 10.23 having an Eye continually to the Captain of our Salvation who is entred into Heaven in despight of all the Powers of darkness and is there preparing a place for us Thou wilt be no sooner engaged with these good men in Love and Friendship but thou wilt begin to feel the advantages of it Thou wilt be afraid of no discouragements when thou hast gotten the assistance of so many true Friends and thou wilt never fall back from that resolution which hath been the occasion of engaging thee in such good Company If thou forgettest thy self at any time thou wilt not be without a Remembrancer and whenever thou failest thou wilt find a restorer and when thou art seized with any coldness or dulness they will be ready to warm and quicken thee These are advantages so considerable that thou can'st not prudently stick at any pains it may cost thee to procure them and therefore let me tell thee for a conclusion of this particular that if thou
unreasonable thing as some men fancy it to be obliged to it and that Christ cannot reasonably be thought a hard Master for laying it upon us For surely 1. He that hath laid nothing upon us but what our State and Condition and his own Design of Love and mercy towards us did make necessary cannot be judged hard or cruel to us and hath Christ required any thing more in this matter No undoubtedly he could not give us health and life how much soever he desired it without removeing our Diseases he could not be the Author of Salvation to us without taking away that which was our Ruine and Destruction And what was our Disease and Ruine but an inordinate and immoderate Love of our selves and our fellow-Creatures whereby we fell away from God to be as Gods our selves to please our selves to provide for our selves to do our own Wills and to satisfy our own Desires without restraint or comptrol Now what is it that we would have when we quarrel with Christ and call this Commandement grievous would we have our health and our desires too would we live and dye also would we serve God a little and our selves much more or would we serve him so far only as we shall please our selves and have that be taken for all the service that we own him If thou thinkest this to be unreasonable as thou canst not but doe thou must needs acknowledg it to be necessary that thou shouldest be taken from thy self and all worldly things that thou mightest serve thy God But besides 2. We cannot reasonably look upon him as a hard Master who submitted himself to that which he has imposed upon us being himself the greatest example of Self-denial and Forsaking all that ever was What thinkest thou of his Appearing in our frail flesh of his low estate in the World of his Pain and Travail of his Thorny Crown and Cross Was there not Self-denial in all this and such as Angels and men may justly wonder and be astonished at for ever He who being in the form of God thought it no Robbery to be equal with God made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of a man and being found in fashion as a man humbled himself and became obedient unto Death even the Death of the Cross Phil. 2 6 7 8. He who might have commanded all the riches and glory of the World as being Lord of all became poor that by his poverty we might be made rich 2. Corinth 8.9 He who made all mankind to serve and please him Pleased not himself but became a servant for our Good Rom. 15. v. 3. He who could have had more than twelve Legions of Angels for his Guard Math. 26 53. yeilded his cheeks to be smitten his Face to be spit upon his back to be scourged his hands and feet to be nailed to an infamous Tree and his side and heart to be pierced by the Vilest Sinners whom with one word of his mouth he might have turn'd into Hell Thus did our great and good Master deny himself and forsake all and can we poor worthless wretches think it much to deny our Vile selves and to forsake those little things which we call our own for his sake and in obedience to his command had he dealt with us as those that once Sate in Moses's Chair did with their Disciples laying heavy burdens upon them and grievous to be born which they themselves would not touch with one of their fingers Math. 23 4. we might have had some seeming cause of complaint but since he himself hath born the burden which he hath layd upon us yea and a far greater we are most unreasonable people if we do open our mouths against him he is too soft and delicate a servant surely that would fare better than his Lord or be exempted from that work which his Lord disdaineth not to put his hand unto But 3. I beseech thee Brother tell me what it is which thou Judgest hard and unreasonable in this Commandment Is it that we should believe our selves to be what we really are and that we should demean our selves in the World accordingly Is that we who do own our selves to be nothing of our selves and to have nothing of our selves should be as nothing to our selves and challenge no propriety in our Selves but in Subordination to him of whom we are and from whom we have received all Is it that he who hath made us for himself and without any other motive than that was in himself and who hath freely given us all we do possess will dispose of us and all according to his Pleasure Is it that we should prefer him before our selves and his Will before our own and be ready and willing to part with all that he hath given us when ever he is pleased to call for it Is it that we should be content to receive Evil from him as well as Good when he shall see it fit for his own Glory and our greater Good I dare say that there is nothing in all this that thou wilt except against and this is all that is required of thee But yet further 4. Suppose it appear after all that what is here required is not only just and reasonable but hugely Profitable and advantageous for us may we not justly look upon them to be very unreasonable that do quarrel with it And truly thus it is and thus it will appear to be upon very little consideration It is no small advantage to be at liberty to Obey God entirely and to be able to doe it with ease with delight and pleasure it is no little benefit to be out of the Reach of the Devils malice and of all those Dangerous weapons wherewith he assaults and destroys poor Souls And this we shall Infallibly obtain by the practice and performance of this one Duty For what is it that indisposes us to the service of God that makes his Righteous Holy Laws to be grievous and uneasy to us but our Taking upon us to be something of our selves and to dispose of our selves according to our own wills What is it that gives the Devil so much advantage over us but our disorderly passions and affections and whence have all his Temptations their Force and Power and all his Artifices their Success but from our inordinate Love of our selves and these Worldly things And therefore when we have put off this Love and banished these things our hearts as we are taught to do we have Disarmed our Enemy or taken off the edge of all his weapons we have baffled his accursed policies and secured our selves from his Devices Men may talk of riches and honours and fleshly pleasures as long as they please to those that are dead and they may threaten them with reproaches and pains and other evil things till they have wearied themselves and not find Them moved in the least with it
not requiring the help of any Member of the Body may be intermixed with all thy ordinary Employments and if there be any of such a nature as will not admit them without some little stop as requiring a full application of thy mind yet that stop will be no hinderance but rather a mighty furtherance to them for whil'st thou do'st thus look up to God upon whom the success of every thing depends thou wilt be able to proceed more cheerfully in thy Employments and with greater Vigour through the confidence of his Blessing upon all that thou art a doing But there is one Advice more which shall conclude this part and may supply all that is wanting in it viz. CHAP. VI. Containing the last general Advice To commit our Souls to the Care and Conduct of Spiritual Guides with proper Directions relating to it 6. THat thou must commit thy Soul to the Care and Conduct of a spiritual Guide for the enforcing of this Advice much might be said and indeed the little account that most men make of their spiritual Guides in this Age requires much to be said but because I have set my self but short bounds and because I hope that thou art well disposed by the foregoing discourses to receive good Counsel I shall be as brief as possibly I can with respect to thy Good There are Three or Four things which are well known to Christians and I hope they will be readily acknowledged by thee for great truths which being well considered by thee will let thee know both how necessary and how beneficial this Advice will be to thee 1. Thou wilt acknowledge that Christ hath settled an Order of men as his Substitutes upon earth to take Care of Souls to the end of the World This we find him doing immediately before his ascension into Heaven Thus we read in St. Matthew's Gospel chap. 21.18 19 20. All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth go therefore and teach or disciple all nations baptizeing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them te observe whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alwaies even to the End of the World And thus we read in the 16. c. of St. Marc. v. 15 16. Go ye into all the World and preach the Gospel to every Creature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned And thus in the 21. c. of St. John's Gospel v. 21.22 23. As my Father hath sent me so send I you and when he had said this he breathed on them and saith receive ye the Holy Ghost whosevers Sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosoevers sins ye retain they are retained That our blessed Saviour said all this to his Disciples no Christian can doubt and that by these words he did commit that Power and Authority to them which he had received from his Father for the Good of mens Souls is not to be denied and if any Question be made whether this concerned the Apostles only and was confined by him to their own persons it may clearly be resolved by considering 1. The importance of those words I am with you alwayes even to the End of the World for how could he be with them to the End of the World if we suppose those words to concern their persons only they might be with him indeed but he could not be with them to the End of the World who were not to be or to exercise the Authority given them to the End thereof 2. By considering the necessities of the World for what an unhappy condition would they be in who were to live in succeeding Ages if no provision were made for their Instruction in the Christian Faith c. 3. By considering that the Apostles after they had received the Holy Ghost in an eminent and remarkable manner according to Christ's promise did understand the Commission otherwise and therefore we find that they did by Prayer and Imposition of hands the ordinary way of conferring offices among the Jews confer the like Power upon others as they saw good for the edification of the Church and those persons upon whom they conferred this Power are charged by them to take heed to the flock and to feed the Church of Christ and are said to be called and appointed thereunto by the Holy Ghost Act. 20.28 And further those persons that were thus ordained by the Apostles are charged by them to ordain others in the same way and directions are given them what manner of persons they were to ordain to so great an office Thus the Apostle St. Paul having put Timothy in mind of that Sacred office to which he had been ordained by imposition of hands 2 Epist chap. 1. v. 6. and of that form of sound words which he had heard from him in Faith and Love v. 13. chargeshim to commit the same to faithful men who might be able to teach others also chap. 2. v. 2. And the same Apostle tells Titus to whose Care he had committed the whole Church of the Island of Creete that he had left him there and appointed him to ordain Elders i.e. Bishops and Presbyters in every City chap. 1. v. 5. To these St. Paul gives directions how they should behave themselves in the Church of God as his expressions are 1 Tim. 3. c. 15. v. Not only as to the ordaining of others but likewise in many other things relating to the edification of the Church viz. 1. as to preaching that they should hold fast that form of Doctrine which they had received and teach that and none other 1 Tim. 6.14 and 2 Tim. 3.14.2 As to the publick Worship and Service of God 1 Tim. 2.1 2 3.3 As to Government and Discipline the holding of Ecclesiastical Courts the receiving of Accusations the conventing of the accused publikely the correcting of heretical and other disorderly persons the stopping of their Mouths and the Excommunicating them or casting them out of the Church charging them to prejudge no man's Cause and to do nothing for Favour or partiality 1 Tim. 5.19 20 21. v. and Tit. 1. c. 11. v. and chap. 3. v. 10. And so likewise as to the reconciling of Penitents and restoring them into the Communion of the Church and the hopes of Pardon 1 Tim. 5.22 v. By all which it appears plainly that Christ did not commit the Care of those Souls which He had redeemed with his most precious blood to those only who were in a particular manner called his Apostles in the words before set down but that he did there settle an Order of men and give Authority to that Order in a perpetual succession to watch over them and to see that none of them perish or fall short of that Happiness which he designed for them But 2. Thou must acknowledge likewise that this Order of men thus settled by Christ to take Care of Souls are authorized