Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
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A27044
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A sermon preached at the funeral of that faithful minister of Christ, Mr. John Corbet with his true and exemplary character / by Richard Baxter.
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Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing B1416; ESTC R17576
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26,901
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40
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A SERMON Preached at the FUNERAL Of that Faithful Minister of Christ Mr. John Corbet With his True and Exemplary CHARACTER By RICHARD BAXTER LONDON Printed for Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and three Crowns at the lower End of Cheapside A Funeral Sermon 2 Cor. 12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen year ago whether in the body I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth such an one caught up to the third heaven And I knew such a man whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth How that he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter Of such an one will I glory yet of my self will I not glory but in mine infirmities For though I would desire to glory I shall not be a fool for I will say the truth but now I forbear left any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be or that he heareth of me And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations there was given to me a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me And he said My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me IT is but lately that we were here lamenting the loss of this City and the Church of God in the removal of an excellent Saint we are now come on the like occasion It is a year of Jubile for holy souls and a harvest for heaven The ripest are gathered and the green and sowre fruit is yet left on earth But Oh what a heavy judgement is it to the needy world which wants such lights as God is taking in But we are not the Choosers It s well if we be obedient Learners and can follow such to life in the Holy path The Text read to you hath so much matter of Instruction that will excuse me if I scarce name the most It is part of Pauls Vindication against the accusers of his Person and Ministry which were some Erroneous Judaizing Teachers He confesseth that glorying is an unexpedient thing and sounds like folly but yet in case of necessary defence it may be modestly and sincerely done Especially the opening of those Divine Revelations and gifts which makes for the strength of the Faith of others The Explication shall be taken in as we go Observ 1. It is no new thing for the wisest and holiest of Christs Ministers to be accused even by the Teachers of Christianity For 1. There are many Erroneous Teachers that are confident they are in the right and oppose the Teachers of Truth as if they were the erring men 2. And there are Worldly Proud Malignant Hypocrites who bring their unsanctified Hearts into the sacred Office and manage it as men do common Trades but with greater enmity and strife 3. And there are abundance of ignorant or halfwise injudicious men who have self conceitedness enough to be peremptory and confident but neither knowledge nor humility enough to perceive their own weakness and mistakes Vse 1. Therefore let it not become a scandal to you if you hear some Teachers accusing and vilifying others 2. And think not that a Minister is erroneous or faulty meerly because others though of great name do accuse him or so represent him It hath still been so and while Satan is Satan and man is Corrupt man and there is so much darkness and so much Worldly Temptations and Cross Interests it will be so And Preachers will be made the common and dangerous hinderers of Preachers And where they have Power will silence them and disgrace their work Observ 2. Glorying or boasting is in it self an inexpedient thing It savours of Pride and Selfishness and Folly when it is not necessary and just And therefore all Christians should be backward to it Observ 3. Yet that which is so inexpedient may on just occaons become good and a duty That is 1. When it is made needful to Gods honour and the vindication and success of our Ministry and the Truth And 2. VVhen these are our true ends And 3. VVhen we speak nothing but the Truth Vse III. O that men knew how great a sin it is by their confident Errors and rash Accusations to put Christs Ministers upon such a defence much more to seek their silence and destruction 2. And here you see that inconveniencies will not excuse us from necessary duties nor prove that all is unlawful which hath such What is it in this confused and imperfect VVorld that hath not its inconveniencies In Government both Monarchy Aristocracy and Democracy absolute and limited have their many inconveniencies In Churches the power of People and Pastors equality and subordination riches and poverty severity and lenity to use Discipline or neglect it have their inconveniencies In Worship imposed words of free and all humane forms and modes have their inconveniencies In Houses a marryed life and a single to have Children and to have none to have servants or none to have much business or little to be high or low rich and poor to rule greatly or severely have all their inconveniencies In our conversations to be yielding or not to converse with few or many with high or low to speak or to be silent have all their inconveniencies And yet there are men that on one side can silence Christs faithful Ministers by hundreds or thousands and persecute the true Members of Christ and cast out true discipline and corrupt the Churches and justifie all this by urging some inconveniencies And there are others that can unchurch most Churches in the World and separate from their Worship and think the charge of inconveniencies will justifie all And so we should have no Government no Ministry no Worship no Families Wives or Children or Servants no Books no Trades no Food no Physick if all meer inconveniencies forbid them By this our instance Solomon may be understood what it is to be Wise and Righteous overmuch some are so Wise and Righteous materially not formally that they can find faults in all persons all duties all speeches all actions and on pretence of doing all better would hinder us from doing what we can and undo all as if it were for amending not but that inconveniences may make actions sinful But the great part of Christian prudence lyeth in holding the ballance and trying wisely whether the good or hurt the benefit or inconvenience do weigh down We shall never Preach or Pray nor converse with mankind without some inconveniency Observ 4. Divine
that Pride is such a sin as the holiest Saint is not fully secured from no not when he hath been hearing unutterable words and seeing the Heavenly Paradise it self No not if he came down from the third Heavens and bring his unperfect Nature with him Though he came newly from Converse with Angels Much more when he cometh from the most fervent Prayers or holiest Meditations or most heavenly and successful studies and from hearing the most Seraphick Preacher or Preaching as such an one himself He is not out of danger when he newly cometh from the most Self-denying acts of Mortification or the greatest Victory against Temptation or the greatest Suffering for Christ VVhat a sad description do Cyprian and Epiphanius make of the miscarriages of some Confessours that had offered to die for Christ Let none therefore abuse the Grace of Christ and the Doctrine of perseverance by thinking that it sets him above all danger or fears of falling unless he can say that he is better than Paul was and hath seen and heard more than he did in Paradise or than Peter did with Christ and Moses and Elias on the Holy Mount O that this Age did not loudly tell us how much the real or supposed knowledge of Divine things may be abused to sinful Exaltations By one side even by most famed Teachers to contempt of others and Lording it over the Heritage of God and wracking and rending his Church by their needless yea wicked comvulsive imposing devises And by other side by hurtful unwarrantable Censures and Separations and speaking evil of the things which they know not Have you heard and seen more of heaven than others Be then more Holy Loving Merciful and Peaceable and liker those in Heaven than others Read over and over Jam. 3. shew out of a good Conversation your works with meekness of wisdom For the wisdom from above neither befriendeth Enmity to Piety or Peace but is first pure then peaceable c. But how is Paul kept from being exalted above measure God gave him a thorn in the flesh Note Observ 9. God seeth our danger when we see not our own and saveth us from that which we saw not or had not else prevented Thanks to him and not to us But how doth God do it By a Thorn in the Flesh Observ 10. It is better that the flesh smart than the Soul be overmuch exalted No pain or suffering of the Flesh is so bad as Pride nor hath so bad effects Vse Why then do so little fear Exaltation How greedily do some Religious People desire it How impatient of any thing that crosseth it and humbleth them How little do they lament it and confess it Is Pride so rare or so small a sin even among Preachers and zealous men And why do we so much fear every Thorn in the Flesh Every Sickness Pain or Cross as if Pride could be prevented or killed at too dear a rate And why do we quarrel with God for our sufferings as if our Disease were not so bad as his Remedy Who ever heard you in health cry out of your Pride as in Sickness you do of your Pain It 's a happy Thorn which lets out this corrupt aud pestilent blood But what was this Thorn in the Flesh of Paul Answ The Greek word signifieth a sharp stake Pale nail stub or Thorn or any such sharp thing that runs into the flesh as it falls out with barefoot Travellers among such Thorns and Stubs It s strange how many Expositors came to take up that injurious conceit that it was fleshly lust which hath not the least colour in the Text. 1. Lust wou'd be rather likened to a Fire or Itch than to a Thorn 2. It would be called an alluring rather than a buffeting 3. Paul had a Life of Labour and Suffering which would keep down flesly Lust 4. This Thorn is given him as sent from God to save him from sin But where is God said to give men lust to save them from Pride 5. This Thorn was the buffeting of a Messenger of Satan But it is not like that Satan could so excite Lust in Paul 6. Paul prayeth thrice that it might be taken from him It is not like that Satan could so follow him with Lustful motions and that Paul would not have mentioned fasting and other means of Cure 7. God doth not yet say that he will yet take it from him but under his weakness manifest his sustaining Grace which sounds not like an answer of a Prayer against Lust 8. Paul is vindicating his Ministry against Accufers by mentioning his Infirmities that is his bodily Sufferings and his Revelations and is the telling them of his Lust a meet means for this 9. It is called his weakness which is his usual Title for his Sufferings but you may see Rom. 7. that he calleth Lust by more odious names I doubt not but it was some bodily Suffering which was this Thorn but whether by Persecutors or by a Disease is the chief doubt Many think that it was by Persecution 1. Because it was by a Messenger of Satan 2. Because wicked men are in Scripture likened to Thorns I more encline to think it was a fit of some violent pain in the flesh and most likely the stone or some such thing which indeed is a Tormenting Thorn in the flesh For 1. VVe read of his frequent Persecutions but never that he so named them or that he so much prayed against them but rejoyced as Christ bids such with exceeding joy Mat. 5. 11 12. And when he and all the Apostles so much exhort Believers to rejoyce in such Sufferings for Christ is it like he would here tell men how he prayed against it And as to the Reasons for the contrary sense 1. VVicked men are called Thorns as hurtful and so are other hurting things Christ had a Crown of Thorns on his head Joh. 19. 5. and Paul must feel one in his Flesh Job 41. 2. Prov. 26. 9. 22. 5. Hos 2. 6. 9. 6. Any thing hurtful is likened to Thorns 2. And Satan is in Scripture usually mentioned as Gods Executioner even in trying his Children It was into his hands that Job was put Hurting work is fittest for an evil and destroying Angel He would sift the Apostles as wheat by outward affrighting as well as inward Tempting However suffering it was Observ 10. A Thorn in the Flesh is one of Gods means to keep the best from being overmuch exalted You have heard that the best may need it 1. And the Flesh hath so much hand in our sin that it is fit to bear its part of suffering 2. And it is the most ignoble part and therefore its suffering hath less of hurt and less to signifie Gods displeasure Soul sufferings are the sore sufferings And it is the Soul that is the chief Agent in our Duties and therefore where it is spared we are least disabled for Gods work and our Communion with him 3. And the