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A14003 The picture of a true protestant: or, Gods house and husbandry wherein is declared the duty and dignitie of all Gods children, both minister and people. Written by Thomas Tuke. Tuke, Thomas, d. 1657. 1609 (1609) STC 24313; ESTC S102480 87,646 261

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wickednesse and come out of the pit-fall and snare of Sathan Why should not our labours be sweete and pleasing to vs seeing they be commodious commendable and commanded A man will gladly saue his Oxen from perishing and his sheepe from rotting and shall not we labour as gladly to saue men from destruction and to keepe the sheepe of Christ Iesus frō rotting in their sins Wilt thou willingly helpe thy sheep out of the ditch and saue her from drowning and wilt thou not as willingly labour to drawe forth one of Christs sheepe out of the ditch of iniquity that it be not drowned with the waters of wickednesse and be stifled with the mudde of sinfulnesse A man is very nimble and ready to preserue his fields from spoyling his house from burning and his children from pining and shall not we be as nimble as alacrious and as ready to preserue Gods field from being wasted his house from being burnt and his children from perishing and pining away sor want of food to comfort and vphold them Willingly will euery faithfull shepheard feede and gouerne his flocke which is committed to him And so Peter speaking to the shepheards of that Arch-pastor Christ Iesus exhorteth them to performe their duty with alacrity Feed the flocke of God which dependeth on you caring for it not by constraint but Willingly not for filthy lucre but as of a Ready Minde I passe not at all saith Paul neither is my life deere vnto me so that I may fulfill my course with ioy CHAP. II. Ministers must be valorus not timerous SIxtly a labourer ought to be couragious and hardy No discouragemēt nothing at all must daunt him nothing must fray him from his worke and put him out of his right byas And they that are to contend and encounter with that roaring Lyon had neede to be Lyon-like valorous and vndauntable The Builders of the ruined walles of Ierusalem did their worke with one hand and with the other held a sword Euen so those whom God hath called to repaire Ierusalem the praise of the world should builde with the armour of the Spirit about them being full of Christian zeale and fortitude and wise to preuent the stratagems and assaults of all Sanballates Arabians and Ammonites They were not cowards that built those walles neither should they be cowards that work in this building For here want no enemies here is both fraud and force We wrestle not against flesh bloud but against Principalities against powers against worldly Gouernors the Princes of the darknesse of this world against spiritual wickednesses which are in high places euen against Sathan all the Yeomen of the black Guard And therefore we had neede to be full of spirit and spirituall valour Ieremy was forbidden vnder the paine of death to feare their faces to whom he was to Prophecy And the Lord speaking to Ezekiel saith I haue made thy forehead as the Adamant and harder then the flint Feare them not therfore neither be afraid of their looks By which we see that God would not haue his messengers out-faced but that they should boldly deliuer their message to his people He which winketh at false doctrine and reprehendeth not the sins of the time and place wherein he liueth and dares not for feare of contempt or disgrace admonish the persons that offend is vnworthy and vnfit to be a Minister who ought to be zealous and couragious dreading no mans face but should speake exhort and conuince in all authority and shew the people their enormities without feare or partiality Yea hee that wincketh at wickednesse and hereticall doctrine and doth not oppose himselfe vnto it is guilty of it and is in minde a Fugitiue though he moue not from his charge in person Quia tacuisti fugisti tacuisti quia timuisti Thou hast fled saith Austen because thou hast held thy tongue Veritatem negat qui eam non libere praedicat He denieth the truth saith Chrysostome which doth not preach it boldly Although saith Austen he liue well and yet be either ashamed or afrayed to reproue them that liue ill cum omnibus qui eo tacente pereunt perit He perisheth with all those which perish whiles he sees and sayes nothing Aug. grad 1. Abus I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord saith Micah and of iudgement and of strength to declare vnto Iacob his transgression and to Israel his sinne Eliiah told Ahab to his face that it was he and his fathers house that troubled Israel Michaiah likewise boldly told him that he should not returne in peace from fighting against the Syrians though his speech vexed him Nathan told Dauid plainely of his vncleannes and murther that without feare Isaiah saith that he had set his face as a flint And so it seemeth for he payd them home he feared no colours but was as bold in taxing as they were in offending He gaue his backe to the smiters and his cheekes to the nippers and hid nor his face from shame and spitting reprouing notwithstanding all disgraces both the Princes and the People with great feruency and boldnesse of speech This was the practise of Iohn Baptist Christ Paul and of all the holy Prophets and ought as occasion serueth to be imitated wisely of all the Ministers of God This serueth to condemne the coldnesse and fearfulnesse of those face-fearers that dare not rebuke sinne especially in the audience of the sinner and which teacheth the truth through feare as it were in riddles ambiguously and in the cloudes running as I may say betweene the skin and the flesh But such feare is not the feare of God but the feare of Man And as Bishop Iewel speaketh accursed be that modesty that drowneth or hideth the truth of God And accursed I say be that feare which makes a man silent when he ought to speake and dumme when he should lift vp his voyce like a trumpet and shew the people their sinnes Yet here we must all remember that our zeale be directed by knowledge which should alway go before and make way and that wisedome and pity go with our valour that all our reproofes and admonitions be performed in loue and in the spirit of meeknesse with long suffering and patience without rage and rankor Esay might cry but not roare We our selues are men and may erre And if we stand when others fall it is by Gods grace and not through our owne goodnesse Neither is it lawfull to rebuke sinne with sinne and to make our selues sinners by disorderly taxing of sinners CHAP. 12. Ministers must perseuere in the faithfull execution of their function SEuenthly a labourer must be constant and not giue ouer till his taske inioyned him be fully finished So the Minister of God shold continue constant in his labours for God The loue of the world must not make him leaue his labours He must not leaue without the
must defend our heads and maintaine our free-holds Naboth would not part from his vineyard He is another Esau that will part with his birth-right for a messe of pottage As we must be innocent as Doues so we must be wise as Serpents and stout as Lyons and beware that too much patience make not the enemy proud and raging But to returne from whence we haue digressed shall Paul pray for the Romanes for other men that GOD would make them to be like-minded one towards another and shal not we pray for our selues and labour by all good meanes that we may our selues bee so affected one with another Members of one body are at peace with themselues The Church of God is a Body euen the mysticall body of his sonne Christ Iesus Now faithfull Ministers are Members of this body therefore they ought like fellow-members to embrace and agree with one another endeuouring to keepe the vnity of the Spirit in the bond of peace not prouoking and enuying one another but being subiect to one another in the feare of Christ It were a prodigious sight to see the Pillars of a Temple remoue and rush one against another The Church is Gods spirituall Temple and godly Ministers are as Pillars to beare it vp Therefore they should stand peaceably one by another and not iustle one with another The ministers and instruments of Sathan can conspire together against God Wherefore then should not the Ministers of God concord agree together for God Herod Pilate the Iewes the Romanes could ioyne against Christ why should not we then consent and labour together for Christ that the Gospell might flourish in the Christian world and that Christian religion might spreade throughout the whole world As Paul wished the Romanes one heart that they might with one minde and one mouth praise GOD euen so should we that are Ministers tune all the strings of our sinfull soules and labour for the sweet concent and harmony of all the affections of our hearts that with one mind mouth wee may celebrate and preach the Lord and proclaime the glad tidings of saluation to the sonnes of men by Iesus Christ Neither is it enough if some of vs be thus affected but wee must all all without exception put on this minde In an Instrument wee see that one or two strings out of tune marre all the musicke and that in a Quire of voyces one or two being out of order doe spoyle the melody One iangling bell marres the whole ring Euen so a few factious turbulent and combustiue spirites that like Salamanders or Fire-flies delight in the firy flames of contention and are in trauell with their home-bred conceits till they haue thrust them out which are somthing like thornes in a dogges foot which neuer leaues licking till hee haue got thē out I say a few such disorderly vnquiet spirits are able apt if they be not turned or taken quite away to marre the musicke of the Church and to kindle a fire in it For by nature we are too like to Gun-powder or Tinder a few sparkes are able and would set vs all on fire if neither Gods grace nor seuere lawes and strength of authority did preuent hinder vs. And that I may conclude this point if tenne men did carry a great and weighty burthen if some of them should kicke or buffet one another their pace would be slakened their businesse hindred their burthen endangered to fall vnto the ground The Church of God is a weighty burthen and Ministers are appointed by God to beare it vpon their backes Now if they beate and spurne at one another or if some of them shall contemne kicke or busset one another though others behaue themselues discreetly and orderly their businesse must needes be hindered the Chu●ch is like rot onely to shake and totter but in danger also to fall and breake One scabbed sheepe may infect a flocke a little fire may make a great flame a little leauen doth leauen a whole lump of dough and one Fox may marre a fold Either therefore let all agree let all that beare the burthē con●aine themselues in order or let them that trouble the rest bee thrust out by order Better it were that nine did beare it alone in peace th●n with a ten●h though his shoulders were as good as Miloes as strong as Sam●ons that were quarrelous tr●ublesom● and vnquiet As we therefore desire the peace of Sion and the we●fare and prosperity of Ierusalem as we would that the workes of the diuell should be dissolued his power weakned and his kingdome lessened as we loue to see Gods corne to thriue his vines to flourish and his building to go forward let vs haue peace amongst our selues and let vs tye our hea●ts fast together with the linkes of loue It is an amiable thing for brethren to dwell together in vnity It is a louely sight to see Ministers br●th●en by adoption and brethren by offi●e brethren in regard of Gods grace and place to liue together in loue as it were in a wedlock of loue Then should they be known to be Christs disciples then should God be glorified his people more aboundantly edified his kingdome enlarged his enemies scattered and their owne ioyes increased We conclude therefore Nulla salus bello pacem te poscimus omnes CHAP. 14. God is the Architect Ministers are inferiour Agents OF God For as much as Ministers are the Lords Synergi his Coworkers his Helpers or helping instrumēts elected by him not for any necessity as if he were not able of himselfe to saue mē without their assistance but of his free pleasure for the manifestation of his wisedome power grace and authority and for the triall of our obedience faith humility from hence we learne these lessons Doct. 7 First that God alone is the principall Husbander of his field and the onely Architect of his building My Father saith C●rist is the Husbandman And he that buildeth all things is God Paul planteth and Apollos watereth but God giueth the increase It is the Lord that calleth men to his worke and directeth thē in his work and giueth good successe vnto their worke Except the Lord build the house they labour but in vaine that build it I laboured saith Paul more then they all yet not I but the grace of God which is with me Hence it is that Peter commends the founding and establishing of the faithfull vnto GOD. And looke what GOD founds Sathan shall neuer confound The Word preached sincerely is not like a physicke medicine which hath vertue in it by nature to cure a disease but is as a Conduit-pipe by which God the fountaine of grace conueieth his grace into the cisterne of our hearts when as he pleaseth Neither are Ministers to be reputed as principall Agents or authors of mans saluation but as the liuely instruments