raised If they haue done all it is a shame wee should not doe something wee should rather bee glad though not of the cause yet of this effect that there is matter left for our charitie to expresse it selfe in this kind and to let blind deuotion know that if our ancestors had not founded such spiritual maintenance it might and should yet haue bin done by vs. There are many godly deuout persons who haue in these daies of light made and increase dwellings portions for the bodies of the poore and needy Excellent indeed is this worke it is a blessed thing to giue and blessed are they that feede the hungrie and clothe the naked But yet of all Almes houses the spiritual Almes-house is the best and Paul that willeth you to desire the best gifts would haue you vse your gifts to the best aduantage Wherefore I shew you a more excellent way As the soule is infinitely better then the bodie and life eternall then life present so the food of the soule is farre better then that of the body and the sauing of the spirituall life better then the preseruation of the temporall life If thou giuest to the body thou dost well but thou giuest to that which shall die but if thou giue to the soule thou dost better for thou giuest to that which by thy gift may liue for euer in happines and make the body liue for euer in the same blisse with it If thou giue naturall bread thou dost well but thou giuest that which perisheth with the vsing but thou most resemblest Christ thy head and giuest the best Almes when thou giuest the bread of heauen What a comfortable and ioyfull thing to thy soule and heart will it be to see a whole Congregation fed on Gods holy day with thy Almes to see many soules receiuing saluation as it were from thy hand to heare many blesse glorifie God for his gifts to thee thine to them yea to blesse thee therefore in the name of the Lord Surely such ioy is infinitely better sounder and fuller of waight then the ioy of mony corne and oyle but the ioy that God shall giue thee in the great marriage day in the day of the gladnes of thy heart in that day will againe infinitely exceed this Thē shal Christ say vnto thee come thou blessed of my Father for when I was hungry naked and cold in the very soule of my little ones thou diddest buy Manna long white robes fire of the Altar to feede cloth warme me thou gauest the best gifts and which most nearely and inwardly cherish me therefore shalt thou haue the best reward come and sit nearest vnto me But if some backeward withdrawing hearts in whome God hath no delight put this grace and glory from themselues by a perswasion that this businesse concernes them not but that euery horse should beare his owne burthen and each congregation maintaine a Preacher for themselues Let them know that naturall men not vsed to instruction for want of it haue no desire to it Things not known are vnsought much lesse will a naturall man part from things knowne for things vnknowne It is the propertie of teaching to make men desire to be taught expect not then this desire from them which haue not the meanes to attaine it the sweetnesse of the word must be first sounded in their eares before they will loue the sound thereof it must teach them the worth of it selfe before they will part from any of their worth for it He must be partly or wholly a spirituall man that hungers for spirituall foode vnto the losse of his temporall substance and how shall many such be expected where the word by which the spirit entereth hath not bin fitly opened vnto them Therefore if thou wilt haue them doe for themselues do thou something first though but a little for them whereby they may heare the word And then it is likely the word heard will make way for it selfe and perswade for increase of maintenance for it perswades the truly sanctified to a farre greater degree euen to fell all to giue life all for the Treasure of happinesse Christ Iesus whome lying more closely in the Cabinet of the word preaching deliuers vnto vs opened and displaied in full glorie and Lustre Yea it may bee by the word so communicated by thee there wil be some prouoked to doe that for others which thou hast done for them and so a generation of goodnesse may bee continued of which thou hast beene the father and a chaine of good works may be lengthned of which the first linke framed by thee is both the beginning and cause Hereunto may be added this other reason of forrein helpe That such places beare already as great a burden without the benefite of preaching as others do that haue it Wherfore that Saint Pauls rule of equity may bee obserued which will not haue some eased to haue others doubly grieued and that rule of Charity Beare yee one anothers burden it is fit that the burthen of such places should be deuided among many so to take away the griefe of surcharging by an equalitie and to ease the weight of the burthen by deuiding it with others 5. Part. As these great blowes of Satan haue afflicted the Ministery in these latter times so doe daily buffets lesser pinchings of the seruants of Satan follow and persecute continually the same Ministerie His plot and his hatred still are one though the limitation of his power by Gods ouer-ruling suffer him not at all times to bring forth like effects He is God be praised tied vp somewhat from appropriating of spirituall liuings yet what he cannot get in a rent hee striues to obtaine in a fine The Patron that cannot haue the yearely profit must haue a grosse summe in consideration of it and a scholler hauing spent much of his portion spirits and time in studie to make himselfe worthie of a place in the Church yet after must he studie for sureties or readie mony to throw into the mouth of Cerberus euen of these porters of hell that they stoppe not his way into the deserued Benefice And this also is a vertue if they will bestow it in this kinde of bestowing on a man able and sufficient for if such a one bee not very neere as finable as a meere dumbe and vnlearned fellow sufficiency shall bee bought out profitable ignorance shall be preferred before edifying knowledge The great God Mammon must chuse the Priest that fitteth him best the greatest truest God whose Priest is thoght thē to be choosing hath least to do in y t choise But ô thou Marchant of hel Factor for Satā know y t cursed is thy mony with thee thy mony is the price of Soules euen of spirituall blood the life of spirits Thou hast for that summe giuen ouer so many soules to Satan thou hast giuen their throats to the Butcher and thou hast done
MEDITATIONS OF INSTRVCTION OF EXHORTATION OF REPROFE INDEAVOVRING THE edification and reparation of the house of God 1. PET. 4. 10. As euery man hath receiued the gift so minister the same one to another as good disposers of the manifold grace of God LONDON Printed by I. L. for George Gibbs and Francis Constable 1616. TO THE RIGHT NOBLE THE SONNES of the most High his blessed Brethren by the best that is the second Birth TRuly Honorable whose Father is God and whose Inheritance a Kingdome the diuers sparks of holy fire which haue issued from the Spirit that baptizeth with fire I haue gathered together by their vnited heate to kindle a flame where is none or to increase it where it is alreadie kindled This blessing must come from God and therefore of God haue I desired it And surely the best as ye well know haue turnes of winter euen vpon their hottest zeale and then woe to him that is alone for how should he haue heate Therfore if in the time of cooling some spirituall worke be ioyned to the heart it may bee warmth will grow betweene them So haue I often from Elisha applied euen some Prophet of God receiued life and I wish that some quickning may proceede also from this worke which in all writings is more or lesse as the Spirit therein more or lesse speaketh These Meditations are indeede diuers in their matter being diuersly borne both in regard of time and occasion yet tend they to one ende and this profit often comes from variety that some one thing among many fitteth euery one and giues an answere to the particular question of his heart The glorie of God by your benefite is that which I seeke desiring also to be holpen by you both in prayer and exhortation As for an idle name made vp still of perishing and often of corrupt breaths I leaue it to them for an end to whom God is not an end sufficient But let our chiefe ioy and glory be to glorifie God and by being written in heauen to bee admitted vnto the beholding of his glory To that mark my beloued let vs steadily aime and sending our hearts before vnto Christ let vs goe on lustily to ouertake them Let vs draw hard vp the hill toward heauen and though the flesh presse downe the world and Satan draw backe yet strengthened by the Spirit incouraged by the word and fortified with the mutuall and vnited force of mightie loue let vs carry the Arke of God euen the soule wherein Gods Image dwells and his will is written from the Countrey of the Philistims to the Land of promise And though heere our fleshly brethren Ismael and his heires mocke and despise vs though Esau with his foure hundred men looke big vpon vs yet are we sure that their time is short and but for life whereas wee haue an inheritance eternally glorious Thither the sonnes of the flesh though with long pedegrees and large treasures can neuer enter but sitting without where is weeping and gnashing of teeth they shallsee despised holinesse triumph vpon magnificent and powerfull wickednes God our strength whose cloud and pillar guided Israel to Canaan guide vs to the heauenly Ierusalem by the grace of his Spirit This I humbly desire through Christ his first borne the purchaser of our inheritance and doore of all the mercy that issueth from God vnto man One of your least worthy brethren but a great louer of you and your peace F. R. 1 THe maine Faultinesse of these Times is a Disproportion betweene Knowledge and Action or rather a meere resting in knowledge short of Action So are we come from no knowledge to knowledge alone which will not lessen but increase our iudgement and from the ouerualuing of workes to the Neglect of them Surely the errour of workes without knowledge is lesse dangerous then the error of knowledge without works But this is the best of it it is the doctrine of our Nature not of our Diuinitie For while it is taught that workes deserue not some are content to thinke they are vselesse others being truly perswaded of their vse yet slouthfull to goodnesse lie down in knowledge and will not goe on to the labour of action But as hereafter the paine will follow the fault so now let the shame for certainly it is a great shame that so much knowledge should be idle and that skilful men should sleepe in this Midday light for the light was made for walking and working not for idlenesse The Father sheweth his will because he will haue it done wee are called to be sonnes because we should do the will of our Father and Nebuchadnezzar giues the greatest title when hee calls the three children the seruants of the most high God In the Spirit wherein is Life is also Actiuenesse If we nourish not the actiuitie of it we decay the Life so kill our selues with eternall Death Christ hath no dead or vnprofitable Limbes they all beare fruite or are not his and Faith which our slouth would magnifie by resting in her thrusts vs on for her life to action for shee liues onely when she is actiue If then faith not working bee dead and dead faith quickens not the vnactiue beleeuer may speedily with a Heathen see himselfe without life As these things may driue vs so the value of workes may draw vs for by Christ who worketh them in vs they are accepted of God and haue a valuation stamped vpon them by his Grace for Grace And first though workes iustifie not vs they iustifie our Faith in the day of iustice they shall goe so farre toward iustifying vs that they shall declare vs iust In the meane time they please and glorifie God the giuer of such gifts vnto men and then euen the least of them shall haue a reward of glory which they shall set as a crowne on their heads that wrought them Let vs not therefore bee wanting to this glorie belonging to God from vs and issuing from God to vs. Besides if we will cōsider what works are in themselues we shall finde that they are streames of the Deity their fountain and sparkes of that heauenly and eternall fire Accordingly they present and expresse something that is Diuine and supernaturally excellēt whence it was that a Reuerend Ancient wel said The deedes and conuersation of the Primitiue Christians had in them a perfume and sweetnesse wherwith they exceedingly delighted those with whome they conuersed And how can it otherwise be for whē he that is blessednesse and excellence powreth vertue from himselfe into these workes they must needs haue a resemblance partaking of their original And surely there are two things in them which as they are the most pleasant of all other so they most resemble and approach to the Creator One of these is Light and the other is Loue both which put life and soule into euery good worke God is Light and God is Loue and it is a pleasant thing to
haue bin that they might neuer haue bin spoken of so now it desires to couer with silence But the lay seruants of Satan despight them diuers waies And first they let flie at the very calling it selfe by turning the Ministerie into an ignominy and reproch If a man be a Minister he hath deserued at the next quarrell pickt at him to be cald pild Priest And when this is done it is to be thought hee hath beene cald worse then rescall euen as Paul saith the very scumme of the earth But where liue we the whilest and among what people It is thought among Christians But are they Christians that thus tread downe those messengers of Christ which outwardly by Baptisme make them such Christians as they are and inwardly by the word make better Christians then they are yet Are they Christians that being begotten by spirituall fathers will raile on their fathers that begat them surely it shewes they were neuer truly begotten A Christian honoureth Christ by whom hee beareth y e name of Christiā He honoreth him so that whosoeuer bringeth Christ to him and him to Christ hee honoureth them also Christ himselfe was a Preacher and the founder of the Ministerie if thou then despisest the Ministerie thou despisest the very function of Christ and the institution of Christ yea thou despisest Christ himselfe and then without question thou despisest thy owne saluation Take heed therfore thou run not against this sacred Priesthood of the Gospell for it is rocky and whosoeuer runneth against it breaketh himselfe in pieces It is rockie for Christ the rocke is the foundation of it and what is built on it is rocky as Peter from Petra But some will say They despise not the Ministers for their office but their liues and consequently not the good but the bad Surely as this on the one side preferres a petition to the reuerend Fathers to admit or continue none of scandalous life so otherwise it giues vs this answere that these are y e more mannerly kind of men that so say for there is a number which if they see but a man in black in their brauery come off presently There goes a Priest whereof the meaning is There goes a man of contempt per excellentiam But if thou which excusest despisest onely the men why castest thou a reflex of thy malice on the calling by reuiling him with the name of a Priest as with a reproch VVhat is the chaffe to the wheate Is he euill He can neuer defile that excellent calling though hee may scandall it the euill is from himself not from his Ministerie yea the Ministerie is good though tied to an ill person therefore is not the Ministerie of a good man any way within reproach for the faults of a bad one Let his person beare his faults and not the Ministery which is not the cause of them Let him beare it him selfe and not other righteous men with him which hate his conditions honestly as much as thou dost him maliciously 2. Part. Another notable signe of the contempt of the Ministery is that gentlemē scorne to bestow their sons in that calling If a man haue a means he is too good for God and he is counted mad or base if he will turne Minister But know thou puffe of flesh and bloud whosoeuer thou art that the seruice of God is the end of man and there is no man good inough to deserue imployment in his seruice much lesse to surmount it Thy meanes are giuen thee for helpes and aduancements in his seruice not for discouragements and he that made both them and thee lookes for glory to himself of both and that with al thy might not ease and idlenesse only to thy selfe If thou haue gifts for such a seruice and imployest them not therein thou that wouldest not serue his mercy shalt serue his iustice and the tree that would not beare fruit in his field shall beare the fire in the place of torment Why cumbreth it the ground Hew it downe and cast it into the lake that burneth for euer It is a due and necessarie course for parents concerning their sonnes and sonnes when they come to iudgement concerning themselues to waigh and consider wherein and in what way such sonnes are most fit and able to serue and glorifie their Maker In that way let thē be placed for it is a way of safetie protection blessednesse Any way besides that is a way of dragons it is the broadway and leadeth to destruction If this were obserued God should haue the due vse of his own creatures Many Alehouses play-houses yea many Gibbets would be emptie that now are filled mechanicall soules should not so oft become Ministers and excellent able soules wold not so oft turne Lawyers merchants yea earth wormes and Priests of Mammō Yet blessed be God y t hath not giuē al times places ouer to this high Treason Infidelity for euē nobles who now too much behold this profession a far of haue ennobled thēselues by seruing a greater King thē any they here serue yea crouch and creepe to serue Gentlemen of great possessions whereof yet France is not without example haue honoured God with their substance imployed it in the Ambassage of the most High And no maruaile for if we plainly knew saw what a glorious King our god is what a pretious thing a soule is what the truth not the name of Christiā were we should account it a high dignitie to be imployed by God in his busines a great gaine to turne one soule to righteousnes a right ready natural duty of a true Christiā to resigne himselfe ouer wholly to Christ to be bestowed by him in any function since he is his by couenāt redēptiō marke not his own any longer Be it therefore a law for euer to the vpright of heart that a good Minister is an honourable man being an Ambassadour of Christ a successor of Christ a factor for the King of heauen to returne soules the most pretious Iewels into his kingdome of glory and howsoeuer they are here couered with cōtemt they shall breake out in the daies of glory shining like the Sunne as hauing turned many soules to righteousnesse But that honour may continue safe to the Ministerie God perswade them to bestow that labour in the word and doctrine which deserueth double honour to liue as those that adorne the Gospell of Christ and themselues to bee humble rather receiuing honour then snatching at it For honour is best deserued when it is least intended to seeke our owne glory is no glory and to honour our selues is no true honour 3. Part. Another new engine of Satan is the impouerishing of the Ministery The diuell knowes that the Minister hath a bodie which must bee maintained by bodily sustenance and where this sustenance is not there cannot the Minister continue Heretofore when diuinitie was inspired not studied an Apostle though his spirituall worke were worthie of
his wages might bestow his worke without any wages and get wages by the work of his hands But now the study of diuinitie challengeth the whole time of a man so that a Diuine can hardly mingle any other calling with it without iniury vnto it Therefore hauing that only function by that for that he must be sufficiently sustained so is there absolutely no hope of a cōtinual Ministery where there is not a continued maintenance Then how many waies haue these last times holpen the diuell to breake off and discontinue the Ministerie It is too wel known that the bellies of y e friers 1. began to rob both the back the belly of the Ministery And that when these theeues were arraigned conuicted the goods were not restored to the former owners thogh known so hereby many miles together haue bin turned into a spiritual wildernes spoiled of the ordinary means of sauing soules lamentable and euen a hart-breaking consideration it is to them that haue any fellow-feeling of the misery of those who lie in the bondage of Satan when they see many Churches like lampes without lights the oyle of maintenance being taken frō thē How cā a mā there preach where there is scarse bread to maintaine the strength of the voice nor clothes to keep off the cold that would choke y t voice nor means to buy a very few bookes to put matter and soule into the voices And on the other side how can the Eunuch vnderstand except there be some to expound How can they beleeue without preaching alas the liues of such places too much testifie that a naturall man is like a dog and will hardly bite at a whole loafe Yea that a man is so tastelesse of spiritual things that except he be taught to open his mouth except his stomach be stirred vp by continuall prouocations he hath no appetite to the foode of life That a sinner is so heauily asleepe in his sinnes that vnlesse he be pulled and startled and his sinne taken vp before him and the particular odiousnesse and vglinesse thereof liuely presented to his dull and vnwilling eies hee had rather die in his sleepe then awake vnto life eternall Part 4. But this disease being shewed what remedie is there for it Surely the Lord of the haruest being first intreated in heauen there seeme two remedies on earth one is Law another Conscience But how shall there be any hope in Law since it is Law that hath done the hurt Surely as a Law begotten in the times of ignorance hath hurt the Church so a Law borne in the times of knowledge may heale it Let vs shew our faith by our works and shame the workes which haue beene done without faith by exceeding them if wee haue the light of the Gospell let vs make statutes of light and not continue the lawes of darkenesse If wee feele any comfort of light in our selues let vs with our blessed Sauiour pittie them that sit in darknesse and in the shaddow of death I separate law frō conscience for though conscience bee the truest fountaine of lawes yet politicke consideration is very often the cause of them Now it is not the worst policie but indeed the best to lay a sure foundation of religion in the hearts of the people For from true religion groweth the strongest branch of obedience true religion hath wherewithall to confute treason though masked in a vizard of religion It will allow the Pope few subiects in another mans Realme It will keepe them for the right owner In summe the end of kingdomes being the Church and the end of the Church the glorie of God by faith and holinesse how doth that kingdom pierce it selfe through with many darts that suffereth this faith and holinesse the life and soule thereof to bee slaine by wickednesse and vnbeliefe Surely there is a fulnesse of sinnes which is the greatest rebellion in the world for it ouerthrowes kingdomes and le ts out Vineyards to new husbandmen This do Ieroboam and Ahab now declare and bewaile Ieroboam cursing the basenesse of his new deuised Priesthood and Ahab defying the Statutes of men it being a policie to destruction to bee politicke against God But if it be demanded whence such maintenance shold be raised Surely for worldly and temporall ends the raising of huge summes by Parliament are well impoposed and contentedly receiued is there no way to raise one summe for the God of heauen When Moses prouided for the Tabernacle there was offering euen to abundance When Dauid prouided for the Temple there were many thousand Talents offered willingly and with a perfect heart VVhy should not we much more willingly contribute toward the building not of Temples made of hands but of the liuing Temple and Church of the euerliuing God If a towne bee destroyed with fire all men take pitty on the ruine thereof and from that pittie issureth reliefe When whole Townes and Parishes are besieged with hell fire how do we not pitty succour such spirituall desolations Then let that place which made the law of substraction redeeme it by making a law of retribution and by some diuine subsidie granted to the King of heauen regaine part or all of the ancient inheritance of the Church or procure some new sustentation in the stead thereof But if mens hearts shall herein be generally hardened against God against the soules of their brethren yea against their owne saluation and denie this iust and necessarie helpe Let those that are merciful and therfore shal obtain mercy expresse this excellent vertue of him that dwelleth in them let them binde vp the woūds which the Leuits passed by let them imitate him who beheld euen them in their blood pollution and said vnto them Liue. Let cōscience remedy what law doth not the worke of God being done without by the working of God alone in mens harts within Accordingly should it bee a sweet smelling Sacrifice acceptablie ascending before the presence of God if those who are both spirituallie and temporally rich should out of their spirituall treasurie send foorth that most pretious charitie which might conuert some of their temporall and transitorie treasure to this soule-sauing end Herunto God through mee doth beseech them as inwardly no doubt he motions the same vnto them by his spirit Obedience to God and his spirit is the most excellent offring and a soule turned to God is the ioy of heauen but proportionably quenching the spirit by disobedience is a heauie sinne and too quiet suffering of the death of soules where means would giue hope of life is the gall of bitternesse and the stone of the heart Our Auncestors did set vp both Churches and Churchliuings a great and a large work was performed by them we are but to keep in reparatiō that they haue built Indeed this ouer boystrous tempest hath ouerthrowne a great piece of this building yet but a piece not by many degrees so great as that work which they