A SERMON Preached before THE Lord Bishop OF CHICHESTER AT LEWES At his First VISITATION there By TIMOTHY PARKER Rector of East-Hothley in Sussex IMPRIMATVR 27. April 1676. Georg. Hooper Reverend Dom. Archiep. Cant. à Sacris Domesticis LONDON Printed for John Baker at the Three Pigeons in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1676. TO THE Right Reverend Father in GOD RALPH BY DIVINE PERMISSION Lord Bishop OF CHICHESTER My Lord YOur Lordship 's favourable acceptance of this following Sermon and Commanding it to be Printed for such force Your desire carries with me have at length made me adventure to present it to Your Lordship's View with hope that what upon hearing had Your approbation will upon sight pass however for allowable After Your Lordship's declaring in favour of it I am little concern'd what Reception 't will find abroad believing with some reason that what such a Judgment disapproves not can not easily displease the Good and Candidly Judicious and 't is the good opinion of such only I have value for If some few of my Brethren by the Perusal of this plain Discourse may be in the least measure aided towards making themselves and others Better I have my end in it To contribute the best I was able to excite a greater sence of Religion amongst us by animating the Ministers of it to display its Beauty in their Lives as well as their Discourses was the Desâ—gn I proposed to my self And what ever the Success be I have the satisfaction that I did not take my aim amiss and how unproportionable soever the means be I used the defect was not from any want of Good will to lend the best assistance I was able Prompted thereunto by a Spark of that Zeal for the success and prevalency of true Christian Piety against the Licentiousness of this present Age that glows in the Hearts of all good men and that Your Lordship in Particular is all on fire with This my Lord it is that makes You Venerable this gains You the Hearts of all good men makes You awful to the bad This will make You a Publick Blessing whilst You live Embalm Your Memory when dead Nay make You live after Death on Earth in the Hearts and Memories of all good men that knew You in Heaven in the Joyes of our Lord. That God would long preserve Your Lordship for the Benefit of his Church and make all Your Endeavours for its Prosperity eminently successful is the Hearty Prayer of My Lord Your Lordship 's most Humble And Dutiful Servant Timothy Parker MATTHEW 5.16 Let your Light so shine before men that they may see your good Works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven THe greatest and most important Enquiry that ever was in the World was that of the Psalmist Who will shew us any Good Who will discover to us wherein true Blessedness lies and by what wayes and means we may be able to obtain it An Enquiry that every man is highly concerned to be satisfied in from that common Principle of Nature that inclines every thing to seek its own Preservation and Wellbeing But such Darkness had man's Apostacy brought upon his mind that he was utterly at loss how to arrive at any satisfaction in this Search as by the great variety of differing Opinions about man's chiefest good sufficiently appears Sad and deplorable was the condition of the World plung'd in misery and lost as to all Remedy within Nature's ken and reach when our blessed Saviour the true light of the World came from Heaven on purpose to discover that happiness that mankind was groping after in the dark and to this end communicated his light to those that were his first Hearers not only to guide their own feet in the paths of peace but that they by the light of their Doctrine and good example might illuminate a dark World disperse the beams of saving truth from one end of the Heavens to the other and by propagating it to their Successors make such a comfortable day to those Nations that had long sate in darkness and the shaddow of death as should know no night to the worlds end And to this purpose he enjoyns them here in the Text Let your Light so shine c. Which words whether they were spoken to the promiscuous multitude of the Disciples or appropriated to those that were to be the Stewards and Dispensers of the Gospel Mystery is disputed amongst Interpreters nor need it be determined by me 'T is sufficient for my present purpose that though the Charge here given belong not solely to the Apostles and their Successors yet it casts a peculiar aspect upon them it takes faster hold of them by an accession of peculiar ties and binds them to its obedience in a higher and more improved sence And that 's sufficient to warrant my addressing a Discourse to my Brethren of the Clergy from these words In which as they have a peculiar regard to them they contain a duty enjoyn'd with a reason enforcing it and in the duty enjoyned these three things 1. A knowledge of the Doctrine of the Gospel and that such a knowledge as may enable us to instruct others 2. A vigorous endeavour to propagate our light and to communicate this wholesome knowledge to others 3. A life conformable to this Doctrine Of these in their order beginning with the first 1. A knowledge of the Gospel Mysteries and that such a knowledge as may enable us to instruct others in them The great end why the Gospel Ministry was set up was to turn sinners from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God and the chains wherewith the Devil holds men in captivity are chains of darkness They are altenated from the life of God through the darkness that is in them All the affairs of this dark Kingdom are carried on by Falshood and Imposture All the Sophisticate Wares that he obtrudes upon men for which he gains their souls in exchange are put off by the advantage of darkness and obscurity hence sinners and fools are terms convertible in Scripture and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that all sins in some sence are sins of Ignorance is good Divinity The Devil deals with sinners as Elisha with the Syrians first smites them with blindness and then leads them captive at his pleasure as the Philistims with Sampson first bores their eyes out and then they are fit for his drudgery T would spoil the Merchants of Hell to have their Merchandise seen by a true light And consequently he that would be instrumental to rescue sinners from under the Prince of darkness must be furnished with an excellent knowledge with a clear and bright understanding able to represent things in their true colours the beauty of holiness and the deformity of fin both stript of those disguises the Devil puts upon them to make the one lovely and the other hated A little knowledge with an honest heart may qualifie an ordinary Christian for Heaven But 't is no
engagement to service and employment If we let these Treasures lie by and rust the very rust of them will witness against us 2. 'T is the best testimony of our love the greatest proof of our fidelity to our Lord and Master That great lover of Souls hath intrusted many of them to our care and in them the worth of many Worlds is deposited in our hands Whether they shall live Eternal Ages in Joyes too big for Mortal thoughts to conceive or die the Devil's Slaves and partake his torments depends in great measure upon our care in instructing them What value our Saviour puts upon them is best understood by the price he paid for them they were redeemed with the blood of God and by his passionate recommending them to the care of those whom he appointed their Guides and Instructors Simon Son of Jonah lovest thou me Feed my Sheep And again and a third time lovest thou me Feed my Sheep feed my Lambs If we have any affection for that Saviour of ours to whom we owe our present valuable enjoyments and all our future hopes if any compassion for those souls which are the purchase of his blood if any regard of that important trust that must be accounted for with greatest severity we cannot but bend all the Forces and Powers of our Souls to the discharge of it and apply our selves to it with greatest chearfulness and alacrity in testimony of the great honour he hath put upon us For 3. It is the Noblest employment in the World A work of the greatest Charity and Charity is the work of Heaven The greatest object of compassion in the World are the souls of men blinded by Ignorance enslaved to lust in bondage to the Devil and the greatest labour of Love is that that 's undergone to rescue them out of that captivity To cloath naked backs and feed empty bowels and redeem miserable Captives from the thraldom of merciless Tyrants is a charity that God accepts and highly rewards But to cloath the nakedness of mens understandings by making them wise to salvation to feed poor hunger-starved souls with the bread of life to break off the Devil's fetters and redeem them from hellish tyranny is a charity as much more noble as Eternity exceeds Time as the Souls of men are of more worth than their Bodies 'T is a Work that rejoyces Heaven causes Joy amongst the Angels Those Blessed Spirits keep as it were a Festival upon the day of a sinner's New-birth And shall a work applauded by all the Inhabitants of Heaven be managed with coldness and indifferency with faint and languishing endeavours There 's nothing makes men more Godlike than becoming great and publick Benefactors and none are more Eminently so than they that are instrumental to turn many souls to Righteousness He that hath any sense of true Godliness in his heart cannot but think it one of the greatest blessings God can bestow upon him to make him an instrument of deriving blessings upon a Multitude Much more blessings of that importance that do men good for ever blessings that fit and prepare men for Heaven that shall be everlastingly remembred there with eternal Hallelujahs to God the Author and eternal acknowledgments to men the instruments For it is not to be supposed Ingratitude a Vice so detestible on Earth should ever find any place in Heaven 4. This will be a very great evidence of our own sin cericy 'T is the nature the true Indoles of true Piety where-ever it is to spread and dilate it self All good is communicative and the better any thing is the more diffusive Piety enlarges the hearts of men to espouse the Interest of all mankind 't is a dayly prompter to good and worthy actions whereby others may be advantaged an active restless Principle that can no more cease from benefitting all that come within its reach than fire can cease from burning or a spring from streaming forth The love of God and man are the Elements of its Nature Above all it makes men painful and industrious in their Callings faithful in their own places and stations Since then God hath made it our business and employment in the World to communicate the knowledge of himself and his Christ to men to direct them in the Paths that lead to eternal happiness We cannot have a better evidence that we are partakers of the Divine Nature than by imitating the Divine Goodness in employing those Talents he hath bestowed upon us to the use for which he designed them Our own Sonship will be best made out by our resemblance to our Heavenly Father and Almighty goodness is that Character that most readily offers it self to the minds of men when they would srame an Idea of God within themselves 5. The faithful performance of this duty is recompensed with an ample Superlative reward Every Soul that we are instrumental to bring to Heaven will add a new lustre to our Crown Dan. 12.3 They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the Start for ever and ever or if that place be capable of another meaning that of our Saviour will put it out of doubt He that receives a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophet's neward Where if a Prophet's reward did not in port something extraordinary and transcendent there would be nothing of encouragement and enforcement to the duty And if we had not this assurance of a Divine Promise it might be strongly argued from that natural influence the happiness we are instrumental to procure for other will have upon our own To be instrumental to bring Souls to Heaven to add new Members to the Church Triumphant is to provide so many everlasting Monuments of our pious care and pains whose Joys will all unite and center upon us we looking upon them but as our selves divided Children begotten by us to God with whom we travel'd in pain till Christ was formed in them Besides God who in justice punishes the Accessory as well as the Principal in evil deeds will be more inclinable to reward in us that good that others do by our counsel perswasion and direction by how much he is more prone to shew mercy in which he delights than to afflict the children of men which he does unwillingly And what an encouragement is this to labour in the Lord's Harvest to spend our selves for the good of our Flocks when every soul that we are instrumental to save from death will bring such an accumulation to our Joyes and add a new Coronet to our Crown 3. A third thing in this Charge is a Life conformable to the Doctrine of the Gospel Not to mention the obligations common to us with the rest of Christians there are several considerations peculiar to us as Ministers of the Gospel that enforce the strictest conformity to the Laws thereof 1. Whereas other men by the urgency and exigence of their
inexcusable than other sinners whether we know more or less than they If we know more and do as ill our stripes will be multiplied proportionably to the greatness of our Knowledge If we know as little and live as wickedly the greater obligations and opportunities of knowing better will be put upon our accounts The Devils who fell from Heaven fell deepest into Hell and they who fall from Heaven Gates from the greatest advantages of knowing and living well will be next to them in Torments I am sensible what misconstruction may be put upon my honest meaning and that this pressing the Ministry to the regard of purity may by some be interpreted Reproach and Libelling But to this I shall only say that they who have the thousand witnesses to attest the truth of their sincerity may with joy and exultation of spirit turn admonition to Panegyrick And I hope there is a great number of such here who the less they have to reform the more they have for which to rejoyce and to bless God And for those whose hearts smite them may they continue so to do till repentance and amendment follow We must please all men for their edification and for their edification we must displease them too 'T was a good wish that of Bernard's Sic mihi contingat semper beare amicos terrendo salubriter non adulando fallaciter Let us not think that our faults can escape Notice the publickness of our station the nature of our employment will not suffer it We are a Spectacle to Angels and men the eyes of Friends and Enemies are upon us these watch for our halting those eye us as their patterns Let us not become a scorn to the one nor a grief to the other nor lay a stumbling block in the way of either Let us be content to hear out Duties prest upon us by our Friends who do it in love and compassion to our souls or rather let not that content us but let us proceed to extirpate and abandon all our Vices This is the most effectual course we can take to make all men good and to make the hearts of all good men bless God for us to gain our enemies and force them to become our friends God will not faâ—l â—a make that Promise good to us wherein to Christians in general he hath obliged himself If a man's wayes please the Lord he will make his Enemies to be at Peace with him I proceed now to the latter part of my Text the Reason enforcing the Charge here given That they may see your Good Works and Glorifie your Father which is in Heaven That they may see your Good Works We must take heed we stop not there for if our Aims be short of Heaven our Reward will be on this side Heaven too The most specious and glorious works if done only to be seen of men will find a Hell for their Reward in stead of an Heaven But though a Good Naice may not be our last end yet as tis subservient to the Glory of God as it renders us more useful to the World and puts us into a greater Capacity of doing good it is to be accounted one of God's Choicest Blessings to be received with thanks preserved with care and procured by all warrantable means Of all men a Minister ought to be most tender of it since the Credit of his Person credits the Cause he manages and 't is natural for Contempt to pass from the former to the latter If men entertain a low and mean opinion of the Speaker they 'l disesteem the things he speaks slight his Doctrine reject his Counsels scorn his Reproofs never counsult him in Doubtful Cases and to the Hazard of their Souls neglect that necessary assistance that otherwise they might receive from him And therefore Saint Paul thought it no misbecoming thing to wipe off those Aspersions cast on him by the Factious Teachers in the Church of Corinth Indeed 't is sometimes so far from being a fault that it becomes a piece of Necessary Justice that we owe to our selves to vindicate our Names from Slander and Reproach 'T is one way of resisting the Devil whose very name carries Slander in it and one of whose greatest Stratagems to obstruct the progress of Religion is to blast the Reputation of its Ministers and bring both their Persons and Office into disgrace And I could wish they would take notice of this who any wayes contribute to bring a disrepute upon the Clergy that they only promote the interest of Hell lend their assistance to the Devil and help to uphold by this means his otherwise tottering Kingdom But after all a Good Name is best secured by the same Method our Eternal Salvation is That patient continuance in well-doing whereby we seek for Glory Honour Immortality hereafter will secure us such a measure of esteem here as God sees needful for us Let us be but careful to discharge our Duty and for our other concerns deposit them in the same hands in which we trust our Souls And if when we do well we are evil spoken of we may wear the Reproches of men as our Crown Let us not therefore separate what our Saviour hath here united but seek our Credit and Reputation so far only as it is subservient to the further Ends of God's Glory and our Brethrens Edification That men may see our Good Works and glorifie c. What it is for men to glorifie God our Saviour himself can best interpret and he tells us John 15. v. 8. that it is to bear much fruit To have their Souls shining with Divine Graces and their lives beautified with the Works of Holiness that is to be renewed after the Image of God which Renovation is wrought upon them by a hearty belief of the Gospel and sincere endeavours to conform to the precepts of it This then is the Purport of our Saviour's Words in the latter part of the Text By being thus burning and shining Light we may be happy Instruments to make others hearty and serious Christians For by this means they will be brought first to love and liking of the Gospel They will conceive there is in it something more than Humane when it makes men so holy humble and charitable so useful to the World so wholly taken up in promoting the greatest interest of mankind 'T will breed in them an high esteem of the Gospel For as nothing is more injurious to it than an unsutable conversation in those who are the Promulgers of it so nothing more courts the esteem of men to it and recommends it to their approbation than a strict conformity to its Rules And when men once come to conceive High and Honourable thoughts of it the next step will be to submit themselves to the Laws of it to put themselves under its Discipline and try what efficacy it may have upon their own Souls which they see hath wrought such admirable effects in the Souls of others