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A95845 Two sermons preached before His Majesties High Commissioner; and the Estates of Parliament By the appointment of the provinicial Synod of Lothian and Tweddale. Upon Sabbath the 7th. of May, 1693. Unto which is subjoyned the sermon preached at the opening up of the Synod. May 2. 1693. By Mr. William Vetch minister of Peebles. Vetch, William. 1693 (1693) Wing V180; ESTC R230528 36,246 96

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LORD that thou fulfill it As if the Apostle Paul would say to the People Commend me also to Archippus your Minister and tell him from me to take heed that he do not his work careleslie and by halfs But as he has received his Commission from the LORD so let him fulfil it and that by the constant and diligent performing of all the duties belonging to so great and weighty a Charge Whither this Archippus was Collegue to Epaphras or whither he was Pastor of the Laodecean Church as some Interpreters assert and the connexion with the proceeding verse seems to favour it I shall not determine and it is a matter of no great importance for wherever he was Minister it is like he was fallen Remiss in his Office A Fault that I fear too too many of us may be charged with which remissnes flows sometimes I conceive from prevalent corruption within and too much love of the world without As also from these discouragements that Ministers often meet with from their people either upon the account of their unprofitableness under the means and pains bestowed upon them or upon the account of that opposition which their people make to the work of GOD among their hands Thir words at first view fall into two parts viz. an injunction and a message The injunction is to the people in these words and say to Arcbippus the message they are to tell him from the Apostle is to take heed to his Ministrie how he has received it and how he may fulfil it aright But this verse being an Exhortation contains more particularly in it these four things First The person exhorted the Lazie Minister 2. The thing he is exhorted to take heed to thy Ministry c. 3. We have the Arguments pressing this heedfulness 1. It s a trust and persons must take heed to their trust because it is not so much their own matters as others they are to be concerned about 2. It is a great trust that Ministers have committed to them when they have the Precious and Immortal Souls of Men to take care about The fourth thing in the words is the modus or the manner how he is to notice and manage this Ministry he is to heed it and manage it so as to fulfil it And these that would discharge this Office aright must carefully mind not only the Extensiveness but also the Intensiveness of this Work for the meer tale of duties will not be sufficient to fulfil this Ministry except they have their proportionable weight and measure even such as will make them pass when tryed and weighted in the ballance of the Sanctuary Thir words affoords us three Doctrines the first Doctrine is this That People perceiving their Minister fail in the Office of his Ministry may and ought to admonish him but in Love and with all due respect to his Person and Office 1 Timothy 5.1 Rebuke not an Elder but Exhort him as a Father c. There is no power of Jurisdiction in the People from this Text to inflict Church Censures on their Minister For all that is said here inferreth no more then such an admonition as any private Christian may give him The second Doctrine is That great Heedfulness is required of Ministers in order to the right discharge of their Office The third Doctrine is That among other Considerations pressing us to fulfil this Ministry this should be none of the least that we have received it of the LORD Of the first Doctrine I shall say no more and this third Observation will be touched in the Prosecution of the second which is that I shall insist upon as being most proper to this Occasion And that I may doe it as briefly as possible I shall in the first place shew you some of these Qualifications implyed in this Heedfulness that the Text calls for which are necessary to the right fulfilling of a Mans Ministrie Secondly I shall give you the Reasons of the Doctrine and thirdly the use of All. The first Qualification then implyed here as necessary to make a Minister take heed to mannage his Office a right is Wisdom and Knowledge and that not only in the Speculative but in the practical part of Religion I think both these are needful to make a Minister apt to teach 1 Tim. 3.2 or else his Ministry will be rather Art-work then Heart-work Unsanctified witts have been in all Ages greatly prejudicial to the Church and we have not wanted sad Instances thereof in our day I say then that the Ministers of Christ must be men of Knowledge for they are Watchmen and Watchmen must have Eyes in their Head therefore they are called Seers 1 Sam. 9.9 Come let us go to the Seer they are to point out to the People their Way their Danger and their Duty as we may also see from Isaiah 21. and 6. Verse to the 13. Verse And if they be blind what hurt may suddenly befall the Church Isaiah 9. Verse 16. For the leaders of this People cause them to Erre and they that are led of them are destroyed Ignorance causes Error and Error Destruction therefore said the Apostle Paul to the Elders of Ephesus Acts 20.28 Take heed therfore unto your selves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed them viz With Knowledge and Understanding that they may be soundly principled right in the Faith and he gives the reason of it Verses 29. and 30. For grievous wolves will enter in amongst you speaking perverse things to corrupt your People and to draw Disciples after them Ministers should be like the beasts about Christs Throne Rev 4.6 Full of Eyes within and without before and behind Within looking to the Frame and Constitution of their own Hearts without to the Duties they ought to perform and the Snares and Dangers they must beware of in following of their Duty They must have Eyes looking before them unto God for Counsel and Direction and they must have eyes looking behind them unto the flocks which they lead Every Minister is as it were the Treasurer of the place where he lives Malachy 2.7 For the Priests lips should keep Knowledge and the people should seek the law at his mouth and if the Ministers want this Treasurie of Spiritual knowledge and Wisdom they will not be able to distinguish aright between Truth and Errour Sin and Duty They cannot instruct the Ignoant resolve doubts quiet the troubled Conscience feed the Hungry comfort the discouraged Soul Let Antichrist have blind and ignorant Watchmen but Our LORD JESUS CHRIST should have such Ministers as are throughly furnished for every Good Work 2 Tim 3 17 That the Man of GOD may be perfect throughly furnished unto all Good Works The second Qualification implyed in this Take heed for a Ministers right discharging of his Office is painfulness and diligence for knowledge must issue unto action Ministers are Angels and Angels are not only full of Eyes as