Offices were by the Spirit enabled to make of them So 3 dly If we look to those Accounts which still remain to us of them they will plainly shew us that they were endued and that in a very singular manner with this Power and Gift of the Blessed Spirit 19. OF Barnabas the Holy Scripture it self bears Witness that He was a good Man full of the Holy Ghost and of Faith Acts xi 24 Hermas is another of whom St. Paul himself makes mention Rom. xvi 14 as an early Convert to Christianity And what extraordinary Revelations he had and how he foretold the Troubles that were to come upon the Church his following Visions sufficiently declare 20 CLEMENT is not only spoken of by the same Apostle but with this advantageous Character too that he was the Fellow-Labourer of that great Man and had his Name written in the Book of Life Phil. iv 3 And when we shall consider to how much lesser and worser Men these Gifts were usually communicated at that time we can hardly think that so excellent a Man and the Companion of so great an Apostle employed first in the planting of the Gospel with him and then set to govern one of the most considerable Churches in the World should have been destitute of it 21. AS for St. Ignatius I have before observed that he had this Gift and by the help of it warned the Philadelphians against falling into those Divisions which he fore-saw were about to rise up amonst them 22. POLYCARP not only Prophecy'd of his own Death but spake often times of things that were to come And has this Witness from the whole Church of Smyrna that nothing of all that he foretold ever failed of coming to pass according to his Prediction 23. IT remains then that the Holy Men whose Writings are here subjoyn'd were not only instructed by such as were Inspir'd but were themselves Inspir'd too And therefore we must conclude that they have not only not mistaken the Mind of the Apostles in what they deliver to us as the Gospel of Christ but were not capable of doing of it By consequence that we ought to look upon their Writings tho' not of equal Authority with those which we call in a singular manner The Holy Scriptures because neither were the Authors of them called in so extraordinary a way to the writing of them nor endued with so eminent a Portion of the Gifts of the Blessed Spirit for the doing of it Nor have their Writings been judg'd by the common Consent of the Church in those inspir'd Ages of it when they were so much better qualified than we are now to judge of the Divine Authority of those kind of Writings to be of equal Dignity with those of the Apostles and Evangelists yet worthy of a much greater Respect than any Composures that have been made since however Men may seem to have afterwards written with more Art and to have shewn a much greater Stock of humane Learning than what is to be found not only in the following Pieces but even in the Sacred Books of the New Testament it self 24. I SHALL add but One Consideration more the better to shew the true Deference that ought to be paid to the Treatises here collected and that is Sixthly That they were not only written by such Men as I have said instructed by the Apostles and judg'd worthy by them both for their Knowledg and their Integrity to govern some of the most eminent Churches in the World and lastly endued with the extraordinary Gift of the Holy Ghost and upon all these Accounts to be much respected by us But were moreover received by the Church in those First Ages as Pieces of a very great value which could not be mistaken in its Judgment of them 25. THE Epistle of St. Clement was a long time read publickly with the Other Scriptures in the Congregations of the Faithful made a part of their Bible and was numbred among the Sacred Writings however finally separated from them And not only the Apostolical Canons but our most ancient Alexandrian Manuscript gives the same place to the Second that it do's to the First of them And Epiphanius after both tells us that they were both of them wont to be read in the Church in his Time 26. THE Epistle of St. Polycarp with that of the Church of Smyrna were not only very highly approved of by particular Persons but like those of St. Clement were read publickly too in the Assemblies of the Faithful And for those of Ignatius besides that we find a mighty Value put upon them by the Christians of those Times they are sealed to us by this Character of St. Polycarp That they are such Epistles by which we may be greatly profited For says he They treat of Faith and Patience and of all things that pertain to Edification in the LORD 27. THE Epistle of Barnabas is not only quoted with great Honour by those of the next Age to him but as I have before shewn is expresly called Catholick and Canonical And in the ancient Stichometry of Cotelerius we find it placed the very next to the Epistle of St. Jude and no difference put between the Authority of the One and of the Other 28. AND for the Book of Hermas both Eusebius and St. Jerome tell us that it was also used to be read in the Churches In the same Stichometry I before mentioned it is placed in the very next Rank to the Acts of the Holy Apostles And in some of the most ancient Manuscripts of the New Testament we find it written in the same Volume with the Books of the Apostles and Evangelists as if it had been esteem'd of the same Value and Authority with them 29. SO that now then we must either say that the Church in those days was so little careful of what was taught in it as to allow such Books to be publickly read in its Congregations the Doctrine whereof it did not approve Or we must confess that the following Pieces are deliver'd to us not only by the Learned Men of the First Ages of the Church but by the whole Body of the Faithful as containing the pure Doctrine of Christ and must be look'd upon to have nothing in them but what was then thought worthy of all Acceptation 30. NOW how much this adds to the Authority of these Discourses may easily be concluded from what I have before observed For since it is certain that in those Times the Extraordinary Gifts of the Holy Ghost were bestowed not only upon the Bishops and Pastors of the Church tho' upon them in a more eminent degree but also upon a great many of the common Christians too Since One particular Design of these Gifts was for the Discerning of Prophecies to judg of what was proposed by any to the Church or written for the Use and Benefit of it We cannot doubt but what was universally approved of and allow'd not by a few Learned Men but by
their Judgments concerning it Some there are and those the nearest to the time when this Book was written that treat it almost with the same Respect that they would do the Canonical Scriptures Irenaeus quotes it under the very Name of the Scripture Origen tho' he sometimes moderates his Opinion of it upon the account of some who did not it seems pay the same Respect with himself to it yet speaking of Hermas being the Author of this Book in his Comments on the Epistle to the Romans gives us this Character of it That He thought it to be a most useful Writing and was as he believed Divinely Inspired Eusebius tells us that tho' being doubted of by Some it was not esteem'd Canonical yet was it by Others judged a most necessary Book and as such read publickly in the Churches And St. Hierom having in like manner observed that it was read in some Churches makes this Remark upon it That it was indeed a very profitable Book and whose Testimony was often quoted by the Greek Fathers Athanasius places it in the same rank with the Books of Scripture and calls it a most useful Treatise And in another place tells us That tho' it was not strictly Canonical yet was it reckon'd among those Books which the Fathers appointed to be read to such as were to be instructed in the Faith and desired to be directed in the Way of Piety 11. HENCE we may observe as a farther Evidence of that Respect which was paid to this Book heretofore that it was not only openly read in the Churches but in some of the most ancient Manuscripts of the New Testament is joyned together with the other Books of the Holy Scriptures An Instance of this Cotelerius offers us in that of the Monastry of St. Germans in France in which it is continued on at the End of St. Paul's Epistles And in several of the Old Stichometries it is put in the same Catalogue with the Inspired Writings As may be seen in that which the same Author has published out of a Manuscript in the King's Library in his Observations upon St. Barnabas and in which St. Barnabas's Epistle is placed immediately before the Revelations as the Acts of the Apostles and Hermas's Shepherd are immediately after it 12. AND yet after all this we find this same Book not only doubted of by Others among the Ancient Fathers but slighted even by some of those who upon other Occasions have spoken thus highly in its Favour Thus St. Jerome in his Comments Exposes the Folly of that Apochryphal Book as he calls it which in his Catalogue of Writers he had so highly applauded Tertullian who spake if not honourably yet calmly of it whilst a Catholick being become Montanist rejected it even with Scorn And most of the other Fathers who have spoken the highest of it themselves yet plainly enough insinuate that there were those who did not put the same Value upon it Thus Origen mentions some who not only deny'd but despis'd its Authority And Cassian having made use of it in the Point of Free-Will Prosper without more ado rejected it as a Testimony of no Value And what the Judgment of the Latter Ages was as to this matter especially after Pope Gelasius had ranked it among the Apochryphal Books may be seen at large in the Observations of Antonius Augustinus upon that Decree 13. HOW far this has influenced the Learned Men of our present Times in their Censures upon this Work is evident from what many on all sides have freely spoken concerning it Who not only deny it to have been written by Hermas the Companion of St. Paul but utterly cast it off as a Piece of no Worth but rather full of Error and Folly Thus Baronius himself tho' he delivers not his own Judgment concerning it yet plainly enough shews that he ran in with the severest Censures of the Ancients against it And in effect charges it with favouring the Arrians tho' upon a mistaken Authority of St. Athanasius and which by no means proves any such Errour to be in it But Cardinal Bellarmine is more free He tells us that it has many hurtful things in it and particularly that it favours the Novatian Heresie which yet I think a very little Equity in interpreting of some Passages that look that way by others that are directly contrary thereunto would serve to acquit it of Others are yet more severe They censure it as full of Heresies and Fables Tho' this Labbe would be thought to excuse by telling us that they have been foisted into it by some later Interpolations and ought not to be imputed to Hermas the Author of this Book 14. NOR have many of those of the Reform'd Churches been any whit more favourable in their Censures of the present Treatise But then as the Chiefest of the most Ancient Fathers heretofore tho' they admitted it not into the Canon of Holy Scripture yet otherwise paid a very great Deference to it so the more moderate part of the Learned Men of our present Times esteem it as a Piece worthy of all Respect and clear of those Faults which are too lightly charged by some Persons upon it Thus Petavius none of the most favourable Critics upon the Ancient Fathers yet acknowledges as to the present Book that it was never censured by any of the Ancients as guilty of any false Doctrine or Heresie and especially as to the Point of the Holy Trinity Cotelerius one of the latest Editors of it esteems it as an Ecclesiastical Work of good note and a great Defence of the Catholick Faith against the Errors of Montanism Whose Judgment is not only follow'd by their late Historian Natalis Alexander but is made good too in the Defence of it against those Objections which some have brought to lessen its Reputation And for those of our own Communion I shall mention only two but They such as will serve instead of many to all judicious Persons who have at large justified it against the chief of those Exceptions that have been taken at it the One the most Excellent Bishop Pearson in his Vindication of St. Ignatius the Other the Learned Dr. Bull in his Defence of the Nicene Faith in the Point of our Blessed Saviour's Divinity and which he largely shews our present Author to have been far from doing any Prejudice unto 15. SUCH then have been the different Judgments of Learned Men both heretofore and in our present Times concerning this Book It would be too great a Presumption for me to pretend to determine any thing as to this matter and having subjoyn'd the Work it self in our common Language every one may be able to satisfie himself what Value he ought to put upon it That there are many useful things to be found in it but especially in the Second and I think the best part of it cannot be deny'd And for the other Two it must be considered that tho' such Visions as we there read of being
the VIII th General Council by the Party of that Ignatius who was then set up in Opposition to Photius and from thence derived both to Anastasius among the Latines and to Metaphrastes among the Greeks 7. TO pass then from this fabulous Account of this Title let us come to the consideration of the true Import of it Now for that as we cannot have any better so neither need we desire any other Account than what this Holy Man himself gave the Emperour of that Name When being asked by him Who was Theophorus He replied He who has Christ in his Breast And in this sense was this Name commonly used among the Ancients as has been shewn in a multitude of Examples by Bishop Pearson in his Elaborate Vindication of Ignatius's Epistles I shall offer only one of them that of St. Cyrill who Anathematizes those who should call our Saviour Christ Theophorus Lest says he he should thereby be understood to have been no other than one of the Saints 8. IT remains then that Ignatius was called Theophorus upon no other Account than as any other Divine or Excellent Person might have been so called namely upon the Account of his admirable Piety Because his Soul was full of the Love of God and sanctified with an extraordinary Portion of the Divine Grace as both his Life shewed and the earnest desire he had to be dissolved and to be with Christ and his Joy when he saw himself approaching towards it and to mention no more his Constancy in his last and most terrible Conflict with the Wild Beasts will not suffer us to doubt 9. BUT tho' the Story then of our Saviour's taking St. Ignatius into his Arms be of no Credit yet thus much St. Chrysostome tells us that he was intimately acquainted with the Holy Apostles and instructed by them in the full Knowledg of all the Mysteries of the Gospel What was the Country that gave Birth to this Blessed Saint or who his Parents we cannot tell Indeed as to the former of these his Country a late Author has endeavoured from a Passage in Abulfaragius set out by our Incomparable Dr. Pocock to fix it at Nora in Sardinia a place which still retains its anicent Name with very little Variation This is certain that growing eminent both in the Knowledg of the Doctrine of Christ and in a Life exactly framed according to the strictest Rules of it He was upon the Death of Evodius chosen by the Apostles that were still living to be Bishop of Antioch the Metropolis of Syria and whatever Anastasius pretends received Imposition of Hands from them 10. HOW he behaved himself in this great Station tho' we have no particular Account left to us yet may we easily conclude from that short hint that is given us of it in the Relation of his Martyrdom Where we are told that he was a Man in all things like unto the Apostles that as a good Governour by the Helm of Prayer and Fasting by the Constancy of his Doctrine and Spiritual Labour he opposed himself to the Floods of the Adversary That he was like a Divine Lamp illuminating the Hearts of the Faithful by his Exposition of the Holy Scriptures and lastly that to preserve his Church he doubted not freely and of his own accord to expose himself to the most bitter Death This is in general the Character of his Behaviour in his Church of Antioch and a greater than which can hardly be given to any Man Nor indeed can we doubt but that he who as Eusebius tells us and as his Epistles still remaining abundantly testifie was so careful of all the other Churches to confirm them in a sound Faith and in a constant Adherence to their Holy Religion was certainly much more vigilant to promote the Interests of Piety within his own Diocese which was bless'd with his Government above Forty Years 11. HENCE we may observe what a tender concern he expresses in all his Epistles for his Church at Antioch With what Affection he recommends it to the Prayers of those to whom he wrote And especially to the Care of his dear Friend and Fellow-Disciple St. Polycarp And when he heard at Troas of the ceasing of the Persecution there how did he rejoyce at it And require all the neighbouring Churches to rejoyce with him and to send their Messengers and Letters thither to congratulate with them upon that account 12. SUCH was his Affection towards his own Church and his Care of all the Others round about him And by which he became in such an extraordinary Favour with them that they thought nothing could be sufficient to express their Respect towards him And therefore we are told that when he was carried from Antioch to Rome in order to his Suffering there all the Churches every where sent Messengers on the way to attend him and to communicate to his Wants And what is yet more they were generally their Bishops themselves that came to meet him and thought it a singular Happiness to receive some Spiritual Exhortations from him And when he was Dead they paid such an Honour to his Memory as to account the few Bones that were left of him by the Wild Beasts more precious than the richest Jewels Insomuch that we are told they were several Ages after taken up from the place where they were first deposited as not Honourable enough for them to lie in and that being brought within the City where he once was Bishop there was instituted a Yearly Festival in Memory of him 13. AS for what concerns the Circumstances of his Death they are so particularly recounted in the Relation I have here subjoyn'd of it that there need nothing further to be added to what is there deliver'd of this matter Yet one Remark I cannot but make on that particular of his Story which has puzzled so many Learned Men to account for but may easily be resolved and I believe most truly too into the over-ruling Hand of the Divine Providence And that is of the sending of this Holy Man from Antioch as far as Rome to suffer For whatever the Design of the Emperour may have been in it Whether he intended to increase his Sufferings by a Journey so wearisom and attended with so many bitter Circumstances as that must needs have been to a Person very probably at that time Fourscore Years of Age Or whether he hoped by this means to have overcome his Constancy and have drawn him away from his Faith Or lastly Whether as Metaphrastes tells us upon his consulting with Those of the Senate who were with him he was advised not to let him suffer at Antioch least thereby he should raise his Esteem the more among the People there and render him the more dear and desirable to them We cannot but doubt that God hereby designed to present to all the Nations through which he was to pass a glorious Instance of the Power of his Religion that could enable this Blessed Martyr with so
Opinions are examined at large by Bishop Usher Valesius Le Moyne Bishop Pearson and Others upon this Occasion But if we were right before in assigning the Year of his Suffering as I think we were then we must conclude the Great Sabbath to have been the same here that is usually called by that Name among Ecclesiastical Writers namely the Saturday in the Holy Week and to which all the Other Characters here assigned are exactly Correspondent And then according to this Computation St. Polycarp will have suffer'd in the Year of Christ CXLVII being March 26. the Saturday before Easter about VIII a Clock 18. THE place in which he suffer'd was a large Amphitheatre in which the Common Assemblies of Asia were wont to be kept And as we are told by those who have travelled into those Parts is in some measure still remaining and shewn as the Place of St. Polycarp's Martyrdom I say nothing to that which some have observed upon this Occasion of the Calamities which not long after fell upon the City of Smyrna and which may seem to have been the Effect of the Divine Vengeance punishing them for their Cruelty towards this Excellent Man and the rest of his Companions that suffered together with him But this is without the Bounds of my present Design which leads me only to consider what concerns the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna and to which that which follow'd the Death of Polycarp has no relation 19. AND now having pass'd through the chief Parts of the following Relation and which seem'd most to require our Animadversion it is time for me to observe concerning the Epistle it self which is here subjoyn'd that it is a piece of most unquestionable Credit and Antiquity As for the main Body of it we find it preserved in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius who lived not above an Age and a half after the writing of it And even the Manuscript it self made use of by Bishop Vsher is so well attested that we need not any farther Assurance of the Truth of it The Sum of the Account which we have given us of it is this That Gaius an Acquaintance of St. Irenaeus the Disciple of Polycarp transcribed it from the Copy of that Father And Socrates the Corinthian from Gaius and from Socrates's Copy was transcribed that Manuscript which we still have of it 20. TWICE has this Epistle been been put into our own Language as far as the History of Eusebius has given occasion for the Translation of it What those Editions are I cannot tell having never perused either of them But I suppose it is now the first time joyn'd in an intire Piece together and so communicated to the English Reader In my Translation of it I have strictly follow'd the Edition of our most Reverend Primate from which Cotelerius's is but a Copy Nor have I that I know of departed in the least Circumstance from it except in that One for which I have before accounted So that I may venture to say I have here truly set forth the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna as near as our Language would serve to express the Sense if not to come up to the Beauty and Vigour of the Original CHAP. VII Of the Catholick Epistle of St. Barnabas Why the Pieces that follow are put in a Second Part separate from the foregoing The History of St. Barnabas chiefly from the Acts of the Apostles Of his Name Education and Travels especially with St. Paul How he came to be separated from that Apostle What he did afterwards Of his Death And the Invention of his Relicks and of the Cyprian Priviledges establish'd on that account Of the present Epistle and that it was truly written by St. Barnabas The principal Objections against it answer'd An Apology for its Allegorical Interpretations of Scripture The latter part of it originally belonging to this Epistle That it was written after the Destruction of Jerusalem The Design and Usefulness of it 1. WHEN I first enter'd upon the Design of publishing the following Collection I intended to have here put an End to it The following Pieces under the Names of Barnabas and Hermas together with the Second Epistle of St. Clement however undoubtedly very Ancient and confess'd by all to come but little if any thing short of the Apostolical Times having yet been neither so highly esteem'd among the Ancients nor so generally receiv'd by many of the present Times as those I have already mention'd But when I consider'd the Deference which Others among the Primitive Fathers have paid to them and the Value which is still put upon them by many not inferior either in Learning or Piety to those who speak against them I thought I could not better satisfie All than by adding them in a Second Part to the fore-going Epistles That so both they who have a just Esteem for them might not complain of being defrauded of any part of what remains of the Apostolical Writings and those who are otherwise minded might look upon them as standing in a second Rank and not taking place which otherwise they must have done of those undoubtedly Genuine and Admirable Discourses that make up the former part of this Work 2. AND here the first Piece that occurs is the Catholick Eplistle of St. Barnabas the Companion of St. Paul and Disciple of our Saviour Christ Being generally esteem'd to have been one of the LXX that were chose by him However our Country-Man Bede upon I know not what grounds calls the Verdict of Antiquity in question as to this Matter And of whom the Holy Spirit of God has left us by St. Luke this Character Acts xi 24 That he was a good Man full of Faith and of the Holy Ghost 3. IT is not my design to enter on any long Account of the Life of a Person so largely spoken of in the Holy Scriptures and of whom little certain can be written besides what is there recorded His Country was Cyprus a famous Island in the Mediterranean Sea where there inhabited in those days so great a Number of Jews that in the Time of Trajan they conspired against the Gentiles there and slew of them two Hundred and Forty Thousand Men. Upon which being cast out of the Isle they were never suffer'd upon any account to set foot again in it upon pain of Death 4. HIS Name was at first Joses but by the Apostles changed into Barnabas which being interpreted says St. Luke is the Son of Consolation And as we may conjecture from the place where it is first mentioned was given him by the Apostles as an Honourable Acknowledgment of his Charity in selling his whole Estate for the Relief of the poor Christians and upon the account of that Consolation which they received thereby 5. HIS first Education says Metaphrastes was at the Feet of Gamaliel by whom he was instructed together with St. Paul Which perhaps moved that great Apostle upon his Conversion to apply himself to him as the
our Blessed Saviour and his Apostles But now Fifthly and to advance yet higher These Writers were not only thus qualified by these Ordinary means to deliver the Gospel of Christ to us but in all probability were endued with the Extraordinary Assistance of the Holy Spirit too So that what they teach us it not to be look'd upon as a mere traditionary Relation of what had been deliver'd to them but rather as an Authoritative Declaration of the Gospel of Christ to us tho' indeed as much inferior to that of the Apostles and Evangelists as their Gifts and Assistances were less than theirs 12. FOR 1 st That the Extraordinary Gifts of the Holy Spirit with which the Apostles were endued and which the Holy Scriptures themselves tell us were in those days distributed to Other Believers as well as unto Them continu'd still in the Church after their departure we have the express assurance of Justin Martyr one of the most ancient Writers after those I have here subjoyn'd to assure us They were communicated not only to Men but Women And that we may be sure he spake nothing in this matter but what he could undeniably have made out we find him boasting of it against Trypho the Jew and urging it as an unanswerable Argument in the Behalf of Christianity and against the Jews from whom these Gifts had a long time been departed And even in the Fathers whose Writings are here put together there appear sufficient Indications of the Continuance of these Extraordinary Powers 13. THIS St. Clement manifestly declares in his First Epistle to the Corinthians He tells us that some in that Church not only had such Gifts but were even proud and conceited upon the account of them Let a Man says he have Faith i. e. such a Faith by which he is able to work Miracles Let him be powerful to utter Mystical Knowledg for to that his Expression manifestly refers Let him be wise in discerning of Speeches Another Gift common in those Times But still says he by how much the more he seems to excel Others viz. upon the account of these extraordinary Endowments by so much the more will it behove him to be humble-minded and to seek what is profitable to all Men and not to his own Advantage And St. Ignatius not only supposes that such Gifts might be in Others but plainly intimates that he himself was endued with a large Portion of them 14. WHICH being so we cannot doubt 2 dly but that as it was most reasonable both the Apostles were careful to set those in the chiefest Places of Honour and Authority in their several Churches who were the most eminent for their Gifts And that God was also pleased to grant to such Persons a more than ordinary Portion of the Holy Spirit for the better discharge of those eminent Places to which they were called 15. CONCERNING the former of these we are told by St. Paul Acts vi that when the Apostles thought it necessary to establish a new Order of Ministers in the Church that might take care of those things which they who were of a higher Rank could not find Leisure to attend to tho' their Ministry were of the lowest Nature and which required much lesser Capacities in those who were to discharge it than theirs whose Business it was to Govern and Instruct the Church of Christ yet they particularly laid it down to the Brethren as one of the Qualifications that was to be required in Those whom they chose for that purpose that they should be Men well approved of full of the Holy Spirit and of Wisdom Vers. 3. And of One of them viz. St. Stephen it is particularly observed Vers. 8. That he was full of Faith and Power and did Signs and great Wonders among the People And when the Jews disputed against him we read Vers. 10. That they were not able to stand against the Wisdom and Spirit by which he spake 16. NOW if such were the Care which they took in the Choice of those who were to be admitted into the lowest Ministry of the Church We cannot doubt but that they were certainly much more careful not to admit any into the highest Rank of Honour and Authority in it but what were in a yet more eminent manner endued with the same Gifts Hence St. Clement tells us that The Apostles did prove by the Spirit the first Fruits of their Conversions and out of them set Bishops and Pastors over such as should believe And by which we must understand One of these Two things and very probably they were both meant by it Either that the Apostles made use of their own extraordinary Gift of the Spirit One Use of which was to discern and try the Spirits of Others in chusing Persons fitly qualified for the Work of the Ministry Or else that by the extraordinary Gifts of those whom they pitch'd upon they perceiv'd that they were worthy of such an Employ and therefore chose them out for it And the Other Clement yet more plainly speaks the same thing That St. John being returned from his Banishment in Patmos went about the Country near unto Ephesus both to form and settle Churches where he saw occasion and to admit into the Order of the Clergy such as were mark'd out to him by the Spirit 17. AND then for the Other thing observed It is clear that the very Imposition of Hands did in those days confer the Holy Spirit in an extraordinary manner upon Those who were ordain'd to the Ministry of the Gospel This St. Paul intimates in his First Epistle to Timothy Ch. iv 14 where he exhorts him to stir up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Gift i. e. the extraordinary Power of the Holy Spirit which says he is in thee by the Imposition of my hands 2 Tim. i. 6 And would you know how this Ceremony of setting him apart for such a Service came to endue him with such an extraordinary Power the same Apostle will tell you 1 Tim. iv 14 That it was given unto him by Prophecy with or through the Imposition of Hands upon him That is to say God who by his Prophets had before design'd and mark'd him out for that great Office 1 Tim. i. 18 upon the actual admission of him into it by the outward Rite of Laying on of Hands and upon the solemn Prayers that were then withal made for him did bestow the Gifts of his Blessed Spirit in an extraordinary manner upon him 18. NOW this as will it afford us just cause to conclude that those Holy Men whose Writings we have here collected were doubtless endued with a very large Portion of the extraordinary Gifts of the Holy Ghost Whether we consider the Frequency of those Endowments in the Age in which they lived Or the extraordinary Strictness and Piety of their Lives Or the Greatness of those Stations to which they were called in the Church Or lastly the Judgment which the Apostles who called them to those high
the whole Church in those days what was permitted to be publickly read to the Faithful for their Comfort and Instruction must by this means have received a more than Humane Approbation and ought to be look'd upon by us tho' not of Equal Authority with those Books which they have deliver'd to us as strictly Canonical yet as standing in the first Rank of Ecclesiastical Writings and as containing the true and pure Faith of Christ without the least Error intermix'd with it CHAP. XI Of the Subject of the following Discourses and of the Use that is to be made of Them That in the following Treatises there is deliver'd to us a good account both of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church in the Apostolical Times This shewn in several particulars What they taught concerning God the Father our Saviour Christ and the Holy Ghost Of Angels and Spirits Of the rest of the Articles of the Apostles Creed Concerning the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper Of the Holy Scriptures and the Divine Authority of them What we meet with in these Treatises concerning the Government of the Church Of the Necessity of Communicating with the Bishops and Pastors of it Of Schismaticks Hereticks and Apostates Of their publick Assembling for the Service of God and what was done by them in those Meetings Of several other Instances of their Discipline particularly of their Fasting and Confession of Sins Of the Care which their Bishops had of the whole Church Of the Respect that was paid to them Of their Martyrs and the Veneration which they thought due to them Of their Practical Instructions and how severe their Morality was shewn in several particulars That upon the whole we may here see what the State of Christianity then was and still ought to be 1. AND now having shewn in the foregoing Chapter what Deference we ought to pay to the Authority of those Holy Men whose Writings I have here collected it may not be amiss in the Third place to enquire What it is which they deliver to us what account we find in them of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church in those Times in which they lived 2. IT would be endless for me to go about to make a just Catalogue of all the Particulars of this kind that occur in the following Pieces and I have already in a great measure perform'd it in the Index which I have for that purpose subjoyn'd to them I shall therefore here consider only a few particulars in such Points as may seem most worthy to be remarked and by them as by a short Specimen shew How the Judicious Reader may himself improve it into a more particular History of the Faith and Practice of the Church in the best and most ancient State of it 3. AND 1 st for what concerns the Doctrines of those Times there is hardly any Point that is necessary to be believed or known by us that is not very plainly delivered in Some or Other of the following Pieces 4. HERE we may read what we are to believe concerning the first Article of all of our Creed God the Father That he is One Almighty Invisible the Creator and Maker of all things That he is Omniscient Immense Neither to be comprehended within any Bounds nor so much as to be perfectly conceived by us That his Providence is over all things And that we can none of us flee from him or escape his Knowledg That we are to believe in him to fear him to love him And fearing him to abstain from all Evil. 5. IF from thence we go on to the next Person of the Blessed Trinity Our Saviour Jesus Christ here we shall find all that either our Creed teaches us to profess concerning him or that any Christian need to believe That he Existed not only before he came into the World but from all Eternity That he is not only the Son of God but is himself also God That in the fulness of Time he took upon him our Nature and became Man Was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified under Pontius Pilate That he suffer'd for our Salvation and was raised again from the dead not only by the Power of the Father but by his Own also That he is our High-Priest and Protectour now and shall come again at the End of the World to judge the whole Race of Mankind That there is no coming unto God but by him Insomuch that even the Ancient Fathers who died before his Appearing are yet saved by the same means that we are now 6. AS for what concerns the Holy Spirit the Third Person in the Glorious Godhead he is here set out to us not only as a Person but as distinct from the Father and the Son And to shew what kind of Spirit he is We may here see him joyn'd together in the same Worship with the Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ. 7. AND now I am mentioning the Holy Spirit let me add that we may here see what is needful to be known concerning all the Other Spirits of an inferiour Nature How the Holy Angels minister unto us but especially then when we have most need of them at the time of our Death And that tho' the Devil may attacque us and use all his Arts to draw us away from our Duty yet it must be our own Faults if we are overcome by him and therefore that we ought not to be afraid of him 8. BUT to return to our Creed and the Articles of it Here we may farther see both what a great Obligation there lies upon us to keep up a Communion of Saints in the Unity of the Church on Earth and what is that true Fellowship that we ought to have with those who are gone before us to Heaven That it consists not in the Worship of any tho' never so gloriously exalted by God but in Love and Remembrance in Thanksgiving to God for their Excellencies and in our Prayers to him joyn'd with hearty Endeavours of our own to imitate their Perfections 9. AND whilst we do this we are here assured of the Forgiveness of our Sins too through the Merits and Satisfaction of Jesus Christ. And that not only of those which we committed before our Baptism but of all such as we shall chance to fall into after if we truly repent of them 10. AS for the next Point the Resurrection of the Body it is not only asserted but at large proved too in the following Discourses There we may see not only that there shall be a future Resurrection but that we shall be raised in the very same Bodies in which we go down into the Grave And that being raised we shall be judged by Christ according to our Works and be either unspeakably rewarded or exceedingly punished and that to all Eternity 11. IF from the Articles of our Creed we go on to the Sacraments of the Church Here we have set out to us the great Benefit of our Baptism and
it And this I say not to magnifie any thing that I have done which I have too much reason to fear will be far from deserving any great Commendation but to suggest an Apology for whatever Defects those of greater Leisure more Health and better Abilities shall chance to find in it notwithstanding all the Care I have taken to guess aright at the Intention of my Authors and to deliver what upon the best Examination I could make I then took to be their Meaning 7. I NEED not say any thing to convince those who are at all acquainted with these Matters and who are alone the competent Judges of the present Performance How hard oftentimes it is with the help of the best Copies to hit upon the true Meaning of an Author that lived so many Ages since as those I have here collected And what great Defects in many places there are in the Copies I have here been forced to make use of is not unknown to them Had I whilst I was about this Work been in another place where I could have had recourse to the Assistance of a very Learned Friend than whom none could have afforded me a better help in this particular or would more readily have done it I should have had much less reason to apprehend any Defects in it But however as it is I am not aware of any great Errors that I have committed and am in some hope that I have no where very much nor at all very dangerously mistaken the Meaning of those Holy Men whose Sense I have undertaken to represent 8. THIS I am sure of that my Design in this whole Undertaking was to minister the best I could to the Interests of Truth and Piety And I thought my self at this time the rather obliged to do it from the Press in that it has pleased God in some measure to take me off from the Ability of doing it from the Pulpit 9. IF it shall be ask'd how I came to chuse the Drudgery of a Translator rather than the more ingenuous part of publishing somewhat of my own Composing it was in short this Because I hop'd that such Writings as these would find a more general and unprejudiced acceptance with all sorts of Men than any thing that could be written by any One now living Who if esteem'd by some is yet in danger of being despis'd by more whose Prejudice to his Person will not suffer them to reap any Benefit by any thing tho' never so useful that can come from him Whilst such Tracts as these may possibly receive a general Respect from all sorts of Persons and meet not only with an Entertainment but an Esteem too from All. 10. THESE were the Motives that first induced me to set about this Work and in the Reasonableness of which should I chance to be mistaken yet I cannot but persuade my self that the Honesty of my Intentions shall excuse me to all indifferent Persons Let Others then to whom God has given better Opportunities and greater Abilities serve the Church in better and higher Performances It shall suffice me in any way to minister to the Souls of Men. And if by this present Undertaking I shall but in any measure have contributed to the reviving a true Sense of Piety and Devotion among us but especially to the disposing of any number of Men to consider more seriously the fatal Consequences of our present Divisions and to labour what in them lies to the Composing of them I shall heartily bless God both that he first prompted me to undertake this troublesome Task and has since enabled me tho' amidst many Infirmities to go through with it The First EPISTLE OF St. CLEMENT TO THE Corinthians THE CONTENTS Ch. I II. HE commends them for their excellent Order and Piety in Christ before their Schism brake out III. How their Divisions began IV V VI. Envy and Emulation the Original of all Strife and Disorder Examples of the Mischiefs they have occasion'd VII VIII He exhorts them to look up to the Rules of their Religion and repent of their Divisions and they shall be forgiven IX X. To encourage them whereunto he sets before them the Examples of Holy Men whose Piety is recorded in the Scriptures XI XII And particularly such as have been eminent for their Kindness and Charity to their Neighbours XIII What Rules our Religion has leâ—t us to this purpose XIV XV. Which he applies to the Case of the Corinthians exhorting them to put an End to their Contentions so contrary to their Duty XVI XVII XVIII In order to this he advises them to be humble and that from the Examples of our Saviour and of Holy Men in all Ages XIX XX. He returns to the business of their Divisions which he by more Arguments persuades them to compose XXI He exhorts them to Obedience from the Consideration of the Goodness of God and of his Presence in every place XXIII XXIV Of Faith And particularly what we are to believe as to the Future Resurrection XXIV c. to XXVII This Article at large proved XXVIII He again exhorts them to Obedience That it is impossible to escape the Vengeance of God if we continue in Sin XXIX This farther enforced from the Consideration of their Relation to God as his Elect. XXX How we must live that we may please God XXXII We are justified by Faith XXXIII â—et this must not lessen our Care to live well nor our Pleasure in it XXXIV This enforc'd from the Examples of the Holy Angels and from the exceeding greatness of that Reward which God has prepared for us XXXV XXXVI We must attain unto this Reward by Faith and Obedience XXXVII Which we must carry on in an orderly pursuing of the Duties of our several Stations without Envying or Contention XXXVIII The necessity of different Orders among Men. We have none of us any thing but what we received of God Whom therefore we ought in every Condition thankfully to obey XXXIX c. From whence he exhorts them to do every thing orderly in the Church as the only way to please God XLII The Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church establish'd by the Apostles according to Christ's Command XLIII And after the Example of Moses XLIV Therefore they who have been duly placed in the Ministry according to their Order cannot without great Sin be put out of it XLV c. He exhorts them to Peace from Examples out of the Holy Scriptures XLVII Particularly from St. Paul's Exhortation to them XLIX The Value which God puts upon Love and Unity The Effects of a true Charity L. Which is the Gift of God and must be obtain'd by Prayer LI. He exhorts such as have been concern'd in these Divisions to repent and return to their Unity confessing their Sin to God LIII Which he infers from the Example of Moses LV. Nay of many among the Heathen and of Judith and Esther among the Jews LVI The benefit of mutual Advice and Correction LVII He
Tongues be made manifest by their Silence Let their Charity be without respect of Persons alike towards all such as truly fear God Let your Children be bred up in the Instruction of the Lord And especially let them learn how great a Power Humility has with God How much a Pure and Holy Charity avails with Him How Excellent and Great his Fear is and how it will save all such as turn to Him with Holiness in a Pure Mind For He is the Searcher of the Thoughts and Desires of the Heart whose Breath is in Us and when He pleases he can take it from Us. XXII BUT all these things must be confirm'd by the Faith which is in Christ for so He himself bespeaks us by the Holy Ghost Come ye Children and harken unto me and I will teach you the fear of the LORD What man is there that desireth Life and loveth to see Good days Keep thy Tongue from Evil and thy Lips that they speak no Guile Depart from Evil and do Good seek Peace and ensue it The Eyes of the LORD are upon the Righteous and his Ears are open unto their Prayers But the face of the LORD is against them that do Evil to cut off the Remembrance of them from the Earth The Righteous cried and the LORD heard Him and deliver'd him out of all his Troubles Many are the Troubles of the Wicked But they that trust in the LORD Mercy shall encompass them About XXIII OUR All-Merciful and Beneficent Father hath Bowels of Compassion towards Them that fear Him And Kindly and Lovingly bestows his Graces upon all such as come to Him with a simple Mind Wherefore let us not waver neither let us have any doubt in our Hearts of his Excellent and Glorious Gifts Let that be far from us which is written Miserable are the double-minded and those who are doubtful in their Hearts Who say These things have we heard and our Fathers have told us these things But behold we are grown old and none of them has happened unto Vs. O ye Fools Consider the Trees take the Vine for an Example First it sheds its Leaves then it Buds after that it spreads its Leaves then it flowers then come the sower Grapes and after them follows the Ripe Fruit. Ye see how in a little time the Fruit of the Trees comes to Maturity Of a truth yet a little while and his Will shall suddainly be accomplish'd The Holy Scripture it self bearing witness That the LORD shall suddainly come to his Temple even the Holy one whom ye look for XXIV LET us consider Beloved how the LORD does continually shew Us that there shall be a future Resurrection of which he has made our Lord Jesus Christ the First-fruits raising him from the Dead Let us contemplate Beloved the Resurrection that is continually made before our Eyes Day and Night manifest a Resurrection to Us. The night lies down and the day arises Again the day departs and the night comes on Let us behold the Fruits of the Earth Every one sees how the Seed is sown The Sower goes forth and casts it upon the Earth and the Seed which when it was sown fell upon the Earth dry and naked in time dissolves And from the Dissolution the great Power of the Providence of the Lord raises it again and of one Seed many arise and bring forth Fruit. XXV LET us consider that wonderful Type of the Resurrection which is seen in the Eastern Countries that is to say in Arabia There is a certain Bird called a Phaenix Of this there is never but one at a time and that lives five hundred Years And when the time of its Dissolution draws near that it must Die it makes it self a Nest of Frankincense and Myrrhe and other Spices into which when its time is fulfilled it enters and dies But its Flesh putrifying breeds a certain Worm which being nourished with the Juice of the dead Bird brings â—orth Feathers and when it is grown to a perfect State it takes up the Nest in which the Bones of its Parent lie and carries it from Arabia into Egypt to a City called Heliopolis And flying in open day in the sight of all Men lays it upon the Altar of the Sun and so returns from whence it came The Priests then search into the Records of the Time and find that it return'd precisely at the end of five hundred Years XXVI AND shall we then think it to be any very great and strange thing for the Lord of all to raise up those that religiously serve him in the Assurance of a good Faith when even by a Bird he shews us the greatness of his power to fulfil his Promise For he says in a certain place Thou shalt raise me up and I shall confess unto Thee And again I laid me down and slept and awaked because thou art with me And again Job says Thou shalt raise up this flesh of mine that has suffered all these things XXVII HAVING therefore this Hope let us hold fast to him who is Faithful in all his Promises and Righteous in all his Judgments Who has commanded us not to Lye how much more shall he not Himself Lye For nothing is impossible with God but to Lye Let his Faith then be stirred up again in us and let us consider that all things are nigh unto Him By the Word of his Power He made all things and by the same Word he is able when ever he will to destroy them Who shall say unto Him what dost Thou Or who shall resist the Power of his Strength When and As he pleased he made All things and nothing shall pass away of all that has been appointed by Him All things are Open before him nor can any thing be hid from his Counsell The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy work Day unto Day uttereth Speech and Night unto Night sheweth Knowledge There is no Speech nor Language where their Voice is not heard XXVIII SEEING then all things are seen and heard by God let us fear him and let us lay aside our Corrupt Desires of Wicked Works that through his Mercy we may be delivered from the Condemnation to come For whither can any of us flee from his mighty Hand Or what World shall receive any of those who run away from him For thus saith the Scripture in a certain place Whither shall I flee from thy Spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up into Heaven thou art there If I shall go to the utmost parts of the Earth there is thy right hand If I shall make my Bed in the deep thy Spirit is there Whither then shall any one go or whither shall he run from him that comprehends all things XXIX LET us therefore come to him with Holiness of Heart
what Persons they are to be perform'd That so all things being piously done unto all Well-pleasing they may be acceptable unto him They therefore who make their Offerings at the appointed Seasons are Happy and Accepted Because that obeying the Commandments of the Lord they are free from Sin And the same care must be had of the Persons that Minister unto him For the Chief Priest has his proper Services and to the Priests their proper Place is appointed And to the Levites appertain their proper Ministries And the Lay-man is confined within the Bounds of what is commanded to Lay-men XLI LET every one of you therefore Brethren bless God in his proper Station with a Good Conscience and with all Gravity not exceeding the Rule of his Service that is appointed to him The daily Sacrifices were not offer'd every where nor the Peace-offerings nor the Sacrifices appointed for Sins and Transgressions but only at Jerusalem Nor might they be offer'd in any Place there neither but only at the Altar before the Temple being first diligently examin'd by the High-Priest and the other Ministers we before mentioned They therefore who did any thing besides what was agreeable to his Will were punished with Death Consider Brethren by how much the better Knowledge God has vouchsafed unto us by so much the greater Danger are we exposed to XLII THE Apostles have Preached to us from our Lord JESUS CHRIST Jesus Christ from God Christ therefore was sent by God the Apostles by Christ So both their Offices were orderly fulfill'd according to the Will of God For having received their Command and being fully assured by the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and convinced by the Word of God and the Evidence of the Holy Spirit they went abroad publishing That the Kingdom of God was at Hand And thus Preaching through Countries and Cities and proving by the Spirit the first Fruits of their Conversions they appointed out of them Bishops and Ministers over such as should afterwards believe Nor was this any new Thing Seeing that long before it was written concerning Bishops and Deacons For thus saith the Scripture in a certain place I will appoint their Overseers in Righteousness and their Ministers in Faith XLIII AND what wonder if they to whom such a work was committed by God in Christ establish'd such Officers as we before mentioned When even that Blessed and Faithful Servant in all his House Moses set down in the Holy Scriptures all things that were commanded Him Whom also all the rest of the Prophets follow'd bearing witness with one consent to those things that were appointed by him For He perceiving an Emulation to arise among the Tribes concerning the Priesthood and that there was a Strife about it which of them should be Adorned with that Glorious Title commanded their twelve Captains to bring to him twelve Rods every Tribe being noted upon its Rod according to its Name And he took them and bound them together and sealed them with the Seals of the Twelve Princes of the Tribes and laid them up in the Tabernacle of Witness upon the Table of God And when he had shut the door of the Tabernacle he sealed up the Keys of it in like manner as he had done the Rods And said unto them Men and Brethren Which soever Tribe shall have its Rod Blossom that Tribe has God chosen to Himself to Minister unto Him in Holy Things And when Morning was come He called together All Israel six Hundred Thousand Men and shew'd to their Princes the Seals and opened the Tabernacle of Witness and brought forth the Rods. And the Rod of Aaron was found not only to have Blossom'd but also to have Fruit upon it What think you Beloved Did not Moses before know what should happen Yes verily But to the End there might be no Division nor Tumult in Israel He did in this manner that the Name of the True and Only God might be Glorified To Him be Honour for Ever and Ever Amen XLIV SO likewise our Apostles knew by our Lord Jesus Christ that there should Contentions arise upon the Account of the Ministry And therefore having a perfect fore-knowledge of this they appointed Persons as we have before said and then gave Direction How when they should die other chosen and approved Men should succeed in their Ministry Wherefore we cannot think that those may justly be thrown out of their Ministry who were either Appointed by Them or afterwards Chosen by Eminent Men with the Consent of the whole Church and have with all Lowliness and Innocency ministred to the Flock of Christ in Peace and without Self-interest and for a long time commended by all For it would be no small Sin in us should we cast off those from their Ministry who Holily and without Blame fulfil the Duties of it Blessed are those Priests who having finish'd their Course before these times have obtain'd a fruitful and perfect Dissolution For they have no fear lest any one should turn them out of the place in which they are now establish'd But we see how you have put out some who lived excellently among you from the Ministry with which they were rightly and innocently adorn'd XLV YE are Contentious Brethren and Zealous for things that pertain not unto Salvation Look into the Holy Scriptures which are the true words of the Holy Ghost Ye know that there is nothing unjust or Spurious in them There you shall not find that Just Men were ever cast off by such as were good themselves They were persecuted 't is true but it was by the Wicked and Ungodly They were cast into Prison but they were cast in by those that were Unholy They were stoned but it was by Sinners and Transgressors They were killed but by Accursed Men and such as had taken up an Unjust Envy against them And all these things they underwent Gloriously For what shall we say Brethren Was Daniel cast into the Den of Lyons by Men fearing God Ananias Azarias and Misael were they cast into the Fiery Furnace by Men professing the Excellent and Glorious Worship of the most High God forbid What kind of Persons then were they that did these things They were Men Abominable full of all Wickedness who were incensed to so great a Degree as to bring those into Sufferings who with a Holy and Unblamable Purpose of mind worshipped God Not knowing that the Most High is the Protector and Defender of all such as in a Pure Conscience serve his Holy Name To whom be Glory for ever and ever Amen But they who with a full Perswasion have endured to the end are now made Partakers of Glory and Honour And are Exalted and lifted up by God in their Memorial throughout all Ages Amen XLVI WHEREFORE it will behove us also