Apology, I am not mad, but speak forth the words of truth and so A&.27.24,25. bennefs And refolve with David, if to be zealous for God, be accounted vileness, refolve to be more vile. 5. He that would win fouls, mu be a man of knowledge: Charact. 5. WhereGod gives a calling,he furnisheth men with a competent mea He must be a fure of gifts for the discharge thereof: Blinde guides, Ignora muffes, man of krew; are none of Gods fending: They run before they are fent: Prophets ledge. were called Seers, and the Priestslips should preferve knowledge. As the Mal. 2. 7. Friest under the Law, fo the Minifter under the Gofpel, must be a man of knowledge: How fhould the Minifter be able to grapple with the Hydra of Hereftes, to contend for the Faith, to convince gain-fayers, unless he be a man of knowledge? There's much use of fecular Learning Arts and Sciences are Hand-maids to Divinity? As long as they keep their diftance, they contract a good esteem; but if the Hand-maid will have the preheminence of her Mistress, 'tis high time the fhould be cafheered: And there's exceeding great ufe of Nurseries of Learning, and Schools of the Prophets But here's the knowledge, which above all others you multiger, even the knowledge of Jefus Chrift. All the Fathers, and Schoolmen, and Philofophers, though in their due place they must be reverenced, yet all their Learning put together, cannot make you gainers of Souls: Its Chrift alone that can do it: He can infufe Divine know ledge, and give you eye-Salve, as he promifech Rev, 3. 18. He can give you that Unition whereby you shall know all things. This is a rare Iohn 2. 20. knowledge, to know how to gain a foul: This onely is to be learnt in the School of Jefus Chrift. I 6. He must be a man Orthodox in judgement, one that hath the Charact. 6. Spirit of difcerning, to understand the ways of God, able to di- He must be a ftinguifh truth from falfhood, otherwife; being blinde and ig- man Orthodox norant, the blinde leading the blinde, both must fall into the in judgement. ditch. God goeth net forth with the Miniftry of falfe Teachers They may deceive fouls, but cannot gain them, unless in that fense which is faid that the Scribes and Pharifees did, which compaffed fea and land to gain a Profelyte, and when he is made, he becomes Seven Matth, 23. 15. times worfe the childe of the devil then before. Such a gain is a dreadful lofs, not a winning, but a destroying of fouls? It fhould therefore be our principal bufinefs to study the Scriptures, and to be well grounded in the truth, to be ftedfaft, and ferled in the faith, not be ing carried about with every winde of Doctrine, by the flight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, Eph. 4. 14. There are three emphatical words in the Text, xußria, from xvßes a Dye; counterfeit Teachers, imitate counterfeit Gamefters, they can cog a Dye, ravergia, every work, any trick, any shift, undória, a wiley art of legerdemane: To be fenced against these, what need have we to pray for a spirit of difcerning to know the truth, and to have our hearts ftablifht with grace, as the Apottle exhorts, Heb. 13.9. 7. He must be a man of an boly life, and exemplary conversation: 7. He must be a man of a boly Concionatoris vita, Concionis anima: Gregory de Paftorali curâ, tells life. us, Neceffe eft ut effe munda ftudeat manus, qua diluere aliorum fordes curat, That hand must be clean that's imployed in wiping of others filthinefs. The Exhortation is urgent, Ifa.52. 11. Beye clean that bear the vellels of the Lord. A good life is a good Commentary upon a good Sermon. The Apostle is earnest in his Exhortations, Rom. 2. 21. Thou that teacheft others, teacheft thou not thy felf, &c. Minifters lives fhould be ftanding Sermons, their whole converfation a pattern of Piery: They are Beacons fet upon an Hill, the eye of the whole Countrey is upon them; As the godly obferve: So the eye of the wicked watch for their halting, ready to make them an offender for a word. It's a common obfervation,that the contention of Abrahams and Lots Herdsmen, hath a greater aggravation because the Canaanite was then in the Land: The obfervation of the wicked, is not a fmall motive to engage us unto circumfpect walking: The very breathings of a Minifter fhould be fpiritual, full of grace in his lips, miniftring grace to the hearers, his words favory, tending to edification, his carriage ferious, grave, exemplary, adorning his Profeflion, as becometh the Gospel: What an efficacy bath a good Sermon, when its backt with an holy life and converfation? We is val-hould therefore pray for a ferious, heavenly frame of fpirit. γελία. 8. He that would win fouls, must be a man of industry: This is that Apoftolical Character, To be a work-man that needeth not to be aman of industry.fhamed, 2 Tim. 2. 15. Chrift admits no Truants in his School, no Droans in his Hive, no Loyterers in his Vineyard: It's faid, The labarer, not the loyterer, is worthy of his hire. Ministers are in Scripture called Paftors, Seers, Watch-men, Work-men: Its a palpable contradiction, for to be a Paftor and not to feed, a Seer, and to be Gen. 13.7. Phil. 1. 27. Charact. 8. blinde ; blinde; a Watchman, and to fleep, and a Work-man to be idle. on. 9. He that would win fouls, must be a man of difcretion, that Charact. 9. knows how to speak a word in due season: He must have skill in this He must be a foul-trade,when to give a Corrafive, & when a Cordial,when strong-man of difcretis er, when gentler Phyfick must be prescribed: There are Lambs as well as Sheep; Babes as well as ftrong men, broken hearted as well as hard hearted, and a fuitable remedy must be applyed: He must fpeak war where God would have him, and fpeak peace where God would have him: Ohow faithful ought he to be in the discharge of his Function, he must divide to every one their portion, mercy to whom mercy, and judgement to whom judgement belongs: Thus was the Prophet Ifaiah qualified, for, faith he, The Lord God hath Isa. 5064. given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to Speak a word in feafon to him that is weary: Gregory de paftorali cura, a Book Gregtde Pakoj worthy of our reading, infifts largely upon this particular; how rali cura, proud and how humble perfons, how merry, how fad perfons, how angry, how meek perfons, &c. are to be admonished, that fo re medies may be applyed fuicable to the fore: This wisdom we mult pray for, and put it in practice throughout the whole courfe of our Ministry. 10. and lastly, He that would win fouls, must be a man of an Charact. 10. humble fpirit: Love was the first I mentioned, Humility the laft, He must be a but not the leaft: Love muft lead the van, and Humility brings up ble fpiris. man of an bum the rear, and then there's great hope of a fouls conqueft: The Apostle exhorts, The Tarogoury inox, Bar, Be je cloathed with 1 Pet. 5. 7. bumility: Q A. humility: The word you (as Henfius and Pollux obferves) fig! rifies veftimentum humile, a mean Garment which fervants wore, and it was a badge of humility: Let's put on Humility as a garment, this let us always wear, never put it off. Next to the Robe of Chrifts righteousness, it's the belt garment in all the world. When God gives thee parts, and thou art proud of them, this fpiritual pride will be thy ruine: But when thou haft good parts, and an humble fpirit, thou art put in a capacity of faving thine own foul, and those that hear thee: For God gives grace to the humble,and pours moft precious liquor into empty veffels. have read a Storyof one that faw in a vifion many fnares of the Devil spread upon earth, he fat down and mourned, and faid within himself, Who fhall pass through these? whereupon he heard a voice anfwering, Humility hall pass through them. Humility will pass through Caut-ropes, Gins and Pit-folds, which the Devil lays in the way. O beware of Pride, and above all pride, of fpiritual pride! It's that dead fly that mars many, a Box of precious cyntment It's like that wilde gourd that spoild the pottage, and caufed them to cry out, Eft mors in olla. Take notice how God blelleth the labours of many of meaner parts, who áre humble and watchful, when as many of greater parts, poffeft with Luciferian pride of fpirit, are curft in all their underta kings. i Thus you have heard him fet forth in his proper colours, and de cyphered in legible Characters, who of all others is likelieft to win fouls... .... Q. But what, if notwithstanding a man in fome good measure thus qualified cannot reap the fruits of his pains, nor obtain the seal of his As pofthe ship? I Anfwer, That must be our stay and fupportation, Ifa. 40.4! Then I faid, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain, yet furely my judgement is with the Lord, and my work with my God: It's faid, Rev. 22. 12. And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every one according as his work shall be: It's not faid, according to the fruit, but according to the work: It may be our fad affliction, for which our hearts muit bleed; that we labor all night, and catch nothing, yet at the word of Chrift we must let down or net. Though we plough amongst rocks and fow anongit thorns, yet if there be a willing minde it will be accepted: God will ac cept cept the will for the deed: Let us then be confcientious and constant our duty, and leave the fuccefs to God." And thus far for the Doctrinal part of the Text.. The third and last head propounded, is, To draw from the premi3. Head. fes fome inferences of practice, which is the particular Application I Application. promifed you, of which in a few words, and I fhall put a period to my difcourfe. Three Inferences I fhall onely draw from this Doctrine, for Humiliation, Exhortation, and Direction. For Hamilia tion, 1. For Humiliation: Here's juft caufe of deep Humiliation, that we are fo little acquainted with this precious fruit fpecified in the Use 1. Text, of winning fouls. It was a faying, Few Confeffors of great men are faved,which a Learned Divine renders in equivalent terms, Few great Mr. Calamyes mens Chaplains come to Heaven: Few Minifters are skilled in this foul-Sermon on faving art,& they that are beft skill'd, yet have cause enough of Hu- Ioh. 24.15. miliation: I well know, and fhall ever acknowledge, that to fave a foul is the peculiar work of the great God, yet Gods Meffengers are accounted his mouth unto his people: And the word of God, is the power of God unto falvation. We have a weighty duty lying upon us, Ter. 15. 19. and we have great caufe every one, to be humbled to the duft, that Rom. 1. 16. we come fhort of our duty: And if they that labor all the day in Gods vineyard, and are faithful in the work, have caufe to be humbied for their unprofitablenefs, O how should they lay it to heart, and figh even to the breaking of their loyns, who leave the Sheep with Mercenaries in the Wilderness, whil'ft themfelves fare luxurioufly, and live with Dives delicioufly every day. Peradventure they give their flock a vifit at Sheep-fhearing time, once a year, as the High Frieft entred into the Temple, and then with blood and indeed a Non-Refident is a foul-murderer, who maintains his bravery with the price of blood. Fathers and Brethren, I love not to layout my Mothers nakedness, but my heart burns in love to your fouls; and I hope and pray, that a through Reformation may go on and profper, and that under no pretence whatsoever, Non-refidency may be difpenfed withal for the future, it being Materia prorfus in difp nfabilis. For this fin the Scarlet Gowns ought to come down in the dust, and wear Sack-cloth: Statute Tolerations, Difpenfations, for fuch and fuch Dignities, local Statutes in Colledges, difpenfing for fuch a Lecture, and for a Living under fuch a value, all these will |