Gildas Salvianus: The Reformed Pastor

Eeverekd Brethren, The subject of this treatise so nearly concerneth yourselves and the churches committed to your care, that it persuadeth and emboldeneth me to this address, notwithstanding the imperfections in the manner of handling it, and the consciousness of my great unworthiness to be your monitor.

Before I come to my principal errand, I shall give you that account which I suppose T owe you, of the reasons of the following work, and of the freedom of speech which to some may be displeasing.

When the Lord had awakened His ministers in this county, and some neighbouring parts, to a sense of their duty in the work of catechising, and private instruction of all in their parishes that would not obstinately refuse their help, and when they had subscribed an agreement, containing their resolutions for the future performance of it, they judged it unmeet to enter upon the work without a solemn humbling of their souls before the Lord, for their long neglect of so great and necessary a duty; and therefore they agreed to meet together at “Worcester, December 4, 1655, and there to join in such humihation, and in earnest prayer to God

A for the pardon of their neglects, and for His special assistance in the work that they had undertaken, and for the success of it mth the people whom they were eno-aoed to instruct: at which time, among others, I was desired by them to preach. In answer to their desires, I prepared the following discourse; which, though it proved longer than could be delivered in one or two sermons, yet I intended to have entered upon it at that time, and to have delivered that which was most pertinent to the occasion, and reserved the rest to another season. But before the meeting, by the increase of my ordinary pain and weakness, I was disabled from going thither. To recompense which unwilling omission, I easily pelded to the requests of divers of the brethren, forthwith to publish the things which I had prepared, that they might see -that which they could not hea7 If now it be objected, that “I should not have spoken so plainly or sharply against the sins of the ministry, or that I should not have published it to the view of the world; or at least that I should have done it in another tongue, and not in the ears of the vulgar, especially at such a time when Quakers and Papists are endeavouring to bring the ministry into contempt, and the people are too prone to hearken to their suggestions:” I confess I thought the objection very considerable; but that it prevailed not to alter my resolutions is to be ascribed to the following reasons: — 1. It was a purposed solemn humiliation that we were agreed on, and that this was prepared and intended for. And how should we be humbled without a plain confession of our sins — 2. It was principally our own sins that the confession did concern; and who can be ofi’ended with us for confessing our own, and taking the blame and shame to ourselves, which our consciences told us we ought to do? — 3. I have excepted in our confessions those that are not guilty; and therefore hope that I have injured none. — 4. Having necessarily prepared it in the English tongue, I had no spare time to translate it. — 5. Where the sin is open in the sight of the world, it is in vain to attempt to hide it. — 6. And such attempts will but aggravate it, and increase our shame. — 7. A free confession is a condition of a full remission; and when the sin is public, the confession must be public. If the ministers of England Jiad sinned only in Latin, I would have made shift to admonish them in Latin, or else have said nothing to them. But if they will sin in English, they must hear of it in English. Unpardoned sin will never let us rest or prosper, though we be at never so much care and cost to cover it; our sin will surely find us out, though we find not it. The work of confession is purposely to make known our sin, and freely to take the shame to ourselves: and if he that confesseth and forsaketh be the man that shall have mercy, no wonder then if he that covereth it, prosper not. (Prov. xxviii. 13.) If we be so tender of ourselves, and so loath to confess, God will be less tender of us, and will indite our confessions for us. He will either force our consciences to confession, or His judgments shall proclaim our iniquities to the world. Know we not how many malicious adversaries are day and night at work against us? Some openly revile us, and some in secret are laying the designs, and contriving that which others execute, and are in expectation of a fuller stroke at us, which may subvert us at once. What is it but our sins that is the streno-th of all these enemies’? Is not this evil from the ordering of the Lord? Till we are reconciled to Him we are never safe: He will never want a rod to scourge us by. The tongues of Quakers and Papists, and many other sorts, are all at work to proclaim our sins, because we will not confess

them ourselves; because we will not speak the truth, they will speak much more than the truth. Yet if we had man only to plead our cause with, perhaps we might do much to make it good; but while God accuseth us, how shall we be justified? and who shall hide our sins, when He will have them brought to light”? And God is our accuser till we accuse ourselves; but if we would judge ourselves. He would not judge us. — 8. The fire is already kindled which revealeth our sin: judgment is begun at the house of God. Hath the ministry suffered nothing in England, Scotland, and Ireland? and have there been no attempts for its overthrow? Hath it not been put to the vote of an assembly that some called a Parliament of England, Whether the whole frame of the established ministry, and its legal maintenance, should be taken down? And were we not put to plead our title to that maintenance, as if we had been falling into the hands of Turks, that had thirsted for our subversion, as resolved enemies to the Christian cause? And who knows not how many of these men are yet alive; and how high the same spirit yet is, and busily contriving the accomplishment of the same design? Shall we think that they have ceased their enterprise, because they are working more subtlely in the dark? What are the swarms of railers at the ministry sent abroad the land for, but to delude, exasperate, and disafi’ect the people; and turn the hearts of the children from their fathers, that they may be ready to promote the main design 1 And is it not, then, our wisest course to see that God be our friend, and to do that which tendeth most to engage Him in our defence? I think it is no time now to stand upon our credit, so far as to neglect our duty and befriend our sins, and so provoke the Lord against us. It rather beseems us to fall down at the feet of our offended Lord, and to justify Him in His judgments, and freely and penitently to confess our transgressions, and to resolve upon a speedy and thorough reformation, before wrath break out upon us, which will leave us no remedy. It is time to make up all breaches between us and Heaven, when we stand in such necessity of the Divine protection! For how can an impenitent, unreformed people, expect to be sheltered by Holiness itself? It is a stubborn child, that under the rod will refuse to confess his faults; when it is not the least use of the rod to extort confession. We feel much, we fear more, and all is for sin; and yet are we so hardly drawn to a confession? — 9. The world already knows that we are sinners; as none suppose us perfect, so our particular sins are too apparent to the world; and is it not meet, then, that they should see that we are penitent sinners? It is surely a greater credit to us to be penitent sinners, than impenitent sinners; and one of the two we shall be while we are on earth. Certainly as repentance is necessary to the recovery of our peace with God, so it is also to the reparation of our credit with wise and godly men: it is befriending and excusing our sin that is our shame indeed, and leadeth towards everlasting shame; which the shame of penitent confession would prevent. — 10. Our penitent confession and speedy reformation are the means that must silence the approaching adversaries. He is imprudently inhuman, that will reproach men wdth their sins that bewail and penitently charge them upon themselves. Such men have a promise of pardon from God; and shall men take us by the throat when God forgiveth us? Who dare condemn us, when God justifies us 1 Who shall lay that to our charge which God hath declared that He will not charge us withi When sin is truly repented of by gospel-indulgence, it ceaseth to be ours. AVhat readier way, then, can we imagine to free us from the shame of it, than to

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