To the Lay Reader
The reason why I have called this volume the first ‘part of the book is, because I intend, if God enable me, and give me time, a second part, containing the duty of the people in relation to their pastors, and therein to shew, 1. The right and necessity of a ministry. 2. The way to know which is the true Church and ministry, and how we justify our ovvti calling to this ofiice, and how false prophets and teachers must be discerned. 3. How far the people must assist the j)astors in the gospel, and the pastors put them on, and make use of them to that end. And, 4. How far the people must submit to their pastors, and what other duty they must perform in that relation. But because my time and strength are so imcertain that I know not whether I may yet live to publish my yet imperfect preparations on this subject, I dare not let this first part come into your hands without a word of caution and advice, lest you should misunderstand or misapply it,” The caution that I must give you is in two parts.
1. Entertain not any unworthy thoughts of your pastors, because we here confess our own sins, and aggravate them in order to our humiliation and reformation. You know they are men, and not angels, that are put by God in the office of Church-guides; and you know that we are imperfect men. Let Papists and Quakers pretend to a sinless perfection; we dare not do it, but confess that we are sinners. And we should heartily rejoice to find the signs of imperfect sincerity in them that so confidently pretend to sinless perfection; yea, if in some of them we could find but common honesty, and a freedom from some of the crying abominations of the ungodly, such as cruel bloodiness, lying, slandering, railing, &c. If it would make a man perfect to say he is perfect, and if it would deliver a man from sin to say, I have no sin, I confess this were an easy way to perfection.
But for our parts we believe, that he that saith he hath “no sin, deceiveth himself, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John i. 8.) “And that in many things we ofiend all.” (James iii. 2.) And we profess to know but in part, and to have our treasure in earthen vessels, and to be insufficient for these things. And therefore see that you love and imitate the holiness of your pastors; but take not occasion of disesteeming or reproaching them for their infirmities.
2. I take it to be my duty, as a watchman for your souls, to give yon notice of a train that is laid for your perdition. The Papists, who have found that they could
* It does not appear that the author ever published the above. — Ed.
not well play their game here with open face, have masked themselves, and taken the vizards of several sects; and by the advantage of the licence of the times, are busily at work abroad in this land to bring you back to Rome. What names or garb soever they bear, you may strongly conjecture which be they by these marks following: (1.) Their main design is to unsettle you, and to make you believe that you have been all this while misled, and to bring you to a loss in a matter of religion, that when they have made you dislike or suspect that which you had, or seemed to have, you may be more respective of theirs, (2.) To which end their next means is to bring you to suspect first, and then to contend and reject your teachers. For, saith Rushworth, one of their writers, “Not one of ten among the people, indeed, do ground their faith on the Scripture, but on the credit of their teachers,’^ &c.; therefore they think, if they can bring you to suspect your teachers, and so to reject them, they may deal with the sheep without the shepherds, and dispute with the scholars without their teachers, and quickly make you say what they list. To this end their design is partly to cry them down as false teachers; (but how are they baffled when it comes to the proof!) and partly to persuade you til at they have no calling to the work, and urge them to prove their calling; (which how easily can we do!) and partly to work upon your covetous humour, by crying down tithes and all established maintenance for the ministry. And withal they are busy yet in contriving how to procure the governors of the nation to withdraw their public countenance and maintenance, and sacrilegiously to deprive the Church of the remnant that is devoted to it for God, and to leave the ministry on equal terms with themselves, or all other sects, (which in Spain, Italy, France, &c., they will be loath to do.) And time will shew you whether God will suffer them to prevail with the governors of this sinful land, to betray the gospel into their hands or not. But we have reason to hope for better things. (3.) Their next design is to diminish the authority and sufficiency of Scripture; and, because they dare not yet speak out, to tell us what they set up in its stead; some of them will tell you of new prophets and revelations; and some of them will tell you that in that they are yet at a loss themselves, that is, they are of no religion, and then are no Christians. I shall now proceed no further in the discovery, but only warn you, as you love your soids, keep close to Scripture and a faithful ministry, and despise not your shepherds, if you would escape the wolves. If any question our calling, send them to our writings, where we have fully proved them; or send them to us, who are ready to justify them against any Papist or heretic upon earth. And let me tell you, that for all the sins of the ministry which we have here confessed, the known world hath not a more able, faithful, godly ministry than Britain hath at this day. If at the Synod of Dort the “Clerus Anglicanus” was called “stupor mundi,’’ before all those ignorant and scandalous ones were cast out, what may we now caU it? Brethren, let me deal freely with you! The ungrateful contempt of a faithful ministry is the shame of the faces of thousands in this land! And if thorouo-h repentance prevent it not, they shall better know in hell whether such ministers were their friends or foes, and what they would have done for them if their counsel had been heard. When “the messengers of
God were mocked, and His words despised, and His prophets abused, the wrath of the Lord arose on the Israelites themselves, and there was no remedy.” (2 Chron. xxxvi. 16.) Shall ministers study, preach, and pray for you, and shall they be despised 1 ATien they have the God of heaven and their conscience to witness, that they desire not yours, but you, and are willing to spend and be spent for your sakes; that all the wealth in the world would not be regarded by them in comparison of your salvation, and that all their labours and sufferings are for your sake; if yet they be requited with your contempt, or scorn, or discouraging unteachableness, see who will be the losers in the end. When God himself shall justify them with a Well done, good and faithful servant, let those that reproached, despised, and condemned them, defend their faces from shame, and their consciences from the accusations of their horrid ingratitude, as well as they can! Read the Scriptures, and see whether they that obeyed God’s messengers, or they that despised and disobeyed them, sped best. And if any of the seducers will tell you that we are not the ministers of Christ, leave them not till they tell you which is His true Church and ministry, and where they are; and by that time they have well answered you, you may loiow more of their minds.
3. My last advice to you is this: See that you obey your faithful teachers, and improve their help for your salvation while you have it; and take heed that you refuse not to learn when they would teach you. And in particular, see that you refuse not to submit to them in this duty of private instruction, which is mentioned in this treatise. Go to them when they desire you, and be thankful for their help. Yea, and at other times when you need their advice, go to them of your own accord, and ask it. Their office is to be your guides in the way of life: if you seek not their direction, it seems you despise salvation itself, or else you are so proud as to think yourselves sufficient to be your own directors. Shall God in mercy send you leaders to teach you and conduct you in the way to glory, and will you shortly send them back, or refuse their assistance, and say. We have no need of their direction’? Is it for their own ease or gain that they trouble you, or is it for your own everlasting gaini Remember that Christ hath said to His messengers, “He that despiseth you, despiseth me.” If your obstinate refusal of the instruction do put them to bear witness against you in judgment, and to say, “Lord, I would have tauo-ht these iornorant sinners, and admonished these worldly, impenitent wretches, but they would not so much as come to me, nor speak with me!” look you to it, and answer it as you can; for my part’, I would not be then in your case for all the world! But I shall say no more to you on this point, but only desire you to read and consider the exhortation which is published in our agreement itself, which speaks to you more fully; and if you read this book, remember the duty which you find to belong to the ministers doth shew also what belongs to yourselves; for it cannot be our duty to teach, catechise, advise, &c., if it be not yours to hear, learn, and seek advice. If you have any temptation to question our office, read the London Ministers’ “Jus Divinum Minister. Evang.,” and Mr Thomas BaU’s book for the ]Iinistry. If you doubt of the duty of learning the principles, and being catechised, read the London Ministers’ late Exhortation to Catechising;: and Mr Zach. Grofton’s book for Gatechising (now newly published).
“There will,” saith Dr Hammond, “be little matter of doubt or controversy, but that private, frequent, spiritual conference betwixt fellow-Ghristians, but especially (and in matters of high concernment and difficulty) between the presbyter and those of his charge, even in the time of health; and peculiarly that part of it which is spent in the discussion of every man’s special sins and infirmities, and inclinations, may prove very useful and advantageous (in order to spiritual directions, reproof, and comfort) to the making the man of God j)erfect. And to tell truth, if the pride and self-conceit of some, and wretchlessness of others, the bashfulness of the third sort, the nauseating and instant satiety of ‘any good in a fourth, the follies of men, and the artifices of Satan, have not put this practice quite out of fashion among us, there is no doubt but more good might be done by ministers this way, than is now done by any other means separated from the use of this particularly, than by that of public preaching, (which yet need not be neglected the more when this is used,) which hath now the fate to be cried up, and almost solely depended on, it being the more likely way, as Quintilian saith, (comparing public and private teaching of youth,) to fill narrow-mouthed bottles, (and such are the most of us,) by taking them single in the hand, and pouring in water into each, than by setting them altogether, and throwing never so many bottles of water on them.” “^^
“The ignorant soul,” saith Gurnal,” feels no such
* “Power of the Keys,” c. iv. s. 104, p. 113.
smart: if the minister stay till lie sends for him to instruct him, he may sooner hear the bell go for him, than any messenger come for him: You must seek them out, and not expect that they will come to you. These are a sort of people that are more afraid of their remedy than their disease, and study more to hide their ignorance, than how to have it cured; which should make us pity them the more, because they can pity themselves so little. I confess it is no small unhappiness to some of us, who have to do with a multitude, that we have neither time nor strength to make our addresses to every particular person in our congregations, and attend on them as their needs require; and yet cannot well satisfy our consciences otherwise. But let us look to it, that though we cannot do to the height of what we would, we be not found wanting in what we may. Let not the difficulty of our province make us like some, who when they see they have more work upon their hands than they can well despatch, grow sick of it, and sit down out of a lazy despondency, and do just nothing. Oh, if once our hearts
were filled wdth zeal for God, and compassion to our people’s souls, we would up and be doing, though we could lay but a brick a day! and God will be with us. It may be, you who find a people rude and sottishly ignorant, like stones in the quarry and trees unfelled, shall not bring the work to such perfection in your days as you desire! Yet, as Dadd did for Solomon, thou mayst by thy pains in teaching and instructing them, prepare materials for another, who shall rear the temple.“” KICH. BAXTER.
April 16, 1656.
* “The Christian in Complete Armour,” p. 235.
GILDAS SALVIANUS:
THE EEFOEMED PASTOR
“Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” — Acts xx. 28.