PErlegi hanc Concionem, eámque dignissimam judico quae publicam lucem aspiciat.  
Geo. straddling, S. Th. D. Reverendi in Christo Patris Gilberti Episc. Lond. Sacellanus domest. Feb. 24. Anno Salut. 1661.   

A SERMON Preached at the CONSECRATION OF The Right Reverend Father in God, Herbert, Lord Bishop of Hereford.  
By JASPER maine, D. D. Canon of Christ-Church, and one of His Majesty's Chaplains in Ordinary.  
JOHN 20. 21. As my Father sent Me, so send I You.  
LONDON: Printed for R. Royston, Bookseller to the Kings most Excellent Majesty, at the Angel in Ivy-lane, 1662.   

To the Right Reverend Father in God, BRIAN, Lord Bishop of Winchester, Prelate of the Honourable Order of the Garter, and Almoner to His Majesty.  
My Honoured Lord,  
THose learned Jews and Christians, who have been curious to find out the reason of some Visions in the Scripture, do affirm, That the Bush which Moses saw unburnt in the midst of fire, was an Emblem of the Israelites then in bondage to the Egyptians, who were not only preserved in the midst of Persecutions, but thrived under their Oppressions, hard Tasks and heavy Burdens; and grew more numerous from the politic Arts which strove to lessen and destroy them: till at length God contrived them a miraculous Deliverance, which with their Calamitios concluded in a Song.  
When I look back upon our late suffering Times, (the saddest which I think any History hath recorded) where Oppression backed with Power made the Ruin of our Church the horrid step and ladder to the Usurpation of the Crown; and where the name of a Bishop was so criminal and odious, as to verify Tertullian's sad complaint of his brutish Times, Nominis & vocabuli rei fuimus, We were made guilty of a Word, and condemned for being Christians, and the style was punished with public Sales and Sequestrations: and when withal I do consider, by what unlookt-for way of Providence your Order and Religion, like a Treasure snatched from shipwreck, were stupendiously restored after many years' Confusion: Methinks that Bush which Moses saw was the Emblem of our Church, kept safe by Miracle in the midst of hungry fire: and the Ship in the Gospel was presented to my eyes, where Christ and his Apostles were tossed in an hideous Storm; but he waked and stilled the Winds, and put a calmness to the Sea.  
In these days of public Calamity, I was curious to observe how several men behaved themselves in struggling with their dangers. I saw some take for their pattern the Prophet Ionas in a storm, who slept securely and untroubled when his Shipwreck rolled about him. I saw others so much Cowards, that to preserve their wretched Fortunes they compounded with the Tempest, and made a League and Friendship with the Winds; nay, Servilely revived the Religion of those base timorous Heathens, who worshipped every thing they feared, and sacrificed to Furies, and built Altars to their Plagues. I saw others of a nobler and more stout and Christian Temper (whose just reward is now to shine like Stars of Honour in the Church) immovably resolute to maintain their Loyalty and Conscience with the loss of their Lives, as they had already with their Fortunes.  
Yet, I hope, it will be no diminution of their Virtues, if I say, That your Lordship's Carriage in these Times of Persecution was to me most remarkable; who by your happy Restitution, and addition of more Honour, have been made a greater Bishop, but not a greater Person, than you were in your lowest ebb of Fortune.  
The payment of your Vow in your building of an Alms-house on the place where you yourself so ofter sat, not wanting of an Alms, but weeping o'er the Prospect not then pleasant to your Eye, because your proper business there was to ask the passers by, If ever there were sorrows like to the sorrows of this Nation; Your large Bounty to the College of which I am a Member, which, if I should name the Sum, would make the world believe you meant to found a new College, and not complete an old; Your dying Liberalities bequeathed to others in your Will, even to your meanest Servants, who were your servants in distress, are things which do proclaim you a great and noble Benefactor. But these are but the good deeds of your Fortune, done by the Bishop of Winchester, the Charities of one possessed with plenty and abundance; your Rents and Manors here share with you as Co-founders: and your new Almshouse might have it written on the Walls, A poor Bishop vowed this House, but a great and wealthy built it.  
That which made you truly great and reverend in my eyes, was to look into your noble Heart, your large and bounteous Mind, where your Good Deeds now, were then but Wishes and Designs. You were truly great to me, when I saw you in your Poverty anticipate your Almshouse, and be liberal at your door: and the poor people in your House now, had then places at your Gate; when being reduced to the last Cruse of Oil, you made the drops run to others; and when there was but a handful of Meal left in the little Barrel, you then dealt your Loaf to those who wanted daily bread. In short, when you had but two Coats left, to give one to the naked; when you had hardly more than one Dish, to make the poor your Guests; to see you walk up your Hill with not much money in your purse, and return back with none; but then to think of laying up Treasures in Heaven, when you had so little left on Earth, was a Charity which raised in me a religious Admiration; and looked something like the Miracle wrought by our Saviour in the Gospel, where Multitudes were fed with two fishes and five loaves.  
Nor may I, without some Injustice to your Virtues, forbear to let the world know, That I never saw Afflictions born with a more serene and even temper than you did yours; who in the worst of Times stood like a firm unshaken Rock in the midst of angry waves; your Courage still the same, unbroken or undisturbed with any sad Disasters not more public than your own. The old Church of England still kept up in your House, with all its Forms and Rites, though publicly forbidden; Prayers constantly, and twice a day, read by you for the King, at a time when such Devotions were made Treason by the Tyrant; and Weekly Sermons preached before you, filled with so much Loyalty and Truth, as would any where else have cast the Preacher into Bonds, if not sent him from his Pulpit to the place of Execution.  
To all this your Lordship's continued Kindnesses to me, by which I can compute myself almost grown aged in your Favours; your encouragement of my younger Studies, which grew up under your Example; your Rescue of me from a Shipwreck in the late undoing Times, when being tossed, and stripped of all, you were the Plank to save me, and threw me out a line which drew me safe to shore; are Reasons sufficient to let the World know, that of most sins I think Ingratitude the worst.  
Being therefore fairly invited at first to preach this Sermon, and since by several Hearers of it to make it this way public, I beseech your Lordship to allow it the shadow of your Wing; and to accept it, not as a full payment of my Debts to you, (for this very Dedication of it sets me deeper on your score) but as a Testimony how much greater my Desires are then my Abilities or Parts, to let the World know how unfeignedly I am  
Your Lordship's Most obliged and very grateful Servant, JASPER maine. Feb. 26. 1661.   
1 TIM. 4. 14. Neglect not the Gift that is in thee, which was given thee by Prophecy, with the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery. 

THE PREFACE.  
AS in the raising of the noblest Heights and Buildings, that they may be exact, and gain a reverence from the Eye, great preparations are made towards the Erection of the Pile; the best Masters in that Art are taken into counsel, and Vitruvius is consulted to assist it with his Rules; Platforms are drawn, and Models are contrived, that what was but a Scheme may be brought into a Structure: Which made Aristotle say, when he spoke like a Philosopher, but so as that his saying holds in Architecture too, That a material House or Palace springs from an immaterial; and the Pile, which is the creature of the Workman's Tool without, was first shaped and formed by some designing mind within: Lastly, as when the materials are all ready and prepared, some are set on work to hew and square the Stones, others to dispose them into their several seats and stations, others to oversee that the Workmen do their Duties, and that all things be done regularly as the Surveyors shall direct: So God hath proceeded by the same course and method, in the designing, shaping, forming and building of his Church.  
Upon whose rude beginnings if we cast our eyes, as it first appeared in the times before the Law, though it began with the World, and be as ancient as Mankind, and had the same Cornerstone laid which now supports the Building, in the promised Seed, which was to bruise the Serpent's head; yet that Cornerstone being wrapped up in a Mystery, and many thousand years required to remove the Veil and Cloud, 'twas but then a Church creeping forth out of the Quarry, without a hand to give it its just feature and perfection. 'Tis true indeed, the Light of Nature, helped by the light and guidance of Tradition, sufficiently informed men that God was to be worshipped; but the way or manner how, the work and person of the Priest, the time when, the place where, with what holy Forms and Rites, was left wholly to their Reason to discover and find out.  
So that in the state of Nature the case stood with Religion, as some have observed it did with the first Essays in Painting; unskilful men at first drew faces with a Coal, to which aftertimes found Colours, and gave beauty by their Pencil. Or, if you will hear me speak in the language of a Poet, in this imperfect state of Nature the case stood with God in a way of Service and Religion, as it did with the first Jupiter at Rome; 
Aedibus exiguis habitabat Jupiter ingens,  
Inque Jovis dextrâ fictile fulmen erat.  He was so rustickly adored, that a Thatched. Cottage was his Temple, where he stood holding an Farthen Thunder in his hand.  
To redeem himself from so much rudeness of Devotion, and to contrive a Worship some way worthy of his Greatness, in the times of the Law he chose unto himself a select, peculiar People, which he form into a Church; and placed it for some Ages like a City on a Hill, to invite the erring World to be its Proselytes and Converts. His Service here below was taught to move like the Heavens above, in a well-tuned harmony and music of the Spheres. A Highpriest was appointed, and the Mitre set upon his head; and inferior Priests and Levites had their lower Orbs assigned them. Sacrifices were prescribed, and the business of the Temple proportioned and cut out to the several Orders and Degrees of those, who thus distinguished were to wait upon the Altar: and the distinction was so sacred, and the several bounds so set, that as the Levite was not to invade the Office of the Priest, so those inferior Priests who broke beyond their bounds, and attempted to invade the Office of the Highpriest, were not said to offer Sacrifice, but strange fire before the Lord, and perished for their boldness with their Censers in their hands: To let us see, that God was then the God of Order, and turned such men's Oblations into their ruin and destruction.  
Yet the Jewish Church thus modelled by Almighty God himself, was but the imperfect draught and platform of a much holier Church to come. 'Twas but like their Tabernacle, their House of Offerings and Oblations, a movable Pavilion, or Tent fitted for a march towards a Land of Promise, not yet discovered to their eye; where that transitory Building, that Temple made of threads, was to be taken down to make way for one more lasting. In short, as 'tis observed, (and 'tis St. Augustine's Observation) That in the forming of the Jewish Church the platform was first drawn, and presented in a holy Scheme to Moses in the Mount; so when that Scheme or Platform was wrought into a Fabric, when that which was a Pattern became a bodied Truth, even that glorious Church, in the midst of all its splendour, was but a type and shadow of the Christian Church to come. Some of the old lines were indeed to be preserved, but with the addition of new colours drawing nearer to the life; a Highpriest was to be retained, but with his Robes and Mitre changed; the Order of Aaron was to pass into the Order of Melchisedeck; no longer to remain the Priest of one private, single People, but to be the public Priest of all the Nations in the World. The inferior Priests and Levites too were to shift and change their Ephods, and to pass into the Christian Presbyter and Deacon.  
And now to hold you no longer in the Porch and Entrance of this Sermon, but to draw this large Circle to its intended Point and Centre; to reduce those Shadows into Substance, and those Platforms into Building; to form a new Church out of the ruins of an old, stupendious in the raising, and eternal in duration; to make the Scripture-Prophecy become true authentic Story, and the Glory of the second Temple to eclipse and drown the first; to break down the Partition-Wall which divided Jews from Gentiles; to square disproportioned Subjects, and unite all Nations in one Faith, and by one common Gospel to bring them to Salvation; was a Work reserved for none but Christ the Son of God himself. Who, as he was before designed to be the Head of this new Church, so, that he might be the Founder and Foundation of it, the chief Cornerstone and great Master-builder too, all the Powers of Heaven did help to carry on the Work.  
I think I need not tell you, that the Gospel, like the Law, was at first proclaimed by the Ministry of Angels; that jacob's dream and vision was made by them true story; a Ladder was set up which reached from Earth to Heaven, and they ascending and descending with sacred Messages to Men. Nay, the Holy Ghost himself, who foretold this in the old Testament, was most busily employed to fulfil it in the new: every Sermon preached was attended with a miracle; and the Doctrine signed and ratified with holy prodigies and wonders; the Preachers all inspired with gifts proportioned to their Work, and enabled by those gifts to go and teach all Nations. Nay, so solicitous and careful was this holy Spirit of God to provide fit Successors to those inspired and gifted Teachers, that for many years after the first plantation of the Gospel, not a Bishop was installed or admitted to his Chair, not a Pastor to his Charge, not a Deacon to his Table, which was not first designed, and named, and qualified by him. And this I might prove to you by several places of the Scripture, but none more clear than this which I have chosen for my Text; where St. Paul says to one of those new consecrated Bishops, Neglect not the Gift that is in thee, which was given thee by Prophecy, with the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery.   

IN which words you have these considerable Parts. 
The Division.  First, the Person here consecrated to the sacred Office of a Bishop: that was Timothy, expressed in this word Thee. Next, his Qualification for that divine and sacred Office: he was a Gifted man, a man fitted for that Honour; expressed in this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, The Gift that is in thee. Thirdly, his Congee D'Eslire, or Designation to that Office by the Holy Ghost, Author of that Gift: 'twas given him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by the prediction of the Prophets. Fourthly, the Form of his Consecration to that Office: the holy Ghost designed him, but the Church gave him Ordination; 'twas done by the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery. Lastly, St. Paul's fatherly Advice to him for his Deportment in that Office; in these words, Neglect not the Gift which was thus bestowed upon thee. Of these in this order; and first of the Person, that was Timothy, expressed in this word Thee.  
As the distance between God and Man was so great, 
The Person.  that none but one who was compounded of both Natures was fit to reconcile them, or to be a Mediator; so in reconciling the Jews to the Gentiles, to make them piece and join in one united Church, none was so fit to procure a good liking and agreement, as one in whom both parties had an equal Interest & claim.  
Now of all the men designed by God to accomplish that great Work, I know none in all kinds so well fitted and proportioned as this holy man, the Bishop in this Text; whose very birth disposed him to break down Partition-walls, and to be a Reconciler of both parties from the womb.  
For, if we inquire into his Original or Birth, as 'tis set down in the Church-book, Acts 16. his Mother was a Jewess, but a Jewess made a Christian; and his Father was a Greek, but well-affected to the Jews, as you may read in the first Verse of that Chapter: not a Greek Hellenist, or Jew bred in Greece, called so from the Grecian Language which he spoke; nor a Greek in the Grecian sense, a man opposed to a Barbarian: but a Greek in the general acception of the Scripture, which divides the whole World of men into two Members, Jews and Greeks. For, if we may give credit to the Syriack Translator, he was Aramaeus, that is, no Greek, but Syrian: or as the Latin Interpreter more largely hath described him, he was Homo Gentilis, that is, no Jew, but Gentile.  
And as his Birth did thus prepare him to preach the Gospel to all Nations, so St. Paul, who well knew the advantage of this mixture, and how readily a Jew would hearken to a Jew, and a Gentile be persuaded by one who was a Gentile, to make his Capacity more passable and currant, thought fit to circumcise him, though he were before a Christian; as you may read at the fourth Verse of that Chapter. That by employing one to preach who was a baptised Jew, and one who withal was a circumcised Believer, all prejudices might be stopped, and no objection left to hinder or obstruct the free passage of his Sermons. For that this was the reason why he circumcised him, namely, not to oblige him to observe and keep the Law, but to remove obstructions from his preaching of the Gospel, is evident from the end and close of that Verse, which says, that St. Paul in a holy prudence did it, because They all knew that his Father was a Greek.  
And certainly, as St. Paul by this action, this politic design, gained justly to himself the reputation of that style, which he bestows upon himself, of being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, A wise Master-builder, in the third Chapter of his first Epistle to the Corinthians, at the tenth Verse; one who knew how to fit his Tools to his Matter, to hew rude Subjects to his Ends, and to give them shape and form, so as to work upon the tempers of disagreeing Minds: so no passage more confirms that rare Description of his Art, which he makes in the 9 Chapter of that Epistle, at the 20. Verse and forwards, where he says, That he became all things to all men; as a Jew to the Jews, and as a Gentile to the Gentiles; to them under the Law as a man locked up in shackles, to them without Law as at perfect liberty and freedom: And all this to compass his great Catholic Design, which was to bring, if possible, both parties to salvation.  
Next then, as his Birth did much contribute to his Function, so his Education contributed much more. He was bred in a Family upon which Religion seemed entailed, where Piety ran in a blood, and lineally descended, like Virtue of Inheritance, from the Parents to the Child. St. Paul speaking of his Mother Eunice, and his Grandmother Lois, in the 1. Chapter of his 2. Epistle to him, at the 5. Verse, says, It very much rejoiced him to find the same unfeigned Faith in him, which in a holy Pedigree he received and took from them.  
And certainly, as ill Example hath the power to convey hereditary Vices, to infect by being seen, and to corrupt by imitation; nay, as Vice in the Parent hath such an influence on the Child, as to think it disobedience where the Parent is a sinner, not to be as wicked and as great a sinner too: (As the young Virgin in the Poet seeing her unchaste, lascivious Mother write Letters to her loose Adulterer and Servant, thought herself obliged to think Chastity a sin, and so learned in time to write such Letters too; or as the young Gentleman, whose Father was a Gamester, learned to handle Dice, and stake whole Manors at a Throw) So good Example hath the like power to infect by being seen, and Virtues may like Vices be made hereditary too.  
But besides those seeds of Virtue sown in him by his Parents, St. Paul himself had been his Tutor, and had the forming of his manners; he was bred up in his School to that ripeness and perfection, that he superscribes this Epistle to him as to one begotten by him: To Timothy my Son, says he; nay, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, To Timothy my own Son, says our English Translation.  
But the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek, if we may believe St. Jerome, is a word to which no other Tongue can find a word to match it; a word which in all kinds signifies the Son to have such a near resemblance to the Father, as almost to confirm the Opinion of Andreas Dudithius, who, in his book De Conjugio Presbyterorum, maintains that St. Paul was married and had children, like St. Peter. Of which, but that we know his Father was a Greek, the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 might persuade us that this Timothy was one.  
Indeed the resemblance between them was so great, that as in other births and natural generations the marks to distinguish the trueborn from the spurious are the likeness of the child in shape and visage to the parent, Sic oculos, sic ille manus, sic or a ferebat; If he have his Father's eyes and cheeks, looks, hands and gestures too, we may conclude him genuine, and the Parent twice the same: So St. Jerome in his close Interpretation of that word, proceeds by a distinction, which holds comparatively true; St. Paul had many Sons, says he, whom he converted to the Faith, as the Corinthians and Ephesians, whom he vouchsafes to call his Sons: But the style of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Filius germanus, the style of trueborn Son, so in all things like himself, as not to be more the Son of the Parents that begot him, than he was his morum filius, the Offspring of his Mind, so furnished with his virtues, so accomplished with his gifts, so zealous in his preaching, so valiant in afflictions, so active in his spreading the Gospel through the World, was a style bestowed on none but this Timothy and Titus: As if all others were his Bastard-sons, begot upon some Hagar, and only these two were legitimate. It is St. Jerome says so.  
In short, as likeness in manners begets a dearness in affections, and as a friendship in affections begets a likeness in engagements; so St. Paul made him his Fellow-labourer and Associate. When the Decrees of the Apostles were to be dispersed, made in their general Council assembled at Jerusalem, this Timothy was chosen to assist him in his Travels; as you may read in the 16. Chapter of the Acts, at the 4. Verse. When an Evangelist was to be sent to confirm those distant Churches, which St. Paul himself had planted, but was not able to re-visit, this Timothy was sent as his Deputy-Lieutenant; as you may read in several Epistles to those Churches.  
To all this, such a holy prudence shined forth in all his actions, his Morals were so good and so seasoned with Religion, that his Name was like that precious Ointment in the Scripture, still breathing forth perfumes in all places where he came: For, he was well reported of, he was above all reproach and scandal; as you may read at the 3. Verse of that Chapter.  
And of such Instruments as this did the Holy Ghost make choice to be Preachers of the Gospel, and Rulers in the Church: Men, whose Life as well as Doctrine was still Sermon to the People; men, who confuted Vice not more by argument and reason, then by their blameless carriage and virtuous conversation. 'Twas against the Oeconomy and Discipline of Heaven, to send men into God's Vineyard who went drunk into the Field; and who minded not the vine, but the vintage, grape and wine. And the Holy Ghost himself had erred, had he given his Pearls to Swine, to the sensual or intemperate, still wallowing in the mire: or had he taken his holy things, and cast them unto Dogs; no sooner eased of one distemper, but returning to another. No cloven Tongues of fire did sit upon their heads, whose tempers were still cloven, still kindling Flames and Factions, still breaking of God's people into divisions, rents and schisms. The gift of Knowledge was not dropped upon the ambitious, proud, highminded; their Bladder swollen too much, and was too much puffed up before. To him that hath shall be given, was the Rule God's Spirit went by; and more gifts were given to him who had well employed the former. Which leads me on to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Gift, here in this Text, and comes in the next place to crave a room in your Attentions.  
The Saying of our Saviour Christ when he spoke it was so true, 
His Qualification.  in the 10. Chapter of St. Luke at the 2. Verse, The Harvest truly is great, but the Labourers are few; that to increase their number, and to fit them for the work, the Holy Ghost was fain to interest himself in the choice of workmen, and the qualifying of them too: His work and business 'twas to send men into the Field, and to teach them how to manage and use their Sickle too.  
The Men already chosen, if their number had been greater, where a World was to be converted, were too disproportioned for the Harvest. Besides, they wanted parts for so great an undertaking; unless they could have done like the man in Eunapius a Greek Historian, who tells us of one Aedesius, who had so much the Spirit of Divination in his power, that he would but clap a Wreath of Laurel on his head, and strait speak by Inspiration, strait put himself in Raptures, and utter learned Oracles, to the great amazement of the Hearers.  
The Apostles were not all bred at the feet of Gamaliel, but were as yet unlearned, men called from mending Nets, fitter to deal with Fishes, and to put forth a Boat to Sea, then to cast their Nets on Land, and there catch men in the Enclosure. Besides, being Jews, they were hardly fit to preach to Jews; for where was their gift of Miracles to work upon the Jews, who were only to be gained by Miracles and Wonders? Had they preached to the Gentiles, where was their gift of Tongues, to preach to all Nations, who could speak no Tongues but one? Had Christ sent to Athens to stock himself with Preachers, he might have found great Scholars there, but hard to be persuaded to forsake their own Schools, and to list themselves in his: Nay, these for some Ages were the greatest Enemies of the Faith; men who measured Truth by Aristotle's Precepts, and would believe no more than what some Plato taught: Nay, men who, like Porphyrius, called the Christian Religion Barbaram philosophiam, A barbarous Philosophy; A new Doctrine creeping forth into the World by the foolishness of Preaching; afraid to enter combat with any rational Dispute, or to endure a trial where right Reason was opponent. According to that which St. Paul hath delivered in the first Chapter of his first Epistle to the Corinthians, at 22, 23. Verses, where he says, The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. That is, the Jews would believe no more of the Gospel than they saw confirmed by miracle, and proved by signs and wonders: And the learned Greeks or Gentiles would admit no more than they saw confirmed by Syllogism, and proved by Demonstration. In this scarcity of Preachers then, to win upon all parties, and to captivate both Jews and Gentiles to the obedience of the Gospel, the Holy Ghost poured forth his gifts, proportioned to the work which each man was to do, as Time, Place and Country needed: To one was given the Word of Wisdom, to another the Word of Knowledge, to another Prophecy, to another the gift of Healing, to another the gift of Miracles, to another the gift to discern true Prophets from the false, to another the gift of Tongues, to another the gift to interpret the sense and meaning of those Tongues: And all these wrought that one and selfsame Spirit, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for the building of the Church; as you may read in the 12. Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the 11. first Verses.  
Now in the distribution and imparting of those gifts, unless it were our Saviour Christ the Son of God himself, in whom this holy Spirit had no limit, bound or measure, he never did pour forth himself in such overflowing gifts as he did on the Apostles, the first Preachers of the Gospel. The old Prophets had him sparingly, more sprinkled then poured forth; he was to them a little Brook, to these a full-tide Sea; he fell in single drops on them, on these in fullgrown showers. Besides, they had him but sometimes, these to themselves and heirs: they were able, like a firm Estate, to bequeath him in their Wills, and to make him their gift to others, as he was his own gift to them; for wherever they laid their Hands the holy Ghost still followed. The gift of Tongues, of Prophecy, of Miracles and Healing, were as naturally diffused by them as the Sun sheds light and beams.  
And now I speak of Miracles, methinks the persons were the greatest, upon whom this holy Spirit did thus pour forth his gifts. That men not bred to Letters should suddenly grow wise, and be every one a School and Athens to himself; to be able to maintain Disputes with great Scholars of all Sects; to make a Sadducee confess there was a Resurrection, and to make a Pharisee recant his false glosses on the Law; nay, to make Aristotle's school send forth Disciples unto Christ, and to erect a new Church in Plato's Commonwealth; to see a Zeno or Chrysippus surrender up his Chair, and sit at the feet of a poor Fisherman inspired; to hear an Apollo's so eloquent in Preaching, as if some Tully or Demosthenes were got up into the Pulpit; to hear men speak all Languages, who had learned no Tongue but one, so as to be thought Natives in all Countries where they came, and who traveled through the World, yet never went from home; lastly, to see a plain unskilful man, who never heard of Galen, and to whom Hypocrates was utterly unknown, without the help of medicines do Cures beyond the power of Physic, to cure Palsies, Fevers, Dropsies, Gouts, by the bare virtue of a Word; to make blind men see, and lame men walk, by virtue of a Touch; nay, to make their shadows do the business of Physicians, and to cure all Diseases by their bare shadows passing by: These, these indeed were gifts which bore down the World before them; these changed the face of Empires, and gave new form to States; converted Heathens into Christians, and Idolaters to Saints.  
Now, whether all these gifts, or any one of these, were the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or gift here given to this Bishop, because this Text is silent, I cannot well determine. Grotius thinks it was the gift of Tongues; and perhaps his reason was, because being an Evangelist and Co-adjutor to St. Paul, whose task and business 'twas to preach the Gospel to all Nations, this could not well be done without the Language of all Nations.  
Others think it was the gift of Wisdom, by which without the help of Books he was inspired with Knowledge. But then why did St. Paul, in the Verse next before this Text, bid him improve himself by study, and addict himself to reading and exhortation till he came? Where by Reading sure is meant the Theory of Knowledge, by Exhortation the exercise and reduction of it into practice.  
Others therefore think, that here is meant the gift of Healing. But then St. Chrysostoms' dispute in his Homily on that Text, Drink no longer Water, but use a little Wine for thy Stomaches sake and often Infirmities, will deserve to be considered, and to have the Question asked, Why, if he had the gift of Healing, did he not heal himself? unless this may be an Answer, That being but a Novice, or young man, endued with the gifts and parts of old, God would not give him leave to cure this weakness in himself, lest his gift of Knowledge should swell and puff him up. Since the gifts of the holy Ghost are not so secure from danger, but that they may degenerate into high-mindedness and pride.  
Nay, this it seems was St. Paul's very case; who though he had the gift of healing to that miraculous degree, as to be able to raise men from the dead; yet after his strange Rapture up into the third Heaven, after all the glorious Visions and Revelations of that place, lest he should be exalted above the measure of a man, A thorn in the flesh, called the Messenger of Satan, was sent to buffet him, and to humble him again: in the 12. Chapter of the 2. Epistle to the Corinthians, at the 7. Verse. Where some too injuriously, and too unchastely too, by that thorn in the flesh conceive some concupiscence or lust; but he himself calls it an infirmity or weakness, for which his gift of Healing could not contrive a cure; as you may gather from the 8, & 9 Verses of that Chapter.  
But now after all this which I hitherto have said, what if the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or gift, here mentioned in this Text, were none of all these, but the very Office of a Bishop, here given him by Prophecy, with the laying on of hands? Certainly, if those ancient Fathers and great Lights of the Church, who living near the Springhead did see the stream run clear, wrote not by a false light, which deceived themselves and others; St. Jerome, Ambrose, Haymo, Primasius, and some others, in which number was Lyranus, were of this Opinion. Nay, the 2. Canon of the Nicene Council, the 18. Canon of the Council of Ancyra, the 101. Canon of the Council called in afric, do speak as if those Fathers did either make those Canons, or did inspire the pen of the Scribe or Register who wrote them. And truly, if I may join Historians to those Councils and those Fathers, Eusebius in his 6. Book and 8. Chapter, Socrates in his 7. Book and 41. Chapter, do make the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the last word in this Text, bear the same sense and meaning with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifies not a Presbytery of Elders, but the very Office of an Elder, ordained and made a Bishop.  
Indeed this Text in Greek, if we transpose the words a little, doth seem to favour this Opinion, and may be made to run thus; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That is, Neglect not the gift of Eldership which is in thee, which was given thee by Prophecy, with the laying on of Hands. Where it would not be hard to prove to you by the best primitive Records, That the word Eldership, where ere 'tis used in the Writings of the New Testament, signifies the dignity and office of a Bishop.  
Nay, if you will hear me quote a more authentic Author than all these, not for his integrity, (for he was no friend to Bishops) nor yet for his parts, (for St. Jerome sure had greater) but for his authority, which ought not to be questioned, when the Enemy of a cause bears witness to the Truth; Mr. Calvin himself was of this Opinion; who in the 4. Book of his Institutions, and the 3. Chapter, hath translated this Greek Text into this modern Latin, Fac ut gratia quam per manuum impositionem accepisti, cum te Presbyterum crearem, non sit irrita. Take heed the grace or favour which was bestowed upon thee by the laying on of Hands, when I made thee a Presbyter, were not given thee in vain. Where though he do mistake the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifies a grace or favour, as the other doth a gift; yet he did not err when he made both words agree in this, that in this place they signify an Office given by the Church.  
But what need I quote Authorities either ancient or more modern, when I have a clear demonstration of God's Spirit, that by the gift here in this place is meant an Office given? For doth not St. Paul remove all Clouds, and lend a Sunbeam to this Text, in the 4. Chapter of the Ephesians, from the 8. to the 12. Verse? Doth he not there strike one of the chief strings in David's harp, and say, That Christ ascended up on high, that he led captivity captive, and that he gave gifts to men? And what were those gifts? The 11. Verse resolves you; they were the several Offices and Orders in his Church: He gave some Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, some Pastors, and some Teachers; as you may read in that place. And all this for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Ministry, for the building of his Church; as the End is expressed in the 12. Verse of that Chapter.  
Only by the way I cannot but observe, That in the bestowing of those gifts, those Church- Offices and Functions, as none were to partake them without commission from the Church; so lest the Church should err in the admission of the persons, they still brought their Letters Testimonial from God's Spirit. He first by some Prophet designed and named them to their Office, before the Church drew up their Patent, by the Imposition of their Hands. Which is the Congee D'Eslire, or third part of this Text, namely, the Prophecies which marked out this Bishop for his See.  
What Prophet 'twas, 
His Designation.  or whether one or many, by whom the holy Ghost designed this Bishop to his Office, is wrapped up in a Cloud which affords no light to see by. But sure 'twas none of the old Prophets, who though they were called Seers, yet this person stood too distant to fall within their view. And because the name of the new Prophet is not set down in particular, the most we can do is to seek for him by conjecture.  
In the 21. Chapter of the Acts, at the 8, 9 Verses, 'tis said, that St. Paul in his Travels with this Disciple in his Train, came to Caesarea, where dwelled Philip the Evangelist; Into whose house they entered, and abode there many days: And that Philip had four daughters, Virgins, which did prophesy. Again, 'tis said at the 10, 11. Verses of that Chapter, that Whilst they stayed there, a certain Prophet named Agabus came down from Judaea, who prophesied against Paul's going to Jerusalem. Now the circumstances of Persons, Time and Place thus laid together, have made it probable to some, that some one of these She-prophetesses, conversing daily with him, or that Agabus, who forewarned St. Paul of his imprisonment and bonds, were opportunely moved by God's Spirit in that place, to nominate this Timothy to his Bishopric and Charge, of which St. Paul no longer could be an Overseer.  
And great reason there was why the Prophets should have a hand in all such sacred Nominations; who standing next to the Apostles in the Bill and Catalogue of Honour, (for there were first Apostles, than Prophets, than Evangelists, than Pastors) As an Evangelist was a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Fellow-labourer or Assistant to a travelling Apostle in the dispersion of the Gospel; so when he was to fix and settle in some one certain place, and from an itinerant Preacher or Evangelist was to pass into a Bishop, for order sake some Prophet, who stood next in rank above him, was to recommend him to the Consecration of the Church, to point him out his Diocese where he was to reside, with the full power of an Apostle fixed and seated to his charge. So that the business of those Prophets was partly to foretell the contingent future accidents which were to happen in the Church, partly to provide fit Guides and Rulers for it.  
But whoever the Prophet was (for 'tis but Curiosity to search) the same holy Spirit which did consecrate our Saviour to be the Head of the Church, and to publish his own Gospel, in the 4. Chapter of St. Luke at the 18. Verse, where he says, and quotes the Prophet Esay for it, The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel; and the same holy Spirit who commissioned the Apostles to go and plant a Church in all Nations of the World; the same holy Spirit, I say, did direct and guide the Church in the choice of the persons who were to follow and succeed them.  
For here if I may draw waters from the same Fountains and Spring-heads from whence others have poured forth their Discourses on this subject, In the first Age of the Church, when 'twas but yet a tender plant, the first business of the Apostles was in their Travels through the World, to convert it from Idolatry, and to gain Proselytes to Christ. When the number of Believers was every where increased, and the name of Christian, which at first began at Antioch, was every where dispersed as far as Words were Names of persons; the next business of the Apostles (whose commission like the Sun's was never to stand still or settle in one place, but still to move like him from one Country to another) was to mould their new Believers into well-formed and governed Churches, especially in great Cities, such as Ephesus and Corinth; and to appoint them Overseers, who should both teach and rule the Flock: lest being left like Sheep without a Shepherd to overlook them, they either should be swallowed up by their own Heresies and Schisms, or should break out of the Fold, and relapse back again to Heathens.  
These Overseers, or, as the Scripture calls them, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, These Bishops of the Flock, they were compelled to choose out of their new Converts and Disciples; who in that infancy of time, that famine of great Parts, were generally men whose Faith was far greater than their Knowledge; men not bred in Schools, unskilled in Tongues and Arts, especially the Art 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Art of Ruling well. Indeed they were such men as St. Paul describes in that mean and humble Map which he drew of those Times, in the first Chapter of his first Epistle to the Corinthians, at the 26. and 27. Verses, where he says, Ye see your calling, Brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the World to confound the wise, and weak things of the World to confound the mighty; and base things, and things despised, and things that are not, hath God chosen, to annihilate and bring to nought the things that are.  
To supply this great Defect, the holy Ghost was fain to assist the very Apostles in the making of their choices, and to furnish men with gifts and parts which might fit them for Elections. Nay, the persons generally were so ungifted, raw, unlearned, in all kinds so unfit to rule or govern in the Church, that he was fain to qualify them in a way of new creation, to make Things which were not bring to nought the things that were; to give form to shapeless matter, to change their Ignorance to Knowledge, to make unwise men wise, and to raise their Wisdom out of nothing; to call Light out of Darkness, and then divide it into Stars; to make those learned Shepherds who were but lately Sheep, able to defend their Flocks from the most fierce and learned Wolves: In short, to call a Church out of a Chaos, and give a beauty to confusion; to dispose the several parts into well-tuned Orbs and Spheres; to place great Lights in this new Firmament, which were to rule the Day, and lesser Lights to drive and chase away the Night; was a Work which required the Illumination of God's Spirit, to hold a Torch to those who had else stood in the dark.  
And this is that which St. Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theodoret, Theophylact, and many other ancient Writers have very well observed. For St. Chrysostom in his Comment upon this very Text says, that in this childhood, this nonage of the Church, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, That nothing was done as Man's Wisdom did direct; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but by the direction of God's Spirit: whose business 'twas not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to foretell things to come; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but to reveal things present too, especially in the choice of fit Rulers in the Church. Clemens Romanus speaking of those Rulers says, That the first Bishops which were made were made by the Apostles, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, having tried them by the Spirit. Oecumenius also speaks as if the other held his pen, and says almost in the same form of words, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, The first Bishops were made Bishops by the appointment of God's Spirit. Thus St. Paul and Barnabas were of Preachers made Apostles, Act. 13. 2. thus Titus was made Metropolitan of Crect, Tit. 1. 5. and thus Timothy in this Text was made the first Ephesian Bishop, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by the Spirit of God designing of him by the Prophets.  
Nay, Eusebius in the third Book of his Ecclesiastical History, taking Clemens of Alexandria for his Chronologer and Warrant, says, That this way of making Bishops, by the Appointment of God's Spirit, was observed in the Church till the death of St. John, who after his return from his banishment to Ephesus, being entreated by the Church there to provide for succession, went through all the Regions near in a holy Visitation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and ordained such a Clergy as the holy Ghost revealed. So that they who have been curious to compute St. John's return, which was in the Reign of Nerva, the 98. year of Christ, 30. years after St. Paul's martyrdom, do reckon, That from the day of Pentecost, in which the holy Ghost descended on the Apostles in cloven Tongues of fire, to the time of St. John's death, which was in the 100 year of Christ, this way of making Bishops by the designation of God's Spirit, continued in the Church 66. years complete.  
At which time the Church having taken general root, and from a grain of Mustardseed being become a spacious Tree, able to diffuse itself without Miracles and Wonders, those gifts of God's Spirit which had brought it to this Growth, and had every where furnished it with Rulers sent from Heaven, like the Manna in the Scripture, ceased to fall on those who had now the Promised Land given to them in possession.  
But yet though all this be true, we are not to suppose that God's Spirit did so wholly engross this business to himself, as to obtrude those new Rulers on the Church without their Allowance and Approbation too. He only did direct and name and recommend them; 'twas left to the Church to admit them to their Cures: he but designed the Persons, the Church gave them Ordination, by the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery. Which describes to us the Form of this Bishop's Consecration, and comes in the fourth place to be considered and examined.  
'Tis observed, that the Spirit of God, who in the Jewish Church spoke by the several sparklings of those precious stones or Jewels, 
The form of his Consecration.  which shined in the Breastplate of Aaron the Highpriest, where a Diamond and Amethyst gave Oracles and Answers, and an Agate might be reckoned into the number of the Prophets, removed those precious stones into the twelve Apostles, and made them twelve Foundation- stones in the new Building of Christ's Church; as you may read in the 21. Chapter of the Revelation, at the 18, 19 Verses.  
Certainly, whatever in that Church conduced to Piety and Order, whatever might be made a pattern for religious Imitation, the Christian Church transcribed as holy Platforms of their building. The Waters of Baptism, the Bread and Wine in the other Sacrament, the Distinction of their Hierarchy into Higher Priests and Lower, and the Ordination of those Priests by the laying on of Hands, were borrowed and translated from the old Temple to the new.  
In the pursuit and handling of which last, namely, the laying on of Hands, (which is the proper Theme and Subject of this Text) two things I will observe to you: First, the several Ends and Uses to which it was applied: next, who the Persons were who were commissioned to apply it.  
First, as for the several Ends and Uses of this Ceremony, in the times of the Old Testament 'twas sometimes made use of in a way or form of Blessing. Thus Jacob laid his hands upon the two sons of Joseph, and blest them on his Deathbed; in the 48. Chapter of Genesis, at the 14. Verse. Nay, in this way of blessing, if we may believe Lipsius in his Book De Cruse, or several sorts of Crosses, the same holy Spirit who revealed the Shiloh to him, the promised Messias, Christ, who suffered on the Cross, did direct and guide his Hands to do something like a Christian: for in laying his right hand on the younger Son, and his left hand on the elder, the cross postures of the Children on whom he laid his hands, made his Imposition bear the figure of a Crosse.  
Next, this laying on of hands was sometimes made use of in the making and creation of a great Minister of State. Thus Moses did choose Josuah to succeed him in his Power, in the 27. Chapter of Numbers, at the last Verse. And thus Senators were admitted into the great Sanedrim or Council, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by the laying on of the hands of some of the elder Senators; as the Thalmudists report.  
In the New Testament this Ceremony was as diversely applied. Our Saviour Christ laid his hands upon the little children brought unto him, and blest them, says the Text, of which this was the mark and sign; in the 10. Chapter of St. Mark, at the 16. Verse. 'Twas also made use of in the Visitation of the Sick; in the 16. Chapter of St. Mark, at the 18. Verse. But it never was omitted in the Consecration of a Bishop, Ordination of a Priest, nay, of a Deacon too. Only to make it the more solemn and effectual, the Church added usually their Prayers and Fast too. Thus Saint Paul was made a Preacher by the laying on of hands, in the 9 Chapter of the Acts, at the 12. Verse. And thus Saint Paul and Barnabas were of Preachers made Apostles: the Elders and Prophets which were at Antioch having fasted, and prayed, and laid their hands upon them, sent them away; in the 13. Chapter of the Acts, at the 3. Verse. And thus Timothy in this Text was made the first Bishop of Ephesus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by the laying on of Hands.  
But why by the laying on of Hands? some disputing men have asked. Why by such a Form, such a Ceremony as this? Why not by a Licence drawn up in Writing from the Church? Nay, says the Independent Preacher, by a Licence from the State? I must confess the Question is not so hardly answered as his, who asked what God did before he made the World, what kind of Fruit 'twas by which our first Parents fell, where they had the Needle which stitched their Leaves together, or where they had the Thread before the Art of Spinning was found out. For here suppose I should reply, and give this for an Answer, That 'twas God's Will to have it so, so directing by his Spirit: Who then art thou, O Man, who darest dispute with God? Must the Potter give a Reason of his Actions to his Clay?  
But God, who made the World in Number, Weight and Measure, who never did a thing superfluous or vain, but made Order to distinguish his Creation from a Chaos, without which his six day's Works had still lain in a confusion, proceeded by a Reason, nay, a multitude of Reasons, in this way of giving Order to his Church.  
For, First, what would men have him do? Issue forth commissions to the Rulers of his Church, as he did to the Apostles, in Miracles and Wonders? Had he gone no further, he must have still wrought Wonders, to persuade the doubting World that they were Rulers sent by him. And so when such Miracles, such Signs and Wonders ceased, the Church for want of Miracles must have wanted Rulers, and then for want of Rulers must have ceased to be a Church. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost, which I mentioned to you before, though they made men fit, and prepared them to be Rulers; yet being invisible, secret, and unseen, without some outward mark to make them owned and known, to those who knew them not would but have past for private Spirit, not able to gain public faith to the persons thus commissioned.  
Some outward Mark was needful then to let the People know who the Persons were whom God designed to be their Guides. As to let the Jews know that Christ was to be their Head, the Holy Ghost descended on him in the figure of a Dove; and to let all Nations know who were to be their Teachers, in the sight of all Nations then assembled at Jerusalem, the Holy Ghost fell on the Apostles in cloven Tongues of fire: So to let after-Ages know who were to be their Leaders, the same Holy Ghost appointed the laying on of Hands, as the way and form of issuing forth his commissions by the Church. And the Reasons of this Ceremony were yet more clearly these.  
There be two ways, says the Civil Law, by which men take possession, and so gain a propriety in a thing which was not theirs. If it be a thing immovable, as Lands, Tenements or Houses, by treading on the Soil they take Possession by their Feet; if it be a movable, as Goods, Money, Ware or Servant, to gain to themselves a property, they take possession by their Hands. So when God called a Man to be his Minister or Servant, as to preach, or bear some public Office in his Church, by the Hands of his Church he took possession of him, and the person thus laid Hands on was no more his own, but Gods.  
Next, this laying on of Hands, as it was a form of Alienation, by which the person thus ordained did quit all Interest in himself, and past himself away to the Service of God's Church; so it was a form of Hallowing and Consecration too. The Case stood with men ordained as it did with other things made holy. As for Example, In the Old Testament, a Beast in the herd was but a common creature of the Field, indifferent for the Shambles or to be made a Sacrifice: But being fetched from thence and brought into the Temple, when the Priests which waited there had laid their hands upon him, he was no more one of the herd, but an Oblation for the Altar; and of a Beast became the Expiation of a Sinne. The Stones in the Quarry are but vulgar, common stones, indifferent to be wrought into a Kitchen or a Temple: But being fetched from thence, and made a consecrated Building, that which was a common heap becomes a house of Prayer. Once more: The Waters running in the Stream, or drawn out of the Well, are but a common Element, no holier than the Stream: But being poured into the Font, and there applied to Baptism, that which was common Water puts on the nature of a Sacrament. And I might say as much of the Lords Supper too; The bread in the common lump is indifferent for all Tables, no holier than the Sheafe, or Corn ungathered in the Field: But being made into a Loaf, and set upon the holy Table, and there being touched and hallowed by the Priest, that which was a Loaf becomes the body of our Saviour. In short, as Holiness, in the best and strictest Definition of it, is nothing but the separation or apartment of a thing from a common use to a religious and divine, (as the Sabbath was called holy, because a common part of Time was divided from the rest, and allotted to God's service:) so a man thus ordained by the laying on of hands, became a person separated from the common heap of Men, a person hallowed for a Work whose Institution was divine.  
Thirdly, how shall men preach except they be sent? says Saint Paul, in the 10. Chapter of the Romans, at the 15. Verse. Where the Question is not put as if it were physically impossible for men to preach to others without Authority or Licence from the Church. In our late licentious Times, where Men inspired themselves, the Cobbler, Weaver, Tinker, and Lay-preaching Soldier did it, and went up into the Pulpit with a Sword by their Side, or with an Awl, or Shuttle, or Trowel in their Hand. But Quo Jure? Where was their Warrant or Commission to do so? Who signed and sealed their Patent by the laying on of hands? Certainly, if Men have not power to preach without this Authorising Form, I am not Erastian enough to believe that they may assume the power and usage of the Keys, Excommunicate, Ordain, Confirm, Deliver up to Satan, and judicially pass Censures upon Schisms, Heresies and Scandals.  
This then being clear, the next thing to be enquired is, who the Persons were who were commissioned to do this. If we may believe Irenaeus, Eusebius and Tertullian, the Apostles singly did it by their laying on of hands. Thus Polycarp at Smyrna was made a Bishop by Saint John, thus Euodius at Antioch was made a Bishop by Saint Peter, and thus by the same hands were Linus, Cletus, Clemens Romanus made at Rome. Nay, in the first Chapter of the second Epistle to Timothy▪ at the sixth Verse, 'tis said, That by Saint Paul's hands alone this Bishop was ordained; Stir up the Gift of God which is in thee, says the Apostle in that place, which was given thee by the putting on of my hands.  
Why is there mention made then in this Text of a Presbytery? What means this Presbytery, with their laying on of hands? Do you not wonder, holy Fathers, that the same Master Calvin, who took this Word Presbytery for the Office of an Elder, should from the same Word set up his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, his compounded mixed Presbytery of Spiritual and Lay-Elders? A thing of which Aërius the Heretic never dreamt, nor did Iscbyras or Colluthus ever receive into their Fancy. Certainly, those famous Lights and Fathers of the Church, Saint chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, and others, were so far from allowing of Lay-Elders in this Work, that they would not allow a Presbyter to lay hands upon a Bishop; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Inferior Priests assisted not at this higher Consecration. 'Twas still done by an Apostle, or by some other Bishops▪ at lest by two or three, say the Canons called Apostolic.  
Which clears the seeming contradiction between this Text, which says, That Timothy was ordained by the hands of the Presbytery; and that other Text 2 Tim. 6. which says, That Saint Paul ordained him by his laying on of hands: Both Texts joined together are thus fairly reconciled; he was ordained by Saint Paul assisted by the Bishops, called here the Presbytery or Elders on the place.  
And now, holy Fathers, if you will hear me draw your Pedigree from the Springhead down the Stream, your Order and the Christian Church, with its Religion too, had the same divine Original, and derives itself from Heaven; God sent his Son, his Son sent Apostles, the Apostles made Bishops, and those Bishops made their Successors: And all this by one and the same authentic Patent, As my Father sent me, so send I you, says Christ in the 20. Chapter of Saint John, at the 21. Verse. An Order which hath stood out all the Injuries of Time, Persecutions of the Heathens, Opposition of Philosophers, Contradiction of Heretics, even all the Powers of Hell, which have strived to shake it by their violence and storms. An Order which hath filled our Calendars with Saints, our Histories, with Fathers, Holy Confessors and Martyrs. An Order which is promised to be as lasting as the Sun; for, Lo, I am with you to the end of the World, says our Saviour Christ the Founder of your Order, in the 28. Chapter of Saint Matthew, at the last Verse. Lastly, an Order in our English Church recovered out of Ruins, made glorious after Shipwreck, victorious over the Rage and Sacrilege of those who raised a Storm in hope to enrich themselves with Spoils. In short, an Order which nothing can eclipse, endanger or expose to the Malice or Designs of those who would destroy it, but the Negligence or want of care in those whose Order' 'tis. Which should be the last part of this Text, expressed to us in these words, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Do not neglect your Gift.  
But this being a piece of holy Counsel, 
The Conclusion.  much fitter for Saint Paul to preach out of this Pulpit to Men so like himself, then for me so much inferior in Gifts and Station to you: For me to teach a Bishop how to overlook his Charge, to prescribe him Rules of Government, or to hold a Candle to him in his laying on of hands, or Work of Ordination; for me to instruct him how to admit fit Pastors to their Cures, fit Shepherds to their Flocks; where to let loose his holy Thunders, and to call them back again; where to use the Rod, and where to pour in Oil; lastly, how to deport himself with all Gravity in public, and how to demean himself with all Piety at home, would be an undertaking like the foolish Orator's in Tully, who in a Speech to Hannibal taught him the Art of War; for which by that great Soldier he was accounted mad. Having therefore, Reverend Fathers, professed my Submission and Obedience to those Rules and Orders which you shall prescribe to me, but my very great unfitness to preach Laws and Rules to you; I hope my Modesty will gain me your pardon and excuse, if I here put a period and conclusion to this Sermon.   
FINIS.