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DISCOURSE 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 Paftoral Care. 
 
 Jflfritten by the Right Reverend Father in God, 
 
 Gilmer t jLord Biihop of S a r u i 
 
 IMPRIMATUR, 
 *j£ Jo. Cant. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for Richard Chifwell , at the (fy/? dmj Crow 
 in St. IW's Church- yard. M DC XC II. 
 
T O THE 
 
 QUEENS 
 
 Moft Excellent MAJESTY. 
 
 May it pleafe Your Majefty, 
 
 TH E Title of Defender of the Faith, h 
 fo inherent in the Royal Dignity ,and 
 fo eflential a part of its lecurity as well 
 as of its glory; that there was no need of Papal 
 Bulls to add it to the Crown that Your M a- 
 j e s t y now wears : You hold it by a much 
 better Tenure, as well as by a more ancient 
 Pofltflion. Nor can one refled on the Pope's 
 giving it to King Henry the VIII th , without 
 remembring what is faid of Caiafhas , that be- 
 ing High Priefi that year, he Prophefied. For 
 fince that time ; the true Faith hath been fo emi- 
 A 2 nently 
 
The Epiflle Dedicatory. 
 nendy~Defended4>y our Princes , and that of 
 both Sexes, we having had our Pulcberias as 
 well as our Confiantines and our Theodofe's , 
 that this Church has been all along the chief 
 ftrength and honour of the Reformation, as 
 well as the main ObjecT: of the envy and fpite 
 of thofe of the Roman Communion. 
 
 But tho Your Majesty's Royal Ance- 
 ftors have done fo much for us, there remains 
 yet a great deal to be done for the compleat- 
 ing of our Reformation., efpecially as to the 
 Lives and Manners of men. This will moft 
 effectually be done by obliging the Clergy to 
 be morr exemplary in their Lives , and more 
 diligent and faithful in the difcharge of their Pa- 
 ftoral Duty. And this Work feems to be 
 referved for Your Majesties, and defign- 
 ed to be the Felicity and Glory of Your Reign. 
 To ferve God by promoting this Great and 
 Glorious Defign, - which ig fo truly worthy of 
 Your Ma j e s t tei beft care and endeavours, 
 I have purpofely written this Treatife, which I 
 do with all humility Dedicate apd prefent to 
 Your Sacred Majesty. 
 
 May 
 
The Efiflle Dedicatory. 
 
 May that God who is the King of kings, 
 and hath blefi'd us with Two fuch Excellent 
 Princes, prefer ve You Both long to us, and 
 make You as happy in us , as we are in 
 You : May You Reign over us till You have 
 accomplifhed all thofe Great Defigns for which 
 God hath railed You up^ and with which He 
 hath filled Your Hearts: And may this Church 
 be made by Your means the Perfe&ion of Beau- 
 ty, and the Joy of the whole Earth. 
 
 Thefe are the daily and moft fervent Pray- 
 ers of 5 
 
 May it fleafe Tour Majesty, 
 
 Tour Majesty's 
 
 Moft Loyal, moft Humble, and moft 
 Obedient SubjeB and Chaplain, 
 
 G i. S a r u M, 
 
T HE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 y BE Preface. Page i 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of the Dignity of Sacred Employments , and the Names and 
 Defignations given to them in Scripture. Pag. 3 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the <$(ules fet down in Scripture for thofe that minifler in 
 Holy things, and of the Corruptions that are fet forth in 
 them. p. 10 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 fajfages out of 'the New-Teftament, relating to the fame 
 matter. 1 5 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the Senfe of the (Primitive Church in the this matter. 28 
 
 CHAP. 
 
lhe Contents, 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 jin Account of fome Canons in divers Ages of the Church 
 relating to the T*uties and Labours of the Clergy. 43 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the declared Senfe and ^ules of the Church of England in 
 this matter.. 5 3 
 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 VII. 
 
 
 
 
 Of the due Pr- 
 in Orders c 
 
 tparation of fuch a. 
 CHAP. 
 
 r may , 
 VIII. 
 
 and 
 
 ought to 
 
 be put 
 68 
 
 Of the Funftions and Labours of Clergy-mem 
 
 
 87 
 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 IX, 
 
 
 
 
 Concerning Preaching. 
 
 
 
 
 107 
 
 The Condufwn, 
 
 
 
 
 
 no 
 
THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THIS Subject, how Important foever in it felf, 
 yet has been fo little treated of, and will (eem 
 fo fevere in many parts of it , that if I had 
 not judged this a neceiTary fervice to the Church, which 
 did more decently come from one, who , how unde- 
 ferving foever he is, yet is raifed to a Poft that may ju- 
 ftify the writing on fo tender a Head, I fhould never 
 have undertaken it. But my Zeal for the true Interefts 
 of Religion , and of this Church , determined me to 
 iet about it ; yet fince my Defign is to correct things 
 for the future, rather than to reproach any for what is 
 paft, I have refolved to caft it rather into Advices and 
 Rules, into plain and fhort Directions, than into long 
 and laboured Difcourfes , fupported by the thews of 
 Learning, and Citations from Fathers, and Hiftorical 
 Obfervations ; this being the more profitable, and the 
 lefs invidious way of handling the Subject. 
 
 It ought to be no Imputation on a Church , if too 
 many of thofe that are dedicated to her Service , have 
 not all the Characters that are here fet forth, and that 
 are to be defired in Clergymen. Even in the Apoftles 
 days there were falfe Apoftles, and falfe Teachers ; as 
 one of the Twelve was a Traytor, and had a Devil ,• 
 B fomc 
 
Tbe Preface. 
 
 fome loved the pre-eminence, others loved this prefent 
 World to a fcandalous degree j fome of thofe that 
 preached Chrift, did it not fincerely, but out of contention ; 
 they vied wkh the Apoftles, and hoped to have car- 
 ried away the efteem from them, even while they were 
 fuffering for the Faith : for envying their Credit, they 
 defigned to raiie their own Authority, by lelTening the 
 Apoftles i and fo hoped to have added ajflitlion to their 
 bonds. In the firft and pureft Ages of the Church we 
 find great Complaints of the Neglects and Diforders 
 of the Clergy of all Ranks. Many became the Stewards 
 and Bailiffs of other Peoples Eftates ; and while they 
 looked too diligently after thofe Cares which did not 
 belong to them, they even in thofe times of trial, grew 
 very remifs in the moft important of all Cares, which was 
 their proper bufinefs. 
 
 As. foon as the Empire became Chriftian , the Au- 
 thority, the Immunity, and the other Advantage?, which 
 by the bounty of Princes, followed the Sacred Functions, 
 made them to be generally much d- fired ; and the Ele- 
 ctions being then for moft part popular, (though ia fome 
 of the greater Cities, the Magistracy took them into their 
 ha \ds, and the Bifhopsof -he Province were the Judges 
 both of the funefs of thePcrfon, ana of the regularity 
 of the Flection); thele were managed with much faction 
 and \iolence, which often end^d in blood, and that to 
 fo great an excefs, that if we had not Witfteflfes to ma- 
 ny Inftances of this among the bed: men in thofe Ages, 
 It would look like an uncharitable Imputation on thofe 
 Times, to think them capable of fuch Enormities. In- 
 deed the Diforders , the Animofities, the going fo oft 
 
 hackr 
 
The Preface. 
 
 backwards and forwards in the matters of Faith, as the 
 Emperors happened to be of different Sides, are but too 
 ample a proof of the Corruptions that had then got into 
 the Church. And what can we think of the breach made 
 in the Churches of Afrlck by Donatns, and his Followers, 
 upon fo inconfiderable a Point, as whether CecitUri and 
 his Ord.iiners had denied the Forth in the laft Perfection, 
 or not ? which grew to that height, that almoft in every 
 Town of Ajnck there were divided AfTemblies, and fe- 
 parating Bifhops, upon that Account. Nor was this 
 Wound healed but with the utter mine of thofe 
 Churches. St. Jerom, though partial enough to his own 
 fide, as appears by his efpoufing Amz/Ws Intertfts, not- 
 withstanding that vafl effufion of blood that had been 
 at his Election - y which was fet on by him, and continu- 
 ed for four days with fo much violence, that in one 
 night , and at one Church, a hundred and (even and 
 thirty were killed ; yet he could not hold from laying 
 op: n the Corruptions of the Clergy in a very fevere ftyle. 
 He grew fo weary of them, and they of him, that he 
 went and fpent the reft of his days at 'Bethlehem. 
 
 Thofe Corruptions were fo much the more remarka- 
 ble, becaufe the Eminenc Men of thofe times, procured 
 a great many Canons to be made, both in Provincial 
 and General Councils, for correcting Abufes, as foon 
 as they obferved them creeping into the Church : but 
 it is plain from St. Chry/oftoms Story, that tho bad men 
 did not oppofe the making good Rules, while they were 
 fo many dead Letters in their Regifters , yet they could 
 not bear the rigorous Execution of them : fo that thofe 
 good Qtwrns do (hew us indeed what were the growing 
 B i Abufes 
 
iv The Preface. 
 
 Abufes of the Times, in which they were made ; and 
 how good men fee themfelves againft them ; but are 
 no fure indications of the Reformation that was effected 
 by them. 
 
 The Tottering ftate of the ^oman Empire which had 
 then fallen under a valt Diffolution of Difcipline and 
 Manners, and coming into feeble hands, was then fink- 
 ing with its own weight, and was become on all fides an 
 eafy Prey to its Invaders , who were either Pagans or 
 Jriansy ought to have awakened the Governours of the 
 Church to have apprehended their approaching Ruin j 
 to have prevented it by their Prayers and Endeavours; 
 and to have corrected thofe Abules which had provo- 
 ked God, and weakned and diffract ed both Church 
 and Empire. But if we may believe either Gilded here 
 in Britain, or Sahian in France, they rather grew worfe, 
 more impenitent, and more infenlible, when they faw 
 the Judgments of God coming upon the Empire, Pro- 
 vince after Province rent from it, and over-run by the 
 (Barbarians. 
 
 When that great Wound was in fome fort healed , 
 and a Second Form of Chriftianity rofe up and pre- 
 vailed again in the Weftern Parts, and the World became 
 Cbrijiian with the allay that dark and fuperflitious Ages 
 had brought into that holy Doctrine: Then all the Rules 
 of the former Ages were fo totally forgotten, and laid 
 afide, that the Clergy univerfally loft their efteem : 
 And tho' Qharles the Great, and his Son, held a great 
 many Councils for correcting thefe Abufes , and pub- 
 lifried many Qapitulars on the fame defign ; yet all was 
 to no puxpofe : There was neither Knowledge nor Ver- 
 
 tue 
 
The Preface. 
 
 me enough left to reform a Corruption that was become 
 univerfal. The Clergy by thefe Diforders fell under a 
 general Contempt, and out of that rofe the Authority, 
 as well as the Wealth of the Monaflkk Orders ; and when 
 Riches and Power had corrupted them , the !Bigging 
 Orders took away the Credit from both j yet even their 
 Reputation, which the outward feverity of their Rule, 
 Habit, and Manner of Life did both eftablifli and 
 maintain long , was at laft fo generally loft, that no 
 Part or Body of the Roman Clergy had Credit enough to 
 flop the Progrefs of the Reformation ; which was in a 
 great mealure occafion'd by the fcorn and hatred than 
 fell on them, and which was fo lpread over all the parts 
 of Europe , that to it, even their own Hiftorians do im~ 
 pute the great Advances that Luther's Doctrine made 
 for about Fifcy Years together -, whole Kingdoms and 
 Provinces embracing it as it were all of the fudden. 
 
 It has now for above an Hundred Years made a full 
 ftand, and in moil: places it has rather loft ground, than 
 gained any. The true account of this is not eafily gi- 
 ven j the Doctrine is the fame \ and it has been of late 
 defended wkh greater Advantages, with more Learning, 
 and better Reafoning than it was at firft ,• yet with 
 much lefs Succefs. The true reafon of the (lackningof 
 that Work, mud be imputed to the Reformation made 
 in feverai Points with relation to the Manners, and the 
 Labours of the Clergy, by the Church of Rome, and the 
 Depravation under which mod of the Reformed Churches 
 are fallen. For the Manners and the Labours of the 
 Clergy, are real Arguments, which all people do both 
 underftand and feel; they have a much more convinr 
 
 ring. 
 
vi The Preface. 
 
 cing force, they are more viilble, and perfwade more 
 univerfally, than Books can do, which are little read , 
 and lefs confldered : And indeed the Bulk of Mankind 
 is fo made, that there is no working on them, but by 
 moving their Affections, and commanding their Efteem. 
 Ic cannot be denied but that the Council of Trmt efta- 
 blifhed the Errors of Popery in fuch a manner, as to 
 cut off all poffibility of ever treating, or reuniting with 
 them ; fince thofe Vecifions, and their Infallibility, which 
 is their Foundation, are now fo twifted together, that 
 they mud ftand and fall together : Yet they eftablifli- 
 ed fuch a Reformation in Difcipline, as may make 
 Churches that pretend to' a more Glorious Title, juftly 
 afhamed. For tho, there are fuch Referves made for 
 the f Plenitude of the Tapal Authority, that in great in* 
 fiances, and for a Favourite, all may be broke through ,- 
 yet the moil: notorious Abufes are (o {truck at, and this 
 has been in many places fo effectually obferved, chiefly 
 where they knew that their Deportment was looked 
 into, and watched over by Proteftants , that it mufl 
 be acknowledged, that the cry of the Scandals of Re- 
 ligious Houfes is much laid : And tho' there is dill 
 much Ignorance among their Mafs-Triefts ; yet their 
 (parifti-Triefls are generally another fort of men: They 
 are well inftru&ed in their Re] igion ; lead regular Lives, 
 and perform their Parochial Duties with a moil won- 
 derful diligence : They do not only fay Mafs, and the 
 ocher publick Functions daily, but they are almoft per- 
 petually imploying themieves in the feveral parts of 
 their Cures : Inftructing the /Youth, hearing Confefli- 
 ons, and vifiting the Sick : and befides all this, they 
 
 are 
 
The Preface. vii 
 
 are under the conftant obligation of the 'Breviary : There 
 is no Rich thing as N.on--refidence or (plurality, to be heard 
 of in whole Countries of that Communion ; and tho' 
 about Cathedrals, and in Greater Cities, the vaft num- 
 ber of Tritjls, gives itill great and jufl: occafion to cen- 
 fure ,- yet the Tarijh-Triefts have almoll: univerfally re- 
 covered the Efteem of the People : They are no more 
 difpofed to think ill of them, or to hearken to any thing 
 that may give them a jufi caufe, or at lead a flaufible 
 colour for departing from them. So that the Reformat 
 tion that Toptry hath been forced to make, has in a great 
 meafure ftopt the progrefs of the Reformation of the Do- 
 clrine and Worflrip that did fo long carry every thing 
 before it. 
 
 But this is the leaffc Melancholy part of the Account 
 that may be given of this matter. The (Reformers be- 
 gan that blefTed Work with much Zeal ; they and their 
 firft SuccefTors carried it on with Learning and Spirit : 
 They were active in their Endeavours , and conftant 
 and patient in their Sufferings - } and thefe things turn'd 
 theeftecm of the world, which was alienated from ^o- 
 }>ery y by the Ignorance and Scandals of the Clergy, all to- 
 wards them : But when they felt the warmth of the Pro- 
 tection and Encouragement that Princes and States gave 
 them, they infeniibly llackned ,. They fell from their 
 Firfi Heat and Love ; they began to build Houfes for 
 themielves, and their^amilies, and neglected the Houfe .'* 
 of Cod : They refted fatisfied with their having reform- > 
 ed the Doctrine and Worfhip ; but did not ftudy to re- 
 form the Lives and Manners of their People : And while • 
 in their Offices they lamented the. not having a Tublick 
 
 Dtfci^ 
 
viii The Preface. 
 
 W/I line in the Church, as it was in the Primitive Times ; 
 The ive either made no attempts at all, or at lead: ve- 
 ry faint ones for reftoring it. And thus, while Topery 
 has purified it ft If from many former Abufes, Reformed 
 Churches have added new ones to the old, that they fhll 
 retain, and' are fond of. Zeal in Devotion, and Dili- 
 gence in the Taftoral Care, are fallen under too vifible 
 and too fcandalous a decay. And whereas the under- 
 ftanding of the Scriptures, and an Application to that 
 Sacred Study, was at firft the diftinguifhing Character 
 of&roteftajits, for which they were generally nicknamed 
 Gofpellers ; Thefe Holy Writings are now fo little ftudied, 
 that fuch as are obliged to look narrowly into the mat* 
 ter, find great caufe of regret and lamentation, from 
 the grofs Ignorance of fuch as either are in Orders, or 
 that pretend to be put in them. But the mod Capital 
 and Comprehenfive of all Abufes, is, That the falfe 
 Opinion of the word Ages of Popery, that made the 
 chief, if not the only obligation of Triefts to be the per- 
 forming Offices ; and judged, that if thefe were done, 
 the chief part of their Bufinefs was alfo done, by which , 
 the Waft oral Care came to be in a great meafure neglected, 
 does continue ftill to leaven us -: While men imagine 
 that their whole work confifts in Publick Funtt'ms, and 
 fb reckon, that if they either do thefe themfelves, or 
 procure and hire another perfon in Holy Orders to 
 do them , that then they anfwer the Obligation that 
 lies on them : And thus the Vafioral Care , the In- 
 structing, the Exhorting, the Admonifhing and Re- 
 proving , the directing and conducting, the vifiting 
 and comforting the People of the Parifli, is general- 
 ly 
 
TfoPtefitce. ix 
 
 ly negle&cd: while the Incumbent does not think fie 
 to look after it, and the Curate thinks himfelf bound to 
 nothing but barely to perform Offices according to 
 agreement. 
 
 It is chiefly on deilgn to raife the fenfe of the Obliga- 
 tions of the Clergy ro the Duties of the Tajloral Care, 
 that this Book is written. Many things do concur in 
 our prefentCircumftanees, to awaken us of the Clergy, 
 to mind and do our duty with more zeal and applica- 
 tion than ever. It is very vifible that in this prefent 
 Age, the Reformation is not only at a (land, but is go- 
 ing back , and grows fenfibly weaker and weaker. 
 Some Churches have been plucked up by the roots ; and 
 brought under a total defolation and difperfion ^ and 
 others have fallen under terrible oppreflions and ma- 
 kings. We have feen a Defign formed and carried on 
 long, for the utter deftruc'tion of that Great Work. The 
 Clouds were fo thick gathered over us , that we faw 
 we were marked out for deftruc'tion : And when that 
 was once compared , our Enemies faw well enough, 
 that the reft of their Defigns would be more eaiily 
 brought about. It is true, our Enemies intended to 
 fet us one upon another by "turns, to make us do half 
 their work ; and to have ftili an abufed Party among us 
 ready to carry on their Ends ; for they thought it too 
 bold an Attempt, to fall upon all at once ; but while 
 they were thus (Lifting Hands , it pleafed God to cut - 
 them fhort in their Defigns ; and to blaft that part of 
 them in which we were concerned , fo entirely , 
 that now they carry them on more barefacedly : 
 and drive at Conqueft , which is at one flroke to de* - 
 C ftroy 
 
The Preface. 
 
 ftroy our Church and (Religion, our Ltftos and our Pro- 
 perties. 
 
 In this critical ftate of things, we ought not only to 
 look at the Inftruments of the Calamities that have fal- 
 len fo heavily on fo many Proceftant Churches, and of 
 the Dangers that hang over the reft ; but we ought 
 chiefly to look up to that God, who teems to be pro- 
 voked at the whole Reformation • becaufe they have 
 not walked fuitably to the Light that they havefo long 
 enjoyed, and the Bleflings which had been fo long con- 
 tinued to them,- but have corrupted their ways before 
 him. They have loft the Power of Religion, while they 
 have teemed to magnify the Form of it , and have been 
 zealous for Opinions and Cuftoms ; and therefore God. 
 has in his wrath, taken even that Form from them, and 
 has loathed their Solemn Affemhlies *, and brought them 
 '.under a famine of the Word of the Lord, which they had 
 fo much defpited. While thefe things are fo, and while 
 we find that we our felves, are as a brand pluck'd out of 
 the fire, which may be thrown back into it again, if we 
 are not allarmed by the juft, but unfearchable Judg- 
 ments of God, which have wafted other Churches Co 
 terribly, while they have only frighted us ; what is 
 more evident, than that the pretent ftate of things, and 
 the figns of the times, call aloud upon the whole Na- 
 tion* to bring forth fruits meet for repentance . ? fince the ax 
 is laid to the root of the tree. And as this indeed con* 
 cerns the body of .he Nation, Co we who are the Triefts 
 and cMinifhrs of the Lord, are under more particular Ob* 
 ligations, fir ft to look into our own ways, and to re- 
 form whatfoever is amifs among us, and then to be In- 
 
 tersefTors 
 
The Preface. xl 
 
 tercelTors for the People, committed to our Charge : to 
 be mourning for their Sins, and by our fecret Fadings 
 and Prayers, to beftanding in thofe Breaches which our 
 crying Abominations have made : and fo to be averting 
 thofe Judgments, which may be ready to break in upon 
 us ; and chiefly to be lifting up our Voices like Trumpets, to 
 J]?ev> our people their tranjgr 'ej pons. To be giving them faith* 
 ful warnings from which we may expect this blefted fircv 
 eels, that we may at leafb gain upon fuch a number, 
 ■ that for their fakes, Go J, who wiU not flay the righteous with 
 the wicked, may be yet entreated for our fins,- and that 
 the Judgments which hang over us, being quite diffipa- 
 ted, his Gofpel, together with Peace and Plenty, may 
 ftili dwell among us, and may fhine from us, with 
 happy Influences to all the ends of the Earth. And 
 even fuch Paftors as fhall faithfully do their duty, but 
 without any Cuccefs, may depend upon this, that they 
 fhall Jove their ^wn fouls ; and fhall have a diftinguifhed 
 fate, if we mould happen to fall under a common Ca- 
 lamity: they having on them not only the mark of Mourn* 
 ers and Interceflbrs, but of faithful Shepherds : Whereas if 
 an overflowing Scourge fhould break in upon us, we 
 have all poflible reafon, both from the Judgments of 
 God, and the prefent fcituation of Affairs, to believe 
 that it will begin at the Santluary, at thofe who have pro- 
 faned the holy things ,- and have made the daily Sacrifice to 
 be loathed. 
 
 There is another, and perhaps yet a mere d'fmal 
 
 Character of the prefent ftate of the Age, that calls on 
 
 the Clergy, to confider well both their own deporcmenc, 
 
 and the Obligations that lie upon them ; which is the 
 
 C 2 growing 
 
xii The Preface. 
 
 growing Athetfm and Impiety, that is daily gaining ground, 
 not only among us, but indeed all Europe over. There 
 is a Circulation obferved in the general Corruptions of 
 Nations: fometimes Ignorance'and Brutality overruns 
 the World , that makes way for Superftition and Idola- 
 try : When Mankind is difgufted with thefe, then fan- 
 tastical and Enthufiaftical Principles , and under thefe 
 hypocritical Practifes have their courfej thefe being 
 feen through , give great occafions to profanefs, and 
 with that, Athetfm> and a disbelief of all Religion , at • 
 lead of all Revealed Religion, is nourished : and that 
 is very eafily received by depraved Minds, but very 
 hardly rooted out of them : For though it is very eafie to 
 beat an Enquirer into things, out or all Speculative A- 
 theifm ; yet when a disbelief of Sacred Matters , and 
 a profane Contempt of them, has once vitiated ones 
 mind, it is a very extraordinary thing, and next to mira- 
 culous, to fee fuch an one reduced. >Jpw this I am 
 forced to declare, That having had much free Conver- 
 fation with many that have been fatally corrupted that 
 way, they have very often owned tome, that nothing 
 promoted this fo much in them , as the very bad Opi- 
 nion which they took up of all Clergy=men of all fides : 
 They did not fee in them that ftrictnefs of life, that con- 
 tempt of the World, that Zeal, that Meekriefs, Humi- . 
 lity and Charity; that Diligence and Earneftnefs, with 
 relation to the great Ttuths of the Chriftian Religion, 
 which they reckoned they would moft certainly have , 
 if $hey themfelves firmly believed it : Therefore they 
 concluded, that/ thofe, whofe bufinefs it was more 
 ftri&ly to enquire into the truth of their Religion £ 
 
 knew 
 
The Preface. xiii 
 
 knew that ic was not lb certain, as they themfelves, . - 
 for other ends, endeavoured to make the World be- 
 lic\e it was: And that, tho for carrying on of their 
 own Authority or Fortunes, which in one word, they 
 call their Trade, they feemed to be very pofitive in af* 
 firming the Truth of their Doctrines ; yet they in their 
 own hearts did not believe it, fince they lived Co little 
 luitable to it, and were fo much fet on railing tjiem- 
 felvesby it,- and fo little on advancing the Honour of 
 their Frofe/fton, by an exemplary Piety, and a Shining 
 Converfation. 
 
 This is a thing not tobeanfwered by being angry at 
 them for faying it, or by reproaching fuch as repeat it, 
 as if they w r ere Enemies to the Church ; thefe Words of Heat 
 and Faction fignifying nothing to work upon, or con- 
 vince any. For how little ftrength foever there may be 
 in this, as it is made an Argument, it is certainly fo 
 ftrong a prejudice, that nothing but a real Refutation of 
 ic, by the eminent Venues and Labours of many of the 
 Clergy, will ever conquer it. To this, as a Branch or 
 Part of it, another consideration from the prefent State 
 of things is to be added, to call upon the Clergy to fet 
 about the Duties of their Calling ; and that is, the con*- 
 tempt they are generally fallen under, the Injufticethey. 
 daily meet with, in being denied their Rights, and that 
 by fome out of Principle, . and by others out of down* 
 right and undifguifed Sacriledge. I know a great deal of 
 this is too juffcly, and too truly to be cart on the Poverty, 
 of the Clergy: But what can we fay, when we find, of- 
 ten the poorefl: Clarks in the Richeft Livings > whofe: 
 Incumbents not content to devour the Patrimony of.ther 
 
 Church., 
 
 J 
 
xiv The Preface. 
 
 Church , while they feed themfelves, and not the Flock out 
 of it ; are To fcandaloufly hard in their.Allo wance to their 
 Curates, as if they intended equally to ftarve both Curate 
 and (People : And is it to be iuppofed^ that the People 
 will think themfelves under a very Ariel: obligation of 
 Conference, to pay religioufly all that is due to one, who 
 Teems to think himfelf under no obligation to labour for 
 it > An*! fince it is zMaxim founded upon Natural Equity, 
 Thtt the 'Benefice is given for the Office • men will not have 
 great Scruples in denying the (Benefice, where the Office 
 is neglected, or ill performed. And as for the too com- 
 mon Contempt that is brought on the Clergy, how 
 guilty foever thofe may be, who out of hatred to their 
 Profetfion , defpife them for their "toorh fake 5 yet we 
 who feel our felves under thefe Difadvantages, ought 
 falach. to reflect on thofe Words of the Prophet, and fee how 
 • 7,%>9- far they are applicable to us ; The (prie/ls lips fhould keep 
 knowledge, and they fhould feek the Lav? at his mouth , for 
 he is the Meffenger of the Lord ofHofts, But ye are departed 
 out of the way, ye haVe caufed many to flumble at the Lay? : 
 Therefore have I alfo made you contemptible and haje before all 
 the People \ according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been 
 partial in my Law, If we ftudied to honour God, and Co to 
 do honour to our ^Profeffion, we might juftly hope that 
 he would raife it again to that credit which is due to it ; 
 and that he would make even our Enemies to be at peace 
 with us, or at leaft afraid to hurt or offend us. And in 
 this we have good reafon to reil affured ; fince we do 
 not find many Inftances of Clergy-men , who live and 
 labour, who preach and vific as they ought to do, that 
 are under any Eminent Degrees of Contempt : If iome 
 
 do 
 
I he trejace. xv 
 
 do defpife thofe that :.< e faithful to their Trull, yet they 
 mull doit fecretly _; they dare not ftiewit, as long as 
 their Deportment procures them the Efteem, which we 
 muft confeis does generally follow true Worth, and 
 hearty Labours in the Miniftry. 
 
 Thefe are things of fuch confequence , that it may 
 feem a Confideration too full of ill Nature, of Emula- 
 tion, and of Jealoufie, if I Oiould urge upon the Clergy 
 the Divisions and Separation that is forced among us ; 
 though there is a terrible Word in the Prophet , that 
 belongs but too evidently to this likewife ; The Tajhrs Jer. rest 
 are become brutifJ?, and have not fought the Lord > therefore 2 '' 
 they (hall not proffer, and all their Flocks [hall be fcattered. 
 . If we led fuch Exemplary Lives, as became our CharaEler, 
 if we applied our felves wholly to the Duties of our 
 Vrofeffton, if weftudied to outlive, and outlabour thofe 
 that divide from us ; we might hope by the Bleffing of 
 God, fo far to overcome their Prejudices, and to gain 
 both upon their Efteem and AfTedions, that a very fmall 
 matter might go a great way towards the healing of thofe 
 Wounds, which have fo long weakned and diftracted 
 us. Speculative Arguments do not reach the Underftand* 
 ings of the greater part, who are only capable of fen* 
 fible ones : and the ftrongeft Reafbning will not prevail., 
 till we firtt force them to think the better of our Church, 
 for what they fee in our felves, and make them wifli.to 
 be of a Communion, in which they fee fo much ^ Truth, 
 and unaffected Goodnefs and Worth : When they are 
 once brought fo far, it will be eafy to com pa fs all the 
 reft : If we did generally mind our Duties,, and dis- 
 charge them faichfully,this would prepare fuch as mean 
 
xvi 7 he Preface. 
 
 well in their Separation from us, to confider better of 
 the Grounds on which they maintain it: And that will 
 beft enforce the Arguments that we have to lay before 
 them. And as for fuch as divide from us with bad De- 
 figns, and an unrelenting Spite, they will have a fmall 
 party, and a feeble fnpport, it there were no more oc- 
 cafion given to work on the Affections of the People, 
 by our Erroqrs and Diforders. 
 
 If then either the fenfe of the Wrath of God, or the 
 defire of his Favour and Protection ; if Zeal for our 
 • Church and Countrey ; if a fenfe of the progrefs of A- 
 theifm and Jfreligion ; if the contempt that falls onus, 
 and the Injuftices that are daily done us - y if a defire to 
 heal and unite, to purifie and perfect this our Church : 
 If either the Concerns of this World, or of the next, 
 can work upon us, and affect us, all thefe things concur 
 to call on us, to apply our utmoft Care and Induftry to 
 raife the Honour of our Holy Trofefjiony to walk worthy 
 of it, to perform the Engagements that we came under 
 at the Altar ', when we were dedicated to the Service 
 of God, and the Church ; and in all things both to a- 
 • dorn our Religion, and our Church. 
 
 It is not our boafting that the Qburch of England 
 is the beft reformed, and the beft constituted Church 
 in the world, that will fignifie much to convince o- 
 thers : We are too much Parties to be believed in 
 our own Caufe. There was a Generation of men 
 that cried, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple. of the 
 Lord , as loud as we can cry, The Qhiirch of Eng- 
 land, the Church of England: When yet by their 
 fins they were pulling it down : and kindling that Fire 
 
 which 
 
The Preface. xxxiii 
 
 which* confumed it. It will have a better grace to fee 
 others boaft of our Church , from what they obferve 
 in us, than for us to be crying it up with our words y 
 when our deeds do decry it. Our Enemies will make 
 levere Inferences from them ; and our Pretentions 
 will be thought vain and impudent things , as long 
 as our Lives contradict them. 
 
 Ic was on deilgn to raife in my felf and in others, a 
 deep fenfe of the obligations that we lie under, of the 
 Duties of our Functions ; of the extent of them , and 
 of the Rewards that follow them , and to obferve 
 the proper Mechods of performing them , fo as they 
 may be of the greateft advantage both to our felves 
 and others, that I have entred on thefe Meditations. 
 They have been, for many years the chief Subjects of 
 my Thoughts : If few have writ on them among us, 
 yec we have St. Gregory Nazjanzens Apologetick , Saint 
 Chf-yjoflom's Books of' the Priefthood , Gregory the 
 Great's Paftoral , and (Bernard's Book of Confiderati- 
 on, among the Ancients, and a very great number of 
 Excellent Treatifes, writ lately in France upon them. 
 I began my Studies in Divinity with reading thefe, 
 and I never ye: grew weary of them j they raife fo 
 many Noble Defigns, they ofTer fuch Schemes, and 
 carry fo much of unction and life in them , that I 
 hope an imperfect Eflay this way may have fome 
 effect. For the Searcher of hearts knows , I have no 
 £)efign in it, fave this of flirring up in my felf and o- 
 thers,, the gift yphich was giVen by the Impofitton of hands, 
 
 D OF 
 
Of the Paflorai Care. 
 
 (peaks its own dignity fb fenfibly, that none will difpute it, but 
 fuch as are open Enemies to all Religion in general, cr to the 
 Chriltian Religion in particular ; and yet even few of thele, are 
 lb entirely corrupted, as not to wifh that External Order and Po- 
 licy were kept up among men, for retraining the Injuftice and 
 Violence of unruly Appetites and Paflions ; which few, even of 
 the Tribe of the Libertines, feem todefire to be let loofe ; fince the 
 Peace and Safety of Mankind, require that the World be kept in 
 Method, and under feme Yoke. 
 
 It will be more flitable to my defign , to fhew how well this 
 
 Chx acler agrees with that which is laid down in the Scriptures 
 
 concerning thefe Offices. I fhal! begin firft with the Names, and 
 
 then go on to the Deftriptiow, and laltly proceed to the Rules that 
 
 we find in them. The name of Deacon, that is now appropriated 
 
 to the loweft Office in the Churchy was in the time that the New 
 
 Teftament was writ, ufed more prom ifcuou fly : For thzdpofl-les, 
 
 the Evangt'ujls, and thofe whom the Apoftles fent to vifit the 
 
 Churches, are all called by this name. Generally in all thofe places 
 
 where the word Mi&ifter is in our Translation, it is Deacon in the 
 
 '• which fignifies properly a Servant, or one who labours for 
 
 ' Prions are dedicated to the immediate Service of 
 
 '~~*«^ to the Offices and Duties of the 
 
 "*" " 'he dignity and the labour. 
 
 v or Elder;, 
 • 'he. 
 
 pror.Li.i^.. 
 of reflect, oc 
 fince Sr. Paul divie, 
 into two -di.Tsrent Pei,v 
 -thole//;.*/ rttk well, and thdj 
 
 
Of the Pafloral Care. 
 
 is a Title that /peaks both the Dignity, and likewife the Duty be- 
 longing to this Fun&ion. 
 
 "i he Title which is now by the Cuftom of many Ages given to 
 the higheft Function in the Church, of Biflop,oclnfpeclor 9 and Over- 
 feer, as it imports a Dignity in him, as the chief of thofe who fc- 
 hour', fb it does likewife exprefs his obligation to care and dili- 
 gence, both in obferving, and overfeeing the whole Flock, and 
 more fpecially in infpe&ing the Deportment and Labours of his 
 Fellow Workmen j who are fubordinate to him in the constitution of 
 the Church, yet ought to be efteemed by him in imitation of the 
 Ape (lies, his Brethren, his Fellorv^Labourers^ and Fellow-Servants. 
 Next to the Names of the Sacred Functions, I fhall confider the 
 other Defignations and Figures, madeufe of to exprefs them. 
 
 The moft common is that of P after or Shepherd, It is to be re- 
 membred, that in the firft fmplieity of Mankind for many Ages, 
 men looked after their own Cattel, or employed their Children in 
 it > and when they tr ufted that care to any other, it was no fmall 
 fign of their Confidence, according to what Jacob fa id to Laban. 
 The care of a good Shepherd was a Figure then fb well underflood, 
 
 ■ that the Prophet exprefles God's care of his People, by th»* ~ rl * 
 feeding them as a Shepherd, carrying his Lambs '" '' ' 
 
 . leading them that were with young. C u - ' * 
 Sh'eplnrd, that knew his Sk 
 the Wolf came. L 
 fb often •"*- J 
 
 _.ch 
 
 .ivants af 
 
 -uch thrift is the 
 
 ./, but alfo of much 
 
 utofthisHoufhold, that 
 
 j, and fb encourage, admo- 
 
 .i occafionfor.it. They £ 
 
Of the rajtoral Care. 7 
 
 They are alfo called Ambaffadors, and that upon the nobleft and ; Ccr ; f; 
 defirableft Menage, for their bufinefs is to treat of P&tce between ' 9 ' : ~ 
 God andMan ; to them is given the Word or Doftrine Of Reconcilia- 
 tion; they are lent by Chrift, and do fpeak in God's Name ; as if 
 Qoddidbefeech men by them\fo do they in CbrifPs (lead, who is the 
 Mediator, prefs men to be'reconciled to God > Words of a very high 
 found, of great Truft and Dignity, but which* import likewife- 
 great obligations. An Ambaffador is very fblicitous to maintain the 
 Dignity of his Character, and his Mafters Honour; and chiefly 
 to carry on that which is the main bufinefs that he is fent upon, 
 which he is always contriving how to promote : So if the Honour 
 of this Title affe&s us as it ought to do, with a juft value for it, 
 we ought at the fame time to confider the Obligations that accom- 
 pany it, of living fuitable to it, anfwering in fbme fort, the Digni- 
 ty and Majefty of the Kjng of kings, that has committed it to us ; 
 and of labouring with all poffibJe diligence, to effectuate the great 
 Defign on which we are fent ; The reconciling Sinners to God : 
 The Work having in it felf a proportion to the Dignity of him that 
 imploys us in it. 
 
 Another, and yet a more Glorious Title, is that of Angels, who 
 as they are of a pure and fublime Nature, and are called a Flaming Rev. 2. $ 
 Fire, fb they do always behold the face of ear Heavenly Father, and ch - 
 ever do his tvillj and are alfo Miniflrirg Spirits, fent forth to mini- \ or ' 
 fter to them that are appointed to be the Heirs of Salvation : This Ti- 
 tle is given to Bifhops and Paftors ; and as if that were not enough, 
 they are in one place called not only the MefTengers or Angels of the 
 Churches, but alfo the Glory of Chrift. The Natural Importance of 
 this is, that men to whom this Title is applied, ought to imitate 
 thole Heavenly Powers, in the elevation of their Souls; to conteow 
 plate the Works and Glory of God, and in their content doing his- 
 will, more particularly in mimftring to the Souls of tho(e,for whom 
 the great Angel of the Covenant made himfelf a Sacrifice. 
 
 1 do not among thefe Titles reckon thofe of Rulers or Gover' 
 nours, that are alfo given to Bifhops, becaufe they feem to be but I7, 
 another Name for Bifhops, whofe Infpe&ion was a Rule and Go- 
 vernment, and fb carried in its fignification, both Authority and 
 Labour. To thefe Defignations, that carry in them Characters 
 of Honour^ but of Honour joyned to Labour ? and for the fake of 
 
 whi 
 
 ... 
 
8 Of the Pajtorai Care. 
 
 which the Honour was due, according to that, efteetn them very 
 highly for their works fake ; I fhall add fome other Defignations, 
 that in their fignifications carry only Labour without Honour, be- 
 ing borrowed from Labours that are hard, but no way Honourable. 
 3.Ezek.j7. They are often called Watchmen , who ufed to ftand on high 
 Towers, and were to give the Alarm, as they faw occafion for 
 it : Thefe Men were obliged to a conftant attendance, to watch 
 in the Night, as well as in the Day : So all this being applied 
 to the Clergy, imports that they ought to be upon their Watch. 
 Tower, observing what Dangers their People are expoled to, ei- 
 ther by their Sins, which provoke the Judgments of God ; or by 
 the Defigns of their Enemies ; they ought not by a falfe refpeQ:, 
 (hirer them tofleepand perifh in their Sins ; but muft denounce 
 the Judgments of God to them , and rather incur their difplea- 
 f lire by their freedom, than furTer them to perifh in their Security. 
 it. Paul does alfo call Church-men by the Name of Builders, 
 j£or 3. and gives to the Apoftles the Title otMafter-builders j this imports 
 10 both hard and painful Labour, and likewife great care and ex- 
 
 aclnefs in it, for want of which the Building will be not only 
 expofed to the injuries of Weather,but will quickly tumble down; 
 and it gives us to underftand , that thofe who carry this Title, 
 ought to (tudy well the Great Rule, by which they muft carry 
 on the Intereft of Religion, that lb they may build up their peo- 
 ple in their mofl holy Faith, To as to be a Building fitly framed together. 
 iCor 3.9 They are alto called Labourers in GocCs Husbandry, Labourers in 
 st. Match, his Vineyard, and Hirveft. who are to fow, plant and water, and to 
 s° Matt cultivate the Soil of the Church. This imports a continual re- 
 9.37,38. turn of daily and hard Labour, which requires bothPain and Di- 
 iCor.3.6. ligence. 1 hey are alio called Soldiers, men that did war and fight 
 2. Philip, againft the Powers of Dxrknefs. The Fatigue, the Dangers and 
 *>• Difficulties of that State of Life, are fo well underftood, that no 
 
 Application is neceiTary to make them more fenfible. 
 
 And thus by a particular enumeration of either the more fpe- 
 cial names of thefe O Bees, fuch as Deacon, Priejl and Bfhop, Ruier 
 .and Govtrr.our, or of the defignations given to them of Shepherds 
 or Pa ft 'or s y Stewards, Jmb.tffadors and Angels, it appears that there 
 is a great Dignity belonging to them , but a Dignity w hich muft 
 carry labour with ir, as that for which the honour is due ; The 
 
 other 
 
 
Of the Tafloral Can. 9 
 
 other Titles of Watchmen, Builders, Labourers and Soldiers, im- 
 port alio that they are to decline no part of their duty, for the la- 
 bour that is in it, the dangers that may follow, or the Teeming 
 meannels that may be in it, fince we have for this Co great a Rule 
 and Pattern fet us by our Saviour, who has given us this Chara- 
 cter of himfelf, and in that a Rule to all that pretend to come 
 after him, The fon of man came not to be mimflred unto, but to mk- St. Matth. 
 mfter. This was faid upon the proud Contentions that had been zo - 2S - 
 among his Difciples, who fhould be the greateft : two of them 
 prefuming upon their near relation to him, and pretending to 
 the firft Dignity in his Kingdom ; upon that he gave them to 
 underftand, That the Dignities of his Kingdom were not to be of 
 the lame nature with thofe that were in the World. It was not 
 Rule or Empire to which they were to pretend; The Difciple was 
 not to be above his Lord : And he that humbled himfelf to be the 
 laft and Ioweft in his Service, was by fb doing, really the firft. 
 
 He himfelf defcended to the tvafhing his Difciples feet ; which he joh. if. j; 
 propofeth to their imitation ; and that came in latter Ages to be 
 taken up by Princes, and acted by them in pageantry : But the 
 plain account of that Action, is, That it was a Prophetical Em- 
 blem; of which fort we find feveral Inftances both in Ifaiahfferemy 
 and Ezekiel .• the Prophet doing fomewhat that had a myftical 
 fignification in it, relating to the Subject of his Prophecy : So 
 that our Saviour's wafhing the feet of his Difciples, imported the 
 Humility, and the defending to the meaneft Offices of Charity, 
 which he recommended to his Followers, particularly to thofe 
 whom he appointed to preach his Gofpel to tne World. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
I 
 
 io Of the Taftoral Care. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the (J{ules fet down in Scripture for tbofe that minifter in 
 Holy things ; and of the Corruptions that are fet forth in 
 them. 
 
 Intend to write with all poflible fimplicity, without the affe- 
 __ ctations of a ftri&nefs or Method : and therefore I will give 
 one full view of this whole matter, without any other order than 
 as it lies in the Scriptures : and will lay both the Rules and the 
 Reproofs that are in them together, as things that give light to 
 Levk. 8. one another. In the Law of Mofes we find many very particular 
 Rules given for the wafhing and conlecration of the Priefts and 
 Levitesy chiefly of the Holy Priefl. The whole Tribe of Levi 
 was fandified and feparated from the common Labours, either of 
 War or Tillage : and tho they were but one in twelve , yet a 
 tenth of all was appointed for them : they were alio to have a large 
 fhare of another tenth ; that lb they might be not only delivered 
 from all cares, by that large provifion that was made for them, 
 but might be able to relieve the neceffities of the Widows and Fa- 
 therlefs,the Poor and the Strangers, that fojourned among them ; 
 and by their bounty and charity, be poflTefled both of the love and e- 
 freem of the People. They were holy to the Lord; they were faid to 
 befanfiified or dedicated to God; and the Head of their Order carri- 
 ed on his Mitre this Infcriptiort, Holinefs to the Lord. The many 
 wafhings that they were often to ufe, chiefly in doing their Fun- 
 ftions, carried this fignification in them, that they were appropri- 
 ated to God, and that they were under very ftricl: obligations to a 
 high degree of purity ; they might not lb much as mourn for their 
 Levit.21. dead Relations, to fhew how far they ought to rife above all the 
 *• concerns of fltfh and bloody and even the moft excufable pafiions of 
 
 human nature.But above all things,the(e Rules taught them, with 
 what exa&nefs, decency and purity they ought to perform thofe 
 Levk. a:. Offices that belonged to their Function ; and therefore when Aa- 
 3.4- ron's two Sons, Ntdab and Abihu tranfgreffed the Law that God 
 Levit. iq. had given, fire came out from the Lord, and devoured them; and the 
 reafon given for it,carries in it a perpetual Rule. / will be fanclified 
 
Of tfo Pajtoral Care. i i 
 
 in all them that draw near to me, and before all the people I will be glo- 
 rified, : Which import, that fuch as minifter in Holy things, ought 
 to behave themfelves fo, that God's Name may be glorified by their 
 means; otherwife,that God will glorify himfelf by his fevere Judg- 
 ments en them. A fignal Inftance of which we do alfb find in E/?s l Sa ? n 2;l 
 two Sons,whofe Impieties and Defilements,as they made thePeo 3 
 pie to abhor the offering of the Lord : fo they alio drew do\vn,not on- 
 ly heavy Judgments on themfelves 3 but on the whole Houfe of Eli; 
 and ineed on the whole Nation. 
 
 But befides the attendance which the Priefts and Leyires were 
 bound to give at the Temple, and on the Publick Service there, 
 they were likewife obliged to ftudy the Law, to give the People 
 warning out of it, toinftrucl them in it, and to conduct them, 
 and watch over them ; And for this reafon they had Cities align- 
 ed them in all the Corners of the Land ; that lb they might both 
 more eafily oblerve the Manners of the People,and that the People 
 might more eafily have recourfe to them. Now when that Nation 
 became corrupted both by Idolatry and Immorality, God raifed up 
 Prophets to be extraordinary Monitors to them • to deelare to 
 them their Sins, and to denounce thole Judgments which were 
 coming upon them, becaufe of them ; we find thefilence, the ig- 
 norance, and the corruption of their Bafiws, their Shepherds, and 
 their Watchmen, is a main Article of their Charge ; fo Ifaiah tells m. ^6. 10. 
 them, that their Watchmen were blind, ignorant, dumb dogs, that 
 could not bark ; Jleeping, lying down, and loving to (lumber : Yet the(e 
 carelefs Watchmen were covetous and infatiable, They -were greedy 
 dogs, which could never have enough ; Shepherds they were, that could 
 not under (land ; but how remifs foever theymight be in God's Work y 
 they were careful enough of their own .- They all looked to their own- 
 way, every one to his own gain from his quarter. They were,no doubt, 
 exact in levying their Tythes and Firjl fruits, how little foever they 
 might do for them, bating their bare attendance at the Temple, to 
 officiate there ; fo guilty they were of that reigning Abufe, of 
 thinking they had done their duty, if they either by themfelves, or 
 by Proxy, had performed their Functions without minding what 
 was incumbent on them, as Watchmen, or Shepherds. In oppofition 
 to fuch carelefs arid corrupt Guides, God promifes to his People, 
 Tofet Watch-men over them that jhould never hold their peace day 
 nor night. ' E 2 As 
 
ii uj we rajiorai Lare. 
 
 As the Captivity drew nearer, we may eafily conclude. That 
 the Corruptions both of Prieft &nd People increafed,which ripened 
 them for the Judgments of God, that were kept back by the Re- 
 formations which Hezekidh and Jofiah had made : but at laft, ail 
 was (b depraved that tho God lent two Prophets, Jeremy and Eze- 
 kiel, to prepare them for that terrible Calamity, yet this was only 
 tolave fome few among them ; for the Sins of the Nation were 
 jer. y. *• grown to that heighc, that tho M>fts and Samuel, Noah, "job and 
 Eze . 14. Q an i e i^ jj a( j b een t f^ en a ii VCj t0 intercede for them, yet God decla- 
 red that he would not bear them S nor fpare the Nation for their 
 fakes : lb that even fuch mighty Intercefrors could only fave their 
 own Souls. In this deplorable Irate we fhall find that their Priefts 
 Jer. ^2. 8. and Paflors had their large fhare. The Priefts f aid not. Where is the 
 Lord ? They that handled the Law, knew me not, the Paflors alfo tranf- 
 greffed again ft me ; and their Corruption went To far, that they had 
 not only falfe Prophets to fupport them, but the People, who,ho w 
 bad foever they may be themielves, do generally hate evil Priefls, 
 Jer. 5.32. grew to be pleated with it. The Prophets prophecy falflly; and the 
 Jer. 6. 13. Priefts.bear rule by their means ; and my people love to have it Jo : 
 Jer.23.12. From the Prophet even to the Prieft, everyone dealt faljly. And upon 
 that, a wo is denounced again ft the Paflors that deflroyed and flattered 
 thefheep of God's paflure. They by their Office ought to have fed 
 v. 1 v. the People ; but inftead of that, they had flattered the flock , and dri- 
 ven them away, and had not vifited them : both Prophet and Priefl was 
 profane ', their rvickednefs was found even in the houfe of God. In oppo- 
 fition to all which, God promifes by the Prophet, that he would 
 v. 48. fet Shepherds over thtm, that (bould feed them ; flo that the people 
 (bould have no more reaflon to be afraid of their Paflors, or of being 
 mifcled by them; and he promifed upon their return from the 
 'Jer. 3. 1 ?. Captivity, to give them Paflors according to his own heart, whofbould 
 feed them with knowledge and under fl; anding. 
 
 In Ezekiel we find the folemn and levere charge given to Watch- 
 men, twice repeated ; that they ought to warn the wicked from his 
 Ezek.3.17. wickednefs ', otherwifl, though he fbould indeed die in his fmy God 
 Ezek.33.7. would require his blood at the Watchman) hand \ but if he gave warn- 
 ing, he had by fo doing, delivered his own foul. In that Prophecy 
 we have the guilt of the Priefts let forth verjf heinoufly. Htr 
 I Ezek. 22. Priefts have violated my Law^ and prof aft^d my holy things \ they have 
 "*• put 
 
Of the Paftoral Care. 1 3 
 
 put no difference between the holy and profane, the clean, and the un- 
 clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths ; the effect of which 
 was, that God was profaned amon" them. This is more fully profe- 
 cuted in the 54th Chap, which is all addrefled to the Shepherds o/^Ezek^a, 
 Ifrael, Wo be to the Shepht ids of Ifrael, that do feed themflves. Should 
 not the Shepherds feed the Flock ? Te eat the fat-, and ye c I oath yen 
 ivith the Wool, ye kill them that are fed, but ye feed not the Flock .- v . 3, 
 Then follows an enumeration of the fevcral forts of troubles that 
 the people were in, under the Figure of a Flock, to fhew how they 
 had neglected their Duty, in all the parts and inftances of it ; and 
 had trufted to their Authority ,which they had abufed to Tyranny 
 and Violence. The difeafed have ye not ftrengthened, neither have ye v. ^. 
 healed that which was fick, neither have ye bound up that which was bro- 
 ken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven air ay, neither 
 have ye fought that which was loft ; but with force, and with cruelty have 
 ye ruled them', upon which follows a terrible Expoftulation, and 
 Denunciation of Judgments againft them : lam againfl the Shep- „. 10. 
 herds , faith the Lord, I will require my Flock at their hands, and caufe 
 them to ceafe from feeding the flock ; neither [ball the Shepherds feed 
 themfelves any more. And in the 44th Chap, of that Prophecy, one 
 Rule is given, which was letup in the Primitive Church, as an 
 unalterable Maxim, That fuch Priefts as had been guilty of Idola- 
 try, fhould not do the Office of a Prieft any more, nor come near 
 to any of the Holy Things, or enter within the Sanctuary , but 
 were ftill to bear their fhame ; They might minifter in fome in- * 
 
 ferior Services, fuch as keeping the Gates, or flaying the Sacrifice ; 
 but they were (till to bear their Iniquity. 
 
 I have paft over all that occurs in thele Prophets, which relates 
 to the falfe Prophets, becaufe I will bring nothing into this Dif- 
 courfe,that relates to Sins of another Order, and Nature. In Da- 
 niel we have a noble Expreflion of the value of fuch as turn men Dan. n.3. 
 to Righteoufnefs, That thty fball (bine as the Star j, for ever and ever . 
 In Hofea we find among the Sins and Calamities of that time, this 
 reckoned as a main caufe of that horrid Corruption, under which 
 they had fallen, there being no truth, no mercy, nor knowledge of God Hof. 4. 1, 
 in the land, which was dt filed by fwearing, lying, killing, ftealing and z > 6 - 
 committing Adultery. My people are deft royed fur lack of knowledge I 
 To which is added, Becaufe thou baft rejected knowledge (or the in- 
 ftructing the People) / will alfo rejeel thee, that thou ft Qt be no Pritft 
 
*4 Of the Pa [tor a! Care. 
 
 to me ; feeiffg thou haft forget the Law of thy God ; I will alfo forget thy 
 children. That corrupt Race of Priefts attended ftill upon the 
 Temple, and offered up the Sin-Qfftring, and feafted upon their 
 Portion ; which is wrong renured, They eat up the fin of my people; 
 for (in ftands there as in the Law of Mofes, for Sin Offering : Be- 
 caufeofthe advantage this brought them, they were glad at the 
 abounding of Sin^ which isexprefled^y their fining their heart ; or 
 lifting up their Soul to their iniquity : The Conclufion of which is, 
 that they fhould be given up for a very heavy curfe, of, Like Priefts, 
 like People. In Joel we find the Duty of the Priefts and Minifters 
 of the Lord, iet forth in times of great and approaching Cala- 
 mities, thus, They ought to be [nterceiTbrs for the People, and 
 
 Joel i. 17. to weep between the Porch and the Altar ', and fay, Spare thy People, 
 and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the Heathen ( Strangers 
 and Idolaters ) fhould rule over them : Wherefore fhould they fay 
 among the people, Where is their God ? There is in Amos, a very 
 
 ch 3. v.u. black Character of a depraved Priefthood, Their. Priefts teach for 
 hire, and their Prophets divine for money. 
 
 Thefe were the forerunners of the deftruction of that Nation : 
 But though it might be expected, that the Captivity fhould have 
 purged them from their drofs, as it did indeed free them from all 
 inclinations to Idolatry ; yet other Corruptions had a deeper root. 
 
 Zech. 1 1. We find in Zj chary, a Curfe againfi the Idol Shepherd, who refem* 
 
 ■*• bled the true Shepherd, as an Idol does the Original .- But he was 
 without fenfe-and life. Wo be to the Idol Shepherd that leaveth the 
 Flock : The Curfe is figuratively exprefled, The J word (hall be upon 
 his arm, andhis right eye : (the things that he valued moft) his arm 
 /hall be clean dried up, and his right eye (hall be utterly dxrkned .-But this 
 is more copioufly let out by Malachi , in an Addrefs made to the 
 
 MjI. ».i. Priefts; And now, ye Priefls, this Commandment is for you ; If 
 you will not hear, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give Glory unto 
 my Name, I will even fend a curfe upon you, and I will curfe your Blef 
 fings ; yea I have cur fed them already, becaufe ye do not lay it to heart-" 
 Then the fTrft Covenant with the Tribe of Levi is fet forth ; My 
 Covenant was with him, of Life and Peace : The Law cf truth was in 
 his mouth, and iniqnity was not found in his lips : he walked with me in 
 peace and equity, and did turn many from their iniquity : Tor the 
 Priefls lips fhould preferve knowledge, and they (liouldfeek the Law at 
 his mouth ; for he is the meffenger of the Lord of Ho ft s ; AH this fets 
 
 forth 
 
Of the Pafloral Care. 15 
 
 forth the ftate of a pure and holy Prieftbood .- But then follow ter- 
 jible Words ; But ye are departed out of the way, ye have caufed many 
 toflumblt at the Law : Ye have corrupted ths Covenant of Levi '; faith 
 the Lord of Hofls. Therefore have I alfo made you contemptible, and 
 baft before all the people; according as ye have not kept my ways, but have 
 been partial in the Law. Their ill example made manv loath both 
 their Law, and their Religion : They had corrupted their Inftitu- 
 tion, and ftudied by a grofs partiality, to bring the people to be ex- 
 act in thofe parts of the Law, in which their Wealth, or their Au- 
 thority was concerned ; while they neglected the more eflential 
 and indifpenfible Duties. 
 
 Thus far have I gone over the moft important places, that have 
 occurred to me in the Old~l e flame nt, relating to this matter ; upon 
 all which, I will only add one Remark, That though fbme ex- 
 ception might be made to thofe Fxpreflions, that import the Dig- 
 nity and Sanclification of thofe who were then confecrated to the 
 Holy Functions, as parts of that inftituted Religion, which had 
 its period by the coming of Chrift ; yet fuch Paflages as relate to 
 Moral Duties, and to the Obligations that arife out of Natural 
 Religion, have certainly a more binding force, and ought to be 
 underftood and explained in a more elevated and fublime fenfe, 
 under the new Difpenfation, which is Internal and Spiritual, com-' 
 pared, to which, the Old is called the Letter and the Flefh : There- 
 fore the Obligations of the Priefts, under the Chriftian Religion, 
 to a holy ftri&neis of Life and Converfation, to a diligent atten- 
 dance on their Flock, and for instructing and watching over them, 
 muft all be as much higher, and more binding , as this New 
 Covenant cancels the old one. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Vajfages out of the New-Teftament, relating to the fame 
 matter. 
 
 THIS General Confideration receives a vaft improvement 
 from the great Example that the Author of our Religion, 
 the great Bijhop and Shepherd of our Souls has let us ; who went a- 
 bout, ever doing good, to whom it was as his meat and drink, to 
 do the will of his Father that fent him : He was the good Shepherd that 
 
 knew 
 
1 6 Of the Paftoral Care. 
 
 knew his Sheep, and Ivd down his Life for them'. And fincc he fet 
 fuch a value on the Souls of that Flock which he hath redeemed, 
 and purchaftd with his own Blood ; certainly thofe to whom he 
 has committed that work of reconciliation which flood himfelf lb 
 dear , ought to confider themfelves under very ftricl: Obligations, 
 by that charge of which they muft give a ievere account at the 
 great day, in which the Blood of all thofe who have perifhed 
 through their neglect and default,fhall be required at their hands. 
 » Yet becaufe I will not aggravate this Argument unreafonably, I 
 will make no ufe of thole paflfages which relate immediately to the 
 Apoftles : For their Function being extraordinary,as were alio the 
 Ailiftances that were given them for the difcharge of it, I will urge 
 nothing that belongs properly to their Miffion and Duty. 
 
 In the Character that the Gofpel gives of the Priefts and Vhari- 
 fees of that time, we may fee a Jutland true Idea, of the Corrupti- 
 ons into which a bad C'etgy is apt to fall ; they ftudied to engrofs 
 the knowledge of the Law to themfelves ; and to keep the People 
 in Ignorance, and in a blind dependance upon them : They were 
 zealous in letter matters,but neglected the great things of theLaw: 
 They put on an outward appearance of ftricl:nefs, but under that 
 there was much rottennefs : They ftudied to make Profelites to 
 "their Religion, but they had fb depraved it,that they became there- 
 by worfe men than before : They made great fhews of Devotion, 
 of Praying, and Fafting much, and giving Alms : But all this was 
 tobefeenofmen, and by it they devoured the Eftatesof poor and 
 fimple people: They were very ftricl: in obfervingthe Traditions 
 and Cutroms of their Fathers, and of every thing that contributed 
 to their own Authority or Advantage ; but by fo doing they made 
 void the Law of God : In a word, they had no true worth in them- 
 felves, and hated fuch as had it: They were proud and fpiteful, 
 falfe and cruel, and made ufe of the credit they were in with the 
 people, by their complying with them in their Vices, and flatter- 
 ing them with falfe hopes to fet them on to deftroy all thofe who 
 difcovered their Corruptions, and whofe real and fhining worth, 
 made their counterfeit fhew of it the more confpicuous and odious. 
 In this fhort view of thofe enormous Diforders, which then reign- 
 ed amongft them, we have a full Picture of the corrupt ftate of 
 bad Priefts , in all Ages and Religions, with this only diff- 
 erence , That the Priejls in our Saviour's time were more 
 
 careful 
 
careful and cxacl: in the Externa! and Vifible parts of their 
 Converfation, than (hey have beeu in other times : in which 
 *hey have thrown off the very decencies of a grave and fober 
 Deportment. 
 
 B-it now to go on with the Cha^a&ers and Rules that we 
 find in the New Teflament : our Saviour as he compared the 
 Work' of the Gofpel, in many parables to a Field and Har. 
 veft, he (o calls thofe whom his Father was to fend, the La- 
 bourers in that Harvefl^awd he Jell a direction to all his Fol c,s.\tatth. 
 lowers to pray to his Father that he would fend Lub urers into 3?« 
 his Hurveji. Out of which both the Vocation and Divine 
 Miftion of the Clergy, and the Prayers of the Church to God 
 for it, that are among us fixed to the Ember Weeks, have 
 been gathered by many pious Writers. In the warnings that 
 our Saviour gives to prepare tor Ins (econd coming, we find 
 the Characters of good and bad Clergy-men dated, in op- i 2 St.i^s 
 pofition to one another,un ier the Figure of Stewards^ the good 4«* 
 are both wife andfathful, they wait for his coming, and in the 
 mean while are dividing to every one of their fellow Servants his 
 portion to eat in due SeafoH, that is their proportion both of the 
 Doctrine and Myftenes of the Gofpel, according to their fe- 
 veral capacities and neceif.ties : but the bad Stewards are thofe 
 who put the evil day far from them, and foji in their heart the 
 Lord declareth his coming, upon which they eat, drink, and are 
 drunken : they indulge their fenfual Appetites even to a fcan- 
 dalous excefs.and as tor their fellow Servants,in(lead of feeding 
 ofinftruOing, or watching over them, they heat them: the; 
 cxercife a Violent and Tyrannical Authority over them. Their 
 ftate in the next World is reprefented as different as their 
 behaviour in this was, the one {hall be exalted from being a 
 Steward to be a Ruler over the Houfhold, to be a King and a 
 Priejifor ever vnioGcd, whereas the other (hall be cut afundcr, 
 and fiall have his portion with Vnlelievers. 
 
 The icf£. of St. John is the place which both Fathers, and 
 more modern Writers have chiefly made ufe of to (hew the dif- 
 ference between good and bad Pallors. The good Shepherds 
 enter by the Door, and thrift is this Door by whorn they mult 
 F enter 
 
!8 Of the Taftoral Care. 
 
 enter .5 . that is from whom they muft have their Vocation and 
 
 Million: but the Thief and ' Rober who comes to kill, /leal, and 
 
 defiroy, climbeth up fome other way: whatever he may do in the 
 
 ritual way for forms fake, he has in his Heart no regard to 
 
 Jefus Chrift,x.o the Honour of his Perfon, the Edification of his 
 
 Church or the Salvation of Souls ; he intends only to rai(e and 
 
 enrich himfelf : and fo he compaffes that, he cares not how 
 
 many Souls perifh by his means, or thorough his neglect The 
 
 good Shepherd knows his Sheep fo well, that he can call them by 
 
 name, and had them out and they hear his voice : hut the Hireling 
 
 careth not for the Sheep, he is a Stranger to them, they know not 
 
 his voice and will not follow him. This is urged by all, who 
 
 have preffed the obligation of Refidence, and of the perfonal 
 
 Labours of the Clergy, as a plain divine and indifpenfable 
 
 precept : and even in the Council ofTrent^ tho' by the Practices 
 
 of the Court of Rome, it was diverted from declaring Refidence 
 
 to be of Divine Right, the decree that was made to enforce it, 
 
 urges this place to mew the Obligation to it. The good Shep* 
 
 herd feeds the Flocks and looks for Pa/lure for them ; and is 
 
 ready to give his Life for the Sheep: but the bad Shepherd is 
 
 reprefented as a Hireling that careth not for the Flock, that fees 
 
 the Wolfe coming, and upon that leave th the Sheep and flieth. 
 
 This is, it is true, a Figure, and therefore I know it is thought 
 
 an HI way of reasoning to build too much upon figurative Dif- 
 
 courfes : yet on the other hand our Saviour having delivered 
 
 ib great a part of his Doctrine in Parables, we ought at leaft 
 
 to confider the main Scope -of a Parable : and may well build 
 
 upon that, tho' every particular Circumftance in it cannot 
 
 bear an Argument. 
 
 I fhall add but one paffage more from the Gofpelsy which 
 is much made ufe of ? by all that have writ of this matter.When 
 our Saviour confirmed St.Peter in his Apoftleihip, irom which 
 he had fallen by his denying of him, as in the Charge which 
 ri-St.Je. he thrice repeated of feeding his Lamhs and his Sbiep, ,he purfues 
 »5 ftill the Figure of a Shepherd $ fo the queftion that he asked 
 
 preparatory to it, was Simon loveflthou me more than thefe from. 
 which they juftly gather, that the Love of God, a Zeal for his 
 
 Honour, 
 
Of the Pa/iora/ Care. 'ip 
 
 Honour, and a preferring of that to all other things whatfo- 
 ever.isa neceffary and indifpenfible qualification for that Holy 
 Imployment} which d id inguifhes the true Shepherd from the 
 Hireling: and by which only he can be both animated and 
 fortified, to go through with the labours and difficulties, as 
 well as the dangers and fufierings which may accompany it. 
 
 When St. Paul was leaving his lafl: charge with the Biflrops 
 that met him at Ephefus, he Hill makes ufe of the fame Meta- 
 phor of Shepherd in thofe often cited words, Take heed to jour zoAttuZ. 
 [elves and to all the Flock over which the Holy Ghoji bath made 
 )ou Bifhops or Overfeers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath 
 purchased with his own Blood. .The words are folemn, and the 
 confideration enforcing them is a mighty one ; they import 
 the Obligations of the Clergy, both to an exa&nefs in their 
 own Deportment, and to earned and conftant labours, in imi- 
 tation of the Apoftle, who during the three Years of his flay 
 among them,had been ferving God with all humility of mind,with v > *& 
 many tears and temptations, and had not ceafed to warn every one 
 both night and day, with tears : and had taught them hothpublickly, y, 20 . 
 andfromHoufeto Houfe: Upon which he leaves them, calling 
 them all to witnefs that he was pure from the Blood of all Men. v% t6i 
 There has been great difputing concerning the Perfons to 
 whom thefe words were addrefled ; but if all Parties had 
 ftudied more to follow the Example here propofed, and the 
 Charge that is here given ; which are plain and eafie to be un- 
 derftood, then to be contending about things that are more 
 doubtful ; the good Lives and the faithful Labours of Apofto- 
 lical Biftfops, would have contributed more bcth to the edify- 
 ing and healing of the Church, than all their Arguments or 
 Reafonings will ever be able to do. 
 
 St. PW reckoning up to the Romans the feveral Obligations 
 ofChriftians of all ranks, to aftiduity and diligence, in their 
 callings and labours, among others he numbers thefe, Minifters Km, 12.7. 
 let us wait on our miniftring, or he that teacheth on teaching.he that 
 rw'eth with diligence : In his Epiflle to the Corinthians, as he 
 flates the Dignity of the Clergy in this, that they ought to be 
 accounted of as the Minifters ofChrifi, and Stewards of the My » Cor. 4.2. 
 F 2 (leries 
 
20 OftheTaftoralCate. 
 
 Series of God. He adds that it is required in Stewards that a- 
 Man be found faithful. In that Epiftle, he fers down that perpe- 
 tud Law, which is the Foundation of ail the Provi fi on that 
 
 i Cor. 9.14. has been made for the Clergv, That the Lord hath ordained that 
 they which preach the Gofpel fhould live of the Gofpe/. But it upon 
 that, the Laity have looked on themftlves as bound to appoint 
 fo plentiful a Supply, that the Clergy might have whereon 
 to live at their eafe and in abundance 5 then certainly this was 
 intended that they being freed from the troubles and cares of 
 
 ASF'M* this World, might attend continually on the Mini fi ry of the 
 Word of God and on Prayer. Thofe who do that Work negligently, 
 provoke the Laity to repent of their bounty and to defraud 
 them of it. For certainly there are no fuch Enemies to the 
 Patrimony and Righrs of the Church, as thofe wjio eat the Fat 
 but do not preach the Gofpel., nor feed the Flock.. Happy on theo- 
 ther hand arc they, to whom that Character, w hich the A- 
 
 *c**.4.i,J' poftle affumes to himfelf, and to Timothy, does belong 5 There- 
 fore feeing ne have nerved this miniflry, as we have received 
 mercy we faint not : but have renounced the hidden things of 
 :. difhcnefly.not walking in craft inefs, nor handling the Word of God 
 
 deceitfully \but by manifedation of the Truth, commending our/elves 
 to every man's Coafcience inthefi^ht of God. In the Epiffle to 
 
 4Eph.11. the Efhefians, we have the ends of the Institution of all the 
 
 a,J > '3- Ranks of Clergy-men fct forth in thefe words. He gave 
 fome Apoflles, andfome Prophet s, and fome Evan^elifls, a* d fome 
 Pastors and Teachers : for the per felling of the Saints for the Work 
 of the MiniJIry, for the edifing the Body of Chrijl : t'\li vre all 
 come in the Unity of the Faith, and of the Knowledge of the 
 Son of God, unto a perfeel man, unto the meafure of the fata re of 
 thefulnefsofChrifl. In thefe words we fee fomething that is 
 vaft and noble,fo far above thofe flight and poor performances, 
 in which the far greater part do too eafily fatisfie themfelves; 
 that in charity to them we ought to iuppofe that they have 
 reflected fufttciently on the Importance of them. Otherwife 
 they would have in fome fort proportioned their labours to 
 thofe great defigns for which they are ordained ; and would 
 remember the Charge given to the Cckffian*, to fay to Archip- 
 
 %us, 
 
Of the PafloralCare. 21 
 
 pus, who it feems was remifc in the difcharge of his duty, Take W<& n. 
 heed to the Mini/lry which the* l.aft received in the Lord, that 
 thou full fti it. 
 
 The Epiflles to Timothy and Titus are the Foundation of all 
 the Canons of the Church, in theie we have the Chara&efs of 
 Bi/hops, and Deacons, zs well as the duties belonging to thofe 
 Functions, fo particularly fet forth that from thence alone 
 every one who will weigh them well, may find fufficient 
 Inftru&ion, how he ought to behave himfelf in the Houfe of God. 
 In thefe we fee what patterns thofe ot the Clergy ought to be f Tm 
 in Word (or Doctrine) inConverfation, in Charity in Spirit, in l2 , 13,14* 
 Faith, and in Purity, they ought to give attendance to reading, to 1 5» i 6 « 
 exhortation, and to dotlrine, tnat is both to the in(lruc~ta g and 
 exhorting of their People. They ought not to neglett that gift 
 that was given to them, by the laying on of hands, they otgbt to 
 meditate on thefe things, to give themfehes wholly to them, that 
 fo their profiting may appear untoSli : and to take heed to them- 
 felves and their Dodrine; and to continue in them : for in fo doing 
 they fhall both fave themfehes and thofe that hear them. Thofe 
 that govern the Church are more particularly charged, before , Ttmi %t 
 God, the Lord Jefus and the Holy Angels, that they obferve thefe 21, 22. 
 things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by 
 partitlity,by Domeftick regards, the confiderations of Fricnd- 
 Ihip, Intercellion, or Importunity: and above all that they lay- 
 hand fuddenlyon no man; to which are added words of great 
 terror, neither be thou partaker of other mens fins : keep thy fe If 
 pure. Which ought to make great Impreflion, on ail thole 
 with whom the Power of Ordinaticn is lodged : fmce they do 
 plainly import, that fuch as do ordain any raflhly without 
 due enquiry, and a ftricl: examination, entitle themfelves to 
 all the fcandal they give , and become partners of their guilt : 
 which if well confidered, muft needs make all fuch, as are not 
 pall feeling, ufe great care and caution in this facred Truft. 
 Bijhops are the Dcpofvuries of the faith, u hich they are to 
 keep pure } and to hand down faithfully according to thefe 
 words And the things which thouhafl heard of me among many 2pm.2:s 9 . 
 ivJtne([es' 3 the fame commit thou to faithful men who may be able to 3 > 4* 
 
 teach 
 
22 - Of the faftoral Care'. " 
 
 teach others alfo: upon this he prepares the Blfhop for difficul- 
 ties to endure hardnejs as a good 'Souldier ofjefus Chrifl. And 
 according to that Figure, fince thofe that go to war, do not 
 carry unnecefl'ary burdens with them, which may encumber 
 and retard their march, he adds, no man that warreth entangleth 
 himfelfwith the Affairs of this life, that he may pteafe him who 
 hath chofen him for a Souldier $ upon this it is that all thofe 
 Canons, which have been made in fo many Ages of the Church , 
 againft Churclvmens medling with fecular Affairs, have 
 been founded ; than which we find nothing more frequently 
 provided againft, both in the Apojlolical Canons, in thofe of 
 Antbch, in thole made by the General Council oiCalcedon, and 
 in divers of the Councils of Carthage : but this abufe had too 
 deep a root in the nature of man, to be eafily cured. St. Paul 
 does alfo in this place carry on the Metaphor to exprefsthe 
 earneftnefs and indefatigablenefs of Clergy-mens Zeal, that 
 as Officers in an Army were fatisfied with nothing under 
 Victory, which brought them the Honours of a Triumph, fo we 
 ought to fight, not only fo as to earn our pay, but for Ma- 
 fiery to fpoil and overcome the Powers of darknefs ; yet even 
 thismuft he done lawfully, not by deceiving the People with 
 r/ - s * pious frauds, hoping that our good Intentions will atone for 
 our taking bad methods : War has its Laws as well as Peace, 
 and thofe who manage this Spiritual warfare, ought to keep 
 themfelves within the Instructions and Commands that are 
 given them. Then the Apofile changing the Figure from the 
 Souldier to the Workman and Stewardfays, ftudj tofhew thy/elf 
 approved unto God (not tofeekthe vain applaufesof men, but 
 V. 15. t0 P re ^ er *° a ^ other things the witnefs of a good Confcience, 
 and that in fimplicity and godly fincerity, he may walk 
 and labour as in the fight of God) a Workman that needeth 
 not to be afhamed 5 rightly dividing the word of Truth : This is 
 according to the Figure of a Steward, giving every one his due 
 portion ; and a little after comes a noble Admonition, relating 
 to the meeknels of the Clergy towards thofe that divide from 
 V- 24, 25, them : The Servant of the Lord muji not (Irives hut he gentle 
 2 - .to all men, apt to teach , patient ■, in meeknefs, injlrucling thofe 
 
 that 
 
Of tlx Pafloral Care. 23 . 
 
 that oppofe themfelves, if peradventure God wilt give them 
 repentance, to the acknowledging the Truth. This is the t-fi ge 
 that was chiefly urged by our Reformers againfi> the Per- 
 fection that the Roman Clergy did every where fet on a- 
 gainft them: The extent of it ought to be well con fidered, 
 that fo it may not be faid, that we are only againfl perfec- 
 tion when it lies on ourfelves, for if it is a good defence to 
 fome, it is as good to others 5 unle(s we own that wc do 
 not govern our felves by that rule of doing to others that which 
 tee would have others do to us. In the next Chapter, we find 
 the right Education of this Biihop, and that which furnifhes 
 a Clergy man, to perform all the duties incumbent on him : 
 From a Child thou hajl known the Hoi) Scriptures, which are able 2 Km.?, !■•;;.• 
 to make thee wife unto Salvation, through faith in Chrifl Jefus : 
 That is the Old Teftament well (ludied,by one that believed 
 Jefus to be the Mejfias, and that was led into it by that 
 Faith, did difcover to a Man the great Oeconomy of God in 
 theProgrefs of the Light, which he made mine upon the 
 World by degrees, unto the perfeft day of the appearing of 
 the Sun of Righteoufnefsj ?ndto this he adds a noble Cha- 
 racter of the inspired Writings : All Scripture is given by itt- 
 fpiration of God, and is prof talk for Doclrine, for reproof, fit '* ' 
 cor reft ion, for inflruUing in right eoujnefsjhat the Man of God may 
 isperfetf, through/) furni/hed unto all geed ivorks. The Apoflle 
 goes on and gwcsTimothy the moft folemn Charge that can be 
 ftt out in words j which if underfiood, as belonging to all 
 BifVnps, as the whole Church of God has ever done, mull be . 
 read by ihem with trembling. / charge thee therefore before 2 Tm - 4» ; 
 God, and the Lord Jefus Chrift, who Jhall judge the quick and dead ' 
 at his appearing, and his Kingdom, preach the Word, be hfiavt 
 in Seajon cut of Scafon, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long 
 fuffering and doclrine (thai is with great gentlent fs in the 
 manner, and clcarnels and ftrcngth in the matter of their In- 
 fi ructions) and a little after, watch thou in all things, endure j :j 
 affU/lton, do the work of an Evat;gelijl i make fall proof of for 
 fulfil!) thy Minifiry. And as a confideranon to enforce this 
 the more, he tells what a noble and agreeable profpeft he 
 
 Had- ■ 
 
24 Vf toe fafloralCare. 
 
 v - 6 - had in toe View of his approaching duToIution .• The time 
 of his departing drew nigh, he was ready to le offered «», 
 as a Sacrifice tor that Faith which he had Co zealoufly and' 
 (b fuccelsfully preached: and 1 ere we have his two great 
 preparatives for Martyrdom : The one was in looking on 
 v - 7- his paft life and labours: I have fought a good Fight, I have 
 fnifhed my CouJe 9 I haze kept the Faith. The other was in 
 looking.forward to the Reward, that Crown of Right eoufnefs 
 V. 8. which was laid up for him, which the Lord the Righteous fudge 
 would gite him at that day : and not only to him } but alfo to all 
 thofe that loved his appearing, and certainly more efpecially to 
 thofe who not only loved it themfelves, but who laboured 
 Co as to difpofe others alfo to love it. To all thefe conside- 
 rations, though nothing needed to have been added, to one 
 upon whom they made Co Strange an impre/Tion, as they 
 did upon Timothy, yet one comes after all, which ought to 
 teach us to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling 
 fince St.Paul tells Timothy that Dtmas, one of the Companions 
 of his labours, had fvrfaken him, and that which prevailed 
 '.2o. over him was the Love of this pre fent World. 
 
 Thefe are the Rules and Charges given by St. Paul to 
 Timothy, and in him to all the Bifhops and Paftors that were 
 to come after him in the Church. Some of thefe are again 
 repeated in his Bpiflle to Titus, where we have the Cha- 
 racters fet out --, bv which he was to prepare and examine 
 thofe Elders or Bifhops, who were to rule the Boufe of God : 
 that thofe being well chefen, they might be able by found 
 r - Doflrine both to exhort and convince the Gainfayers, and that 
 he might do his duty with the more advantage 5 he charges 
 r,>. 7 . s. him to fhew himfelf in all things a pattern of good Works : in 
 Dotlrine^ (hewing uncorruptnfs, gravity, fincerity 5 and ufingfuch 
 found Speech as couU not be condemned : that jo thofe who were 
 of the contrary Party (the Judaiztrs who were Studying to 
 corrupt the Chiflian Religion by making a medly of it and 
 Judaifm) might have no evil thing to Jay of him ; and after 
 a glorious but fhort Abllracl: of the dehgn of their holy Reli- 
 gion .; he concludes that part of the Epillie in thefe words, 
 
 Thefe 
 
Of the PafioralCare. 25 
 
 Theft things [peak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority : to 
 which he adds a Charge, that may feem more proper to 
 be addrefled to others, then tohimfelK/*f »o man deffife thee : v - **• 
 The fame is likewifein hisEfifltetc Timothy, with this Ad- 
 dition, let no wan defpife thy youth: but thefe wordsdo import l /w -4-"- 
 that it is in a Bi(hop's own Power, to procure due Elteem to 
 himfelf 5 at leaft to prevent contempt ; fince a holy and 
 exemplary Deportment, and faithful and conftant labours 
 never fail to do that. In the Conclusion of the E fifth to 
 the Hebrews, we find both the Characters or thofe v\ ho had 
 laboured among them,and had ruled them,«but who were then 
 dead 5 and alfo of fucb as were yet alive. Remember them who x^Heb. 7. 
 had the rule over you ; who have ffoken to you the Word of Gcd, 
 whoje Faith follow, conftdering the end of their conversation : they 
 had both lived and died, as well as laboured in fuch a man- 
 ner, that the Remembring of what had appeared in them, was 
 an effe&ual means ot pcrfwading the Hebrews to be fteady 
 in the Chriftian Religion : for certainly, though while a man 
 lives let him be ever fo eminent, there is ftill room for 
 ill-nature and jealoufie to mifreprefent things, and to fuf- 
 peel: that fomething lies hid under the faireft appearances; 
 which may fliew it felf in due time % all that goes off, when 
 one has finifhed his courle, fo that all appears to be of a 
 piece, and that he has died as he had lived. Then the Ar- 
 gument from his converfation appears in its full ftrength, 
 without any diminution. But the charge given with relation 
 to thofe who then had the rule over them is no lefs remarka- 
 ble, Obey them that have the rule over you; ahd fulmit your 
 [elves, [or they watch [or your Souls ; as they that muft give 
 account : that they may do it with joy and not with 'grief: [or that 
 is unfrofitable [or yon : Here Obedience and Submillion is 
 enjoyned, upon the account of their Rulers watching over them, 
 and for them : and therefore thofe who do not watch like Men 
 that know that they maft give account of that Truft, have- 
 no reafon to ex peel: thefe from their People : Of a piece with 
 this is St. Pauls charge to the Theffalonians, we befeech you to 
 know (or to acknowledge,) them which labour among you, and 
 G that 
 
2 6 Of the TaftoralCare. 
 
 are ever you in the Lord, and admonifi you, and to ejlecm them 
 very highly in love, for their works fake : Here both the Sub- 
 • million and Efteem, as well as the acknowledgment that is 
 due to the Clergy, is faid to be for their works fake : And 
 therefore fuch as do not the work and that do not labour and 
 admonifh their People, have no juft claim to them. There 
 is another expreflion in the id. Epifile to the Thejfalonian?, 
 that is much urged by thofe who have writ on this Head, 
 That if any will not work^ he fhould not eat, which if it is a Rule 
 binding all Men, feems talie much heavier on the Clergy. 
 
 I (hall conclude all that 1 intend to bring out of the Scrip- 
 ture upon this Argument, with St. Peters charge to the El- 
 den of the Churches, to which he writ ; which is indeed fo 
 full, that though in the Courfe of the New Teftament, it had 
 not lain laft, it deferved by the Rules of Method, to be kept 
 laft 5 for the clofing and enforcing all that has gone before, 
 and for giving it its full weight. St. Peter defcends i Epifile- 
 $ch. i ver. to a level with them, calling himfelf no better than 
 a. fellow Elder and a Witnefs of the fujfering of Chrifi : And alfo 
 a Partaker of the Glory which was to be revealed. Feed the Flock 
 of God (fays he) which is among you\ (thefe words will bear 
 another rendring as much as lieth in you) taking the over fight 
 thereof not by conflraint (as forced to it by Rules, Canons, or 
 Laws ) but willingly not for filthy lucre f for though God has 
 ordained that fuch as preach the Gofpel ihould live of the Gof- 
 pel$ yet thofe who propofe that to themfelves as the chief 
 Motive in entring into Holy Orders, are hereby feverely 
 condemned J but of a ready mind, neither as being Lords over 
 God's Heritage (ox not ufing a defpotick Authority over their fe* 
 ver allots or divifions) hut being examples to the F/ock 3 not tyran- 
 nizing it over their People : But acquiring their Authority 
 chiefly by their own exemplary converfation; The conclu- 
 fion of the Charge, is fuitable to the folemnity ofit in thefe 
 words : And when the Chief Shepherd (hall appear, ye Jhall 
 like wife receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away. 
 
 With this I make an end of Citations from Scripture : 
 I think it is as plain as words can make any thing, that 
 
 fuch 
 
Of the Paftoral Care, • 2 ; 
 
 fuch as are dedicated to the fervice of God and of his Church, 
 oughtto labour conftantly and faithfully : And that in their 
 own Perfons. For it is not pofUble to exprefs a perfonal 
 Obligation,in terms that are both more ftricT: and more foJemn 
 then theleare which have been cited, and a!l the returns of 
 obedience and fubmiffion, of efteem and fupport, being de- 
 clared to be due to them on the account of their watching 
 over and feeding the Flock of God, thofe who pretend to theie, 
 without confidering themfelves as under the other Obligati- 
 ons, are guilty of the worft fort of Sacriledge , in devour- 
 ing the things that are Sacred, without doing thofe duties for 
 which thefe are due, and what right foever the Law of the 
 Land may give them to them, yet certainly according to 
 the Divine Law thofe who do not wait at the Altar, ought c ° r > 9 
 not to be partaken with the Altar : Thofe who do not mini/hr ' 4 ' 
 about holy things, ought not to live of the things of the Temple : 
 Nor ought thofe who do not preach the Go/pel, live of the Gqf- . 
 pel, \i I had a mind to make a great (hew of reading, or 
 to Triumph in my Argument with the Pomp of Quotations, 
 it were very eafie to bring a Cloud of Witnefles to confirm 
 the Application that I have made of thefe pafTages of Scrip. 
 ture : Indeed all thofe who have either writ Commentaries 
 on the Scriptures, ancient and modern, or have left Homi- 
 lies on thefe fubjects, have preffed this matter fomuch, that 
 every one that has made made any progrefs in Ecclefi- 
 aftical learning , muft know that one might foon fluff a 
 great many Pages with abundance of Quotations out of the 
 Authors, both of thebeft, and of the worft Ages of the 
 Church : not only the Fathers , but even the Schoolmen, 
 and which is more the Canonifl have carried this matter 
 very high, and have even delivered it as a Maxime, that 
 all difpenfations that are procured upon undue Pretences, the 
 chief of which they reckon the giving a Man, aneafie and 
 large fubfiftence, are null and void of themfelves : And 
 conclude that "how ftrong foever they may be in Law, yet 
 they are nothing in Confcience : And that they do not free 
 a Man from his Obligations to Rejjdence and Labour : And 
 G 2 they 
 
2 8 ' Of the Paflcral Care. 
 
 they do generally conclude that he who upon a Pifpe'nfation, 
 which has been obtained upon Carnal accounts, fucb as Birth, 
 Rank or great Abilities, (and qualifications are not yet fo good 
 asthefe) does not Refide, is oound in Confcience to reft ore 
 the Fruits of a Benelice which he has thus enjoyed with a 
 bad' Confcience without performing the duty belonging to 
 it, in his own Perfon. But though it were very eafie to 
 bring out a great deal to this purpofe, I will go no further 
 at prefent upon this Head: The words of God, feem to be 
 fo exprefs and pofitive, that fuch as do not yield to fo un- 
 difputable an Authority, will be little moved by all that 
 can be brought out of Authors of a lower Form , againft 
 whom it will be eafie to mutter up many exceptions, if 
 they will not be determined by fo many of the Oracles of 
 the living God, 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the Senfe of the Primitive Church in this Matter. 
 
 I will not enter here into any Hiftorical Account of the Dif- 
 cipline of the Church, during the firfl: and beft Ages of 
 Chriftianity. It is the glory of this Church, that in her dis- 
 putes of both hands, as well with thofe dt the Church of Rome, 
 as withthofe that feparate from her 3 ihe has both the Do 
 £trine and the Conl :ution of the Primitive Church of her 
 fide. But this Plea v aid be more entire and lefs difputable, 
 if our Conftitution -: e not only \n its mainand moft-eflen- 
 tial parts, formed u'_ )h that glorious Model 5 but were alfo 
 in its Rules and Ad .niftrations, made more exactly conform- 
 able to thofe be* ma purelt times, 1 can never forget an 
 advice that was ;j ive 1 me above thirty years ago, by one 
 of the worthie' Clergy-men now alive 5 while I wasftudy- 
 mg the Con, , over xe relating . to the Government of the 
 Church, fror thelrimitive Times, he defiresmetojoyn with 
 
 the. 
 
Of the Pafloral Care. *9 
 
 the more Speculative Difcoveries^hat I flhould make.the Senfe 
 thit they liad of the Obligations of the Clergy, both with re- 
 lation to their Lives, and to their Labours : And faid that the 
 Argument in favour of the Church, how clearly foever made 
 out, would never have its full effect upon the World.till abufes 
 were fo rar corrected ,that we could (hew a Primitive Spirit in 
 our Adminiftration,as well as a Primitive pattern for our Con- 
 ftitution. This made even then, deep ImpreiTions on me, and 
 1 thank God the Senfe of it has never left me in the whole. 
 courfe of my Studies. 
 
 I will not at prefent enter upon fo long and fo Invidious a 
 work as the defcending into all the particulars, into which this 
 matter might be branched out 5 either from the Writings of 
 the Fathers, the Decrees of Councils, the Roman Law and the 
 Capitulars, or even from the dreg of all, the Canon L<«yitfelf, 
 which though a Collection made in one of the word Ages,yet 
 carries many rules in it, that would feem exceffively fevere, 
 even to us, after all our Reformation of Doctrine and VVorfhip. 
 This has been^lready done .with fo much exa&nefv that it will 
 not be neceffary to fet about it after the Harvefl, which was 
 gatheieaby tne learned Bilhopof Spalato'm the laft Book of 
 his great Work : winch the Pride and Inconftancy of the Au- 
 thor, had brought under a difefleem, that it no way deferves : 
 For whatever he might be,that work was certainly one of die 
 beft productions of that Age. But this defign has been profe- 
 cuted of late with much more exactnefs and learning, and with 
 great honefty and ftdelity,w here the interelt of his Church did 
 not force him to.ufe a little Art, by F. Thomafa t who has com- 
 pared the modern and the ancient Difcipline, and has ihewed 
 very copi.oufly,by what fteps the Change was made ; and how 
 abules crept into the Church. It is a work of great ufe, o fuch 
 as delire to underftand that matter truly. Twill refer th< 
 rious to thefe. and many other leffer Treaties, writ by the 
 Jattjcnifts in France, in which abules are very honeftlv com* 
 plained off, and proper Remedies are propofed; which in many 
 places being entertained by Biihops, that had a right Senfe of 
 the Primitive Rules, have given the Rife to a great Refor- 
 mation of the French Clergy. inftead 
 
30 Of the rafloral Care, 
 
 Tnflead then of any Hiftorical deduction of thefe matters, i 
 fhall content myfelf with giving the Senfe of two of the Fa- 
 thers of the Greek Churchy and one of the Latin upon this whole 
 bufinefs,of the Obligations of the Clergy. The firfl: is Gregory of 
 tfasmrze whofe Father ordained him a Presbyter, notwith- 
 ftondingall his humble Interccflions to the contrary,according 
 to the cuftom of the bed Men of that Age 5 who inftead of 
 prefling.into Orders, or afpiring to them, tied from them, ex- 
 cufed themfelves, and judging themfelves unworthy of fo holy 
 a Character andfo high a Truft, were not without difficulty 
 prevailed on to fubmit to that, which in degenerate Ages Men 
 run to as to a fubfiflance,or the mean of procuring it,and feem 
 to have no other Senfe of that Sacred Infritution, then Me- 
 chanicks have of obtaining their Freedom in that Trade or 
 Company in which they have paffed their Apprenticefhip. It 
 were indeed happy for the Church,if thofe who offer them- 
 felves toOrtferSy had butfuch a Senfe of them as Tradefmen 
 have of their Freedom: Who .do not pretend to it till they 
 have rlnimed the time prefcribed ; and are in fome fort qualified 
 to fet up in it : Whereas,alas ! men who neither know the Scrip, 
 tures, nor the body of Divinity, who have made no progrefsirt 
 their Studies, and can give no tollerable account of that holy 
 Doctrine, in which they defire to be Teachers, do yet with 
 equal degrees of confidence, and importunity, pretend to this 
 Character, and find the way to it too eafie,and the accefs of it 
 too free.But this Holy Father had a very different fenfe of this 
 matter. He had indeed fubmittedto his Fathers Authority, he 
 being hisBifhopas well as his Father. But immediately after 
 he was ordained, he gives this account of himfelf i'n his Apolo- 
 getical Oration, That he judging he had not that fublimity of 
 forme, nor that familiar acquaintance with divine matters, which 
 became Paftors and Teachers ; he therefore intending to purifie 
 Jus own Soul to hither degrees of Vertue, to an Exaltation above 
 fenfible Obje&s, alove his Body and above the World, that fo he 
 might bring his mind to a recollecled and divine State, and fit bis 
 Soul that as apolijhcd mirrour it might carry on it the Jmprejftons 
 cf divine Ideas unmixed with the allay of earthly Oljecls,and might 
 
 he 
 
Of the Paftoral Care. 31 
 
 BefMlcuflinja brightnefs upon all his Thoughts, did in order to the 
 railing himfelfro that, retire to the Wildernefs. He had obferved 
 that many preffdto handle the h >>ly Myfleries, with umvafhed hands , 
 and defiled Souls: And before they were meet to be initiated to the 
 divine Vocation were croudingabout the Altar, not to fet patterns to o- 
 t hers, but defigning only a fubjiflence to themfelves : reckoning that the 
 hoi/ dignity , was not a Truji for which an account was to be given, but 
 aftate of Authority and Exemption. They had neither piety nor parts to 
 recommend them, but were the reproaches of the Chrifiian Religion and 
 were the Pefls of the Church : Which infecled it fafler than any p 1 ague 
 could do the Air, frnce Men dideaftly run to imitate bad Examples, but 
 were drawn off very hardly by the perfetlefl patterns to the practice of 
 Vertue. VponvohUhhe formed a high Idei of the eminent worth and 
 vertues which became thofe who governed the Church : And of the great 
 Progrefs that they ought to be dily making.not contented with low mea- 
 fires of it. as if they were to weigh it critically in nice ballances; and not 
 to rife up to the highefl degrees poffible in it. Tet even this,was not all : 
 For to govern mankind which was fo various, and fo uncertain a fort of 
 Creature ifeemed to him the highejl pitch of knowledge and wifdom, as 
 far above that skill and labour that is neceffry to the curing of bodily 
 Difeafes as the Soul is fuperiour to the Body, ' and yet fince fo much 
 Study and Obfervationvoat neceffaryto make a Man a skillful Phyfidan, 
 he concluded that much more was neceffary for the Spiritual Medicine : 
 The defgn of which was to give Wings to the Soul, to raife it above the 
 World, and to confecrate it to God, here he runs out into a noble rap- 
 ture, upon the excellence and fublimity oftheChriftian Religion, 
 and upon the art of governing Souls, of the different methods to be 
 taken, according to the diversity of mens capacity* and tempers: 
 and ofdividing the word of God aright, among them. The diffi- 
 culties of which he profecutes in a great variety of fublime Ex- 
 pressions and Figures: but concludes lamenting that there was fo 
 little order, then obferved, that men had fcarce pajfed their Childhood 
 when, before they unde'dood the Scriptures^ not to fay before the had 
 wa fhe doff the fpots and d filement s of their Souls. if they had learned but 
 two or three pious words which they had got by heart or hadreaifomb 
 of tbe Pfalms of O u id, and put on an outward garb that carried an 
 appearance of piety in itjhefe men were prefentlypufhed on by the Vanity 
 
 "f 
 
0} the PaftoralCafe.. 
 
 of their minds, toafpire to the Government of the Church. To fuch 
 Perfons he addrefles himfelf very Rhetorically and asks them,wW 
 they thought of the ccmmonejl imployment s fuch as the playing on In. 
 siruments or of dancings in comparison with Divine Wifdom : For ac- 
 quiring the one they know great pains and much praclice was neceffary : 
 could the i then imagin that the other fhould be foe aft 'ly attained : but 
 lie adds that one may as well fow upon Rocks, and talk to the deaf as 
 hope to work upon Perfons, who have not yet got to that degree 
 of Wifdom, of being fenfble of their own ignorance. This evil he 
 had often with many tears lamented, hut the pride of fuch men was 
 fo great, that nothing under the Authority of a St. Peter or a 
 St. Paul, could work upon them. Upon this mention of St. Paul, 
 he breaks out into a rapture, upon his labours and fufferings, 
 and the care of all the Churches that lay on him 5 his be- 
 coming all things to all men, his gentlenefs where that was 
 neceflary, and his authority upon other occafions, his zeal, 
 his patience, his conftancy, and his (prudence in fulfilling 
 all the parts of. his Miniftry. Then he cites feveral of the 
 Paflages of the Prophets, particularly thofeof Jeremy and Ezekiet, 
 .Zachary and Malachi, which relate to the corruptions of the 
 Priefls and Shepherds of Ifrael. And lhews how applicable they 
 were to the Clergy at that time, and that all the woes de- 
 nounced againft the Scribes and Pharifees belonged to them, with 
 heavy aggravations. Thefe thoughts pojfeffed him day and night ; they 
 did eat out his very firength andfubflance ; they didfo afflicJ anddejett 
 him, and gave himfo terrible a Profpecl of the Judgments of God, which 
 they were drawing down upon the Church, that he instead of daring to 
 undertake any part of the Government of it, was only thinking how he 
 Jliould cleanfe his own Soul and fly from the wrath , which was to 
 come, and could not think that he was yet while Co young, meet 
 to handle the Holy Things. Where he runs out into a new Rap- 
 ture in magnifying the dignity of holy Functions, and upon 
 that fays, that tho' he had been dedicated to God from his Mothers 
 Womb, and had renounced the World and all that was charming in it, 
 even Eloquence it felfandhad delighted long in the Study of the Scrip - 
 wes aid had 'fubdued many of his Appetites and Pajions, yet after all 
 this, in which perhaps he had become a Fool in glorying, he hadfo high a 
 
 Notion 
 
V/J IfJG M. U3 1VI ill- V. Ul C. •} J 
 
 Nation of the care and government of Souls, that bethought it above 
 his ftrength '■> efpecially in fitch bad times in which all things ivcrc 
 out of order : Fad ions were formed \ and Charity was loft 5 fo 
 that the very Name of a Priafl was a Reproach, as if God had 
 poured out Contempt upon them : and thereby impious Men daily 
 blifphemed his Name. And indeed, all the (hew of Religion 
 that remained was in their mutual heats and animofities, con- 
 cerning fbme matters of Religion } they condemned andcenfurcd 
 one another, they chert jhed and made life of the worft Men, fo 
 they were true to their Party 5 they concealed their Crimes, nay % 
 they pattered and defended fome that fjould not have been fit 'fcred to 
 enter into the Sanliuary : They gave the holy things to Dogs, while 
 they enquired very narrowly into the failings of thofc that differed. 
 from them,notthat they might lament them, but that they might re- 
 proach them for them. The fame- faults which they excufed in 
 fame, were declaimed againfi in others : So that the very Name of 
 a good or a bad Man were not now ccnfidered, as the Chitr afters 
 of their Lizes, but of their being of or againji a fide. And the fe 
 abufes werefoZ)mve>fal, that they were like People like Priejl : If 
 thofe heats had arifen upon the great Heads ofReligion,hcfl)ould have 
 commended the Zeal of thofe who had contended for the Truth, and 
 fmtld have fludied to have followed it. But their dtfputes were. about 
 fmall 'Matters, and things of no confequence } and yet even thefe were 
 fought for, under the Glorious Title of the Faith, tho the root of alt 
 was Mens private Animofities : Thefe things had expo fed the Chri- 
 ft> an Religion to the hatred of the Heathen, and had given even the 
 Chriftians them felves -very hard Thoughts of 'the Clergy: This was 
 grown to that height, that they were then acied and reprefntednpon 
 the Stage •■> and made the Subjeft of the Peoples f com. So that by their 
 means, the name of God was blafphcmed : This was that which gave 
 him much f adder Apprchenfions, than all that could be feared from 
 t hit wild Beaji, that was then beginning to vex and perfca/te the 
 Church, (by which probably Julian is meant, J the comfortable 
 projpeft of dying for the name ofChrifl, made, that a Pcrfecution was 
 no! fo dreadful a thingjn his account, as the Sins, the Divifons, and 
 Diflraftions of Chrijiians. This then was the rcafbn that had 
 made him fly to the Wildcrnefs, for the ltate of the Church had 
 made him deipond ; and lofe all his courage:He had alfo gone thi- 
 H ther, 
 
54 vj we rastorai ^are. 
 
 thcr, that he might quite break himfelf to all his Appetites and 
 Paidons, and to all the Pleafur.es and Concerns of this Life, that 
 did darken the (timings of the Divine Image upon his Soul 5 
 and the emanations of the Heavenly Light- When he conside- 
 red the judgments of God upon bad Priefls and many other 
 ftriet Rules in the old Difpenfation, and the great Obligations 
 that lay upon thofe who were the Prieflr ,of the living God.and 
 that ought before they prefumed to offer up other Sacrifices, 
 to begin with the Oblation of themfelvesto God j he was upon 
 all thefe Reafbns moved to prepare himfelf, by fo long; a Retreat. 
 I have given thislong Abftraci of his Apobgetical Or.ition, not 
 only to fet before my Reader the Senfe that he had of the facred 
 Fun&ions, but likewife to (hew what were the Corruptions of 
 that Age, and with how much Freedom this Holy Father laid 
 them open. If there is any occafion for applying any part of 
 this to the prefent Age, or to any Perfons in it, I chofe ra- 
 ther to oner it in the Words of this great Man, than in any 
 of my own. . I wifh few were concerned in them ; and that 
 iuch as are, would make a due Application of them to them- 
 ielves, and lave others the trouble of doing it more feverely. 
 • I go nextto another Father of the Grtc\church^.Chryfofipme, 
 ■whofe Books of the Prieftkood, have been ever reckoned among 
 the beft pieces of Antiquity. The Occafion of writing them, 
 was this : He had lived many years in great Friend (hip with one 
 Bafil'-) at 14ft, they having both dedicated themfelves to facred 
 Studies, the Clergy of Antioch had relblved to lay hold on 
 them, and to ufe that Holy Violence, which was in thofe times 
 often done to the beft Men, and to force them to enter into 
 Orders. Which when Bajil told Chryfefiome , he concealed 
 his own Intentions, but prefled Ba.fl to fubmit to it, who 
 from that, believing that his Friend was of the fame Mind, did 
 not go out of the way , and fo he was laid hold on } but Chry- 
 foftome had hid himfelf. ZfaJ?/, feeing he could not be found, 
 did all that was poffible to excufc himfelf : but that not being 
 accepted of, he was ordained : Next time that he met his Friend, 
 he expostulated feverely with him for having forfaken him up- 
 on that Occafion: This gave the Occafion to thofe Books, 
 which are purfucd in the way of a Dialogue. 
 
 The 
 
Of the f aft oral Care. 3$ 
 
 The fii ft»(Book contains only the preparatory Difcourfes, ac- 
 cording to the Method of fuch Writings. In the id. he runs 
 out to (hew from our Saviour's Words to St. Peter, Simon lov- 
 efithoHt&ef 4 What tender and fervent Love both to Chrift 
 'and to his Church, a Pricft ought to feel in" him/elf before 
 4 he enters upon the reeding thofe Sheep, which Chrift has pnr- 
 ■ chafed -with his own Blood. To lore the Souls of the Nock. 
 e firft, and then ones own Soul, for his fVemifsnefs, was no 
 
 * light matter. To have both the Powers of Darknefs, and the 
 ' Works of the Flefh to fight again ft, required no ordinary 
 4 meafure both of ftrength and courage. He purfuesthe M- 
 ' legoriesof a Shepherd and a Phyfcian, to fhew by the Paral- 
 4 lei of thefe laid together , the labours and difficulties of the 
 4 Priefihood, especially, when this Authority was to be main- 
 4 taincdonly by the ftrength of Perfwaiion •-, and yet fometimes 
 4 llvtre methods muft be taken 5 like Incifionsto prevent Gan- 
 4 grenes, or to cut off a Part already corrupted. In the 
 c managing this, great Art and Prudence was neceitary : aBi- 
 
 * fhop ought to have a great and generous, a patient and 
 '- undaunted Mind : Therefore, Chryfoftome fays that he found, 
 4 tho he truly loved his Saviour, yet he was Co afraid to of- 
 ' fend him, that he durft not undertake a Charge, that he 
 4 did not yet judge himfelf qualified for. It was not enough 
 4 that a Man was tolerably well efteemed by others : He ought 
 4 to examine himfelf, for that of a Liftiops being well re- 
 - ported of, is but one of many Characters, declared no- 
 4 ceflary by S. Paul. He complains much that thofe who 
 4 railed Men to Orders, had more regard to rank and wealth, 
 4 and to much time fpent in a vain fearch into profane 
 
 _ 4 Learning ( tho Chrift chofe Fifher-men and Tent-makers ) 
 4 than to true Worth, and an earneftZeal for the real good 
 4 of the Church. In the 3d. Book, lie rims out with a 
 '' great compais on the praifes of the Prieftly Function 3 he 
 ked upon it as a dignity railed fir above all the Ho- 
 nours of t!«.is World, and approaching .to the Angeli- 
 4 cal Glory. A frieft ought to afpire to a Parity above 
 • that of other Mortals, anfwering that of Angels. When 
 4 a Prieft performs the Holy Functions, is fanctifying the Ho- 
 H 2 4 ly 
 
Of the Pafloral Care. 
 
 My Eucharift, and is offering a Crucified Chrift to the Peo- 
 4 pie, his thoughts (hould carry him Heavenwards, and as it 
 'were tranllate him into ttiofe upper Regions. If the Mo- 
 6 laical Pr/cft was to be Holy that offered up Sacrifices of a 
 ' lower Order, how much Holier ought the Priefts of this rve- 
 c ligion to be, to whom Chrift has given the Power both of 
 - retaining and forgiving of Sins : But if S. Paul, after all his 
 c Vifions- and Labours, after all his Raptures and Sufferings, 
 4 yet was inwardly burnt up with the concerns of the Church, 
 c and laboured with much fear and trembling, how much 
 4 greater Apprehenfions ought other Perfons to have of fuch 
 4 a Truft. If it were enough to be called to x this Function, 
 4 and to go through with the Duties incumbent on it in fbme 
 c tolerable manner, the danger were not great •-, but when the 
 4 Duty as well as .Dignity, together with the Danger belonging 
 
 * to it, are all laid together, a Man is forced to have other 
 
 * Thoughts of the matter. No- Man that knows he is not 
 4 capable of conducing a Ship, will undertake it, let him 
 4 be prefled to it never fo much : Ambitious Men that lov- 
 4 ed to fet themfelves forward, were of all others the moft 
 4 expofed to Temptations : They -were apt to be inflamed 
 ' by the fmalleft Provocations, to be glad at the faults of 
 4 others, and troubled if they law any do well 5 they cour- 
 4 ted Applaufc, and afpired to Honour 5 they fawned on 
 
 * great Perfons, and trod on thofe that* were below them ; 
 ' they made bafe Submifiions, undecent •Addrefles, and of- 
 4 ten brought Prefents to thofe in Authority 3 they durft 
 c not in any fort reprove them for their Faults, tho they 
 4 reproached the poor out of meafure for their failings. 
 
 * Thefe were not the natural Confequences of the Digni- 
 4 ty of the Priefthood 3 but unworthy and defiled Perfons, 
 4 who with out true Merit, had been advanced to it, had 
 4 brought it under Reproach. There had been no due care 
 4 ufed in the choice of Bifhops 3 and by the means of bad 
 *■ choices, the Church was almoft ruined, through the grofi 
 4 Ignorance and Unworthinefs of many in that Poft. Cer- 
 4 tainly, a worthy Prieft has no ambitious afpirings : Thofe 
 4 who fly to this Dignity from that bafe Principle, will give 
 
 4 a 
 
Of the Perioral Care: 37 
 
 " c a full vent to it, when they have attained it. If Sabm'til:- 
 ' ons, Flatteries, and Money it felf, are necefTary, all will 
 1 be employed : Therefore it was an indifpcnfable Preparati- 
 
 * on to it, that one fhould be duly fenfible of the greatnefi 
 'the Truft, and of his own Unfitnefs for its that fo he 
 c might neither vehemently defire it, nor be uncatie if he 
 'fhould happen to be turned out of it. A Man may de- 
 ''fire the Office of a. Bifiop, when he confiders it as a Work 
 4 of toyl and labour, but nothing is more peftiferous than 
 ' to defire it, bec'aufe of the Power and Authority that accom- 
 1 panies it: Such Perfbns can never have the Courage that 
 ' ought to fhew it ielf in the Difcharge of their Duty, in 
 ' the reproving of Sin, and venturing on the Indignation 
 1 of great Men 5 he confefles he had not yet been able to 
 'free his Mind from that Difeafe, and till he had fubdued 
 'it, he judged himfelf- bound to fly from all the fteps to 
 ' Preferment 5 for the nearer he mould come to it, he reckoned 
 1 the appetite to it, would rage the higher within him $ where- 
 ' as, the way to break it quite, was to keep himfelf at the great- 
 
 * eft diftance from it : nor had he that vivacity, or livery a&i- 
 
 * vity of temper, which became this Function 5 nor that foftnefs ■ 
 c and gentlenefi of mind, that was necefTary to prepare him to 
 ' bear injuries, to endure contempt, or to treat People with the 
 1 mildneis that Chrift has enjoined his followers^ which he 
 ' thought more necefTary to a Bifiop than all* Failings, or bodily 
 ' Mortifications whatfoever : And he runs- out into along Di- 
 ' grefllon upon the great Mifchiefs that a fretful andfpiteful tem- 
 
 1 per did to him that was under.the^power ofit,and totheChurch 
 ' when a Bitbop wasfbured with it. It will often break out, it 
 ' will be much obferved, and will give great fcandal: For as a 
 4 little Smoke will darken and hide the cleareft Object: Co if all 
 
 * the reft of a Bifhop's Life were brighter than the Beams of 
 'the Sun, a little Blemim, a Paffion, or Indifcretion, will dark- • 
 ' en all, and make all the reft be forgotten : Allowances are 
 ' not* made to them, as to other Men \ the World experts great 
 'things from them, as if they had not Flefh and Blood in them, 
 
 c not a Humane but an Angelical nature 5 therefore, a Bifhop 
 
 * ought by a conftant watchfulnefs, and a perpetual frri&nefs, 
 
 H 3 
 
c to be armed with Armour of Proof of all fides,that no wound 
 • may hurt him. Stories will be eafily believed to his difadvan- 
 e tage,and his Clergy about him will be ready to find them out, 
 6 arid to fpiead them abroad. He laies this down for a certain 
 4 Maxim, That every man knows himfelf bed: and therefore 
 4 whatsoever others might think of him, he who knew well that 
 4 he had not in himfelf thofe qualifications, that were neceflary 
 4 for this Function, ought not to fuffer himfelf to be determined 
 c by that. After this he lays open the great Diforders, Factions, 
 4 Partialities, and Calumnies, with which the Popular Elections 
 4 were at that time managed : and the general Corruption that 
 4 had over-run the whole Church } fo that the Strictnefs and 
 c Authority, the Gentlenefs and Prudence,the Courage and Pati- 
 ence, that were neceffary to a Bimop were very hard to be 
 ' found all together. He inftances to make out the difficulty of 
 4 difcharging the duty ofa^Bilhop, in thatfingle point, of mana- 
 4 ging the Widows : who were fo medling, fo immoral, fo fa- 
 c ftiousand fo clamorous, that this alone was enough to imploy 
 4 a Bilhop's prudence, and to exercife his patience : from that 
 c and another Article relating to it concerning the Virgins, he 
 c goes to confider the Trouble, the Difficulties, and Cenfures 
 * thatBilhops were fubjeclr to, by the hearings of Gau(es, that 
 4 we're referred to them : Many pretending they were wronged 
 ( by their judgments, made fhipwrack of the Faith,in revenge : 
 4 and they prelied lb hard upon the Bifhops time,that it was not 
 4 poiTible for him to content them, and difcharge the other 
 4 parts of his Duty. Then he reckons up the many Vifits that 
 - were expected from Bifhops: the feveral Civilities they were 
 4 obliged to, which it was hard to manage fb,as not to be either 
 4 too much or too little in «hem : Matter of ccnfure would be 
 4 found in both extreams. Then he reflects on the great temper 
 4 that ought to be obferved in the final fentcnce of Excommu- 
 4 nicarion 5 between a gentlene/s to Vice on the one hand, and 
 c the driving men to Delpairand Apoftafie on the other. And he? 
 c concludes that Book with Refledttons on the vaft Burthen that 
 4 follows the care of Souls. In his 4th. Book he runs through 
 1 a variety of Arts and Profedions } and fbews how much skill 
 4 and labour was neceflary for every one of them : from whence 
 
 4 he 
 
Of the FaftoralCare. ^cf 
 
 1 he concludes ftrongly,that much more was neceflary for .that 
 4 which was the moft important of all others 5 fo that no conli- 
 
 * deration whatfuever, mould make a man undertake it, if he 
 
 * did not find himfejfin lomefort qualified for it: more parti- 
 1 cul.irly he ought to be ready to give an account of his Faith, 
 4 and to ftop the mouths of all gain-iaiers Jews, Gentiles, andrYe- 
 4 reticks : in which the Ignorance of many Bifhops, carrying 
 4 things from one extream to another, had given great occafi- 
 4 on to Errours. A Bifhop muft underftand the ftile and phrafe 
 4 of the Scriptures well. From this he runs out into a very No- 
 c ble Panegyrick upon St. Paid, in whom a pattern was fet to all 
 'Bifhops. His 5 th Book lets out the labour of preaching the 
 
 * tentations to Vanity in it 5 the cenfures that were apt to be 
 ' made if there was either too much or too little Art orElo- 
 
 * quence in Sermons : to this he adds, the great exactnefs that a 
 4 Bifhop (hould ufe in prefcrving his Reputation -, yet without 
 '- Vanity : obferving a due temper between defpifing thecen- 
 4 furesof theMultitude,andthe fervile courting of applaufes : In 
 4 his Sermons he ought above all things to ftudy to edifie *, 
 
 * but not to Flatter his Hearers : or to ufevain arts to raiie 
 4 efteem, or admiration from them. Since a Bilhop whole mind 
 4 was not purged from thisdifeafe, muft go through many tof- 
 4 fings and be much difquieted : and upon that he runs out fo 
 4 fully,upon the tentations to defire applaufe for Eloquence, and 
 
 * a readinefs in '(peaking, that it plainly appears that he felt that 
 4 to be his own weak fide. The 6th Book is chiefly imployed to 
 4 fhevv how much a harder thing it was to govern the Church, 
 4 than to live in a Defart, under the fevereft mortifications. 
 
 I will go no further in this abftradr, I hope I have drawn out 
 enough to give a Curiofity to fuchas have not yet read thofe 
 Excellent Books,to do it over and over again^For to any that haj 
 a true reliih, they can never be too often read : every reading 
 will afford a frefli pleafure, and new matter of Inftruftion, and 
 Meditation. But I go in the laft place to offer St. Jerows lenle 
 in this matter. I fhall not. bring together, what lies fcattered 
 through his works, upon this Argument, nor fhall I quote what 
 he writ in his Youth upon it, when the natural flame* of his 
 temper joyned with the heat of Youth might make him carry his 
 
 thoughts • 
 
thoughts further, than what humane nature could bear : But I 
 Thall only give an abftract of that which he writ to Nepotion on. 
 this Head, in his old Age, as he fays hirnfelf : a good part] of 
 that Epiftle being a reflection upon the different fenfe that old 
 Age gives of thefe things, from that which he felt during the 
 ardour of Youth. 
 
 He begins with the title Clerk., whichfignifyinga Lot or Por- 
 tion. c Imports either that the Clergy are God's Portion, or that 
 c God is theirs, and that therefore they ought to pojfefs God, 
 c and be pojfejjed of him'. He that has this portion, muft be fa- 
 \ tisfied with it, and pretend to nothing, but having Food and 
 c Raymenr, be therewith content: and (as men carried their 
 , c Croffes naked,ib ) to be ready to carry his. He muft not leek 
 '.. the advantages of this world in Chrift's warfare -, fbme Clerks 
 c ,grew richer under Chrift, who made hirnfelf poor, than ever 
 c they could have been, ifthey had continued in the iervice of 
 
 * the God of this World : So that the Church groaned under the 
 \ wealth of thofe, who were Beggars before they forfbok the 
 ' World : Let the Strangers and the Poor be fed at your Tables, 
 i fays he, and in thefe you entertain Chrift hirnfelf. When you 
 Sfeea trafficking Clerk, who from being Poor grows Rich, and 
 ' from being mean becomes great,fly from him as from a Plague. 
 l . The converfations of fuch men corrupted good minds .• They 
 
 * fought after wealth, and loved Company, the publick Places 
 »* ofconvcrfation,Fairs and Market-places •• whereas a true Clerk 
 
 * loves filence, and retirement : then he gives him a ftrong cau- 
 _ tion againft converfing with Women : and in particular againft 
 ' all thofe mean compliances, which fome Clerks ufed towards 
 '..rich Women 5 by which they got not only Prefents during their 
 
 * lives, but Legacies by their Wills. That abufe had grown 
 ' to fuch an intolerable excels, that a Law was made excluding 
 4 ..Priejis from having any benefit by Tcftatnents : They were 
 *, the only perfbns that were put under that incapacity : Hea- 
 '. then Pi iefts were not included in the Law, yet he does. not 
 *. complain of the Law, but of thofe 'who had given juftoccafion 
 ■ for making it. The Liws of Chrift had been contemned, fo it 
 ' was neceflary to reftrain. them by humane Laws. It was 
 *jthe Glory of a Biflwp to provide for the poor, but it was the 
 
 ' Re- 
 
V} the tajtoral Care. 4 
 
 ' Reproach of a Prieft to ftudy the enri 'eking ef himfdf. He 
 6 reckons up many Instances of the bafe and abject FLit- 
 c tery of ibme Clerks, to gain upon rich and dying per- 
 c fbns, and to get their Eftates. Next he exhorts him 
 c to the conftant and diligent ftudy of the Scriptures ; 
 " but to be fine to do nothing that fhould contradict his 
 c difcourles or give occafion to his Hearers to anfwerhim 
 c thus, U hy do not yon do as you fay .<? Then he {peaks 
 fc of the Union that ought to be between the Bifhop , 
 c and his, Clergy : the arfc&ion on the one fide, and the 
 c Obedience on theother. In Preaching he muft not ftudy 
 t to draw appLwjh but Groans from his Hearers. Their 
 c Tears was the belt fort of commendation of a Sermon,. 
 c in which great care was to be taken to avoid the 
 ' methods of the Stage , or of common Declamations. 
 • Great ufe was to be made of the Scriptures. The my- 
 ' fteries of our Faith and the Sacraments of our Religion 
 1 ought to be well explained : Grimaces andfolemn Looks are 
 4 often made ufe of to give Weight and Authority to that 
 ' which has none in it felf. He charges him to ufe a plain 
 ' limplicity in his Habit, neither ihewing too much nicety 
 c on -the one Hand, that favours of Luxury, nor fuch a 
 ' neglect on the other, as might favour of Arleftation. He 
 'recommends particularly the Care of the Poor to him. 
 
 4 Then he fpeaks of Clergy-Men* mutually preferring one 
 
 5 another ; conftdering that there are different Members in 
 4 one Body, and that every one has his own Function, 
 
 pecjuliar Talent: And that therefore no man ought 
 
 c to over-value his own, or undervalue his Neighbours. 
 
 4 A plain Clerk ought not to value hnnfelf upon his Sim- 
 
 fgnorance, nor ougbt a learned and elo- 
 
 c q- em '. .))• his Rhetorick ; for 
 
 c indeed of the two, a Holy Simplicity is vaiu-* 
 
 tKanUnianctifi nft the 
 
 tionof Magnificence and Richer, in too \\ oi fbip of 
 
 . jGod, as things mere becoming the Pop;: b Re- 
 
 c ligion, than the Humility of the Spiritual Doctrine of 
 
 it uron the hk'h an wav 
 
 I . of 
 
4~ c/r ivc i ajwrai- vare. 
 
 1 of living of ibmePriefts, which they pretended was neceffa- 
 c ry to procure them the refpeft that was due to them 5 and 
 c to give them intereft and credit : but the World, at leaft 
 v the better part of it, would always value a Prieft more for 
 4 his Holinefs, than for his Wealth. He charges him ftrictly to 
 1 avoid all the exceffes of Wine, and in Oppofition to that 
 c to faft much, but without Superftition, or a nicety in the 
 c choice of fuch things as he was to live on in the time of 
 c fafting. Some (hewed a trifling Superftition in thole Mat- 
 c ters, as well as Vanity and Affectation -, that *vas in- 
 c deed Scandalous. Plain and fimple Fafting was defpifed 
 c as not lingular nor pompous enough for their Pride. For 
 c it feems by what follows, that the Clergy was then corrup- 
 ted with the lame diforders, with which our Saviour had 
 reproached the Pharafees , while they did not ftudy in- 
 ' ward Purity, fb much as outward Appearances 3 nor the 
 c pleafing of God, fb much as the praife of Men. But here 
 " c he ftops fhoit, for it feems he went too near the defcribing 
 
 fome eminent Man in that Age 3 from that he turns to 
 '■ the Government of a Prieft's Tongue : He ought neither 
 & to detract from any one himfelf, nor to encourage fuch 
 c as did.* The very hearkning to (lander, was very unbe- 
 c coming. They ought to vifit their People, but not to 
 ' report in one place , what they obferved in another 5 
 c in that they ought to be both difcreet and fecret. Hip- 
 c pocrates adjured thofe that came to ftudy from him, to 
 c be fecret, grave, and prudent in their whole behaviour 3 
 
 1 but how much more did this become thofe, to whom 
 ' the Care of Souls was trufted. He advifes him to vifit 
 4 his People rather in their Afflictions, than in their Pro- 
 ' (pcrity 3 not to go too often to their Feafts, which muft 
 1 needs leffen him that does it too much'. He, in the laft 
 
 * place, (peaks very feverely of thofe who applied the 
 1 Wealth of the Church to their own private lifts. It 
 
 * was Theft to defraud a Friend, but it was Sacrilege to 
 
 * rob the Church. It was a Crime that exceeded the Cm - 
 1 elty of High-way Men, to receive that which belonged in- 
 1 deed to the Poor, and to withdraw any part of it to 
 
 ones 
 
Of the raft oral Care. 43 
 
 c ones private Ocofions. He concludes with this excufe, 
 1 That he had named no Perlbn , he had not writ to • 
 'reproach others 3 but to give them warning. Andthere- 
 4 fore (ince he had treated of the Vices of the Clergy in ge- 
 ' neral Terms, if any was offended with him for it, he 
 c thereby plainly confefled that he himfelf was guilty. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 An Account of fome Canons in divers Ages of 
 the Church relating to the Duties and Labours 
 of the Clergy, 
 
 I Will go no further, in gathering Quotations to (hew 
 the fenfe that the Fathers had in the* matters : thefe 
 are both fo full and 10 expred, that I can find none more 
 plain and more forcible. I (hall to thefe add fomeof the 
 Canons that have been made both in the beft and in the 
 word Ages of the Church, obliging fiiiriops and other 
 Clerks to Residence and to be contented wkh one Cure. In 
 that, at Sardica that met in the Year 347. confifting of 
 above 950. Rifhops two Canons were made, (the nth 
 and the 12th) againfl: Bifjops who without any urgent m- 
 cejjity , or preffing bnfmejs, fiould be abfent from their Church 
 above three weeks, and thereby grieve the Flocl^, that was 
 lommitted to their care: And even this provision was 
 made becaufe Bifhops had Eftates lying out of their 
 Diocelics •■) therefore they were allowed to go and look 
 after them , for three weeks, in which time they were to 
 perform the divine function in the Churches to which thofe 
 Ejiates belonged. j 
 
 I 2 N'any 
 
44. vf the rajtorai (.are. 
 
 Many provifions were alfo made againft fuch as went 
 • to Court, unfefs they were called by the Emperors, or 
 went by a Deputation from the Church upon a public.k 
 account. There is not any one thing more frequent- 
 ly provided againft, than that any of the Clergy fhould 
 leave their Church , and go to any other Church, or 
 live • any v. here elfe without the Bifhops leave and con- 
 fent : , nor is there any thing clearer from all the Canons 
 of the firft Ages , than that they confidered the Clergy 
 of. every Church as a body of men dedicated to its ier- 
 vice , that lived upon the Oblations of the Faithful, and 
 that was to labour in the federal parts of the Ecclcti- 
 afttcal Miniftry, as they 'fhould be ordered by the Bifhop. 
 ' In the qth General Council at Calceclon Pluralities, do - 
 firft appear : for they are mentioned and condemned in 
 the 10th Canon, which runs thus, No ClerJ^Jhall at the 
 fame time belong to two Churches j to wit , to that in 
 which he was firft ordained , and that to which as 
 being the greater , he has gone , out of a deflre of vain 
 glory 5 for fuch as do fo, ought to be fent back^ to that Church 
 in which they were at firft ordained , and to ferve there 
 only '■) but if any has been tranflatedfrom one Church to an- 
 . ether , he Jlsall receive nothing out of his former Church j 
 nor cut of any Chapel or Alms-houfe belonging to it : and 
 fuch as /hall tranjgrefs this definition of this General Cdun- 
 cil are condemned* by it, to be degraded. I go next to a 
 worfe J'cene of the Church to fee what provifions were 
 made in this matter about the 8th Century, both in 
 the Eaft and in the Weft : The worfe that thofe Ages 
 and Councils were, it makes the Argument the ftronger, 
 fince even bad men in bad times, could not juftifie or 
 naffer fuch an abvil. 
 
 In the year 787. the Second Council of Nice was held 
 that fetled the worihip of Images. The 15 Canon of it runs 
 thus. ' No Clerk (hall from henceforth be reckoned in two 
 Churches, (for every Church had a Catalogue of its Cler- 
 gy, by which the dividends were made) 'for this is the 
 fc Character of Trafficking, and Covetoumeri, and wholly 
 
 c eftranged 
 
eftranged from the Ecclefiaftical Cuflom. We have 
 ' heard from our Saviour's own words, that no man can 
 t tiro Maftcrs : for he will cither hate the one or love 
 ' the other, or cleave to the one and defpijc the other : Let 
 ' every one therefore according to the Appftles words, con- 
 1 tinue in the Vocation in which he is called^ and ftrve in 
 1 one Church : For thofe things which filthy Lucre has 
 ' brought into Church matters are contrary to God. There 
 ' is a variety of imployments, for acquiring the neceflary 
 4 fupplics of this life : Let every one that pleafts, make uft 
 'of theft, for furnifhing himftlf .• For the Apoftle fines 
 ' thefe hands Minifired to my necejjities , and to thofe that 
 1 were with me. This (hall be the rule in this Town, which 
 ' is guarded by God, but in remote Villages an Indulgence 
 c may be granted by reafbn of the want of men. It is upon 
 this that the Canonifts do found the firft of the two rea- 
 sons, for which only they allow that a Difpeniation for hold- 
 ing two Benefices may be lawful, one is, the want of fit 
 and fufficient men for the fervice of the Church. The 
 foundation of the other will be found in the Canon, 
 which I (hall next fet down. 
 
 It is the 49 Canon of the fixth Council at Paris, under 
 Lewis the Good, in the Year 829. this Council came after 
 a great many, that had been held by Charles the Great, 
 and his Son for purging out abufts, and for refraining 
 the Primitive Difcipline. Theft Councils fat at ir.imfort, 
 Marts, Aken,Rkeims, chalons, Jours, Aries, and this of JUrif 
 was the 1 aft that was held upon thatdefign. In th..,\ 
 the Primitive Canons relating to the Lives and L - 
 and the government of the Clergy, were renewed. A racing 
 others is that oiCalcedon formerly mentioned : but it fteais 
 there was no occafion given to make a fpecial one againfi: 
 Pluralities, before this held at Paris, which confuted 
 of four Provinces of France, Rheims, Sens, Tar,s, and 
 Rouen. The Canon runs thus : As H becomes every City to 
 have its proper Bijhop '■, jo it u alfo becoming ami 
 that every Church dedicated to God, foould have itj 
 Priefi. Yet Covctoufnefs which is Idolatry {of which we are 
 
 mm . 
 
46 Of the- tajtoral tare. 
 
 much apyamedy has fo got hold of [owe Priejls and caught 
 them captives in its Fetters, that they, blinded with it, know 
 neither whither they go nor what they ought to be or do ^ fo 
 that they being kindled with the fire of Covet oufnefs , and for - 
 getfnl of the Prieftly Dignity, negletling the tare of thofc Church- 
 es, to which they were promoted, do by fomc p'cfcnts given 
 or pro mi fed, procure other Churches not only from Clerkj, but 
 fom Lay men,' in which they do againft Law undertake to 
 perform the Miniflrj ofChrifl. It is not known whether their 
 Bfjhops are confultcd in this matter, or not j if they are, 
 without doubt . their Bjjhops become partakers of their fin : but 
 if they prefume to d& it without confdting them, yet it is 
 to be imputed to the Bijhops negligence. There is fcarce a 
 . Pricji to be found who warreth worthily, and diligently in 
 that Church in which he is dedicated, to the Divine Ser- 
 vice : but how muck lefs witt he be able to do that wor- 
 thily in two, three or more Churches } This pra&ice brings a 
 reproach on the Chriflian Religion, and a confufion on the 
 Prieftly Order. The Covetoufnefs of the Clergy is cen- 
 fured by their people 5 the worfoip of God is not performed in 
 places confccratcd to him 5 and as was obferved in the former 
 Chapters, the Souls of the people are thereby much endan- 
 gered. Wherefore wc do aU unanimonfly appoint, that no Bi- 
 jhop fujfer this to be done in his Parifi ( or Diocefs, tbcfe 
 words being ufed promiicuoufly ) any more, and we De- 
 cree, that every Church that has a Congregation belonging 
 to it , and has means by which it may fubfijl, flmll have 
 its proper Priefi : for if it has a Congregation but has 
 not Means by which it may fubfiji , that matter is left 
 to the Bifiop , to confider whether it can or duoht to be 
 fupported or not. But it is fpecially recommended to their care 
 to f$e that under this pretence , no Prieft may out of Cove- 
 toufnefs hold two or three Churches, in which he cannot ferve, 
 . nor perform the worfiiip of God. The Jail provisions in 
 this Canon are the grounds upon which the Cwonifls found 
 thefecond juft cauie ofdifpenfing with Pluralities, which 
 is when a Church is fb poor, that the Profits which arife 
 ol -'it -cannot .afford a competent maintenance to a 
 
 Clark 
 
uj xve rajrorat vare. 47 
 
 Clark: but then the queftion arifes what is a Competent 
 Maintenance : this, they do all bring very low, to tha* 
 which can juft maintain him' : and they have fb' clogged 
 it, that no pretence (hould be given by Co general a word, 
 to Covetoujnefs, Volttptuoujnefs, or Ambition. And indeed while 
 we have fo many poor Churches amoifg us, inftead 
 of reftraining fuch Pluralities, it were rather to be wifti- 
 ed that it were made eafier than by Law it is at pre- 
 fent 5 either to unite them together, or to make one man 
 capable of ferving two Churches j when both Benefices 
 make but a tolerable fubfiftance, rather than to be for- 
 ced to have a greater number of Clerks , than can be de- 
 cently maintained 5 fince it is certain, that k is more for 
 the Intereft of Religion and for the good of Souls , to* 
 have one worthy man ferving two Churches, -jmd divid- 
 ing himfelf between them } than to have Clerks for ma- 
 ny Benefices, whole fcandalous provisions, make too ma- 
 ny (candalous incumbents, which is one of thegreateft Dif- 
 eafes and Milcries of this Church, 
 
 But a due care in this matter has no relation to the ac- 
 cumulation of Livings, at great diftances, (every one of 
 which can well fupport an Incumbent) upon the fame 
 Pcrfon merely for the making of a Family, for the ftrp- 
 porting of Luxury or Vanity, or for other bate .and Cove- 
 tous deiigns. But I go next to two of the wi i'\ Councils 
 that ever carried die name of General ones, the third and 
 the fourth of the Lateral that we may fee what was fee 
 fenfe of the Twefth and Thirteenth Century in this mat- 
 ter > notwith (landing the Corruption of thofe Ages. The 
 Thirteenth Canon of the Third Later an Council , runs thus. 
 ' Forafmuch, as fome whole Covetoufnef* has no bounds, 
 c endeavour to procure to themfelvcs divers Ecclefiaftipal 
 4 Dignities, andfeveral Pa rifh Churches, againfr the Provifi- 
 c ons of the Holy Canons* by which means, tho they arc 
 4 fcarceable to perform the Office of one, they do claim the 
 4 Provisions due to many .* We do feverely require, that thfe 
 ' may not be done for the future : And therefore, when any 
 ' Church cr Ecclefiaftical MiniOry is to be given, let foch a 
 
Aft vj ive i ajivrai ^are. 
 
 c one be fought out for it , as (hall refide upon the place, * 
 6 and (hall be able to difcharge the Care in his own Perfon : 
 If otherwife, he who receives any fuch benefice, contrary 
 c to the Canons, (hall lofe it, and he who gave it (hall like- 
 c wife lole his right of Patronage. ThisCanonnot being found 
 effectual to cure lb great an abufe. The 'Twenty Ninth Ca- 
 non p£ the Fourth Conned in the Lateral was penned in 
 thele Words. c It was with great Care forbidden in the 
 .' Council of the Lateran, that any one fhould have divers Ec- 
 ' ckliaflical Dignities, and more Parifh Churches than one, 
 'which is contiary to the Holy Canons. Otherwife, he 
 4 that took them fhould lofe them, and he that gave them 
 
 * mould lole the right of giving them : But by reafon of fome 
 '•Mens Prefumption and Covetouft els, that Decree has" had 
 'little or no effect, hitherto $ we therefore defiring to make 
 1 a more evident and exprefs Provifionagainft thefe abufes,do 
 
 * appoint that whofoever (hall receive any Benefice, to which 
 ' * a Care of Souls is annexed, fhall thereupon by Law be de- 
 
 ' prived of any other fuch benefice,that he formerly had \, and 
 c if he endeavours ftill to hold it, he (hall lofe the other like- 
 ' wile 5 and he to whom the right of the Patronage of his 
 .' firft Benefice did belong,is empowered to beftow it upon his 
 ' accepting another 5 and if he delays the beftowing it, above 
 ' Three months, not only fhall his right devolve to another, 
 ' according to the Decree of the Council in the Later an ,but 
 ' he fhall be obliged to reflore to the Church, to 'which the 
 6 ljenefice belongs, all that which lie .himfelf received during 
 ' the vacancy. This we do likewife Decree as to Perfbnages:, 
 < and do further appoint that no Man fhall prefun-ie to 
 ' hold more Dignities or Parfonages than one in the fame 
 c Church,evem though they have no Cure of Souls annexed to 
 ' them. Provided always that Difpenfations may be grant- 
 c ed by the ApofiolicalStc^ to Perfons of high Birth, or emi- 
 'nently learned (fvbl/n/es & liter at as per Jonas ) or digni- 
 c lied in Univerfities, for lb the word literati was uncierltood, 
 \ who upon occafion may be honoured, with greater Bene- 
 ' fices. It was by thislaft Provifo,that this as well as all other 
 rionSj made again!]: thefe Abufcs became quite ineffe- 
 
 dual 5 
 
Of the Pajloral Care. 47 
 
 cluali for this had no other effeft, but the obliging People to 
 go to Rome for Difpenjations '-> fo that this Canon inftead of 
 reforming the Abufe, did really eftabhfhit, for the Qjalifi- 
 cations here mentioned were lb far ftretched, that any Per- 
 ion that had obtained a Degree in any Univerfity ; came 
 within the Character of lettered or learned, and all thofe that 
 vvereinany dependanceupongr<?^ Menxmme likewife within 
 theoth^r Qualification of high Rank and Birth. 
 
 This was the Pra&ice among us, during the Reign of 
 JfrnrytheStb. and he when he was beginning to threaten 
 the See of Rome, in the matter of his Divorce, got that A£t 
 to be palled, which has been the occafion of fo much 
 Scandal and Difoider in this Church. It feems to one that 
 confidcrs it well, that the Claufes which qual i fie Pluralities 
 were grafted upon another Bill again ft Spiritual Perfons taking 
 Ejlates to Farm, with which that Act begins: And that in 
 the carrying that on, fuch a temper fhewed it feif, that the 
 other was added to it.lt contained indeed a Limitation of the 
 Papal Authority, but fo many Provifions were made, that 
 the Nobil/ty, Clergy, and the more eminent of the Gentry, 
 Knights in particular, were fo taken Care of, that it could 
 meet with no gr<-at Oppofttion in the Parliament ; but from 
 the ftate of that Time, and fromfeveral Claufes in the A£t 
 it felf, it appears, it was only intended to be a Provifional 
 Act; tho it is conceived in the Style of a perpetual Law. By 
 it then, and by it only (for I have not been able to find that 
 any fuch Act ever paffed in any Kingdom or State in Chri- 
 (kudom, many having been made plainly to the contrary in 
 France, declaring the Obligation to Refic\ence to be ot Divine 
 Ri?hf) werethe Ahufes, that had ari'fen out of the Canon 
 ol one of the woift Councils that ever was, authorifed and 
 faded among us ; as far as a Law of the Land can fettle 
 them. But after all, it is to beconfidered that a Law does in- 
 deed change the Legal and Political Nature oi things,- it 
 gives a Title to a Freehold and Property : But no Humane 
 Law can change the Moral or Divine Laws, and cancel their 
 Authority. If a jalfe Religion is fettled by Law, it be- 
 comes indeed the Isgal Religion; but is not a whit the 
 K truer 
 
^o Of the Fajloral Care. 
 
 inter for that. And therefore, if the Laws of the Go/pel ob- 
 lige Clerks to Perform 1 Labour, as was formerly made out • 
 An Act of Parliament may indeed qualifie a Man, in Law , 
 to enjoy the Benefice, whether he kbours in it or not, but it 
 can never diflolvc his Obligation to Refidence and Perfonal 
 Labour. 
 
 But to bring this Chapter to an end, I fhail only add Three 
 Decrees that were made by the Council of Trent, in this mat- 
 ter, that lb it may appear what Provifions they made again ft 
 Abufes, which are (till fupported by Laws among us : A part 
 of the jft: Chap, of Reformation that pad in the Sixth SefTion, 
 runs thus : ' This Synod admonifhes all that are fet over 
 '. any Cathedral Churches, by what Title foever, that they 
 1 taking heed to themfelves, and to all the Flock, over which 
 ' the Holy Ghoft has fct them, to Govern the Church of 
 c God, which he has purchafed with his own Blood,do watch 
 ' and labour and fullfil their Miniftry, as the Apoftle 
 c has commanded : And they rnuft know that they can- 
 ' not do this, if as Hirelings they forfake the Flock com- 
 'mitted to them, and do not watch over thofe Sheep, 
 4 whofe Blood will be required at their Hands, in the Jaft 
 4 Day. Since it is certain that no excufe will be received, 
 ♦ 'if the Wolfe devours the Sheep, when the Shepherd does 
 * not look after them. Yet fince to our great Grief it is 
 6 found, that fome at this time neglect the Salvation of 
 ' their own Souls, and preferring Earthy things to Heaven- 
 4 ly, are ill about Courts, and forfaking the Fold, and the 
 4 Care of the Sheep trufled to them, do give themfelves 
 4 wholly to Earthly and Temporal Cares ,• therefore all the 
 4 Ancient Canons, which by the Iniquity of Times, and the 
 4 Corruptions of Men were fallen into defuetude, are renew- 
 4 ed againft Non refidents. To which, feveral compulfory 
 Claufes are added , which are indeed flight ones, becaufe 
 the Execution of them was intirely put in the Pope's Power, 
 and the Punifhment did only lie, if a Bifhop was abfent^Six 
 Months in a Year. 
 
 This Decree did not fatisfie thofe who moved for a Refor- 
 mation i fo a fuller one was made in the x^Seflion, iji.Chap. 
 
 
Of the PaiforalCare. $t 
 
 in thefe Words: * Whereas, by the Law of God, all thofe 
 
 * to whom the Care of Souls is commute.!, are commanded 
 
 * to know their Sheep, to offer Sacrifice for them, to feed 
 
 * them by the Preaching of the Word o! God, the Admini- 
 1 ftration of the Sacraments, and by the Example of a good 
 ' Life, to have a tender Care of the poor, and all other 
 ' miferable Perfons, and to lay themfelvcs out upon all the 
 
 * other Functions of the Paftoral Care ; which cannot be per- 
 formed by thofe, who do not watch over, nor are prefent 
 
 * with their Flock : Therefore this Synod does admonifli 
 
 * and exhort them, that they rcmembring the Divine Pre- 
 
 * cepts, and being made an Example to their Flock, may 
 
 * feed and govern them in Righteoufnefs and Truth. Upon 
 ' this they declare that all Biihops, even Cardinals them- 
 'felves, are obliged to Perional Refidence, in their Church 
 
 * and Diocefs, and there to difcharge their Duty : Unlefs 
 'upon fome fpecial Provifions. By which indeed a Door is 
 opened to as many Corruptions as the Court of Rome 
 thinks fit to difpenfe with. Yet without this, none may 
 be abfent above two, or at mod, three Months, in the whole 
 Year ; and even that muft be upon a jufl reafon, and 
 without any prejudice to the Flock ; ' and they leave this 
 
 * upon the Coniciences of fuch as withdraw for fo long a 
 4 time, which they hope will be Religious and Tender in 
 1 this matter, fince all Hearts are known to God, and it is 
 4 no fmall Sin to do his Work negligently. They declare the 
 breaking this Decree to be a Mortal Sitt, and that fuch as are 
 guilty of ir, cannot with a good Confcience enjoy the 
 mean Profits, during fuch their Abfence ; but are bound to 
 lay them out on the Fabrick, or give them to the Poor : 
 and all thele Provifions and Punifhmeius, they doalfomake 
 againft the interior Clergy, that enjoyed any Benefice, to 
 which the Cure of Souls was annexed, and the execution of 
 that, is put in the Biihop's Hands, who is required not to dif- 
 penfe with their Refidence, unlefs upon a very weighty 
 occafion, above two* Months ; and in this they give the 
 biihcp fo full an Authority, that no Appeal or Prohi- 
 bition was to lie againft his Sentence, upon non-Refi dents, 
 even in the Court of Rome. In thefe Decrees, tho the 
 
 K 2 PapaJ 
 
Of the Paftoral Care. 
 
 Papal Party hindrcd a formal Declaration of the Obligation 
 to liziidence, by Divine Right, that fo room might ftill be kit 
 for the Difpenjing Power ; yet they went very near it, they 
 applied PafTages of Scripture to it, and laid the charge of 
 mortal Sin upon it. 
 
 In the laft place, I (hall fet down the Decree that was 
 made in the i^th. SefTion, Chap. 17. againft Pluralities, m 
 thefe Words : * Whereas the Ecclefiaftical Order is perver- 
 ted, when one Clerk has the Offices of many comrr-tted to 
 ' him, it was therefore well provided by the Holy Canons, 
 that no Man mould be put in two Churches. But many 
 Jed by their depraved Covetoufnefs, deceiving themfelves, 
 but not God, are not afhamed to elude thofe good Con- 
 flitutionsj by feveral Artifices, and obtain ti)ore Benefices 
 than one at the fame time : Therefore the Synod being 
 defirousto reftore a proper Difcipline for the Government 
 of Churches, does, by this Decree, by which all Perfons, 
 of what Rank foever, even Cardinals themfelves, fhallbe 
 bound ; appoint, that for the future, one Man mail be 
 capable of receiving only one Ecclefiaftical Benefice. But 
 if that is not fufficient for the decent maintenance of 
 him that has it, then it fhall be lawful to give him another ■ 
 fimple Benefice, provided that both Benefices do not require 
 Perfonal Refidence. This Rule rnuft be applied not only to 
 Cathedrals, but to all other Benefices whether Secular, Re- 
 gular, or fuch as are held by Commendam, or of what 
 fort or order foever they may be- And as for fuch as do 
 at prefent pofTefs either more Parifh Churches than one, 
 or one Cathedral, and another PariuVChurch, they fhall 
 be forced notwithflanding of any Difpenfations or Uni- 
 ons that may have been granted them, for term of Life, 
 to refign within the fpace of Six Months, >all that they do 
 now hold, except one Cathedral, or one Parochial Church; 
 otherwife, all their Benefices, whether Parochial, or others, 
 mall be by Law efteemed void ; and as fuch they fhall 
 be difpofed of toothers. Nor may thofe who formerly en- 
 joyed them,receive the mean Profits, after the term of Six 
 Months, with a good Conference. But the Synod wifhes 
 
 * that 
 
Of the Faftoral Care, $£ 
 
 'that fome due Provifion might be nude, fuch as the Pope 
 * (hall think fit, for the ncceflitics of thofe who are hereby 
 J obliged to Refign. 
 
 Thele were the decrees that were made by that pretended* 
 general Council : And. wherefoever that Council is received,, 
 they are fo feldom difpenfed with, that the Scandal of Noh- 
 ReJiJence, or Plurality, docs no more cry in that Church. 
 In France, tho that Council is not there received, yet fuch 
 regard is had to Primitive Rules, that it is not heard of 
 among them. Such Examples are to us Reproaches indeed . 
 And that of the wofft fort, when the Argument from the • 
 neglect of the PaftoralCare, which gave fo great an Advan- 
 tage at firft to the Reformers, and turned the Hearts of 
 the World fo much from their Carelefs Pallors to thofe who 
 flie wed more Zeal and Concern for them, is now againhV 
 us, and lies die other way. If the Nature of Man is fo 
 made, that it is not poffible, but that Offences mufl come, yet, 
 nee he to him, by whom they corned 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the declared Senfe and Ruler of the Church cf 
 England in this matter. 
 
 WHatfoever may be the pra&ice of any among us, 
 and whatsoever may be'the force of fome Laws 
 that were made in bad times, and perhaps upon bad ends, 
 yet we are fure the Senfe of our Church is very different j_ 
 She intended to raife the obligation of the Paftoral Care 
 higher than it was before : and has laid out this matter 
 more fully and more ftri&ly, than any Church ever did, 
 in any Age, as far at leaft as my Enquiries can carry 
 me. The trueft Indication of the Senfe of a Church is to 
 be taken from her Language , in her Vitblkk. Offices : 
 This is that which (he fpeaks the mod frequently, and 
 
 the 
 
54 Of the? amoral Care. 
 
 the moft publickly : even the Articles of Dotfrine are nst 
 fb much read and fb often heard, as her Liturgies are ; 
 and as this way of Reafbning has been of late made ufe of 
 with great advantage, againft the Church of Rome, to make 
 her accountable, for all her Publick Offices in their plain 
 and literal meaning 5 fb I will make ufe of it on this oc- 
 cafion : Jt is the ftronger in our cafe, whofe Offices being 
 in a Tongue underftood by the people, the Argument from 
 them does more evidently conclude here. 
 
 In general then this is to be obferved, that no Church 
 before ours, at the Reformation, took a formal Sponfwn 
 at the Altar, from iuch as were ordained Deacons and 
 Priejls. That was indeed always demanded of Bifhops, but 
 neither in the Roman nor Greek. Pontifical, do we find any 
 fuch fokmn Vows and Promifes demanded or made by Priefts 
 ©r Deacons, nor does any print of this appear in the Con- 
 ftitutwns, the pretended Arevpagite^ or the antient Canons of 
 the Church. Bifhops were asked many queftions, as appears 
 by the firft Canon of the fourth Council of Carthage. 
 They were required to profefs their Faith, and to promife 
 to obey the Canons, which' is full obferved in the Greek. 
 .-Church. The queftions are more exprefs in the Roman 
 Pontifical, and the firft of thefe demands a promife that 
 they will inftruft their 'people in the Chriftian Doctrine, ae- 
 - cording to the Holy Scriptures: which was the Foundation up- 
 on which our Bifhops juftified the Reformation 3 Since 
 the firft and chief of all their Vowes binding them to this, 
 it was to take place of all others 5 and if any other 
 parts of thofe Sponfions, contradicted this , fuch as their 
 Obedience and Adherence to the See of Rome, they faid 
 that thefe were to be limited by this. 
 
 All the account I can give of this general practice of 
 the Church in demanding Promifes only of » Bifiops, and not 
 ofthe other Orders is this, that they confldered the Govern- 
 ment of the Priejls and Deacons, as a thing that was fo en- 
 tirely in the Bifhop, as it was indeed by the firft Confti- 
 tution>that it was not thought necelTary to bind them to their 
 Duty by any Publick Vowes or Promifes (though it is very 
 
 probable 
 
Of the Fafloral Care. ^e 
 
 probable that the BiJIwps might take private engagements 
 of them, before they ordained them) it being in the Bi- 
 fiop's power to Reftrain and Cenfure them in a very Ab- 
 fblute and Summary way. But the cafe was quite different 
 in Br fops, who were all equal by their Ranl^ and Order : 
 None having any Authority over them, by any Divine 
 Law or the Rules of the Gofpel : the power of Primates, ' 
 and Metropolitans having arifen out of Ecclefiaftical and 
 Civil Laws, and not being equally great in all Countries and 
 Provinces : and therefore it was more necelTary to proceed 
 with greater caution, and to demand a further fecurity 
 from them. 
 
 But the new face of the Conftitution of the Church , 
 by which Priefls were not under fb abfblute a fubje- 
 ftion to their Bifiops, as they had been at firft, which was oc- 
 cafioned partly, by the Tyranny of fome Bijhops, to which 
 bounds were let by Laws and Canons, partly by their having 
 a fpecial Property and Benefice of their own,andfb not being 
 maintained by a Dividend out of the common-ftock of the 
 Church as at firft j had fb altered the date of things, that in- 
 deed no part of the Epifcopacy was left entrirely in the Bi- 
 •flop's hands, but the power of Ordination. This is (till free 
 and unreftrained : no Writs, nor Prohibitions from Civil 
 Courts 5 and no Appeals have clogged or fettered this, as they 
 have done all the other parts of their Authority. Therefore 
 our Reformers obferving all this, took great care in Re- 
 forming the Office of Ordination, and they made both the 
 Charge that is given, and the Promifes that are to be taken, 
 to be very exprefs and folemne, that Co both the Ordain- 
 ers and the Ordained might be rightly inftru&ed in their 
 Duty and (truck with the awe and dread, that they ought* 
 to be under in fo holy and fo important a performance ; 
 and though all mankind does ealily enough agree in 
 this, That Promiles ought to be Religioufly obferved, 
 which men make to one another, how apt foevcr thcy 
 may be to break them '-, yet to make the fenfe of thefe 
 Promiles go deeper, they are ordered to be made at the 
 Altar, and in the nature of a Stipulation or Covenant, the 
 
 Cburcfi 
 
56 Of the Paftwal Can. 
 
 Church conferring Orders, or indeed rather, Chrift by the 
 Mmineirry of the Officers that he has continued, conferring 
 them upon thofc Promifcs that are firft made. The Forms of 
 Ordination in the Greek Church, which we have reafbn to 
 believe are leis changed, and more conform to the Primitive 
 pattenrs, than thofe ufed by the Latins, do plainly import 
 that the Church only declared the Divine' Vocation. The 
 Gra.ce 'of God, that perfc&s the feeble, and faals the weak, 
 promotes this ?nan to be a Deacon, a Prieji or a Bijhop : 
 Where nothing is exprcffed as conferred but only as de- 
 clared, fo. our Church by making our Saviours words , the 
 form of Ordination, muft be conftruedto intend, by that 
 that it is Chrift only that fends, and that the Bifhops are only 
 his Minifters to pronounce his Million \ otherwiie it is not fo 
 eafieto juftific the uie of this Form, Receive the Holy Ghoft : 
 which as it was not ufed in the Primitive Church nor by the 
 Pvoman,till within thefefive Hundred Years,fb in that Church, 
 it is not the Form of Ordination but a Benediction given 
 by the Bifiop fingly, after the Orders are given by the Bi- 
 jfjopznd the other Priefts joyning with him. For this is done 
 by him alone as the final confummation of the A&ion. 
 But our uling this as the form of Ordination (hews, that 
 we confider our felves only as the Inftruments that ipeak 
 in Chrift's Name and Words : Infinuating thereby that 
 he only Ordains. Purfuant to this in the Ordaining of 
 Priefts, the queftions are put in the name of God and 
 of his Church. Which makes the anfwers to them to be 
 of the nature of Vows and Oaths. So that if men do 
 make confeience of any thing, and if it is poflible to 
 ftrike terrour into them, the Forms of our Ordinations are 
 the moft erTe&ually contrived for that end that could have 
 been framed. 
 
 The firft queftion that -is put in the Office of Deacons, is, Do 
 you truft that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghoft to take up- 
 on you this Office, tofeflve God for the promoting of his Glory, and 
 the edifying of his people ?To which heis toaniiver I trnft fi.Tjbas 
 is put only in this Office,and not repeated after wards :it being 
 iuftly fuppofed that where one has had this motion, all the 
 
 other j 
 
Of the rajioral Care. 41 
 
 other Orders may be in time conferred purfuant to it ; 
 but this is the firft flep, by which a Man dedicates liimfclf 
 to the Service of God ; and therefore it ought not to be 
 made by any, that has not this Divine Vocation. Cer- 
 tainly, the Anfwer that is made to this, ought to be well 
 confidered ; for if any fays, I truft fo, that yet knows no- 
 thing of any fuch motion, and can give no account of it, 
 he lies to the Holy Ghoft ; and makes his firft approach to 
 the Altar, \fith a lie in his Mouth ; and that not to Men, 
 but to God ; and how can one expect to be received by 
 G'*/ , or be fen t and fealed by him, that dares do a thing 
 of fo crying a Nature, as to pretend that he trufts he has 
 t\\is motion, who knows that he has it not, who has made no 
 Reflections on it, and when asked, what he means by it, can 
 fay nothing concerning it ; and yet he dares venture to 
 come and lay it to God and his Church : If a Man pretends 
 a Cvmmijfwn from a Prince , or indeed from any Perfon, and 
 ads in his Name upon it, the Law u ill fall on him, and pu- 
 nilh him, and mall the Great God of Heaven and Eartb y 
 be thus vouched, and his motion he pretended to, by thofe 
 whom he has neither called nor fenP. and fhall not he reck- 
 on with thofe who dare to run without his Miffion, pre- 
 tending that they trufl they have it, when perhaps they 
 underftand not the Importance of it, nay, and perhaps 
 ibme laugh at it, as an EnthafiafticalQueftion , who, 
 yet will go through with the Office % They come to Chrift 
 for the Loaves: They hope to live by the Altar, and the 
 Gcfpel, how little foever they ferve at the one, or Preach 
 the other ; therefore they will fay any thing, that *is ne- 
 ceffory for qualifying them to this whether true or falfe, 
 It cannot be denied , but that this Queftion carries a 
 found in it, that feems a little too high, and that may 
 rather raife Scruples, as importing fomewhat t'.fcit is not 
 ordinary, and that feems to favour of Enthufiafme ; and. • 
 tl)crefore it was pur here, without doubt, to give great 
 cauticn to fuch as come to the Service of the Church '» many 
 I . may 
 
Of tpe Pajforal Care. 
 
 may be able to -anfwer it truly according to the Senfe of the 
 Church, who "may yet have great doubting in themfelves 
 concerning it ; but every Man' that has it not, muft needs 
 know that he has it not. 
 
 The true meaning of it muft be refolved thus; the Mo- 
 tives that ought to determine a Man, to dedicate himfelf 
 to the Miniftring in *the Church, area £eal for promoting 
 the Cory of God, for raifing the Honour of the Chrifti- 
 -an Religion, for the making it to be better uncferftood, and 
 more iubmitted to. He that loves it, and feels the excel- 
 lency of it in himfelf, that has a due Senfe of God's goodnefs 
 in it to Mankind, and that is entirely poflefled with that,will 
 feel a Zeal within himfelf, for communicating that to others; 
 that fo the only true God t and Jefiis Chrifi whom be has fent, 
 may be more univerfally glorified, and ferved by his Crea- 
 tures : And when to this he has added a concern of the Souls 
 for Men, a Tendernefsfor them, a Zeal to refcue them from 
 endlefs Mifery, and a defire to put them in the way to ever- 
 JaftingHappinefs, and from thefe Motives feels in himfelf a 
 defire to dedicate his Life and Labours to thofe ends ; and in 
 order to them ftudies to underftand the Scriptures, and more 
 particularly, the New Teflament, that from thence he may 
 form- a true Notion of this Holy Religion, and fo be an able 
 Minijler of if, this Man, and only this Man, fo wzWandfo 
 qualified, can in Truth, and with a good Confcience anfwer, 
 that he trulls he is inwardly moved by the Holy Ghofi. And eve- 
 ry one that ventures on the faying ir, without this, is $. Sa- 
 crilegious profaneroitht Name of God y and of his Holy Spirit. 
 He breaks in upon his Church, not to feed it but to rob it : 
 j And it is certain that he who begins w r ith a Lie, may be fent 
 by the Father of Lies , but he cannot be thought to enter in, 
 by the Door,who prevaricates in the firft word th.u he fays 
 ■ in ordeno his Admittance. 
 
 f But if the Office of Deacons offers no other particular mat- 
 ter of Refleciion,the Office of Ordaining Priefts^ has a great 
 deal ; indeed the whole of it, is calculated to the beft Notions 
 
 of 
 
uj we removal tare. 4-3 
 
 of the befl: Times. In the Charge that is given, the Figures 
 of Watchmen, Shepherds, and Stewards, are purmed^ and the 
 places of Scripture relating to thefe are applied to them : 
 They are required to have always printed in their Remembrance ; 
 How great a Treafure was committed to their Charge : The 
 Church and Congregation whom you rnuft ferve is his Spoufe and 
 Body. Then the greatnefs of the fault of their Negligence, 
 the horrible Vunifhment that will follow upon it, is fit b 
 them, in cafe the Church or any Member of it take any hu 
 hinder ance by reafon of it : They are charged never to ceaf 
 Labour, Care and Diligence, till they have done all tha, 
 in them, according to their bound en Duty, towards all 
 as are, or fhall be committed to their Care, to bring t \ 
 ■a Ripenefs and Perfeclnefs of Age in Chrifl. Tl v; 
 "again urged to confider with what care and fl tidy , they ought 
 to apply themf elves to this; to pray eame/lly for Gods Hi ly 
 Spirit , and to be ftudious in Reading and Learning of the 
 Scriptures ; and to forfafa and fet afihe, as much as- thy 
 may, all Worldly Cares and Studies. It is hoped that they 
 have clearly determined by Gods Grace, to give the w.f elves- 
 wholly to this location : and as much as lieth in them to 
 apply themf elves wholly to this one thing ; and to draw ail 
 their Cares and Studies this way, and to this end ; and that 
 ly their daily reading and weighing the Scriptures, they will 
 fiudy to was riper and flronger in their Miniflry. Thefe 
 are fome of the words of the preparatory Charge given 
 by the Bilhop, when he enters upon this Office ; before 
 he puts the questions that follow to thofe, who are to 
 be ordained. What greater force or energy could be put 
 in Words, than is in thefe ? Or where could any be 
 found that are more weighty and more exprefs ; to ihew 
 the intire Dedication of the whole Man, of his Time and 
 "j and thefeparating h'mfelf from all other Cares to follow 
 t thingwith all pofjible Application and Zeal . J There is 
 nothing in any Office, Ancient or Modern, that I ever faw 
 which is of xhis force, i'o ferious and fo folemn ;and it plainly 
 L 2 im< 
 
44 Of the Pastoral -Care. 
 
 implies not only the Senfe of the Churchupon this whole mat- 
 ter, butlikewife their defign who framed it, to oblige Priejls, 
 notwithftanding any Relaxation that the Laws of the Land 
 had flill favoured, by the firmed and facredft bonds po£ 
 iible to attend upon their Flocks-, and to do their Duties 
 to them, For a bare Rejidence, without labouring, is but 
 a mock Kefidence, fmcethe obligation to it, is in order to 
 a further end ; that they may watch over, and feed their Fleck, 
 and not enjoy their Benefices only as Farms,or as Living 
 according to the grofs , but common abufe of our Lan- 
 guage, by which the Names of Cures, Parijhes, or Benefices^ 
 which are the Eccleilaftical Names, are now fwallowed up 
 into that of Living, which carries a carnal Idea in the very- 
 found of the word, and I doubt a- more carnal efFe(3: on the 
 minds of both Clergy and Laity. ~ ' 
 
 What ever we may be, our Cfiurch is free of this Reproach: 
 fince this Charge carries their Duty as high, and as home, as 
 any thing that can be laid in Words. And it is further to 
 be confidered, that this is not of the Nature of a private 
 Exhoitation, in which a Man of lively thoughts, and a" 
 warm fancy, may be apt to carry a point too high: It is 
 the conflant and uniform voice of the Church. Nor is it of 
 the nature of a Charge, which is only the Senfe of him that 
 gives it, and to which the Perfon to whom it is given, is 
 onlyPailive: He hears it, but cannot be bound by another 
 Man's Thoughts or Words, further than as the Nature of 
 things binds him. But Orders are of the nature of a Covenant 
 between Chriji and the Clerks; in which fo many Privileges 
 and Powers are granted on the one part, and fo many Duties 
 and Offices are promifed on the other ,• and this Charge being 
 the Preface to it, it is flipulatory. It declares the whole Co- 
 venant of both fides ; and fothofe who receive Orders upon 
 it, areas much bound by every part of it, and it becomes as 
 much their own Acl, as if r.hey had pronounced or promifed 
 it all, in the moft formal Words that could be, and indeed 
 the Anfivers and Promifes that are afterwards made, are only 
 
 the 
 
Vf We rajtoral Care. q$ 
 
 the Application of this, to the particular Perfons, forgiving 
 them a plainer and livelier Sbnfe of their Obligation, which 
 yet, in it felf, was as intire and ftrong, whether they had 
 made any promife by Words of their own or not. 
 
 But to put the matter out of doubt, let us look a little fur- 
 ther into the Office, to the Promifes that they make, with 
 relation to their Flock, even to iuch as are, or fball be com- 
 mitted to their Charge. They promife, That by the Help of 
 the Lord they will give their Faithful Diligence , always fo to 
 Minifler the Dotlrine and Sacraments, and the Difcipline of 
 Chrifl, as the Lord hath commanded, and as this Realm hath re- 
 ceived the fame, according to the Cammandment of God ; fo that 
 they miy teach the People committed to their Care' and Charge 
 with all Diligence to keep andebferve the fame. This does plain- 
 ly bind to perfonal Labour, the mention that is madeof »•/;;?/ 
 this Realm has received, being limited by what follows accor- 
 ding to the commandment of God, mews that by this is meant the 
 Reformation cf the Doctrine and' Worfhip that was then re- 
 ceived, and eftablilhed by Law ; by w^h thefe general Words, 
 "the Dotlrine and Sacraments and Difcipline ofChrtft, to which 
 ali Parties pretend, are determined to our Conftitutbon ; fo 
 that tho there were fome Diforders among u$, not yet provid* 
 cd againft by the Laws of the Land', this does not fecure a 
 referve for them. This is fo flight a remark, that I mould 
 be afhamed to have made it, if it had not beerl urged to my 
 felf, flight as it is, to juftifie in point of Conlcience, the claim- 
 ing all fuch Privileges-, or Qualifications, as are (till allowed 
 by Law. But I go on to the other Promifes : The Clerk fays 
 he will, by the help of God, be ready with all Faithful Diligence, 
 to banifh and drive away all erroneous and Jl range Doftiinei, con- 
 trary to God's Word, and to ufe both publick and private Admon- 
 itions, and Exhortations, as well to the fick,as to the whole, wit kin 
 his Cure, as need fhall require, and as occafton fhalibe given : 
 This is as plainly perfonal, andconftant, as Words can nake 
 any thing . : And in this is expreffed the fo much ne^kdeJ, 
 buUb neceflary Duty, which Incumbents owe their Flock, in 
 
46 Of- the- ^ aft oral tare. 
 
 a private way, vifiting,inftruc~ting, and admcnifliing them, 
 which is one of the moll: ufeful, and important parts of their 
 Duty, how generally foever it may be difufed or forgotten .- 
 Thefe being the chief inflances and acts of watching over and 
 feeding the Flock, that is committed to their Care. In the next 
 place they promife, That they will he diligent in Prayers, and 
 in reading of the Holy Scriptures, andinfuch Studies as help to 
 the Knowledge cfthejcime, laying afide, the fludy of the World 
 and the Plefh .-This dill carries on that great Notion of the 
 Tafloral Care, which runs through this whole Office ; that it is 
 to be a Man's intire Bufinefs, and is to poflefs both his thoughts 
 and his time. They do further promife That they will maintain, 
 and fet forward, as much as lieth in them, quietnefs, peace, and 
 love among all Chrifiian People, and efpecially among them, that 
 are, or fhall be committed to their Charge. 
 
 Thefe are the Vows and Promifes that Priefts make before 
 they can be Ordained . And to compleat the Stipulation, the 
 Eifpop concludes it, with a Prayer to God who has given them 
 the will to do all thefe ^mgs, to give them alfo ftrength t and 
 power to perform the J awe*, that he may accompli jh his Work, which 
 he hath begun in them, until the time that he [hall come, at the 
 latter day, tojndge the quick and the dead. Upon the whole 
 matter either this is all a piece of grofs and impudent Pagean- 
 try, drefled up in grave and lofty ExpreiTicns, to ftrike upon 
 the weaker part of Mankind,and to furnifh the reft with mat- 
 ter to their profane and impious Scorn; or it mud be confef- 
 fed that Priefts come under the mod formal and exprefs En- 
 gagements, toconftantand diligent Jd^wr, that can be po/Ii- 
 bly contrived or fet forth in Words. It is upon this, that they 
 are Ordained : So their Ordination being the«confummation of 
 this compacl, it mud be acknowledged that according to the 
 nature of all mutual compacls • a total failure on the one fide, 
 does alfo diflblveall the Obligation that lay on the other: And 
 . therefore thofe who do not perform their part, that do not Re- 
 Jide and Labour, they do alfo in the fight of God, forfeit all the 
 Authority and Privileges that do follow tlitir Orders, as much 
 
as a CbriftiM at large, that does not perform his E^prif-m-J ■ 
 Vow, forfeits the Rights and Benefits of his Baptinn,in the iftg& 
 of God,- tho both in the one, and in the other, it is nc-:. 
 that for the preventing of diforder and confufion, a Sentence 
 Declaratory q( ExcormnunicUion, in the one, as of D$$radafjm 
 in the other, pafs before the Vifible Acts and Rights, puriua?. 1 : 
 to thofe Rites, can be denied. 
 
 To all this! will add one thing more, which is, that fince 
 our Book of Ordination, is a partof ouri£,//«rgy, andiikewife 
 a pave of the Ljw. of the Land, and fince conftant Attendance, 
 and diligent Labour is made necefTary by it,and fince this Law 
 is fubfequent to the Act of the x\[l. of Henry the %th. that qua- 
 lifies fomany for Pluralities, and Mon-Refidence, and is in plain 
 Terms contrary to it, this as fubfequent does, repeal all that 
 it contradicts : It is upon all this, a matter that to me feerns 
 plain, that by this Law, the other is Repealed, in fo far,as it is 
 inconfiftent with it. This Argument is by this Consideration 
 made the Wronger, that the Ad; of King Henry does not enacl 
 that fuch things mall be, but only referves privildeges for fuch 
 as may be capable of an Exemption from the common and ge- 
 neral rules. Now by the Principles pf Law, all PrivUedges or 
 Exemptions of that fort, are odious things 5 and the Conftru&i- 
 ens of Law lying hard and heavy againft odious Cafes,- it ap- 
 pears to me according to the general grounds of Law, very 
 probable (I fpeak within bounds, when I fay only probable,,) 
 that the Ad of Uniformity which makes the OjficesofOrdint- 
 Hon a part of the Law of England, is a Repeal of that partof 
 the Aft of King Henry, which qualifies for Pluralities. To 
 conclude, Whatsoever may be the ftrength of this Plea in Bar 
 to that A&, if our Faith given to God and his Church, in the 
 moft exprels and plained words po#ible., does bind, if Pro- 
 mifes given at the Altar do oblige, and if a Stipulation, in the 
 confideration of which Orders are given, is iacred and of an 
 indifpenfible obligation, then, I am fure, this is. 
 
 To make the whole matter yet the. ftronger, this.OfV 
 fice is to be compleated-with.a Compilation: So that .upon 
 
 this 
 
4$ Of the rajioral Care. • 
 
 this- occafion, that is not only a piece of Religious Devotion, 
 accompanying it :, but it is the taking the Sacrament upon 
 the Stipulation that has been made, between the Prieft and the 
 Church ; So that thofe who have framed this Office,have cer- 
 tainly intended by all the ways that they could think on, arid 
 by the weightieft wordsthey could choofe, to make the fenfe 
 " of the Prieftly Fun&ion, and of the Duties belonging to it, 
 give deep and ftrong impreffions to fuch as are Ordainsd. \ 
 have compared with k, all the Exhortations that are in all 
 the Offices I could find, Ancient and Modern? whether of 
 i the "Greek, or the Latin Church, and this muft be faid of 
 Ours, without any fort of partiality to our own Forms, that 
 no fort of companion can be made between Ours and all the 
 others : and that as much as ours is more fimple than tho(e as 
 to its* Rites and Ceremonies, which fwell up other Offices, fo 
 much is it more grave and weighty in the Exhortations, Col- 
 le&s and Sponfans that are made in it. In the Roman Pon- 
 tifical no promifes are demanded ofPriefs, but only that 
 of Obedience : Biffjops in a corrupted ftate of the Church , ta- 
 king care only of their own Authority, while they neglefted 
 more important obligations. 
 
 In the Office of Confecrating Bijhops' as all the Sponsions 
 made by them, when they were ordained Priefts, are to be 
 confidered as frill- binding, fince the Inferiour Office does (till 
 fobfift in theSuperiour 5 fo there are new ones mperadded, 
 proportioned to the exaltation of Dignity and Authority that 
 accompanies that Office. In the Roman Pontifical, there are 
 indeed queftions put to a Bifhop, before he is Confecrated : 
 but of all thefe the firft only is that which has any relation 
 to his FlocI^ : which is in thefe words: Wilt thou teach 
 the people over whom thou Art to be fct, both by thy Fxample and 
 Do&rine : thofe things thai thou learn ft out of the Holy Scripture} 
 All the reft are general , and relate only to his Corrver- 
 fation '■) but not at all to his Labours in his Diocefs : Where- 
 as on the contrary, the engagements in our Office do regard 
 not only aBiftiop's own Cenverfation; but chiefly mVDvrtv to 
 
 his 
 
ill VI Ut \/UI c. 
 
 his People : he declares that he is determined to inflruci the 
 ■People committed to his Charge, out of the Holy Scriptures : 
 That he will (iudy them, fo as to be able by them, to teach 
 and exhort , with wholfome Doilrine 5 and with f and and 
 convince the Gain-faycrs : That he rvill be ready with all j 'ait h- 
 fnl Diligence, to banif) and drive arcay all erroneous and (irange 
 Doilrine, contrary to God's word : And both privately and 
 openly to call upon and encourage others to the fame : That he 
 ttill maintain and Jet forward as much as lies in him , quiet- 
 xefs, love, and peace among all Men 3 and correct and punifb 
 Juch as be unquiet, dif obedient, and criminous, within his 
 Diocefs : According to juch Authority as he has. In parti- 
 cular, He promifes to be Faithful in ordaining, fending, or lay- 
 ing Hands up en others : He promifes alfo to fl?ew himfelf to he 
 gentle, and merciftd for Chriji's Jake, to poor and needy Veople, 
 and to all Strangers deflitutc of Help. Thefeare the Co- 
 venants and Promifes under which Bifiops are put, which 
 are again reinforced upon them, in the Charge that is given 
 immediately after their Coniccration, when the Bible is 
 put in their Hands •■, Give heed to Reading, Exhortation, and 
 DoiJrine : Thinly upon the thing* contained in this Book, '•> be 
 diligent in them, that the incrcafc coming thereby may be manifefi 
 unto all Men. Take heed unto thy Self, and to Doctrine, and 
 be diligent in doing them, for by doing this thou JJjalt both five 
 thy fclf and them that hear thee. Be thcu to the block, of Chrifi, 
 a Shepherd, not a Wolf ^ feed them^ devour them not : Holdup 
 the weak-, heal the ficl^, bind up tie brolen, bring again the out 
 cafls, feck tie Icjl : Be fo merciful that you be not too remifs : 
 So Mini ft er Difciflim that ycufcr get not Mercy : That when 
 the chief Shepherd Jh/tli apfear, you may receive the never fa- 
 ding Crown of Glcry, thrsugh Jej us Chrifi our I ord. In thefe 
 Words, the great Lines of our Duty are drawn, in very 
 expreftive and comprehensive Terms. We have the ie- 
 ■\eral Branches of our Function, bo h as to Preaching and 
 Governing very folemnly laid upon us: And both in this 
 Offcc as well as in all die odier Offices that I have feen, it 
 appcais that the cenftant fence of all Churches, in all Ages, 
 has been that Preaching was the Bifhbps yeat Duty, and 
 M that 
 
CO UJ ibe rajtoral Lare. 
 
 that he ought to lay himfelf out in it mofi particularly. 
 
 I fhall only add one advice to all this, before I leave 
 this Article of the Sence of our Church in this mattery 
 both tothofe, who intend to take Orders, and to thoie 
 who have already taken them. As forfuchas do intend 
 to dedicate themfelves to the fervice of the Church, they 
 ought to read over thefe Offices frequently 3 and to ask 
 themfelves folemnly, as in the prefence of God, Whether 
 they can with a good Conference, make thofe anfvvers which 
 the Book prefcribes, or not? and not to venture on offer- 
 ing themieives to Oders, till they know that they dare 
 and may fafely do it. Every perfon who looksthat way,ought 
 at leaft on every Ordination Sunday , after he has once 
 formed the refblution of dedicating himfelf to this work, 
 to go over the Office ferioufly with himfelf, and to 
 confider in what difpofition or preparation of mind he is 3 
 fuitable to what he finds laid down in it. But I mould 
 add to this, that for a Year before he comes to be ordaim-d, 
 he (hould every firft Sunday of the Month read over 
 the Office very deliberately 3 and frame refolutions, conform 
 to the feveral parts of it, and if he can, receive the Sacra- 
 ment upon it, with a fpecial fet of private Devotions rela- 
 ting to his indentions. As the time of his Ordination draws 
 near, he ought to return the oftner to thoie exercifes. It 
 will be no hard task for him to read thefe over every Sun- 
 day, during the la ft Quarter before his Ordination 5 and to 
 do that yet more folemnly, every day of the week in which 
 he is to be ordained : and to joyn a greater earneftnefs offaft- 
 rngmft prajer with it on the Faft-days of his Ember Week. 
 
 Here is no hard impofition. The performance isaseafie 
 in it felf, as it will be fuccefsful in its efTefts. If I did not 
 confider, rather what the Age can bear, than what were to 
 be wifhed for, I would add a great many fevere Rules- 
 calculated to the Notions of the Primitive times. But if 
 this advice were put in practice, it is to be hoped, that it 
 would let back many who come to be ordained, without 
 conlidering duly, either what it is that they abk, or what 
 it is that is to be asked of them : which lome do with fo 
 
 fupine 
 
Of the PaSoral Care. 67 
 
 fupinc a negligence, that we plainly fee that they have not 
 fo much as read theOfficc, or at leaft that they have done 
 it in fb flight a manner, that they have formed no clear 
 Notions upon any part of it, and leaft of all, upon thofe 
 parts to which they themfelves are to make anfwers. 
 And as fuch a method as I have propoied would proba- 
 bly ftrike fomc with a due awe of Divine matters, 10 as 
 to keep them at a diftance, till they were in fome fort 
 prepared for them 5 fb it would oblige fuch as came to 
 it, to bring along with them a ferious temper of mind, 
 and fuch a preparation of foul as might make that their Or- 
 ders mould be ableffingto them, as well as they themfelves 
 ihould be a bleffing to the Church. It miift be the greateft 
 joy of a Bi flops life, who truly minds his duty in this 
 weighty truft of fending out Labourers into Gods Vineyard j 
 to Ordain fuch perfons of whom he has juft grounds to hope, 
 that they (hall do their duty, faithfully, in reaping that Har- 
 veft. He reckons thefe as his Children indeed, who are to be 
 his ftrength and fupport^ his fellow Labourers and Helpers, his 
 Crown and his Glory. But on the other hand, how heavy a 
 part of his Office muft itbe to Ordain thoie againft whom, 
 perhaps there lies no juft objection, fo that according to 
 the Conftitution and Rules of the Church, he cannot deny 
 them 5 and yet he fees nothing in them that gives him cou- 
 rage or cheerful nefs. They do not feem to have that love to 
 God, that zeal for Chrift, that tendemefs for fouls, that 
 mecknefs and humility , that mortification and deadnefs to 
 the world, that becomes the Character and Profeffion which 
 they undertake 5 fo that his heart fails him, and his 
 hands tremble when he goes xoOrdain them. 
 
 My next advice fhall be to thoie, who are already in Or- 
 ders^ that they will at leaft four times a year, on the Ordi- 
 nation Sundays, read over the Offices of the Degrees of the 
 Church in which they are: and will particularly confider 
 the Charge that was given, and the Anfwers that were made 
 by them , and then ask themfelves as before God, who 
 "will Judge them at the Great-day^ upon their Religious per- 
 formance of them, whether they have been true to them or 
 M 2 not 
 
68 Of the Paftoral Cave. 
 
 not that fo they may humble themfelves for their Errours, 
 andOmiilions, and may renew their Vows for the future , 
 and fo to be going on from Quarter to Quarter, through 
 the whole courfe of their Mini fry obferving ftill what 
 ground they gain, and what progrefs they make, to fuch as. 
 have a right Senfe of their Duty, this will be no hard perfor- 
 formance. It will give a vaft joy to thofe that can gi> 
 through it with fbme meafure of afTurance, and find, that tho 
 in the mideft of many tentatiom and of much weaknefs, 
 they are fincerely and ferioufly going, on in their work to the 
 heft of their skill, and to the utmoft of their power : So. 
 that their Confciences fay within them, and that without 
 the partialities of (elf love and flattery, Well done, good and 
 faithful fervant. The hearing of this laid within, upon true 
 grounds, being the certaineft Evidence poffible that it {hall 
 be publickly faid at the Laft and Great-day* This exer- 
 cife will alfo offer checks to a man that looks for them 3 and 
 intends both to underftand his errours, and to cleanfe him- 
 (clf from them. It will upon the whole matter, make Clergy 
 Men go on with their Profeffion, as the Bufinefs and Labour 
 of their Lives. 
 
 Having known the very good efTed that this Method has 
 had on fome, I dare the more confidently recommend it to 
 all others'. 
 
 Befoie I conclude this Chapter, I will fhew what Rules 
 our Reformers had prepared with Relation to Non.-Refidence, 
 and Pluralities^ which tho they never palled into Laws, and 
 fo have no binding force with them , yetin thefe we fee what 
 was the fenfe of thofe that prepared our Offices, and that were 
 the chief Inftruments in that blefled Work of our Reforma- 
 tion. The \2tb. Chapter of the Title, concerning thofe that 
 were to be admitted to Ecclefiafiical Benefices, runs thus. Where- 
 as, when many Benefices are conferred on one Perfon, every one of 
 thpfe mufl be ferved with tefs order and exatinefs, and many 
 learned Men, who are not provided, are by that mexns flint out $ 
 therefore, fuch as examine the Perfons who arc propofed for Be- 
 nefices , are to asl^ every one of them , whether, he has at that 
 ' time another Benefice or not, and if he confejfes that he has, then 
 
 they 
 
yj lue 1 anvrai \,are. < 
 
 they flail not confent to his obtaining that to which he if 
 prefentcd, or the fir ft Benefice flail be made void, as in cafe of 
 Death, fo th,it the Patron may prefent any other Perfon to if.- 
 Chap. 13. is againft Difpenfations, in theft Words. No 
 Man /hall hereafter be capable of any Privilege, by virtue of which 
 he may hold more Pariflcs than one- But fuch as have already 
 obtained any fuch Difpenfations for Pluralities, flail not be de- 
 prived of the effects of them, by virtue of this Law. The i^th. 
 Chapter relates to Refidence, in thefe Words. If any Man by 
 reafon of Age or Sicknefs, is di fabled from dif charging his Duty, 
 or if be has any juft caufe of abfence for fome time t that full be ap- 
 prcved of by the Biflop, he rnuft take care to place a worthy Perfon, 
 toferve during his abfence. But the Bi flops ought to take a-fpe- 
 cial Care, that upon no regard whatfoever, any Perfon may, upon 
 feigned or pretended Reajons, be fuffered to be longer abfentfrom ' 
 his Par id?, than a real nccejfity flail require. 
 
 Thefe are fome of the Rules which were then prepared, 
 and happy had it been for our Church, if that whole work 
 of the Reformation of the Ecclefiafiical Law, had been then fet- 
 led among us. Then we might juftly have raid, that our Re- 
 formation was compleat, and not have lamented as our Church 
 ttill does in the Office of Commination that the godly Difcipline 
 which was in the Primitive Church is not yet rejiored, how much, 
 and how long fbever it has been wifljcd for. It is more than 
 probable that we Qiould neither have had Schifms, nor Civil 
 IVars, if that great defign had not been abortive. If but the 
 icjth. and 2Cth. Titles of that work, which treat of the pub- 
 tick^offices, and Officers in theChurch,hzd became a part of our - 
 Law, and been duly executed, we fhould indeed have had 
 matter of glorying in the World. 
 
 In the Canons of the Year 1571. tho there wasnotthen • 
 ftrength enough in the Church, to cure fo inveterate a Dif~ 
 eafe, as Non-Rcfidence, yet (lie exprelled her detefbtionof it, 
 in thele Words. The abfence of a Paflorfrom the Lord's Fbckjy '■ 
 and that ftrpine negligence and abandoning of the Mini fl) 7, which 
 rre obferve in many, is a thing vilein itfclf odious to tic People, 
 and pernicious to the Church of God? therefore, we exhoi t all tic 
 P aft or s of Churches, in our Lordjefus^ that they will as foon as 
 
jo OfthePaHoralCare. 
 
 is pojfible, come to their Churches, and diligently Preach the Gofpel, 
 and according to the value of their Livings, that they will keep 
 "Houfe, and ho/pit ably relieve thePoor.lt is true, all this is much 
 ltflened by the laft Words of that Article, That e^cryTcar they 
 mufi nftde atleaft Thrccfarre daies upon their Benefices. By the 
 Colons made at that time, Pluralities were alfo limited to 20 
 wiles diflancc. But this was enlarged to 30 miles, by the Ca- 
 nons in the Year 1597. Yet by thefe the Plnralift was requi- 
 red tofpend a good part of the Tear in both his Benefices. And 
 upon this, has the matter refted ever fince 5 but there is no 
 exprefs definition made how far that general word of a good 
 part of the Tear is to be underftood. 
 
 I will not to this add a long invidious Hiftory of all the at- 
 tempts that have been made for the Reforming thefe abu(es, 
 nor the methods that have been made me of to defeat them. 
 They have been but too fiiccefsrul, fo that we ftill groan un- 
 der ourabufes 5 and do not know when the time mall come 
 in which we (hall be freed from them. The defenders of thofe 
 abufes, who get too much by them, to be willing to part with 
 them, have made great ufebfthis, that it was the Puritan 
 Party, that during ^Elizabeth, and K. James the ifls. Reign, 
 promoted thefe Bills, to render the Church odious: Whereas, 
 it feems more probable, that thofe who let them forward,what 
 invidious Chara&ers fbever their Enemies might put them un- 
 der, were really the Friends of the Churchy and that they in- 
 tended to preferve it, by freeing it from Co crying, and fo vi- 
 sible an abufe: which gives an offence and fcandal, that is not 
 found out by much learning, or great oblervation \ but arifes 
 fo evidently out of the nature of things, that a (mail meafure 
 of common fenfe^hclps every one to lee it,and to be deeply pre- 
 judie'd againftit. Butfinceour Church has fallen under the 
 . evils.and mifchiefs of Schifm, none of thofe who divide from 
 us, have made any more attempts this way 3 but jfeem rather 
 to be not ill pleafed, that fuch Scandals mould be ftill among 
 us, as hoping that this is fo great a load upon our Church, 
 that it both weakens our ftrength, and leflens our Authori - 
 ty. It is certainly the intereft of an Enemy to differ the body 
 to which he oppofeshimfelf to lie under as many Prejudices, 
 
 
Of the Tajioral Care. 
 
 and to be liable to as much cenfure, as is poilible ; whereas 
 every good and wile Friend ftudies to preferve that body to 
 which he unites himielf, by freeing it from every thing that 
 may render it leis acceptable, and leis uieful. 
 
 Here I will leave this Argument, having I think faid 
 enough, to convince all, that have a true Zeal to our Church, 
 and that think themielves bound in confcienceto obey its Ru- 
 les, and that ieera to have a particular jealoufie of theCf- 
 vil Power r, breaking in too far upon the Ecclefiafiical Authori- 
 ty, that there can be nothing more plain and exprefs, than 
 that our Church intends to bring all her Priefis under the ft rid 
 eft obligations poilible, to conftant and perfonal Labour, and 
 that in this fhe purfaes the defigns and Canons, not only of 
 the Primitive, and beft times, but even of the wor ft Ages, Since 
 none were ever fo corrupt as not to condemn thoie abufes 
 by Canon \ even when they maintained them in practice. She 
 does not only bind them to this, by the Charge (he appoints 
 to be given, but alio by the Vows and Promises that (he de- 
 mands of fuch as are Ordained. When all this is laid together, 
 and when there ftands nothing on the other fide, to balance 
 it,but a Law made in a very bad time, that took away ibme 
 chufes, but left pretences to cover others 5 Can any man 
 that weighs thefe things together, in the fight of God, and 
 that believes he muft anfwer to him for this at the great Day, 
 think, that the one, how ftrong (bever it may be in his fa- 
 vour at an earthly Tribunal, will be of any force in that laft 
 and dreadful judgment. This I leave upon all Mens Confer- 
 ences j hoping that they will fo \fudge themfelves, that thry , 
 /hall not be judged of the Lord, 
 
 CHAR 
 
7* 0/ the Pafioral Care. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 Of tie due preparation of fuck as may and ought to be put inOrders. 
 
 TH E greateft good that one can hope to do in this 
 • World is upon young Perfons, who have not yet ta- 
 ken their ply,and are not ipoiled with Prejudices,and wrong 
 Notion?. Thefe who have taken an ill one at firft, will nei- 
 ther be at the painHo look over their Notions, nor turn to 
 new Methods -, nor will they by any change of Practice, feem 
 to confefs that they were once in the wrong 5 fb that if Mat- 
 ters that are amite, can be mended or let right, it muft be by 
 giving thofe that have not yet fet out, and that are not yet 
 engaged, truer views,and jufter Idea's of things. I will there- 
 fore here lay down the model, upon which a Clcrkjs to be 
 formed, and will begin withfuch things as ought to be pre- 
 vious and preparatory to his being initiated into Orders. 
 
 Thefe are of two forts, the one is of fuch preparations as 
 are neceflfary to give his Heart and Soul aright temper, and a 
 truefenfe of things : The other is of Rich ftitdics as are necef. 
 lary to enable him to go through with the feveral parts of his 
 Duty. Both are neceflary, but the firft is the more indi- 
 fpcnfible of the two 5 for a Man of a good Soul, may with 
 a moderate proportion of knowledge do great Service in the 
 Church, efpeciallyif heisfuited with an imployment, that 
 is not above his Talent: Whereas unfan&ified knowledge puffs 
 up j isinf -lentand unquiet, it gives great (candal, and occa- 
 fions much diftrattion in the Church. In treating of thefe 
 qualifications, I will watch over my thoughts, not to let 
 them rife to a pitch that is above what the common frailties 
 of humane Nature, or the Age we live in, can bear : and af- 
 ter all, if in any thing I may feem to exceed thefe meafiires, 
 it is to be confidered, that it is natural in propofing the Ideas 
 of things, to carry them to what is wified for, which is but 
 too often beyond what can be expetfedj confidering both the 
 corruption of mankind and of thefe degenerated time*. 
 
Uf the Tajtorai tare. y\ 
 
 Firft of all then, he that intends to dedicate himfelf to the 
 Church, ought, from the time that he takes up any fuch Refo- 
 lution, to enter upon a greater Decency of Behaviour, that his 
 Mind may not be vitiated by ill Habits 5 which may both give 
 fuch bad Characters of him, as may (tick long on him afterwards, 
 and make fuch ill Impreilions on himfelf, as may not be eafily 
 worn out or defaced. He ought, above all things, to poflefs 
 himfelf with a high Senfe of the Chriftian Religion, of its Truth 
 and Excellence, of the Value of Souls, of the Dignity of the 
 PafioralCare, of the Honour of God, of the Sacrednefs of Holy 
 Fun&ions^ and of the Great Trufl that is committed to thofe who 
 are fet apart from the World, and dedicated to God and to his 
 Church. He who looks this way, muft break himfelf to the Ap- 
 petites of Pleafure, or Wealth, of Ambition, or Authority } 
 he muft conflder that the Religion, in which he intends to Offi- 
 ciate, calls all Men to great Purity and Vertue$ to a Probity 
 and Innocence of Manners, to a Meeknefs and Gentlenefs, to 
 a Humility and Self-denial, to a Contempt of the World and a 
 Heavenly Minded nefs, to a Patient Resignation to the Will of 
 God, and a readinefs to bear the Crofs, in the hopes of that 
 everlafting Reward, which is referved for Chriftians in another 
 State : All which was eminently recommended, by the unble- 
 miuYd Pattern that the Author of this P.eli&ion, has fet to all that 
 pretend to be his Followers. Thefe bang the Obligations which 
 a Preacher of the Gofpel is to lay daily upon all his Hearers, 
 he ought certainly to accuftom himfelf often to confiderferioufly 
 of them 5 and to think how Shamelefs and Impudent a thing it 
 will be in him, to perform Offices (uitable to all thefe, and that 
 do fuppofe them, to be InftrucYing the People, and Exhorting 
 them to the Practice of them, unlefs he is mfimefort all this him- 
 felf, which he teaches others to be. 
 
 Indeed to be tied to fuch an Employment, while one has not 
 an inward Conformity to it, and Complacence in it, is both the 
 moft unbecoming, the moft unpleafant, and the moft uncom- 
 fortable State of Life imaginable. Such a Perfon will be expofed 
 to all Mens Cenfures and Reproaches, who when they fee things 
 amifs in his Conduct, do not only Reproach him, but the whole 
 Church and Body, to which he belongs ■, and which is more, the 
 N Religion 
 
7X Of the Tajtoral Can. 
 
 Religion which he feems to recommend by his Difcourfes, though 
 his Life and Actions, which will always pafs for the molt real 
 Declaration of his inward Sentiments, are a vifible and conti- 
 nual opposition to it. On all thefe things, he whofe Thoughts 
 carry him towards the Church , ought to retted frequently : 
 Nothing is fo odious as a Man that difagrees with his Character, 
 a Soldier that is a Coward, a Courtier that is Brutal, an Ambafia- 
 dour that is Abjeft , are not fuch unfeemly things, as a bad or vi- 
 cious, a drunken or diflblute Clergy-man. But though his Scan- 
 dals mould not rife up to fo high a pitch, even a Proud and Paf- 
 fionate, aWorldly Minded and Covetous Prreft, gives the Lye to 
 his Difcourfes fo palpably, that he cannot expect they fhould 
 have much weight. Nor is fuch a Man's State of Life left un- 
 pleafant to himfelf, than it is unbecoming. He is obliged to 
 be often performing Offices, and pronouncing Difcourfes, in 
 which, if he is not a Good Man, he not only h3s no Plcafure, 
 but muft have a formed Averfion to them. They muft be the 
 heavieft Burden of his Life 3 he mult often feelfecret Challenges 
 within \ and though he as often filences thefe, yet fuch unwel- 
 come Reflections are uncomfortable things. He is forced to 
 manage himfelf with a perpetual conftraint , and to obferve a 
 decorum in his Deportment, left he fall under a more publick 
 Cenfure : Now to be bound to aft a Part , and live with re- 
 ftraint ones whole Life, muft be a very Melancholy thing. He 
 cannot go fo quite out of fight of Religion, and Convictions, as 
 other bad Men do, who live in a perpetual hurry, and a total 
 forgetfulnefs of Divine Matters : They have no Checks, becaufe 
 they are as feldom in the way to find them, as is poflible. But 
 a Clerks cannot keep himfelf out of their way ■-, he muft remem- 
 ber them, and fpeak of them, at leaft upon fome occafions, whe- 
 ther he will or no : He has no other way to fecure himfelf againft 
 them, but by trying what he can do, to make himfelf abfolutely 
 disbelieve them. Negative Atheifm, that is, a total neglect of 
 all Religion, is but too eafily arrived at, yet this will not ferve 
 his turn, he muft build his Atheifm upon fome Bottom, that he 
 may find quiet in it. If he is an Ignorant Man, he is not fur- 
 nifhed with thofe flights of Wit, and mews of Learning, that muft 
 fupport it : But if he is really Learned, he will foon be beaten 
 
vj im raj i oral Lare. 7* 
 
 out of them 5 for a Learned Atheifm isfo hard a thing to be con- 
 ceived, thatunlefs a Man's Powers are firft ftrangely vitiated, it 
 is not ealie to lee how any one can bring himfelf to it. There 
 is nothing that can fettle the quiet of an ill Prieft's Mind and 
 Life, but a ftupid Formality, and a Callus that he Contracts, by 
 his infenfible way of handling Divine Matters ; by which he be- 
 comes hardned againft them. But if this fettles him by ftupifying 
 his Powers, it does put alfo him fo far out of the reach of Con- 
 viction , in all the ordinary methods of Grace, that it is fcarce 
 poffible he can ever be awakned 3 and by Confluence that he 
 can be faved, and if he perilhes, he muft fall into the lowert de- 
 gree of Mifery, even to the Portion of Hypocrites : For his whole 
 Life has been a courfe of Hypocrife in the ftrictcft Sence of the 
 Word, which is the Adting of a Part, and the Counterfeiting 
 another Perfon. His Sins have in them all poffible Aggravations 5 
 they are againft Knowledge and againft Vows, and contrary to 
 his Character j they carry in them a deliberate Contempt of all 
 the Truths and Obligations of Religion 5 and if he perifties, he 
 does not perifti alone, but carries a Shoal down with him, ei- 
 ther of thofe who have periftied in Ignorance, through his neg- 
 lect 5 or of thofe who have been hardned in their Sins, through 
 his ill Example : And fince all this muft be put to his Account, 
 it may be juftly inferred from hence, That no man can have a 
 heavier (hare in the miferies of another State, than profane and 
 wicked Clerfy. On all thefe things he ought to imploy his thoughts 
 frequently, who intends to dedicate himfelf to God, that fo he 
 may firmly refolve not to go on with it, till he feels fuch Seeds 
 and Beginnings of good things in himfelf, that he has reafon to 
 hope, that through the Grace and Affiftance of God, he will be 
 an Example toothers. 
 
 He ought more particularly to examine himfelf, whether he 
 has that Soft and Gentle, that Meek and Humble, and that Cha- 
 ritable and Companionate Temper, which the Gofpel does Co 
 much prefcupon all Chriftiansj thatlhined fo eminently through 
 the whole Life of the BleiTed Author of it 3 and which he has 
 fo (ingularly recommended to all his Followers ■> and that has in 
 it fo many Charms and AuracYives, which do-not only com- 
 mend thofe who have thefe amiable Vertues, but which is much 
 N 2 more 
 
7 A Of the faftoral Care. 
 
 more to be regarded, they give them vaft advantages in recom- 
 mending the Doctrine of our Saviour to their People. They 
 are the true ground of that Chriftian Wifdom and Difcretion, 
 and of that grave and calm Deportment, by which the Clergy 
 ought to carry on and maintain their Authority. A haughty 
 and huffing Humour, an Impatient and infolent Temper, a 
 loftinefs of Deportment, and a peevithnefs of Spirit, rendring 
 the Lives of the Clergy, for the moft part, bitter to themfelves, 
 and their Labours, how valuable foever otherwife they may 
 be, unacceptable and ufelefs to their People. A Clergyman 
 muft be prepared to bear Injuries, to endure much unjuft Cen- 
 fure and Calumny , to fee himfelf often neglefted, and o- 
 thers preferred to him, in the efteem of the People. He that 
 takes all this ill, that refents it, and complains of it, does 
 thereby give himfelf much difquiet, and to be fure, he will, 
 through his Peevithnefs , rather encreafe than leffen that 
 Contempt, under which he is fo uneafie ■> which is both bet- 
 ter born, and fooner overcome, by a meek and a lowly Tem- 
 per. A Man of this Drfpofition affe&s no Singularities, unlefs 
 the faultinefs of thofe about him, makes his doing his Duty to 
 be a Singularity: He does not ftudy to leffen the value that is due 
 to others, on defign to encreafe his own : His low thoughts of 
 himfelf, make that he is~neither afpiring , nor envying iuch as 
 are advanced : He is prepared to ftay till God in his Provi- 
 dence thinks fit to raife him : He ftudies only to deferve Prefer- 
 ment, and leaves to others the wringing Pofts of Advantage 
 out of the Hands of thofe that give them. Such a Preparati- 
 on of Mind in a Clergy-man, difpofes him to be Happy in 
 whatfoever Station he may be put, and renders the Church hap- 
 py in him j for Men fo moulded, even though their Talents (houkl 
 be but mean, are (liining Lights, that may perhaps be at firft de- 
 fpifed, as Men of a low fize, that have not Greatnefs of Soul 
 enough to afpire, but when they have been feen and known fo 
 long, that all appears to be (incere, and that the Principle 
 from whence this flows, is rightly confidered, then every thing 
 that they fay or do, muft have its due weight : The plaineft 
 and (impleft things that they fay have a Beauty in them , and 
 will be hearkned to as Oracles. 
 
 But 
 
Uf the "fajtorai Lave. 7j 
 
 But a Man that intends to prepare himfelf right for the 
 Miniftry of the Church, muft indeed above all things, endea- 
 vour to break himfelf to the love of the World, lither of the 
 Wealth, the Pomp, or the Pleafures of it. He muft learn to 
 be content with plain and fimple Diet } and often even abridge 
 that, by true Faffing : I do not call lafting, a trifling diftin- 
 cYton of Meats, but a lcifening of the quantity, as well as the 
 quality, and a contracting the time fpent at Meals, that lb he 
 may have a greater Freedom both in his Time, and in his 
 Thoughts 5 that he may be more alone, and pray and meditate 
 more, and that what he faves out of his Meals, he may give to 
 the Poor. This is, in (horr, the true Meafure and right Life of 
 Fafting. In cold Climates , an abftinence till Night , may 
 create Diforders , and raife fuch a Difturbance both in the Ap- 
 petite , and in the Digeftion$ that this managed upon the 
 practices of other Countries , efpecially in young Perfons, may 
 really diftracl inftead of furthering thofe who do it Indiscreet- 
 ly. In fhort, Fafting, unlefs joyned with Prayer and Alms- 
 giving, is of no Value in the fight of God. It is a vaft Advantage 
 to a Maq to be broken to the Niceties of his Palate, to be content 
 with plain Food, and even to diflike Delicacies and ftudied 
 Difhes. This will make him eafie in narrower Circumftances 5 
 fince a plain Bill of Fare is foon difcharged. A lover of his 
 Appetites, and a (lave to his Tafte, makes but a mean Figure 
 among Men, and a very fcurvy one among Clergy-men. 
 
 This deadnefs to the World muft raife one above the Affe- 
 ctations of Pomp and State, of Attendance and high Living. 
 Which to a Philofophical Mind will be heavy, when the Cir- 
 cumftances he is in,- feem to impofe and force it on him. And 
 therefore he who has a right Sence, finds it is almoft all he can 
 do, to bear thofe things which the Tyranny of Cuftom or falfe 
 Opinions put upon him: So far is he from longing for them. 
 A Man that is truly dead to the World, would chufe much ra- 
 ther to live in a lowly and narrow Figure } than to be obliged 
 to enter into the Methods of the greatnefs of this World 3 into 
 which, if the Conftitutions and Forms of a Church and King- 
 dom put him , yet he feels himfelf in an unnatural and uncouth 
 Pofture : It is contrary to his own Genius and Relifh of things $ 
 
 and 
 
7 6 Of the Tajtorat tare. 
 
 and therefore he does not court nor defire fuch a fituation, but 
 even while he is in it, he (hews fuch a Negled of the State of it, 
 and fo much Indifference and Humility in it, that it appears how 
 little power thofe things have over his *Mind, and how little 
 they are able to fubdue and corrupt it. This mortified Man 
 muft likewife become dead to all the Defigns and Projects of 
 making a Family, or of raifing the Fortunes of thofe that are 
 nearly related to him : He muft be Bountiful and Charitable 3 
 and tho' it is "not only lawful to him, but a neceffary Duty incum- 
 bent on him, to make due provifion for his Family, if he has 
 any, yet this muft be fo moderated that no vain nor fordid 
 Defigns, no indirect nor unbecoming Arts, may mix in it 5 no 
 exceffive Wealth nor great Projects muft appear 3 he muft be 
 contented with fuch a proportion, -as may let his Children in 
 the way of a vertuous and liberal Education 3 fuch as may 
 fecure them from Scandal and Neceflity, and put them in a Capa- 
 city to ferve God and their Generation in fome honeft Employ- 
 ment. But he who brings along with him, a Voluptuous, an 
 Ambitious or a Covetous Mind, that is Carnal and Earthly mind- 
 ed, comes as a Hireling to feed himfelf and not the Floc^ he 
 comes to Steal and to Deftroy. Upon all, this great Reflexion 
 is to be made concerning the Motives that determine one to 
 offer himfelf to this. Employment. 
 
 In the firft beginnings of. Chiiftianity, no Man could reafo- 
 nably think of taking Orders, unlefs he had in him the Spirit 
 of Martyrdom. He was to look for nothing in this Service, but 
 Labour and Perfecution : He was indeed to live of the Altar, 
 and that was all the Portion that he was to expect in this World. 
 In thofe Days an extraordinary Meafure of Zeal and Devotion 
 was neceffary, to engage Men to fo hard and difficult a Province, 
 that how great foever its Reward might be in another World, 
 had nothing to look for in this, but a narrow Provifion, and 
 the firft and largeft (hare of the Crofs : They were the beft known, 
 the moft expofed, and the fdoneft fallen upon in the Perfecution. 
 But their Services and their Sufferings did fo much recommend 
 that Fundion in the fucceeding Ages, that the Faithful thought 
 they could never do enough to exprefs their Value for it. The 
 Church came to be Richly endowed 3 and tho' Superftition had 
 
 raifed 
 
Of the Tafioral Can. 77 
 
 raifed this out of meafure, yet the Extreme went as far to the 
 other hand at the Reformation, when the Church was almoft: 
 ftript of all its Patrimony, and a great many Churches were left 
 fo poor, that there was not in mott Places, a fufficient j nay, not 
 fo much as a necefTary Maintenance, referved for thofe that were 
 to minifter in Holy Things. But it is to be acknowledged that 
 there are fuch Remnants preferved, that many Benefices of the 
 Church (till may, and perhaps do but too much, work upon Mens 
 corrupt Principles, their Ambition, and their Covetoufnefs : And 
 it is fhrewdly to be apprehended, that of thofe who prefent them- 
 felves at the Altar, a great part comes, as thofe who followed 
 Chrift, for the Loaves : Becaufe of the good Profpect they have 
 of making their Fortunes by the Church. 
 
 If this Point fhould be carried too far, it might perhaps feem to 
 be a pitch above Humane Nature 5 and certainly very far above 
 the degeneracy of the Age we live in : I (hall therefore lay this 
 matter, with as large an allowance, as I think it can bear. It is 
 certain, that fince God has made us to be a Compound of Soul 
 and Body, it is not only lawful but fiitable to the order of Nature, 
 for us in the Choice we make of the Jlate of Life that we intend 
 to purfue, to confider our Bodies, in the next place after our 
 Souls : Yet we ought certainly to begin with our Souls, with the 
 Powers and Faculties that are in them, and confider well of what 
 Temper they are} and what our Meafure and Capacity is '-, that fo 
 we may chufe fuch a courfe of Life, for which we feem to be fit- 
 ted, and in which we may probably do the moft good both to 
 our felves and others : From hence we ought to take our Aims 
 and Meafures chiefly : But in the next place, we not only may, 
 but ought to confider our Bodies, how they (hall be maintained, 
 in away fuitable to that ftate of Life, into which we are en- 
 gaged. Therefore tho' no Man can with a good Confc'tence, be- 
 gin upon a worldly Account, and rcfolve to dedicate himfelf to 
 the Church, merely out of Carnal regard 5 fuch as an Advow- 
 fonin his Family, a Friend that will Promote him, or any other 
 fuch like Profpeft, till hehasfirft confulted his Temper and Dif- 
 pofition his Talents and his Capacities *, yet, tho 5 it is not Lawful 
 to make the Regards of this World his full Confederation, and 
 it cannot be dented to be a perfe&er ftate, if a Man (hould offer 
 
 himfelf 
 
7% Of the Vaftoral Care. 
 
 himfelf to the Church, having whereon to fupport himfelfj with- 
 out any Afliftance or Reward out of its Patrimony $ and to 
 be nearer to S. PauVs practice, whofe hands minifired to his necef 
 Jities, and who reckoned that in this he had whereof to glory, that 
 he was not burthenfoma to the Churches : Yet it is, without doubt, 
 Lawful for a Man to Defign that he may fubfift in and out of 
 the Service of the Church : But then thefe Defigns muft be limi- 
 ted to a Subfiflence, to fuch a moderate Proportion, as may 
 maintain one "in that ftate of Life. And muft not be let fly by a 
 reftlefs Ambition, and an infatiable Covetoufnefs, as a ravenous 
 Bird of prey, does at all Game. There muft not be a perpetual 
 Enquiry into the Value of Benefices j and a conftant Importu- 
 ning of fuch as give thern : If Laws have been made in fome 
 States retraining all Ambitus and afpirings to Civil Imployments, 
 certainly it were much more reafonable to put a ftop to the 
 fcandalous Importunities, that are every where complained of 3 
 and no where more vifible and more offenfive than at Court. 
 This gives a Prejudice to Men that are otherwife enclined e- 
 nough to fearch for one, that can never be removed, but 
 by putting an effectual bar in the way of that fcrambling for Be- 
 nefices and Preferments 5 which will ever make the Lay part of 
 Mankind conclude, that let us pretend what we will, Covetouf- 
 nefs and Ambition are our true Motives, and our chief Vocation. 
 It is true, the ftrange Practices of many Patrons, and the Con- 
 ftitution of moft Courts, give a colour to excufe fo great an In- 
 decency. Men are generally fuccefsful in thofe Practices, and as 
 long as Humane Nature is fo ftrong, as all Men feel it to be, it 
 will be hard to divert them from a Method which is fo com- 
 mon, that to aft otherwife would look like an affectation of 
 Singularity 3 and many apprehend, that they muft languilh in 
 Mifery and NeceiTity if they are wanting to themfelves, in fo ge- 
 neral a Practice. And, indeed, if Patrons, but chiefly if Princes 
 would effectually cure this Difeafe which gives them fo much 
 Trouble, as well as Offence, they muft refolve to diftribute thofe 
 Benefices that are in their Gift, with fo vifible a Regard to true 
 Goodnefi and real Merit, and with fo firm and fo conftant an 
 Oppofition to Application and Importunity, that it may appear 
 that the only way to Advancement, is to live well, to ftudy 
 
 hard. 
 
Of the Vaftoral Care. 79 
 
 hard, to ftay at home, and labour diligently ; and that Applica- 
 tions by the Pcrfons themfelve9, or any fet on by them (hall always 
 put thofe back who make them : This would more effectually cure 
 fo great an Evil, than all that can be faid againft it. One juc- 
 cefsful futter who carries his Point, will promote this D/ferder, 
 more than Twenty Repulfes of others j for unlefs the Rule is fe- 
 verely carried on, every one will run into it and hope to pro- 
 fper as well as he, who they fee has got his end in it. If thofe 
 who have the Difpofition of Benefices, to which the Cure of Souls 
 is annexed, did confider this as a Truft, lodged with them , for 
 which they muft anfwer to God, and that they (hall be in a 
 great meafure accountable for the Souls, that may be loft 
 through the bad choice that they make, knowing it to be bad $ 
 if, I fay, they had this more in their Thoughts, than fo many 
 Scores of Pounds, as the Living amounts toj and thought 
 themfelves really bound, as without doubt they are, to feek out 
 Good and Worthy Men, well qualified and duely prepared, ac- 
 cording to the Nature of that Benefice which they are to give ; 
 then we might hope to fee men make it their chief Study, to 
 qualifie themfelves aright 5 to order their Lives, and frame 
 their Minds, as they ought to do, and to carry on their Studies 
 with all Application and Diligence 5 but as long as the Jhort 
 Methods, of Application, Friendlhip, or Intereft , are more 
 effectual than the long and hard way, of Labour and Study, 
 Human Nature will always carry men to go the fureft, the 
 eafieft , and the quickeft way to work. 
 
 After all I wifh it were well considered, by all Clerks, what 
 it is to run without being either called or Jent 3 and fo to thruft 
 ones felf into the Vineyard, without ftaying, till God by his Pro- 
 vidence puts a piece of his work in his Hands 5 this will give a 
 man a vaft eafe in his Thoughts, and a great fatisftcYion in all 
 his Labours, if he knows that no Practices of his own, but mere- 
 ly the Directions of Providence, have put him in a Poft. He 
 may well truft the Effects of a thing to God, when the Caufes 
 of it do plainly flow from him. And though this will appear 
 to a great many a hard Saying, fo that few will be able to 
 bear it, yet I muft add this to the encouragement and comfort 
 of fuch as can refolve to deliver themfelves up to the Conduct 
 O and 
 
8o Of the Taftoral Care. 
 
 2nd Directions of Prdbidettce, that I never yet knew any one 
 of thofe few Qtoo few I confefs they have been) who were po£ 
 fefied with this Mixim, and that have followed it exactly, that 
 have not found the Fruit of it even in this World. A watchful 
 Care hath hovered over them : Inftruments have been raifed up, 
 and Accidents have happened to them fo profperoufly, as if 
 there had been a Jecret Dejign of Heaven by bleffing them fd 
 fignally, to encourage Others to follow their Meafnres, to depend 
 on God, to deliver themfelves up to his Care, and to wait till 
 he-opens a way for their being Imployed, and fettled in iuch a 
 Portion of his Husbandry, as he (hall think fit to atFign to them. 
 
 Thefe are Preparations of Mind, with which a Clcr\ h to be 
 formed and feafoned : And in order to this, he muft read the 
 Scriptures much, he muft get a great deal of thofe Paffages in 
 them, that relate to thefe things, by heart, and repeat them often 
 to himfelf} in particular many of the moft tender and melting 
 Pfalms, and many of the moft comprehenfive Paffages in the E- 
 piftles 5 that by the frequent reflecting on thefe, he may fill his 
 Memory with Noble Notions, and right Idea's of things : The 
 Book of Proverbs, but chiefly Ecclefiaftes, if he can get to un- 
 derstand it, will beget in him a right view of the World, a juft 
 value of Things, and a contempt of many Objects that lhine 
 with a falfe Luftre, but have no true Worth in them. Some of 
 the Books taught at Schools, if read afterwards, when one is 
 more capable to obferve theSence of them, may be of great ufe 
 to promote this Temper. Tully's Offices will give the Mind. a no- 
 ble fett 5 all his Philofophical Difcourfes, but chiefly his Confola- 
 tio» $ which though* fome Criticks will not allow to be his, be- 
 caufe they fanfie the Stile has not all the force and beauty in it 
 that was peculiar to him, yet is certainly the beft Piece of them 
 all $ thefe, I fay, give a good favour to thofe who read them 
 much. The Satyrical Poets, Horace, Juvenal and Perfius may 
 contribute wonderfully to give a man a Deteftation of Vice, and 
 a Contempt of the common Methods of mankind 5 which they 
 have fet out in fuch true Colours, that they muft give a very 
 generous Senfe to thofe who delight in reading them often. Per- 
 Jtus his Second Satyr, may well pafs for one of the beft Lectures 
 in Divinity. Hkracks upon Pythagoras'*?, Verfes, Plutarch's Lives 3 
 
 and 
 
Of the Tajtoral Care. 81 
 
 and above all the Books of Heathenifm, Epi&etut and Marcus 
 AureliiUy contain fuch Inftructions, that one cannot read them 
 too cf;en, nor repafs them too frequently in his thoughts. But 
 when I fpeak of reading thefc Books, I do noc mean only to 
 run through them, as one does through a Book of Hiftory, or 
 of Notions , they muft be read and weighed with great Care, 
 till one is become a Mafia- of all the Thoughts that are in them: 
 They are to be often turned in ones Mind, till he is thereby 
 wrought up to fome Degrees of that Temper, which they 
 propoie : And as for Chriftian Books, in order to the framing' 
 of ones Mind aright, I (hall only Recommend The whole Du- 
 ty of Man, Dr. Sherlock., 0/ Death and Judgment , and Dr. 
 Scot's Books, in particular that great diftin&ion' that runs 
 through them, of the means and of the ends of Religion. 
 To all which I (hall add one fmall Book more, which is to me 
 ever new and fref/j, gives always good Thoughts and a Noble 
 Temper, Thomas a, Kempis of the Imitation of Chrift. By the 
 frequent reading of thefe Books, by the relifli that one has in 
 them, by the delight they give, and the Effects they pro- 
 duce, a man will plainly perceive, whether his' Soul is made 
 for Divine Matters or not, what fuitablenefs there is between 
 him and them 5 and whether he is yet touched with fuch a Senfe 
 of Religion, as to be capable of dedicating himfelf to it. 
 
 I am far from thinking that no man is fit to be a Prieft, that 
 has not the Temper which I have been defcribing, quite up to 
 that heighth in which I have fet it forth 3 but this I will positively 
 fay, That he who has not the Seeds of it planted in him, who has 
 not thefe Principles, and Refolutions formed topurfue them, and 
 to improve and perfect himfelf in them, is in no wife worthy 
 of that Holy Character. If thefe things are begun in him, if they 
 are yet but as a Grain of Muftard-feed, yet if there is a Life in 
 them, and a Vital Senfe of the Tendencies and Effects they mult 
 have } *fuch a Perfon, fo moulded , with thofe Notions and 
 Impreffions, and fuch only are qualified, fo as to be able to fay 
 with Truth and Affurance, that they trufi they are inwardly mo- 
 ted \y the Holy Ghop to undertake that Office. 
 
 So tar nave i difpacch'd the firft and chief Part of the Pre- 
 paration neceffary before Orders. The other Branch of it, re- 
 O 2 Jates 
 
8i Of the Vajloral Care. 
 
 lates to their Learning, and to the Knowledge that is neceuV 
 ry. I confefs I look upon this as fo much Inferiour to the o- 
 ther,, and have been convinced by fo much Experience, that a 
 great Meafure of Piety, with a very fmall Proportion of Learn- 
 ing, will carry one a great way, that I may perhaps be thought 
 to come as far (hort in this, as I might feem to exceed in the 
 other. I will not here enter into a Difcourfe of Theological 
 Laming, of the meafure that is neceffary to make a Compleat 
 Divine,, and of the methods to attain it. I intend only to 
 lay down here, that which I look on as the loweft Degree , 
 and as that which feems indifpenfably neceffary, to one that is 
 to be a Prieji. He muft then underftawd the New Tefiament 
 well. This is the Text of our Religion, that which we Preach 
 and explain to others 5 therefore a man ought to read this fo of- 
 ten over, that he may have an Idea of the whole Book in his 
 Head, and of all the Parts of it. He cannot have this fo fure, 
 unlefs he underftands the Greek fo well, as to be able to find out 
 the meaning of every Period in it, at teaft of the Words and 
 Phrafes of it 5 any Book of Annotations or Paraphrafe upon it, 
 is a great help to a beginner, Grotius, Hammond, and Lightfoot 
 are the beft. But the having a great deal of the Practical and 
 Eafie Parts, of it, fuch as relate to Mens Lives and their Du- 
 ties, fuch as ftrike and awaken, direct, comfort, or terrifie, 
 are much more neceffary than the more abftrufe Parts. In (hort, 
 the being able to ftate right the Grounds of our Hope, and the 
 Terms of Salvation, and the having a clear and ready view of 
 the New Covenant in Chrifi Jefuf, is of fuch abfolute necedity, 
 that it is a profaning of Orders, and a defiling of the Santtuary^ 
 to bring any in o it, that do not rightly underftand this Matter 
 in its whole extent. Bifhop Pearfon on the Creed is a Book of 
 great Learning, and profound exacTnefi. Dr. Barrow has open- 
 ed it with more (implicity 5 and Dr. Towerfon more practically 5 
 one or other of thefe muft be well read and confidere'd : But 
 when I fay read, I mean read and read over again, fo oft that 
 one is Mafier of one of thefe Books 5 he muft write Notes 
 out of them, and make Abridgements of them 5 and turn them 
 fo oft in his Thoughts, that he muft thoroughly underftand, and 
 well remember them. He muft read alfo the Pfalms over fo 
 
 carefully, 
 
 • 
 
Uf the Tajtoral tare. *l 
 
 carefully, that he may at leaft have a general Notion of thofe Di- 
 vine Hymns 5 to which Bilhop Patricks Paraphrafe will help to 
 carry him. 
 
 A Syjiem of Divinity muft be read with exa&nefs. They are 
 almoft all alike: When I was young Wendelin and Marefivs were 
 the two fhorteft and fulleft. Here is a vaft Errour in the firft 
 forming of our Clergy, that a Contempt has been caft on that 
 fort of Books 3 and indeed to rife no higher, than to a perpetu- 
 al reading over different Syjien/sh but a mean pitch of Learning 3 
 and the (wallowing down whole Syliems by the Lump, has 
 help'd to poffefs Peoples Minds too early with Prejudices, and 
 to (hut them up in too implicite a following of others. But 
 the throwing off all thefe Books, makes that many who have 
 read a great deal, yet have no intire Body of Divinity in their 
 Head 3 they have no Scheme or Method, and fo are Ignorant 
 of fome very plain things, which could never have happened 
 to them, if they had carefully read and digefted a Syfiem into 
 their Memories. But becaufe this is indeed a very low Form 3 
 therefore to lead a man farther, to have a freer view of Divinity, 
 to examine things equally and clearly, and to ufe his own Reafon, 
 by balancing the various Views, that two great Divifions of . 
 Protefiants have, not only in the Points which they controvert, 
 but in a great many others, in which though they agree in the 
 fame Conclufions, yet they arrive at them by very different Pre- 
 mifes 5 I would advife him that ftudies Divinity , to read two 
 larger Bodies j writ by fbme Eminent Men of both fides 3 and 
 becaufe the lateft are commonly the beft 3 Turretin for the whole 
 Calvimji Hypothecs, and Limburgh for the Arminian, will make a 
 Man fully the Majier of all the Notions of both (ides. Or if one 
 would fee how far middle ways may be taken 3 The Thtfes of 
 Saumur, or le Blanc 's Thefe s, will compleat him, in that. Thefe 
 Books well read, digefted into Abftra&s, and frequently re- 
 viewed X>v talked over by two Companions in Study, will give a 
 Man an entire view of the whole Body of Divinity. 
 
 But by reafon of that pert of Atheilm, that Spreads fo much 
 among us, the Foundations of Religion muft be well laid : Bi(hop 
 Wilkin s Book of Natural Religion, will lead one in the firft Steps 
 through the Principles that he has laid together in a plain and 
 
 natural 
 
84 Of the Ta/hral Care: 
 
 natural Method. Grotius his Book of the truth of the Chrijiian 
 Religion, with his Notes upon it, ought to be read and almoft 
 got by heart. The whole Controverfie both of Atheifm and 
 Deifm, the Arguments both for the Old and New Tejiantent, are 
 fully opened, with a great variety both of Learning and kea- 
 foning, in Bifhop Stil/ingfleet's Origines Sacr£. 
 
 There remains only to direft a Student how to form right No- 
 tions of Pra&ical Matters 5 and particularly of Preaching. Dr. 
 Hammond's Pra&ical Catechifm, is a Book of great ufe 5 but 
 not to be begun with, as too many do : It does require a 
 good deal of previous Study, before the force of his tvea- 
 fonings is apprehended j but when one is ready for it , it is a 
 rare Book, and States the Grounds of Morality, and of our 
 Duty, upon true Principles. To form one to understand the 
 right Method of Preaching, the Extent of it, and the proper 
 ways of Application, Biflaop Sander/on , Mr. Faringdon, and 
 Dr. Barrow, are the beft and the fulleft Models. There is a 
 vaft variety of other Sermons, which may be read with an 
 equal meafure of Advantage and Pleafure. And if from 
 the time that one refolves to direct his Studies towards 
 . the Church , he would every Lords day read two Sermons 
 of any good Preacher, and turn them a little over in his 
 Thoughts, this would infenfiblv in two or three years time, 
 carry him very far, and give him a. large view of the dif- 
 ferent ways of Preaching, and furnifli him with Materials for 
 handling a great many Texts of Scripture when he comes to it. 
 
 And thus I have carried my Student through thofe Studies, 
 that feem to ms fo neceflary for qualifying him to be an 
 able Minifier of the New Testament, that I cannot fee how 
 ■ any Article of this can be well abated. It may feem ftrange, 
 that in this whole Direction, I have faid nothing concerning 
 the Study of the Fathers or Church History. But I faid at 
 firft, that a great diftin&ion was to be made between what 
 was neceflary to prepare a Man to be a Pries! , and what 
 was neceflary to make him a Compleat and Learned Divine. 
 
 The knowledge of thefe things is neceflary to the latter, 
 though they do not feem fo neceflary for the former ; 
 There are many things to be left to the Profecution of a 
 
 Divines 
 
Of the Tit/lord Care. fl 5 
 
 Divine's Study, that therefore are not mentioned here, not 
 with any defigo to difp3rage that fort of Learning j for I 
 am now only upon that meafure of Knowledge , under 
 which I heartily wifh that no v'an were put in Priefls Or- 
 ders j and therefore I have pafs'd over many other things, fuch 
 as the more accurate Underftanding of the Controverfies be- 
 tween us and the Church of Rome, and the unhappy Dif- 
 putes between us and the Dijjenters of all forts 3 though both 
 the one and the other, have of late been opened with 
 that perfpicuity, that fuinefs of Argument, and that clearnefs 
 as well as foftnefs of Stile, that a Collection of thefe may 
 give a Man the fulleft Inftructions, that is to be found in 
 any Books I know. Others, and perhaps the far greater 
 number, will think that I have clogged this Matter too 
 much. But I defire thefe may confider how much we do 
 jutfly reckon, that our Profejfwn is preferrable either to 
 Larv or Medicine. Now, if this is true, it is not unreafon- 
 able , that fince thofe who pretend to thefe , muft be 
 at fo much Pains, before they enter upon a Practice which 
 relates only to Men's Fortunes, or their- Perfons, we whofe La- 
 bours relate to their Souls and their eternal State, ihould be 
 at leaft at fome considerable Pains, before we enter upon ' 
 them. Let any young Divine go to the Chambers of a Stu- 
 dent in the Inns of Court, and fee how many Books he muft 
 read, and how great a Volume of a Common-PUcc-Booh^ he 
 muft make, he will there fee through how hard a Task one 
 muft go, in a courfe of many Years, and how ready he muft be 
 in all the Parts of it, before he is called to the Barr, or can 
 manage Bujtxefs. How exact muft a Phyfician be in Anatomy, 
 in Simples, in Pharmacy, in the Theory of Difeafes, and in 
 the Observations and Counfels of Doctors, before he can ei- 
 ther with Bcnour, or a fafe Confcience, undertake Practice ? He 
 muft be ready with all 'this , and in that infinite number of 
 hard Words, that belong to every part of it, to give his Di- 
 rections and write his Bills by the Patient's Bed- fide 5 who can- 
 not ftay till he goes to his Study and turns over his Books. If then 
 folong a courfe of Study, and fo muchexactneis and readinefs in 
 it, isneceffary to thefeProfeuaons} nay, if every mechanical Art, 
 
 even 
 
86* Of the Vafloral Care. 
 
 even the meaneft, requires a courfe of many Years, before one 
 can be a Mafter in it, (hall the nqbleft and the moft important 
 of all others, that which comes from Heaven, and leads thither 
 again 5 (hall that which God has honoured fo highly, and 
 to which Laws and Governments have added fuch Privileges 
 and Encouragements, that is employ 'd in the fublimeft Exer- 
 cifes, which require a proportioned worth in thofe who handle 
 them, to maintain their Value and Dignity in the Efteem of the 
 World 5 (hall all this, I fay, be efteemed fo low a thing in our 
 Eyes, that a much lefs degree of Time and Study, is necef- 
 fary to arrive at it, than at the moft fordid of all Trades 
 whatfoever } And yet after all, a Man of a tolerable Capa- 
 city, with a good degree of Application , may go through all 
 this well, and exactly, in two Years time. I am very fure , by 
 many an Experiment I have made, that this may be done in a 
 much lefs corapafs : But becaufe all Men do not go alike quick, 
 have not the fame force, nor the fame application, therefore I 
 reckon two Years for it 5 which I do thus divide: One Year be- 
 fore Deacons Orders, and another between them and Priefis Or- 
 ders. And can this be thought a hard Impofition ? Or do not 
 thofe, who think thus, give great occafion to the Contempt of 
 ' the Clergy^ if they give the World caufe to obferve, that how 
 much foever we may magnifie our Profeffion, yet by our pra- 
 ctice, we (hew that we do judge it the meaneft of all others, 
 which is to be arrived at upon lefs previous ftudyand preparati- 
 on to it, than any other whatfoever > Since I have been hi- 
 therto fo minute, I will yet divide this matter a little lower into 
 thofe parts of it, without which, Deacons Orders ought not 
 to be given, and thofe to be referved to the fecond Year of 
 ftudy. To have read the New Teflament well, fo as to carry a 
 great deal of it in one's Memory , to have a clear notion of 
 the feveral Books of it, to underftand well the Nature and the Con- 
 ditions "of the Covenant of Grace, and to have read one Sy&em well, 
 fo as to be Mujier of it, to underftand the whole Catechetical mat- 
 ter, to have read Wilkins and Grotiw, this, I fay, is that part of 
 this Task, which I propofe before one is made Deacon. The 
 reft, though much the larger , wiJl go the eafier , if thofe 
 Foundations are once, well laid in thsm. And upon the Article 
 
 of 
 
 
 ' 
 
, Of the Paftoral Care. 87 
 
 of Studying the Scriptures, I will add one Advice 
 more. 
 
 There are two Methods in reading them, the one ought to 
 be merely Critical, to find out the meaning and coherence 
 of the (everal Parts of them, in which one runs eafily through 
 the greater Part, and is only obliged to ftop at fome harder 
 Paflages, which may be marked down, and learned Men are to 
 be confulted upon them : Thofe that are really hard to be 
 explained, are both few, and they relate to Matters that are 
 not fo effential to Chriftianity 3 and therefore after one has in 
 general feen what is faid upon thele, he may put off the fuller 
 Conffderation of that to more leifure, and better opportunities. 
 But the other way of reading the Scriptures, is to be done 
 merely with a view to Practice, toraife Devotion, to encreafe 
 Piety, and to give good Thoughts and fevere Rules. In this 
 a Man is to imploy himfelf much. This is a Book always at 
 hand, and the getting a great deal of it by heart, is the beft 
 part of a Clergy-man s Study 5 it is the Foundation, and lays 
 in the«Materials for all the reft. This alone may furnilh a 
 Man with a noble Stock of lively Thoughts, and fublime 
 Expreffions 5 and therefore it muft be always reckoned as that, 
 without which all other things amount to nothing -, and the 
 chief and main Subjed of the Study, the Meditation and the 
 Difcourfes of a Clergy-man. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Of the Functions and Labours of Clergymen. 
 
 I Have in the former Chapter laid down the Model and Me- 
 thod, by which a Clerk is to be formed and prepared 3 I 
 come now to confider his Courfe of Life, his Publick FunUi- 
 ons, and his Secret Labours. In this as well as in the former, 
 I will ftudy to confider what Mankind can bear, rather than 
 what may be offered in a fair Idea, that is far above what we 
 can hope ever to bring the World to. As for a Prieft's Life and 
 P Converfation, 
 
88 Of the fafioral Care. 
 
 Ccnverfation, (b much was faid in the former Chapter 3 in 
 which as a preparation to Orders, it was propofed what he 
 ought to be, that I may now be the fhorter on this Article. 
 
 The Clergy have one great advantage, beyond all the reft 
 of the World, in this refpecl:, befides all others, that whereas 
 the particular Callings of other Men , prove to them great 
 Diftra&ions, and lay many Temptations in their way, to divert 
 them from minding their high and holy Calling of being Chri- 
 jiians, it is quite otherwife with the Clergy, the more they 
 follow their private Callingt, they do the more certainly ad- 
 vance their general one : The better Priefts they are, they be- 
 come alfo the better Chrijlians : every part of their Calling, 
 when. well performed, raifes good Thoughts, brings good 
 Idea's into their Mind, and tends both to encreafe their Know- 
 ledge, and quicken their Senfe of Divine Matters. A Pried 
 therefore is more accountable to God, and the World for his 
 Deportment, and will be more feverely accounted with than 
 any other Perfon whatfoever. He is more watched over and 
 obferved than all others : Very good men will be , even to a 
 Cenfure , jealous of him } very bad men will wait for his 
 halting, and Infult upon it 5 and all forts of Perfons, will be 
 willing to defend themfelves againft the Authority of bis 
 Doctrine and Admonitions -, by this he Jays but does vot^ and 
 though our Saviour charged his Dilciples and Fol- 
 Math. 23.. lowers , to hear thofe who fat in Mojes his Chair, 
 and to obferve and do whatfoever they bid them ob- 
 ferve, but not to do after their worlds, for they faid and did not 5 
 the World will reverie this quite, and confider rather how 
 a Clerk Lives, thun what he Says. They fee the one, and 
 from it conclude what he himfelf thinks of the other 3 and 
 fo will believe themfelves not a little juftified, if they can 
 fay that they did no worfe, than as they fr.w their Mini- 
 fter do before thera. 
 
 Therefore a Prieft muft not onlyabftain from grofs Scan- 
 dals, but keep at the furtheft cliftance from them: He muft 
 not only jict be drunk, but he muft not fit a Tipling} nor 
 go to Taverns or Ale-houfes, except fome urgent oceafian re- 
 quires it, and ftay- no longer in them, than as that occa- 
 
 ilon 
 
Of the <P aft oral Care. 89 
 
 fion demands it. He rauft not only abftain from Afts of 
 Lewdnefc, but from all -indecent Behaviour, and unbecom- 
 ing Raillery. Gaming and Plays, and every thing of that 
 fort, which is an approach to the Vanities and Disorders of 
 the World, muft be avoided by him. And unlefs the ftrait- 
 nefs of his Condition, or his Neceffities force it, he ought 
 to (hun all other Cares, fuch as, not only the farming of 
 Grounds, but even the teaching of Schools, fince thefe 
 mult of necefllty take him off both .from his Labour and 
 Study. Such Diverfions as his Health , or the Temper of 
 his Mind, may render proper for him, ought to be Manly , 
 Decent and Grave} and fuch as may neither pollers his 
 Mind or Time too much, nor give a bad Character of him 
 to his People : He muft alfo avoid too much Familiarity 
 with bad People j and the fquandring away his time in 
 too much vain and idle Difcourfe. His chearfulnefs ought 
 to be frank, but neither exceffive nor licentious : His Friends 
 and his Garden ought to be his chief Diverfions, as his Study 
 and his Pari/fj , ought to be his chief Imployments. He 
 muft ftill carry on his Study, making himfelf an abfolute 
 Mafter of the few Books he has , till his Circumftances 
 grow larger, that he can purchafe more. He can have no 
 pretence, if he were ever fo narrow in the World, to fay, 
 that he cannot get, not only the Colk&s , but the Pfalms, 
 and the New Teflament by heart, or at leaft a great part of 
 them. If there are any Books belonging to his Church, 
 fuch «as Jewel's Works, and the Book of martyrs, which lie 
 tearing in many Places, thefe he may read over and over 
 again, till he is able to furnith himfelf better, I -mean with 
 a greater variety 5 but let him furnifh himfelf ever fo well, 
 the reading and underftanding the Scriptures, chiefly the 
 P faints and the New Teflament , ought to be ftill ' his chief 
 Study , till he becomes fo converfant in them, that he can both 
 fay many Parts of them, and explain them without Book. 
 
 It is the only vifible Reafon of the Jews adhering Co 
 
 firmly to their Religion, that during the Ten or Twelve 
 
 years of their Education, their Youth are fo much pra&ifed 
 
 to the Scriptures, to weigh every word in them, and get 
 
 - P 2 them 
 
 
po Of the tPaftoral Care. 
 
 them all by heart, that it is 'an Admiration, to fee how 
 ready both Men and Women among them are at it j their 
 Rabbi's have it to that Perfection, that they have the Con- 
 cordance of their whole Bible in their Memories, which 
 give them vaft Advantages , when they are to argue with 
 any that are not Co ready as they are in the Scriptures : 
 Our Task is much fhorter and eafier , and it is a Reproach, 
 efpecially to us Proteftants, who found our Religion merely 
 on the Scriptures, that we know the New Teftament fo little, 
 which cannot be excufed. 
 
 With the Study of the Scriptures, or rather as a part 
 of it comes in the Study of the Fathers , as far as one can 
 go '■) in thefe their Apologies, and Epijiles, are chiefly to be 
 read 5 for thefe give us the -beft view of thofe Times : Bafifo 
 and Chryfofloms Sermons, are by much the beft. To thefe 
 Studies, Hiftory comes in as a noble and pleafant Addition 5 
 that gives a Man great views of the Providence of God, of 
 the Nature of Man, and of the Conducr. of the World. 
 This is above no Man s Capacity ■> and though fome Hifto- 
 ries are better than others 5 yet any Hiftories, fuch as one 
 can get, are to be read, rather than none at all. If one 
 can compafs it, he ought to begin with the Hiftory of the 
 Church, and there at the Head Jofephus, and go on with 
 Eitfebitts, Socrates, and the other Hiftorians, that are com- 
 monly bound together j and then go to other later Col- 
 lectors of Ancient Hiftory , the Hiftory of our own Church 
 and Country is to come next j then the Ancient Greek* and 
 Roman Hiftory, and after that, as much Hiftory , Geogra- 
 phy , and Books of Travels as can be had, will give an, 
 eafie and a ufeful Entertainment, and will furniih one with 
 great variety of good Thoughts, and of pleafant, as well as 
 edifying -Difcourie. As for all other Studies, every one 
 muft follow his Inclinations, his Capacities, and that which 
 he can procure to himfelf. The Books that we learn at 
 Schools are generally laid afide, with this Prejudice , that 
 they were the Labours as well as the Sorrows of our Child- 
 hood and Education 3 but they are among the beft of Books. 
 The Greek and Roman Authors have a Spirit in them, a 
 
 force 
 
Of the Paftoral Care. pi 
 
 force both of Thought and ExprcfTion, that later Ages 
 have not been able to imitate : Buchanan only excepted, in 
 whom, more particularly in his Pfalms, there is a Beauty and 
 Life, an Exa&nefs as welt as a Liberty, that cannot be imita- 
 ted, and fcarce enough commended. The Study and Practice 
 of Phyfick,, especially ■ that which is fafe and fimplc, puts the 
 Clergy in a capacity of doing great Acts of Charity, and of 
 rendring both their Perfons and Labours very acceptable to 
 their People j it will procure their being loon lent for by 
 them in Sicknefs, and it will give them great advantages in 
 fpeaking to them , of their Spiritual Concerns when they 
 are fo careful of their Peifons^ but in this nothing that h for- 
 did mult mix. 
 
 Thefe ought to be the chief Studies of the Clergy. But. 
 to give all thefe their full effect, a Prieft that is much in his 
 Study, ought to Imploy a great part of his Time in fecret 
 and fervent Prayer,' for the Direction and Bleffing of God 
 in his Labours, for the conftant affiftance of h^s Holy Spirit, 
 and for a lively Senfe of Divine Matters, that fo he may 
 feel the Imprelhons of them grow deep and ftrong upon 
 his Thoughts. This, and this only, will make him go on 
 with his work, without wearying, and be always rejoycing in 
 rr : This will make his Expreflions of thefe things to be 
 Happy and Noble, when he can bring them out of the good 
 Treaffire ef his Heart 5 that is, ever full, and always warm 
 with them. 
 
 From his Study, I go next to his Publick Functions : He 
 muft bring his Mind to an inward and feeling Senfe of thofe 
 things that are prayed for in our Offices : That will make 
 him pronounce them with an. equal meafure of Gravity and 
 Affection, and with a due Slownefs and Emphafis. I do not 
 love the Theatrical way of the Church of Rome, in which 
 it is a great Study, and a long Practice, to learn in every one 
 of their Offices , how they ought to Compofe their Looks, 
 Gefture and Voice 5 yet a light wandiing of the Eyes, 
 aftd a hafty running through the Prayers, are things highly un- 
 becoming 5 they do very much Iefien the Majefty of our 
 Worjfnp, and give our Enemies advantage to call it dead and- 
 
 formal, 
 
qi Of the Taftoral Care, 
 
 formal, when they fee plainly, that he who officiates^" dead and 
 formal ifi it. A deep Senfe of the things prayed for, a true 
 Recollection and Attention of Spirit, and a holy Earneft- 
 nefs of Soul, will give a Compofure to the Looks, and a 
 weight to the Pronunciation, that will be tempered between 
 affectation on the one hand, and Levityon the other. As for 
 Preaching, I refer r that to a Chapter apart. 
 
 A Minifter ought to Inftruct his People frequently, of the 
 nature of Baptifm , that they may not go about it merely as 
 a Ceremony, as it is too vifible the greater part do$ but that 
 they may confider it as the Dedicating their Children to God, 
 the Offering them to Chrift, and the holding them thereafter 
 as his, directing their chief care about them, to the breeding 
 them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. There 
 muft be Care taken to give them all a right Notion of the 
 ufe of Godfathers and God-mothers, which is a good Inftitu- 
 tion, to procure a double Security for the Education of Chil- 
 dren } it beiqg to be fuppofed, that the common Ties of Na- 
 ture and Religion, bind the Parents fo ftrongly, that if they 
 are not mindful of thefe, a Special Vow would not put a new 
 force in them, and therefore a Collateral Security is alfo de- 
 manded, both to fuppfy their Defects, if they are faulty, and 
 to take care of the Religious Education of the Infant , in cafe 
 the Parents mould happen to die before that is done $ and there- 
 fore no Odd-father or God-mother are to be invited to that Of- 
 fice, but fuch with whom one would truft the care or the Edu- 
 cation of his Child, nor ought any to do this Office for another, 
 but he that is willing to charge himfelf, with the Education 
 of the Child for whom he anfwers. But when Ambition or 
 Vanity, Favour or Prefents, are the Confederations upon which 
 thofe Sureties in Baptifm are chofen 5 great advantage is hereby 
 given to thofe who reject Infant Baptifm, and the Ends of the 
 Church in this Institution are quite defeated } which are both 
 the making the Security that is given for the Children fo much 
 the ftronger, and the eftablrihing an Endearment and a Ten- 
 derness between Families $ this being, in its own Nature, n\) 
 fmall Tye, how little foever it may be apprehended or under- 
 ftood. 
 
 Great 
 
Of the Ta/toral Care. ■ 93 
 
 Great care muft be taken in the Inftruftion of the Youth; 
 The bare faying the Catechifin by Rote is a finall Matter 3 it is ne- 
 ceflary to make them underftand the weight of every Word 
 in it : And for this end, every Prieft, that minds his Dujy, will 
 find that no Part of it is fo ufeful to his People, as once every 
 year to go through the whole Church CaUchifm , Word by 
 Word, and make his People underftaud the Importance of eve- 
 ry Tittle in it. This will be no hard labour to himfejf 5 for a£- ' 
 ter he has once gathered together the Places of Scripture that 
 relate to every Article, and formed fome clear Illuftrations, 
 and eafie Similies to make it underftood 3 his Catechetical Dif- 
 cokrfis, during all the reft of his Life, will be only the going 
 over that fame Matter again and again 3 by this means his Peo- 
 ple will come to have all this by heart 3 they will know what 
 to (ay upon it at home to their Children 3 and they wi!l un- 
 derftand all his Sermons the better, when they have once had. 
 a clear Notion of all thofe Terms that muft run through them 5 
 for thofe not being underftood, renders them all unintelligible. 
 A Difcourfe of this fort would be generally of much greater 
 Edification than an Afternoons Sermon 3 it ihould not be too 
 long 5 -too much muft not be faid at a time, nor more than one 
 Point opened 3 a Quarter of an Hour is time fufficient 3 for it 
 will grow itedjous and be too little remembred, if it is half an 
 hour long. This would draw an AfTembly to Evening Pray- 
 ers,, which we fee are but too much negle&ed, when there is 
 no fort. of. Difcourfe Or Sermon .accompanying them.- And 
 the pra&ifing this, during trie Six Months of the year, in which 
 the days are long, would be a very effectual means, both to 
 InftrucYthe People, and to bring them to a more Rjeligious 
 Obfervation of the Lord's Day 3 which is one of the power- 
 fulleft Inftrumenrs for the carrying on, .and advancing of 
 .Religion fin the World. 
 
 With Cateehifing, a Minifter is to joyn the preparing thofe 
 whom he Inftrufts to be Confirmed 3 which is not to be done 
 merely upon their being able to fay over fo many words by 
 . It is their renewing their Baptifmal Vow in their own 
 ,I^rfons, which the Church deftgns.by that Office -, and the 
 bearing in their own Minds, -a $enfe of their being bound 
 
 immediately 
 
94 Of. the <Paftoral Care. 
 
 immediately by that, which their Sureties then undertook 
 for them : Now to do this in fuch a manner, as that it may 
 make lmpreftion, and have a dueeffett upon them, they muft 
 (ray, gll they themfelves underftand what they do, and till 
 they have fonie Senfe and Affeclion to it 5 and therefore till 
 one is of au Age and Difpofition lit to receive the Holy Sa- 
 crament of the Lord's Sapper, and defires to be Confirmed, 
 as a folermi Preparation and Qualification to it 5 he is not yet 
 • ready for it '■> for in the common Management of that Holy 
 Rite, it is but too vifible, that of thole Multitudes that crowd 
 to it, the far greater Part, come merely as if they were to 
 receive the Bilhop's Bleffing, without any Senfe of the Vow 
 made by them, and of their renewing their Baptifmal En- 
 gagements in it. 
 
 As for the greateft and folemneft of all the Inftitutions of 
 Chrift, the Commemorating his Death, and the Partaking of 
 it in the Lord's Supper 5 this muft be well explained to the Peo- 
 ple, to preferve them from the extreams of Superftition and 
 Irreverence 3 to raile in them a great Senfe of the Goodnefs 
 of God, that appeared in the Death of Chrift , of his Love 
 to us, of the Sacrifice he once offered , and of the Inter- 
 ceffion which he ftill continues to make for us : A (hare in 
 all which is there Federally offered to us, upon our coming 
 under Engagements, to anfwer our Part of the Covenant, and 
 to live according to the Rules it fets us : On thefe things he 
 ought to enlarge himfelf, not only in his Sermons, but in 
 his Catechetical Exercifes, and in private Difcourfes 3 that fo he 
 may give his People right Notions of that Solemn Part of 
 Worfhip, that he may bring them to delight in it 5 and may 
 neither fright them from it, by raifing their Apprehenfions of 
 it to a ftri&nefs that may terrifie too mijch, nor encourage 
 them in the too common Practice of the dead and formal re- 
 ceiving, at the great Feftivals, as a piece of Decency recom- 
 mended by Cuftom. . 
 
 About the time of the Sacrament, every Minifter that 
 knows any one of his Parifti guilty of eminent Sins, ought* to 
 go and Admonifti him to change his Courfe of Life, or not 
 to profane theTable of the Lord-, and if private Admonitions 
 
 have 
 
Of the Taftoral Care. 95 
 
 have rro Effe&i then if his Sins are Publick and Scanda- 
 lous, he ought to deny him the Sacrament 5 and upon that 
 he ought to take the Method which is (till left in the- 
 Church, to make Sinners afiamed, to feparatc them from Holy 
 things, till they have edified the Church as much by their 
 Repentance, and the outward Profeffion of it , as they had 
 formerly fcandalized it by their Difordcrs. This we muft con- 
 fers, that though we have great tveafon, to lament our w&tlt' 
 of the Godly Difi'ifline that was in the Primitive Church, yet 
 we have ftill Authority for a great deal more than we put in 
 Prattice. Scandalous Perfbns ought, and might be more fre- 
 quently prefented than they are, and both Private and Publick 
 Admonitions might be more ufed than they are. There is a 
 flatnefs in all thefe things among us. Some are willing to do 
 nothing, becaufe they cannot, do all that they ought to do 5 
 whereas the right way for procuring an enlargement of our 
 Authority, is to ufe that we have well -^ not as an Engine to 
 gratifie our own or other Peoples Paffions, not to vex Peo- 
 ple, nor to look after Fees, more than the Correction of 
 Manners, or the Edification of the People. If we began 
 much with private Applications, and brought none into our 
 Courts, till it was vifible that all other ways had been unfuc- 
 cefsful, and that no regard was had either to Perfons or Par- 
 ties, to Men's Opinions or Interefts, we might again bring 
 our Courts into the efteem which they ought to have, but 
 which they have almoft entirely loft : We can never hope 
 to bring the World to bear the Toke of Chrift, and the Or- 
 der that he has appointed to be kept up in his Church, of 
 noting thofe that walk, di [orderly, of feparating our felves from 
 them, of having no fellowship, no, not fo much as to cat with them, 
 as long as we give them caufe to apprehend, that we intend 
 by this to bring them under ourTH?, to fubdue them to us, 
 and to rule them with a Rod of Iron : For the truth is, Man- 
 kind is fo ftrongly compounded, that it is very hard tore- 
 ftrain Ecclejiafiical Tyranny on the one hand, without run- 
 ning to a Lawlefs Licentioufnefs on the other ? fo ftrongly 
 does the World love Extreams, and avoid a Temper. 
 
 Q_ Now 
 
yy vyy ivk 'rajiorcu Lare. 
 
 Now { have gone through the Publick Functions of a Prieft, 
 and in fpeaking of the laft of thefe, I have broke in upon 
 the Third Head of his Duty, his private Labours in his Parifh. 
 He underftands little the Nature and the Obligations of the 
 Prieftly Office, who thinks he has discharged it , by per- 
 forming the Publick Appointments, in which if he is de- 
 fective, the Laws of the Church, how feeble, foever they 
 may be as to other things, will have their Courier but as 
 the private" Duties of the P aft oral Care, are things upon 
 which the Cognifance of the Law cannot fall, fo they, are the 
 moft important and neceilary of , all others 5 and the more 
 Praife Worthy, the freer they are, and .thelefs fore'd by the 
 Compulsion of Law. As to the Publick Fun&ions , every 
 Man has his Rule} and in thefe all are almoft alike 5 every 
 Man, efpecially if his Lung* are good, can read Prayers, even 
 in the largeft Congregation 3 and if he has a right Tafce, 
 and can but choofe good Sermons, out of the many that are 
 in Print, he may likewife ferye them well that way too. 
 Jkit the difference between one Man and another, fhews it 
 felf more fenfibly in his private Labours, in his prudent De- 
 portment, in his modeft and difcreet Way of procuring Re- 
 flect, to himfelf, in his Treating his Parijh, either in reconciling 
 iuch Differences as may happen to be among them, or in Ad- 
 monifhing Men of Rank, who fet an ill Example to others, 
 which ought always to be done in that way, which will pro- 
 bably have the bed: effect upon them •■> therefore it mult be 
 done fecretly, and with Expreffions of Tendernefs and Re- 
 fped for their Perfcns $ fit times are to be chofen for this 3 
 it may be often the beft way to do it by a Letter : For there 
 may be ways fallen upon, of reproving the worft Men, in fo 
 {oft a manner, that if they are not reclaimed, yet they (hall 
 not be irritated or made worfe by it, which is but too often 
 the Effect of an indifcreet Reproof. By this a Minifter way 
 fave the Sinners Soul 5 he is at leaft fare to fave his own, by 
 having difcharged his Duty towards his People. 
 
 One of the chief Parts of the P aft oral Care, is the vifiting the 
 ficl\ 3 not to be done barely when one is fent for : He is to go 
 as foon as he hears that any of his Flock are ill 5 He is not to 
 
 fatisfie 
 
Of the Taftonal Care. 97 
 
 fatisfie himfelf with going over the Office, or giving them the 
 Sacrament when deftred: He ought to inform himfelf of their 
 Courfe of Life, and of the Temper of their Mind, that fo he 
 may apply himfelf to them accordingly. If they are infenfi- 
 ble, he ought to awaken them with the Terrours of Cod ^ 
 the Judgment and the Wrath to come. He muft endeavour 
 to make them fenfible of their Sins 3 particularly of that which 
 runs through moft Men's Lives, their forgetting and neglect-- 
 ing God and his Service, and their fetting their Hearts fo 
 inordinately upon the World : He rnuft fet them on to exa- 
 mine their dealings, and make them feriouQy to confider, that 
 they can expeft no Mercy from God, unlefs they reftore 
 whatfoever they may have got unjuftly from any other, by 
 any manner of way, even though their Title were confirmed 
 by Law : He is to lay any other Sins to their charge, that he 
 has reafon to fufpeft them guilty of} and muft prefs them 
 to all fuch Acls or Repentance as they are then capable of. If 
 they have been Men of a bad Courfe of Life, he muft give 
 them no encouragement to hope much from this Death-bed 
 Repentance •■> yet he is to fet them to Implore the Mercies of 
 God in Chriji Jefeto, and to do all they can to obtain his Favour. 
 But unlefs the Sicknefs has been of a long continuance, a_nd 
 that the Perfon's Repentance, his Patience, his Piety has been 
 very extraordinary, during the Courfe of it, he muft be fure 
 to give him no pofitive ground of Hope } but leave him to 
 the Mercies of God. For there cannot be any greater Treache- 
 ry to Souls, that is more fatal and more pernicious, than the 
 giving quick and ealie hopes, upon Co Chort, Co forced, and 
 fo imperfect a Repentance. It not only makes thofe Perfons 
 perifti fecurely themfelves, but it leads all about them to de- 
 itructton } when they fee one, of whole bad Life and late Re- 
 pentance they hive been the Witneiles, put fo loon in hope,, 
 nay by fome unfaithful Guides, ina.de fare of Salvation ; this muft 
 mike them goon very fecurc in their Sins 5 when they fee how 
 fmall a meafure of Rcp:ntaice fets all right at laft : All the Or- 
 der and Justice of a Nation, would be-prefendy diOblved, 
 mould the howlings of Criminals, and their Promifes of A- 
 mendment, work on Juries, Judges, ox- Princes : So the hopes 
 Q^ 2 that 
 
98 Of the (paftoral Care. 
 
 that are given to Death-bed Pe^itents^ muftbe a moft effectual 
 means to root out the Senfe of Religion of the Minds of all 
 that fee it} and therefore though no dying Man is to be dri- 
 ven to Dcfpair, and left to die obftinate in his Sins 5 yet if we 
 love the Souls of our People, if we fet a due value on the Blood 
 of Chrift, and if we are touched with any Senfe of the Ho- 
 nour or Interelh of Religion, we muft not fay any thing that 
 may encourage others, who are but too apt of themfelves to 
 put all off to the laft Hour. We can give them no hopes from. 
 the Nature of the Go/pel Covenant 3 yet after all, the beft thing 
 a dying Man can do, is to Repent 3 if he recovers, that may be 
 the Seed and Beginning of a new Life and a new Nature in 
 him : Nor do we know the Meafure of the Riches of God's- 
 Grace and Mercy 3 how far he may think fit to exert it beyond 
 the Conditions and Promifes of the New Covenant, at leaft to 
 the leflening of fuch a Perfons Mifery in another State. We 
 are Cure he is not within the New Covenant 5 and fince he has 
 not repented, according to the Tenor of it, we dare nor, unlefs 
 we betray our Commjilion, give any hopes beyond it. But 
 one of the chief Cares of a Minifter about the Sick, ought to be 
 to exact of them Solemn Vows and Promifes, of a Renovati- 
 on of Life, in cafe God fhall raife them up again 5 and thefe 
 ought to be demanded, not only in general Words , but if 
 they have been guilty of any fcandalous Diforders, or any 
 other ill Practices, there ought to be fpecial Promifes made 
 with Relation to thofe. And upon the Recovery of fuch Per- 
 fons, their Minifters ought to put them in mind of their En- 
 gagements, and ufe all the due freedom of Admonitions and 
 Reproof, upon their breaking loofe from them. In fuch a 
 Cafe they ought to leave a terrible denunciation of the Judg- 
 ments of God upon them, and fo at leaft they acquit them- 
 felves. 
 
 There is another fort of fich^ Perfons, who abound more in 
 Towns than in the Country 5 thofe are the troubled in Mind ; 
 of thefe there are two forts, fome have committed enormous 
 Sins, which kindle a Storm in their Conferences 5 and that 
 ought to be cheriQied, till they have compleated a Repentance 
 proportioned to the Nature and Degree of their Sin. If lfroj/g 
 
 has 
 
Of the Tajtoral tare. 99 
 
 has been done to another, Reparation and Rcflitution muft be 
 made to the utmoft of the Party's Power. If Blood has been 
 fhed, a long courfe of Fafting and Prayer 5 a total abftinence 
 from Wine'? if Dntnkcnnefs gave the rife to it, a making up 
 the lofstothe Family, on which it has fallen, muft be enjoyn- 
 ed. But alas, the greater part of thofe that think they are 
 troubled in Mind, are Melancholy Hypochondriacal People, 
 who, what through fome falfe Opinions in Heiigion, what 
 through a foulnefs of Blood, occasioned by their unaetive 
 Courfe of Life, in which their Minds work too much, be- 
 caufe their Bodies are too little imployed, fail under'dark and 
 cloudy Apprehenlions 5 of which they can give no clear nor 
 good Account. This, in the greateft Part, is to be removed, 
 by ftrong and Chaljbeate Medicines } yet iuch Perfons are to be 
 much pitied, and a little humoured in their Diftemper. They 
 muft be diverted from thinking too much, being too much 
 alo)ie_ or dwelling too long on Thoughts that are too hard 
 for them to Matter: 
 
 The Opinion that has had the chief Influence in railing 
 thefe Diftempers, has been that of Praying by the Spirit 5 
 when a flame of Thought, a melting in the Brain, and the 
 abounding in tender exprefiions, have been thought the EfFe&s 
 of the Spirit, moving all thofe Symptoms of a warm Temper. 
 Now in all People, efpecially in Perfons of a Melancholy Dif- 
 pofition, that are much alone, there will be a great diveifity, 
 with relation to this at different times : Sometimes thefe Heats 
 will rife and flow copioufly, and at other times there will be a 
 damp upon the Brain, and a dead drynefs in the Spirits. This 
 tomen that are prepoflefled with the Opinion, now fct forth 
 will appear as if God did Comstimes Jhh;e out, and at other times 
 hide his face i and (ince this laft will be the moft frequent in 
 men of that Temper 5 as they will be apt to be lifted up, when 
 they think they hweafidnefs of the Spirit in them, fo they will 
 be as much caft down when that is withdrawn 5 they will con- 
 elude from it, that God is angry with them, and lb reckon that 
 they muft be in a very dangerous Condition : Upon this, avaft 
 variety of troublefom Scruples willarife out of every thing that 
 they either- do or have done. If then a Minifter has occafion 
 
10© Of the fafloral Care. 
 
 to treat any in this Condition, he muft make them apprehend ' 
 that the heat or coldnefs of their Brain, is the efTe&of Tern- 
 per, and flows from the different State of the Animal Spirits 
 which have their Difeafes, their hot and their cold Fits, as well 
 as the Blood has 3 and therefore no meafure can be taken from 
 thefe, either to Judge for or againft themfelves. They are to 
 confidcr what are their Principles and Refolutions, and what's 
 the fettled Courfeof their Life 3 upon thefe they are to form 
 fure Judgments, and not upon any thing that is fo fluctuating 
 and incortjant as Fits or Humours. 
 
 Another part of a Prieft's Duty is, with relation to them 
 that are without, I mean, that are not of our Body, which are 
 of the fide of the Church of Rome, or among the Dijfenters. 
 Other Churches and Bodies are noted for their Zeal, in making 
 Profelytes, for their reftlefs Endeavours, as well as their unlaw- 
 ful Methods in it, they reckoning, perhaps, .that all will be 
 fancTiried by the encreafing their Party, which is, tfrc.truc 
 name of making Converts, except they become at thtf fame time 
 Good Men, as well as Votaries to a Side or Caufe. 'We are cer- 
 tainly very remifs in this, of both hands, little pains is taken 
 to gain either upon Papifi or Nonconformiji 3 the Law has been 
 fo much trufted to 5 that that method only was thought fure 3 
 it was much valued, and others at the fame time as much neg- 
 lected 3 and whereas at firit, without force or violence, in Four- 
 ty years time Popery from being the prevailing Religion, was 
 reduced to a handful, we have now in above twice that number 
 of years, made very little Progrcfs. The favour fhew'd them 
 from our Court, made us feem, as it were, unwilling to difturb 
 them in their Religion 3 fothat we grow at laft to be kind to 
 them, to look on them as harmless and inoffenfive Neighbours 
 and even to cherifli and comfort them 5 we were very "near the 
 being convince! of our mifrake, by a terrible and clear bought 
 Experience. Now they are again under Hatches 3 certainly it be- 
 comes us, both in Charity to them, and in" regard to our own 
 Safety, to lludy to gain them by the force of Reafon and Per- 
 fuafion 3 by (hewing all kindnefs to them, and thereby difpofing 
 them to hearken to the Reafon s that we may lay before them. 
 We ought not to give over this as defperate upon a few unfuc- 
 
 ccfsfa] 
 
Of the faftoral Care. 101 
 
 eefsful Attempts, but muft follow them in the mekiivfl of Chrift, 
 thatfo we may at laft prove happy Inftruments, in delivering 
 them from the Blindnefs and Captivity they arc kept Mister, and 
 the Idolatry and Superftition they live in : We ought to vifit 
 them often in a Spirit of Love and Charity, and to offer them 
 Conferences j and upon fuch Endeavours, we have reafon to 
 expect a BleiTing, at leaft this, of having done our Duty, and fo 
 delivering our own Souls. 
 
 Nor are we to think, that the Toleration, under which the Law 
 has fettled the Diffenters, does either abfolve them from the Obli- 
 gations that they lay under before, by the Laws cf God an J the 
 Gofpel, to maintain the 'Unity of the Church, and not to rent it by 
 unjiift or caufelefs Schifms, or us from uiingour endeavours ;o 
 bring them to it, by the methods of Perfwafion and Kindnefs: 
 Nay, perhaps, their being now in Circumftances, that they can 
 no more be forced in thefe things, may put fome of them in a 
 greater towardnefs to hear Reafon \ a Free Nation naturally ha- 
 ting Conftraint : And certainly the lefs we feem to grudge or en- 
 vy them their Liberty, we will be thereby the nearer gaining 
 on the generoufer and better Part of them, and the reft would 
 foon lofe Heart, and look out of Countenance 5 if thefe mould 
 hearken to us. It was the Opinion many had of their ftri&nefs^ 
 and of the loofenefs that was amongft us, that gained them their 
 Credit, and made fuch numbers fall off from us. They have ma 
 great meafure loft the Good Character that once they had 5 if to 
 that we mould likewife lofe our bad one ■-, if we were ftritter in 
 our Lives, more ferious and conftant in our Labours 3 and 
 ftudied more effectually to -Reform thofe of our Communion, 
 than to rail at theirs 5 If we took occafion to let them fee that we 
 love them, that we with them no harm, but good, then we might 
 hope, by the Blefling of God, to lay the Obligations to Love 
 and Peace, to Unity and Concord before them, with fuch Ad- 
 vantages, that fome of them might open their Eyes, and fee ?^ 
 laft upon how flight Grounds, they have now fo long kept up 
 fuch a Wrangling, and made fuch a Rent in the Church, that 
 both the Power of Rclioiojt in general, and the ftrcngtli of the 
 Vveteftanl ReljgipVi have fuffered extrcamly by then.-. 
 
 Thus 
 
102 Of the Tajloreil Care. 
 
 Thus far I have carried a Clerk through his Parifti, and all 
 the feveral Branches of his Duty to his People. But that all 
 this may be well gone about, and indeed as the Foundation 
 upon which all the other Parts of the Paftoral Care may be 
 well managed, he ought frequently to vifit his whole Parim 
 from H&ufc to Houfe '■> that fo he may know them, and be 
 known of them. This I know will feem a vaft Labour, efpe- 
 cially in Towns, where Parilhes are large $ but that is no ex- 
 cufe for thofe in the Country, where they are generally fmall $ 
 and if they are larger, the going this Round will be the 
 longer a doing j yet an hour a day, Twice or Thrice a Week, 
 is no ha d Duty 5 aad this in the'Compafs of a Year wifl go 
 a great way, even in a large Parijh. In thefe Vifits, much 
 Time is not to be fpent 5 a fliort Word for ftirring them up to 
 mind their Souls, to make Confcience of their Ways, and to 
 pray earneftly to God, may begin it, and almoft end it. After 
 one has asked in what Union and Peace the Neighbourhood 
 lives, and enquired into their Neceffities, if they feem ve- 
 ry Poor , that Co thofe to whom that Care belongs, 
 may be put in mind to fee how they may be relieved. In 
 this courfe of viliting , a Minifter will foon find out, if 
 there are any truly Good Perfons in his Parijh, after whom 
 he muft look with a more particular regard. Since thefe 
 are the Excellent ones, in whom all his delight ought to be r 
 For let their Rank be ever fo mean, if they are fincerely 
 Religious , and not Hypocritical Pretenders to it , who 
 are vainly puffed up with fome Degrees of Knowledge, and 
 other outward Appearances, he ought to confider them as the 
 moft valuable in the fight of God 5 and indeed, as the 
 chief Part of his Care 5 for a living Dog is better than a 
 dead Lion. I know this way of Parochial Vifitation , is 
 fo worn out, that, perhaps, neither Prieft nor People, 
 will be very defirous to fee it taken up. It will 
 ptt the one to Labour and Trouble, and bring the other 
 under a clofer Infpection , which bad Men will no 
 ways defire , nor perhaps endure. But if this were put 
 on the Ckrgy by their Bifiops , and if they explained in a 
 Sermon before they began it, the Reafons and Ends of doing it 5 
 
 that 
 
vj u?c 'rajiorai v.arc. ioj 
 
 that would remove the Prejudices which might arifc againft it. 
 I confcfs this is an encrcafe of Labour, but that will feem no hard 
 matter to fuch as have a right Senfe of their Ordination-Vows, 
 of the value of Souls, and of the Dignity of their Fun&ion. If 
 Men had the Spirit of their Calling in them, and a due meafure of 
 Flame and Heat in carrying it on 5 Labour in it would be rather a 
 Pleafure than a Trouble. In all other Profedions, thofe who 
 follow them, labour in them all the Year long, and are hard at 
 their Bufinefs every Day of the Week. All Men that are well 
 luted in a Profeffion, that is agreeable to their Genius and Inclina- 
 tion, are really the eafier and the better pleafed, the more they 
 are employed in it. Indeed there is no Trade nor Courfe of Life, 
 except Ours, that does not take up the whole Man: And (hall 
 Ours only, that is the Nobleft of all others, and that has a cer- 
 tain Subfiftence fixed upon it, and does not live by Contingencies, 
 a-ndupon Hopes, as all others do, make the labouring in our Bu- 
 finefs, an Objection againft any part of our Dutj? Certainly no- 
 thing can fo much difpofe the Nation, to think on the relieving 
 the Neeeflities of the many fmall Livings, as the feeing the Clergy 
 fetting about their Bufinefs to purpofe 5 this would, by the 
 Blefiing of God, be a moft effettua] Means, of flopping the Prc- 
 grefs of Atheifm, and of the Contempt that the Clergy lies under j 
 it would go a great way towards the healing our Schifm, and 
 would be the chief ftep that could poflibly be made, towards the 
 procuring to us fuch Laws as are yet wanting to the compleating 
 our Reformation, and the mending the Condition of fo many of 
 our poor Brethren, who are languishing in Want, and under 
 great Straits. 
 
 There remains only fomewhat to be added concerning the Be- 
 haviour of the Clergic towards one another. Thofe of a higher 
 Form in Learning, Dignity and Wealth, ought not to dtfpife 
 poor Vicars and Curates 5 but on the contrary, the poorer they 
 are, they ought to pity and encourage them the more, fince they 
 are all of the fame Order, only the one are more happily placed 
 than the others : They ought therefore to che-rifa thofe that are 
 in worfe Circumftances, and encourage them to come often to 
 them j they ought'to lend them Books, and to give them other 
 R Advances 
 
1 04 Vf the Tajtorrl tare. 
 
 Affiftances in order to their progrefs in Learning. 'Tis a bad 
 thing to fee a Bifhop behave himfelf fupercilioufly towards any of 
 his Clergy, but it is intolerable in thofe of the fame Degree. The 
 Clergy ought to contrive Ways to meet often together, to enter 
 into a brotherly Correfpondence, and into the Concerns one of a- 
 nother, both in order to their progref* in Knowledg, and for 
 confulting together in all their Affairs. This would be a means to 
 cement them into one Body : hereby they might underftand what 
 were amifs in the Conduct of any in their Divifion, and try to 
 correct it either by private Advices and Endeavours, or by laying 
 it before the Bifiop, by whofe private Labours, if h\s Clergy would 
 be affifting to him, and give him free and full Informations of 
 things, many Diforders might be cured, without riling to a pub- 
 lick Scandal, or forcing him to extream Cenfures. It is a falfe Pity 
 in any of the Clergy, who fee their Brethren running into ill 
 Courfes, to look on and fay nothing : it is a Cruelty to the 
 Church, and may prove a Cruelty to the Perfon of whom they 
 are fo unfeafonably tender : for things may be more eafily cor- 
 rected at firft, before they have grown to be publick, or are 
 hardned by Habit and Cuftom. Upon all thefe Accounts it is of 
 great advantage, and may be Matter of great Edification to the 
 Clergie, to enter into a ftricT: Union together, to meet often, and 
 to be helpful to one another : but if this (hould be made practica- 
 ble, they rauft be extreamly ftrift in thofe Meetings, to obferve 
 fo exact a Sobriety, that there might be no Colour given to cen- 
 fure them, as if thefe were merry Meetings, in which they al- 
 lowed themfelves great Liberties : it were good, if they could be 
 brought to meet to faji and pray 5 but if that is a ftrain too high 
 for the prefent Age, at leaft they muft keep fo far within bounds, 
 that there may be no room for Calumny. For a Diforder upon 
 any fuch Occafion, would give a Wound of an extraordinary 
 Nature to the Reputation of the whole Clergy^ when every one 
 would bear a Share of the Blame, which perhaps belonged but 
 to a few. Four or five fuch Meetings in a Summer, would nei- 
 ther be a great Charge, nor give much Trouble : but the Advan- 
 tages that might arife out of them, would be very fenfible. 
 
 I have but one other Advice to add, but it is of a thing of 
 great confequence, . though generally managed in fo loofe and fo 
 indifferent a Manner, that I have fome xeafon in Charity to be- 
 
 lieve a 
 
lieve, that the Clergy make very little Reflexion on what they 
 do in it : And that is, in the Teftimonials that they fign in fa- 
 vour of thofe that come to be Ordained. Many have confefled 
 to my (elf, that they had figned thefe upon general Reports, 
 and Importunity } tho the Tetiimonial bears perfonal Knowledg. 
 Thefe are inftead of the Suffrages of the Clergy, which in the 
 Primitive Church were given before any were Ordained. A 
 Bifhop mud depend upon them , for he has no other way to 
 be certainly informed : and therefore as it is a Lie, pafb'd with 
 the Solemnity of Hand and Seal, to affirm any thing that is be- 
 yond one's own Knowledg, fo it is a Lie made to God and the 
 Church -j fince the defign of it is to procure Orders. So that if 
 a Bifhop trufting to that, and being fatisfied of the Knowledg of 
 one that brings it, ordains an unfit and unworthy Man, they 
 that figned it, are deeply and chiefly involved in the Guilt of his 
 laying Hands fuddenly upon him : therefore every Prieft ought 
 to charge his Confidence in a deep particular Manner, that fo he 
 may never tefhfy for any one, unlefs he knows his Life to be (b 
 regular, and believes his Temper to be fo good, that he does 
 really judg him a Perfon fit to be put in Holy Orders. Thefe 
 are all the Rules that do occur to me at prefent. 
 
 In performing thefe feveral Brandies of the Duty of a Paftor, 
 the trouble will not be great, if he is truly a good Man, and 
 delights in the Service of God, and in doing Ads of Charity : 
 the Pleafure will be unfpeakable 3 firft, that of the Confidence 
 in this Teftimony that it gives, and the Quiet and Joy which 
 arifes from the Senfe of one's having done his Duty : and then 
 itcanlcarcebe fuppofed but by all this, fome will be wrought on 5 
 fome Sinners will be reclaimed, bad Men will grow good, and 
 good Men will grow better. And if a generous Man feels 
 to a great degree, the Pleafure of having delivered one from 
 Mifery, and of making him eafy and happy 5 how foveraign a 
 Joy muft it be to a Man that believes there is another Life, 
 to fee that he has been an Inftrument to refeue fome from 
 endltfs Mifery, and to further others in the way to everlafting 
 Happinefs ? and the more Inftances he fees of this, the more 
 do his Joys grow upon him. This makes Life happy, and 
 Death joyful to fuch a Prieft, for he is not terrified with thofe 
 R. 1 words, 
 
words, Give an Account of thy Steward/trip, for thou mayefi be no 
 longer Steward: He knows his Reward (hall be full, prefled 
 down, and running over. He is but too happy in thofe Spi- 
 ritual Children, whom he has begot in Chriji, he looks after thofe 
 as the chief part of his Care, and as the principal of his Floi-J^ 
 and is fo far from afpiring, that it is not without fome Uneafi- 
 nefs that he leaves them, if he is commanded to arife to fome 
 higher Pod in the Church. 
 
 The Troubles of this Life, the Cenfures of bad Men^ and 
 even the profpecl of a Perfecution, are no dreadful Things to 
 him that has this Seal of his Miniflry , and this Comfort within 
 him, that he has not laboured in vain, nor run and fought as one 
 that beats the Air , he fees the Travel of his Soul, and is fatisfied 
 when he finds that God's Work^profpers in his hand. This comforts 
 him in his fad Reflections on his own paft Sins, that he has 
 been an Inftrument of advancing God's Honour, of (aving Souls, 
 and of propagating his Gofpel : Since to have faved one Soul, is 
 worth a Man's coming into the World, and richly worth the 
 Labours of his whole Life. Here is a Subject that might be eafily 
 profecuted by many warm and lively Figures : But I now go 
 on to the laft Article relating to this Matter. 
 
 chap. 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 Concerning Preaching. 
 
 THE World naturally runs to Extreams in every thing. 
 If one Se& or Body of Men- magnify Preaching too 
 much, another carries that to another Extrcara of decrving it as 
 much. It is certainly * noble and a profitable Exercife, if right- 
 ly gone about, of great ufe both to Pritit and People 3 by- 
 obliging the one to much Study and Labour, and by letting 
 beforethe other full and copious Difcoveries of Divine Matters, 
 opening them clearly, and preffing them weightily upon them. 
 It has alio now gained Co much Efteem in the World, that a 
 Glergy-man cannot maintain his Credit, nor bring his People 
 to a conftant Attendance on the Worlhip of God, unlefs he is 
 happy in thefe Performances. 
 
 I will not run" out into the Hijlory of Preaching, to flrew how 
 late it was before it was brought into the Church, and by what 
 Jieps it grew up to the pitch it is now at : How long it was before 
 the Roman Church ufed it, and in how many different (hapes it 
 has appeared. Some of the firft Patterns we have, are the beft : 
 for as Tully began the T{oman Eloquence, and likewife ended it, 
 no Man being able to hold up to the pitch to which he raifed 
 it y fo St. Bafil and St. Chryfojlom brought Preaching from the 
 dry purfuing of Allegories that had vitiated Origen, and, from the 
 exceflive Affectation of Figures and rvhetorick that appears in 
 Naziattzen, to a due Simplicity 5 a native Force and Beauty, 
 having joined to the Plainnefs of a clear but noble Stile, the 
 Strength of Reafon, and the Softnefs of Perfuafion. Some were 
 difgufted at this Plainnefs 3 and they brought in a great deal of 
 Art into the Compofition of Sermons : Myftical Applications of 
 Scripture grew to be better liked than clear Texts 5 an Accumu- 
 lation of Figures, a Cadence in the Periods, a playing upon the 
 Sounds of Words, a Loftinefs of Epithets, and often an Obfcuri- 
 ty of Expreflion, were according to the different Taftes of the 
 
 (evera! 
 
iOo iff im 'iajiorai ^are. 
 
 feveral Ages run into. Preaching has part through many diffe- 
 rent Forms among us, Since the Reformation. But without flat- 
 tering the prefent Age, or any Perfons now alive, too much, it 
 muft be confeffed, that it is brought of late to a much greater 
 Perfection, than it was ever before at among us. It is certainly 
 brought nearer the Pattern that S. Chryfofiom has Set, or perhaps 
 carried beyond it. Our Language is much refined, and we have 
 returned to the plain Notions of (imple and genuine Rhetorick. 
 
 We have fo vaft a number of excellent Performances in Print, 
 that if a Man has but a right understanding of Religion, and a 
 true relifh of good Senk, he may eafily fu*rni(h himfelf this way. 
 The impertinent Way of dividing Texts is laid afide, the needlefs 
 fetting out of the Originals, and the vulgar Verfion, is worn out. 
 The trifling Shews of Learning in many Quotations of PafTages, 
 that very hw could underftand, do no more flat the Auditory. 
 Pert Wit and lufcious Eloquence have loft their reliSh. So that Ser- 
 mons are reduced to the plain opening the Meaning of the Text, 
 in a few fhort Illustrations of its Coherence with what goes be- 
 fore and after, and of the Parts of which it is compofed 5 to that 
 is joined the clear Stating of fuch Propositions as arife out of it, in 
 their Nature, Truth and Reafonablenefs : by which, the Hearers 
 may form clear Notions of the feveral Parts of Religion j fuch as 
 are beft futed to their Capacities and Apprehensions : to all 
 which Applications are added, tending to the Reproving, Di- 
 recting, Encouraging, or Comforting the Hearers, according to 
 the feveral Occafions that are offered. 
 
 This is indeed all that can truly be intended in Preaching, 
 to make fbme Portions of Scripture to be rightly understood 5 
 to make thofe Truths contain'd in them, to be more fully appre- 
 hended i, and then to lay the Matter home to the Conferences 
 of the Hearers, fo directing all to fome good and practical end. 
 In the choice of the Text, care is to be taken not to chufe Texts 
 that feem to have Humour in them j or that muft be long 
 wrought upon, before they are underftood. The plainer a Text 
 is in it felf, the fooner it is cleared, and the fuller it is of Matter of 
 Instruction 5 and therefore fuch ought to be chofen to common 
 Auditories. Many will remember the Text, that remember no- 
 thing elfe j therefore fuch a choice (hould be made, as may at 
 
 leaft 
 
lead put a weighty and fpeaking Sentence of the Scriptures upon 
 the Memories of the People. A Sermon fhould be made for a 
 Text, and not a Text found out for a Sermon $ for to give our 
 Difcourfes weight, it ihould appear that we are led to them by 
 our Texts : fuch Sermons will probably have much more Efficacy 
 than a general Difcourfe, before which a Text feems only to be 
 read as a decent Introduction, but to which no regard is had in 
 the Progress of it. Great Care mould be alfo had both in opening 
 the Text, and of that which arifes from it to illuftrate them, by 
 concurrent Paflages of Scripture : a little of this ought to be in 
 every Sermon, and but a little : for the People are not to be over- 
 charged with too much of it at a time j and this ought to be 
 done with judgment, and not made a bare CWwv/<*we-Exercife, 
 of citing Scriptures, that have the fame Words, though not to the 
 fame purpofe and in the fame fenfe. A Text being opened, then 
 the Point upon which the Sermon is to run is to be opened 5 and 
 it will be the better heard and underftood, if there is but one 
 Point in a Sermon j fo that one Head, and only one,is well ftated, 
 and fully fet out. In this, great regard is to be had to the Nature 
 of the Auditory, that fo the Point explained may be in fome mea- 
 fure proportioned to them. Too clofe a Thread of Reafon, too 
 great an AbftradYion of Thought, too fublime and too metaphyfi- 
 cal a Strain, are futable to very few Auditories, if to any at all. 
 
 Things muft be put in a clear Light, and brought out in as 
 fhort Periods, and in as plain Words as may be : The Reafons of 
 them muft be made as fenfible to the People as is poffible $ as in 
 Vertues and Vices } their Tendencies and Effects } their being 
 futable or unfutable to our Powers, to both Souls and Bodies, to 
 the Interefts of this Life as well as the next -, and the Good or E- 
 vil that they do to Humane Societies, Families and Neighbour- 
 hoods, ought to be fully and frequently opened. In letting thefe 
 forth, fuch a Meafure is to be kept, that the Hearers may perceive, , 
 that things are not ftrained in the Way of a Declamation, into for- 
 ced Characters, but that they are fet out, as truly they are, with- 
 out making them feem better by imaginary Perfections, or worfe 
 by an undue Aggravation. For the carrying thofe Matters beyond 
 the plain Obftrvation of Mankind, makes that the Whole is 
 looked on as a piece of R.hetorick j -the Preacher feeming to in- 
 tend 
 
tend rather to (hew his Skill, is raiting his Subject too high, or 
 running it down too low, than to lay before them the native 
 Confluences of things } and that which upon Reflection they 
 may be all able to perceive is really true. Vcrtne is fo good in it 
 felf, that it needs no falfe Paint to make it look better : and Vice 
 is io bad, that it can never look fo ugly, as v. hen (hewed in its 
 own natural Colours. So that an undue Sublime in fuch Defcrip- 
 tions, does hurt, and can do no good. 
 
 When the Explanatory Part of the Sermon is over, the Appli- 
 cation comes next : and here great Judgment mult be ufed, to 
 make it fall the heavieft, and lie thelongeft, upon fuch Particulars 
 as may be within the compafs of the Auditory : Directions con- 
 cerning a high Devotion, to a ftupid ignorant Company 5 or of 
 Generofity and Bounty, to very poor People 5 againft Pride and 
 Ambition, to fuch as are dull and low minded, are ill futed 5 and 
 fo muft have little effect upon them. Therefore care muft be 
 taken that the Application be ufeful and proper 5 that it make 
 the Hearers apprehend fome of their Sins and Defects, and fee how 
 to perform their Duty •-> that it awaken them to it, and direct 
 them in it : and therefore the molt common Sins, fuch as Mens 
 neglecting their Duty to God, in the feveral Branches of it 5 their 
 letting their Hearts inordinately upon the World 5 their Lying in 
 Difcourfe,but chiefly in Bargainings their evil Speaking,and their 
 Hatred and Malice, ought to be very often brought in. Some one 
 or other of thefe, ought to be in every Application that is made, 
 by which they may fee that the whole defign of Religion lies a- 
 gainftthem. Such particular Sin%Swearing,Drurikennefs,orLeud- 
 nefs as abound in any place, mud likewife be frequently brought 
 in here. The Application muft be clear and fhort, very weighty, 
 and free of eVery thing that looks like the Affectations of Wit and 
 Eloquence 5 here the Preacher muft be all Heart and Soul, dtfign- 
 ing the good of his People. The whole Sermon is directed to 
 this: therefore as it is fit that the chief Point which a Sermon 
 drives at, (hould come often over and over, that fo the Hearers 
 may never lofe fight of it, but keep it (till in view ; fo in the Ap- 
 plication, the Text muft be (hewed to fpeak it 5 all thegParts of 
 the Explanation muft come in, to enforce it: the Application 
 muft be opened in the (evera! Views that it may have, but thofe 
 
 muft 
 
rauft be chiefly infifted on that are mod finable both to the Ca- 
 pacities and thcCircumftances ofihe People. And in conclufion, 
 all ought to be fummed up in a weighty Period or two 5 and 
 fomc other Ggnal PalTage of the Scriptures relating .to it may be , 
 fought for, that fo the Muter may be It ft upon, the Auditory in 
 the folcmneft manner polfible. 
 
 Thus I have lrd a Preacher through the Corapofition of his 
 Sermon 5 I will next lay before him feme Particulars relating to it. 
 The (horter Sermons are, they are generally both better heard, 
 and better remembred. The cuftom of an Hour's length, forces 
 many Preachers to trifle away much of the Time, and to (pin out 
 their Matter, fo as to hold out. So great a length dots alfo flat 
 the Hearers, and tempt them to fleep, efpecially when, as is u- 
 fual, the rirft part of the Sermon is languid and heavy : In half 
 an Hour a Man may lay open his Matter in its full extent, and 
 cut off thofe Superfluities which come in only to lengthen the 
 Difcourfe : and he may hope to keep up the Attention of his 
 People all the while. As to the Stile, Sermons ought to be very 
 plain } the Figures muft be eafy, not mean, but noble, and brought 
 in upon defign to make the Matter better underftood. The Words 
 in a Sermon muft be fimple,and in common ufe 5 not favouring of 
 the Schools, nor above the underftanding of the People. All long 
 Periods, fuch as carry two or three different Thoughts in them, 
 muft oe avoided ; for few Hearers can follow or apprehend thefe: 
 Niceties of Stile are loft before a common Auditory. But if an eafy 
 Simplicity of Stile (hould run through the whole Compofition, it 
 {hould take place moft of all in the explanatory part , for the 
 thing being there offered to be underftood, it Qaould be ftript of 
 all garnishing : Definitions (hould not be offered in the Terms, or 
 Method, that Logkk directs, rn fhort, a Preacher is tenancy him- 
 felf, as in the room of the moft unlearned Man in his, whole Pa- 
 ri(h 5 and therefore he muft put fuch parts of his Difcourfe as he 
 would have all underftand, in fo plain a form of Words, that it 
 may not be beyond the meaneft of them : This he will certainly 
 ftudy to do, if his defire is to edify them, rather than to make 
 them admire himfelf as a learned and high-fpoken Man. 
 . But in the Applicatory part, if he has a true tafte of Eloquence, 
 and is a Mafter at it, he is to employ it all in giving fometimes fuch 
 S . tender 
 
fender Touches, as may foften $ and deeper Gaihes, fuch as may 
 awaken his Hearers. A vain Eloquence here, is very ill plac'd 5 
 for if that can be born any wheie, it is in illuftrating the Matter : 
 but all muft be grave, where one would perfwade : themoftnatu- 
 ral but the mod fenfible Expreffions come in beft here. Such an 
 Eloquence as makes the Hearers look grave, and as it were out of 
 Countenance, is the propereft. That which makes them look live- 
 ly, and as it were fmile upon one .another, may be pretty, but it 
 only tickles the. Imagination, and pleafes the Ear 5 whereas that 
 which goes to the Heart, and wounds it, makes the Hearer rather 
 look down, and turns his Thoughts inward upon himfelf : For it 
 is certain that a Sermon, the Conclufion whereof makes the Au- 
 ditory look pleafed, and fets them all a talking one with another, 
 was either not right fpoken, or not right heard 3 it has been fine, 
 and has probably delighted the Congregation, rather than edified 
 it. But that Sermon that makes every one go away filent and 
 grave, and haftning to be alone, to meditate or pray over the 
 matter of it in (ecret, has had its true effect. 
 
 He that has a Tafte and Genius for Eloquence, muft improve 
 it by reading ^aintilian, and TuUy\ Books of Oratory. 5 and by 
 obferving the Spirit and Method of Tally $ Orations : or if he 
 can enter into Demoftkenes, there he will fee a much better Pat- 
 tern, there being a fimplicity, a fhortnefs, and a fwiftnefs, and ra- 
 pidity in him, that could not be heard without putting his Audi- 
 tors into a great Commotion. All our Modern Books upon thole 
 Subject, are fo far (hort of thofe great Originals, that they can 
 bear no Companion : yet F. Rapin's little Book of Eloquence is by 
 much the beft, only he is too (tort. Tally has fo fully opened 
 all the Topicks of Invention, that a Man who has read him, will, 
 if he has any Invention of his own, and if he knows throughly his 
 Matter, rather have too much than too little in his view, upon 
 every Subject that he treats. This is a Noble Study, and of great 
 ufe to fuch as have Judgment to manage it j for Artificial Elo- 
 quence, without a Flame within, is like Artificial Poetry 3 all its 
 Productions are forced and unnatural, and in a great meafure ri- 
 diculous. Art helps and guides Nature 5 but if one was not born 
 with this Flame y Art will only fpoil him, make him lufcious and 
 redundant. To fuch Perfons, and indeed to all that are not Ma- 
 
 ftm 
 
Uf the Tajtorai tare. ii.j 
 
 fieri of the Body of Divinity, and of the Scriptures, I (hould much 
 rather recommend the ufing other Mens Sermons, than the making 
 any of their own. But in the choice of thefe, great Judgment 
 muft be ufed $ one muft not take an Author that is too much a- 
 bove himfelf, for by that, compared with his Ordinary Conver- 
 sation, it will but too evidently appear, that he cannot be the 
 Author of his own Sermons --, and that will make both him and 
 them lofe t )0 much of their weight. He ought alfb to put thofe 
 printed Sermons out of that ftrength and clofenefs of Stile, which 
 looks very well in print 5 but is too ftiff, efpecially for a common 
 Auditu.y. He may reverfe the Method a little, and (horten the 
 Explanations, that Co he may retain all that is practical 5 and that 
 a Man may form himfelf to Preaching, he ought to take fome of 
 the beft Models, and try what he can do upon a Text handled by 
 them, without reading them, and then compare his Work with 
 theirs 5 this will more fenfibly, and without putting him to the 
 Blufh, model ftim to imitate, or if he can, to excel the beft Pat- 
 terns : and by this Method, if he will reftrain himfelf for fome 
 time, and follow it clofe, he may come to be able to go without 
 fuch Crutches, and to work without Patterns : till then, I ftiould 
 ad vife all to make ufe of other Mens Sermons, rather than to make 
 any of their own. 
 
 The Nation has got into Co good a Tafte oC Sermons, from the 
 vaft number of thofe excellent ones that are in print, that a mean 
 Cornpofition will be very ill heard j and therefore it is an unfea- 
 fonable piece of Vanity, for any to offer their own Crudities, till 
 they have well digefted and ripened them. I with the Majefty of 
 the Pulpit were more looked to '-, and that no Sermons were 
 offered from thence, but fuch as ftiould make the Hearers both the 
 better, and the wifer, the more knowing, and the more ferious. 
 
 In the Delivering of Sermons, a great Compofure of Gefture 
 and Behaviour is neceffary, to give them Weight and Authority 1 
 Extreams are bad here, as in every thing elfe 5 (bme affeft a light 
 and flippant Behaviour 5 and others think that wry Faces and a 
 tone in the Voice will fet off the Matter. Grave and compofed 
 Looks, and a natural, but diftincl: Pronunciation, will always have 
 the beft Effects. The great Rule which the Mafters of Rhetorick 
 preG much, can never be enough remembred 5 that to make a Man 
 5 2 (peak 
 
H4 Of the Taji oral Care. 
 
 fpeak well, and pronounce with a right Efnphajis, he ought through- 
 ly to underftand all that he fays, be fully perfuaded of it, and 
 bring himfelf to have thofe Affections, which he defires to infufe 
 into other*. He that is inwardly perfuaded of the Truth of what 
 he lays, and th.it has a Concern about it in his Mind, will pro- 
 nounce ^with a natural Vehemence, that is far more lively, than all 
 the Strains that Art can lead him to. An Orator, if we hearken to 
 them, mud be an honeft Man, and fpeak always on the fide of Truth, 
 and ftudy to fed all that he fays 3 and then he will fpeak it fo as to 
 nuke others/wVit like wife. And therefore fuch as read their Ser- 
 mons, ought to praclifc Reading much in private, and read aloud, 
 that fo their own E.tr and Senfe may guide them, to know where 
 to raife or quicken, (often or fweeten their Voice, and when to 
 give an Articulation of Authority, or of Conviction , where to 
 paufe, and where to languid]. We plainly fee by the Stage, what 
 ■a Force there is in Pronunciation : the beft Compositions are mur- 
 dered, if ill fpoken 5 and the i worft are acceptable, vflhen well faid. 
 In Tragedies rightlv pronounced and acted, though we know that 
 all is Fable and Fiction 5 the tender Parts do fo meltthe Compa- 
 ny, that Tears cannot beftop'd, even by thofe who laugh at them- 
 felvesfor it. This (news the power of apt Words, and a jult Pro- 
 nunciation. But becaufe thisdependsin a great meafure, upon the 
 prefent Temper of him that fpeaks-, and the lively Difpofition in 
 which he is, therefore he ought by much previous Serioufnefs, and 
 by earned Prayer to God, to endeavour to raife his Mind to as 
 warm a fenie of the Thing's, he is to fpeak of, as poffibly he can, 
 that fo his Sermons may make deep Impreffions on his Hearers.. 
 
 This leads me to confider the Difference that is between the 
 Reading and the Speaking of Sermons. Reading is peculiar fo 
 this Nation, and is endured in no other. It has indeed made that 
 our Sermons are more exact, and fo it has produced to us many 
 Volumes of the heft that are extant } but after all, though fome 
 few .read fo happily, pronounce fo truly, and enter fo entirely in- 
 to thofe Affections which they recommend, that in them we fee 
 both the Correchiefs of Reading, and the Serioufnefs of Speaking 
 Sermons, yet every one is not fo happy : .fome by hanging their 
 Heads perpetually over their Notes, by blundring as they read, 
 and by a cuilbry running over then), do fo leffen the Matter of 
 
 their 
 
uj we Tajtorai tare. 1 1 5 
 
 their Sermons, that as they are generally read with very little Life 
 or Affe&ion, fo they are heard with as little regard or efteem.' 
 Thofe who read, ought certainly to be at a little more pains, than 
 for moft. part they are, to rcad'true, to pronounce with an Em- 
 phafo, and to raife their Heads, and to direct their Eyes to their* 
 Hearers : and if they practis'd more alone the juft way of Reading, 
 they might deliver their Sermons with much more advantage. 
 Man is a low fort of Creature 5 he does not, nay nor the greater 
 part cannot confider things in themfelvcs, without thofe little Sea- 
 fonings that muft recommend them to their Affections. Tjiat a 
 Difcourfe be heard with any Life, it muft be fpoken JfWtfeffi i 
 and the Looks and Motions of the Eye do carry in.tbemiuch Ad- 
 ditions to what is (aicf, that where thefe do not at all concur, it 
 has not all the Force upon them, that otherwife it might have : 
 befides, that the People, who are too apt to cenfure the Clergy, are, 
 eatily carried into an obvious Reflection on Reading, that it is an 
 EffeftofLazinefs. 
 
 In pronouncing Sermons, there are two Ways '-, the one is when 
 a whole Difcourfe is got by heart, and delivered word for word, as 
 it was writ down : this is fo vaft a Labour, that it is fcarce poffible 
 that a Man can be able to hold urj long to it : Yet there is an Ad- 
 vantage even in this to Reginneis } it fills their Memories with' 
 good Thoughts, and regular Meditations : and when they have 
 got fome of the moft important of their Sermons by heart in fo 
 exact a -manner, they are thereby furnifhed. with Topicks for Dif- 
 courfe. And therefore there are at leaft two different Subjects, on 
 which I with all Preachers would be at the pains, to form Ser- 
 mons well in their Memories : the one is the Grounds of the Co- 
 venant of Grace, of both fides, God's offers to us in Chrilt, and the 
 Conditions thatJie has required of us, in order to our Reconcili- 
 ation with hkn. ' This is fo important a Point, in the v\ hole courfe 
 of our Miaiftry, that no Man ought to be to f_ek in the opening 
 or explaining it : and therefore that he may be ripe in it, he ought 
 to have it all rightly laid in his Memory, not only as to the Noti- 
 ons of it, but to have fuch a lively Description and Illuftration of 
 it all, as to be able to fpeak of k fqnfibly, fully, and eafily upon 
 all Occafions. Another Subject iri.,which every Minifter ou 6 .r. 
 alfo to be well furnifhed, is concerning Death, and Judgment - y 
 
 that 
 
n 6 Of the Vaftoral Care. 
 
 that fo when he vifits the Sick, and, as is common, that the Neigh- 
 bours come in, he may be able to make a grave Exhortation, in 
 weighty and fit Words, upon thofe Heads. Lefs than this, I think 
 no Prieft ought to have in his Memory. But indeed,themore Ser- 
 'vtons a young Beginner gets by heart, he has ftill thereby the more 
 Difeourfe ready upon thofe Heads 5 for though the whole Contex- 
 ture of the Sermon will ftick no longer than as he has occafion for 
 it, yet a great deal will ftay with him : the Idea of the Whole, 
 with the mod important Parts of it, will remain much longer. 
 
 But now I come to propofe another Method of Preaching, by 
 which a Prieft may be prepared, after a right View of his Matter, 
 a true Underftanding his Text, and a Digefting of his Thought* 
 upon it into their natural and proper Order, to deliver thefe both 
 moreeafily to himfelf, and with a better Effecl: both upon- Himfelf 
 and his Hearers. To come at this, he muft be for fome Years at a 
 great deal of pains to prepare himfelf to it : yet when that is over, 
 the Labour of all the reft of his Life, as to thofe Performances, 
 will become very eafy and very pleafant to him. The Preparati- 
 ons to this muft be thefe 5 Firft he muft read the Scriptures very 
 exactly, he muft have great Portions of them by heart 5 and he 
 muft alfo in reading them, make- a (hort Concordance of them in 
 his Memory 5 that is, he muft lay together fuch Paffages as belong 
 to the lame Matter 5 to confider how far they agree or help to 
 illuftrate one another, and how the fame thing is differently ex- 
 preffed in them 5 and what various Ideas or Ways of recommend- 
 ing a thing rife out of this Concordance. Upon this a Man muft 
 exercife himfelf much, draw Notes of it, and digeft it well in his 
 Thoughts. Then he muft be ready with the whole body of Di- 
 vinity in his Head 5 he muft know what Parts come in as Objecti- 
 ons to be anfwered, where Difficulties lie, how one Part coheres 
 with another, and gives it Light. He muft have this very cur- 
 rent in his Memory, that he may have things lie before him in 
 one full view $ and upon this,he is alio to work, by making Tabks % 
 or ufing fuch other Helps as may lay Matters clearly before him. 
 He is more particularly to lay before him, a Syftem of Morality, 
 of all Vertues and Vices, and of all the Duties that arife out of 
 the feveral Relations of Mankind 5 that he may have this Matter 
 v a xy full in his eye, and know what arc the Scriptures that belong 
 
 to 
 
to all the Parts of it : he is alfo to make a Collection of all fuch 
 Thoughts, as he finds either in the Books of the Ancient Philoso- 
 phers, (where Scncc a will be of great ufe to him) orofChriftian 
 Authors : he is to feparate fuch Thoughts as are forced, and that 
 do become rather a (trained Declamation made only to pleafe, than 
 a folid Difcourfe defigned to perfuade. All thefe he muft gather, 
 or at leaft fuch a number of them, as may help him to form a di- 
 ftindt Notion of that Matter, fo as to be able both to open it 
 clearly, and to prefs it with Affection and Vehemence. 
 
 Thefe are the Materials that muft be laid together, the Pra- 
 ctice in ufing them comes next. He that then would prepare 
 himfdfto be a Preacher in this Method, muft accuftom himfelf 
 to talk freely to himfelf, to let his Thoughts flow from him, 
 especially when he feels an edg and heat upon his Mind , 
 for then happy Expreffions will come in his Mouth, things will 
 ventilate and open themfelves to him, as he talks them thus 
 in a Soliloquy to himfelf He muft alfo be writing many Effays 
 upon all forts of Subjects '-, for by writing he will bring himfelf 
 to a cor reft nefs both in thinking and in fpeaking : and thus by a 
 hard practice for two or three Years, a Man may render him- 
 felf fuch a Mafter in this Matter, that he can never be furprifed, 
 nor will new Thoughts ever dry up upon him. He muft talk o- 
 ver to himfelf the whole Body of Divinity, and accuftom him- 
 felf to explain, and prove, to clear Objections, and to apply eve- 
 ry part of it to fome practical ufe. He muft go through Hu- 
 man Life, in all the Ranks and Degrees of it, and talk over all 
 the Duties of thefe 5 confider the Advantages or Disadvantages 
 in every one of them, their Relation to one another, the Morality 
 of Actions, the common Vertues and Vices of Mankind 3 more 
 particularly the Duties of Chriftians, their Obligations to Meek- 
 nefs and Humility, to forgive In juries, to relieve the Poor, to 
 bear the Crofs, to be patient and contented in every State of 
 Life, to pray much and fervently, to rejoice ever in God, and to 
 be always praifing him, and moft particularly to be applying 
 ferioufly to God through Jefus Chrift, for .Mercy and Pardon, 
 and for his Grace and Spirit -, to be worshipping him devoutly 
 in publick, and to be delighting frequently to commemorate the 
 Death of Chrift, and to partake of the Benefits of it. All thefe, 
 
 I fay, 
 
i faj\ be muft talk over and over again to himfelf} he muft 
 ftudy to give his Thoughts all the Heat and Flight about them 
 that he can : and if in thefe his Meditations," happy Thoughts, 
 and noble and tender Expreflions, do at any time offer thetn- 
 felves, he muft not lofe them, but write them down , and in 
 his pronouncing over fuch Difcourfes to himfelf, he muft ob- 
 fcrve what Words found harfti, ahd agree ill together : for there 
 is a Mufick in Speaking, j as well as in Singing 5 which a Man, 
 tho not other wife critical in Sounds, will foon difcover. By a 
 very few Years practice of two or three of fuch Soliloquies a Day, 
 chiefly in the Morning when the Head iscleartft, and the Spi- 
 rits are livelieft, a Man will contract 'a great eafinefs both in 
 thinking and fpeaking. 
 
 But the Rule I have referved laft, is the mod neceffary of all, 
 and without it all the reft will never do the Bufined $ it is this, 
 That a Man muft have in himfelf a deep fenfe of the Truth and 
 Power of Religion 5 he muft have a Life and Flame in his 
 Thoughts, with relation to thofe Subjects : He muft have felt 
 in himfelf thofe things which he intends to explain and recom- 
 mend to others. He muft obferve narrowly the motions of his 
 own Mind, the good and bad Effects that the feveral forts of Ob- 
 jects he has before him, and Affections he feels within him, have 
 upon him 5 that fb he may have a lively Heat in himfelf, when 
 hefpeaksofthem} and that he may fpeak in fo fenfible a man- 
 ner, that it may be almoft felt that he fpeaks from his Heart. 
 There is an Authority in the fimpleft Things that can be faid, 
 when they carry vifible Characters of Genuinenefs in them. Now 
 if a Man can carry on this Method, and by much Meditation and 
 Player draw down Divine Influences, which are always to be 
 expected, when a Man puts himfelf in the way of them, and 
 prepares himfelf for them, he will often feel, that while he is. 
 muring, a Fire is handled within him, and then he will fpea^ with 
 Authority, and without Conftraint } his Thoughts will be true, 
 and his Expreffions free and eafy : Sometimes this Fire will carry 
 him, as it were, out of himfelf 5 and yet without any thing 
 that is Frantick or Enthufiaftical. Difcourfes brought forth 
 with a lively Spirit and Heat, where a compofed Gefture, and 
 the proper Motions of the Eye and Countenance, and the due 
 
 Modu- 
 
uj u.'c la/iurui l«/y. lie; 
 
 Modulations of trje Voice concur, will have all the effect that 
 cm be expected from any thing that is below immediate Infpira- 
 tion : and ns this will be of uie to the Hearers, fo it will be of 
 vaft ufe to the Preacher himfelf, to oblige him to keep his Heart 
 always in good Tune and Temper 5 not to fuifer irregular or 
 forbidden Appetites, Paffions, or Projects to poflefs his Mind : 
 thete will both divert him from going on in the courfe of Me- 
 ditation, in which a Man mull continue many Years, till all his 
 Thoughts are put in order, polilh'd and fixed 5 they will make 
 him like wife fpeak much againft the grain, with an Averlion that 
 will be very fcnlible to himfelf, if not to his Hearers: If he has 
 Guilt upon him, if his Confcience is reproaching him, and if any 
 ill Practices are putting a damp upon that good fenfe of Things, 
 that makes his Thoughts Jptrkje, upon other occalions, and gives 
 him an Air and Authority, a Tone of AfTurance, and a Freedom 
 of Exprcilion. 
 
 Such a Method as I have been opening, has had great Succefs 
 with all thofj that I have known to have tried it. And tho every 
 one has not that fwiftnefs of Imagination, nor that cleamefs of 
 lLxpreiTion, that others may have, Co that in this Men may differ 
 as much as they do in their written Compositions; yet every Man 
 by this Method may rile far above that which he could ever have 
 attained to any other way : It will make even exact Compolitions 
 eaiier to him, and hid much readier and freer at them. But great 
 care muft be ufed by him, before he furTers himfelf to fpeak with 
 the liberty here aimed at in publick j he mulr try himfelf at (mailer 
 Excurfions from his fixed Thoughts, efpecially in the Applicatory 
 part, where Flame and Life are more neceflary, and where a mis- 
 taken Word, or an unfinished Period are left obferved, and 
 fooner forgiven, than in the Explanatory parr, where Men ought 
 to fpeak more fcverely. And as one facceeds in fome (hort Ex- 
 curfions, he may give himfelf a farther Scope, and Co by a long 
 practice, he will at hit arrive at Co great an eafinefs, both in 
 thinking and fpeaking, that a very little Meditation will ferve to 
 lay open a Text to him, with all the Matter that belongs to it, 
 together with the order in which it ought to be both explained 
 and applied. And when a Man has attained to a tolerable degree 
 in this, he is then the Mujier of his Bulinefs 3 he is Majier alfo of 
 T much 
 
120 Of the YaJiorrlTm. 
 
 much Time, and of many noble Thoughts, and Schemes that will 
 
 arife Out of them. 
 
 This I (hall profecute no further 3 for if this opening of it, does 
 not excite the Reader to follow it a little, no enlargements I can 
 offer upon it, will work upon him. But to return to Preaching, 
 and fo conclude this Chapter. He that intends truly to preach the 
 Go/pel, and not himtelf} he that is more concerned to do good to 
 others, than to raife his own Fame, or to procure a following to 
 himfelf, arid that makes this the meafure of all his Meditations land 
 Sermons, that he may put things in the beft Light, and recom- 
 mend them with the moft advantage to his People 5 that reads the 
 Scriptures much, and meditates often upon them 5 that prays ear- 
 neftly to God for direction in his Labours,and for a Bleffing upon 
 them 5 that dire&s his chief Endeavours to the moft important, 
 and moft indifpenfible, as well as the moft undeniable Duties of 
 Religion 3 and chiefly to the inward Reformation of his Hearers 
 Hearts, which will certainly draw all other leffer Matters after it 5 
 and that does not fpend his Time, nor his Zeal, upon lefler or 
 difputable Points j this Man fo made, and fo moulded, cannot 
 milcarry in his Work: He will certainly fucceed to fome degree, 
 The Word fpokgn by him, ftall not return again. He (hall have his 
 Crown^ and his Reward from his Labours : And to fay all that can 
 be faid, in one Word, with St. Paul, He Jhall both fave himfelf, 
 and them that hear him. 
 
 The CONCLVSION. 
 
 I have now gone over all that feemed to me moft important 
 upon this Head, of the Pafioral Care, with as much Shortnefs and 
 Clear nels as I could : fo now I am to conclude. The Dijcourfe 
 may juftly feem imperfect, fince I fay nothing concerning the Du- 
 ties incumbent on Bifiops. But I will upon this occafion fay very 
 little on that Head. The Poft I am in, gives me a Right to teach 
 Priejl s and Deacons their Duty? therefore I thought, that with- 
 out any great Prefumption, I might venture on it : but I have 
 been too few Years in the higher Order, to take upon me to teach 
 them, from whom I (hall ever be ready to learn. This is certain, 
 that fince, as was formerly faid, the Inferiour Orders fubfift in the 
 Superiour, Bifieps muft ftill be under all the Obligations of Priejis : 
 
 They 
 
They arethen,take the Matter at lo\ve(t,bound to live, to labour, 
 and to preach as well as they. But why are they railed to a higher 
 rvank of Dignity and Order, an encreafe of Authority, and an 
 Extent of Cure ? And why have Chriftian Princes and States, 
 given them great Revenues, and an Accefiion of Secular Ho- 
 nours } All this mult certainly import their Obligation to labour 
 more eminently, and to lay themfelves out more entirely in the 
 Work^ofthe Gofpel : in which, if the greateft Encouragements and 
 Affiftances, the higheft Dignities and Priviledges, belong to them, 
 then according to our Saviour's Example and Decifion, who came 
 not to be minijired unto, but to minijler j and who declared, that he 
 who isfirft pall be laft, and he who is the great eji muft be the Servant 
 of all $ then I fay, the higher that any are raifed in this Miniftry, 
 they ought to lay themfelves out the more entirely in it, and la- 
 bour the more abundantly. And as our Obligations to Chriji and 
 his Church, tie us to a greater Zeal and Diligence, and to a more 
 conftant Application of our Care and Thoughts } fo the Secular 
 Supports of our Honours and Revenues were given us to enable us 
 to go through with that extent of Care and Jnrifditfion that lies 
 upon us. We are not only Watchmen to watch over the Flock, but 
 likewife over the Watchmen themfelves. We keep the Door of the 
 Sanctuary, and will have much to anfwer for, if through our Re- 
 milsnefs or feeble Ealinefs, if by trufting the Examination of thole 
 we ordain to others, and yielding to Interceffion and Importu- 
 nity ,we bring any into the Service of the Church, who are not duly 
 qualified for it. In this, we mult harden our felves, and become 
 inexorable, if we will not partake in other Mens Sins, and in the 
 Mifchiefs that thefe may bring upon the Church. It is a falle Pity, 
 and a cruel Compaffion, if we fuffer any Confederations to pre- 
 vail upon us in this Matter, but thole which the Gofpel directs. 
 The longer that we know them before we ordain them, the more 
 that we lift them, and the greater variety of Trials, through 
 which we make them pals, we do thereby both fecure the Qniet 
 of our own Conferences the more, as well as the Dignity of holy 
 Things, and the true htcreft of Religion and the Church : for 
 thefe two Interejis muft never be feparated :, they are but one 
 and the fame in themfelves 5 and what God has joined together, we 
 muji never fet afunder. 
 
 T 2 We 
 
 Ik 
 
i zz vr wis ranvjai t«/e. 
 
 We mult be fetting conftantly before our Clergie, their Obliga- 
 tions to the feveral Parts of their Duty 5 we muft lay thefe upon 
 them, when we infiitute or collate them to Churches, in the folem- 
 neft Manner, and with the weightieft Words we can find. We 
 muft then lay the Importance of the Care of Souls before them, 
 and adjure them, as they will anfwer to God in the great Day, in 
 which we muft appear to witnefs againft them, that they will feri- 
 oufly confider and obferve their Ordination-Vows, and that they 
 will apply themfelves wholly to that oneThitig. We muft keep- an 
 Eye upon them continually ? and be applying Reproofs, Exhor- 
 tations, and Encouragements, as occafion offers : We muft enter 
 into all their Concerns, and efpoufe every Intereft of that Part of 
 the Church that is affigned to their Care : We muft lee them as 
 oft as we can, and encourage them to come frequently to us ; and 
 muft live in all things with them, ai a. Father with Li; Children. 
 And that every thing we fay to ftir them up to their Duty, may 
 have its due weight, we muft take ca;e ib to order our felves, that 
 they may evidently fee, that we are careful to do our own. We 
 muft enter into all the Parts of the Worship of God with them 5 
 not thinking our felves too good for any piece of Service that may 
 be done 5 vifiting the Sick, admitting poor and indigent Perfons, 
 or fuch as are troubled in mind, to come to us 5 Preaching ofr, 
 Gatechifing and Confirming frequently ; and living in ail things 
 like Men that ftudy to fulfil their Mimfiry, and to dx the Worl^ of 
 E7\wgelifls, 
 
 There has been an Opinion of late, much favoured by fome 
 great Men in our Church ; that the Bifiop is the file Puficr cfhis whole 
 Diccefs - y that the Care of ail the Souls is fmgly in him/ and that* 
 aU the Incumbent/, inChurches,are only hit, Curates in the different 
 parts of his Parifi, which was the Ancient Designation of his Di- 
 ocefi. I know there are a great many Paftages brought horn An- 
 tiquity to favour this: I will net enter into the Queltion, no not 
 sib far as to give my own Opinion of it. Tiiis is certain, that 
 Nuchas are perfuaded of it, ought thereby to confider themfelves 
 as under very great and ftrift Obligations,toconftant Labour and. 
 Exigence, other wife, k will be thought, that" they only favour 
 this Opinion, becaufe itencreafes their Aul honty, wihowt confider- 
 tfg.that neceffary Confequence that follows. upon it,. 
 
 But. 
 
But I will go no further on this Subject, at this time, having 
 did fo much only, that I may not fecm to fill under that heavy 
 Cenfure of our Saviour's, with relation to the Scribes and Phari- 
 feeSy That they did bind heavy Burdens, and grievou* to be born, upon 
 others 3 and laid them upon Mens Shoulders, when they themfelves 
 would not move them with one of their Fingers. I muft leave the 
 whole Matter with my Readers. I have now laid together with 
 great Simplicity what has been the chief Subject of my Thoughts 
 for above thirty Tear: I was formed to-them by a Br/Jjop that had 
 the greateft: Elevation of Soul, the largeft compafs of Knowledg, 
 the mod mortiheJ and moft heavenly Difpofition, that Lever yet 
 fivv in Mortal 5 chat had the greateft Parts as well as Vertues, with 
 the perfected Humility that I ever (aw in Man ; and had zfublime 
 Strain in Preaching, with fo grave a Gefture, and fuch a Maiefty 
 both of Though. , of Language, and of Pronunciation, that I ne- 
 ver once faw a war -<ng Eye where he preached 5 and have (een 
 whole Aflemblies often melt in Tears before him '-, and of whom I 
 can fay with great trutr;, that in a free and frequent Converfation 
 with him, for above two and twenty Years, I never knew him 
 fiyim idle Word, that had not a direct Tendency to Edification : 
 and I never once faw him in any other Temper, but that which I* 
 wilhed to be in, in the laft Minutes of my Life. For that Pattern 
 which I faw in him, and for that Converfation which I had with 
 him. I know how much 1 have to anfwer to God ; and though my 
 reflecting on.that which I knew in him,gives me juft caufc of being 
 deeply humbled'm my frlf and before God 3 yet 1 feel no more fen- 
 fible Pleafurein any thing, than in going over in my Thoughts 
 all that I faw and obfervtd in him, 
 
 I have alfo another Rcafon, that has determined me at this time, 
 to prepare this Oifcourfe,and to offer it to the Publick 3 from the 
 prefent poftureof our Affairs. We are now brought very near 
 the greateft Crifis that ever Church or Nation had. And as on the 
 one Hand, if God fhould fo far punilh us for our Sins, for our 
 Contempt of his Gofpel, and NcglecJ of oar Duties, as to deliver 
 us over to the Rage of our Enemies 3 we have nothing to look x > 
 for, but a Perfection more dreadful than any is in Hiftory : So if 
 God hears our Prayers, and gives us a happy Iffae out of all thofe- 
 Dangers, with which the Malice of our Enemies threaten us -g we . 
 
114 U J the rtyoral tare. 
 
 have in view the greateft Profpect of a Welled and lafting Settle- 
 ment, that even our Withes can propofe to us. Now nothing can 
 Co certainly avert the one, or prepare us to glorify God in it, if 
 he in his Juttice and Wifdom mould call us to a Fiery Trial of our 
 Faith, and Patience $ as the ferious minding of our Functions, of 
 our Duties and Obligations, the confeffing of our Sins, and the 
 correcting of our Errors. We lhall be very unfit to fujfer for our 
 Religion, much left to die for it, and very little able to endure the 
 hardftiips oCPerfemtion, if our Confciences are reproaching us all 
 the while, that we have procured thefe Things to our felves j and 
 that by the ill ufe of our Profperity,and other Advantages,we have 
 kindled a Fire to conlume us. But as we have good fveafon from 
 the prefent State of Affairs, as well as from the many eminent De- 
 liverances, and happy Providences, which have of late, in Co fignal 
 a manner, watched over and protected us, to hope that God ac- 
 cording to the Riches of his Mercy, and for the Glory of his Great 
 Name, will hear the Prayers that many good Souls offer up,rather 
 than the Cry of thofe Abominations that are ftill among us: So no- 
 thing can Co certainly haften on the fixing of our Tranquillity, and 
 the compleating our Happinefs, as our lying often between the 
 Porch and the Altar, and interceding with God for our People 5 
 and our giving our felves wholly to the Miniftry of the Word of 
 God, and to Prayer. Thefe being then the fureft Means, both to 
 procure and to eftablifh to us, all thofe great and glorious Things 
 that we pray and hope for 5 this feemed tome a very proper Time 
 to publilh a Difcourfe of this Nature. 
 
 But that which made it an Acl: oi Obedience, as well as Zeal, was 
 the Authority of my Moft Reverend Metropolitan 5 who, I have rea- 
 fon to believe, employs his Time and Thoughts, chiefly toconfider 
 what may yet be wanting to give our Church a greater Beauty and 
 Perfection j and what are the molt proper Means both of puri- 
 fying and uniting us. To which I thought nothing could fo well 
 prepare the way, as the offering to thePublicka plain and full D\C- 
 courfe of the TPaftoral Care, and of every Thing relating to it. 
 His Grace approved of this, and defired me to fet about it : Upon 
 thefe Motives I writ it, with all the Simplicity and Freedom that 
 I thought the Subject required, and fent it to him ^ by whofe par- 
 ticular Approbation I publilh it, as I writ it at his Direffion. 
 
 There 
 
There is indeed one of my Motives thatJ have not yet mention- 
 ed, and on which I cannot enlarge Co fully as I well might. But 
 while we have fuch an invaluable and unexampled Blefling, in the 
 Perfons of thofe Princes whom God hath fet over us 5 if all the 
 Considerations which ariic out of the Deliverances that God has 
 given us by their Means, of the Protection we enjoy under them, 
 and of the great hopes we have of them : If, I fay, all this does 
 not oblige us, to fet about the reforming of every Thing that may 
 beamifsor defective among us,toftudy much, and tolabour hard , 
 to lead ftridt and exemplary Lives, and fo to ftop the Mouths, and 
 overcome the Prejudices of all that divide from us } this will 
 make us look like a Nation caft offand forfakgn of God, which is 
 nigh unto curfmg^ and rvhofe end is burning. We have reafon to con- 
 clude,that our prefent Blellings are the laft Effays of God's Good- 
 nefs to us,and that if we bring forth no Fruit, under thefe, the next 
 Sentence (hall be, Gutitdorvn % whycnm'bnthi1theGround .<? Thefe 
 Things lie heavy on my Thoughts cpjitinually, and have all con- 
 curred to draw this Treatife from me 5 which I have writ with 
 all thefincerity of Heart, and purity of Intention, that I (hould 
 have had, if I had known that I had been to die at the Conclu- 
 fion of it, and to anfwer for it to God. 
 
 To him I humbly offer it up, together with my rnoft earneft 
 Prayers, That the Defign here fo imperfectly offered at, may 
 become truly effectual, and have its full Progrels and Accom- 
 plishment 5 which whensoever I (hall fee, I fliall then with Joy^ 
 fay, Nunc Ditnittif, &c. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Books Sold by Richard Chifwell. 
 
 B I\^S written by Gilbert B u r n e t,. D. D. 
 now Lord Bifbop of Sarum. 
 
 THE Hiftory of the Reformation of the Church of England, in 2 Volumes. Folk. 
 Abridgment of the faid Hiftory. Otfuvo. 
 
 Vindication of the Ordinations of the Church of England. Quarto. 
 
 Hiftory of the Rights of Princes in difpofing of Ecclefiaflical Benefices and Church- 
 Lands. Ottavo. 
 
 Life of WilHam Bedel, D. D. Bifhop ofKilmore in Inland ; together with the Copies of 
 
 certain Letters which paffed between Spain and England in matter of Religion, concern- 
 ing the general Motives to the Roman Obedience : Between Mr. James Wadfworth a late 
 Petitioner of the Holy Inquifition in Sevil, and the faid William Btdtl then Minifter of the 
 Gofpel in Suffolk. Ottavo. Some. 
 
Some Paffages of the Life and Death of John late Earl of Rocbijltr. Ottivt. 
 
 Examination of the Letter writ by the late Affembly- General of the Clergy otFuntt to 
 
 the Proteftants, inviting them to return to their Communion ; together with the Me- 
 thods propofed by them for their Conviction. Ottavo. 
 
 A Cohesion of feventeen Tracts and Difcourfes written in the Years 1678 to i62$, 
 
 inclufive. Quarto. 
 
 A Second Volume,or a Collection of eighteen Papers relating to the Affairs of Church 
 
 and Scare during the Reign of K. J amis the Second. With twelve others publifhed a 
 little before and fince the late Revolution, coCbriJim.ts 1689. 
 
 Fart-Sermon at Bow-Church ; March 1 2, 1689. on Ln^e 19. 41, 42. 
 
 Faft-Serrnon before the Queen ; July 16, 1690. On rfal. 85. 8. 
 
 Thankfgiving-Sernwn before the King and Queen; Ottob.ig, 1690. On Ffai. 144, 10,1 1 
 
 :Fali Sermon before the King and Queen ; Apil 1 9, 1 691. On Pfal. 1 2. 1 . 
 
 Thankfgiving-Sermon before the King and Queen ; Nov. 26. 1691 : On Frov. 20.28. 
 
 Sermon at the Funeral of Robert Boyle, Elq; Jan.",. 1691. On Ecclif. n. 26. 
 
 Dr. Ftter Alixls Remarks upon the Eccleiiaflical Hirtory of the Ancient Churches ot Fa-..- 
 mont and the Albigenfes. In Two Parts. Quarto. 
 
 The Jcfuits Memorial for the intended Reformation of England, under their firft Popifh- 
 Prince. Written by Father Farfons 1 596, and prepared to be propofed in the firrt Par- 
 liament after the Restoration of Popery, for the better Ertablifhment and Prefervation of 
 that Religion. Publifhed from the very Manufcript Copy that was prefented to the late 
 King J amis the Second, and'i^id in his Clofa. With an Introduction, and fome Ani- 
 madverfions by Edward Gei, Chaplain to Their Majefties. Ottavo. 
 
 Dr. Cumberland ("now Lord Bifhop <X J Ptttrbmxgh~) his Effay towards the Recovery of 
 the Jew ifhMeafures and Weights, comprehending their Monies; by help of Antient 
 Standards compared with Ours of England, ufeful alfo to rtate many of thofe of the 
 Greeks and Romans and the Eaftern Nations. Ottavo. 
 
 Dr. Stratford (now Lord Bifhop o(Chejitr~) his DifTwafive from Revenge. Ctt.no. 
 
 ■ The Lay-Chnrtian's Obligation to read the Holy Scriptures. Qgarto. 
 
 A Difccurfe concerning the Popes Supremacy, siuarto. 
 
 Dr. Cave's DifTertation concerning the Government of the Antient Church by Birtiops, Me- 
 tropolitans and Patriarchs. Ottavo. 
 
 Two Letters betwixt Mr. Rich. Smith and Dr. Hen. Hammond, concerning the Senfc of thac 
 Article in the Creed [Hi difanded kto Hell.'] Ottavo. 
 
 Dr. Fullcr\ Moderation of the Church of England. Ottavo. ■ 
 
 Jacobi Ufferii Hirtoria Dogmatica Controvert, inter Orthodoxos & Pontificios de Sci iptu- 
 ris & Sacris Vernaculis. Quarto, 1 590. 
 
 Tho. Pope-Blunt Cenfura Ctlebriorum Authorum, five Traftatus in quo vuria Viroruro. 
 Doftorum de clarilf. cujufq; fkcu'i Scriptoribus judicia traduntur. Fol. 1 6$o. 
 
 Gul.Camdcni & Illuftrium Virorum ad Gul. Camdenum Epiftolae. Quarto, 1691. 
 
 Anglia Sacra, five Cclledio Hirtoriarum antiquitnsfcriptarum de Archiepifc. & Epifcopis 
 Anglia:, a prima Fidei Chriftiana: fui'ceptione ad Annum 1 540. Opera Hcn.Whartoni, 
 in 2 Vol. Folio, 1691. 
 
 Mr. Rufiworttis HirtoricalCoIleftions, the Third Part, in two Volume:-, never before prin- 
 ted ; from the beginning of the Long Parliament 1640, to the end Of the Year 1^44 : 
 Wherein is a particular account of the Rife and Progrefj of die Civil War to chat Period. 
 Folio. 1692. 
 
 StephaniChauvin Lexicon Rationale, five Thefaurus Philofophicus, 1692. Folio. 
 Sam.Eafnagii£xercitationesHirtorico-Critica:derebusSacris&Eccktia(ticis.Qu3rtc,i5c2. 
 Tho.Crenii Colleftio Confiliorum deScudiisopcimeinltituendis. Quarto, 1692. 
 
 • -Ejufdem FafciculusDitrercacionuin Hirt. Critico-Philologicarum. Oftavo, j^o/. 
 
 B-ifiiii b'abri Tncfaurus cruditionu Scholaitica', cum innumens additioni bus per Aug.Buch. 
 
 nerum& hrifio!>h Cellarium. Lipf; Folio, 1692. 
 T .rf Hiitoria Lutheranifmi. Folio, 1692. 
 
 v'itiouesSiConjeiSurainNumiimataquaEdamAntiqua.Quar'rOjidpi, 
 
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 ! 
 
7.