OCR Text |
Show The Miniflert md private Cbrifliam d11t1 · HW/t>te[Jmuft injlru:J tho{rth>t oppofe them[elvn,ifGod peradvellture . will give them rtplllta/let ttl the aok.,no .. ledg,ment of the truth, and that t!Jey t>toy recov.r themjelvn out of the [n.re of ~be Devil, who are. l!d -captives by him at bit "'ill. No nor m_un ~t he .for c_very tnvul thin!:~, you read but of two excommuntcattons tn S7nptur~ ; the one of the Corintbiant, 1 Cor. S• that was for no ltght thtng, no lefs than inceft : The other w"'*hat of Hymemut and Ate: .. ndrr, that was when they had both made Shipwrack ofF aitb a11d a good Confciencttoo. But when the Gofpcl-Minifter hath gone thus far he hath done, the malefactor is out of the Church; and th~ Church judgeth but its own members. . .. The third and laft piece of duty ts upon the pnvate Chn(ltan. what can he do to tal<! tbefe Foxn, tbtfe little Foxe~: He cannot kill them, nor bani!h them. He cannot ccdefia(hcally admoni01 or excornmunic.te them; well, what (hall he do > 1 anf wer,thefe Foxr~ are then in a great degree taken, when they do not take. In the firft place it is unqueOionably the duty of every priv_ate Chrifiian, to convince gailz-fayer; fo far as be it able, and there IS a fraternal correptioll or admonitio11, as well as a pafioral and eccle~' afiical corr<ption : this in the firfl place is undoubtedly every pnvate Chrifiians duty, the private Ephefian;, may and ?ught to fay to ArchippuJ, tak,e heed to thy Miniflry; much more to (uch as teac~ falfe doctrine contrary to the Gofpel of the Lord Jefus. But thts is not all. _ 2. It is their duty to try thtm, to mark,tbem, and to avoi~ thmz. They are to try the Spirill, 1 Joh. 4' r. th~y are not to belteve every Spirit. The Bcrean1 feaiched the Scrtptures, (though Paul preached ) and are called noble Bman1 for it. The Church of Ephejus tried them that faid they were Apofi!es, Rev. z: ~. yea and they are to mark them, Rom. t6.17. thatthey mayavozd them: m"k and avoid, whom? thofe that ma/l,e Jivifions and offenc<J contrary to' the Dochine,jou have htard. They ar~ to mark them that they may avoid them. The fame mouth whtch commands us to tak,e hied what we bear, commands us to tal<! heedwhom we bear, and indeed the latter is necdfary in or<ler to the former : To run ' into the Foxes holes is no way to catch them. The giddinefs of Chriftians to hear thofe, whom they before knew,teachers of Doctrines contrary to the DoCl:rine of Faith and Holinefs, is one !(teat caufe why intlcad of Chrlfis Spoufe [taking thefe Foxes J fo . many tU to [11/.fe 1'e11cherr. many have been taken by them. Thus I have lhewed you fo fa as the Scripture guides what is the will of God, concerning hi~ Spoufe taking thefe Foxes : Whether his Spoufe be cloathed with the r?bes of. the Magifi~acy, or the gowns of the Minifiry, or be <:nly Jn a pnvate capa~uy •. I !hould now come to the Applica-tiOn ; ~ut for one paruci: In my Text. Tal<! for ru, which made me put Into my Propofitton. That thir i1 thr Dr<ty of the Spoufo •f Chr!if, ~~ ..,,y for hi1 ja~e a1 for htr '"'" fak,:. • Thts Will need few words to dernonfirate; if you confider the rea~on ann:xed to the precept : For they fP•ilthe Vinu. How they fpotl the Vtnes I have lhewed, Now rhat it is the Lords Interell: . that the Vines be not fpoiled; will appear to you if you confi~ der. That thr Vinu are the o11ly plJIIIJ that briwg forth fruit 1111t• God and unto Cbr~/l. All the trees ofrhe wide Forrefi of the world are the Lords, he hath planted them by the hand of his creating power; l~e ~akes rhem to grow and to fprcad.But (fet the Church a-fide· wuhm whofe compafs all the Vines are,) what fruit is brcught forrh unto God by them. They· alone own, they alone ferve, or fo muc~ as pretend t~ ferve the Lord Jefus Chrifi. The Pagan world bnngs forth frUit unto the Devil him they ferve they know not w~ether rh_ere be a Chrifi or no. 'Formal profiJJ'or; (who yet are a. ktnd ofV1nes,) They are rmpty Vinu, that only lmng forth frrlll to them[<lvu. The true Chrifiians are the only plants in the world which bring forth fruit unto Chrill, From whence, _rhe fervice.to Chrifi in the hindering of any thing, which may fp~tl r~ofe Vtnes, and efpecially when they have tender Grapes ts evtdent enough. Nor is the fervice ro themfelvcs evident from the word fPoil. ·There need no words to evince it a good ferviCe to ':ur felves to hinder any thing rhat would [poi/ us; but the Text faith, they fpoil the Vines. Thefe Foxe; whether by them you underfiand, lltle/line corruption;, or forrrign temptatiOifl, or fmJf&•ttr~, or {al{e mobm, they all (as I have !hewed you ) {pszl the Vtnes.· There nhds no further evidence to prove that it isa good fervie<'· to tak,• them. I !hall therefore add no more~ to the p~oo~ of the Propolition; but {hut up all in a fuort prachca~ Appltcatton, I fu~ll bring all,r !hall fay under two heads. Infiruchon, and Exhortatton. Obferve from hence, rhat there arc more than oncfPeciN ofF ox: r. Vfe , "· Nor are all Fo:J~Ju, that men call io ; whatfoeve·r fpoils Ch•if/i- J,. Branch • . |