A SERMON Preach'd in
Lambeth-Chapel,
AT THE CONSECRATION OF THE Right Reverend Father in God JOHN Lord Bishop of BANGOR, On
Sunday, Jan.
4th 1701/2.
By
WILLIAM HAYLEY,
D.D. Dean of
Chichester.
LONDON,
Printed for
Jacob Tonson
within
Gray's-Inn-Gate,
next
Gray's-Inn-Lane,
1702.
A SERMON Preach'd at the Consecration of JOHN Lord Bishop of
Bangor.
Ephes. iv. 11, 12.
And he gave some Apostles; and some Prophets; and some Evangelists; and some Pastors and Teachers.—for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Ministery, for the Edifying of the Body of Christ.
THese Words contain the Substance of the Apostle's design both in this Chapter, and in his more copious Discourse upon the same Subject in the 12th and 14th Chapters of his First Epistle to the
Corinthians.
In which places he gives us an Account of the
Government
instituted in the Church of Christ; the diversity of its
Officers,
and their
Gifts
and
Powers;
the
Author
of the Institution, and the Spring of their
Commission;
together with the great
End
and Purpose for which this wise Administration was contriv'd and established: Things of the highest Importance, and very pertinent to the present
Occasion:
And therefore I shall, as far as the time allotted for my Discourse will permit, take notice of these several things, under the several Parts of my Text, and then conclude with such
Observations
as naturally flow from this Doctrine.
I. Here is an Account of the several Orders entrusted with the Government of the Church.
Some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers.
II. The Apostle here tells us who was the Author of this Establishment.
He gave,
even our
Lord Jesus Christ
himself, who
descended into
the Grave,
the lower parts of the Earth,
and then
ascended far above all Heavens, that he might fill all things.
v. 9, 10.
III. We are here Instructed in the End and Design of this Dispensation; And are made acquainted, that all this was done
for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Ministery, for the Edifying of the Body of Christ.
I. I begin with the first,
The several Orders,
&c. where it may be needful (1) to shew that there was a
Disparity
in these Orders, as to their Office, and a
Subordination
in their Ministery. (2) To consider what they were, wherein they differ'd, and what were the peculiar
Employments
and
Powers
of each Office; and (3) to reflect upon the Goodness and Providence of God, by which they have all been continued down to the present time, and establish'd in this our Church.
1. That there was a
Subordination
in the Office of the several Orders in the Christian Church. Now this appears from St.
Paul
's
Reasoning
and
Allusions,
both here, and in the other Epistle to the
Corinthians.
At the 4th Verse of this Chapter he tells the
Ephesians,
that the Church of Christ is
one Body,
that
there is one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, and one God and Father of all;
and yet he adds at the 7th verse,
But unto every one of us is given Grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
i. e. agreeably to the true meaning of the Original word
in this and other places, to every one of us is given his
Office
or employment in the Church, different according to the different gifts, which it has pleased our Lord to bestow upon us.
And this he exemplifies in the following Verse, by representing our Saviour distributing these Gifts, as
Conquerors
used to do, when they made triumphal Entries into their Capital Cities, after some notable Victories over their Enemies; when we know it was usual to disperse among the People
Medals
of different Bigness and different Metal, and other
Gifts,
some of greater and some of lesser price. Thus our Lord
Jesus
when he had conquered Satan and Sin, and Hell and Death, and made his Triumphant Entry into Heaven, distributed the different Gifts of his holy Spirit, in such
kinds
and such
proportions
as the Persons and Offices required to which they were conveyed. v. 8.
Wherefore he saith when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,
some
Apostles,
some
Prophets,
&c.
But least the
Subordination
of the different Orders should not sufficiently appear from this
disparity
of their Gifts, our Apostle renders it yet more evident 1
Cor.
12. by comparing them to the several parts of the Body of man; where he not only tells us at the 4. v. &c. that
there are diversities of Gifts, differences of Administrations
and
diversities of Operations;
but that these have a
relation
to, and a
dependance
upon one another, as the
Head,
and
Hands,
and
Feet
have in mans Body, v. 12.
For as the Body is one and hath many Members, and all the Members of that one Body, being many, are one Body, so also is Christ,
that is, in his Body the Church. Now we know in our Bodies, the
Head
and
Hands
and
Feet,
&c. are not only
different,
but
subordinate;
the Feet must walk by the direction of the
Eye
and the Hands act at the command of the
Head,
otherwise the Actions will be
disorderly,
and the whole Body must suffer. And if there be not the like regard in the Inferior Officers in the Church toward the Superior; but all affect to direct them selves, and to be the Head; there can be nothing else but
Schism
and
Confusion
in it, for
if all will be one Member, where then is the Body?
v. 19.
I shall crave leave only to add to this Head, that this subordination of Ministers in the Church of Christ, is agreeable to what was practis'd both under the Law of
Nature,
and that of
Moses;
I need not take notice of the
Heathen
World, who were left to bare
Reason
in this matter; among whom we every where find a
distinction
of dignity in the Orders of their Priests; the thing being evident among the Worshippers of the
True
God, who were not without some light of
Revelation
even under the Law of Nature, long before the
Mosaical
dispensation;
Abraham
himself paid Tithes to
Melchizedec,
and was blessed by him, and
without all contradiction the Less is blessed of the Greater,
as the Author to the
Heb.
argues c. 7. v. 7. The
Priesthood
was a natural right of
Primogeniture
at first, and God by a particular Command order'd the
First-Born
to be Sanctified to his Service; and 'tis no question but these are the
Priests
which we read of before the giving of the Law.
Exodus,
19. 21, 22.
The Lord said unto
Moses
go down, charge the People least they break through unto the Lord, to gaze and many of them perish; and let the Priests also which come near to the Lord, Sanctify themselves, least the Lord break forth among them.
And yet these first Born, thus honour'd with the Priesthood, were subject to the
Heads
of their
Families,
and commanded by them. Thus
Moses,
and under him the Twelve Heads of
Tribes,
and the Seventy Fathers of
Families,
governed the Church, till it pleased God to take to himself the Tribe of
Levi
instead of the
First-Born;
and then the
High-Priest, Priests,
and
Levites
minister'd in the Service of God, in an undeniable
Subordination.
From all which I think it is very plain, that a
Co-ordinate
ministery, or a
Parity
among all such as are employed about holy things, is a Scheme that never was found in any
Nation,
or
Age
of the World; it was never either Commanded of God, or Invented by Men, till the confusions of
Late
times brought it forth, and let the
Enemies
of our Church have the honour of it.
2. The Subordination of these Offices being Establish'd, we are now to consider what they were, wherein they differ'd, and what were the peculiar Employments and Powers of each Office. Now in order to find out this, we must compare the
Catalogue
of them in this place, with the other in 1
Cor.
12. 28. Here it is,
he gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers.
There it is thus,
God hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers;
after which no more
Orders
are named, but only those
Powers
that attended them in their work;
Miracles, Gifts of Healing,
&c. and at v. 29. the Apostle asks,
Are all Apostles? are all Prophets? are all Teachers?
and without enquiring after more
Orders,
asks only of the Exercise of such
Powers
as are before mentioned.
Are all workers of Miracles? Have all the gift of Healing? Do all speak with Tongues? Do all Interpret?
Whence it seems very reasonable to infer, that
Apostles, Prophets and Evangelists
in the one place, must be the same with
Apostles, Prophets and Teachers
in the other, and that
Pastors and Teachers
which are added over and above in my
Text,
must not be different
Officers
from those before named, but other
Words
for the same Officers, relating to the different manner of receiving their
Commission,
or the different parts of their Employments. And therefore it is the Judgment of very Learned men that
Prophets and Evangelists
and
Prophets and Teachers
are the very same Ministers, with
Pastors and Teachers,
with this only difference, that the
former
were such as out of the
First-Fruits
of the Believers were set apart and consecrated to their Office by the
Manifestation of the Spirit,
or by a Supernatural effusion of Gifts proper to their Employments. The
latter
were such as were Ordained and Constituted by
Imposition of Hands,
as stated Governours of the Churches allotted to their Charge. However this be, it is plain that
Evangelists
in the one place are called
Teachers
in the other, from their
Teaching
and Instructing their Converts, and it seems as reasonable that Christian
Prophets
may be called
Pastors
from their
Feeding
and Governing their Flocks; so that whether these are different Names for the very same
Persons,
or whether they signify the same
Office,
but with this difference, that the one respects it, as given immediately by the
Holy Ghost,
and the other by the Imposition of the Hands of the
Apostles,
the result will be the same; that there are only
Three
Orders properly here intended, and that it is of their Office and Employments that we are to enquire.
And I the rather encline to this Conclusion, because it is agreeable to the
Promise
and
Prediction
of our
Saviour
himself, while he was upon Earth.
Mat.
23. 34.
Behold I send to you Prophets, and Wise men, and Scribes, and some of them you shall kill and crucify,
&c. Where there are only these Three Orders promis'd; the
Second
of which though here first placed, are called by the same name as in the
Text, Prophets.
The
Apostles
are called
Wise men,
agreeably to their distinguishing Gift, which we shall see by and by was the
Word of Wisdom;
and therefore St.
Luke,
who was St.
Paul
's Evangelist, calls them by the same Name which St.
Paul
himself gives them, that of
Apostles
c. 11. v. 49.
Therefore also said the Wisdom of God, I will send them Prophets
and Apostles, and some of them shall they Slay and Persecute,
&c. and for the
Third
sort, our Saviour calls them
Scribes
from the nature of their Office; for the Office of the
Scribes
was to Teach the Law, and for this reason they are in the Gospels frequently call'd by the name of
Doctors
or
Teachers
of the Law. So that
Evangelists
or
Teachers
under the Gospel whose Office was
parallel
to theirs, might very properly bear the same
Name,
for to
Teach
and
Preach the Gospel; teaching and preaching Jesus Christ
are the same things in Scripture.
Luk.
20. 1.
Acts
5. 42. Thus our Saviour built the
Christian
Church upon the Model of the
Jewish,
and in condescension to that people, and in pursuanee of the
Types
that preceded, was pleased as it were to Copy their
High-Priest, Priests, and Levites,
in the Orders of the Ministery, which he establish'd under the Gospel.
We are then in the next place to consider the different
Employments
of these Three Orders, and the different
Powers
that enabled them to discharge the same. And because the Higher always included the Lower, it may not be amiss to begin with the Lowest first, and so to ascend to what was peculiar to the rest.
1. The
Evangelists
or
Teachers:
their business was properly to
preach
the Gospel to
Ʋ nbelievers,
to convince them of its Truth by working
Miracles,
and to
Baptize
them upon their Conversion. An account of which we have in the 8
th
c. of the
Acts,
where we are taught that the
Apostles
remaining at
Jerusalem,
the rest were
dispersed into
Judea
and
Samaria
preaching the Word.
And that particularly
Philip,
who was one of the Seven
Deacons,
and is called the
Evangelist, went down to
Samaria,
and preached Christ to them.
v. 5. And that notwithstanding the Opposition of
Simon
the Sorcerer, they
believed
Philip,
preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, beholding the Miracles and Signs which were done, and were Baptized both Men and Women,
v. 12.
2. The
Prophets
besides this, were to
preside
in the Assemblies of the
faithful,
to perform Divine Offices, Administer the Lords Supper, and Instruct their Flocks in the Scriptures, and in the fuller knowledge of the Truths of the Gospel; and of this St.
Paul
gives us a large Account in the 14. c. o 1
Cor.
where he exhorts them to desire the gift of
Prophecy,
rather than that of
Tongues,
shewing, that
Tongues were a Sign to them that believe not, but Prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them that believe
v. 22. and he ocasionally mentions all the parts of the Christian Prophets Office in that Chapter; his
Preaching
v. 3.
He that Prophesieth speaketh unto men to Edification, and Exhortation and comfort.
His
Praying
and
Singing
Praises v. 15.
I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the Ʋ nderstanding also: I will Sing with the Spirit, and Sing with the Ʋ nderstanding also.
Which
Praying
and
Singing
are likewise in the Old Testament called
Prophesying.
1 Kin. 18. 29. 1 Sam. 10. 5. 1 Chr. 25. 1.
And last of all his Celebrating of the
Eucharist.
v. 16. which is there called
Blessing
and
giving of Thanks
by all which he shews, that the
Prophets
Office was peculiarly directed to the Edification of
Believers,
and for this reason he tells them v. 4.
He that speaketh in an unknown Tongue edifieth himself, but he that Prophesieth edifieth the Church.
3. The
Apostles
besides all this, had the Supreme
care of all the Churches
upon them; they were to give
Orders
and
Rules
for their establishment, to
Confirm
Converts,
Ordain
Church Officers, and
Govern
and
Direct
them when Ordain'd; and by this means to preserve that
Peace
and
Order
which became the Church of Christ. Thus we find in the forementioned 8th of the
Acts.
v. 14. that
when the Apostles had heard that
Samaria
had receiv'd the Word of God,
by
Philip
the
Evangelist, they sent unto them
Peter
and
John, the Apostles,
who when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were Baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus; then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.
That is, the Powers and Gifts of the
Holy Ghost
which fitted them for the several parts of the
Ministery:
for so we see it.
Acts,
19. 6. when
Paul
hah laid his hands upon those Converts at
Ephesus, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spake with Tongues and Prophecyed.
i. e. had the Power of
Miracles,
and particularly that of
Tongues
given them to convert
Ʋ nbelievers,
and that of
Prophecy
to direct the
Faithful.
And besides this we find the same Apostle c. 14. 21. going over the several
Churches, Confirming the Souls of the Disciples, exhorting them to continue in the Faith, ordaining them Elders
or Church Officers
in every Church,
and then
commending them to the Lord on whom they believed.
Such was the
Subordination
of
Officers
in the Church of Christ. And it pleased our Lord to accommodate his
Gifts
to the Nature of their several Employments, and these we have likewise laid down, 1
Cor.
12. 8. &c.
To one is given by the Spirit the word of Wisdom, to another knowledge by the same Spirit, to another Faith by the same Spirit.
Where the Gifts of
Wisdom, Knowledge
and
Faith,
Answer to the Three sorts of Ministers. v. 28, 29.
Apostles, Prophets
and
Teachers.
1. By
Faith,
the gift of
Evangelists
or Teachers, is meant the Faith of
Miracles,
according to what our Saviour says to his Disciples
Mark
11. 22.
Have Faith in God, for verily I say unto you whosoever shall say to this Mountain, be thou remov'd and be thou cast into the Sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall
come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.
And from this,
Stephen
is said
Acts
6. 8. to be
full of Faith and Power, and to do great wonders and Miracles among the People.
And that this is the Faith here mentioned is evident from what follows, which is an enumeration of some of the great
Powers
of this Faith.
To one the gifts of Healing, to another the working of Miracles,
, properly the casting out Devils,
to another Prophecy,
or foretelling things to come,
to another discerning of Spirits, to another divers kinds of Tongues, to another the interpretation of Tongues,
all Supernatural Powers for the convincing of Unbelievers, and necessary for the first Preachers of Christianity, who were
unlearn'd
and plain men, and therefore preached Christ not by the Strength of human
Eloquence
and Persuasion, but by the Testimony of
Miracles
and the demonstration of the Power of God.
2. By
Knowledge,
the gift of Christian
Prophets,
seems to be meant the Understanding of the
Scripture
and the
Mysteries
of the Gospel; how they were foretold in the Prophecies of old, and how accomplish'd in our Saviour Jesus; and therefore St.
Paul
joyns these things together 1
Cor.
13. 2.
Though I have the gift of
Prophecy
and understand all
Mysteries
and all
Knowledge,
and though I have all Faith, so that I could remove Mountains and have no Charity, I am nothing.
And this Gift also was a necessary qualification for those who were to Instruct
Believers,
and preach to the Assemblies of Persons converted; whose knowledge was to be improv'd, whose Faith was to be confirmed, and whose Growth in the understanding of the Gospel, was to be promoted, by these Labourers in the Vineyard of Christ.
3. But the principal Gift was that of
Wisdom,
communicated to the
Apostles
the Supream Governours of the Christian Church, to support them in the greatest and most difficult Task, that of
Government;
Wisdom to direct even the Preachers and Prophets themselves in their several Functions, to contrive the most proper Methods for the
Planting
of Christianity, and the most prudent Rules, for the nourishing and
preserving
it; and to find out the fittest
Instruments
for both; Wisdom to Instruct them when to bear with
Patience,
when to condescend with
Meekness,
and when to resist with
Courage
and punish with
Vigor.
A gift infinitely beyond any of the rest here mentioned, though not appearing in the same pomp with the Miraculous operations of the Spirit, which the
Corinthians
were for that reason too fond of. Without this the
Preachers
might have been unruly, the
Prophets
disorderly, and the
zealous
themselves indiscreet: and therefore it pleased the Wisdom of God to consult the Strength, and Order, and Peace of his Church, by placing therein an Authority that might
preside
over the Subordinate Officers in it, that might direct the
Imprudent,
restrain the
Disorderly,
encourage the
Laborious,
and take care that all things might be done in that
Order
and
Decency
which becomes the Body of Christ.
(3) Thus does the
Wisdom
of God appear in settling the Oeconomy of his Church: But we must in the Third place Adore his
Goodness
in having preserved this excellent Order to us, however unworthy of so great a Blessing. We have, thanks be to the Divine Providence, not only our
Priests
and
Deacons
answerable to the
Prophets
and
Evangelists
in my Text, but we have the
Apostolical
Authority derived to us by a continued Succession of our
Bishops
from the Apostles themselves. Such as these the Scripture tells us the Apostles committed their Authority to, such have all ages of the Church acknowledged for the Successors of the Apostles, and it has been by the Care and Conduct of such, that
Heresies
have been conquer'd,
Schisms
prevented or repair'd; and the purity of the Christian
Faith
and
Discipline
handed down to our present times; and therefore we have a great deal of reason to be thankful to Almighty God, that among all the Confusions of this latter Age, he has been pleased to preserve to us this inestimable advantage.
Nor ought we to overlook the
Grace
and Mercy of God, who in these times of difficulty, has been pleased to give to the
present
Governours of our poor Church, so plentiful an effusion of that
Spirit of Wisdom
which attended the Apostles their Predecessors, and who constantly directs them in supplying the places of those whom their Lord calls away from their Labours, with persons distinguish'd with the visible
Characters
of the same Spirit; with that
Wisdom which is from above, first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of Mercy and good Fruits, without Partiality and without Hypocrisy.
And may God every day make us more
sensible
of the Greatness of this Blessing, more
fruitful
under it, and more
thankful
for it, that he may be prevail'd upon to continue it down to our
Posterity,
and to preserve his own Institution to the end of the World. And this leads me to my Second General, where I am to enquire after,
II. The
Author
of this Establishment. And in this I need be but very short, since he appears so visible in the Discourse of our Apostle in both the places I have mention'd; 'Tis our
Lord Jesus,
whom he declares to be the Original of these Orders, and 'tis to his
Holy Spirit
that he tells us the Church is indebted for those several Gifts that accompany them. v. 7, 8. of this Chapter.
To every one of us is given Grace
or Office
according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.
When he led Captivity Captive,
He
gave Gifts unto
men. By
Christ
the whole Body is fitly joyned together and compacted by these
several Joynts. v. 16. and 1
Cor.
12, 5.
There are diversities of Operations, but the same
Lord;
and
God
hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondly Prophets,
&c. v. 28. and he adds, that their Gifts are the
manifestation of the Spirit,
that though there be diversities of them, yet they all proceed from that one
Spirit.
And that
all these worketh that one and the same
Spirit
dividing to every man severally as he will.
v. 11. So that whatever men may say, out of an itch of
Novelty,
or out of a design to
weaken
or
abolish
the Establishment, to prove this Order to have been the effect of
Choice
and the result of human
Deliberation,
must all vanish before the clear light of the word of God, and we must see the
Divine
Original of our Church Government, in spite of all the Labour that is taken to reduce it to the Inventions of
Men.
Our
Lord
himself has raised his Spiritual Temple according to his own method, and his Church is
built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and
Christian
Prophets,
Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner Stone.
III. We must therefore hasten to the Third thing to be considered, the
end
and design of this Dispensation, in these Words.
For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ.
Now here are Three Excellent ends of this Order, to which we must briefly give a distinct Consideration.
1. The first is
The perfecting of the Saints,
Or the Uniting the several Members of Christ's Church to
one another,
and to himself their
Head,
that by the Ministery of the different Parts his
Grace
and
Spirit
might be orderly conveyed to the whole
Body
for its Spiritual improvement and
Perfection;
for so it follows v. 13.
Till we all come in the Ʋ nity of the Faith, and of the Knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man, unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ.
And this is consonant to what the Apostle says upon the same occasion, 1
Cor.
12. 25. All this was done,
That there should be no Schism in the Body, but that the Members should have the same care one of another.
2. The Second end is
The work of the Ministery,
that it might be
regular,
and
decent
and
successful
to that great end for which it was Ordained; that all who are employed in it, might be confin'd to their proper
Posts
and proper
Work,
and not obstruct the progress of the Gospel by wandring out of their due Ranks and Stations, that the
Feet
might not affect the work or place of the
Hands,
and neither of them that of the
Head;
but that they might remember that 'tis
God
who
hath set the Members every one in the Body, as it has pleased him,
and that
if they were all one Member, there would be no Body.
1
Cor.
12. 18. 'Tis in pursuance of this, that St.
Paul
c. 14. commands that all things in the Christian Assemblies be done
decently and in Order,
and that the Prophets themselves observe the Rules prescribed them, telling them v. 32. that
the Spirits of the Prophets are Subject to the Prophets, for God is not the Author of confusion but of peace, as in all Churches of the Saints.
3. The third end is what follows from the blessing of God upon the work of the Ministery, and that is, the
Edifying of the Body of
of Christ,
the confirming Believers in a sound
Faith
and a holy
Life;
the former St.
Paul
instances in at the 14th. v.
That we henceforth be no more Children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of Doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
And the latter at v. 17.
this I say therefore and testifie in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds.
And he joins both together at v. 15.
but speaking the truth in Love ye may grow up into him in all things which is the head even Christ.
Thus have we consider'd the different
Orders
of the Ministery, the
Author
of the Institution, and the
Ʋ sefulness
of it to the Church of Christ, suffer me now to draw two or three Conclusions from what has been said, which I shall do very briefly, and so conclude.
(1) Is the Manifestation of the Spirit
given to every man to profit withall?
Were these Orders Instituted, not to gratifie the Vanity or Ambition of the
Persons
employ'd, but to serve and feed the
Flock
of Christ? then all those that are call'd to any holy Function must remember, that they are called to be
Watchful
and
Diligent;
to deny themselves and to guide others; to labour hard, to bear much, and to apply their whole Thoughts to acquit themselves to their great Master, and to carry on the Salvation of those Souls which he has
purchas'd with his own Blood.
And whoever shall through
Pride
or
Sloth
or
unconcern
neglect this work of the Lord, or do it deceitfully, he betrays a Sacred Trust, abuses his Talents, and will one day receive the bitter Sentence of the unprofitable Servant.
(2) Is
God
the Author of this Institution? and is the
Church
edified by the work of its Pastors? Then are they that
Labour in the Word and Doctrine
entitled to a
double Honor,
both for the dignity of their
Commission,
and the benefit that arises from their
Service.
And therefore their Persons ought to be respected, their necessities supplyed, and their endeavours promoted by those that are committed to their Charge, and they should be
esteemed very highly in Love, both for their Master's and their Work's sake.
And if there be any so bold as to despise their Office, or to contemn or prophane the sacred Functions in which they serve, he must remember that he affronts God that sent them, and injures the Church of Christ, for whose good they were sent, and must hereafter be accountable for both, at the Tribunal of our Lord.
(3) Lastly did our Saviour
Institute,
and has he
preserv'd
in his Church such a
Subordination
of Ministers as we have describ'd, and for such excellent
Ends;
Men ought then to be very careful of breaking in upon this establishment, both as they tender the honour of our
Saviour,
and the good of his
Church.
Sure it must be bold to pretend to alter by
Human
Authority, or for reasons of our own, what was settled by the Authority of our
Lord,
for reasons of such weight, as the
perfecting of the Saints, the work of the Ministry, and the edifying of the Body of Christ.
Nor can it well be imagin'd that they are true Friends to the
Edification of Christ's Body
to
purity
of Doctrine, or
Holiness
of Life or the
Ʋ nity
of the Church, who would innovate in these things, and alter that Form of Church Government, which the Wisdom of Christ our head, establish'd for this end, for the
Beauty
and order of his Body, and for the
Happiness
of its Members. May we therefore be truly thankful to God for the preservation of this
primitive
Government. May we be zealous for it's
Honour
and
Support,
and
Continuance;
and above all may the Persons employed in it be a
Grace
and
Ornament
to their Function. May the Piety and Wisdom of our
Fathers,
and the Labours and Order of their
Clergy,
make the Ministry of the Church of
England,
a Pattern for the Governours and Pastors of all other Churches. And may God give a visible Blessing to their endeavours, in rendring their
Flocks
discernable from the rest of the Christian World, in purity of
Faith,
rectitude of
Manners,
and union of
Hearts.
That so Imitating the Apostolical Churches in Doctrine, Practice and Discipline, we may be an Exemplary Part of the Church
Militant
in this World, and a Glorious Part of the Church
Triumphant
in a Future.
Amen.
FINIS.