judgment or rule, will like nothing but what their fancy SERM. fuggefts, will acknowledge no law but their own will; LVI. who for no juft caufe, and upon any flender pretence, withdraw themselves, and feduce others from the Church, in which they were brought up, deferting its communion, impugning its laws, defaming its governors, endeavouring to fubvert its establishment: who manage their discipline (fuch as it is of their own framing) unadvisedly and unfteadily, in no stable method, according to no fettled rule, but as prefent conceit, or humour, or advantage prompteth; fo that not being fixed in any certain judgment or practice, they foon clash with themselves, and divide from one another, inceffantly roving from one fect to another; being carried about with divers and strange doctrines; like Heb. xiii. children, toffed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Eph. iv. 14. Thofe, the fruits of whofe doctrine and managery amount at beft only to empty form of godliness, void of real virtue; while in truth they fill the minds of men with ill paffions, ill furmifes, ill will; they produce impious, unjust, and uncharitable dealing of all kinds, particularly discontentful murmurings, difobedience to magiftrates, fchifms and factions in the Church, combuftions and feditions in the State. 9. In fine, those who in their temper and their deportment resemble thofe ancient feducers, branded in the Scripture, thofe evil men, who did feduce, and were fe- 2 Tim. iii. duced: 13. Whofe difpofitions are reprefented in these epithets : they were άvuñóτanto, unruly, or perfons indifpofed and Tit. i. 10. unwilling to fubmit to government; τολμηταί, αὐθάδεις, prefumptuous, and felf-willed, or self-pleafing darers; yoy- 2 Pet. ii. 10. yusai, peμ↓íuoipoi, murmurers, complainers, or conjunctly discontented mutiners; autoxaránpito, felf-condemned, Tit. iii. 10, namely, by contradictious fhuffling and shifting, or by ex- 2 Tim. iii. communicating themselves from the Church; yóntes, be- 13, 4. witchers, inveigling and deluding credulous people by diffimulation and fpecious appearances; having a form Matt. vii. of godliness, but denying the power thereof; being wolves Acts xx. 29. in Sheep's clothing, grievous wolves, not Sparing the flock; 11. 15. SERM. deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the fervants LVI. of Chrift, and minifters of righteousness; lovers of them2 Cor. xi. felves, covetous, boafters, proud, revilers, truce-breakers, falfe accufers, traitors, heady, high minded, vain talkers, Pet. iii. 16. deceivers, ignorant, unlearned, unstable: 13, 15. 1 Tim. vi. 4. Rom. xvi. 17, 18. 6, 7.) Whofe practices were; to caufe divifions and offences (1 Tim. i. contrary to received doctrine; by good words and fair Speeches to deceive the hearts of the fimple;-to Swerve from charity-having turned afide to vain jangling, defiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they fay, nor whereof they affirm: to beguile unstable Eph. iv. 14. fouls; to lie in wait to deceive; to fpeak perverse things Acts xx. 19. that they may draw difciples after them; to creep into houfes, captivating filly women; to dote about questions and ftrifes of words, whereof cometh envy, ftrife, railings, evil 2 Pet. ii. 18. furmifings, perverse disputings; to speak fwelling words of Jude 16. vanity; to admire perfons because of advantage, (or out of Tit. i. 11. private defign, for felf-interest ;) to fubvert whole houses, 2 Tim. iii. 5. 1 Tim. vi. 4. 16. teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucre's fake; 1Tim. iv. 2. to speak lies in hypocrify; to preach Chrift out of envy and Phil. i. 15, ftrife, not out of good-will, or pure intention, (oúx äyväs,) 2 Pet. ii. 19. not purely; to promife liberty to their followers; to walk 2 Theff. iii. diforderly; (that is, in repugnance to order settled in the 2 Pet. ii. 10. Church;) to defpife dominion, and without fear to reproach dignities; to speak evil (rafhly) of those things which they know not, (which are befide their skill and 2 John 9. cognizance ;) to feparate themselves from the Church. 6, 11. Jude 8. Jude 10. Such persons as thefe, arrogating to themselves the Tit. iii. 10. office of guides, and pretending to lead us, we must not 2 Theff. iii. follow or regard; but are in reafon and conscience obliged Rom. xvi. to reject and shun them, as the ministers of Satan, the iTim. vi. 5. pefts of Christendom, the enemies and murderers of fouls. 6. 17. It can indeed nowife be fafe to follow any fuch leaders, (whatever pretences to special illumination they hold forth, whatever fpecious guifes of fanctity they bear,) who in their doctrine or practice deflect from the great beaten roads of holy Scripture, primitive tradition, and catholic practice, roving in by-paths fuggested to them by their private fancies and humours, their paffions and παρασυνα lufts, their interefts and advantages: there have in all SERM. ages fuch counterfeit guides started up, having debauched LVI. some few heedlefs perfons, having erected fome Tapаσvvαyayas, or petty combinations against the regularly settled corporations; but never with any durable fuccess or countenance of divine Providence; but like prodigious meteors, having caused a little gazing, and some disturb- Jude 13. ance, their fects have foon been diffipated, and have quite vanished away; the authors and abetters of them being either buried in oblivion, or recorded with ignominy: like that Theudas in the fpeech of Gamaliel, who rose up, A&s v. 36. boafting himself to be fomebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves; who was flain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. But let thus much fuffice to have been spoken concerning the persons to whom obedience must be performed. SERMON LVII. OF OBEDIENCE TO OUR SPIRITUAL GUIDES LVII. HEB. xiii. 17. Obey them that have the rule over you. SERM. I PROCEED to the duty itself, the obedience prescribed which may (according to the extent in fignification of the word Telder) be conceived to relate either to the government, or to the doctrine, or to the conversation of the perfons specified; implying, that we should obey their laws, that we should embrace their doctrine, that we should conform to their practice, according to proper limitations of fuch performance, respectively. We begin with the first, as seeming chiefly intended by the words: Obedience to ecclefiaftical government: what this doth import we may understand by confidering the terms whereby it is expreffed, and those whereby its correlate (fpiritual government) is fignified; by examples and practice relating to it, by the nature and reason of the matter itfelf. Befide the word TeleoJoy, (which is commonly used to fignify all forts of obedience, chiefly that which is due to governors,) here is added a word ferving to explain that, the word úzɛixav, which fignifieth to yield, give way, or comply; relating (as it feemeth by its being put indefinitely) to all their proceedings in matters concerning their charge. In other places, parallel to our text, it is ex (Tit. iii. 1. 1. 1 1 Pet. v. 5. preffed by únorárσerday, the fame term by which con- SERM. ftantly the fubjection due to fecular powers, in all the LVII. precepts enjoining it, is expreffed: 'Oμoiws veάrepos úτotáYnte @peσCUTÉpois, In like manner, (or correfpondently,) faith Rom. xiii. St. Peter, ye younger fubmit yourselves to the elder; (that i Pet. ii. is, as the context fhews, ye inferiors in the Church obey 18.) your fuperiors; ó veάregos both there and otherwhere doth Luke xxii. fignify the ftate of inferiority, as i peσbúrepos importeth 26. dignity and authority.) And, iπoTÁOσEGDE TOÏS TOIOútois, fub- 1 Cor. xvi. mit yourselves unto fuch, and to every one that helpeth with 16. us, and laboureth, faith St. Paul; and, άλλýλois úπoraoσó- Eph. v. 21. uevos, fubmitting yourselves to one another in the fear of1 Pet. v. 5. God, that is, yielding conscientiously that fubmiffion, which established order requireth from one to another: whence we may collect, that the duty confifteth in yielding fubmiffion and compliance to all laws, rules, and orders enacted by fpiritual governors for the due celebration of God's worship, the promoting edification, the conferving decency, the maintenance of peace; as alfo to the judgments and cenfures in order to the fame purposes administered by them. This obedience to be due to them may likewise be inferred from the various names and titles attributed to them; fuch as those of Prelates, Superintendents, Pastors, Supervisors, Governors, and Leaders; which terms (more largely touched before) do imply command and authority of all forts, legislative, judicial, and executive. : Such obedience alfo primitive practice doth affert to them for what authority the holy Apostles did affume and exercise, the same we may reasonably suppose derived to them; the fame in kind, although not in peculiarity of manner, (by immediate commiffion from Chrift, with fupply of extraordinary gifts and graces,) and in unlimitednefs of extent: for they do fucceed to the Apostles in Cujus in focharge and care over the Church, each in his precinct, guli partithe apoftolical office being diftributed among them all. cipes fuThe fame titles which the Apoftles affumed to them-mus. Vid. Cypr, de selves they ascribe to their Symprefbyters, requiring the Unit. Eccl. fame duties from them, and prescribing obedience to lidum fin |