A Letter to the dearly beloved Ministers of the Gospel
To prevent these mischiefs, and promote zeal and unanimity among the ministers of the gospel, I have presumed to address them in the following epistles. I am conscious of my own unworthiness to be their monitor, and of the defects their judicious eyes will easily discern in the stile it is written; and yet can promise myself a becoming reception of what is so faithfully, seasonably, and honestly designed for their good. I am satisfied that no candid and ingenuous person will put words upon the rack, quarrel at a similitude, or expose a trifle, when he finds the design honest, and the matter good and necessary.
As to the treatise itself, thou wilt find it a persuasive to open thy heart to Christ. Thy soul, reader, is a magnificent structure built by Christ; such stately rooms as thy understanding, will, conscience and affections, are too good for any other to inhabit. If thou be in thy unregenerate state, then he solemnly demands in this text admission into the soul he made, by the consent of the will; which, if thou refuse to give him, then witness is taken, that Christ once more demanded entrance into thy soul which he made, and was denied it. If thou hast opened thy heart to him, thou wilt, I hope, meet somewhat in this treatise that will clear thy evidences, and cheer thy heart: Pray read, ponder, and apply. I am
Thine and the Church's Servant,
JOHN FLAVEL.
A LETTER*
To the dearly beloved Ministers of the Gospel, (much to be reverenced in Christ) now at length, by the wonderful Providence of GOD, restored to Liberty: Addressed as a humble Supplication to the more aged, and as an Exhortation to younger Ministers and Candidates.
Reverend Fathers, and Brethren in Christy, THOUGH it is not fit for us to coin metaphors according to our fancy, yet we ought to have a great liking to those which the Spirit himself hath authorised in scripture. There he hath represented and painted to the life the deliverance of his suffering church, by the sweet delights of the advancing spring, Cant. 2:12.
In the spring, the earth, like a most bountiful parent, opens her bosom, produces variety of herbs, adorns the meadows with abundance of flowers; the trees which had been stript of their former green leaves are clothed with new ones; the cold being now driven away, the air becomes warm, and the cattle bring home udders full of milk;
Then joyous birds frequent the lonely groves.
DRYDEN's Virgil.
All nature is renewed and smiles; the season is kindly favourable, and admirably well adapted to the benefit of all things, chiefly of those endued with life. All which things have been, in a very elaborate and ingenuous manner, applied by our learned countryman, Brightman, to that remarkable period, when Cyrus published that edict of his, (which can never be sufficiently commended) for setting God's people at liberty.
The enlivening beams of a like providential interposition, like the sun entering the sign of Aries, have made us who were half dead to revive.
We are not insensible, as our wounds are yet green, what great and sharp afflictions we have suffered for many years by-past, for conscience sake.
Alas, what sad things have we not seen! what oppressions have we not unjustly endured, during this rough, dismal, and every-way destructive winter? We have seen the sea swelling with dreadful storms, by reason of which, some, being amazed and confounded, have hoisted sail to any wind whatsoever: we have seen trees that excelled others, both in fruitfulness and comeliness, beat down and laid low by the stormy winds; others which bare neither fruit nor leaves, have been, as it were, blasted.
Mountains have we seen become white with hoar-frost, rivers locked up in ice, lands covered, yea, buried in snow; flocks of fowls, and herds of
cattle starved with hunger, wandering up and down in great want; cunning fowlers spreading their nets, and ensnaring many: In a word, we have seen Christ's church (alas!) pierced with arrows winged with her own feathers; the civil state founded on laws, almost subverted by laws; every thing having a bad aspect, and growing daily worse and worse.
Long and sore have we been tossed in the sea of trouble; in our youth we were plunged into it, we are come out of it in old age; our case has been the same with what happened at the siege of Tyre, Ezek. 29:18. Every head is made bald, and every shoulder is peeled; but yet all these things seem troublesome rather than wonderful, to any one who seriously considers the thing prophesied by the great apostle, 2 Tim. 3:1. In the last days perilous times shall come. Of which perilous times,* Lactantius writes thus; 'When the end of this world is approaching, the state of human affairs must needs be greatly changed, and grow worse, through the prevalency of wickedness; in so much that this present age, wherein sin and wickedness have arrived to the greatest pitch, may, when compared with that abandoned and incorrigible age, be justly deemed the happy and golden one. For then righteousness shall decrease, and ungodliness, avarice, ambition, and lust increase: so that whosoever shall happen then to be sober and religious, shall become a prey to the wicked, and be greatly harassed by the unrighteous; the vicious alone shall be prosperous and happy, while the people of God shall meet with every kind of bad treatment, and be reduced to extreme poverty. All right shall be confounded, laws shall perish; then no body shall possess any thing but what is ill got, or what he is obliged to defend by force; rapine and violence shall carry every thing before them: there shall be no fidelity among men, no peace, no humanity, no shame, no truth, and neither safety nor order, nor any rest from trouble; for the whole earth shall be in confusion, and the noise of din and war heard every where; all nations shall be up in arms, and attack one another; neighbouring states shall war among themselves; destruction shall run over the face of the earth, cutting down every thing, and laying it along, as corn-fields are in harvest. The reason of which dreadful calamity and strange confusion, will be this, That the Roman Name, which has subdued the whole world, shall then (I tremble to utter it, but, since it is certain, utter it I must) be quite extinct.'
What think you, reader, is not this a description of our own times, or must we wait longer, till that pernicious and wicked race of men shall appear upon the stage? That this hath been fulfilled in our late troubles, none sure can hesitate that hath any discernment.
But God at length, pitying our distresses, hath raised up a man*, both zealous for the truth, and a lover of godliness, boldly to assert his cause in the face of danger and toil, and to put a new face on things. Concerning this time it shall be said, What wonderful things hath God done? Now every impediment being removed, and the dreadful storm calmed, (which scatters up and down like stubble) our gracious God doth in this manner bespeak us, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. As if he had said, You have been long enough confined at home, come now (for you may safely come) abroad. There is the greatest appearance of safety and incitement to labour every where. Thus, the severity of the Winter recommends to us the pleasures of the Spring.
For my part, I had no sooner heard the joyful news of Liberty, than presently I began to prepare myself for my proper and much longed for work; for if so much pleasure is found in the study of the mathematics, that when one has tasted of it, he is so ravished and bewitched with it, that he cannot be taken off from the study of them; it will certainly be the sweetest pleasure of all, to employ our labours, however much we are exhausted, for the glory of Christ, and good of souls: it gives me therefore no small pleasure that at length I may put in my sickle, which hath been long in disuse, into the Lord's harvest, together with the rest of my fellowlabourers. Thanks to my God, who hath not only seasonably opened a door of opportunity, but hath also (which I earnestly supplicated for) given me to see the happy effects of sound doctrine, and hath long ago blessed it unto many.
These first-fruits of Restored Liberty, and which many have importuned me to publish, I now most humbly offer unto you. Indulge a brother, the weakest of all, and one who reckons himself justly inferior to all the servants of Christ; if, on this signal and most extraordinary occasion,
Christian zeal should break forth a little more freely than may be suitable
to either my small share of learning or experience.
Here your preacher hath not sought after the pomp of eloquence.
Through the whole I have used a popular, not polite, stile; pithy, not showy; for I thought it might be justly said concerning Theology, what
Cicero says of Philosophy, That to talk upon subjects of that nature in an elaborate stile, is childish; but to be capable of delivering with plainness and perspicuity, is the part of a learned and knowing man. I should be justly displeased with myself, if I preached the doctrine of a crucified
Christ, in a stile unbecoming his cross; which surely is the character of a stile pompous and swelling.
These things being premised, I. Let us rejoice in our liberty, with a joy duly moderated; I mean, with a joy equally balanced, and guarded on all hands by grief for past sins, and dread of future ones. We read in Jeremiah, of the voice of sighing and weeping, with which the faithful would, about the time of their deliverance, confess their sins, by which they had provoked God, and would sincerely bewail them with contrite hearts. And how suitable was the song of the church, even at the laying of the foundation of the second temple; a song equally composed of joyful shouting, and abundant weeping, Ezra 3:10. "Many weeped with a loud voice, many shouted aloud for joy; so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy, from the noise of the weeping of the people." Nor are the saints ashamed to confess their falls and shameful deeds to the glory of God, for nothing is a loss to us which redounds to his glory. Our countenance must in his sight be comely and amiable, when he sees penitential tears mixed with those of joy and thanksgiving. It is the character of a true penitent to lament his faults, that he may not again commit things to be lamented.
Asaph hath set before us an illustrious example of penitence, Psal. 74:8.
Remember not (says he) against us our former iniquities. God is said to remember iniquities when calling sins to an account, and judging of their greatness and number, he resolves to punish. Asaph speaks of God after the manner of men; for they, when greatly offended, and about to punish their children, do then call to mind all their former faults: let us, in like manner, reflect on ours, and sincerely bewail our past slothful conduct,
an unhappy concomitant of liberty: Thus we have neither flamed with ardent love on the one hand, nor grieved with that degree of sorrow which was requisite on the other: we have oftentimes spoken more from the head than from the heart. We have both prayed and preached too too coldly about matters the most awful and important. We have not followed the footsteps of those worthies that went before us in the last age, so as to come up with them. We have been at small pains to support the majesty of religion, by the gravity of our conversation, and the usefulness of our discourses, For which cause our God has conceived just anger against us, and hath manifested that by the past calamities; and by so manifesting it, hath plainly admonished us to be on our guard for the time to come.
II. Therefore brethren, I earnestly beg of you, in the bowels of Christ, that you will not forget these words of the apostle, If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men, Rom. 12:8. There is added a twofold imitation, first, If it be possible, that is, consistently with justice, piety, and truth: Such a regard is not to be had to truth, as that the study of peace be entirely neglected; nor is such unity to be sought after as destroys truth; but speak the truth in love, as the same apostle exhorts,
Eph. 4:15. For, as our countryman Mr. Davenant justly observes, they love neither from the heart, who love not both. Christians therefore, when they both live peaceably in owning the truth, and speak the truth in love, are a great ornament to their profession. The other limitation is, As much as lieth in you, that is, live in friendship with all, if it be possible; and if they will not be friendly on their part, be sure you be so on yours. Truth begets hatred among the wicked, and godliness is ever despised by them; of which Lactantius* assigns this reason, "That he who sins wants to have a free opportunity of sinning, and thinks he can no otherwise enjoy securely the pleasure of his ill deeds, than when there are many who delight in the same faults. Hence they study to destroy and cut off root and branch those who are witnesses of their wickedness, and they cannot endure that good men's lives should be a reproof, as it were, of theirs.
Therefore by the friendship of the wicked, piety is endangered."
We have some amongst us that put on a form of godliness, but have denied the power thereof: of such† Bernard in his time thus complained:
'Woe to this generation which hath the leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy: If indeed that should be called hypocrisy, which now through its prevalency cannot be hid, and through its impudency seeks not to be hid. At present, rottenness and corruption affects the whole body of the church, and the wider it spreads, the more desperate; and the more inwardly it spreads, the more dangerous: for if an heretic, an open enemy, should rise up, he would be cast out; if a violent enemy, she, (i.e. the church) would perhaps conceal herself from him. But now, whom shall the church cast out? or whom shall she hide herself from? All are friends, and all are enemies: all are in mutual connexions, as relations, yet in mutual contests, as adversaries: all are fellow-members of one family, yet none are promoters of peace: all are neighbours, yet all are seekers of their own things: by profession servants of Christ, in reality they serve Antichrist: they make an honourable figure by the good things they have received from the Lord, while, at the same time, they give no honour to the Lord.' I will say of these men, My soul, come not into their council; my glory, be not in their assembly.
But there are many others, zealous of peace and truth, agreeing in fundamentals, and standing equally against the common enemies of the reformed religion, who, notwithstanding, differ (alas!) about matters not necessary to salvation, and split into opposite parties, and cause strife: while this fierce contention spreads itself among the brethren, it affords a continual occasion to their enemies to insult and molest them. Could any one find out a remedy for this epidemical distemper, he would deserve well of the church; but since the experience of so many years has put it beyond doubt that it is difficult, or indeed impracticable to accomplish this by scholastic disputes, or by oppressing the conscience with penalties; it were more advisable to sopite all their debates, than by fruitless strife to tear asunder the church; and in fine, to have recourse to that which is the most useful, if not the only rule for promoting peace,
Phil. 3:16. Wherein we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule: with which agrees well that most wholesome advice given by Tossanus to the college of Tubing, in the following words: 'All bitter railings and accusations ought justly to be laid aside, and the judgments of these matters in debate left wholly to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to our own posterity, who, not being authors, but spectators of the debate, will judge more impartially about it. Our adversaries still
live and become bolder every day; they make it their business night and day to plot and contrive how they may extinguish the light of the gospel that has arisen, and bring back ancient darkness; in the mean time, we who at first with one accord, by God's grace, preached the gospel, do now, with weapons of death turned against one another, rush mutually on destruction; thereby exhibiting a delightful spectacle to our enemies, who place more of their safety and confidence in our contentions, than the weak foundation of their own cause.'
Let us therefore frequently consider that of the apostle, Gal. 5:15. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. What Cicero said of the discords of great men, our countryman
Davenant scruples not to affirm concerning those of the churches, That they commonly end either in the ruin of both parties, or in the unjust tyranny of that side which overcomes. It is greatly to be feared, that every one, by these continual and fierce debates, is hastening (may God prevent it) his own ruin: yet I doubt not but that all discords amongst the godly might be extinguished, whatever some may allege to the contrary, if the minds of some were freed from the violent emotions of suspicion, anger, and envy. Behold, brethren, what a seasonable and proper softening plaister our skilful Physician hath applied to us all at this time. God grant it the desired effect; lest the scar not being rightly closed up, the wound should break out again.
The godly in every place lament the present deplorable state of the church; and, from the destruction of some, do conjecture what danger hangs over all.
*Hence let contending nations know, What direful mischiefs from their discords flow.
Certain it is, that all wise and good men on both sides, (however they differ among themselves) are unanimous in this at least, That these are not times for strife, but times that call for prayer and reformation; for, such are the prayers they every where offer up: 'May God turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest he come and smite the earth with a curse. These do not well consult
their own interest, who, because of disputes among the learned, perhaps never to be ended, will needs be tearing the church by perpetual divisions. Our brethren, that seriously profess they differ from us in smaller matters of religion, for no other reason than a fear of offending, these ought to be embraced with the greatest affection. Let all causes of offence be presently removed, that we may not stumble twice on the same stone. If we fall upon it again, we are broken in pieces. We will not grant them this praise, that they are more studious of peace and concord than ourselves. You may re-exact a conformity in fundamentals and things necessary in religion; but in matters of indifference, and not absolutely necessary, you may give a larger liberty. No body should assume to himself a liberty of dividing the church, and dissolving brotherly unity on such a ground as neither Christ, nor the apostles, nor the primitive church in its purest state would ever have approved.'
It must be confessed, that all kinds of controversy will never be at an end; neverthelesss we can bid farewell to all discord; for variety of opinions, and unity among those that hold them, are not things inconsistent. Why should there dwell in the breast of a Christian, the fierceness of wolves, the madness of dogs, the deadly poison of serpents, the cruel savageness of beasts? as Cyprian long since complained. That is (saith Gregory) a new and unheard of manner of preaching, that forces a belief, with stripes: therefore let all bitter railing and accusation be gone. May the God of peace bring all into order and peace.
III. Especially and above all, I humbly beseech you, that, having laid aside all designs of smaller importance, you would mind this one thing how you may gain to Christ the souls committed to you, to which all earthly things are to be postponed. This is the labour, this the work incumbent on us.
Put far from you a vile, niggardly sparing of your gifts, an immoderate care for worldly things, an excessive indulgence of the vile body. Let it not seem much to us to spend a little sweat for the sake of those souls for which Christ so willingly and plentifully poured out his own most precious blood. If we hide the Lord's talent in a napkin, where shall we find a napkin to dry up our tears of blood for so base a crime?
Remember, brethren, that it will be required at our hands, how we have
spent every portion of that time which is given us; how much of it have we already lost in unprofitable silence! But among all the oppressions under which you have long groaned, I persuade myself there is none you have more sorrowed for than that of being so long with-holden from feeding poor hungry souls. The present opportunity is slippery, and may be lost, as to what concerns futurity, the clouds return after the rain. Up then ye servants of God, mind this your business, and the Lord shall be with you: do not regard the usual murmurings of the flesh. Look forward to that heavenly crown: "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
With the hopes of this, let us rouse up and fortify our drooping hearts against the mockings and troubles we may expect for the sake of the gospel. What bowels of compassion ought we to put on, when we speak to such men of saving their souls, and shunning perdition, into which they may quickly fall, but who, in the mean time, have not the least thought about these things themselves? A famous author in Amesius* complains,
'That the words of life in some preachers and teachers lips die away, as to any power or efficacy: For so coldly and unconcernedly do they deliver the word of God, that it seems to die in their lips. Hence, as they themselves are cold and dead preachers, so they leave their hearers in a cold and dead frame. I knew one who left Paris for this reason, because he said, he was more and more benumbed with the lectures and sermons he heard from day to day in that city; and was afraid, that if he staid much longer there, his soul would have perished with spiritual cold: wherefore he joined himself to lively ministers, as unto live-coals, that so by conversing with them, he might nourish and increase an holy flame in his heart.'
Lift up your eyes and behold the fields white, and ready to harvest; see how you are on every side surrounded with crowds of poor hungry souls, with open mouth and earnest looks begging spiritual bread from you. If we have the bowels of the chief Shepherd in us, let us feed his sheep.
Some are almost worn out with old age and various troubles: others lessen the majesty of scripture by insisting much on things of little moment, and fill the ears of the multitude with a vain noise of words, or
tickle them with smooth speeches. In such a situation, if you, who are furnished with all kinds of gifts, and have so full and fair opportunity, do not burn with zeal to God, and love to souls, I tremble to look forward to the dreadful end of you all.
IV. Lastly, I will conclude with a few things which I thought necessary for students of Theology, and candidates for the ministry, who have at this needful time willingly devoted themselves to this service, or are about to do it: We have long borne the burden and heat of the day; we are veteran soldiers almost worn out. The next age will possibly produce more tractable minds, and men of gentler dispositions than our times afford.
I congratulate you on account of your birth, especially if your natural birth be, or shall be ennobled and sanctified by regeneration; and this is the more reasonable, because all our famous chronologers and searchers into times, who have bestowed much time and pains in that study, are big with expectation, like a woman big with child, past the time of her reckoning, who therefore expects her pains to come upon her every hour.
It is very probable, that the day which all the prophets foretold, and all good men have, as it were, with outstretched neck, been eagerly looking for, is now at hand.
Do you, therefore, ye brave youths, the hope and desire of the reviving church, with eagerness lay hold on this favourable opportunity of enriching your minds with all necessary gifts and endowments. Keep yourselves close night and day at your studies and most fervent prayers:
He will make the best divine, that studies on his knees. And how shall we contend for the truth, or defend it against the adversaries, if we are destitute of gifts? Neither a good disposition, nor the charms of eloquence, nor a graceful gesture, nor good manners, can compensate for the want of gifts.
But on the other hand, beware, brethren, lest while the tree of knowledge every day thrives and prospers, the tree of life alone should languish and become barren, as an excellent divine* speaks very pertinently. Take care you put not that last, which should be first; and that, again, first, which should be last. Measures so perniciously preposterous will be fatal to the whole work of conversion. A head well instructed is much to be desired;