A Warning to Young Men, in Reference to Their Entry upon Spiritual Offices in the Church

SUCH is commonly the heat of Youth in poſting towards Preferment, that it out-runs p. 159 the conſideration, not only of the proper Ends, but alſo of the diſproportion of its own Abilities, for the diſcharge of the great and weighty Duties of the high Office and Imployment to which it aſpires: For, as Calvin ſays truly, Contigit omnes fere juvenes turgidos eſſe, & faſtuoſos, tanquam nubes tranſvolare poſſent: It is incident almoſt to all Youths, to be big of Self-conceit, and proudly to raiſe their Feathers, as if they could Mount above the Clouds.

So that, like Phaeton, they muſt needs be ſet in their Father’s Chariot, though the Event of their prepoſterous Undertaking ſhould be, to precipitate themſelves to their own Ruine, and to hazard to ſet the World on fire. And through ſuch prepoſterous Indiſcretion, doth it come to paſs, that many Young Men aſpiring to the p. 160 Holy Calling of the Miniſtery, do both in their Entry thereto, and afterwards in the Exerciſe thereof, ſtumble into thoſe Errours, which bewray miſplaced and diſordered Affections; and are ſuitable neither to the Dignity, nor Divine Ends of that Sacred Function.

Miſtake me not, Dear Brethren, as if it were my deſign to reproach Young Men, or by reflecting upon others, to purchaſe an Opinion of the innocency of mine own paſt Youth, from thoſe Infirmities and Errours which are incident to others; (nay, I deſire rather to be humbled in the ſight of God, for the leaſt Errour or Irregularity, whereunto I am ſenſible that the Folly of my Youthful Affections have betray’d me.) But what I ſpeak is out of compaſſion, and for precaution, that you may the more attentively p. 161 watch againſt thoſe Dangers into which the temerarious Fervour of that imprudent Age, may drive you headlong: For thus it is, I fear, that many are led into the Snare of Simony. And therefore I deſire to warn all who are aiming at this Holy Calling, that they would take heed how they enter thereupon.

Wherefore, as I have ſufficiently ſhewed before, how great and hainous a Crime this ſin of Simony is; ſo now I adjure thee in the fear of God, whoſoever thou art, that deſigneſt to undertake the Sacred Office of the Miniſtery in the Church of Chriſt, as thou wouldſt wiſh to avoid the formidable Guilt of that Sin, and to enter upon that Holy Function, and ſerve him with a good Conſcience therein, who fees in ſecret, and ſearches the p. 162 Hearts and Reins, and will render unto every one according to their ways; that thou ſeriouſly conſider what thou art doing; and before thou preſume to meddle therewith, ſtrictly examine whether thou be Call’d of God thereto. For the Lord will have none to ſerve him in his Houſe, but thoſe who are called by himſelf: And therefore the Apoſtle Paul hath told us,¹⁵⁶ That no Man taketh this Honour to himſelf, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron: And it is this, that he ſo often pleads for the Authority of his own Miniſtery,¹⁵⁷ That he was called, and ſet apart of God thereto: Whereupon Chryſoſtom ſays,¹⁵⁸ Ʋbique ſe vocatum commemorat; oſtendens, quod non ambiendo adeptus ſit, ſed vocatus acceſſerit: He all ways mentions him-himſelf to be called, ſhewing, p. 163 That he had not courted that Office by indirect Means, but that being called, he came thereto.

1. 156. Heb. 5.4. [moved in the edition]
2. 157. Rom. 1.1. 1 Cor. 1.1. Gal. 1.15. [moved in the edition]
3. 158. In Rom. 1. [moved in the edition]

And without this Call, and Commiſſion from God, none hath right to Adminiſter the ſame: For,¹⁵⁹ How ſhall they Preach (ſays the ſame Apoſtle,) except they be ſent? And therefore, although God hath been pleaſed, for preventing that confuſion, which vain pretenſions to a Divine Call might introduce into his Church, to appoint an Ordinary way for the confirmation of his own Call, by the Seal of Eccleſiaſtical Ordination; yet, when that Seal is procured from the hands of Men, where the Call is wanting from the hands of God, it is of ſmall ſignificancy; it is but the ſetting up of a Man in an Office in the Houſe, without the Maſter’s conſent. Therefore again, I p. 164 warn thee, ſtrictly to examine, before thou preſume to enter upon this Office, Whether thou be Called thereunto by God: For, if without his Call, by indirect means, thou thruſt thy ſelf into it, what wilt thou Anſwer in the Day when the Maſter of the Houſe ſhall call his Servants to an account, and finding thee amongſt them, ſhall put home this Queſtion to thee, Amice, quomodo huc intraſti? Friend, how cameſt thou in hither? Whatſoever thou may’ſt deviſe to ſay now for thy ſelf before Men, I fear, then thou ſhalt be ſpeechleſs; and what the end thereof ſhall be, thou may’ſt eaſily preſage.

1. 159. Rom. 10.15. [moved in the edition]

Now, when I warn thee to examine thy Call from God, I do not bid thee ſearch after it by any extraordinary Signs, or wait upon any immediate Revelation from Heaven, to aſſure p. 165 thee thereof; but I would have thee ſeriouſly to conſider, Whether thou findeſt a concurrence of theſe things upon thine own Heart, which God worketh by his Spirit, as things which he neceſſarily requireth in thoſe whom he calls; and thereby thou may’ſt come to know, whether thou be Call’d of him, or not.

Firſt, Conſider then the End thou propoſeſt unto thy ſelf in this Holy Function: For, whom God calls, he ſets their Eye upon the right End. Now, the great End of the Miniſtery of the Goſpel, is, The Glory of God, and the Salvation of Man. That this was the End of God’s ſending forth Miniſters to preach the Goſpel, that for his Glory they ſhould make manifeſt the tranſcendent Riches of his Grace in Chriſt; and p. 166 be Inſtruments, by diſpenſing the Means of Grace, for the Converſion of Souls, and for advancing them by Faith in the Lord Jeſus, to the participation of eternal Life and Happineſs, is clear from the Words of the Apoſtle Paul, who ſpeaking to the Epheſians of his Miniſtery, in the Myſtery of the Goſpel, ſays, whereof I was made a Miniſter,¹⁶⁰ — that I ſhould Preach among the Gentiles, the unſearchable Riches of Chriſt. And to the Corinthians, ſhewing forth the end of his Miniſtery,¹⁶¹ ſays, God who commanded the Light to ſhine out of Darkneſs, hath ſhined in our Hearts, to give the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God, in the Face of Jeſus Chriſt. And, in his Speech before King Agrippa, he declares, That the End for which Jeſus Chriſt had appeared unto him, to p. 167 make him a Miniſter of the Gentiles, was, To open their Eyes,¹⁶² and to turn them from Darkneſs to Light, and from the Power of Satan to God, that they might receive Forgiveneſs of Sins, and Inheritance among them which are ſanctified by Faith that is in him. Nay, that this is the great deſign of God in the Miniſtery of the Goſpel, who is ſo ignorant as not to know? And therefore, he will have the ſame to be the deſign of all who undertake the Miniſtery thereof: For, if he will have this to be the principal End of all our Actions, ſaying,¹⁶³ Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatſoever ye do, do all to the Glory of God. Much more will he have it to be the principal End in that work, wherein his Glory, and the Salvation of Souls are more immediately concerned. So that, if thou be p. 168 Call’d of God, thine Eye will be upon this, as the principal End and Scope that thou aimeſt at. But he who deſigns not this, but intends his own Preferment, or Profit, to which he reſolves to make the Miniſtery ſubſervient, as a Mean to raiſe him from the Dunghill; or, it it may be, as a reſcue from Poverty, or from the contempt of a broken Fortune, I’m ſure, is not Called of God. And it is no wonder to ſee ſuch a one fall into the Suare of Simony, ſince baſe Deſigns find hardly Abettors, but ſuch as are procured by Bribes. But, what he will Anſwer, when the Lord ſhall put home to him both theſe Queſtions together, Amice, quomodo huc intrâſti? Friend, how cameſt thou in hither? And again, Amice, quorſum huc intraſti? Friend, for what End cameſt thou in hither? I know not.

1. 160. Eph. 3.7, 8. [moved in the edition]
2. 161. 2 Cor. 4.6. [moved in the edition]
3. 162. Acts. 26.18. [moved in the edition]
4. 163. 1 Cor. 10.31. [moved in the edition]

Secondly, Conſider whether thou be ſenſible of the weight of ſuch a Charge. Whom God calls to the Work of the Miniſtery, he works in their Hearts a deep ſenſe of the weight and burthen thereof; and to this effect, he ſhews them what Labour, and Trouble, and Pains they muſt be at; what Tentations, and Tribulations, and Affronts, they will meet with; and how they will have many Enemies, and muſt grapple with much Oppoſition and Contradiction; and what a weighty Charge, the Charge of Souls is; what account they muſt give thereof to him; and how the Blood thereof will be required at their Hands, if through their default they periſh. Of theſe things our Saviour warn’d his Apoſtles,¹⁶⁴ when he ſent them forth upon the Work of the Miniſtery: And this the Lord p. 170 warned Ezekiel of,¹⁶⁵ when he ſet him to be a Watchman unto the Houſe of Iſrael. Nay, and in hundreds of Texts, the Lord in the Scripture ſets this before their Eyes, whom he Calls, and ſends forth; thereby to engrave upon their Hearts the ſenſe of the Charge whereof they are to undertake the Burthen, that ſo they may count the coſt before they begin the Work: And therefore, when the Lord told Ananias that had he called Saul, as a choſen Veſſel, to bear his Name before the Gentiles,¹⁶⁶ he ſaid withal, I will ſhew him how great things he muſt ſuffer for my Name’s ſake. So that, if thou be Called of God, thou wilt have a deep ſenſe of the weight and burthen of the Miniſtery, upon thy Spirit; and wilt look upon it, as a Work that requires much Watching, and Faſting, and p. 171 Prayer. And ſure, whoſoever is touched with this ſenſe, and ſeriouſly conſidereth what a weighty Charge it is, will never make uſe of the Silverkeys of Simon Magus, to open a Paſſuge for himſelf thereto; nay, ſave upon the account of the Obligation of a Call from God, he would not ſtoop to to take it up. It is only a deluſory Fancy of carnal Minds, that, looking upon it as an Office deſtin’d for Eaſe, and Pleaſure, and Profit, makes Men run to purchaſe it with Money.

1. 164. Matth. 10.16, 17, &c. [moved in the edition]
2. 165. Ezek. 33.•. [moved in the edition]
3. 166. Acts 9.17. [moved in the edition]

Thirdly, Conſider whether thou be ſenſible of thine own Inſufficiency, and diſproportion of thy Abilities for the Work: For, whom God calls, he imprints upon their Hearts the humble ſenſe thereof; that they may go forth, not in confidence p. 172 of their own Strength, but of the Strength of him who calleth them. So as the conſideration thereof made the Apoſtle Paul cry out,¹⁶⁷ Who is ſufficient for theſe things? And again, Not that we are ſufficient of our ſelves to think any thing,¹⁶⁸ as of our ſelves: but our ſufficiency is of God; who alſo hath made us able Miniſters of the New Teſtament. The deep ſenſe of which Inſufficiency, hath made many able Men of humble Minds, either to decline, or with a great reluctancy to embark upon an Employment to which they perceived their Strength ſo unequal. Thus Moſes, when God was ſending him upon his Meſſage,¹⁶⁹ ſaid, Lord, who am I? and, O my Lord, I am not eloquent. And thus Jeremiah cry’d out,¹⁷⁰ Ah Lord God, behold I cannot ſpeak, for I am a Child. And this made many in the p. 173 Primitive Church deaf to all Entreaties and Arguments, till they were forced thereupon by Violence; which exceſſive Averſion, though I dare not altogether commend, yet it gives me ground to ſay, that if thou be Called of God, thou wilt have in thine Heart ſuch an humble ſenſe of thine own Inſufficiency and Weakneſs for the Work, as will put thee, if not in fear to undertake, at leaſt oft to thy knees to beg Strength from above. So that there is juſt ground to doubt their Call, where this is wanting; as may be perceived in ſome, who, aſſoon as they have commenced Maſters of Arts, before they have well ſtudied the common Principles of the Doctrine of Divinity, (much leſs the true practice of Chriſtianity, in the mortification of their Youthful Affections;) begin immediately p. 174 to court Churches with ſuch confidence, as if the ſuperficial Knowledge of ſome few ſpeculative Points of Theology, and the reading over of ſome Pamphlets, had rendred them ſufficiently qualified for the Miniſterial Office, never conſidering the great Endowments of Learning, Prudence, Holineſs, and Gravity, that are required for the diſcharge of the Duties thereof, and for making them ſhine as Enſamples to the Flock. And hence it comes to paſs, that with a prepoſterous ſpeed they run, to have themſelves poſſeſs’d of ſome Charge; and if any thing intervene, to foreſtall their Deſires, or to hinder the ſucceſs of their Endeavours, then all imaginable Arts ſhall be made uſe of, which the Spirit of Simony can deviſe, to render their Purpoſe effectual.

1. 167. 2 Cor. 2.16. [moved in the edition]
2. 168. 2 Cor. 3.5, 6. [moved in the edition]
3. 169. Exod. 3.11. and 4.10. [moved in the edition]
4. 170. Jer. 1.6. [moved in the edition]

Fourthly, Conſider by what Inſtinct thou art moved, to deſign thy ſelf for this Holy Office. Whom God calls, he ſtirs them up by the ſecret Inſtinct of his Bleſſed Spirit, whereby he works in them ſuch Divine Motions of fervent Charity, and Zeal for his Glory, and the Salvation of Souls, as they are driven thereby to caſt themſelves upon greateſt Hardſhips, and to reſolve to facrifice their own Eaſe, Quiet, and carnal Intereſts, in a Calling wherein they may ſerve God to theſe Ends. As the Apoſtle Paul was, when he went bound in the Spirit unto Jeruſalem, where, he knew Bonds and Afflictions were abiding him; the Motions of Charity and Zeal ſo drove him, that he ſaid,¹⁷¹ None of theſe things move me, neither count I my Life dear unto my ſelf, ſo that I might p. 176 ſiniſh my Courſe with Joy, and the Miniſtery which I have received of the Lord Jeſus, to teſtifie the Goſpel of the grace of God.¹⁷² And again, I am ready not to be bound only, but alſo to die at Jeruſalem for the Name of the Lord Jeſus. And as he was moved by the like Inſtinct, to lay himſelf out for the Salvation of the Corinthians, to whom being about to come, he ſaid,¹⁷³ I will very gladly ſpend and be ſpent for you; though the more aboundantly I love you, the leſs I be loved. And ſo, if thou be Called of God, by ſuch Motions of Charity and Zeal, kindled by the Spirit of God in thy Heart, will it be that thou art carried to a deſire for the Miniſtery of the Goſpel. But, when the carnal Motions of Ambition, or Covetouſneſs, work a panting after this Office; as theſe Motions p. 177 are not from the Inſtinct of the Spirit of God, but of the Spirit of the World; ſo neither hath he a Call from God, who is driven thereby. And it is no wonder to ſee ſuch a one ſeek to make a Paſſage for his own Entrance, by the counſel of that ſame Spirit which was the principal Mover in his Deſign, and hath the chief hand in Simoniacal Bargains.

1. 171. Acts 20.24. [moved in the edition]
2. 172. Acts 21.13. [moved in the edition]
3. 173. 2 Cor. 12.15. [moved in the edition]

And now Finally, I would adviſe thee, That after thou haſt examined thine own Heart, though thou even find in thy ſelf a concurrence of theſe things, in ſuch a conſiderable meaſure as may beget in thee a confidence, that God approves of thy purpoſe, and calls thee to ſerve him in the Miniſtery of his Church, yet thou wouldſt not make too much p. 178 haſte, nor run to thruſt thy ſelf thereinto, before God open a fair Door of Entrance for thee. I cannot but look upon it as an Errour, and an act of too prepoſterous ſpeed, for any to intrude where the Door is but half open; or to ſecure himſelf with an Anti-date of a Succeſſion to the Charge of a Living Incumbent: Of which, beſides that, through the uncertainty of his own Life, he is uncertain of his future Enjoyment; he alſo throws himſelf upon the tentation of that hainous Sin, which with little ſenſe, is too commonly lodged in the unnatural Breaſts of young rich Heirs, amongſt whom we find it too often verified:

Filius ante diem Patrios inquirit in Annos.

That the Son lives with murthering Deſires, in a continual p. 179 longing for his Old Father’s Death, whereby he may come to be poſſeſs’d of his Fortune. And whoſoever runs upon ſuchlike Danger, is too little privy to the corruption of his own Heart; which ſhould be a principal part of his Study, both to underſtand, and to watch againſt, who deſires to enter upon the Holy Miniſtery: And which, whoſoever ſtudies well, will wait, till God by making a clear and pure Paſſage for him, evidence that he hath Called him thereto, and that he hath not run before God ſent him.

Yet would I not have any Man ſuppoſe, that I intend, that he who hath been ſincerely deſigning himſelf for the Service of God in the Miniſtery, and finds a proper Occaſion, ſhould forbear to do any thing, or follow the lawful. p. 180 Means for attaining thereto. For, though the deep ſenſe of the weightineſs of the Work, and of a Man’s own Inſufficiency, ſhould make him fear, and beware to thruſt himſelf upon it; yet it bewrays too little of charitable Zeal to God’s Service, and the good of Souls, when he ſees an open Door to lye like a Block without any Motion, or ſtand idly gazing, till Men come and hale him violently to the Work. Nor ſee I how he can avoid the blame of a ſlothful Servant, who uſeth no lawful Endeavours to put his Talent to exchange, when a convenient Seaſon calls for it. Nay, it gives too much occaſion for ſuſpicion of Hypocriſie, and affected Nicety in any, who after he hath for a conſiderable ſpace, been fitting himſelf for the Miniſtery, ſhould pretend p. 181 an Averſion thereto, till it were forced upon him againſt his Will. The Apoſtle Peter hath exhorted otherwiſe, bidding take the overſight of the Flock, not by conſtraint, (μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς,¹⁷⁴ not by being forced, or compelled thereto,) but willingly. And if it was ſpoken to the commendation of Amaziah the Son of Zichri, a Captain in the Wars of Judah,¹⁷⁵ that he willingly offered himſelf unto the Lord: It can be no Reproach for him, who finds his Lips touched with a Live-coal from the Altar, when he hears the Lord, by opening a Door, ſaying, Who will go for us? willingly to offer himſelf in this Spiritual War, and to go to thoſe who ſtand in the Lord’s ſtead, and ſay with the Prophet, Here am I, ſend me.¹⁷⁶ For whatſoever Diſcouragement the ſenſe of his own Inſufficiency p. 182 may breed in him, yet the Sincerity of his Intentions, and the Evidences of a Call from God, may give him confidence to rely upon his Grace, as ſufficient for him, whoſe Strength is made perfect in Weakneſs.

1. 174. 1 Pet. 5.2. [moved in the edition]
2. 175. 2 Chron. 17.16. [moved in the edition]
3. 176. Iſa. 6.8.