VeR. 18.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. ' 471
power to send others, as Christ had. The world was bound to acknow- ledge them for such. To despise Christ was to despise Grod, whose deputy he was ; and to despise them was to despise Christ ; to hear them was to hear Christ, and to hear Christ was to hear God : Mat. X. 40, ' He that receiveth you, receiveth me ; and he that receivetli me, receiveth him that sent me ;' and Luke x. 16, ' He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me.'
But why doth Christ urge this argument in this place, ' They were sent,' and ' sent as I was sent ' ?
I answer — It is an argument as to God, and it is a ground of hope to the apostles. An argument fit to be urged to God in prayer, ' they are sent as I was.^ Thou didst send me to redeem the world out of thy grace, and they are sent to preach this redemption, and therefore it is fit they should be preserved and sanctified. It is a fit ground of hope for the apostles to meditate upon ; they were sent as Christ was. If they be in great poverty, want the help and assistance of the world, so did Christ. All God's witnesses prophesy in sackcloth.
Well, then, here we have the first rise of a gospel ministry. Christ was sent by God, the apostles by Christ, and others are their suc- cessors, authorised and sent by them.
The points which I shall handle are two : —
1. The necessity of a call to the ministry.
2. The dignity of those that are so called. Both are implied in the word sent.
Before I enter upon the discussion, let none take offence that I apply that to the ministry in general which is spoken of the apostles in the text, ' I have sent them ; ' which I do for two reasons : —
1. Partly because we may compare ordinary ministers and the apostles together, if their mission be compared with Christ's. As Christ's mission had something extraordinary and peculiar, by which it was distinguished from the mission of the apostles, so the apostles' mission hath something peculiar ; but both agree in this, that they must be sent ; this they have in common : Kom. x. 14, ' How can they preach except they be sent ? ' Mark, the apostles were sent as Christ was sent (though Christ was sent to redeem, as well as to prophesy and teach), and so ministers are sent ; they must be authorised, as well as the apostles, though the apostles had somewhat peculiar and proper to that office, as the infallibility of doctrine, power of working miracles, the largeness of their circuit, which was the whole world, whereas ordinary ministers are set over one church, and fastened to one place. Again, the apostles were appointed to write scriptures, and pastors and teachers to apply scripture. The apostles were authorised by Christ himself, received their call immediately from his mouth ; ordinary ministers are called by a power derived ; yet they both agree in this, that they serve in the work of the gospel, and that they are officers that must be called and sent ; as not only they are the king's officers, who are immediately appointed by the king, but those also that are appointed by subordinate powers.
2. Partly because a part of the comparison lieth in this, that as Christ was sent by God, and had power to call others, so the apostles
472 SERMONS UPON JOHN XYII. [SeR. XXXI.
were sent by Christ, and had a power to send and constitute others, and so the succession was to continue. That this was a part of their power appeareth, because Christ, when he gave them their commission, saith, ' He will be with them to the end of the world,' Mat. xxviii. 20 ; that is, with them in their persons and their successors, who are taken into the same patent and commission, and have a power to call others to the end of the world ; and therefore the ' apostles ordained elders in every city,' Acts xiv, 23 ; and those elders ordained others, as the apostle giveth leave to Titus so to do ; Titus i. 5, ' For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.' Christ was not only sent to be a prophet himself, but to authorise others ; so the apostles not only were sent to preach the gospel them- selves, but to authorise others, and they others, even to the end of the world.
This being premised, I come to handle —
First, The necessity of a call. That none can enter upon this work, or upon the office of the ministry, without a call, is, I suppose, out of controversy. All the difficulty will be to show you what a call is. Gifts merely do not make a call, but something else. Now a call is either extraordinary or ordinary.
1. Extraordinary, and that is an immediate call from God himself, by voice, vision, or oracle, or by Christ in person. So was Moses called to his office ; so the Baptist, so the apostles ; and so also was Paul called, because he not seen Christ in person, which it seemetii was necessary to the call of an apostle ; he was called by Christ appearing from heaven; and therefore he saith, Gal. i. 1, 'Paul an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ,' &c. Now this extraordinary call may be pretended, but cannot be expected in these latter days. Mauy have pretended to an extraordinary call. Eusebius in his sixth book tells us of some that pretended they had a book sent from heaven, accordiug to which they were to instruct their disciples ; and Sozomeu speaketh of a monk that pretended that the instruction that he offered to the church was written by an angel ; and since in all ages, especially in ours, do men pretend to illuminations, teachings, and voices within. Thus it may be pretended, but it cannot be expected ; for an immediate extraordinary calling hath only place in establishing a new doctrine ; but now the canon of faith is closed up : ' This doctrine of the kingdom is to be preached to all nations, till the end come,' Mat. xxiv. 14. And the ordinances of the church are settled, and put into a stated course till Christ come ; and therefore we cannot reasonably expect new miracles and new calls. And besides, every extraordinary call is manifested by some vision, miracle, or special effect and gift of the Holy Ghost, by wliich the truth of that calling may be made out to others, and hath been always sealed with extraordinary effects, which are ceased in these days.