fjse 1. Let it not therefore be (jrievous to ministers to do irhat is for the safety of God's children. They must do it till they see practice come to per- fection, and they must cast and cast again. Peter he cast often and got nothing, yet at Christ's word he cast again. So must ministers. God that blesseth not every cast, may bless the last cast to the catching of many ; and therefore a minister had need of a fatherlike affection to his hearers, as St Paul had, 1 Thes. ii. 11.
Use. 2. A second use may be for ourselves : if we hear the same things repeated, hear them as an impression which may carry force, and work upon our hearts more strongly than before. And know that God may work on us by one means at one time which he did not at another ; as a dart pierces deeper being cast by one than by another. And therefore let us not be weary of attendance on God's ordinances, for our corruptions daily increase as our age doth. Our minding of things is but slight, and our memory very brittle. And we must know that the word teaches doing and practising, as well as knowing. And therefore to conceive a necessity of a continual ministry to perfect a church as well as to begin it. The sacraments are necessary ; receive them often. The primitive church had them every Lord's day [h). Till we come to the holy land of that heavenly Canaan, let us submit ourselves to this manna. It is angels' food, and they desire to look into these mysteries, 1 Peter i. 12. And therefore take heed of fulness or loathing ; for when we come to that pass that we must have novum or nihil, God takes away this manna thus loathed. Thus did he with the Greek churches, Eev. i. and ii. They gave themselves not to the plain, sincere truth, but man's inventions, whereby God gave them over to strange opinions. And indeed it is a rule : none absents himself from God's word, but he is given over, and that justly, to believe toys ;t to attri- bute all praise and delight to this or that idle author, which it may be is heathenish or popish. The Greek churches, affecting novelties, were justly given over to Mahomet. But to a true Christian heart there cannot be more delight than in the experimental knowledge of Christ's death and ofBce, of perseverance in grace. There are standing dishes in this Christian banquet. It is a sign God means to plague that person or nation that is delighted in such ill sauces. He will make them come out of our nostrils. We shall have our fill of them, and never hunger after the sincere milk of the word.
VEESE 2.
Beware of dogs. Doct. 1. In this general exhortation, consider first the persons to whom
* Viz. in Matthew xiii. the parahles of the sower, of the tares, of the mustard seed, and of the leaven. — G. I That is, 'trifles.'— G.
PHILIPPIANS CHAP. Ill, YEH. 2. 65
it is directed, to all the Philippians ; not only to the pastor, but even to tho common Christians. ' They must beware of false teachers.' Is it so ? Then surely they ought to take notice of them, and to know them ; and therefore they ought to have rules to discern them by. Christ's sheep they discern between a wolf and a shepherd, John x. 4, 5. His sheep discern an heretic or false teacher from those that are true shepherds in the main points of Christian religion. And therefore, 1 John iv. 1, he bids all in general ' to try the spirits ;' and the apostle, 1 Thes. v. 21, bids them ' prove all things, and hold fast the good.' If they were then all of them bound to try and prove, they were no doubt bound to know the rules by which they were to try, which rules are only laid down in the word of God.
Quest. But some popish heart may ask, How common people should know the word to be the word of God ?
Ans. For answer, I would ask such an one, how they know the pope's canons, or any book of his constitutions, to be the pope's ? They will say, their teachers brings them in the pope's name, and they believe their teachers. So say we : we believe our teachers and ministers, who tell us this is the word of God.
Obj. But they object and say, that we make every one a judge.
A?7S. I answer, there is a threefold manner of judging. First, a judging whereby we discern of anything ; and this every Christian must have, so as it cannot be any plea to him at the day of judgment, to say, my teacher did mislead me. No. Both the leader and he that is led, if they be blind, shall fall into the ditch, Mat. xv. 14. Then there is a second kind of judging, which is by way of direction. This is required principally in the pastor, to direct his flock. And there is a third kind : that is, of jurisdiction. This belongs to the church and the magistrate ; yet every one must have a judgment to discern the good from the bad. For he that knows not his master's will shall be beaten.