21 / 808
V
E
R.I.
Ephean.f.Chap.I.
9
Obferue lirlt in Generali,
that it
is
the
duty ofa
Miniffer
of
Chrit}
to
bletfe
the
faithful!
children
of
the
Church,
as in
the name
of
God
:
This
ffr
the
fubftatiee
(Mt
was
not proper
to
the Apoftle, no more
then
to
be
a
fpirituall Father
was
appropriated to them
,
much
leffe
doth
it belong to the
Pope,
as
the times
of
fuperftition imagined,
but
toevery faithfull Miniífer,who
is a
fhepheard
and
inftrufter,
and fo
in
the
place
ofa
fpirituall Father.
Numb.
6.
Aaron and bit
fennel (hall
bleffe
the
people
in
myname.
As
God hath
giuen a power
to the
natural!
pheats
to
canueigh good things
to theirchildren; Home.
thy
Father
Mat
thy dayes may
be
long,or
that they
may
prolong thy dayes by
their
bicding, deferuedly
commingvpon
thee;
f
God
hath giuen fpiritu-
all fathers
a
power
of
blefïing,yea,and of anathematizing or turfing
the children
of
the
Church,
who
fo
deferue,
and
that
effectually
:
So
that
Pant maketh good what
they doe in this
kind.
This good
Annah
found,
I
Sam.t.17. when
Thee
had meekely
anfwered
!o
bat fh
and falle a
fùfpition,
The
God
of
ifraellgrant
thy
repel',
faith
Elie,and (lice
glad
of
the
favour
Thee
had found
in his fight, went a-
way,and
it
was
prefently
granted. For
more diftin& concciuing
of
the matter,
I
will briefly
fhew,r.whatthis
blelling
is
:
2. on what
it
is
grounded. It
is
a
minifteriall
a
&,which
doth
apply Gods
bleffing
to
the
well deferuing children
of
the
Church,
and
entreth
them
into the
affured poffcffion,
through faith,
of
Gods
blefling
toward
them
:
which
doth
apply
I
lay
a
for
it
differeth thus
from
a
Prayer
;
a
Prayer
feeketh to obtaine
the
things
for
vs,
this doth
in
Gods
name apply
and
affure
our faith
that
the blefling
of
God
is
vpon vs,and
thall
gra-
tioufl follow
vs:
When
the
Minifter
intreateth
forgiueneffe
of
finne,
it
is
one
thing
;
when againe
Ire
doth
affure a
repentant
heart
that
God
hath done
away his finne,
this
is
another thing
:
in
the one
lice
feeketh
to
obtaine this benefit for the
partie,
in the
other
hee
doth
affure
the party that
it
is
now applied
in him.
The
grounds are
two.
a.
The
fpirit
of
difcerning, I
mean
ordina-
ry, not miraculous,which maketh them by
fruits
fee
who are
fuch
members of the
Church,
whom
God
doth
prornife
to
bleffe
:
The
fécond
is
the authority which God
bath put vpon
them,
who will
haue
them
to
be his
mouth
and inftrument,
whereby
hewill
both
af-
certaine his children
of
their
bleffedneffe
from
him,
as
likewife
exe-
cute
it in
them.
Nowfrom
thefe
two,
that
I
difcerne
a
childe
of
the
Church, towhom
biding
pertaineth,
and
knew
my felfe
to bee his
mouth
to
liignifie
it,
and
inftrumentwith
whom bee
will
concurre
to
produce ir, from
thefe
two it
is
,that
this
aft
of
bleffrng
fpringeth, be
it
a
bkflirg
in general!
giuen,or fingularlyapplyed. And
hence
you
may
fee
a
difference
betwixt our
biding,
and
the
Patriarkes
prophe-
tical! blefti
+'s
; for
their
blelfings
were grounded vpon a Reuelati-
on,
in
them
made,
of
things which fhould
befall
their pofterity.
The Vie
of
this
is
to
rebuke
the
fooli(h cuflome
of
running forth
before the
Minifters
of
God hauegiuenrheir bltfling
:
What
a
mif-
creant would
he
be
held, that would not
fuffer
his
Father
to
bleffe
him,
fo farre were he from
Peeking
it
at
his hand
?
It
were
not
allowa-
ble behaviour,
if
the Church were about
to
curie them,
and
make
them
as
utter
execrations.
De£t.I.
oak;
Pub1i@
Primate
Primate
likes
Widf
prpraier.