43 o negreat Benefit of a Godly Minitily. feem ing carriage of fome Minders. It bathbeen granted over and over, teat fome Minifters evil, licentious carriage and converfations are notorious ; the Lord knows , too many Minifters have Efaur bands with Jacobs voice : what then , muff this redound to the ge. neral difgrace of all Minders ? Becaufe fome profetfors of the Law live livvi,.-fs , mull therefore all be cenfured and condrnned for law leis livers ? Becaufe imdas was a Devil, and a Son of perdition, will yoq therefore fay that all the Difciples of Chria were naught ? laap.1 you do know fome Sir Johns fome blind Seers , fome blind Watchmen , who know not Heavens way fome blind D roans; Or fecondly ' fome that carry themfelves infolently, as er. 20. 1. z, as Pafberdid. Or thirdly, fome that are coo too like that evil fervant in the Gofpel, as Lok,e, 2. 45. Or perhaps you know fourthly (bale apoftatizing Damatfas , who embrace this prefent world,and revolt from their principles & profeffion,as 2 ri 4. I 0. Or perhaps you know fifthly, fome aipiring and climbing Thatrephes, as 3 John 9. Perhaps you know fome fuch as tilde as I have maanced, what then ? is there any profellion as it were, but it bath a certain skum ? why then in the face of fome,' who thorow trace are free from thefe mifcarriages , take heed and beware of be- mg leavened with prejudiceagamft all Minifters, becaufe of the vile- nefs and mifcarriage of fome. Sixthly, Be earneft with the Lord for a godly faithful Miniary, vvhofe labour and pains among the people the Lord ufeth to blefs The LordPlus Chrift is the great Patron of all Livings , as a Reve- rend man , now in Heaven, once faid ' He can prefent whom he will a Parifh, and he can aetiore whom he will to their people, as atls a 2. 5, 6, 7. As hedid Peter out of prifon by the peoples. prayers. And thus when Paul was in prifonat konie, obferve how he writes to Philemou, in Ver 22. of his Epiale. And thus when the Author of the Hebrew, was retrained frompreaching, obferve what an Exhortation he ufeth, Heb. 13. 18, 19. Oh pray there- fore, pray for godly faithful Miniaers, their-pains, their ltbours the Lord ufeth to Stets among a people ; as Mal. 2. 6. we read that the Lord bleffed the labours of Levi , fo that he was an Inftru- ment in the Lords hand to turn wicked men froat their iniquity; and Ver. 5 Lo it was laid of Barn4bas, that by his Miniftry muchpeople were added to the Lord, as 1 i. 24. And if we would have godly faithful Miniaers, as we mull pray for them, fo we muff fira repent ns of our fins, Jer 3. 14. 15. Repent muff of our fins, and par- ticularly our contempt of the Ordinances and Worfhip ofGod. Se- condly We Lava prize the Gofpel more than wehave. done ; the Gofpel
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