Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

are called Seraphim, fiery or burning, as before obferved; and it is not unusual for ministers of the gospel to be compared to lamps; the apostles are called the lights or lamps of the world; and John the Baptift was a fhining and burning light or lamp; and fo others have been, holding forth the word of light and life to men and whereas it is faid that it, the fire, went up and down among the living creatures; this is true of the word of God, compared to fire, Jer. xx. 9. and xxiii. 29. by which the minds of minifters are enlightened, their hearts warmed, and are filled with zeal for God, and become the means of enlightening and warming others; which fire was bright, clear, as the word of God is; and out of the fire went forth lightening; denoting the quick and penetrating efficacy of the word, and the fudden increase of the kingdom and intereft of Chrift by it, which, like lightening, has been spread from east to west. Thus I have opened and explained the doctrine of the cherubim in the best manner I could, and have fhewn the agreement between them and the minifters of the gospel.

your

And now, my Brother, from thefe emblems you may difcern what is principal work and business as a minister of the gofpel; that it is to preach falvation by Chrift, the doctrines of pardon by his blood, of justification by his righteousness, and of atonement and fatisfaction for fin by his facrifice, with other truths of the gofpel; that you are to be laborious in this work, diligent and industrious, conftant and immoveable in it; that you are to be bold and intrepid in it, not fearing the faces of men; and to be watchful over yourself and others that are your charge; to be tender and compaffionate to all in distress, whether of body, mind or eftate, and to be humane in your deportment to all, that you are to walk uprightly, and be an example to the flock in your life and converfation; that you are to look up to heaven for fresh fupplies of grace to carry you through your ministrations in all the branches of it; and through the whole express fervent love to Christ and the fouls of men, and a zeal for his glory and may you be a shining and burning light in your day and generation, and fuccessful in the work of the Lord, and have many to be your joy and crown of rejoicing at the coming of Chrift.

SERMON

[blocks in formation]

The Form of found Words to be held faft.

A CHARGE delivered at the ORDINATION of the Rev. Mr JOHN REYNOLDS.

2 TIMOTHY I. 13.

Hold fast the form of found words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus.

THA

HAT part of the work of this day, which I have been defired to take, is to give the Charge to you, my Brother, who have been at this time ordained paftor of this church; and which I have chose to do in the above words of the apostle Paul to Timothy, to whom this epiftle is directed.

The connection between the apoftle and Timothy was fuch, that besides his being an apostle, and an inspired one, it gave him a juft claim to use the authority and freedom he does in giving him this charge; and was such as laid Timothy under an obligation to pay a regard unto it; which was this, he had been an hearer of the apostle; and it is obferved in the charge itself, which thou haft beard of me; and is used as a reafon and argument why he should attend unto it; he had been inftructed by him in the mysteries of grace and doctrines of the gospel; and befides, was a fon of his after the common faith. Now, though, my Brother, there is no fuch connection between you and me, to give me a like claim, and lay you under a like obligation; yet, what is here urged and preffed, being an incumbent duty on every one that is engaged in the facred work of the ministry, you will fuffer this exhortation kindly, and take it in good part: in which may be observed,

I. The principal thing it is concerned about, the form of found words.
II. The exhortation refpecting it, to bold it faft.

III. The manner in which it is to be held, unless it fhould be rather a reason why it should be held fast, which thou hast heard of me,' in faith and love, which is in Chrift Jefus.

VOL. II.

H

I. The

I. The principal thing this charge is about, the form of found words. By words are not meant mere words, of thefe we fhould not be tenacious, when one may as well be used as another, to exprefs the sense and meaning of any doctrine; when words are fynonymous, fignify the fame thing, and convey the fame idea, to wrangle and dispute about them would be vain and trifling; fuch mere logomachies and strivings about words to no profit, are condemned and diffuaded from, by our apostle. Yet when words and phrafes have long obtained in the churches of Chrift, and among the faithful difpenfers of the word; the fenfe of which is determinate and established, and well known, and they fitly express the meaning of thofe that use them; they should not be easily parted with, and especially unless others and better are fubftituted in their room; for there is often truth in that maxim, qui fingit nova verba, nova gignit dogmata, "he that coins new words, coins new doctrines." Should any man require of me to drop certain words and phrases in treating of divine truths, without offering to place others and better in their room; I could confider such a man in no other view, than that he had an intention to rob me, to rob me of what is more precious than gold and filver, that is, truth. There are certain words and phrases excepted to by the adverfaries of truth, because they are not, as faid, syllabically expreffed in fcripture; but be it fo, if what they fignify is contained in fcripture, they may be lawfully and with propriety used, and retained in use some concern the doctrine of the divine Being, and others the work of Chrift; fome relate to the divine Being, as effence, unity, trinity in unity, and perfon. Effence is no other than that by which a thing or person is what it is, and may with great propriety be attributed to God, who is to ov, the being, who is, exists, and which his glorious name JEHOVAH is expreffive of, deciphered by the apostle John, who is, and was, and is to come. Nor need we fcruple the use of the word unity with refpect to him, fince our Lord fays, F and my Father are one; one in nature and effence, though not in person; nor the phrase trinity in unity, fince the apostle John fays, there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the boly Ghost; and these three are oned as for the word perfon, that is ufed in fcripture both of the Father and of the Son; the Son is faid to be the exprefs image of his perfon; that is, of the perfon of God the Father; and the Son must be a perfon too, or he would not be the exprefs image of his Father's perfon; befides, the word is used of him alfo, for we read of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift; or in the perfon of Chrift, and fo the phrafe is rendered in the fame epistle, chap. ii. 10. for your fakes forgave Iit in the person of Christ. Such

[blocks in formation]

phrafes as concern the work of Chrift objected to, are the imputation of his righteousness to his people, and the imputation of their fins to him, and the fatisfaction made by him for them; as for imputed righteousness, that is nearly fyllabically expreffed, even as David alfo defcribeth the bleffedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works; and as for the imputation of fin to Chrift, though it is not in fo many fyllables expreffed, the thing itself is plain and clear: be hath made him to be fin for us, who knew no fin"; that is, God made him fin by imputing fin to him, for in no other way could he be made fin, fince no fin was inherent in him; and this agrees with the language of the Old Testament, the Lord hath laid on him, or made to meet on him, the iniquity of us all, that is, by imputing it to him. And though the word fatisfa&tion is not used of the work of Chrift in fcripture, yet what is meant by it is plentifully declared in it; as that Chrift has done and fuffered in the room and stead of his people, every thing with well-pleafednefs to God, and to the full content of law and justice; as when it is faid, the Lord is well pleafed for his righteousness Jake*; the reason follows, he will magnify the law, and make it honourable, and alfo Chrift bath given himself for us, an offering and a facrifice to God for a sweet Smelling favour, fo that it may be truly faid, God is fully fatisfied with the obedience, righteoutnefs, fufferings, death and facrifice of Chrift.

But after all, the apoftle in the charge given does not defign mere words but doctrines; fo the words of our Lord Jefus Chrift", he fomewhere speaks of, are no other than the doctrines preached by Chrift, or the doctrines concerning his perfon, offices and grace; and the words of the apostles of Chrift, are no other than their doctrines; their found went into all the earth, and their words, that is, their doctrines, unto the ends of the world" and these are the words of faith and good doctrine, in which Timothy was nourished: and thefe are found words or doctrines; so we often read of found doctrine, as, if there be any other thing, that is contrary to found doctrine; and the time will come, when they will not endure found doctrine, and that he may be able by found doctrine to exhort, &c. and speak thou the things which become found doctrine and which may be called found, in oppofition to the doctrines of falfe teachers, the perverfe difputings of men of corrupt minds, deftitute of the truth, and reprobate concerning the faith; whose words or doctrines eat as doth a canker', prey upon the vitals of religion; and are faid' to be pernicious, ruinous, and deftructive to the fouls of men; and fome of which the apoftle, without any breach of charity, beftows the epithet of damnable upons: and good doctrines may be called found, because they are in themfelves

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

falutary and healthful; pleasant words, as the wife man fays', and fuch evangelical doctrines be; they are as an honey-comb, fweet to the foul, and health to the bones: the words or doctrines of our Lord Jefus Chrift and his apoftles are wholesom ones, falubrious and nourishing; the words of faith and good doctrine have a nutritive virtue in them, under a divine bleffing, to nourish personsup unto eternal life; they contain milk for babes, the fincere milk of the word,. which they defire that they may grow thereby; and meat for strong men, who have their spiritual fenfes exercised, to difcern between good and evil; and these being found by believing fouls, are eaten, and prove to be the joy and rejoicing of their hearts, and are more efteemed of by them than their neceffary food.

Now there is a form of these found words or doctrines: by which may be meant the form or manner of teaching them; as the Jew, who was an instructor of others, had his form of knowledge and of truth in the law', a method of inftructing in the knowledge of it, and of teaching the truths contained in it; fo a christian teacher has the form of godliness", a form of knowledge of it, and a method of teaching the mysteries of godliness, though fometimes without the power of it: or rather, here it fignifies a brief fummary or compendium of truths; the Jew had his creed, which contained the fix principles, the beginning of the. doctrine of Chrift, the author of the epiftle to the Hebrews fpeaks of; which the believing christian was not to stop at and stick in, but to go on to perfection; to embrace and profefs doctrines more fublime and perfect". The apoftle Paul, that compleat, exact, and accurate preacher of the gospel, reduced the fubject of his miniftry and the doctrine he preached, to two heads, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jefus Chrift *; he gives a most excellent form of found words, and a fummary of the gofpel in Rom. viii. 29, 30. Whom be did foreknow, be alfo did predeftinate: moreover, whom he did. predeftinate, them he also called; and whom be called, them be also justified; and whom be justified, them be alfo glorified; and which fome, not improperly, have called the golden chain of man's falvation; every link in it is precious, and not to be parted, and the whole is not to be departed from : the word T here. used, may fignify a pattern, and fo it is rendered 1 Tim. i. 16. the allufion is thought to be to painters, who first form a rough draught, or draw the outlines of their portrait, which is as a pattern to them, within the compass of which they always keep, and beyond which they never go. A scheme, a.fsystem of gospel-truths may be extracted from the fcriptures, and used as a pattern for minifters to preach by, and for hearers to form their judgments by, of what they hear; which seems to be what the apostle calls the analogy or proportion of faith,

• Prov. xvi. 24.
See my Comment on Hebrews vi. 1.

Rom. ii. 20.

■ 2 Tim. iii. 5. ■ A&ts xx. 21.

« AnteriorContinuar »