A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

—108 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGthereby a world of people. But if we shall thus do, speakingnot the words of God, not the words of Christ, but ourown ; we shall be pastors feeding ourselves, not our flock*.'The author of the imperfect commentary in Chrysostomj.sorted by somebody into homilies upon Matthew, seems tointimate, that the cause of the overflowing and rankness oiiniquity is the baseness of these self-preaching men-pleasers.*'Take this fault from the clergy," saith he, " to wit, thaithey be not men-pleasers, and all sins are easily cut down ;'but if they blunt the edge of the sword of the Spirit withdaubing, flattery, temporizing ; or strike with it in a scabbardgarishly and gaudily embroidered with variety of humanlearning, tricks of wit, friar-like conceits, &c., it cannotpossibly cut to any purpose ; it kills the soul, but not thesin. They are the only men, howsoever worldly wisdomrave, and unsanctified learning be beside itself, to beatdown sin, batter the bulwarks of the devil, and build upthe kingdom of Christ, who, setting aside all private endsand bye-respects, all vain- glorious, covetous, and ambitiousaims ; all serving the times, projects for preferment, hopeof rising, fear of the face of man, &c. address themselveswith faithfulness and zeal to the work of the Lord, seekingsincerely to glorify him in converting men's souls " by thefoolishness of that preaching," which God hath sanctitied"to save them that believe,'' in a word, who labour toimitate their Lord and Master Jesus Christ and his blessedapostles in teaching " as men having authority ;" in "demonstrationof the Spirit and power, and not as the scribes."By embroidered scabbard, I mean the very same whichKing James not long before his death did most truly outof his deep and excellent wisdom conceive to be the baneof this kingdom; to wit, "a light, affected, and unprofitablekind of preaching, which hath been of late years takenup in court, university, city, and country." Hear somethingmore largely what reason led his royal judgment tothis resolution, and desire of reformation :" His Majesty being much troubled and grieved at theheart to hear every day of so many defections from ourreligion, both to popery and anabapiism, or other points ofseparation, in some parts of this kingdom ; and consideringwith much admiration what might be the cause thereof,especially in the reign of such a king, who doth so constantlyprofess himself an open adversary to the superstitionof the one, and madness of the other ;his princely wisdomcould fall upon no one greater probability, than the light-Lib. de Pastoribus, toin. ix.