A30242:86
The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole…
The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole third chapter of the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians to which is annexed The godly and the natural mans choice, upon Psal. 4, vers. 6, 7, 8 / by Anthony Burgess ...The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole third chapter of the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians to which is annexed The godly and the natural mans choice, upon Psal. 4, vers. 6, 7, 8 / by Anthony Burgesse ...
London: printed by Abraham Miller for T.U., 1659
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
A third part of his Doctrinal Key, is, To rebuke and reprove for sin. Now,1 how great a skill is it, wisely to reprove, to have zeal and knowledge together? Some must be reproved sharply, T•t. 1.13 cuttingly. We must not spare. Thus John called some a generation of vipers, Mat. 3.7. and our Saviour, Woe to ye Scribes, Pharisees, Hypocrites; many times repeating that, upbraiding of them. These were obstinate impenitent Hypocrites, Mat. 23.13, 14, 15. and little blows will not move them. Others again are tender, tractable: meekness will do more than austerity So that there is scarce any thing requireth more wisdom than public and private reproofs. Men can so hardly bear them, Genus quoddam Maritirii est reprehensionem▪ patienter far, It is a kind of martyrdom to bear a reproof patiently. And Ministers are either apt to be too awful, and pleasing of men, or else too boisterous or passionate. So that the Shepherd of irrational Sheep, have a far more easy task, then spiritual Shepherds of men especially in superstitious Customs, in false ways of worship. Here an Angels wisdom will scarce suffice. What a trouble was that to the Church in her infancy, about the retaining or leaving the Jewish Ceremonies? The Questions and differences grew so hot, that it had almost torn the Church in pieces. The Council of Jerusalem was called about this; many still Judaizing thought, that if you took the observation of times, and outward Ceremonies away, you took away all Religion. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians, and Rom. 14. is very diligent to inform them about this, endeavouring to make them spiritual, and to draw up their hearts from those beggarly elements: Paul was circumspect how to walk in this slippery Controversy, To the Jew, I became a Jew, 1 Cor. 9.20. Not that he was a dissembler, or an Hypocrite, or humoured them in their superstitious weakness, but he took upon him all sweet affections; he was as a Jew to a Jew, as weak to weak; he would consider them, as if he were in their case: Yea, to walk in these Controversies was so hard, that Peter gave great occasion of offence; yea, Barnabas was also laid aside, for he did not [Greek or Hebrew], which made Paul resist him to the face, with this dissimulation, Gal 1.