A96093:1651
The beatitudes
The beatitudes: or A discourse upon part of Christs famous Sermon on the Mount. Whereunto is added Christs various fullness. The preciousness of the soul. The souls malady and cure. The beauty of grace. The spiritual watch. The heavenly race. The sacred anchor. The trees of righteousness. The perfume of love. The good practitioner. By Thomas Watson, minister of the word at Stephens Walbrook in the city of London.The beatitudes: or A discourse upon part of Christs famous Sermon on the Mount. Wherunto is added Christs various fulnesse. The preciousnesse of the soul. The souls malady and cure. The beauty of grace. The spiritual watch. The heavenly race. The sacred anchor. The trees of righteousnesse. The perfume of love. The good practitioner. By Thomas Watson, minister of the word at Stephens Walbrook in the city of London.
London: printed for Ralph Smith, 1660
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.
3. If sin be a soul-sickness, then what need is there Branch. 3 of the Ministry? Ministers are Physicians under God to cure sick souls; God hath set in his Church Pastors and Teachers, Eph. 4.11. The Ministers are a College of Physicians, their work is to find out diseases, and apply medicines; 'tis dura provincia, an hard work; while Ministers are curing others, they themselves are nigh unto death, Phil. 2.30. They find their people sick of several diseases; some have poisoned themselves with error, some are surfeited with the love of the creature, some have stabbed themselves at the heart with gross sin. O how hard is it to heal all these sick gangrened souls! many Ministers do sooner kill themselves by preaching, than cure their Patients*; but though the work of the Ministry be a laborious work, it is a needful work; while there are sick souls, there will be need of spiritual Physicians. How unworthy then are they who malign and persecute the Ministers of God? 1 Cor. 4.9. O unkind world, thus to use thy Physicians; Can there be a greater injury to souls? would it not be a piece of the highest cruelty and barbarism, if there were an Act made that all Physicians should be banished out of the Land? And is it not worse to see multitudes of sick souls lie bleeding, and to have their spiritual Physicians removed from them, which should under God heal them? This is a wrath-procuring sin. 2 Chron. 36 16. They misused his Prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against his ⟨p. 478⟩people, till there was no remedy. See what is inscribed in Levies blessing, Deutr. 33.8, 11. And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy One; bless Lord his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again. The Lord will wither that arm which is stretched out against his Prophets.