Night

them into one Body; hereby they might understand what were amifs in the Conduct of any in their Divifion, and try to correct it either by private Advices and Endeavours, or by laying it before the Bishop, by whofe private Labours, if his Clergy would be affifting to him, and give him free and full Informations of Things, many Disorders might be cured, without rifing to publick Scandal, or forcing him to extream Cenfures. It is a falfe Pity in any of the Clergy, who fee their Brethren running into ill Courfes, to look on and fay nothing: It is a Cruelty to the Church, and may prove a Cruelty to the Person of whom they are fo unfeasonably tender: For Things may be more easily corrected at first, before they have grown to be publick, or are hardened by Habit and Custom. Upon these Accounts it is of great Advantage, and may be Matter of great Edification to the Clergy, to enter into a ftrict Union together, to meet often, and to be helpful to one another: But if this fhould be made practicable, they must be extreamly strict in thofe Meetings, to obferve fo exact a Sobriety, that there might be no Colour given to cenfure them, as if these were merry Meetings, in which they allowed themselves great Liberties: It were good, if they could be brought to meet to faft and pray;

but

but if that is a Strain too high for the pre-
fent Age, at least they must keep so far
within Bounds, that there may be no Room
for Calumny. For a Disorder upon any
fuch Occafion, would give a Wound of an
extraordinary Nature to the Reputation of
the whole Clergy, when every one would
bear a Share of the Blame, which perhaps
belonged but to a few. Four or five fuch
Meetings in a Summer, would neither be
a great Charge, nor give much Trouble:
But the Advantages that might arife out of/
them, would be very fenfible.

Right

I have but one other Advice to add, but it is of a Thing of great Confequence, though generally managed in fo loose and, fo indifferent a Manner, that I have fome Reason in Charity to believe, that the Clergy make very little Reflection on what they do in it: And that is, in the Testimonials that they fign in Favour of those that come to be ordained. Many have confeffed to my self, that they had figned these upon general Reports, and Importunity; tho' the Teftimonial bears perfonal Knowledge. These are instead of the Suffrages of the Clergy, which in the primitive Church were given before any were ordained. A Bishop muft depend upon them; for he has no other Way to be certainly informed: And therefore as it is a Lie, pafs'd with the

Solemnity

Solemnity of Hand and Seal, to affirm any Thing that is beyond one's own Knowledge, fo it is a Lie made to God and the Church; fince the Design of it is to procure Orders. So that if a Bishop, trusting to that, and being fatisfied of the Knowledge of one that brings it, ordains an unfit and unworthy Man, they that figned it, are deeply and chiefly involved in the Guilt of his Laying Hands fuddenly upon him: Therefore every Prieft ought to charge his Confcience in a deep particular Manner, that fo he may never teftify for any one, unless he knows his Life to be fo regular, and believes his Temper to be fo good, that he does really judge him a Perfon fit to be put in Holy Orders. These are all the Rules that do occur to me at prefent.

In performing thefe feveral Branches of the Duty of a Paftor, the Trouble will not be great, if he is truly a good Man, and delights in the Service of God, and in doing Acts of Charity: The Pleasure will be unfpeakable; firft, that of the Confcience in this Teftimony that it gives, and the Quiet and Joy which arises from the Sense of one's having done his Duty: And then it can scarce be supposed but by all this, fome will be wrought on; fome Sinners will be reclaimed; bad Men will grow good, and good Men will grow better.

And

light

And if a generous Man feels, to a great De-
gree, the Pleasure of having delivered one
from Mifery, and of making him easy and
happy; how fovereign a Joy must it be
to a Man that believes there is another,
Life, to fee that he has been an Inftrument
to rescue some from endless Misery, and
to further others in the Way to everlasting
Happiness? And the more Inftances he,
fees of this, the more do his Joys grow
upon him. This makes Life happy, and
Death joyful to fuch a Prieft; for he is not '
terrified with thofe Words, Give an Account
of thy Stewardship, for thou mayeft be no longer
Steward: He knows his Reward fhall be '
full, preffed down, and running over. He
is but too happy in thofe Spiritual Children,
whom he has begot in Chrift; he looks after
thofe as the chief Part of his Care, and as
the Principal of his Flock, and is fo far 1
from afpiring, that it is not without fome
Uneafinefs that he leaves them, if he is
commanded to arife to fome higher Poft in
the Church.

The Troubles of this Life, the Cenfures of bad Men, and even the Prospect of a 1 Perfecution, are no dreadful Thing to him that has this Seal of his Miniftry; and this Comfort within him, that he has not laboured in vain, nor run and fought as one that beats the Air; he fees the Travel of his Soul, and)

is fatisfied, when he finds that God's Work proVpers in his Hand. This comforts him in his fad Reflections on his own past Sins, that he has been an Inftrument of advancing God's Honour, of faving Souls, and of propagating his Gospel: Since to have faved one Soul, is worth a Man's coming into (the World, and richly worth the Labours of his whole Life. Here is a Subject that might be easily profecuted by many warm and lively Figures: But I now go on to the last Article relating to this Matter.

CHAP. IX.

Concerning Preaching.

HE World naturally runs to Extreme in every Thing. If one Sect or Body of Men magnify Preaching too much, another carries that to another Extream of decrying it as much. It is certainly a noble and a profitable Exercise, if rightly gone about, of great Ufe both to Prieft and People, by obliging the one to much Study and Labour, and by fetting before the other full and copious Discoveries of divine Matters, opening them clear

ly,