SERMON IX.

THE PREPARATORY DUTIES FOR HOLY ORDERS.

SERM.

IX.

ACTS xiii. 3.

And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

It is our great happiness that we live in so pure and sincere a part of Christ's "Holy Catholic Church," that as we have nothing superfluous, so neither is there any thing wanting that can any way conduce to our eternal Salvation in it, much less any thing that is necessary in order thereunto: as amongst other things, the right "Ordination" of those who administer the means of grace, must needs be acknowledged to be. For seeing we can have no grace or power to do good, but what is derived to us from God, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in the use of the means which He hath established in His Church for that purpose; unless those means be rightly and duly administered, they lose their force and energy, and so can never attain the end wherefore they were established: neither is there any thing more necessary to the right administration of the means of grace, than that they who administer them be "rightly ordained" and authorised to do it, according to the institution and command of Him that did establish them. For seeing they do not work naturally, but only by virtue of the institution and promise annexed to it; unless that be duly observed, we have no ground to expect that the promise should be performed, nor by consequence that they should be effectual to the purposes for which they are used.

And certainly there neither is, nor ever was any provincial or national Church upon earth, wherein the institution of Christ and His Holy Apostles in this particular, hath been more punctually observed, than it is in ours. For as the Bishops and Pastors of our Church have by a successive Imposition of hands, continued all along from the Apostles, received the same Spirit which Christ breathed into them, for the effectual administration of the Word and Sacraments; so do they after the same manner confer the same Spirit upon others, even by "laying their hands" upon them, according to the institution of Christ, made known and confirmed to us by the practice of His Apostles and Catholic Church in all ages since. And herein it is, that the essence of" Ordination" doth properly consist. Neither doth our Church thus strictly observe this institution, by using this Apostolical "Imposition of hands upon such occasions in general only, but likewise she useth the same means and methods that the Apostles did, for the preparing those whom she intends to ordain for the receiving the "Holy Ghost" by such "Imposition of hands," and for the more effectual obtaining it for them. For which purpose she appoints certain seasons every year for this great work, and requires that all her members join together at these times in "fasting" and "prayer" to Almighty God for His direction of the Bishops who shall then ordain, and for His grace and heavenly benediction upon those who shall be "then ordained to any holy function:" and that this is exactly agreeable to the practice of the Holy Apostles in this case, is plain from these words; "And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." They first "fasted" and "prayed," and then

"laid their hands" on them.

The occasion of the words in brief was this: there were in the Church of Antioch, five persons eminent for the gift. of prophesying and teaching; and as they were on a certain time together, fasting and praying, and ministering to the Lord, the Holy Ghost, either by inspiration, they being Prophets, or by some particular revelation, said to them, Separate me Barnabas and Saul," two of the company, "for the work whereunto I have called them." From [Ver. 2.]

IX.

SERM. whence we may observe, how necessary it is that they who are admitted to the sacred Ministry of the Gospel, be externally as well as internally called, and publicly ordained to it by the Church. Saul was called before by Christ Himself, and both he and Barnabas were Prophets divinely inspired; and yet for all that, they must be "outwardly called" and "ordained" by the Chuch too, before they could be sent out to preach the Gospel. Yet the Holy Ghost, and so God Himself commands it, who at the same time that He commanded them to be "separated" or "ordained" by the Church, could, if He pleased, have come upon them without the "Imposition of hands," or the ministry of any men. But howsoever, to keep up the order which Christ hath established in His Church, He only signifies His pleasure that He would have them " ordained;" and then those Prophets and Teachers, which are supposed to be some Bishops or Pastors in and about Antioch, must "lay their hands upon them, that so they might by that means "receive the Holy Ghost" and power to administer the Word and Sacraments. Which is a full and undeniable argument for the necessity of persons being solemnly and publicly ordained by the "Imposition of hands," before they undertake to minister in the Church, whatsoever gifts, or parts, or “inward calling" they pretend to. For none certainly could ever pretend to any "inward call" to the ministry more than Paul and Barnabas might; and yet it seems that would not serve their turn, but they must be outwardly called ana ordained by the Church too, before they presume to meddle with any holy function: and questionless the great reason why this is so punctually described and recorded by the Holy Ghost in Scripture, was, that all people might take notice of it, and not expect that the Holy Ghost should ordain them Himself, when He would not ordain those eminent Saints Paul and Barnabas Himself, but leaves them to the Church, and expressly commands them to be ordained by her: "Separate," saith He, " Barnabas and Saul to the work whereunto I have called them." It seems He Himself had called them to the work, and for all that they must be ordained by men, before they would enter upon it.

The Holy Ghost having thus commanded the Prophets and Teachers there present to separate these two persons, it follows, "And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands upon them, they sent them away." From whence we may observe,

I. That although the Holy Ghost said only, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul," they knew well enough what He meant by it, even that they should "lay their hands" upon. them, and so ordain or separate them "to the work whereunto they were called." Which plainly shews, that the rite or ceremony of" laying hands" upon those who were to be set apart for the work of the Ministry, was not only commonly known at that time, but looked upon as necessary to be observed: and that it was approved of by the Holy Ghost Himself, is manifest from the following words: for so soon as hands were laid upon them, it is said, that "they were Ver. 4. sent by the Holy Ghost."

II. We may observe hence, that before they would lay their hands upon Barnabas and Saul, they fasted and prayed; which certainly is recorded on purpose for our imitation, that the Church in all ages might follow so good an example, and not lay hands upon any persons for the admitting them to an holy function, until they have fasted and prayed, as they here did.

Now we, in imitation of this holy example, and in conformity to the practice of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, being now assembled here upon the same occasion as these were, when they ordained Barnabas and Saul, even to fast and pray, in order to the "laying on of hands" upon persons to be set apart for the sacred Ministry of the Church; it may not be amiss, if we consider a little how reasonable and necessary it is that we should do so. It is true, this one instance is not only a sufficient warrant for it, but it lays an obligation upon us to do it. But howsoever, as we cannot imagine but they had great reasons for it, so it must needs be very convenient to consider what they were, both to justify our present assembling, and to excite those who are to be ordained, to a more serious performance of these two great duties of "fasting" and "prayer," as preparatory to their Ordination.

M

SERM.

IX.

First, as for "fasting," we shall soon acknowledge the great use of that in order to the fitting persons for "Ordination," if we do but consider how much it conduceth towards an holy and good life, and to the fitting and qualifying us for the service of God in general, both in its own nature, and by virtue of the promises which God hath made to it.

In what sense "fasting" in itself is one great means of our being and doing good, we shall easily understand, if we do but consider two things:

I. That the soul, the seat of all virtue and goodness, although it be a distinct substance from the body, and so is capable of acting separately from it, even whilst it is in it; yet so long as it is tied to the body, and actually informs it, so as to be but one part of that composition which we call man, it ordinarily makes use of the organs of the body, especially of the animal spirits, in all its actions. And these only are properly called "human actions," which are thus performed by the whole man: which therefore cannot but depend very much upon the temper of the body that concurs towards the performance of them, as we find by daily experience they do; for if our bodies be out of tune, so are our minds too. If any thing affects our heads, disturbs our brains, and so disorders the animal spirits, which the soul makes use of in its operations, they are likewise disorderly and irregular. As in music, though the artist be ever so skilful, yet if his instrument be out of tune, there can be no harmony or melody in what he plays upon it. Yea, none of us but may easily observe, that whatsoever humour prevails most in the body, as phlegm, choler, melancholy, or the like, our actions are usually tainted with it; insomuch, that by them we may easily discover what that humour is which is most predominant. From whence it plainly appears, that so long as the soul is in the body, although it was designed to rule and govern it, yet it is apt to be governed by it, and to indulge and humour it so far, as to follow not its own reason and judgment, but the more impetuous inclinations of the sensitive part, although it be to its own ruin and destruction.

II. Hence therefore it necessarily follows, in the next place, that "fasting" and "abstinence" cannot but conduce

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