DISCOURSE II. THE PRINCIPAL PARTS AND BRANCHES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE, WITH RULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE DUE PERFORMANCE OF EACH OF THEM. In a Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of St. David's. I Reverend Brethren of the Clergy, SHALL not waste my time and little strength by detaining you with a long and useless preface. In short, my business at this time shall be to set before you the several parts and branches of that holy office and function, which you have undertaken, together with some rules and directions which are necessary to be observed for the due performance of each of them. The principal parts and branches of the pastoral office are these five: First, Reading divine service, or the prayers of the church. Secondly, Preaching. Thirdly, Catechising. Fourthly, Administering the holy sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Fifthly and lastly, Visiting of the sick. First, reading divine service, or the prayers of the church. This some may think to be a slight and easy matter, that needs not any advice or directions; a [This appears to have been delivered in 1708. See Sermon VI. vol. 1.] BULL, VOL. II. but they are very much mistaken. For to the reading of the prayers aright there is need of great care and caution. The prayers of the church must be read audibly, distinctly, and reverently. 1. Audibly, so that if possible, all that are present may hear them and join in them. There are some that mutter the prayers, as if they were to pray only to themselves, whereby they exclude most of the congregation from the benefit of them. 2. The prayers of the church ought to be read distinctly and leisurely; not to be gallopped over, as the manner of some is, who read the prayers so fast that they outrun the attention and devotion of the people, not giving them time to join with them, or to make their responses in their due places. This rule is to be observed in reading the prayers throughout, but especially in reading the Decalogue or Ten Commandments in the second service. There are some that read the Commandments so thick one upon another, that the people have not time to add that excellent prayer to each of them, "Lord, have "mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this "law." To this head, of distinct reading the prayers, I shall only add this one observation. Whereas upon Sundays and holydays the church hath appointed a first and second service to be read one after another, it is convenient that there be a decent interval betwixt them. For judge, I pray you, how absurd it may seem to conclude the first service with St. Chrysostom's prayer, and The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and immediately without any intermission to enter upon the second service. I verily believe the first intention of the church. was, that these two services should be read at two several times in the morning; but now custom and the rubric direct us to use them both at the same time. Yet in cathedral or mother churches there is still a decent distinction between the two services: for before the priest goes to the altar to read the second service, there is a short but excellent anthem sung, in imitation whereof in the churches of London, and in other greater churches of the country, instead of that anthem there is part of a psalm sung. 3. And lastly, the prayers of the church are to be read with great reverence and devotion, so as to excite and kindle devotion in the congregation. Thus the prayers of the church are to be read, if we would keep up the reputation of them, and render them useful to the people. But, alas! there are too many ministers, who by disorderly and indecent and irreverent reading of the Liturgy disgrace it, and expose it to contempt. To whom the church may complain, as one of old in the poet did, of the ill rehearsal of his oration: Quem recitas meus est, O Fidentine, libellus, "The book of prayers which ye read is indeed mine, "but at the sad rate you read it, I am ashamed of "it, it is none of mine, but yours." I am verily persuaded that this is one cause that there are so many sectaries and separatists among us. They find so little reverence and devotion in the use of our common prayers, that they cannot away with them, but run from the church to the conventicle, where they hope to find more devotion. II. Another part of the pastoral office is preaching, i. e. (as we commonly use the word) taking a text or portion of Scripture, explaining it, raising some useful point of doctrine from it, and applying it to the edification of the hearers. For otherwise the bare reading of the Scriptures is sometimes called preaching; as Acts xv. 21, For Moses (that is, the writings of Moses) of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. But here I take the word preaching in the forementioned sense, as now it is used. This is a noble part of the pastor's duty, but difficult; it is not a work that every one should undertake or can perform: for it requires the knowledge and understanding of the holy Scriptures, and in order thereunto, some skill in the learned languages and other parts of human learning; it requires a good judgment and discretion, I add elocution too. The time will not give me leave (if I were able) to set before you all the rules or precepts of the art of preaching, and to give you an entire system of it. There are many learned men who have written full treatises of this subject; I mention only our excellent bishop Wilkins, who hath published a treatise, entitled, Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher, which I recommend to the reading of younger divines and first beginners in the art of preaching: to whom also I give this farther advice, that they should not at first trust to their own compositions, but furnish themselves with store of the best sermons that have been published by the learned divines of our church. These they should read often, and study to imitate them, and in time they will attain to an habit of good preaching themselves. Among the printed sermons, those of the late archbishop Tillotson are well known and approved by all. But what shall be done in those poor parishes, where there are as poor ministers, altogether incapable of performing this duty of preaching in any tolerable manner? I answer, that in such places, ministers, instead of sermons of their own, should use the Homilies of the church, which ought to be in every parish. And they would do well also, now and then to read a chapter or section out of the Whole Duty of Man, which (I presume) is translated into the Welsh tongue. I add, that it would be a piece of charity if the clergy of the neighbourhood to such places, who are better qualified, would sometimes visit those dark corners, and lend some of their light to them, by bestowing now and then a sermon on the poor people, suited to their capacities and necessities. They have my leave, yea and authority so to do; and they may be sure the good God will not fail to reward them. III. The third work of the pastor's office is catechising, without which preaching will not be sufficient. For if people be not well instructed in the necessary principles of religion when they are young, they will hardly attain to any sound knowledge when they are old. For according to the Greek apophthegm, Νεκρὸν ἰατρεύειν καὶ γέροντα νουθετεῖν ταῦτόν ἐστι. "To instruct an ignorant old man and to raise a “dead man are things almost equally difficult." I shall not insist upon this subject, for the usefulness and necessity of catechising is acknowledged by all, though the work itself is by many of the clergy sadly neglected. Where such neglect is, it is the duty of the churchwardens to present. I shall make it my business to see this fault amended. |