Dæmonologia Sacra; or, A Treatise of Satan's Temptations: In Three Parts — John Shaqi
Dæmonologia Sacra; or, A Treatise of Satan's Temptations: In Three PartsGilpin, Richard
Religion
Dæmonologia Sacra; or, A Treatise of Satan's Temptations: In Three Parts
Gilpin, Richard
Devil -- Early works to 1800; Temptation -- Early works to 1800
To shew that Dr Gilpin still adhered to his former action in Church
matters, it must here be stated that in 1658 he preached a ‘Sermon’
before the ‘associated ministers of Cumberland’ at Keswick. By the
request of the ‘General Meeting’ he published it. The title-page will
be found in our list of his writings at close of this Memoir. It was
with reluctance the good man consented to give his sermon ‘to print,’
as he intimated in the ‘Epistle Dedicatory.’ ‘What your commands,’
says he, ‘have wrested from me—for of that force and prevalency with
me are your desires—I now lay at your feet. If I could have prevailed
with you to have altered your vote, or after you had passed it, durst
have resisted—this had gone no further than your own hearing. But when
you would not be persuaded, I endeavoured to conform myself to those
Christians in Acts xxi. 14, and took up with that which put a stop to
their entreaties. “The will of the Lord be done,”’ (pp. 1, 2.) The
Text of this sermon—which is no common one—is Zech. vi. 13, ‘Even He
shall build the Temple of the Lord,’ &c., and hence its title, ‘The
Temple Rebuilt.’ I select a few of the more easily detached sentences.
First of all, concerning ‘Controversy,’ he says admirably: ‘Disputings,
though they have their fruits, yet are they like trees growing upon a
rocky precipice, where the fruit cannot be gathered by all, and not
by any without difficulty and hazard,’ (p. 3.) Again, on the office
of the ministry, he exclaims: ‘Dream not of ease in an employment of
this nature. God, angels, and men have their eyes upon you to see
how you will bestir yourselves: it is your duty, and not a matter of
unnecessary courtesy which you may give or hold back at your pleasure.
He that hath commanded you ἐν τόυτοις εἰναι, (1 Tim. iv. 15,) to
“give yourselves up wholly to these things,” will not take himself to
be beholden to you when you have done your best: neither is it any
disparagement to you to become even servants to any: so that you may
but gain them and forward Christ’s work. They that think it below them
to trouble themselves so much with catechising, reproof, admonition,
and are of Ptolemæus his mind, who changed the title of Heraclides
his book, from πονου ἐγκωμιον to ὄνου ἐγκωμιον: as if laboriousness
were nothing but an ass-like dulness, making a man crouch under every
burden; but God having made the ox which treadeth out the corn to be
the hieroglyphic of your employment, he doth thereby teach you that
labour and patience are so far from being a disgrace to you, that
they are necessary qualifications for the calling of the ministry,’
(pp. 3, 4.) Lastly—for we may not linger—take a burning and fearless
reproof of the lukewarm: ‘How cowardly and sinfully shamefaced,’ he
observes, kindling as he advances, ‘are many when they should plead
for God and truth, as if their own hearts did secretly question the
reality of religion! How strangely do many of the gentry spend their
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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