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earth_n bind_v key_n loose_v 3,794 5 10.2737 5 false
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A81927 A peace-maker without partiality and hypocrisie. Or The gospel-way to make up the present breaches of brotherhood, and heale the divisions, whereby some of the reforming professors and ministers of the kindome at the time, sadly dishonour their profession, mainley obstruct our reformation, utterly destroy the safe constitution both of church and state. Wherein are handled, 1. How the meanes of Christian peace, as well civill as ecclesiasticall, may bee found and ought to bee followed, both by pastors and people. 2. What are the speciall lets of Ecclesiasticall reconciliation, and what the causes of divisions are, and how to be remedied. 3. What are the grounds, termes and motives of brotherly unitie and forbearance, which the ministers and members of the churches of England ought ot professe and practise one towards another for the gospels sake. / All written upon severall occasions and at severall times by Mr. John Dury, one of the assembly of divines, &c. and now published by Samuel Hartlib, to whom they were sent. Dury, John, 1596-1680. 1648 (1648) Wing D2877; Thomason E458_19; ESTC R205070 94,791 118

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against that Church 3 And lastly That the keyes of the kingdome of heaven with authoritie to bind and loose on earth whatever should be bound and loosened in heaven shall be given to this Church These promises I beleeve to bee so sure that they shall never faile Therefore I must conclude that neither the foundation of the Church nor the Church which is builded thereupon nor the Ministeriall authoritie of the keyes given to that Church shall faile so long as this world doth last For what although some doe not beleeve and are disobedient to the will of God shall their unbelief and disobedience make the faith and truth of God without effect God forbid yea all men are to bee found liars that God may bee found true for he hath concluded all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all therefore in his sayings he shall be justifified and when he is judged overcome Wee must therefore acknowledge that by our unrighteousnesse the righteousnesse of God is to be commended and that although we of this Nation should utterly faile him and bee no more worthy to be counted his Church yet that he will never faile to doe what hee hath said unto the seed of Christ amongst men and never recall the word which hee hath spoken concerning his Church But this we are bound to beleeve Isa 59.21 that wheresoever there is a societic of men beleeving with their heart and with their mouth making openly profession of this truth that Jesus is the Christ the Sonne of the living God there is a Church existent and wheresoever a Church is existent there the authoritie of the keyes is not wanting because Christ hath said that the gates of hell shall not prevaile against it I shall then confidently conclude from these premises two things first seeing there are societies of beleevers which are here existent and known to bee built upon that truth which is the foundation that therefore notwithstanding all these failings in particular duties whereof they are guiltie that yet Gods promise for the main will never be wanting to them as to his Church Secondly I may infer this also that notwithstanding all the advantages which Satan seemeth to have gotten both against the Ministery of this Church and against their administrations therein whereby hee doth blast them and the fruit of their labours yet wee may bee sure that he shall never prevaile so farre as to make void the priviledge of the Church which is to have a right to the keyes of the kingdome of heaven and thereby to the administration of all Christs Ordinances Now then although indeed it is very sad and lamentable that the Builders themselves should be so far wanting to their dutie as by their divisions to give such an advantage unto Satan that hee should bee able visibly to pull down more then they are able to build up yet we know that all things even these same and such like failings The comfort of beleevers against these evils Psal 76.10 will worke together for the best towards those that love God and that all the advantages which Satan hath gotten against the kingdome of Christ will tend together to Gods greater glory and Satans owne overthrow at last For as the wrath of man shall surely praise the Lord so the plots of Satan and all his prevailing upon the infirmities of his Saints when he shall have mercy upon Zion will redound exceedingly to the increase of his glory by the manifestation of the riches of his grace and of the stabilitie of his purposes in setting up the kingdome of Jesus Christ through a finall and totall destruction of all the enemies thereof Seeing then I have cause to hope for such an issue of this warfare I shall not feare that the discovery of this failing in the Ministery will bee taken as a reproach to discredit them towards others in their function which I acknowledge in its own way and degree to be of God not of man but rather as an admonition of love to show to those that are conscionable the necessity of laying their owne condition to heart and of seeking the remedy thereof in that way wherein it may bee found And that I may not bee wanting unto this designe I shall adde one thing more The necessitie of unitie further pressed for the demonstration of the necessitie of this dutie of brotherly unitie which is so much neglected amongst us that afterwards I may come to speake more fully of the usefulnesse and excellency thereof In the profession of Christianitie the Apostle saith that neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision Gal. 6.15 16. but a new creature And as many as walke by this rule Peace saith bee will bee upon them and mercy and upon the Israel of God Here then wee see that the fruits of Peace and of mercy are Gods blessings upon the life of the new Creature and where these fruits are not at all apparent but on the contrary a spirit of strife of bitternesse of hatred and of mercilesse affection doth prevaile there wee needs must say that the old creature is still alive because the wisedome which is earthly Iam. 3.14 15 16 17 18. sensuall and devillish which is the old mans rule brings forth such effects Now it is the proper worke of the true Ministers of the Gospel to perswade all men to live the life of the new Creature and to mortifie the members of the old man Col. 3.5.8 which are upon the earth whereof these are a part But if through the spirit of division and variance the Ministers themselves are intangled in these passions and that even one against another so that they doe not shew forth all meeknesse with all long-suffering and forbearance wherein they ought to receive each other to the glory of God as Christ received us how can they performe this worke how can they perswade others to walke by a rule which they mind not and wherein they themselves are not exercised It is cleer then that to doe the proper worke of their Ministery it is necessary for them to intend the dutie of brotherly love and unitie Moreover it is said here that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision doth availe any thing in Christ Jesus and if this is so then the division and distraction which is amongst us for things of such a kind is sinfull and necessary to bee left off for I am sure that circumcision to the Jewes and uncircumcision to the Gentile was a matter of greater concernment then any thing about which wee at this time are divided And if that ought not to have made a breach between them farre lesse these things amongst us Now that which by the new Creature is available in Christ Jesus Gal. 5.6 is faith onely which worketh by love If then the Ministers of the Gospel are appointed by God to beget faith and love in their hearers that is to perswade the unbeleevers thereunto and to
can bee no common profession or publick manifestation of the life of Christ unto the world by a body of Professors And for this cause Christ hath made the fundamentall law of the profession in common and the badge of his disciples unto the world to bee this that they should love one another as hee hath loved them Iohn 13.34 35. A new commandement I give unto you that yee love one another as I have loved you that yee also love one another by this shall all men know that yee are my disciples if yee have love one to another Now if this Law is common to all as they are Christians so that the transgressours thereof doe forfeit their right in Christianitie and are not to bee acknowledged Christs Disciples if they persevere in this fault then it is evident that such of the Ministery as observe it not in their Ministeriall relation one towards another are farre more guiltie then others because their charge in the common profession doth oblige them more to this dutie then others in as much as they are more bound thereby to uphold the truth of the profession then others are for they are the joynts of the body and the instruments of the communion between the members which if they through want of love to each other do either breake or not advance they are not onely guiltie of their owne disunion from their fellow labourers in the Ministery but also of the disjoynting of all other professors and members of Christ one from another in the way of the common calling And this is so much the more to be heeded by how much the Scripture is more frequent and earnest in pressing this dutie and the effects thereof then any other thing requisite in the obedience of Faith To reckon up all the particular commandements and strong motives which are in the New Testament to enforce the practise of this dutie is not my purpose at this time but I would onely remonstrate unto those that intend to bee faithfull unto God and conscionable in their ministery that as the fundamentall Lawes of the common profession which are the practise of love and unitie belong more unto them in respect of each other then unto single members in respect of one another because mutuall love and unitie in the Ministers entertained or not entertained doth beget or destroy the same in common professors so the effects meanes and consequents of those duties are more eminently the concernment of their calling then of any others Therefore I shall briefly point at some places of Scripture wherein the chief effects and meanes of those fundamentals are earnestly recommended unto all that the Ministery of this age may see therein the rule of their comportment and how far wee are strayed from it Wee are then all commanded and that as a dutie wherein wee are to walke worthy of the vocation wherewith wee are called to study the unitie of the Spirit in the bond of peace because all our fundamentall relations to all the meanes and to Christ and God the Authors of our salvation are one and the same Ephes 4.1 2 3 4. 5 6. and 1 Cor. 1.10 11 12 13. and 2 Cor. 13.11 Col. 3.13 14 15. Therefore wee are commanded againe and againe to be of the same mind each towards another Rom. 12.16 Phil. 2.2 to have the same love and to be of one accord Phil. 2.2 and 1 Pet. 3.8 and 1 John 4.7 8.11 12. 5.1 and 2 John 5 6. and 1 Pet. 1.22 and the measure and hight of this love is that we are bound in imitation of Christ to lay downe our lives for our brethren 1 John 3.16 and Joh. 15.12 13. far more then ought wee to deny our selves in lesser things The effects of these graces and the meanes to honour the holy profession by the practise thereof are of two sorts the one positive the other negative The positive effects of the spirit of love and unitie are the expressions of all good will towards others in the common profession and the use of all the meanes whereby the integritie thereof may be upheld in every one These are chiefly 1 Mutuall care to build up each other to pray for each other to keep each other in the love of God Jud. 20.21 and to this effect 2 To looke to each others things and not to our owne things alone Phil. 2.4 and 1 Cor. 10.24 3 To serve each other in love Gal. 5.13 4 To please our neighbour for good to his edification Rom. 15.2 5 To provoke one another to love and good workes Heb. 10.24 and to follow the good whereunto we are provoked Hebr. 12.14 6 To exhort and admonish one another Heb. 3.13 Rom. 15.14 7 To preferre others to our selves in love and by humility Rom. 12.10 Phil. 2.3 8 To have compassion on each other in cases of infirmitie considering our owne condition lest wee also be tempted Jud. 22. Gal. 6.1 9 To beare one anothers burdens and in the spirit of meeknesse supporting the weake to restore one another Gal. 6.1 2. and 1 Thes 5.14 Rom. 15.1 10 To make a difference of faults and to save some as pulling them out of the fire Jud. 22 23. The negative effects of this spirit are the inclinations and indeavours whereby all evills which may occasion the breach of unitie or love are avoided And to this effect wee are commanded 1 Not to seeke or to please our selves Rom. 15.1.3 Phil. 2.4.6 7 8. 2 Not to have any evill will or hatred against any 1 Pet. 2.1 and 1 John 2.9 10 11. 3 Not to bee vaine-glorious to provoke any or to envie one another Gal. 5.26 4 Not to revenge or recompense evill with evill Rom. 12.17.19.21 and 1 Thes 5.15 but to forbeare and to forgive one another in cases of offence Ephes 4.2 Col. 3.13 5 Not to murmur nor dispute nor to give offence unto any Phil. 2.14 15 16. and 1 Cor. 10.32 6 Not to strive nor to fight nor to beat our fellow servants Matth. 24.49 and to avoid this it is especially required in the Ministers of the Gospel 2 Tim. 2.24 25. Of all which and such like duties whereof the Scriptures are full and which tend to perfect the Saints in their holy communion and to direct brethren in the common profession of Christianitie to advance truth and holinesse in themselves and others wee must say this that they oblige Ministers in a threefold respect above others For they are not onely bound to observe these rules in all their wayes as they are Christians but they are moreover bound to observe them First towards all more eminently then other common professors because they are appointed to bee the Salt of the earth and the light of the world and as a City built upon a hill that cannot bee bid Matth. 5.13 14. Secondly towards their fellow Ministers more especially and distinctly then towards others because they are bound to them by a double tie of followship viz. by