Selected quad for the lemma: peace_n
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A26837
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A sermon preached before the Right Honourable Sir Francis Chaplin, Lord Mayor of London at Gvild-Hall Chapell, November the 18th, 1677 by William Battie ...
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Battie, William, 1634 or 5-1706.
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1678
(1678)
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Wing B1160; ESTC R15807
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20,451
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40
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And it may not be amiss to remember them of some of them Mr. Ienkins in the Sermon before mentioned having observed that it was looked upon as a Blessing that they were in Days that men might be as good as they pleased which had then been lately Dr. Owen's words in one of his Sermons he intreats the Parliament in these words I beseech you as you love your own Souls and as you dread the Anger of him whose Anger if kindled but a little blessed are all they that put their trust in him let not men be suffered to be as wicked as they please And in his Commentary upon S. Iude he thus contends with Magistrates They who reign by God should reign for him How unreasonable is it that people should be Lawless onely in Religion Shall it not be indifferent whether men will pay a Tax and shall it be indifferent whether they will ever hear a Sermon And then he mentions Artaxerxes his Decree Ezra 7. 26. as if he would have had it decreed after the manner of the Medes and Persians that men should be confined to hear him and his Brethren upon the penalty of Death Banishment Confiscation of Goods and Imprisonment for so runs that Decree And lest they should boggle at these things in any sense of their Obligation to Moderation he thus cautions them as to this How soon learned is the Wisedom of shunning Troubles of Self-preservation and tame Silence when Religion is endangered i.e. when Presbytery was in danger of being worsted by the After-Subdivisions and how easily but alas how falsely is this called Moderation And in his Sermon before mentioned he hath these words Because no Conscience can be touched must all Practices be suffered And Dr. Manton at the same time in his Comment upon the eleventh Verse of S. Iude warning Magistrates to be aware of the followers of Corah to use his own words of Factious and Seditious persons compared to Cain as he observes well because of their Cruelty and to Balaam because of their Covetousness he assures the Magistrates That the Danger of the latter Times would not be so probably from a second Deluge of Antichristians as from Seditious Insurrections of Sectaries who though they seem to be meek and full of Love while their Party is contemptible yet when they grow considerable they appear in their Colours The Antichristian Party carrieth things by Power and Worldly Greatness but this Party is a creeping Party that gets into Houses This is the Party from whence I fear such Danger and Disturbance And the same sense and fear of Toleration and Sectaries had the Ministers of the Province of London witness their Subscription to a Book called A Testimony to the Truth of Jesus Christ and to our Solemn League and Covenant in which Book this is mentioned among others for one abominable Errour viz. That little can be done unless Liberty of Conscience be allowed for every man and sort of men to worship God in that way and perform the Ordinances of Christ in that manner as shall appear to them most agreeable to God's Word And the Trouble they had to think what other Reformed Churches would say of them should this take place they thus expressed Is this England which Covenanted to Extirpate Popery Prelacy Superstition Schism c and after so long Travail hath she now brought forth an hideous Monster of Toleration In these and many the like Expressions that might be alledged we see that how little soever it was the Presbyterians repented them of the first Breach they themselves had made they were yet so sensible of the Confusion they had brought upon this Nation by it that they were utterly against Toleration as that which would certainly endanger more Breaches But all their Applications to the Usurpers and all their Endeavours this way were no better nor other nor less vain till God by restoring us our KING built up the old Wall again for us then theirs who take no care to secure their Lands from an Inundation till the Sea hath made a Breach into them A Neighbourly Agreement before-hand to put to all hands where there was the greatest appearance of Danger might have prevented the Mischief but the Breach once made he onely who sets Bounds to the Sea can help here Well this was our Condition by Breach after Breach we were overflown with Confusion in the words of the Psalmist we were brought very low and God helped us when we were very hopeless of it from any other hand and in a manner even miraculous he hath made up our Wall again for us by giving us our Iudges as at the first and our Counsellours as at the beginning Now as Samuel exhorteth the Israelites Let us fear the Lord our God considering what great things he hath done for us and let us honour the Authority by which he hath done it and express it in the Honour we are ready to pay to all their Commands in the observing of them and to their Commands in the things I have been speaking of in particular and the rather because we cannot be truly accounted any other then Despisers of Authority if we oppose our selves here for the things most of them are such as it is very likely we should doe them of our own heads were there no Appointments about them What other are Kneeling at Prayers Kneeling at the Sacrament and the having our Heads uncovered in the time of Divine Service and Sermon and the like For men to oppose themselves in such things they will never satisfie any rational person that they object and scruple and disobey upon a Consciencious Account but out of an untoward Principle of Opposition rather whereby some men are inclined to dislike some Circumstances in Religion meerly upon the account of their Establishment by Authority which surely is despising of Authority and argues a very cross and sullen temper of Mind and such as is not to be humoured especially when we shall consider how great a matter a little Fire did here kindle It is not long since these Kingdoms were all in a Flame and here it was they took fire first in these Chips the Dissatisfactions of men about these Indifferent things many persons very inconsiderately preferring a little Pleasing of themselves a small portion of private Satisfaction in being admired for persons of a Purer way and having many Followers before the publick Peace and Safety of the Church and State Let the burnt Child dread the Fire Take we warning henceforth never to be so far wedded to our own private Persuasions as not to consider that where the publick Peace and Safety of the Church and Kingdom are concerned it is most meet for us to strike Sail and to give place and above all things to follow after the things which make for peace as the Apostle counsels even concerning these Indifferent things for of them had he been discoursing as the observing of Days and the eating of Meats In these things we are so to order our selves as to endeavour the promoting of the publick Peace by reasoning with our selves about these things in this manner and behaving our selves accordingly I am of this Opinion but my Brother is of another but by whose Opinion the publick Peace shall be best promoted let that Opinion by all means have the place and be yielded to For what thing in this World is comparable to universal Peace and Accord amongst Christians who have one God one Faith one Hope one Baptism so many Obligations to be at one amongst our selves Next to Glory to God on high in the estimation of the blessed Angels comes Peace on Earth The sweet Singer of Israel as wanting words to express its Excellency breaks out into this Admiration of it Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in Vnity Let those who have the like Esteem for it follow the things that make for it by submitting to the wholsome and innocent Constitutions that were devised purely for the conserving of it Which that we may all of us doe and so by our Peaceable Conversation put to silence such as speak evil of us as of evil-doers The God of Peace give us his Grace to enable us thereunto for the Merits and sake of Iesus our Peace-maker the Prince of Peace to whom with God the Father and God the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory Adoration and Thanksgiving henceforth and for ever Amen FINIS Gen. 19. 9. 1 King 18. 17. Jer. 15. 10. Isa. 53.3 Matth. 10. 25. Acts 24.5 1 Cor. 4. 13. Prov. 18. 13. Prov. 25. 23. Hor. Epist. Lib. 1. Ep. 16. Amb. de Interp. Lib. 2. Ca. 2. Prov. 27. 22. 2 Tim. 2. 25. Rom. 13.5 1 Tim. 4. 12. 1 Tim. 3. 15. Acts 15. 20. Vers. 28. Beza Epist. 24. ad Peregrinarum in Anglia Ecclesiarum Fratres Policy of Princes pa. 37. Ursin. loc Theol. in 3. praecept Scandalum datum est in rebus adiaphoris Errores in animis infirmorum confirmare Beza Epist. 8. ad D. Edm. Grindallum Episc. Lond. Policy of Princes pa. 33. Policy of Princes pa. 33. Verse 3. Page 117. * Pag. 121. Page 23. Page 402 and 403. Page 22. Rom. 14. 19. Psal. 133.1