In case of Idolatry If Israel play the harlot let not Iudah transgresse for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols 3. In case of Tyranny when any shall usurp and exercise Domination over the Consciences of men to bring them into bondage unto Doctrines of errours and make Articles of Faith for all Churches to submit unto In which case the Apostle had no patience Gal. 2.4 5. Neque enim quisquam nostrum Episcopum fe esse Episcoporum constituit aut tyrannico terrore ad obsequendi necessitatem collegas suos adegit they are the words of Saint Cyprian in the Councel of Carthage upon the case of Re-baptization This then being laid for a firm foundation that Christ where he is King of Salem must be King of Righteousness too that the wisedome which is from above must be first pure and then peaceable that our unity must be the Unity of the Spirit Ea enim sola Ecclesiae pax est quae Christi pax est as Saint Hilary speaks The state of this Point is in these two words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 War there must be I speak in a spiritual sense with Principalities and Powers and spiritual Wickednesses For the Church is Militant and hath Weapons of spiritual Warfare given of purpose to resist Enemies Christ came to send a Sword against all dangerous Errors of minde or manners And as in this Warre every Christian must have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Saint Paul speaks The whole Armour of God so above all Timothy and such as he was must be good Souldiers 2 Tim. 2.3 with the Eye to watch with the Tongue to warn with the Sword of the Spirit to convince and to correct gain-sayers War there must be but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Contention and inward jarres there must not be and that for this very reason because there is War for as our Saviour saith A Kingdom divided within it self cannot stand at any time much lesse when it wageth War with a Forreign and Potent Adversary such as Satan and all other Enemies of the Church are who by the advantage of an intestine Commotion would save himself the labour of drawing the Sword and become rather a spectatour than a party in the Conquest A notable example we have in Meletius and Peter Bishop of Alexandria both Confessours of the Christian Faith both Martyres designati and condemned Ad Metalla for their Profession who upon a small difference touching the receiving of the Lapsi into Communion fell unto so great a Schisme that they drew a partition between each other in the Prison and would not hold Communion in the same worship of Christ for which notwithstanding they joyntly suffered which dissention of theirs did the Church of God more hurt by causing a great rent and Sect among the members thereof than any persecution the Enemy could have raised Greatly therefore doth it concern all of us in our places and orders to put to all our power prayers interests for preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace and for pursuing and promoting the Peace of Ierusalem that in nothing we give offence to the Church of God rather be willing to silence and smother our private judgements to relinquish our particular liberties and interests to question and mistrust domestica judicia as Tertullian calls them our singular conceits and fancies than to be in any such thing stiffe and peremptory against the quiet of Gods Church The Weak to be humble and tractable the strong to be meek and merciful the Pastours to instruct the ignorant to reclaim the wandering to restore the lapsed to convince the froward with the spirit of meeknesse and compassion The People to obey honour and encourage their Ministers by their docible and flexible disposition to suspect their owne Judgements to allow their Teachers to know more than they not to hamper themselves nor to censure their Brethren nor to trouble their Superiours by ungrounded Scruples or uncharitable prejudices or unquiet and in the end uncomfortable singularities How did our Saviour poure out his Spirit in that heavenly Prayer for the Unity of his People That they may be one and one in us and made perfect in one How doth the Apostle poure out his very bowels in this respect unto the Church If any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any bowels and mercies be ye like minded Take heed of strife of vain-glory of pride in your own conceits of censure of your Brethren of private respects Lay aside your own reputation be in the forme of servants have such humble judgements as that you can be willing to learn any though unwelcome Truth to unlearn any though darling Errour have such humble lives and purposes as that you can resolve to obey with duty whatsoever you are not able with reason to gainsay The godly Princes how carefull have they ever been to suppresse and remove Dissentions from Gods Church Constantine the Great writeth Letters publisheth Edicts makes large Orations to the Bishops of the Nicene Councel at their Sitting and Dissolution to no other purpose than only for preservation of Peace Anastasius in the great Dissentions of the Easterne and Westerne Churches about the Councel of Chalcedon touching the two Natures of Christ how severe was he to require his Bishops to promote and conserve Peace in the Church as Euagrius and Nicephorus note To say nothing of the Pious examples of our Dread Soveraign and his most Renowned Father who both by Writings and by Injunctions by Pen and Power by Argument and by Authority have shewed their care to supresse those unhappy Differences wherwith by the cunning of Satan the Churches of God have of late yeers been too much disquieted Consider we beloved that we are Brethren that we have one Body one Spirit one Faith one Hope one Baptisme one Calling brought out of the same womb of common ignorance heirs of the same common Salvation partakers of alike precious Faith sealed with the same Sacraments fed with the same Manna ransomed with the same Prize comforted with the same Promises in so much that Iustine Martyr and Optatus have been charitable so far as to call Judaizing Christians and Donatists by the name of Brethren Whosoever therefore by Pride or Faction or Schisme or Ambition or novel Fancies or Arrogance or Ignorance or Sedition or Popularity or vain-Glory or Envie or Discontent or Correspondence or any other Carnal reason shall rend the seamlesse Coat of Christ and cause Divisions and Offences I shall need load him with no other guilt than the Apostle doth That he is not the Servant of Christ Rom. 16.17 For how can he who is without Peace or Love serve that God who is the God of Peace whose name is Love and whose Law is Love Besides this we in our Calling
are Brethren Consortio muneris and there is a special tie upon us to be no strikers 1 Tim. 3.3 not to strike our fellow-labourers with an Eye of scorn or a Tongue of censure or a Spirit of neglect or a Pen of gall and calumny We need not in any Controversie flie to stones so long as our Reason and Learning holdeth out Not to strike the People of God either with the Rod of Circe to stupifie and benum them in sensual security crying Peace Peace where there is no Peace or with unseasonable and misapplied terrours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Apostle speaks To wound the Conscience and to make sad the hearts of those whom the Lord hath not made sad Christ our Master was Consecrated to this Office by the Spirit in the shape of a Dove as an embleme of that meeknesse which was in him and which from him should descend upon all his subordinate Officers And as the love of Brethren should hold us so our jealousie of Enemies should drive us to keepe up the Tower of David the Peace of the Church that by intestine differences we cause not the Adversary to rejoyce and to speak reproachfully When all the members of the Church are fast joyned together vinculo fidei glutine charitatis by the bond and cement of faith and love when Governors Teachers People joyn hand in hand the one to rule with authority and meeknesse the other to teach with wisdom and compassion the third to honour both by humble submission to the judgment and willing obedience to the guidance of their Governours and Pastours then do they cut off occasion from those who seek occasion and disappoint the expectation of those who as a learned Civilian speaks do Captare tempora impacata inquieta whose best fishing is in troubled waters for as the Divel as Optatus speaks is tormented with the peace of Brethren so is he most quickned and put into hopes of successe in his attempts against the Church by those mutuall ruptures and jealousies which the members thereof foment and cherish among themselves When by the defection of Ieroboam Iudah and Israel were rent asunder then came Shishak and troubled Ierusalem 2 Chron. 12.2 It hath been we know one grand Objection of the Papists against the Reformed Churches That the Dissentions amongst themselves are evident signs of an Heretical spirit as Bellarmine Stapleton and others argue and Fitz-Simon an Irish Jesuit hath written a just Volume of this one Argument which he calleth Britannomachia the Warres of the Divines of our Country amongst themselves How happy they are in that pretended Unity which they make a note of their true Church I refer to any mans judgement who shall reade the crosse Writings of the English Seminaries and Iesuits the Iesuits and Dominicans Smith and Kellison Loemly and Hallier Daniel Iesu and Aurelius the different judgements concerning the Judge of Controversies between the Gallican Church and those more captivated to the Popes Chair in Italy and Spain to say nothing of the two hundred and thirty seven Differences observed by Pappus and three hundred and odde by a Reverend Bishop of ours amongst the Romane Doctours so that were all this calumny a truth we could Answer them as Gregory Nazianzen did those in his time who used the same argument 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That they are never the lesse faulty how ever we may be blame-worthy too Onely this want of Charity in them should teach us never to want Unity within our selves but to let such a Spirit of Peace and Meeknesse shew it self in our Lives Doctrines and Writings Ut nihil de nobis male loqui sine mendacio possint that they may never have advantage with the same breath to speak both truly and reproachfully against us And hereby as we shall stop the mouth of the Adversary so shall we preserve the honour of our Religion the successe of our Ministery the Reverence of our Persons and Functions in the minds of the People who may haply be apt enough to catch hold as of others so most of all of those occasions which our selves by our mutual Differences shall at any time administer to neglect both our Preaching and our Persons and when they shall observe hot disagreements amongst Learned men in some things how easily think we may such as are more led by the force of examples than by the evidence of light be induced to stagger and to question all Domesticae calumniae gravissimum fidei excidium no greater hindrance to the growth of Faith than Domestical disagreements Desired it may be but hoped it cannot That in the Church of God there should be no noise of Axes and Hammers no difference in Judgements and Conceits While there is corruption in our Nature narrownesse in our Faculties sleepinesse in our Eyes difficulty in our Profession cunning in our enemies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hard things in the Scriptures and an envious man to superseminate there will still be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men that will bee differently minded no instrument was ever so perfectly in tune in which the next hand that touched it did not amend something nor is there any judgement so strong and perspicacious from which another will not in some things finde ground of variance See wee not in the ancient Churches those great lights in their severall ages at variance amongst themselves Iraeneus with Victor Cyprian with Stephen Ierome with Austin Basil with Damasus Chrysostome with Epiphanius Cyril with Theodoret In this hard necessity therefore when the first evill cannot easily be avoided our wisedome must be to prevent the second that where there is not Perfection yet there may be Peace that dissention of Judgements break not forth into disunion of hearts but that amidst the variety of our severall conceits we preserve still the unity of faith and love by which only we are known to be Christs Disciples Give me leave therefore out of an earnest desire of Peace and Love amongst learned men in the further handling of this Argument briefly to inquire into these two Questions 1. How Peace may be preserved amongst men when differences do arise 2. How those differences may in some degree be composed and reconciled For the former let us first remember That Knowledge is apt to beget Pride and Pride is ever the mother of Contention and in Saint Austins phrase the mother of Heresies too Raro quisquam circa bona sua satis cautus est saith the Historian A very hard thing it is and rarely to be seen for a man endued with excellent parts to be wary temperate and lowly in the employment of them And therefore Satan hath usually set on work the greatest wits in sowing Errours in the Church as Agrippina gave Claudius poyson in his delicatest meat or as Theeves use to pursue their prey with the swiftest
horses Ornari abs te diabolus quaerit as Saint Austin said once unto Licentius a man of a choice wit but a corrupt minde wherein certainly Satan would fail of his end if men would make no other use of their parts and learning than the same Father directeth them unto Vt scientia sit tanquam machina quaedam per quam structura pietatis assurgat if they would use their learning as an engine and instrument for the more happy promoting of piety and pure Religion And indeed why shouldest thou who art haply a man of more raised intellectualls of more subtle and sublime conceits despise the judgement of thy meaner Brethren Who is it that hath made thee to differ And why hath he made thee to differ As hee hath given thee more variety of learning it may be he hath given thy Brother more Experience of divine things and you know a great Cosmographer may misse a way which a man lesse learned in Theory but more vers'd in travell may easily keep Certainly as the juyce of the same earth is sweet in the grape but bitter in the wormwood as the same odour is a refreshment to the Dove but a poyson to the Scarabaeus so the same learning qualified with charity piety and meekness may bee admirably usefull to edifie the Church which with pride contempt and corrupt judgement may be used unto harmfull purposes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Philosopher speakes Nothing is more dangerous then wickednesse in armour This therefore shall bee my first Rule To correct and keep down the rising of our Knowledge with Humility in our selves and Charity to our Brethren Not to censure every one for dull and brutish who in judgement varieth from our own conceits It was an old trick of the Gentiles as Gregory Nazianzen Arnobius and Minutius tell us to object illiteratenesse unto the Christians but a very unfit way it is for Christian men amongst themselves to refute adverse opinions or to insinuate their own by the mutuall undervaluing of each others parts and persons Ever therefore in our censures let us look to what is wanting in our selves and to what is usefull in our Brethren The one will make us humble the other charitable and both peaceable Pride made the Donatists forsake the Catholique Unity which St. Cyprian in the same judgement but with more humility did not disturb Secondly Peace may in this case be preserved by moderating the fervour of our zeal against those that are otherwise minded There is in the nature of many men a certain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an heat and activeness of spirit which then principally when conversant about Objects divine and matters of Conscience is wonderfull apt without a due corrective of wisdome and knowledge to break forth into intemperate carriage and to disturbe Peace It was zeal in the Women which persecuted Saint Paul Acts 13.50 and it was zeal in him too which persecuted Christ before he knew him Phillip 3.6 Acts 26.9 For as the Historian saith of some men that they are Sola socordia Innocentes bad enough in themselves and yet doe little hurt by reason of a flegmatick and torpid Constitution indisposing them for action so on the contrary men there may be who having devotion like those honourable Women not ruled by knowledge and zeal like quick-silver not allaied nor reduced unto usefulness by wisdome and mature learning may be as Nazianzen saith they were in his time the Causes of much unquiet It was a grave censure which Tacitus gave of some over-violent Assertours of their Liberty and it may be verified of others who as violently maintain their Opinions Quod per abrupta inclarescerent sed in nullum reipublicae usum Two great Inconveniences there are which may in Controversies from hence arise 1. That by this meanes Truth it self may be stretched too farre and by a vehement dislike of Errour on the one side we may run into an Errour on the other as Dionysius Alexandrinus being too fervent against Sabellius did lay the grounds of Arianisme and Chrysostome in zeal against the Manichees did too much extol the power of nature and Illyricus out of an hatred of the Papists lessening original sin ran another extream to make it an essentiall corruption 2. Hereby men doe marvelously alienate the mindes of one another from Peace by loading contrary Doctrines with envious consequences such as the Consciences of those whom we dispute withall do extremely abhor which course usually tendeth to mutuall exacerbation whereby Truth never gaineth half so much as Charity and Peace do lose Thirdly requisite it is to the preservation of Publique Peace that we all keep our selves in our own station and labour to doe God service in the places and callings wherein hee hath set us and not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to busie our selves with matters which as the Apostle speakes are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unsuteable to us and without our measure 2 Corinth 10.13 14. By this one thing hath the Church of Rome caused that great Schisme in the Christian World because shee doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stretch her self above her measure and not content her self with that degree which belongeth unto her as Nilus Archbishop of Thessalonica doth largely declare in a Book purposely written on that Argument Excellent counsell is that of Solomon not only in a case he there puts but in divers others If the spirit of the Ruler rise up against thee leave not thy place Eccles. 10.4 Esede itio may with a little heat turn into Seditio Consider all are not eies and hands in the Body of Christ to take upon them the burthen of great affaires and Truth can seldome be worse served then when a man who indeed loves it but hath not parts nor learning enough to be a Champion for it shall put himself unseasonably upon disputes and so as hee spake Veritatem defendendo concutere to betray the Truth by a weak defence Are all Apostles saith Saint Paul Are all Prophets are all Teachers Hath not God dealt to every man a several measure Hath hee not placed every man in a severall order Have we not all work enough to doe in Our own places except we rush into the labours and intrude our selves on the businesses of other men Haec magistro relinquat Aristoteli cavere ipse doceat It was a smart rebuke of Tully against Aristoxenus the Musician who would needs turn Philosopher whereunto agreeth that answer of Basil the Great to the Clerk of the Emperors Kitchin when he jeered him for his soundness against the Arrian Faction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Your businesse it is to look to the seasoning of your broath and not to revile the Doctrine or the Doctors of the Church Let us therefore content our selves with the Apostles Rule Every man to abide in the calling and to keep the station wherein