I.

The laft joyning Principle.

Peace is never bought too deare, but by fin and basenesse.

WE

E ufe to fay, We may buy Gold too deare, and fo we may Peace but whatfoever we pay for it befide finne and baseness, we have a good bargain. Suidas tells of the Emperour Trajan, that he would cut his own cloaths to binde up the wounds of his Souldiers. We fhould be very pitifull to fouldiers, who are wounded to keep us whole. We fhould binde up their wounds, though it coft us dear: but especially our care fhould be to bind up thofe wounds that by divifions are made in Church and Common-wealth: and well may we be willing to cut our cloathes to binde them up, when the evill of them is fuch as either does or should cut our hearts. But though peace be a rich merchandize, yet we muft not faile too far for it, not fo farre as to finne. We read 2 Kings 23. 13. Mount Olivet is called the Mount of corruption, because of the Idolatry committed upon it. Though we are to prize Mount Olivet at a very high rate, with the Olives growing upon it, yet we must take heed that we make it not a Mount of corruption. We may give peace to buy truth, but we may not give truth to buy peace. We may be bold with that which is our own to purchafe peace, but not with that which is Gods: yet we must not be base in our yielding in things naturall or civill for peace fake, that is,

First, we must not for our own private peace yield to that which is like to prove publique difadvantage and disturbance. There is a notable ftory of a Turkish Emperour, perceiving his Nobles & people to be offended that he was fo ftrongly in love to his Concubine Irene, his heart vvas fo taken vvith her that he grevv remifs in his regard to the Stern of the State. Nothing must be done but as Irene vvould have it: vvhatfoever refolutions there vvere of any good to the State, yet Irene must be confulted vvithall before they were put in execution,& if they pleafed not her all was dafhed,fo much did he dote upon Irene. This the Nobles and State could not bear: he therefore at laft fo far confidered the publique, as he overcame his doting affections. He brought Irene before them, and fayes, That ye may see how much I prize the content of my people, I facrifice her to them,

and

and fo drew his fword, and flew her with his own hands before their eyes. If according to her demerits for drawing his heart away from the good of the Common-wealth, fhe had bin given up to the fword of juftice, it might have satisfied as well. But left I be thought to be too literall, give me leave to allegorize upon this Irene. Her name is a Greek name, 'Eglin,it fignifies peace: we must not fo dote upon our Irene, our private peace, that the publique fhould fuffer for the fake of it. This is bafenefs: let her be facrificed for publick good; this is true generousness.

Secondly, that is bafeness, when our yeilding is thorough ignorance, cowardize, bafe fear, not from a principle of wifdome and understanding:not fo much out of true love to peace, as a foolish, ignorant, fottifh, fordid spirit of our own: whereas had we had a spirit of wifdome and courage, we might have peace upon more honourable terms. Indeed many think every kinde of yeilding bafnefs, but they are for the molt part fuch as are not put to any great triall themselves.But when our confciences tell us, that what we do is what the rule allowes us; it is not because we would avoyd trouble, but we find thorough Gods grace, our hearts in fome measure prepared for fuffering, if God were pleased to call us to it, in any thing wherein he may have glory, and the publick may be benefited. But because all things duly confidered, we see that God in fuch a way fhall have more glory,and our brethren generally more good therefore whatsoever becomes of our particular in regard of esteem, or other wayes,we are willing to yeild, and in this we finde our hearts as much clofing with God, enjoying Communion with him in all holineffe and godly fear, and in other things that go as near to us,we are able to deny our felves as much as ever: in this we may have comfort, that it is not bafeness that makes us yeild, but rather the grace of God enabling us to rule over our own fpirits. The peace that we thus purchase with the fuffering much in our names, and the lofs of many comforts does not coft us too dear.

CA P. XXXII.

Zoyning Confiderations.

The firft. The confideration of the many things wherein God hath joyned us.

Od hath joyned us together as we are men: we are not

G dogs, not wolves,let us not be fo one to another. Act. 7.20.

Mofes fpeaks thus to those who ftrove one with another: Sirs, ye are brethren, why do yee wrong one another? The words in the Greek are,ardeès adenooi èse, men yet are brethren. There is a confideration in this, that ye are men: if there were no more, yet ye fhould not ftrive one with another, but much more confidering ye are brethren. If we be men, let us be humane. What is the meaning of humanity, but courteoufnefs, gentleness, pleafantnefs in our carriages one towards another? But ftill the confideration growes higher, as we are the fame Country-men, of old acquaintance, in the fame imployment, of the fame fami ly and kindred, but above all, joyned in fuch a blessed root, the fountain of all love and peace. Ephef.4.4. prefents this confideration moft fully to us. The reafon the Apoftle gives why we muft keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,is, becaufe there is one body, and one spirit, ye are called in one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptifme, one God and Father of all. Here you have feven Ones together in two or three lines. It is very much that the fpirit of God should joyn so close together seven Ones; furely it is to be a ftrong argument for us to unity.

First, one Body. The meaneft member yet it is in the body. Is it comely for the body of Chrift to be rent and torn? any reference to Chrift might perfwade unity, but union with Christ as the members with the body, what heart can ftand against the ftrength of this? What can cause one member to tear and rend another, but madness?

2. One Spirit, 1 Cor. 12.11. that one and the self fame fpirit: he does not only fay, The fame fpirit; but, The felf fame fpirit and as if that not enough, he addes One to the self fame; and that yet not enough, he fayes, That one, all this is in the Greek τὸ ἐν καὶ τὸ πνευμα. The repeating the Article hath a great

elegan

elegancy in it. And is not this one Spirit the Spirit of love and meekneffe? What does a froward contentious fpirit do in thee, who profeffeft thy felf to be a Chriftian? What, fayes Cyprian, does the fiercenefs of Wolves, the madneffe of Dogs, the deadly Quid facit in poyfon of Serpents, the bloudy rage of Beafts, in a Chriftians peatore Chriflibreaft? ano luporum fe

ritas? canum

3. Called in one hope. Are not you heyres, joynt heyres of rabies? winethe fame Kingdome, and do you contend as if one belonged to num lethale fr the kingdome of light, and the other to the kingdome of dark- pen un? cruenta neffe?

de unitate Ec

Jevitia beftia4. One Lord. You ferve the fame Lord and Master. Is it for rum? Cypr. the credit of a Mafter, that his fervants are alwayes wrangling clef.Num.29. and fighting one with another? Is it not a tedious thing in a family that the fervants can never agree? Mark how ill the Lord takes this, Mat. 24. 49, 50, 51. that evill fervant who begins to fmite his fellow-fervants, provokes his Lord against him fo as to come upon him with fuch severity as to cut him asunder, and to appoint his portion with the Hypocrites; dixoTounge,he will dichotomize him, divide him in two; he by his fmiting his fellow-fervants makes divifions, but his Lord will divide him. It may be he pretends that his fellow-fervants do not do their duty as they ought; as if he were more carefull of the honour of his Lord then others who are of a different way from him. But in the meane while he inveighs against others, fmiting them with the tongue,and otherwife as he is able.He fits at full Tables, eats and drinks of the best, with fuch as are carnall and fenfuall, but they are great men,to have their countenance is brave; this is extreme futable to a carnall heart, who yet keeps up a profeffion of Religion, hath fome forme of godlineffe, he is afraid to lofe his fleshly contentment, therefore he fmites those who stand in his way: Thus divifions and troubles are made in Gods family: The Lord the mafter of it will reward accordingly; he will divide fuch by cutting them afunder, and appointing them their portion with the Hypocrites.

5. One Faith. What though we agree not together in fome things of leffer moment, yet we agree in one faith.Why should we not then keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? The agreement in the faith one would think should swallow up all other difagreements. We should rather bleffe God for keepMm 3

ing

Hoc vero me

ing men found in the faith, then contend with them for leffer mistakes. When the Pharifees, Acts 23.9. understood that Paul agreed with them in that great doctrine of the Refurrection, they prefently overlooked his other differences,faying, we finde no evill in this man. Our Brethren agree with us in more Fundamentals then this, and yet we can finde evill in them, and aggravate their evill beyond what it is, and improve it all we can against them. This is worse then Pharifaicall.

Mafter Calvin in his Epiftle to our Countreymen at Frank garviuerexcru- ford, fled for their lives in witneffe to the truth, yet miferably citvalle jarring and contending one against another there, to the scanabfurdum eft,, dall of all the Churches of God in thofe parts, begins his Epiftle inter fratres ab thus: This doth grievously torment me; it is extremely abfurd canlem filem à patria, xules, that diffentions should arife amongst brethren, exiles, fled from ac profugos, their countrey for the same faith, and for that cause which alone diffidium oriri, in this your scattering, ought to be to you as a holy band, to keepe &quidem bat de caufa qua you faft bound together. Their contentions were about Churchfola debuerat in Worship.

bac vista di- 6. One Baptifme. We are baptifed into Chrifts death, and fperfione quafi is not that to fhew that we should be dead to all those things in facrum vinculam the world that cause ftrife and contention among men? OurBapvos fimul devin- tifme is our badge, our livery, it furthers fomewhat the unity of Calv. Anglis fervants that they weare all one livery.

&os tenere,.

F.arcford.

7. One God. Though there be three perfons in the Divine Nature, and every perfon is God,yet there is but one God; here. is an union infinitely beyond all unions that any creature can be capable of; the mystery of this union is revealed to us, to make us in love with union. Our intereft in this one God is fuch a conjunction, as nothing can be more.

Jofephs brethren, Gen.50.17. looked upon this, as having very great power in it to make up all breaches,to heal all old grudges. After their Father was dead, their confciences mifgave them for what they had done to fofeph, they were afraid old matters would break forth,and that fofeph would turn their ene my; now how do they feek to unite fofephs heart to them? We pray thee, fay they, forgive the trespalle of the fervants of the God of thy Father and the Text fayes,fofeph wept when they spake unto him. Oh this was a heart-breaking fpeech to fofeph, The fervants of the God of my Father; Shall my heart ever be

eftranged