THE PEACEMAKER, LAYING FORTH THE RIGHT WAY OF PEACE, IN MATTERS BY JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH. I have perused this discourse, entitled "The Peacemaker," and observing it to be, in respect of the subject matter, pious, profitable, and very seasonable in these distracted and distempered times, and in the manner of handling it sober, learned, and impartially judicious, I allow it to be printed and published. JOHN DOWNAME. To my reverend Brethren of the diocese of Norwich. Worthy Brethren,-Ye cannot but have taken notice of the silence that hath lately possessed my tongue, which was wont to be vocal enough. Besides some external reasons, it is my care and zeal of peace that stops my mouth for the time, and bids me refrain even from good words. In the mean while, the same dear respect to peace employs my hand, and bids it supply the place of my tongue, as that which shall speak louder, and to more eyes, than my tongue could to ears: both of them are heartily devoted to peace, and strive whether shall more express it. It was ever the desire of my soul, even from my first entrance upon the public service of the Church, according to my known signature, with Noah's dove, to have brought an olive-branch to the tossed ark; and God knows how sincerely I have endeavoured it; but if my wings have been too short, and the wind too high for me to carry it home, I must content myself with the conscience of my faithful devotions. Some little hint whereof, notwithstanding, I have thought fit to give to the world in this present discourse, lest I should seem to be, like itself, all pretence; and that I might, by this essay of mine, open the way to some more able undertakers. 596 Now therefore let me recommend this subject to your seriousest thoughts, and beseech you all, in the bowels of our common Saviour, to join with me in the zealous prosecution of what I here treat of, peace. It is an useful rule of our Romish casuists, that he who will have benefit of their large indulgences must porrigere manus adjutrices. Surely it holds much better in the present case. Whoever will hope to reap the comfort of this incomparable blessing of peace must put forth his helping hand towards the procuring of it. O let not our studies, nor prayers, nor tears, nor counsels, nor solicitations, nor engagements, nor endeavours be wanting to it; no, nor, if need were, our blood. What the price of it is, sith the fruition of it did not teach us, we have too well learnt in the want. Alas, my brethren, we cannot help one another sufficiently to condole the miseries under which we, yea this whole church, yea this whole bleeding monarchy, yea the whole Christian world, at this time groaneth, by reason of that woful and deadly debate that rageth every where. All the whole earth is on fire; the flame reacheth up to heaven, and calls for more thence. Woe is me! our very punishment is our sin. What should we do, but pour out floods of tears towards the quenching of it, and say, with the lamenting prophet, O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Jer. ix. I. But as Chrysostom said long ago in the like case to Innocentius, It is not wailing will serve the turn, if we do not bestir ourselves what we may for redress. When we see our house on fire, do we stand still and cry? do we not ring bells, and call neighbours, and bring ladders, and fetch buckets, and pour on water, and pull down reeds and rafters, and whatever may feed that flame? And why should we not do so in this common conflagration? 0, let every man of us put his hand to the work, and labour to withdraw that hellish fuel which nourisheth and increaseth this fearful combustion; and if each man can but pull away one stick, it shall be his comfort and joy in that great day. But far, far be it from us, that any of us should misemploy himself as an incendiary. It is felony, by our municipal laws", for a man to burn but the frame of a building intended for an house: how heinously flagitious shall the God of heaven account it, to set on fire his complete spiritual house the Church, whereof every believer is a living stoneb! Doubtless, how slight account soever the world makes of these spiritual distempers, it shall be easier in the day of judgment for thieves and whoremongers and adulterers, than for the breakers of public peace. Never was there any so fearful vengeance inflicted upon any malefactors as upon Korah and his combination. Surely, if we consider the sin in itself, other offences had been far more heinous, but in that it was a presumptuous mutiny, tending to the affront of allowed authority, to the violation of peace, and to the destruction of community, the earth could not stand under it, hell only is fit to receive it. I speak not this to intimate the least suspicion, much less accusation, of a 37 Hen. VIII. 6. Inexpiabilis et gravis culpa discordiæ, nec passione purgatur. Cypr. de Simplicit. Prælatorum. Possidere non potest indumentum Christi, qui scindit et dividit Ecclesiam Christi. Ibid. Cypr. 597 any of you, my dear brethren, but by way of a tender precaution and loving cohortation to excite you and myself to the improvement of all the powers of our souls, for the recovery and perpetuation of the Church's peace; a duty which both our blessed Saviour and his holy apostles hath so vehemently urged, as if there were no life of Christianity without it, Matt. x. 13; Mark ix. 50; Luke x. 6; John xiv. 27; Rom. iii. 17; xiv. 19; 1 Cor. vii. 15; 2 Cor. xiii. 11; Gal. v. 22; Eph. iv. 3; xii. 14; James iii. 18; 1 Pet. iii. 11. 1 Thess. v. 13; 2 Tim. ii. 22; Heb. As we honour the God of love and peace whom we serve; as we love the Prince of peace, in whom we believe; as we tender the success of the gospel of peace, which we preach; as we wish and hope for the comfort of the peace of God in our own bosoms; let us seek peace where it is missing; let us follow after it when it flies from us; let us never leave the chase, by importuning God and men, till we overtake it, till we reenjoy it, and all the blessings that accompany it: which shall be ever the prayer and endeavour of Your faithful and loving Fellow-Labourer, JOS. NOR. The Contents of the several sections following: SECT. I.-The difference of truths, and the importance of those which concern matter of religion, p. 598. SECT. II-What differences of judgment make a different religion, p. 600. SECT. III. Of the fundamental points of religion, p. 601. SECT. IV. The injurious uncharitableness of the Romish church, in excluding Christian churches, and condemning their professors, p.602. SECT. V.-The undue alienation of the Lutheran churches from the other reformed, p. 606. SECT. VI.-The differences betwixt the other reformed churches and our own, р. бод. SECT. VII. The differences within our own church at home, p. 611. SECT. VIII. Of the ways of peace that concern private persons: the first whereof is to labour against the inward grounds of contention: whereof the first is pride; the second, self-love, p 613. SECT. IX.-The third inward ground of contention, envy and malice: the fourth ground of contention, covetousness, p. 616. SECT. X.—The second private way of peace, the composing ourselves to a fit disposition for peace; and therein, first, to a meek and humble temper, p. 619. SECT. XI.-The second disposition for peace, is obedience to our spiritual guides, p. 621. SECT. XII.-The third disposition for peace, a charitable affection to our brethren, p. 623. SECT. XIII. The fourth disposition for peace, an yieldableness upon sight of clearer truths, p. 626. SECT. XIV. The third way or rule of peace, the avoiding of unnecessary questions, p. 628. SECT. XV.-The fourth private way of peace, to labour and pray for further illumination in all requisite truths, p. 631. SECT. XVI.—The fifth rule or way of peace, to comply with our brethren so far as we lawfully may, p. 634. SECT. XVII.—The last private way of peace, to let fall our own interest for the public, p. 636. SECT. XVIII.-The first public way of peace; to suppress the beginnings of spiritual quarrels; which shall be done, if, first, the broachers of new opinions be by fair means reclaimed, p. 639. SECT. XIX.-The second way of suppression of strange doctrines, by timely cutting off the means of spreading infection: whereof the first is the society of the infected, p. 642. SECT. XX.-The second means of infection to be suppressed, which is, by the press, p. 644. SECT. XXI.-The third way of timely suppressing the means of infection, which is, the punishing of the disturbers of peace, p. 646. SECT. XXII.-Of the punishment of pertinacious maintainers of dangerous errors, p. 648. SECT. XXIII.-The second public means of peace; order for sure grounds of religion to be laid by catechising, p. 651. SECT. XXIV.-The third public way of peace; means to be appointed for the strong conviction of errors, p. 653. SECT. XXV.-The fourth public way of peace; imposition of silence in some cases upon pulpits and presses, p. 656. SECT. XXVI-A motive to peace from the miseries of discord, p. 659. SECTION I. The difference of truths, and the importance of those THERE is as much difference in the value of truths as there is of coins: whereof one piece is but a farthing, another no less than a pound, yet both current, and in their kind useful. Theological truths are so much more precious than all others, by how much divine knowledge is more excellent than all human arts and sciences whatsoever. Amongst divine truths, those are most important which are requisite to the regulating of religion, both in the theory and practice thereof. And even amongst these there is just place for Canus's distinction betwixt truths of Christian doctrine, and truths of catholic faith; there being in the former great latitude and variety, in the latter, more narrowness and restraint. As there is no truth therefore which may be a meet subject of our contempt or opposition, so there are some truths which may be too much striven for, others never enough. Of which last kind are those which do mainly concern the grounds of our Christian religion; for if the soul be the better part, if not the whole, of man; and religion be that which is of highest concernment to the everlasting good of the soul, it must needs follow that the soul can never be better taken up than with the care of that religion which only can render it eternally happy. If therefore the Christian Cicero, Lactantius, went too far in making religion the form of man, instead of the reasonable soul wherewith he is animated; certainly we cannot err in making the investigation and finding out the true religion the highest improvement of which the reasonable soul can be capable. There is no man then, except perhaps some lawless atheist, which doth not busy himself in this necessary search, and find his heart unquiet till he have attained such a resolution in the choice and assurance of his religion, wherein he may find rest to his soul; like as the dove could find no stay for the sole of her feet upon the waves, but flutters up and down till she may settle in the ark, Gen. viii. 9. Neither is it more natural to us to seek for and to pitch upon that religion which we apprehend true, than it is to desire that which we have conceived to be the only truth should be communicated to others, and either to pity or deeply censure those who come not home to us in the same belief. Hence are those many and miserable distractions which we find all the world over. Hence are churches, congregations, families, persons torn asunder one from another, so as the whole earth is strewed over with the woful monuments of our discerptions: here lies a leg, there an arm; here an hand, there a foot; here an head, there an heart: yea, in a more accurate subdivision, here lies a finger disjoined from the hand, a toe from the foot; yea more, a joint severed from either. How happy were it if that powerful Spirit, that breathed upon the dry scattered bones in Ezekiel's vision, might once blow upon these dismembered limbs, that they might yet come together and live! Ezek. xxxvii. 7. In the mean time, it is the duty of every son of peace to endeavour, what in him lies, to reduce all the members of God's Church upon earth to a blessed unity, both in judgment and affections. This is the holy labour which I have here undertaken. The God of peace put life into it, and make it as effectual as it is heartily meant, to the good of every Christian soul. |