Brotherly Persuasion to Unity and Uniformity, Tract · Chapter 16
CHAP. 16. Containing the concluſion and exhortation to vnitie.
YEt to conclude (good brethren) ſeeing in eueryevery particular nationall church, vniformitie in ſuch things, is very requiſit and commendable, for the better maintenance of peace and louelove therein: euen of louelove and compaſſion to our common mother the Church of England, which as I hauehave ſayd, is troubled with ſo dangerous enemies, both on her right hand and left, and ſo to bury and extinguiſh for euer the odious name of Puritants, & to put an end to all ſhew of Schiſme, diſtraction, and diuiſion amongſt our ſelues, to the no ſmall ſtrengthning of our ſelues, to our reioycing againſt our common aduerſaries, and ſo to the great weakning and vndoubted griefe of our enemies, let vsus, all of vsus for euer hereafter, giuegive ouer contending any more thus amongſt our ſelues, about theſe our mothers outward faſhions, trimmings, and deckings, and let vsus both ſpeedily and vnfainedly, eueryevery one of vsus, reunite our ſelues together in vnitie of iudgement, and vniformitie of practiſe, as by theſe her outward orders, is by her authority required at our hands, that ſo we may bend all our forces as dutifull children together to the preſeruation of the life and ſtrength of our ſayd mother, which we cannot but ſee otherwiſe to be in great perill and danger, ſo the better that ſhe may ſtrongly encounter, ouercome, and ſubdue all, both her aduerſaries and ours. For Neſtor perſwading Agamemnon and Achilles to concord, ſaid, that otherwiſe Priamus would laugh them both to ſcorne. And wiſely ſayd Metius Suffetius to Tullus Hoſtilius king of the Romans, when the Albans and his people were readie to ioyne battell the one with the other, vnderſtand, O king, that the Hetrurians, a mightie people, enuie vsus both, & only whiles we ſpoile one another, they exſpect that ſo we both being once ſpent, may in the end both become a pray and ſpoile to them; And aduiſedly alſo therupon, to end that controuerſie, wheras the Romans choſe 3 Horatians, and the Albans 3 Curiatians to fight a combat, though therein the Curiatians had quickly ſlaine two of the Horatians, and alſo ſore wounded the third, yet we read in that ſtory, that he flying in pollicie, and ſo ſingling the 3 Curiatians being then all aliue, in the end, ſo, one after another, killed them all, which he could neuer hauehave done, if they had all held together: & ſo the Romans by the condition agreed on in that cōbat, conquered the Albans; whereby we may plainly as in a glaſſe ſee, that though two parts of three of our Romiſh enemies, ſeeme to vsus already ſlaine, & the third part alſo much wounded, yet if by any means, that one can ſingle & ſeuer vsus, he wil hope in the end to conquer vsus all. For whiles Athens & Lacedemon iarred, both became a pray to the enemie, while Hanniball and Hanno enuied one another Carthage came to confuſion; & whiles the two brethren Etheocles and Polynices contended for the kingdome of Thebes, they both loſt themſelues and their kingdom. Likewiſe whiles Ariſtobulus and Hircanus two brethren ſtroue for the kingdome of Hieruſalem, it became a bootie to the Romans. And when Amon and Moab, and they of Mount Seir fell out amongſt themſelues, and ſo ſlue one another, we know how the holy ſtory ſheweth, their huge army thereby eaſily became a rich ſpoile to Iehoſophat, 2. Chr. 20. whereas of the contrary we read there, that the amitie of Abraham and Lot, was the very cauſe of Lots reſcue, and of all his friends and neighbours, out of the hands of fiue kings that had taken them all priſoners and captiues, Gen. 14. And who knoweth not that by concord ſmall things increaſe, & that by the contrary very great things come to nothing? and that a threefold cord is not eaſily brokē, but yet, that vntwiſted it eaſily fals a ſunder, and ſo though a ſheafe of arrowes bound faſt together will not quickly be burſt, that yet looſed they are quickly knapt a ſunder? Iuſtly therfore did Sparta count the concord that was in that city, the ſtrongeſt and beſt wals that it could hauehave, and otherwiſe where that was wanting, that the ſtrongeſt wals that any city could hauehave, were but as wals of paper. Learne we therefore (deare brethren) in time to ſing with the Pſalmist, O how good and pleaſant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in vnity. Pſ. 133. & therfore according both to his aduiſe, & the Apoſtles, let vsus as much as is poſſible, & in vsus lieth, ſeeke peace with all men, and enſue it, Pſa. 34. & Rom. 12. And therfore alſo conſider we one another, as we are wiſht, He. 10. to prouoke one another only to louelove & to good works not forſaking the fellowſhip that we hauehave amongſt our ſelues as ſome do, and learne as we hauehave bene taught of Chriſt and his Apoſtles. Mat. 7.1. Ro. 14.13. eſpecially of things of this kind, neither to be offēded at or with one another, or to iudge one another, but rather to ſay with Abraham eueryevery one to another, let there be no ſtrife betwixt vsus, for we are brethren, Geneſ. 13. ſo yeelding rather with him of our own right, as he then and there did to his inferiour Loth, if neede bee to redeeme and purchaſe our owne peace and the churches, ſo long eſpecially as we may ſo doe without breach of holines, as in this caſe of ours, I hope, I hauehave ſhewed we may. For if there be enuie, ſtrife, and diuiſion amongſt vsus ſtill, & that for things of no greater moment, Paul doth tell vsus plainly, 1. Cor. 3.3. that we are carnall and walke as men. God therefore giuegive vsus all once grace, ſo to make it appeare, that we hauehave mutuall conſolation in Chriſt, Comfort of louelove, and fellowſhip of the ſpirit, Compaſſion and merciemercy, that we may fulfill his ioy in being of one accord and iudgement, Phil. 2.2. not doing any thing of vainglory or of contention, but in meekneſſe of mind, eueryevery one eſteeming another better then himſelfe, ver. 3. and in following the things that concerne peace, and wherwith one may edifie another, Ro. 14.19. and ſo ſtriuing in giuing honor who can giuegive moſt and firſt, Ro. 12.10. Now then ſaying with the Pſalmiſt 122. VntoUnto all, pray for the peace of Hieruſalem, Let them proſper that louelove her, peace be with in her wals, and proſperity within her pallaces. I humbly beſeech the Lord to direct vsus all herein, and in all our other actions to his owne glory and to our own euerlaſting comfort, and ſo I hartily bid thee farewell in the ſame Lord. 1606. February. 1.
Thine in the Lord vnfainedly, Thomas Sparke.
Faults eſcaped, thus corrected.
PAge. 1. for commended, read commaunded. Epiſt. dedic. line. 4. for bound. r. bould. Epiſt. to the Rea p. 3. l. 1. r. ſtronger for ſtrong. & 18. for quieter. r. quiet. lier. &. l. 22. for Biſhops, r. Biſhop. p. 8. l. 4. for ſhew. r. ſhewed, &. l. 10. for point. r. courſe. p 7. l. 4. for. 3. r. 13. p. 9. l. 31. for act. 1. art p 18. for alſo. r. all ſo. p. 20. l. 35. for it. r. it, it & any for many. p. 21. l 31. for ſome ey: r. ſome, ey. p. 22. l. 30. for follows r. allowes. & for then. r. them. p. 23. l. 14. for reuerence. r. reference. p. 24. l. 35. after baptiſed put. p 25. l. 15. for as. r. is. p. 26. l. 1. for this. r. his. & l. 27. for third r. thirty. p. 29. l. 5. for conference. r. reference. p. 34 l. 3. for. therin. r. then. p. 35 l. 10. for mentiō r. intention. p. 40. for. there. r. the. l. 34. p. 42. l. 3. put out. &. 46. l. 1. r. put out as. p. 51. l. 19. r. put out, any man. p. 63. l. 20. for howbei. r. howbeit. p. 69. l. 36. put out we p. 70. l. 2. put out. that. l. 34. for their. r. and there.
End of the text · Thomas Sparke, Brotherly Persuasion to Unity and Uniformity (1607)