Irenicum to the Lover of Truth and Peace, Title page – To the reader
IRENICƲM, TO THE LOVERS OF Truth and Peace.
HEART-DIVISIONS OPENED In the Cauſes and Evils of them: WITH Cautions that we may not be hurt by them, And Endeavours to heal them.
By JEREMIAH BURROUGHES.
Opinionum varietas & Opinantium unitas non ſunt foreign.
LONDON, Printed for ROBERT DAVVLMAN. MDCLIII.
To the Reader.
WHether the fiery tryall of contention, or of perſecution be greater, is hard to determine; God hath wrought to free us from the one, we have brought upon our ſelves the other. Every man is angry that others are not of his minde; we have been ſo divided, that it is the infinite mercy of God that our enemies have not come in at our breaches, and divided all among themſelves, before this time. Were our diviſions onelyonly betweene the good and bad, they were not ſo grievous.foreign. Chryſ. Hom. de Diloct. Chryſoſtome ſayes, It is better to be hated for Chriſt, then to be beloved for him. How much better then is it to be hated for Chriſt, then to be beloved for ſinne? The reaſon he gives of that ſtrange aſſertion of his, is, If thou beeſt loved for God, it is an honour to thee, and thou art a debtour for that honour; If thou beeſt hated for him, God is a debtour to thee, he owes honour to thee, for ſo he is pleaſed to be to his poore ſervants. But our diviſions have been and ſtill are between good men, even Gods Diamonds do cut one another; good men cauſe afflictions to good men; every man is plotting, working, winding for himſelfe. Every man ſtrives like Apelles and Protogenes who ſhall draw the ſubtileſt line to attain his owne ends, but few ſtrive who ſhall draw the ſtraighteſt, who ſhall in the moſt direct courſe work himſelfe and all his wayes to God and publique Good. Who can meddle with this fire that is kindled among us, and not burn his fingers? A mans good affections happily may be approved, but his prudence will be queſtioned. But what I finde Luther writes in an Epiſtle to his friend Nicolas Gerbelius in the like caſe, ſhall ſatisfie me, Cupio ego inveniri Christi & Eccleſiae ſuae fidelis, ſi prudens eſſe non potuerim miniſter: I deſire howſoever to be a faithfull Miniſter of Chriſt and his Church, if I cannot be a prudent one. The ſtanding in the gap is more dangerous and troubleſome then the getting behinde the hedge, there you may be more ſecure, and under the winde, but it is beſt to be there where God looks for a man.Plutarch in the life of Pelopi…as. That which Pelopidas ſaid to his wife taking her leave of him as he was going out of his houſe to the Warres, is a ſpeech worthy of all men in publique place: She comes weeping to him, and prayes him to look well to himſelfe; he anſwers her, My good wife, it is for private ſouldiers to be carefull of themſelves, not for thoſe in publique place, they muſt have an eye to ſave other men lives. It may be when you are going about a work that hath hazard and trouble in it, your wives or ſome friends of yours will with great affection deſire you, beſeech you, to have a care of your ſelves, that you bring not your ſelves into trouble or danger, oh take heed of that, rather never meddle, let others doe that work if they will; you ſhould anſwer, It is for private men to take care of themſelves, but men in publique places are called to look to the publique, that it ſuffers not through their neglect
Some come into the gap, not to make it up, but to keep it open, yea to make it wider; the Lord deliver me from ſuch a ſpirit: God knows I had rather die, then be a cauſe of ſo great an evill. What this endeavour of mine may work in mens hearts, God knowes. If it meet with a ſon of peace, I hope it will ſpeake peace, it will eſtabliſh peace in ſuch a heart: if with a ſon of ſtrife it may worke ad modum recipientis. That which is intended to be an Irenicum, may prove to be a Polemicum, a bone of contention.
Thoſe things which God himſelfe ordaines for union (the Sacraments) are by mans corruption made the occaſion of the greateſt contention in the Chriſtian world. No marvell then that what comes from mans ſincereſt intentions and beſt endevours be turned quite croſſe.
Like enough theſe leaves may meet with ſome boiſterous Reader, that may beat them one againſt another, that may pry and picke to finde that in them which is not, looking thorough the contradictions of his owne ſpirit he may think he ſees the like here. Let the lines be never ſo ſtraight, yet he will wreſt and pul them what he can to make them lye croſſe. I am ſo far from being ſollicitous that they are ſo indeed, that the ſpeciall thing I deſire of thee is the laying one thing to another, the comparing one thing with another. Remember what the ſubject is, Diviſions, Differences. I have in it to deale with various ſpirits, opinions, wayes: remember the ſcope is to ſeeke the compoſing of them what I can. If you ſee me now neare to the one ſide, and by and by neare to the other, which yet are very wide from one another, be not raſh to judge, that I am off my center; reade on, and ſee what the iſſue may come to.
This path of mine hath beene upon ſharpe ſtones, cutting ſhels, and pricking thornes; yet thorough the helpe of the ſhooe of the preparation of the Goſpel of peace, I doe not finde my feet cut.
Peace is pretious to me, I feele the ſweetneſſe of it; I am willing to do what I can to honour it. The publique jarres, contentions, diſturbances abroad in Church and Common-wealth are very grievous. They ſay there are in the world ſuch things in Families alſo. I have brought here ſome water: if my line had been longer, my bucket had beene fuller. You have here what I delivered: ſome things are added, eſpecially quotations of Authors and Hiſtories. When they grow to be many I thinke them fitter for the Preſſe then the Pulpit. I was the more willing theſe things ſhould come forth to publique view, becauſe otherwiſe what other men apprehended to be my minde, would be put into their owne words, and ſo rendred in an evill appearance. But will Printing help? The boldneſſe of this age is ſuch, as not onelyonly to make a mans words ſound otherwiſe then when they came from him, and ſo traduce him; but confidently to averre that there are ſuch things written in ſuch Bookes, of ſuch men, which never yet came into their thoughts, much leſſe into their pen. With what boldneſſe hath it been ſaid and printed againe and againe, that I in that Book entituled, The glorious name of God, The Lord of Hoſts, did call the Earle of Eſſex the Lord of Hoſts. Surely the ſight of theſe men is extramittendo, not intramittendo, they ſend forth ſpecies of their owne dyed with the evill of their hearts, and then they ſay they finde them in ſuch a book. No man can finde that name given by me to him. I indeed endeavoured to encourage him in his worke, becauſe the Lord had made him the Lord of our Hoſts, which is no more then the Lord of our Armies. The utmoſt that ever was ſaid or writ comes but to this, that God had put a name upon him that came neare to his, but never mentioned without ſome difference from it. An abuſe in this kinde, though not altogether ſo high, I have had from the Anti-Apologiſt; he quotes many places in my Lectures upon Hoſea, he ſets downe the pages, wherein he ſayes, I have contrary to what is in the Apology preached for that way you call Independent. Would any man but thinke, when he ſees the Booke named in Print, the Lecture, the very page mentioned, but that the thing is true, it is to be found there? But to this day it hath never come to my eares that ever any man hath found ſuch things there but himſelfe. Are thoſe the places? Let moderate and quiet ſpirited men looke into them, and they ſhall finde nothing there but what the generality of Presbyteriall Brethren, yea I thinke I may ſay every one, who is not either Prelaticall or very violent, will acknowledge to bee truth, and if ſo, I am free. But we ſhall have another time for this. At this time I would gladly that this Treatiſe might meet with no ſpirit exaſperated, but in calmneſſe and quietneſſe, let what is here be examined. That God that can create the fruit of the lips to be peace, can make the fruit of the pen to be ſo. My aymes are peace, which I ſhall never ceaſe endeavouring and praying for, who am
Thy friend, glad of any opportunity for thy good, JEREMIAH BURROUGHES.
HEART-DIVISIONS The Evill of our Times.
HOSEA 10. 2.
Their Heart is divided, now ſhall they be found faulty.