The Earnest Breathings of Foreign Protestants, Essay
The Expedient for a Correſpondencie with Forrain Proteſtants.
THe complaint which the Prophet David made in his low condition, may now be taken up in our dayes by all that favour the duſt of Sion, and take pleaſure in her ſtones; namely that her bones are ſcattered at the graves mouth, as one cleaveth wood upon the ground, Pſal. 141. 7. for if we look upon the Churches which make Profeſſion of the ſame ſaving truth in oppoſition to Popery as now they are divided and broken; we ſhall ſee them almoſt, if not altogether, as uſeleſſe one to another as dry bones, ſcattered up and down, ready to be caſt into the grave, or as chippes of wood lying on the ground onelyonly fit to be gathered and burnt; therefore our reſolution ſhould be the ſame which the Prophet took in the words following upon his complaint. But our eyes are to thee O God the Lord; in thee is our truſt leave not our ſouls destitute.
There is none other that can help but he in ſuch a caſe Let then our eyes be turned onelyonly towards him; becauſe our expectation will not be in vain, if we flie to him for refuge; for we have a word of promiſe giving us aſſurance that he will help; for Moſes hath ſaid. That the Lord ſhall judge his people and repent him for his ſervants, when he ſeeth that their power is gone, and there is none Deut. 32. 36.ſhut up or left: and the Prophet Iſaiah hath declared for our comfort, that when the enemie ſhall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord ſhall lift up a ſtandard against him. It is evident then, that we have a Iſai. 59. 19.ground to hope that the Lord in his own time will make our dry bones to ſtir, and live and joyn together, and being clothed with fleſh and skin to ſtand upon their feet and become a great and mighty army: for there is no condition of the Saints ſo weak and low, but God can; and when it is fit, will alſo raiſe them out of it: becauſe he hath in a readineſs means which he hath appointed to that effect; and when his ſpirit will breath upon them, to ſet them a work; the buſineſs will be accompliſhed.
Now the means by which the Lord doth execute his wonderful counſel, and by which he will bring to paſſe his excellent work; is two fold; the one is the manifeſtation of the Truth, by the armour of light; and the ſword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, to diſcover the hidden things of darkneſs, and ſweeping away the refuge of lies and Hypocriſie to ſtay the wicked one and conſume the man of ſin; which part of his work is already well advanced in the midſt of all theſe diſtractions, and diviſions of parties: and the other is by the unitie of the Spirit, in the Communion of Saints, to bring the whole Body ſo to depend upon the head Jeſus Chriſt; that it ſhall appear at laſt ſitly joyned together and compacted by that which every joint ſupplyeth, according to the effectual working in the meaſure of every part to make the encreaſe of the Body to the edifying of it ſelf in love: and this part of the work although it is very little advanced in appearance, yet there are Preparatives towards it, which are not inconſiderable, if rightly weighed and taken notice of: and whereof in due time a more full account may be given: but for the preſent we ſhall onelyonly ſhew ſome motives for which we ſhould attend unto this part of Gods Counſell, and ſuggeſt a way by which we may help forward the effect thereof, and become inſtrumental towards others in furthering his work.
The Motives which ſhould induce us to mind the deſign which God hath of uniting his Saints together are ſo many in the Holy Scriptures, and ſo clearly ſet forth, that a Volum might be written thereof if we would be large: but it ſhall ſuffice at preſent only, to point at the places where the Holy Ghoſt doth urge the duty upon us: if we look upon 1 Cor. 12. The ſcope of the Apoſtle is there to demonſtrate that all ſpiritual gifts are beſtowed upon the Church Militant on earth, to the end that they may be made uſe of to profit withall by the ſeveral members of the myſtical Body in the unitie thereof: and in chap. 13. the grace of Charitie is ſaid to be ſo neceſſary for this effect; that without it none other grace is profitable, either to our ſelves or towards others; in the fourth of the Epiſtle to the Epheſ. ver. 1. till 17. the Apoſtle ſheweth that no man doth walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith he is called to the Profeſſion of the Goſpel, who doth not intend and endeavour by humility, meekneſs, long ſuffering and forbearance of others in love to keep the Unitie of the Spirit in the bond of Peace; and whatſoever throughout the Scripture is commanded concerning love (which is the great and new Commandment) and particularly in the 1 Epiſtle of John, it tendes all to oblige our conſcience to this main duty of ſeeking the Unitie of the Spirit amongſt Saints, and of keeping it in the bond of Peace: and if the Apoſtles words, Phil. 2. 1, 2. be laid to heart, they will convince any man that hath any feeling of his duty in this matter, If, ſaith he, there be any conſolation in Chriſt, if any comfort of Love, if any fellowſhip of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies; fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the ſame love, being of one accord, of one mind, &c. intimating that without the care of this duty; all the joy and happineſs which Saints ought to further in one another, is quite loſt and utterly made void; which in theſe our dayes we find experimentally to be too true, by reaſon of our diviſions and ſtrivings, for which the name of God is blaſphemed amongſt the adverſaries, and the Profeſſion of the truth amongſt our ſelves is diſhonoured.
Now to remedy this great evil, and to remove the ſcandals ariſing from thence, for which a woe is denounced and in ſome meaſure executed againſt us, the eaſie way which is ſuggeſted is, to ſet a foot a Religious Correſpondencie with Forrain Proteſtants to carry on a Goſpel intereſt amongſt Chriſtians, not by ſtrength or might, but in a Goſpel way, by a friendly Correſpondencie and concurrence in Counſels; to hold forth unanimouſly, the matters of Faith and Doctrine wherein we all fully agree, and do own the ſame ſaving truths; and to ſet a foot the Practice of the ſame Rules of duties by walking therein, to oppoſe ignorance and profanneſs, to baniſh confuſion and diſorderlineſs in worſhip, and be no more ſtrangers to one anothers condition, but to entertain a mutual Care for each others good and the progreſs of the Goſpel in the world, to which effect a ſetled correſpondencie upon Religious grounds and Principles; between us and our neighbour Proteſtants, will be both an eaſie and in Gods way a powerfull means; which Correſpondencie may be thus contrived and brought about, We forthwith intend a ſyſteme or body of Divinity, wherein all the Engliſh writings of Practical Divinity and Caſes of Conſcience ſhall be digeſted in Engliſh and Latine, and we intend the intertainment of ſtrangers in a Colledge here, from whence our Learning may be carried forth in moſt Languages by ſuch Students, and all good works advanced by the ſame hands, to which we already find great forwardneſs in this Nation, not only to labour in the work, but alſo to contribute in matter of charge; And of this Work in inſtituting a Colledge propagandis bonis operibus we ſhall give Advertiſment to our friends as occaſion preſents; not doubting but ſince the Lord hath given us in England ſuch a meaſure of light and Peace, but there will appear a ready heart amongſt our Nations for the rowling away the reproach upon us, of having much of faith, and little of Works; and from this Colledge and Truſtees about this Work, we ſhall be ready to maintain ſuch Correſpondence with our Brethren beyond the Seas, that they and we may have cauſe to rejoyce, and our enemies to mourn, and this charge of Correſpondency fixed upon the Truſtees for the Work above ſaid.
The incouragement of this Correſpondency intended, riſeth much from the unſpeakable bleſſing hath accompanied the Letter and Epiſtle of the Saints, witneſſe thoſe in the New Teſtament, what Luther, Calvin, and others have done that way, and what dayly ſucceſs therein of Epiſtoling, there are clouds of witneſſes.
For the preſent we judge it meet, that what any Forrain Divine hath now to Communicate, might come either to the Vice-Chancelour of the Univerſity, or the Miniſters ſitting at White-hall weekly for approbation of Miniſters. And theſe things we deſire may be remembred at home and abroad in the prayers of Gods people, that we may not make forfeiture of our mercies by our ſloth and negligence, and ſit down by the ſtarving ſluggard with non putarem.
FINIS.
Errata.
IN the names ſubſcribed to the Latin Letter, read Hopſius. item P. T. paſtor Schreſheimi. item. Belsteinenſis & Beilſteinenſi. In the ſubſcription to the Engliſh Letter read Hopſius, & Schreſheim & Orzen.
IN the quotations of Scripture places, pag. 1. read in Margin. 1 Peter. pag. 2. in Margin read. John 13. ibid. Jam. 1. 22. pag. 4. lin. 39. read 17. 3. pag. 17. lin. 36. read Luke 24. 47. p. 21. l. 35. r. 1 Cor. 6. 20. p. 37. l. 11. r. Iſai. 59. p. 41. l. 37. r. Dan. 12. 7.
In the words of the diſcourſe pag. 3. lin. 17. read manifeſt my ſelf. pag. 5. lin. 35. read Precognitions pag. 6. lin. 31. read main heads. ibid. lin. ult. read. thoſe pag. 34. lin. 21. read Diſputations pag. 36. lin. 26. read pertaining pag. 37. lin. 15. read from my judgement. pag. 42. lin. 4 read to one end. ibid. lin. 15. read rectifie pag. 44. lin. 35. read Panrani. pag. 45. lin. 8. read the forrain p. 46. l. 26. read upon, reſiding.
End of the text · John Dury, The Earnest Breathings of Foreign Protestants (1658)