Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A23665
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A friendly call, or, A seasonable perswasive to unity directed to all nonconformists and dissenters in religion from the Church of England, as the only secure means to frustrate and prevent all popish plots and designs against the peace of this kingdom both in church and state / by a lover of the truth and a friend to peace and unity.
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Allen, William, d. 1686.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing A1064; ESTC R10550
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37,078
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70
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Imprimatur Carolus Alston R. P. D. Hen. Episc Lond. Ã sacris domesticis A Friendly Call OR A SEASONABLE PERSWASIVE TO UNITY DIRECTED To all Nonconformists and Dissenters in Religion from the Church of ENGLAND As the only secure Means to Frustrate and Prevent all POPISH PLOTS and Designs against the Peace of this Kingdom both in CHVRCH and STATE By a Lover of the Truth and a Friend to Peace and Vnity Pfal 123.1 Behold how good and how pleasant a thing it is for Brethren to dwell together in Vnity 1 Cor. 1.10 Now I beseech you Brethren by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all speak the same Thing and that there be no Divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joyned together in the same Mind and in the same Judgment LONDON Printed for T. Basset and J. Leigh Booksellers in Fleet-street 1679. A Friendly Call OR A PERSWASIVE TO UNITY THE wisest of Kings hath told us that there is a Time and season for all things Eccles 3.1 7. a Time to keep Silence and a Time to Speak and certainly now if ever the last Time is not only Convenient but absolutely Necessary and should Man hold his Peace and neglect this Duty Hab. 2.11 even the Stone should cry out of the Wall and the Beam of the Timber shall answer it I could wish I had the Voyce of Stentor that I might be heard throughout our Israel or that of a Trumpet that I might be heard by the Ears of the People I would cry aloud to this deaf Generation that they might be awakened out of the dream they now seem to be possessed with and be roused from the Lethargie and Apoplectical estate they now lye under Isaiah 58.1 Cry aloud spare not lift up thy Voice like a Trumpet and shew my People their Treansgressions and the House of Jacob their Sins I direct this my Discourse and Friendly Call to all in General but more particularly to those who are Dissenters from the Church of England and who seem to make a breach in the Conformity and happy Unity of the Church and who through over-nice Scruples cause a Schism and Rent in its seamless Garment 'T is to You that I now speak as a Friend as a Brother for so we ought to be one to another and not as Wolves and Dogs snarling and snapping one at the other but with gentleness and freedom admonish one another Eph. 4.2 3. With all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in Love Endeavouring to keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace 'T is the Command of Christ who is Love it self John 13.34 that we Love one another by it we are known to be his true Disciples and followers of Him And there can be no greater sign of this Love than Friendly to admonish one another of Errors and straying from the Truth and to assist the weak to raise up those that fall to call to Unity and Concord and to stir up to Peace and Amity That we may be all of one Mind 1 Pet. 3.8.9 having Compassion one of another loving as Brethren being Pittiful being Courteous not rendring Evil for Evil and Railing for Railing 'T is with this Spirit of Brotherly Love and of Holy Friendship that I would Call unto you at this Time and though I would Call and Cry aloud to be heard and that I might unstop your sealed Ears yet I would not do it in the Thunder and Ratle of Words only in the empty noise of Sounds and gingling of Syllables with vain Rhetorick or fruitless Oratory but I would speak home to your Understandings to your Hearts and to your Spirits I would speak Life and Fire that you might be at this time Quickned and that you might feel and be sensible of the Truth I know there have been many Boanerges Sons of Thunder that have rent the Mountains and broken to peices the Rocks of Division with their Voices and with the Wind of their Mouths there have been also those who have made Earth-quakes and troubled the waters of Dissention there have been others who with their fiery Zeal have burnt up all before them and with too much Wrath and Bitterness have rather widened than healed up the Breaches and by such Debates and Disputes have rather hindred than farthered the happy and desired Unity and Conformity in the Land I will not say God was not in them but I would now with a still small Voice speak Peace and Harmony perswade to Unity and Conformity to Brotherly Love and Affection I would speak with the Tongue of Charity rather than with that of Men and Angels I would bring Balm to your Wounds and Ease to your Griefs of Separation This is the End this is the Scope and this is the meaning and true intention of this Call at this time 2 Cor. 13.11 that we may be of good Comfort and of one Mind that we may live in Peace and that the God of Love and Peace may be with us As the intention of this Call is Charity to the whole Nation I come not therefore with Launcets and Razers to cut and break up the Wounds or with Probes and Pledgets to search or keep them open the Wounds of Division and Separation have been sufficiently handled by able and skilful Chirurgions and now is the time if ever to apply a Cataplasm and healing Plaister a ripening and cicatricing Seare-cloth that there may no Scar or Deformity remain which Panacea is Vnity of Spirit in the bond of Peace And as this is it I would Call to in Charity and with all earnestness with Love and also with Power so I would do it in few Words and if I could to the purpose Matt. 6.7 1 Cor. 14 19 For it was a Heathenish fault to use vain repetition and to be thought to be heard for much Speaking and I had as St. Paul says much rather speak five words with my understanding that I might be beneficial to others than ten thousand not to be understood therefore as the Wise-Man Counsels Eccl. 5.2 Prov. 10.19 My Words shall be few for in the multiplicity thereof there wanteth not Sin And now in the first place Consider that Love is the special Command of Jesus Christ our Pattern by whose Name we are Called our Saviour and our Master 't is a Mark by which he will have his true Sheep known from the counterfeit from the Wolves in Sheeps cloathing 1 John 4.20 and St. John will not believe any one that shall make a Profession of Love to God and not at the same time shew it to his Brother he tells him that shall so Profess that he is a Lyar and surely 't is the greatest Hypocrisie in the World and we deceive our selves if we think we can at any time truly Love God whilst at the same time we are at open Enmity and Hatred with our Brother But let us not
commit a great Mistake and think they only to be our Brethren that are of our own Way our own Profession our own Church-fellowship and Brother-hood and that Christ has restrained our Love to be extended only to the Few who are then the Brethren Christ tells you one another Lev. 19.18 James 2.8 9 who are they Your Neighbour whom you ought to Love as your Self by which we fulfil the Royal Law according to the Scripture without respect of Persons for that is Sinful Christ tells you this Neighbour is a Samaritan a Separatist one with whom the Jews had no Commerce one of a different Judgment and profession a Sectary a Dissenter in Religion a Nonconformist to the Worship at Jerusalem he that sheweth Mercy and lives in Brotherly Love is this Neighbour But Christ hath sublimed this Royal Law of Love and gone a step beyond Moses that we might not mistake and contract this Virtue that is of so diffusive and expanding a Nature that can cover multitudes of faults and extend it self to all Mankind and stretch its ample Wings over the whole World Christ I say thinks it exceeds not the Love of Publicans to Love only good Samaritans such as relieve your Wants or use you Kindly Matt. 5.46 such as Comply with you such as return you Kindness for Kindness such as walk Friendly with you but he gives us a more general Command that we may make no mistakes Matt. 5.44 Love your Enemies those that openly Profess themselves Dissenters and that speak evil of your way and despitefully use you Though there may be a difference between the Love shown to an Enemy and that towards a Brother that being more general this being more near and particular But to Conclude this love to the Brethren is so extensive that it ought to reach to all who make an open Profession of the Name of Jesus Christ who confess him to be the Son of God and that he is come in the Flesh and who so ever truly Believeth this is born of God is thy Brother and ought to be Beloved 1 Joh. 5.1 for every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him Since then 't is so absolutely necessary to keep this Royal Law of Love if we will be true Christians and followers of Christ there can be no greater Argument to perswade to Unity as the means to that End for without Unity we cannot conveniently exercise this Brotherly Love and without Concord and Agreement there can be no true Harmony and whilst there is a Separation and Disagreement Love is apt to wax cold and Envyings Backbitings Hatred and Malice are apt to arise Disputes Cavillings Janglings and Debates are multiplied which being all contrary to the Nature of Love and Peace they are stifled and born down and trampled under Foot And thus the seamless Garment of the Church is torn in pieces and the beauty of Unity spoiled Therefore I beseech you Brethren 1 Cor. 1.10 by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no Divisions among you but that you be perfectly joyned together in the same Mind and in the same Judgment Divisions and Schisms Rents and Separations have sprung up in the Church from the evil Seed of the wicked Sower which have yielded an ample Crop of Tares Cockle and Darnel But it was not so at the first Christ founded his Church upon the Rock of Unity it was once Intire and Uniform and the Apostles and the Primitive Fathers of the Church built up the Superstructure in Uniformity and with Intireness There were no gaps seen in the Walls there were no blemishes the Stones stood not at a distance from one another but closely united and cemented and there appeared nothing but Beauty and Conformity The Law of Love was exercised there were no Names of Difference and Separation no Names of Scorn and Infamy they were distinguished by the Titles of Fathers Sons and Brethren and there was then in those Happy and Golden days of the Church though troubled by Persecution a true and perfect Concord Harmony and Agreement If there were any differences arose they were ended without Strife and without Division and Separation though some were of Paul and others of Apollos all were of God in the Unity of Faith and in the Bond of Peace Psal 85.10 Then Mercy and Truth did meet together and Righteousness and Peace did kiss each other But the Evil one who envies at the Unity of the Church of Christ who cannot endure to behold its Glory and Conformity who hates the Love of Brethren who makes use of all his Cunning and Malice to cause Divisions and Separations who sowes Envyings who plants Cavillings who raises vain Disputes and frivolous Debates and scatters up and down idle and needless Scruples to disturb the quiet and the peace of the Church who still loves to Fish in troubled Waters seeing the Beauty and Glory of United Christians made use of all his cunning Arts and Skill and set to work all his evil Agents and Instruments to break this Unity to sow Discords and Divisions and to spoil the pleasant Harmony of the People of God All the Persecutions that the Devil stir'd up against the Saints the many Deaths of the Martyrs Afflictions Crosses Disgraces Torments could not so well effect his desires he perceived that the Blood of the Martyrs was the semen Ecclesiae that made the Church to flourish and spring up he therefore flings away the Sword and betakes himself to Poyson wherewith he more easily brought his Evil purposes and designs to pass and soon defaced the Beauty and Comeliness of the Visible Church the Poyson of Pride of Ambition of Luxury and Ease and of false Doctrine By this means he set them at Variance one with another the Children against the Father the Father against the Children the Shepherd against the Sheep and the Sheep against the Shepherd and the Pastors against one another the Flocks are scatter'd upon the Hills and the fair Unity is broken Thus a gap being made how many Evils soon entred at these breaches Presently Heresies sprung up Sects increased Schisms multiplied names of Division and Separations were known then came into the World the spawns of Symonaicks Nicholaitans Cerinthians Marcionists Montanists Porphyrians Manachees Novatians Arrians Eunomians Denatists Photinians Luciferians Jovianists Pelagians Anthropomorphites Nestorians Sabbatians Quaternians Monothelites Millenarians Anabaptists Socinians Antinomians Quakers and many others which multiplied like the Grecian Gods of which Hesiod reckons up Thirty thousand Then every one ran after his own Inventions they frame to themselves Idols of their own every Man will have an Ephod a Church a Congregation by themselves all Government all Obedience to Laws and Constitutions all Submission to Magistrates to Bishops and Fathers of the Church are lay'd aside and every one does what seems good in his own Eyes and thus Confusion Separation