An exhortation to mutual charity and union among Protestants in sermon preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton-Court, May 21. 1689 / by William Wake ... publish'd by His Majesties special command.

An exhortation to mutual charity and union among Protestants in sermon preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton-Court, May 21. 1689 / by William Wake ... publish'd by His Majesties special command.

Table of contents

Title page

§

The Occasion of it was this:

BOOKS Published by the Reverend Mr. WA••.

Printed for RICHARD CHISWELL.

Printed for WILLIAM ROGERS.

Printed for Richard Chiswell, and William R•gers.

Other Tracts by the same AVTHOR.

§

[Page]

AN EXHORTATION TO MUTUAL Charity and Union AMONG PROTESTANTS. IN A SERMON Preach'd before the KING and QUEEN AT HAMPTON-COVRT, MAY 21. 1689.

By WILLIAM WAKE, Chaplain in Ordinary to Their MAJESTIES, And Preacher to the Honourable Society of Grays-Inn.

Publish'd by His Majesties Special Command.

LONDON: Printed for Ric. Chiswell, at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard: And W. Rogers, at the Sun over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet. 1689.

§

[Page]

[Page]

ROM. XV. 5, 6, 7.

Now the God of patience and consolation, grant you to be like-minded one towards another, according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind, and one mouth, glorifie God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

THE Words are part of that affectionate Application, which the Apostle here makes of his excellent Discourse concerning the Exercise of Christian Charity, in that great Instance of Condescention to the Infirmities of our Weaker Brethren, See ch. xiv. 1. in the foregoing Chapter.

The Occasion of it was this:

There were in those first times, many among the Jews, who tho they were converted to the Christian Faith, Acts xv. 1.—xxi. 20. yet still continued zealous for the Law; and not only carefully observed themselves all the Rites and Ceremonies of it, [Page] but would also by any means impose upon all others also, the observance of them. And how earnest they were upon this account, and how much they hated the Gentile Converts, upon whom the Apostles did not think fit to lay any such burden, Acts xv. 19,—28. Gal. v. 1. &c. many Passages both in the Acts, and in St. Paul's Epistles, do sufficiently declare.

But as in all other differences it seldom happens that the whole heat of the Controversie rests only on one side; so here, tho the Jewish Converts were both the first beginners of this Dispute, and the more zealous pursuers of it, yet neither were the Gentile Christians utterly without fault in it; but so far stood fast in that liberty, wherewith Christ had made them free, as not only to despise the weakness and ignorance of the others,Gal. v. 1. Rom. xi. 18, &c. but to be ready almost, even to cut them off from their Communion.

I need not say how dangerous such a Controversie as this might have proved, nor what a stop it might have put to the progress of Christianity, in those first beginnings of the Gospel. Great were the difficulties which the Apostles underwent on this occasion, whilst they endeavoured [Page] so to menage themselves between these two Parties, as not only not to offend either, but, if it were possible, to bring them Both to such a temper with one another, that neither the Gentile Convert might despise the weakness of his Judaizing Brother; nor the Jewish Votary judge too severely of the Liberty of the Gentile Christian.

And this was the design of St. Paul in the Chapter before my Text. Where addressing himself, as indeed he seems to have done this whole Epistle, to the Gentile Christians; and whom, as having the truer Notion of their Christian Liberty as to this matter, he therefore calls the [...], the strong in the Faith: v. 1.Rom. xv. 1. He exhorts them in a most admirable Discourse on this Subject throughout that whole Chapter, to bear the Infirmities of the Weak;Ibid. i. e. not to grieve nor despise them for their mistaken Zeal, but by complying a little, and condescending to their Infirmities, to endeavour, if it should please God, to draw them out of their Error. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. Verse 2. And then concludes all in the words of the Text, wherein we have,

[Page] First, A hearty Prayer to God Almighty, That he would inspire them so effectually with a Spirit of Unity and Charity, that notwithstanding all their differences, they might join unanimously, both Jews and Gentiles, not only in the same common Worship of God, but with the same hearty affection to one another: ‘Now the God of patience and consolation, grant you to be like-minded one towards another, according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with one Mind and one Mouth glorifie God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’

And secondly, An Exhortation, as the final result of his whole Discourse, That they should with all charitable condescention and kindness receive, and love, and assist one another, and not despise, and censure, and deprive one another, either of their Charity, or their Communion; ‘Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the Glory of God.’

In which words, as they thus lie before us in the Occasion and Design of them, there are two things that will offer themselves to our consideration.

[Page] First, An Exhortation to these Dissenting Christians, and in them to all of us, Not to break either Charity or Communion with one another, upon the account of such things wherein we may securely differ; but mutually to bear with one another in our differences.

Secondly, See Theoderet, Chrysost. Theophylact, &c. in loc. An Enforcement of this Exhortation, from two of the greatest Considerations that can possibly engage any Christian to an observance of it; viz.

First, From the Example of Christ towards us.

Secondly, From the greater Glory that will hereby redound to God.

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the Glory of God.

I shall make it my endeavour with all the plainess that I can, to pursue both the Exhortation and the Enforcement in the three following Propositions.

I. That there may be differences in matters of lesser moment, between very good and zealous Christians, without any just reflection either upon the Men, or upon their Religion.

[Page]II. That these differences ought not to hinder such persons from agreeing together, not only in a common Charity, but, if it be possible, in a common Worship of God too.

III. That to this End it is the Duty of all Christians, but especially of those who are the strong in Faith, not only to pray for such a Union, but, as they have opportunity, heartily to labour Themselves, and earnestly to stir up all Others, to endeavour after it.

Prop. 1.And first; That there may be Differences in matters of lesser moment between very good and zealous Christians, without any just reflection upon the Men, or upon their Religion.

For proof of which, I think I need go no farther than the very History of my Text. I have already said how great a division there was between the Jewish and the Gentile Converts, about the Ritual Observances of the Law of Moses, and with what a Zeal the Dissenting Parties managed the Dispute, till they had almost lost their Charity, and made a deplorable Schism in the Church of Christ. And yet I am confident [Page] no man will say that this was at all derogatory either to the Truth of their common Christianity, or to the Infallible Authority with which the Apostles had deliver'd it unto them.

And for the Parties themselves that thus differ'd with one another, that they had a true Zeal on both sides for the Glory of God, and thought it matter of Conscience, the one to observe these Ceremonial Institutions as what God still required of them; the other to refuse any such Imposition, as not only a needless Burden, but even repugnant to the Grace of Christ declared to them in his Gospel; St. Paul, Acts xv. 28. Gal. v. 2. in the prosecution of this very Argument, does clearly bear witness to them, Ch. xiv. 6. Where he makes use of this very thing as one Reason why they should mutually tolerate one another in their Dissentions; viz. That however they differ'd in their Notions as to these particulars, yet they were both perfectly agreed in the same common Zeal for the Glory of God, and the discharge of their Duty. Rom. xiv. 6. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth[Page]God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

And indeed, either we must say, that all, even the least Points, relating to our Religion, are so clearly and plainly revealed, that no Honest man can possibly be mistaken if he will but impartially enquire into them; which from the Diffe [...]nces of whole Parties concerning these things, 'tis plain they are not: Or else mens different Capacities, and Opportunities, and Tempers, and Education consider'd, 'tis in vain to expect that all Good men should agree in all their Notions of Religion, any more than we see they do in any other concerns whatsoever. And who am I that I should dare to pronounce a sentence of Reprobation against any one, in whom there appear all the other Characters of an humble, upright, sincere Christian, only because he has not perhaps met with the same Instruction, or Read the same Books, or do's not Argue the same way; In a word, because he is not so wise, or it may be, is wiser than I am, and sees farther than I do, and therefore is not exactly of my Opinion in every thing?

[Page]Now if this be so, as both the Principles of Reason conclude it very well may be, and the common Experience of Mankind, not only in the particular concern of Religion, but in most other things assures us that it is: That mens Understandings are different, and they will argue different ways, and entertain different Opinions from one another, about the same things, and yet may nevertheless deserve on all sides, to be esteemed very good and wise men for all that: How vain then must that Argument be,

Note:

H [...]st [...]ire des variations des Eglises Protestantes: par Mr. l' Evesque de MEAUX.

The design of which, may be seen in the Summary of his Preface—Les Variations dans la foy preuve certaine de fausset é.—Charactere des heresies d'estre variables.—Ce Charactere reconnu dans tous les Ages de l' Eglise.—Charactere d'immutabilitè dans lay foy de l' Eglise Catholique. —Que les variations de l' un des partis (de Protestans) est une preuve contre l' Autre, &c.

which a Late Author of the Church of Rome, has with so much Pomp revived against us, from our Differences in a few lesser Points of our Religion, to conclude us to be Erroneous in the greater; and that because we are not exactly of the same Opinion in every thing, that therefore we ought to be credited in nothing; that is to say, That because Protestants when they differ, are mistaken on One Side, therefore when they agree, they are mistaken on Both?

[Page]1st. It is certain that amidst all our other Divisions, we are yet on all sides agreed in whatsoever is Fundamental in the Faith, or necessary to be believed and professed by us in order to our Salvation.

There is no good Protestant, but what does firmly believe all the Articles of the Apostles Creed; and embraces the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, and Rule of his Faith, and readily acknowledges whatsoever is plainly revealed therein, and is at all times disposed to submit to any thing that can by any necessary and certain Consequence be proved to him thereby. In short, Our Differences, whatsoever they are, I will be bold to say they do no more, nor even so much concern the foundations of Christianity, as those of the Judaizing Christians here did. If their differing therefore with one another, was no prejudice to the Truth of their common Christianity then, I would fain know for what reason our Differences, which are lesser, shall become so much a greater Argument against our common Christianity now. But,

2dly, If our differing from one another in some Points, be an Argument that we are not certain [Page] in any; How shall we be sure that those of the Church of Rome are not altogether as uncertain as we are; seeing we are sure that they do no less differ among themselves, and that in Points too, much more considerable than we do?

For to take only one Instance instead of many, and that so considerable, that Card.Praef. ad lib. de Summ. P. T. 1. p. 592. Ingoldstad. A. 1586. Bellarmin once thought the Sum of Christianity, he meant the Sum of Popery, to consist in it, viz. The Prerogatives of the Bishop of Rome, both in and over the Church of Christ. Some there are who hold the Pope to be Head of the Church, by Divine Right: Others the contrary. * Some, That he is Infallible: Others, That he is not. * Some, That the Pope alone, without a Council, may determine all Controversies: Others, That he cannot. Now if in these, and many other points of no less importance, they themselves are as far from agreeing with One another, as they can possibly pretend us to be; what shall hinder us, but that we return their own Inference upon them, That seeing they differ among themselves in such things as these, they are so far from that absolute Infallibility they set up for, that in truth they have not so much as [Page] any certainty among them, even in those Points wherein they do agree.

Is it that in their Church, tho there be indeed as many differences as in ours, yet this makes not against them, seeing they have a certain Rule, whenever they please,Bellarm to. 1. p. 1377. de Not. Eccl. A. for the composing of them, viz. The Definition of the Pope, and of the Church? This, indeed, I find is commonly said by them: But then certainly, if they have such a ready means, See Mr. Chillingworth, p. 99, 100. as they say, of Agreement among them, 'tis the more shame for them, that they do not agree; he being much more inexcusably guilty in the omission of any duty, who having a ready means to fulfil it, neglects so to do, than he who has none, or (which is the same thing) does not know that he has any. But indeed they have no means of Ending their differences, any more than we have; The Holy Scriptures we both of us acknowledg to be the Word of God, and an Infallible Rule of Faith; but for any other direction, they are not yet agreed where to seek it: And sure that can be no very good means of Ending all their other Differences, which is its self one of their chiefest Controversies.

[Page]Or is it, That they agree in matters of Faith, Bellarm. ib. p. 1378. B. and differ only in those things that do not belong to it? Because if they differ about any Point, they for that very reason, conclude it to be no matter of Faith. But besides the Impertinence of this Answer, which amounts to no more than this, that they do agree in what they do agree, and differ only in those things in which they differ: This is what we say for our selves concerning our Differences; We agree in all those things that are necessary to a Sound and Saving Faith; and if we differ in matters of lesser moment, 'tis no more than what all other Christians have ever done, and what those of the Church of Rome its self at this day do.

So that still it must remain, either that those Differences which were among the Christians of old, and which are among us now, are no prejudice at all to the common Truth which we profess; or if they be, the Consequence will fall upon those of the Church of Rome no less, that I do not say, and more severely, than upon us, and be of the same Force against Their Religion, that it can be against Ours.

But I must carry this Reflection a great deal farther; for,

[Page]3dly. If once this Principle be allowed, That because men differ in some things, they ought not to be credited in any, what then will become, not only of the Protestant Religion, as it now stands in Opposition to Popery, but even of Christianity its self? For might not a Turk or a Jew, if he were minded to give himself so much trouble to so little purpose as this late Author has done, draw out a large HISTORY of the VARIATIONS of Christians among themselves, from the Controversie of the Text, unto this day; and then by the very same Principle conclude against us all, That we have none of us any certain Grounds for Our Religion, because the differences that are among us, plainly shew, that some of us must be deceived? And to go yet one step farther; Might not a Sceptick by the same Rule, argue against all Religion, and even against all Reason too; That the disagreement of mankind in these and many other Points of the greatest Importance, plainly shews there is no certainty in any thing; and therefore that we ought not to rely either upon the one, or upon the other?

It remains therefore, that unless we will overthrow all the measures of Christian Charity [Page] towards our Neighbour, and the common Truth, I do not say both of their Faith and of our own, but even of Christianity its self, nay and of all Religion and Reason in general; We must conclude, That good Christians may differ from one another in matters of lesser moment, without any just Reflection either upon themselves or their Religion.

But here therefore I must desire not to be misunderstood. For when I say, that Christians may, without any danger to themselves, or disparagement to the Truth of their Religion, differ with one another; I mean only (as the Terms of my Proposition expresly shew) in lesser matters; such as do not concern the Fundamentals of Faith, nor destroy the Worship of God; nor are otherwise so clearly revealed, but that Wise and Good Men, after all their Enquiries, may still continue to differ in their Opinions concerning them. For otherwise, if Interest and Prejudice blind mens eyes, and they err because they resolve they will not be convinced; and so by their own fault continue in mistakes contrary to the Foundation of Faith, and destructive of Piety: If, for instance, Men will profess to believe but in One God, and yet [Page] worship Thousands; If they will read ov [...]r the second Commandment, and nevertheless both make and bow down before Graven Images in despite of it; If, whilst▪ they acknowledge Christ to have instituted the Blessed Eucharist in both kinds, they command it to be administred but in One; and pray in an unknown Tongue, tho St Paul has spent almost a whole Chapter to shew the Folly and Unreasonableness of it: These are Errors in which I am not concerned; and tho I should be unwilling, even here, at all adventures to pronounce any Sentence against the Men; yet I must needs say, that Religion cannot be very sound, which stands corrupted with so many, and such fundamental Abuses.

And this makes the difference between those Errors for which we separate from the Church of Rome, and those Controversies which sometimes arise among Protestants themselves. The former are in matters of the greatest consequence, such as tend directly to destroy the Integrity of Faith, and the Purity of our Worship; and therefore such as are in their own nature destructive of the very Essentials of Christianity. Whereas our differences do not at all concern the Foundations either of Faith or Worship; and are therefore [Page] such in which Good Men, if they be otherwise diligent and sincere in their Enquiry, may differ, without any prejudice to themselves, or any just reflection upon the Truth of their common Profession.

Which being thus clear'd, in answer to the little Endeavours of one of the latest of our Adversaries against us upon this Account; I go on, Secondly, to shew,

II. That such differences as these, Prop. 2. ought not to hinder such persons from agreeing together, not only in a common Charity, but, if it be possible, in a common Worship of God too.

This is what St. Paul here expresly exhorts these dissenting Christians to, and earnestly prays to God that he might see accomplished in them. That when they came together to the publick Offices of the Church, to offer up their common Prayers and Thanksgivings to Him, they might do it, not only in the same form of words, but with the same affection of mind too, both towards God, and towards one another: Now the God of patience and consolation, grant you to be like-minded one towards another, according to Christ Jesus;[Page]that ye may with one Mind and one Mouth glorifie God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Such was their Duty to one another then; and we ought certainly no less to esteem the same to be our Duty towards one another now: And

First, As to the business of Charity;

God forbid that any differences in Religion whatsoever, much less such little ones as those we are now speaking of, should ever make us deny that to our fellow Christians. 'Tis true indeed, our Saviour Christ once foretold to his Disciples, That there should rise up Men from among their Brethren, who should upon this account not only put them out of their Synagogues, John c. xvi. 2. but even think that it was a matter of Religion to kill them. But they were Jews, not Christians, who were to do this; and He expresly adds, that 'twas their ignorance of Him and his Religion that should carry them on to so furious and intemperate a Zeal;—Verse 3. For these things, says he, shall they do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor Me. And we must confess it, to the scandal of our Holy Religion, [Page] that there are a sort of Men who call themselves Christians now, that still continue to fulfil this Prophecy in the very Letter of it; who not only cast us out of their Synagogues, that we should not much complain of; and, as far as in them lies, cut us off from all the hopes of Salvation too; but, to compleat the parallel, openly arm the whole World against us, and teach Men to believe, that 'tis a Work of Piety to root us out of it; and therefore, that whosoever killeth us, does do God service. But in this, as well as in the rest of their Errors, they give us but the more effectually to understand how little they have in them of the true Spirit of Christianity; for sure such things as these they could never do, but only that, as our Saviour in that other case before said, they have not known the Father nor Him. And I hope I shall need no Argument to perswade you not to be misled by that which we all of us so justly lament, as one of the most deplorable Corruptions even of Popery it self.

Christianity commands us to love our Enemies; and sure then we cannot but think it very highly reasonable not to hate our Brethren; but especially [Page] on such an account, as, if it be once admitted, will in this divided state of the Church, utterly drive the very name of brotherly Love and Charity out of it: seeing by whatever Arguments we shall go about to justifie our uncharitableness to any Others, they will all equally warrant them to with hold in like manner their Charity from us.

There is no honest, sincere Christian, how erroneous soever he may be, but what at least is perswaded that he is in the right; and looks upon Us to be as far from the Truth by differing from Him, as We esteem Him for not agreeing with us. Now if upon the sole account of such differences it be lawful for us to hate Another; we must for the very same reason allow it to be as lawful for Him also to hate Us. Thus shall we at once invert the Characteristick of our Religion;Joh. 13.35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples, if ye have love one to another; and turn it into the quite contrary Note; whilst we make our hatred to our Brother the great mark of our Zeal for our Religion; and conclude him to love Christ the most, who the least loves his fellow Christian.

[Page]How much rather ought we to consider, with our Apostle, the love of our dear Master to us, even whilst we were yet his Enemies, and love those whom we ought to hope, notwithstanding all their Errors, are yet still his Friends; and not think those unworthy of our Charity, whom we piously presume God will not think unworthy of his Favour? We suppose them to be mistaken in those things wherein they differ from us, and perhaps they are so; but yet we must consider, that we our selves also are but Men, and therefore may err; and They as verily think Us in the wrong, as We do Them: And, for ought I know, we must leave it to the Day of Judgment to decide the Controversie, which of us is in the right. In the mean time, if they are mistaken, I am sure our uncharitableness is not the way to convince them of their Error: but may rather indispose them to consider the weight of our Arguments as they ought, whilst they see so little regard in our Affections towards them. In short, if we are indeed, what we esteem our selves to be, the strong in the Faith, let us then remember, that tho Charity be their Duty too as well as ours, yet 'tis to such as We are, especially, that St. Paul addresses the [Page] Exhortation of the Text, Verse 1. to bear the Infirmities of the weak;—7. and to receive one another, as Christ also hath received us, to the Glory of God. But,

2. Such Differences as these, ought not only not to lessen our Charity, but, if it be possible, not to hinder us from joining together in the same common Worship of God with one another.

This was what these dissenting Christians, notwithstanding all their Heats and Contentions, nevertheless still continued to do. They did with one Mouth glorifie God, even when their differences would not suffer them to do it with one Heart. They united together in a common Worship of God, tho they could not unite either in Opinion or Affection with one another.

Indeed where mens Errors are such as utterly do subvert the very Essentials of our Religious Worship, it is then in vain to hope for any Communion in the Publick Service of God with them. We must not destroy the Principles of Christianity, out of a Zeal to enlarge the Communion of Christians. He would be a very condescending Votary indeed, who for the sake [Page] of praying to God with the Papist, would pray to the Blessed Virgin and Saints too with him: Who rather than be excluded their Churches, would bow down before their Images; and not only worship their Host, but even give up his Right to the Cup in the Eucharist, only that he might receive that Holy Sacrament in their Company. It is, no doubt, a very desirable thing to lessen the differences of Christians, and enlarge their Communion, as far as ever we can: And it has never gone well with the Church of Christ, since men have been so narrow spirited as to mix the Controversies of Faith, with their Publick Forms of Worship; and have made their Liturgies, instead of being Offices of Devotion to God, become Tests and Censures of the Opinions of their Brethren. But yet when all is done, the Truths of Christianity must not be sacrificed to the Peace of Christians; nor the Honour of God be given up, to keep up a Unity and Communion with one another.

But where mens Differences are in Points that do not at all affect their Religious Service; or not so much, but that God may be very well worshipp'd, and yet Communion with our fellow Christians preserved too; in such cases as this, [Page] our dissentions ought not only not to lessen our Charity, but not to break our Unity neither: We may continue to differ, as the Christians in my Text did; and yet with one Mind, and one Mouth, glorifie God, as St. Paul exhorted them to do.

And this brings me to the Third and Last Point.

Prop. 3.III. That to this End, it is the Duty of all of us, but especially of the stronger Christians, not only to Pray for such a Union, but also, as they have opportunity, heartily to labour themselves, and earnestly to stir up all others to endeavour after it.

I do not believe there is any good Christian so little affected with those unhappy Divisions under which the Church at this day labours, as not both heartily to deplore them, and to think that nothing could be too much, that might innocently be done on all hands, for the redressing of them. But then I am sure the natural Consequence of this must be, what both my Text, and this Discourse are designed to exhort you to; viz. That we ought every one of us, not only heartily to pray for such a Union, but [Page] also, as we have opportunity, earnestly to labour for the attainment of it.

Indeed for what concerns the whole Body of the Catholick Church on Earth, so many are the Disputes that have arisen among the several Parties and Communions of it, and some of them in Points so near to the Foundations of Christianity, that whilst Men resolve to keep fast to their Conclusions, and will not suffer the plainest Arguments to convince them of their Errors, 'tis in vain to hope ever to see things brought to such a Temper, as we could wish in that. But especially whilst that part which is the most corrupt, is so far from being willing to concur to any such Union, that on the contrary, she has cut off all possibility of attaining it. And by arrogating an unwarrantable Infallibility to her self, and Authority over all others, will neither reform her own abuses, nor admit any into her Communion, that will not profess the same Errors, in which she her self stands involved. So that here, all we can even wish for, is, that Men would at last be so wise, as tho they differ in Opinion, yet to love as Brethren, and agree together in a common Charity, [Page] till we shall be so happy as to unite in a common Faith and worship of God.

But for us whom it has pleased God, by delivering us from the Errors and Superstitions of the Church of Rome, to unite together in the common name of Protestant, Reformed Christians, would we but as heartily labour after Peace, as we are all of us very highly exhorted to it; I cannot see why we who are so happily join'd together in a common profession of the same Faith, at least, I am sure in all the necessary points of it; and I hope amidst all our lesser differences, in a common love and charity to one another, should not also be united in the same common Worship of God too.

I will not now enter into any Dispute, to shew how little reason there is for any one to separate from the Offices of the Church of England, upon the account of those few Exceptions that have sometimes been offer'd to justifie the doing of it. This is a work both too large for such a Discourse; and besides the design of my present Undertaking. And that one Concession of many of our Brethren themselves, who tho they continue ordinarily to separate from us, yet nevertheless [Page] freely allow of what they call Occasional Communion with us, I think sufficiently shews how little real ground there is for those Scruples, that have so long detain'd them in an unjust aversion to our Worship. Blessed be God, who has abundantly justified both the Purity of our Doctrine, and the Innocency of our Worship, not only by the general Approbation of the Reform'd Churches abroad, who both freely communicate with us in our religious Offices, and have often given Testimony in favour of them; but in the happy Conviction of many at Home, who were once Enemies to our Constitution, but who now go with us into the same House of God as Friends.

And indeed the things for which some forsake us now, are no other than what they were in the Beginning of the Reformation; when yet there was no such thing as Separation from our Communion: But on the contrary, the old Non-Conformists themselves, tho they disliked some things in our Worship, yet freely declared they thought it a Crime to divide the Church upon the account of them. And they who at this day separate from us, for the sake of those few Constitutions that have been made for the Order and [Page] Decency of our Publick Worship, must for the same reason have separated from all the Churches of the Christian World, for above 1500 Years; in none of which they might not have found as great, that I do not say, and much greater, occasion of Offence, than they can in Ours.

But yet, since mens Scruples are unaccountable, and after all that can be said, they will still differ even about indifferent things, and be afraid many times, where no Fear is; and a too long Experience has already shewn us, That if ever we mean to accomplish that Union so much recommended to us by our Apostle, so advantageous to the Church at all times, but especially at this time so necessary to our Peace and our Establishment, that it seems to be the only way that yet remains to settle and to secure us; and upon all these accounts so much to be desired by all Good Men, we must seek it by that Rule which St. Paul here proposed to the Dissenting Christians of my Text, We then that are strong in the faith, Rom. xv. 1. ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our selves. I cannot but think it a Reflection becoming every good Christian among us, but in a more especial manner, worthy the Consideration of [Page] such an Auditory as this, Whether somewhat may not yet be done for the sake of Peace, and to bring things to such a See the Petition of the Archbishop and Bishops to King James, for which they were committed to the Tower. TEMPER, that both Order and Decency may still be preserved, and yet our Unity no longer broken.

And for Exhortations to so good and Christian a Work, shall I set before you the Example of our Blessed Saviour recommended to us in the Text, with what a mighty condescention he has treated Us; how He came down from Heaven, and took upon Him the form of a servant, Phil. ii. 6, 7. and being made in the likeness of a sinful man, humbled Himself even to the Death upon the Cross for us; How He still bears not only with our Infirmities, but with our Sins too; and by all these wonderful instances of his Love to us, teaches us, says St. John, 1 Joh. iv. 11. How we ought also to love one another?

Or rather, shall I shew you, how far such a Blessed Union as this, would conduce to the Glory of God, to the Security of our Religion, and to the promotion of Peace, and Charity, and Piety among us?

I need not say what a dishonour our Divisions [Page] have already brought to the Reformation, nor what a stop they have put to the progress of it. Great, to be sure, is the Advantage which our Enemies either have, or at least hoped to have made, by those Contests which they have taken so much pains both to bring in, and to keep up among us: And methinks there should need no other Argument to stir up every true Friend to the name of Protestant, to endeavour all he can to compose our Differences, than this one thing, That we are sufficiently convinced who they are that we please, and whose Interests we serve, by the continuance of them.

Let us add to this, what great Obligations our Holy Religion lays upon us,Rom. xiv. 19. to follow after those things that make for peace, and whereby we may edifie one another: How our Saviour has set it down as the very Badge of our Discipleship;Joh. xiii. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples, if ye have love one to another: What Exhortations his Apostles have given us;Rom. xii. 18. If it be possible, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men. But especially with reference to the differences about Religion,Rom. xvi. 17. To mark them which cause divisions and offences, contrary to the Doctrine which we have learnt, and avoid them.

[Page]With what a scrupulous care did St. Paul manage himself between the dissenting parties in my Text? What admirable Rules did he lay down for them to walk by? and with what an affectionate earnestness did he enforce them? If there be any consolation in Christ, Phil. ii. if any comfort of Love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, —1. if any Bowels and Mercies, fulfil ye my joy, —2. that ye be like-minded, having the same Love, being of one Accord, of one Mind.

And may I not beg leave, tho not with the Authority, yet with the Charity of St. Paul, to apply all this to those unhappy Divisions that at this day rend in pieces the Church of Christ among us; and beseech you, by all these endearing Considerations, to pursue those things which may make for our Peace; and for the closing of those breaches, which the malice of our Enemies too successfully begun, and our own weaknesse has too fatally kept up among us.

Never, certainly, was there a time, since our Divisions first began, in which we had greater reason to consider of such a Union, or, I hope, a fairer opportunity to promise our selves an Accomplishment of it. Only let us all be as careful to improve it, as I am perswaded [Page] we have all of us not only seem'd to desire, but have indeed earnestly long'd for it.

Let us shew the sense we have of that wonderful Deliverance God has given us out of the hand of our Enemies, by uniting our selves in the strictest League of Friendship with one another.

Hitherto we have defended our Church by our Arguments; let us now by our Charity settle and establish it, against the like Dangers for the time to come.

This will indeed render both our selves and our Religion Glorious to the World; and may be a Happy Augury that the blessed time so long wrapped up in sacred Prophecy, is indeed now ready to be revealed: When the Church of Christ being purged from those Corruptions that have so long defaced its Beauty, shall again appear in its primitive Purity. When all Heresie and Schism being every where abolished, and the Mystery of Iniquity laid fully open, and the Man of Sin destroy'd; true Religion and sincere Piety shall again reign throughout the World; God himself shall pitch his Tabernacle among us, Rev. xxi. 3. and dwell with us, and we shall be his People, and he shall be our God.

[Page]O Blessed State of the Church Militant here on Earth! the glorious Antipast of that Peace and Piety which God has prepared for his Church Triumphant in Heaven! Who would not wish to see those days, when a general Reformation, and a true Zeal, and a perfect Charity, passing through the World, we should All be united in the same Faith, the same Worship, the same Communion and Fellowship one with another? When all Pride and Prejudice, all Interests and Designs being submitted to the Honour of God, and the discharge of our Duty, the Holy Scriptures shall again triumph over the vain Traditions of Men; and Religion no longer take its denomination from little Sects and Factions, but we shall all be content with the same common primitive Names of Christians and Brethren, and live together as becomes our Character, in Brotherly Love and Christian Charity with one another?

And who can tell but such a Change as this, and which we have otherwise some reason to believe is nigh at hand, may even now break forth from the midst of us, would we but all seriously labour to perfect the Great Work which the Providence of God has so gloriously begun amongst us, and establish that Love and [Page] Unity among our selves, which may afterwards diffuse it self from us into all the other parts of the Christian World besides?

But however, whether we shall ever see, I do not say, such a Blessed Effect as this, but even any good Effect at all of our Endeavours here on Earth, or no; yet this we are sure, we shall not lose our Reward in Heaven. When to have contributed, tho in the least degree, to the healing of those divisions we so unhappily labour under, shall be esteemed a greater Honour, than to have silenced all the Cavils of our Enemies; and even to have pray'd, and wish'd for it, and, where we could not any otherwise have contributed our selves, but to have exhorted others to it, shall be rewarded with Blessings, more than all the Stars in the Firmament; for number.

Now the God of patience and consolation, grant you to be like-minded one towards another, according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind, and one mouth, glorifie God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To Him be Honour and Praise for ever and ever. Amen.

FINIS.

BOOKS Published by the Reverend Mr. WA [...].

[Page]

Printed for RICHARD CHISWELL.

AN Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England, in the several Articles proposed by the late BISHOP of CONDOM, [in his Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholick Church.] 4o.

A Defence of the Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England, against the Exceptions of Mons. de Meaux, late B of Condom, and his Vindicator.

A Second Defence of the Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England, against the new Exceptions of Monsieur de Meaux, late Bishop of Condom, and his Vindicator. The FIRST PART: in which the Account that has been given of the Bishop of Meaux's Exposition, is fully Vindicated, the Distinction of Old and New Popery, Historically asserted, and the Doctrine of the Church of Rome, in point of Image Worship, more particularly considered.

Second Defence of the Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England, against Monsieur de Meaux and his Vindicator, the SECOND PART.

A Discourse of the Holy Eucharist, in the two great Points of the Real Presence, and the Adoration of the Host: In Answer to the Two Discourses lately Printed at Oxford, on this Subject. To which is prefixed a Large Historical P [...]eface, relating to the same Argument.

Two Discourses of Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead. 4o.

A Continuation of the Controversie between the Church of England and the Church of Rome, being a full account of the Books that have been of late written on Both sides.

An Historical Treatise of Transubstantiation Written by an Author of the Communion of the Church of Rome; rendred into English. With a Preface

Preparation for Death; being a Letter sent to a Young Gentlewoman in France, in a distemper of which she died.

Printed for WILLIAM ROGERS.

A Discourse concerning the Nature of Idolatry; in which a Late Author (viz the Bp. of Oxford's) true and only Notion of Idolatry, is considered and confuted. 4o.

The Sum of a Conference between Dr. Clagett and F. P. Gooden, ab [...]ut Transubstantiation. Publish'd by this Author. And to be added to Dr. Clagett's Sermons now in the Press, which will be Publish'd this Term.

Printed for Richard Chiswell, and William R [...]gers.

AN Exhortation to Mutual Charity and Union among Protestants. In a Sermon Preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton Court, May 26 1689.

In the Press, A Sermon Preach'd before the Honou [...]ab [...]e House of Commons, at St. Margaret's Westminster, June 5. 1689. Being the Fa [...]t Day appointed by the King and Queens Proclamation, to Implore the Blessing of Almighty God upon their M [...]jesties Forces by Sea and Land, and Success in the War now declared against the French King.

Other Tracts by the same AVTHOR.

A Sermon Preached at Paris, on the 30th of January, S. V. 1684/5.

The Present State of the Controversie.

Sure and Honest Means for Conversion of all Hereticks; and wholsom Advice and Expedients for the Reformation of the Church. Translated, and Published with a Preface.

A Letter from several French Ministers fled into Germany, upon the account of the Persecution in France, to such of their Brethren in England, as approved the King's Declaration touching Liberty of Conscience. Translated from the Original French.

Information about this book

Title statement

An exhortation to mutual charity and union among Protestants in sermon preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton-Court, May 21. 1689 / by William Wake ... publish'd by His Majesties special command.

Wake, William, 1657-1737.

Edition statement

1689

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A66185

ID [STC]

Wing W242

ID [STC]

ESTC R4543

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12376252

ID [OCLC]

ocm 12376252

ID [VID]

60618

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A66185)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 60618)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 903:26)

Source

— An exhortation to mutual charity and union among Protestants in sermon preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton-Court, May 21. 1689 / by William Wake ... publish'd by His Majesties special command., Wake, William, 1657-1737..

Extent

[2], 34, [1] p.

Printed for Ric. Chiswell ... and W. Rogers ...,. London :: 1689.. (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.)

Creation

Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford.

Editorial practices

EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO.

EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org).

The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.

Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.

Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.

The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.

Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).

Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.