The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being…

Remember that the Pastoral Government is a Work of LIGHT and LOVE: and what cannot be done by these is not at all to be done by you: And therefore you must make it your great study and employment, first to Know more than the people, and to Love them more than they Love you or one another; and then to convince them by unresistable evidence of truth, and to cause the warmth of your Love to be felt by them, in every word and act of your Ministration; As the Mi•k is warm by the natural heat of the mother, and so is fitted for the nourishment of the child.

Remember that the Pastoral Government is a Work of LIGHT and LOVE: and what cannot be done by these is not at all to be done by you: And therefore you must make it your great study and employment, first to Know more than the people, and to Love them more than they Love you or one another; and then to convince them by unresistable evidence of truth, and to cause the warmth of your Love to be felt by them, in every word and act of your Ministration; As the Mi•k is wa•m by the natural heat of the mother, and so is fitted for the nourishment of the child.

AS the Gospel is the revelation of the Love of God, and it is a message of Love which we have to bring, and a work of Love which we cooperate to effect; so it is a spirit of Love which must be our principle, and it is an office and work of Love which we are called to; and the manner must be answerable to the work. Faith is the Head, and Love is the Heart of the new Creature: And as there is no Light in our office and work, if there be no Faith and evidence of Truth, so there is no Life in it, if there be no Love. God himself in the great work of our Redemption, & Christ in his Incarnation, life and suffering, hath ⟨p. 368⟩taught the world, that the manifestation of Love is the way to win Love and to cure enmity: And he is not worthy the name of a Minister of Christ, who hath not learned this lesson, and doth not imitate his Lord in this: That as our office participateth subordinately of his office, both Ruling, Teaching & Priestly, so we may participate of that Spirit of Love, which was his Principle and must be ours. If it be not a work of Love which we do, it is not the work of a Minister of Christ, and Preacher of the Gospel. Can you well Preach so great Love of Christ to men without Love? if you show not Love to them, you can never expect to win their Love to your selves. And when you overmuch desire to be loved your selves (as which of you doth not,) you pretend that it is, to make your endeavours more successful, when you persuade them to the love of Christ. And doubtless a just Love to the person of the Preacher is a good advantage to this success. And in good sadness, can you believe that any thing is so likely to win Love as Love, or did experience ever teach you, that reproach, or contempt, or hurting men, was the effectual way to make them Love you? This way hath been long tried by the Mountebanks in Italy, Spain and many other Countries, but alas with what success? Indeed solitudinem faciunt & pam vocant, as Tertullian saith: When they have killed those that they had first oppressed, they affrighted the rest to say they loved them, and really won the Love of their surviving blood-thirsty enemies: but that was all. If the new knack of transfusion of blood cannot do this feat, by letting in the blood of a Spaniel