Irenicum, to the lovers of truth and peace heart-divisions opened in the causes and…

Secondly, these unkind and unloving divisions are against §2the prayer of Jesus Christ, yea against that prayer he made for us a little before he died, Joh. 17. 21. he prays to his Father, that all who did believe, and should after believe on him, might be one, as his Father is in him, and he is in his Father; and that they may be one in the Father and him: as if he should say, Oh Father, I am now going out of the world, and I foresee, when I am gone, even those whom thou hast given me, who are one in me, and in thee, will meet with strong temptations to divide them one from another: but oh Father I beseech thee, let thy fatherly care be over them, to keep their hearts together, that they might be united in the strongest union that is possible for creatures to be united in. Oh Father, let them be one, as thou and I am one. Would we not be loath to lose the benefit of that heavenly prayer of Christ for us in that 17. of Joh. read it over, see what soul-ravishing excellency there is in it, seeing he hath expressly said he intended us who live now, in it, as well as those Disciples who then lived with him; let us prize ⟨p. 200⟩this prayer, as being more to us then ten thousand worlds. Luther writes a chiding Letter to Melanchthon; By those sinful distrustful fears and carking thoughts of yours, says he, you do irritas facere praeces nostras, you make void our prayers. How great then is the evil of our divisions? by them we do what in us lies to make void as concerning us the prayer, that blessed prayer of Jesus Christ. Satan, says Christ to Peter, hath desired to winnow you like Wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. He shall not prevail, says Christ: Why? Because I have prayed for you. Oh blessed Saviour, is not thy prayer against our divisions, as strong? Canst not thou prevail with thy Father as well in this as in that? We know thy Father did and does ever hear thee: some way or other this prayer of CHRIST is, and shall be heard; yet our sin is not the less, for it tends to the frustrating of Christs prayer. Satan desires to winnow us in our divisions, but he desires not to have the Chaff divided from the Wheat, he rather would have the Chaff mixed with the Wheat. The mixing the Chaff with the Wheat makes a great stir amongst us: But Christs prayer which helped Peter in his winnowing, we hope will help us in ours: