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

Why may not meat come out of the eater, and sweet out of these bitter things? The Heavens can draw up salt vapours from the Sea, and send them down again in sweet refreshing showers. Why may not heavenly hearts change the very nature of these sour brinish things, and make them sweet to themselves and others? This is the excellency of grace; it does not only preserve the soul from the evil of temptations, but it gets advantage by them, it turns the evil into good. Luther upon the Galat. c. 5. v. 17. hath a notable expression to set forth the power of grace: By this a Christian (says he) comes to be a mighty workman, and a wonderful creator, who of heaviness can make joy, of terrors comfort, of sin righteousness, of death life. And why may not I add, of division and contention, peace and union? Wherefore

WHy may not meat come out of the eater, and sweet out of these bitter things? The Heavens can draw up salt vapours from the Sea, and send them down againe in sweet refreshing showres. Why may not heavenly hearts change the very nature of these sowre brinish things, and make them sweet to themselves and others? This is the excellency of grace; it does not only preserve the soule from the evill of temptations, but it gets advantage by them, it turnes the evill into good. Luther upon the Galat. c. 5. v. 17. hath a notable expression to set forth the power of grace: By this a Christian (sayes he) comes to be a mighty workman, and a wonderfull creator, who of heavinesse can make joy, of terrours comfort, of sinne righteousnesse, of death life. And why may not I adde, of division and contention, peace and union? Wherefore

First, by these Divisions men may come to see the vileness §1and the vanity of their own hearts: what were the thoughts of ⟨p. 248⟩men heretofore? Oh, had we but liberty and opportunity to be instrumental for God, we hope we should improve all to the uttermost for him, now God hath granted these to us, we abuse them, we grow wanton, we jar one against another: we are like some Mariners, who are calm in a storm, But storm in a calm. Surely every man is vanity. The untowardness of the spirits of those who heretofore longed after ordinances, freed from these defilements they mourned under, when they have their desires in great measure satisfied, discovers so much evil in the hearts of men, that it justifies those whom themselves have had hard thoughts of, men who seemed carnal and naught, that you looked upon as very evil, men of bitter spirits against good men, you thought such things apparently argued them void of grace, and yet when you are got into Church-fellowship, that way of freedom, that your souls mourned after a long time, now though you be joined in covenant one to another, yet if your brethren differ any thing from you, though they be otherwise godly, what a bitterness of spirit is there in some of you against them! what pride! what frowardness do you manifest against them! Oh what a poor creature is man! if once he gets power and liberty, what a deal of filth appears in him! we may learn by this to have charitable thoughts of some, of whom we have had hard thoughts before; we see if these men have any grace, grace may be in a mans heart lying under much corruption.