A89500:91
Meat out of the eater, or, Hopes of unity in and by divided and…Meate out of the eater, or, Hopes of unity in and by divided and…
Meat out of the eater, or, Hopes of unity in and by divided and distracted times. Discovered in a sermon preached before the Honourable house of Commons at Margarets Westminster on their solemn day of fast, June 30. 1647. / By Tho: Manton Minister of Stoke-Newington.Meate out of the eater, or, Hopes of unity in and by divided and distracted times. Discovered in a sermon preached before the Honourable house of Commons at Margarets Westminster on their solemne day of fast, June 30. 1647. / By Tho: Manton Minister of Stoke-Newington.
London: printed by M.S. for Hanna Allen, 1647
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
A good resolution, and worthy to be imitated.
2. Press doctrines of Christ, and the main things of Religion: some men love to live in the fire, and to handle the red hot questions of the age with passion and acrimony: but alas, this doth no good. Zuinglius was once asked by a friend, Cur non contra pontificios? Why he was not more keen against the Papists, and preached not oftener against them? He answered, He would first plant the fear of God, and then men would be for the cause of God. To gain men to a party before they be gained to God, is not so warrantable, and to press zeal in some particular ways, doth but produce blind fury, which undoeth all.* Tertullian noteth it as a miscarriage of the Heretics in his time, that they were more for gaining men to a party, then Christianity; Suppose you press the truth, yet Christ telleth us that wisdom is *justified of her children. God's ow• people are most zealous for God's truths Jude 4. They turn the grace of OUR God into wantonness: Sense of interest begetteth the purest, freest zeal for God. The intent of our Ministry is not that we should gain men to the support of our faction and party, but to Christ and Christianity: Other differences would be allayed were it not that we do so often revive them by unseasonable agitations; and indeed for the lesser differences, they were better wholly laid aside then so often stirred.* Calvin after his return to Geneva ⟨p. 41⟩would never contend about the business of wafer cakes, for which he was at first cast out, though he altered not his mind in it, yet would never publicly contend in that matter, only many times modestly suggested what he thought was the better way.