false opinion as if he had the malignity of those thousand evill things in his spirit I finde our Divines who have been of peaceable spirits have condemned very much this fastening of dangerous consequences of mens opinions upon those who hold the opinions and yet whose hearts are as much against such consequences as possibly may be deduced from them as any In their giving rules for peace they advise to take heed of this as a thing which makes Brethren who are different in their opinions unlikely ever to become one Davenant sayes It is abhorrent to charity and right reason that any because of consequences from what he holds neither understood nor granted by him should be thought to deny or reject a fundamentall Article which he firmly beleeves expresly asserts and if he were called to it whould seale the truth of it with his bloud Truer and more gentle sayes he is the judgment of that great and peace-making Divine Bucer who sayes It is our part not to look at what may follow from an opinion but at what followes in the consciences of those who hold it The eleventh dividing Practice To commend and countenance what we care not for in opposition to what we dislike WHen such as professe godlinesse shall make much of wicked men shall commend them joyne with them embrace them yea be well pleased with the bitternesse boisterousnesse boldnesse of their daring spirits because there may be use made of them against those men and wayes they differ from this is an evill which brings guilt upon themselves and makes the division between them and their Brethren very great If your hearts be right and your cause be good you need not make use of any thing that is evill to comfort your hearts or to maintaine your cause The Lord will not be beholding to the evill the bitternesse of mens spirits for the furtherance of his cause and why should you God will not take the wicked by the hand neither shouldest thou Are not your spirits strengthned against your adversaries when you see them calling in Papists and all manner of the refuse of men wicked and treacherous Can you thinke that these are the most likely to maintaine the Protestant Religion and the liberty of the Subject Why doe you seek to strengthen your selves by stirring up vile men to joyne with you such as heretofore your hearts were opposite to How comes it to passe you can close so lovingly now You can smile one upon another and shake hands together How comes it to passe you doe rejoyce the hearts of evill men they encourage you and you encourage them Those unsavoury bitter expressions that come from them you can smile at and be well pleased with because they are against such as differ from you blow up that sparkle of ingenuity that heretofore hath been in you lay your hands upon your hearts bethinke your selves is it the Spirit of Jesus Christ that acts us in such a way wherein we are Surely this is not the way of peace but of division and confusion The last dividing Practice The Practice of Revenge WHen any provoke you you say you will be even with him there is a way whereby you may be not even with him but above him that is forgive him Practising revenge is the way to continue divisions to the end of the world such offend me therefore I will offend them and therefore they offend me againe mee againe and I them and so it may run in infinitum they deny mee a kindnesse therefore I will deny them and therefore they will deny mee so these unkindnesses run on endlesly divisions will have a line of succession where will it where can it stop if this be the way of men Paulus Fagius in his Notes upon Leviticus cap. 19. v. 18. sayes If Reuben should say to Simeon Lend me thy Axe and he should answer I will not the next day Simeon hath need of an Axe and he comes to Reuben and sayes I pray lend me your Axe and Reuben answers No you would not lend me yours yesterday the Jewes accounted this to be Revenge There is much more malignity in our revengefull practices one upon another then this Basil invelghing against requiting evill for evill in his tenth Sermon speakes thus to a revengefull heart Doe not make your Adversary your Master doe not imitate him whom you hate be not you his looking-glasse to present his forme and fashion in your selfe Revenge God challengeth to himselfe as his presume not to encroach upon Gods proprietie to get up into Gods seate and doe his worke thou hast enough to doe of thine owne And it is very observable how God stands upon his challenge of revenge as his owne as that which he by no meanes will suffer others to meddle with in those Scriptures where this is mentioned the challenge is doubled yea sometimes trebleâ— as Psal 94. 1. O Lord God to whom vengeance belongeth O God to whom vengeance belongeth So Nahum 1. 2. The Lord revengeth the Lord revengeth the Lord will take vengeance on his Adversaries Heb. 10. 30. Vengeance belongeth to me I will recompence saith the Lord and againe the Lord will judge his people You must not think revenge to be so light a matter How unbeseeming are revengefull practices to Christian profession Many of the Heathens were above such things Plutarch reports of Phocion That when he had done notable service for the Athenians yet was put to death by them but being asked a little before his death whether he had any thing to say to his sonne Yes sayes he that I have I require of thee my sonne that thou never wishest ill to the Athenians for this they doe to me How farre are most of us from this we can hardly passe by an ill looke without revenge but if we conceive our selves to be wronged in words or actions then revenge rises high such things must not be born A Gentleman of very good credit who lived at Court many yeeres told me that himselfe once heard a great man in this Kingdome say He never forgave man in his life and I am moved the rather to beleeve it to be so because I have been told by some other Gentlemen that the same man would when he was walking alone speake to himselfe and clap his hand upon his breast and sweare by the Name of God that he would be revenged hee would be revenged and that she who lay in his bosome was wont to sit alone and sing to her selfe Revenge Revenge O how sweet is Revenge If they get power into their owne hands and are so uxorious as they must needs give way to have things managed according to the will of their revengefull wives what peace what security is there like to be Sir Walter Rawleigh in his History of the World tells of the sad case of the Lacedemonians when Nabis having power in his hands having a wife Apega a woman full of
hath this excellent saying If I did not finde in my selfe a love and desire of all profitable truth if I did not put away idlenesse and prejudice and worldly affections and so examine to the bottome all my opinions of divine matters being prepared in minde to follow God and God onely which way soever he shall lead me if I did not hope that I either doe or endeavour to doe these things certainely I should have little hope of obtaining salvation When I consider of these causes of departing from a particular Church that speech of Tertullian concerning a Martyr comes into my minde Non poena sed causa facit Martyrem Not the punishment but the cause makes a Martyr So Non decâ—ssio sed causa facit Schismaticum Not the departing but the cause makes a Schismatick Aquinas shewing that wherein the vitiousnesse of Schisme lyes sayes As in naturall things that which is by accident does not constitute the species so in morall not that which is beside the intention for that is accidentall therefore sayes he the sin of Schisme is in that it intends to separate from that unity which charity makes and therefore Schismaticks are properly those who of their own accord and intention doe separate themselves from the unity of the Church The next thing considerable in the description of Schisme is the rashnesse of the separation though the cause of separating be just yet the manner of it may be schismaticall if done rashly or violently Those who are joyned in communion with others when they differ from those with whom they have communion they are bound to examine try to make use of all meanes they can to satisfie their consciences in things they scruple and if they cannot yet before they breake off communion they are bound to seek by all means they can for a redress of those things which after most serious examination appeare evill to them they are bound to wait with much forbearance and longsuffering And at last if there be a necessity of departing they must not rend away with violence but shew themselves willing and ready in the spirit of love and meeknesse to open their cause to shew their reasons to the Church why they cannot continue in that communion with them they formerly had and desire that they may peaceably and lovingly depart seeing they cannot with peace of their conscience and love to their soules continue with them and that they may joyne with some other Church where they may enjoy peace and further edification Surely here is no Schisme this is no rending away here is no violence used here is onely a loving and peaceable secession notwithstanding this were it not the pride envy and frowardnesse of mens spirits much love and peace might continue amongst Christians and Churches True indeed if men can beare no contradiction no kinde of blame of their wayes there must needs be trouble but then those who doe contradict or blame though they be in the wrong yet if it be through weaknesse and carryed with meeknesse they are not so much the cause of the trouble as those who cannot beare this weaknesse of their Brethren without frowardnesse and contention There are other names of division the name of Puritan what a divider hath it been but that seeing it self ready to dye divided it self into two Round head and Independent these are now the opprobrious discriminating scornfull names of division amongst us For the first there is so much folly and absurdity in it that surely it will soone vanish of it selfe if you contemne it it is too low and contemptible for a Pulpit or a Pen to meddle with But the other carries in the face of it an open defiance to all kind of government a monstrous kind of liberty for men to live as they list and to be accountable to none whatsoever they hold or doe Certainly such kinde of people as these are not to be suffered shall I say in any Christian society no not in any humane society if there be any such people as these they are one of the most monstrous kinde of people that ever lived upon the face of the earth How many runne away with the word and cry out of men and their wayes under this name which they know not How farre those who are for the Congregationable way are from such an uncontroulable liberty hath beene shewne Chap. 7. Pag. 41. I shall adde this one thing of all kinde of governments in the Church that which hath this name fastened upon it is most opposite to the name of any in that sense it is ordinarily taken for there is no Church-government that holds forth more means to reduce from errour or any miscarriage then this doth examine it with the Prelaticall or Presbyteriall Government and you shall find it for first in the Prelaticall Government if once the Prelates determine any case you must there rest there is no Church helpe for you except you will say it is in a Convocation where we know they ruled both in the choyce of members and ordering all things as they list In the Presbyteriall way if so many associated Elders determine any case it must in them receive the finall determination you must rest in it although the greater part of the Churches and the greater number of Elders in a Kingdome should be of another minde for if you rise to a Nationall Assembly there are not the twentieth part of Elders of the Kingdome in it But those who men call Independents say that if any thing be done by them that is offensive not only those associated Elders but all or any Elders or Churches whatsoever may require account may in the name of Christ doe all in effect for the reducing of them that those associated Elders can doe still remembring that Church-power in one or the other goes no further then mens consciences if men wil not conscientiously regard what is done to reduce them from evill there is no help within the Church but to appeale to CHRIST as for the externall helpe by the Magistrate that concernes not the controversie about Church-government and yet for subjection to that Ordinance of God the principles and profession of those you call Independents leave as much to the Magistrate as the principle or profession of those who are Presbyteriall doe if not more Tolle â—am nominis crimen nihil restat nisi criminis nomen Now take away the crime of the name and there remaines nothing but the name of a crime CHAP. XXVI The seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth dividing Practices The seventh Whatsoever personall evill there is in any one who is in a differing way from others is cast upon all that are in that way THis you know was the practice of former times whatsoever evill any forward Professour was guilty of that was cast upon all they are all thus Doe you not see that Hypocrites they are whatsoever their shewes be yet if they have opportunity they
cruelty and revenge her husband delighting in her caused her Image to be made lively representing her and apparelled with costly garments but indeed it was an Engin to torment men withall he made use of it thus when he could not have his will upon men by his owne perswasions he tooke them by the hand telling them that perhaps his wife Apega who sate by in a chaire could perswade more effectually so he led them to the Image that rose up and opened the armes as it were for embracement those armes were full of sharpe iron nayles the like whereof were also sticking in the brests though hidden with her clothes and herewith she griped these men to death At which Nabis standing by laughed to see the cruell death of these miserable men The Lord deliver us from revengefull spirits CHAP. XXVII The evill of Divisions They hinder much good EVsebius reports of Constantine That he was more troubled with the dissentions of the Church then with all the warres in his dominions that he took them so to heart that he could not sleep quietly for them yea although he had a spirit full of heroick valour yet the dissentions of the Church were such evils to him as to cause him to cry and sob Thus he writes in an Epistle to Alexander and Arius Let me enjoy the dayes in peace and the nights without molâ—station that the pleasure which riseth out of the pure light of concord and quiet life may henceforth inviolably be conserved if it otherwise happen it behoveth us to sob and sigh and to shed many a salt teare What heart that hath any tendernesse in it bleeds not in the sense of those sore dreadful heart-divisions there are amongst us The evill there is in them is beyond what tongue or pen can expresse Take a view of it under these three Heads 1. The good they hinder 2. The sinne they cause 3. The misery they bring First the quiet comfort sweetnesse of our spirits is hindered by divisions They put the spirit out of tune men who heretofore have had sweet spirit full of ingenuity since they have interessed themselves in these Divisions have lost their sweetnesse their ingenuity is gone When the Bee stings she leaves her sting behinde her and never gathers Honey more men by stinging one another doe not lose their stings but they lose their honey they are never like to have that sweetnesse in their hearts that heretofore they had Shall I lose my sweetnesse sayes the Fig-tree and goe to be promoted over the trees Why doest thou not reason thus with thy spirit Shall I lose my sweetnesse in contending to get my will to be above others God sorbid There was a time that both my my selfe and others found much sweetnesse in the temper of spirit there was nothing but peaceablenesse quiet calmnesse contentednesse in it and how comfortable was such a temper of spirit me thought when my spirit was in that sweet frame all things were sweet to me but since I have been interested in quarrels and contentions it hath beene farre otherwise with me Prov. 15. 4. Perversnesse in the tongue causes a breach in the spirit Contentions cause much perversnesse in mens tongues and this causes a breach in their spirits Your contending costs you deare though it were in nothing else yet the losse of this sweetnesse of spirit makes it very costly to you All the wrong that you should have put up if you had not contended had not been so great an evil to you as this one thing is There is nothing more contrary to ingenuity then quarrelsomnesse It is reported of Melancthon that when he was to dye he had this speech and Strigelius at his death had the same I desire to depart this life for two causes First that I may enjoy the desired sight of the Sonne of God and the Church in heaven Secondly that I may be delivered from the fierce and implacable hatred of Divines There was much disputing contending quarrelling in those times which was so tedious to the spirits of these good men as it made them the willinger to dye that they might be where their souls should be at rest That Saint of God old M. Dod never loved to meddle with controversies he gave that reason He found his heart the worse when he did Men seldome come away from hot disputes or any other contentions but their spirits are altered for the worse They finde it so and others finde it in them If a man has beene abroad and met with company with whom he hath been contending his wife children servants finde that he comes not home with the same spirit that he went out with Secondly they hinder the freedome of a mans spirit which a wise man sets a high price upon the strength of many mens spirits is spent in contentions they have no command of them to any thing else When a man is once engaged in a contest he knows not how to get off Contention is a great snare to a man he wishes he had never medled with it he is weary of it but knowes not how to come off fairely I have read of Francis the first King of France consulting with his Captaines how to lead his Army over the Alpes into Italy whether this way or that way Amarill his Foole sprung out of a corner where he sate unseene and bad them rather take care which way they should bring their Army out of Italy back again It is easie for one to interest himselfe in quarrels but the difficulty is to be disengaged from them when you are in Thirdly they hinder the good of the body many men contending with their Brethren are so full of stomach that they have no stomach they hinder their sleep men lye tossing up downe a great part of the night sometimes whole nights musing plodding and contriving how they may make their party good what advantages they may get of those they contend with Have the thoughts about the breach sinne hath made between God and thy soul broke thy sleep so much as the thoughts of breaches between thee and thy neighbours and brethren We reade of Moses Deut. 34. 7. that he was an hundred and twenty yeeres old when he died his eye was not dimme nor his naturall force abated Some give this to be one reason of such a wonderfull preservation of his health and strength the meeknesse of his spirit God witnesses of him Numb 12. 3. That he was the meekest man upon the face of the earth That good old man Mr. Dod came very neere to Moses in the one and in the other Fourthly they hinder mens judgements if the water be muddie we cannot see what lies at the bottome These dissentions disturb the medium of our sight you cannot weigh gold in the middest of blustring windes you cannot consider and give a judgement upon truth except the heart be calme Gregory Nazianzen hath this similitude As the
bloud to cast up thy accounts truly what good thou hast done or what thou hast got by such and such contentions and on the other side cast up what the hurt thou hast done what sin hath been committed what evill hath got into thy spirit I fear you will have little cause to boast of or rejoyce in your gains To be freed from that expence that comes in by strife is not a little gain says Ambrose In strife you will finde there is a very great expence of time of gifts and parts Many men in regard of the good gifts God hath given them might have proved shining Lights in the Church but by reason of their contentious spirits they prove no other then smoaking firebrands It may be by all the stirre you keep you shall never get your minde if you do it will not quit cost the charge you have been at for it comes to much more then it is worth God deliver me from having my minde at such a dear rate The fifth joyning Consideration The strongest hath need of the weakest LEt not the hand say it hath no need of the foot nor the eye it hath no need of the hand God hath so tempred the body that every member hath need of every member It was a sweet spirit in Peter that great Apostle writing to the scattered Christians he begins his Epistle thus Simon Peter a servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us Little nayles may be usefull where great wedges can do no good Little chips may help to set great logs on fire The sixth Consider when any thing falls out that occasions strife it may be this is but for a triall this is a temptation WHen men provoke us we are ready to flye upon them looking no further then the men with whom we are displeased But if you look a little further perhaps you may see the Devill is on the other side of the hedge and hath been the chief agent in this business Augustine presseth this by a most excellent similitude When a Fowler saith he hath set his net to catch Birds he sets it at a distance from the hedge and when he has done he takes stones and throwes at the hedge upon this the Birds flye out and flutter about The Fowler does not intend any hurt to the hedge neither does he think to hit any Birds with his stones but that which is in his eye is the net on the other side of the hedge he hopes to drive the Birds in there So sayes he the Devill prepares his net to catch men in he raises up contentions and causes much trouble to be in Churches and among brethren you think all the evill is in the trouble of your present contentions Oh no the Devill is behinde he intends to bring some of you into some great sin by these he hath set his net for you when you are troubled and vexed by such contentions the Devill sees you fit for a temptation now I hope I shall get him to do such and such things which otherwise I could never have got him to Oh that we had hearts when we find contentions stirring to consider But is there not a temptation in them The seventh Consider how the heart of God is set upon making peace with us and what it cost him GOd was in Christ reconciling the world to himself this work hath taken up the thoughts councels heart of God from all eternity above any thing that ever he did this is the chief master-piece of all the works of God There is more of the glory of God in this then in all that God hath done This is and shall be the object of the admiration of Angels and Saints the matter of their praises to all eternity The heart of God was so in this that he was resolved to have it whatsoever it cost him it cost the dearest that ever any thing in this world did yea the price of it was more then ten thousand worlds are worth it was no lesse then the bloud of the Sonne of God of him who is the second person in Trinity God blessed for evermore Col. 1. 14. In whom we have redemption through his bloud who is the image of the invisible God the first borne of every creature by him were all things created he is before all things by him all things consist in him all fulnesse dwels and having made peace through the bloud of his Crosse ver 20. What God hath done for peace with us cals aloud to us to prize peace one with another It is the Apostles argument 1 Joh. 3. 16. He laid down his life for us we ought to lay downe our lives for the brethren It cost his life to make our peace with God We should be willing to do any thing we are able even to the hazard of our lives to make peace among the Saints Christ laid down his life even for this peace also Ephes 2. 14. For he is our peace who hath made both one and hath broke downe the middle wall of partition betweene us having abolished in his flesh the enmity to make in himselfe of twaine one new man so making peace and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the Crosse Christ reconciles both unto God but how it is in one body Lay this Consideration warm at your hearts and it will comfort your hearts and so preserve and encrease peaceable dispositions in you towards one another The eighth Consider how unworthy we were when Jesus Christ received us into union with himselfe WHat uncomely what loathsome creatures we were yet Christ took us into his bosome into his heart and resolved that never any thing should seperate us from him againe But that those embracements of his should be everlasting and yet shall every trifle take us off from one anothers hearts shall every jealous spusitious conceit every little difference be enough to seperate us and that almost irreconcileably Have we the spirit of Christ in us is the same minde in us that was in Christ Jesus The ninth Consider that we are called to Peace GOD hath called us to peace 1 Cor. 7. 15. That case upon which the Apostle mentions our calling to peace is as difficult a case to preserve peace in as any can fall out in ones life It was the case of man and wife unequally yoaked one is a Beleever the other an Infidell yet being man and wife the Apostle determines that the Beleever must be content to live with the unbeleever as it becomes a wife or a husband except he or she of themselves will depart but they should give them no occasion of departing but rather by their holy humble conversation seek to convert them this no question was accounted a hard task but it must be sayes the Apostle and upon this he grounds it for God hath called us to peace There is another case almost as difficult as
The more fully we give up our selves our ends designes to God the more securely may we sit under Gods protection care and blessing Many of the good Kings of Judah had their hearts for God but yet they let the high Places stand their politick wisdom divided their hearts between God and their fears of disturbance in the State If they should raise their Reformation so high by this their division their hearts lay flat the worke was neglected But 2 Chron. 17. 6. Jehoshaphats heart was lift up in the wayes of the Lord he tooke away the high places and groves he sought to the Lord God of his father and walked in his commandements not after the doings of Israel vers 4. But did he not bring disturbance to the Kingdome by this his zeale No Vers 5. Therefore the Lord stablished that Kingdome in his hand and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents and hee had riches and honour in abundance And vers 10. The feare of the Lord fell upon all the kingdomes of the lands that were round about Judah so that they made no warre against Jehoshaphat Vers 12. Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly Let our hearts be for God alone for God alone is enough to satisfie our hearts to supply all good unto us for ever There is infinite reason our whole hearts should be for him he is willing his whole heart should be for us Jer. 32. 41. Yea I will rejoyce over them to do them good and I will plant them with my whole heart and with my whole soule CHAP. III. Heart-divisions one from another WHen they divided from God then they divided from his people they would not joyn with his people in the way of his worship only such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel went to Ierusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers 2 Chr. 11. 16. only those whose hearts the Lord touched but others for their owne carnall ends would not joyn with them they saw trouble attended that way and having divided themselves from God his people it was Gods curse upon them that they should be divided one from another if you be divided from the truth what can hold you together Truth is a single simple plain thing but error is various and ensnarls it self with infinite contradictions If people goe out of the plaine path of truth they wander up and down God knows whither intangling themselves in bryars and thornes so as they cannot extricate themselves As those ten Tribes which at first divided from Iudah only in their subjection to the house of David and in their worship at Ierusalem but after they denied all Scripture but only the 5. books of Moses They were exceedingly given and generally addicted unto sorcery magick and witch-craft in which they grew more and more notorious till Christs time This is intimated in that blasphemy of the Jewes against our Saviour Thou art a Samaritan and hast a Devil taxing him with the practice of that people who commonly being Witches had familiar spirits attending on them for otherwise they knew he was no Samaritan but a Galilean of Nazareth They were also exceedingly divided amongst themselves Epiphanius recites four severall sects of them the Ossens Sebuaeans Gorthenians and Positheans Truth is the bond that keeps to unity but errour is wilde you know not where to find it nor your selves if you give way to it Our present times will be a testimony of this to all future generations The wild and unruly divisions of our times is to be the subject of the future discourse I am not ignorant nor unsensible of the difficulty the trouble the danger there is in medling with such a subject at such a time as this He that meddles with the divisions of the times may expect to be divided himself to have his name his repute to be cut asunder and thrown this way and that way It is an unthankfull work to meddle with a divided people a man may with as much safety put his hand into a nest of Hornets A learned man being once asked why he did not write his judgment about the controversie of his time answered To what purpose it would not help the cause but much hazard him that should meddle That which one once said to Luther when he was about interessing himself in seeking Reformation sounds in my ears when I first thought of having to do with this Argument O Luther rather get you into your Cell and say Lord have mercy upon us It is a great part of the skil of a Minister to divide the word aright but this skill of his will be put to it when he comes to divide the word amongst a divided people to give every part its portion I should never have ventured to have chosen a Text on purpose for such an argument but seeing Providence hath brought it so fully into my way I shall now venture upon it with my heart cast and fixed upon that promise Pro. 11. 3. The uprightnesse of the upright shall guide him I shall cast what I intend into this mould 1. The causes of our Divisions 2. The evill of them 3. Cautions about them that we may not make an ill use of them 4. Remedies or cures of them The causes of our Divisions The principal cause from without is the Devil he seeks to keep his own kingdom free from divisions but seeks nothing more then to cause divisions in the Kingdom of Christ The Mahumetans who worship a cursed impostor The Pagans who worship the Sun Moon and Stars The Aegyptians who worship Onions Leeks Cats and Dogs never had such divisions amongst them as the worshippers of Jesus Christ have had and have at this day amongst themselves for all the former are the Devils kingdom which he seeks to keep at peace but he is that envious one who sows the seeds of division in the Kingdom of Christ hence those who foment divisions amongst Christians are called Devils 1 Tim. 3. 11. The wives of Deacons must not be slanderers The word may be translated Devils women are most liable to the Devils temptations this way because they are weak and are in danger to run away with sudden apprehensions without due examination and what can foment division more then slandering so far as any especially in the Church hath a hand in causing or fomenting division so farre as she is a Devil in Scripture-language the part of the Devil is acted by them I remember Cajetan hath a note upon that place in the Gospel where the devils being cast out of the man who had a legion in him prayed Christ that they might not goe out of that region why would they not go out of that region says Cajetan He gives this answer The Devils have certain places to which they divide their work such Devils to such a place for such a service and such to another for another service now these Devils were loath to
be displaced of their region though they were cast out of the man having further work to do in that place If this be so surely the Devills that are appointed to cause and foment divisions and dissentions above all regions love to be in the region of Churches for no where do divisions such hart as there and at this time especially for now the Devils see they cannot prevail to get men to their old superstitious vanities but some reformation there wil be they now seek to mingle a perverse spirit of division amongst men hoping they shall prevail here though they could not hold their own in the former God put enmity between Satan and the Saints but it is the Devil that puts enmity between Saints and Saints When we hear fearful thundring and see terrible storms and tempests many people say that ill spirits are abroad surely these blustering storms of contention are raised and continued from evill spirits But the truth is all the Devils in hel could do us no great hurt in dividing us from God or from one another were it not for the corruption of our own hearts Wherefore as the Lord says to Israel Perditio tua ex te thy destruction is from thy self So may we now say of England Divisio tua ex te thy division is from thy selfe The causes of our divisions from our selves may be referred to three heads 1. Dividing principles sometimes our divisions come down from our heads to our hearts 2. Dividing distempers sometimes they go up from our hearts to our heads 3. Dividing practises and these come from head and heart they foment and encrease both We will begin with dividing principles Except some care be taken of the head it will be in vaine to meddle with the heart to cry out against our heart-distempers the chief cause of many of our divisions lies here It is to little purpose to purge or apply any medicine to the lower parts when the disease comes from distillations from the head CHAP. IV. Dividing Principles The first There can be no agreement without Vniformity THis Principle hath a long time caused much division in the Church The right understanding wherein the weaknesse and falsenesse of it lyes will help much to Peace to joyn us sweetly together In the substantials of worship Unity is necessary there all are bound to go by the same rule and to do to the uttermost they are able the same thing But the circumstantials of worship have a two-fold consideration They are either such as though but circumstances to some other worship yet have also in themselves some divine worship some spirituall efficacie something in them to commend our service unto God or to cause some presence of God with us or to work us nearer to God by an efficacy beyond what they have in them of their owne natures As for instance Time is a circumstance but the Lords day hath a worship in it commending our service to God and an efficacie to bring God to us and raise us to God this not from any naturall efficacie of the time but from Gods institution Now in such circumstances as these there ought to be uniformity for these have institutions for their rule and are not at mans liberty to be altered as he thinks best in prudence But there are other circumstances which are onely naturall or civill subservient to worship in a naturall or civill way They are conversant about worship but have nothing of worship in them but are meerely naturall or civill helps to it When we worship God we do something as men as well as worshippers hence we have need of some naturall or civill helps As for instance when we meet to worship God wee being men as well as Christians must have a conveniency of place to keep us from the weather to know whether to resort and of time to know when There must be order Many cannot speak at once to edification modest and grave carriage is required of us as a society of men meeting about matters of weight In these circumstances and other of the like nature there is no worship at all there is no spirituall efficacie there are only naturall or civill helps to us while we are worshipping therefore for these circumstances humane prudence is sufficient to order them The right understanding of this takes away a great prejudice that many have against such as desire to keep to Divine Institutions not onely in Substantials but in the Circumstantials of worship they thinke it an unreasonable thing that divine Institution should be required for every circumstance in worship this hath bred a great quarrel in the church and well may it be thought unreasonable if we required Institutions for circumstances in worship which are but naturall or civill helps and have no worship at all in them for that indeed were endlesse and a meer vanity Certainly Institutions are to be required onely in things that are raised beyond what is in them naturally in tendring my respects to God by them or expecting to draw my heart nearer to God or God nearer to me in the use of them The contention about Uniformity is much encreased for want of a right understanding of this difference in the circumstantialls of worship did we understand one another in this wee might soon have Peace as concerning this thing In these latter sorts of circumstances we must also distinguish There are some that must of necessity be determined as time and place it is therefore necessary there should be an uniformity in these in all the members of every society respectively that they agree to meet in the same place at the same time naturall necessity requires this but naturall necessity requires not the binding of severall Churches to Uniformity in things of this kind The urging Uniformity beyond the rule in such things hath in all ages caused wofull divisions in the Church Eusebius tells of Victor Bishop of Rome about two hundred yeares after Christ broke off communion from all the Churches of Asia for not keeping Easter the same time he did The controversie was not about Easter but onely about uniformity in the time Never hath there been greater breaches of unity in the Church then by violent urging Uniformity But further there are other naturall civill circumstances which need not at all be determined though there be a liberty and variety in them yet order and edification is not hereby hindered As for instance In hearing the word one stands as Constantine was wont constantly to do another sits one is uncovered another is covered one hath one kind of garment another another yet no rules of modesty or gravity are broken Now if any power should violently urge uniformity in such like circumstances and not leave them as Christ hath done here they make the necessity of uniformity a dividing principle upon these four grounds 1. This is a straitning mens naturall liberties without satisfying their reason 2. This hath been
the Line of Truth and beyond it we dare not venture in the least The controversie is not about little or great trouble or inconvenience if it were such a charge might well make us blush the inconvenience or trouble is little yet a few men wil not yeeld to their Brethren who are many for peace sake but the controversie is about sin now whether that be little or great the difference cannot but remain if one part shall urge upon another that which to them is sin as to acknowledg any one thing to be a power of Christ which he cannot see Christ hath owned in his word must needs be therefore the way to peace is not the necessity of coming up one to another because the thing is little but the louing and peaceable and brotherly carriage of one towards another because the difference is but small CHAP. VIII The third dividing Principle That nothing which is conceived to be evill is to be suffered THis is the other extream some think all things should be suffered and they are loose and cause divisions on the one hand others thinke nothing is to be suffered and these are rigid and cause divisions on the other hand If any thing be conceived evil either in opinion or practise if instructions and perswasions cannot reform there must be means used to compell This is a harsh and a sowr Principle a disturbing Principle to Churches and States to mankind This Principle seldome prevails with any but those who have got power into their hands or hope to get it This must needs be a dividing Principle First because of the infinite variety of mens apprehensions about what is good or evill scarce three men agree any long time in their apprehensions of some things to be evil if then nothing that is conceived to be evill must be suffered there must needs be continuall opposition between man and man This subjects the generality of men to suffer for many things which they can see no evill in but are perswaded is good this raises an animosity against those by whom they suffer though a man can subject his body and estate to another he cannot subject his reason to another In the common ways of justice men are punished for those things which if they be guilty of they cannot but acknowledg themselves to be worthy of punishment as in Theft Murder Drunkennesse c. And for the fact they are tryed in such a way as they cannot but acknowledg is fit in reason to be subjected to and therefore though they suffer much yet they will yeeld it without disturbance But if this Principle prevails every man almost is made lyable to punishment for thousands of things that he can see no reason why he should be punished It is very hard to bring mens spirits to yeeld in such things But you will say May not men be punished for things that they see no reason why they should be punished for many malefactors may easily escape thus guilt will quickely blind men they will see no reason why they should be punished It is not what men say they see no reason for or what it may be they indeed see no reason for but what men cannot see reason for though they should bend their understandings and strength to the uttermost yea what the generality of man kind and of that community of which a man is cannot possibly see reason for it is impossible for the generality of mankind the community of any Church or State though they should be never so diligent to find out what is good and what is evill yet to be able to understand every thing that is evill to be so If you will have laws made against all things that such as are in authority conceive to be evill then you must give them power to judge not only by the rules of common justice and equity and punish for the breach of them but by the apprehensions that their own raised parts shall suggest unto them and to punish men for not being raised to that height of understanding themselves have but this power is more then is fit to be given to any men upon earth This would bring tyranny both in State and Church For first from whence is the rise of all Civill Power that any man or society of men are invested with is it not from the generality of the men over whom they have power Is it not the power which they themselves had and which they might have kept amongst themselves For who can say that a Democracy is a sinfull Government in it selfe True God establishes it upon particular men by his Ordinance after it is given to them by the people but the first rise is from them and if so then they should make no law to bring those men under punishment who gave them their power but such a Law as these men may possibly come to understand to be equall and just for they act their power and it must be supposed that they never intended to give a power beyond this Those who give power may limit power they may give part to one part to another they may limit the matter about which the power shall be exercised it shall goe so far and no further the utmost limits cannot goe beyond these rules of Justice which they are capable to understand Hence it is that all men in our Law are tryed Per pares by their Peers because it is to be supposed that they are to be accounted offenders and to be punished only so as those who are equall with themselves shall judg them worthy and this likewise is the reason that Courts are in publique no man is to be shut out because all men that will may behold the tryall and justifie the proceedings of Justice against offenders It must needs be supposed then that the rules by which the Judges go must be the rules of common equity and justice that all men may understand beyond what these rules will reach to the Civill State is not to punish not every thing that men of deep judgements and strong parts may apprehend to be evill The power of the Church likewise extends not to the punishment of every thing that either may by the Governours of it be conceived to be evill or that is indeed evill As the rise of the Civil power shews that only such things are to be punished by it as are against the common rules of Justice and Equity so the rise of Church power will shew that only such things as are against common rules such things as some way or other appeare to be against conviction and are obstinately persisted in are by Church censure to be punished The rise of Church power is indeed different from the rise of the Civill yet agrees in this that it limits the Church as the rise of the Civill doth the Civill power The power of Governors in the State arises from the people and they act their power that the
this temptation shall still retaine what he hath made profession of and others shall see his weakenesse joyned with wilfulnesse they must oppose him in it and so contention and division is like to rise higher and higher In regard therefore of the great usefulnesse of this point and the difficulty of the right understanding it I shall endeavour to speak to it under these three Heads First to shew wherein Profession is necessary Secondly wherein men may keep in what they think they understand to be truth so as not to professe or practise it Thirdly I shall propound some rules of Direction to shew in what manner a man should make profession of what he conceives to be truth though it be different from his Brethren For the first Certainly profession in some things is very necessary Rom. 10. 10. With the heart man believeth unto righteousnesse and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation Confession is here joyned to believing as necessary to salvation This I conceive to be the meaning of those places which hold forth the necessity of Baptisme He that believes and is baptized shall be saved Augustine in one of his Sermons De Tempore sayes Wee cannot be saved except wee professe our faith outwardly for the salvation of others And Christ Mar. 8. 38. sayes Whosoever shall be ashamed of him and of his words in this adulterous and sinfull generation of him shall the Sonne of Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy Angels And it is observable that they follow upon those words What shall it profit a man if he shall gaine the whole world and loose his owne soule or what shall a man give in exchange for his soule As if Christ should say If you would not lose your soules eternally look to this make profession of the truth as you are called to it though you live in a wicked and an adulterous generation yet be not ashamed of me before them for if you be your souls may goe for it eternally Zuinglius in his third Epistle says We may as well with a Dioclesian worship before the Altar of Jupiter and Venus as conceale our faith under the power of Antichrist Now though profession be necessary yet in what cases we are bound to professe and in what not is no easie matter to determine Zuarez a man of great judgement yet falling upon this Question When a man is bound to make profession of the Truth sayes We cannot give rules in particular when there is a necessity of profession in regard of the good of our neighbour but it must bee determined by the judgment of Prudence But though the determination be very difficult yet we may assert these five cases to bind us to profession First when the truths are necessary to salvation and my forbearance in them may endanger the salvation of any the salvation of the soul of the poorest beggar is to be preferred before the glory pomp outward peace and comforts of all the Kingdoms on the earth therefore much before my private contentments In extream danger of life there is no time to reason what in prudence is fit to be done but save the mans life if you can and reason the case afterward Secondly when not profession shall be interpreted to be a denyall though in case of a lesser truth I must not deny the truth the least truth interpretative I must rather be willing to suffer then the truth should suffer by me so farre This was Daniel's case when he would not cease his praying three times a day neither would he shut his windows though it endangered his life A carnall heart would say why might not Daniel have been wiser he might have forborn a while at least he might have shut his windows No Daniel was willing to venture his life in the cause rather then he would so much as by way of interpretation deny that honour that he knew was due to God Thirdly when others shall be scandaliz'd so as to be weakned in their faith by my denyall yea so scandalized as to be in danger to sin because they see me not to professe in this case we must venture very far we should take heed of offending any of the Saints so as to grieve them but when the offence comes to weaken their faith to occasion their sin there we should venture very far to our own outward prejudice rather then so to offend them Fourthly when an account of my faith is demanded if it be not either in scorn to deride or in malice to ensnare but seriously so as the giving it may be to edification especially in a way of giving a publique testimony to the truth 1 Pet. 3. 15. Be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you If to every one much more to Magâ—strates Fifthly so far as those whom God hath committed to my charge for instruction are capable at some time or other I must manifest that truth of God to them that may be for their good according as I am able Yet this duty of profession being a duty required by an affirmative precept though we are bound alwayes yet not to all times semper but not ad semper we must alwayes keep such a disposition of heart as to be in a readiness rather to give testimony to any truth of God if called to it by God then to provide for our ease or any outward comfort in this world so as we may be able to appeal to God in the sincerity of our hearts to judg of that high esteem we have of his truth Lord if thou shalt make known to me now or any other time that thy Nature may have any glory by my profession of any truth of thine whatsoever become of my outward peace ease or content I am ready to do it for thy Names sake There is a time says Hugo when nothing is to be spoken a time when something but there is no time when all things are to be spoken There are sixe other cases wherein you are not bound to professe First when you shall be required in way of scorn or to ensnare you this were to cast pearls before swine 2ly You are not bound to make profession of a truth to those who are not able to receive it whose weaknesse is such as they cannot understand it till they be principled with some other truths I have many things to say sayes Christ but yee are not able to beare them So St. Paul Hast thou faith have it to thy selfe he speaks in the case of doubtfull things which will trouble weak ones 3ly When mens hearts appear so corrupt that there is apparant danger of abuse of truths to the strengthning them in thâ—ir lusts there are precious truths that many Ministers cannot speak of before people without trembling hearts and were it not that they believed they were the
doth not here condemn wars simply this was the error of the old Manichees raised up again by some amongst us especially as the Wars are looked upon under that notion raised for Religion They seek to weaken our hands in these wars by telling young people who have newly given their names to Christ and therefore desire to be guided by the Word in all they do whom God hath used under himself to be the strength of these wars that they have no warrant to fight for Religion To whom our Answer is that we have a Civill right to the outward peaceable profession and practice of our Religion wee have the Laws of the Land for it and for the maintenance of this right wee fight There can be no reason given why our civil right we have to our Religion may not as wel be maintained by the sword as our civill right to our houses and lands This answers all objections against the maintenance of Religion by the sword from the practice of the Christians in the Primitive times who never sought to maintain Religion thus We say their case was not the same with ours they never had any civill right to the profession and practice of Religion in the Countreys where they lived as we have The wars meant in this Text are contentions jars divisions amongst Christians though they did not take up the sword one against another yet there were many quarrells jarrs and divisions amongst them these came from their lusts The lusts of mens hearts are very quarrelsom Storms and tempests are here below in this impure muddy part of the world in the higher part all is serene calm and clear 1 Cor. 3. 3. For yee are yet carnall how do's he prove that whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions are ye not carnall and walke as men Strifes and divisions do manifest mens hearts to be very carnall August upon that place Gen. 15. 10. where God required Abraham to take beasts and birds for sacrifice the beasts were divided cut asunder but not the birds Thus says he by way of allusion carnall brutish men are divided one from another but not the birds not those who are more spirituall more celestiall Ye walke as men sayes the Apostle yee should not walk as men ye should walk as it becomes those whose condition is raised above the condition of men as it becomes Christians the redeemed ones of the Lord you say Can flesh and blood endure this Can any man living beare this what if flessh and blood what if a man cannot A Christian may a member of Jesus Christ who is God-man may Chrysostome in one of his Sermons to the people of Antioch brings in Gods gracious dealing with Cain as an example for them to imitate in their carriage towards those who carry themselves ill towards them He brings them in also replying God indeed was gentle and patient toward Cain for hee is God he is above all passion but we are but men he answers them Therefore did the Son of God come down that he might make you as near as may be to God The Scripture sayes The Saints are made partakers of the divine nature therefore do not say We are but men You must not walk as men but as those who are endued with the Divine nature It is a great charge that the holy Ghost layes upon the Corinthians that they walked but as men yet many come short of the lives of men they rather walk as doggs as tygers as wolves Gal. 5. 20. The fruits of the flesh are hatred variance emulation wrath strife seditions heresies envyings All these are the causes or workings of divisions Surely our divisions are the fruits of the flesh We see it in nature the more spiritual any thing is the more it unites and the more gross the substance of any thing is the lesse it unites the beames of the Sun are of a kind of spirituall nature therefore thousands of them will unite in puncto but it is not so in other things spiritual hearts in this are like the Sun beams though thousands of them live together they will unite in one so long as they continue spiritual The three thousand Converts Act. 2. joyned with one accord with one single heart We find it now by experience so long as there be but a few in a Church they agree well but usually when they come to be numerous dissentions rise amongst them this is an argument that the hearts of men are not spiritual still much flesh remains Brackish water ascending to the Heavens is sweetned it comes down sweet from thence thus those things which have trouble which have an aptnesse to breed divisions yet spirituall heavenly hearts having to do with them they turn the nature of them they work spirituall advantage out of them The higher fire ascends the more it unites the flame that is broad at the bottom as it growes high unites to be as the point of a needle When the hearts of Christians keep below and have a great deal of smoak amongst them they do not so unite but when they can get up high O what close single-hearted union is there 〈◊〉 a crooked and a right line cannot joyn but two right lines will joyn in every point The lusts of mens hearts cause divisions many wayes First they are mens own therefore they will contend for them nothing is a mans own so much as his lusts man aims wholly at himselfe in satisfying his lust A Dog will barke and bite and flye in a mans face to preserve his own whelps Secondly Mens lusts blinde their judgements Perit judicium cum res transit in affectum when the heart is tainted the judgement is soone blinded if the beame of the scale you weigh by be not straight the scale that hath the light weight may weigh down the heavier if our hearts be crooked warping to any sinfull lust what weight soever there be in any arguments to convince the scale will goe according to the warping of the heart the conclusion will follow the worser part 3ly Mens lusts weaken their spirits so as they are not able to heare any thing that comes crosse to them women children sick people who are weakest fall out most with one another things that are rotten cannot hold together every little touch breaks them asunder that which is sound hath strength to hold one part to another Fourthly in mens lusts there is confusion they cannot be kept in order therefore they must needs cause disturbance not onely in mens owne spirits but to all that have to deale with men acted by them where there is confusion there cannot be union when there is right order in an army though the men be never so numerous never so differing in other respects yet if they keep their ranks they are all but one but if put to a rout and confusion then the bond of unity is broken and every man divides from another to
shift for himself In mens lusts there are contradictions no vertue is contrary to another but vices have nothing but contrarieties and contradictions in them Mens lusts oppose and fight against one another in mens hearts no marvail then when there are such stirs within though they break forth into quarrels and contentions without If a man be quarrelsom in his family no wonder if when he comes abroad he quarrels and contends with his neighbours also Sixtly In mens lusts there is violence violence and peace cannot stand together Isa 60. 18. God promises peace and there promises that violence should be no more heard in their Land Mens lusts are boisterous and unruly especyally when they have been acting a while at the first venting they seem to be fair but after a while they grow outragious violent and boisterous dispositions are unfit for society You shall find in experience men who seem to be of weake spirits of softly tempers very remisse in what they do ordinarily yet let the lusts of these men be engaged in any cause to any side O how violent and impetuous will they be they care not what they say or do they will divide from God from the publique from their dearest friends from their neerest relations from what themselves have made profession of heretofore from their credit profit from their own peace from any thing and all to serve a lust engaged in such a businesse it is a dangerous thing to have a mans lust engaged nothing can stand against an engaged lust a man runs on head-long he will break his conscience he will desperately endanger his eternall breaking to maintain the engagement of his lust 7ly In the lusts of mens hearts there is an antipathy against God against his wayes purity of his Ordinances his Saints Gen. 3. 15. I will put enmity between thee and the woman between thy seed and her seed In Antipathy the opposition is 1. In the nature of the things therefore it s deeply rooted it comes not in accidentally you may find two sheep fighting upon some accident but the natures are not opposite like the Wolfe and the Sheep 2. The cause of this opposition is secret wicked men have their spirits rise against the godly but they are not able to say why The husband loved his wife while she was carnall now God hath turned her heart she is more obedient then ever she seeks to give him content in all things more then before she is more usefull to him in all occasions more faithfull every way more lovely then before only she is godly now and was not so before but his heart is now quite off from her he dares not say that it is for her godlinesse if he hath any conviction himself but so it is that now he looks upon her with an evil eye an estranged heart So a wicked Father or Mother who loved their child exceedingly before God was pleased to work upon him yet now the child is more dutiful then he was but the heart of the father or mother is taken off from him can hardly endure him ready to take any exception against him their countenances are lowring and sadd towards him they can give no reason for this their change but as they were wont to say of Christians Such a man is a good man but he is a Christian Bonus vir Caius Seius sed Christianus non amo te I love you not but I can give no reason Hoc tantum possum dicere Non amo te all that I can say is this that I do not love you 3. It is a setled constant opposition This hath been in all generations the great cause of division between the men of the world and the Saints and still it continues the same you may see the same spirit of the old opposers of godlinesse and godly men working in our days the names of things may be changed but the same kind of men for the same things are opposed and hated now in the same manner as in former generations 4. It is very strong ungodly men are exceedingly imbittered against the Saints Ezek. 26. 6. Because thou hast clapped thine hands and stamped with the feet and rejoyced in heart with all thy despight against the Land of Israel This spirit of bitternesse and indignation that was in them against the people of God is seminally at least in all wicked men 5ly The enmity of Antipathy is incurable it can never be taken away except one ceases to be in its nature what it was there can be no compounding things that are so contrary one of them must cease to be or turned into another nature or else the â—pposition will be everlasting The great divisions amongst us are those that are between the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent some division there are between those who are the seed of Christ but the great stirs in the Kingdom come from the evill spirit there is in the seed of the Serpent against the godly in the Land In the beginning of the Parliament when mens liberties and estates being involved in one there was good agreement all men rejoyced generally the countenances of those who were not Popish and Prelaticall were serene they had comfortable aspects one upon another but when those whose spirits were opposite to the power of godlinesse saw how the godly amongst them rejoyced how their heads were lifted up how their hearts were filled with hopes of good dayes wherein Religion should be countenanced and honoured that Antipathy that was in their hearts against the ways of God boy-led in them though they were glad that they should be freed from some burdens yet to see those whom they hated in their hearts to rejoyce so much they could not beare but their spirit rose against them and in opposition to them they have raised these stirs they have made these woful distractions that are amongst us Lastly the lusts of mens hearts are the cause of our divisions because God requires every man according to his place to make opposition against them the cause of the strife lyes not in those who oppose them they do but their duty but in in those who nourish such lusts within them yet we finde it ordinarily that those who are most corrupt will cry out against those who oppose them in their wicked wayes as the cause of strife and divisions as if they were the troublers of Israel whereas indeed themselves the wicked lusts of their own hearts are the troublers of Israel those who oppose their lusts desire all good to their persons I remember Augustine in his Book about the unity of the Church hath this passage The Son doth more grievously persecute his father by living naughtily then the father him by chastising him duely Sarahs Maid did more trouble her by her wicked pride then shee her Maid by her deserved correction Those men who are most faulty are the men who are to be charged to be the
me thus proud men and women in their families whatsoeuer children or servants do amisse what you do it on purpose to anger me do you When the winde comes crosse the streame the waters rage So does the will and affections of a proud heart when any thing crosseth it 3ly Pride makes men swell beyond their bounds the way to keep all things in union is for every man to keep within his bounds the swelling beyond tends to the breaking all in pieces Hab. 2. 5. He is a proud man neither keepeth at home who enlargeth his desire as hell and cannot be satisfied If any humour of the body goeth beyond its bounds it brings much trouble to it the health and peace of the body consists in the keeping of every humour within its vessell and due proportion 4ly Pride hardens mens hearts Dan. 5. 20. His minde is hardned in his pride If you would have things cleave you must have them soft two flints will not joyn the Spanyard hath a Proverb Lime and stone will make a wall if one be hand yet if the other be yeelding there may be joyning and good may be done not else 5ly Pride causes men to despise the persons actions and sufferings of others nothing is more unsufferable to a mans spirit then to be vilified A proud man despises what others do and others what he does every man next to his person desires the honour of his actions If these two be contemned his sufferings will likewise be contemned by the proud This also goes very neer to a man one man thinks what another man suffers is nothing no matter what becomes of him another thinks his suffering's nothing and no matter what becomes of him O at what a distance now are mens hearts one from another 6ly Pride causes every man to desire to be taken notice of to have an eminency in some thing or other if he cannot be eminent on one side he will get to the other he must be taken notice of one way or other when he is in a good and peaceable way God makes some use of him yet because he is not observed and looked upon as eminent he will rather turn to some other way to contend strive to oppose or any thing that he may be taken notice of to be some body that he may not goe out of the world without some noyse What shall such a man as I of such parts such approved abilities so endued by God to doe some eminent service be laid aside and no body regard me I must set upon some notable worke something that may draw the eye of observance upon me I have read of a young man who set Diana's Temple on fire and being asked the reason he said That he might have a name that the people might talk of him Because he could not be famous by doing good he would by doing evill Proud spirits wil venture the setting the Temple of God yea Church and State on fire that they may have a name whatsoever they do or suffer to get a name they will rather venture then dye in obscurity that of all things they cannot bear 7. A proud man would have others under him and others being proud too would have him under them he would have others yield to him and others would have him yield to them where will the agreement then begin What is that which hath rent and torne the world in all ages that hath brought woful distractions perplexities confusions miseries in all Countreys by wars but the pride of a few great ones seeking to bring one under another Those wasting Wars of the Romans between Sylla and Marius Caesar and Pompey were they not from hence It is hard for men in great places and of great spirits to accord long Melancthon in his Comment upon Prov. 13. 10. says concerning such men there was wont to be this Proverb Duo montes non miscentur Two mountains will not mixe together 8ly A proud man makes his will to be the rule of his actions and would have it to be the rule of other mens too and other men being proud too would have their wils the rule of though there be nothing else but pride and in the Hebrew it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dabit jurgium give contention if there be no cause given it will make it Now let every man looke into his own heart and see what pride hath been and still is there and be humbled before the Lord for this All you contentious froward quarrelsome people you are charged this day from God to be men and women of proud spirits and what evill there is in our sadd divisions that pride in your bosome is a great cause of Saint Paul did beat down his body left after he had preached to others he should become a reprobate Let us all and especially Ministers labour to beat down our spirits lest after all our profession and glorious shews we at last become Reprobates at least such as God may cast out for the present in this world taking no delight in making use of what in such times as these are to have hearts swoln and lift up in pride God is now about the staining the pride of the earth How unseasonable and dangerous is it for a Marriner to have his top-sails up and all spread in a violent storme it is time then to pull downe all lest he be sunck irrecoverably The point of a needle will let the wind out of a bladder and shall not the swords of God the swords of Warre and Plague that have got so deep into our bowels let out the windy pride of our hearts The haughtinesse of men shall be bowed downe and the Lord himself will be exalted The Lord humble us that he may reconcile us not only to himselfe but to one another CHAP. XVI Selfe-love the second dividing distemper THis is neer akin to the former Phil. 2. 3. Let nothing be done through strife Ver. 4. Looke not every man on his owne things but every man also on the things of others This is the cause of strife because men looke so much on their owne things Many will have no peace except their own party be followed Jehu-like What hast thou to do with peace follow me It is not Peace but Party that they mind Maxima pars studiorum est studium partium The greatest part of their studies is to study sides and parts Luther upon Psal 127. hath a notable speech I am of that opinion sayes he that Monarchies would continue longer then they doe were it not for that same litte Pronoun Ego that same I my selfe Yea certainly could this same Selfe be but laid aside all governments and societies would not only continue longer but flourish better Selfe-love is the cause of our divisions First where this prevails men love to take in all to themselves but let out nothing from themselves this must needs divide societies in Church and State
may be devoured one of another We read Ezek. 5. 3 4. the Prophet was bid to bind up a few hairs in his skirt which was to signifie a few of the people which were preserved from that common calamity but after these were cast into the fire and fire came forth from these to all the house of Israel Polanus upon the place hath this note that grievous evils may come upon those who have been preserved from former common miseries and those who for a while have been preserved by their contentions and divisions may be the cause of woful evil to others God forbid that this Text should be fulfilled in us Let not a fire come from us who yet are so graciously preserved to devour the house of Israel 4ly God in this work of his hath joyned severall sorts of instruments men of severall opinions he hath made them one to do us good why should not we be one in the enjoyment of that good Let the one part and let the other part have their due honour under God in the mercy God hath made use of both and why may not both enjoy the fruit of this mercy together in the Land Fiftly We were not without some feares lest God should leave us in the work of Reformation begun but now God speaks aloud to encourage us he tels us he owns the worke Now what doth this require of us A little Logick will draw the consequence Hath God declared himself that he intends to go on in this work he hath begun Then let us all joyn together to further it to the uttermost we can let us not exasperate the spirits of one another in ways of strife and opposition but let every one set his hand and hand to this worke that he may be able to say Oh Lord God thou that knowesâ— the secrets of all hearts knowest that upon this great mercy of thine my heart was so moved that whatsoever I could possibly see to be thy will for the furtherance of this great work of Reformation and that I was able to doe I did set my selfe to doe it and am resolved to spend my strengâ—h and life in it If every one did thus oh what glory might God have from this mercy of his 6ly When the Lord comes to us with mercies and such great mercies he expects we should rejoyce in them and sing praise but how can we sing without Harmony Prayer requires an agreement Mat. 18. 19. If two of you shall agree on earth touching any thing they shall aske it shall be done for them Surely Praise requires agreement much more Psalms out of tune are harsh to the eare disagreement of heart is much more to the Spirit of God 7. Surely when God hath done so much for us it must be acknowledged to be our duty to study what sacrifice would be best pleasing to him some sacrifice we must offer If there be any more acceptable to him then other surely he deserves it no. If a friend had done some reall kindness for you you would be glad to know what might be most gratefull to him wherein you might testifie your thankfulness Is this in your hearts Do you now say Oh that we did but know what is the thing that would be most pleaâ—ing to God what sacrifice would smell sweetest in his nostrils The Lord knowes we would fain offer it whatsoever it be I will tell you That we would lay aside our divisions our frowardnesse that we would abandon our contentions and strife that we would put on the bowels of mercies kindnesse humblenesse of minde meekenesse long-suffering forbearing one another forgiving one another If any man hath a quarrell against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye Col. 3. 12. And 1. Pet. 3. 4. A meeâ—e and a quiet spirit is in the â—ight of God of great price it is much set by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal 15. 17. The sacrifice of God that which is in stead of all sacrifices is a broken spirit Our hearts have been broken one from another in our unhappy divisions oh that now they could break one towards another in love and tenderness Here would be a sacrifice more esteemed of God then thousands of Rams and ten thousand Rivers of Oyle Loving mercy and walking humbly is preferred above such sacrifices Micah 6. 8. 8ly God might have sodeâ—'d us together by the fire of his wrath he might have made our blood to have been our cement to have joyned our stinty hearts together but it is otherwise God seeks to draw us to himselfe and one to another by the cords of love the allurings of his mercy Ninthly what can have that power to take off the sowrnesse of mens spirits like mercy the mercy of a God surely if any thing possibly can sweeten them that must needs do it We read 1 Sam. 11. 11 12 13. a notable experiment of the efficacy of mercy to sweeten mens hearts After Saul had slain the Ammonites some of the bosterous spirits would have had him to have slain those who formerly had rejected him but mark Sauls answer ver 13. There shall not a man be put to death this day Why For this day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel Though Saul at another time was a man of a harsh and cruell spirit yet now mercy sweetens him that which he was one day by the sense of mercy that should we be not only in the day of our Thanksgiving but in the course of our lives When salvation came to the house of Zacheus O what a sweet temper was he in Behold halfe of my goods I give to the poore and if I have wronged any one I restore foure-fold Salvation is this day come to the Kingdome O that all we had hearts to say If wee have wronged any wee will restore if wee have wronged any in their names by word or writing any way we will restore Mercy and love calls for mercy and love if we were in a right tune there would be a sympathy between the bowels of God and ours as in two Lures if the string in one be wound up to be answerable to the other if you then strike one string the other will move though lying at a distance Now Gods love Gods bowels move let our love our bowels move answerably 10. God shewes that he can owne us notwithstanding all our infirmities Was ever Kingdome in a more distempered condition then ours hath been of late and yet the Lord hath owned us Why should not we own our Brethren notwithstanding their infirmities Why should our divisions cause uâ— to call off one another seeing our divisions from God hath not provoked him to cast us off 11. Is it not in our desires that this great Victory might be pursued that it might not be lost as others in great part have been Surely it cannot be pursued better then to take this advantage of it to unite our selves more together then ever we have done
oh how does it delight the traveller when he goeth forth â— and truly such were the serene countenances of our brethren towards us but within a while the clouds over-cast the sky looks lowring gusts of wind arise yea thunder-bolts of terrible words flye about our eares and the flashes of their anger strike upon our faces Tantae ne animis coelestibus irae Unconstancy is evill and a cause of division Stoutnesse is evil and a cause of division A man must not be one thing one day and another another day not like a weather-cock carried up and down with every wind neither must he be wilfull and stout not like a rusty lock that will not be stirred by any key Now then how shall we know when a man is neither fickle nor stout For except some rules of discerning be given this temptation may be before me I must not be fickle unsetled and unconstant I will therefore stifly stand to maintain what I have professed You may know whether your ficklenesse be avoyded by true setled constancy of spirit or by stoutnesse by these five notes First true constancy and setlednesse of spirit is got by much prayer and humiliation before the Lord Establish me Lord with thy free spirit unite my heart to feare thy Name When after thy heart-breakings and meltings and heart-cryings and pourings forth Lord shew mee what thy will is in this thing keep mee from miscarrying let me not settle upon any errour instead of the truth but what is thy truth fasten my soule in it that what ever temptations come I may never be taken off from it Tell God in Prayer what the thing is and what hath perswaded thy heart to embrace it open thy heart fully to God in all thy aimes and if by this meanes the heart be fixed now it is delivered from ficklenesse and not faln into stoutnesse 2ly Where true constancy is attained by the Spirit of God and not by the stoutnesse of thine owne there is exercise of much grace and growing up in grace as faith humility love meeknesse patience c. 1 Pet. 3. 17 18. Take heed ye fall not from your stedfastnesse but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Hearts stout and wilfull are dry and saplesse 3ly If the more a man hath to do with God the more setled he is in his way when he hath the most full converse and sweetnesse of communion with God he is then the most fully setled satisfied established in such a truth which he before conceived to be of God Many men are very stiffe and wilful unmoveable when they have to deal with men they seem then to be the most confident men in the world but God knows and their consciences know when they solemnly set themselves in the presence of God and have the most reall sight of God and have to deale most immediately with him then they have ms-giving thoughts they have feares that things may not prove so sure as they bore others in hand they apprehended them to be But if Gods presence and thy dealings with him confirms thee in this thy conscience may give thee an assurance that as thou art not fickle and wavering so not stout and wilfull 4ly When there is a proportion in mens constancie if a man be resolute and constant in one thing but very fickle and easily turned aside in others there is cause to suspect his constancy is rather from stiffnesse then from grace for grace works proportionably through the whole soule and in the whole course of a mans life 5ly If the more reall the presence of death and judgment appear to a man the more setled he is in that way this likewise may be a good evidence to him that his setlednesse in such a way is right CHAP. XX. The ninth dividing Distemper A spirit of jealousie The tenth A spirit of contention The eleventh Covetousnesse The twelfth Falsenesse ENvy strife railings evill surmisings 1 Tim. 6. 4. Strife and evill surmisings are neer of kin If contentious men can get nothing against their brethren they will surmise there is something if they can find nothing in their actions to judge they will judg their hearts if there be nothing above-board they wil think there may be something under-board from thinking there may be something they will think it is very likely there is something and from likely there is they will conclude there is Surely there is some plot working But this is against the law of Love for it thinketh no evill all the good that they see in their Brethren is blasted by their suspition of evil Love would teach us rather by what appears to judg the best of what appears not then by what appeares not to judg the worst of what appears Suspition is like some jelly stuffe that is got between the joynts if the bone be out of joynt and any jelly be got in though it be but a little soft stuffe it will hinder the setting of the bone I confess in these times because we have been so extreamly deceived in those who have been used in publike place in whom we so much confided there is a great deal of reason that we should be very wary of men and believe till we have very good grounds of confidence with trembling I remember Melchior Adam in the life of Bucholcerus tels of a witty counsel of his to his friend Hubnerus who being to goe to the Court to teach the Prince Electors children at their parting I will give you says he one profitable rule for your whole life he lissening what it should be I commend saith he to you the faith of the Devills At which Hubnerus wondring Take heed sayes he how you trust any at the Court beleeve their promises but warily but with feare you may feare they will never come to any thing But in the mean time while we are thus fearful of one another while we cannot trust one another we cannot joyn one with another I have read of Cambyses he did but dream his brother should be King of Persia and he put him to death Many amongst us do but dream of men with whom our hearts are not that they have some plots working and how do our spirits work against them Groundlesse jealousies arise from much baseness in our owne hearts Those who have no principle of faithfulnesse in themselves are suspitious of every one but as for those who suffer causelesly in this thing let them be of good comfort God will reward them good for what evill they suffer Wee read Numb 5. 28. that if a man were jealous of his wife so that he brought her to the tryall by drinking the water of jealousie if she were clear she should not onely be freed from hurt by that water but she should conceive seed if she went barren before the Lord would recompence her sorrow and trouble shee suffered by her husbands
preaching Elders or others should so have the sole power of ruling as to doe all in their owne Consistory Classis or whatsoever you may call their convening that the Church should have nothing to doe with their acts of rule but to obey this is assuming to themselves power beyond what is given them This hath brought tyrannie into the Church it hath made the Church-officers to looke upon the rest of the Church in a contemptible way as the common vulgar sort men ignorant and weak not at all fit to meddle with matters of government not so much as to take cognisance or give any consent to what the Church-officers doe But whether they understand or no whether they consent or dissent it makes no matter the determinations of those in place must stand their censures must be submitted to Peter Martyr in an Epistle to the Ministers and such as professed the faith in Polonia exhorts them to endeavour the establishing of Discipline in the Church as soon as they could while peoples hearts were heat with love to and desires after the Gospell he tells them it will be harder to bring it in afterward when their hearts begin to grow more cold and that they might not thinke Discipline a small thing he sayes that those Churches cannot be said to professe the Gospell truly nor solidly which want it he would have them acknowledge it not to be the least part of Christian Religion but must know that the Gospel is neglected by such as shall put off from themselves such a singular excellent portion of it But sayes he this will be the Objection Under the colour of Discipline the Ministers of the Church will tyrannize they will carry things according to their owne mindes To this he answers Tyrannie in the Ministers needs not be feared where the rule of the Gospel for censures is observed for in casting out any who will not be reclaimed the consent of the Church must be had and if it be done by this authority none can complain of the tyrannie of a few Cyprian in his sixt Epistle professeth his resolution to doe nothing without the counsell of the Elders and consent of the people Our Brethren of Scotland in their opposition to the Prelates give very much to the people in the matter of Excommunication It pertaineth say they to the whole Church collectively taken to deny her Christian communion to such wicked persons as adde contumacie to their disobedience therefore it pertaineth to the whole Church to excommunicate them Againe It pertaineth to the whole Church to admit one into her communion therefore to the whole Church to cast one out of her communion And a page or two after The Apostle writing to the whole Church of Corinth will have them being gathered together to deliver that incestuous person to Satan therefore every particular Church or Congregation hath power to excommunicate There they give many arguments to prove that the Apostle would not excommunicate by his owne authority alone but by the authority of the Church and that collectively taken so they say not the Ministers or Elders of the Church onely Let no man say this was the judgement but of one Minister for at the beginning of this Parliament my selfe together with a reverend Brother asked Master Henderson two or three of the Ministers of Scotland being with him Whether we might not take that Book as the judgement of the most godly and able of the Ministers of Scotland for the matters of Church-discipline They answered we might The second way of going beyond their limits is their extending their power to more Congregations then Christ hath given them charge of The chiefe Church-controversie at this day is about this extent I shall onely shew you where the difference lyes betweene one and the other in it The Question is this Whether one that is set by Christ to take charge of a particular Congregation as a Pastor to feed them by Word Sacraments and Rule may keep the Pastorall charge he hath for Word and Sacraments to one Congregation but his charge for Rule shall extend together with others to an hundred Congregations or more Some say that no Minister can have the charge of ruling over people in a large extent then his charge over them for Word and Sacraments reaches they thinke that those people that can say to a Minister That charge that Christ hath given you for Word and Sacraments extends not to take care of our soules to feed them therefore you have no charge of our souls for ruling if you thinke you may preach or administer Sacraments in an accidentall arbitrary way onely not as chalenging power over us for this or looking upon us as those committed to you for whom you are to answer then at the farthest you may exercise rule over us but in this way But others hold this That a Minister may answer to this people thus I confesse I have indeed onely such a particular Congregation to be my flock and although I being desired to help sometimes in another to preach or administer Sacraments yet I doe it not as having the charge of their soules as being Pastor to them But as for that ruling power that Christ hath given me I conceive by joyning of it with others it extends to hundreds of Congregations or more according as our association shall be so as we have not onely liberty to be helpfull to those who have the speciall charge of the Congregations but we have the supreame ruling power in our hands to challenge in the Name of Christ to exercise over these Congregations as we shall see cause I say the supreme power above what your Ministers or Elders in your particular Congregations have for though these Ministers and Elders of yours be admitted to be members of our Court yet if they all should be of a contrary minde from us in some matter that concernes your Congregation we yet will judge and determine we will censure and exercise all kinde of Ecclesiasticall Jurisdiction in that congregation as we see cause though it may be not one of us ever saw any of the faces of any of the men of your congregation before Here I say lyes the great dividing controversie which is right which is wrong is not my worke to shew all I am to doe is but to shew you what the controversie is about which there is so much dispute And though I determine not the case either way yet I shall leave two considerations to help you in your thoughts about it First the extent of power of Jurisdiction must be by institution as well as the power it selfe all juridicall power whatsoever either in State or Church receives limits or extent from the same authority it first had its rise this is impossible to be denyed If a man by a Charter be made a Mayor of a Towne he cannot therefore challenge the power of a Mayor wheresoever he comes except the authority
that first gave him his powver shall also extend it Now the Charter by which any Church-Officer is invested with power is the Word therefore we cannot streighten or enlarge the power of a Minister otherwise then we find it in the Word for Civill power it may be streightned or enlarged as the Governours of State shall see cause because their Charter is from man it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secondly man naturally is of nothing more impatient then to have Jurisdiction challenged over him except hee sees the claime to be right and in the point of spirituall jurisdiction man is the most tender of all because in that men come in the Name of Christ to him challenging authority to exercise the power of Christ over him not over the outward man so much as over his soule to deliver it up to Satan Surely there had need be shewne a cleare and full Charter that any men have that gives them such a power as this that men in conscience shall be bound to submit to Now then here lyes the division on sayes his Charter does extend so farre the other sayes hee does not finde it so in the reading of it There is yet a further consideration of the stretching either Civill or Ecclesiasticall authority beyond their bounds which hath been and may be the cause of much division that is their challenging and excercising power in things indifferent beyond what God hath given them for the opening of which we must know First no man either in State or Church hath any authority given him by God to command any thing meerely because hee will especially when the things concerne the worship of God Our Brethren of Scotland in their dispute against English Popish Ceremonies part 3. chap. 8. pag. 127. have this passage Princes have enjoyned things pertaining to the worship of God but those things were the very same which Gods written Word had expresly commanded when Princes went beyond these limits and bounds they tooke upon them to judge and command more then God hath put within the compasse of their power And pag. 136. of the same Booke they say The Apostle 1 Cor. 7. 23. forbiddeth us to be the servants of men that is to doe things for which wee have no other warrant beside the pleasure and will of men This was the Doctrine in Tertullians time You exercise sayes he an unjust dominion over others if you deny a thing may bee done because you will not because it ought not to bee done It is onely the Prerogative of God of Jesus Christ to command a thing because they will God hath appointed Civill Governours to be his Ministers for our good Rom. 13. Those things onely which they can doe in Gods Name as his Ministers and are for the good of a State are the object about which their power is to be exercised they are not to require a thing because there is nothing against it but because this thing is for God And Church-governours are to require onely such things as Christ requires all the exercise of their power ought to be in the Name of Christ hence not because they will or because nothing can be said to the contrary In all they require of us they must be able to say as Paul 1 Cor. 14. 38. giving rules about order and decencie If any man thinke himselfe to be a Prophet or spirituall let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the Commandements of the Lord. You will say But are Governours alwayes bound to shew a reason of their will to those who are under them or may not they obey except they know some good in the thing besides their doing the will of those who doe command them Though no Governours may command but upon reason yet the Governours of State need not alwayes discover the reasons of their commands Wee may give up our Civill liberties so farre as to be bound to yeeld to our Governours commands if wee see nothing against what they command but have cause to suppose that they see some reason that we do not which is not fit to make known to us This is grounded upon this reason that there are Arcana imperii mysteries of State that are not fit for every man to know the secrecie of them conduces most to the good of the State But it is otherwise in the matters of the Church which are spirituall there are no such mysteries in the Church wherein any members of it can be required to be active but it concernes them to understand as well as to doe All the actions of the Church as such must be done for spirituall edification now a man cannot doe a thing for the edifying his soule or the soule of another but he must understand his action and the rule of it he must see it required by the Word or otherwise he cannot expect any spirituall efficacy in what he does I may doe a thing for a civill good wherein I may trust another mans reason and this may be sufficient to attaine my end the procuring of some good meerly civill but this will never be able to reach to a spirituall good I must see the reason the ground the rule of the action my selfe I must judge by the Word that this action at this time cloathed with all its circumstances is by Christ sitted for such a spirituall good that I aime at Besides if things meerely indifferent be enjoyned then is Christian liberty violated No say some Christian liberty is in the conscience so long as a man keepes his conscience free the thing may be still indifferent to him in regard of his conscience though his practise be determined and so Christian liberty is preserved This is the put off that the Prelaticall party made use of against our Brethren of Scotland many yeeres since when they pleaded that by their usurpation Christian liberty was taken from them To that answer of the Prelates they thus reply When the authority of the Churches constitution is obtruded to binde and restraine the practice of Christians in things indifferent they are bereaved of thir liberty as well as if an opinion of necessity were borne in upon their consciences They urge that place Colos 2. 21. where the Apostle gives instances say they of such humane ordinances as take away Christian liberty he saith not you must thinke that you may not touch but touch not you must not practise not be subject to such Ordinances telling us That when the practice is restrained form touching tasting handling by the ordinance of men then is Christian liberty spoiled though conscience be left free if the outward man be brought in bondage this makes up spirituall thraldome say they though there bee no more And further the Apostle gives these two Arguments against these things First sayes he they perish in the use that is there is no good comes of them It may be you will say What hurt is there in them
they judge all that doe not joyne with them to be as Heathens this is the most uncharitable interpretation that can be CHAP. XXVI The fifth dividing practice The aspersing and seeking to blast the credits of those men whom the Lord uses to be instruments of good THis may be done you know otherwise then by the tongue This hath beene an old dividing way if wee can blast the cheife of a party we shall doe well enough with the rest wherefore let us make as ill interpretations of what they doe as possible we can let us fasten as ill things upon them as we can have any colour or pretence for let reports be raised fomented and spread whether they be true or no it makes no matter something will stick Jer. 20. 10. Report say they and we will report it doe but raise a report let us be able to say wee heard it or there was a Letter writ about such a thing and wee will boldly assert it and divulge it the very apprehension of it will prevaile with many howsoever these men shall not have that esteeme in the hearts of men so generally as heretofore they have had and if we once get downe their esteeme we shall doe well enough with their cause if we can meet with any bold spirit that will venture to encounter with them in this that will dare to take upon him to gather up or make or aggravate or wrest reports or doe any thing that may render them otherwise in the thoughts and hearts of men then hitherto they have beene we shall break them it is but one or two venturing the hard thoughts of men to make an experiment some may bee found fit for such a businesse we will finde out wayes to encourage them if their hearts begin to faile we will apply warme cloathes to them we will one way or other support them this must be done or else whatsoever we doe will be to no purpose something or other must be found to serve our ends in this Doth Moses prevaile too much in the hearts of the people something must be found against him if we can finde nothing against himselfe yet we will finde something against his wife Shee is an Ethiopian woman Numb 12 1. and yet who was she but the daughter of Jethro to whom he had been married many yeers before for an Ethiopian and a Midianitish woman are all one but now we are resolved to pick out whatever we can get information of though it be in things done many yeers since when they were in the University when they lived in such or such places in times of old it will serve our turne we may fasten it upon them Prov. 16. 27. An ungodly man diggeth up evill and in his lips there is a burning fire If he hath nothing above ground he will digge something up though it be what both by God and man hath been buried long since David was a publike instrument of God for much good yet Psalm 31. 1. Hee was a reproach amongst his enemies but especially amongst his neighbours Nehemiah raised up by God for great service what dirt was cast upon him he was accused of sedition and Rebellion Paul a pestilent fellow hee and his company with him turned the world upside downe what evill can be devised but was fastened upon the Christians in the Primitive times They charge them for being the cause of all their misery if they have ill weather if the Rivers overflow if Nilus does not flow if there be any earthquake plague famine hale the Christians to the Lions At their meetings they said they made Thyestes suppers who invited his brother to a supper and presented him a dish of his owne flesh a limbe of his Sonne Many such abominable things were fastened upon them as are not fit to be named Tertul tells the Christians that they were Funâ—mbulones like men upon a rope if they went one stept awry they were in danger to be undone by it so narrowly did their enemies watch them and so maliciously did they aggravate all their miscarriages Thus the most eminent after his time as Athanasius he was as miserably aspersed as ever poore man in this world by the Arrian party they rendred him most odious to his friends and strangers In the beginning of Reformation the Waldenses were so aspersed that the story sayes of them there was not one Arrow in the quiver of malice but it was drawne forth and shot at them Luther Calvin Beza Oecolampadius Bullinger and the rest are by some in writing rendred the most black and vile pieces that the earth bore both in their lives and deaths I find it recorded of Zuinglius that he was a man so eminent as his friends made him almost a God and so traduced by his enemies that one would wonder the earth did not open and swallow up such a man The like dealings did that worthy instrument of God Mr. Knox finde who in Queene Maries time fled with divers others to Frankford when men of vile contentious spirits could not prevaile against him any other way they sought to asperse him and that so maliciously as his life was in danger accusing him to the Governours of Frankford for a Sermon preached in England in which the Emperour was concerned The words were these O England England if thou wilt obstinately râ—â—urne into Egypt that is if thou contracting marriage confederacy or league with such Princes as doe maintaine and advance Idolatry such as the Emperour who is no lesse enemy to Christ then Nero if for the pleasure of such Princes thou returne to thine old abhominations then assuredly O England thou shalt be plagued and be brought to desolation by the meanes of those whose favour thou seekest The same measure did those worthy men of God meete with who sought after Reformation in Queene Elizabeths dayes they called Mr. Cartwright an Anabaptist and whatsoever evill there was in any opinion in those times they fastned it upon him Mr. Vdall was accused for his life and condemned to be hanged for writing That if the Parliament did not bring in the Government of Christ Christ himselfe would bring it in by some meanes that would make their hearts to ake or to that effect meaning as he expounded the words Christ would in some way of judgement make way to set up his own government in the Land but they wrested the words to a seditious sense as if he had meant to conspire to raise a force and by violence of Armes to make the Parliament to yeeld to that way of Government that he conceived to be Christs justly like those accusations that are amongst us at this day that if such kinde of men cannot have the liberty of their way granted to them seeing they have or hope to have the Sword in their hand they will take it to themselves and defend themselves also in it Only in this they goe beyond the bitternesse of the
to doe would have all Christians dwelling together so far as they can to unite into a body but there is no such order of Christ that all that dwell on the one side of the street should be of one body and all on the other of another body if they be more then can joyn into one spirituall corporation they are bound to joyne into severall so as they may best to their own and other Churches edification and if they should fail in this not joyning in the best way that possible might be their sin is against that edification that Christ requires but not therefore the sin of Schisme Who ever they were that bounded Parishes surely they did not so bound them to the greatest edification of the Church that possible might be and yet who will say they were therefore Schismaticks But suppose you have joyned with any company of Saints in a spirituall corporation if you now shall uncharitably unjustly rashly and violently break from communion with them then you contract the guilt of Schisme upon you First the separtion must be from want of charity By faith especially we are united to Christ our head and by charity to one another If a man appeares departing from any fundamentall Article of our faith which joyned him to his Head he is to bee judged an Heretick So by his appearing to depart from that love by which he was joyned in communion with the members he is to be judged a Schismatick If his departure proceeds from his love of God his love to his Saints and his owne soule yea his love to that very Church from whence he departs as sometimes it may witnessing in a gratious way against evill in it he is farre from the guilt of Schisme If you say love is a secret thing we cannot judge of what is in the heart We cannot judge of it while it is in the heart but when it appeares we may You may know whether this or other principles act men or no by their behaviour in their breaking off communion Where this is not bitcernesse pride selfe-ends will soone appear and carry them beyond those principles themselves professe they goe upon Secondly If the cause of leaving communion be just then those who give this cause are the Schismaticks not those who withdraw upon it Thus the Governours of the Church may be the Schismaticks and a private member withdrawing may be free Suarez a great Jesuite in his disputation De Schismate sayes in some cases the Pope may be a Schismatick If Governours shall enjoyne any thing upon the Church or any member that is sinne or if they shall mingle evill in the publick worship so that there can be no joyning with their worship but there must be likewise a joyning with sinne in this case if any withdraw from them they are the Schismaticks not those who withdraw they are fugati not fugitivi The blame of Schisme sayes learned Voâ—tius must not be upon those who forsake such as have forsaken Christ and the ancient faith but upon those who have thus forsaken Christ and his truth When the second Councell of Nice set up Image-worship many thousands could not yeeld to it but were forced to withdraw who was the Schismaticall party there but the Synod and those who joyned with it Yea further if they impose that which is not necessary though in it selfe not sinful and will not beare with the weaknesses of such as thinke it to be evill if upon that they be forced to withdraw in this the Governours are the Schismaticks also the cause of the rent is in them they ought in such things to beare the weaknesses of their Brethren and not imperiously to require of them those things that there is no necessity of If such things be sinne to their Brethrens consciences if they will stand upon it to enjoyne them they lay a necessity upon them to withdraw from them God will not lay the Indictment of Schisme thus Such a one departed from the communion of such a Church because he would not doe what was lawfull to be done but thus You imposed that upon your Brother which there was no necessity of and would not forbeare him in what I would have you forbeare him but caused him by your imperiousnesse and stiffenesse to depart from communion with you It is true sayes God the thing might have been done but it was not necessary it was out of conscience to me that they forbore the weaknesse is theirs but the Schisme is yours This hath beene generally received though it be very false that if a man departs from a Church because he refuseth to joyn with it in that which is not in it selfe evill that this mans departure is Schismaticall Certainly no Grant there is a weaknesse in his conscience and so a sinne he should informe his conscience better but cannot and this inability is not without sinne yet this arises not to that height of sinne as to make that which supposing him to be in this condition is better for him to doe then not to doe to become Schisme especially if he be willing to hold communion with that Church still in all acts of worship wherein he can joyne without sinning against his conscience and continues brotherly love to them as Saints in all the expressions thereof as he is able The first great Schisme in the Church that was caused by the Governours of it was that which Victor Bishop of Rome and those who joyned with him caused by that imperious way of enjoyning Easter to be kept at such a time which you have mentioned pag. 15 16 17. The story of which you have in Eusebius lib. 5. cap. 23. Those who denyed not the lawfulnesse of keeping Easter yet have generally accused Victor and such who so violently urged this upon the Churches as the cause of the Schisme not such who did not conforme to what was enjoyned them because the thing was not necessary and there should have beene a forbearance in it No Governour ought to urge such unnecessary things which are but under suspition by tender consciences if they do the Schisme is justly charged upon them Thirdly where a man cannot have his soule edified in some Ordinances and truths of great moment which that Church whereof he now is shall deny and is in great danger of being seduced to evill he may depart from that Church to another if he does it orderly and not be guilty at all of Schisme love to God and his owne soule is the cause of this not want of love to his Brethren It is a good speech I finde Chillingworth hath what the goodnesse of the man was I know not but in that Treatise of his The Religion of Protestants a safe way Cap. 5. Part. 1. Sect. 61. answering that plea of his adversary against Protestants that communion with a Church not erring in fundamentals upon pretence of erring in other matters must not be forsaken he
another so as one would think it impossible that ever in this world there should have been that distance between them that now there is How often have we prayed Oh that once we might be blessed with such a mercy as to worship God according to his own mind that we might be delivered from conscience oppression from spirituall bondage Oh that we might be delivered from the inventions of men in the service of God that the Saints might joyn and serve the Lord with one shoulder There were never such hopes that the Saints should enjoy their prayers so as of late there hath been and yet never were they so divided as now they are they now seek to bring one another in bondage If five or six years since when many of us were praying together making our moans to God for that oppression we were under God should have then presented as in a Map such times as these are to our view could we have beleeved that it were possible that there should be such a distance in our spirits as now there is Fourthly our Divisions are very dishonourable to Jesus Christ were it that they darkned our names onely it were not so much but that which darkens the glory of Jesus Christ should goe very neere unto us I have read of Alexander Severus seeing two Christians contending one with another commanded them that they should not presume to take the name of Christians upon themselves any longer For sayes he you dishonour your Master Christ whose Disciples you professe to be It is dishonour to a General to have his Army routed and run into confusion The Devill seems to prevaile against us in these our divisions so as to rout us John 17. 21. 23. is a notable Scripture to shew the sinfulnesse of our divisions in the dishonour they put upon Christ and it may be as strong an argument against them as any I know in the Book of God Christ praying to the Father for the union of his Saints uses this argument O Father let this be granted that the world may beleeve that thou hast sent me And againe ver 23. Let them be perfect in one that the world may know that thou hast sent me If they be not united one to another in love and peace but have a spirit of Division ruling amongst them what will the world thinke surely that thou didst not send me that I who am their head their teacher and Lord never came from thee for thou art wisdom holiness and love if I had come from thee then those who own me to be theirs and whom I own to be mine would hold forth in their conversations something of that spirit of holinesse wisdome and love there is in thee but when the world does not see this in them but the clean contrary they will never beleeve that I came from thee those truths that I came into the world to make known as from thee O Father will not be beleeved but rather persecuted if those who professe them by their divisions one from another and oppositions one against another shew forth a spirit of pride folly envy frowardnesse therefore O Father let them be one as thou and I am one if this Petition be not granted how shall I look the world in the face I shall be contemned in the world what am I come down from thee for such glorious ends as indeed those were for which I came into the world and when I should come to attaine those ends for which I came shall there be such a carriage in those who doe professe my Name that by it the world shall perswade themselves that thou didst never send me O what a sore evill would this be surely any Christian heart must needs tremble at the least thought of having a hand in so great an evill as this is Fifthly Divisions are sinfull because they grieve the holy Spirit of God Ephes 4. 30 31. Grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed to the day of redemption Surely there is no godly heart but will say O God forbid that I should doe any thing to grieve the good spirit of God it is the Spirit that hath enlightned me that hath revealed the great mysteries of God of Christ of eternall life unto me it is that Spirit that hath drawn my Soul to Jesus Christ that hath comforted it with those consolations that are more to me then ten thousand worlds the Spirit that hath strengthned me that helpes me against temptations that carries me through difficulties that enables me to rejoyce in tribulations the Spirit that is an earnest to assure me of Gods electing love the spirit thet hath sealed me up to the day of Redemption and now shall I be gâ—ily of so great a sinne as to grieve this blessed Spirit of the Lord If I did but know wherein I have grieved it it could not but make my soul to bleed within me that I should have such a wretched heart to grieve this holy Spirit by whom my soule hath enjoyed so much good I hope should for ever hereafter take heed of that thing I would rather suffer any griefe in the world to mine owne spirit then be any occasion of grief to that blessed Spirit of God But would you know what it is that hath grieved it and what it is that is like to grieve it further mark what followes ver 31. Let all bitternesse wrath anger clamour and evill speaking be put away from you with all malice And would you doe that which may rejoyce it Oh! God knowes it would be the greatest joy in the world for me to doe it then ver 32. Be ye kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Sixthly these divisions doe grieve and offend our Brethren this should not be a light matter to us Christ accounts it a great evill to offend one of his little ones We may thinke it a little matter to give offence to some of Gods people who are poore and meane in the world so long as we have the bravery of it and the countenance of great men no matter for them But friend whatsoever slight thoughts thou hast of it Christ thinks it a great matter you may look upon them as under you the times favour you more then them but if you shall give them cause to goe to God to make their moanes to him of any ill usage they have had from you Lord thou knowest I was for peace to the uttermost that I could so farre as I was able to see thy Word for my guide but these who heretofore were as Brethren to me now their spirits are estranged their hearts are imbittered their words their carriages are very grievous and all because I cannot come up to what their opinions their ways are certainly this would prove very ill to you regard it as lightly as you will it may be when others carry themselves towards you
honey but out of the perversnesse of their spirits they despised that Land and Egypt now in this froward humour of theirs must be the Land that flowed with milke and honey Oh the perversenss of mens hearts if they be but a little crossed how hard is it for God or man to please them how unworthy are such froward spirâ—ts as these to live in such a time as this to see the great work of God that he hath done for his people It is true heretofore men seemed to be more united then now there appears more differences in mens opinions and wayes then formerly but whence was it that men formerly were not at such a distance was it not because they were chained together two prisoners chained to a block keep together all day long men that are at liberty walk in the streets at a distance if the prisoners should commend their life as more comfortable then yours because they keep closer together all the day then you do would you envy their happinesse time hath been that a tyrannicall chain hath been upon us we dared not then discuss any matters of differerence with freedom if a Convocation determined it there was a chain upon us to fasten us to it now God hath given us more liberty to debate things freely that we may finde out the truth more clearly and though men while they are in their debates be at some distance one from another do not say it was better with us heretofore then it is now thou dost not speak wisely concerning this thing Surely these men who are so desirous of former times are ad servitudinem nati born to be slaves it is pitty but they should have their eares bored for slaves Secondly the ill use that others make of these divisions is to cry out of Religion preaching since there hath been so much profession and preaching we never had good world there was more love and unity before all things were more quiet neighbours were more at peace one with another This is no other then if men when Christ lived amongst them should have objected against him Since this Christ hath come amongst us we have had more trouble then we or our fore-fathers heretofore have known we were not wont to heare of men possest with the Devill so as now we do now what a noyse is there in all the countrey of men possessed with evill spirits we do not read of such things before Christs time yet do you think this was a good argument why men should wish that Christ had never come If the Devill be put into a rage now more then before it is a signe he is more opposed then he was before he possessed all in quiet before but now his Kingdome begins to shake Thirdly because of these divisions many resolve they will stand Neuters they see it is doubtfull which way things may goe seeing there are such differences we will stand by and look on till we see how they will agree by this means they do not only disert the publick Cause that is now on foot but they are in danger to be for any thing at the last or to turn Atheists Chrysostome in his Sermons upon the Acts Chap. 15. inveighs against such men as these he there makes an Apologie for the dissentions of the Christians the Heathens objected We would come to you but we know not to whom we should come one is of one mind another is of another we cannot tell what you hold you are so different from your selves Chrysostomes answer is This is but a cavill for first this hinders you not in other matters where there is difference amongst men yet you will take paines and enquire which is the right Yea secondly if you did know what you should hold yet you would not embrace it for you doe know what you should do and yet you do not do it do what you know and then aske of God and he will reveale more to you Fourthly others cry out against these men that have been most active in this common Cause putting forth themselves venturing their estates and lives and putting on others at the first these men were honoured but men did not then see what would follow they did not think that such troubles would have attended such undertakings as now they have found upon this their hearts rise against those who were the most publique spirited Had it not been say they for a few hot fiery spirited men who know not what they would have things had never come to this passe we might have been quiet These men are by some yea many looked upon as no other then disturbers men of turbulent unquiet spirits and yet they have been the means of preserving you and your posterity from slavery and of continuing the Gospell amongst you This is an ill requitall of all that willingnesse of theirs to hazard their estates and lives for your good You have cause to blesse God seeing you were of such low narrow timerous spirits your selves unfit for such a work as God had to do in the beginning of the change of these times that he raised up others and gave them enlarged resolved spirits fit for such a publique work accompanied with so many difficulties as attended upon this did they break the ice for you and do you thus requite them This is like a froward perverse patient who flies in the face of his Physitian because his Physick makes him sick Fiftly others seeing much evill come of the divisions amongst us they think there is no way to help them but by violence forcing men to yeeld to what they think is right They think they do God good service in compelling men to the same judgement and way that themselves are of This is a very ill use of them It is a new and unheard-of way of preaching sayes Gregory to require men to beleeve by blowes To go from the Divine Word to an iron Sword from the Pen to the Halbert to perswade men to beleeve is a way that Gerard. confess Cath. l. 1. p. 809. exclaims against Socrates in his Ecclesiasticall History lib. 3. cap. 21. reports of the Macedonians petitioning Jovianus the Emperour for the banishing of those who were not of their judgement in matters of religion of great moment The Emperour receiving their supplication gave them no other answer but this I tell you truly I cannot away with contention but such as embrace unity and concord I do honour and reverence them Tertullian in his book ad Scapulam cap. 2. sayes It is not the way of Religion to compell Religion which ought to be taken up willingly not by force If you should compell us sayes he to sacrifice what did you in this for your gods none desire sacrifice from those who are unwilling but such as are contentious but God is not contentious I finde in Thuanus his History lib. 16. a notable passage in a writing that the Senat of
Hermon that descended upon the mountaines of Sion Psal 123. There are many promises made to this Mat. 5. Blessed are the peace-makers 2 Cor. 13. 11. Be of one minde live in peace and the God of peace shall be with you John 15. 12. Christ sayes This is his commandement that we love one another ver 14. he sayes Ye are my friends if ye doe whatsoever I command you By loving others we doe not only get them to be our friends but Christ too Me thinks I see Christ here pleading for love as one who had to deale with two men who were at some variance perswading them to peace and love Come you shall passe by all former things you shall be made friends by this you shall gaine me also to be a friend to you as long as I live Genes 13. ver 8. to the end is a remarkable Scripture to shew how God is with a loving gentle peaceable disposition Ver. 8. 9. we have Abrahams kinde gentle yeelding to Lot his inferiour for peace sake but mark what followes and you shall finde he lost nothing by this his yeelding for as soone as Lot was gone from him the Lord came to him ver 14. and said to him Lift up now thine eyes and looke from the place where thou art Northward Southward Eastward and Westward for all the Land that thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever arise walke thorough the Land in the length of it and in the breadth of it for I will give it unto thee The difference of what Jacob sayes of Reuben when he was to dye Gen. 49. 4. from that of Moses Deut. 33. 6. is observable Jacob sayes Hee is the first borne the beginning of his strength but he shall not excell because he went to his fathers bed But Moses Let Reuben live and not dye and let not his men be few The reason of this difference is given by some because it was fit that Jacob to deter his other children should exercise the authority of a father but Moses frees him from the curse because he was alwayes loving to his brother Ioseph Brotherly love hath a blessing going along with it God loves it exceedingly for it makes much for the glory of God And to what purpose do we live if God have not glory by us Rom. 15. 5 6 7. the Apostle first prayes that the God of patience and consolution would grant them to be like minded one towards another according to Christ Jesus that they may with one minde and one mouth glorifie God Then he exhorts Wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God Much of Gods glory depends upon our union Yea God stands so much upon this that he is willing to stay for his service till we be at peace one with another Mat. 5. 23 24. Leave thy gift before the Altar and first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift My worship shall stay till you be reconciled I love my worship and desire it much but I must have peace and love amongst your selves first I will stay for that But I beseech you let us not make God stay too long Remember while you are wrangling and quarrelling God stayes on you all this while If children should be quarrelling and one comes to them and sayes Your father stayes for you it is time for them to break off But not unmannerly with God in making him stay so long upon you some of you have made him wait upon you for an acceptable duty of worship divers weeks yea it may be many moneths and yet your spirits are not in temper to offer any sacrifice to God What a fearfull evill is it then to stand out in a stubborne sullen dogged manner refusing to be reconciled Learned Drusius cites Hebrew Writers saying That he that offends his brother ought to seeke to pacifie him if he refuse to be pacified then he must bring three of his friends with him to intercede twice or thrice and if he shall after this refuse then he is to leave him and such a man quia implacabilis est vocatur peccator is called a sinner with a speciall note upon him Lastly the Saints enjoyment of the sweetnesse of love peace and unity among themselves what is it but heaven upon earth Heaven is above all storms tempests troubles the happinesse of it is perfect rest We pray that the will of God might bee done on earth as it is done in heaven why may not we have a heaven upon earth this would sweeten all our comforts yea all our afflictions But the Devill envies us this happinesse Come Lord Jesus come quickly If you would have the excellency of love set before you more fully reade over and over again the Epistles of Iohn Ecclesiasticall story reports of this blessed Apostle whose heart was so full of love that when he grew very old not able to preach yet he would be brought into the congregation in a chaire and there say only these words Little children flee idolatry love one another But the more excellent union and peace is the more is the pitty that it should be abused to be serviceable to mens lusts the more would our misery be if we should be abused in our treaties about it if we should have a mock-peace if we should be gulled in either offers of or conclusions about peace if peace should be made our ruine but a preparation of us for slaughter It hath been by many observed that what the English gained of the French in battell by valour the French regained of the English by cunning Treaties The Lord deliver us from such French tricks Let us all be for peace yet so as not to be befooled into bondage by the name of peace Now God hath by his mighty arme helped us let us not be put off with a bable and made to beleeve it is this Pearle We know with whom we have to deale And now as the Apostle 2 Thess 3. 5. The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God Let me adde And into the love of one another Let us all study peace seek peace follow peace pursue peace and the God of peace be with us FINIS The Contents Chap. 1. THe Text opened and suitableness thereof shewed p. 1. Chap. 2. The evill of dividing between God and any thing else p. 6. Chap. 3. Heart-divisions one from another the difficulty of medling with them 11. the Causes of them and method in handling them 12. Chap. 4. The first Dividing Principle There can be no agreement without uniformity 14. wherein is shewn in what things it is necessary for peace we should be the same and in what not 15. Chap. 5. The second Dividing Principle All Religions are to be tolerated wherein is discussed the power of the Magistrate in matters of Religion 19. and 158. Chap. 6. That question discussed What should be done to a man