with this Suite And secondly Let us not onely pray but let us labour to promote it and let us to this end examine our owne principles and let us count no principle no affection no disposition of spirit worth the keeping which wil not let us bee one with them with whom Christ is one and let us beleeve that while we are in this world we shal all of us know in part and but in part beleeve in part and but in part let us never expect to finde in this life all who agree in fundamental truths to agree in all other truths and let us beleeve that though every truth of Christ be precious and worthy to be contended for yet every truth is not necessary to salvation nor necessary to be found in all with whom we ought to hold and exercise Christian communion many meats which are whole some yet cannot be relished by all with whom we may sit at the same table while we are here we shal often see cause to differ in our judgement about many precious truths but wee shall never see cause to differ in affection from those whom Jesus Christ loveth Certainly I may love where Christ loves and I may imbrace where Christ imbraceth and I may not interdict where Christ doth not interdict and wee may and ought to bee of one heart with them with whom wee cannot be of one minde in all things the time is coming when we shal be of one minde Luther and Calvin are of one mind in heaven while their Disciples wrangle on earth at which day he will appeare with more comfort who beares and forbeares with his weak and erring brethren then he is like to do that loves not his brother sure I am this is Pauls counsel who said Whereto we have attained let us mind the same things and if any be otherwise minded the Lord will reveale it to him in his due time And therefore I conclude this Use with that speech of the Apostle Above all put on love that is the band of perfection and let the peace of God rule in your hearts I meane that peace the Lord Jesus Christ is the Authour of let that rule in your hearts The Greeke word signifies let it bee as the Officer the Greekes had in their solemne Games who determined and quieted all differences in all strifes and contentions to whom he gave the Palm that quieted all the rest So let the peace of God be such a brabeutes let it rule in our hearts And the Spirit of God presseth it there upon this very ground because we are called thereunto in one body We are brethren let us not strive or if we do contend let us contend who shal be most holy who shal love most who shal beare most one with another till that blessed day come when Christs light shal shine so perfectly upon us that wee shal be all of one minde and one heart in all things Thus much for the first great duty That Saints are all one body therefore there should be no schisme no divisions among them The second is That all the members should have the like care one of another that is they should not onely love one another and study to bee at peace one with another but they should all sympathize one with another if one be honoured all should rejoyce if one suffer all the rest should mourn yea they should all account themselves but as Stewards for the good of all and expresse this in using all their talents for the good of the soules of all and the bodyes of all each within the compasse of his owne calling and especially in the particular Church where the Lord hath set them These things are of great concernment and for daily use and therefore most worth the handling But I suspect I have already presumed upon your patience Consider what I have said and the Lord give you understanding in all things FINIS Introduction shewing the coherence and scope of the Text Ephes. 4. 16. The generall Doctrine propounded The Church is Christs body And explained And proved out of Scripture 1 Cor. 12. 12 c. Vers. 7. Vers. 12. Vers. 13. Eph. 4. from 1â— to 16. opened and explained Wherein the comparison stands between the Church and a natural body The union of the Saints one with another 1 Cor. 12. 15. 22 23 24. Quest 1. Ephes. 4 4 5 6. opened Heb. 6. 18. Iude 3. 1 Cor. 8. 5. Gal. 6. 16. Titus 1. 1. 2 Pet. 1. 2. Quest 3. What are the bands of this Union Answ First The Spirit of Christ teaching and ruling them all Esai 11. 6 7 8. Ezek 11. 19 Ezek. 36. 27 2 Band the grace of love 1 Cor. 12. 31 and cap. 13 Col. 3. 14 Ioh. 13 34 3â— Ephes. 4. 16 3 Q. How is it then that the Scripture speaks of many Churches if all are but one Church Answ. Application 1 Instruction Therefore this communion of Saints is that brotherly good fellowship Prov. 1. 14. Esa. 56 12. Psal. 2. 2. 1 Joh. 1. 3. 2 Instruction Therefore none are true members of this Church but regenerate men 1 Joh. 1. 3. 3 Instruction Therefore the most usefull Christians are the most noble members 2 Use for exhortation 1 Therefore there must be no Schisme in the Church 1 Cor. 12. 25. What Schisme is 2 The greatnesse of the sin of Schisme In the nature of it Eph. 1. 10. Joh. 17. 21. â— Tim. 1. 5 2 In the effects of it Eph. 4. 16. 3 Who are guilty of it Who are guilty of the sin of Schisme Answ. 1. In generall most Christians this day are guilty of it This opened more particularly Negatively All separation is not Schisme such as are Schismaticks who separate from Hereticks or Idolaters Or from persecutors Some are schismaticks from principles of an erroneous judgement some from principles of a corrupt heart Schismaticks from corrupt judgement are Independents properly so called 2 All who renounce all other Churches because not of their own manner of constituon Of which the Papists are most guilty 3. All who refuse communion with persons erring in points not fundamentall Rom. 14. 3 4 10 c. First objection against this third branch Answ. Object 2. Answ. Object 3. Answ. Object 4. Gal. 5. 12. Answ. Gal. 5. 2. Rom. 14. 22. 4 They are Schismaticall who separate from true Churches for light causeâ— Heb. 10. 25. Jude 19. 2 Some are Schismaticall from principles of a corrupt heart 1 As self-lovers and self-seekers Phil. 2. 4. Plutarch 2 Proud and high-minded spirits 3 Quarrelsome and railing spirits 4 Busie-bodies Rom. 2. 3. 1 Pet. 4. 15. 5 All factious spirits 1 Cor. 12. Rom. 16. 17. 6 All who delight in the society of Schismaticks Exhort 1. To lament our divisions Ephes. 1. 10. Iohn 17. 2â— Exhort 2. To endeavour to cure them 1 Pray for it Phil. 3. 15. Col. 3. 14. 15. Vse 2. The members to have the like care one of another
of Schisme from their principles of judgement their principles of judgement carry them to the practice of that which is a rending of the Church Others though their principles of judgement be right yet are Schismaticall through principles of a corrupt heart and spirit I shall speake to both these but principally to the first sort First all those whose erroneous judgements make them Schismaticall as I conceive may all be brought to these foure First Independency properly so called is one of the highest principles of Schisme all such Christians whether they be single persons or associated bodies yea though all the Christians in a Nation associated into a body doe looke upon themselves as absolute and independent from the rest of the Church of Christ with whom the rest of the Church of Christ hath nothing to doe this I say is one of the highest principles of Schisme in the world but doe not mistake me I know there are some called and branded with the name of Independency who professe they abhor both the name and thing I meane such as conceive that a particular Church hath all power in it selfe and that no other assembly can authoritatively call them to an account so as to dissolve their sentences or excommunicate them because they conceive that the government of the Church is not placed in Synods or in any other Assembly then that of a particular Congregation yet readily acknowledge that themselves are but part of the Church and ought to be countable to the Church of Christ for their wayes and that if upon brotherly counsel given by other Churches they reforme not they may and ought to with-draw from all Christian communion with them whether their way of being countable be right or no I dispute not only I say this is not the Independency here intended but I meane any man or company of men who looke upon themselves as an intire Civil State or Common-wealth lookes upon it selfe how small soever it be as in Italy there are some such which containe not above one City or two yet they count all the world hath nothing to do with them nor are they to be countable to any other State no not to the whole world any further then their owne interest carries them either for their owne safety or as they make use of them this is true State independency so is it here when any persons or company of Christians looke upon themselves as totum quid seorsum as men by themselves and in their intentions carry not themselves as parts of the great Common-wealth accounting it a thing little or nothing materiall so they professe the Name and faith of Christ and serve him whether they doe it in the communion of the Catholick Church or out of it as if they were not persons contained within the whole or part of the same Common-wealth this I say is high and deep Schism the very nature of Christs Church being one Body requires that whatsoever any whether persons or Churches do in matters of Religion teaching or being taught praying fasting Almes-giving in word and Sacraments yea in beleeving loving hoping c. should all be done intentionally with relation to and communion with the whole Church of Christ this first principle lies deep rooted many live by it though few wil own it 2 Others are deeply schismatical from principles of judgement who are so farre in love with their own constitution or way of Association into Church-Order that they condemne all the other Assemblies throughout the world as no Churches of Christ because they be not modelled and moulded according to the Plat-form of their own particular Church-order and association I doe not deny but it is possible that some of Gods people may have some such great mistakes lye upon them that they cannot possibly joyne in all Christian ordinances with any congregation in the world as the converted Christian Jewes while they were under that apprehension that no man ought to be owned but he that was circumcised I say as long as that errour possest them they could never joyn in all Ordinances with the rest of the Gentiles and how farre the rest of the people of God should beare with such and still own them as Christs servants is a thing worth the studying but certainly the principle it selfe is most destructive to the unity of the Church To refraine fellowship and communion with such Churches or Companies who professe Christ their Lord whose faith is sound whose worship is Gospel-worship whose lives are holy unlesse they will come into that very particular way of Church order which they have pitched upon is a dreadfull renting of the Church of Christ to peeces for if all Christs people in the world are one body and all thereby bound to have communion one with another then certainly that principle which necessitates men to cast off it may be nine hundred ninety nine parts of a thousand must needs be dangerous and Schismatical of this none are so guilty as the Church of Rome who circumscribe the Church of Christ within the precinct of the Roman Jurisdiction and cast off all Christians and all Churches in the East West North and South yea cast them off from all hope of Salvation who subject not themselves to their way 2. Nor can our rigid Separatists bee any way excused who censure and condemne all other Churches whatever their faith worship and conversation be meerly because they are not gathered into Church-order according to their own patternes This so strict bounding of our christian communion by outward formes I humbly conceive hath been a great and almost generall fault among the Churches of Europe ever since the Reformation in some Churches the large forme of the confession of their faith is made the Shibboleth without owning and subscribing to this without abating of a tittle no communion to be injoyed in other Churches without conforming to their formes of Prayers Rites and Ceremonies in administration of the Sacraments no communion to be injoyed in others without submitting to their forme of Church-government no communion and with these of whom I now speake without submitting to their manner and forme of gathering into Church-fellowship none to be owned or acknowledged to be Churches of Christ but alas how little is to be found in Scripture to bound our fellowship and communion of Saints by any of these things In the Scripture Churches are cryed up or downe commended and blamed according as their fundamentall faith was sound and their lives holy and I doubt not but one day we shall all judge those Churches the best whose substantial faith is soundest and lives most holy whether their first manner of gathering were every way regular or not Suppose that in an Army the Lawes of that Army were That none should be prest to serve but all to come in as Volunteers that their Officers should bee so and so chosen and qualified now suppose in this Army should be
Lutherans had had many disputes to see if they could fetch off one another from their principles and could not do it the Calvinists even the holiest and learnedst of them such as Calvin Beza Martyr Zanchy Vrsin Pareus have offered to owne them as brethren as Churches of Christ and would have been willing to heare them to receive Sacraments with them the rigid Lutherans refused it and cry out From communion with the Calvinists Good Lord deliver us Now say I the Schisme was on the Lutherans part if the Lutherans had offered it and the Calvinists had rejected the Schisme had laine on the Calvinists part Bring it yet nearer many of these opinions are got in among us especially about free-will Infant-baptisme formes of Church-government c. and we should not refuse communion with any of them supposing their lives unblameable If they will hold communion with us I say if they will for ordinarily erroneous persons are proud and must have all mens sheaves bow down to theirs and will close only with teachers and companies according to their owne lusts but if we in a spirit of Christian love would have peace and they refuse it then both the errour and schisme lyeth at their doore But against all this it may be and is objected What a speckled bird would you make a particular church Suppose the church you should be an Officer unto should be such a medly of some holding the morality of the Lords day some denying it some for Infant-baptisme some condemning it some like the Presbyterian-government others are for the Episcopal others like a Congregational better then either of them some would have their children baptised others are utterly against it some of them Calvinists some Lutherans to have a Church made up of all these would not this be a reproach to you to be a Pastor to such a flock To which I answer what reproach would it be to me to be Pastor of such a Church as Jesus Christ is a head of If the Church of Christ wherein his Spirit rules to whom he is a head and which shal be saved be made up of all these what reproach if prejudice did not blinde mens eyes could it be to any of us to have such members to be members of our Congregations But doe you then intend a toleration of all these opinions would you have Lutherans and Anti-sabbatarians Anabaptists and others tolerated among us I answer first what the Magistrates office is about toleration or non-toleration I have nothing to doe to meddle with at this time my doctrine confines me to speake only of Church forbearance and upon that account I answer if by toleration you meane an approbation of these God forbid we must approve of no errour we should all seeke to make one another imbrace every truth of Christ But if by toleration you meane a not cutting them off unlesse they lay downe their errours and renounce them that indeed I plead for we should hold Christian communion with them for Christ thus beares with them and will have us beare one with another and as it is in our naturall body if a man have an ulcer in his hand or his leg if ordinary medicines wil not cure it he wil wait till the strength of nature work out the humour or till by the providence of God he can light of some more happy medicines then yet have been propounded but he will not cut his hand or his leg off so long as it may be any wayes usefull to him so is the case here Thirdly Some will yet object indeed if you meane to bear with them for a while till the truth hath been set before them that they have all meanes of conviction it wil be granted but suppose all paines have been taken the truth hath been propounded they have been reasoned with and they still hold the same then they may be judged obstinate and self-condemned I answer plainly faith as it is the imbracing of any particular truth is as well the gift of Gods Spirit as that faith whereby we receive Christ for our Saviour no wisdome or rhethoricke of man can ever make a man receive the faith of any one doctrine of Christianity till Gods Spirit inable him and it is a far easier matter to non-plus a man in disputing then it is to clear his understanding and inable him to receive a truth and when such persons do appeal to the searcher of hearts that it is meer want of light which hinders them from being of one minde our Christian love which ever judgeth the best should rest satisfied especially when their lives are unblameable we must not take upon us to be Lords of their faith and therefore after many disputes and conferences between the dissenting Churches in Germany when they were not able to dispute one another out of their principles as I before noted the Calvinists propounded to hold an amicable Christian communion one with another and if in a fair debating way they could afterward satisfie one another well and good in the meane time they would wait till Christ would give more light and upon this account the Calvinists and Lutherans in Polonia doe at this day live in concord both of them retaining their opinions And in truth we all professe to doe the same toward them for I hardly know any amongst us but confesse the Helvetians Lutherans c. are true Churches notwithstanding their errours Now say I shal a company associated in such and such opinions bee counted a true Church and shal not a particular man who holds the same points be counted a true visible member or shal we hold communion with them in Germany and shal we deny it to our brethren in England God forbid that the exercise of our Christian charity and communion should vary according as Regions vary If whole Churches be owned because of their faith and holinesse of life notwithstanding their errours to be true visible Churches then one man that hath those errours may goe for a true visible Christian because of his faith and holinesse And in truth they who are the brethren of our elder brother are our brethren wil we nil we and we shal repent if we use them not as brethren Yet againe it wil be said but Paul did wish they were all cut off that troubled the Galatians I answer But mark who they were they were such who brought such a doctrin that he profest if they imbraced it Christ would profit them nothing they who would set up a new Christ a new way of salvation to seek justification by their own works he prayed they might be cut off but he never wished it for errours of a lower nature But lastly some may yet demand and say What if they who hold such Opinions joyn in communion with you and in your communion make it their worke and practise for errour is very Pragmatical to draw all the rest of your company
Congregations slow from this Church to the rest or whether any wayes at all it may doe any judicial or judiciary act is a most noble question and much disputed amongst learned Divines especially in our latter age my haste doth not allow me to meddle with that controversie only thus much I may safely assert 1 That all the Officers Offices and gifts that Christ gave when he ascended up into heaven he gave them all to this Church and they all serve for the gathering edifying and perfecting of this Church 2 And as any ever were or are converted to Christ from the world they are all primarily added to this Church 3 Yea and all whether particular Christians or numbers of Christians associated all are to act as parts of this Church and consequently in reference to the good of this whole Church all having such relation to and dependance upon this Church as parts have to the whole and a standing in a particular Church-relation doth no more take off from duties to this great body which is the great Common-wealth then the Jewes being ranked under their several Tribes or in their particular Cities were taken off from the duties which they owed to the whole Common-wealth of Israel c. that therefore he who is justly clave non errante excommunicated or cast out of any particular Church is cast out from all Churches as he who is shut out of any one Gate of a City is shut out of every ward of that City yea out of the whole City it selfe Having thus farre cleared the Doctrinall part I now proceed to the application of it and there are many excellent uses which this Lesson doth afford I shal handle only two at this time 1. for instruction 2. For duty First for instruction from all this it appeares that to be a Member of the Church of Christ or the Association of all Gods people into this one body is the only desirable good Fellowship and Society in this world You shal read of a great many other Fellowships and Co-partnerships you may read in the first of the Proverbs of a fellowship of Theeves in Isa. 56. of a company of Drunkards in Psal. 2. of a Society of Malignants and abundance of several companies and societies of men there are some joyned for pleasure some for profit and many glory and take great content in the society and fellowship and fruit they enjoy in those whom they are linked with but ah beloved when things are rightly viewed it will appeare that the Congregation or the Society of the Church of the first borne whose names are written in Heaven wherein all the Saints of God from the beginning of the world to the end of it are all joyned in one body all of them united to Christ and one to another having the same Spirit the same Lord the same hope all of them one in all these seven things which I have opened to you it will I say one day appeare this is the only desirable society under Heaven Let them therefore who are men of other societies glory as much as they please in their supposed good Fellowship when in the meane time they are strangers from the Common-wealth of Israel But let us count our selves happy that we have a part and lot in this communion wherein we have Fellowship not only one with another but with the Father and his Sonne Jesus Christ Secondly it hence also followes for our instruction That none in all the world are or ought to be judged Members of the Church of Christ but only those that have the Spirit of Jesus Christ in them really regenerate really holy really united to Christ the Head these and no other are Members of the Church which is Christs Body which is a Lesson of very great use You all know there is at this day much disputing about what things are requisite to make men Church-members some very learned men maintain That to make a man admittable into Christs Church or to make him a Church-member no more is in the Scripture required but only that he give up his name and professe that he is willing to learne the wayes of Christ and to walke in them the Church of Christ being say they appointed as a Schoole to traine Schollars up into which are admitted not only those that are Learned but those who are willing to learne Others say That is too laxe if you wil own a man as a Church-member he must be able to give you an account of his faith and a promise of a voluntary subjection to the Gospel of Christ for time to come and if they come to that then you may take them in and owne them as Church-members Others say You must yet goe further unlesse you can in the judgement of your owne charity conceive that the worke of Grace is really wrought in their hearts you are not to owne them or joyne with them if you can probably hope that then you may take them in Others will goe yet further and say These things are not sufficient for unlesse there be a right admission by Baptisme when you make your first confession all the rest is in vaine and upon these points we dispute till we have disputed our selves into a thousand peeces Now Brethren be pleased to know that though there be good use of these debates to direct us to know the persons with whom we may exercise the acts of communion in the wayes and worship of Christ yet none of all these rise up to prove a man to be a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ there are indeed signes and rules that may teach us with whom we may joyne in visible and external Fellowship and whom we may reject or cast out if they be taken in but these are not rules to make us know who are reall Members of the Church of Christ indeed as the Church is denominated from some external things these rules direct us to judge with whom and to whom we may communicate in those external things but these are clearly two Distinct questions with whom we may joyne in visible and externall communion and who are truly Members of this Church of Christ Of the latter there is but one note and that is if they be united to Christ the Head have the quickning Spirit of Christ in them and the grace of Love wrought in them which note is invisible and not external and can be knowne only in our owne Consciences if this be wanting let men carry themselves never so wel so that all the people of Christ under heaven should owne them yet Jesus Christ ownes them not and you may truly say that all they who have not communion with God the Father and the Lord Jesus and his holy Spirit have no reall communion with the Saints therefore let no man rest or pride himselfe in being joyned in this or that Church-fellowship a carnal or unconverted man whatsoever his outward shape
or mould be in his profession that man for his Spiritual standing belongs to another Corporation There are two great Spiritual corporations the one is that wheâ—eof Christ is the Head the other is the corporation of Hel whereof the Devil is the Prince now all men let them be of what Profession they wil if they be not under Christ the Head they belong to another corporation and their external visible profession alters not their Spiritual relation A lump of Lead whilst it is in the lump it is a lump of base Metall called Lead melt this and mould it into the forme of a Beast what is it then it is but a leaden Beast melt it and mould it againe into the forme of a man it is but a Leaden man melt it and mould it againe into the forme of an Angel it is but a Leaden Angel So I say take a carnal Man an unregenerate Man he is a carnal man whilst he professeth no Religion suppose him then to professe himselfe a Protestant at large he is but a carnall Protestant suppose him next to joyne himselfe into some Church Order let him joyne with those that are called of the Presbyterian way he is a carnall Presbyterian Take him off from that put him into the Congregationall way what is he then a carnal congregational man joyne him next if you wil to those who deny our Baptisme he is then but a carnal Anabaptist he is stil a carnal an ungodly man belonging to the corporation of Satan whatsoever his out-side be and know ye all for certain that no Bastard no Gibeonite no Hypocrite no man unconverted what gifts soever he may have what reputation soever he may have amongst men he is no member of the Church of Christ unlesse the Spirit of Christ be in him I say therefore againe beare not your selves too much upon your visible Church-standing as too many doe beleeve it it s an easie thing for the children of the world to put on an outward forme of Church-communion but O! how hard is it to become a new creature to resigne up it selfe wholly to Jesus Christ and the guidance of his holy Spirit and I presse this the more upon this account also viz. were this well understood it would satisfie and cure the mistake of many who thinke that there are the same rules to direct us with whom we must exercise our external communion as there is to judge with whom Jesus Christ exercises his communion no no we may exercise outward acts of communion by the appointment of God with those unto whom Jesus Christ never communicates himselfe nor his Spirit Thirdly one instruction more which I doe but name from all this That the Church of Christ is but one Body it followes plainly that therefore among all the great multitudes of the Members of the Church they are the honourablest and noblest Members who are most useful for the common good of the Church as it is in a Natural body the Liver that makes bloud for all the body the Heart that makes spirits for all the body the Stomach that digests meat for all the body and the Eye which sees for the whole body c. these are counted the noblest and excellentest So among all Christians the man or men who are most useful best fitted for use and laid out for use these wil one day be found and acknowledged the honourablest Members of the Church of Christ what esteeme soever the world hath of them But the maine use which I purpose and which indeed we most need is to shew what duties doe arise from this unity of the Saints in one body and they are two which the Apostle Paul layes downe in the first of the Corinthians the twelfth chap. vers. 25. when he had shewed how the Lord had framed all his people into one body he then tels us to what end and purpose all this was done viz. First That there should be no schisme in the body Secondly That therefore all the members ought to have the like care one of another The first of these I purpose with the Lords assistance to speake somewhat to at this time because all the Church the Saints the people of God in all the world are but one body therefore rents and divisions are most unnaturall and destructive to it I hope you wil all judge it a necessary and seasonable Theam it being almost our epidemical disease we being rent and torne into multitudes of sects and divisions which this doctrine of the unity of the Church of Christ doth utterly condemn and therefore though I know it is an unpleasing subject and possibly many may give me small thanks for it yet truly I durst not being called to this place but cast in my mite towards the healing of this wofull distemper and three things I shall endeavour to cleare about it First What Schisme is and what is the nature of it Secondly the greatnesse of it what a horrible sin it is And thirdly and principally I will labour to shew you who they are that are guilty of it For the first what it is It s usually defined to be a rash or unjust separation in matters of Religion but I would rather describe it to be a renting violating dissolving or breaking of that unity which ought to be amongst Christians or amongst all the Saints of Christ And this rending or breaking of this union properly lyes in two things one is inward and that is dissolving or breaking the band or bands which the Lord hath given to tye them all together which band on our part as you have heard before is the grace of love and therefore the breaking off of love among Christians whether it be from all the Church or from a particular Church yea or from a particular man I say the dissolving or breaking of this spirituall band hath in it the very intrinsecall nature of the sinne of Schisme the Lord having appointed that grace to be the band to tye his people together but because the inward band is invisible and therefore not easie to judge of therefore there is a second thing in Schism and that is a denying or with-drawing from the exercise of those things which Christ hath given as the symboles or pledges of love amongst his people as conversing together praying together hearing together conferring together receiving Sacraments and the like together the with-drawing from these or the denying of these otherwise then Jesus Christ directs in his Word These things are visible and therefore Divines use to appropriate the name of Schism to such with-drawings or denyings which indeed are but the fruites of the other for the dissolving of the band of love is the root of the disease and the denying of the expressions and exercise of love are the bitter fruits growing from that evill root So then he or they who ever they are that do deny to exercise or with-draw from the exercise of those things
which Jesus Christ hath made to bee both duties and pledges of love among his people are truly and properly guilty of the sin of Schism the nature of this sin of Schism lying properly in this that it is against Christian love and hereby also you may learne the difference between Heresie and Schisme Heresie is a false opinion which destroyes faith but Schisme is either an opinion or practice against charity The first of them which is against faith tends to rend off from Christ the head The second which is against love tends to the rending off from the body This for the nature of it In the next place let us consider the greatnesse of this sin and the rather because in truth the name and charge is grown so common amongst us as formerly the name of Puritan was that many make no account of it whether they be charged justly or unjustly with it but who ever considers of it according to the sense of the Scripture wil find that the sin of Schisme is a most hainous sin The greatness of it not easily set forth in words whether you consider it in the nature of it or the effects of it In 1 The nature of it its contrary to one of the highest ends of Christs great undertaking which is that all his people should bee one he dyed to that end to make them one with himselfe and one with one another he begged it of his Father that they should be one now this sinne tends to frustrate this great designe of Jesus Christ And secondly It is contrary to all the Commandements of Christ for all the Commands which he hath given to his people for the ordering of their conversation himselfe tels us That the end of the Commandement is love 2 If we consider the effects of it they are most dreadful and mischievous For first it is wonderfully dishonourable to Jesus Christ for whereas he holds out to all the world that his people are one house one body one city which is at unity compacted together c. this is a publick confutation of it makes Jerusalem appeare as a Babel a City of confusion a Kingdome divided wherein is nothing but disorders and tumults and the like And as it is dishonourable to Christ so it wonderfully hinders and destroyes the edification of the Church both the edification of them who make the Schisme and the edification of them from whom the rent is made depriving them of that spiritual good they might and should receive and supply from and to one another for though Iesus Christ the head be the only fountaine of our spiritual life yet it is as true that Christs usuall way of exercising strengthning increasing and perfecting it is in the fellowship of the body that by what every joynt supplyes the whole may be increased so that if we weigh it seriously we must conclude That as nothing within the bounds of the Church more argues a conformity to the spirit of the Gospel then the study of unitie peace and concord so few things more argue an opposition to Christs worke and his peoples good then this spirit of division But the third is the greatest question who are guilty of it and before I enter upon this discovery give me leave to premise this that in our dayes it is in this point of Schisme as it was of old in the primitive Church in the first point of Heresie what opinions the Ancients would make odious they would brand with the name of Heresie and thereby sometimes very truths of Christ were condemned as Heresies so it is at this day in the point of Schisme the Papists cry downe all who professe Christianity through the whole world as Schismaticks who joyn not with and subject not unto the Church of Rome The Prelatical party usually account all Schismaticks who are not under the Church-government of Bishops come among them who are for the Presbytery many of them call all Schismaticks who joyn in any other way the Congregational men as they are called have the same esteeme of them who depart from them and goe into another way I premise this only for this end that you may hence conclude that doubtlesse sometimes the name is given where it should not be given Now let us returne to our Question Who they are that are guilty Answ. Truly with sorrow I must reply It is a hard thing to say in our sad dayes who is not guilty as in Common-wealths where the bands and sinews of Civil government are cut asunder no conjunction or associating of a people into or under government Politicians say that in such times Every man is at war with every man every man is an enemy to every man so the Lord for our sinnes hath poured this evil upon us that we lye in confusion almost every man is divided from every man and so deep hath the malady taken root that many are in love with it and like their very divisions and as it is in popular tumults no man will heare any man but still the confused noyse goes on so in truth is it with us we are not willing to heare of agreement he is almost an enemy who would labour a pacification or reconciliation The Lord have mercy upon us our divisions are very great and sad but as a generall declaiming against sin never converted a man from sin untill he bee convinced that himself be guilty of this or that sin so my declaiming against Schisme in generall wil not heal it until I discover more particularly who they are that are guilty of it And to this I answer first negatively all departure separation and denying to joyn in Ordinances from some such as call themselves Christians is not Schisme the Israelites separation from Jeroboams Calves was no Schisme if the faith of a people be heretical or their worship be idolatrous the Lord bids his servants come out from such a people I adde further that although the faith of a Church be sound and the worship pure for the substance yet if that Church or Company wil presse some such things which others cannot practise without sin and which unlesse they will practice though against their consciences they must be under intollerable persecution as losse of state life c. or spirituall anathematisme unjust excommunications or the like to with-draw from such a people provided that still they will retaine those truths which are held by that persecuting Church and be ready to perform what Christian duty of love lyes in their power towards them this with-drawing is no Schism it is no more then Christ and his Disciples did to the Church of Jerusalem and no more then the Lord hath bid his people do when they are persecuted in one place to with-draw and flye to another 2 I answer positively they who are guilty of the sin of Schisme may be reduced under two heads Some are guilty