HEART-DIVISIONS

The Evill of our Times.

HOSEA 10. 2.

Their Heart is divided, now shall they be found faulty.

CHAP. I.

The Text opened, and futableneffe of it to our Times, fhewed.

O marvail though Ifrael be charged, ver. 1. to be an empty vine, feeing their heart is divided. Heart-division will cause emptineffe of good, both in mens fpirits, and in Church and State. The leaft dividing of the heart, in any one part from another, if it be but by the prick of a pin, is deadly; a great gash in the head is curable. There may be much difference in mens opinions without any great hurt, if this difference gets not to the heart; but if once it gets in there, the danger is great; Now (hall they be found faulty, Now fball they be guilty; or as fome, Nunc delinquent, Now they will offend; as if Heart-divifion contracted the greateft guilt, and by it men were the greateft Delinquents of any. The word fignifies allo to perifh, to be made defolate, fo Arius Montanus De folabuntur. N Heart-divifion is a defolating finne, by the judgment of God upon them for it, they fhall be convinced in their own confciences, and in the fight of all men, that they were guilty ; that by fuch a fin as this, they had bound themfelves over to the juftice of God, & thofe defolating evils that came upon them,

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were

were the righteous judgments of God upon them for thofe divifions that were amongst them. Men wil not be convinced of their fin, till Gods judgement is upon them for it; and then their confciences will, and others fhall fee that God is rightcous, and they are vile and finfull before him, even in fuch things that before they pleaded for, or at leaft could not be brought to own their own guiltinefs in. When thunder and raine came upon the men of Ifrael in their wheat Harveft, and they were afraid they fhould dye, 1 Sam. 12. 18, 19. then they could fay, We have added unto all our finnes this evill to aske us a King.

The Lord convince us of, and humble us for the finfulnesse of our divifions by his word,that defolating judgments be not upon us to convince and humble us.

Their beart is divided.

This Heart-divifion is either from God, or from one another.

Their heart is divided between God and their Idols; They would not caft off the worship of God wholly, that was too much; they loved their Idols, but they muft not have all: to divide between God and them they thought was faire. Their hearts were also divided one from another; and just it is with God, that those who divide from him, fhould divide one from another. 2 King. 15. you may fee what wofull divifions there were amongst them, King against people, and people againft King, Civill Wars. Their King comes upon one of their owne Towns, and fmites it, and rips up all the women that were with Child in it, and all because they opened not to him. O the rage and cruelty of men of proud fpirits, when they get power into their hands! for then their pride fwells, being blown up with the flatteries of such as are about them: As if they were fuch gods upon earth, as they might doe whatfoever they pleafed, and the lives, eftates, liberties, comforts of all muft lie under their feet, and muft fubmit to their lufts and humours. You fhall find further in the whole Chapter, there was nothing but confpiring, mischieving, and murthering one another. In their Church State there was noshing but factions and rents one from another; fome were for

the

the true worship, fome for the falfe. And amongst the falfe worshippers there were divifions too:Some were for the calves that Jeroboam fet up at Dan and Bethel; fome were for Baal: great contention there was between these. You know the ftcry of Jebu an Idolater, yet deftroying the worshippers of Baal and his Idols.

The Jewes of old underftood this Text of thefe Heart-divifions amongst themselves, as well as of their divifions from God, which appears by a notable tradition of theirs, St Jerom in his Comment upon these words, relates : whereas (tays he) the Scripture, 2 King. 17. tells us, that Hofbea was the last King of Ifrael, and in his time Ifrael was carryed captive; yet verf. 2. It is faid, He did not evill in the fight of the Lord, as the Kings of Ifrael that were before him. Now the Jewes put this Queftion, Why was not Ifrael carryed captive with their King, when they had the worft King, but rather when things feemed to goe fomething better then before? God yet chooses this time.

The Answer they give, is, Because in former times the people might pretend, they could not tell how to help what they did amiffe in the matter of Worship; Indeed they worshipped the Calves, but they were forced to it by the tyranny of their Kings, it fhould be the loffe of all they had if they did not: but (fay they) in the days of Hofbea there was more liberty given then before. Now thofe who would, might goe up to Jerufalem to worship, and that they fay is the reafon of that expreffion, that Hofbea did not evill as other Kings had done; but when they came to have more liberty, they fell to wrangling amongst themfelves, (which is an ufuall concomitant of liberty) now their divifion rofe high, fome would go up to Jerufalem to worship, others would not; thofe that went up, cryed out of those who went not; and those who went not, vilified thofe who went. Now their hearts are thus divided, now fhall they be found guilty. The defolating judgment must now come. This is the time for their captivity. Now he gives them up to the Enemie. God was exceedingly provoked with their contentions one againft another at this time. What? (fayes God) when I was in fome way of favour towards them, when I took off (in great

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part)

part) the yoke of bondage that was upon them, that fore oppreffion that was before, none of them (a while fince) dared goe to Jerufalem to worship, and now their Governours are more moderate, their oppreffing Courts are downe, there is more liberty in the Land for my true worship, and do they now fall out, contemn, divide, wrangle one with another?let them goe into captivity, let the enemy come in upon them,my foule takes no delight in fuch a crooked perverfe Generation as this is.

Our condition feems to parallel with theirs very much, we lately were under fore and cruell bondage, nothing was more dangerous then the worshipping God in his own way, wee were under hard Task-mafters, oppreffing, undoing Courts; The Lord hath in a great measure delivered us, it is the unthankfulness, the finfull diftemper of mens fpirits that makes them fay, what is done ? it is as ill with us as ever it was; No, we have much cafe,fuch liberties, as were our fore-fathers raifed out of their graves to fee, they would admire Gods goodness, and bless him with meltings of heart; but we spend that ftrength in fiding, wrangling, contending, quarrelling, vexing, oppofing one another, that we fhould fpend in magnifying, bleffing and praifing the Name of God for that mercy we enjoy. We are a divided people, whofe hearts are divided, and heads too, and hands too; peace and unity feems to be flown from us, and a fpirit of contention and divifion is come upon us: King & Subje&s are divided, Parl. is divided, Affembly is divided, Armies are divided, Church is divided, & State is divided, City is divided, Country is divided, Towns are divided, Families divided, godly people are divided, Minifters almoft every where are divided; yea, and what heart almoftis there at this time but is divided in it felf? the thoughts, the counfels, contrivances,endeavours, ways of men, almost of all men, how are they divided? O bleffed Saviour! are these the times thou fpeakeft of, wherein five should be in one house divided, three against two, and two against three; the father against the fon, and the fon against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother? Oh woe to us! wee find it fo amongftus, and yet there is found no healing; we are broken, and there is no binding up:It is with us as it was with

Ezekiel

Ezek. 2. 6. Briars and thorns are with us, and we dwell among Scorpions. O Lord, what is this thy curfe at this time upon. England? Bryers and thornes fball it bring forth We are rending and tearing, and devouring one another, while the adverfary ftands before us ready to devour us: Ephraim is against Manaffeb, and Manaffeb against Ephraim. A fice is come out from Abimilech,and devours the men of Sechem; and fire comes from the men of Sechem, and devours Abimilech; yea, there is a fire kindled in our owne bowels, it rifes from our felves. Ezek 19. 14. Fire is gone ont of a rod of her branches, which bath devoured her fruit, fo that bee hath no strong rod to be a Scepter to rule, this is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. This is amongst us at this day, and how long it fhall continue, God onely knows.

What this people were in their divided condition, that we are; and what does this threaten, but that we should be as they a while after this were? namely, a people given up to the rage and fury of the Enemie, which the Lord forbid.

lib. 13.

There is a great out-cry of our divifions, and while we cry out against them, wee ftill encrease them; we are angry with men rather, because they are divided from our felves, then be caufe they are divided from the truth; we are angry because every man is not of our own mind, & does not as we do. There was a great deal of doe in Luthers time about the feamless coat of Chrift. Granvillian the Emperours Deputy in a Speech he made to the Citizens of Wormes, befeeches them for the death leid. Com. of Chrift, and for all loves, that they would amend our Lords coate, which is rent and torn on every fide. When Luther laboured to bring Reformation to the Rule, they bad him take heed that he did not rend the feamless coat of Chrift; and because they talked fo much of the tunica inconfutilis, they were called ihe Inconfutilifte, the feameleffe men: And what a ftirre hath there been in out-cryes against men that would not yeeld to every thing that was enjoyned? O they rent the feamleffe Coat of Chrift, I remember Mufculus in a Tract he hath De Schifmate, hath a witty and pious note upon this, The Souldiers (faith he would not divide the feameleffe coat of Chrift; but what made them to be fo carefull of it? was it out of refped to Chrift, that they were fo unwilling it should be divided?