Surely we are more afraid then hurt; Though our differences be fad enough, yet they come not up to this, to make us men of different Religions. We agree in the fame end, though not in the fame means; they are but different wayes of oppofing the common adversary. The agreeing in the fame means in the fame way of oppofing the common enemy would be very comfortable, it would be our ftrength, but that cannot be expected in this world.

Answ.

Livie in his story of a great Battail between Hannibal and Lib. 30. Scipio, fayes, That at the joyning of the Armies, the shouting of Scipio's men was farre more terrible then the fhouting of Hannibal's, because Scipio's men were all Romans, their shou:ing had all the fame tone: but Hannibal's Army was made up of men of severall Countries, so that in their shouting there was variety of the tones of their voyce, wch was not accounted fo formidable a shout as the other. It is true, our adverfaries do not look our oppofition to them having so much diversity in it, fo formidable as they would if we were all but one in our way of oppofing them; But ftil we are all shouting against the common enemy; although therefore the terrour upon our adverfary would be greater, if our (hout were more uniform; yet we hope the victory may be as fure.

Souldiers who march againft a common enemy, all under the fame Captain, who follow the fame Colours in their Enfign,and wear them upon their hats or arms, may get the day, though they be not all cloathed alike, though they differ in things of leffe concernment.

Revel. 15.2. we read of the Saints standing upon a sea of glaffe, which had fire mingled with it. Mr. Brightman interprets this fea of glass, the doctrine of the Gospel, more clear, more transparent then the doctrine of the Law, which, he fayes, was resembled by the sea of braffe that Soloman made; But there is fire mingled in this fea of glasse, that is, faith hee, There are contentions & divifions in the Church, where this doctrine of the Gospel is taught: But yet mark what follows, They got the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his marke, and over the number of his name, and had the harps of God in their bands, and fang the fong of Mofes, &c.

Men who are in a crowd, tread one upon another, yet they

all

Hoc difco mea experientia,

quod non habeo caufam timen

tam magnam

di extra me,

Luther.

all make to the fame door, they would all go the fame way : Godly people are divided in their opinions and wayes, but they are united in Chrift; though they may be divided from fuch a particular fociety, yet they are not divided from the Church; it is with the Saints here,as with the boughs of trees in time of a form; you fhall fee the boughs one beat upon another, as if they would beat one another to pieces, as if Armics were fighting, but this is but while the wind, while the tempeft lafts; stay a while and you shal fee every bough ftanding in its own order and comeliness, why? because they are all united in one root; if any bough be rotten, the forme breaks it off, but the found boughs come into their former place. These times of divifion may break off men whofe fpirits were before unfound, they will never come in to joyne with the Saints again fo as they feemed to doe in former times: but within a while when this guft is over, others may come in and fhew themselves to be all united in, and receive fap from the fame root.

CHAP. XIV.

Dividing Diftempers, the lufts of mens hearts.

Hefe divide us not onely from God, but from one another. This I learne, fayes Luther, from mine owne experience, that I have more caufe to feare what is within me, then what is without. What ever others do to divide us would prevail little, were it not for the lufts of our hearts within. Vapours that are got within the earth, are the cause of all carthquam intra me. quakes, they rend and tear: the winds, ftorms, and tempefts - without never move it. Ill humours within the body, difturb more then the ayre without. James 4. 1. Whence are wars and fightings amongst you? are they not bence, even from your lusts? Whence come they? The answer is foon made, Do you not fee plainly that they come from your lufts? Yet were this Queftion put to fome of us, Whence are all our divifions? Some would anfwer, Such kinde of men are the cause of them, and c-. thers would answer, Nay but fuch men cause them. We all put off the caufe of cur divifions from our felves ; few would give

Saint James his anfwer, They are from hence, even from our lufts. There would not be fuch evill diftillations from the head, if it were not for the malignant vapours that arife from the flomach. The curing the heart will fooner cure the head, then the curing the head will cure the heart.

Whence are wars ? even from your lufts. The Apostle doth not here condemn wars fimply, this was the error of the old Manichees, raised up again by fome amongst us, especially as the Wars are looked upon under that notion, railed for Religion. They seek to weaken our hands in thefe wars, by telling young people who have newly given their names to Chrift, and therefore defire to be guided by the Word in all they do, whom God hath ufed under himself to be the ftrength of thefe wars, that they have no warrant to fight for Religion. To whom our Anfwer is, that we have a Civill right to the outward peaceable profeffion 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 fword, from the pra&ice of the Chriftians in the Primitive times,who never fought to maintain Religion thus. We fay their cafe was not the fame with ours; they never had any civill right to the profeffion and practice of Religion in the Countreys where they lived, as we have.

The wars meant in this Text are contentions,jars,divifions amongst Christians; though they did not take up the fword one against another, yet there were many quarrells, jarre, and divifions amongft them, thefe came from their lufts. The lufts of mens hearts are very quarrelfom. Storms and tempefts are here below in this impure muddy part of the world, in the higher part all is ferene, calm, and clear. 1 Cor. 3. 3. For yee are yet carnall; how do's he prove that? whereas there is a mong you envying, and ftrife, and divifions, are ye not carnall and walke as men? Strifes and divifions do manifeft-mens hearts to be very carnall.

Auguft. upon that place, Gen. 15.10. where God required Abraham to take beafts and birds for facrifice, the beafts were

divided,

Canales inter divided, cut a funder,but not the birds: Thus (fays he, by way e dividuntur, of allusion ) carnall brutish men are divided one from another, but pirituales nullo not the birds, not those who are more fpirituall, more celeftiall. nodo Aug.de civit. lib. 16. cap. 14.

Le walke as men, fayes che Apoftie, yee should not walk as men, ye thould walk as it becomes those whofe condition is raised above the condition of men, as it becomes Chriftians the redeemed ones of the Lord; you fay, Can flesh and blood endure this? Can any man living beare this? what if flesh and blood, what if a man cannot ? A Christian may, a member of Jefus Chrift who is God-man, may. Chryfoftome 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 alfo replying, God indeed was gen. tle and patient toward Cain, for hee is God, he is above all paffion, 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 fayes, The Saints are made partakers of the divine nature; therefore do not fay, We are but men. You must not walk as men, but as thofe who are endued with the Divine nature. It is a great charge that the holy Ghoft 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 flefb are hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, ftrife, feditions, hereftes, envyings. All thefe are the causes or workings of divifions: Surely our divifions are the fruits of the flesh. We fee it in nature,the more fpiritual any thing is, the more it unites ; and the more gross the fubftance of any thing is, the leffe 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 fo in other things; fpiritual hearts in this are like the Sun beams, though thoufands of them live together, they will unite in one so long as they continue fpiritual. The three thousand Converts, A&.2. joyned with one accord, with one fingle heart: We find it now by experience, fo long as there be but a few in a Church, they agree well, but ufually when they come to be numerous, diffentions rife amongst them; this is an argument that the

hearts

hearts of men are not spiritual,fill much flesh remains. Brackish water afcending to the Heavens, is (weetned, it comes down fweet from thence ; thus thofe things which have trouble, which have an aptneffe to breed divifions, yet spirituall heavenly hearts having to do with them, they turn the nature of them, they work fpirituall advantage out of them.

The higher fire afcends, 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 Chriftians keep below, and have a great deal of fmoak amongst them, they do not fo unite; but when they can get up high, O what clofe, finglehearted union is there a crooked and a right line cannot joyn, but two right lines will joyn in every point.

How many

wayes mens

vifions.

The lufts of mens hearts caufe divifions many wayes: First, they are mens own, therefore they will contend for lofts caufe dithem; nothing is a mans own, fo much as his lufts; man aims wholly at himselfe in fatisfying his luft: A Dog will barke, and bite, and flye in a mans face to preferve his own whelps.

Secondly, Mens lufts blinde their judgements; Perit judicium cum res tranfit in affectum; when the heart is tainted, the judgement is foone blinded; if the beame of the scale you weigh by, be not ftraight, the fcale that hath the light weight may weigh down the heavier; if our hearts be crooked, warping to any finfull luft, what weight foever there be in any argum eats to convince; the fcale will goe according to the warping of the heart, the conclufion will follow the worfer part.

3ly. Mens lufts weaken their spirits, fo as they are not aable to beare any thing that comes croffe to them; women; children, fick people, who are weakeft, fall out moft with one another; things that are rotten cannot hold together, every little touch breaks them afunder; that which is found hath ftrength to hold one part to another.

Fourthly, in mens lufts there is confufion, they cannot be kept in order, therefore they muft needs cause disturbance, -not onely in mens owne fpirits, but to all that have to deale with men acted by them; where there is confufion, there cannot be union; when there is right order in an army,though

Р

the

1.

2.

3.

Omne invali

dum natura querulum.

4.