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and dry are they? If they ever had any grace, it is under a deal of rubbish, we cannot fee it, and can thefe men be any other. but an empty vine, feeing their hearts are so divided? The ces that they seemed to have had, are quite blafted; and if there Pliny Nat, hift. were any in truth, they are exceedingly weakned; Vinegar will diffolve Pearls. Pliny tells of Cleopatra Queen of Egypt, that in her wanton bravery, at a Supper fhe made for Marcus Antonius, the diffolv'd a Pearl in Vinegar, and drank it off, and prepared another, both which were valued worth neer five thousand pounds: Oh the many precious Pearls worth thoufands of gold and filver,that are diffolv'd by the Vinegar fowrenefs of mens fpirits in these fharp diffentions that are amongst us!

IO.

Our Divifions hinder the breaking forth of the luftre, the fhine of Religion in the beauty and glory of it.

The fire of our contentions raifes fuch a fmoak, that it all befmothers us, it takes away our comlinefs, it makes us look black, no amiablenefs appears in the wayes of Religion to convince men of the excellency of them. Scratch'd faces, rent and torn garments we account a fhame to us; diftracted, divided fpirits, rending and tearing one another, and from one another in our divided wayes, O how uncomely doth it render us, and that profeffion of Religion that we take upon us! The Bidulib in bis Turks were wont to wonder much at our English men for travell to Jeru- pinking and cutting their clothes, counting them little better falem. p 98. then mad men, for making holes in whole cloth, which time of

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it felf would tear too foon: the cuts, rents, flashes that are in our fpirit,in our divifions at this day,are much more uncomely, and may justly render us foolish and mad in the eyes of all that do behold us.

Our Divisions hinder our ftrength; If you untwift a Cable, how weak is it in the feverall parts of it? a threefold cord is not easily broken, but a fingle one is: Divide a ftrong current into severall rivelets, and how fhallow and weak will the course of the water be? That act that Plutarch reports to the King of Scythia, Scilurus, toward his Sons hath been very famous, to fet out how divifions weaken wherefoever they are; he fayes he had eighty Sons, and when he was near death, he caufed a bundle of Arrows to be brought and given them one by one,

bidding each of them to break it; they all anfwered, it was impoffible for any man to do it; then he caufes the Arrows Plutarch.in Reto be taken out one by one, and bade one of his Sons break 8 Imp. rat. apoth. Stob. them, this any of them could easily do; upon this he speaks Serm. 82. to his Sonnes thus, If ye agree together, ye fhall abide ftrong and unconquerable, but if ye divide your felves, contending one with another, ye will be weak and eafily over

come.

They hinder our doing good in publick; that which concerns many, must be done by many: But how can two, much less many, walk together, if they be not agreed? that which one does, the other feeks to undo: Now although God can turn whatsoever is contrary to his work, to the furtherance ofit, yet man cannot do fo. When God would hinder the work of building Babel, he comes down and confounds their tongues, fo as they could not joyn together in it: Thus when the Devill would hinder the work of ferufalem; he knows no way more likely then by dividing the hearts of those who are employed, if he can poffibly, that thereby he might bring confufion.

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They hinder our own ends; none are more croffed in their ends and defignes, then contentious people; we have not the mutuall benfits of one anothers Eftates, Houfes, the many ways of accommodation and help for one another, as heretofore we were wont to have; now every man fhifts for himfelfe; fcarce any man who knew what the heartinefs of friendship meant, enjoyes thofe outward accommodations as he was

wont.

They hinder the bleffing of God, Pfalm. 133. The Pfalmift commending the love of Brethren concludes, There the Lord commanded the bleffing, even life for evermore. There! that is, where the love of Brethren is, there is a bleffing, a bleffing commanded by God; it comes with power,and this no less then life, and this life for evermore. God dwels in Salem, fayes Luther, not in Babylon; where there is peace, not where there is confufion.

Laftly, yea they hinder all good. Zone, nothing can profper under it.

They are like the Torrid When the Dog-ftar rises no plantsthrive as at other times. When a fire is kindled in a

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Town, the bels ring backward. When fires of contention are kindled in places,all things go awke. There is little joy in any thing.

Thus you fee how great evill there is in our divifions in respect of what good we lose by them now then confider whether it be poffible that any gain we can get by them can recompenfe this lofs; can any thing got by them quit the cost? But if it could be fuppofed our lofs may be recompenfed, yet I am fure nothing can countervail the evill there is in them, in refpect of the finfulness of them. That is the next head.

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CHA P. XXVIII.

The finfulneffe of our Divifione.

Hough there be fin in many things mentioned, yet wẽ confidered them in reference to our good that was hindred: but now let us confider what venome' of fin there is in them. The number 2. hath been accounted accurfed, because it was the first that departed from unity. The departure from that unity God would have, is a very curfed thing, for it hath much fin Peccatum, pœna in it. That which S. Aug. fayes of originall fin, we may well appeecati, caufa ply to our divifions, They are fin, the punishment of fin, the peccati. caufe of fin, nothing but a heap of fin.

I.

First, they are against the folemn charge and command of God, and of Jefus Chrift. 1 John 3. 23. This is his commande ment, that we should believe on the name of his Sonfefus Chrift, and love one another as he gave us commandement. It is not an arbitrary thing that we should love one another, but it is the command of God, and a great command joyned to that of beleeving in his Son Jefus Chrift. The one is as truly neceffary to falvation as the other. Let men talk of faith,of believing on the Son of God, of trufting to free grace in Chrift, yet if they have dividing, contending fpirits, no love, no fweetnefs, no grace of union with the Saints, their faith is a dead faith. And because God ftands much upon this to have his people live together in love, at the beginning of the verfe he fayes, it is his commandement; at the end of the verfe he fayes,be gave us commandement:

dement; And it is also obfervable, that he fayes of the commandement of love, that he gave us that commandement. It is a gift, for it is a sweet commandement. We fhould not onely fnbmit to it, as being bound by the authority of it: but we should open our hearts to it, and embrace it joyfully as a gift from God. The commandement of love God gives us as a gift from his love. The excellency of these commandements are further amplified, ver. 24. And he that keepeth his commandements dwelleth in him, and he in him. I do not thinke that you can finde in all the Scripture any command of God in one ver. and a piece of another fo inculcated and commended. Again, chap. 4. 21. This commandement have we from him, that he who loveth God loves his brother alfo. If you think you have any command to love God,or to believe in Jefus Chrift, know the fame authority layes a command upon you,to love your brother also. Joh. 15.12. This is my commandement, that ye love one another as I have loved you. And ver 17. These things I command you, that ye love one another. Chrift you fee likewife makes a great matter ofthe Saints loving one another. Surely the finne then muft needs be great that breaks fuch a great commandement as this, upon which God the Father and Jefus Chrift his Son layes so much weight.

Secondly, thefe unkind and unloving divifions are against the prayer of Jefus Chrift, yea against that prayer he made for us a little before he died, fob. 17.21. he prayes to his Father,that all who did believe, and thould after believe on him, might be one, as his Father is in him,and he is in his Father; and that they maybe one in the Father and him as if he fhould fay, Oh Father, I am now going out of the world, and I foresee, when I am gone, even those whom thou haft given me, who are one in me, and in thee, will meet with ftrong temptations to divide them one from another: but oh Father I beseech thee, let thy fatherly care be over them, to keep their hearts together, that they might be united in the ftrongeft union that is poffible for creatures to be united in. Oh Father, let them be one, as thou and I am one. Would we not be loath to lose the benefit of that heavenly prayer of Chrift for us in that 17.o£ Jok. read it over, fee what foul-ravishing excellency there is in it, feeing he hath exprefly faid he intended us who live now, in it,as well as thofe Difciples who then lived with him; Let us prize

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this prayer, as being more to us then ten thoufand worlds. Luther writes a chiding Letter to Melanthon; By thofe finfull distrustfull fears and carking thoughts of yours, fayes he, you do irritas facere praces noftras, you make void our prayers. How great then is the evill of our divifions? by them we do what in us lies to make void as concerning us the prayer,that bleffed prayer of Jefus Chrift. Sathan, fayes Chrift to Peter, hath defired to winnow you like Wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. He fhall not prevail, fayes Chrift: Why? Because I have prayed for you. Oh bleffed Saviour, is not thy prayer against our divifions, as ftrong? Canft not thou prevail with thy Father as well in this as in that? We know thy Father did and does ever hear thee: fome way or other this prayer of CHRIST is, and fhall be heard; yet our fin is not the lefs, for it tends to the fruftrating of Chrifts prayer. Sathan defires to winnow us in our divifions,but he defires not to have the Chaffe divided from the Wheat, he rather would have the Chaffe mixed with the Wheat. The mixing the Chaffe with the Wheat makes a great stirre amongst us: But Chrifts prayer which helped Peter in his winnowing, we hope will help us in ours: only let not us do any thing that makes against it.

Thirdly, our divifions are against our own prayers. How of ten have many who now are eftrang'd from one another,heretofore fo prayed together,as their hearts have feemed to melt one into another, fo as one would think it impoffible that ever in this world there fhould have been that distance between them that now there is. How often have we prayed, Oh that once we might be bleffed with fuch a mercy, as to worship God according to his own mind! that we might be delivered from confcience oppreffion, from fpirituall bondage! Oh that we might be delivered from the inventions of men in the fervice of God: that the Saints might joyn and ferve the Lord with one fhoulder. There were never fuch hopes that the Saints fhould enjoy their prayers fo as of late there hath been, and yet never were they fo divided as now they are: they now seek to bring one another in bondage. If five or fix years fince when many of us were praying together,making our moans toGod for that oppreflion we were under, God fhould have then prefented as