The temple A sermon preached at Pauls Cross the fifth of August. 1624. By…The temple A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse the fifth of August. 1624. By…

The absurdness of such a mixture is here illustrated by many oppositions; the sound of all which is Interrogative, the sense Negative. Righteousness and Unrighteousness, Light and Darkness, Christ and Belial, the Believer and the Infidel; these can have no society, no communion, no concord, no conjunction; and What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols?

The absurdnes of such a mixture is here illustrated by many oppositions; the sound of all which is Interrogatiue, the sense Negatiue. Righteousnesse and Vnrighteousnesse, Light and Darknesse, Christ and Beliall, the Beleeuer and the Infidel; these can haue no societie, no communion, no concord, no coniunction; and What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols?

I need not by Art divide these words, for they are divided by nature. Now as Quae Deus coniunxit, nemo separet, Those things that God hath joined together, let no man put asunder: so Quae Deus separavit, nemo coniungat, Those things that God hath put asunder, let no man join together. The scope of the Text, and the matter of my Discourse, is to separate Idols from the ⟨p. 3⟩Temple of God; the holy Ghost hath divided them to my hands: they cannot agree in his sentence, let them never agree in our practise: cursed is he that goes about to compound this controversy. The Temple is holy, Idols profane; it is not lawful to mix Sacra profanis. The Temple is for God, Idols for the Devil: God and the Devil admit no reconciliation. Therefore as two hostile nations, after some treaty of peace, neither liking the proposed conditions, break off in a rage, In hoc uterque consentimus, quòd consentire nolumus, in this we both consent, that we will not consent at all; so be it here agreed, that no agreement can be made. In composing differences betwixt man and man, betwixt family and family, betwixt kingdom and kingdom, Beati Pacifici, Blessed are the Peace makers. But in reconciling Christ and Belial, the Temple of God and Idols, Maledicti pacifici, Cursed are the peace-makers. Here Bella geri placeat magnos habitura triumphos. God himself in Paradise did first put the quarrel, his Apostle hath here given the Alarm, and he deserves a malediction that sounds a retreat.