The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being…

And when Pride hath thus turned the eye of the soul, from God, to our selves, and to the Creature, it is a working sin, and will be always seeking to fetch in fuel for its self to feed on, and to find out ways to make our selves conspicuous and observed in the world: And to separate our selves into distinct societies, that the world may see we are above Communion with the colder duller sort of Christians, is one of the most notable means to this self-exalting end.

And when Pride hath thus turned the eye of the soul, from God, to our selves, and to the Creature, it is a working sin, and will be alwayes seeking to fetch in fewel for its self to feed on, and to find out wayes to make our selves conspicuous and observed in the world: And to separate our selves into distinct societies, that the world may see we are above Communion with the colder duller sort of Christians, is one of the most notable means to this self-exalting end.

And many Christians that are more humble do yet so much mis-understand the Scripture principles of Communion, that they think they should corrupt the Church, and sin against God, if they stood not in a separated state from those of the colder sort. And this is caused much, by ⟨p. 31⟩taking those Scriptures to speak of all cold and carnal Christians, which speak only of the Heathen and Infidel world. And this cometh to pass by the happiness of their birth and breeding: because they are born and bred where there are almost none, but professed Christians, and they see not the swarms of Heathens that worship idols and creatures, or of the Infidels who scorn and persecute the Christian name, therefore they live as if there were no such persons. They know that the world and the Church comprehend all mankind; and that the Church is gathered out of the World: And because they see the Church, but see not the world, out of which it is gathered; therefore they are looking for the world in the Church, and think that the commoner sort of Christians are the World; and the better and more zealous sort only are the Church, which therefore must be gathered out of the World: And so they gather the Church out of the Church, while they think that they gather it out of the World. And all this is because they know no more than they see, or at least are affected with no more; but live as if England or Europe were all the world. One years abode in Asia or Africa might cure this error.