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

And when the villainies of Gibeah had imitated the Sodomites, and ravished a woman to death, the Tribe of the Benjamites defended it by a war, and that in three battles, till forty thousand of the innocent Israelites were slain, and twenty five thousand of the Benjamites. Look through all the Books of Samuel, the Kings, and Chronicles, and the Prophets; from the sad story of the sons of Eli and of Samuel, to all the wicked Kings that followed, who kept up odious Idolatry (even Solomon himself) and scarce two or three of the best did put down the high places: And when Hezekiah was zealous to reform, the hearts of the subjects were not prepared, but derided or abused the Messengers whom he sent about, to call the people home to God: Manasseh's wickedness is scarcely to be paralleled: And when God sent his Prophets to call them to repentance, they mocked his Messengers, and despised and abused his Prophets, till the wrath of the Lord arose, and there was no remedy: 2 Chron. 36. 15, 16. Read over the Prophets, and see there what a people this Church ⟨p. 36⟩of God was. The ten Tribes were drawn by Jeroboam to sin, by setting up Calves at Dan and Beth-ell, and making Priests of the vilest of the people, and forsaking the Temple and the true worship of God, and the lawful Priests. And these lawful Priests at Jerusalem, were ravening Wolves, and greedy Dogs, and careless and cruel Shepherds: The false Prophets who deceived the people were most accepted: The people are accused of cruelty, oppression, whoredom, drunkenness, Idolatry, and hatred of those that would reform them. They were grievous persecutors: Which of the Prophets did not your fathers kill and persecute? saith Christ, Matth. 23. Yet this was the Church of God, and many think his only visible Church: And all these twelve Tribes were not so big as England, and were to the bigness of all the Earth, no more than one tree to a large Wood or Forrest.

And when the villanies of Gibeah had imitated the Sodomites, and ravished a woman to death, the Tribe of the Benjamites defended it by a war, and that in three battels, till fourty thousand of the innocent Israelites were slain, and twenty five thousand of the Benjamites. Look through all the Books of Samuel, the Kings, and Chronicles, and the Prophets; from the sad story of the sons of Eli and of Samuel, to all the wicked Kings that followed, who kept up odious Idolatry (even Solomon himself) and scarce two or three of the best did put down the high places: And when Hezekiah was zealous to reform, the hearts of the subjects were not prepared, but derided or abused the Messengers whom he sent about, to call the people home to God: Manasseh's wickedness is scarcely to be parallel'd: And when God sent his Prophets to call them to repentance, they mocked his Messengers, and despised and abused his Prophets, till the wrath of the Lord arose, and there was no remedy: