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

And there are many things which submissively you may lawfully pray for, which God hath never promised you at all: You may pray for the life of the sick, and for the conversion and salvation of all your relations, and of thousands of ⟨p. 159⟩others which God will not give you. Otherwise all the relations of every true Christian should be saved, yea and all his enemies and all the world.

To apply all this, It may be you are in doubt whether this or the other be the meaning of such a text of scripture? Or whether you should join with such a Church, in the use of such preaching and prayers or not? And when you have prayed earnestly, you are confirmed for one way and against the other. And perhaps all this is but to be confirmed in your error: For first, you came with a secret prejudice; secondly, or you came with distempered affections; or with such a fear of going one way rather than the other, that the very fear doth much to cause your apprehensions. Thirdly, or you come with the guilt of former sin. Fourthly, or you have some partiality on your spirit, and a secret inclination to one side more than to the other; or some overvaluing of your own understandings, persons or prayers. Fifthly, Or you are lazy and presumptuous; and think God must teach you that in one hour, and at a wish or prayer, which others better than you must learn with prayer and twenty years study, diligence and patience. Sixthly, or you think God must needs resolve you of that which he never promised to resolve you in. Where hath he promised upon all your prayers, that ever he will teach you in this life the sense of every text of Scripture? If ever he promised this he will perform it. And is it to One Christian, or to every praying Christian that he hath promised it? If to every one, why are we not all of a mind? Why be not all as wise as you? What need we Commentaries ⟨p. 158⟩[…] ⟨p. 159⟩[…] ⟨p. 160⟩