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

In your judging of Discipline, Reformation, and any means of the Churches good, be sure your Eye be both upon the true End, and upon the particular Rule, and not on either of them alone: Take not that for a means, which is either contrary to the word of God, or is in its nature destructive of the End.

There are great miscarriages come for want of the true observation of this rule. First, If a thing seem to you very needful to a good end, and yet the word be against it, avoid it: For God knoweth better than we, what means is fittest, and what he will bless. As for instance, some think, that many self-devised ways of worship, contrary to Col. 2. 21, 23. would be very profitable to the Church: And some think that striking with the sword as Peter did, is the way to rescue Christ or the Gospel: But both are bad, because the Scripture is against them.

THere are great miscarriages come for want of the true observation of this rule. First, If a thing seem to you very needful to a good end, and yet the word be against it, avoid it: For God knoweth better than we, what means is fittest, and what he will bless. As for instance, some think, that many self-devised ways of worship, contrary to Col. 2. 21, 23. would be very profitable to the Church: And some think that striking with the sword as Peter did, is the way to rescue Christ or the Gospel: But both are bad, because the Scripture is against them.

Secondly, and if you think that the Scripture commandeth you this or that positive means, if Nature and true Reason assure you that it is against the End, and is like to do much more harm than good, be assured that you mistake that Scripture. For first, God telleth us in general that the means as such are for the End, and therefore are no means when they are against it! The Ministry