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

The minds of most men are so narrow, that they cannot look many ways at once. If they be intent on one thing, they forget another. But it is a narrow bridge betwixt dangerous gulfs, which Christian faith and obedience must pass over: And he that looketh on the one side, with the greatest fear and caution, is undone, if he look not also on the other.

THe minds of most men are so narrow, that they cannot look many wayes at once. If they be intent on one thing, they forget another. But it is a narrow bridge betwixt dangerous gulfs, which Christian faith and obedience must pass over: And he that looketh on the one side, with the greatest fear and caution, is undone, if he look not also on the other.

The common way of avoiding any error o• vice, is to run into the contrary. And on those terms satan himself will be Orthodox, and a reformer, and an enemy to vice. I gave you some instances even now. He is a rare person, that is so wise and happy, as to fly from every error and sin, with an impartial awakened fear of the contrary. And thence it is that the most judicious old experienced Christians are usually in controversies for a middle way; and in the crowd of contentious sects, they commonly are the reconcilers: Not only because they are more calm and moderate, and peaceable than others; but especially because they have seen the error on both extremes, when others see only the error on one side. Only in our inclination to our ultimate ⟨p. 231⟩end, that is, in our Love to God, we never need to fear over-doing. But all the means may be perverted and turned into sin by extremes.

The common way of avoiding any errour o• vice, is to run into the contrary. And on those terms satan himself will be Orthodox, and a reformer, and an enemy to vice. I gave you some instances even now. He is a rare person, that is so wise and happy, as to flye from every errour and sin, with an impartial awakened fear of the contrary. And thence it is that the most judicious old experienced Christians are usually in controversies for a middle way; and in the croud of contentious sects, they commonly are the reconcilers: Not only because they are more calm and moderate, and peaceable than others; but especially because they have seen the errour on both extreams, when others see only the errour on one side. Only in our inclination to our ultimate