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

DIRECT. LVIII.

Take heed of Superstition, and observe well the circular course of zealous superstition, malignity, formality, and peevish singularity and schism, that you may not be misled by respect of persons. I mean, that First, Indiscreet zeal and devotion hath been the usual beginner of Superstition; Secondly, Malignity in that age hath opposed it for the Authors sake; Thirdly, In the next age the same kind of men have adored the Authors and made themselves a Religion, of the formal part of that superstition, and persecuted those that would not own it. Fourthly, And then the same kind of men that first made it, do oppose it in enmity to those who impose and own it, and suffer and divide the Church in dislike of that which was their own invention.

IT is marvellous to observe this partial dance: But Church-History may convince the understanding Reader, that so it hath been, and so it is; First, the zeal of some holy persons doth at first break forth in some lawful, and in some indiscreet and unwarrantable expressions. Secondly, the malignant enemies of Godliness, hate and oppose these expressions, for the sake of the persons and the zeal expressed. 3. When they are dead, God performing ⟨p. 279⟩his promise, that the memory of the just shall be blessed, Prov. 10. 7. The carnal party of that age as wel• as others, do honour those whom their fore-fathers hated and murdered. Math. 23. 29, 30. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because ye build the tombs of the Prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the Prophets: Wherefore ye be witnesses to your selves, that ye are the children of them which killed the Prophets: Fill you up then the measure of your fathers. The wicked of one generation kill Gods servants, and the wicked of the next Generation do honour their names, and celebrate their memorial: The reason is because, it is the Life of Godliness, which the sinner is troubled with and hateth: And therefore it is the living saint whom he abhorreth. But the name and form of Godliness is less troublesome to him, yea and may be useful to make him a Religion of, to quiet his conscience in his sin: And therefore the name of dead saints he can honour, and the form of their worship, and corps of piety he can own. And having become so Religious, both his former enmity to living holiness; and his carnal zeal for his Image of Religion, engage him to make a stir for it; and persecute those that are not of his way. And when the zealous and devout people of that age see this; they loath that carcass or Image which the formalist contendeth for, and many lye from it with too great abhorrence for the persons sake who now esteems it; forgetting its original, and that it was such as they, that set it up, and were the first inventers.