The true and only way of concord of all the Christian churches the desirableness…

for when the person through contrariety is displeasing to them, even that which is right, when spoken ⟨p. 54⟩by him is displeasing. And when this is the study of each member, to prove all false or bad that another saith or doth, and to disgrace and weaken one another, what strength, what safety, what peace, what duration can be to that society?

IV. UNITY is also the BEAUTY, and Comeliness of the Church and all societies: Perfect UNITY without Diversity is proper to God. But ab Uno omnia: that all the innumerable parts of his Creation, should by Order and UNITY make ONE UNIVERSE or world; that all the members of the Church of Christ, of how great variety of gifts, degrees and place soever should make one Body, this is the Divine skill; and this Order and Unity is the Beauty of his works. If the Order and Unity of many Letters made not words, and of many words made not sentences, and of many sentences made not Books, what were their excellency or use? If many Notes ordered and united made not Harmony, what were the pleasure of music or melody? And how doth this Concord make it differ from a discordant odious noise? The Unity of well-ordered Materials is the Beauty of an Edifice: And the Unity of well-ordered and proportioned members, is the symmetry and Beauty of the Body▪ It delighteth mans nature more to read the history of Loves, and amiable concord (which is the charming snare in tempting Lust•books) than to read of odious and ruinating discords: And no doubt but the many histories of sinful discord, and their effects are purposely recorded in Scripture, to make it the more hateful to all believers: This is the use of the recorded malice of Cain to Abel, of the ⟨p. 55⟩effect of the Babel division of tongues;¹ of the disagreement of the servants of Abraham and Lot; of the envy of Josephs brethren, and of Esau's thoughts of revenge against Jacob, and of Jacobs fear of him; of the discord of Laban and Jacob; of the bloody fact of Simeon and Levi, and Jacob's dying detestation of it and his curse; of the two Hebrews that strove with each other, and one of them with Moses; of the Israelites murmurings and mutinies against Moses; Abimelech's cruelty against his brethren; of the tribe of Ephraim's quarrel with Jephta; and the Israelites with the Benjamites and their war; of the envy of Saul against David, and his pursuit; of his and Doegs cruelty against the Priests; of Absaloms rebellion against David; of Joabs murders and his death; of Solomons jealousy and execution of Adonijah; of Rehoboams foolish difference with his subjects, and the loss of the ten tribes, and Jeroboam's reign; of the continual wars of Judah and Israel;