An exposition of the prophecy of Hosea begun in divers lectures upon the first…An exposition of the prophesie of Hosea begun in divers lectures vpon the first…

Secondly,¹ They shall agree in one, not only when they are multitude, ⟨p. 98⟩but when they shall come to enjoy their full privileges, and the full liberty that Christ hath purchased for them, even then there shall be a blessed agreement. For it is spoken here of those times when they shall come under one head, and Christ alone shall rule them, and not mens inventions; Christ will grant his Church those privileges that he hath purchased for them, & rule them according to those, and then there shall be a blessed agreement among them all. Men now think it impossible that the Church should have those liberties Christ hath purchased without dissentions, oh say they, grant them but such and such things, let them have but such liberty as they speak of, and we shall have nothing but brabbling and divisions; what shall every man be left to do what he list? why then we shall have nothing but breaches in the Church, and heart-burning one against another. No, Christ hath never purchased so much liberty for every man to do what he list in things apparently unlawful against the common principles of Religion, In those there may be compulsion. But that liberty that Christ hath purchased, is the lawful use of the things of indifferency, and the lawful use of his ordinances. And though now men think that even in such things that are in themselves indifferent, if men be left at their liberty, there will be such heart-burning, & such dissentions, and no peace at all in the Church; they are much mistaken in this, for the only way to have true peace in the Church, is to leave things as Christ hath left them, & to force nothing upon mens consciences that Christ would not have forced, this is the way of peace; and the special way of dissension (we have had experience of it) hath been and ever will be, the urging upon mens consciences those things Christ would not have urged, this is it that makes the greatest rent & division in the Church.² The urging of uniformity in all indifferent things as necessary to unity is a most false principle, you will find it so. It is a principle that many have been led by, but it is an extreme, false, and corrupt principle, and is and will be found to be the cause of the greatest distractions.

Secondly,¹