When they divided from God, then they divided from his people, they would not join with his people in the way of his worship, only such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, went to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers, 2 Chr. 11. 16. only those whose hearts the Lord touched; but others for their own carnal ends would not join with them, they saw trouble attended that way; and having divided themselves from God & his people, it was Gods curse upon them that they should be divided one from another; if you be divided from the truth, what can hold you together?1 Truth is a single, simple, plain thing, but error is various, and ensnarls it self with infinite contradictions: If people go out of the plain path of truth, they wander up and down God knows whither, entangling themselves in briars and thorns, so as they cannot extricate themselves: As those ten Tribes which at first divided from Judah only in their subjection to the house of David, and in their worship at Jerusalem, but after they denied all Scripture but only the 5. books ⟨p. 11⟩of Moses: They were exceedingly given, and generally addicted unto sorcery, magic, and witch-craft, in which they grew more and more notorious till Christs time. This is intimated in that blasphemy of the Jews against our Saviour,2 Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a Devil, taxing him with the practice of that people, who commonly being Witches, had familiar spirits attending on them, for otherwise they knew he was no Samaritan, but a Galilean of Nazareth: They were also exceedingly divided amongst themselves. Epiphanius recites four several sects of them, the Ossens, Sebuaeans, Gorthenians, and Positheans; Truth is the bond that keeps to unity, but error is wild, you know not where to find it, nor your selves if you give way to it: Our present times will be a testimony of this to all future generations. The wild and unruly divisions of our times is to be the subject of the future discourse. I am not ignorant nor unsensible of the difficulty, the trouble, the danger there is in meddling with such a subject at such a time as this. He that meddles with the divisions of the times, may expect to be divided himself, to have his name, his repute, to be cut asunder and thrown this way and that way: It is an unthankful work to meddle with a divided people;
WHen they divided from God, then they divided from his people, they would not joyn with his people in the way of his worship, only such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, went to Ierusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers, 2 Chr. 11. 16. only those whose hearts the Lord touched; but others for their owne carnall ends would not joyn with them, they saw trouble attended that way; and having divided themselves from God & his people, it was Gods curse upon them that they should be divided one from another; if you be divided from the truth, what can hold you together?1 Truth is a single, simple, plain thing, but error is various, and ensnarls it self with infinite contradictions: If people goe out of the plaine path of truth, they wander up and down God knows whither, intangling themselves in bryars and thornes, so as they cannot extricate themselves: As those ten Tribes which at first divided from Iudah only in their subjection to the house of David, and in their worship at Ierusalem, but after they denied all Scripture but only the 5. books ⟨p. 11⟩of Moses: They were exceedingly given, and generally addicted unto sorcery, magick, and witch-craft, in which they grew more and more notorious till Christs time. This is intimated in that blasphemy of the Jewes against our Saviour,2 Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a Devil, taxing him with the practice of that people, who commonly being Witches, had familiar spirits attending on them, for otherwise they knew he was no Samaritan, but a Galilean of Nazareth: They were also exceedingly divided amongst themselves. Epiphanius recites four severall sects of them, the Ossens, Sebuaeans, Gorthenians, and Positheans; Truth is the bond that keeps to unity, but errour is wilde, you know not where to find it, nor your selves if you give way to it: Our present times will be a testimony of this to all future generations. The wild and unruly divisions of our times is to be the subject of the future discourse. I am not ignorant nor unsensible of the difficulty, the trouble, the danger there is in medling with such a subject at such a time as this. He that meddles with the divisions of the times, may expect to be divided himself, to have his name, his repute, to be cut asunder and thrown this way and that way: It is an unthankfull work to meddle with a divided people;
- 1[Greek or Hebrew]. Chrys. Hom. 3. ad Rom.〈non-Latin alphabet〉. Chrys. Hom. 3. ad Rom.
- 2Vide Montague Act. & Mon. of the Church cap. 7. p. 473. 474. &c.
