A37042:572
The dying man's testament to the Church of Scotland, or, A treatise concerning scandal…
The dying man's testament to the Church of Scotland, or, A treatise concerning scandal divided into four parts ... : in each of which there are not a few choice and useful questions, very shortly and satisfyingly discussed and cleared / by ... Mr. James Durham ... who being dead (by this) yet speaketh ; and published by John Carstares ... ; to which is prefixed an excellent preface of famous Mr. Blair ... ; together with a table of the contents of the several chapters of each part.
Edinburgh: printed by Christopher Higgins, 1659
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
CHAP. V. What occasional means may have influence upon division amongst the godly.
CHAP. V. What occasionall means may have influence upon division amongst the godly.
WE come now in the third place to consider, what occasional means may have influence upon this division amongst godly men; And such may be, 1. Some talebearers1 and secret whisperers, who may have much influence to alienate good mens affections, by misrepresenting the words and actions of others, under pretext of respect to them, when, in the mean time, it may be some particular discontent that putteth them on: It is marked, that one Serapion had much influence to alienate Chrysostom and Severinus, who formerly were exceeding entire, who suggesting to the first, many evidences of the others disrespect to him, as if he had been endeavouring to draw the peoples affections from him; and for that cause, picked out some words of Severinus, which being considered alone, did sound grossly, but being considered in the Sentence as spoken by him▪ they were not of such a meaning. 2. Often when differences arise amongst honest men, there wanteth not many, who out of particular designs do ⟨p. 303⟩then foment that fire, especially such as from some other fear, take occasion to exaggerate such a difference, because the fostering of that difference is the preventing of what they fear: As for instance, Chrysostom had threatened the censuring of many of his2 Presbyters for their faults, whereupon they took the occasion of the differences betwixt him and Epiphanius, Severinus, and others, to irritate and stir up them against him, and to side with them in these differences; whereby the division against him, and such as followed him, was maintained till it came to the height thereof, yet were neither the differences betwixt him and these other men, nor the persons of these other men his opposites respected by them, further than served to their end of bearing him down, and so of preventing the threatened and feared censure. 3. Sometimes Magistrates