The Cure of Church Divisions, Directions · Direction 57
DIRECT. LVII.
Yet let not any here cheat you by overdoing, nor meer names and titles of Unity deceive you instead of the thing it self: Nor must you ever dream of any Head and Center of the Unity of the Catholick Church, but Christ himself.
THere is no part of Religion which Satan doth not endeavour to destroy, under pretense of promoting it: And his way is to overgo Christ and his Apostles, and to seem more zealou… than ever they were, and to mend their work by doing it better or doing more. Christ was not strict enough for the Pharisees, in keeping the …, nor in his company, nor in his diet. Sata… hath always two ways to destroy both truth and duty; The first is by direct opposing it; But … that will not do, the next is by overdoing and pretending to defend it. If he cannot destroy zeal, by scorning it, and quenching it; he will try to do it by overheating and distempering it. If he cannot destroy knowledge, by the way of gross ignorance, he will try to spin it out into the finer threds of vain and innumerable questions and speculations, and to crumble it into such invisible atomes, that it shall be reduced to scepticisme or nothing. If he cannot destroy faith by open infidelity, he will try to make men believe too much, by making the objects of their own belief▪ and calling that a particular faith, & altering God word, and casting away the Reasons and evidences of faith, to shew the strength and nobleness of their faith, which needeth no such helps as these; till by over-doing they have raised their edifice in the ayr, and rejected their foundations, and put out their eys in honour of the sun, and of their Physician, lest either of them should be accused as insufficient.
Even so when Satan findeth that he cannot directly destroy the Unity of the Church, and bring division into credit, he will be more zealous for unity than Christ himself: He will then endure no disagreement among Christians, no not in an opinion, nor a form, or ceremony; not in meats or drinks or keeping of days, or in judging of things lawful or unlawful, which are not of necessity to the Churches concord. He is either for Tolerating all pr…pagation of Heresie and practise of wickedness, or else he is so much for Vnity, that no difference almost is to be tolerated. For he well knoweth that while men are imperfect such differences will still be: And then if he can but perswade the world, that for Concord sake they must not be endured, what followeth but that the dissenters must be fined, imprisoned or banished to bring them (or the rest) to unity. And so he will se… all the world together by the ears, in cruelties and blood-shed, and in hating one another, and all under pretense of making them one. You may think that till mankind be all turned Bedlams, they can never be so cheated by such a gross deceit, nor ever guilty of so mad a work. But what will you say if this be the common case, of the far greatest part of the Christian world? And what will you say further, if after above a thousand years universal experience of the unhappy success, they continue it still as the only way to unity and peace? Look but about you with opened eyes, and see whether it be not so.
Were not he a gracious promoter of Unity in the world, that would say [Unity is so excellent a thing, that it is meet we should be all of one complexion, or at least that the world should speak but one language; and therefore no other but one should be tolerated] And here how easie is it to dilate of the great inconveniences of many languages: I could write a Volume in folio of it my self; and all true and evident. Methinks I see hereupon how these Books are scattered and read, and how those called Learned men and politicians applaud them, and shake their heads and gnash their teeth at those that would have so great a mischief tolerated: And hereupon they set about the business, and desire a Law that upon pain of imprisonment and banishment (I know not whither) no one in the world shall speak any other language but one. And now I hope Unity will be promoted indeed; when all the world is thus engaged in a war to perfect nature and make men one.
But me thinks I hear one man that is awake thus bespeak the promoters of this Concord [Unity and Concord in those points where God hath made them necessary, cannot be over-valued: But yet it is visible that there is a marvellous dive…sity which nature is delighted in: when of all faces and of all voices, and of all the sorts of animals and plants; there is so discernable a difference: yea of all the millions of stones in the field, no two is perfectly like each other. And where greater Unity is most desirable, it must first be considered how much of it is possible, or to be hoped for, and next, what are the proper means to attain it. For first, the medicining of all incurable disease, especially with violent Physick, is not the way to make it better, but to exasperate it and hasten death, when a palliate and patience might do better. It is very desirable, that all the Kings subjects were strong, and beautiful and ingenuous and Learned; but it is not to be hoped: But that they may be all Loyal, and honest in their dealing with others, may be well endeavoured. And secondly, a wrong kind of medicine will much more hasten and ascertain death, than to let the disease alone to nature: It is desirbale that all the Kings subjects be as is said, both wise and Learned, yea and perfect in honesty and piety without fault: But if you make a Law that for the honour of Vnity, all that are not Learned and perfect in vertue shall be fined, imprisoned or banished, the King nor his subjects will be but little beholden to you for their Unity. So one Language is very desirable to the world: But first it is not attainable, and secondly a Law to punish all that speak another Language is not the way to procure it; but to set them together by the ears: You must appoint Parents and Schoolmasters to teach them all one language by degrees, and keep them to their duties, and remove impediments, and thus stay the time; and what cannot this way be attained must not be expected in this world.]
The speech being ended the hearers derided it, and made a Law for Unity to destroy it, and set every man on hating and fighting against his neighbour, to make all one.
It is very desirable that all Christians were perfect in knowledge, gifts and graces, and consequently that there were no different opinions, nor no different forms or modes of worship; but that all were equal to the wisest, and to the most sober, pious, zealous and sincere. But if a Law be made that none shall be endured in any Kingdom…, that are not of this temperament and stature, the subjects of all Princes may soon be numbered. Set `Parents, Schoolmasters and Ministers at work, to make men wiser, and drive them on to diligence in their duty, and restrain men from hindering them, and from intollerable wickedness and sin, and patiently expect the success of this: And what this will not do expect not.
And I intreat the Separatists who will think this doctrine of forbearance gratifieth them, to observe that I speak all this to them as well as to Magistrates. I told you that there is a Church-persecution and a Church-forbearance, as well as a Civil. If Christ will have Magistrates frobear the weak, he will have you forbear them▪ and not say, We will have no Communion with those that pray by such F…rms and L…tt…rgies, or that use such a Ceremony, or are not of our own opinions: Read Rom. 14. and 15. and you will see that it was a Church-forbearance towards one another, and a Receiving dissenters to Christian communion (even as Christ receiveth us for all our weaknesses) which Paul there pleadeth for, and not only a forbearance of smiting them with the sword. What a wonder and what a lamentation is it, that those men that cry out so much for forbearance to the Magistrate, should themselves be as rigid and more by Church-severities, and less forbear dissenters, even in a form or ceremony, as to communion, and yet never see the same sin in themselves, which they so much complain of.
And here my principal business is to warn you of the Papal way of Vnity: They are so great enemies to divisions and sects, that they must have all the Christian world, united not only in one Christ, by one profession & baptism, but also in one mortal Monarch as his Vicar, that men may know at the Antipodes when they understand not the Scripture, or differ in opinions, who to step to for the ending of their controversies, and to give them an infallible commentary on the Bible, and to tell them with whom they must hold communion. And all their differences may thus have a speedy dispatch: If it be doubted whether one in Abassia or much further off, be a Heretick, or an impenitent sinner and to be excommunicated or not; and the Church where he liveth is divided about it, if the matter be but referred to the Pope, as the supream Judg, it is but going to Rome, and sending thither all the parties and witnesses on both sides, and the Pope can decide it much more judiciously than those that are on the place and know the persons and all the circumstances. And all this may be done in three years time or less, if wind and weather and all things serve: And if all the persons die by the way, the controversie is ended: If one part only die, let the longer liver have the better, and be justified. Or if the Pope will rather send Governours to the place to decide the controversie, whether the next Lords day you shall hold communion with such a man, or not, and so forward, its like in a few years time some of them may live to come thither. And if you must still appeal to the Pope himself for fear lest a Priest be not the infallible or final Judg (and can do no better than other folks Priests,) you may after all, have the liberty of the voyage: And if you cannot in that age get the case dispatched, yet you must believe that you have appeared to the only center of Unity.
This cheating noise and name of Vnity, hath been the great divider of the Christian world. And under pretense of suppressing Heresie and Schism, and bringing a blessed peace and harmony amongst all Christians, the Churches have been set all together by the ears, condemning and unchurching one another, and millions have been murthered in the flames, inquisition and other kinds of death, and those are Martyrs with the one part, who are burnt as Hereticks by the other: And more millions have been murdered by wars. And hatred and confusion is become the mark and temperament of those, who have most lo…dly cried up Vnity, and Concord, Order and Peace.
It is a common way to set up a sect or faction, by crying down schism, sects and factions. And a common way to destroy both Unity and Peace, by cry…ng up Unity and Peace. Therefore let not bare N…mes dec…ive you.
Remember that one of the old sects or factions of carnal Christians, cried up Cephas, that is, Peter, and said we are of Cephas; which I know not how they could be blamed for, if he was the Churches Constitutive or Governing Head. 1 Cor. 1. 12. and 3. 22. And remember that the Church is not the body of any Apostle, but of Christ, and that all the Apostles are but the nobler sort of members, and none of them the Head. 1 Cor. 12. 27, 28. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular: and God hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers, &c. But Bellarmine (aware of this) hath devised this shift, that the Pope succeedeth Peter, in more than his Apostle-ship, even his Head-ship: But when he hath proved Peter more than an Apostle, and the Pope his successor, he will do the business: Till then we must say, that if the Pope were but a good Priest or Bishop, below an Apostle, we should give him more honour, than his treasonable usurpation of Christs prerogatives is like to procure him. For he that will needs have all, shall have none, and he that exalteth himself, shall be brought low; and he that will be more than a man shall be less than a man.