740 ·' TJ,e Mifchiefs of 1Ji-vifio11. ~eft. Splem or G•ll to cleanfe them from the filth that doth ~bfiruCl: them, and hind·er them in their office . you may indeed thus clt4n[e them, but it will be a mortal cure. As he that fhould Divide the K" : dam into two Kingdoms diffolveth the old Kingdom, or put of it at leatl, to cre6t two ntw 8 :::. fo he that would divide the_Cathol_ick Church into two, mull thereby deftroy it, if he could fucceed; or deftroy th>t part whtch dmdeth tt felf from the reft. Can a member live that is cut off from the Body, or a branch that is feparatcd from the t~e? . 9· 57· Q!!eft. 0 but, fay the Romanifts, why then do you CHI off your {<lvtt from "' : The Divi]iolf u made by you, and Tilt are the Church, and you are dt9d tiU you retum to JU ? How wiU you Jtnr 1 w An{w. which pa~t ~ th~ Church, whm a Divifion it one~ made ? A"fw. Are you the Church? Are you the \~~e~~e;r~:;_ on~y Chr1fi1ans 10 the World ~The Church IS [all.Chrirtians united in Chrifi their Head]. You hanr~ :~re tra1tcroul1y Cct up a nc::w ~furpmg Head ; and proclaim your felves to be the whole Church, and con· Scbfn::~.,icks ? d_ernn all that arc not fubJccts to your n_ew Head: We keep our fiation, and difdaim his UfurpatJOn, and deny [ubjcttiolt to you, and t~l you that as you are the (ubjcCts of the Pope, you are none co··~it. To!tt.4. of the Church of. Chrifi at all: From this trcafonable confpiracy we withdraw our fclvcs: But as c.6r.1S.~.J· you are the fubjcdsof Chrifi wenevu divided frem you, nor denyed you our Communion. Let c:. fud,:1 ,_ ReafOn judge now who are the Dividers. And is it not eafie to know which is the Church in the fo~ fep 2 r:- Divition? It is all thofe that are fiill united unto Chrifi : 1f you or we be divided from Chritl tion frOJ.n a and from Chritlians that are his Body, we are then none of the Church: But if we arc not Divided Jcwi!hhuffrom Chrill, we are of the Church ftill: If part of a Tree, (though the far greater part) be cut off ~d:~~ft~:~r ?r fep~r~tcd from the reft, ~t is ~hat part (how fmall foever) that ftill groweth with the Root rhat n~ will nm bc- 15 the hvmg Tree. The lndan F1g·tree, and fame other Trees, have branches that tJke root when ::1 Chrii1i2n : they touch the ground: If now you ask me whether the branches fpringing from the fc:cono Roor, an~ f~ d~th!-... are members_of the fir!\: Tree, I anfwer; ~· The refi that have no new Root are more undoubtedly 1~:~i. t 1 !e;£ members of 1~; 2· If any branches are_ feparated from the firjf _Tree,_ an~ grow upon the new rotJ' t. 6 • '· u. alom, the cafe xs out of doubt. 3• But 1f yet they are by continuation Joyned to both, tb4t Root ;md Gthcr Je· which they receive their nutriment moft from, is it which they mofi belong to. Suppofe a. Tyrant fuit$) and a!- counterfeit a Commiffion from the King w be Vice-King in Ireland; and proclaimeth all them ro be: lo~vth~mar- Traytors that receive him nor ; The King difclaimeth him: the wife!\: fubjea:s renounce him; :wd ·~h~~g ~ A~t~o· the refi obey him but fo as to profefs t~ey do it becaufe they believe him to be commiffioned by the ftu-e rh~ Con- King. Let the quefiion be now, who are the Dividers in Ireland ? and who are the Kings truefi jug•! bond ;, fubjects ? and what Head it is that denominateth the Kingdom? and who are the Traytors? This is flfkrthan tlm your ClfC. ~::f~~o~and 9· 58. •· Divijions arc the drformi•ier of the Church. Cut off a nofe, or pluck .out an eye or may r.ot a difmembcr either a man, or a pia:ure, and fee whether you have not deformtd it. Ask any com-. m.:m then pa1Tionate Chrifiian? ask any infulting enemy, whether our Divifions be not our deformity and lbamc i p~fi~r\\~~~n the lamentation of friends and the fcorn of enemies? his foul is in 9. 59· 3• The Churches Divifions arc: not our own diChonour alone, but the injurious dilhonour >ppmnt b 3 z- of Chu!l and Religion and the Gofpel. The World thinkcth that Chrijl is an impotent King, that 'Z.ard ? cmnot keep his Kingdom at unity in it felf, when he bath himfclf told us, that tvtry Kingdom divided againjl il filf;, brortgh• 1o dt[olsoiJJn, and every City or Houfe divided againjl il filf fhaU not jland, Mat. 12· 2 5· They think the GofPel tendeth to Divifion, and is a dot~hine of diffention, when they fee divifions and diffentions procured by it ; They impute all the faults of the Ji•bjear to the King, and think that Chrijf was confufed in his Legiflation, and knew not what to teach or command, be– cau[e men are confound~d in their opinions or practices, and know not what to thil)k or do. If men mifunderfiand the Law of Chrifi, and one faith, This is the fenfe and another faith that is the fcofe, they are ready to think that Chrifi fpake non-fenfe, or underftood not himfelf, becaufe the igno– rant underftand him not: Who is there that converfeth with the ungodly of the World, that hear. eth not by their reproach and fcorns, how much God and Religion are di010noured by the Divifionsof Religious people. 9· 6o. ·4· And thus alfo our Di•ifions do lamentably hinder 1he progrtJi of tile Gofpel, and the con· vcrlion and lilvation of the ungodly World : They think they have frnall encouragement to be of your Religion, while your Divilions feem to tell them, that you know n~t what Religion to be of your felves. Whatever Satan or wicked men would fay again!\ Religion to difcourage the ungodly from it the fame will exafpcrated perfons in thefe Divifions fay againfl each others way : And when every o~e of you condemncth another, how fhould the Confciences of the ungodly l'erfwade them to exped lilvation in any of thofe ways, which you thus condemn? Doubtlefs the Dtvtfions of the Chrifiian world, have done more to hinder the converfion of Jntidds, and keep the Heathen and Ma– hometanc World in their damnable ignorance and delufions, than all our power is able to undoe? and have produced fuch defolations of the Church of Chrifi, and fuch a plentiful harveft and King– dom for the Devil, as c:very tender Chrifiian heart, is bound to lamtnt with tears of bitternef!. If lt mull be that fuch offence fhall come, yet woe to thofe by whom they come. . . 9· 67. 5· Divifions lay open the Churches of Chrifi, not only to the [corn, but to the malice, wtll and fury of their enemies. A Kingdom or houfe divided can~ot ftand, M&ttb. 12. 25~ ~here hath n,,y, 17 , x;. the Church been defiroyed, or Religion rooted out, in any Naoon of the Earth, bur d1V1fio_ns had a principal hand in the effed? 0 what defolations have they made among the flocks ofChnH! A• Senecaand others opened their own veins and bled to death, when Nero or fuch other Tyrants, dtd fend them their commands to Dit; even fo have many Chwches done by ~heir divifions, to t~e gntifying of Satan, the enemy of fouls.
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