_Direct._ XIX. When fervent, self-conceited people would carry down all by censoriousness and passion, it is time for the pastors and the aged and riper sort of christians openly to rebuke them, and appear against them, and stand their ground, and not to comply with the misguided sort to escape their censures. Nothing hath more caused schisms in the church (except the pride and ambition of the clergy) than that the riper and more judicious sort of people, together with the ministers themselves, have been so loth to lie under the bitter censures of the unexperienced, younger, hotter sort; and to avoid such censures and keep in with them, they have followed those whom they should have led, and have been drawn quite beyond their own understandings. God hath made wisdom to be the guide of the church, and zeal to follow and diligently execute the commands of wisdom. Let ignorant, well meaning people censure you as bitterly as they please, yet keep your ground, and be not so proud or weak as to prefer their good esteem before their benefit, and before the pleasing of God. Sin not against your knowledge to escape the censure of the ignorant. If you do, God will make those men your scourges whom you so much overvalued: and they shall prove to their spiritual fathers as cockered children (like Absalom) do to their natural fathers, and perhaps be the breaking of your hearts. But if the pastors and the riper, experienced christians will stand their ground, and stick together, and rebuke the exorbitancies of the censorious younger ones, they will maintain the credit of the gospel, and keep the truth, and the church's peace, and the hotspurs will in time either repent and be sober, or be shamed and disabled to do much hurt.
_Direct._ XX. Take heed how you let loose your zeal against the pastors of the church, lest you bring their persons and next their office into contempt, and so break the bonds of the church's unity and peace. There is no more hope of maintaining the church's unity and concord without the ministry, than of keeping the strength or unity of the members without the nerves. If these nerves be weak or labour of a convulsion or other disease, it is curing and strengthening them, and not the cutting them asunder, that must prove to the welfare and safety of the body. Meddle with the faults of the ministry only so far as tendeth to a cure, of them or of the church, but not to bring them into disgrace, and weaken their interest in the people, and disable them from doing good. Abhor that proud, rebellious spirit, that is prone to set up itself against the officers of Christ, and under pretence of greater wisdom or holiness, to bring their guides into contempt; and is picking quarrels with them behind their back, to make them a scorn or odious to the hearers. Indeed a minister of Satan that doth more harm in the church than good, must be so detected as may best disable him from doing harm. But he that doth more good than hurt, must so be dissuaded from the hurt as not to be disabled from the good. "My brethren, be not many masters, (or teachers,) knowing that ye shall receive the greater condemnation," James iii. 1.
_Direct._ XXI. Look more with an eye of charity on what is good in others and their worship of God, than with an eye of malice to carp at what appeareth evil. Some men have such distempered eyes, that they can see almost nothing but faultiness in any thing of another party which they look at; envy and faction make them carp at every word and every gesture: and they make no conscience of aggravating every failing, and making idolatry of every mistake in worship, and making heresy or blasphemy of every mistake in judgment, and making apostasy of every fall; nay, perhaps the truth itself shall have no better a representation. As Dr. H. More well noteth, It would do much more good in the world, if all parties were forwarder to find out and commend what is good in the doctrine and worship of all that differ from them. This would win them to hearken to reforming advice, and would keep up the credit of the common truths and duties of religion in the world, when this envious snarling at all that others do, doth tend to bring the world to atheism, and banish all reverence of religion, together with christian charity, from the earth.