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A59567
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A sermon preached before the Lords spiritual and temporal in Parliament assembled, in the Abbey-church at Westminster on the fifth of November, 1691 / by the Archbishop of York.
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Sharp, John, 1645-1714.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing S2995; ESTC R15085
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12,865
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30
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Instances But it is an unpleasant Argument and therefore I will pursue it no farther Only one instance more of the Jewish Zeal I must not pass by because it comes up so fully to the business of this Day So zealous were they for their Religion that they did not care what sort of means they made use of for the promoting of it were they never so wicked and unnatural Our Saviour they hunted to Death with false Witnesses Stephen they stoned out of pure zeal in a popular tumult Forty of them solemnly bound themselves under a Curse that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed St. Paul But all this and a great deal more our Saviour had foretold they would do when he told his Apostles that the time would come when whosoever killed them should think that he did God good service A Blessed way of doing God service is this to act such wicked inhumane things as these But such inhumane things as these doth a Blind Zeal for Religion sometimes put Men upon And that it doth so we cannot have a greater proof except what I have already mentioned than the practices of the zealous Men of the Church of Rome How many unlawful Arts have they used to subject all the Christian World to their Lord and Master How many Forgeries for this purpose have they been the Authors of and maintain'd them afterwards How many disturbances have they given to the Peace of Christendom in the most unjust and unnatural ways for the advancement of the Papal Cause It was Zeal for Gods Service and the Interest of holy Church that so many Princes have been Excommunicated and Deposed that so many Tumults and Rebellions have been raised that so many Crusados for the extirpating Hereticks have been sent out By which and such like means it may justly be computed that as much Christian Blood has been shed for the establishing Popery as it now stands nay and a great deal more than ever was during all the times of the Heathen Persecutions for the supporting of Paganism But if there were no other instance extant in the World to shew what is to be expected from a blind Zeal especially a blind Popish Zeal for Religion that instance which the deliverance of this Day doth give us occasion to mention would be alone sufficient to inform us When for no other end but for the advancement of Popery and the rooting out that Pestilent Heresy of the Reformation which infested these Northern Climates a Company of Popish Zealots enter'd upon the most barbarous and inhumane Project that ever was undertaken by Men even neither better nor worse than the destroying the King and his Parliament at one blow and had put all things in such a readiness in order thereunto that they certainly had effected it as on this day had not their Conspiracy been detected in a wonderful manner But thanks be to God their designs then and ever since have been defeated and some of them even miraculously and we trust in the Mercies of God that they will ever be so God hath been wonderfully Gracious to us in the preservation of our Church and Religion from Popish attempts to destroy it ever since it was setled among us How many Plots and Conspiracies were laid in the time of the glorious Q. Elizabeth to put an end to her Life and with it to our reformed Establishment What a dreadful one was this of the Gunpowder Treason in the reign of her Successor How many dangers have threatned us since that time from that quarter What a horrible storm but of late did we apprehend and justly enough too was impending over us And yet blessed be God who hath never failed to raise up Deliverers to his People in the day of their Distress that storm is blown over And we are here not only in Peace and Quietness in the full possession of our Native Rights and Liberties and in the Enjoyment of the Free Exercise of our Religion which is one of the most desirable things in the World But such is the deliverance that God hath wrought for us that we also seem to have a fair prospect of the Continuance of these Blessings among us and according to humane Estimate to be in a good measure out of the danger of our old Inveterate Enemy Popery I mean which one would think had now made its last effort among us Is not this now a great Blessing And must not all sincere Protestants of what perswasions soever they be in other respects necessarily believe so Certainly they must if they think it a Blessing to be delivered out of the hands of our Enemies and to be in a Condition to serve God without fear Let us all therefore own it as such to God Almighty let us thankfully remember all his past Deliverances from Popery and especially let us never forget those of this day neither the former nor this late one We have reason to believe that God hath a tender Care of his Church and Religion in these Kingdoms not only because he hath so many times so signally and wonderfully appeared for the preservation of it But more especially because we know and are convinced that our Religion is according to his Mind and Will being no other than that which his Son Jesus Christ taught unto the World that is to say no other than that which is in the Bible which is our only Rule of Faith It infinitely concerns us all therefore so to behave our selves as to shew that we are neither unthankful for Gods past Mercies nor unqualified for his future Protection And in order to that I know no other way but this that we all firmly adhere to the Principles of our Religion and that in our Practices we conform our selves to those Principles That is to say In the first place That we sincerely love and fear God and have a hearty sense of his Presence and Goodness and Providence continually abiding in our minds That we trust in him depend upon him and acknowledge him in all our ways That we be careful of his Worship and Service paying him the constant Tribute of our Prayers and Praises and Thanksgiving both in publick and private And then secondly that we be pure and unblameable in our Lives avoiding the Pollutions that are in the World through Lust and exercising Chastity and Modesty Meekness and Humility Temperance and Sobriety amidst the sundry Temptations we have to conflict with And thirdly that we have always a fervent Charity to one another that we love as Brethren endeavouring to do all the good we can but doing harm to none Using Truth and Justice and a good Conscience in all our dealings with Mankind Living peaceable if it be possible with all Men. And not only so but in our several Places and Stations promoting Peace and Unity and Concord among Christians and contributing what we can to the healing the sad Breaches and Divisions of our Nation And then lastly that we pay all Submission and Duty and Obedience to the King and Queen whom God hath set over us endeavouring in all the ways that are in our Power to render their Government both as easy to themselves and as acceptable to their Subjects and as formidable to their Enemies as is possible If all of us that call our selves Protestants would charge our selves with the Practice of these things how assured might we rest that God would bless us that he would continue his Protection of our Nation our Church our Religion against all Enemies whatsoever and that we might see our Jerusalem still more and more to flourish and Peace to be in all her Borders May God Almighty pour upon us all the Spirit of his Gâ—ace and work all these great things in us and for us And in order hereunto may he send down his Blessings upon the King and Queen and so influence and direct all their Councils both Publick and Private that all their Subjects may be happy in their Government and lead peaceable and quiet lives under them in all Godliness and Honesty And after such a Happy and Peaceable Life here may we all at last arrive to God's Eternal Kingdom and Glory through the Merits of his dear Son To whom c. FINIS Advertisement TEN Sermons Preached upon several Occasions With two Discourses of Conscience By the Most Reverend the Lord Archbishop of York Printed for Walter Kettilby
small measure concerned for it If it be of greater moment he believes he may be allowed to be the more earnest about it But he looks upon it as a rash and foolish thing and an effect of great ignorance or weakness to be hot and eager for all things alike We should account him not many degrees removed from a Child or an Ideot that upon the cut of a Finger should as passionately complain and cry out for help as if he had broken a Limb. Why just the same Folly and Childishness it is to make a mighty bustle about small matters which are of no consequence in which neither Religion nor the publick Peace are much concerned as if indeed our Lives and Souls were in danger It therefore becomes all prudent and sober Men to take care that their Zeal do not spend it self in little things that they be not too passionate and earnest and vehement for things that are not worth much contending for If we lay a greater weight upon a Cause than it will bear and shew as much warmth and passion for small matters as if the Fundamentals of our Faith were at stake we are zealous indeed but not according to Knowledge Fourthly The Zeal that is according to knowledge is always attended with hearty Charity It is not that bitter Zeal which the Apostle speaks of which is accompanied with Hatred and Envy and perverse Disputings But it is kind and sociable and meek even to Gainsayers It is that Wisdom which is from above that is first pure then peaceable gentle and easy to be intreated It is a Zeal that loves God and his Truth heartily and would do all that is possible to bring honour and advancement to them But at the same time it loveth all Men. And therefore in all things where it expresses it self it purely consults the Merits of the Cause before it but lets the Persons of Men alone It is a certain Argument of an Ignorant and ungovern'd Zeal when a Man leaves his Cause and his concernment for Gods Glory and turns his Heat upon those that he has to deal with when he is peevish and angry with Men that differ from him When he is not contented to oppose Arguments to Arguments and to endeavour to gain his point by calm Reasoning but he flies out into Rage and Fury and when he is once transported herewith he cares not what undecent bitter Reflections he makes upon all those that have the Fortune to be of a different side But in these Cases Men would do well to remember that the Wrath of Man worketh not the Righteousness of God as the Apostle expresseth it All this kind of behaviour savours of the Wisdom of this World which is earthly and sensual and devilish Fifthly and lastly Another inseparable Property of Zeal according to Knowledge is That it must pursue lawful ends by lawful means must never do an ill thing for the carrying the best Cause This St. Paul hath laid down as a Rule to be eternally observed among Christians when in the third of the Romans he declares that their damnation is just who say Let us do evil that good may come Be therefore our Point never so good or never so weighty yet if we use any dishonest unlawful Arts for the gaining of it that is to say If we do any thing which is either in it self evil and appears to be so by the natural Notices of Mankind or which the Laws of our holy Religion do forbid I say in all such Instances we are Transgressors And though our Cause be very good and our Ends very allowable yet since the means by which we would accomplish those ends are unwarrantable the whole Action though proceeding from never so much Zeal for God is very Bad. For true Zeal as it always supposeth a right Information of Judgment as to the matter of it so likewise it supposeth that a Man should act in honest ways and endeavour to attain his ends by lawful means And thus have I laid before you the Properties and Characters of that Zeal which is according to knowledge which was the third and last thing which I proposed upon this Text And I pray God we may always remember them whenever we have occasion to express a Zeal for any thing especially in matters of Religion All that remains now is to make some brief application of my Text with reference to the business of the day These words as I told you were spoke of the Jews But the Character here given of them doth so well fit a sort of Men whose fiery Zeal for God and their Religion gave occasion to the Solemnity of this Day that it looks as if it were made for them It is the Bigots of the Church of Rome that I mean to whom we must do the same right that St. Paul here did his Country-men We must bear them Record that they have a Zeal of God but not according to Knowledge Zealous they are sufficiently as the Jews were no body doubts of it But as for their Zeals being according to Knowledge there is great reason to doubt they are as faulty in that point as St. Paul's Countrymen were Indeed if you were to draw the comparison between the Jewish and the Popish Zealots as to all the several particulars that our Saviour and St. Paul take notice of as Instances of blind Zeal in the former You would find in all those particulars both their Zeals to be much of a piece not only as to the Fervour but as to the Blindness of them Was it an instance of Ignorant Zeal in the Jews that they set up their Traditions to the disparagement of the Law of God I pray who are those that disparage the holy Scriptures by setting their Traditions upon an equal foot with them Were the Jews to be blamed for that they were so zealous for their old Religion as to oppose that Reformation of it which our Lord Jesus endeavoured to introduce among them because they thought it was an Innovation I pray who are those who upon that very ground oppose all Reformation at this Day though yet the wisest and best Men among themselves are sufficiently sensible that there are great Corruptions both in their Doctrine and Worship Was it a fault in the Jewish Zeal that it placed Religion too much in Ceremonies and Formalities in washing Cups and Platters in tithing Mint and Cummin and the like to the neglect of the weightier matters of the Law Justice and Mercy and Faith I pray wherein is Image-worship Invocation of Saints Penances Pilgrimages the use of Reliques Holy Water c. I say wherein are these things better than those And yet we know who they are that lay so great a stress upon these and such other things that it may be truly said a great part of their Religion is made up of them It would not be difficult to run the parallel between the Zeals of the two Religions through several more