by a double Argument First from the calling of the Apostlcs themselves you know not what spirit ye are of as if he had said desire of revenge is not sutable to men of your spirits or of your calling you are Ministers of the Gospell and you are my Disciples and you must doe onely that which sutes with my spirit which becomes the Gospell Secondly from the end of his owne comming who was their Master which was to save mens lives and not to destnoy them as if he had said What doe you tell me of burning Townes or of Elias example in calling downe fire from heaven to doe hurt is there no difference betweene me and Elias betweene the end of my comming and his if he came to destroy men and to pray against Israel yet I came to save men and to pray for Israel therefore a very unfit motion this is which you propound unto me and very impertinently doe you propound the example of him But I know you doe it ignorantly Nescitis you know not what spirit ye are of or of what spirit you ought to be ignorance is the cause of your Errour and your motion is naught because it springs from ignorance ignorance of your selves and of me too of your owne spirits and of the end of my comming Hence we gather these observations 1. Motions that proceed from ignorance are evill motions 2. Good men may be ignorant ant of their owne spirits 3. Ignorance of a mans owne spirit or of the distemper therein is a cause of that evill that comes from him 4. All motions that are unsutable to the end of Christs comming are sinfull motions And to these we shall adde one lesson more that fals naturally from the former Argument of the two as it hath beene opened or rather from our Saviours scope in the whole Text and that shall be this 5. Those that live under the Gospell must mind and speak and doe onely that which suites with the spirit of the Gospell These are the observations or lessons that we shall further dâ—scourse of briefely from the Text and of them in their order 1. Motions that proceed from ignorance are evill motions No good can come of ignorance without knowledge the minde is not good sayes Solomon and from amind not good no good can spring In Matth. 20. 23. there was a request or prayer made to Christ by the Mother of these two Apostles James and John but it proceeded oâ—t of ignorance and therefore our Saviour condeâ—nes it as no good request You aske sayes he you know not what And so that worship that proceeds from ignorance is no good worship You worship you know not what sayes our Saviour to the woman of Samaria Joh. 4. 22. and so he disallowes their worship as a sinfull worship And so Rom. 10. 2. the Apostle speakes of a zeale without knowledge and disallowes of it as not good ignorance is no mother of devotion or of goodnoffe as the Papists teach but rather of all errour of bloodshed persecution blasphemy oppression and of all filthy lusts of all ill motions as I could make good by divers particular Scriptures O that this truth were beleeved and remembred in these dayes for then perhaps people would not follow ignorant and unlearned teachers so fast as they doe of whom the Apostle speakes that they neither understand what they say nor whereof they affirme none more bold then the blind and none more ready to follow the blinde then those that are like them but if the blinde lead the blinde both will fall into the ditch sayes our Saviour Matth. 15. 14. But be it knowne from hence that the zeale of ignorance is not good nor the prayer of ignorance nor the preaching of ignorance nor the worship or devotion of ignorance nor any motion that proceeds from ignorance alisnaught that comes from this roote ignorance is darknesse and darknesse hath relation to Hell these Apostles here I warrant you after they knew this they were but little taken with this their owne motion nor did they delight to start any more of the like kinde I wish that all men were like the Apostles herein to take notice of their owne ignorance and to curbe and keepe in the fruites thereof But we proceed what ignorance was it that our Saviour blames here in these his Disciples why it was first the ignorance of their owne spirits You know not what spirit you are of and hence arises our second observation Good men may be ignorant of their owne spirits That is of that frame and disposition of heart that temper â—f spirit which themselves are of or ought to be of at such or such times and seasons or upon such occasions The Apostles here were good men yet they did not understand themselves you see nor what the nature of that spirit was which God at those times did give unto his servants God is the Father of Spirits and the giver of all good Spirits and you must know that God gives to his servants spirits sutable to the times and seasons the same spirit may be good at one time and not at another Elias spirit was good in his time but the times being changed his spirit or the temper of his spirit may not be so good now Jesus Christ the Son of God being come by his comming he made a change of the times and so by consequence of the spirits too as we shall shew anon And indeed the Disciples inconsideration of the alteration of the times was the occasion that they were ignorant in this fort of their owne spirits And so still ignorance of the times and seasons and places where men live is often the cause that good men are ignorant of their owne Spirits or of what spirit they ought to shew a spirit that may be good at one time or in one place may not be so at or in another for example Luthers spirit was good in Luthers time God did fit him with a spirit according to the time and place wherein he lived and to the worke he had to doe but whether Luthers spirit be so good now and in these Realmes or whether all they that boast themselves to be of Luthers spirit are so indeed and have it from God as he had many wise men both doe and well may make a question But if we should grant that Luthers spirit were as good in these times as it was in his owne yet whether Carolostadius his spirit that was never good in Luthers time be good now or no is and may be a further question This Carolostadius was an ignorant Doctor in Luthers time that loved popularity and to be counted some body as well as Luther in the great worke of Reformation He was indeed a pretty tolerable man according to the condition of those times onely he had two defects and they were want of wit and want of sufficient learning and therefore he fell to Preach and
say when with griefe and sorrow we thinke of these miscarriages we cannot but be comforted to remember withall that Christs spirit is cleane contrary to the spirits of angry and revengefull men as hath appeared by the end of his comming and this passage with his Disciples It was a great comfort to the Syrian King and his Nobles when they were in the King of Israels danger to remember that the Kings of Israel were mercifull Kings so may it be to us being in Christs danger to consider that he is a Prince of a mercifull spirit onely let us be carefull not to abuse his goodnesse in after times and doubt not but we shall taste of the sweetnesse of his spirit not withstanding what is past 2. For instruction and information that we doe not henceforth molest and grieve the spirit of Christ with such unsutable motions as the Disciples here did and as we sometimes use to doe you know it is the condition of many a man if he be but crossed in his way and vext by an enemy especially unjustly presently he is ready to desire that ruine and destruction might fall upon him and perhaps by prayer or imprecations is bold to request Christs aide in the businesse nay such is the weaknesse of some that if any man or creature dogge or horse or hawke offends them they will curse the same and call upon the name of God and Christ to send some judgement from Heaven upon it to joyne with them in doing a mischiefe well I say we should never doe thus never should we make any revengefull motions to Christ to grieve his sweet spirit did we well know Christs spirit and the end of his comming therefore I say note well the nature and temper of Christs spirit 2. By being well acquainted with the end of Christs comming and with the nature of his spirit we shall come to know our owne spirits and whether the motions that come from them be good or no the Disciples here were ignorant of the evill of that motion that came from themselves because they considered not the end of Christs comming It is a matter of great concernment for a man to know himselfe Nosce teâ—psum is a necessary lesson and a mans spirit is the best part of himselfe as is the spirit such is the man and we know the spirit to bee right and straight if it concords with the rule Christs spirit must be the rule to ours and to what end Christs spirit tended to the same must ours the aimes and indeavours of our spirits must bee to save and to helpe men no man doth sufficiently know Christs spirit and the end of his comming but he that hath a spirit tending the same way for this knowledge is influentiall into the soule or subject and makes it sutable to the object or thing known so that when such a one is moved or tempted unto any thing he bethinkes himselfe Is it sutable to the end of Christs comming doth it tend to the welfare of others would Jesus Christs spirit allow of it would he if he were here and in my case doe it and even as he thinkes Christ would doe in such a case so doth he doe and no otherwise but more of this in the next point 3. We shall know the spirits of others by being acquainted with the end of Christs comming and the nature of his spirit which naturally we desire to doe more then to know our owne nor indeed is it unlawfull to desire and indeavour to discerne them we are bidden to try the spirits whether they be of God oâ— no 1 John 4. 1. and no safer or quicker way to this then by knowing the end of Christs comming and then by considering whether mens spirits tend the same way if they doe we may conclude of them to be good and of God if otherwise not Christs spirit is diffused into all his true members and they all reckon themselves to be sent into the world for the same end as Christ was as Christ came not to hurt or mischiese any but to doe good to all so they and they have received vertue and power to that very end and purpose from Christ as the Apostle ingenuously confesseth 2 Cor. 13. 10. The Lord saies he hath given us power to edification and not to destruction and therfore in another place I became all things to all men that I might winne some in a word the spirit of the Gospel is in all the children of the Gospel and they account it their duty to doe nothing but what is sutable to the spirit of the Gospel which also is a matter that concernes all that live under the Gospel and that is our last point 5. It is the duty of them that live in the times of the Gospel to minde speake and doe onely that which sutes with the spirit of the Gospel This also is manifest from the text by our Saviours dislike and confutation of his Disciples motion because it did not savour of a Gospel-like spirit what doe you tell me saies he of Elias his spirit now the Sonne of man is come Now to informe you somewhat of the nature of the times of the Gospel and of the spirit thereof I must tell you that there is a great difference betweene the former times and these not in respect of time it selfe for that is alwayes the same but in respect of a new spirit which Christ by his comming brought with him we have a phrase of speech the Genius of the times or the spirit of the times some times are turbulent and then we say a turbulent spirit is in the times some times are more placable and then we say a more peaceable spirit ruleth in some times the vulgar sort of men generally are more bold and impudent with their betters and superiours then is decent and comely and then some will say the Genius of the times is a sawcy fellow sometime the world travels with perversnesse sometime with envie and hatred sometime with one domineering sinne and sometime with another and men in their language will attribute it to the spirit of the times But indeed such as the spirits and conditions of men are such are the times for men denominate times to be good or bad plenty of good men make good times and abundance of wicked men doe make the times abundantly wicked But concerning the difference between the former times and these The times before Christ were times of ignorance and darknesse men were bad and did not know it but when Christ came he brought with him a spirit of light and knowledge to discover sinne and to convince the world thereof and so the times were changed to be times of light and knowledge and Christ himselfe in this respect was called A light to lighten the Gentiles and those that sate in darknesse Againe before Christ came the times were times of terrour of the Law which was called fiery the ministration
it be a favour and not a duty pity to the poore spirit of the Gospell it selfe which hath of late as some of you have thought beene wounded slandered scandalized yea almost banished the Land for a rebellious factious and seditious spirit and some of you perhaps have beene banished with it by the enemies of it but now God hath removed them and remembred you and why thinke you surely that you should be meanes to recall and relieve that to justifie its Innocency its Humility and its Loyalty which was so much traduced that you might by your Preaching and by your Practice raise up againe as it were unto life this holy sweete and gracious spirit of the Lord And know this if you faile herein and doe conceale the beauty of it having now power to discover and inlarge the same God may and will for this bring you under hatches againe and your latter condition shall be worse then your former Fifthly Never had you the like occasion as now to honour Gods Spirit in the eyes of your enemies and to put forth the vertue of it for their conversion what know you but that the sight and taste of the Spirit of the Gospell in and from you may cause some of your enemies that haply now are in that darkenesse and disgrace wherein they would gladly have kept you to looke upon their owne spirits with indignation and shame surely Brethren as we should alwayes interpret an enemy his injury to be Gods call to us to pray for him so we should apprehend the sight of an enemies misery to be an indigitation of God to us to doe him good and to discover to his eyes which at such a time are at best leasure to see it the nature and disposition of Christs Spirit in our selves And thereby we may haply as was said bring such a one out of love with that spirit which he formerly traded withall when he compares the present sweetnesse of our spirit with the bitternesse of that and hereby we may bring them to love our Master Christ that rules us with a better spirit then their Master ruled them Sixthly and lastly though I might propound many particulars more if you doe not study and indevour to shew forth Christs Spirit the contrary thereunto both must and will discover it selfe in you even that which before you disliked so much in other men God will even give you up unto it now consider how uncomely it will appeare for Gods Ministers to walke in condemned paths you censured such and such men for their cruelty for their mercilessenesse and want of compassion for their pride their harshnesse and superciliousnesse towards their Brethren and for these things sake I suppose you counted them antichristian but if you now tread in those their steps wise men will thinkâ— you to be as Antichristian as they and that most truely for what ever some say doubtlesse it is not Prelacy but sin that makes men Antichristian And suppose those your enemies were altogether as bad as you thought them then those their conditions will worse become you then they did them it is cruelty in the Wolfe to hurt the Sheepe but more naturall then for the Sheepe to pursue the Wolfe they say revenge is sweet and the taste of bloud will make even a Sheepe Wolvish he that once hath drunke the bloud of an enemy will afterward thirst for the bloud of his friend upon a small occasion Doe you thinke it will be comely to heare people say of us it seemes the Lambes are let out to play the Wolves Christs Ministers are call'd from prison and banishment to revenge themselves to persecute those that hunted them their former afflictions wee had thought had meekened their spirits and taught them to be pitifull to their enemies and to them in misery as Christ was we beleeve Gods providence laied them upon them for that end but we see they have done them little good surely brethren such speeches will be but little for our credits and let us know if we turne rampant now we are got loose and deale with others as they did with us and not shew the spirit of Christ to our enemies God the great Shepheard hath an hooke to catch us by the legge againe and to hamper us worse then ever if the Wolfe could not run from him the Sheepe cannot Therfore I say from these considerations let us onely preach and practise the spirit of the Gospel be pitifull be courteous pity the sorrowes of our enemies but most of all their sinnes that have brought them into the same if ever we loved them according to Christs command we shall now pity them for true love alwayes turnes into pity when the parties loved fall into misery let us not delight to spur on others against them let us not aggravate and inlarge their faults let us not repeat them it is a sad thing to heare Ministers or any others to publish openly and with joy how many hundreds of their scandalous brethren have beene complained of I doe not read that ever Christs spirit delighted in such like publications Christ was mild to offenders let not us be rugged Christ indeavoured to draw men from their sinnes unto himselfe by love let not us thinke ever to doe it by currishnesse our enemies could never prevaile by this meane they that thinke by force of feare or unkind dealings to draw men either to God or to themselves will sooner drive them both from God and from themselves we must trade for Christ in Christs way else let our aimes and ends be never so good though God may haply accomplish them yet he will crosse and shame us in a word my Reverend Brethren if some of our calling and function have stumbled and fallen if they like those branches Rom. 11. are for a season broken off and any of us are ingraffed in their stead and doe now partake of the favour and fatnesse of the times let us not boast our selves against these branches but remember that we stand onely by mercie be not high-minded saies the Apostle but feare Breathing times of the Church unthankfully entertained or too wantonly proudly or unprofitably imployed have beene heretofore followed with most sharp and sad calamities 2. But now last of all a word more to all Christians in generall and then an end You redeemed of the Lord whom in mercie he hath reserved till these last dayes to live under the Gospel and to partake of the spirit thereof and to manifest the fruits of it to the honour of his name I beseech you also even by the mercies of Christ and for that honour-sake which you are bound to advance that you would lay aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evill speakings and that you would study by all meanes to glorifie the Gospel which you professe that you would according to your duty onely minde speake and doe that which is sutable to the spirit thereof let your intentions
stirre up the people of their owne heads and accords to pull downe Images and pictures in Churches and glasse windowes in a most disorderly way and not to stay till they might be removed with quietnesse by Authority whereupon Luther writ against him and called him ignorant dunce for his labour And by that very tricke of the devill in stirring up Carolostadius to doe so Images stand to this day in the Lutheran Churches for Luther writing and preaching against Carolostadius his folly and disorder some have interpreted him thereby to write in the defence of Images and his followers doe still maintaine them as approved by him which surely is but a mistake for had Luther lived longer no doubt but he would have used meanes to have had them abolished too as wel as other Popery but in an orderly way by the hand of the Magistrate and not by popular fury and folly but now I saâ— whether the spirit that was never good be good in these dayes I thinke there is good cause to question it Nay my friends if any man should act with Carolostadius his spirit and boast that he were of Luthers spirit you would say here were ignorance indeed and injury too thus grossely to abuse Luther in attributing unto him such a spirit which as all men of reading know he did both write and speake against and sure if Luther himselfe were now alive he would say that the loome or the shop board would better become such teachers then the Pulpit Luthers spirit I am sure was a peaceable spirit in the Common wealth his indeavours were that reformation might be wrought orderly by them that were appointed thereunto and not by the mad hare-brained drunken multitude Well therefore we may conclude that it is a matter of great consequence to know the times and seasons wherein we live and to know what temper of spirit doth best sute the same it was the Apostles errour in the Text they were ignorant of the time and season at least inconsiderate of the same and hence it came to passe that they were ignorant of their owne spirits and the effect of this their ignorance was that evill or sinfulnesse in the motion that proceeded from them and that is our third observation Ignorance of a mans owne spirit or distemper therein is a cause of that evill that comes from him The Disciples ignorance of their owne spirits or their distemper in regard of their present passion at the sight of the Samaritans churlishnesse was the cause that they did not see the sinfulnesse of this their motion when the eye is yellow it thinkes all things to be of the same colour so when the minde is evill it appâ—ehends evill to be good Indeed the wisest man that is may easily be deceived in an action or motion if he knowes not the spirit or tempeâ— from whence it proceeds There be divers sorts of spirits in the world or divers tempers of spirit if you will and we are bidden to try them whether they be of God or no and why even to the end that we may know whether that which comes from them be good or no for one and the same act proceeding from divers spirits or divers tempers of spirit may be good or bad this act of Elias from him was good because he had a spirit inflamed only with divine zeale of Gods glory at that time much darkned in Israel but if the Disciples had done the same it had not beene good in them for their spirits were some what too carnall and did looke too much toward private revenge so prayer is a good act from a sincere spirit but from a proud and Pharisaicall spirit it is not so for our Saviour in the Gospell condemnes such prayers for the spirits sake they proceeded from so Almes is a good act from a tender-hearted selfe-denying spirit but from a selfe-seeking spirit it is not so fasting from an humble-broken spirit is a good duty but not so from an high selfe-conceited spirit as appeares also from our Saviours rebuke of those duties from such spirits zeale from a knowing spirit is good and commendable but not from an ignorant spirit as the Text shewes and the like may we say of all actions and motions they are good or bad according to the temper of the spirit from which they proceed O that this were well weighed and considered of in these times for then I doubt not but many of our now a day motions much of our fond zeale and many of our furious expressions against those we know not and against the things we are not acquainted with and many of the mad carriages of private men in ordering as they call it or rather in disordering of things in Church and Common-wealth would be found not to be very good or commendable as not comming from such spirits as becomes the followers of Christ to be guided by and to worke withall Well let us all be admonished to set a watch before our hearts and to examine all those actions and motions that proceed from us whence they come and whither they goe from what spirit they proceed and to what end and purpose they tend even as a carefull watchman that is set to watch at a doore will examine all passengers whence and whither and what about they come and goe for by this we shall come to have some knowledge of our spirits and when we once know our spirits to be right and good we shall have a great deale more comfort in our actions and motions then else we can have And truly we have great reason to indeavour after the knowledge of our owne spirits for we shall never know our selves nor God nor Christ as we ought to doe to aime at Gods glory in all we doe till we know our owne spirits And so much the rather too should we study this point because we see two great Apostles here ready to precipitate themselves into a bloudy act from their ignorance of this point and if such as they did then very easily may we if they were ignorant of their owne spirits then may we be ignorant of ours notwithstanding that great good conceit we have of our selves but how we shall know our spirits to be right indeed I shall intimate to you anon when I come to the Use of the next point which is this All motions that are unsutable to the end of Christs comming are sinfull motions You may observe that our Saviour doth dislike the Disciples motion here because it did not sute with the end of his owne comming it did not looke that way it was a destructive motion and his comming was to a saving end and had saving effects therefore I may conclude what ever motion sutes not herewith is not good but blameable And I may warrant my conclusion by those faulty motions which have beene exemplified in already as that which was about a place of temporall preferment a matter
of death caused trembling Elias lived in those times and had a spirit sutable unto them a fiery and a destructive spirit which haply then was not amisse but by the comming of Christ the times were altered into times of comfort of the Gospel which is the ministration of life and peace it was prophesied long before his birth that in his time abundance of peace should flourish and at his birth the Angels sang peace with heaven and God that before with earthly men had warres and difference And further yet the times before Christ were times of Justice and revenge Adam sinned and he was presently cast out of Paradise Sodome and Gomorrah sinned and they were suddainely consumed with fire Corah and his companions sinned and vengeance speedily laid hold upon them and so forth in oâ—hers for Gods name by which he was knowne in those dayes was Deus ultionum the God of Revenge and as such a one he was pleased often to approve himselfe but by Christs comming the times were turned to be times of mercy and favour times of grace of patience and forbearance acceptable times dayes of Salvation for the Samaritans sinned here yet they were spared Paul then Saul went breathing out threatnings against Gods Saints yet mercy reached him before Judgement overtooke him Mary Magdalen and the thiefe on the crosse were great sinners yet vengeance did not overwhelme them yea many of them that crucifyed Christ were not taken away in that their sinne as they deserved but were afterward taken into savour and tasted mercy being converted by Peters Sermon Act. 2. for by Christs comming God was pleased to leave his old name and be called by another not usuall before namely Pater misericordiarum the father of mercies then Deus ultionum a revenging God but now Deus consolationum the God of Consolation 2 Cor. 1. 3. And thus you see Christs comming made a great difference in the times and so ought it to doe in men in their thoughts words and carriages in all which they must conformeto the times Are the times of the Gospell times of light then men in them must walk as children of the light Ye were once darknesse but now are light in the Lord walke therefore as children of the light Are they times of peace then men must be men of peace Rom. 12. 18. If it be possible have peace wâ—th all men Are they times of mercy patience and forbearance then men that live in them must be mercifull and patient not rendring evill for evill unto any man 1 Thess. 5. 15. Doth God in these times discover himselfe to be a friend and a Father even to such as were his enemies then men must shew themselves to be his children right bred by manifesting his spirit Love your enemies blesse them that curse you doe good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you that you may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven that is that you may approve your selves to be his children Mat. 5. 44 45. Men that live under the Gospel must beleeve that many of those things that were tolerable before are insufferable now the revenger of blood was permitted to pursue and kill the man-slayer if he found him out of the City of refuge but now the date of that permission is expired So the Prophets of old as may seeme might pray for revenge O God to whom vengeance belongeth shew thy selfe And O Lord God that tryest the reines let me see thy vengeance upon them and might curse them that abused them as Elisha did the children that mocked him and might call for fiâ—e from heaven to fall on them that intended their hurt as Elias did but now they must doe the cleane contrary the times are altered and the spirits of Gods Ministers must be sutable to the times We must pray for our Enemies as Stephen did we must beseech them to be reconciled 2 Cor. 5. 20. and we must instruct them with meeknesse so long as they are contrary-minded unto us 2 Tim. 2. 25. Paul that lived under the Gospell did not doe as Elias did that lived under the Law pray against Israel but his hearts desire to God for Israel was that they might be saved Rom. 10. 1. Yea though they sought to take away his life yet he could have wished to have beene accursed himselfe for their sakes to have done them good Rom. 9. 3. David was a right good man in his time and had this title from the Lord himselfe that he was a man after Gods owne heart but he lived in those dayes when God was called Deus ultionum and therefore David is no fit patterne for us now to imitate in some of his wayes wee must never deale so cruelly with our enemies if we have them under our power as he did with the Ammonites 2 Sam. 13-31 He put them under Sawes and Harrowes of Iron and made them passe through the Brickekill No the Spirit of the Gospell is a Noble Spirit and scornes to set a foote upon the necke of a falne foe it takes advantage of his downfall to discover it selfe to have proceeded from Christ and indevours at such a time to cause an enemy to distaste and dis-relish his owne spirit by giving him to taste of its sweetnesse it labours to gaine an adversary by unexpected compassion even as God and Christ did to gaine us when we were in our blood cast out to the loathing of our persons we must be people of Christs spirit and not of Davids It is worth our noting by the way nor is it from the purpose the difference betweene Davids manner of dying and Christs David dyed as we may say with revenge in his mouth not onely against Shimei that had abused him but also against Joab that had faithfully served him Let not his hoary head sayes he goe downe to the grave in peace but Christ dyed with mercy and pardon in his moâ—th and prayer for his enemies Father forgive them sayes he His Fatheâ— was now the Father of mercies and he well approved himselfe his Sonne and after the same sort must we approve our selves his servants Concerning David I doe confesse his manneâ— of dying might well have scandalized us in that he commands to take away mens lives when as it had beene fitter for him to have beene begging pardon for his owne sinnes but it is to be thought he had consulted with God about the businesse and God was then Deus ultiâ—num as I said before and David was a good Magistrate and so just like God as well as a good man but I am sure Christs manner of dying can scandalize or offend none in this kinde his death spake better things than the death of David as it is said his blood spake better things then the blood of Abel Abel dyed in old time and