the Powers of the World did likewise strongly combine against it Among the Jews the Chief Priests and Rulers did with all their force and malice endeavour to stifle it in the birth and to suppress it in its first rise and several of the Roman Emperors who were then the great Governors of the World engaged all their Authority and their whole Strength for the extirpation of it and raised such a storm of Persecution against it as swept away greater numbers of Mankind than any Famine or Plague or War that ever was in the Roman Empire And yet this Religion bore up against all this Opposition and make its way through all the Resistance that the Lusts and Prejudices of Men armed with the Power and Authority of the whole World could make against it And this brings me to the 5. and last Consideration I mentioned the great discouragement that was given to the Entrance of this Religion There was nothing left to invite and engage Men to it but the Consideration of another World for all the Evils of this World threatned every one that took the Profession of Christianity upon him Whoever was known to be a Christian was liable to Reproach and Ruin to cruel Mockings and Scourgings to Banishment or Imprisonment and Confiscation of Estate but these were slight and tolerable Evils in comparison of others that were commonly inflicted upon them they were condemned to the Mines and to the Lions and all imaginable Cruelties were exercised upon them the most exquisite Torments that could be devised and Death in all its fearful shapes was presented to them to deter Men from embracing this Religion and to tempt them to quit it And yet they persisted in the Profession of their Religion and for the sake of it did not only take joyfully the spoiling of their goods but the most barbarous usage of their Persons and demeaned themselves not only with Patience and Courage but with Exultation and Triumph under those Tortures which no Man can hear or read of without horror And they did not only bear up thus manfully for one brunt but when these violent Persecutions were renewed and repeated upon them Christianity supported it self under all these daunting Discouragements for almost Three hundred Years and held out till the very Malice of their Persecutors was out of breath and their Cruelty had tired it self Nay it did not only support it self under all these Oppositions but grew and prospered and the Blood of Martyrs became the Seed of the Church and Christians sprang up faster than any Persecution could mow them down For Men by Degrees became curious to enquire into the Cause of such Sufferings and the Reason of so much Constancy and Patience under them and upon enquiry were satisfied and became Christians themselves and many times their very Persecutors were ready to Sacrifice their Lives the next Day for that very Cause for which but the Day before they had put others to Death And it cannot here be reasonably Objected that Christians yielded up themselves to all these Sufferings upon the same Account that some brave Spirits among the Heathen laid down their Lives for their Country namely out of a desire of Fame and to perpetuate their Names in After-ages this I say cannot reasonably be said in this Case because these Sufferers were not the great and ambitious Spirits the Flower and Select Part of Mankind but the Common People and many of them of the tenderer Sex and Age who have usually a greater Sense of Pain than of Glory and yet so were they animated by their Religion and Transported beyond themselves as not only to submit but many times to offer themselves to those Sufferings by declaring themselves to be Christians when no Man accused them and when they knew they should die for making that Profession so that it is harder to justifie their forwardness to Suffer than the sincerity of their Sufferings Besides that nothing could be more foolish and unreasonable than for Men to hope to get a Name by Suffering in a Crowd and to be particularly remembred to Posterity when they dyed in such multitudes that no Man knew the Names of the greatest part of the Sufferers You see then how strongly the Gospel prevailed how soon this new Religion over-ran the World how suddenly it subdued the Spirits and changed the Manners of Men and by what mean and despicable Instruments to all humane appearance this great Work was done and how in despite of all Opposition and Discouragements it was carried on Can any one of the false Religions of the World pretend to have been propagated and establisht in such a manner meerly by their own force and the Evidence and Power of Truth upon the Minds of Men and to have born up and sustained themselves so long under such fierce Assaults as Christanity hath done As for the Religion of Mahomet it is famously known to have been planted by force at first and to havâ— been maintained in the World by the same violent means So that great Impostor openly declares that he came not to plant his Religion by Miracles but the Sword And as for the Idolatries of the Heathen they came in upon the World by insensible degrees and did not oppose the Corruptions of Men but grew out of them and being suited to the vicious Temper and Disposition of Mankind they easily gained upon their Ignorance and Superstition by Custom and Example They were just such a Corruption of Natural Religion in such times of darkness and ignorance and by such insensible steps as there hath been since of the Christian Religion in some Parts of the World which we all know But no sooner did the Light of the Gospel shine out upon the World but the Idolatry and Superstition of the Heathen fell before it like Dagon before the Ark of God and tho' it had the Power of the World and Countenance of Authority on its side yet it was not able to maintain its ground and no sooner was that Prop taken away which was the only support of it but it presently sunk and vanisht it was not driven out of the World by Violence and Persecution but upon the breaking in of so great a Light it silently withdrew as being ashamed of it self And when afterwards the Emperor Julian endeavoured to retrieve it by his Wit and Authority and used all imaginable Arts and Stratagems to suppress and extinguish Christianity he was able to effect neither for the Christian Religion kept its ground and Paganism after it had made a little Blaze died with him Now to what Cause shall we ascribe this wonderful Success and Prevalency of the Gospel in the World There can but these Two be imagined the Excellency of the Christian Religion and the Power and Presence of the Divine Spirit accompanying it 1. The Excellency of the Christian Religion which both in respect of the goodness of its Precepts and the assurance of its Rewards hath plainly the advantage
God both in the Old and New Testament But yet I am sensible that all this is no Conviction to the perverse and contentious Men will not believe even the Evidence of Sense it self when they are strongly prepossess'd and prejudiced to the contrary For do we not see great numbers of Men even so many as have the face to call themselves the Catholick Church that can make a shift when they have a mind either to believe or disbelieve things contrary to the plainest Evidence of their Senses All that I shall say further about this matter is that this Doctrine of Angels is not a peculiar Doctrine either of the Jewish or Christian Religion but the general Doctrine of all Religions that ever were and therefore cannot be objected against by any but the Atheists And yet after all I know not whence it comes to pass that this great Truth which is so comfortable to Mankind is so very little considered by us Perhaps the Corruption of so great a part of the Christian Church in the point of the Worship of Angels may have run us so far into the other extream as scarcely to acknowledge any Benefit we receive by them But surely we may believe they do us good without any Obligation to pray to them and may own them as the Ministers of God's Providence without making them the Objects of our Worship I confess it seems to me a very odd thing that the Power of the Devil and his Influence upon Men and the particular Vigilancy and Activity of Evil Spirits to tempt us to Sin should be so readily owned and so sensibly talkt of among Christians and yet the Assistance of good Angels should be so little taken notice of and considered by us The Scripture speaks plainly of both and the Reasons for believing both are equal For God forbid but that good Angels should be as officious and forward to do us good as the Devil and his Angels are malicious and busie to do us Mischief And indeed it would be very hard with Mankind if we had not as much Reason to Hope for the Assistance and Protection of good Spirits as we have cause to Fear the Malice and Fury of the bad Good Angels are certainly as Powerful and have as strong a Propension and Inclination to do good as the Devil has to do harm and the Number of good Angels is probably much greater than of Evil Spirits The biggest Number that are used in Scripture are applied to good Angels Dan. 7.10 it is said of the Angels about God's Throne that thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him And Revelations 5.11 the number of them is said to be ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands And the Apostle to the Hebrews ch 12.22 calls them an innumerable company of Angels What then should be the Reason that Men should be so apt to own the Snares and Temptations which the Devil lays before us in all our ways but take so little notice of the Attendance and good Offices done to us by good Spirits I can imagine but these Two Reasons and I am sorry I can find no better That we are more mindful of Injuries than of Benefits and are glad to take in others for the excuse of our Faults but are loth any should come in for a share in the Good that is done by us And yet methinks it should be a very comfortable Consideration to us against the Enmity and Cunning of the Devil and his Angels that the Holy Angels of God are as Intent and Industrious to do us good and to help forward our Salvation as Evil Spirits can be to work our ruin and destroy us Secondly We should with great thankfulness acknowledge the great Goodness of God to us who takes such Care of us as to appoint his Angels and to give them particular Commission and Charge concerning us to protect and assist us in all our ways and especially to promote the great Concernment of our Eternal Happiness And that not only some particular and inferiour Spirits but the Chief Ministers of this great King of the World those that stand in his Presence and behold his face and not a few of these but the whole Order of them are imployed about us So the Apostle seems to say by the Question which he puts in the Text Are they not all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister That is all at one time or other And though they be principally appointed to minister to us in order to our Salvation yet we have no Reason to doubt but God imploys them many times for our Temporal Safety and makes use of them more especially in those great Revolutions in which his Cause and Religion are more immediatly concern'd In such a Case it is not at all incredible that God should give his Angels a particular Charge concerning those that fight his Battels to pitch about their Camps and secretly to assist them against their Enemies and to ward off and put by many dangerous blows and thrusts which are made at them and wonderfully to preserve them when the Instruments of death fly about them and do execution on every side of them To what can we ascribe such and so many remarkable Deliverances of a Person upon whom so much depends but either to the immediate hand of God or to the Ministry of Angels And where God is provided so abundantly with such powerful Beings and Ministers of his Will though they may be invisible to us yet there is great Reason to believe that he very seldom works without them And now what an astonishing Regard is this which the great God is pleased to have for the Sons of Men that he should make the whole Creation serviceable to us not only the visible Creation for the support of our Bodies and the diversion of our Minds but even the noblest of all his Creatures the great and glorious Inhabitants of the invisible World mightily surpassing us mortal Men in the simplicity and purity of their Nature in the quickness and largeness of their Understandings and in their Power and Vigour of Acting I say that God should give these excellent and glorious Beings the Charge over us and send them forth to Minister to us for the Safeguard of our Persons for the success of our Affairs and for the Security and Furtherance of our eternal Salvation Lord what is man that thou art thus mindful of him that when thou madest him lower than the Angels thou shouldest yet make the Angels to minister unto him Thirdly If the Angels have particular Charge of good Men we should take heed how we despise or be any way injurious to them For how despicable so ever they may appear to us they are certainly very dear to God since he deems them so considerable is to employ his Chief Ministers about them and to commit the Charge of them to those who by their Office do more immediately
he remains faithful who hath threatned and cannot deny himself This is matter of great Terror and seriously to be thought upon by those who are tempted to deny Christ and his Truth either by the hope of worldly Advantage or the fear of temporal Sufferings What worldly Advantage can we propose to our selves by quitting our Religion which can be thought an equal Price for the loss of our immortal Souls and of the Happiness of all Eternity Suppose the whole World were offered us in consideration yet what is a man profited if he should gain the whole world and lose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul as our Saviour Reasons Matt. 16.26 And on the other hand if the fear of Temporal Suffering be such a Terror to Men as to shake their Constancy in Religion and to tempt them to renounce it the fear of Eternal Torments ought to be much more Powerful to keep them stedfast to their Religion and to deter them from the denial of it If Fear will move us then in all Reason that which is most Terrible ought to prevail most with us and the greatest Danger should be most dreaded by us according to our Saviour's most Friendly and Reasonable Advice Luke 12.4 5. I say unto you my friends be not afraid of them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear Fear him who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell yea I say unto you fear him If there can be no doubt which of them is most to be dreaded there can be no doubt what we are to do in case of such a Temptation I shall now draw some Inferences from this Discourse by way of Application First If this be a faithful saying that if we be dead with Christ we shall also live with him if we suffer we shall also reign with him but if we deny him he will also deny us The Belief of it ought to have a mighty influence upon us to make us stedfast and unmoveable in the Profession and Practice of our Holy Religion This Inference the Apostle makes from the Doctrine of a Blessed Resurrection 1 Cor. 15.58 Therefore my beloved brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. If any thing will fix Men in the Profession of their Religion and make them serious in the Practice of it the Belief of a Glorious Resurrection and of the Reward which God will then give to his Faithful Servants must needs have a very powerful Influence upon them to this purpose Upon the same ground the Apostle to the Hebrews exhorts them to hold fast the Profession of their Faith without wavering because he is faithful that hath promised If we be constant in the Profession and Practice of our Holy Religion God will be faithful to the Promise which he hath made of Eternal Life to those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality If under the dark and imperfect Dispensation of the Law Good Men shewed so much Courage and Constancy for God and Religion as we read in that long Catalogue of Heroes Heb. 11. How much more should Christians whose Faith is supported much more strongly than theirs was by a much clearer Evidence of another Life and a Blessed Immortality than they had by more express Promises of Divine Comfort and Assistance under Sufferings than were made to them and by the most Divine and Encouraging Example of the greatest Patience under the greatest Sufferings that the World ever had in the Death and Passion of the Son of God who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the Shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God! When we consider this Glorious Example of Suffering and the Glorious Reward of it how can we be weary and faint in our minds If the Saints and Apostles of the Old Testament did such great things by Virtue of a Faith which relyed chiefly upon the Attributes and Providence of God what should not we do who have the Security of God's express Promise for our Comfort and Encouragement We certainly have much greater Reason to take up our Cross more chearfully and to bear it more patiently than they did Secondly We should always be Prepared in the Resolution of our Minds to Suffer for the Testimony of God's Truth and a good Conscience if it should please God at any time to call us to it This our Saviour hath made a necessary Condition of his Religion and a Qualification of a true Disciple If any man will be my disciple let him take up his Cross and follow me so that we are to reckon upon it and to prepare for it that if it comes we may not be surprized as if some strange thing had happened to us and may not be unresolved what to do in such a case And God knows when we may be called to it However it is wise to forecast it in our Minds and to be always in a Preparation and Readiness to entertain the worst that may happen that if it come we may be able to stand out in an evil day and if it does not come God will accept the Resolution of our Minds and reward it according to the Sincerity of it He that knows what we would have done will consider it as if we had done it Thirdly The less we are called to suffer for God the more we should think our selves obliged to do for him the less God is pleased to exercise our Patience we should abound so much the more in the active Virtues of a good Life and our Obedience to God should be so much the more chearful and we more fruitful in every good work If there be no need of sealing the Truth with our Blood we should be sure to adorn and recommend it by our Lives Fourthly and Lastly If the hopes of Immortality will bear Men up under the extremity of Suffering and Torments and give Men Courage and Resolution against all the Terrours of the World they ought much more to make us victorious over the Temptations and Allurements of it For certainly it is in Reason much easier to foregoe Pleasure than to endure Pain to refuse or lay down a good Place for the Testimony of a good Conscience than to lay down our lives upon that Account And in vain does any Man pretend that he will be a Martyr for his Religion when he will not rule an Appetite nor restrain a Lust nor subdue a Passion nor cross his Covetousness and Ambition for the sake of it and in hope of that eternal life which God that cannot lye hath promised He that refuseth to do the less is not like to do the greater It is very improbable that a Man will die
that their works shall be rewarded but that they shall go along with them and that they are blessed upon this Account and this implies that they shall receive a sure Reward For as the Apostle Reasons God is not unrighteous to forget our Work and Labour of Love Verily there is a Reward for the righteous as sure as there is a God that judgeth in the Earth But how Great and Glorious that shall be I am not in any measure able to declare to you It may suffice that the Scripture hath assured us in general that God is the Rewarder of Good Men and that he will make them Happy not according to what can now enter into our narrow Thoughts but according to the exceeding greatness of his Power and Goodness If we are to receive our Reward from God we need not doubt but it will be very large and such as is every way worthy of him to bestow For he is a great King and of great Goodness and we may safely refer our selves to him in confidence that he will consider us not according to the Meanness of our Service but according to the Vastness of his Treasures and the Infinite Bounty of his Mind If he hath promised to make us Happy tho' he have not particularly declared to us wherein this Happiness shall consist yet we may trust him that made us to find out ways to make us happy and may believe that he who made us without our Knowledge or desire is able to make us Happy beyond them both Only for the greater Encouragement of our Holiness and Obedience tho' he hath promised to Reward every Good Man far beyond the Proportion of any Good he hath or can do yet he hath declared that these Rewards shall be proportionably greater or less according to the degree of every Man's Piety and Virtue So our Saviour tell us that they who are persecuted for righteousness sake great shall be their reward in heaven Matt. 5.12 That there will be a difference between the Reward of a righteous Man and a Prophet that is of one who is more publickly and eminently useful for the Salvation of others And among those who are Teachers of others they that are more industrious and consequently more likely to be successful in this Work shall have a more Glorious Reward as we are told by the Angel Dan. 12.3 And they that be Wise or as it is in the Margin rendred they that be Teachers shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever So likewise we find in the Parable of the Talents that he that improv'd his Talent to Ten was made Ruler over Ten Cities And St. Paul 2 Cor. 9.6 speaking of the Degrees of Mens Charity and Liberality towards the Poor says expresly He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly but he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully which by Proportion of Reason may be extended to the Exercise of all other Graces and Virtues 1 Cor. 15.41 42. The Apostle there represents the different Degrees of Glory which Good Men shall be invested with at the Resurrection by the different Glory and Splendor of the Heavenly Luminaries There is one glory of the Sun another of the Moon and another glory of the Stars for one Star differeth from another Star in glory So also is the Resurrection of the dead So that the more any Man suffers for God and the more Patiently he Suffers the more Holily and Virtuously the more Charitably and Usefully he lives in this World the more good Works will accompany him into the next and the Greater and more Glorious Reward he may hope to receive there which as the Apostle Reasons in the Conclusion of that Chapter concerning the Doctrine of the Resurrection ought to be a mighty Encouragement to every one of us not only to be stedfast and unmoveable that is fix'd and resolute in the Profession and Practice of our Religion but abounding likewise in the work of the Lord forasmuch as we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. Every Degree of Diligence and Industry in the Work and Service of God will most certainly one day turn to a happy Account Having therefore such Promises dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God The more perfectly holy we are here on Earth the more perfectly happy we shall be in Heaven and continue so to all Eternity I have now done with the Two Reasons which are here given in the Text of the Happiness that Good Men such as die in the Lord shall be made Partatakers of in another Life because they rest from their labours and their works accompany them they are freed from all the Evils which they suffer'd and shall receive the Reward of all the Good they have done in this Life I should now have proceeded to make some Inferences from this Discourse But those I will reserve for another Discourse on this Subject All that I shall add at present as the Application of what I have already said is That this should stir us up to a careful and zealous Imitation of those Blessed Persons described in the Text who are dead in the Lord and are at rest from their Labours and whose works do accompany them Let us Imitate them in their Faith and Patience in their Piety and Good Works and in their Constancy to God and his Truth which was dearer to them than their Lives Thus their Virtues and Sufferings are described in the Visions of this Book Chap. 13.10 Here is the Patience and the Faith of the Saints and Chap. 14.12 Here is the Patience of the Saints Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus and Chap. 12.11 And they overcame by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their Testimony and they loved not their Lives unto the Death In this Way and by these Steps all the Saints and Martyrs of all Ages have ascended up to Heaven and attained to that Blessed State which they are now Possessed of after all the Evils which they Suffered in this World They are now at rest from their labours and all the good Works which they have done are gon along with them and they are now and shall for ever be receiving the Comfort and Reward of them And if we tread in their Steps by a zealous Imitation of the Piety and Holiness of their Lives and of the Constancy and Patience of their Sufferings we shall one Day be Translated into their Blessed Society and made Partakers with them of the same Glorious Reward If we have our Fruit unto Holiness our end shall be everlasting life If we be faithful unto death we shall receive a Crown of Life Let us then as the Apostle to the Hebrews exhorts Chap. 6.11 12. Every one of us shew the same Diligence to the full assurance
himself and our Blessed Saviour But then they hate and persecute the living with as great violence and cruelty as ever was used by any part of Mankind towards one another 'T is true they do it under the Notion of Heresie and so did the Scribes and Pharisees too as St. Paul witnesseth After the way which ye call Heresie so worship I the God of my Fathers believing all things that are written in the Law and in the Prophets So they call us Hereticks tho' we receive and believe all that is written in the Holy Scriptures only rejecting their Additions whereby they would make the Commandment of God of none effect And as Rome is parallel with Jerusalem in many other respects so especially in the bloody Persecution of righteous Men And as Jerusalem is charged by our Saviour with the blood of all the Prophets and righteous men of all Ages so St. John in the Revelation says of Rome that in her was found the blood of Prophets and of Saints and of all that were slain upon the earth ch 18.24 Which is no less true of Rome Christian than of Rome Pagan In all the Churches and Religions in the World and perhaps in Rome Pagan her self hath not so much innocent Blood been shed as in Rome Christian and Catholick and that under a pretence of Religion And no doubt there is a Day a coming when she shall be called to a heavy Account for these things when the Heavens shall rejoyce over her and the Holy Angels and Prophets because God hath avenged them on her SERMON XIII The Danger of Zeal without Knowledge Preached on November 5. 1682. ROM X. 2. I bear them record that they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge THere is nothing more commonly cryed up than Zeal in Religion and yet there is nothing in which Men do more frequently and fatally mistake and miscarry and in the Expressions and Effects whereof Men ought to govern themselves with more Care and Caution VOL. II. To speak the truth Zeal is as all other Passions are in its own Nature indifferent and of it self neither Good nor Bad but according to the Object and Degree of it for Zeal is nothing else but an earnest Concernment for or against something and a violent Pursuit and Prosecution of it For if it be applied to a right Object so as we be earnestly concerned for things that are unquestionably Good and against things that are unquestionably Evil and in a due Degree that is if the Expression of it be Proportionable to the less or greater Good or Evil of things then it is a commendable Quality or Virtue But if it be wrong placed and we be earnestly concerned for that which is Evil and against that which is Good or about things which are of an indifferent or doubtful Nature as to the Good and Evil of them or if we notoriously exceed in the Degree of it being more zealously concerned about things than they deserve and zealously concerned about lesser things to the prejudice of greater in any of these Cases it is so for from being a Virtue that it is a Vice Serm. XIII of a most pernicious and mischievous consequence and many times hath as bad Effects as can proceed from the worst Principle or Disposition of Mind It is sometimes used in a good Sense but it is when it is applyed to the best things in which the Honour of God and the Salvation of Men is concern'd to the great and unquestionable Duties of Religion As Zeal for the Honour of God and the Place of his Publick Worship in opposition to Profaneness John 2.17 The Zeal of thine house hath eaten me up For an earnest desire of those Gifts whereby we are to Edifie the Church 1 Cor. 12.31 But covet earnestly the best gifts so we render the words be zealous of the best gifts so it is in the Greek For a Forwardness and Readiness to relieve the Necessities of the Saints 2 Cor. 9.2 I know the forwardness of your minds and your zeal hath provok'd very many And to the same purpose is that Expression Tit. 2.14 Zealous of good works And then for a Zeal for the Salvation of Mens Souls 2 Cor. 11.2 I am zealous of you with a godly zeal But the word is much more frequently in Scripture used in a bad Sense for a malicious and furious Rage against the Professors of Christianity Acts 5.17 18. Then the high Priest and they that were with him were filled with indignation the word is Zeal and laid their hands on the Apostles and put them in prison And Chap. 13.45 it is said the Jews were fill'd with Zeal and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul contradicting and blaspheming And Chap. 17.5 The Jews which believed not moved with Zeal gathered a company and set all the City in an uproar 'T is frequently reckoned amongst the works of the flesh and mentioned in the company of the greatest Vices and Crimes Wrath Contention Division Sedition Murthers Tumults Confusions Rom. 13.13 Let us walk honestly as in the day not in Chambering and wantonness not in strife and zeal 1 Cor. 3.3 Whereas there is among you zeal and strife and divisions are ye not carnal 2 Cor. 12.20 Lest there be debates zeal wrath strife Gal. 5.19 20 21. The works of the flesh are manifest among which the Apostle reckons hatred variance zeal wrath strife seditions heresies envyings murthers St. James calls it a bitter zeal Jam. 3.14 15 16. But if ye have bitter zeal and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the truth This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual devilish For where zeal and strife is there is confusion and every evil work By which it appears that zeal most frequently goes under a bad Name and Character in Scripture zeal I mean in matters of Religion for of that most of the Texts I have mentioned speak and this is that which St. Paul means here in the Text by a zeal of God that is a zeal about Religion and divine things I bear them record that they have a zeal of God but not according to knowlede In which words the Apostle being desirous to say the best he could of his Countrymen the Jews he commends the good meaning of their zeal and blames the ill conduct of it I bear them record 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I give this testimony on their behalf that they have a zeal of God that is that by all this fierceness against the Christian Religion they intend the honour of God and think they do him service but yet this Zeal is greatly to be condemned because it is a mistaken and misguided zeal not at all directed as it should be they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge From which words I shall take into consideration these Three things I. What are the Qualifications and Properties of a Zeal according to knowledge II.
it and keep it within bounds It is like fire a good Servant but a bad Master if it once get head it consumes and devours all before it and the great danger and mischief of it is that it is most commonly found where it should not be and possesses those most who are least fit to govern it and most frequently employed about what it should not be and ten to one but it is either mistaken in the Object or in the Measure and Degree of it and even when it is a Virtue it is a nice and dangerous one for the wisest Men are apt to mingle their own Passions and Interests with their Zeal for God and Religion So that it is not enough that Men are acted by a zeal for God and do sincerely follow the dictates of their Consciences but they must be careful to inform their Consciences and not suffer themselves to be violently transported and hurried on by their own Passions and Prejudice and by a blind and furious zeal without knowledge But what then Would we have Men not follow their own Consciences or act contrary to them No by no means For tho' Conscience be not our Rule yet it is our immediate Guide and he does ill who does act against his Conscience But Men must be careful how they settle their Practical Judgment of things and conclude things to be Lawful or Unlawful Duties or Sins without Reason and good Ground God hath given us Understandings to try and examine things and the light of his Word to direct us in this tryal and if we will judge rashly and suffer our selves to be hurried by Prejudice or Passion the Errours of our Judgment become Faults of our Lives For God expects from us that we should weigh and consider what we do and when he hath afforded us light enough to discern betwixt Good and Evil that we should carefully follow the direction of it that we should be suspicious of our selves when our Zeal carries us to do things that are furious and cruel false and treacherous and have a horrid appearance even to the light of Nature we should question that zeal which is so contrary to Christian Goodness and Meekness to Peace and Charity and which tends to Confusion and every Evil Work I will conclude all with that excellent Passage of St. James which will shew us how little regard is to be had to many Mens Pretences of Zeal for Religion Jam. 3.13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge amongst you Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom But if ye have bitter zeal and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the truth This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual devilish For where zeal and strife is there is confusion and every evil work But the wisdom which is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace SERMON XIV The best Men liable to the worst Treatment from Mistaken Zealots Preached on November 5. 1686. JOHN XVI 2. They shall put you out of the Synagogues Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service THESE words were spoken by our Blessed Saviour when he was about to leave the World at the thoughts whereof finding his Disciples to be exceedingly troubled VOL. II. he comforts them by the Consideration of the great Benefit and Advantage which from thence would accrue to them he tells them that he was going to Heaven to interceed for them and to make way for their admission there and withall promiseth that his Father would send the Holy Ghost who should abundantly supply the want of his Presence with them but he tells them at the same time that they should meet with very ill Entertainment and Usage from the World but so had He Ch. 15.18 If the world hate you ye know that it hated me before it hated you and why should they expect to be better treated than He was v. 20. Remember the word that I said unto you the servant is not greater than the Lord if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you And at the beginning of this Chapter he tells them that he did on purpose forewarn them of these things to prepare their Minds beforehand and to arm them against the worst that might happen v. 1. These things have I I have spoken to you Serm. XIV that ye should not be offended And then he declares more particularly how far the Rage and Malice of Men should proceed against them and in what kind they should suffer They shall put you out of the Synagogues Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service So that our Saviour here fortells Two sorts of Persecution which his Disciples should be Exercised withal Excommunication they shall put you out of their Synagogues And Excision Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will thinks that he doth God service And these perhaps were but several Kinds and Degrees of Excomunication for the clearer understanding whereof it will be requisite briefly to explain the Three Degrees of Excommunication among the Jews The First call'd Niddui is that which our Saviour here means by putting out of the Synagogue and which he elsewhere expresseth by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or separation Luke 6.22 Blessed are ye when men shall hate you and when they shall separate yon from their company And the Effect of this Excommunication was to exclude Men from the Communion of the Church and People of God and from his Service which was a great disgrace because after this Sentence none of the Jews were to converse with them but to look upon them as Heathens and Publicans The Second Degree of this Censure was called Cherem which included the first but extended farther to the Confiscation of Goods into the Sacred Treasury and devoting them to God after which there was no Redemption of them And of this we find express mention Ezra 10.7 8. where it is said That they made Proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem and that whosoever would not come within three days according to the Counsel of the Princes and Elders all his substance should be devoted and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carriied away The Third Degree ws Shammatha when the Rebellious and Contumacious Person was Anathematiz'd and Devoted and as some conceive according to the Law Levit. 27.29 was to be put to death tho' other very konwing Men in the Jewish Learning think it amounted to no more than a final Sentence whereby they were left to the Judgment of God by some remarkable Judgment of his to be cut off from