Works, Part 4 · Religious instruction · Chapter 75
CHAP. LXXV. Of Zeale.
THe zeale of Moses, and Phineas, and CHRIST, wee should striue to hauehave, that we may be grieued with the corruption and sinnes of the time, but to redresse them belongeth not to vsus, except we be Magistrates.
2 Zeale leaueth in men a great impression, being tempted with Faith and louelove.
3 We must desire to be zealous and earnest in matters weightie concerning the Lord, or his people, but in small matters, our owne affaires, and worldly friendes, wee must take heede it be not naturall earnestnes, or carnall, or not sauouring of the Spirit.
4 One saying in his hearing, that it might be obserued from time to time, that men hauehaveConferre this chapter with the sermon of zeale in the third part. True zeale & the properties thereof. Conferre this with the 3. sermon of zeale, the third part. The recompence of true zeale. bene more bountifull in furthering a corrupt religion, then in relieuing the professors of the Gospell: he answered his iudgment was the contrary, for thogh many in popery giuegive much, yet it is of their abundance, but wee read in no place that euer men solde their whole possessions to giuegive to the preachers, as it was done in the primitiue Church.
5 The nature of true zeale is set downe, Heb. 10. where the Apostle heauily threatneth them, that willingly giuegive ouer thēselues to sinne; there is named in the proper tongue the zeale of fire. For as fire is not without heate, so zeale is hot, & cannot long be holden in. It is set downe by the contrary, Reu. 3. when after the Church of Laodicea for her lukewarmnes, is threatned to be spued out of the Lord his mouth, it is added, be zealous and amend: where we see zeale to be opposed to lukewarmnes, which is too temperate an heate for the profession of the Gospell. Againe, I. Cor. 14. 1. that which in our common translation we reade, Follow after louelove, & couet spirituall gifts, &c. the naturall text hath, Be zealous after the more excellent gifts. And Rom. 12. Be feruent in spirit. i. let God his spirite kindle in you a fire which may flame out of you. Now there are diuers kinds of zeale, as the zeale of the world, of the flesh, of false religion, according to the world. And eueryevery man is eaten, spent, & consumed with some kind of zeale, which must shame vsus if we hauehave not the true zeale, for that this zeale leaueth in vsus some aduantage and recompēce, which the world, and carnall menNote. hauehave not. For when they hauehave spent & set on tilt all the strength of their bodies, & powers of their minds, they hauehave no gaine but torment of consciēce, wheras the godly being spent in a good cause, hauehave that repaired in the inner mā, which is cōsumed in the outward. NowProperties of true zeale. to know what that true zeale is, as neere as by properties we may describe it, wee must first vnderstand, that it is grounded on knowledge. For if our zeale be not according to knowledge,1 much like to the zeale of them spoken of, Rom. 11. wee may come to persecute the Trueth, and thinke we do very welll. Our zeale must begin where the word begins: & end where the word ends, that in all things it be proportionable to the word. Our Sauior Christ2 rebuketh the Pharisies, for straining out a gnat, & swallowing vp a Camel: for tithing cummin▪seed and mint, and for pretermitting the weightier matters of the Law, wherein they bewrayed a rotten zeale, in that they were carefull in the lesse, and carelesse in the greater points. So now a dayes many rather desiring to be counted zealous then to be zealous; for a ceremonieZealous in a ceremonie, in principall points as cold as ice. wilbe as hot as may be, and yet in more principall poynts of religion they are as cold as can be: in greater causes let this be our canon, to vse greater zeale: in lesse matters let this be our pedagogie, to vse lesse zeale, so that we remember to count nothing small in the word, and that we can increase & decrease in affection, as the thing loued doth increase or decrease in goodnes. If I say, we can zealously pursue the most principall things, and for the peace of the Church can tolerate lesse things (for if any man in matters of lesse importance Two rules.list to be contentious, we hauehave no such custome, neither the Church of God,) wee shall obserue this 1. rule still remembring this caution, that we count nothing small commanded or forbidden in the 2Word. The second rule is, that wee hauehave an eye as well to things inward as outward: our Sauiour CHRIST reprehendeth the Pharisies, for that they made cleane the out side of the platter, and left the inner-side foule, whose liues though outwardly they were without reproofe, yet inwardly they were full of pride, disdaine, self-louelove, & such like. Wel, our zeale must begin within, and in time appeare without: we must no lesse feare to doe euill, being by our selues alone, then if we were eyed of the whole world, least that we become as painted sepulchres, and as such dishes, as are cleane without and foule within. A branch of this Rule is to hauehave a narrow and iealous eye of our owne corruptions, lurking in the bottomles pit of nature, and gaged onelyonly by the word and spirit. When we louelove to be hypocrites,Hypocrisie vncased. in dissembling this naturall corruption, and yet are busie in pretending some outward sanctimonie, the iustice of GOD in time will vncase vsus, & then the sinne which we would hide, shall appeare in the face outwardly, and the good which in Truth wee neuer loued, shall be seene neuer to hauehave bene in vsus. Herein then we may go to schoole with the couetous man, who had rather be rich, than be counted rich, that we may rather be godly indeed, than be counted to be godly, least that seeing wee be not such indeed as we would bee, we become notoriously to be such as we would not be.
3 The third rule is, that we keepe a tenor of zeale in both estates, as well in aduersitieA third Rule as in prosperitie. Manie in peace are professors, who in time of troubles are persecutors, who louing the peace of the Gospell, not the Gospell it selfe, doe more bewray that they were neuer truely zealous. Others, whilest they be vnderunder the Crosse are very demure and deuout, who if once they come aloft, forget the simplicity of the Gospell, and fall to the securitie of the world. Hereof comes that fearefull complaint, that men hote in preaching and professing, while they are vnderunder, are choked in their zeale when they come to preferment. Such men are glad not of the gospell, but of the prosperity of the gospell; such men will be sad, not for the want of the Gospell, but for the aduersitie which followeth the persecutors of the Gospell. Our triall herein may bee thus, if our priuate estate be prosperous,A true triall of our zeale. wee lament with Dauid, the estate of the Church, being ruinous: or if our priuate estate being perilous, wee can reioyce with Paul in the estate of the Church being prosperous, our zeale is according to truth. Dauid neere the Crowne for his happines, fasted for the estate of the Church, lying in abhominable filthines. Paul a prisoner in bonds, thought himselfe at libertie, so long as the Gospell was free.
4 The fourth Rule is, that in pure zeale wee be patient in our owne causes, and deuoure manie priuate iniuries, that the Lord his cause may the better be prouided for, & hauehave theA fourth Rule. better successe. Many can be as hot as fire in taking vp their owne cause, who are as cold as yee in defending the Lord his cause. This Rule obserued, would sow vp the lips of the aduersarie, who though for a time he thinke vsus to be cholerike, & mad-men, madly reuēging our priuate affections, yet one day should confesse, that we sought not our own cōmoditie, but God his most precious glorie. And to stretch this examination of our harts one degree further, let vsus beware of that corruption, which springing from self-louelove will giuegive vsus leaue to reioyce at good things, so long as they be in our selues, but repineth at the sight of them in others, which will permit vsus to bee grieued at euill things in our selues, and yet make vsus to reioyce to see the same in others. True zeale loueth good wheresoeuer, and in whomsoeuerGood notes of true zeale. it is: true zeale hateth sinne, wheresoeuer, and in whomsoeuer; true zeale loueth friends, as they be God his friends: true zeale hateth aduersaries, so far as they are God his aduersaries: true zeale loueth a good thing in our most professed enemy: true louelove hateth a sinne in our most assured friend: if wee are perswaded that our enemies be God his children, howsoeuer we disagree in some particular, yet wee can swallow vp many priuate iniuries offred, and we more reioyce in them, as they be God his children, then we can be grieuedHow to be grieued for the sinnes of others. at them as they hauehave iniuried vsus. Indeede true zeale is most grieued for the sinnes of the godly, because so much is their sinne grieuouser thē the sin of another, by how much they came neerer to the image of GOD, then another; howbeit this must alwayes be with a Christian sympathie; which worketh in vsus a griefe for their sinne, as well as an anger for their sinne, & which changeth our griefe into prayer for them. Though then we be neuer so far asunder, we must louelove them that louelove God, though we be ioyned neuer so neere, we must hate them that hate God; in the meane time in deuouring on the one hand to do all duties of louelove and obedience vntounto them, in admonishing them, praying for them, and mourning for them, as they be ioyned in any band vntounto vsus; and remembring on the other hand, when nothing will do them good, but the matter is at this point, that we must either cleaue to God and forsake them, or forsake God and cleaue to them; that nature and ciuilitie in the second table are to giuegive place to religion, and pietie in the first table.
5 The fift rule is, that wee must not bee stricter to our selues, than to any other, and beeA fift rule. more liberal in some things to others, than to our selues. This will first cause vsus to cast the first stone at our selues, this will teach vsus to pull first the beame out of our owne eyes, and then the mote out of anothers eye, this wil make such an experience of sinne in our selues, that we shall neither flatter too foolishly men in their sins, nor rebuke too rigorously men for their sinne. Some we shall see iustly misliking a ceremonie, refuse it in themselues, yet for that it is a thing indifferent, they can tolerate it in others: others there be, who being vnwilling to vse it themselues, iudge streightly all others as haynous offenders that vse it. Moses refused to take so much as a shooe-latchet himselfe from the Egyptians, and yet to others that would take, hee would not denye the lawe of armes; so streight he was to himselfe, so liberall he was to others. Paul seeing that in some places hee could not so conueniently liue of other mens charges, as at Corinth & Thessalonica, although at Colossos heProuision for the Ministerie. receiued somewhat, where they were able to bestow on him, yet he would not that all men should be tied to this example to doe the like: for he laboureth much in all his Epistles almost about this, to shew how Ministers ought sufficiently to be prouided for, so strict hee was to himselfe, such liberalitie he left to others, Rom. 14. 2. Cor. 8. 10. where he intreateth of things indifferent. It were good then, that Christians might say thus with themselues. I can doe thus by Christian libertie, but if it be an hinderance to the glorie of God, or an offence to my brother, I wil not do it; if others doe it, so their heart be good in this, and theirThe cause of many …: contem… in the Church. conscience is vsed in other good things, I will not herein wage warre with them, but to ioyne with them in greater and better matters, I will pardon the lesse. If this wisedome had beene vsed long agoe, what vanitie had there been in the Church of God? for want of this, what trouble hath risen therein?
6 The sixt and last rule is, if we hauehave a zeale against the sinne, because it was against theA sixt rule▪ law of God, and therewithall hauehave a compassion to the person, because one like our seluesAn…er a… sorrow … be ten… toge… Co…s …mens ag… sinne. hath offended, this mixture of affections causeth anger to feede on the sinne, not on the person. When our Sauiour Christ going about on the Sabbath day to heale the man with the withered hand, was reprehended of the Pharisies, it is saide hee looked about him angerly, and after it is added, that he sorrowed for the blindnesse of their hearts: see how anger and sorrow meete; anger, that men should hauehave such little knowledge of God, or louelove to their brother: sorrow; that being such excellent creatures, they should slippe so fouly. Looke vponupon the Prophets, which, if in the heauinesse of spirite, they did not vtter their word, which in the zeale of God his glorie they did denounce: so that when they most threatned, they were most grieued, that the plague spoken should fall vponupon them. Now that is an outreaching zeale, where our anger rather seedeth on the person, than on the sinne. Samuel in the zeale of Gods glorie, spares not flatly to tell Saul of his sinne, and yetNote. in louelove to his person, he was alwaies bent to lament Saules cause, and to pray for him. Doest thou louelove Gods glorie? Then wilt thou surely admonish thy brother of his sinne, because zeale cannot suffer God to be dishonoured. Doest thou louelove thy brother? then wilt thou admonish him with compassion, because louelove lamenteth the weaknes of thy brother, who hath done that which thou mightest hauehave done.
FINIS.