A Preparative to Contention, Book · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
The fooliſh zeale and ſingular conceites of certaine, who iuſtifie themſelues only, and diſlike all others: with their eager deſire of haſtie reformation, of that which they conceit to be amiſſe.
8.4.2. Socrates. In many things the meane is beſtALthough in proportions Geometrical, the leſſe number is nearer the middle then the more, and therfore in regard thereof, to do ſometimes leſſe then ſhuld be done, when the whole cannot be done, is more incident to the vertue in many things, thē it is to exceed it.Eccleſ. 7.18. And that alſo, not only the wiſe Preacher counſelleth that men ſhould not be oueriuſt, nor ouerwiſe: but alſo the Apoſtle aduiſeth them, not to be wiſe in their owne conceits: yea, & Chriſt himſelf condemneth the hypocritical righteouſneſſe of the Phariſees, that eſteeme ſo much of themſelues, & contemne other men, from whoſe ſocietie, they are ſeperated and diuided: yet lo, there be found euen among vsus, ſuch kind of perſons, as, whiles they ſeeme to deteſt the pope & his dānable doctrines, & pretend a ſingular zeale or iealouſie, tending to reformation beyond al other mē, do neuertheleſſe far eſtrange themſelues from that right Chriſtian zeale, which combineth with perfect knowledge and chriſtiaen louelove. Therfore they cannot yeeld themſelues to be either content, or cōtained within their due bounds and dutie of life, or to be friendly admoniſhed by any others, to obſerue & performe the ſame. But as they which hauehave their brains buſied with ſome ſtrange enchauntment,Theſe renew the Sect of the Pariſees in their ſtrāge conceits and hypocriſie, they are moſt ſingularly conceited, & are become more phariſaicall. I meane not in this, that they yeeld tithes of Mint of Anice, & of al that they poſſeſſe for there be none which tithe their cōmodities to the benefit of the labourors in the lords vinyard, worſe then ſome of them: nor in this, that they faſt twiſe in the weeke, for there be none which gurmandize more thē they: nor in this that they expreſſe a kind of ciuil iuſtice in their life and demeanure: for in no perſons is there found leſſe good conſcience, and more deceitfull and cruell dealings in any trades, then there is well approoued to bee in many of them. And would to God they did not alſo doubt of the Reſurrection of the dead, which yet the Phariſees beleeued, nor did think that the doctrine of immortalitie is but a pleaſant errour to holde men in a vaine hope, as ſome heathen men hauehave fondly imagined▪ But in this they diſplay their ſect: namely,Tuſe. queſt. that they eſteeme themſelues onelyonly wiſe, righteous, holy, and perfect, & in this their pleaſant conceit, they diſlike, diſdaine, & contemne al other men, of whatſoeuer order, calling, or degree they be, whome they giuegive ouer to Satan, and cenſure to the Pitte of Hell, as fooles, Publicans, and prophane worldlings. With the Egyptians, they thinke it abhomination for them to eate with the Hebrewes:Egyptians. Iewes. with the Iews, they hold it not lawfull for them to meddle with the Samaritanes,Gen. 43.32. Iohn. 4.9. Act. 10.28. or to hauehave any fellow ſhip with them which are of another nation. And therfore ſpread they this proud banner of defiance vntounto all others: Depart from vsus, for wee are more holy then yee, more iuſt, more pure, more perfect then ye are: and that which is lawfull for vsus to do, is not lawfull for you.
2 Thus flie they would from Charybdis, but they fall on Scylla: they feare the fire, and are drowned in the water: not conſidering how good & commendable a thing it is, to keepe the kings high way in the feare of God, and in the peace of a good conſcience. From hence they fall into high diſlike of the preſent State, the time, the perſons, the place, and as lettle children of variable affections; & as the foole which changeth with the Moone, they deſire nouelties, they hunt after innouations, they are much buſied in words, in endleſſe genealogies, in vaine queſtions, and in ſuch matters, as are both vnprofitable & vnneceſſarie: about the which (in the heate of their contentions) they veritfie Homers ſentence.
The haſtie man condemneth the ſame,
VVhichWhich doth at all deſerue no blame.
Whereby, with the vndiſcreete, they forſake the honour,Eccl. 5.14. and take on them the ſhame of the tongue, and ſo draw on themſelues iudgement and deſtruction. In their opinions and cenſures, they reſemble well nigh the fooliſh Maſons of Leſbia, who (as the prouerbe is) hauing leaden ſquares, would rather bow them to their works, then work vntounto them: for they preſume without bluſhing, to draw the lawes, the ſtatutes, and conſtitutions, to their proper conceits: yea, they wreſt the holy Scriptures (as hee did which called them a noſe of waxe) to their ſelfe-wils and phantaſtical opinions, notwithſtanding the perrill of that terrible woe threatned vntounto them which cold euill good, and good euill: and vntounto them, which preſume to adde vntounto, or to diminiſh from the pure worde of God.Iob. 13.7. As in the 2. Chap. 1. Luke 15.27. Bern in cant. ſer. 73. A. Iſay 6.20. Reuel. 224.18. But they pretende the defence of Gods cauſe, and therefore thinke that they may therein ſpeake at their pleaſures. Laſtly, they verie notablie reſemble that angrie Elder brother in the Goſpell, as did the former ſort: for through pride; enuie, and diſdaine, they rather chooſe to ſtande and ſtay without the doore in moſte miſerable manner, then vouchſafe to come, and enter into the houſe of ioy and gladneſſe,Pſal. 133. there to proue howe good and ioyfull a thing it is for brethren to dwell togither in vnitie, though they alſo bee there unto both inityted, and gentlie entreated, by a moſte louing and mercyfull Father.
3 Miſtake me not (charitable Brethren) God forbid that I ſhould condemne or diſlike the godlie zeale of the faithfull Chriſtian,The life of Religion. which with a good conſcience I do reuerence and ſingularly eſteeme, as the verie Life of Religion, and the right Ornament of them that feare the Lord. It is good to bee zealous in a good cauſe: and the ſeruaunt of God is euen rauiſhed with the zeale of the Lorde▪ betweene the which, and, that Euill zeale which is not according to knowledge, it muſt bee diſtinguiſhed.
The Good zeale, or the zeale of God is,The good zeale. that affections or deſire …oman, whereby hee is indeed and with all his heart, zealous for the Lorde, according to knowledge. And this is an ardent louelove of the glorie of God, of righteouſneſſe, of iudgement, of wiſedome, of pietie, of chaſtitie, and other godly vertues. A vehement diſpleaſure conceiued agaynſt vnrighteouſneſſe, oppreſſion, fooliſhneſſe, vngodlineſſe, filthineſſe and ſin, whereby the glorie of God is deformed, and the Church of Chriſt offended: alſo a feruent deſire to puniſh the tranſgreſſours of the lawe of God, to withſtande vngodlineſſe, to depreſſe and aboliſh ſinne.
4 This vertue ſhined in meaſure in Abraham, in Moſes, in Daniel, in Loth, in Ieremie, in Phinez, in Dauid, in Eliah, in Paule; and without meaſure in our Sauiour Chriſt. And they in this outrage doo expreſſe the ſame: who, beleeuing in the Sonne of GOD, are marked with the note of contrition: which are ſorie for Ioſephs affliction: which are greeued for the common and dayly tranſgreſsions of the Lordes people: which doo earneſtlie deſire the aduancement of Gods glorie, and the aboliſhing of ſinne: which doo groane for the deliuerie of the Church, from thoſe horrible perſecutions wherewith ſhee is dayly oppreſſed: that doo hunger and thirſt after righteouſneſſe: that pray for an ende of thoſe dayes of ſinne, and waite for the ioyfull comming of our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt: who ſhall chaunge our vile bodies, that wee may bee conformed to his glorious bodie. This affection is ingendered in the heart,VVhereof this zeale is engendred. or in the concupiſcible part of man, by the effectuall operation of the Spirite of God: the ſpirit of wiſdome and vnderſtanding, the ſpirit of counſell & fortitude, the ſpirit of knowledge; and of the feare of God. This zeale enſueth faith and hope, and is ſo combined with charitie, that though between them we may diſtinguiſh, yet diuide them wee may not:Cant. 5.8. for the zealous Chriſtian is euen ſicke with holy louelove. Therfore Auguſt. ſaith thereof, Qui non zelat, non amat; & è contrario, qui non amat, non zelat: That is, He that is not zealous doth not louelove: and againe, he that loueth not, is not zealous. And this vertue hath both affinitie, and familiaritie, with that vehement affection of louelove which is called foreign, or Iealouſie,The godlie iealouſie. as that of a man to his wife, or of a wife to her husband, when either of them is ſorie and diſpleaſed for ſome vnworthie or ingratefull action or thing which is perceiued in the other of them. For this affection is not able to beare the hurt or contempt of the thing loued: and it is right ſorie, that the thing which is onlie proper to it ſelfe, ſhould bee made common to others. The Lord God himſelfe, though he be not touched with mans infirmities, nor ſubiect to paſſions, ſpeaketh foreign, after the maner of man, for the inſtruction and cōfort of man, and ſaith, that He will be iealous ouer his land: that is,Ioel. 2.28. that he will not ſuffer his own children which repent them of their ſinnes to be any further vexed and troubled as they had bin: as of whō he ſaid alſo in the ſame affection. He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye. And the ſame Lord beeing a iealous God, beareth not, that his people ſhoulde runne a whooring from him, and giuegive his glorie to another. Neither could his Sonne abide this, that his holy houſe ſhoulde be made a denne of theeues. VntoUnto this alſo belongeth that zeale which is defined a ſorrow conceiued of that good which we ſee to bee in ſome others, which we our ſelues do want: ſo that therein wee do not enuie that good in them, nor do wiſh that they had it not, nor ſorowing for that they be in better caſe then our ſelues are, (though they bee not alwayes worthie the ſame): but onelyonly, we are greeued and do lament the want thereof in our ſelues, and in ſome others alſo, whom wee would ſhould enioy that good thing with them and vsus: yea, and it congratulateth with them their good lot. And hereof is it, that we be ſo ſorrowfull, becauſe ſome other men are holier then we are: that is, becauſe we be not ſo religious, ſo deuout, and ſo perfite as they be. Againe, we are ioyfull when we ſee, that ſuch as are worthy for their vertues, are honoured accordinglie: but yet we be ſorrowfull, that we ourſelues, and ſome others are either not ſo worthie as they, or being worthie, are yet in contempt, and not eſteemed with them in thoſe things which appertaine to the glory of God. The Lord God make vsus all right zealous and iealous for his glorie, according as himſelf in his word, his deare ſon in the Goſpel, and his holy Patriarkes, Prophets, Apoſtles and Martyrs, both by their diuined doctrines, and worthy examples of life hauehave taught vsus. For it is certaine, that the God of the Spirits of all fleſh,Pſal. 51.17. Nom. 25.11.13. doth neuer deſpiſe the woful and troubled ſpirits, and the broken and contrite hearts of his people, as a moſt pleaſant ſacrifice vntounto himſelfe, and he accepteth their zeale and holie iealouſie, as a vertue worthie the remembrance from one generation vntounto another.
Cacozelia, Euill zeale.5 But there is a Iealouſie which is not cōmendable: & there is a zeale which is not according to knowledge: for if it were not ſo, then might we neither condemne them that crucified Chriſt, nor reproue them that perſecuted the Apoſtles and holy Martyrs of Chriſt, which did therein they knewe not what. And there is a kinde of zeale, and a kinde of Iealouſie, wherewith they be enflamed, which cenſure and condemne all other men, and onelyonly cleare and commend themſelues, with thoſe their chiefe heads & authors whom the word of God condemneth. Theſe be they, who in the heate of their paſſions, and carnall affections, pretend reformation of things which are amiſſe, & make great ſemblances and ſhewes of religion, honeſtie, and vertue: when as (that notwithſtāding) they hunt after the wealth, eſtimation, & glory of the world: they would gladly be enriched before others: they would be preferred to al others: they would be praiſed in their actions beyond all others, as they conceit themſelues to be better then all others. And for this purpoſe they labor to inuent, diuulgate, & thruſt into the church, ſingular and ſtrange opinions of their owne heades, which they wold ſhould be eſteemed, eſtabliſhed, and defended, as equall with the ſacred worde of God. Such were the Epicures, the Phariſees, the Anabaptiſts, and Heretikes of the former times: ſuch are the Sciſmatikes, and diſcontented heades of this time, which ſo much trouble the Church with their opinions, & endanger the peace of good Common-wealthes, with their ſiniſter practiſes. And yet they are not pleaſed (as indeed they knowe not the right Contentation) but they breake foorth vnorderly into a vehement griefe of minde, and angry countenance againſt the cōdigne preferment and good of ſuch other men, as far ſurmount them in learning, godlineſſe, and vertue: neither can they conceale, but are moued dayly to vtter and expreſſe their longing deſire of the hurt and ſhame of thoſe men, not reſpecting their preferment and good, but onelyonly that euill and hurt they wiſh them, for an obiect:Luke 15. and ſo they apprehend that Good, not as Good, but as Euil, with that angry Elder brother, of whom our Lord ſpeaketh in the Goſpel. And this is that zeale, and that kind of iealouſie, which hath none affinitie nor fellowſhip at all, with fayth, hope, and charitie, nor any part of knowledge and the feare of God: and therfore, it is either blind zeale, & doting iealouſie,Gal. 5.20. or rather that very wicked Enuy, hatred, furie, and worke of the fleſh: yea, the tyrannie of the ſoule, & partinacy of the hart, which is ingendred of that Luciferan pride, and diueliſh ambition grafted in mans corrupt nature by the ſubtile ſerpent, by the which a man thinketh himſelf better thē other men: and therfore would be in all reſpects not only equal with others, but alſo more excellent, & aboue them al. A vice, which the Lord abhorreth from his heart, and tieth them which are therewith prouoked, in puniſhment among the hollow hearted hipocrites.
Note this.No doubt ſuch kind of zealous perſons were theſe friends of Iob, who pretending the glorie of God, diſputed with him wickedly in the cauſe of God: for the which he ſharply reproued thē in theſe words: VVill ye ſpeake wickedly for Gods defence: Iob. 13.7.9.10.and talke deceitfully for his cauſe? he wil ſurely reproue you. As if he ſhuld ſay: will ye preſume in the diſplay of your zeale, to reaſon raſhly and fooliſhly of the holie and diuine things of God? do ye thinke that the Lord needeth the wits and arguments of ſuch perſons for the ſetting forth of his glory? No, no, ye grate too much on his diuine iuſtice, and take his name in vaine: for the which doing, he will not hold you guiltleſſe.
6 But yet,Some hauehave a deepe conteſt of their owne zeale and puritie, howſoeuer it be. there be ſome that wold (if they could) perſwade vsus, that there is no zeale to their zeale, no iealouſie to their iealouſie, no wiſdom to their wiſdom, no iuſtice, no temperance, no charity, no faith, no vertues, to their iuſtice, to their temperance, to their charitie, to their faith, to their vertues, & that if their diſcipline were once practiſed in our Church, and their inuented lawes prouided for our Common-wealth, and al things ruled & ordred in points as they hauehave deuiſed, and could direct through the abundance of their ſpirit,They dreame of ſuch a puritie, as yet neuer was, nor ſhall be ſeene among men in this world. then the Moone which is ſo oftentimes obſcured, would ſhine in the night, yea, & alſo in the day, without the apperance of any cloud or blemiſh: vntil then, ſhe is iuſtly to be ſhunned (in their conceit) nor be they diſpoſed to take in good part the benefit of ſuch light as ſhe yeeldeth. They imagine that the Church, which is yet but blacke, and deformed (as ſhee is compared with Chriſt her glorious head) woulde then hauehave in her neither ſpot nor wrinckle, nor any ſuch thing. And this puritie, they expect to be yet ere they die, euen here in this life: vntill the which time, they be not willing to ſerue God (as it ſeemeth) in that holie Communion. As if they woulde ſay to God: well, let all things be thus, and thus perfected, or elſe will we not honour thee, nor ſerue thee, as thou wouldeſt that we ſhould honour, and ſerue thee. Yea (as the Bethulians that appoynted God a time at their pleaſure,Iudith 7.31. and 8.11. within fiue dayes) they dreade not to tie the wiſedome of God vntounto theyr deuiſes, and to their appoynted times: Let this thing thus bee done ſhortlye: wee, wee will hasten reformation, and do it our ſelues ſpeedily, and not wait any longer for the performance of words and promiſes. As if (forſooth) it were not onelyonly lawfull for them to make, alter, & change lawes, and reforme al things at their own pleaſures: but alſo, that it were poſsible themſelues could reforme all, and conſtrain eueryevery action of man to anſwer to right perfection in this world, wherein the very beſt things that be, do ſauor of imperfections, through the contagion of mans concupiſcence and ſin:Eccles. 3.16. neither can they be corrected, as Salomon cōplained. They imagine, that if they did once attempt it, they were well enough able with Aratus Eudoxus, Aratus.to number the ſtars in the firmament of heauen: the which is a matter ſo ſoone, and ſo eaſie to be done, as it is to count and to number the ſand by the Sea ſhore. Wherin they deal far more impudently then euer that Aratus, or any other skilfull Mathematitian in the world durſt, to defend his knowledge & abilitie therin.Diogenes trampled with his fowle feete on Platoes cleane bed clothes, when he ſaid ſo. They pretend with Diogenes to tread downe Platoes pride: but yet, with a more hawtie pride, then euer harboured in Platoes heart, howſoeuer Diogenes, and they in outwarde appearaunce would ſeeme to be. Howbeit, dreaming (neuertheleſſe) of Platoes Common-wealth, they waxe both extreame wiſe, and extreame iuſt, not conſidering the whiles, how much they decipher themſelues therein,Extreame wiſe both extreame fooliſh, and extreame wicked: as, not onelie Ageſelaus, but alſo Salomon, iudgeth of ſuch perſons, to whoſe moſt graue cenſure, Saint Paule condiſcendeth, when hee woulde not, that men ſhould bee wiſe in their owne conceits. Thus wandring at large in and through manie matters, both ſtrange & extrauagant, they leaue the body, and take the ſhadow: they depreſſe the truth, and maintaine errors: they go from the matter,VVhiles men ſtriue in opinions, they neglect the preaching of Chriſt Ieſus. and take hold of the trifles (as Hierome once ſaid of ſuch vaine perſons) would to God they would conſent with vsus, that Ieſus Chriſt be preached ſincerely and plainely: for it is too manifeſtly ſeene, how this neceſſarie argument is neglected, betweene them that ſtriue and contend to maintaine, opinions God helpe vsus.
7. But there is no conſideration with them (the whiles) that extreme Law is meere wrong, Summumius.as the common ſaying is, or that the Lawes regarde rather generall then priuat and particular things, One thing muſt be conſidered with another.which are often referred to the equitie and wiſe moderation of the magiſtrates. Neither do they remember, how that the wiſe man alſo offendeth ſometimes as the foole doth: and that ſuch an exact iuſtice and diſcipline, as they labour to eſtabliſh, ſauouring little or nothing of Equitie, hath decayed many kingdomes, and troubled many Churches.It is eaſier to throw downe, then to build vp. Wee are bound to bend to the beſt in euerie deliberation (wherin the Lorde in merciemercy fill vsus with the graces of his ſpirit) but it is no point of wiſedome for a man which hath a well builded houſe alreadie, to pull the ſame downe, before hee hath made his reckoning, and bee aſſured of his abilitie, and meanes to build the ſame better. It is much eaſier to throw downe, then it is to build vp: to kill, then to cure: to rent aſunder, then to ſette together: to moue warres, then to procure peace: though the fine thereof be not ſo profitable. And to trouble a Cittie (ſaid Pindare) it is a thing quickly doone;Pindar. but to reduce the ſame Citie into a quiet ſtate, it lieth not in the power of man, but in the gift of God. Paul is very peremtorie in this, that wee ſhould not do euill, that good may come thereof. VVe muſt do good things and do them well. G. Nazan. de Y. beol. li. 1. Ariſt. eth. 2.Good things are foreuer commendable: but theſe good things ought to bee done directly and well: leaſt whiles we beare men in hande that wee doo iuſt things, by dealing in and about them, moſt vniuſtly we depriue them of their proper graces. Of this minde was learned Ariſtotle, who vſed alſo to ſay, that he was not iuſt and wiſe, which did ſuch things, but he onelyonly which ordred them well. And of this Argument Iohannes Gerſon (if it were not ſome other) bringeth in two Souldiers diſputing:Io. Gerſ. in dial. duorum militum. They that hauehave made of men Martyres (ſayde the one of them to his fellow) hauehave made a good thing? to whom anſwered the other, yea, but yet they hauehave not made that good thing well: Et Deus remunerator Aduerbiorum, non Nominum, And God rewardeth not Nownes, but Aduerbes. That is: God doth not ſo much regard what things men do,God reſpecteth rather the qualitie then the quantitie of works & faith. as hee doth in what ſort they doo them. The death of Chriſt was a good thing, when as through the ſame al them that beleeued are freed from death and damnation, which Chriſt in his death ouercame and deſtroyed: howbeit, the Iewes, the high Prieſts, Pilate, Caiphas, Annas, Herod, Iudas, and the diuell, hauehave conſented together, and dealt therein moſt wickedly, vngodlily, traiterouſly, and diuelliſhly. Wherefore they hauehave their iudgement and heauie condemnation, taken from the manner of their labours therein. Therefore, as wee are willing to do good, ſo lette vsus hauehave this regarde to retaine the right grace of good deedes: that is, as Nazanzen ſayde, To do them well. In li. 1. de Theolog.And this ſhall we doo indeede, if wee deale in the feare of God and with a good conſcience, according to the methode and rule of the word of God, which ſhall neither deceiue vsus, nor cauſe to to repent our trauailes beſtowed about the ſame. And this is that which Zacharie entended when hee ſaide, that wee being deliuered from the handes of our enemies, ſhould ſerue God, in holineſſe and righteouſneſſe, all the dayes of our life.