Ser. 82, communication, and then with fire and faggot; and, with all the violence and fury in the world, endeavouring the utter extirpation and ruin of them, by bloody croifadoes and a barbarous inquifition, by treacherous maffacres, and all forts of hellish plots and machinations. Witness the monftrous defign of this day, never to be remembered or mentioned without horror, to have destroyed at one blow, and have fwallowed up in one common ruin, our King, and Prince, and Nobles, and the reprefentative body of the whole nation. Witness the bloody maffacre of Ireland, and all their wicked defigns and practices continued to this very day.

3. and laftly, That zeal for God and religion does not alter the nature of actions done upon that account. Perfecution and murder of the fincere profeffors of religion, are damnable fins; and no zeal for God and religion can excufe them, or take away the guilt of them. Zeal for God will juftify no action that we do, unless there be difcretion to justify our zeal.

There is nothing oftener misleads men, than a misguided zeal. It is an ignis fatuus, "a falfe fire," which often leads men into bogs and precipices. It appears in the night, in dark and ignorant weak minds, and offers itself a guide to those who have loft their way. It is one of the most ungovernable paffions of human nature; and therefore requires great knowledge and judg ment to manage it, and keep it within bounds. It is, like fire, a good fervant, but a bad master: if it once get head, it confumes and devours all before it. And the great danger and mifchief of it is, that it is most commonly found where it should not be, and poffeffes those most who are leaft 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 wifeft men are apt to mingle their own paffions 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 fincerely follow the di&tates of their confciences; but they must be careful to inform their confciences, and not fuffer themselves to be violently tranfported, and hurried on by their own

paffions

paffions and prejudice, and by a blind and furious zeal without knowledge.

But what then? Would we have men not follow their own confciences, or act contrary to them? No; by no means for though confcience 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 fettle their practical judgment of things, and conclude things to be lawful or unlawful, duties or fins, without reafon and good ground.

God hath given us understandings to try and examine things, and the light of his word to direct us in this trial; and if we will judge rafhly, and fuffer ourfelves to be hurried by prejudice or paffion, the errors of our judgment become faults of our lives: for God expects from us that we should weigh and confider what we do: and when he hath afforded us light enough to difcern between good and evil, that we fhould carefully follow the direction of it; that we should be fufpicious of ourfelves, when our zeal carries us to do things that are furious and cruel, falfe and treacherous, and have a horrid appearance even to the light of nature: fhould question that zeal which is fo contrary to Chriftian goodness and meeknefs, to peace and charity, and which tends to confufion and every evil work.

we

I will conclude all with that excellent paffage of St. James, which will fhew us how little regard is to be had to many mens pretences of zeal for religion, chap. iii. 13.- -18. Who is a wife man and endued with knowledge among ft you? let him fhew out of a good conve fation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter zeal and ftrife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wifdom defcendeth not from above; but is earthly, fenfual, devilish. For where zeal and strife is, there is confufion, and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and eafy to be intreated; full of mercy, and good fruits; without partiality, and without hypocrify. And the fruit of righteoufnefs is fown in peace of them that make peace.

388

SERMON

LXXXIII.

The beft men liable to the worst treatment from mistaken zealots.

Preached on Nov. 5. 1686.

JOHN xvi. 2.

They fhall put you out of the fynagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whofoever killeth you, will think that he doth God fervice.

T

Hefe words were fpoken by our bleffed Saviour when he was about to leave the world; at the thoughts whereof, finding his difciples to be exceedingly troubled, he comforts them by the confideration 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 admiffion there; and withal promifeth, that his Father would fend the Holy Ghoft, who fhould abundantly fupply the want of his prefence with them. But he tells them, at the fame time, that they fhould meet with very ill entertainment and ufage from the world. But fo had he chap. xv. 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? y 20. Remember the word that I faid unto you, The fervant is not greater than the lord. If they have perfecuted me, they will alfo perfecute 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: 1. Thefe things have I Spoken unto you, that ye fhould not be offended. And then he declares more particularly how far the rage and malice of men fhould proceed against them, and in what kind they fhould fuffer: They shall put you cut of the fynagogues:

Synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth God fervice.

So that our Saviour here foretels two forts of perfecution which his disciples fhould be exercised withal; excommunication, They shall put you out of the fynagogues; and excifion, Yea, the time cometh, that whofoever killeth you, will think that he doth God fervice. And these perhaps were but several kinds and degrees of excommunication. For the clearer understanding whereof, it will be requifite briefly to explain the three degrees of excommunication among the Jews.

The first, called Niddui, is that which our Saviour here means by putting out of the fynagogue; and which he elsewhere expreffeth by approuos, or feparation, Luke vi. 22. Bleed are ye when men fhall hate you, and when they shall feparate you 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 fervice which was a great disgrace; because, after this fentence, none of the Jews were to converse with them, but to look upon them as Heathens and publicans.

:

The fecond degree of this cenfure was called Cherem, which included the firft, but extended farther, to the confifcation of goods into the facred treasury, and devoting them to God; after which there was no redemption of them. And of this we find exprefs mention, Ezra x. 7. 8. where it is faid, that they made proclama tion throughout Judah and Jerufalem, unto all the children of the captivity, that they fhould gather themselves together unto Jerufalem; and that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counfel of the princes and elders, all his fubftance should be devoted, and himself fepar rated from the congregation of thofe that had been carried

away.

The third degree was Shammatha, when the rebellious and contumacious perfon was anathematized and devoted; and, as fome conceive, according to the law, Lev. xxvii. 29. was to be put to death: though other very knowing men in the Jewish learning think it amounted to no more than a final fentence, whereby they were left to the judgment of God, by fome remarkable judgment of his to be cut off from the congregation of Ifrael. K k 3

of

Of the first and last of thefe degrees of excommunication our Saviour feems here to speak; but whether in both instances in the text he alludes in the one to the lowest, and in the other to the highest degree of excommunication among the Jews, is not fo certain. To the first he plainly does, when he fays, They shall put you out of the fynagogues; and then he adds, that they fhould proceed much higher against them, even to put them to death: The time cometh, that whofoever killeth you, will think that he doth God fervice; that is, they should not only think it lawful to kill them, but look upon it as a duty, as a high act of religion, as an acceptable piece of worship, and a facrifice well-pleafing to God. For fo indeed the word does not only import, but moft properly fignify, Whofoever killeth you, fhall think pelav TegoDepew TWO, that he offers a facrifice to God; for fo the word xapia is fometimes ufed, for a facrifice; but being joined with esoppaw, feems neceffarily to be de

termined to that fenfe.

From the words thus explained, I fhall make thefe following obfervations, very proper for our confideration upon the occafion of this day.

1. That the beft of men may be feparated and excluded from the communion of those who may affsume to themfelves to be the true, and the only true church; yea, and fuffer under the notion of very bad and criminal perfons. This our Saviour here foretold of his Apostles, fome of the best men that ever lived: They fhall put you out of the fynagogues.

2. That they who are thus excommunicated by the pretended true church, may nevertheless be real members of the true church of Chrift. Though the Apoftles were thus dealt withal by the Jewish church, they did not cease for all that to be members of the true church of God.

3. That from uncharitable cenfures men do easily and almoft naturally proceed to cruel actions. After they had put the difciples of our Lord out of their fynagogues, and thereby concluded them to be hereticks and reprobates, they prefently proceed to kill them, as not worthy to live: They shall put you out of their fynagogues; and when they have done that, they will foon after think it a thing not only fit, but pious and meritorious, to

put