LIGHT and Heat are inseparable Compa­nions in true Religion, without the latter, the former is cold Formality; and without the former, the latter is wild Enthusiasm: Tho' the Passions be bad Guides, they are notwithstand­ing good Servants, and therefore should neither [Page 6] be neglected nor destroyed, but excited, and duly regulated in their Tendencies, by Reason and Revelation, according to the Nature and Impor­tance of their Objects: This is the Remedy which the Lord Jesus Christ proposes in the Words of our Text, to the lukewarm Church of Laodicea, to cure her Degeneracy, and remove the Calamities conse­quent upon it; which are supposed by the pre­ceeding Part of the Verse, from which the Text is an Inference: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be ZEALOUS therefore and repent. q. d. Seeing the Afflictions I send to correct you for, and reclaim you from your Remissness in Religion, proceed not from Prejudice, but regard to your best Good, therefore they should be kindly accep­ted and faithfully improved, by the exercise of Zeal and Penitence; without which they will not be removed in Mercy: Certainly, the Wounds of a Friend, are better than the Kisses of an Enemy; if therefore you have any gratitude to God, or re­gard to your own Interest, Be ZEALOUS! Ardent Love is termed ZEAL, (Num. xi. 29. Psalm lxix. 9.) By this Word, our Lord enjoins a laudable Emulation of Piety and Virtue, and an ardent strong Affection in religious Worship: ^* [Page 7] Be ZEALOUS, shake off your Sloth and Luke­warmness, and Labour earnestly in the Use of all appointed Means to recover your first Love, your former Warmth, Spirit, and Savour; that so you may be such burning and shining Lights, such sa­vory Salt, in a dark and degenerate World, that Men seeing your good Works, may glorify your Father which is in Heaven: If the Salt looses its Savour, our Lord assures us, it is good for Nothing, but to be cast out, and troden under the Feet of Men! (Matth. v. 13.)—And repent: i. e. Candidly confess, and sincerely lament your Coldness and Negligence in Time past, and resolve in the Strength of God to do better in Time to come, in Pursuance of which, strive to keep yourselves in the Love of God, strive to keep alive in your Souls the sacred Fire of divine Grace, that ye may not be dead while ye live, but live in Love, live to God, and feel you live! let your Spikenard incessantly diffuse to all around you, its aromatic, delightful, and useful Fragrance, and your Hearts glow with unremit­ting▪ pious, and noble Ardors!

THE Subject of our present Meditations is ZEAL, which is twofold, viz. bad and good: Of the former Genus or Sort, there are various Kinds or Species, particularly

[Page 8]1. THERE is a natural Zeal and Activity▪ unsanc­tified, which is the Effect of a sprightly Tempera­ture of Body; which, tho' it be not positively Evil, yet has Nothing spiritual or saving in it, and so is comparatively Bad.

2. AN ignorant Zeal, when Persons are zealous and they dont know for what or why; and hence it is said of the carnal Jews, that they had a Zeal for God, but not according to Knowledge, for being ignorant of Gods Righteousness, or of the Necessity and Sufficiency of the Righteousness of a Mediator, to the Justification of a believing Sinner, which is of Gods Appointment; and going about to establish their own in Place thereof, they did not sincerely submit to, or entirely depend upon, the Righteous­ness of God, (Romans x. 2, 3.) And thus Israel that followed after the Law of Righteousness, hath not attained to the Law of Righteousness. Where­fore? Because they sought it not by Faith, but as it were by the Works of the Law, (Romans ix. 31, 32.) But besides this Self-righteous Vein, ignorant Zeal is equally liable to [...] into the wilds and [...]reaks of Enthusiasm; when Men leave the Guidance of the holy Scriptures, and follow the blind Impulses of their own Minds, which they reckon sufficient without them; contrary to the sacred Oracles, [Page 9] (1 Cor. ii. 14. Rev. iii. 17. Luke xi. 13.) Ig­norant Zeal is exceeding Dangerous, like a Sword in the Hand of one that is blind, or mad! Wit­ness the Boors Wars in Germany; and many other Instances nearer Home.

3. A hypocritical Zeal, when Men affect to ap­pear zealous before others, when they are not so in Reality; thus the Pharisees wore broad Phylac­tery's, made long Prayers, compassed Sea and Land to make a Proselyte, gave Alms in public, built the Tombs of the Prophets, that they might be seen of Men, and esteemed Religious; and yet they persecuted at the same Time, the Prince of Prophets. Those Hypocrites our Lord accosts in the following Language, Ye Serpents, ye Genera­tion of Vipers, how can ye escape the Damnation of Hell, (Matthew xxiii. Chapter.)

4. A proud Zeal, when Men are fervent in any Matter that concerns them, their Opinions, Hu­mors, Honors, Interests, Friends, or any Thing that is theirs, and principly because it is theirs: And yet such is the Deceitfulness of the human Heart, that some are pleased with this sorry Mush­room Witness Jehu, who had the Confidence to ask good Jonabab, to come and see his Zeal. (2 Kings x, 16.)

[Page 10]5. A factious Zeal, when Pride or Covetousness hath engaged Men in a Party, and they think it their Duty, at least their Interest, to contend ear­nestly for all the Opinions and Customs of the Sect they have chosen, without examining whe­ther they be right or wrong: In the mean Time slighting and rejecting all who are of other Deno­minations, and Sentiments in lesser Things; and solicitously labouring to proselyte others, rather to a Party than to vital Piety, that they may glory in their Flesh, and answer some mean Design, (Gal. vi. 13.) As if it was a great Catch to be damned, rather in this, than in that Faction; but blessed be God, the Church of Christ is not confined to any Party, (John x 16.) Nor does the Kingdom of God consist in Meats and Drinks, but in Peace and Righteousness, and Joy in the holy Ghost, (Rom. xiv. 17.) The Apostle Paul expressed his Abhor­rence of promoting Schisms in the Church of God, by a noble Depression of himself on that Occasion, who then is Paul, and who is Apollos? (1 Cor. iii. 5.) The main Point is to be holy in Heart and Life, such will surely get to Heaven, and there their Differences in Sentiment will be comfortably set­tled.

[Page 11]6. A superstitious Zeal, for small and indifferent Things while greater are neglected, thus the Pha­risees were fond of their Washings and Traditions, and paid Tithes of Mint, Anise, and Cummin, while they omitted the weightier Matters of the Law, Judgment, Mercy, and Faith. They strained at a Gnat, and swallowed a Camel, (Matthew xxiii. 24.)

7. AN envious Zeal, against those that have the Precedency and cross their Desires, contradict their Notions, or cloud their Honor: But if ye have bitter Envying and Strife in your Hearts, glory not, and lie not against the Truth: This Wisdom de­scendeth not from above, but is earthly sensual, and devilish. (James iii. 14, 15.)

8. A malignant Zeal, against the faithful Ser­vants of Christ, for their Soundness, Holiness, and Usefulness, and in Proportion thereto: Not­withstanding all the plausible Pretexts with which it is artfully covered, (See this shocking PARADOX confirmed by divine Testimony: Gen. iii. 15. Gal. iv. 29. Luke xii. 51, 52, 53. 1 John iii. 12. 1 Cor. xvi. 9. Rev. xii. 12, 13.)

As sinful ZEAL is manifold in Kind, so it is exceeding hainous and of malignant Influence; it dishonoreth God by presuming to affix his sacred Name to Error in Principle, and Impiety in Prac­tice; [Page 12] it charges upon infinite Purity all the Wic­kedness it commits; it injures the Church of God, as well as civil Society and our own Souls; this made Paul exceeding mad against the Disciples of Christ, so that he shut them up in Prisons and compelled them to blaspheme! (Acts xxvi. 10, 11.) This breeds Contention, and oversets the Peace and Order of Societies and Families: As pious Zeal is the Fervency of Grace, so is sin­ful Zeal the Fervency of Sin, it makes Men dou­bly sinful, for hereby they are induced to do much Evil in a little Time, and that in the Name of God, whereby they fight against him by his own Authority: (Perverted) this blinds Men's Minds, and prejudices their Hearts against Conviction; the zealous Sinner justifies his Sin, and pleads Scrip­ture and Reason in its Defence: Yea, he thinks he is serving God, when he is murdering his Servants, and opposing the Power and Spirit of Religion, a melancholy Case this indeed! Yea, even Zeal for small and circumstantial Matters, when high in Degree, is of hurtful Tendency, for it destroyeth Charity and Peace, and disparages holy Zeal by Accident, making the profane think that all Zeal is no better than the foolish Passions of deceived Men; and hence it disables those that have it to do Good, even when they are zealous for important Truth and Duty, for many will be inclined to [Page 13] think it of the same Nature with their eronious Zeal, and so disregard them. Now seeing the Case of sinful Zeal is so awful and dangerous, it should put us all upon our guard, lest we be de­ceived and ensnared by Satan and our own Hearts!

BUT the PIOUS ZEAL enjoined in our Text, is of a very different Kind, and may be thus de­scribed, viz. that it is a devout Fervour or Warmth, wrought in the Affections of a regenerated Person by the holy Spirit, in the Use of appointed Means, whereby they are carried out to the utmost, in promoting the Kingdom of God, from Love to his Majesty, with an Eye to his Glory, and according to the Directions of his written Word, (Romans xii. 11. James v. 16. 1 Peter i. 22 and 48.)

HERE observe, that love to God, is the Principle from which this pious Passion proceeds, (2 Cor. v. 14.) His Glory is its End, (1 Cor. x. 31.) His Word is the Rule by which it is regulated, (Gal. vi. 16.) His Spirit its Efficient, (Rom. viii. 9.) And Regeneration its Antecedent, (Colossi. iii. 1, 2.) It is not a distinct Grace by itself, but the Vigor and fervent Operation of every Grace; and has the following Properties, viz.

[Page 14]1. IT is according to Knowledge, (Rom. x. 2.) for Truth and Holiness, and not for Error and Sin: It is such as a Man can give a Reason for, and so is a reasonable Service, (Rom. xii. 1.) Without Knowledge the Mind cannot be good, (Prov. xiii. 2.) The popish and enthusiastical Notion therefore, that Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion, is as false as it is foolish and pernicious, a reproach to Christianity, yea, a scandal to human Nature!

2. SINCERE and simple, for God and his King­dom, without mean Artifice and selfish Design. (2 Cor. i. 12.) For our rejoicing is this, even the Testimony of our Conscience, that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity, not with fleshly Wisdom, but by the Grace of God, we have had our Conversation in the World. For we are not as many, who corrupt ^* the Word of God, but as of Sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ, (2 Corin. ii. 17.)

3. TEMPERED with Humility and Love, and attended with Meekness, Self-denial and Patience: True Zeal makes the Saints humble, Witness the Publican and Apostle Paul, (Luke xviii. 13. 1 Tim. i. 15. Philip. iii, 8.) But while they think [Page 15] meanly of themselves, they highly esteem others, and give them all that Honor that is due to their several Places and Relations, (Rom. xiii. 7.) And while their Indignation burns against the Sins of Men because of the dishonor done thereby to God; they feel Bowels of Pity towards their Persons! (Rev. ii. 2. Col. iii. 12.) When Moses tho' the meekest of Men, saw the Calf which the People of Israel had made, and Dancing, his Anger wax­ed hot, and he broke the Tables of Stone, (Ezod. xxxii. 19.) Yet he earnestly plead for Mercy to­wards their Persons, (Exod. xxxiii. 19.) Thus our dear Lord looked on ungrateful Impenitents with Anger, who sought to flay their kindest Be­nefactor; being grieved for the Hardness of their Hearts, (Mark iii. 5.) And hence we may learn that true Zeal is a compound of Anger and Grief, both which proceed from love to God and Man, and therefore is inconsistent with Barbarity and Blood! (See Gal. iv. 12. 2 Cor. xii. 21. Luke ix. 53 to 57▪) Wilt then that we command Fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them? But he turn­ed and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what Manner of Spirit ye are of: For the Son of Man is not come to destroy Men's lives, but to save them. See how contrary Christ is to Dragooning for Religion, and spreading his spiritual Kingdom by the carnal Weapons of Sword and Terge: A Method which [Page 16] some fierce Bigots would fain tamper with, to spread the Shibboleths of their Schisms! If Club-law be the proper Method to convince Mens Understandings and propagate the Faith; then the Spanish Inquisition is the Perfection of Christianity; the most worthy and pious Discovery that has yet been made. O horrible! is it decent or con­sistent for Protestants, who confess they are fal­lible; assert the Necessity of Knowledge, and the right of private Judgement, and who blame the Papists for their cruelty and bloodshed, to imi­tate the Mother of Harlots in her Wickedness, by propagating her slavish and bloody Tenets; for if external Force be necessary to promote Religion, it will necessarily follow, that eronious Decrees have a binding Power; that implicit Faith is sound Doctrine; that Knowledge is dangerous, and Ig­norance the Mother of Devotion; because the less we know, the more easily we can submit blind-sold to an absolute Authority: But when any do so in Matters purely Religious, they ad­mit and obey another King in Christ's Kingdom, and so commence Rebels against his supreme Au­thority, who is the only Lord, Lawgiver, and Master of his People; by prefering others before him, and setting up their Authority in Opposition to his, (James iv. 12▪ Matthew xxiii. 10.)

[Page 17]LEARNED Mr. Warburton on this Subject, just­ly observes, ‘That it hath been offered in excuse for this Behaviour of the Protestant Churches, on their Separation from the Church of Rome; (for their Perseverance in it afterwards, will admit of no Apology,) that the Spirit of Per­secution hath a marvelous Malignity in its Na­ture, above all other Errors, to corrupt and deprave the human Mind: So that when every other Iniquity of papal Power had been now detected and expelled; this still sculked behind, within the close Recesses of the Heart; and as often as it could disguise its Deformity under a Zeal for the Work of Reformation, it was ready to step out and play the Devil!’

4. PROPORTIONED in Degree to the Weight and Moment of Things, more careful about the Substance than the Circumstance; and prefering great Things to small; Righteousness and Peace to Meats and Drinks; the weightier Things of the Law, to Mint; and a Camel to a Gnat, (Mat. ix. 13. Rom. xiv. 17 and 20. Mat. xxiii. 23, 24.) Prefering Things plain and self-evident, to Things comparatively doubtful and problematical, (Rom. xiv. 5 and 17, 18.) Prefering Matters that con­cern vital and practical Holiness, to uncertain Opi­pinions about what is remote from the Heart and [Page 18] Practice of Piety; such as foolish and unlearned Questions, which gender Strife, Genealogies, and Contentions about the Law, which are unprofita­ble and vain, (Titus iii. 8, 9. 2 Tim. ii. 23.) And striving about Words to no Profit, but to the Sub­version of the Hearers, (2 Tim. ii. 14.) True Zeal contendeth not for small and doubtful Con­troversies, to the loss or wrong of greater Truths and Duties, tho' it regards every Truth; yet in a Degree proportioned to its Place and Weight in the Christian System, or Analogy of Faith, (Rom. xii. 6.) It is hottest in the greatest Things, and coolest in the least; more earnest for a vital Faith, Love, and good Works, than for doubtful Opinions, and mutable Ceremonies; more earnest for the Foundation, than for some small Apendages in the Superstructure; more earnest for the Life and Soul of Religion, than its Garb and Dress, (Col. ii. 19. and iii. 14. Heb. xii. 14.) Nor can any Thing be more reasonable, for Love is the fulfilling of the Law, and Faith and Holiness the Substance and Scope of the Gospel, (Rom. xiii. 10. 1 Tim. i. 5. Gal. vi. 15, 16.) ‘Carnal contests about little Things, while the great are neglected; seem to express great Solicitude; how most neatly to adorn a Carcase, or at best, how with greatest Art and Curiosity, to Trim and Appa­rel gorgeously, a languishing Man, in the fear­ed [Page 19] approaches of Death, instead of endeavour­ing to save his Life ^*.’ But if we walk in the Spirit, we shall not fulfil this Lust of the Flesh; but on the contrary, speak the Truth with Judgment, and in Love, (Gal. v. 16. Philip. i. 9. Ephes. iv. 15.) Some as Cyprian observes, are unfaithful for the Faith, and sacrilegeous for Religion!

THINGS comparatively small, such as Mint, Anise and Cummin, ought to be regarded according to their Moment, and observed in their proper Or­der, but not put on a Par with the weightier Matters of the Law: And regarded they may be by us, as to our own Persuasion and Practice; and modestly and peaceably recommended to o­thers by Reason and Argument, without impos­ing them as Terms of Communion on others; a Claim we have no Authority for, from the King of the Church, (See Rom. xiv. throughout, and xv. 1 and 7. Ephes. iv. 2.) Our Lord directed the superstitious and censorious Pharisees, to go and learn what that meant, that God would have Mercy, ra­ther than Sacrifice, (Matt. ix. 12.) That is when a lesser Duty interferes with a greater, the lesser is to be at that Time omitted; the offering of Gifts [Page 20] or Acts of external Worship, must give Place to brotherly Love and Compassion: To say that there is no Difference in respect of the Degrees of Importance, in different Truths and Duties, is to oppose the plainest Dictates of Reason, as well as the positive Declarations of Christ and his Apostles; and to say that these should not be regarded accor­dingly, is to be guilty of the Iniquity which our Lord reproved in his Enemies, the Pharisees, and to reject common Sense! To regard a Nail in the Roof of a House, as much as a Stone in the Foun­dation; or, the Hair of a Man's Head and his Nails, as much as his Heart and Lungs, is redi­culous and absurd!

5. TRUE Zeal is ever tender of the Churches Peace and Unity, and therefore avoids with Care, irregular Measures and Impositions which tend to Confusion and Division: The Wisdom that is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated; full of Mercy and good Fruits, with­out Partiality, and without Hypocrisy, (James iii. 17.) The Union of Christs Body mistical is her Strength and Comfort, her Beauty and Glory; this makes her the Delight of her Friends, and the Terror of her Enemies. In this Situation, [Page 21] how goodly are thy Tents, O Jacob, and thy Taber­nacles, O Israel? Who is she that looketh forth as the Morning, fair as the Moon, clear as the Sun, and terrible as an Army with Banners? (Cant. vi. 10.) Christ prays that his People may be one, that the World may know the Father had sent him, (John xvii. 21.) And shall not we labour to keep the Unity of the Spirit, in the Bond of Peace, (Ephes. iv. 3.) Labour to be one in Affection and Design, as Christ and the Father are one: And as far as we have attained, be one in Conduct, (Philip. iii. 16.) Labour to be one in fundamentals, and as to lesser Points exercise Forbearance, allowing that Liberty to others, which our great Master has left to all, and which ourselves desire; and the Weak­ness of our present State, renders so Necessary to our Comfort and Benefit, (Tit. iii. 10. Ephes. iv. 2. Rom. xiv. 1. Gal. v. 1.) Labour to adopt that antient scriptural and rational Maxim, In Necessa­riis Unitas, in non necessariis Lbertas, et in utrisq Charitas. In fundamentals Unity, in circumstan­tials Liberty, and in both Charity: O how happy would it be for the whole Christian Church, which is now, alas for it, by her numerous and scandalous Divisions, become a Torment to her­self, a Grief to her Friends, and the Scorn of her [Page 22] Enemies! Would she embrace and act up to this equitable Axiom! But what good can be expected, while the ignorant and furious Biggots of every Sect, look on themselves and their Party, to be the only true Church of Christ; in the mean Time excluding all others, and saying, Lo Christ is here, or lo he is there, (Luke xvii. 21.) As if the Redeemers Kingdom was reduced to a Nut-shell, and he had no Fold but one; from such unhal­lowed Zeal, and uncharitable Charity, may the good Lord deliver us!

6. TRUE Zeal is Impartial, it is as hot against our own Sins, and the Sins of our Relations and Friends, as the Sins of others: It labours first to take the Beam out of our own Eye, before we at­tempt to cast out the Mote of our Brothers Eye, (Matthew vii. 5.)

7. UNIFORM, it respects all Gods Commands, (Ps. cxix. 6.) It is not hot for one, and cold towards another: But aims at, and labours for a Perfecti­on of Obedience to all; and justly seeing all are of the same Tendency, and enjoined by the same Authority, (Philip. iii. 12, 13.) It consists prin­ciply in the Fervor of our love to God, whereas a false Zeal consists chiefly in hatred against Man; [Page 23] and therefore manifests itself in severe Censures upon the Sentiments and Actions of those it dislikes, (James 3 Chap.) As the Legs of the Lame are not equal, so the Life of a Hypocrite or false Zea­lot, is not of a Piece; like Ephraim, he is a Cake not turned, half raw and half roasted, (Hosea vii. 8.) His Goodness is like the Morning Cloud, and early Dew, that soon passes away, (Hosea vi. 4.) A sudden Flash that soon expires, like that of a Fe­vor, or of the stony Ground Hearers, (Mat. xiii. 5, 6.) But the Zeal of the truly pious, is like the natural Heat of the Body, which regularly digests the Nourishment it receives, and so animates and strengthens the Man: And like the Light of the Morning which shines more and more to the per­fect Day!

8. DISCREET, instead of magisterial Severity, or pharasaic Cruelty, it introduces Reproof, with a Commendation of what is praise-worthy in the Person reproved; this Method has an excellent Tendency to prevent or remove Prejudices, and excite to receive the Admonition kindly, which makes it more likely to answer the End designed: An Example of this, we have in our Lords treat­ment of the Churches of Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia, (Rev. 2 and 3 Chap.)

[Page 24]I MAY add, that true Zeal is attended with undaunted Bravery of Mind, and a generous prince­ly Spirit; as appear in Nehemiah, Paul, and A­raunah! Should such a Man as I flee? (Nehem. vi. 11.) What mean ye to weep, and break my Heart? For I am ready, not only to be bound, but to die at Je­rusalem, for the Name of the Lord Jesus! (Acts xxi. 13.) All these Things did Araunah, as a King, give unto the King, (2 Sam. xxiv. 23.) But some Professors ingloriously change Shapes in Danger, as often as the Camelion its Colours▪ and in Mat­ters of Charity, do more resemble Nabal than A­raunah, (1 Sam. xxv. 10, 11.) When help for Zion is asked, their little selfish Souls shrink with­in their Iron Bosoms, like a Snail in its Shell, and are as impenitrable as Adamant, to all the Argu­ments of Piety, Generosity, and public Spirit!

THE Excellency of a true Zeal appears, from the following Considerations, which recommend it to our Choice and Practice, viz.

1. ZEAL being Nothing but the Fervor and Vigor of every Grace, it hath in it all the Beauty and Excellency of all those Graces, and that in a high Degree of Eminence; if Love to God be ex­cellent, then zealous fervent Love must needs be most excellent!

[Page 25]2. THE Nature of holy Objects is such, so great, so excellent, and of such transcendent and un­speakable Importance, that we cannot be sincere, in our Esteem of them, and Pursuit after them, without Zeal: If it were about Riches and Honors, a cold Desire and dull Pursuit might serve the turn, but about God and Christ, and Grace and Heaven, such cold Desires and Endeavours are virtually a Contempt! To love God without Zeal, is not to love him at all, because it is not loving him as God: No desire of Christ, of Ho­liness, and Heaven, is saving; but that which prefers them to all the Treasures and Delights of Life; and that which doth so, hath certainly some Zeal in it; so that Zeal is essential to every Grace, as Life and Heat is to a Man.

3. THE Integrity and Honesty of the Heart to God, consisteth much in Zeal; as he that is true to his Friend is zealous for him, and not the Man that is indifferent and cold; to do his Ser­vice with Zeal, is to do it willingly and heartily; to do it without Zeal, is to do it heartlesly, and by halves, and leave out the Life and Kernel of the Duty: It is the Heart that God doth first and most require, (Prov. xxiii. 26.) My Son give me thine Heart, and let thine Eyes observe my Ways. [Page 26] The End when valued according to its Worth, ex­cites and directs the Affections and Endeavours, in that Order and Measure, as is proportioned to its Excellency, and the Difficulties of obtaining it: True Zeal animates Endeavours, as the Mo­tion of the Heart, diffuses the Blood into the Veins, and the Spirits into the Arteries, to convey Life and Motion into all Parts of the Body: One Thing, saith the PSALMIST, have I desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the House of the Lord, all the Days of my Life, to behold the Beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his Temple. Whom have I in Heaven but thee? And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee, (Psalm xxvii. 5, and lxxiii. 25.) No Man can serve two Masters, God and Mamon: Either he will hate the one, and love the other, or hold to the one, and despise the other, (Matthew vi. 24.)

4. ZEAL is the Soul and Strength of the Duty, and makes it like to attain its End; the fervent Prayer of the Righteous is effectual. (James v. 16.) Importunate Suitors are like to speed, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence, and the Violent take it by Force, (Matt. xi. 12.) We are commanded to STRIVE, as in an Agony, to enter in at the [Page 27] straight Gate. ^* And that for this Reason, Because many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, (Luke xiii. 24.) Not every one that seeketh, findeth; not every one that striveth, is crowned; not every one that runeth, gains the Prize; but he that doth it lawfully, (2 Tim. ii. 5.) i. e. REGULARLY, HUMBLY, EARNESTLY, PERSEVERINGLY, (Isaiah lxvi. 2. Luke xi. 8, 9. 1 Cor. ix. 24. Heb. xii. 1.) No wonder we are commanded to love God with all our Heart, Soul, and Mind, which is a zealous Love; for that overcomes all other Love, and constrains to Obedience: From what has been said it is evident, that Zeal is necessary to Salvati­on, both in respect of Command and Mean, for it is not only enjoined by divine Authority, and has a gracious Promise annexed, (Rev. iii. 19.) but it has an Aptness, a Becomingness, a Tendency in itself, to the Object and the End proposed.

5. ZEAL embraces and improves the Opportuni­ties, and Seasons of Mercy and Grace; which Sloth and Negligence let slip: The zealous work while it is Day; they seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near; [Page 28] they know the Day of their Visitation and Salvati­on, while the Lukewarm and Indolent stupidly delay and trifle; audaciously harden their Hearts, and sleep with their Lamps unfurnished, and do not knock till the Door of Mercy be shut against them: Lukewarmness and Negligence are the Grave of Mercies, where they are ungratefully buried, till they rise up in Judgment against the Despisers of them: Surely the Improvers of Na­ture shall condemn those Neglecters of Gospel Grace, yea the very Beasts shall be Witnesses a­gainst many, who did not serve God with that Diligence, as they served them.

6. ZEAL and Diligence are the victorious E­nemies of Sin and Satan; they cannot endure Sin; but are to it as a Fire to Thorns; they dally not with Iniquity, but reject the Motion instantly with Abhorrence, and avoid the Appearance of Evil; while the Vineyard of the Sluggard is over-grown with Thorns, and his Soul famishes with fruitless Wishes, because his Hands refuse to La­bour: Impediments that stop a Sluggard, are as Nothing to a zealous Soul: As a Wheel that moves slowly, is stopt by a little Matter, which a quicker Motion easily Surmounts; a lively Ser­vant makes a Pleasure of his Work, which a lazy one does with Pain and Weariness.

[Page 29]7. ZEAL is faithful, constant and valiant, and therefore greatly pleaseth God; it cleaves to him with unshaken Firmness, with a dving Gripe, in the midst of the most formidable Dangers and Calamities; the Fire consumeth it not, nor do many Waters quench it; but such as have a luke­warm Religion, will be easily drawn or driven from it, they are so indifferent that a little more of the World put into the Scale, will weigh down Christ in their Esteem; the Hopes and Fears of temporal Things, prevail with them against the Hopes of eternal. No wonder therefore that God disowns such treacherous Servants, and turns them away as unworthy of his Family! (Luke xiv. 26, 27.) If a Man come to me, and hate not his Fa­ther and Mother, and Wife and Children, and Brethren and Sisters, i. e. Comparitively he can­not be my Disciple. Christian Prudence instead of opposing, realy befriends true Zeal, by direct­ing it in respect of Time and Mode, so as to an­swer its Design, but carnal Cunning opposes all Goodness,

IT is in vain to mask this malignant Iniquity of Lukewarmness, with the plausible Pretext of Mo­deration, for that is only opposed to immoderate Desires, Fears, and Cares about earthly Things, [Page 30] but not to Zeal about heavenly; for herein it is lawful, laudible, and truly Noble to excel! Their Necessity, Sublimity, Value, and Duration, re­quire and deserve all the Ardor and Vehemence, all the Vigor, the Fire, the Force, of an immor­tal Spirit; in its boldest Salleys, its widest Expan­sions, and most intense Operations! It is true as to Things in their own Nature indifferent; we may, yea we ought to be indifferent; to rejoice as tho' we rejoiced not, and weep as tho' we wept not; because the Fashion of this World passes away; all its Enjoyments are rather an Appearance than a Reality, a meer Shadow that flee from our eager Embraces; a Scene that often Shifts, and will soon come to its final Period: But to be indifferent in a Matter of the greatest Moment, a Matter of Life and Death, a Matter of everlasting Life, and everlasting Death, is shocking and horrible! As irrational as it is ignoble, sinful, perilous, and damnable! Lukewarmness my Brethren, is ex­ceeding dishonorable to God and Religion; nor can it when habitual and allowed, consist with the Truth of it: This monstrous Trifling with God and Salvation, Marrs all our sacred Service, deprives us of Communion with the divine Ma­jesty, and exposes us to his Indignation and aw­ful Judgments; as our Text and Context assure [Page 31] us. This makes us uncomfortable to ourselves, and unprofitable to others; the very Lumber of the Creation, a Burden to the Earth, and a Poi­son to the Air; cumberers of the Ground, barren Trees accursed by Christ; who are every Mo­ment in danger of being cut down by the Ax of divine Justice, and cast into the Fire of Hell! ^[b] What can this crimson Iniquity proceed from, but a Contempt of God, and the Things of God?— An immoderate Love to the World,—Ignorance, Unwatchfulness,—Laziness,—Presumption,—un­necessary and familiar Conversation with the Secure, —Conformity to the World,—engaging in unpro­fitable Questions, which do not warm the Heart, and mend the Life; and carnal Contentions about Religion:—Now the Badness of these Causes, ma­nifest the Meanness and Malignity of the Effect, and point to the Means necessary to prevent or remedy it.

WHEN you grow cold and slothful, O! con­sider how great and good a Master you serve; should any Thing be done negligently for God, your Creator and Sovereign, your Redeemer and Benefactor? Can you ever do enough for that [Page 32] glorious and gracious Being, to whom you are under so immense, innumerable, and endearing Obligations? Nor will he ever suffer you to be Loosers by his Service, which is indeed its own Reward.

O CONSIDER! that he is always present in every Duty you perform, and will you loiter in his Sight, when a very Eye-servant will work, while his Master standeth by!

ONE serious Thought of the End and Conse­quence, one would think, should put Life into the dullest Soul, say to thy sleepy frozen Heart, is it not Heaven that I am seeking, is it not Hell that I am avoiding, and can I be cold and slothful about so great Events?

THE Work I have to do is great and excellent, what Knowledge and Grace have I to get, what Means to use, what Oppositions and Temptations to surmount, shall I then be easy and indolent?

HOLINESS is the Ornament of our reasonable Nature, the Beauty of God: He is glorious in Holiness, and clad with Zeal as a Cloak.

[Page 33]O CONSIDER my dear Brethren! that as the Master is great and good, and ever present, the Work difficult and excellent; so the Reward is glorious, incomprehensible, immortal: A King­dom that is unshaken, a Crown that will never fade away, an exceeding great and eternal Weight of Glory; compared with which, all the light and momentary Afflictions of the present State, are not worthy to be compared; and in View of which they appear as Dross or Dung, yea shrink into Nothing, and are lighter than Vanity! This, this Felicity, will infinitely over-balance all our Labour and Ardor in quest of it! Further,

THE Time we have to work in, is short and uncertain; O how fast does it fly! How soon will it end, end for ever! All the Time we have to prepare for Eternity is but a Moment, the present NOW; the Time past is elapsed and cannot be recalled, and much of that Time, alas for it! spent in Sinning and Trifling; the Time to come we may never possess, and will we spend any more Time in vain, when Death is so near at Hand, and the great Judge at the Door? God forbid! Shortly there will be no Praying, no Hearing, no Working for us any more on Earth; look into the dark Grave, and go to the House of Mourn­ing! [Page 34] O consider! that this Heart hath but a little more Time to think, this Pulse but a little more Time to beat, this Tongue but a little more Time to speak, and all will quickly end, end in awful Silence, end in the endless Recompence! Me thinks this should quicken the coldest Heart, and rouse the most sluggish lethargic Soul!

HOW many Millions are undone already by their Coldness and Negligence; how many are in Hell, lamenting their Sloth on Earth; what if we saw them weltring in Flames, and heard their Groans, would it not make us Serious? What if one of them had Time and Leave to Hope again, would he be cold and careless?

HOW many Millions are now in Heaven, who all came there by Means of holy Zeal and Dili­gence, and are now enjoying the Fruit of all their painful Labours and patient Sufferings; should not this stir up our Zeal, or are we covered with the Scales of Leviathan?

WHAT Thoughts will all the World have of Zeal and Diligence at last; how will the best wish they had been better, and done more for God and their Salvation? And how will the worst wish when it is too late, that they had been zealous and [Page 35] diligent? How earnestly will they then knock and cry, Lord, Lord, open unto us; but alas it will be all in vain! What Heart rending Grief will seize them forever, when they think by what Indifference and Sloth they have lost their Souls! yea, sold them to Destruction for a Thing of Nought!

WE must be zealous and diligent Sirs in this, or in Nothing, for there is Nothing else that is com­paratively worth one serious Thought; to be ear­nest and laborious for perishing Vanities is the Disgrace of our Understandings, and will soon be the Disappointment of our Hopes; the Shame and Ruin of our Souls! But Zeal and Diligence will thro' Grace, recompense all thy Pains!

HAST thou not been cold and indolent long enough already; how much Knowledge, Grace, Comfort, and Usefulness hath this deprived thee of, and wilt thou be lukewarm and slothful still? O doleful Infatuation! O Lord Jesus rend the Heavens and come down, and speak our stupid Souls into Light, and Life, and Love!

HOW diligent is thy grand Enemy Satan, he goes about like a roaring Lion, seeking whom he may de­vour: And wilt thou be less diligent to resist him [Page 36] when thy own Salvation is at Stake? Less diligent to save thy Soul than he to damn it, O horrible!

WHAT an Example of Zeal and Diligence, hath the antient Christians left us, whose Advan­tages and Obligations were not greater than ours, if so great; they had the same Difficulties to grap­ple with as we have, and no greater Crown to labour for;—and shall this have no Influence on our stupid frozen Souls, what then will affect us?

SEE the Lord Jesus weeping, sweating, bleed­ing, groaning, dying, to purchase Salvation for thee; hear how he excites himself to Diligence in this Work, by the Shortness of the Time he had to do it in; the Night cometh, when no Man can work: And canst thou be careless and cold, about thy own Salvation? How unaccountable, unbecoming, and ungrateful is this Stupidity? O shall the La­bours, the Tears, the Groans, and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, have no Influence on us, to excite us to Zeal and Diligence! Are we colder than Ice, and harder than Adamant?

REMEMBER how earnest thou hast been in the Service of Sin and Satan, and wilt thou be now cold and carless in the Service of God, thy right­ful Maker and Proprietor, whose Service is real Liberty?

[Page 37]SEE how eager Worldings are in the Pursuit of Mamon, the Proud and Sensual in Chase of Honor and Pleasure, and think what a shame it is to thee, to be more remiss for God and Salvation!

WHAT hast thou thy Health, thy Time, and all thy Talents for, but to secure thy Salvation; do not all the Mercies of God towards thee, and all the Means of Grace bind thee to be earnest and diligent, the Sun and Moon, the Air and Earth, attend thee with their Help; and yet wilt thou be cold and careless, and laboriously frustrate all these Means and Mercies to thy own Ruin? O lamentable!

SEE how an awaking Pang of Conscience, or a View of Death at Hand can alarm the Wicked, to some serious Diligence for the present, and shall saving Grace have less Influence on thee?

O CONSIDER! that a Spirit of slumber is a most dreadful Judgment; the Decay of natural Heat is a sign of old Age, and is accompanied with the Decay of all the Powers, and Sickness and Pains do attend all such Decays of Life: When the Horse grows dull he is like to feel the Rod or Spur!—

[Page 38]IS NOT your Coldness and Sloth, a Sin against Knowledge, Covenants, Profession, Promises, and therefore greatly aggravated; and will not Punishment be proportioned thereto by a righteous holy God?

IF you would be zealous and diligent, drown not your Hearts in worldly Business and Delights, for these create a Loathing and Weariness of holy Things; they are so contrary to one another, that the Mind will not be eagerly set on both:—Che­rish Faith,—Beware of Sins against Light,—Live in the constant Expectation of Death,—Associate with warm Christians,—Pray for divine Quick­ning. (Revive me and quicken me, O my God, that I may run the Way of thy Commandments,) and attend the preached Word.

HEAR how the Lord Jesus thunders against the Indifferency of the Church of Laodicea, and thro' them threatens us, who are alas for it, got into the same detestable State in a great Degree! I know thy Works, that thou art neither cold nor hot, I would thou wert cold or hot; so because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold or hot, I will spue thee out of my Mouth. q. d. I observe thy Behaviour, thou art neither openly prophane like Heathens, [Page 39] or such as make no Profession of Religion at all, nor yet hast thou true Zeal or Warmth, either for the Faith once delivered to the Saints, or love to God and Man, and the Practice of Holiness; no sincere and suitable Zeal for the Glory of God, and the good of Mankind; thou hast a form of Godliness, but by thy Indifference, practically denies the Power thereof; thou hast a Name to live, but art dead; for this Reason I will reject thee with Abhorrence: See how hateful Luke­warmness in Religion is to the Lord Jesus Christ, it turns his Heart against lazy worldy-wise Profes­sors, as lukewarm Water does Men's Stomachs; if Religion be real, it is noble, excellent, and absolutely necessary, and consequently demerits our highest Esteem and most vigorous Pursuit; if it be not true, it should be opposed with Vehem­ence, as a detestable Imposture, and Imposition upon Mankind; if Religion be worth any Thing it is worth every Thing, and therefore Indiffer­ence is inexcusable; an open Enemy is like to find better Quarter than a perfidious Neuter, there is more Hope of a Heathen than of such:—We are not to imagine that Christ wisheth any Person cold absolutely, but only comparatively; hereby intimating, that the Condition of one who makes [Page 40] no Profession of Religion at all, is in some respects more hopeful than that of a formal lukewarm Hy­pocrite; no doubt both are offensive to God, and are in the Road to ruin; but it is better not to have known the Truth, than after the Knowledge of it to depart from the holy Commandment: As Sins against greater Light are more hainous, so in general such Persons are more puffed up with self-conceit than others, and having something to sa­tisfy their natural Conscience with, are harder to be convinced of their bad State, which is never­theless necessary to their Reformation; it may be therefore justly concluded, that their Condition is in some respects more perilous, than that of o­thers; as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, when they wander from me, or grow lukewarm in my Service: Be zealous therefore, if you would either prevent the inflicting of Judgments, or have them removed in Love; esteem and admire a regular well tempered Zeal in others, and cher­ish it in your own Souls, for without this the Practice of religious Duty is but like a dead Carcase without a Soul to animate it; let God's Glory and in Subordination thereto, the Interest of his Kingdom be the grand Mark of all your Pursuits, whither natural, civil, or religious, and set every [Page 41] Action in the whole circle of Life, tend to this truly noble Center, with an honest and steady Simplicity; and especially let love, ardent, su­pream, and transcendent love to God, be the Spring, the Soul, the Scope, from, to, and in which, all the Acts, the Lines, the Streams of Life proceed, tend and terminate: O let this no­ble Godlike Grace warm and inspire your Bosoms, enliven and animate all your Thoughts, Speeches and Actions, for God and his Kingdon; that you may be inclined from sweet Experience, from conscious Integrity, to speak in the seraphic, sub­lime, and noble Language of the royal Prophet. Isaiah lxii. 1. For Zion's Sake I will not hold my Peace, and for Jerusalem's Sake I will not rest, un­til the Righteousness thereof go forth as Brightness, and the Salvation thereof as a Lamp that burneth!

AND now Sirs, what has been said concerning Zeal, should excite us to enquire, whither we have any Zeal at all, and if any, of what Kind it is? if true Zeal be the vigorous Exercise of Grace, then certainly those have it not who are destitute of the Grace of God; it would be therefore ab­surd for me to excite the ungodly, or such as are not born again, to Exercise what they have not; instead of this, I would intreat those graceless Ga­leos, [Page 42] to begin at the Foundation; to make the Tree good, and the Fruit will be good, (Matt. vii. 17, and xii. 23.) To this End, plow up the fallow Ground of your Hearts; consider seriously and speedily your SIN AND DANGER, lest the righteous God tear you in Pieces, and there be none to deliver you! Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the Dead, and Christ shall give thee Light: Why stand ye all the Day idle in the Market-Place? Wherefore do ye spend your Money for that which is not Bread, and your Labour for that which satisfieth not? How long wilt thou sleep, O Sluggard, when wilt thou arise out of thy Sleep? How long halt ye between two Opinions, if the Lord be God follow him, but if Baal, then follow him: What shall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul, if he gain the whole World and loose the same? What meanest thou, O Sleeper, arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not!

AND let such as have a false malignant Zeal, hear and consider the Words of Christ to a perse­cuting Saul, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the Pricks: On whomsoever the Stone which the Builders re­jected falls, it will grind him to Powder!—

[Page 43]You that have true Zeal, labour to cherish and preserve it, and be more and more zealous for the glorious God, whatever blinded Sinners think, or say, or do against you: Bewail your past Remiss­ness; arise and shine, for your Salvation is nearer than when ye believed; see that ye walk circumspect­ly, not as Fools but as Wise, Redeeming the Time, because the Days are Evil: Take Care that your Zeal be qualified as before expressed, and thus be intrepid Heroes in the Cause of God and Religi­on, and count not your lives dear, that ye may finish your Course with Joy; O think often on the noble Zeal of Abraham, Moses, Phinehas, E­lijah, Nehemiah, Araunah, and above all; of the Prince of Prophets! And now Brethren, seeing we also are compassed about, with so great a Cloud of Witnesses, let us lay aside every Weight, and the Sin that doth so easily beset us; and let us run with Pati­ence the Race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith; who for the Joy that was set before him, endured the Cross, de­spising the Shame, and is set down at the right Hand of the Throne of God, Amen.