THIS is the Reason our Lord assigns of the Jewish Zeal against his Followers, why they put them out of their Synagogues, and thought whosoever killed them, did God Service: And the Account so well agrees to their Successors in the same bitterness of Spirit, that it can be no Immodesty in us to ascribe that Ignorance to a part, which Christ himself charges, for the same cause, upon the whole Visible Church of God.

The Jews, at that time, had all the Advantages of Possession; They had a [Page 2] Church of God's own founding; One that had continued in a constant and vi­sible Succession for many Ages: That had no need of the Modern Arts, to found its Doctrines on the Credit of a Dream, or cast out Devils where Men were hired to be possest; but which had seen the Rod of Moses strike a Living Stream out of a Rock, and the Sea divided to give them passage and protection: One, which had the Oracles of God commit­ted to it, and which truly sate in Moses's Chair. And therefore for these Rulers of God's chosen People, the High Priest, and all the State of the Elders, to be charg'd with Folly, to see their Statutes and Or­dinances in danger to be set at naught, and themselves robbed of their Prerogative by a few illiterate Fisher-Men, were Provo­cations that seem'd to justifie their Zeal, and make their Fury Religious. For to tell them, They knew not God; was next [Page 3] to affirming, He had left himself without Witness: And, To reject their Authority; was to Resist the Ordinance of God, who had said, The Priests Lips shall preserve Knowledge, and the People shall seek it at their Mouths.

But on the contrary, our great Prophet and Teacher, who knew what was in Man, and how little all these boasted Privileges would avail in the sight of God, plainly charges these Unnatural Heats upon their Ignorance; They knew not that a God of Mercy and Compassion excuses no Wrath that is cruel, and that fierce Anger was not made for Man: They understood not how great the Presumption was, to fancy his Cause needed the support of their Sin; That nothing which is Evil and Injurious, can be made fit for our Election; and that no Intention is good, which puts us upon the choice of Ill Means. And for this Reason, to the end his Disciples [Page 4] should not be offended, nor prefer Au­thority to Truth, does our Saviour here affirm, These things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.

The Words are plainer than any Com­ment would make them; and they are designed, in their First Intention, to arm the Holy Apostles against the Malice of their own Country-Men. They were the First Persecutors of Men, who believed in the same God with themselves: For what we read of Socrates, Anaxagoras, and others, being condemn'd by the Court of Areopagus, was not for Worshipping the Gods in a wrong manner, but for Con­temning all. But in every Age we find the Jews Constant Promoters of the Heathen Cruelties: And if we may guess at the Reason of their Passion, by the first Spring of it, it does not seem to be a true Zeal for their Law, lest the Christians should [Page 5] only change the Customs which Moses delivered them, but rather an Indignation or Envy to be so much over-matched by their Glorious Works, and Excellent Abi­lities. St. Luke relates, Act. 5. That by Vers. 12. the Hands of the Apostles were many Signs and Wonders wrought among the People, then rose up the High Priest, and they that were Vers. 17. with him, and were filled with Indignation, and laid their Hands on the Apostles, and put them in the Common Prison. After­wards when they could not silence these Witnesses of our Lords Resurrection, they Vers. 33. took Counsel to slay them, and so literally fulfilled the Praediction in the Text.

But this is written likewise for our learning who come after; for no Pro­phecy of the Scripture is of a private or proper Interpretation; it ought not to be confin'd to that single Occasion upon which it was first uttered, but is a standing In­struction for all the Succeeding Necessities [Page 6] of the Church. And therefore we who now celebrate a Deliverance, wherein this Scripture is fulfilled in our Ears, who labour under the like unjust Sentence, as the Apostles once did, and still hear Murder called a Sacrifice unto God, may safely conclude, that the Admonition be­longs to us of the Present Generation, no less than it did to them, who first recei­ved it; and though we have no great hopes it will convince Gain-sayers, yet it may serve to fortifie our selves, and to make us all sensible of Gods Mercy, in so long escaping that Fury, which first made Jewish Zealots and then Christian; which particularly inspired the Conspira­tors of this Day, and which we have rea­son to Fear, was not buried in their Graves, but will be always urging to the like Attempts.

For which Good Purposes, I shall en­deavour some account,

1. Of the Falseness of that Principle, upon which these Violences are generally built, namely, That they are Designs for God, and Hallowed by their being so.

2. Of those Mistakes which corrupt and misguide our Zeal to intemperate Degrees. And,

3. We may reflect on that wonder­ful Act of God's Providence, in so emi­nently protecting us, and the Gratitude we owe Him, who so does His Marvel­lous Works, that they ought to be had in Remembrance. And,

I. If we enquire what it was, which so far transported the Jews against the Holy Apostles, we shall find it none of the weighter Matters of the Law, Judgment or Mercy, for these the Apostles observed better than themselves; but that which inflam'd their Zeal, was Traditions of their own, the Commandments of Men, and not of God. And of this our Saviour [Page 8] convinces them, Matth. 15. in an emi­nent instance; They had a custom of De­voting their Goods by Vow; this the Pharisees adjudged Obligatory, though a Father were in want, and so made the Vow take place of the Commandment; now it is hardly imaginable, how they came to prefer this mad Practice to so plain and natural a Duty, but that our Lord insinuates the Reason, The Vow was of their own devising, and that made them so fond of it.

Here then we have a plain discovery, what makes our Zeal intemperate; it is that which makes every Affection so, the being Lovers of our selves, and leaning to our own Understandings; for this never fails of making us seek to impose upon other Men; one effect of which always is, that we proportion not our displeasure to the weight of the things contended a­bout, but to the opposition we meet with; [Page 9] and this easily leads us into a Fond Be­lief, that the Goodness of the Intention will sanctifie our Excesses. It was St. Paul's own case whilst he liv'd a Pharisee, he says, Act. 26. That he verily thought with Vers. 9. himself he ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth; and yet we never find this pleaded as a Justi­fication of his Fact; but though he ob­tained Mercy because he did it ignorantly 1 Tim. 1. 13. in Ʋnbelief, yet he still confesses himself to have been a Blasphemer, and a Perse­cutor, and Injurious; and he afterwards pronounces, That whosoever does Evil, that Good may come, his Damnation is just.

The Reason of this Declaration we find to have been a Slanderous Report, that he Rom 3. 8. held the contrary: And it seems to have been a Calumny upon our Saviour him­self; for before his Exposition of the De­calogue, Matth. 5. he forewarns his Fol­lowers, [Page 10] That they should not think he came to destroy the Law and the Prophets; and the following words shew the great Reason he had to do so; For verily I say Vers. 8. unto you, till Heaven and Earth pass, one jot, or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled. This is spo­ken of the Moral Law, for the Ceremo­nial ceas'd at his coming, and the Judi­cial was of no force but in the Common­wealth of Israel; and the profession is of absolute Necessity to the receiving of the Gospel: For if that were not agreeable to the Common Principles of Good and Evil, implanted in us already, we could have no sufficient Motive to obey it; be­cause the same God; who is the Author of our Faith, is also Author of our Reason; and gave us that to judge of our Faith by; so as for him to evacuate any Mo­ral Command, is to contradict himself. To say there may be new Rules of Ju­stice, [Page 11] Temperance or Fidelity, is no bet­ter sense than that there may be a new Truth in a Necessary Proposition: For the Law written in our Hearts was at first given us to guide Mankind to the End of his Creation, and therefore must be as Immortal as our Nature: That which was restored by the Sanctions of Christianity, was this very Law, and as such, it was received by the World.

And it could not be received upon any other account: For the Learned part of the World was before instructed, that True Religion and Ʋndefiled was ever the same, only Time, and the Necessities of Men, have varied it in the manner of expressing it. It was always true, That God is the most Excellent Being in Him­self, and the greatest Benefactor to us; and therefore to love and serve him out of a prevailing sense of his Goodness, was always to be Religious; and he that in [Page 12] every Nation thus worked Righteousness, was accepted of him. So likewise in the Duties relating to one another, the Rea­son of them never changes, though the Laws vary which are built upon it: We must, for instance, live in some Society or other, because one part cannot say to another, I have no need of thee; and therefore we are bound for our own good to all those Duties by which So­cieties are supported. We may all want our Neighbours Assistance, and therefore ought in good Reason to sup­ply him in his turn: If we do not our Neighbours Justice in their Possessions, we cannot long expect to be safe in our own. And in all these cases, it is Equity and Right Reason which makes the Law Obligatory, though that determines the particular Act. The common Reason of Mankind obliges us not to invade one a­nothers Property, but it is the Municipal [Page 13] Law of the Country which teaches us what it is to do so, by defining what shall be esteem'd Theft, Murder, or Adultery. When therefore we find Constitutions to vary, this is not an Alteration in the great Fundamental Principles of Reason, but it arises from the different Circumstances Men are under; or at most, only proves that one Body of Men is not so wise as another.

And for this cause, the old Christian Apologists, who best understood the Things they wrote about, did not begin their Method of Conversion where the Modern Controvertists do, by trying the strength of a Mans Faith, and gageing his Credulity by first propounding of a My­stery: But they represent the Doctrine of Christ as an higher and a more excellent Improvement of Morality than ever was before: They deny not that the same Virtues are found in the Heathen Mora­lists [Page 14] which are in the Christian; but they affirm these are better taught, and encou­raged by more certain Promises of an E­ternal Reward. As for the Powers now claimed, to give away Heretical King­doms, to dispense with the Faith of Trea­ties, to commit Massacres in cold Blood, and the like Works of Darkness, these were never thought a part of Religion; and had they been so, this alone had been a sufficient Conviction that it was not from God. And therefore we need not wonder, that those Unbelievers, who border on Christians that teach such things, continue in their Infidelity: For so far as they believe these a part of Chri­stianity, so far they are in the right not to own it; and there is no way to con­vince them, but by separating this Cor­ruption from the Truth of the Gospel.

In a word, there must be some defect in every Action that thwarts the Origi­nal [Page 15] Design of all Religion: And though we cannot always see the Deficiency of a Cause, yet we may be fure there is one, where-ever the product is bad; and con­sequently whatsoever Passion hurries us on to Actions of Fraud or Injustice, it can be no part of the Wisdom from above, or an effect of saving Knowledge, but of the blindness of our Minds, as our Savi­our declares in the Text.

II. It was next propounded to consi­der, How Men come to he misled into so gross and palpable an Error, and by what Steps and Degrees their Zeal be­comes so intemperate. Now the Zeal we have either for or against any thing, does evidently depend upon the Judg­ment we make of it, and consequently it is perverted whenever it is ill placed, and must necessarily err when it hath not Knowledge for its Guide: So that to re­count all the Errors that mislead our Af­fections [Page 16] were an endless Task, because they are as numerous as the ways by which we come to be mistaken. In ge­neral, every inordinate desire is able to make our Zeal so, and at the same time persuades us we do well to be angry: Pride, Covetousness, or Ambition, or whatsoever rules the Man, and carries the main of our Actions after it, present­ly calls down Fire from Heaven to de­vour the Adversary, and proclaims Ho­stility against all that hinders our Enjoy­ment.

But there are two special Causes of these dreadful Effects, which seem to out­match all the rest: The one is, the re­signing up of our Passions to the disposal of other Men; and the other is a belief of secret Impulses, and immediate Inspi­rations. And,

I. The greatest Number of Zealots are never at the pains of a Rational assent, [Page 17] by themselves examining the Motives of their Opinion, but they are moved pure­ly from without, and so are the misera­ble Subjects of other Mens Excesses: They first deny Reason its Native Right, and then chuse their Faith without its guidance, till by having Mens Persons in admiration, they are brought into their power to be abused at pleasure. It is this giving possession of our Understand­ings that hath in all Ages made Divisi­ons of so quick a growth: We all know there must be Heresies, and that they are no more strange in the State Ecclesiasti­cal than Mutinies in an Army; or Re­bellions in a Kingdom: For none of all these Bodies consist only of good Mem­bers and the bad will be always disturb­ing them. But this sort of Quarrels would be still the more harmless, of Men would but judge for themselves, and not be at the Mercy of every bold Seducer. [Page 18] None would be tempted by that restless Ambition of being Head of a Party, un­less the World afforded Fools to follow him, and that he expected the Fiercest Maintainers amongst those who examined him least.

Perhaps this is one Reason why the hottest Disputes have begun about the most trivial Matters; because to deceive the hearts of the simple, there is always to be made a pretence of some peculiar Excellency; but that is not so easily form'd in the plain necessary Duties, as it is in Niceties of Opinion. And there­fore we may observe the Controversies about the Commandments to have been all along the fewest: We never read of a Schism or a Persecution in behalf of Mora­lity; for to force Men to do Justice, and remember Mercy, would sooner create Enemies than Admirers; and besides, there are few busie Spirits at leisure to [Page 19] mind such common Attainments. But if any dare oppose what a Leading Man thinks fit he should believe; if his Creed consists not of the same Number of Pro­positions, and he is bold enough not to be brought under Bondage to any, then he is presently voted a Malefactor, let it be in a great Matter or a small. Thus the whole Body of the Eastern and We­stern Churches fell out, and seperated about the time of keeping their Easter; chiefly because Victor Bishop of Rome had less humility than his Predecessors, and found the Pre-eminence of his Church worth the contesting for; The Eastern again fell out among themselves about the use of Images; and to complete the folly, we of the Western are devouring one another, for things in the greatest part of which our Faith is not concerned.

This indeed hath not always been due to the Blindness, but to the Treachery of [Page 20] Guides; they have always stole some­thing or other in the Scuffle: And for this we need no other Arguments, than to observe the several Crusades and holy Wars that have been set on foot for Do­mestick Reasons. But there is one Inju­stice we still continue to the Memory of those Times, we admire them who were Learned in these Controversies, and ma­naged them for their Profit, who had more Wit and less Honesty than them­selves, whilst we forget to pay Reverence to those only wise and good Men, who scorn'd to be the Instruments, and so died peaceably, without Recording their Fol­lies.

And if this Disease was so far advan­ced under the Primitive Integrity, how much have we to fear in these still more perilous Times? Never certainly was so strong a Delusion, as to believe the Infallibility of a single Person, and a pre­sent [Page 21] Teacher against all the Principles of Reason, and Evidence of our Senses: No wonder the Obedience of such Votaries is blind, and that in the Arts of Revenge they come at length to be as Spiritual as their Leaders. For without this putting themselves into other Hands, one would think it impossible to find Men so hard­ned against all Compassion, as to attempt the Murdering of a Kingdom in its Re­presentatives. It would be uncharitable to believe it, were not the Actors seiz'd in the attempt, their Materiels seen and exposed, and Confession made by them­selves at their Deaths: The Apology al­so, That they were a few Malecontents, who grew desperate upon Personal Provoca­tions, might seem plausible, but that no Injuries were then pleaded, and their own dying Words gave Testimony that it was Religion alone which encouraged them. And indeed it looks too much [Page 22] like the Action of a Party, because they have so often fallen into the like practises in other Countries, witness all that inno­cent Blood which hath been shed in our Neighbor-Nations, with almost as little warning as this would have been. But nothing better is to be expected where the Scriptures are denied, and the People hear of no other Morals but what these Guides will teach them.

II. There seems little need of Exter­nal Encouragements, so long as that ter­rible Motive continues in the World, the belief of immediate Inspirations, and that Men are extraordinary Instruments of God's Judgments by a secret Impulse; for this is easily taken up, and only wants Confidence to manage it. The Preten­ders to this, first form'd themselves into a Sect amongst the Jews, and they gave so dreadful an Example of an enraged Zeal, that one would think it a sufficient [Page 23] warning to all after-Ages to beware of its Transports: The Historian tells us of these Zealots, that under pretence of imi­tating Men of Heroical Impulses, they committed all kinds of Rapine and Mur­der upon their own People, that by their mad defence of the Temple they destroy­ed it, and that their intestine Quarrels more contributed to the enslaving of their Country, than all the Arms of its Enemies.

This perhaps may be called an extra­ordinary Case, and a part of that Ven­geance which the Jews drew upon them and their Children by their Crucifying the Lord of Glory: But the Christian Story likewise informs us of the like Calls from Heaven, there we meet with impulses to Murder, Sacriledge and Adultery, and with Men of that reprobate Sense, as to Glory in their Shame. It was not only Montanus, who had his Paraclete, but all the greatest Corrupters of Christianity [Page 24] have also pretended to Divine Inspirati­ons; most of the Romish Errors have grown into a part of their Faith, by the like Artifices; they could not always ar­gue Men out of their Money and Sense together, but they could fright them in­to the Snare, and find out Men who had Forehead enough to tell who they saw in Purgatory, and what Communion they had with Saints and Angels. It were happy also, if the Emissaries of that Church had never sown the like Enthu­siams in ours, and that they found not their account in putting those out of the reach of Conviction, who are deluded by them. As for us, who suffer by these pretended Gifts of Gods Spirit, we should beware of the other Extream, the denial of his saving Graces, and guard our Faith against such Delusions, as tend to render that tremendous Article of Gods Grace, a Subject of unprofitable Talk.

III. Having thus attempted to shew the Falseness of that Principle, upon which the Enemies of the Truth have perse­cuted its Professors, with the chief Mi­stakes which lead Men into it; it re­mains in the last place, to apply this to the Circumstances we are under, and make that sober use of the Admonition for vvhich it vvas intended. The Con­text informs us, that our Lord spake these things, to the end his Disciples might not be offended and fall, but when the time either of Tryal or Deliverance came, remember he had told them of it: This likewise is the end of all these Publick Commemorations, that we may keep the great Goodness of GOD in remembrance, and mention it with Honour, and a Distinguishing Observa­tion. And,

1. We are not to let these remark­able Events pass over our Heads. with­out [Page 26] Observation, but to regard the Works of the Lord, and the Operation of his Hands. His ways are sought out of all those who have Pleasure therein, whilst the Wicked will not seek after God, nor is God in all his Thoughts.

There is an Art of God no less in Governing the World, than in Crea­ting it; and to meditate upon it with a due Reverence, was anciently esteem'd a Mark of Piety, and the principal part of their Worship. But in what Rank soever we now place the Duty, it cer­tainly puts the truest and best Difference between Man, and the Beasts that pe­rish: Their Senses are as quick as ours, and for ought we know, they argue as right as our selves, so far as concerns the Action of their Life; but it is Man alone who is enabled to look up to the First Cause of all, and by the visible Things of Creation and Providence, to [Page 27] find out the great Creator. This also is the most Valuable Distinction between one Man and another: One grows wise enough by Experience to chuse the Good, and refuse the Evil; the Other seeth many Things, and observeth not: One hath his Senses exercised, and grows up to a perfect Man; the Other hath no depth of Consideration for any thing to take root in, and so never brings any Fruit to perfection.

It is indeed far above the best of our Capacities to see the Reason of all Di­vine Proceedings: His Way, says Da­vid, is in the Sea, his Paths in the great Waters, and his Footsteps are not known: Many Occurrences, big with Wonder, and rare Accidents, do, like the trou­bled Water, close up again, and their way is not seen. But this is one of the Difficulties which was intended to quick­en our Diligence; We are not discou­raged [Page 28] from the Labours of the Field, because we know not how the Plants en­crease, and how their Seeds come to open into so curious a variety of shape and co­lour. No Man refuses to eat, because he knows not how his Meat is assimila­ted: And we cease not to boast our Knowledge, though we cannot explain the common Works of Nature, how the Moon knows her certain Seasons, and the Sea its Tides. And therefore we who believe it, may, without any presump­tion, go on to study that Providence which is too wonderful for us: And that we may not judge amiss, give me leave to mention only these two obvious Rules.

The first is, to weigh the Judgments of God by their End and Design; and the next, to consider their dependency upon one another, and how each parti­cular concurs to make up the Beauty of [Page 29] the whole. For, although we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, yet we are certain, where an infinite Wis­dom is concerned, there can be no room for chance, and that where this directs, those things are beautifull in their Sea­son, which alone looks like Deformity. They seem'd very odd Means of his Advancement, to have Joseph first ha­ted of his Brethren, then sold into a strange Country, and there unjustly cast into Prison; and yet, without every one of these Misfortunes, he had never been brought into Pharoah's Presence, and saved his Fathers House. It is to such bold Transgressions as were this Day attempted, that we owe the Laws which preserve us; and it was to the Violence of those who would have Rooted out at once our Liberties and Religion, that we owe the Present Esta­blishment of both; had the Enemies of [Page 30] our Holy Profession been contented to lead us Blindfold into the midst of Sama­ria, a great part of us had never opened our Eyes, and seen the Danger; but e­very Advance of theirs, help'd on our Deliverance, and encreas'd the Tri­umphs of this Happy Day.

If then we have seen the Hand of God in protecting his People, and that never any put his Trust in the Lord, but he did deliver him; if we have seen him pusle the Wisdom of the Wise, and overturn them in the midst of their Strength: These are Experiences that deserve our Regard, and that should give us a strong Confidence in GOD, who hath done so great Things for us.

2. Last of all, We are to act con­formably to those Sentiments which a due Estimation of these Benefits inspires us with, and so to make what Retribu­tion [Page 31] we are able. VVe indeed cannot properly be said to Recompence the Al­mighty, because we have nothing but what we have received from him: But he is pleased to declare, That He who offereth Him praise, honours Him; and therefore we are bound to pay these Praises due, in some proportion, to the Mercies we enjoy.

There is a natural Equity, that where the benefit is Publick, the acknowledge­ment should be so too; and therefore, since the Blessings we now Commemo­rate, were extended to the good of So­ciety, and make Kingdoms Happy, we are bound to Praise God with the Mul­titude; and to enter only into our Clo­sets, would be interpretatively to Con­temn him before the Congregation. Man was not made a Sociable Creature for every thing else, but the Acts of his Religion, and all Nations have ever [Page 32] made their VVorship as Solemn as they could, although they differed in the Objects of it; if we respect that which God ordained, the Religion of the Jews was perfectly National, and the Unity of the Christian Church, as well consists in one Visible Communion, as it does in one Common Faith; for else there could be no Schism without Apostacy.

If therefore we are oblig'd to a Pub­lick Homage in the ordinary Acts of our VVorship; much more when we come to honour GOD not only as our Common Parent, but as the Father of our Country; as He that hath divided us from the Nations round about, as well in Happiness as in Scituation; who hath not given us over to the VVill of our Enemies, but hath still confounded their Devices, and kept the Simple by their Right; whose Hand is not yet short­ned, that it cannot save; but who can [Page 33] make our Happiness as the strong Moun­tains, that all the Storms of Envy and Malice shall break against it.

Above all, To the Praises of our Lips, we should add the Obedience of our Lives; and so raise our selves up into his Protection, who is the hope of all the Ends of the Earth. VVe are not thus wonderfully delivered out of our Di­stress, to add Sin to Sin, and to make God's Benefits the Instruments of his Dishonour: It is not to practise those Crimes our Selves, which we condemn­ed in others, but to be a People Zealous of Good Works, and to bring forth Fruit unto God. There is so general a Cor­ruption of Manners, and our Discipline is so far lost, that it's a Task worthy the Wisdom of this August Assembly to find out the Means of its Restauration, and to keep up the Bank against that Flood of Wickedness which is visibly [Page 34] breaking in upon us. In particular, I hope there is that Generous English Spi­rit left among us, that will not suffer our Common Mother to be torn and vilified, till we come to a Contempt of all things Sacred: If we once lose the Encourage­ments of our Learning, and the Distin­ction of our Orders: If that Noble Pro­vision which is made for our Education, be once neglected, and those Schools of the Prophets be turned into little Semi­naries, where Men forget that Modesty is a Virtue, and learn to talk without thinking, we shall in a few Years sadly find, that Rome will have none left to Oppose her.

This is not spoken to the reproach of any, but out of a deep sense of our Fol­ly, and an ardent desire that we may not turn our Blessings into a Curse. If therefore we would complete these Bles­sings, and transmit them down to a late [Page 35] Posterity, the VVay is open, and the Means is certain: Let but our Vices di­minish, and so will our Dangers; God will still be our Mighty Saviour and De­liverer, and so lead us through Things Temporal, that we finally lose not the Things Eternal.

Now to God, &c.