GOD, THE KING, AND THE Church.  
(TO WIT) Government both Civil and Sacred together Instituted;  
Public Solemnities in Consecrated Places, from the beginning Celebrated;  
True Zeal in opposition, to Lukewarmness, consistent with Moderation, Stated;  
And throughout all, the Church of England in the Strictness of its Uniformity, against both false Accusers, and false Brethren, Vindicated.  
Being the Subject of Eight Sermons, Preached in several places, and now published by George Signior, Fellow of Trinity College in Cambridge, and Domestic Chaplain to the Right Honourable the Earl of Burlington  
Obsequium amicos, Veritas odium parit;  Terent. 
We can do nothing against the Truth, but for the Truth;  2 Cor. 13.8. 
LONDON, Printed for Christopher Wilkinson at the Black Boy, against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet. 1670.   

To the Right Honourable RICHARD BOIL, Baron of Clifford, Youghall and Bandon; Viscount of Kynalmeakie and Dungarvan; Earl of Burlington and Cork; Lord High Treasurer, and a Privy Counsellor of his Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland.  
My Lord,  
THe utmost of my Ambition in this Dedication is with an humble request of its acceptance, a grateful acknowledgement of your Lordships many undeserved favours, of which I am every day sensible; being confident, that however weak these my endeavours are now made public, they shall not want both encouragement and protection from One, whose constant piety it has been to receive a Prophet, and a Prophet's Message, though there might be no other reaeson, yet for this, that it came in the name of a Prophet.  
Some of these Discourses have already had the honour of your Lordship's Ear, but I must confess more seasonable to the times we live in, then suitable to that Auditory, amongst whom God is praised in the Beauties of his Holiness, and it is a joy as well as Comeliness to behold our Order; the August Solemnities of an Holy Worship, there celebrated, are of themselves a Continued Praedication of the Subject Matter here treated on, should I be silent, and were these lines with their Author buried in Obscurity: However, amidst the the daily violences offered to God and his Service from wicked and unreasonable Men, it may seem requisite that there be these more open Attestations unto Truth, that so a froward and peevish Generation may hence be rendered the more inexcusable, in that they do not perish without warning.  
Whatever was the Motive to this Publication from a private person in my circumstances, God knows; and your Lordship may safely honour me with this Defence, that I seek no great things for myself; and I humbly conceive that the Discourses themselves, if candidly perused, will intimate as much; all that is here performed or designed is only a Mite or two out of a small stock, a mean and an unworthy, but an hearty addition to what others have very happily cast in out of their abundance into the Treasuries of God towards the building and maintaining of our Church in its wont Strength and Beauty.  
And as I am not, nor need be much solicitous what entertainment these writings meet with abroad, being conscious to myself of my own integrity; so, I hope it is far from flattery, since a real truth, in that I have no other Apology to make, then to crave your Lordship's pardon, whilst I must acknowledge these Discourses to be but a ruae and unpolished Comment on your own daily more pious and severer Practices; so that there may be this satisfaction at lest to your Honour in the perusal, if for the Author little, for your Self more, at the same time a favourable coustruction for him, but a comfortable and more just reflection upon yourself, in the consideration of that reward, which is consequential to well ordered conversation. And here, though it be some trespass upon modesty, yet to provoke the imitation of others in this licentious Age, I must bear witness to the world of a most excellently well Governed Family, the constant returns of Holy Offices, the great care which both by your Lordship's example and command is taken that the Meaneft Person in it be instructed in those wholesome Principles of our Church Catechism, (a piece of Discipline upon Youth so sadly neglected!) in the management of all which, if I am an unworthy instrument, I must own the success of all my undertake of this Nature more to your Lordship's favour and countenance, then to any thing of skill or ability in my own performances.  
And now, having put Your Honour to this unexpected trouble, I most humbly crave leave for one Short Intimation, which will save the tedium of a Preface; and it is this, That Some of the ensuing Discourses are presented to your Lordship, with relation to the occasion of their first composure in the Discharge of my Duty in a small Cure which I once had in the University, where it was my custom as often as I could to give the Lesson provided to my hands out of the Church's service, not at all regarding that coughing imputation of being styled a Postillar, ●ut rather endeavouring to inculcate upon the People that they should consider how suitable many times and seasonable, even in contingent circumstances, is the Message delivered to them from God in the Voice of his Church; and for this reason I have industriously published, what was at first so occasionally Penned and Preached, being sorry that by reason of our continued Factions and Divisions, notwithstanding an Act for Uniformity, it still is so much every day, a word in season.  
No more; but, what is my daily Duty shall be here an hearty and sincere acknowledgement, (to wit) my uncessant Prayers for your Lordship's health and happiness, and for the most Religious and Virtuous Lady your Honourable Consort; God of his infinite Mercy every day more and more Remember You and Yours concerning this for Good; and He forget not, but may the blessing be on You and Your Family, the many Kindnesses You have done for the House of Our God, and the Offices thereof. I make bold with submission, craving your Honourable Protection both of the Author and his Work, to subscribe myself  
Your Lordship's most Obedient and Faithful Servant and Chaplain Geo Signior.   

MOSES and AARON: A SERMON Preached before the KING at Saxham in the County of Suffolk, April 17. 1670.  Exodus 4.16. 
And he shall by thy Spokesman to the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a Mouth; and thou shalt be to him instead of God.  
UPon the first view of the Text and context we find Moses the Servant of the Lord, and Aaron the man of God joined together in one and the same commission; both set over a Captived people, to deliver them unto a more glorious liberty; and both sent unto an oppressing hardhearted Tyrant to demand a speedy restitution from slavery, and to require satisfaction for injuries done unto the Son of God: ver. 22. Israel is my Son, even my Firstborn; he is now also to be called, the Redeemed of the Lord, Let my Son go that he may serve me; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold I will slay thy Son, even thy firstborn.  
Moses. the meekest man in all the earth, does mistrust his own ability, who is sufficient for these things? It is indeed the good will of him who dwells in the Bush to send unto, and to work a deliverance for his people; But, who am I, that I should go in unto Pharaoh, or bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? I am a man of slow speech, and of a slow tongue; Surely Moses does not consider the great sight before him, the Bush burning, and not consumed; a lively representation to him in the very figure of it, that the more the people were afflicted, the more they did multiply and grow; notwithstanding the Egyptians made their lives bitter to them with hard bondage in Mortar and in Brick; all their service wherein they made them to serve was with rigour; yet cap. 1.20. the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. and the Egyptians were grieved because of the children of Israel. And doth Moses know, and see all this? the green tree before him encompassed with flames, and still alive? the people labouring as it were in the fire, in the furnace of affliction, growing out of weakness, and so from strength to strength under the weights of all their pressures! and yet is he diffident and distrustful, because of some personal infirmities, as if that God could not make his strength perfect in weakness? Moses had best be careful lest his humility and meekness degenerate into pusillanimity and fear, and so the Lord be provoked unto anger; for, God will send by the hand of him, whom he will send, and that is, by the hand of Moses; yea, though he be a man of a slow speech, and of a stammering tongue, even hence has God ordained, and perfected his praise, that he may still the enemy and avenger: what though his lips are not touched with a coal from, yet one that waits at the Altar shall be his Mouth? Is not Aaron the Levite, thy Brother? I know that he can speak well, ver. 14. and cap. 7.1. I have made thee a God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy Prophet: So long as you two keep together, so I am with, you Both, and that, to supply all manner of defects in either of you; my word is a sure word of promise, if so be that you two are as one; ye put yourselves out of my protection, if in the least you sever; but whilst Union is promoted, neither of you shall fail; and as a most certain indication, that you are like to stand and fall tog there, so this is my everlasting ordinance betwixt you Both; v. praeced. Thou shalt put words into his mouth; which shall no longer be his Mouth, but thine; who hath made it so? have not I the Lord? And, lest his message should be despised; his person hated, because of the truth which he is to speak; Lo, thou art to defend him, to be on his side to withstand Pharaoh; see thou to that, have not I said it? nay, I have set thee so, Thou art unto them both instead of God: Thou art as God, to Aaron, to protect him; thou art as God to Pharaoh, to execute wrath and vengeance upon him; and therefore upon this double account shall Aaron be thy Spokesman to the people; his office is again renewed upon, and confirmed unto Him; He shall be, even He shall be unto Thee instead of a Mouth; because that Thou, on all accounts and upon every occasion shalt be to him instead of God.  
The words, as you hear, having this relation to the Context, are in themselves, an account given us of the two standing Ordinances of Magistracy and Ministry; a King as Supreme, and an High Priest both constituted by God himself to live, to love and to rule together; and this institution confirmed and settled by way of supply to something that was wanting, an amends made for a personal insufficiency; whilst Moses out of a principle of self-denial would not ambire Magistratum, be too hasty in taking upon him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the burden of this honour, since he was conscious to himself of his own inability, ver. 10. O Lord my God, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant: This humility, and modesty in Moses at the first was commendable; but honour follows those who eat it, especially where so exemplary a meekness goes before it; God therefore renews his command, with a promise of assistance in the work drawn from his own Omnipotence, ver. 11. who hath made man's Mouth? have not I the Lord? now therefore go, and I will be with thy Mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. Yet, this would not do; the meekness of Moses hath betrayed him to diffidence and distrust; fain would he be rid of the employment, fearful he is that he shall not go through with it, but sink under the weight of it, ver. 13. O my Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send: In which words, whether Moses requested, that his brother Aaron might be joined as a fit companion with him; or, whether he had an eye to the promised Messiah;— Him whom thou wilt send,— Christ in the fullness of time to be sent to work a great Redemption, of which this present Deliverance was to be but a Type; and therefore, none like Him, to accomplish Type and Anti-type at once; I say whether it were one, or other, is not much to our purpose, further than the just naming of it to inquire: This we are sure of, that Moses' unbeleif was reprovable, his sin of distrust aggravated, because he could not take heart from God's express Promise; Notwithstanding the wonderful fight which he saw, the gracious words which he heard, still he was faithless and not believing; hence, verse 14. the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses: However, to make way for an all-sufficient supply, both the Humility of Moses, and his Diffidence, was not unfitly urged; his Humility which God encourageth, with a gracious Promise of a ready help from himself; his Diffidence, which God convinceth against all Objections, by promising an assistance most effectual, even from his own experience of it, ver. 14. Is not Aaron the Levite thy Brother? I know and so dost thou, that he can speak well; He will be glad to meet thee; and, thou must rejoice to go with him; This is the supplement of all defects from you two, one with another; and here is the Completion of your Commission, My assistance to you both. So that the verse before the Text is a supply to both from God, which denotes to us the Divine Ordinance and Institution, and that First Verbal, Thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his Mouth; and I will be with thy Mouth, and with his Mouth; Secondly, Real, I will teach you what you shall do. The Text is the mutual supply as consequential upon the Divine Institution, that one must make for the other; This being the scope and sum of the whole Paragraph;— That, Government both Civil and Ecclesiastical, was at first instituted and established by God himself, over such a People, whom he would take and choose to himself for his own inheritance; and these two instituted not only at one Time; but, both in an Union, in a mutual relation and dependence one upon the other: whether the Phrase in the Text, as spoken by God himself, He shall be, and, Thou thalt be,— be by way of precept; than it denotes the necessity of this mutual Union; or, whether it be by way of Promise, referring to the foregoing verse, than it denotes the Utility, and advantage of this Relation; since there is no assurance of God's Blessing, on which side soever the Division or Separation be made.  

'Tis pity to divide the Text, when the words speak nothing but Union; I shall endeavour to keep myself close to the scope of them, whilst I confine my Discourse unto these Three Particulars.  
First, Here is the Promulgation of two great Authorities, and that made to those who are Subjects unto Both: the Promulgation is to be made by the High Priest; who, while he speaks for his Prince unto the People, doth at the same time declare his own appointment to be of a Divine Right: He shall be thy Spokesman to the People;— He shall be, even He shall be to thee instead of a Mouth.  
Secondly, Here is the due Execution, firm Establishment and sure Administration of both these Authorities; whilst the Prince doth defend the Priest; he doth so stand by himself; the Throne is thus established to him in Righteousness, the Kingdom is confirmed in the hands of Moses, whilst he is unto Aaron instead of God.  
Thirdly, Here is a Promise of success to Both; an assurance that God will not be wanting, where this Union is continued; and that taken from the Phrase, or manner of expression in the Text, relating to the last words of the foregoing verse, spoken by God himself by way of Promise,— He shall be; and,— Thou shalt be; and then,— I will be with thy Mouth, and with his Mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do: This is the sum of the Text, and the Design of what further I have to say from it.  " Of which that I may so speak and you so Hear, 
* Can. Eccl. Angl. 55.  that we may all of us profit, Let us pray, etc. 
First, The Promulgation of two great Authorities, and that made to those who are Subjects unto Both, the Promulgation is from the High Priest, who while he speaks for his Prince unto the People, doth at the same time declare his own appointment to be of a Divine Right:— He shall be thy Spokesman unto the People; He shall be, even He shall be to thee instead of a Mouth.  

He shall be thy Spokesman;   

Et lequetur ipse pro te cum populo;   
He shall speak for thee to the people; 
Targe Onk.  that so they may be taught to obey, not for wrath, but for conscience sake: & accidet ut sit ipse Tibi in interpretem, 
Targ. Jonath.  and he shall speak from thee to whomsoever thou thyself shalt go, or send him; He is to be no other than a Voice crying, whether it be in Egypt, or in a Wilderness, to prepare thy way before thee, and to make thy paths straight; quicquid Moses mandasset tanquam intellectus concipiens; 
Tostat. Abul in loc.  hoc Aaron loquetur, tanquainos exsequens. Whatsoever Moses, who reigned as King in Jeshurun did dictate out of the abundance of his heart: whose wisdom was as the wisdom of an Angel of God, to know all things to be done; that Aaron the High Priest was to declare and publish and to speak it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Oracles of God. Thus the Priests lips are to preserve and to proclaim knowledge; the people are to seek the laws of God, and of the King at his Mouth; that is, so far the laws of Both, as their salvation may be concerned in the cheerfulness of their obedience; and to tell them, that if they do in the least resist, they shall receive unto themselves damnation; For as the Priest is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts; so, not unfitly is he also the messenger of the Lords Anointed.  
And this may not improperly be the reason of the present Institution in the Text; if the Prophet be the Mouth of God; well may he be so unto his Prince, who is instead of God, Jer. 15.19. Thou shalt be as my Mouth; (says God unto his Prophet) even as the Mouth of God: The Law of God is dumb, it is as a dead letter without a lively Voice to publish it; how shall they believe, except they hear? and how shall they hear without a Preacher?— The Law of Man is dumb too; Promulgatio est de essentia legis; Promulgation is of the very essence of a law in order to its being observed; and great security there is unto the Subject, that the laws of God and Man do not thwart and contradict each other, when the Trumpet is blown in Zion, and the Voice is from the Sanctuary that bespeaks Obedience unto Both: It is not then absurd, that the Keeper of the King's Conscience should be His Confessor; he to tell, when commanded, unto the people what are the thoughts of his heart; the practice is as ancient, as the present Institution in the Text; and perhaps as an intimation, how fit it is that it should be still continued in those polities that are called Christian, the Office is again confirmed upon Aaron, by this Repetition of it, He shall be; even, He shall be to thee instead of a Mouth.   

From all which I might raise and prosecute this Observation;  
That the Ministerial Function is the most proper, certain, effectual and perpetual Mouth of the Commonwealth; and that from the Chief Magistrate to the People; and therefore is by no means to be excluded Senates: Aaron is to be the Mouth of Moses, in every thing in which Moses ought to be his God, and that is, reciprocally, and Universally upon all accounts, and at all adventures. They are the words of him who was both a King and a Preacher, Eccles. 12.9. The Preacher must be wise to teach the people knowledge; how can he find out acceptable words, such words as may be as goads or nails fastened in a sure place, unless he be permitted to converse with those that are the Masters of Assemblies, and so may he speak such words, as are given forth from one Shepherd? But, I need not magnify the Priest's Office in this particular; the happy temperament of the Constitution under which we live is an abundant demonstration to us, that the laws by which we are governed were instituted in the fear of God, and consequently the Obligation is greater upon the Subject to obey them, since the Authority that confirms them is both Spiritual and Temporal.  
I pass by this double honour (possibly some think it too much for those that labour in the Word and Doctrine) and I follow that which is the great design of the Text, the Union that is here fixed, and everlastingly to be promoted; and therefore, the Word is singular, Regis & Sacerdotis unum est Os; there is but one Mouth assigned both to King and Priest; the one is to think, the other to speak the same thing, Moses and Aaron to go hand in hand together: Hence it is observable, that they were Both of the Tribe of Levi, verse 14. Is not Aaron the Levite thy Brother?— The Levite, and thy Brother; and his Mouth to be thy Mouth; to speak the words which thou shalt put into it; Why then should there be any difference betwixt Moses and Aaron, since they are Brethren? They are Both of the same Tribe, which the Lord had chosen out of all the Tribes of Israel to come and Minister before him; the One was to deliver, the Other to teach and instruct, Both together to establish and confirm in a perpetual and never ceasing Oeconomy what are the judgements and the statutes of God and Man.   

And, all this not to Jacob and Israel only; but, to Pharaoh and the Egyptians also:  
1. Aaron is the Mouth of Moses to the People; that is, to Israel; to tell them that they are the Visited and Beloved of the Lord; to proclaim to them the Royal Law of liberty out of the house of bondage from their slavery; to wish them to follow the directions of their Lawgiver Moses, who will rule them according to the integrity of his heart, and guide them with the skilfulness of his hand:— with the skilfulness of his hand; with great and wonderful Dexterity, will he extricate them out of all their miseries, remove their shoulders from the burdens, and their hands from making the pots.  
2. And so Aaron to be the Mouth of Moses to Pharaoh and his fervants; to denounce and execute as many Plagues on him and his people as are the Tribes of Israel, (if you reckon the plagues and signs together from first to last) a Plague for each Tribe; because of the hard and cruel bondage wherein he made each of them to serve; neither would he permit them to departed in peace from amongst them, that they might worship the Lord their God.  
And here by the way we may take notice, how necessary is this Union betwixt King and Priest; how comfortable is their mutual assistance then especially, when there is danger of a common enemy both to Church and State; when there are a Generation of Men like Pharaoh, who will not permit the people to be at quiet, only because Moses and Aaron would have them to serve the Lord; how should Moses at such a time stand at the door of the Tabernacle with the Rod of God in his hand for the defence of Aaron? and, how should Aaron lift up his voice in the behalf of Moses, hold up his hands, lest that Amalech prevail? In a word, The Commandment is to go forth from Both, to restore and to build the Temple; the One must stand like stout Nehemiah with his Sword in his hand, that so the work be not hindered; the Other, not unlike holy Ezra, a Prophet of the Lord, with the Sword or the Keys of the Kingdom in his Mouth, that so it may be perfected in righteousness; great is the care which Both together must take for, many are the kindnesses which Both together must do unto the House of God, and the Offices thereof.  
O then! may Aaron's Bells never ring backward! if ever, let it be to call the people as One man, to the quenching of a common flame; let it be to stand between the living and the dead, when a Plague is begun, that it may be stayed; pro Te loquetur, He shall speak for Thee to the people; surely than he is not so to speak, as to inveigh against him to aggravate his failings, to exasperate and calumniate his Person before the people; he may lift up his Voice like a Trumpet, but it must not be the Trumpet of sedition, the Alarm of War sounding to battle from the Pulpit; let him cry aloud, yea and he may not spare to tell Judah and Israel of their sins, but it is not fitting to say to a Prince that he is wicked; Such language as this does least of all become the Mouth of Aaron; Much more unseemly is it for him to say before the People, (be they Israel, it will increase their murmur, be they Egyptians it will add to their hardheartedness) that Moses is ungodly. God doth hear the blasphemy of those who do in the least, though it be but in a thought, slander the footsteps of his Anointed: Aaron himself was too sad an instance of this, when he murmured against Moses, saying, Numb. 12.2. Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not also spoken by us? Yes, he hath spoken by you Both; and yet the Leprosy upon Miriam's forehead, may be an intimation unto Aaron that he do cover his Mouth, and shut his lips, such language as this hath defiled them, , unclean. But the meekness of Moses was soon entreated, and the God of mercy did accept of his intercession, so that immediately there was a healing of this breath, and Aaron is still continued to be the Mouth of Moses to the People.  
To the People: if to Moses, surely much more to them; and the People are to attend to him with reverence upon this triple account, because that he is the Mouth of God, of the King, and also of the People; Heb. 5.1. Every High Priest is ordained for men (that is) is set over men in things pertaining to God; the manner of expression in the Original is the same with the Septuagint in my Text, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Every High Priest is set over men, as concerning those things which are to God-ward, that is, (the interpretation may fairly be admitted without any great stress upon the words) set over the ordinary sort of men to tell them with Authority and with power what is their duty either to God or his Vicegerent, to the Lord of Lords, or to those who are instead of God; and they who do resist or despise either One or the Other, do not despise or resist the Man in either of them, but the God that is in them, Both. And this brings me to the  
Second thing I observed from the Text, which is the due Execution, firm Establishment and sure Administration of both these Authorities together, and that no otherwise then by a Divine Dispensation; Whilst the Prince doth defend the Priests of the most High God, he doth so stand by himself; the Throne is thus established to him in Righteousness, the Kingdom confirmed in the hands of Moses, whilst he is unto Aaron, and to his sons instead of God.  
Instead of God;— in his quae ad Deum, that is in the Letter of the Text, 
Vulg.  in those things which pertain to God; Tu eris illi in Principem quaerentem Doctrinam à facie Domini. 
Targ. Jonath.  Thou shalt be a Prince to him, a Prophet as well as he, yea and something more than a Prophet, he shall seek the word, which he is to speak, from thee; and that as it were from the face of God, Numb. 12.6, 9 If there be a Prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a Vision, or I will speak to him in a dream: but my servant Moses is not so; this is the difference betwixt him and Aaron; with him will I speak Mouth to Mouth, even apparently, not in dark speeches, and the Similitude of the Lord (that is of God man to come in the flesh, this Similitude of the Lord, as praelusory to the reality of his Incarnation) shall he behold. So that what was Jethroes counsel betwixt Moses and the People, seems here to be God's institution betwixt him and Aaron, cap. 18.19. Moses was to be to Aaron to God ward, to bring the causes unto, and to receive the Law from God; and Aaron being to be his Orator or his Herald was to make Proclamation of the Divine Law unto the People, and upon all occasions to consult the Face of Moses, the Face which did shine because of the Divine Glory on it, and was therefore to be consulted as an Oracle: This Paraphrase, though it may be true in the Letter of the Text; yet to take in the scope of the whole Paragraph, which is, a Union fixed by God himself betwixt these two, we must as to this expression further improve our search:  
Instead of God:— that is, to defend him, that so he may speak boldly for thee, as he ought to speak; that his Mouth, which is no longer his, but Thine, may be opened for Thee in confidence. We find in this book of Exodus, that Princes, and the chief Ministers of Justice amongst men are first called Gods, cap. 21.6. the servant that had a mind to continue with his Master for ever, was to come unto the Judges; that is, unto the God's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Original, and before them was the perpetual service to be ratified; and again cap. 22.8. The thief was to be brought to the Judges, that is to the Gods (the same word in the Original) to see whether he had put his hands to his neighbour's goods: and vers. 28. such Magistrates are secured from all manner of slander that may be cast upon them by malice of evil speaking, Thou shalt not revile the Gods, nor speak evil of the Ruler of thy people.   

They are called Gods upon several accounts; I briefly instance but in two; the ubiquity of their Presence, the Omniscience of their Knowledge.  
1. The ubiquity of their Presence, they are every where; their influence is unlimited: the fancy is not new (ancienter than a modern Poet, and I hope may now be better applied) that Kings and Princes do in this resemble the Deity, being like a Circle whose centre is every where, and whose circumference is not where. God and the King can do no harm, (says our Law) the reason is, that Diffusive influence that is from Both directing, managing, swaying and conveying all the good, and all the happiness that is felt or enjoyed by the lower world, or the inferior sort of mankind; all which is purely the product of Providence from the One, and Government from the Other; and if the Sun shining upon a Dunghill doth exhale vapours that are offensive, it is not because there are spots in the Sun in Heaven, but there is corruption in the Dunghill upon earth.  
2. The Omniscience of their knowledge; they do as it were know every thing, Prov. 16 10. A Divine sentence is in the lips of the King, His Mouth erreth not in judgement. Who could have thought, that the way to find out the bowels of a Mother, was to make the Child a sacrifice, till King Solomon, as the first effort of his Princely Spirit, tried the experiment? but, says the Text, 1 King. 3 28. The wisdom of God was in the King to do judgement: And this kind of Omniscience is a gift bestowed upon Judges and other Ministers of Justice when they execute the Laws of God and the King upon Capital offenders, the indictment against whom is, that they have not the fear of God before their eyes, our Law taking special notice of the malice of the heart, and proving that by some Overt-act; whilst many times the Judge upon the Bench, to the admiration of the standers by, through a little, very little glimpse of a most improbable circumstance doth unravel a whole mystery of iniquity, so that on a sudden the Prisoner stands self-condemned at the Bar; he might spare both Judge and Jury the trouble of bringing in, and pronouncing their Verdict, since the sentence of Death is to be read in his countenance, and his face gathers blackness; what can all this be, but an immediate assistance, a special illumination from God himself in the moment of judgements? Psal. 82. God standeth in the Congregation of the Mighty, he judgeth among the Gods; ver. 6. I have said, ye are Gods.  
Grotius, upon these and the like expressions in Scripture tells us, that wherever the name of God is given unto men, significat judiciariam potestatem, & jus vitae & necis, it implies a judiciary power, and that no less, than of life and death: Our blessed Saviour's Comment upon the compellation (which certainly is the best) runs thus, Saint John 10.35. he called them Gods, 
D. Ham.  unto whom the Word of God came: It is observed by a learned Paraphrast of our own, that the coming of the Word of the Lord; signifies, Gods appointing a Man to some particular Office, and giving him power and ability for the performance of that Office to which he is appointed; and so it is constantly used in the writings of the Prophets, who do most of them begin their Prophecies with this solemn form of Words, The Word of the Lord came unto me, saying, which is no more, then as it were, the Opening of their Commission, the Reading of their Patent, the first showing and vouching of that Authority by which they act: all which is an intimation unto us, that the Supreme Magistrate, and other subordinate Rulers and Governors sent by Him for the punishment of wickedness and vice, and the praise of those that do well, have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 something of Divinity stamped both on their Persons and their Office, and consequently that Both are Sacred.  
This account you have of the Compellation, as it may be applicable either to King, Priest, or any Ministerial Dispensour of Public Justice: whence by the way it is again observable, That the Priest had all along from the beginning his share in Civil Government; if the Word of God came to Moses, in that he was instead of God; yet it was to be spoken or published from the Mouth of Aaron: and therefore St. Paul, when he had spoken less warily to the High Priest, begs pardon, with an acknowledgement of his fault as a transgression of that inhibition before cited, Num. 22.28. Thou shalt not revile the Gods:— I witted not brethren that he was the High Priest, for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the Ruler of thy People; Act. 23.5.  
So then; if they Both act by one and the same Commission; He of the two that hath the Pre-eminence, (for a Supremacy and Subordination must be admitted, else there could be no Government,) does no more than vindicate to himself his own Royal Prerogative; whilst he secures, as firm and inviolable to the other, his Priestly privileges and immunities: and in this sense most properly, and to best purpose is Moses to be unto Aaron instead of God.  
Instead of God;— yea, and that in as many respects, as Aaron was to be to him instead of a Mouth, the Relation being all along mutual and reciprocal.  
Instead of God to Aaron;— whether it be before the Israelites or the Egyptians;  
1. Before the Israelites;— yea, though they be the two hundred and fifty Princes of the Assembly, Num. 16.1. Men of renown, famous in the Congregation, gathered together in a grand conspiracy to invade the Priesthood; Moses must then speak as from God himself, and declare who it is that is Holy amongst them, whom the Lord hath chosen to come nigh unto himself: v. 11. What is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?  
Before the Egyptians,— Pharaoh, his servants, and his People: cap. 7.1. I have set thee as a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy Brother shall be thy Prophet:— Thou shalt speak what I command as from me to Aaron; and He shall speak what Thou shalt suggest, as from me to Pharaoh; and thus,— Thou shalt be as God to them Both; Mine Oracle to the One, to reveal all my mind; my Rod and Scourge upon the Other to execute all my wrath; though he will not as a man of wisdom should, hear the Rod, and him that hath appointed it; yet thou shalt multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt; Jannes and Jambres, though they may withstand, shall not altogether prevail; when they see the duft from under them, to crawl up in Vermin on them, they shall lay their hands upon their Mouths, and abhor themselves in that Dust, acknowledge this to be the Finger of God; and throughout all, they shall confess, that the Rod in the hand of Moses was guided by the Arm of the Almighty.  
Thus God hath fenced against a common enemy, both King and Priest in a mutual dependence: the One with a power sufficient, that he may uphold; the Other with a sure defence that he may be sustained; and the interests of Both these are so interwoven together, that wherever the Breach is made, the injury is alike damage to Both. It is the same God, who hath given commandment concerning Princes, that they should not be touched by the hands of violence, Touch not mine Anointed; as they are Anointed, they are Mine, they are as myself; who hath likewise in the very next words given it in charge, whether it be to Prince or People, to Magistrate or Peasant concerning those who have a more immediate attendance upon him, Do my Prophets no harm.  
As therefore Aaron's Divine Mouth must be opened for, not against Moses, he must not traduce, speak evil of him before the People; So Moses' Godlike power must be exercised, and exerted for, not against Aaron, he must not suffer him to be exposed to the scorn and reproach of a froward, and an untoward generation.  
In order to which Defence, that their persons may be Venerable whose office is so sacred, the maintenance of whom in honour is so great a security unto Majesty, to be sure Moses will be careful that Aaron and his sons have an inheritance allotted to them in the Promised Land; and that, not apart, or distinct by themselves, but as a blessing to whole Israel, dispersed amidst and throughout all their Tribes: This was Moses' last Benediction upon the House of Levi not long before his death Deut. 33.11. Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and that hate him, that they rise not again. It is not to be imagined, that Moses will take less care of Aaron, and the Levites, than did Pharaoh of his Egyptian Priests, who in the days of famine had enough, their portion of meat assigned to them from Pharaoh's Table; insomuch that when all the land of Egypt was bought into the Crown, Gen. 47.22. Only the lands of the Priests were not sold. In this sense also is Moses to be to Aaron in the stead of God, to secure unto him the Lord 's inheritance, since dreadful are like to be the effects of Sacrilege upon that Nation or People, amongst whom it is an iniquity, though endeavoured to be established by a Law; May the King, and his Throne be guiltless, the Kingdom established unto him in Righteousness, for He only is as God, who doth preserve in the hollow of his hand the Church's portion from the violence of such, who pant after nothing but the Dust of the Earth, upon the Head of the Poor:   

One inference more.  
The words of the Text are spoken universally, and at large, without the least limitation and restriction; which may be an intimation to us, That this labour of love here required from one to the other must be reciprocal, the Union preserved inviolable, whatsoever personal provocations may unhappily intervene on either side. We do humbly crave pardon, whilst we do suppose that which we need not fear, since we are assured that Moses was the most true hearted man in all the earth, faithful in all the House of God; yet, should he refuse to be a God to Aaron, withhold his protection from him; so put a veil over his face, that he should not in the least behold his countenance; and then throw it off again, only to terrify him with his frowns; for all this the Obligation doth not cease on Aaron's side, he must still be the Mouth of Moses to the people.— Again, should Aaron shut his own Mouth, not speak for Moses, when the sons of Belial are against him; more out of policy then good honesty, keep silence at such a time, because it is an evil time; for all this, Moses must still be unto Aaron instead of God;— instead of God, that is, as Supreme and far above him, he may visit upon, and punish him for his personal miscarriage; nevertheless at the same time he is obliged to maintain and defend as Sacred the whole Order. Doth Aaron make a calf in the absence of Moses? hearken to the voice of an unruly people in their despite of Moses? As for this Moses, we wots not what is become of him; (though they knew him to be in the Mount with God;) and in the mean time, does Aaron make the people naked to their shame? upon this Msoes was not so well advised when he broke the two Tables, of both which he should have been the Keeper; and it was some aggravation of his Passion, in that he broke them at no other place but the Mount of God; notwithstanding this sore Provocation, he must be ready to defend Aaron against the Sedition of Corah, and the Rebellion of the Congregation of Abiram.  
We do not read that Moses did ever personally offend Aaron, we have heard sufficiently both of his meekness and faithfulness; but alas! Aaron once and again unhappily miscarried, both in the business of the Golden Calf, and in the matter of Miriam; and, notwithstanding both these, the sin being justly reproved, and in some sort punished, the Union in my Text was preserved: Aaron, though the Saint of God, did not in one or two instances, as he should (Oh that he had been careful!) rule his tongue; yet Moses must be cautious that he do not shut his Mouth; he is still the Ordinance of God, and therefore not to be infringed, the Order is to be secured setting aside all personal offences; the error was no sooner acknowledged, then forgiven and passed by, and all, that God's Institution between Both might be observed inviolable; Aaron is still to Moses instead of a Mouth before the People; and Moses in this, like unto God that had appointed him, Merciful and Gracious, nor easily provoked, nor long angry; he is yet to Aaron instead of God: Si non errassent, fecissent minus; upon a miscarriage humbly acknowledged, and the penalty obediently submitted to on the one hand; and the same as frankly pardoned, as generously remitted on the other, the Obligation is hence the stronger between Both; even thus much good, out of what might have been so great an evil; a firmer reconciliation, a surer establishment from a little shaking; whilst all animosities being laid aside, the Vnum necessarium, that One thing necessary, Union is preserved, because in that Union is involved and wrapped up the security and safety of Both. And so I pass to the  
Third, and last observable in the Text, the utmost bounds of your Patience; which is A Promise of Success and Prosperity unto Both; an assurance that God will not be wanting, where this Union is continued; and that taken from the manner of expressing the Phrase in the Text, as it relates to the last words of the foregoing verse, the words are spoken by God himself as a Precept, and a Promise;— the Precept, He shall be; and, Thou shalt be;— the Promise, I will be with thy Mouth, and with his Mouth, and will teach you Both what you shall do: Blessed of the Lord is that People; yea, Happy is the Nation which is in such a Case; where Aaron is Spokesman for Moses, no other than his Mouth; and Moses is to Aaron instead of God.  
Aaron's Mouth,— that implies all manner of gifts and graces by which he is of God duly furnished, and rightly qualified for his Office: Moses being as God; that denotes the Highness of his Calling, the excellency of his Majesty, and the Certainty of his Defence, he being thus the Signet upon the Arm, set there to be a Protection to the Stars that are in the right hand of God, and through the tender mercy of the Most Highest they shall none of them be removed, cap. 7.1. (to which I cannot too often recur, it being the Parallel to my Text) the Promise which is here made, is there endowed; the Office which is here designed, is there conferred; The Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee to be as God;— and Aaron thy Brother shall be thy Prophet; Nothing is in the Text promised, or there performed; or, (if it be more agreeable to the scope in both places,) nothing is commanded or required either in one, or in the other, but reciprocally, and with a mutual respect; that so the supplement of all defects in either Government, might be one of another in love and good will; & the compliment of all from God himself, the merciful Maker and Appointer of them Both, might be a Blessing of Peace, Plenty, and Prosperity; I will teach you, and so be with you in whatsoever ye shall do. The word in the Septuagint, v. 12.15. is very Emphatical, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. I will go along with you in every thing that you shall speak, I will tread an even pace with you in every thing you shall do; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Symach. I will be a Light, and so a sure Direction to you, that you do not in the least miscarry. This is the sum of the whole; That the Priest's mouth shall be opened in Righteousness, because his words are given forth from the King; The Mouth is but One and the same unto Both, because so is the Ordinance of God; thereupon, this is the Blessing of Heaven for Both, that the Word shall not return in vain, until it accomplish the Work, for which it was sent; God will prosper the words of his Mouth to the One, the Work of his Hands to the Other, he will establish the Work and the Word to them Both in Righteousness.  
The Mouth: that may imply Eloquence, as we may gather from the want of it, verse 10. Lord, I am not Eloquent:— Being as God; that signifies Power and Dominion;— Te illi Praeficiam ut sis Princeps, & Judex, 
Fagius.  & Magistratus ejus. I have set thee above him as his Prince, whom he must honour before all the people; as his Judge, and an upright Magistrate, for whom thou must do Justice, be sure to do him right in the sight of that People, whose honour he is to bespeak for Thee:— Now, what is Eloquence without Authority to back it? it is not a Word with Power!— What is all Power and Dominion, without a Voice to proclaim the Majesty as most excellent? it is at the best but a Dumb-shew! Both these being upheld together as the Ordinance of God, no question that God will secure a Blessing unto that which is his own appointment: He will be with the Priest, because his Mouth is no other than the Mouth of God; He will be with the Prince, because he hath made him to be as himself, instead of God; but still, his Presence with Both is the result of Union, because the God of Israel, which as a Commonwealth, is to be in subjection unto Both, hath declared himself, that he is but One God. How can Moses be the Fear and the Dread of Pharaoh, unless he be the Love, the Choice and the Desire of Aaron? How can Aaron be (as he proved afterwards, cap. 10.7.) a Snare unto Pharaoh and his servants, at the opening of whose Mouth Egypt was to be destroyed, unless he hang upon the lips, the words which he speaks be a faithful and distinct Echo to the Voice of Moses? without Aaron's Mouth, the meekness of Moses will be soon despised; and without the Arm of Moses stretched out in defence, the Voice of Aaron will be but beating of, or speaking to the air: Unless that Aaron be the Mouth of Moses, what though his face shine? the people will but the sooner turn away from him; cum Jove Caesar; God and the King as to Government have alike prerogatives; Thunder from above bespeaks the Deity as terrible; thus the Highest doth give forth his Voice:— Boanerges, a son of Thunder here below declares earthly Majesty to be also dreadful! But unless Moses put words into the mouth of Aaron, stands by him, and stands up to him while he speaks, stretches out his Rod, whilst he lifts up his Voice; the Mouth of Aaron without this, will be Vox & praeterea nihil; a Voice indeed, but nothing else, the noise no sooner heard, but no where to be found: Whose Mouth is fittest to preserve knowledge, and to proclaim Obedience, but his who is the Messenger of God, and of the King; of the Lord of Hosts, and of him who like unto God himself is mighty in the battle? and whose Arm should be made bare in strength, but theirs who are the Anointed of the Lord; Anointed in a great measure for this very thing that they should be a Guard and a Protection to all Gods Holy Ones, since they are themselves not unfitly called Gods, being all of them children of the Most Highest?   

Shall I with all humility and due Reverence, speak the words of truth and soberness? it is in the Cause of God, of the King, and also of his Priests!  
As the happiness is great to that People where this Union is most religiously observed, no other then as the result of the Divine Institution; so, sad is the misery, deplorable is the calamity both to King, Priest, and People upon the breach of it! I need go no further for an instance than the story that is before us.  
Would Moses and Aaron bring the people from Egypt through a wilderness into Canaan? This must be their March, Regular and solemn, Num. 2.3. compared with Num. 3.38. Judah, the Princely Tribe must set up his Standard Eastward; Moses and Aaron, Prince and Priest must keep the charge of the Sanctuary Eastward; (and hence not improbably the ancient Ceremony of worshipping with their faces thither-ward;) Judah sets up his Standard for the Laity: Moses and Aaron, theirs for the Clergy; and yet the latter to go along with Judah the Prince, who was to protect them, when settled in the Land of Promise; and upon the whole, whosoever he was, the stranger that came nigh to either of them, was to be put to death: This was their March unto that Rest which God had prepared for them: And yet notwithstanding their Station and Procession thus fixed by the Almighty, do Moses and Aaron speak unadvisedly with their lips either one to another, one of another, or one against another, at the waters of Massah and Meribah, places that bore their names from those strive and contentions? the anger of the Lord is immediately kindled against them all; and it was so enraged, that it was by no means to be appeased; Moses and Aaron must only see that Land of Promise into which they are never like to come; it shall be their punishment to behold, what they never shall enjoy; in the view of, but their foot shall not tread upon the goodly Mountain, nor Lebanon; and then as for the People, their Carcases must fall in th● wilderness, this is a froward Generation, it shall no● enter into the Rest of God   

When once there be Divisions, many are the thoughts, many are the search of heart! I would not be mistaken as an evil-speaker, or a fore-boder of evil tidings, while I do thus mournfully, and with all lowly submission crave leave to make out the Parallel:  
Doth the Civil Magistrate either needlessly contend with, or wilfully draw back the secular Arm from the Defence of the Ministry? and does he think thus to still the murmur of the people? as the raging of the Sea, so is their madness casting forth nothing but mire and dirt, foaming out their own shame; and is there no way to lay the storm, but by mixing the waters with blood? hath the Pilot no means to secure the Ship, but by throwing the Prophet into the waters, especially such a Prophet as doth not fly from, but is steadfastly bend on his Course, to deliver and execute the Message of his Master that sent him?— Again is the Spiritual Mouth, either silent in the behalf of, or clamourous and obstreperous against? doth it either not speak at all, as it should in the defence? or is it froward, malapert and peevish against the Secular Arm? do they, who should consult the stars of Heaven for direction in the voyage, either withhold their advice from, or unseasonably quarrel with him that sits Steersman at the Helm! This may be the dreadful consequence of such ill will between Both, in Portu naufragium! certain ruin, and destruction to the Ship, and all that are in it; yea, and that in the Ken of the desired Haven; as an aggravation to their misery, in the very sight of Land; Virtutem videant, intabescantque relicta! This is the sore calamity upon such lad animosities and dissatisfactions on either hand; a strange kind of infatuation upon all marner of counsels and designs, be they never so just and honourable! they may see what is good, and yet it doth escape them; a price put into their hand, and it falls away from them, for want of a pious heart united to each other in Love and Duty, and to God the maker of Both, in fear and Reverence mutually to be exercised in the using of it!  
And here, by the way, let it be seriously considered, that the first Rejection of Saul from being King over Israel was, because he invaded the Priesthood; (let our new Leviathan suggest what he pleases, 
Hobb's Leu. part. 3. chap. 42 pag. 95. 300.  that the Civil Magistrate may reserve the exercise of the Ministerial Function to himself) yea, though there might be some reasonable excuse for it; as, his Enemies growing, 
Vid Ecc. Ang. Articl. 37.  and coming on upon him; and, he was not willing to engage them, till he had made his supplication before the Lord, 1 Sam. 13.11, 15. But, God had commanded the entrary, he was not of himself to make a Virtue of that Necessity without an express permission; therefore says Samuel, Thou hast done foolishly; and thy Kingdom shall not continue: whereupon, God chose to himself a man after his own heart, one who (to avoid such future presumption) should be a Prophet as well as a Prince; and therefore the eating of the Shewbread upon an extreme necessity, was not in him so notorious a violation of Sacred, and Ecclesiastic Order.  
This was that David; who called for his Sword, which hung behind the Ephod, 1 Sam. 21.9. Give it me, says he, for, there is none like that; he goes forth with the Prayers, and the Blessing of the Priests to battle, 1 Sam. 23.9. [still I will urge a Testimony from Scripture, though it may be sadly observed, a new way of spinning out discourses, without any the least regard had to the Law and the Prophets:] Bring me hither the Ephed, says David; that Ephod from behind which he took his Sword, and so it was consecrated for the Lord's battles; thus doth he inquire of the Lord upon every enterprise, and that in no other way, then according to the Divine Institution, with a linen Ephod: The answer from God to him was, either a speedy return of Peace and safety; or else, a sure caution certainly to prevent and escape the Danger: Upon this doth Doog that wicked Edomite, put forth his hand to fall upon the Priests of the Lord? kills them only to take possession of their inheritance? and is Abiathar escaped unto David with the Ephod in his hand? there was a strange Providence in the escape, and a wonderful security unto Both in that flight: 1 Sam 22.23. Abide with me, says the King unto the Priest, and fear not; for he that seeketh my Life, seeketh thy Life, but with me thou shalt be in safeguard:— Both these for a while may be hunted after upon the mountains by the sons of violence; and yet they, travelling together in, yea and persecuted through a wilderness, shall even there find a Sanctuary at the Mount of God; and in God's due time, which is the best for Both, these Two keeping still close together; the Consecrated Sword in the hand of the One, the l●nnen Ephod upon the breast of the Other; the Kingdom shall be established in the hand of the One; the Priesthood shall be confirmed to the house of the Other; these are the suremercies of David, and of the Son of David, to them Both.— But let not David in his prosperity forget the House of Abiathar which was afflicted with him in all his affliction; nor let Abiathar in his eminency and prelacy be unmindful of the servants of David; so oversee them, as to overlook them who were formerly a security to him when he fled from the face of Tyranny and Oppression; let Both together live in that mutual Dependence in which God hath set them, carrying on the same design so advantageous to Both; keeping as sacred this Union, which I must still reinforce to be the Divine Institution, lest the last error prove worse than the first; and again, some rebellious Sheba do blow the Trumpet, (God in his mercy prevent such doleful Alarms, that they never more be heard amongst us! To your Tents O Israel; we have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jess; Now see to thine own House David: And would David look well to his own House, it must be by having a due regard unto, and a tender care of the House of God: Thus Psal. 132.1. God remembers David and all his trouble; in that, this was his Oath unto the Lord; this was his Vow unto the mighty God of Jacob; that he would not come within the Tabernacle of his house, nor climb up unto his Bed; until he found out a Place for the Lord; and, (with this most pathetic repetition of the words of his vow) an Habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.  
The instance in the Text is the conclusion of the whole matter. v. 27. Aaron met Moses in the Mount of God, and kissed him: Oh happy interview! Moses and Aaron mutually embracing! locus honestat; the very Place bespeaks both Love and Honour; it was at the Mount of God; and then the Ceremony denotes both Veneration and endearment; Osculum dignitatis; he kissed him as a Token of subjection to him, thus acknowledging his Majesty and Supremacy; deosculatus est ex amore; he rejoiced in his heart when he saw him, and because he loved him, he gave the seal of his affections with his lips; an intimation at this first greeting, that his Mouth joined unto those lips; quasi coalescebant in Vnum Os, was now become but One Mouth, with which he was resolved to proclaim Liberty to the Captives; and after that, enjoin obedience to those ransomed one's; This was Aaron's promise unto Moses, and that, because of the Divine appointment, (the Brethren being doubly dear to each other both in the flesh and in the Lord,) that, he would be Moses' Spokesman unto the People; he would be, even he would be unto him instead of a Mouth.— Moses embraceth Aaron in the Arms of Love and of Protection; the Rod in his hand is a Sceptre of favour held out, as a token of good will and kind acceptance to him; This is the Rod which shall be stretched out, working wonders in the defence of the Priesthood: Moses, embracing him in his Arms, assures him from his very heart to the heart of his Brother, that they Two thus clasping together coalescebant in Vnum Hominem, became now but One Man; this being the Promise of Moses that he would never be unmindful of the Word of the Lord, as an everlasting command upon him, That he should be unto Aaron instead of God.  
Appl. Let it be known this day that there is a God in Israel; that this God is to be worshipped; and that in the Administration of this worship, the Priesthood is to be secured from Contempt, to be had in honour for the works sake about which it doth converse: I dare not in the least venture to give directions here; he must not presume who is the meanest and unworthiest of all the sons of Aaron, who hath not been Eloquent neither heretofore, nor since the Word of the Lord came unto him; but humbly beg we may, and hearty in all Duty and Submission invoke we must the Assistance of the Secular Arm, lest both our Message and our Persons be altogether despised! Did I say, our Message, or our Persons? alas! we can easily venture both these through a bad, or through a good report, and be unconcerned; But, sad it is to behold, that amongst those that are baptised Christians, Atheism and Profaneness should so strangely overspread itself; yea, and that notwithstanding so many popular Discourses every where made about the Reasonableness of Religion: hence it is that the Offerings of the Lord have been abhorred amongst us; whilst irreligion, and a licentious Libertinism doth exalt itself above all that is called God, or Good in the midst of us! what means else the bleating of the Oxen, of the Beasts of Bashan in our ears? the continued murmur and gainsayings of Core? strange fire every where offered up, whilst the Lamp burning bright in the Sanctuary is neglected! and all this mischief from some of the sons of Levi, pretended one's at least, fomented by the dissensions of false Brethren, men that cannot be contented with their present station, but they lead aside the simple and the ignorant into Houses.— Oh! may our new Laws (for which we bless God, and have more and more cause to honour and obey Authority;) may these be executed; and may our old Ones not quite antiquated, be seasonably reinforced; and shall I humbly make one request, laying that, and myself at the feet of Majesty, in the behalf of the place from whence I came, and for which I now serve; Let not us the little children of the Prophets, in the very Schools of the Prophets, be exposed to the obstinate perverseness of ignorance and sedition. Aaron's Mouth is opened for Moses to the People, to declare his Authority as from God to be Sacred and Inviolable; that he is not subject to Man, nor the sons of men for any of his actions; but to his own Master he must stand or fall, even to God alone who hath appointed him; it is yet open for Moses at the Mercy-seat, before the holy Altar, that he may be filled with Grace, Wisdom and Understanding in the execution of Justice, and the maintenance of Truth: And what may Aaron humbly expect in return from Moses? nay, what does the Lord God require of him, but that Moses should be as God, to secure unto God his Oblation, the Morning and the Evening Sacrifice never to cease?— And is not all this for the Lord's sake? for the Lord who hath preserved the Rod of Moses in strength and honour; who hath confirmed his Blessing upon Aaron, in that his Rod also hath budded, and bloomed Blossoms, and brought forth Almonds: the fruits of Joy and Peace: God hath, as we do every day thankfully Commemorate it, made the Horn of David, though once cut down, to flourish and sprout forth again; he hath ordained a Lamp and a Light for his Anointed, a Lamp from out of the Sanctuary to guide him in the ways of Peace and Truth: that so he dash not his foot against any stone of stumbling which Schism and Rebellion may lay in his way; he hath restored Majesty, the Excellency of Majesty to his Prince; He hath renewed Beauty, the Beauties of Holiness to his Priests; and we hope and pray, that he hath given, and will continue security, the Certainty of Defence unto Both: Oh that the people therefore would in the fear of God, Honour the King, and Reverence his Priests! that so there may be a further lengthening of our tranquillity, neither shall our iniquity, our froward peevish iniquity be our utter ruin: in vain shall we pretend Loyalty to Moses the Servant of the Lord, if we vex Aaron the Saint of God: What? shall we quarrel at those who bring, and at that Administration which doth dispense the Gospel of everlasting Peace? How can we thus expect to be at peace amongst ourselves? May then the Throne be established in Righteousness, even upon the Mount of God; and may the Mount of God be guarded by the glorious and sure defence of Angels, because of the Throne of him who is as God which is upon it; thus as upon a Rock, the Rock of Ages, shall Church and Kingdom be built; * nec Portae Gehennae nec Genevae, (as once by a happy mistake out of the vulgar that Text was read) neither the Gates of Hell, nor the Dark close designs of Schism and Sedition shall ever be able to prevail against them.  

— * In Gebennico lacu,  
(Mendum Typographi esi) in Gehennico lacu;  
Namque à Gehenna quid Gebenna dissidet?   Pia Hilaria Angel. Gaz. impres. Lond. pag. 68 
I conclude all, with those Pathetical Petitions which our holy Church hath put into our Mouths; (for better I cannot use) and God accept them from the bottom of all our hearts; 
O Lord Save the King;  
And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.  
Due thy Ministers, whether of Justice in the State or Holiness in the Church, with Righteousness;  
And so shalt thou make thy chosen people joyful. Da pacem in diebus nostris;— Give Peace in our time O Lord;  
For, whether it be against open violence and force offered from abroad, or against secret Treachery and privy Conspiracy fomented at home; whether against professed Enemies, or merely pretending Friends the worst of Enemies, there is no other fighteth for us, but only Thou O God.   
To this only wise God who is alone able to make us understand our own happiness, by keeping us in the strict and solemn observance of Uniformity, at Unity amongst ourselves; that so to Prince, Priests and People there may be but One heart and One mind in the Fear of him, in Love and Duty to one another, To the Author of our Peace, and of every good and perfect gift amongst us; To Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Three Persons, and One God, be ascribed of us, of all Angels, and all men, The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory; Dominion and Adoration, World without end, Amen.    

SOLOMON'S PORCH frequented by the APOSTLES;  Act. 5. part of the 12, 13, 14. verses; being a part of the Epistle for St. Bortholomew's day. 
12. And by the hands of the Apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch;  
13. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them; but the people magnified them;  
14. And Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men, and women.)  
OF St. Bartholomew, the Apostle at this ●ime to be commemorated, 
St. Mat. 10.3. St. Mar. 3.18. St. Luk. 6.14.  we read but little in holy Scripture, only his name three or four times mentioned, to wit, that he was numbered with the twelve Apostles, and so ordained by Christ himself to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, even Repentance and Remission of sins in the name of Jesus unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem: Accordingly we find Him with the rest Act. 1.13. taking his part of that Ministry and Apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, concontinuing with them in prayer and supplication, and with them also waiting for the Promise of the Father, till they should be endued with farther power from on high; and so upon the whole, it is on all hands believed that this Apostle was unto the last a faithful witness of Jesus, and of his Resurrection.  
Upon the consideration of all which our Holy Mother the Church of England, in this Festival, has little, or no regard to Legendary Fictions; what might be guessed either of this Apostles person, or of his conversation from his Name? Wither he were not of noble extraction, the Son of Ptolemy? or as some will have it, like Moses of old a Prophet; so he an Apostle, (Filius aquae ductus, sive aquae suspensae) taken up, and drawn out of the waters, into which being cast, the stream retired and gave back, nec potuit extingui, quin amnem repressit, (as the Historian Lucius Florus writes of Romulus;) he could not be drowned, for he did, as it were, force the waters from him; nec adiri usque ad justi cursum poterat amnis, neither at this time could the flowing stream reach unto its wont height? Also, what might be said of his success in his Ministry; where? and, unto whom he preached the Gospel? quae regio in terris? For what nation under heaven, was he reserved to be from heaven the Blessed of the Lord? even amongst Indians and Armenians, those that sat in darkness and the shadow of death, unto them by this Apostle was preached the word of life, and that life was the Light of God: and last of all, how he sealed the Doctrine which he delivered with his Blood? his skin flayed off, and so he was exposed like his Master, a man of sorrows; neither was he in his death unlike unto him, being nailed to a cross, he committed himself and his cause to God that judgeth righteously: All this, it may be piously received and entertained from a literal and oral Tradition, but ignorantly enough, God knows; how true? fides penes sit Authores, let those who have a more easy faith believe, whose main business it is to gain credit to such things, of which they are not themselves overmuch persuaded.  
Our Church therefore, having little or no regard to all these, has rather chose to celebrate this Apostle, as one of the Twelve, without any particular specifications concerning him, save only, that he was Brother and Companion with the rest in Tribulation, and in the Kingdom and Patience of our Lord Jesus Christ: Accordingly the Gospel for the Day, St. Luk. 22.24, is our Saviour's Determination of that perplexing Question, which so much troubled the Disciples at first among themselves, and has since been no small cause of Division in the Christian Church, Which of them should be the Greatest? not St. Bartholomew himself, should we grant him right Noble by his Birth, yet he must not pretend here to a Priority; therefore in the Gospel, the words run thus, The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship, and they that exercise authority are called Patrons and Benefactors; But, ye shall not be so;— not so, until that Kings be your Nursing fathers, and Queens your Nursing Mothers, in the mean while, let no one vindicate to himself Power and Prerogative amongst you over the rest of his brethren; But he that is greatest among you, let him be as the Younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve:— And the Epistle for this Day, (part of which is the Text) was the happy effect and result upon this Determination; The Apostles agreeing together amongst themselves, the Gospel of Jesus did run and was glorified, their Unity was causal of respect from those who were without; whilst they kept together with one accord, even the place where they met was an an indication both of their piety and their prudence; in, or about the Temple, in Solomon's Porch; and as an ancient Gloss upon the Text, fuerunt simul sapientes, in domo sapientis, The wisdom of God was here justified, by the children of Wisdom, and that in no other place then in an House of Wisdom whilst 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the rest, whither they were Friends or enemies, seeing and observing their Unity (ecce ut seinvicem deligant;) they could not but keep their distance no man durst to join himself to them;— and yet, notwithstanding this awe upon their spirits, the Apostles wanted neither Praise nor Admiration; But the People magnified them; and, upon the whole the word of God grew and was multiplied, Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women. Well therefore has our Church, in her Divine Service, furnished us at this time with a Prayer for the continuance of that Unity and Uniformity, which bears its later date from this Festival; (to wit) that it would please Almighty God, to grant unto his Church to love that Word which this Apostle, in the Communion of the rest, believed; that both, those who Minister, may preach, and the people may receive the same in the fear of God in the love of those truths and of one another, through Jesus Christ our Lord; Amen.  
The words of the Text, (having thus given you an account of our Church's choice in the selection of them for the Epistle at this time, which I could not well omit, partly out of a respect to the Festival, and chief out of a design to speak a word in season, too much and sadly in season, even all the year long, because of these days of error, schism and sedition in which we live;) are in themselves a Parenthesis, and so an Historical observation, made in the midst of a continued Narration; A Descant made, of what effect the judgement of God had upon the sin of sacrilege in the verses before; (to wit) what influence the punishment of this sin, in the sudden death of Ananias and Sapphira, had upon the Church? as also, what was the effect, of God's Providence in the verses following? how that God was with his Apostles, to deliver them from the expectation of those who sought their lives; he sent his Angel to open the prison door; and out of prison they were sent to reign in the hearts of all that heard them, and at length by the counsel of their enemies they were acquitted, God overruling in those Determinations also; so, that this seems to be the Historical, though Parenthetical observation of St. Luke writing the whole story, That, the Apostles and new convert Disciples being altogether with one accord in Solomon's Porch, of the rest durst no man join himself to them; but the People magnified them; and Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes of men and women. Observe with me in the whole Parenthesis, as the limits to what may be Discoused from it these four things.  

1. A Holy Convention; They were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch.  
2. A Due Distance observed in that Convention; Of the rest durst no man join himself to them.  
3. An awful Reverence exhibited upon that Distance; But the People magnified them.  
4. A Great Benefit redounding to the whole Community upon that Reverence; or rather, upon the whole present Dispensation; Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes of men and women.   

Of these in their order.  
1 A Holy Convention; They were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch: in which words we may observe, 

1. The Persons convening; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all of them.  
2. The Place of their meeting; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Solomon's Porch.  
3. Their Behaviour at their meeting; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 together with one accord.    
These Three, the Subject of the first Discourse.  
1. The Persons convening; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all of them: Whether with the Apostles, the new Convert Disciples; or the multitudes called together, at the noise of the wonders that were wrought; or it may be amongst so many, some out of curiosity, to pry and observe; and others, out of evil will, to seek and occasion against them, that so they might deliver up these Apostles to the Rulers;— Thus might these multitudes at this time have been divided.  
The Apostles were there, labouring in the Word and Doctrine; the new Converts were there, receiving as new born babes the sincere milk of the word, that they might grow thereby; those who were curious and inquisitive came thither, having heard of the signs and wonders only by the hearing of the ear, they came, and when they saw, they both magnified and believed; even the Adversary himself though he had malice enough, yet he wanted power; such durst not make too near approaches to them.  
I cannot but here take notice of the Courage of these Apostles, that in no wise they were dismayed or terrified; even amidst the concourse of the people, they were not affrighted; their business was to save, not to fear multitudes; to convince mightily and with power, not to dread the powers of the most or the mightiest of men; men whose power consisted only in their numbers; 29. We ought to obey God rather than men. The judgement of God upon Ananias and Sapphira might have been imputed as murder to these Apostles; might not the people of the Jews here have cried out, as they did formerly against Moses upon the destruction of Corah and his Accomplices for a sin of much the like nature with this, neither was the punishment unlike unto it, they died not the common death of all men, neither were they visited after the visitation of all men; Numb. 16.41. and all the Congregation murmured, saying, Ye have killed the People of the Lord? Why might it not have been so with this mixed Assembly? However the Apostles could expect no other than what did afterward really happen. 17. That, the High Priest, and those that were with him should he filled with indignation; Why should they therefore thus expose themselves to danger amidst the multitudes? The answer to all is, That they knew Jesus on whom they believed, and whom they preached; and it was with their joy. 41. in that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of the Lord Jesus.  
Courage and Resolution are virtues truly Apostolical; it is beneath the dignity of a Priest to fear the People: some come in humility to receive the Engrafted word with a spirit of meekness, and these are a joy to those that are set over them; Some expect Signs and Wonders, every day some new thing, they are for the enticing words of man's Wisdom, and he must work a miracle upon them that would persuade them, though they are themselves the greatest Prodigy, in that, since the word of Salvation is come amongst them in the plainess of its Demonstration, they will by no means submit the obedience of their faith to those Truths which in a Visible outward Oeconomy they cannot but profess, neither dare take so much confidence to themselves as to deny them; and after all these there are another sort who lie at the catch like the Pharisees and the Herodians, St. Luke 11.54. Seeking something out of our Saviour's Mouth to accuse or miss report him; such, whose business it is to carp at what they will not understand: such, who that they may bring an evil report upon the way of Godliness, take every little or no occasion to traduce the Dispensers' of it. But whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, the Prophets of the Lord are to come amongst them, through good report, and through bad report, by honour and dishonour are we to approve ourselves the Ministers of Christ and of his Gospel; in much patience, yea, with the Apostles here in tumults and in labours; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; and that they might be the better known, frequenting those places where the greatest gathering of the people is like to be, that so the word preached may have the more universal influence; the very Place of their meeting was a Place of general and known concourse, and so much the better, because it was a part of the Temple; see where they are assembled, an intimation both of their Fortitude and Devotion; even there, where the thickest of the thronged multitudes were wont to gather, with these we find the Apostles and the Convert Disciples at this Holy Convention, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Solomon's Porch; which is the   

Second thing I observed to you; The place of their meeting; in a place consecrated and separated for the Service of God; in Solomon's Porch.  
Solomon's Porch; The History of which place I shall not here spend to give you; those that have opportunity and ability may consult Jos. Antiqu. lib. 7. cap. 2. lib. 8. cap. 11. lib. 20. cap. 8. Where we have the description of it at large in all its Dimensions, from which we conclude it capacious enough to receive so great an Assembly as we suppose at this time to have been there: that it was part of the Temple is evident enough to us all from our Saviour's presence in it, St. John. 10.23. Whilst he was celebrating the Feast of Dedication (which, by the way, was an Apocryphal Feast, instituted 1 Mac. 4.59. and our Saviour honoured such a Solemnity with his company) Jesus walked in the Temple, in Solomon's Porch; which was also a place of public worship, 2 Cron. 8.12. Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, on the Altar of the Lord which he had built before the Porch: from all which, and from the Text I gather as a word in season.  " That our Lord and Blessed Saviour; and from his example and precept the Apostles with the Primitive Christians did not usually assemble for the Worship and Service of God in private Houses, or in solitary places, if so be that any, the outmost part of the Temple was allowed them to meet in. 
First, Our Saviour's Practice was most exemplary in this:— Whilst a Child, he was the Holy Child Jesus; early after his Birth, so soon as the days of Purification according to Law were accomplished presented in, and by the yearly Devotion of his Mother brought up unto the Temple, where he soon exercised and delighted himself in the beauties of holiness: The Days for Public Worship were too soon accomplished for him, St. Luc. 2.43. He must stay behind the rest of the Company some time longer; and after three days sorrowful search, where could they expect to find him, though a Child of twelve years' age, but in the House of God; and there, about his Father's business? even in the midst of the Doctors, hearing them, and ask them questions!— in the midst of the Doctors, and hearing them; as if, the Blessed Child would have been catechised by them, and taught the way of God more perfectly; this was his humility: and yet, ask them questions, and so putting them to silence; this was his authority, whilst all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and his answers;— This was the first onset of our Saviour in his Prophetic office, and that in no other place then in the Temple.  
True indeed, afterward in the Course of his life he consecrated every place by his presence, and therefore wherever he found the Multitudes, still he taught them; and yet we meet but with two notable instances of such an administration; once, by the Lake of Gennesareth when he taught the people out of the Ship; and the other, was the Sermon upon the Mount: But those seemed to be places not of his seeking; whilst he went about doing good, he designed no separation from the Jewish Church, but as once or twice occasion offered, and the people sought him out, he could not but at the same time feed their Souls as well as their bodies:— But if you would observe him according to his custom, St. Luc. 4.15, 16. He taught in their Synagogues, and was glorified of all: he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and as his Custom was, he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath-day; nay, he gave diligent attention to, and in some sort assisted in the Offices, which were there performed, for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he stood up to read; and delivering the Book to the Minister, he expounded to them the Lesson that was then read, in the course of the Jewish Service as I may so say, the Gospel for the day, (for it was out of the Evangelical Prophet Esaias) 21. This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears; was not all this a Regular and a Solemn Administration?— We find at another time St. Luc. 7.4. that Elders of the Jews thought it a good argument to move his compassion to restore the Centurion's Servant to health, when they could thus plead for him, that he was worthy for whom he should do this, since he loved their Nation and had built them a Synagogue: twice he whipped the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, and overthrew the Tables of the Money-changers, that being a place to receive sinners, not Publicans; nay, St. Mar. 11.16. He would not suffer that any man should carry any Vessel through the Temple, even the Outmost part of it, supposed to be the same in the Text, Solomon's Porch, and the reason of all assigned is this, because the House of God is to be a House of Prayer, and that not only to the people of the Jews, but likewise unto all Nations; why then should that House, or any like it, by any Nation professing Christianity be made a Den of Thiefs! thus you see how the Zeal of God and of God's House did devour him.  
Secondly, By the way, I cannot but observe, let this Atheistical age think what they will of a Liberty that they may take of alienating and profaning consecrated places (even the Ground may be Holy, it was the good will of God in the Bush that pronounced it so) surely, That sin cannot but be exceeding sinful, which the Judge of all the earth, while he was but in the form of a Servant did twice so severely punish with his own hands.  
But to proceed, let it be further said for our Saviour; that he went always up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the East, and in the midst of such a solemnity did he choose to be offered up a Sacrifice for the Sins of the world; and though once indeed he was tardy, and the Pharisees muttered amongst themselves; what? will he not come up unto the Feast? St. Joh. 11.56. yet, his presence immediately silenced all those Jealousies, telling them and all the world, that his Principle was Conformity; nay, to the last thus he witnessed to the High Priest (whom in this he seemed to own as his Visitor) a good confession, St. Joh. 18.20. when he could plead in the same words both his Piety and his Innocence— I speak openly to the world; I ever taught in the Synagogue, and in the Temple, whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing,  
From our Saviour's Practice, we proceed to consider what was his Precept; and that was this, St. Mat. 23.2, 3. The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; all therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do: as if, they were the rather to be heard, only because of a due Succession and Administration continued amongst them; however perverse the Pharisees might be in their lives; they say, and do not; yet hear, and observe them, for they do not sit in the stool of wickedness, but in the chair of Moses.  
Nay, however the circumstances of his life might occasion him once or twice to teach those that followed him in solatary places (only because they followed, not that he called them after him, for his intention was to go and pray by himself alone at one of those times; nay, his compassion was moved, when he saw the people as sheep not having a Shepherd, St. Mark 6.34. and therefore he taught them many things; he did not design to lead them astray from their proper Pastors;) I say notwithstanding this, not long before his death our Saviour forewarns his Disciples, and in them, all us, of false Christ's, and false Prophets that should arise to deceive them St. Mat. 24.24, 25. Behold I have told you before, how careful he is, lest they should be mistaken? and in the parallel Text, St. Mar. 13.23. Take ye heed, behold I have foretold you all things; if they shall say unto you, Behold here is Christ, or there is Christ, believe them not, and go not after them; if they shall say unto you, Behold he is in the Desert, go not forth: Behold he is in the secret Chamber, believe it not: Christ is not to be found in the Desert, not in a waist and a howling Wilderness, not in the confusions of Government, Discipline and Order; not amidst the confusions of those who have once, and would yet again lead us through a Red Sea of our own blood, but not to bring us into Canaan, all their Promised Land is a dismal Wilderness, and in it nothing but fiery Serpents, a Generation of Vipers to destroy us! No, neither is Christ to be found in the secret Chamber, the God of truth himself has said so; surely than not amidst the private Junctoet and Cabals of the Rebellious and Disobedient; though he was crucified betwixt two, yet, the benefits of his death are not to be dispensed in a Den of Theives: Oh Then! so long as Solomon's Porch is open, be not deceived; it is not Truth, but error and sedition betakes itself unto corners:  
The Apostles were also mindful of what their Master did, and what he taught; after the Resurrection they remembered his Solemn entrance into the Temple, and how it had been written of him, that the zeal of God's House should devour him, they therefore from his example rejoice to appear with multitudes in the House of God, They were altogether with one accord in Solomon's Porch:  
And so from our Saviour's, we descend to the Practice of the Apostles, and of the Primitive Christians, how that they also did not usually assemble for the Worship and service of God in private houses or in solitary places, so long as any, but the outmost part of the Temple was allowed them to meet in.  
True indeed, Act. 2.46. we find the Disciples breaking their bread from House to House; but then, the Bread which was broken, was broken in no other public place besides; and, Act. 28.30, St. Paul, when he was at Rome, preached in his own hired house; but than it was, The Church in that House, whilst he was Paul the Prisoner of Jesus Christ, begetting Sons unto the Christian Faith in his bonds: But, notwithstanding this, consult we the whole story of the Apostolical progress in the first plantation of the Gospel, and it is most apparently evident that the Apostles and Apostolic Men from the very beginning avoided all occasions of Conventicling; either some private houses of public spirited Christians, (and those supposed to be purchased with the money that was laid at the Apostles feet) were set apart for solemn worship, in which they had their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chambers for Holy Offices, and those publicly known that so all might frequent them; or rather, wheresoever they had occasion to converse still they betook themselves to the place, of public Worship, whether they lived amongst Jews or Greeks.  
Proferantur Tabulae; Let the Books be opened, and may the Separatists of our age see, and be ashamed. Act. 3.1. Peter and John went up together into the Temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour: They did stay, as some of our new Professors, till the public Prayers were done, but they went up to the Temple the rather at the ninth hour, to the House of Prayer, at no other time then at the hour of Prayer; and we find St. Paul with his company in another place countenancing the Solemnities of the Jewish Synagogue with their presence, Act. 13.15. After the reading the Law and the Prophets (which was part of the Jewish service, Moses was read in the Synogogue every Sabbath day, and that from of old time, Act. 15.21.) in due time and place according as the Ruler of the Synagogue did appoint, he that had a Word of Exhortation to the people, was commanded to say on. But, we return again to St. Peter, and those that were with him, Act. 3.11. Where we find them instructing and teaching the people in Solomon's Porch, the same Place where in the Text we find the Apostles gathered together with the whole Company of Believers;  
[They were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch] " This is said, to show that none among them was Schismatical, to forsake their public Assemblies, or in neglect thereof to hold private Conventicles: This Paraphrase is none of mine, it is the Annotations of the later Assembly that sat at Westminster upon my Text, some of whom are at this day alive, and promote an open Schism in their Mother Church by leading aside the simple and the ignorant into houses, notwithstanding this their own beloved Annotation to the contrary, little thinking that ever it would be brought forth in judgement against them; stat contra, dicitque tua pagina, we have it here under their own hands to show, that whilst they ruled, a Conventicle was schismatical; their Annotation upon Act. 5.12. in plain English running thus, " They were all with one accord] This he saith to show that none among them was schismatical, to forsake their public assemblies, or in neglect thereof to hold private Conventicles:  
Yea, and to the same purpose their infallible Doctor, Mr. Calvin upon this very Text, whose words are these, [" in Porticu Solomonis.] Significat certis horis convenire solitos, non modo precum & doctrinae causa, sed ut alios lucrifacerent Domino; Domi enim quisque suae agebatsed illic habebant suos conventus, aut certe nul, lum Ecclesiiae corpus aliter stare potest; nam si quisque sibi privatim Doctor esse velit, ac Seorsim precari, nulli autem sint publici coetus, quamlibet praeclare instituta fuerit Ecclesia, collabi & mox pessum ire necesse est: They were in Solomon 's Porch, to denote that they were wont to meet at certain hours to pray, and preach, and to get Disciples to the Lord; every one kept quietly to his own business at home, but in such places as these were their public meetings, or else the Church could never have continued long in one Body; for should every one undertake to be a Teacher to himself, and pray separate from the whole community, however gloriously at first a Church may be instituted, it is impossible, but by such practices as these it should come to nought:— Nay, further yet, says the same Mr. Calvin (from whom I conceive, our Assembly Annotators, borrowed the forecited Paraphrase,) " Dicit fuisse Vnanimes; ut sciamus sponte omnes coaluisse in eum ordinen, neminem fuisse refractarium, qui publico coetu neglecto, intra privatos parietes se tenerent; in quo non modestiae tantum specimen exhibebant, sed etiam constantiae; non enim hoc periculo carebant, cum locus esset tam celebris, quo majori laude dignus fuit omnium consensus ad discrimen subeundum: that is, they were with one accord, to show that they did all of them willingly embrace that order, that none amongst them was refractory by neglecting the public Assembly, to betake themselves to private houses; neither was this their so doing, an argument only of their modesty and meekness, but also of their courage and constancy; their so meeting together being the more commendable, in that hence they were exposed to the greater danger. Thus we see at once, not only the Practice of the Apostles and the Primitive Christians as to public Worship in public places, but also the judgement of such, who (as we have been told) were our first and our best Reformers; I doubt not, but Mr. Calvin has been often quoted to a worse purpose; I could wish that he were seriously considered in this:— This only to vindicate the Discourse, that what I do thus insist upon is within the Compass of my Text; fuerunt simul in domo sancta, in porticu Solomonis; vers. 1. Aethique They were all together in an Holy house, in Solomon 's Porch.  
I proceed in what I propounded, the practice of the Apostles at the first plantation of the Gospel, and that from the command of the spirit of God himself; to clear out which, I go no farther than the Chapter that is before us; The Apostles were shut up in prison for the greatness of their confidence in preaching the faith of Christ, ver. 19.20. But the Angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the Temple to the people all the words of this life; and when they heard that, they entered into the Temple, early in the morning and taught; This was the Message brought unto the Rulers and Chief Priests, while they were doubting with themselves, witherto this would grow; v. 25. Behold the men, whom ye put in prison are standing in the Temple, and teaching the people; nay this was their daily practice, ver. 24. If in every house, that is, wheresoever they had occasion to converse, so likewise daily in the Temple they ceased not to preach and to teach Jesus Christ.  
Thus St. Paul; that great Apostle, who laboured in the word and Doctrine more than all the rest, being converted to the Faith, Act. 9.20. Straightway he preached Christ in the Synagogues that he was the Son of God; He being the Doctor of the Gentiles, and the Jews being gone out of the Synagogue, Act. 13.42. the Gentiles besought that this word might be spoke the next Sabbath Day to them; accordingly they met at the Synagogue, even almost the whole City to hear the word of God. The same Apostle at another time came to Thessalonica where was a Synagogue of the Jews, Act. 17.1, 2. and (says the Text) as his manner was, he went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures; from Thessalonica we follow him to Corinth, Act. 18.2. where he reasoned with and persuaded both Jews and Greeks, but still it was, in the Synagogue on the Sabbath day; from Corinth we go along with him to Ephesus, ver, 19 he entered into the Synagogue and reasoned with the Jews; and v. 28. he mightily convinced the Jews, and that Publicly showing out of the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ; and in the same chapter, v. 21. he is very solicitous, in that he must by all means keep a feast that cometh in Jerusalem; and we find him in another place, Act. 24.11. going up to Jerusalem for to worship; hastening at another time Act. 20.16. if it were possible for him to be at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.  
Nay, not only the Jewish Temple and Synagogues were frequented by the Apostles upon all occasions, ne Judaicum Templum horruerunt, they did not abstain from the Jewish rituals and service, though by the bringing in of a better hope those things were already abolished; but amongst the Greeks also they did still appear in the places of Public worship; Act. 16.13. St. Paul, being warned in a Vision to come over, and help those of Macedonia, coming to Philippi, which was a chief City of Macedonia and a Colony, he with the rest of his company, went forth on the sabbath day out of the city by a river side where prayer was wont to be made.  
So far was this Apostle from neglecting the Public Assemblies, wheresoever he came that it was once part of a mistaken accusation against him from his own Country men, that he came to them so often, that he minded not what company he brought with him thither, he had brought Greeks along with him into the Temple; But, the respect which he had for the Temple, and for such Houses of solemn Devotion was as public, as was his frequenting them; for, this was that Apostle who was so exceedingly careful and solicitous lest places of Religious worship should be profaned; it was no small trouble to him when he heard that at Corinth the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Feasts of Love at the Holy Communion were made occasions ministering unto riot and debauchery; 1 Cor. 11.18. when ye come together in the Church; what does he mean there by the word Church? hear him exclaim himself, v. 20. when ye come together in one place; the very place itself may be, and was anciently in the Apostle's time styled the Church: well, this was their meeting; the abuse crept in amongst them was this, ver. 21. This is not to eat the Lords supper, when in eating every one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken; upon all which the Apostles argumentation with them runs thus, v. 22. What, have ye not houses to eat and drink in? or, despise ye the Church of God? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not! from all which we may conclude, that houses are to eat and drink in; the Church of God, spoken in antethesis in opposition to those houses, is by no means to be despised; and therefore, v. 34. If any man hunger let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation.  
'Twas this very same Apostle, who throughout the whole 14th Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians hath given his directions for the due management of external worship and scrvice; the sum of all which is there v. 40. Let all things be done decently, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So as becometh grandcur, and solemnity; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in order, it is a Military phrase, taken from the posture the soldier is placed in, not to stir his foot, but to keep his ground, according to the Orders which were given him from his superior Officers; in order, that is no otherwise, then as it shall be appointed, by those whose business it is, and have a full commission to command in things of this nature, whose injunctions must be according to the forementioned institutions; that there be in the first place Devotion, and Reverence towards God; v. 25. falling down on the face and worshipping of God; and next, that there be respect towards men, v. 32. the Spirits of the Prophets are to be subject to the Prophets; yea, and that in places appointed and set apart for Religious worship, v. 33. for God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace, as in all Churches of the Saints; in which words, Saints are again distinguished from Churches, and therefore Churches must needs be understood of the place, rather than of the Masters of Assembly: all Churches of the Saints; whereupon our Apostle gives a particular injunction as to Women, how they are to behave themselves in such places, v. 34, 35. Let your women keep silence in the Churches; if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the Church; where yet once more, the House at home, is put in opposition to the Church abroad.  
And since we are come thus far in our Scripture allegations in the Defence of Public assemblies, in separated places, and that even from the Apostles practice; I close up this part of the Discourse upon such Apostolical institutions, as I did that part of it insisted upon from our Saviour's practice; Christ himself has forewarned us, that he is not to be found in the Wilderness or in the secret Chamber; and his Apostles also after him, have foretold these days of schism and sedition which we have lived to see.  
2 Tim. 3.1, 6. This know; yea though you will not know it, but do not ye clearly see it? that in the last days perilous times shall come; For, Men shall be lovers of their own selves, and of their own ways, disobedient to Parents both natural, sacred, and civil; unthank full, no courtesies nor kindnesses will engage them, and therefore unholy also; truce-breakers, even their own Covenants are no obligations upon them; false accusers, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high minded, who think themselves wiser than either Rulers or Teachers; of this sort are they that creep into houses, and lead captive silly Women (but they are not Women, which be Devout and Honourable,) Women laden with sins, and lead away with divers lusts.  
Epistle of St Judas; ver. 19 Those that separate themselves, let them pretend never so much to holiness and piety, they are sensual, and they have not the Spirit; such are they, who, ver. 3. (while the True Apostles do contend earnestly for the Common salvation, and the Faith of it, once delivered to the Saints) creep in unawares, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness; v. 8. These are filthy Dreamers, or in the language of our time, Mad Diviners, Ecstatical Enthusiasts, who despise Dominions and speak evil of Dignities; ver. 10. They speak evil of those things which they know not;— inimicum praeter ignorantem;— Religion as well as Learning has no enemy but the Ignorant, whilst wisdom and piety are justified by their Children; but otherwise, what these gainsayers do know naturally we must own them, since they have the faces of men, to be reasonable creatures, and yet, as brute beasts in those things which they seem to know, they corrupt themselves; that is, they do as much confound themselves, as they do amuse others with their brainsick imaginations; Woe, woe unto them (says our Apostle) for they have gone in the way of Cain; it is but of late sad remembrance, setting every man's sword against his Brother, only because their sacrifices of sin were not accepted; they have run greedily after the error of Balaam for a reward, whilst that gain was their greatest Godliness; Oh! that they had perished in the very act of gainsaying like Corah and his Company, when they exalted themselves above the Congregation of the Lord: These are spots in your feasts, yea though they be Feasts of charity, their Love feasts in the Family of Love, a private secret Conventicle, feeding themselves without fear: Clouds they are without water, like their Master, Prince of the air; and yet fire, if any, is the element predominant; and these like Salamanders can live only in the fire; they are carried about of winds, tossed too and fro with every blast of false and erroneous Doctrine; Trees they are whose fruit withereth; nay they have no fruit that is good; twice dead; why do they any longer cumber the ground? they are raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, and that's nothing but mire and dirt, so that because of the Tempest which they have raised there are no Halcyon days, the King's Fishers cannot build their nests in these troubled waters; They are stars too, but not in the right hand of Jesus, wand'ring stars, oh, when shall they be falling stars! usque quo Domine! how long, O Lord, just, holy and true! when, shall it once be! unto whom is reserved the blackness of darkness, a darkness like that of Egypt, which is to be felt, the blackness of darkness for ever; v. 16. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts, running about City, Town and Country, and they grudge if they be not satisfied; their mouths speak great swelling words of vanity, having men's persons in admiration, because of some particular advantage; or as another Apopostle has it. 2 Tim. 4.3. After their own lusts they heap up Teachers to themselves having itching ears; and to sum up all with that which gave me occasion to paraphrase so much upon this Epistle, These are they who separate themselves, they are not moved, nor acted by the Holy ●host, the Devil has too much power over them, if St. Jude's Epistle be Scripture, and I guests by this time, since they find themselves so exactly described in it, they could wish it out of our Bibles, since this is the best character that he can afford them, that they are sensual, and they have not the Spirit.  
These are they, and this is the manner of them who neglect the assembling of themselves together, imitating the Primitive and the Apostolical times in nothing but in the divisions and dissensions of false Brethren; who do not in the least consider that they are baptised into a Christian Faith in which Faith we have these two Articles, in which we believe a Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church; and the Communion of Saints; the Catholic Church is but One; and the Communion of it, throughout the Christian World is Visible: and the next Article to these is the Remission of sins, which we obtain and have a right to by our being Baptised, and so made Members of the Body of Christ; and therefore another Creed has it by way of explanation thus, that we are to believe One Baptism for the Remission of sins; as if, out of the Visible Communion of the Catholic Church, into which we are admitted by Baptism, there is to be no Remission; and for this I urge our Saviour's words, S. Mat. 18.17. Dic Ecclesiae, Tell it to the Church: but if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a Heathen man, and a Publican; such a one, whom the People of the Jews counted to be dead in their sins and trespasses:— Not without good reason therefore has our Church, in her most excellent constitutions, made this one of her wholesome laws; Cannon 11th. " That whosoever shall affirm, that there are within this Realm other Meetings, Assemblies, or Congregations of the Kings born subjects, than such as by the Laws of this Land are held and allowed, which may rightly challenge to themselves the name of a true, and of a lawful Church, let him be excommunicated, and not restored but by the Archbishop, after his repentance, and revocation of such his wicked errors.  
Surely there is something extraordinary in the matter, or else I should not be thus earnest! I would ask the Separatists of our age, this one serious and sober question, Have ye Souls to be saved, or no? little do they think into what danger they put their own immortal souls by a schism and a separation; they do as much as in them lies, forego the ordinary means appointed by God for their salvation: Now God, in his wonderful Providence has made the Administration of his Gospel to be glorious in the midst of us, the light to shine bright in our Candlestick, Divine Services to be dispensed and Holy Offices to be performed even in the outward Beauty of Holiness; Now for a froward and a peevish generation to place the service of God in one of the most damning sins that can be committed (for aught I know by that little Divinity I have been acquainted with, if it be wilfully persisted in, and they add Obstinacy to their Separation, it may in time come up to be the unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost) Schism and Division from the Church's community; Oh! what shall we say unto these men? Oh more foolish than were those Galatians! Who has bewitched them, that they should not obey the Truth? Formerly, yea before our Saviour's time, higher than yet hitherto I have brought my proof, it was David's choice to be a door keeper in the House of God, rather than to convene in the Tents of wickedness; and when Christ first appeared in the flesh, it was the Character of a Devout and a Religious person St. Luc. 15.37. of Anna the Prophetess, a Widow of 84 years' age, that she departed not from the Temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day; and, does old Simeon wait for the Consolation of Israel, to see Christ in the flesh? by the Spirit he is led into the Temple, there to behold the salvation of his God, and so to departed in peace; sed nobis non licet esse tam religiosis, now it seems all Godliness consists in the most ungodly of separations, as if this untoward Age of ours would invert the proverb, the farther from the Church, the nearer in communion with God  
Well! whether they will hear; or whether they will forbear; and yet he that hath ears let him hear, saith the Spirit unto the Churches: you see, whosoever ye be that do Divide our Saviour's Practice and his Precept, the Apostolical Progress and their Institution are against you; from the beginning, even when they wanted an outward Administration, a fixed and a settled Dispensation, than it was not thus;— Jesus Christ our Lord was obedient in all things, even in their Apocryphal celebrations to the constitutions of that Church under which he lived; The Apostles were men of open hearts, and of open lives, neither were they ashamed of the Testimony of the Lord Jesus; they rejoiced upon all occasions to go up, yea, though it were but to a Porch of the House of God; though the Jewish Dispensation was still there administered, yet Type, and Antitype together appearing, both were for that time glorious; we find them all together in one place, and all of them there together with one heart; Unity and Uniformity was that which gave credit to Christianity from the first Plantation of it; They were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch which is the   

Third thing I observed unto you in this holy Convention; and that is, their Behaviour at their meeting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with one accord.  
When the Queen of Sheba came from far to behold the wisdom of Solomon, 1 Reg. 10.5. the Houses that he built to God, and for himself; the meat of his Table, and the sitting of his servants; the attendance of his Ministers, and their apparel, and his Cupbearers; and after all, and above all the rest, the Ascent by which he went up unto the House of the Lord (which as most interpreters agree, was therefore called Solomon's Porch, after the captivity rebuilt and restored to its former splendour and magnificence, as Josephus in the forecited places gives us the account at large;) I say when she saw all this, there was no more spirit in her!— To consider with ourselves, how that even in the Apostles times, Solomon's Porch was a continued Ascent up unto the House of God; the Procession though it was solemn and glorious; atrium populi, & grandis Basi lica Vatabl. the Grandeur of it was Princely, and thither came the people to serve the Lord; and upon the whole that the Apostles were there with the new Convert Disciples to the Christian Faith, even multitudes of Believers, both men and women; though the Tongues which sat upon the Apostles were cloven, yet their hearts were not divided; they loved, and they lived, and they witnessed unto Jesus, and they served their God together, and all as Brethren; Methinks now our Spirits should be raised! nay our hearts may fail within us, in admiration of them, and of their primitive uniform celebrations; and, in a sad reflection upon ourselves to consider, that with our Uniformity, charity has forsaken us; how sadly are we mangled and divided one amongst, and one against another!  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 With one accord; The word in Scripture seems to intimate not only an inward sameness of affection, a mutual agreement of mind and disposition; but also an outward uniform Behaviour, Act. 4.32. The multitudes of those who believed were of one heart, and one soul, that was their internal affection; ver. 24. With one accord they lifted up their voice to God, that was their external communion. Act. 11.46. With one accord in the Temple, and in breaking of Bread, the result of which concord in Religious performances, was peace and amity in their civil conversations, they did eat their meat with gladness and in singleness of hearts. So that we may hence gather, that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text, their being together with one accord, is sufficiently expressive both of the inward frame of their minds one to another, and the outward management of their solemn Assemblies one amongst another; even what the Apostle gives in advice, Rom 15.6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that we should with one Mind, and with one Mouth glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  
" Divine service being public (says a judicious writer of our own Church) hath this advantage in it, 
Mr. Thorndike. Rel. Assem. pa. 2, 3.  in as much as the honour which it pleaseth God to accept at our hands becometh his greatness more, when, in a judgement of charity we have reason to believe that such a worship proceeds from more agreement of mind: as the strength of men's Bodies, joined to one purpose, removeth that which one by one they could not stir; so United Devotions, (the more public, the more numerous, the more numerous the more United) prevail with God to such an effect, as severally they cannot bring to pass. This was God's promise of old, that it should be his blessing upon his Church, even in Gospel times, Zeph. 3.9. I will turn to the people of a pure language, or of a pure lip, that they may call upon the name of the Lord with one consent.  
'Tis therefore requisite upon the whole, that as a demonstration, that we are all of one mind, and of one soul, even in outward service our Behaviour should be one and the same, Reverend and Unity be known, unless it be by provoking one another to love in our Uniformity: you have seen already, that the Apostolical way of serving God, was falling down upon the face, and worshipping him, 1 Cor. 14.25. in those days it was good and wholesome counsel, Rom. 12.1. I beseech you Brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your Bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God; and this too, however some may now count it superstition, a will-worship and a voluntary humility, yet in the Apostles time it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a rational, a reasonable service. To see some at the Church Prayers sitting, some lolling and leaning, here and there it may be some vouchsafing to stand up; few or none upon their knees, (that posture, if any one should think the fittest for Supplicants and Petitioners to the great God of Heaven and Earth; Go behave thyself otherwise before thy Prince, and see whether he will accept thee;) should the ignorant or unlearned, the stranger that would be a Proselyte to our Religion, come in amongst us, would not he say that we are all mad? so far from being together with one accord, that the variety of our Behaviours is argument too notorious, that our minds are not intent upon the same business; this is not the Beauty, it is the very Deformity of Holiness.  
Once more: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were together, and because so they were with one accord.— An outward Visible Conformity is in the very nature of the thing itself causal of internal Unity; Love and Charity is there increased, where external Communion is promoted; wheresoever there is Order there is Peace; whereas Mutinies and Discontents are both the Child and Parent of Confusion.  
Well, therefore, has the Psalmist compared the comeliness and pleasantness of Brotherly Love to the outward administrations and solemnities of the sanctuary; Psal. 133.1, 2. Behold how good, and how decent a thing it is for Brethren to dwell together in Unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head which ran down upon the beard, even Aaron 's beard, that went down to the skirts of his clothing; it is like the dew of Hermon, even as the dew that descended upon the Mountains of Zion, where the Lord himself commanded the Blessing, even life for evermore:— Thus Love and Amity, Union and Communion amongst Brethren professing the worship and service of One and the same God, looking for, and hastening to One and the same Hope, is not only compared unto, but also a due consequence of the sweet Odours upon Aaron's head, having their delightful refreshing influence upon the whole Assembly; this is the Blessing of God out of Zion, to those that are the sons of Zion, Love and Peace, Joy and  for ever more. Hence not without good reason was Jerusalem styled, as the name imports, a City of Peace, because the Temple of the God of Peace was there; that Temple which was built by Solomon who was a Prince of Peace, after that God had given him Rest from all his Enemies round about, neither was the noise of Axe or Hammer heard in all the Holy Mountain while it was Building; This the Temple, at Jerusalem, and therefore the City itself is Built and Compact together, even a City at Unity in itself; for, thither the Tribes go up, the Tribes of the Lord, to the Testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the Name of the Lord.  
Oh! that we would Recall to our Minds our former happiness under a well ordered and a settled Uniformity; how did the people of this Land rejoice to go up together to the House of God as Friends? how comely were our Solemnities, when whole Families met together at God's Table? the servant was thus far as free as his Master, not as a Servant, but as a Brother; and yet when he came home he did his service without grudging, not as unto man, but as to the Lord, in singleness of heart, as knowing that he had a Master in Heaven; How was the staff of Beauty in those days, no other than the staff of Bands, and whilst we did in a general unanimous consent, serve our God with one heart, and with one voice, the result of Glory to God in the Highest, was Peace on Earth, and  amongst men? But woe! and alas for us! ever since we began to quarrel at our Religion, to abhor the sacrifices of our God, how has every Man's Hand been against his Brother! Father against Son, and the Son against his Father! Maxima & debetur servis reverentia; a Man's Table has been made his Snare, whilst the servants that attended upon him have been the Informers against him, his worst Enemies those of his own House! nay, the Marriage Bed itself, as Honourable as it is, has not been free from this shame, whilst there have been a Generation of men that would not allow St. Paul's Doctrine to be Gospel, That the Believing Wife sanctifies the unbelieving husband, and the Believing Husband, sanctifieth the unbelieving Wife; but our of a supercilious design to pry into the secrets of Families, as if they only knew who were the chosen of God according to the election of Grace, even at the Marriage-supper itself they have separated and divided betwixt Man and Wife, put those asunder whom God, Nature, and Christianity had joined together, this being the Religion of our later Reformation, what Christ foretell should be a final destruction upon the people of the Jews, Two in a-bed, the one taken, and the other left.  
Oh! That at length we might recover our first works! and how shall we do that? hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches, Repent and do your first works: Betake we ourselves now at last, to that from whence we are fallen, to our old honest Principles of Piety and Devotion toward God, of Reverence and Obedience toward our Superiors, of Love and Charity one toward another. Oh! that we would but seriously think upon it; nay, for the children's sake that yet are unborn, that we would consider it! our Fathers before us have left us a glorious Religion; and what shall we do for the Generations that are to come, shall we leave nothing to Posterity but Schism and separation, disorder and confusion; But in the words of Holy Church we direct our Prayers unto our God, since there is no help in man, nor in the son of man, " O God we have heard with our ears, and our Fathers have told us the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them; O Lord, Arise, help us and deliver us for thy name sake, and thy honour!  
'Tis not to be expected that ever God should bless that Nation or people where the only feuds are about his service; and till our Uniformity in the strictness of it be more countenanced than it has been, restored to its wont exactness and splendour, we must never expect to see an end of those feuds; Divisions are always running upon the Multiplication (says our Royal Martyr!) and there is no settlement, but in the point of Union.  
Toleration then; you may give it a new name, and by an Universal Character Style it Comprehension, but Babel in the original, both in name and story is the most proper word to signify Confusion; this cannot be the way to peace, because it is not like to be a service to the God of Peace, of altogether with one accord: The Music of the Sanctuary is not made up of Discord, unisons here is the only harmony, the sweetest Melody both to Heaven and Earth; it is a contradiction in the very terms of it, and it is impossible that both parts of it should be true, that if there be Divisions, and those Tolerated, therefore there would be no thoughts, no search of heart.— Let us take our measures by this one instance, Our Fathers worshipped in this Mountain, said the Samaritan to the Jew; and the Jew said, that at Jerusalem men ought to worship; and both these were satisfied, in that there was a Toleration of each Service▪ and yet the Jew counted the Samaritan a Devil, and the Samaritan would not entertain a Jew, no not a stranger, for no other reason, but because his face might look as if he were going up to Jerusalem; the distance was so great, and that because of their way of Worship, though both were Tolerated, yet they had no deal one with another, no not to eat and drink, hardly to speak or discourse. Thus, Toleration is causal of that, which Excommunication itself never pretended to in a well constituted Church, tollit officia domestica, it will not suffer a man to engage himself in good offices of love and charity to those of another persuasion, no though there be a Family-relation, all Family-obligations are canceled, where, falsely so called, a Family of Love is set up; this is that which is destructive, etc. Destructive of all civil society and commerce, nay, of Trade itself; the popular reason, why some would have it promoted; for to be sure each party will enrich itself, make a Monopoly of gain only to its own consistory; whilst fractions are promoted, factions will increase; the Combination is the stronger, only to give the greater blow with the fist of wickedness, and to be sure the weakest shall be crushed against the Wall.  
In the name of God therefore, and in the love of one another, let us Assemble ourselves together in the places of Public Worship with one accord: laying aside all passion, evil speaking and slandering, let our outward behaviour, an uniform Communion in the service of God, be expressive of that inward affection which we bear to one another, both as we are men, and as we are Christians: and if there be a froward and peevish generation amongst us, that will contend both against the Laws of God and of the King, all that we can reply is this, That we have no such custom, no nor the Church of God. A holy Familiarity, that is, a Conformity in Religion, is not in the least a cause of contempt, external communion of all together with one accord, is not the way to Levelling; in the Sanctuary there is Order, some go before, and some follow after, and in the midst of all God is glorified: those lines which are drawn from the point of Union, as their Centre, (to improve the similitude which I but now borrowed from a Royal Pen,) to the several parts of the Circumference round about, keep their equal, and their due distance; they are called Parallels, the word speaks a mutual congruity, not a promiscuous contiguity, they have a kind similitude one unto, and a loving aspect one upon another, yet each line keeps its fixed station, without any the least interfearing; Brotherly love does there continue, where every man abides in that Calling in which he is called: This is the happy result of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Concord in the text, especially in the service of One God, who has declared his Unity to be his Essence, there is but One Lord; and as but One Lord, so in the confession of him, there is but One Faith; and, for an admission into that Faith there is but One Baptism; and but One Church, in which is to be the Outward, Visible, and Uniform Administration of all; the result of which Unity and Uniformity is this, Phil. 2.2, 3. The joy of all is full, when all are like minded and of one accord; hereupon nothing is done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind each one doth esteem of others better than himself: which brings me to the next part of the Text: The Convention we see is every way Holy; First, the Persons holy, the Apostles and the convert Disciples. Secondly, the Place that was Holy; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Oecumenie in loc. They left their own Houses, and frequented the Temple; we find them most an end assembled, either at the Gate called Beautiful, the more Beautiful, because they were there, whose feet were Beautiful, bringing the glad tidings of Peace; or else, as in the Text, in Solomon's Porch. Thirdly, their Behaviour there, that was Holy, Solemn, and Devout, reverend even to outward appearance, they were with one accord; and where there was so much love, so great a concord, it could not be but there must be some respect, some honour too, which is the Subject of our next Discourse.    

The Second SERMON The Convention as it was Holy, so it was Regular: Brotherly Love continued, and yet a promiscuous parity was avoided; there was a due Distance kept in this Solemn Assembly; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the rest; whither they were friends, or whither they were enemies; whether they were within, or without the pale of the Church; the Apostles having took their seats, no man durst to join himself to them.  
Of the rest durst no man join himself to them. In which words, Three things are to be considered,  


1. BY whom this distance was kept? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Rest.  
2ly. What was the present frame and temper of their minds? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 No man durst.  
3ly. What was the Act which they did not dare to engage themselves upon; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, To join themselves unto them. I confess that this Division at the first may seem somewhat nice, but upon a second search, we shall find it very useful for the illustration of the matter in hand.    

1. By whom this distance was kept? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of the Rest. And these might be of three sorts.  
First, none of the convert Disciples; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of the rest, as distinguished from the Apostles; ver. 11. Great fear came upon all the Church.  
Secondly, None of those that were with the mixed multitude, though they themselves might be distinguished both from the Apostles and the People; ver. 11. Even as many as hear those things; ver. 12. By the hands of the Apostles were signs and wonders wrought amongst the people, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the rest, though amongst, yet to be distinguished from both, durst no man join himself unto them.  
Thirdly, No not the adversary himself; ver. 25. He doubts whitherto this might grow; ver. 26. The Officers bring them without violence, fearing the People, lest they should have been stoned; and the wisest man in the Council gives his advice to discharge them. ver. 25. Gamaeliel was in this a Master of reason, as well as a Doctor of the Law; this is some further addition to his reputation, in that he wished them to beware, and to take heed what they did with those men, lest they be found to fight against God, ver. 38.  
Thus the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those that are the rest here, may be reckoned up as they are distinguished from the Apostles in the fore going verse, from the People in the latter end of this verse, and from the Adversary throughout the whole context; the Adjective Masculine put absolute, in its due regiment without a Substantive, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or some such word to be understood, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seems to warrant me this or the like Division; Of the rest, No one, (or as we Translate it, No Man) durst join hmself to them.  
First, Not the new convert Disciples; though if any, surely they might take the confidence; but ver. 11. Great fear came upon the whole Church. We read in the foregoing Chapter, ver. 32. " That the multitude of those that believed were of one heart, and of one soul, neither said any of them that ought of the goods which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common; as many as had possessions of lands sold them, and laid down the price of what was sold at the Apostles feet. And in the beginning of this Chapter, we find some retaining part of the accursed thing, of that which was devoted and dedicated unto God. ver. 4. whilst it was whole it was in the power of him that possessed it; and, after it was sa●d, still it was entirely in his power; but, being once Consecrated, and separated from common use, the property and propriety is then altered, God doth vindicate the right of Possession to himself; the sin was therefore the greater, the more immediate against him, in that there were some, who gave indeed, as others did, for companies sake a certain curtailed portion to God and to his Church, but not with a willing mind, not as cheerful givers, keeping back part of the price, a wedg of Gold it may be, to buy a Babylonish garment, and presenting the remainder to the Apostles as the result of the whole sale; this is the instance of Sacrilege, even in the New Testament Satan thus hiling the hearts of wicked persons, that they should lie against the holy Ghost, not against Men, but against God. That therefore, the Church be not troubled for this destructive sin of Sacrilege, these two must fall a Sacrifice; as Joshua of old to Achan and his House; Thou hast troubled Israel, and God shall trouble thee this day: So the Apostles here to Ananias and Sapphira for the same sin; since you have done wickedly, this your oblation is abhorred, both sin and death lie at the door, Behold the feet of those who are to carry you forth, are without, ready for to bury you: These two are to be cut off from the land of the living; like Corah and his Company, they went almost quick into hell.  
Sacrilege, whither it be under a legal, or under an evangelical Dispensation, is an invasion of that which God has claimed to himself for his own inheritance; and it is a Sin which shall in no wise go unpunished; it brings ruin and desolation wheresoever it is admitted; Writ such a one childless; his name no more to be remembered, unless for a terror unto others: Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, their wives, their sons, and their little ones, and all that appertained unto them, swallowed up alive in the pit, Numb. 16 33. Father, Son and Daughter, yea the whole House of Achan; Oxen, and Asses, and Sheep, first stoned with stones, and then burnt with fire; even in the Valley of Anchor, from this fore judgement, thus severely executed upon the sin of Sacrilege, this was the only door of Hope Josh. 7.18. Husband and Wife, that so there might not be a Generation of Vipers to inherit their parents curse, are both at once cut off, in the instance before us, root and branch in one day; ver. 10. the young men came in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth buried her by her husband.  
Alas! who can live when God doth thus? well might the New Convert Disciples be terrified and affrighted; lest that they also should not have been sincere in their Oblations; lest that God should not accept the labour of their love, by reason of some secret leaven of Hypocrisy that might lurk within them; though they had sold their goods, yet they might want charity, and then they should be nothing worth, wherein were they to be accounted of? To see how severe an Avenger that God was, with whom they had to do, was cause enough of terror even to the Church itself; every one of them smiting upon their breasts, not daring to look up to Heaven, standing afar off, each one communing with his own heart, and saying, Lord be merciful unto me, yea unto me a sinner! we are all of us dead, we are all of us sinful men, O Lord!  
Purior ex hoc tempore erat Ecclesiae coetus in quem multi dolose irrepserant; Calv. From this time, every man prepared himself for the public Assemblies, as near as he could according to the preparations of the Sanctuary; they set their whole hearts to seek the Lord God of their Fathers with Reverence and with fear; the terrors of the Lord in his Judgements did persuade them; and do they go up unto the Temple to Solomon's Porch to pray and to hear? yet with the Penitent, Devout Publican, they must stand afar off; and hence it was that they did return each man to his own house justified.  
Thus, when God is pleased to arise in the vindication of his service, by his judgements upon the wicked and profane; to declare that he will be sanctified in all those that draw nigh unto him, than should they who presume to tread his Courts look unto their feet when they come unto the House of God lest they offer the sacrifice of fools. Would David bring up the Ark of God to his own City, and to his own House? and in the midway, is Vzzah smitten? Perez-Vzzah! this Breach upon Vzzah, makes David to smite upon his thigh, lest that his way also should be found perverse before the Lord, and God might find out some secret iniquity in him, and so withhold good things from him; 1 Chron. 13.22. David was afraid of the Lord that day, saying, How shall I bring the Ark of God home unto me? Surely there is some iniquity or other that I do regard in my heart, or it may be the sons of violence are too near about me, and therefore at this time God will not not be entreated of, he will by no means accept me: upon this occasion, it's thought, that he did pen the hundred and first Psalm, in which he dedicates himself and his House to the service of his God.  
Psal. 101. Sing I must, yea and so I will, both of Mercy and Judgement; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing: of judgement, because thy ways are terrible; of Mercy, because all thy paths are Peace: first, for himself he gins, I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way; Oh! when wilt thou come unto me? why should the Ark of God now be carried aside from me? I will walk in my House with a perfect heart. Neither was this proposition like Joshuas of old, Josh. 24.15. Choose you whom you will serve; but, as for me and my house we will serve, the Lord: No, like a supreme Magistrate, he resolves not to bear the sword in vain, he is steadfastly purposed to be the Minister of God for Good; but an Avenger to execute wrath upon him that worketh evil; A froward heart shall departed away from me, I will not know a wicked person, whose privily slandereth his Neighbour, him will I cut off, him that hath an high look and a proud heart I will not suffer: Mine eyes shall be upon such as are faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me; I will early destroy all the wicked of the land: and why all this thorough Reformation both within doors, and without? why? because the Ark of God was not to have its habitation amidst the Tents of ungodliness; as if the Princely Prophet should have said, All this will I do, that I may prepare a place for it, That I may cut off all wicked doers from that City, which henceforth, because of the Show bread there to be dispensed, is to be called Bethlehem, the House of Bread, the City of the Lord; and that because of the service of the God of Israel, between the Cherubims, which is there to be aministred, the daily sacrifice which is never to cease, the  offering for Israel never to fail; I will early destroy all the wicked of the Land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from this City of the Lord.  
Thus the God whom we serve is a holy and a Jealous God; and therefore as Joshuah to the people in that forementioned place, Josh. 24 9 Ye cannot serve the Lord, lest he turn, and do you hurt, and consume you; his jealousy should provoke us to sincerity, that we be careful in our nearer approaches to him at the public solemnities of his holiness, there be not an evil heart in us, even at such a time, and in those addresses to departed from the living, the great and the dreadful God; in drawing nigh to him with our mouths, while our hearts are far from him: God is in heaven, and we on earth; and from heaven it is that he is ready to execute judgement upon the Hypocrite, and false hearted; therefore, though in the Ministrations of the Sanctuary we are permitted to kiss the Son, yet it is, lest that he should be angry, for should his wrath be kindled, yea, but a little, how soon should we perish from the right way? Psal. 2.11. Serve the Lord with fear, and though that service be the fullness of our joy, yet we must rejoice unto him with reverence and with trembling: Here in the context, Fear came upon the whole Church, upon those very persons who for joy had in the former Chapter, parted willingly with their substance; yet, because God had made a Breach amongst them, the effects of his wrath were both sudden and dreadful; and should they also have been found false in their services, what could they expect, but that they should likewise perish! The Apostles therefore being gathered together, every man had good reason to suspect and examine himself; they could not forbear to assemble with them, to hear what the Lord God would say unto them; and yet out of a pious reflection upon their own unworthiness, and the purity of that God with whom they had to do, they dare not be too hasty in their nearer approaches; Fear came upon the Church; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, of the rest, as distinguished from the Apostles, even from amongst the Disciples, such who believed with joy in the assurance of their Faith, and yet with trembling, as conscious to themselves of their own unbelief, of those New Converts, durst no man join himself to them: Nay, the dread which was upon their Spirits was not a little increased, when they saw the Consternation to be Universal; fear, not only upon the Church, but upon such as were without, even upon all those which heard those things; and they may be the  
Second sort of Persons, who are said in the Text, to keep this distance: by the hands of the Apostles were signs and wonders wrought among the people; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of the rest, as distinguished both from the Apostles and the People; of those who were amongst, though not of the mixed multitude durst no man join himself unto them.  
And here, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 opponuntur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rest, are to be understood in a contra distinction to, and from the multitude: quos vitae ordo, & authoritas in signiores fecerat; such amongst them as were notable either for their quality or authority; these were surprised, v. 11. Even as many as saw those things; but they would not come too near, lest they should lose of their interest, or of that power and authority with which at present they were invested: They were sufficiently convinced by the Signs which they saw, and the Wonders which they could not but acknowledge; from their very outward senses to their consciences, they could not but lay their hands upon their mouths and say, of a truth mighty works and terrible do show forth themselves in these Apostles; and yet they would not venture to join themselves unto them, lest they might run the same fate with them, ver. 18. Be cast into prison; or, be informed against to the chief Priests and Pharisees; like those St. John 12.42. chief Rulers, who believed on our Saviour, but did not confess him because of the Pharisees; lest they should be put out of the Synagogue; for they loved the praise of men, more than the praise of God: These were acted by a principle of temporal politic prudence, and not by that Wisdom which is pure as well as peaceable; who see with their eyes, and yet interest doth blind them: hear with their ears, and yet because of some external inconveniencies that may happen, they stop their ears to these heavenly Charmers, Charm they never so wisely? who understand with their heart, and yet are not converted, lest they should be healed.  
There be some like St. Peter, who neither fly from, nor forsake their Saviour; but they follow afar off to see the end of the matter; and if prosecution wax hot, their charity grows cold, in the time of temptation they fall away; they see that bitterness is like to be in the end, and so they force themselves both to deny and forswear their Master. Some wait only in a corner of Solomon's Porch, lest they should be seen of men, I mean it of those who are too much in subjection to their Ringleaders in mischief, and were it not for fear of being cast out of favour, of losing such a ones good word, or his good will, they could frequent the places of Assembly with more courage than they do. Alas! what would you have us do, says the poor deluded Country man? we must wait upon the Great man of the Town, be it to a Church or to a Barn; it is well, if now and then we can steal in at a back door, where we may hear, and not be seen, for should He come to know it, it will never be forgiven us! Nay, sad it is to consider it, but too really true! there are those in the world who should teach, as well as they know better things; who call those their Patrons which exercise authority over, or have any influence upon them, transporting them to act either lukewarmly in, or indirect opposition against that Religion to which they have already given up their names so often, both by Obligatory Oaths, and Promissory subscriptions: they are sufficiently enough convinced that this is, and aught to be the worship of the God of our Fathers; but, alas! what need they concern themselves for that which they shall never be able to help? must they venture upon the bad, and lose the good report of such, who for the present are kind unto them, and may hereafter (as things may come about) reward their pert pragmatical zeal with ruin and destruction? like Naaman the Syrian, they will worship no other God than the God of Israel; but as for bowing in the House of Rimmon, when their Masters lean upon their shoulders; they shrink up their shoulders, and as to this they have a Latitude, the Lord pardon them in this! Well, let them go in peace; they are loath it seems to be put to any trouble in the service of their God; alas! poor low-spirited wretches, they are to be pitied, since they have not faith to trust that God whom they worship, beyond their present enjoyments; who are for living at case in an earthly Zion, and that they may keep their present station, turn their books upon the Temple. But let it not be so with us, let it be known to the world, maugre men and Devils, that we dare be honest: Oh! why should we be as those who turn aside, only that we may go with such, who will have company that they may be froward and perverse? whatsoever our dependencies upon greatness may be, we must be careful, as in humility, so also with resolution, not in the least to let go our integrity: in our patience we must possess our souls; and yet, we must be so far watchful over ourselves, that our hearts do not reproach us so long as we live: Consider we that God is not a man, that he should lie, neither is he as the Son of man, that he should repent; he hath said it, and it was the Truth himself that spoke it, concerning Eli and his sons, when they prevaricated in his service. 1 Sam. 2.30 He that honoureth me, him will I honour; and he that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed.  
Above all things, in our Religion, which is the only tye, or chain of Communion betwixt a Man and his Maker, let us not be swayed by so timorous, so sordid, so Hypocritical a principle, as is that of base, unworthy compliance, sneakingly to gratify the humours of such who lie in wait either for to deceive, or to be deceived; and that against the dictates of our own Minds, and the principles of that visible Community, which in a settled Oeconomy, we have already professed hearty to embrace; and that, if for no other reason, let it be for this, lest in time we grow to that height of wickedness, as to persecute that way of worship to which once we did conform.  
God forbidden that we should ever live to see it! but so it may come to pass, that none shall prove more rigid and severe against, than such as have been timorous, lukewarm and unsettled under the strictness of discipline and order. May we not set our countenances upon some men amongst us, steadfastly to behold them, till both they and we are ashamed, and while we look upon them fall a weeping, as the Prophet Elisha did upon Hazael, who was to be King of Syria, 2. Reg. 12.8. I weep, saith the Prophet, because I know of the evil which thou wilt do unto the children of Israel; their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, their young men wilt thou slay with the Sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child! But, Hazael replied, what? is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? the Prophet was more than a Prophet in this instance, the Lord had showed all this unto him: And though we do not pretend now adays to New Revelations (it is well if we give credit to what has been revealed of old!) God grant that this Prophecy may never be made again a History; whilst we may sadly weep over some amongst us, who should they once more have opportunity would destroy all our pleasant things, pull down all the houses of God, break the carved work with Axes and hammers; tell them what are our just fears, what? say they, Are we dogs, that we should make all this havoc? but, we need not urge a Spirit of Prophecy; let us look a little backward and our later days of misery and confusion will tell us, that such things as these have been done by those, who did more than ever they intended to do in the work of Deformation in the midst of us; God grant that we may never have occasion to stand in need of their pity, even their mercies are cruel; mere y pretending friends, when ever they have opportunity prove most insolent enemies; especially if once it makes for their Interest to be malicious, if they can but thus recover their credit, which by a former neutrality they have hazarded, they will leave no stone unturned, yea, though it be by laying of the Temple waste, Down with it, Down with it, will they say, in the day of their fierce wrath, and who shall withstand them? But, is this their kindness to their Friends? must it be to lay Zion waste! and to make Jerusalem an heap of Stones?  
It can hardly be otherwise imagined, but that these great Minions in the Text, proved at length to be the worst Persecutors; who, though they might be persuaded of what they heard, and of what they saw, yet for fear of the powers which were set over them, did not dare to own that word which to them was accompanied with power; These very men to show their readiness of Subjection, or to take off all manner of suspicion, that they were never hearty of that Persuasion, (no further than was consistent with their Self-preservation) might be the first to lay hands upon the Apostles, to imprison them, to deliver them up, had they not been overruled, unto death itself: But, this was Gods never-ceasing care and providence over his Church, that should hand join in hand, they should be able to do no violence; they even thus considered, as now turned enemies, shall not approach to hurt them; upon second and better thoughts, they do yet again give back; and these are the Third sort of Persons, who are said in the Text, to keep this remoter Distance; even the Adversary himself, though an open and professed enemy, yet he durst not draw near, for mischief; God is terrible in his Judgements, Signs and wonders are wrought by the Apostles, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and of the rest, Such as might have evil will against, and an evil eye upon such Dispensations in Solomon's Porch, No man durst to join himself to them.  
That which wrought thus upon the Adversary, that he durst not stretch out his hand to smite, was either the Judgement of God upon Ananias and Sapphira; or else the Wonders that were wrought amongst the people.  
(1) As for the judgement upon Ananias and Sapphira for their Sacrilegious withholding part of the price of their Land. " Paena istius modi non parum valabat terrendis impiis ne temere prorumperent in eorum coelum ubi Deus tam severum vindicam se ostenderet, Calv. in loc. This sort of sudden and unexpected punishment was caution enough to those who were froward and disobedient; that they should not venture to disturb those Solemnities in which God had manifested himself so severe in taking vengeance: If for such a small thing, might they think as Sacrilege; only for purloining a little money, God would evert so great a Displeasure; of how much sorer punishment shall they be thought worthy, who commit a Sacrilege upon, in offering to do violence unto the Persons of such who are exercised in the Solemn Administration of a strict, and a most holy Religion.  
(2) The Wonders and Signs which were wrought among the people, these did work upon, and steal away the hearts of all that saw them; So that v. 26. the enemy durst not be too boisterous against them, lest the People, as one Man, should rise up against them, and stone them; and at length, from their own consultations, they were forced to dismiss them in peace, they begin to doubt amongst themselves whitherto this would grow; They suspect their own jurisdiction, lest it should be exercised without fear or wit; and in the end, ver. 38. that they be found to be fighters against God; v. 35, 39 " Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves, (it is you that are in the greatest danger,) what you intent to do as touching these men; Refrain from them, and let them alone; for if this Work, or this Counsel be of Men, it will come to nought; but, if it be of God, you cannot overthrough it: and this Work and Counsel was not of men, but of God, and therefore the Enemy could by no means hinder it.  
I might here observe to you the constant, the special care and providence which God has for his Church; how that the fury of man doth often turn to his Praise in the deliverance of his People; he restraineth the remainders of wrath also; he bringeth to naught the designs of the Heathen, and maketh the devices of the Aliens to be of no Effect; should they rage's, yea, and that furiously, yet they would imagine but a vain thing; let them take counsel together, with one accord, yet, he that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh them to scorn, the Lord shall have them in derision, Psal. 2.6. I Know that Second Psalm is literally spoken of our Saviour's Person; and yet, it is also applied by the Apostles to the propagation of his Gospel, in the Chapter before the Text, ver. 27. This was at that time the Church's Prayer, when they prayed with one heart, and with one voice; " Of a Truth, Lord, against thy holy Child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and People of Israel were gathered together; And now, Lord, behold their threaten; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy Word; Surely the Sons of Thunder were amongst them, whilst the Word of God went forth from them like Lightning; the place was shaken where they were Assembled; ver. 35. With great power gave they witness of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and the result of all was, the wonderful effect in the Text, that of those that were adversaries durst no one join himself unto them.  
May I not apply the same Providence of Almighty God comfortably to ourselves, to this once afflicted and despised Church of ours; if she be not yet despised and afflicted, made a byword and a reproach to her own Children; no wounds like those which are given in the house of Friends: However, for our comfort, Hell and Death have not yet prevailed; Not Rome, whose mouth was wide as Hell, nor the more secret contrivances of Schism, which like the Grave never hath enough; our God has been a God both of the Hills and of the Valleys, and through the power of his Might, over both we have been more than Conquerors; Rome, upon its seven Hills, animated from an aspering conclave could not oversee us; and the Consistory in a seeming self-denial making itself low as the Valleys, could not overreach or Undermine us; neither the Infallible Chair nor the Stool of wickedness could awe us, or control us: Nay, though for a while we might seem to be forsaken, yet God gave us beauty for our ashes; he restored our Captivity, and put upon us the Garment of joy instead of a Spirit of heaviness; So that to the one Adversary which in our heaviness asked us, Where is now your Church? sing us one of the Songs of your Zion; We can now return this answer, That the Tears which we shed at the Rivers of Babylon, have caused Jordan itself to overflow its banks; Persecuted we were, but not utterly cast off; our God has provided us still a Name in the earth; and when the Succession of an Apostolical Ministry was almost cut off quite in the midst of us, our extremity was God's opportunity for mercy; See we yet once more the fire of the Sanctuary, hid in its own embers, and almost extinct, during the Captivity, again brought forth, restored to its wont lustre, the flame yet again bright upon the Altar; so that our Miraculous Restauration is to them an abundant Demonstration, that we were, and still are continued a Church, according to ancient and Primitive Constitutions truly Apostolical: But, as for that other Adversary, the Viper in our own bosom, who both contributed unto, and then upbraided us with our afflictions; who because of the troubles which they brought upon us, thence made an argument to reproach our Holy Constitutions, as if they were in themselves unlawful, because of God's Displeasure against those who did not live up closely and severely to them; thus, whilst they have been the Rod of Vengeance in the hand of God, they have talked to the grief of such whom God has wounded: And, why will not these persons now be as exact interpreters of God's Providence against themselves? is not the Scene again shifted, and are we not (I am sure if we understood either God's glory, or our own happiness, we should be) where we were before? and have we not this to say for our Church, even according to their way of argumentation, that God who restored it, was not against it? We are not at this day without a Priest, or without an Ephod; And, yet still with our Apostles, we are sent unto our Prayers, Behold, O Lord, the threaten of the Sons of Belial, who are still against thee; all the reflections they make upon these latter Providences, is, they repent that they have done no more mischief; and all the sin they acknowledge, in their blasphemous allusions, is, that they were false to their Covenant, in that the Amalakites were not utterly destroyed: let us betake ourselves to better Devotions than these, that God would abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confonnd their Devices; but then as for their Persons; He brings into the way of truth all such as have erred and are deceived; Put them in fear, O Lord, that they may seek thy name; Forgive our enemy's persecutors, and slanderers, and turn their hearts: Forgive them, for they know not what they do: Oh! That even this might not be laid to their charge; how that they still have recourse to their old designs of Mischief, though hitherto in the course of the Divine Providence they have proved so ineffectual; May the God of Heaven yet laugh them to scorn, and he confirm his King upon the hill of Zion; Deliverance shall arise one way or other; the God who is worshipped in, will take care of the service of the Sanctuary; he who hath, and who doth, we trust that he will still deliver us; they that hate us shall see it, and be ashamed, because the Lord hath helped us, and comforted us; But; as for them, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are of the rest; they have estranged themselves, and gone out from us, because they were not of us; neither shall they dare, God will restrain their fury, they shall not presume to approach and hurt us: which is the   

Second thing observed in this second part of the Text, (to wit) what was the present frame and temper of their minds, by whom this due distance was kept; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 No one durst.  
That is, there was an unaccountable surprise and dread upon their Spirits, which as to the persons affected might be divers and various; they did not dare, some kind of awe there was, which was a curb and a restraint upon them.  

1. In the Disciples, it might be modesty and humility.  
2. In those from amidst the multitude, a timorous misgiving.  
3. In the Adversary, Terror, Amazement, and Astonishment:   
Thus one way or other the Gospel of Jesus was glorified; it had diversely, but surely, its desired effect upon all; this is that word which cannot return in vain, but will accomplish the thing for which it is sent.  
First, In the Disciples, who took heed how, where, and what they did here; who frequented Solomon's Porch, that they might observe the out-going of the Lord in his Sanctuary; in them, their Modesty was exercised, and their Humility was increased; with meekness they received the engrafted word, and yet jealous enough of themselves, that they did not grow, as they should, thereby; to them the immortal seed was sown, in an honest and in a good heart, and yet the Fruit which they did bear was with patience; their heart was raised, at the contemplation of God and of his holiness; but at the same time broken, in a sorrowful reflection upon themselves and their own unworthiness; though they did believe, yet almost, with tears in their eyes, this was the Prayer of their Faith, Lord, we believe, help our unbelief; in them an humble and a lowly expectance, as well as a fiducial recumbency, had its perfect work; they are ready to give up themselves, and their substance to the service of God and of his Sanctuary, and yet considering, that God expects both heart and hand together, piously they examine their own integrity throughout all; they know that their good things do not extend to God, therefore their delight is with such as are excellent in the Earth, and when they have done all that they can, they are far from vaunting a State of Perfection, they acknowledge themselves to be unprofitable Servants, and Miserable Sinners; they make this their humble and hearty recognition saying, We have done, or rather, Would we had done what was our duty to do.  
Secondly, In those from amidst the multitude, it was a Timorous Misgiving, their hearts failed them for fear of what might become of them in another world, and yet they were loath to let go their interest in this; upon what they heard and saw, they made some heavy steps toward happiness; but, alas! they looked back, and they gave back, the one returns to his honours, and the other to his great Possessions. Oh, the deceitfulness of riches and of power! how hard is it for those who trust in either, to enter into the Kingdom of God? with the Disciples, upon the like occasion, we may cry out, Lord, increase our Faith! yes, in the Text here is an argument to settle us in our Faith; in that the wisdom of God was here justified in the hearts of the children of this World; in the midst of all their wealth and their greatness, the convictions that are within them, are a damp upon their Spirits. Thus, St. Paul cannot reason of righteousness, of temperance, and of judgement to come, but Felix must needs tremble: and, does Agrippa know the Scriptures? does he believe the Prophets? and will he not resign the obedience of his Faith to what he does know, and cannot but believe? however as stout and resolved a sinner as he is, against God and his own Soul, laughed hearty and entirely to embrace this way, lest he lose something of his outward Pomp, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lest the retinue that is about him should withdraw, and refuse any longer to be of his train; yet, to hear St. Paul Preach, will he, will he, he cannot but confess to him and all the World, however his misgiving thoughts perplex him, and he will not be persuaded; yet he is almost persuaded to be a Christian:— Virtutem videant,— how strangely is the self-condemning Worldling, or Voluptuary infatuated? only that he may perish the more dreadfuly; under the clear apprehensions of his approaching, and yet wilfully neglected happiness; Alas! poor silly wretch, who against himself, and his own resentments prefers this World to a better, in a moment he, and his thoughts perish, and in the end he proves a fool.  
(3.) In the Adversary it was terror, amazement, and Astonishment: to observe the courage and boldness of these Apostles, though they were ignorant and unlearned men; the wonders which they wrought, and the judgements which were inflicted, they could not but be surprised and fall backwards; like the Officers which came to apprehend our Saviour, so is it here with the Disciples, as it was formerly with their Master, Never men surely spoke or did like these men! what do we do? the finger of God is here! in vain do we strive, we shall not prevail; like the Egyptian chariots in the Red Sea, all our designs go on against them but heavily; in vain do we strive against them, and at the same time fight against God  
And is the Arm of our God now shortened, that it cannot help? no surely, the Dispensation of his Gospel is still accompanied with power, even in the hearts of those that set themselves against it: to observe the constancy and perseverance of those that labour in it, how they are neither afraid nor ashaed of their Message, though they be counted enemies for the Truth's sake which they are to speak; Nay, (a sad complaint it is, that now there should be cause to make it) amidst the contentions and divisions of false Brethren; still they hold fast their integrity: yet again, to observe the judgements of our God, to instance in no other, against this one wasting, destroying sin of Sacrilege, ever since it has been an iniquity established by a law in the midst of us: how it has been a Moth in the estates of the wealthiest and the mightiest, it has eaten like a Canker, even unto corruption, and destroyed whole Families, great, and noble: Nay, not only the estate, but them and their children too, Nec gaudet tertius haeres, before the third Generation, the whole line cut off with the entail of the estate; whilst the chief of the Family dies, leaving no memorial behind him; all the propagation that is made in the earth, is the transferring the Curse of Sacrilege from one house to another, that so it may yet make sorer Desolations; the calamity by the complication of several interests and proprieties the more dreadful, because like to be so universal & diffusive!— And yet once more shall I observe? The signs and wonders that have been wrought! no other than the wonders of an Almighty Providence, not so much in the restitution, as in the continued support of our Church, it is little less than a miracle that we are still preserved! as if the Glory of God were in the midst of Solomon's Porch, and about that Glory a most sure defence: that God has hitherto wrought out our deliverance thence, whence we could not expect it, when some of our old Friends have forgot, if not lift up their heel against us!— I say, were all these things seriously considered in thankfulness to our God; in humility love and charity towards one another, whilst we go hand in hand together to the house of God as Friends; surely our God will be entreated still to continue his mercies to us, and preserve to us his Memorial both as his own, and our Praise in the earth; Nay, how do we know, but that such kind of secret intimations as these to the very souls and consciences of such as are rebelliously and maliciously wicked, are as it were a Bridle in their Mouths, to curb them in, that they shall not dare either to cast a bank against, or shoot an arrow at us? God may thus put his hook into the Nostrils of that old Leviathan the Devil and Satan, and of all those Devils incarnate, who to keep him company take their pastime only in troubled waters, in the Ocean that casts forth mire and dirt; and surely there have been some Mourners in our Zion to spread the hard speeches, cruel mockings of any blasphemous Rabshakeh before the Lord upon his holy Altar; yea, God himself has heard all their blasphemy, and in his own due time he will repay it: with terror and amazement shall the Sons of Belial turn away, and spend their powder elsewhere; or, should they give fire, it will recoil upon themselves; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Church is beyond Gun-shot; Isaiah 65.25. That comfortable evangelical promise may without presumption, be here in faith and patience applied, They shall not hurt nor destroy in my holy Mountain, saith the Lord; they shall not dare to come nigh, to join themselves unto, they shall not approach to offer violence either to the Mountain, or to those that are the Servants of God upon it; to Solomon's Porch, or those that bear witness to the Testimony of Jesus within it.— which is the   

Third thing observed in this Second part of the Text; (to wit) the Distance which was observed at this Convention; and that more specially and particularly, what this Distance was? what was that Act which these three sorts of persons did not dare, or venture to engage themselves upon, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be too familiar with, to join themselves unto them.  
(1.) The New Convert Disciples could not but honour those whom they so much loved; and therefore they would not reckon themselves to be of their number; Nemo audebat se iis in serere, aut Apostolum profiteri no one durst to enrol themselves amongst the Apostles, to pretend a joint mission or commission with them; as if they were Apostles also, even the New Convert-Disciples as holy as the best of them; yea, be they no less, than the whole Congregation, every one of them: No; these Disciples though sanctified, elect and precious, yet they were not thus called; they sat at the Apostles feet, where they had laid down the price of their Goods; they did not presume to be, legati a latere, Colleague Ambassadors with them; all things indeed were common amongst them, but not the Apostolical function, nor the Ministerial office; they had received the Christian Faith, but not to ambition or vain glory, much less to quarrelsome Disputations; Erastus was in truth Junior, in comparison of these Primitive times of innocent Simplicity, in which the Spirits of the New Convert Disciples were subject to the Spirits of the Prophets and Apostles, they submiting themselves to those who were set over them in the fear and love both of God and them.  
(2.) Those from amongst the Multitude would not be too hasty in consorting with such, as were so of a sudden magnified by the very ordinary sort of people; Nemo se familiariter pro eo tempore Apostolis reddere audebat; they were indeed surprised at the sudden rumour and unexpected applause; but as yet, they would be somewhat cautelous, not venture too near a conjunction to, or convesation with them, not knowing whitherto this might grow; they were resolved to await the conclusion and result of the whole matter; they were not a little wary of their acquaintance, choosing a more convenient season to commence it; at present, it might not be so safe, they did not care to be seen with, nor join themselves unto them.  
(3.) The Adversary withdrew, because he durst not interrupt them; Nemo ausus est eos coercere; Ethiop. Vers. No one durst to put a restraint upon them, or to say unto them, what do ye? Non ausi sunt hostes eos ut antea impetere; the Enemy did not dare, as formerly, to be impetuous or violent against them; Junius renders the word certare; no one durst contend with, or withstand them: Nay, the word in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not always to be understood of a nearness of Familiarity or Friendship, implying intimacy of acquaintance in conversation; but, sometimes it is used for such an Adherescency as is in order to opposition; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hesych. Pitch, the closer it sticks, the worse it defiles; there are those who cleave to a man's company only to sit upon his skirts, to be a snare and a greater disturbance to him; like the Pestilence, Deut. 28.21. which cleaves that it may consume; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the originial word is rendered by the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a compound from that in the Text, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 persecutus est, in the Hebrew signifies persecution; 1 Mac. 6.21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Some ungodly men joined to those which were escaped out of the Siege, that they might betray them:— But, it was not so in the instance before us; The Adversary withdrew, wondering to see himself defeated, all his designs of Malice blasted; wherefore, he gives back in a dumpish, melancholy admiration of that, which he was not able in the least to hinder.  
From all which, I might raise and prosecute this Observation: That the Gospel of God is then glorified, and the word of it accompanied with power when it creates reverence and respect to those that are the Dispenser's of it, and that from all sorts of persons, though of different persuasions and upon different accounts, be they of what quality soever. Christ never intended that his Priests should be themselves of, much less made a Scoff and Derision to the meanest and lowest of the People; No, he will be honoured in his servants, and he hath given it in special charge to his Disciples, that they should as it were in scorn and indignation, or (which is worse) as a Priestly Malediction shake off the dust from their feet, against that City or House which are not worthy of their Peace, (that is, of a Priestly Benediction,) who know not how to receive a Prophet in the name of a Prophet, of Christ that great Prophet who appeared in the flesh a Minister of Righteousness; who say not, Blessed is he that cometh to us in the Name of the Lord.  
This observation might the rather be insisted on, because of this Unmannerly, Uncivil Age, in which we live, to say no worse of it; in which, as to this particular, there is a notorious want of ordinary breeding and courteous behaviour, whilst persons who by their office are Sacred, are the Scoff and Derision of almost every one they meet, to avoid which, some have been forced to lay aside their habit; but, surely Elisha must not cast off his Mantle, because the unruly, untaught and uncatechised children and servants make him their pastime and sport, as he goes along the streets. But, what does he amongst them? a private retirement is both his business and security; were the Distance farther, and the Converse less, the respect would be more: A Priest should not be overmuch amongst the Multitude, farther than the Ministerial acts of Piety and Charity do oblige him; he must be careful that his conversation be neither supercilious, nor precarious; that he neither be arrogant, nor contemptible; neither haughty, nor despicable; he should neither proudly overlook, nor timorously cringe to those that are about him; he must be affable and courteous to all in a Spirit of Love, and yet keep that station to which God and the Church has called him, in the Spirit of a Sound, Sober and of a resolved Mind; in a word, let the Man of God in the diligent discharge of his duty Magnify his own Office, so shall he have a good report of those that are without, such as was the respect which was given here to the Apostles, the very ordinary sort of people Magnified them. And this is the Subject of the next Discourse.    

The Third SERMON  
IN which I shall have occasion to prosecute the Observation now started; where a due Distance is kept betwixt Priests and People, there likewise an awful reverence is exhibited, as the result of that Distance: notwithstanding the awe and dread which was at this time upon the Spirits of those who were assembled with the Apostles; the Humility and Modesty of some exercised, a timorous misgiving raised in others, Fear and Astonishment surprising all; so that they did not dare to join themselves unto them; yet the Apostles wanted neither praise nor admiration from those that were round about them; some withdrew themselves, and gave back; others would not come too near, nor press forward; yet there was company enough, and all to very good purpose, they stood off, that they might have the more room to admire; notwithstanding the remote distance which was kept, the place was full and the applause was great, the very common people magnified them; which is the third General in the Text; (to wit) 
An awful Reverence exhibited upon the due Distance observed;  
But the People magnified them.   
Sufficit plebi Simpliciori integriorique eos laudibus attollere; sed iis familiariter uti non ausi sunt; The People in whom at this time simplicity and integrity were virtues highly commendable, might satisfy themselves in giving due praise and honour unto those, from whom, because of the present Dispensation, they could not but keep their distance, neither were they to be over familiar with them: it was not Ignorance but Reverence which was the Parent of the Devotion, and that Devotion was increased even to Admiration; so that the Praise which was here perfected, was so perfected, as it was the result of a due distance observed at a solemn and holy Convention, and that in a due and consecrated place; where the service was celebrated after a due manner, whilst they were all with one accord.  
It is Mr. Calvin's note upon this part of the Text; " Est in Disciplina sancta, & in sincero pietatis cultu arcanae quaedam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; quae multos etiam invitos distringat; sed qualis ea est hodie, nescimus, etc. There is in holy Discipline, and the sincere administration of God's worship, (he speaks there of a Regular solemnity, and of a solemn Assembly of holy men altogether in one place;) in such sacred Conventions, a kind of innate secret Majesty: All solemnity is Majestical; and the Beauty of Holiness is both lovely and Triumphant; it creates awe and reverence in the hearts of those that are Assembled, their souls are discovered, they are seen of all, and convinced of all, and falling down on their faces they worship God, and have a reverend esteem for holy men, reporting God to be amongst them of a truth. But, where there is no solemnity, no external Beauty, where order is banished, and a kind of slubberly service is performed, as it were a Deformity unto holiness, there they who are assembled neither fear God, nor regard Man; God's sacrifice is many times abhorred, and he that waits at the Altar despised: Veneration is the due result of splendour in a visible dispensation; and we may safely pass this judgement upon the that Church, she is all glorious within, when we see her clothing to be of wrought gold; even outward pomp and magnificence, provided it do not degenerate into superstition, has this advantage in it; that neither God, his service, nor they who minister about it can so soon be lightly esteemed. Psal. 110.3. This was God's promise to his Son after that he had drunk of the brook by the way, that he should lift up his head; and because his head should be lifted up, therefore thy people shall be a willing power in the day of thy power; that is, in that Day when the word of the Gospel shall be accompanied with power; and that, as it follows in the next words, no other then in the Beauty of holiness; so that the Administration of the everlasting Gospel, is a Day of Power, in it a willing People, and all because of the Beauties of holiness, the outward solemnities of the sanctuary glorious and magnificent; well therefore may the Psalmist go on, ver. 4. The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent; the Administration is thus eternally fixed, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech.  

To be a little more close and particular  
The People magnified them; where observe three things.  

First, The Respect which was given; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magnified.  
Second, The Persons by, and to whom this praise was given; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the People to the Apostles; this was the honour of these Saints, their Persons to be in esteem amongst the Multitudes.  
Third, The Occasion of this Reverence and Respect; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Many signs and wonders wrought amongst the people; whither of justice, in the judgement inflicted; of Mercy, in the Diseases cured; or of extraordinary Providence in the Gospel propagated; because of all these, the People Magnified them.   
(1.) Consider we the Respect itself which was given; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magnified. The word is used both of that honour which God is pleased to vindicate to himself; as also which he doth vouchsafe sometimes to bestow upon his creature: again, of that Glory which man is to ascribe unto God; and of that respect which one man may give unto, or have for another: God vindicates his honour to himself, in that he doth Magnify his word above all his Name; when he doth declare that he will not give his honour to another, but that he will be sanctified in all those that draw nigh unto him; in all acts of Worship and Divine Service, he will have his Praises to be perfected, in that they be all directed unto him alone; he is the Lord our God, to be Magnified and glorified for ever, but One Lord, and besides him, there is no God.— But, Praise and honour are his gift sometimes to his creature; be Man what he is, God regards him; the son of man is visited by him, and he exalteth him on every side as it seemeth best to him; when, and how he pleaseth, he bringeth unto great honour, raiseth up the poor out of the dust, & the needy from the dunghill, to set him with the Princes even with the Princes of his people; 1 Chron. 29.25. It was the Lord, who magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel. Yet again; this is that Glory which we ascribe unto our Maker, when we praise him who is higher than the highest, give him that honour which he is pleased to require of us, even the honour due unto his Name; Psa. 50.23. Whoso offereth me praise, he Magnifieth me: This is our Te Deum every morning; wherein we praise our God, and acknowledge him to be the Lord; we worship him who is the Father everlasting; day by day we Magnify him, and so we worship his Name ever, world without end; therefore as day unto day, so night unto night also showeth forth this praise, our Oblations being not only renewed every morning, but the lifting up of our hands are an evening Sacrifice, when with the Blessed Virgin Mary, every night we make her Magnificat our own; Our Soul to Magnify the Lord, and our Spirit to rejoice in God our Saviour.— And yet, after all the former acceptions of the word, this is that which God commands, that one amongst another honour should be given where honour is due; Dignities are not to be evil spoken of, nor dominions to be despised; we must have some in high esteem for their works sake, and an Apostle must be Magnified, if for no other, because he is an Apostle: 2 Cor. 10.15. This was that honour, which without ambition or offence St. Paul did justly vindicate to himself," Having hope that we shall be enlarged by you, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Magnified amongst you, according to our Rule abundantly; the more abundantly, because of that Rule of Righteousness which from us has been delivered to you.  
So then, the respect which was here given, was the esteem that was raised, because of the present service in which they were engaged; what is in the Text, Magnifying is in the foregoing Chapter, ver. 33. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That great Grace which was upon them all; whilst the word of God grew, and was multiplied, the Apostles were in favour with God, and also with men: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Is. Pelusiot. That is, " Their Conversation, and their virtue, or rather, their powerful ministry, was, as became Apostles; and this was part of their reward, in that they should see of their travail, and be satisfied, whilst they should be had in honour of all such, who were resolved to follow them, as they followed Christ: And this honour was double both in heart and voice; out of the abundance of their hearts, their lips praised them; with their tongues they blessed God, who had given such power unto men; and therefore with their tongues also they blessed and praised those men, who came to them in the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God.  
And, Was this the receptation of the Gospel in its first Plantation? did the word of Salvation run, only whilst it was glorified? and glorified it was indeed in the hearts and mouths of all that saw and heard it; hearing it, they believed with joy, joy which was not altogether unspeakable, though it was full of glory! What shall we say then, when amongst those that are called Christians, the Word of Life is the derision of those that pass along the streets? when the Servants of God are despised for their works sake? Nay, the very Oracles of God have not escaped, whilst they have been made the subject of Drollery! This is that which may be for a sad Lamentation in the midst of us, whilst wit and ingenuity is debauched into raillery; and they are the greatest Virtuosoes, have the quickest and ripest parts, who can most profanely make their Religion ridiculous; who throw about their Libellous Pasquil's, and their Satirical Lampoons, not only against the civil and sacred orders of man that are established amongst us, but even against Heaven itself; thus they do not only Swear by, but wickedly they blaspheme the Throne that is on high, and him that sitteth thereon; as if it were the greatest piece of gallantry in the world, for a man to be so foolhardy as to imagine, that sometime for Diversion, God himself may be mocked! No wonder that there is such looseness in the lives of men, when there is no stronger a bridle upon their tongues; how are the reins let lose to all impiety, to draw iniquity as it were with a Cart-rope, with all one's might, and all one's strength, even with the hand of violence? Hell itself suffers violence, and the violent take it by force! Woe! and Alas! how can it be otherwise, but that the heart must be a sink of uncleanness, where the eyes are as so many casements to let in vanity, and the mouth is so wide a door to let out folly? But, surely it was never intended that the Word of Life should be thus magnified, only in the great swelling words of vanity and impiety! would you be happy in the earth, live long, and see good days? Psal. 34.13. Keep your Tongues from evil; and your Lips that they speak no guile: Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, especially in the Dispensation of the Gospel, in the solemn Administration of the Service of God, since there is so much virtue, let there be some praise; think upon and follow these things: Let that which is our chief happiness, be our greatest honour; what, shall we vilify that, which according to the entertainment it meets with (I mean our Holy Religion) proves where ever it comes either the ruin, or the exalting of a Nation? what! must the Ark of God be set up in the House of Dagon? made to truckle under Heatheanism and Atheism? how could it be otherwise, but that the Philistines should be struck with Emerods'? the Plague to follow them from one City to another, until they be almost utterly consumed! But, at another time bring the Ark aside to the House of Obed-Edom, who receives it, and the Salvation of his God with joy; the House is blessed for the Guests sake, the Lord prospers him, and all that he has, every thing that he puts his hand unto: Never any man fared the worse for any respect or kindness unto God's Service; it was Nehemiah's prayer, and the prayer of Faith heard in an accepted time, in that he had Magnified the worship of the God of his Fathers with all his heart, and with all his soul, Nehemiah, 13.14. " Remember me, O my God, concerning this; and wipe not out the good deeds which I have done for the House of my God, and for the offices thereof: But, Alas! How has the Church cause to invert this prayer against those that have evil will to Zion? that God would Remember them concerning this, and forget not the bad deeds which they have done against the House of their God, and the solemnities thereof; against Solomon's Porch, the service, and those that Minister therein, they have returned evil for good; not Blessing, but contrariwise railing; not suffering the Dispensation of holiness and life to be as it ought, Magnified amongst them; yea, the very abjects have gathered themselves together, making mows, and mockings at what they will not learn to know and understand; quite contrary to what was done in the Text, where the very ordinary sort of people had the persons of holy men in admiration, only because of a Spiritual and holy advantage; and that is the   

Second thing now to be considered in this Third part of the Text, the Persons by, and to whom, this respect was given; from the People to the Apostles, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this the honour of these Saints, their Persons to be had in esteem amongst the Multitudes.  
First, From the People, whose voice at this time was the voice of God; not many wise, nor many noble; Excluditur Pontificia factio, they who sat in the Chair of Moses would give no heed to those who Preached Jesus, that great Prophet who was to come into the World, of whom Moses and all the Prophets did write; ver. 17. The High Priests, and those that were with him, even the whole Sect of the Sadduces were filled with indignation. Thus, as our Saviour formerly, so fared his Disciples here, St. John 7.48. Have any of the Pharisees or Rulers believed on him? but this People who know not the Law are cursed; and yet, fullfilling all Righteousness they are Blessed, having embraced the everlasting Gospel: from the Multitudes where there was Love, there was Honour also; they met in Solomon's Porch; the more company, the greater was the welcome, and the more glorious the solemnity when there; the People, who did here Magnify, were such as would not come too near, and yet they would not stay away, that so the Public place for Divine Worship might be full.  
Thronged Multitudes, when they betake themselves into corners, and separate from the places of open Assemblies, are such who heap up Teachers to themselves, and despise their lawful Guides; they make themselves judges of those constitutions which they should not dispute, but obey; they speak evil of those Dignities which they should respect, and despise those Dominions to which they should submit themselves, and that, not for wrath only, but for Conscience sake: But, when the People go up by their Tribes to the House of God, with the voice of Joy and Praise; exercising themselves in a holy Religion, with one Arm and one Shoulder, the Saints singing with joyfulness, and all the Priests clothed with Righteousness, how is the value of things, and of Persons Sacred enhanced even to a popular veneration?  
Popularity, though it has its snares and temptations, yet, it is a joy and a comfort to those who labour honestly in the discharge of their Duty, so long as it be found in the way of truth; Applause from the vulgar, though it be not to be sought by such as will approve themselves the Ministers of Christ Jesus, through a bad, as well as through a good report; yet, neither is it altogether to be despised, when a man can cheerfully reflect upon himself, and his own labours, that he has rightly divided the word of Truth, and approved himself as a Workman that need not be ashamed, herein always exercising himself to have a Conscience void of offence toward God, and toward all men; Let the servant of God spend and be spent in the sincerer & severer exercises of Religion; and surely the very ordinary sort of People cannot be so disingenuous, as the more he loves, and takes care for their Souls, the less he should be loved of them, especially when he doth thus hearty bespeak them, I seek not yours, but you; certainly, when thus qualified, and thus resolved, without appearing all things to all men, he may gain the more: Honesty, when all is done, will prove the best Policy; it is that which will set a man right in the eyes of God, and of the People; the result of integrity is peace both within and without; to stand firm to the principles of order and solemnity without warping, not yielding either to the terrors of some; no nor being enticed because of advantage by the allurements of others; and yet throughout all, manifesting a Spirit of meekness; this man's Message shall be accompanied with honour: & with his humility he shall win upon the people by degrees, for no other reason, but that they shall be convinced at length of his integrity, in that he has not performed his Duty by Degrees, comes not upon them with his after-claps, he has not in the least dissembled either with God or them.  
It is not, (whatsoever some may think in their worldly wisdom, which is not so pure, as they prerend it peaceable) always advantageous to comply with, and suit ourselves to present necessities, to attemper ourselves to the humours of men, and the swing of the times; to be less solicitous in such circumstances which for a while will go against the grain, and a little popular indifference, is not that which will induce the vulgar to Magnify God's service, neither will it contribute much to the keeping of all things for any considerable time quiet: And, yet for all this the Servant of God must not be peevish; he may be resolute, but not froward; and let him bear patiently this reproach if for his constancy to that to which he has subscribed so often, he is counted violent by some, pert and pragmatical by others, who have no other plea to excuse their own Hypocritical lukewarmeness, then by traducing the steadfastness of such, who according to that way which they once counted Superstition, and at this day think not so expedient, (for it seems a mechanical sanctity does not suit so well with a new mechanical Philosophy) Worship the God of their Fathers: Notwithstanding, these corrupt Principles, fomented amongst false Brethren, may the poor deluded People, whose immortal souls are precious, be convinced; when they see their Priests clothed with Righteousness in relation to God and his Church, and with humility in reference to them, this should raise their veneration of them, and esteem for them.  
It is not beneath the Dignity of an Apostle, (provided he does not build what he once destroyed, or destroy that, which he would seemingly pretend to build, and so either way make himself a Transgressor) nay, it makes much for the Magnifying of his office in the sight of all the People, when in a constant regular performance of his own Duty, he shows hmself gentle and courteous even to the froward and perverse: Call it what you will, either Moderation, as it respects the Subject, and is a personal qualification; or, Popularity, as it has an influence upon others, and is some kind of airy satisfaction upon the performance of any thing that has been well taken; the true notion either of one, or the other, or of Both, as one and the same, (I am sure in many persons they are convertible, and one Definition will serve Both, in whom all their Moderation is their popularity,) the true Notion, I say, of each, is not the abatement of our own strictness; but to labour the supporting those that are weak, to restore such as are gone aside to that steadfastness which they may see us profess in a Spirit of love and charity; it is not an unworthy sneaking compliance; (like Elie's sons in the Priest's office, to do any thing for a Morsel of Bread or a piece of Silver,) but, it is an affable, winning behaviour in converse, to allure those who are disaffected to embrace that order which they may see us so severely practice. It were a strange way (we should think) to heal the sick, and raise him up again, should the Physician feign himself, to be in the same distemper with his Patient; it would surely be to better purpose to apply gentle and healing Medicines, and not by an affected indisposition, court both himself and his patiented unto death: And shall the Physicians of Israel lick up the sores of the people? Suit themselves to their Maladies? be partakers of other men's sins? were it not both honester, and much the safer course both for the Doctor's credit, and the People's health, to pour in Wine and Oil; Wine that may throughly search and cleanse, and Oil that may kindly close up, that so the Wound of the Daughter of his People be not slightly healed? is it not more becoming his profession thus to behave himself, rather than that such a one as is engaged in the cure of souls, should by a sordid imitation humour the Fancy of the Diseased, or Disaffected? and though sometimes Corrosives are to be applied, and not always Cordials; whatsoever are the hurts of the people, they are to be opened and touched to the quick; yet the Spiritual Chirurgeon, as he is to have a Lions courageous heart, so he must have a gentle, easy, and a skilful hand; even in holy and strict Discipline, the Rod itself may be managed dexterously, and with a Spirit of meekness; The blooming, budding Rod of Aaron, yielding Almonds, and those were the fruits of Peace; that Peace which the very People, (when by the blessing of Aaron's God upon them, they do experience it) shall magnify; yea, and Magnify those that bring it to them, saying," Blessed are they that come to us in the Name of the God of Peace, that so our Houses may no more be left unto us Desolate; Speciosi pedes; Thus shall they look upon the Feet of an Evangelist, as beautiful, yea, although the Terrors of the Lord may sometimes accompany his message even they shall persuade,— as here in the Text; the fruit of all which, in God's due time, shall be Peace unto those that seek Peace, in keeping their due Distance from, in giving due Praise and Honour to those who are the Ambassadors of Peace from Heaven to all; and yet their Embassy is to be managed with Power and Authority, that so their Persons may be had in honour, for their employments sake, considering whom they represent, and that is the next thing to be considered under this second branch.  
(2.) To the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this the honour of these Saints, their Persons to be magnified amongst the multitudes. And here it is observable, that the Admiration or Praise which was given to the Apostles was given to them all indifferently; and that, in a whole community, as they were all assembled with one accord, agreeing together as Brethren, in the Kingdom and Patience of our Lord Jesus: it was not so a respect, as to set one above another, much less to set them against each other; St. Peter was no more magnified than all the rest, though the next words to the Text tells us, that there was healing to all such as passed but under his shadow; and St. John though once a Beloved Disciple, in the success of his Ministry does expect no more honour from the People, than had others of his Brethren.  
And here the People are to be advised, that although they ought to have the persons of Apostolical men in honour and admiration, yet it must not be to the disparagement of any of the same Order: Christ has promised a Prophet's reward to such as receive a Prophet, not as this, or that man, so, or so qualified; but, merely in relation to his Office and his Calling, as he comes in the Name of a Prophet: Honour should be the result of Love, not of a partial affection; are they not all alike Ministers of Christ our Common Saviour in order to a Universal Redemption? It was an argument of schism and division in the Church of Corinth, when some of them were for Paul, some for Apollo's, some for Cephas: some for Cephas; a Pillar of the Church, if not a corner stone, who delivered the word with authority and power; who proposed his Message as Matter for Faith, rather than dispute; and though he does admit, that a Reason may be given for our Hope, yet it must be with Reverence and Fear; thus, the very Dignity of the Messenger might seem to be credit enough for the Reception of his Message: he having the Primacy over the rest, it was reason good enough that he should be heard in the first place? Cephas, by whom you have believed: others were for the rare notions, the sublime curious speculations of St. Paul, such a one as was wrapped into the third heavens every time he spoke, whose reach was within, and beyond the clouds, whilst he was manuring his Corinthians, who were his Husbandry upon earth; Paul planteth: and yet a third sort were for the eloquence and Rhetoric of Apollo's, whose Doctrine distilled as the rain, and his Speech was as the dew; Apollo's watereth: and all this while the sweet influences of heaven were not considered, God was for gotten, who gave the increase: what was all this, but a sign that their admiration proceeded more from their humour, than their Love? it was not Spiritual, but carnal; it was not a rejoicing in order and unity; but a breaking into factions and parties against the established community; hence were the Divisions and schisms amongst them. But, would we be with the multitude in that which is good? we must go along with them into Solomon's Porch, and behold them there magnifying the Apostles without the least respect of Persons; the Dispensation which at this time was amongst the People, was various; and yet the commendation was uniform; here was severity from some of the Apostles, in the rigorous execution of wrath; great utility from others, in the curing of diseases; and yet virtue in all, that they should be all alike equally admired; thus they at this time, as the servants of the most high God, and God in them, as the God of Order and Union was praised and magnified amongst the multitudes; so that their Praises were as solemn, as was their meeting; as regular, as was their solemnity; though they were a multitude, they were not confused; there was no uproar in this gratulatory Magnificat; not such as was at Ephesus, when the people extolled their great Diana, and the most part knew not why they were assembled; no, the Oracles of God were at this time magnifyed in a vulgar shout, the voice of a King, of the King of heaven was amongst them, and we have good reason to believe that the impetus upon the people was without tumult, since their admiration was the product of their Faith which is the   

Third thing to be considered in this third part of the Text, (viz.) the Occasion of this awful Reverence and Respect; at the beginning of the 12th verse; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Signs and wonders were wrought by the hands of the Apostles amongst the People;— and the People magnified them.  
Signs and Wonders might be necessary at the first plantation of the Gospel, that so it might be received, as with amazement, so with honour also: but since, an evil and an adulterous generation may seek after a Sign, and none shall be given them; only they are themselves the greatest prodigy, in that they wickedly dispute the truth of that, which for fear of humane laws, they dare not in some sort or other, but profess: and yet there are Signs and Wonders continued, like these in the Text, sufficient to create Reverence and Respect to sacred Persons, were they not too much cherished and encouraged amongst us, an evil heart of unbelief against all manner of Providence soever, and so against God himself: however, let us urge what was commendable in the People here receiving the Truths of the Gospel in the love and due esteem of those that brought them, to the reproach of the Generations that have succeeded, who make a mock of holiness and Piety: Signs and Wonders causal of honour and admiration to the Apostles; and those in the  
First Place, Signs of terror to the wicked, because of the judgement which was inflicted. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Is. Pelusiot. Whatsoever punishment is inflicted upon offenders, especially if it be sudden and dreadful, as it humbles those upon whom it is inflicted, so it renders them in whose vindication it is exerted, the more venerable; their persons are to be distinguished from the common sort of men, for whose sakes God is pleased to manifest himself so severe in the terrible executions of his wrath.  
Elijah caused fire to come down from heaven, as he was a Man of God, to destroy two Captains, and their two Fifties, 2 King. 1.13. and this made the next Captain to dread and revere the Prophet, to cast his sword and himself at his feet, saying, O Man of God, I pray thee let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants be precious in thy sight; Behold there came fire from heaven, and burned the two former Captains, and their fifties; therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And shall we say, where is the Lord God of Elijah now? doth he not still take vengeance, if not for his servants, yet for his Church, in fire, and that a fire from heaven, which the breath of the Lord had kindled? Surely if not in fire, though the smoke is still in our nostrils, yet in as dreadful and as fore calamities! I could, but that I had before occasion to instance it, here again consider, how that God has Magnified the Services of his Sanctuary, if not in the sight of this people, who will not see, yet of the nations round about us, in the severer expressions of his anger against this one sin of Sacrilege so dreadfully visited for in the Text; how has this sin, ever since it was conceived brought forth nothing but death? Restitution, had we but faith to believe it, were the onliest and readiest way to settle us upon the right foundations of peace and prosperity; one would think, to reflect a little backward upon the ruins which this Desolating Sin hath made amongst us within the compass of little more than One hundred years, should be enough to affrighten those who have any love to their Country, if they have but little regard to their Religion, that, for the next Generations sake, which is to come, they would not further promote the establishing of this iniquity by law; lest whilst they do greedily catch at the portion of meat which is upon God's Altar, they unawares bring a burning coal along with it, not to cleanse their lips, but, which will burn their nests, and kill their young ones, destroy their whole Family! Whosoever thinks to raise his House upon the Church's ruins, (let it be in a literal or a metaphorical sense; both the Ground is holy, and so is the portion likewise that is allotted for the maintenance of the Building,) lays his Foundation, if not upon Sand, yet in Fire; the Fire from God's Altar, hid, as it were, in its own Embers at the bottom, sometime or other will break out afresh, the ruin and destruction will be inevitable, a sad Desolation not at all to be withstood: Not unlike this were in a great measure the Signs and Wonders in the Text, which were causal of a reverend esteem in the people of the administration of God's service; (to wit) Gods sore displeasure manifested against the sin of Sacrilege; and this should have the same effect now, were there not a Generation of Vipers amongst us, who delight in nothing but in Eating through the Bowels of their Mother-Church; who, notwithstanding the judgements of God so visibly terribly in the earth, will not be persuaded to learn righteousness.  
(2.) Signs and Wonders still, and those the occasions of a great Veneration, being there were Wonders of Mercy to all those who stood in need of healing, whilst the People took so great a delight under, and found so much benefit in St. Peter's shadow, they could not but have respect for the substance; nay, though Multitudes came out of the Cities round about, bringing sick folks, and those that were vexed with unclean Spirits, they were all healed, every one.  
Thus from the beginning, the fruit of the Tree of life was for the healing of the Nations, that so the people might find a place of rest under, and at the same time satisfy themselves in admiration of the Branches of it; The Gospel of the Kingdom was ordained of God in the hands of Jesus, as a Mediator, in the Mouths of the Apostles as the Dispensers' of it, to be for health both unto Body and Soul; forgiveness of sin to the one, taking away all manner of Distempers from the other, and so a perfect salvation unto Both; whilst unto those who fear and reverence the word of God which is to be magnified above all his name, Christ as the Son of righteousness, his Apostles and their Successors as the Stars in his right hand, they have their sweeter influences, and He Himself ariseth, nothing less from all, but healing in their wings.  
And although at this day these extraordinary benefits are withheld, there being no need of such wonders now to confirm that word of life into which we are no sooner born then baptised, and we all of us may, or should suck in the sincere milk of the Word, with that which we draw from our Mother's breasts, our parents according to the flesh being as Tutors and Governors to bring us to God our Father, to Christ our elder Brother, and to the Church our best Mother; yet methinks there are some Wonders of Providence like those ancient Miracles of Mercy still continued: to consider that outward peace, plenty, and prosperity, which God usually gives in as a Temporal advantage to that Nation or people amongst whom his worship is celebrated in the Beauty and Glory of it; when the Tribes of Israel go up to the Mountain of God, to serve the Lord in that place, which out of all the Tribes he has chosen to himself; lo, in the same City, where is the Temple of God, do they behold with admiration, and count her Towers, mark well her Bulwarks, and reckon up the Fortresses thereof, this the security and strength of the City; but then for its glory and splendour, see there also Majesty as most excellent, there are the seats for judgement, and the throne is there established for the House of David: But on the contrary, whence come wars and tumults, intestine broils, or hostile invasions? are they not most usually directed providentially as to the ultimate end of them, in order to the removal of the Candlestick from those who do not value it, who care not to rejoice in the Light that is fixed in it? hence the Kingdom of God is taken away from those who lightly regard it, & given to those who will reverence its Dispensation, bringing forth the fruits of holiness in Patience and Sobriety; Where is the Church of Corinth now? or where are the seven Churches of Asia? what is become of Antioch, where our Religion was first Christened, the name of our Lord called upon his followers? I might mention the rest, to whom St. Paul writes his Epistles; how were they once exalted unto heaven in their glorious and great enjoyments? but, now they are almost reduced to their former Gentilism, for surely they did not continue steadfast to the goodness of their God:— Nay, closer yet, to make the case our own; if the Administration of the Gospel of peace doth not still keep along with it, as its concomitant, the miraculous gift of healing all manner of diseases and bodily infirmities; yet certainly it continues health, where it doth not restore it; or at least, the profanation of it, is that which kindles God's wrath against us, and provokes him to plague us with divers Diseases, and sundry kinds of death, (as our Liturgy, in the preparatory exhortation to the Communion most piously observes;) to consider what ruins have been made by Pestilence, Famine, and Sword, in Christian Common wealths; may we not say with the Apostle, that for this cause many have been sick, many weak, and many have fallen asleep? so that in some sense it is manifest, that the due and right ministration of the Mystery of Godliness, has the continuance of this Life, as well as the promise of that which is to come: would we have our days prolonged in the Land which the Lord our God has given us? this is the Commandment, and it is the first with a Promise; Remember we the performance of it, as of children by our holy Church we have been taught, That we submit ourselves to all our Governors, Teachers, Spiritual Pastors and Masters; that we order ourselves lowly and reverently to all our betters; in a word, which is the sum of all the rest, that we magnify that Religion, the due solemnities of which in its wont beauty is under God, (who to be sure will take care of his own worship, either to vindicate or promote it) the only means to make us externally happy; if the fence be well set about the Sanctuary, this will heal all our other breaches, and restore us places to dwell in, to be sure, provide for us everlasting habitations; God will upon this account only delight in us, to build, and to plant, no more shall he watch over us to root out, and to destroy; he will raise us up out of our ruins to be glorious at home, terrible abroad, the wonder and the envy of the Nations round about us; let but our ways please him while we tread his Courts, and our very enemies shall be at peace with us; let us publicly and solemnly all of us as one man secure unto God the honour of his Name, and this shall preserve us a name honourable in the earth: which is the  
Third thing observable, In what was the occasion of this popular applause, (to wit) Signs and wonders, causal of a great Veneration, and those Miracles and Wonders of Providence in the Propagation of the Gospel, and preservation of the Apostles;— Therefore the people magnified them.  
Observe we in the context, the Deliverance of the Apostles from the hands of those who hated them, and sought their lives; they were cast over night into prison, ver. 18. and rescued at midnight by an Angel, v. 19 early in the morning they were at their work again, standing in the Temple, and preaching to the people, v. 21. upon all this, what could the people do less than magnify, rise up as one man in their Defence, ver. 26. The Captains and Soldiers may apprehend them, but in this the Disciples fared better than their Master, they did not dare to come out to them with clubs and staves, as against thiefs, (though thiefs they were in this, in that they stole away the hearts of all the people;) no; the reason, which could not prevail upon the Jews in behalf of our Saviour, took place here, the Disciples and Apostles were daily in the Temple, and in the Synagogues where the Jews always resort, in secret they said nothing, and therefore the Officers bring them to the Council without violence, for they feared the People lest they should have been stoned; the people counted them as so many Prophets, mighty in word and in deed, and therefore they magnified them.  
And yet again; will not the Angel of the Covenant still contend in the defence of that service in which the seals of the everlasting Covenant are dispensed? are not Angels and Arch-Angels all of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Liturgical Spirits? [I hope no offence in the expression, though a late carping Cynic has passed some of his ungodly scoffing against it, not considering that Angels are assistant to the solemnities of Religion, that in public worship with Angels and Arch-Angels we laud and magnify the glorious name of God our Saviour, and in imimation of Angelical Consorts in Heaven, the holy Church Militant upon earth has borrowed her Psalmody, that so with the Triumphant there might be but One entire Chorus to praise him who is the Lord of Hosts; this only by the way to vindicate an innocent allusion, whoever was the Author of it, there was no heed to quarrel it;] Angels so far, are Liturgical Spirits, as to Minister to those who are Heirs of this great Salvation; which, amongst true Believers, in a holy Community, in a visible Oeconmy, is dispensed:  
To recount a little with thankfulness, the Providence of Almighty God, as it was hinted in the former Discourse, and cannot too much be celebrated, nor too often commemorated; were we not, as it were, cast into prison, in that dismal night, that dark night of affliction, that night of trouble and of sore rebuke? did not the Iron enter into our very souls? I am sure it was no small addition to our misery, in that our Teachers were, if not confined, yet removed far away into corners; the Tabernacle of God, at the best, was within curtains; and our Priests were hid, if not in Caves and Dens, yet in the remoter parts of the earth, of whom the World was not worthy! What good Angel was our Deliverer? when God restored our Captivity, were we not like unto those who Dream at midnight? But, God be praised, our heaviness endured but for a Night, though the Night was long! joy after all came in the Morning; even in the Morning of that Day which the Lord himself made for us, to rejoice and be glad in it; when with our Prince, he restored us our Religion; not only our Judges, as at the first, but our Priests as well as our Counsellors; or rather our Counsellors that were Priests, happier we that they were so, even as it was in the beginning: Methinks at length, to reflect upon the whole Series of Divine Providence, from first to last, in the Defence of this Church of England, should make it in the eyes of the very People, as it is Beautiful, so to them Venerable: God has been pleased to allot the Blessing of Joseph, as the portion of his sanctuary amongst us, and that no other than the Blessing of Persecution, and yet the Church over all has been more than Conqueror; A little to make out the Parallel: Gen. 49.22. Was not our Church as a fruitful bough by a Well? and that Well, a Well of Life, from thence the Waters of Salvation? did not the branches of this bough run over the Wall? and sad it is to think on it! because it did so, therefore the Wall itself, the Wall of Discipline was to be pulled down! all enclosures were laid open, that so the Boar out of the Wood, the Beasts of the field, nay, the little Foxes too, might be let in to waste, devour and root up every thing that was pleasant or  in the Church's garden! thus the Boar of our Wood made havoc, he ranged from as far as Rome, to snuff up the wind amongst us, and make us a desert land; the Beasts of the Field devoured, even the Beasts of Bashan, from Geneva, round about the farthest part of our British Isles, were they drove in upon us, terrae pars est ultima Thule, these were they that over ran us; and the little foxes also at home, the nibbling pert Atheists joined like Foxes together, with firebrands in their tails, have run about, and burned the corn in its full ear, the seed of the word which was sown amongst us, ready for the Harvest, to yield a plentiful increase! Tell me, have not the Archers sorely grieved this fruitful bough? have they not shot at it? and hated it? Oh! when will their anger be mortal in a good sense? will it never have an end? And yet after all this, the Church's bough abode in strength; the arms of her hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, from hence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel; that stone, which though the bvilders of Babel in their late confusions did reject, is once again become the Head of the Corner: And ought we not to Magnify that, for which God hath declared so much love, and so much care; that if it be lawful to believe what he will do, by what he has done, in the assurance of our Faith, we may comfortably hope that he will never leave us, nor forsake us.  
And yet there is one reason more to raise our esteem for such Solemn Conventions as were at this time in Solomon's Porch; we are to Magnify that which is administered, and those who do officiate in it, because in doing so, we may turn away many sinners from the errors of their ways, save their souls from death, and hid a multitude of sins; we may save ourselves, and those with whom we do converse, when they shall behold our meek Conversation, as to God and his service, coupled with Reverence and Fear: This was the truest Respect, the choicest Reverence, that was here given, not barely an Ecstatical, Enthusiastical, rapid admiration; but, such a one as had an influence on the course of this life, in the hopes of a Better, all was in order to salvation: Which is the Fourth part of the Text; and the subject of the last Discourse;    

The Fourth SERMON The great Benefit which did accrue to the whole Community from the Reverence which was here exhibited, or rather from the whole Dispensation at this present!  
BEcause of the judgement from God inflicted, which was grievous; because of the Signs and Wonders wrought, which were terrible; because of the public Convention, the place of their meeting, their behaviour there, all which were holy; because of the due distance observed, which was solemn; because of the awful Reverence exhibited which was beautiful and glorious; because of the Providence of God exerted, which was miraculous, but yet Constant; all these things did work together for good to those who should be saved; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉— Believers were the more added to the Lord, Multitudes of men and women:  

So that, already you may perceive, that this last Discourse is to be confined to these two particulars.  
1. To consider what was the occasion of this great Benefit, employed in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rather; or, the more; and so referring to all those circumstances, but now enumerated, all contributing to the increase of their Number, who were the general Assembly of the firstborn.  
Secondly, What this great Benefit itself was, more particularly, and closely to be examined; and that in these following Particulars, all within the compass of the words themselves.  
First, A Conversion, or an Effectual Calling; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Some that were added, and that in an External Communion; because they were added, therefore the increase of their number was visible; added to the Lord; but so as to be known in, and acknowledged by the Church.  
Secondly, a due qualification; and that internal, in the heart; but, still in order to an outward profession; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. They were Believers in the Lord; added to the Church's Communion, and there holding the Faith which was once delivered to them.  
Thirdly, For their Number; the Benefit great, because it was diffusive; the Redemption was the more precious, because intimated that it might be Universal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. They were Multitudes.  
Fourthly, No respect of Persons, in relation unto Sex; in Christ Jesus, it is not Male, nor Female, but a New Creature; the weaker Vessel has here its equal honour, and proportionable too, in its number, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. There were Multitudes, as of Men, so of Women; of honourable and virtuous Women, and of holy Men not a few.  
Fifthly, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, all this the rather, which is again to be considered in relation to the Subject, capable of this great benefit; the rather, because of what they saw, and what they heard; and so it may denote in these Multitudes, an Act of free choice, and mature deliberation; they saw what was done, and they heard what was spoke, and were convinced of all; so that it was an Act of their judgement, and of their reason, in that they delivered themselves up to the obedience of their Faith. Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes of Men and Women.  
First, To begin with that which is in the Text both first and last, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The rather did this great Benefit accrue; or the more was it enhanced, occasion being given for this increase, because of those various circumstances ennumerated, all which wrought together for the good of those who should be saved, by all which God was pleased to add unto the number of those who were to be blessed in glory everlasting. I shall only touch upon each of the forementioned circumstances conducing to this happy increase, and so apply the main scope of the former Discourses, to the intent that holiness may be promoted, Diffusive love, and universal Charity may be increased, and that the God of Order may be glorified, in the hearts of all men.  
First, Because of the judgement from God inflicted upon the sin of Sacrilege, which was grievous; hence Believers were the more added to the Lord, and those Multitudes, ver. 11. Fear came upon the whole Church; Ob recentem adhuc ex prodigioso Ananiae interitu metum; id tamen progressui Evangelii non obfuit; the surprise was sudden, and yet still convinued; timor fecit Deum, the Gospel of God was glorified, from the fears of those who were affrightned; the terrors of the Lord did work kindly in order to a through and a pure persuasion: Psal. 110.2. This was the rod of strength out of Zion, in that Christ and his word should rule in medio inimicorum, in the midst, round about, and over all his enemies, in the day of so dreadful a power, the People were a willing People: Fear is properly the coarctation of the Spirits upon any surprise, summoning them from the more distant parts of the body, to the relief of the nobler parts, of the heart chief, which is the principle seat of life; and so it might seem here in the Union of the Body of the Church assembled; they sought God in the way of his judgements, at the dreadful effects of which they could not but be affrightned as men; and yet as Christians, they did hence take occasion to pluck up their Spirits, the more earnestly to attend upon the service of their God, securing in the first place the integrity of their Souls towards him, in so much, that should God kill them all the day long, exhibiting himself in nothing but the sad expressions of his wrath that he is a jealous God, and a Consuming fire, yet, they did all of them humbly resolve, as one man, to put their trust in him. Not unlike to this, was that glorious and Beneficial effect of the Divine Displeasure, against those Exorcists, who Sacrilegiously arrogated to themselves the Apostolical gift, presuming to cast out Devils in the Name of Jesus, saying, We adjure thee by Jesus whom Paul Preacheth; the evil Spirit knew both the Master and his Servant; Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye? and leaping upon them, he prevailed against them, so that they fled away naked and wounded; The result of all which, Act. 19.17. was, that when this came to be known to the Jews, and the Greeks, dwelling at Ephesus, fear came on them all, and the Name of the Lord Jesus was Magnified; many of them that believed came, and confessed and shown their deeds, they were not ashamed to declare their sin, by an open acknowledgement in Confession, in order to a Ministerial, and so more than a Declarative Absolution; they would no longer have to do either with the work, or with the wages of iniquity; those that used curious Arts, brought their Books and burned them, whereof the price valued, came to Fifty thousand pieces of Silver; may all this wealth perish, so they may but save themselves; and then ver. 20. as the consequence upon so remarkable a judgement, The Word of God grew mightily, and prevailed. One instance more; The eyes of Sergius Paulus were not opened, until that upon St. Paul's invocation, Elymas the Sorcerer was struck with blindness, for that he sought to turn away the Deputy from the Faith; the hand of the Lord was upon him, that he should not see the Sun for a season, in that he so wickedly stood both in his own, and in others light, not ceasing to pervert the right ways of the Lord, Act. 13.12. Then the Deputy when he saw what was done, Believed; lying as it were in a Trance, his eyes were open, being astonished at the Doctrine of the Lord. The Doctrine of the Lord, accompanied with Astonishment, Wrath being executed in its just vindication, doth thereby engage to itself Proselyts of all sorts, first soberly to admire, and then most hearty to embrace it; but on the contrary, when judgement against the evil works, or the evil speeches of wicked men, is not executed speedily, than a general remissness invades the most, it is set in the hearts of the Sons of men to do mischief: however, God is not slack in the Defence of his Church, as some may count it slackness, but is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come unto repentance, especially, such who are within the compass of an Evangelical Dispensation, who have given up their names to Christ in a solemn profession; It might be requisite amongst Heathens and Infidels at the first, to be swift in avenging all manner of despites or affronts done to the way of Godliness; but since that Christianity is our badge and livery, and the Cross is the banner we do fight under, its universal Administration should render it Sacred and Venerable to all its Professors, that they do not despise God's Service amongst them, which has so long been, to say no more, the Religion of their Country; and if no other, this reason may prevail a little, that they do not abhor that Worship, which is the Worship of the God of their Fathers; however, these Mockers and Scoffers may please to behave themselves, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, they must be told, that because God is silent, he is not therefore consenting to their impieties; Epistle of St. Judas ver. 14.15. The Lord cometh with Ten thousand of his Saints; the affronts done to those holy ones, he reckons as done to himself; he cometh to execute judgement upon all, to convince all that are ungodly amongst them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodlily committed, and of all their hard speeches; those words of bitterness and hatred, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him; in the mean time God's judgements are round about them, and they do not regard; they die daily in their sins, and those that survive do not lay it to heart; nay, their Posterity, a wicked offspring, praise their say; should one arise to them from the dead, they will not believe; yet, they have Moses and the Prophets, those that sit in the Chair of Moses, those who declare unto them, how, and in whom, the Prophecies are fulfilled, let them hear these: Oh! that they would at length see, and be ashamed, considering the Solemnities of holiness, in spite of men and Devils, still appearing glorious, whilst the Dispensation of life is in any measure Beautiful, even this has its due influence on the lives of men, be they many and numerous, in order to a great Salvation; especially when the word of Life thus delivered, is confirmed by Miracles, be they of what sort soever; and that is the  
Second thing occasional of this great benefit here bestowed upon the Church; because of the Signs and Wonders wrought, which were terrible; Therefore Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes of men and women. Though Faith be the evidence of things not seen, as it is an inhaerent Theological grace; yet, in the first reception of the Gospel, God was pleased so to order it, that seeing should be the occasion of Believing; had not Christ and his Apostles wrought those Works, never such before, and never to be the like again, the question might have been peremptorily answered in the negative, When the Son of man cometh, shall he find Faith in the earth? So true it is, that the report of God himself is not readily believed, unless the Arm of the Lord be also revealed in works of Wonder: And still, unto this day, the first reason which we do properly give of our Christian Faith, and of the hope that is in us, is the firm belief that the Gospel at the first was delivered by Miracles and Signs following it; and those Miracles, all, and each of them, Demonstrative of a Deity; God thus Redeeming the World with a stretched out Arm, and with great and mighty judgements; judgements which if we consider with all their circumstances attending them, we needs must confess to have been remote from all manner of Imposture, not in the least to be compared or mentioned with Legendary Fictions, they do not at all conclude absurdly, but evidence an Omnipotent Power, and so are not unfit arguments for Faith. Thus, as it was with Israel of old, in that Deliverance, of which this great Redemption was the Antitype, they could not persuade themselves that God would visit them, without a Miracle; Exod. 4.8, 9 It shall come to pass if they will not hearken to the voice of the first Sign, that they will beeieve the voice of the latter Sign; and if they will not believe those two Signs, yet a third shall convince them; and the third Sign was typical of a more desirable happiness; it was Water turned into Blood, an intimation, that Blood itself in order to Redemption, should have a cleansing virtue; So that in the mouth of two or three Witnesses, the Word of Salvation, whether in the Type, or in Antitype was established, God Almighty all along providing for the satisfaction of common sense, that men might receive the Truths published upon the credit of their eyes, and of their ears, as well as they do of other things, which are conveyed to them by the help of their outward senses; and hence a thorough Conviction is wrought upon the very Conscience: which works of Wonder, though done so long since, may still have an influence upon us, in that we have as good reason to believe them, as we have to give our assent to any thing that has been performed in former Ages; Our Fathers have told us the mighty works, and the noble acts which God did in their days, and in the old time before them; hence from the Psalmist, our Church has taught us to make this our humble and hearty request, That God still arise in the Defence of his Gospel, to help and Deliver the Professors and Dispensors of it, for his name's sake, and for his honour: He that shall call into question, or suspend his belief to the History of Redemption, as from an Universal Tradition it has been delivered down faithfully by the Church, in the Oracles of God; and yet at the same time does not in the least boggle at many things more fabulous in the Annals of his own Country; or it may be, in the descent of his own pedigree; such a person may think himself wise in his own Generation; and yet a very fool, in that upon the mere account of an  Tradition, he will give credence to that, which because of the manner of its conveyance is of itself questionable, rather than to the Gospel of Peace, confirmed by Miracles, and in the nature of the thing thus delivered to posterity from one age to another, that from the beginning, they were wrought by an Almighty Power, that so from the Father to the Child, in the Generations to come, there might not be wanting an infallible convincing argument to raise, and as it were, to propagate and preserve a most firm belief; And after all this, we have a more sure word of Prophecy, to which we shall do well if we take heed with Reverence, and that is the outward and more Visible administration of this Gospel, thus confirmed, which is the  
Third thing causal of the Great Benefit bestowed here upon the Church, and is to continue to the end of the World; (viz.) because of the public Convention, the place of their meeting; and their Behaviour there, all which were holy, therefore Believers were added to the Lord, and those Multitudes. God's institution, and the Primitive practice of the Apostles, is to be embraced in order to Salvation. It was God's command to his people Israel, though they were in the Wilderness, that they should make him a Sanctuary, Exod. 25.8. even the Tabernacle itself was so called; and the reason added is this, That I may dwell among them; nay, even at this time, God Almighty did in some sort declare, that he would restrain his acceptance only to such solemnities, Exod. 20.24. immediately after the Law was given, this was Gods promise upon the observance of it, in all places where I record my name, will I come unto thee, and bless thee: And with the Apostle, we may argue in a literal sense, 2 Cor. 3.7. " If the Ministration of death written and engraven in stones were glorious; how shall not the Ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? if the Ministration of Condemnation be glory, much more doth the Ministration of Righteousness exceed in glory; if that which was to be done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is still glorious. To be short and plain; for I have already instanced upon this at large; Neglecting the Assembling of ourselves together, turning our backs upon the places of public Worship, and an irreverent behaviour at such solemnities, is all one, as if we should deny ourselves the means of our Salvation; how can you expect in faith, that God should go out of his way to meet you; when you turn aside from those paths which he has declared do lead to him? What reason is there that we should now have a recourse to, and make a virtue of that, which only under Persecution was a Necessity! is it not absurd, as well as impious, in the nature of the thing itself, to imagine, that when the Churches are open, the Truth must betake itself into corners? it is something surely to be in the way, in the ready road to happiness; that which has been for so many hundred years successful in order to Conversion, we have good reason to believe that it will be so still; and it is frowardness and pievishness against a Community, Presumption, and that in a high degree of Providence, for those who are but men, to venture upon an extraordinary success, and that in opposition to, and against those ordinary usual means, which ever since our Christianity, have been certainly and surely established: that which is God's honour, is our Benefit, and so we may safely apply that of the Apostle; Eph. 3.20, 21. It is God alone who is able to do exceedingly, above all that we ask or think, even according to the effectual power which he worketh in us; and yet, notwithstanding this most effectual power, working in us, above and beyond all our thoughts and requests; To him, saith the Apostle, We do ascribe Glory in the Church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, World without end.  
Fourth, and Fifth Things causal of this great Benefit bestowed upon the Church; both these joined together for brevity's sake, and indeed they cannot well be separated, being so jointly productive of this Benefit in the Text (viz.) because of the Distance here kept, which was Solemn; because of the awful Reverence exhibited, which was beautiful, and glorious, therefore Believers were the more added to the Lord, and those Multitudes. Familiarity is causual of contempt; but the farther from parity, the nearer to, and the closer the Communion; so consequential (as formerly instanced,) are these Three Articles of our Creed upon each other, The Catholic Apostolic Church, The Communion of Saints, and the Forgiveness of Sins: Faith, as it comes by hearing in a public Solemnity; so it, with Love is increased, by that due reverence which is given to such who Minister in that Solemnity; the Message can not choose but be received, which is accompanied with honour: An equality either amongst Sacred Persons themselves, or between them and the People, does not in the least tend to edification; there is neither order nor peace in levelling; and when once the murmuring complaint arrives to this much, That the whole Congregation are as holy, every one of them, as Moses or Aaron, no wonder if the fire offered upon the Altar prove to be a strange fire, not a fire to baptise and purify, but to burn and consume the whole Assembly in a moment. It is the Apostles advice, that we give unto all their deuce, Rom. 13.7. Fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour, so shall we not be wanting in our love to any, and that love will be the fulfilling of the whole Law. 1 Cor. 7.24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Let every man wherein he is called, therein abide; and abiding therein, this is to be with God. No wonder therefore, if one reason assigned for the decay of Christian Piety, be Disputes in general, and those most an end in Opposition to Authority; when in such things that either they need not, or to be sure they ought not, Men will be Judges for themselves: I might here survey the mischiefs arising hence in reference both to religious, and civil peace; when outward Order and Unity, which are the effect of a regular subjection is disturbed, than Christianity itself in its very Constitution, as it is a Religion established in the World, is wounded; but I cannot write after an exquisite pen; neither have I time to improve what is suggested to me in the 12th. chap. of that excellent Book, the Decay of Christian Piety; only this one remark, suitable to the matter in hand, both in reference to the Author, and his most Pious Work: and it is this; For want of Order and due Respect promoted in love betwixt one man and another, The whole Duty of Man has been forgotten, both in Relation to God, and to ourselves; by giving ourselves too much freedom in despising Men, made after the Image of God; We have learned to Blaspheme God himself; inimicus homo, fecit hoc; The enemy has sown his Tares to choke, and supplant that which was good, and this might move that holy, incomparable Person, (whoever he be, his reward is with him) to divert his thoughts sadly upon the transgressions of those rules of Duty which he had so exactly described; I name this Book the rather, with this honourable, but sad remark upon it, recommending it to every one's serious perusal; The not practising of the whole Duty of Man has been the woeful Decay of Christian Piety, and an occasion given to Survey the lamentable ruins of Religion amongst us.— Yet, once more;— Notwithstanding the love of many is waxed cold, and that in a great measure, Honour and due respect has been laid in the dust; yet, God in his wonderful Providence is all-sufficient; which is the  
Sixth Thing causal to this great Benefit bestowed upon the Church; (to wit) the Providence of God exerted, which was, though miraculous, yet constant; surpassing wonderful, and yet sure; Therefore Believers were the more added to the Lord, and those Multitudes. And this was Gamaliel's reflection upon the present affair; the wisdom of God was justified at this time, even from the wisdom of this World. ver. 35. " Take heed what you intent to do as touching these men; ver. 38. Refrain from them, and let them alone: for if this work, or this counsel be of man, it will come to nought; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest happily ye be found to fight against God.  
There is something more in that Promise made by our Saviour to the Disciples, in reference to them, and an Apostolical Succession, than some of our Modern Erastians' are willing to believe, St. Mat. 28.20. Behold I am with you always, to the end of the World: God, who from the beginning made the Blood of Martyrs to be the Seed of the Church; can also, how, and when he pleaseth, and has hitherto done it in all ages, make the strive of a froward and unruly People, turn unto his Praise: see ye not, said the Pharisees of our Saviour, how that we prevail nothing; Behold, the whole World is gone out after him! And so for the Church, the Defence of it is sure, and that Defence everlasting about the glory of it, that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it; that which has been, will be, and throughout all ages will it continue, yea, though the Heathen, and men of Heathenish Principles do rage, should they, as they do daily, by their strange, unheard of suggestions, such as should not be named amongst Christians, professing godliness, endeavour to undermine foundations, yet the Word of Life will prevail; The Seed of the Woman does every day break the Serpent's head, and at the worst it shall but bruise his heal; and at length, through by a bruised heel, the Devil and all his Devices shall be trampled upon; so mighty is the Word of God, so certain his Providential Care, so Successful and Prosperous is our Saviour in his Government, as it was promised to him, that a bruised Reed should not be broken, a smoking Flax should not be quenched, until that he brings all manner of judgement unto Victory, whereupon we do believe, the Churches constant Prayer to be efficacious, that because of all this danger on every side, God would be pleased to strengthen those that stand, to comfort and help the weak hearted, to raise up them that fall, and finally to beat down Satan under our feet. The wrath and the Wiles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Methods and contrivances of deceit shall contribute to God's glory, and the Churches, because Militant, therefore the more Triumphant happiness; whilst they that have embraced her Faith, from these shake, shall be the better established; they shall be the more firm and resolute to a peremptory, fixed, and a settled Belief: Be the judgements of God upon the wicked slighted, though grievous; be the Signs and Wonders disputed and cavilled at, though terrible; be the Conventions and Solemnities for Religion dis regarded, though every way Holy; be the honour of sacred Persons buried, quite extinct, and they counted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The dung and the filth of the Earth; yet, a sure Providence will make amends for all; God will one way or other secure to himself his own appointment; all things shall work, if not separately and distinctly, in their more direct and immediate consequences; yet jointly and together, for good to those who shall be saved; and day by day, amidst all manner of discouragements, Believers are the more added to the Lord, Multitudes of men and women: which Great inestimable Benefit, since it is so certainly founded upon God's Promise, maintained and supported by his Providence, it is now high time that we consider it more closely, what it is? which is the   

Second Part of this Discourse; in which I promise all possible Brevity; (to wit) what this Benefit redounding so upon every account to the Church in a settled Community, is? as it may be examined by these Particulars!  
(1.) A Conversion, or an effectual Calling; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some that were added to the Lord; and this a great Benefit, because it was in an external Communion; they being added, therefore the increase of their number was visible; the Syriack Version renders it, accrescebant, they were added to the Lord, that is, so as to be known in, and acknowledged by the Church; thus they which were added, are reckoned up by a certain number, for an uncertain to be about five thousand, Chap. 4.4. and still their number increaseth, till it surpass Arithmetic, by a strange and liberal addition, they were Multitudes. The same thing our Divine Historian, the Apostolical Amanuensis, St. Luke takes notice of, what was the effect of St. Peter's first Sermon, not only the Faith of those which were converted, but likewise their Baptism, by which they were admitted to the further profession of that word, which at the first hearing they had received with gladness, Act. 2.41. The same day, the General reception of the word was already past, and in the same day the Seal of the Covenant was conferred, in that there were added to them, as they were an Apostolic Church, about three thousand souls: and to warrant me this remark upon the Addition here in the Text, and those other places, we have it expressly, Chap. 2.47. The Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved: from all which this inference is obvious,  
That, out of the Church, we are not to presume for Salvation; or to give it you in as modest terms as may be, and those naturally deduced from the Text; They that shall be saved with the Lord, are first of all supposed to be added by the Lord to the Church.  
Faith, though it be the gift of God in the Heart unto Salvation; yet he giveth unto every man a certain measure, no otherwise than by an Ecclesiastical Dispensation; For to make a summary rehearsal of that Creed, into which we are Baptised; this is the compendium of the whole, The Creed, which, with good reason, we call the Apostles Creed, or at least, Apostolical, is in our Church-Catechisme distinguished, and divided into the Belief of the Father, our Creator; of the Son, our Redeemer; and of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; ruling in all our hearts, in order to a thorough Sanctification: now, in the assurance of this Holy Ghost, as he is a Spirit of Prophecy, we do believe a Catholic and Apostolic Church; in that Church, as it is Apostolic and Catholic, we must acknowledge a Communion of Saints, the result of which Communion, in this Church, from the Holy Ghost, is the forgiveness of our Sins; whatsoever is loosed on Earth, is loosed also in Heaven, whence we do further believe and hope for the Resurrection of our flesh, and the Life in the World to come: And, therefore to the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Father Creating, the Son Redeeming, and the Holy Ghost Purifying; as also to those Articles of the Church, Administering in a visible, holy Communion, the Remission of Sins, unto all such as look for the Resurrection to eternal Life, we, in the assurance of our Faith, are to say, Amen.— I would at length, fain put it to the question, what people generally have in their thoughts, when they stand up at their Creed, and say, that they Believe a holy Catholic and Apostolic Church? in effect, it should be thus much, that they do confess, there is a Congregation and Corporation of Christian people, though dispersed throughout the whole world; that this society is united in a holy Communion, under Christ the supreme, and only Head; that it is assisted, moved, and directed by the Holy Ghost; that it is Matriculated, as it were, into one holy Congregation and fraternity by Baptism; sustained by the word of Catechising, which is milk for babes; nourished by the Lord's Supper, which is meat for stronger men; that it is continued by an holy Apostolical Succession, by which the Keys of the Kingdom are faithfully administered, whatsoever is bound on earth, is ratified in heaven; and after all this, does the promise of Christ signify nothing, that he will be with his Church, so universally, and every way holy, that so whither he, as the Head, is gone, the Members may follow after, every one in his own order, Christ the first, afterward, those that are Christ's, both before, and at his coming? And if this be the meaning of the Article, as, had I time, might soon be proved from several Scriptures; and our Separatists themselves do not deny, but that this Summary Compendium of Faith is both ancient, and a sound Confession, (we thank them that at the same time, when they thrust it out of our Churches, they were pleased to annex it to the close of their Calvinistical Catechism) I would demand of them, and put it to the Conscience of those who are deluded by them, how they can expect salvation in another world, when they avoid the communion of the Saints in this? and that against their vow in Baptism, against their solemn Profession of Faith, I might, I persuade myself urge it, against their own inward sentiments, whenever they do seriously think upon it, what this Article of their Creed does mean, or else they must be notoriously hypocritical before God, against their own reason? something or other they must believe, when they do confess that there is such a thing as a holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church; and what can they believe to their souls good, but that in the Communion of this Church, they do expect salvation? Let them, if they are so foolhardy, excommunicate themselves, and so put themselves into the condition of Heathens, to be saved without a law, and beside the Gospel, if God so please; to be sure there is great safety in the Christian institution, as the Church is a holy society; if with our hearts we believe, and with our mouths we make confession of that Faith which was once delivered to the Saints, (to wit) that there is a Holy, Catholic Church, and in that Church, a Holy Communion of Saints, and the result of both these, is the forgiveness of sins; and that, because of the Church's Catholic Faith, that there shall be a Resurrection of the Dead, (for unless it be so, we are still in our sins) when both soul and body are to be united together, in order to be made partakers of everlasting life, undoubtedly we shall be saved; I know there are some who quarrel at the Athanasian Creed, though they have subscribed to it, for these words in it, however, I am not afraid to cite them to our present purpose whosoever will be saved, (that is in the unity of the Church) before all things, he must be careful that he hold the Catholic Faith; (for the Church is Catholic) which faith, except he keep whole, and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly: And so I pass to the  
Second instance of this great Benefit, here accrueing from the present Dispensation; and that is, a due qualification internal in the heart; but, still in order to an outward profession, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. they were Believers in the Lord, which were now added to the Church's Communion, holding the Faith, as from the Apostles at this time it was delivered.  
By Faith here, not to spend time in the ordinary Definitions of it, we may securely understand, the pious and fiducial application of all the circumstances of this outward administration, to each man's particular and private concerns; whatsoever was publicly dispensed, was in the heart of those that were assembled, digested, in an humble assurance of salvation therefrom. So that, upon this account, Schism, from a Visible Communion, is the result of Infidelity; it is an evil heart of Unbelief, that departs from God our Father, or the Church our Mother, in that, whosoever he be that separates, he cannot, or he will not, make due and sober reflections upon outward services, in order to his own private satisfaction and Benefit: Yea, and this does intimate unto us, the great advantage of solemn, and regular institutions in the Church, in that the meannest, and the plainest persons, may join in its communion; each man particularly reflecting upon his own circumstances, may beforehand resolve, and apply such and such particular passages in Divine Services, to the like particular emergency in himself, and so, literally prepare himself for the worship of his God, according to the preparations of his Sanctuary; such Petitions as these, are the Prayers of Faith; the Church does thus receive a liberal addition, but the Belief is in the Lord; we may with the more confidence expect acceptance, when we make our humble requests in the voice of the Church, Prayers, which were certainly composed by the assistance of the Holy Ghost, (for these two Articles in our Creed, follow one on the other, the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Church;) this is the best, and most effectual Praying by the Spirit, when Public Prayers are in Faith and Piety, referred to private necessities; he that has Faith, has it to himself, and therefore for himself, each one says, I Believe; but when we pray, it is to be with a Public Spirit, in regard to a whole Community, and therefore Christ has taught us to say, Our Father; Vis unita fortior, both the Solemnity, as of God, and the whole assembly, as before him, do contribute much to the intenseness, and vehemency of the Devotion; it is thus an effectual fervent Prayer, because in, and by the Church, and so the greater are the praises ascribed unto God amongst the Multitudes; Which is the  
Third instance, of this Great Benefit at this present Ecclesiastical Dispensation; the Benefit Great, because diffusive; the Redemption precious because intimated, that it might be Universal, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Believers added to the Lord in the Community of the Church, were Multitudes.  
Multitudes, and those in a Communion, together with one accord, how were the Solemnities in Solomon's Porch both glorious and efficacious? this was the Gospel's great energy at the first, in that it gained Proselytes unto its profession, by Multitudes; But alas! this has of later years been the Epidemical Degeneracy in the Christian world, in that our Religion loses of its followers, even to a Popular Backsliding! Is it not sad to reflect upon it? that the Church should be almost reduced to a necessity of humouring the Multitude, against its own Communion! whereas external unity was wont to be effectual in the hearts of all, how many soever they were that saw it, that they should seek after it: And yet, this is Visible, beit in reality, or in strife, their number is great who by Faith in the Lord, are added to the Church; and therefore, though we cannot suppose the Multitudes here, to be so distinguished, yet the usual account given us of the Outward Church is, that the Multitudes in its Communion are of two sorts; either formal Professors; or sincere, true Believers; and both these do belong to Christ's Visible Body; the Tares will multiply together with the good Corn, until the harvest, one and the same Field encloseth both, they are not separated, till that which proves best is fit for the Granary; in the mean time it is not for man to presume to make a difference; so the Church increase by Multitudes, we are therein to rejoice, and in our joy to hid even a Multitude of Sins; let every one examine his own heart, whether he experience to a spiritual and a holy advantage, the comfortable effect of that Communion under which he lives? and so, as to the Multitudes, a judgement of Charity will, in the best sense, and to very good purpose, comprehend them all; whatsoever may be the Election of grace, this is sure, we are not to be censorious in reference to the present, or future state of any, since the seal of that Election is, that God only knows, who are his; however, for our comfort, with him there is no respect of persons; of every Age, and of every sex, whosoever worketh righteousness is accepted with him; the Multitudes seem to imply all the Young and Old, high and low, One with another; but more particularly this General Division of Mankind is specified, to show that the whole race is included; Which is the  
Fourth Instance, of a great Benefit in this present Dispensation; there was no difference in relation unto Sex; in Christ Jesus, it is neither Male, nor Female, but a New Creature; even the weaker Vessel, has here its equal honour, and proportionable too in its number, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there were Multitudes, as of Men, so of Women; of honourable and virtuous Women, and of holy Men, not a few. Vtriusque sexus fit mentio, quia in utroque judicium sacrilegii; Mention is here made of both sexes, because that God's judgement against the sin of Sacrilege, was exerted upon both; Ananias and his Wife, were alike consenting to the sin, and they share alike in the dreadful punishment; that hence, both Men and Women be forewarned, that they should be as the Apostle directs, Gal. 3.28. As Male, and Female all one in, not against Christ Jesus.  
Considering in the Text, both Sexes met together in a holy Communion, their faith increased with the increase of God; I might observe, how that schism and separation, like the Devil of old, gins with a Division, even upon this account; first, surprising and shattering the weaker Vessel; Women, who because of their tender apprehensions, and their weaker judgements, do quickly embrace any thing that is offered them, in reference to a future state, are many times seduced into a mistake; Act. 13.50. even the Devotion of honourable Women, was abused by the Jews unto error, they raising a persecution against St. Paul by this means, whom, they could easily persuade, that in so doing they did God good service; I would not here speak without a witness; what I urge is from the Scripture, 2 Tim. 3.6. Of this sort are they, who creep into houses, and lead captive silly women, who are ever learning, and because thus deceived, they never come to the knowledge of the Truth; But, this is not as Men and Women professing Godliness; God, from the beginning, intended that they should be meet helps to each other, not only in the circumstances of humane life, but also of Divine and Religious worship; and shall they act the Devils part one against another? what, must they seduce and betray, and that of all things in God's service? What? is the Wife in the Bosom, a Serpent there? or, is the Man at her right hand, a Lion in the way to devour? No, may they live together as becometh holiness, the one in love, honour and prudence, the other in silence and obedience, both together in godliness and sobriety, which have the Blessing of this life, and of that which is to come; let us all therefore, both Men and Women, without designs upon each other, as One in the Lord, choose those things which are good and profitable, and which tend to peace; Which is the  
Fifth and last Instance, of the great Benefit here in the Text, unto the whole Community, from the present Dispensation; and that, once again, yet another reflection upon the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the more; or, the rather was this great addition made to the Church; all this, because of what they saw, and what they heard, which denotes, even in the Multitudes, in the Women, as well as in the Men, an act of their free choice, upon a most sober and mature deliberation: Here was no violence at all offered upon their faculties; though it was the terror of the Lord in a most dreadful judgement, yet it kindly persuades them; the Signs and Wonders were both Miraculous and Convincing; the solemn and holy Convention, because Beautiful, therefore of itself ; the Miracles of Providence, though they were surpassing, yet they were clear and manifest; so that at this time, as at all others, God drew the People unto himself, with the cords of a Man, that so, whilst he drew, they might of themselves run after him; they were a willing People, though it was a day of power; they saw what was done, they heard what was spoken, and throughout they were convinced of all; so that it was here an act both of their judgement, and their reason, in that they did deliver themselves up unto the obedience of Faith; Believers were the more, or the rather added to the Lord, Multitudes of men and women.  
I need not, (neither have I time to prosecute it as I should) here urge, that God works with us, and within us, in order to salvation; as we are men, and reasonable creatures; he proposeth everlasting happiness to us in his Word, or by his Church, as to our free voluntary choice; and whilst he does kindly allure us, he doth at the same time leave us in the hand of our own counsel; See, I have set before you Fire and Water, Blessing and a Curse, Life and Death; choose you whether you will, says God by his Prophet, Deu. 30.19. But I am confined both by the time, and the Text, that I cannot descant so closely as I might upon this Problem, which is indeed too much controverted; At present, I take it for granted, that which I suppose, every one experienceth upon consulting his own thoughts, that we are all of us, as men, endued with reason, free sreatures, and voluntary Agents; and that we would do good, but evil is present with us, because we are not in our judgements, or to our senses, sufficiently convinced, as we might, of what is best:  
And therefore, since the Design of all that hitherto is inferred from this Text, is to promote Unity and Uniformity amongst Brethren, professing Godliness, which is here the Holy solemnity, The Apostles, with the Primitive Christians, all with one accord, in a holy Place; and upon this, their persons reverenced, the Word of Life was magnified, it did not return in vain, but accomplished the work for which it was sent, for the Benefit was great, and exceeding prosperous; for a parting now to this subject, so much insisted on, in one word, fain I would persuade; shall we suffer the word of exhortation? Be entreated to frequent Solomon's Porch, the Author, because of that August solemnity, and Ministration that is in it; we should, with David, be glad to go up unto the House; choose to be a Doorkeeper in the Porch, to wait at the Gates of Wisdom, rather than assemble amidst the Congregations of the wicked. Tell me, says the Spouse to Christ, Cant. 1.7. where thou feedest? where thou makest thy flocks to rest at noon? and this was her kind expostulation, Why should I be as one that turneth aside from the flocks of thy Companions? our Saviour there feedeth, where he is himself fed upon; the flocks are there together; yea, and at rest, and that, at noon; Separation is a work of Darkness, chooseth to itself the night; To turn aside, is to be, as one, Vae soli! alone, and woe to him that is alone! this the greatest, both sin and misery, to forsake those flocks, which in love and Unity, are companions.  
Behold then; may the Separatists of our Age see, that I have set before them, Fire and Water, Blessing and a Curse, Life and Death; Choose they whether they will:— Fire, not a strange fire, but that of the Sanctuary, a pure, and bright flame of Love, upon God's Altar: Water; alas! the waters are troubled; schism and sedition, is a tempestuous sea, casting forth mire and dirt; Blessing, even that which is out of Zion, good luck and Prosperity, out of the House of the Lord: A Curse, none more bitter, to be cut off from the Congregation; what? will our Schismatics, thus invade the Priest's Office? will they excommunicate themselves? and deliver themselves up to Satan? shall God by his Prophet call unto them, and say, stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the old way? the good way, because the old way, and amidst all our tumblings and toss from one post to another, we cannot find a better! Shall God command peremptorily, that we walk in these ways, with a promise, of rest unto our souls? for out of such paths, there is nothing but disorder and disquietude! and shall we return that answer which the Jews did? Jer. 6.16. But, they said, we will not walk therein. Thus the Rebels, against their settled and fixed administration of old, Korah, and his Accomplices, Numb. 14.2. Moses called them to the Congregation, and they said, We will not come up; they turned their backs to the Tabernacle, Satan therefore claimed them for his Synagogue, and soon took possession of them, Hell from beneath was moved to meet them at their coming, The Earth opened her Mouth, and they went down alive into the Pit! and therefore, yet once more, may the Sons of Belial, who cast off every yoke, see this day, set before them, Life and Death, and that, in the utmost extremity, in the eternity of both; Life, a Life of of Grace here, in order to glory hereafter; and still out of Zion, goes forth this Blessing, the Promise of Life for evermore; Christ, with whom are the words of eternal Life, is not to be found, (as I must again and again inculcate) in the Wilderness, or in the secret Chamber; but in Solomon's Porch; by the Chair of Moses, not in the Stool of Wickedness, or in the Seat of the Scornful; he is head of all things to his Church, in the Communion of which alone we expect salvation; without, there is nothing but sin, sin that excludes from pardon, the wages of which is Death; Solomon hath in a Proverb told us, the misery of those who turn aside from his Porch; The Man that wandreth out of the way, out of the beaten path of understanding, shall fall into the Congregation of the Dead. And now let our Schismatics choose for themselves; I have in this, though a private Person, yet with a public spirit, as public as is their sedition, in some sort delivered my own soul; and they shall not perish without warning, and that repeated, with as much vehemency, as are their Divisions; God in mercy give a Blessing! And so, may they see yet again how I do set before them fire and water; and will they choose the water? alas! the waters of Separation are waters of bitterness; Massah and Meribah be their name, and Marah is their taste; they are themselves as it were baptised, strife and contention; and so noisome, loathsome, and every way unsavoury is their relish: But, the Fire is from the Lord, in the Sanctuary it is a Refiners fire, and a coal from the Altar, that so all iniquity may be done away:— Blessing, and a Curse; and will they choose the curse? it is Anathema Maranatha, A curse until Christ come, against all those who love not the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Communion of his Saints; But, this, the Blessing, when the Spirit shall say, come; and the Bride shall say, come; and the Church shall say, come; and every one that has set heart to seek the Lord, the Lord God of his Fathers shall also come, that so God may translate his Church, which is here terribly Militant, as an Army with banners, in good order, and in due array, unto Trophies and Triumphs in that glory which shall be everlasting: And so, look they once more, and behold, and choose they whether they will, Life and Death: and will they choose Death? Death which shall never have an end, the reward of those who do wilfully reject the means and the passage unto Life; Oh! that at length they would believe schism and separation to be a damning Sin; that they would not place the worship of God in the ways, and amidst the sons of perdition! I'll leave a Text or two for them, to urge upon themselves, and can there be plainer words than these? Rom. 13.2. They that resist that power which is the Ordinance of God, or, (which is all one) that Power, which commands Obedience unto God's Ordinance, shall receive unto themselves Damnation. 2 Pet. 3.1,— 3. False Prophets, and false Teachers, bring upon themselves swift Destruction; whose judgement of a long time lingreth not, and their Damnation slumbereth not. Epist. of St. Judas. v. 13. These are wand'ring stars, not keeping within their proper and appointed Orbs, in order to a regular, and an equal revolution, Unto whom is reserved the Blackness of Darkness for ever: But, after all this, Life, and Peace, to those that seek, and keep peace in the fear and love of God, and of those that are set over them.  
To conclude; Let us be persuaded, as we are men and Christians, to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace; considering, that God is terrible in his judgements, against the Rebellious and Sacrilegious, he is wonderful in his providence for the defence of those that wait and call upon him; his wrath is dreadful unto Death; his loving kindness is surpassing, and in his favour is Life; The Assembling together of his Saints, is Venerable and Awful; God is honoured in the midst, whilst due Reverence is paid to those that are round about him; considering all these things, what manner of persons ought we to be, in all holy Conversation and Godliness? we should be no longer faithless, but believing; may we the more, and the rather, be added to the Church, as Believers in the Lord, and may this number increase to Multitudes of every age, and of every Sex, both Men and Women: our Church's Prayer, shall with little alteration, be the close of all,  
We Pray thee, O Lord, Help thy Servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy most Precious Blood;  
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints, here in a holy Communion, and hereafter in glory everlasting:— To which God of his infinite Mercy bring us all, to whom be ascribed, Honour, Praise and Adoration, to Father, Son and Holy Ghost, One God and three Persons; and that of all Ages in the Church, by Christ Jesus, world without end. Amen.  
Lord, Mercifully receive the Prayers of thy Church, that all troubles, and errors being quenched, it may serve thee in quietness; and grant us peace in our days. Amen.    

A BAD AND A Good Zeal DESCRIBED and LIMITED.  Gal. 4.17, 18. 
17. They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that you might affect them: (or us.)  
18. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing; and not only when I am present with you.  
IT was even in our Saviour's time, the Hypocritical Devotion of the Pharisees, and is at this day, the Pharisaical Hypocrisy, both of the Conclave, and the Consistory, to compass Sea and Land to make one Proselyte, and when he is gained, they make him twofold more the child of Hell than themselves, so that the last estate of the poor man is worse than his beginning; But, as for us, Woe unto us, unless that our Religion do exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees: their industry was both commendable and imitable, if we could abstract their Labour of Love, as they call it, from the malice of their intention; we may hear them both, while they sit in the Chair of Moses; but not, when their design is to tumble Moses out of his Chair; not, when they rebel against Moses the Servant of the Lord, and vex Aaron the Saint of God: their long Prayers were not amiss; no, though they were in the Markets, and the corners of every street, when they made their great, solemn, and pompous Processions, that they might be seen of men, and so give an example of Devotion unto the World; but we must beware of them, when we find, that upon this pretence, they devour Widows Houses, when they commit a rapine upon the portion of the Widow, and of the Fatherless; their long Robes were no such heinous crime, nor their Phylacteries upon their Garments, in which are supposed to have been written in Capital Letters, the Ten Commandments of God, to put the People in mind of their Duty; but this was their fault, when they proposed the Law, as a Precept of obedience, unto others, and most shamefully and wickedly broke it in every Precept themselves: in a word, it is an. Evangelical Precept, the command of Christ himself, with which Holy Church gins and exhorts to her offertory, " That we let our Light shine before men, even the Light of our Profession; in the public attestations of our Religion, we may be both burning, and shining Lights, but we must be careful, that there be the oil of good works, to feed the flame, lest men rejoice in our Light, only for a season, and because they cannot behold a pious and a holy conversation, directed by the fear of God, therefore they do not glorify our Father which is in Heaven; we are to be watchful then, that we try the hot Spirits of zeal that are abroad inthe world, whether they be of God or no? whether the fire that works in them, and sparkles from them, descend from Heaven, and is a flame of Love? or, be fetched from Hell, and is a world of iniquity? both may be, though in different respects, to consume our Sacrifices; by their works you shall know them: see, and observe therefore, with our Apostle in this Text, are they not more solicitous to make a prey upon your Persons, then to manifest their own, and so improve your graces; thus, they zealously affect you, but not well; are they not more desirous for a separation, then to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace? This is all out of love unto themselves, that you might have their Persons in admiration, and they get the advantage; yea, they would exclude you, that is, by a roaring Bull, and a thundering Excommunication; or, they would exclude us, by sequestration, had they Power, by cunning seduction, withdrawing themselves, though they are both invited, and entreated to Communicate, no Anathema is pronounced against them, only they excommunicate themselves, and they lead the simple and ignorant into Houses, both Adversaries agree in this, in that they would have the World to follow after them, and thereout get no small profit to themselves, they do thus exclude, that the people might affect them. And may not the Watchmen of Israel now stand upon their Guard, and be as industrious in their business, to know both, what of the night? and what of the day? when there lie to such potent enemies at the catch, seeking night and day whom they may devour; whom they may snatch out of the fold, and lead like Sheep unto the slaughter? surely, it is good for them always to be zealously affected, in so good a thing, as is the converting of those, who have erred from the Truth, to restore the wand'ring sinners from the error of their ways, and so to save the Souls that are committed to their charge, from Death, and to prevent in others, a multitude of sins: yea, and to the People also this caution may not be unfitly given, that they be steadfast to that Faith which is delivered to them, that should their chief Apostle, because of his care of the other Churches, or of the Church in general, have occasion to withdraw from them, (I mean such a one as an Apostle, not those that are left behind to be Teachers in every City; for, unless they abide upon their charge, the enemy will take advantage of their absence as well as of their sleeping to sow his Tares) should he be away, upon the discharge of his duty in another place, such a One, who has a Rod in his hand, wherewith to restrain them, a certain power and jurisdiction over them; nay, not a Rod only, but a Sword also, when he can call in the saecular Arm to his assistance, to execute wrath upon them; when such an Apostle as this is absent, the People must be careful that they follow the directions of their Spiritual Guides, which are set over them, as knowing that it is good for them likewise to be zealously affected in so good a thing, as is, holding fast to the Doctrine and Discipline of Faith and godliness, which from the Church they have received, keeping to a form of found and wholesome words, which in the Church they have used; and this their zeal and steadfastness, they are to make manifest, not only, when such a one as St. Paul, their chief Apostle, is present with them; and all because of the Church's enemies on every side, as if the Apostle directed his Epistle to us, who it seems are bewitched as sadly, as were his Galatians from obeying the Truth delivered to us, There are false Brethren, and false Accusers, such as zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, or us, that you might affect them: But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing; and the rather, because I am absent from you.  It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing. 
These words were the first occasion of pitching my thoughts upon this Subject: Observing the variety of heats that are in the World, about Religion, certainly, some distinction & difference must be admitted; that whilst there be such strive, and contendings about the way of Godliness; surely, as all cannot be imagined to tread the un-erring Path, so neither must we be so sottish, as to imagine, that every one is out of the way: By considering these words, as they do relate unto the Galatians in their Circumstances, at the time of the writing of this Epistle, we may, I hope, make a clew of thread to extricate ourselves out of the like Labyrinths; that notwithstanding, the various pretensions that are made to Truth and Piety, we be not as children tossed to and fro, with every wind of Doctrine.— That then, which was first in my thoughts, I found upon a second search, to be the sum of the whole Text, and therefore was forced to take in both verses; It is good to be zealously affected, etc. The words are brought in with a Conjunction exceptive or discretive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. But, it is good to be zealous; and so they do refer, as they are something discriminated, or distinguished from the foregoing verse; in which the Apostle gives the Galatians an account of what might be the temper of their Seducers, supposed to be the impure Gnostics, who did so early disturb the peace of the Church; by obtruding upon the Disciples, Judaizing Observances, though they themselves were not Circumcised; neither did they always walk, as did the Jews; but out of a pretence they were zealous for the way of their Fathers, laying heavy burdens upon the People, which they would not touch themselves, no, not with one of their fingers: This was such an Hypocrisy that Chap. 11.14. St. Peter, seemed more out of prudence, than Piety, to comply with it, and St. Paul was so zealous, that he withstood him to the face, for he was to be blamed; and Barnabas also, being of too easy and facile a temper, a Son of Consolation, was not a little, to his own grief carried away with, this Dissimulation: But, whatever rules of prudence, some, who at that time were set over the affairs of the Church, might walk by, thinking thereby, that they did consult the Public Peace, and so kept all quiet; no Peace, saith our stout Apostle St. Paul, with the wicked; for, hence an occasion was given, that the way of God was evil spoke of, and those who keep themselves up close to the rules of their Duty, could not avoid the unkind surmises and hard speeches of the People; whilst, in the mean time, the cunning Adversary took this opportunity, upon the hopes of an Accommodation to work out his own designs upon those who were of a more easy persuasion; and therefore they were zealous, and industrious to gain more and more to their party; to get ground, because of some concessions, or rather, back slidings, that had been made; Oh, say they, The People must be regarded, and one way or other, we will please them: But, what says our well-resolved Apostle, These insinuating Zealots, have a kind affection; but it is not well; let them talk never so much of Comprehension, the result of all must needs be Exclusion; either they will Exclude you, or us; for the whole and sole Design is, that you might affect them: Let no man blame me therefore, that I will not in the least give way, but still I will keep the right hand of fellowship, for I have laboured more than all the rest; that I am so exceedingly zealous for the Gospel, which I have preached unto you, that you should stand in it, because I have delivered no more than what I received, and that according to the Scriptures; and is there not a Cause that I should be thus earnest? especially is not the cause good? Yes surely, it is good to be always zealously affected, affected provided it be in a good thing; why not we, as well as they in that which is bad? I could wish even you, my Galatians, in the same circumstances with myself, and that not only out of Fear, because of my Authority, when I am present with you; but out of love to the thing itself, when I am absent from you.  
This is the Scope and Coherence of the words; in which an account is given us both of a good, and a bad Zeal, as they are contradistinguished from, and to each other; the one is condemned, and the other is commended, and that in general, because of these two qualifications in each of them;  
(1.) That which is bad, is commonly of Persons; either to make a party, they affect you, to be added to their Number; or, to Magnify themselves, they would that you should affect only them.  
(2.) That which is good and commendable is always 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a good thing; that is, it is guided by a good Rule, managed upon a good matter, and directed by a good intention.  

To be a little more close and particular; The two Verses will be the Subject of two Discourses: for the first, which is a Description of a bad or a wicked zeal; it is described to us to be, not as it should be in these particulars.  
First, In relation to the Object; Zeal is reprehensible when it is of Persons, not of Things 〈◊〉 of Men, and not their Graces; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they zealously affect you, you your very selves; not any thing that is good in you, nor any good that is toward you.  
Secondly, In relation to the Subject; when the Affectators of this kind, are not rightly qualified, either as to affection, or intention; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adverbs either crown, or debase our Actions;— They Zealously affect you; but not well.  
Thirdly, In relation to the Zeal itself; when it is such a kind of Zeal, as does directly in its consequence tend to Separation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they would either exclude you, or us; that is separate us from you, and you from us.  
Fourthly, Yet once more, Zeal is Bad, in relation to the Zealots themselves; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when they would fain set the Church on Fire, to warm themselves by the flameof it; by thus gaining Disciples, not so much to their Cause, as to their Party; yea, chief in this, every Zealot plays a private game by himself alone, from the rest of his Company; whilst they thus many times supplant one another, in gaining Proselytes, each man to himself; wishing that the people might affect them.  
And, is not all this exceeding wicked? in such a Maze of Ungodliness, a Mystery of iniquity as this, how shall they that are approved, be made manifest? we had need to look about us seriously, and to bethink ourselves, who may be in the company conversing with us; such as may have a Zealous affection for us, but not well, since their Design may be altogether Exclusion; only that they themselves might be affected: But notwithstanding this, let us hearken to our Blessed Apostle, see him here watching for the souls of these Galatians, even in their own way counter-working the Designs of the enemy; far he is from approving a Laodicean temper, of being neither hot, nor cold, the temper of such whom God shall one day spew out of his mouth, and whilst they live, they are a loathing to all good men; he would not have us be like Ephraim, a Cake that is dough baked; but, he takes Occasion from the industry of the Adversary, to recommend to them, and to us all, the like Diligence, and that with as great an earnestness, assuring them, that it is good to be always zealously affected in a good thing; and so much the better, and the more commendable, if it be, not only when their Apostle is present with them: 

In which words, in order to the commendation of a pious and a holy zeal, we have Two parts,  
1. Approbatio ipsa; The Approbation itself; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. It is good to be zealous.  
2ly. Ratio Approbandi; The reason of that Approbation; and that taken.   

First, Ab Objecto; From the Object. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. it must be in a good thing;  
Secondly, Ab Habitu; The Habit must be as unlimited, as the Object is universally good; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it must be always.  
Thirdly, Ab Occasione; From the Occasion of expressing; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to show, that it is a fixed habit unalterable; it will chief take that occasion to express it; when there is most need of it; when the Spiritual Apostle, or great Pastor is out of the way; it is nor an eye Service before men; but, it is pleasing God: as our Apostle here to his Galatians;— Not only when I am present with you.    
This is the sum of the Text, and of what I have to Discourse from it.  
First, Let us stand a while, and as it were, from the Pinnacle of the Temple behold our danger; let us be careful that we do not in the least miscarry in slipping aside, or in falling away from our own steadfastness: zeal at the best, is but the excrescency of Love, when it may either be true or false, and therefore we find it no where commanded as a Duty; but, if it be rightly qualified it is praise worthy, as being Good; it is a pure flame, kept alive and bright in the Ocean; it is that fire of Love which many waters cannot quench: And yet, sometimes it is the overflowing of the Gall, and the result of bitter, cruel hatred; it is as it were fire under the pot, when the Stomach boils, and the mouth foams; out of the abundance of the heart the mouth does speak; and whilst wicked, envious and malicious thoughts do blow the coals, both tongue and face are on a flame, the hands are ready to smite with the fist of violence, and the feet are swift to run the ways of Mischief, whilst the passionate zeal which drives, is like the Driving of Jehu, somewhat too furious, though the cause of God be pretended for it; we may examine it by these particulars.  
1. Consider we the Object of such a Zeal; certainly it is then reprehensible, when it is of persons, not of things; of Men, and not their Graces; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. They do zealously affect you; you, your very selves; not any good that is in you, or any good that is toward you,   

A zeal of Persons; and those may be of these three sorts; The Clergy; The Laity; or, Persons in a more mixed and refined Relation; neither one, nor the other particular so considered; but a certain juncto, or a knot of acquaintance.  
First, A Zeal of Persons; that is of the Clergy; of Ministers and Pastors: just as it was in the Church of Corinth, notwithstanding their so many Religious heats, too certain a sign of Divisions and Schisms amongst them; when some of them were for Paul, some for Apollo's, and some for Cephas; without any regard to God that gave the increase; This was an argument that they were not Spiritual, but Carnal. It is a certain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mark by which we may know those that will not endure sound Doctrine, when 2 Tim. 4.3. after their own lusts they heap up Teachers to themselves, having itching ears.  
Here a giddyheaded Generation of men were to be reproved, who look so much upon the Preachers countenance, that they have no regard unto his message; who cannot be contented with what whole some food is provided for them at home, but they seek out delicacies abroad; Nay, many a Pastor has been prejudged, before he has been heard to speak, to see his first behaviour and reverential address is enough to scare a wicked sort of People out of the Congregation; and then they wander after whom, they tell you, they can profit most by; Oh! This is a formal, heavy, and a superstitious fellow; but such a one is a precious, Soul-searching Preacher; as if they were the proper judges of what is best, and fittest to be spoke to them; and though it may be the same word of Truth which is delivered by both, yet the word of God must be restrained, as if it hung only at such, or such a persons Lips. It is an avouched Maxim in the Practice of Medice's, that if we do but Fancy the Physician, the Physic will work kindly; but this proceeds, rather from the Patient's Distemper and misapprehension of things, than either want of skill in the Physician, or of approved virtue in the Medicine prescribed: They, who are able to make so exact a judgement upon the abilities of their Teachers, would do well, if out of a Principle of humility and self-denial, they would look more at home, and examine their own hearts, and not so unreasonable accuse either the Word of God, or his Messengers lawfully sent unto them, because they cannot, as they phrase it, profit under the means; when the ears do itch, more than they tingle, it is a sign the brains are not settled, and the heart is not sound; there may be a zeal to heap up Teachers, but such a zealous Affection, in having men's persons in admiration, to the Disparagement of others of the same order, is not well;— They zealously affect you, you the Clergy; but not well.  
Secondly, A zeal of Persons, that is, of the People; and that is chief blamed in this Text; They who would have the Precepts of Moses observed, to the subverting of the Christian Institution, They zealously affect you, you the People; but, not well.  
Here we may take cognisance, of the perfect humour and Design, of all  Schism and Sedition; it is that they may be with the Multitude, and that the Multitude may follow them to do evil; hence some are neither afraid, not ashamed to court and compliment the vices, and the Factions of the People; and secretly, they insinuate unto them, that their zeal for the purity of Religion is commendable; that they do not tie themselves up too closely to humane observances is but the just vindication of their Christian Liberty, and they are to stand fast to that Liberty in which Christ hath made them free; forgetting all this while, that our Saviour's Discipline is a Yoke, although it be light; and though it be easy, yet still it is a burden, and we are to be meek and lowly, and learn of him to take this yoke, and this burden upon us, in the sustaining of which yoke, in the cheerful bearing of which burden, we shall find rest to our Souls. It was one and the chief moral cause of the Gospel thriving so much in the World at first, that the Professors of it, though of different Persuasions, were subject to their Heathen Emperors and Governors in the love of them, and in the fear of God: But, a lass now the Design is quite another thing lean we but bring the People into a dislike of the Rulers, that are set over them in Church or State, by pretending a love and an affection for them, a tender regard forsooth to the Liberty of the Subject, pitying them, because they are held in durance, we shall soon find, (though not sinking under our weights and pressures) that we have strength enough, to break off the Yoke, and cast away the Burden, nay, to spurn at those who would lay it upon us. But, let us not be deceived, such evil words, and unworthy practices do corrupt good manners; this is not a love to the Souls of the People, but a designed drawing them into temptation and a snare; notwithstanding, the kindness such persons may pretend; their great zeal for the People of the Lord, I appeal to our own late sad experience, whether the chief aim be not, that they may get up themselves and ride, and then most cruelly and disdainfully they trample all under foot? Rohoboam's little Finger, was heavier than the Loins of Solomon; we might possibly once have been chastened with Rods, but they vexed us with Scorpions; while they broke our easy Yokes of Wood, they made for us heavy Yokes of Iron, and the Iron entered into our very souls; " No Men (they are the words of out late Martyred Sovereign) are prone to be greater Tyrants, and more rigorous exacters upon others to conform to their illegal Novelties; then such whose pride was formerly lest disposed to submit to the obedience of lawful constitutions, when their licentious humour most pretended a Conscientious Liberty: It is not therefore, for any good that is in you, or to you, that they are so kind, they zealously affect you, you the People, but not well.  
(3.) A Zeal of Persons may be reprehensible, when it is of Persons in a more mixed and refined relation; neither Clergy, nor Laity particularly so considered; but a certain Junctoe, or a Knot of acquaintance; whose name may be the very same with those who are blamed in the Text, Gnostics, that is, Sciolists, great pretenders to, and proficients in knowledge, though it be that which puffeth up; these are the only Vertuosoes, not in Arts and Sciences, but in Religion itself; to that purpose, like Simon Magus of old, they give out themselves to be some Great Ones, the only Power from God, and the only Reason of Men amongst us; and so they have ingenuously resolved not to approve of any thing which is not done from amidst their Consistory or Rota, be the performance, of itself, never so excellent and pious: These are they who have called into question the Fundamental Articles of our Religion, (or would have them laid aside, since they are not solicitous that a Catalogue should be known of Fundamental Truths) as if a Reason could never have been given of our Faith and Hope, till within their time; and because their new thin-spun speculations do startle some of a more wary belief, presently they talk big, insignificant words of passion, prejudice, education, (its wonder they do not upbraid us with our Catechism,) and too blind a zeal for antiquity, as if all Religion and Learning were born with them, and the Sun did first shine at their Nativity. Such a sort of smothering Zealots as these, who have raised a Smoke, and yet suppress the Fire, are more dangerous than any of the former, since we know not where to find, or which way to go about to quench the flame, till we are almost throat led and choked: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Devil has his name from science, and from him the darkness is borrowed, such a one as may be felt, whilst a thick mist has been cast upon known, received and fundamental truths, and we are entertained with nothing but cloudy speculations, and all out of a fond pretence to restore the mind of men to their pristine liberty: Thought they tell us is free, and so free, that we find nothing, but vain imaginations, the immediate consequence upon the first fall, God made man upright, and he sought out many inventions: These, while they differ from themselves many times in their apprehensions of things being alone, yet carrying on one common design for a liberty in speculation, if not to the subversion, certainly very much to the ecclypsing of truth, and the seducing of unstable minds, they lay aside their private opinion of things which they had when they were alone, and are all of them in public, lovingly of one and the same persuasion: These are the Men, who prescribe to us Rules of Universal Charity and good nature; and forget their own prescriptions, they have not the manners, to forbear censuring and carping at the integrity of a well ordered Conversation; in so much, that when any one appears in the Discharge of his Duty, to tread the beaten path of Truth and Piety, the old way, because the good way; and as yet amongst all their new inventions, they have not found out a better, such a Ones Devotion is Mechanical, to be sure he shall have the censure, of being concerned for what he has nothing to do with, though obliged both by Oaths and reiterated Subscriptions, it is much if they do not spend some of their Satirical wit and ungodly laughter upon him.— God forbidden, that I should intent an invective, farther than becomes a just and a pious reproof; and they of whom I speak, being the only sophies of the world, I am secure that they will not impute this zealous frenzy unto too much Learning; if I am besides myself in this;— I will be more; it is for God's sake, and this poor Church as the strictness of whose Discipline and Order, amidst all their Comprehensions, is excluded; sorry I am with all my heart, that what I have farther to suggest are so much the words of Truth and Soberness: Whilst we do seriously consider the present growing Atheism, how that every thing both in the Doctrine and Practice of our Religion has been reduced to a mere notion and opinion, though we may charitably persuade ourselves, that it was neither the Design or Intention of some men to promote so much wickedness; yet in the nature of the thing itself, no cause can so properly be assigned for that general looseness in the lives of men, as the too great Latitude and Scope that has been given them in their notions and speculations: when once it shall be publicly maintained, that humane nature was not impaired by the fall of Adam, but rather improved, and so in a state of Perfection; and that ever since our first Parents did eat of the Tree of Knowledge, every man as he is Rational Creature, has power given him both by God and Nature, or by Nature, which with some is God, to call every thing, nay the Articles of his Religion into question, we may justly fear that we have thus argued ourselves not only into a doubt of our Faith, whether there be such a Theological grace, or no? (for they have affirmed our Creed, not to have in all respects, an influence on Morality,) but likewise out of the Practice of our Piety; since for aught we know it may be thus pleaded and retorted upon us, by the young blustering Bravadoes, of our times, from the principles above specified, that we are put into the world to live like other Creatures, so that the Precepts of Mortification signify but little, whilst Nature intended that we should be swayed by the impulse of our humours, and the impetuosity of our Constitutions. Oh that this might give occasion to some to lay their hands upon their Mouths, and their Months in the Dust! To take off this scandal too sadly given, and very justly taken, it would much become the zeal of the late Restorers of our humane freedom, if they would in their lives give an example of strictness and of Order; that they would confine themselves a little to the rules of Duty, and not show themselves so indifferent, by a Partial Obedience, whether it be to Divine or Humane Constitutions; And likewise that they would be pleased to be a little more Diffusive of their Charity, their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let see a little more of that sweet Disposition, which, from the Platonic Theory, we hear so much talk of, that modest kind of humble Doubting, which renders men affable and courteous in converse, willing, and ready to hear, and receive the truth from any one; and that they would not be so eager upon the product of their own fancy, in proposing their private hypothesis for the standard of public Truth; but withal, that they would consider themselves to be in the body, as well as they say so of others, yea, and some have found out gross Vehicles for their souls; possibly they may have something of passion or prejudice, or at least too much kindness for those of a like education and acquaintance; it were to be wished, that they would be careful, lest the affection they have for one another's persons, do not Canonize each others mistakes against and above all Canon whatsoever; a partial zeal engaged for a particular sort of men, be they who they will, it cannot be good, it may be a zealous affection, or affectation rather; But, it is not well, And so I pass to the second thing   

In which Zeal is reprehensible; and that is in relation to the Subject, when the affectators of this kind are not rightly qualified as to affection, or intention; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They zealously affect; but, not well.  
The question was cautelously put by Jehu, however, he was afterward mistaken in the management of his zeal, when Jehonadab the son of Rechab came forth to meet him and salute him, 2 Kings 10.15. Is thy heart right, as my heart is right? and he answered, it is; then was it a fit opportunity to call him up to him into his Chariot, that he might see his zeal for the Lord of Hosts: unless the heart be right, zeal degenerates into hypocrisy, and he that strains himself to act a passion upon the Stage, for that while is as great a zealot as such a one, who would fain make the world believe, that he is transported upon the account of his Religion, when neither his affection is real, nor his intention sincere.  
(1.) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are Zealously affected, but not well, whose affection is not real; such whose Zeal is rather Jealousy than love: and this seems to be the proper import of the Phrase in the Text; sumpta Metaphora a Procis Zelotypis; Zelotypiae causa Paulum rivalem pseudo-apostoli non patiebantur: Beza in loc. The false Apostles who disturbed these Galatians in their Faith, were jealous of St. Paul as their Rival, lest he should too much win and gain upon the affections of the People; and therefore they must needs be Zealous too, and preach Christ out of strife and envy, supposing so to add affliction to the other persecutions of this Blessed Apostle. We find in Ezekiel's Vision, chap. 8.3. That in the same place where was the Image of Jealousy, that prevoketh unto Jealousy; behold the glory of the God of Israel was likewise there: Sad it is that there should be cause to invert the Prophet's Vision thus, The Glory of the God of Israel is too much pretended, where there are nothing but Images of jealousy erected, and by uncharitable surmises and suspicions, strange provocations unto Jealousy are fomented; Thus, in the words of a late excellent pen, Zeal is many times both a Fire and Fan unto itself, being blown by the ambient airy desire of applause out of a fond conceit of some selfish excellence, and an evil eye upon the gifts and happy endowments of another. True indeed, we may covet earnestly the best gifts, yea, and especially that of Prophecy; but then our emulations in reference to these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ordinary gifts of the holy Ghost, bestowed by virtue of their Mission upon such as are diligent in the work of the Ministry, ought not to be with a sour and a supercilious eye upon the better parts, or more happy success of our Brethren; covet we may, and that earnestly the best gifts, but yet says the Apostle show I unto you a more excellent way, 2 Cor. 12.31. and that is Love and Charity which is the Bond of all perfection; Should we have the tongues of Men and Angels, and yet want charity, we are like a sounding brass, and a tinkling Cymbal; what is the gift of Prophecy, the understanding of all mystery, and of all knowledge? without charity it is nothing; charity envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things: since then there are some whose Zeal has burnt up their Love; they are so suspicious lest others should go before them, that they overshoot themselves; we may pity them, because they are in a distemper, and wish that they will return to a right and a sober mind; but we cannot at all approve of such jealous ardours as these, which spend themselves only that they may make a greater braze than is at their neighbour's fire, in such a case the Affection is not Real, and therefore the Zeal is to be suspected; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is not well.  
(2.) Men are Zealously affected 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but, not well, when the Intention is not sincere; and this is the result of the former; where the heart is not right, void of a true affection, there the main drift and scope of any action must needs be amiss: A Man may show a Zeal to himself in his earnestness for his Religion, when it is more out of love to himself then to the thing which he professes, as in the Text, being willing that you should affect them: Nay, though it be a sad aggravation of the sin, yet there is just cause to fear it, that many are Zealous out of a Design to Subvert and Supplant Religion, when it is not established according to their humour, and to bring an evil report upon the way of Godliness. Such are they who decry Profaneness and Debauchery so much, that they forget Rebellion and Disobedience to be a sin; who attribute the immoralities that are in men's lives, to a certain Discipline restored in the Church and Government in the State, and not to the general corruption of humane nature, unhappily worse depraved amongst us from the Principles of Libertenisme in the late days of Rebellion first raised, and since too much fomented; So that these zealots have no reason to reproach us, that the former days were better than these, as if it were possible that God and his glory could be then more regarded, when Tyranny and Usurpation was in the Throne, Sacrilege and profane invasion in the Church, Robbery and Oppression in every Street, Sequestration and unjust Possession almost in every Estate; And yet, now we are Governed by a Law of Love, every man sits under his own Vine and Figtree with great delight, and our God is, or may be worshipped in his Temple, and there in the Beauties of his holiness, now there is a King in Israel every man doth that which seemeth good in his own eyes:— Pudet haec opprobria! Sad it is, I confess, that there should be any in the strength of such restored and renewed Mercies, who provoke a Gracious God to anger, and give occasion to the adversary to blaspheme: but, this does not excuse their malice, who upon this account are ready to seek opportunity to themselves of showing their Disaffection to the Government both Civil and Ecclesiastical, rather than their Zeal for Piety and Holiness: To these, I have only this to say, notwithstanding their pretended sanctity, they cannot brag over much of their honesty; even to this day we observe it, that they are a subtle, crafty, and a supplanting Generation; And to all the world, I do here profess it, that upon thorough search and examination amongst all the divisions and separations that are in the midst of us, could I but any where find a way of Worship and Religion, that does in the principles and prescriptions of it more promote Holiness of Life, and that according to the great precepts of Living, (to wit) Piety, a constant never ceasing Devotion to God; Honesty and Charity to men, though to our Enemies, and to our own Disadvantage (a thing which our cunning adversaries do not so much mind, for when their interest comes in the way, they can make bold with the eighth Commandment; nay, there have been some who have told us, that it is almost a note of Reprobation, to be a mere Moral Man,) and Temperance and Sobriety to ourselves, than the Religion of the Church of England as now in its Discipline it is established, does promote, I should presently be of another persuasion; but till this can be made out, we must suffer the word of exhortation; that we take heed of the enticing words of such whose zeal for a holy life, is a Design to draw us into Disobedience and Rebellion; no one can complain, that we are hindered now in our Religion; in our Schisms we are, because they are damning sins; but we have as great and solemn opportunities of serving God now as ever, not with the neglect of Sacraments, as it was in those former days they tell us of, for above Sixteen years together; and it will be an aggravation of our sin, if under these glorious enjoyments we are both unthankful, and unholy; but in the mean time we must be careful, that our zeal be not froward, and peevish; we may mourn in secret for any Abominations that are committed, amongst which, this is none of the smallest, in that there are a wicked sort of People in the midst of us, who have an invidious eye upon the Vices of the Age, surely Cham's Curse will one time or other fall upon them, whilst with so much Discontent they do maliciously declaim against the sins of the times; nay, Proclaiming some of our Virtues to be Sins; Woe unto them, for they have called Good, Evil, only out of a wicked design to reproach our restored and established Religion; such as these may be zealously affected, but not well; for all that they aim at, is to promote Shisme, Faction, and Separation, which is the   

Third Thing in which zeal is reprehensible; and that in relation to the Zeal itself, when it does in its direct consequence tend to a separation, and disunion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. They would exclude either you, or us; that is, they would separate you from us, and us from you.  
Coarctare vos volunt; Ver. Syr. They would put a restraint upon you, as to what they do themselves desire; and yet they give you too much Liberty there, where indeed you are really bound; impedire nos aut vos volunt; they would put rubs in your way, hinder you in the obedience of your Faith; and they would hinder us, that we might not go on cheerfully in the work of our Ministry, we cannot fulfil our course with joy. This is that ungodly Zeal, which is here to be reproved that tends to a separation betwixt Teachers and their Hearers; There are a wicked Generation in the World, who think they do God good service in alienating the affections of the People from their lawful Guides; as if it were the only course to make the Flock to thrive, to induce the Sheep to be froward and peevish against their Shepherd, so that they should not know their Pastor's voice: and it is the same Generation too, who are both double tongued, and double minded, that do as occasion offers, detracts the Hearers to their Teachers, as if the Pastor were only then to be diligent in the discharge of his Office, when he is fretting of his Flock; such as these have no other Design, than that the Sheep should leap over hedge and ditch, break through all enclosures, and wander out of their way: These pry into, and observe the Lives either of Priests or People, for no other intent, then to find occasion against either; not so much to imitate their Graces, as to observe their Manners; not to have any regard to their good Works, but to find a flaw, and aggravate their failings: and to diminish from their virtues, whilst with an evil will it is their Practice so to detract from them, that the very Good that is in them, may be evil spoke of: These know that Unity betwixt Priests and People, is the promotion of Uniformity; whilst they go hand in hand together, they do provoke one another to love, and to good works; and it is a joy to those that are set over them, to behold their order: But the Sons of Belial delight in nothing but Confusion; and there is no practice so odious betwixt one man and another, but they will cast themselves upon it, if they may but promote that way of Godliness, which they would have set up, and deny the Power of it, to be any Form but their own: it is their zeal to the fear of God, they tell us, though it has no regard to Love and Unity amongst men; and of this sort are they, who would have us neglect the Assembling of ourselves together, who creep into Houses, and lead Captive the simple and the ignorant, laden with sins, and led away with divers lusts; and yet, they do converse amongst us, as Friends, giving smooth words, whilst War is in their hearts; and they will give leave to their younger favourites coldly, and by halves, to comply with that mode of Worship which is uppermost, to which they are themselves too stiff to bend; as knowing, that such as these by their indifferent slubberly behaviour in Divine Offices, will gain more Proselytes to their Synagogues, though Satan be in the midst of them; and thus a Division and Separation is made, either to exclude the People from the Communion of Saints, that they should be carried away, by an impetuous Melancholy humour, even to excommunicate themselves; or to exclude the Priests of God; that they shall have no comfort in the discharge of their Duty, while they find, that by such Wiles and Artifices as these, the hearts of the People are alienated from them: This is a most desperate Stratagem, it is the fire of zeal, hid and raked together, in the dust and ashes of a hellish Policy; this zeal cannot be good, proceeding from so bad a Principle; it is not lawful to propagate the Gospel of Truth itself by such unworthy Practices as these, how much less, that which is so false and pernicious, destructive of all Discipline and Order, nay, to civil Society, and mutual Love, and Correspondence amongst men: if there be any, as too too many there be, who do thus zealously affect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is not well, for they would exclude either Priests or People; nay, so they may have their design, they care not what becomes of either.   

One Observation more upon this Third thing.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. They would exclude: some Copies have it, as from Erasmus I learn, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and Tremellius renders it, includere; they would include, they would comprehend both you, and us; and yet, their zealous affection upon this account is not well.  
And here zeal is reprehensible in those, who care not much what a medley there is in Religious Observances, so they and their party be included, who are for meeting us half way in hopes to pull us after them; a Generation who will never be contented with whatsoever Concessions are made them till they have again extirpated both root and branch;  iis placeat quibus satis nihil est, that they may be satisfied, who will never have enough, as the Orator: These can be contented that there should be a halting betwixt God and Baal (Baal-Berith, that is in the signification of the Word, a Seditious Covenant,) so long as they may be permitted a fire, be it never so strange, to consume their Sacrifice; who are so indifferent in the Service of God, that, if they may be but Tolerated, they care not how many Religions, or ways of worship there are besides: These are such who tell us, that their Moderation must be known unto all men, but, like the Devil, they quote but half the Text, it is not the Lord at hand; For, in God, his Unity is his Essence, and as there is but One Lord, so but One Faith, One Church, One Baptism. Speak they of an Accommodation? what fellowship has light with darkness? the Light of our Religion shining in the Candlestick of the Church, by a glorious, open, and public Profession of it; With Darkness, the hidden Mysteries of iniquity, the cunning close contrivances of Schism and Sedition? is there any Communion betwixt Christ, and Belial? that is, as the words in their Etymology do import, between Christ, the Anointed of the Lord, and Belial, the Sons of violence and Disobedience? It was an undeniable argument unto Solomon, (who had a most quick sagacious and discerning Spirit, for the wisdom of God was in the Determination) that the woman who was for Deviding the Child, so that both might be sharers of it, could not be the true Mother of it: The Church of England, like a pious and a holy Mother, shows the truth of her affection, whilst her bowels yern upon her Children, in that she would by no means have them divided; they prostitute both their Religion and Devotion, neither have they the Bowels of a Mother, who are so willing and sollicious that a Comprehensive Bill, like a decisive Sword should sever their Profession, in order to make an equal separation; and so in any ways to part stakes with those that are of another Persuasion: True indeed, difference in opinion, should not breed difference in affection; neither doth it in the Constitutions of our Church, whilst we have a Brotherly Compassion for those that are seduced; and do hearty pray, that God would bring into the way of truth all such as have erred, and are deceived: But, when Schism and Sedition once begin to pretend friendship with us, and offers to shake hands, without giving the Church any satisfaction for those sad Divisions which it hath already made; so far from confessing, or acknowledging what is past, that it gins to plead its Merits, that it has been so long quiet, and has done no more mischief, like that wicked Villain, who when he had set a Temple on fire, had the impudence to plead for himself, that his Judges would be pleased to consider, how many Temples he had left standing; I say, when once it comes to this, that Faction must go hand in hand with, nay, demand the right hand of fellowship of Discipline, Order, and Uniformity, farewel then the face of a Church in he midst of us; and I pray God that be not the consequence, upon such wicked Designs; should our Candlestick be removed, though our misery would be exceeding great, yet our sin not so heinous; as that now while it is fixed amongst us, the Taper burning in it, should be mangled, and divided: In the mean while, let us not deceive ourselves, neither God, nor his Church, is to be mocked; they who would divide the seamless coat of Christ, are for a linsey-woolsey, particoloured Service amongst us, what ever zeal they may pretend to Comprchension, that they would take in all parties, and make us so at Unity amongst ourselves; certainly, their Design is nothing, but, that approaching so near, they might with the greater violence justle others down, and so get up themselves, and ride; it is not so much a zeal for God, and for his glory, nor for the purity of the Reformed Religion, as they would have us to believe; but it is, that they might engross all respect, and applause to themselves, as if they only were left alone in the Kingdom, who do sincerely serve the Lord; they zealously affect, but not well; they would for a while include that so at an opportunity, they might altogether exclude you, or us, that is, separate you from us, and us from you; for in truth the whole Conspiracy is, that you might affect them; which is the   

Fourth and Last Observable, wherein zeal is reprehensible; and that again, in relation to the zealots themselves, when they would set the Church on fire, to warm themselves by the flames of it, by gaining Disciples, not so much to their Cause, as to their Party; yea, chief in this, every private zealot may play a Game by himself alone, distinct from the rest of his Company; while they do many times supplant one another in gaining Proselytes to themselves, being exceeding zealous, that the People might affect them.  
And this is the most remarkable Criterion, as well as the truest impulsive cause of a bad zeal: self-love, and desire of applause, together with an eager affectation of having many followers, will transport a man that is Popular, to many things that are not convenient; and this is a Temptation, to which the best of us all may be incident, without a great measure of humility and self-denial: But, when this Spiritual Pride doth puff up a particular sort of men, or in the same rank, one man against another, so that Simon Magus-like Act. 8.13. There should be here and there one, and another, whose business it must be to bewitch the people with their Sorceries, whilst each one gives himself out to be the only Power of God, what is this? but an overweening Zeal that the people might affect, and follow after them, from the least of them to the greatest. Nay, as I have already hinted, it is observable, that seditious persons do many times supplant one another, while some have a more winning, that is, whining way, to out act the rest, and are more crafty in stealing away the hearts of the unsettled and unstable multitude, more out of a love to their persons, than their own espoused Cause: and this is chief then visible, when the gap is made so wide by Division, that the entrance is open; though all hands were united in strength, to pull down the enclosure, yet every man's hand shall be against his Brother, who shall first go in, and take possession of the Field: It was the pious animadversions of our late glorious Martyred King, upon the mutual dissensions that happened amongst his enemies, when both himself and the Ark, was taken Captive, " That those contentions were but the struggling of Twins which before One Womb had enclosed; the younger striving to prevail against the elder; what one sort hunted after, the other sought to catch for themselves; and hence the same Royal Pen gives us this remark; what a benefit their accrues from Unity and Uniformity, " So impossible it is, that the Lines should be drawn from the Centre, and not to divide from each other so much the wider, by how much the farther they go from the point of Union: Brethren in iniquity are not long friends; Herod and Pontius are only reconciled against Christ, when their interests come once to be different, they will again divide, and be insolent enemies; there being nothing harder than to keep ill men long in one Mind; they are loath to be eclipsed, or outdone in one common design; he that gets most of popular applause, is looked upon with an evil eye by the rest; whilst on the other side, they, who are the most expert in framing snares and 'gins to hold the Vulgar Credulity, by seemingly pious stratagems, do hug themselves in the conceit of their own ingenuity, above their fellows, and still they pretend nothing but zeal and affection to those with whom they converse, and all that they may keep the Populacy fast to themselves; They would that the people should affect none but them.  
And thus I have done with the first part of the Text, which is the account given us of a bad and a wicked zeal, described to us from the object of it, when it is of Persons, not of things, of men and not their graces; and those either Clergy, Laity, or persons in a more mixed Relation, a certain Juncto, or Knot of acquaintance, they zealously affect you: from the Subject of it, when the affectators are not rightly qualified as to affection or intention, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. not well: from the nature of the zeal itself, when in its direct consequence it tends to a Shisme, or Separation and Dis-union; nay, though the pretence be Comprehension, yet the design is to exclude you or us, separate us from you, and you from us: And lastly, from the zealots themselves, when their design is to warm themselves by the Church, when it is one fire, to gain Proselytes to their Party, rather than to their Cause; they would that you should affect them.   

Application.  
That we be careful lest we be drawn into temptation and a snare; that we be not deceived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the slight of men, as if the Dice were to be set upon us, and we were to be hectored out of our Religion, as too too many are out of their estates, as it were by the cogging of a die; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. that we beware of the subtlety of the old Scrpent; and the craft of a new Generation of Vipers, who lie in wait to deceive; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that we take heed of the cunning wiles, the curious arts and Methods, the industrious contrivances, the ingenious sophisms of error and sedition: By these two hints, we may both examine ourselves, and be circumspect, as to others; know a false Zeal, should either we be carried away with it; or we may discover it in any one else, should they seduce us by it; And they are these: Is not the Zeal pretended, the product of Passion more than Piety, the result of the Body's Gonstitution, more than a virtuous habit and frame of Mind? and again, is not the Thing for which there is so much Zeal, more the Zealots interest, than his Devotion? Is he not a more laborious slave to his worldly profit, than a diligent servant to his Gracious God?  
First, Is not the Zeal the product of Passion more than Piety, the result chief of the Body's Constitution, rather than of a Virtuous habit and frame of Mind? that Zeal which is the consequence of man's temper is to be suspect for choler; as is moderation for lukewarmness, which proceeds from an easy facile Disposition; we are not to ascribe that to Piety (says a late excellent pen) which a man owes to his Complexion, and think Religion makes him zealous, when it is his Constitution: Not, by the way, but that a Man's Natural Disposition may be Sanctified, and God may, and does make use of our tempers and inclinations in order to his service; yet, there is cause enough of suspicion, when the passions are not regulated, or (in the language of the Apostle, rather than the Philosopher) when we have not crucified the affections and the lusts: that zeal is not kindled by a coal from the Altar, in which iniquity is not done away; the lips are still unclean, when in other circumstances of life, there are the same heats, nothing but choler and anger, and that violent, and long continued, upon every little, or no occasion: They, whose hearts are a sacrifice of holy incense, a pure flame, a burnt-offering, a sweet smelling savour, acceptable unto God, cannot spare any of their heat upon outward provocations; they can pass by injuries unconcerned and be quiet; so God may have his honour entire, they value not their own; they have not given up their understanding to their spleen; love and charity is the Rule they walk by amongst men, and though many times they show themselves concerned in the cause of God, yet it is not so much a fretful humour, running in their blood, as the overflowing and circulation of Grace from the heart: in a word, it is a zeal for God's House, that it may stand, not a design to promote their own house, that it may be exalted higher which doth thus Consume them; and that is the  
Second Note of distinction, whereby we may know, and beware of a false Zeal; Is not the thing, for which there is so much zeal, more the Zealots interest, than his Devotion? is he not more a laborious slave to his worldly Mammon, than a diligent servant to his gracious God? And this is that which renders zeal, though for a good thing, itself to be bad: The Devil thought it a sufficient Plea against Job, that he did not serve God for nought; none was like Job for prosperity, which he knew to be the result of his Piety, God hedged him in on every side; no wonder, if none were like him in all the earth, for his integrity, one that feared God an eschewed evil: Had not they reason, think you, those who made Silver shrines for Diana, to set the whole City in an uproar, in the defence of their great Goddess, in so much that nothing else could be heard for two hours together, but this Outcry, Great is the Diana of the Ephesians, whom not only Ephesus, but the whole world worshippeth? Many men have their Religion tied at their Purse-strings; and, be the thing good or bad, for which they contend, if it once comes to make for their profit, they are soon induced to espouse the quarrel, and they shall manage it with too much eagerness: But, true Zeal for God, and for his Glory is not of so low, and so sordid a principle, it doth not run in the veins of the earth, but it is a fire fetched from heaven, a beam, or a ray from the Sun of Righteousness.  
To conclude; As we are to be watchful of others, that their ignes fatui, their new lights and strange fires, do not deceive us, and carry us out of our way, for they will lead us downward to the Chambers of Death; so we are to examine ourselves, that we be not hurried away with our own impulse, that passion do not overmuch sway us, and interest blind us: Let us but make sure of these two, that the thing for which we are earnest, be in itself just and good; and that our own intentions and designs be holy and pious; that we have no sinister and by-respects, either to get a name in the world, or to make a trade of our Religion; more to serve ourselves upon it, than our God by it; secure we but this, that the thing in itself, and the heart be right; and then, let our Light shine before men, that they may see it; yea, Let us thus be a spectacle to Angels and to men, whilst the one frowning, and the other rejoicing do behold our zeal for the Lord of Hosts; For, It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing: which is the second General of the Text; the subject of the next Discourse, (to wit) the account given us of that zeal which is good.    

The Second SERMON  Verse 18. It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing; and not only when I am present with you. 
THe Prophet Elijah, who was exceeding zealous for the glory of the God of Israel, upbraiding the people with their lukewarmness and indifference in religion, how they feared the Lord, but withal served other Gods, not altogether forsakeing the worship of their Fathers, and yet admitting the abominations of the Heathen, amongst whom they lived, which were a snare unto them, resolved at last to put the whole business to an issue, 1 Kings 18.21, 24. He came unto all the people, and said, how long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him: I, even I only remain a Prophet of the LORD: but the Prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty Men: And, as if he should have said, Let us institute a Sacrifice to our unknown God; let us see what Deity it is, which will have a regard unto his own oblation; Call ye upon the name of your God; and I will call upon the Name of the LORD; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God: At which Determination, it is to be observed, that the Prophet, though upon this extraordinary occasion, would neither by an overhasty anticipation prevent, nor by a tedious delay let slip the Public, solemn opportunity for, daily and ordinary Devotion; But, Verse 36. At the time of the offering of the evening Sacrifice, Elijah the Prophet came near, and said, O Lord God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, Let it be known this day, that thou art God in Israel. Farther, it is remarkable, that the Fire, which at this time came from heaven, was not a sudden Flash of Lightning, which, for the present, struck terror and amazement into the Spectators, and instantly disappeared; no, neither was it a Fire that did Consume the Sacrifice, and no more; but the effect of it was a whole burnt-offering, not the wood only, but the very Stones, and the Dust were consumed, and it licked up all the water that was in the Trench; And the result of all was, that when all the People saw it, in most humble acts of adoration, they fell on their faces and Worshipped, and the Voice of the People at that time, was the Voice of God, and they said, The LORD he is God, the LORD he is God.  
Blessed be our God, that the Prophet Elijah is not left alone; a double portion of his Spirit, though it be a Spirit of Burning, doth rest upon the Prorhets, and the Sons of Prophets, even to this day; let the Sons of Belial be Four hundred and fifty men twice told, and all resolved into a grand Committee about Religion, we need not fear; with Elisha's Servant, let us lift up our eyes to the Hills whence cometh our help, and we shall see, that those who are with us, are more than those that are with them, even the Mount of God full of Horses, of fire, and Chariots of fire, round about the Priests of the most High God; It is the glory of the God of Israel, in the midst of us, and about that Glory, an everlasting Defence; like the Prophet Elijah we put the cause of God, and of his service to this issue; why should we halt between two opinions? it is a broken, not a divided heart, which God accepts; The God that answereth by Fire, let him be God; yet such a Fire, as spends itself upon a proper Sacrifice, neither the Fire strange, nor the Oblation unusual; but a Fire upon such a sacrifice, in which, all the Tribes of Israel are concerned, and that is, the daily Ministration which is to be solemnised at the set and appointed times of the Morning, and of the Evening Oblation: Such a Fire too, as is not of a sudden appearance, or a short continuance, which spends itself in a Blaze, and goes out in a smoke; but a Fire to consume both the Sacrifice and the Altar too, yea, though it be of stone; I mean, those heavenly, seraphical Devotions, and the Pious heart, though once an heart of stone, from whence they ascend; a Fire to consume the Dust, and to lick up the Water; the dust of the Earth is in this regard, worse than stubble, not to be seen, buried in its own embers; neither can the water any longer find a place, all filthy humours, and noisome Corruptions are done away, and there is nothing but a pure bright flame of love which many waters cannot quench: Such as these are the Zealous Ardours for a settled Religion, and the kind fervors in the due Celebrations of a solemn Devotion; which, while the ignorant and unlearned, many unstable People have more diligently observed, they have been convinced of all, judged of all, the very secrets of their hearts have been made manifest, and falling upon their Faces, they have Worshipped God, reporting God to be in those solemnities, of a Truth: surely such a zeal as this, which doth thus contend for the way of Godliness, is not like the mad frenzy of the Priests of Baal, which shows itself only in up-roars and in tumults, whilst in the fray, they fall foul one upon another, cutting themselves with Knives and Lances, till the blood gush out upon them; these are the heats of Brethren in iniquity, a friendship, turned to the worst of hatred, till amongst them many times blood touch blood; whereas that zeal which conerns itself for God, and for his Glory, is the peaceable fruit of Righteousness: it is a coal brought by the Ministration of Cherubims, and Seraphins, those Spirits that are a flame of Fire, with which, both mouth and lips being touched, all sin is purged away; and the zeal, because Permanent and Constant, is therefore Good:— Good, a word that speaks all perfection, as much as finite Being's are capable of; it is what the B. Apostle recommends to the Galatians in the Text, after he had given them an account, in the verse preceding, of the Temper of their Seducers, a description of their wicked Zeal, to pervert them from the Faith; he would not have the Galatians in the last to abate any thing of their Christian Fervours for God, and for his Truth; It is God that answereth by fire, in them, against their opposers and Gainsayers; and therefore let him be God, this fire, let it be preserved alive, yea though St. Paul be absent from them; For it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing; and not only when I, who have authority and a jurisdiction over you am present with you; but out of love to the thing itself, when in my care of the other Churches, I have occasion to withdraw, and to be absent from you.  

In the words, which are the commendation of a Pious and a holy Zeal, we have these two Parts; as I have before mentioned.  
1. Approbatio ipsa; The Approbation itself; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. It is good to be zealous.  
2ly. Ratio Approbandi; The reason of this Approbation; which is .   

First, Ab Objecto; From the Object of it; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. it must be in a good thing.  
Secondly, Ab Habitu; From the Habit, which must be as unlimited, as the Object is universally good; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it must be always.  
Thirdly, Ab Occasione; From the Occasion of expressing it; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Not only when I, your Apostle, am present with you.   
First, The scope of the Text, being such a Zeal commended to us, as is itself a Moderation, that is, a Medium between lukewarm indifference, and  Frenzy; in the general it is laid down, as the Foundation of all, That it is good to be Zealous.— Zeal is many times the Product of a true Repentance, 2 Cor. 7.11. In that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you? yea, what Zeal? certainly then, it is not always itself to be repent of; nay, it was the Command of him, who sat in the midst of the Seven Golden Candlesticks, whose eyes were as a flame of Fire, and his feet like unto fine Brass, as if they burned in a furnace, unto the Church of Laodicea, that Church which was neither hot nor cold Rev. 3.19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be thou zealous, and Repent. Zeal is like the Element to which it is often compared, a good Servant, though a bad Master, a Good Servant, when in subjection to, & in subordination with, that obedience, which we are to pay unto our God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. When we are fervent in Spirit, serving the Lord; but a Bad Master, when it rules, not only in us, but over us, transporting us so much, that we forget, either our Duty to God, or our Charity to our Brother.  
As bad as some may esteem of Zeal, who, care not to put themselves to overmuch trouble for God, and for his service, who consult their own ease, and quiet so much, that they are not solicitous what becomes of the outward Professions, the public attestations of Holiness and Piety; who, are for doing their own business, but nothing else; let the World go how it will, they are not concerned, so they may be permitted a lazy retiredness, and unuseful privacy; yet, zeal is Good, when it walks abroad to be seen of men; when it is not a candle under a bushel, but on the house top, or set upon a hill, the holy hill of Zion, that all the Passengers may behold it, and be directed by it; it is transcendently Good, and that in the three common acceptions of Goodness;— jucundum, honestum, & utile: it is a pleasant Good; it is honest, and of good report; it is every way profitable.  
First, Zeal is Good, that is, it is bonum jucundum it is a pleasant good; though it be the exerting of our passions, there is great complacency and satisfaction in it; whilst we are musing, the Fire burns, and we have no rest, till at last we speak with our tongues, the result of it is great peace to a man's Conscience, when at any time he supposes that he has disburdened his Soul in the cause of God; it is a comfortable reflection upon a spiritual and a holy magnanimity, when a man is satisfied with himself, that he is not afraid or ashamed to speak and write his mind, and to act according to an honest Principle, maugre all opposition and discouragement; when it is rightly qualified, it is an excellent pre-requisite, disposing a man to be a resolute Confessor, or a joyful Martyr, it fits a man to suffer with great joy and gladness the spoiling of his goods, the loss of his life, any thing rather than make shipwreck of his faith, and of a good Conscience: It is not requisite therefore, that a true zealot should be an illnatured person, one that is contented with any thing rather than his present state and condition of life; it is not like the peevishness of Jobs wife, upbraiding its self with its own integrity, as if we had served our God for nought, and washed our hands in innocency to no purpose, therefore upon every little and light affliction we must presently curse God and die; neither is it like the fretting and fuming of Ionas, displeased because God is gracious, because the sentence of judgement against the evil works of the sons of men is not executed speedily, therefore Ionas thinks that he does well to be angry, even unto death; No, there are the comforts of life in the heats of a holy zeal, and that life is the light of God. Nay, further yet, This Supererogating grace (I want a name for it, it is something more than Love, the surplusage of it, not by itself a distinct virtue; for once therefore allow me the expression) I say, this Supererogating grace is not only a pleasant good, that is, warmth and refreshment, Peace that passeth all understanding to the pious soul where it is seated; but it is likewise comfort and encouragement unto others how many have taken fire at such heats as these? to see a Martyr die with courage and resolution, was the great inducement for others cheerfully to embrace the same flames; the Phoenix providing for its succession, whilst it burns itself at the rays of the Sun, is but one single emblem of this, if any such instance can be given; whilst in the Primitive Persecutions the Piles of Wood were made high, and the flames reached up to heaven, by the sweet influences of the Sun of Righteousness upon the sacred dust of Martyrdom, there was a strange unaccountable prolific virtue, Sanguis Martyrum semen Ecclesiae, Christianity did receive as it were a new-birth, sent forth into the world a numerous offspring, too great to be encountered with; in the mean time the slaughtered witnesses for the Faith of Christ, did as it were anticipate their own Resurrection, living again in the pious conversation of such, who taking advantage of their stout behaviour unto Death did embrace the Faith of him who is the Lord of Life. And after all this, true zeal is not only upon such extraordinary occasions, an encouragement unto others; but, even in the ordinary Occurrencies of humane life, it has many times the like influence upon such as have the least overtures after holiness and piety; as the backsliding of many eminent professors, from the paths of Truth and holiness, has been the sad occasion that others have totally fallen away; so, the observance of those who have passed through a fiery trial of affliction, who daily are acquainted with little else but unkind surmises and hard speeches, who are the mark, that every one shoots at, because they are more righteous than their neighbours, they are indeed the lights of the world, held forth at noon day, exposed to the blast of every foul mouth, to the scoff and derision of all that are round about them; yet, I say, closely to observe such persons as these, how piously they walk with God, how humbly they converse with men; not being froward against others, only keeping themselves close up to the rules of their Duty, and the strictness of a holy life; it cannot but enkindle some good wishes in the worst of those that hate and revile them, insomuch, that the most Atheistical persons, when they are serious, will reflect upon themselves, and say, Oh! That we were in such a man's condition! Religion shall never want Proselytes, for such men's sakes as these, for strange is the influence which a Holy Zeal has upon the Lives of men; it being not only bonum jucundum, a pleasant good, that is, contentation and satisfaction to a man's self; but comfort and encouragement unto others; for in the  
Second Place, Zeal is good,— Bonum est Honestum; it is honest in the sight of all men, it is lovely and of good report, it is the usual Character that we give of a zealous person, Poor man he is concerned for that which he can never help, the world will be bad, do what he can; yet doubtless he himself is a very honest, and a well meaning person: and truly so he is, as he is not over-solicitous of being counted singular, or, as the profane phrase it, over-righteous, more nice than wise, so neither is he in the least censorious of others: the faith which he has, he keeps it to himself; neither will he disturb another man's liberty, by his own conscience; he is contented with this private satisfaction, that he doth not in the least condemn himself in that which he alloweth, and since he hath tied himself up to the strict performance of some certain rules of duty, he desires to be excused, that he cannot dispense with himself; he makes himself no Judge of another man's liberty; Only, you must bear with him, if you find him not a little concerned, when he cannot have the same liberty which others take, in that which is worse, and be permitted an undisturbed Piety; when they, who either have not the leisure, or the will, to be religious, want ordinary civility, and will not forbear their taunting reproaches and their ungodly scoffing at the strictness of a well-ordered Conversation: when he finds his Devotion nicknamed for superstition, and the periodical revolution of his Canonical hours, to be branded with the title of a Mechanical Sanctity: It is not absurd surely, but acceptable in the sight of God, and commendable before all good men, to reckon upon Months, Weeks, Days and Hours, wherein to serve our good more strictly and closely than at other times; and to be as well acquainted with these seasons, for religious performances, to know these stations for a holy Devotion, as well as the Sun itself knows his own going down; for, since acts of Religion must be done at some time or other, or in one posture or other, so long as we are in the body, why not rather in such a posture, and at such a time; which Holy Church has consecrated and commanded? at such a time, in which we may hope there are other Christian people putting up the same petitions, and so the Devotion being united, is the more prevalent? (I refer to the Canonical hours of prayer every day:) and yet since all have not leisure, and in some cases God will have mercy rather than sacrifice, he that is piously and Devoutly zealous, as he hath no evil thoughts upon the Omissions of his Brother; so he could wish that his Brother would forbear evil speaking, and slandering his strict perfomances; since surely he walks by a rule, the Church's practice at least is his prescription, without censuring therefore he blesses God, for the opportunities he hath of Dedicating himself unto his service, that God hath put into his hand a price, and given him a heart to use it.— I speak this the rather, because of late, Devotion has been obliquely accused, as if it rendered men crabbed and censorious:— " Men of Devotion (says one amongst us,) when they have once form in themselves a perfect model of the will of God, and have long confirmed their mind, by a continual thinking upon it, are apt to condemn all others, that agree not with them in some particulars: This accusation is cunningly and closely laid; First, as if the model for devotion were of private conception; [after they have form to themselves a perfect model of the will of God] No such matter, it is well known, that the Devotion thus struck at, is of more universal practice, it is the Devotion of such, who, according to that way which some count superstition, and a mechanical Religion, worship the God of their Fathers: and then, they who addict themselves to such a Devotion, are apt to condemn those that agree not with them in some particulars; no such matter neither, it is not upon every little piccadilloe that the stomach ●iseth, it is not here or there a particular thing which causeth these eager grudge; but, holy Zeal thinks itself concerned, when things in their direct consequences, all together tend to the exploding of Primitive and of pure Religion; when the strictness of all Discipline and Order is become a byword and a Proverb, the reproach of such who watch their opportunity totally to cast off the Yoke, who care not much to be contained within the limits of their Duty, the Boundaries that are set them for a holy life, in an exact obedience to government, both sacred and civil; however, that zeal, which is not only for, but according unto Godliness, is no enemy unto Charity, it beareth all things, and it believeth all things; till it find itself to be miserably deceived; and then, zeal being provoked to show itself, is honest still, just and upright in the sight of God and Man; it rejoiceth not in iniquity, but persisteth in the truth, exhibiting itself chief in virtuous and holy Actions, spending itself upon the ingenuous arts and contrivances of love, that so it may be Profitable unto all; which is the  
Third Thing, In which Zeal manifests its self as Good; it is Bonum Vtile, a most profitable good; it is profitable for example and imitation; like the Holy Scriptures, the Rule by which it acts, it is profitable for correction and reproof, and for instruction in righteousness. who will ever take that man for his pattern, who is unconstant to himself, he is shrewdly to be suspected for a double-minded man, who is unstable in his ways: But he that sets himself against all opposition to persevere in the way of truth, who hath made his face like a flint (in the Prophet's phrase) neither, will he be ashamed, one that will not give himself the least ease or relaxation from the performance of that which he has learned to be his Duty, one that has no Latitude, as to those things in which, both Law and Conscience do oblige him, such a one is a successful example of courage and constancy unto others, that they do not fall away from their own steadfastness: whilst Daniel prays in Babylon, with his window open to Jerusalem, notwithstanding the danger he was in for so doing, though the Children of the Captivity were in a strange Land, yet having so good a precedent, they could not but think of the songs of Zion. Some are like the Fish Polipus of the colour of the Rock, unto which they cleave, and because so, they are in the common Proverb, neither good fish nor flesh; they tell us, that we must comply with present circumstances, it is disputable, whether God does, and it's certain, Man does not, know future contingencies, and whatsoever they be, by a fatal necessity we must yield to them; the God of Nature does not command, that we should make our lives a snare to ourselves, a prudential un-vexatious obedience, is all that he requires, and this is to be perfect, as our Father which is in Heaven is perfect: This indeed were good Divinity, were a Politician the Dr. of the Chair; but, how it will consist with the plain and simple Dictates of Christianity, we want a Machiavelli, or his soul, by an unheard of Metempsychosis actuating a Leviathan, one who resolves all anorality either into positive Laws, or into present local, though contingent circumstances, to determine the controversy; But, a resolved generous Soul, is not of so temporary a Spirit, his zeal is profitable unto others, because good in itself; every way, and at all times good;— good, because it is pleasant, even the peace of God unto the pious soul; and good, because it is honest, it thinks no evil, but rejoiceth in the truth; and good, because it is a steady example of holiness, of purity, and constancy unto others, without being puffed up in prosperity, terrified in adversity; It remains therefore that this Apostolical Approbation have both an honourable mention, and an hearty entertainment, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. It is good to be zealous. And so I proceed to the  

Second part of the Text, Ratio Approbandi; The Reason of this Approbation: and that,  
First, Taken from the Object: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It must be in a good thing.  
In qualifying and distinguishing the Passions, by their Objects, some are good when their Objects are bad, such is anger and hatred, which are only then good, when they are vented against Sin, Be ye angry and sin not; some are Bad, when their Objects are but semingly good, such is Love and Desire, for it is possible, and we find it often, by sad experience, that we do affect that, which is in itself really evil, only, because it presents itself to us sub specie Boni jucundi, under the specious pretence of a pleasurable Good: But, after all this, zeal is a kind of more mixed Passion, in reference to its Object; take it for envy, when it is bad, when the Object is Good, it is like the unhappy Locusts, that cannot endure to see a green Leaf on the Trees; take it for imitation, or emulation, only when the Object is Good, is that Good also, bonum est ut invideamini in bonis rebus semper; Vars. Syr. It is Good, either that you should be envied at by others, or that you should have some kind strive amongst yourselves concerning things that are Good; there is a pious kind of envy, a holy zeal and emulation, when we do strive, and provoke one another in love unto Good Works, 

To be a little more close and particular; Zeal is good in relation unto a good Object, upon these three accounts:  
1. Because it is there directed by a good rule, the Word of God:  
2ly. Managed upon a good Matter, which bears a due proportion to that Rule:  
3ly. Guided by a good intention; not being over-byassed, or overbalanced by any sinister, and by-respects:— A word or two of each of these.    
First, Zeal is good in relation to the Object, if it be directed by a good Rule, the Word of God. The truly pious Zealiot in all his heats and ardours for the cause of God, is to be very careful, lest he should in any wise, transgress that Rule of Righteousness which is prescribed to him, as the revealed Will of that Master, to whom he serves: though Jehu drove furiously, yet, he was not to be blamed, when he had this fixed resolution, That there should fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord had spoken: There is a thing which is called, a sure Word of Prophecy, to which, we shall do well that we take heed in meekness and in fear, that we do not in the least prevent the impulse of the Holy Ghost within us, moving us to do that which is contrary to the dictates of the Spirit, either speaking in his Word, ruling in the sanctions and determinations of the Church; They then, who talk big words of an illumination, or a Light within them, and yet regard not the Law of God, which should be a Light unto their feet, and a Lantern unto their paths, whilst they offer up strange fire to the Lord, they, and their Sacrifices are abhorred, and God seems, thus to speak to them in the Language of his Prophet, Isaiah 50.11. All you that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk you in the light of your fire, and in the sparks which you have kindled; this shall you have of my hand, you shall lie down in sorrow. Would we examine and try our own, or the spirits of others, whether they be of God, or no? the Word of the Lord is sharp, and piercing, it divides betwixt the marrow and the bones, it searcheth out the depths, and secrets of the heart: That fire cannot be a flame of holy incense to consume the Sacrifice, and to render it acceptable, which has no regard to the Holy Oracle of God.  
Here that zeal is reprovable, which spends itself, either in decrying the sacred Scriptures, as useless; or, in preverting the Scriptures, making them, of private interpretation, to speak what they never intended, such who wrist them to their own destruction.  
First, They that decry the Scriptures as useless, since we are now not to be directed by a line, or by precept, but we are all to be taught of God; of this sort are they who think themselves above Ordinances, waiting only for some secret instincts, some impetuous raptures, to carry them they know not whither, to do they know not what; such, who have laid aside the first Principles of Godliness, they are not to be dealt with; you shall never argue them into a better temper, so long as this melancholy dumpish humour doth transport them, they have this still for a refuge, that they are not free to hear, or to answer you: But, as for ourselves, that we be not led away by the error of these wicked men, it may be urged, (and I cannot urge it too often, the Articles of our Creed into which we were baptised) that as in our Profession, we do believe the Holy Ghost, to be the Lord and giver of Life, and so a spirit of illumination unto the Sons of Men; so we do believe, that he, the same Spirit, spoke by the Prophets, He, the same Spirit, does assist in the Communion of Saints, and therefore we are not to neglect the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.  
Secondly, As for that other sort, who have made themselves the only perpetual Dictator's in Religion, whose humour is the only Light they have for the interpretation of the Scripture, who make the Scripture to be of a private interpretation, speaking what it never intended, who have, against the continued practices of Christianity in all ages, found out a new clew of thread to extricate themselves and others out of some Labyrinths of controversy of their own devising, and do thus betray the simple and ignorant into not only foolish, but dangerous errors, these men act as if they had forgot those Scriptures which they pretend for to interpret, those that tell us, that the Spirits of the Prophets must be subject to the Prophets, especially when they are met together in a holy Communion: They who would take heed to a sure word of Prophecy, must know this first of all; 2 Pet. 1.20. That no Prophecies of Scripture are of private interpretation; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is of a man's conceited, enthusiastical, and sudden explication; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. St. Mar. 4.34. It was the only prerogative of Christ himself, when he was alone, for to interpret; but as to us, the word of Prophecy is not thus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the will of man, we must take in along with us, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. the Analogy of our Common Faith, and the sacred authority of the Catholic Church, as knowing that whatsoever seemed good unto the Holy Ghost, as it is revealed in the word, seemed good likewise to the same Spirit, as it is explained by the Church, and proposed to those who will receive the truth in the love of it, to be matter for their Faith: wherefore the Scripture hath said, I mean St. Paul, in whose writings there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Some things hard to be understood, which the Pride and Tyranny of the Church of Rome, on the one hand, and the unstable peevishness of our Classical Brethren from their Consistory on the other, have wrested two contrary ways, yet between them both, the word of God abideth sure, to wit, that Scripture, which refers us to an Interpreter for all the rest, 1 Tim. 3.15. The Church of the Living God (in all things necessary to salvation, as the words following do imply) is the only pillar and ground of truth; and then he adds the fundamental articles of our Christian faith, without controversy great is the mystery of Godliness, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of Angels, etc. That zeal than is truly commendable, just, holy and good, which is a Zeal according to the Scriptures, a contention for the Faith of God, in them revealed, as they are by the Church delivered to the Saints, which, whilst it doth coufess the Holy Ghost to rule in the hearts of all Believers, does not too hastily pass over the two next Articles of our Christian Faith, in which we also do believe a Holy Catholic Church, and in the Unity of that Church, do join with the Communion of Saints; such a Zeal as this is good, that is, guided by a good rule, by the word of God, as it is proposed and said open by the Church to be a perfect Canon, an exact prescription to tell us what ought to be our Faith, and to guide us in our manners, in all holy Conversation and Godliness.  
Secondly, Zeal is good, in Relation to the Object of it, if it be managed upon a good matter, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon a good thing, which bears its due proportion to that rule: This is that which St. Paul tells us, is the result of the Grace of God, bringing salvation, and appearing unto all, Tit. 2.14. In that, our Saviour gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; The people are then peculiar, and the zeal is singular, when, by the blood of Christ, we are cleansed from all iniquity, so that our works are good. Having once submitted ourselves to the obedience of Faith, and publicly owned it, in the Unity of the Church, every man has so far a Judgement of private Discretion (and possibly not in many cases besides) as to examine his own Actions by that Rule of Righteousness which he hath received, and the rectitude of which he must not in the least dispute. Saul forgot himself and God also, when, in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah, he slew the Gibeonites, 2 Sam. 21.2. These Gibeonites, though but hewers of wood and drawers of water in the sanctuary, were to be preserved because of the Oath of God, Joshuah 9.3, 17. They, who were for exterpating, root and branch amongst us, though they had formerly given up their names to God, and to his Church, in their Promissory Subscriptions, that they would conform to, and not endeavour the alteration of the Religion established; and yet after all this, in their zeal unto the people, did lift up their hands to the most high God, in a most wicked and seditious Covenant (though by Oath they were obliged to a Canonical Obedience,) that they would not only destroy the hewers of wood, and the drawers of water from amongst us, but sacrilegiously take away both wood and water from the sanctuary, leaving us nothing, but a strange fire that would have consumed every thing that was sacred from the midst of us; These men were like Saul of old, of a most bloody house; O my soul, come not thou into their secret, unto their Assembly let me not be united! Cursed be their anger for it was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruel; in their anger they flew a Man, a Man that was worth ten thousands of men! nay two Men, unto which the Ages before did never show the like, Moses and Aaron fell both under the same stroke; in their self-will they digged down a wall, broke through all enclosures to lay our Zion waste, and for these sins unrepented of, and still persisted in, has not our Jerusalem been made a heap of Stones? But blessed be our God, who raised up Jacob when he was small, and have we not seen with our eyes, the reward of rebellious sinners? God hath scattered them in Jacob, they are at this day divided in Israel; thus their sin of Division and Separation is the worst of judgements, from God's permission, upon them, whilst their hearts are hardened through their Disobedience and Unbelief; These are not like David, men after Gods own heart, the Zeal of God's house devoured him, yea. and the Son of David, when he twice whipped the the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple; but their Zeal has been to consume the house of God, either to broke down the carved work thereof, with Axes and Hammers, to destroy all the Synagogues of God in the Land; or to profane those, they leave standing, some evil Angel or other appointed to hover over the Mercies Seat, the Houses of Prayer, made so many Dens of Thiefs; in a word, these are like Saul in the New Testament, before his conversion, Philip. 3. As concerning zeal, persecuting the Church; not like St. Paul having embraced the Faith of Christ, Zealous toward God, in that which is good, herein always exercising himself to have a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward all men:— That in this Digression, whither our unreasonable Zealots, as evil workers, have carried me, I may not lose the scope of my Text, These seditious Gnostics who disturbed the Peace of the Church, by obtruding upon the Disciples Mosaical rigours, and so bewitching these foolish Galatians from the steadfastness of their obedience, (both Schism and Rebellion are as the sin of witchcraft) had a Zeal for God, St. Paul bears them witness, but it was not according to knowledge; or if they had, (as their very compellation signifies nothing less than Science, yet it was falsely so called) the understanding of all mysteries, and of all knowledge, neither was their Zeal mistaken or blind; so much the worse, for it was not according to Godliness; since they were not careful to square their actions by that Rule of obedience, which they did profess; They were zealously affected, but not well: Bu● on the contrary, while St. Paul fights, it is the good fight of Faith, does he contend earnestly? It is for the word of truth which he had received for and delivered to them according to the Scriptures; while he does withstand the adversaries to the face, it is not his forward zeal, or his pious eagerness, but their back-sliding, their frowardness and peevishness, their Dissimulation and Hypocrisy was to be blamed; for this he had secured in the first place, that the thing for which he contended was just and good; and this he was assured of to the last, that having no sinister, or by designs, it was good to be always zealously affected; which is the  
Third, and last Thing, In which zeal is good in relation to the Object, when it is rightly qualified and stated, directed to a good end; because where there is such a pious care that the thing contended for be good, there likewise we do charitably believe that the zeal is guided by a good intention, not being over-byassed or overbalanced, by any sinister or by-respects. The Pious Zealot is many times counted singular; this may be a more charitable reason for the compellation, then is usually urged, He is indeed singular, that is, he is neither double-tongued, nor double-minded, the preparations of his heart are from the Lord. Some men's Zeal is not from an inward principle of Conscience, but some outward reason or motive to incite them, (as was hinted in the close of the former Discourse) either the thing for which they are so zealous, makes for their interest, or else they will make it so, while their design is to get a name, and to appear somebody in the world; or as bad, nay worse than both these, because it comprehends them both, a sordid and an unworthy compliance, for there is a kind of zeal in lukewarmness itself, a Complimental congenial Religion, in suiting ourselves to the company with whom we converse, changing faces with every one we meet, is an hypocritical principle by which too too many act and walk amongst us: These are they who would fain have every one's good word, care not much to venture their credit, to be evil spoken of in the cause of Piety, they are altogether for a good, they cannot go thorough a bad report: and it is observable, that such persons who do thus ambire famam, court every one's applause, seldom speak well of any, but those with whom at present they are conversing, their Detraction is as notorious as their flattery, and be it for their advantage to steal into the heart, to win upon the affections of some leading men, of whatsoever Persuasion, they are as good at their Satyrics as at Panegyrics, they are furnished at all adventures, and can as smartly declaim against, as possibly not long before to another company they did ingeniously commend the same thing: And sad it is, but too notoriously apparent, that such a humour as this doth transport many men in Religion itself, who, because of advantage, can have Schism and Faction; in admiration, Men who have as different Behaviours, as they have Habits, suiting themselves to the untowardness of those with whom they have to do, rather than to the strictness of that profession to which they are obliged by all the ties imaginable; these can urge the severity and Letter of a Law, though it be for Uniformity, strain it contrary to its meaning, against any that will not comply with them in their lukewarmness, that so they may have the less disturbance in the promotion and strengthening of schism and sedition; This is their keeping windward of the Law; It is but their moderation to deviate from an established Rule, pro hic & nunc, according to time and place to suit themselves to the humours of their people, for without a little Dissimulation, their could be neither Living nor Livelinood. But certainly, God has no need of such men's Hypocrisy to Manifest his Glory, nor the Church of their Dissimulation to preserve its peace: He that is a Friend to all Religions, or to all persuasions in Religion, so far, that according to the circumstances of his life, he can engage in, or defend any of them, is in truth of no Religion at all; he is ready to Apostatise with Julian, and should there arise an eleventh Persecution against Christianity, he is never like to be either a Resolute Confessor for the truth he has owned, or a Faithful Martyr for the Faith into which he was baptised; but this will be his sad Conversion, quite contrary to the blessed alteration which was in St. Paul, Is not this he that preached Christ? but now he destroys all those who call upon that name, delivering them up to bonds and imprisonment, even to death itself: God grant that we may never know such times, as will put these men to their trial; and he preserve and continue his Church in Unity and Uniformity amongst us, that it never stand in need of them to be Champions for its Faith or Discipline; But whither such an eager industrious solicitude of being indifferent, of appearing all things to all men, wresting St. Paul's practice, as bad as they have done his writings, out of a desire not to gain Proselytes, but credit and profit to themselves; I say, whether such a zealous, studious lukewarmness in things sacred and holy, is not in the direct consequence of it a pre-requisite disposing a man to turn Jew Turk Pagan, Infidel, any thing? does not in the formal notion of it promote Atheism, both in practice and speculation? I leave this to the Disputers of this World, to the curious speculative heads of our times, seriously and soberly to consider. But as for us, let us be careful of a Temporary Faith; of a Religion, ours in the profession of it, only because suited to the Climate we live in, and the air we breath in, to the popular breath we daily suck, to the soil of the Country, to the humours of Multitude: Let us be steadfast in our holy Profession, persevere in the way of Godliness, as knowing, that Pure Religion is to keep ourselves unspotted from the World; it is Heavenborn, God on high is Worshipped, and man upon Earth is saved, in the celebration of it; this being our Assurance, that we are accepted, and a comfortable satisfaction to us, that our zeal is rightly qualified, when in the integrity of our hearts and the uprightness of our soul, it is as permanent, as it is passionate; it is the same continued flame, bright and pure to the last, bending itself one way, tending upwards; though it be fire, it is not seated beneath the concave of the Moon, I mean, spent upon sublunary, changing, perishing Designs; but it is cherished by, influenced upon, and clothed with the Sun of Righteousness, and the reward of its Constancy, shall be Everlasting Felicity, for him who is thus piously zealous unto Death, there is laid up a Crown of Life: And so I pass to the   

2. Reason of this Apostolical approbation; and that Taken from the habit; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. It must be always.  
And here, (as in the Application of the first Discourse was mentioned) we must be careful, that we distinguish the habit of zeal from the constitution of the Body, whether it be not the overflowing of the Gall, rather than the result of Grace from the heart? True indeed, being called unto Grace and Holiness, whatsoever were our passions before, they are Crucified now with Christ in mortification, and with him they are risen again, and sanctified unto his service, and so our zeal may at the same time, be in some sort the natural temper of our Bodies, and the pious frame of our Minds; but then, in other circumstances of life, our zeal for Charity must always take place of Passion, neither must the Sun at any time set, somnum nec rixa facit; nor are the shadows of the night to be spread over our wrath, So then, be our Constitution what it will, if in the personal occurrences of our lives, our Moderation be known unto all men, our zeal for God, and Religion, because perpetually the same, is therefore Good.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it must be Always. 
Thunder does root up Foundations, the effects of it are as dreadful, as the noise is terrible; but then the Lightning which doth accompany it, is momentany, it is but a sudden flash, and we see it again no more: There is a Madzeal, or a Frenzy rather; like Thunder, it pretends, that it will clear the air, when it makes the earth to tremble, nothing but Desolation, and overturning wherever the Bolt lights, it makes havoc of all before it, be it never so pleasant or ; but the Lightning transcient, the promising overtures are but some sudden glances, which have more of terror and amazement, than of comfort and refreshment; we see them indeed, or hear of them, no sooner are they seen or heard, but no where are they to be found: whereas a Holy zeal is like the Sun breaking through a cloud, though intercepted with the mists and fogs of error and seduction, yet, it will make its way, and spread the day where  it comes, it ariseth in its strength, and in its beauty, and rejoiceth to run its course; it's going forth is from Heaven, and its Circuit to the end of it again, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof; such a thing is a pious zeal, like unto the Ordinances of Heaven, abiding the same for ever; day after day, tells the World its Piety, and night after night, in a satisfactory contemplation upon its own constancy, showeth unto the Devout Soul, that such a zeal, thus fixed and unalterable, is according unto Godliness. True zeal, is not like Herod's Devotion, who sometimes heard John Baptist gladly, and for his sake, when the humour took him, did many things that were good; it is not like Agrippa's half Persuasion, and yet not persuaded to be a Christian, very near, and so the farther from the Kingdom of Heaven; it is not like Felix his panic fit of trembling, while he hears St. Paul reasoning of Temperance, of Righteousness, and of Judgement to come, soon shaked off in a colder Dismission, go thy way, for this time, when I have a more convenient season, I will send for thee; it is not a sudden motion, an ecstatical rapture, an impetus that may cast Saul himself amongst the Prophets; it is not a hot burning fit which comes and goes as some unhealthy humours ferment more or less in the Body, or wild fancies work disturbedly, and confusedly in the brain; such a zeal as this, which is not constant to itself, is not unlike to saul's evil Spirit, when the Lord was departed from him, it wants David's Harp, the sweet Singer of Israel, the Music of the Sanctuary, and the Songs of Zion to lay it; nay, and as the fit may take him, the Javelin may be cast at David himself, because of his Music though a watchful eye, and a speedy flight may prevent the danger, whilst the hole out of the Wall, is indication sufficient of the madness of the thrower. This is the unaccountable Frenzy of some, whose zeal for they know not what, would knock a man's brains out, only for a wen in his forehead; who drive furiously like jehu, not at all considering what they trample upon, or Desolations they leave behind them; and then, when it is too late they bethink themselves, and look backwards; they tell us, they never thought it would have come to this, they confess, that they have done a great deal more than ever they intended; and at length, after all this mischief, they will now sit down and be quiet, never thinking of ask God forgiveness, or giving the Church satisfaction for the Schisms they have made; now, they are in the other extreme, as indifferent, as before they were violent, lukewarm indeed; the heat, if any is spent the wrong way: But on the contrary, that zeal which is Good, is, with Reverence be it spoke, like unto Jesus, the Author of its Faith, it is the same Yesterday, to day, and for ever; the same yesterday, when it was cherished and countenanced in prosperity; and the same yesterday too, when it was threatened and frowned upon in adversity: the same to day, being restored to honour, and to favour; and the same to day too, should it be laid aside as useless or troublesome, whilst Schism and Rebellion is to be cajoled, if not rewarded: the same for ever, owning the Axiom to be true, though the deduction somewhat hard and disingenuous, that They, who have already been approved in Affliction and Tribulation, so manifesting their Piety to God, their Allegiance to their Prince, and their Devotion to the Church, act by one and the same Principle still, and this Principle will keep them honest, must therefore the constant performance of their Duty, be the only reward of their zeal? and that zeal, is yet again, the same for ever, ready to encounter all manner of difficulties, as if it had never been disobliged; such a zeal is good, which is thus permanent, it is like the fire upon the Altar, a constant flame of love, before it's kept alive, whilst hid in the Embers of its own loyalty and fidelity under, it breaks forth to its wont brightness and lustre, after Captivity; though it consumes the Zealot, yet it changes not; and after all that has been said, the word in the Text is emphatical, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. It is Always one and the same; and though sometime reflecting upon itself with comfort, it may innocently and justly have an eye to the recompense of reward, whether temporal, or eternal; yet it is not an eye service, as before Men, it is a holy zeal, out of singleness of heart, as pleasing God; which is the   

Third and Last Reason of this Apostollical approbation, taken from the occasion of expressing it; not only when I, your Apostle, am present with you.  
That zeal which is Good, though its habit be as constant, as is the Object of it, universally good, it is always the same temper and frame of mind; yet withal, it is discreet, as well as vehement; it will then chief take occasion to show itself, when there is most need of it, when the Spiritual Apostle or Pastor is out of the way; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not only out of fear, because of my Authority and jurisdiction when I am present; but out of love to the thing itself, should I be absent from you. This is that, which our chief Apostle, as having the care over all the Churches, the great Doctor of the Gentiles did give in charge, in most of his Epistles to the several Churches which he had planted, That they should be careful to manifest unto all the World, that they had received the Truth of the Gospel, in the love of it, in that their steadfastness to the Faith, be one and the same, though he should not be locally present with them, shaking the Rod of his jurisdiction over them: thus were the Church's Centures to be managed at Corinth, upon the incestuous person, 1 Cor. 53. I, verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one to Satan: and to the same Corinthians, who took it for granted, that the Apostle had a coercive power over them, he gives them their option, that according to their Behaviour, during his absence, so should his Presence with them be, 1 Cor. 4.21. What will ye? it is in your own power, to make me welcome at my coming; shall I come unto you with a Rod? that is, in the severity of Discipline over you? or, in the spirit of Meekness? in the affability, and courteousness of conversation with you? and what was wanting in the Corinthians, this same Apostle commends as praise worthy, in his Colossians, Chap. 11.5. Though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, joying, and beholding your Order, and the steadfastness of your Faith in Christ: It was the same Caution which he gave to the Philippians, Chap. 1.27. Let your Conversation be as becometh the Gospel of Christ; that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, striving together, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is, contending with eagerness and zeal, for the faith of the Gospel, and to these Philippians also, with this caution he gives them witness, bearing Testimony for them, that they had been constant, thereby to encourage their future perseverance, Chap. 2.12. Wherefore my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: By all which it is evident, that that zeal is to be suspected for Hypocrisy, which is only suited to time, place, and person; which is then exerted, when such persons are present, who, either have a power over, or an influence upon us; but these being withdrawn, immediately we grow as cold, and as indifferent as ever: the Ruler having turned his back, the Servant presently altars the Copy of his Countenance. It was an Heathens advice, that we should imagine ourselves in the presence of Socrates, or some other rigid exemplar of virtue, which may be a restraint upon us, that we do not at any time transgress the Rule of our duty; but that Philosopher came nearer the Dictates of Christianity, who gave us this in Counsel, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pythag. Aur. Carm. That above all things we have a Reverence for ourselves alone; that we do not at any time commit the least action, at the performance of which, as thoughts may trouble us, our hearts misgive us, and consciences may presently fly in our faces; that we do not that in our most close, private retirement, which we may be afraid, or ashamed to own, should we be made a spectacle to Angels and to Men; It is not he that commendeth himself in the sight of men that is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth, 2 Cor. 10.18. However then, we may, and aught, in some doubtful things, which are not much material for us to inquire into, resign up our judgements to our Superiors in the Church; yet, we must be careful that we do not give up our zeal to the inspection of those that are set over us; in this we must study to approve ourselves in the sight of God; and not of Man.  
Here, They are to be reproved, who can suit themselves to as many ways of worship, as they have Masters in Religion; like slavish Minions, altogether at other men's beck; they serve as it were an apprenticeship in their Devotion; only before men; not in singleness of heart, as in the sight of God, who trieth the reins, and searcheth out the Deep of the heart, These are they who urge the spirit of meekness in an Apostle, to be a sufficient plea for them in their lukewarmness; and because some whose business it is to Govern, do walk by certain rules of prudence, of which they are the best and only Judges, (let them look to it, for none but they shall answer for it, if the wisdom of the Serpent devour the innocency of the Dove, if their Policy get the start of their Piety,) therefore every one who is in sworn subjection, must take liberty to deviate from an established Rule; and yet these very men take it ill to be esteemed but half faced professors of Conformity; no, when there is need of it, or the Audience requires it, persons so and so qualified being in presence to countenance it, they can be as hearty, and as zealous for an exact solemnity as the best of us, and who dares mistrust them for other than most genuine, and dutiful Sons of the Church?— Such as these who are thus carried away with a Dissimulation, they are to be withstood to the very face, for indeed they are to be blamed; however men may be deceived by them; yet let them know, that God is not to be mocked; They may insinuate themselves into favour and into power for a while, as being fit instruments for any Design; Men who can venture upon any thing to please those whom they call Patrons and Benefactors;— Vivant & in senatum veniant, let them live, and enjoy their reward here, whilst the Man, whose principle is integrity, this the root of the matter to be found in him, awaits for his in another world; it is the Lord our God who seethe in secret, and without great repentance shall reward the Hypocrite, of which none so bad as the Dissembler in God's services, with shame and everlasting contempt: Nay, these pitiful, threadbare policies, a man may see thorough into the Mystery of iniquity, they are like Cobwebs, though in the Palaces of Princes, on a sudden swept away; whereas the honest and the upright heart, which in all the Occurencies of Life looks upon God as its guide, has a regard to him as its Judge, and from him expects an eternal reward, this is that principle at the bottom which will carry a man thorough all extremity, and keep his head above water, though the billows roar about him: Do we not even in this life many times see Confusion sit upon the face of base servile Spirits? the Devil owes them a shame, and e'er they go hence many times he pays them part of their wages; But, behold the perfect man, and mark the upright, the beginning, the continuance, to be sure the end of that man is peace.  
To Conclude; Let your your zeal as well as your Moderation be known unto all men; and the same argument to enforce both; The Lord is at hand; all things are naked and bare before the eyes of that God with whom we have to do; he is at hand, near us, within us, and round about us, there is no hiding from his presence, who understandeth all our thoughts long before they are; Cease we from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of; why should our concerns for the eternal Gospel, or the Administration of it, be subordinate to the interests of a temporary momentany service; as if God were either unwilling or unable to be a Rewarder of those who diligently seek him? no, the Promise of God to Abraham, is still a sure word of Prophecy, to all those that are the Children of faithful Abraham; Gen. 17.1. I am the Almighty God, walk before me, and be thou perfect; fear not, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward: As for all tergeversating transgressors, the end of them is, that they shall perish together, the ungodly shall be rooted out at the last; But, Psal. 97.11. there is sprung up a Light for the Righteous, and joyful gladness for such as are truehearted: Behold then, yet once again, the Perfect man, and mark the upright; Or, as our Church in her Liturgy renders that versicle, Psal. 37.38. Keep innocency and do the thing which is right; that shall bring a man peace at the last:— Let us keep innocency, maugre men and Devils, let us walk uprightly in our integrity; and let us do the thing which is right; be sure that our emulations and strive be for a good thing; this shall bring a man peace at the last;— Peace at the last, even the last end of our life, when we shall find heaviness in our flesh, upon our deathbed an undisturbed and a quiet Conscience, when we shall lay ourselves down in peace to sleep our last, with this comfortable reflection, that we have done nothing to contribute to the troubles of our Israel;— and Peace at the last, which shall last for ever, bringing us unto Jesus who is the Author of that Faith, which though fight, in a state militant we have kept; the Finisher of that Hope, which in a tempestuous sea has been a sure Anchorhold, even the Anchor of our Hope fixed in Heaven; and the Prince of that Peace, which as a reward of our valour in the Fight, at our Triumph we shall enjoy, that Peace which passeth all understanding, and is full of Glory: Whilst in the mean time, our Pious and Holy Zeal for Good, which cannot but be good being in the way of Godliness, shall be like Elijah's Chariot (that I may conclude with the same instance with which I begun) a Chariot of flame to carry us from a troublesome evil world, to our Mansions of Rest and Peace; where we shall no longer need to be so eagerly solicitous for God and for his Glory; but, throughout the days of eternity, our Love shall be our satisfaction, nothing else but Complacency, our Delight: To which place of Bliss and Contentment, God of his infinite mercy bring us all, for Jesus Christ his sake, who is gone before to prepare those Mansions for us; To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, three Persons and one God, be ascribed Honour, and Glory, and Blessing with Adoration, World without end. Amen.    

MODERATION AS AN APOSTOLICAL COUNSEL Explained;  Philip. 4.5. 
Being part of the Epistle for the fourth Sunday in Advent.  
Let your Moderation be known unto all men: The Lord is at hand.  
OUr Lord and Blessed Saviour being to come into the world, and to appear a Minister of Reconciliation to the People; sent his Messenger before his face to prepare the way of the Lord, and to make his paths straight; and the voice from God, at that time in the mouth of his Prophet, crying in the Wilderness of Judea was this, St. Mat. 3.2. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Afterward, John being cast into Prison, Jesus, himself went forth and began to teach in every City; and he was, as it were, the Echo to the voice foregoing, the message he delivered being the very same, St. Matthew 4.17. Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand: This John, who came neither eating, nor drinking, sequestering himself from the World, and denying himself, the pleasures of ordinary Converse; our Blessed Master Jesus Christ the Righteous, who came eating and drinking, who lived after the common manner of men; the one in every crowded City, and the other in a waste howling Will derness, Both have the same Lesson to teach, and the same Argument to enforce it; Repent, for, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand: and, though from the days of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force; that is, the fruit of Repentance is not only carefulness, but Indignation likewise, and a holy zeal; though our Saviour himself too, as meek and lowly as he was, came to send Fire upon the Earth, and before his departure hence, what, if it were already kindled? Yet, Jesus being risen and Ascended, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High, his Gospel being strangely propagated, he having given to such as shall be saved by Faith in his name, and Repentance towards God; Love, and Charity, is now the Law by which he will rule and govern in the hearts of all Believers; the feet of those that follow him, or expect his coming again, must be shod with the Preparation of his Gospel, as it is a Gospel of Peace; Et speciosi Pedes, and these feet are to appear Beautiful, that so all may see them; Brotherly Love was the precious Legacy which he left behind him; and this to continue till he come again: so that, the same Motive which gained Proselytes at first, to embrace the Christian Doctrine with Repentance and godly sorrow, is an Apostolical incitation to the several Churches, as they were Planted, that they continue in the Faith which they had received, as knowing on whom they Believed; the Product of Repentance now, is not only to be Indignation, Zeal, and a holy Revenge, but also, the Peaceable fruit of Righteousness; whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, they who embrace Christianity, must think upon, and follow those things; and that because of Christ's Coming, whether in the Flesh, or unto Judgement; in the Flesh, in our Flesh with which he was clothed, The Lord of Heaven is at Hand, and with him, the Kingdom of Heaven also, he being himself the King, and the Kingdom too, he is at Hand, not far from every one of us, carrying our Nature, and our Constitution with him, Sanctifying our Inclinations and Affections, whilst he subjected himself unto all our Passions; unto judgement, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Lord from Heaven is at Hand, to call the World to an account; if for their idle words, surely, for their hard speeches, their heartburning thoughts, their uncharitable Actions, against such as are quiet in the Land, not suffering their Brethren, for whom Christ died, to live securely by them: therefore, considering these things, that the Man Christ Jesus, who came in the fullness of time, shall come again at the end of all time, after which, time shall be no more, to judge both the quick and dead; and withal, lifting up our heads in a comfortable expectation, that our Redemption draweth nigh, and our Salvation is nearer, than when we first believed; what manner of persons ought we to be, in all holy, humble, affable Conversation and Godliness? Let our Moderation be known unto all Men: the Lord is at Hand.  
You see, that our Church has furnished me with a Text every way suitable, not only as to the present time, but consequential upon my former Discourses: though I have already, I hope sufficiently set bounds to a holy zeal, that it do not transgress the law of Love, and Charity; yet, since nothing is more usual, than to urge this portion of Scripture, now read in Defence of Lukewarmness, and since likewise nothing is more incident to our Natures, than that we deceive ourselves, mistaking our Passions many times, too too often uncharitableness itself, for a holy zeal; therefore, as a restriction in the one case, and a due information in the other, following the Church's prescription, the Text is every way suitable, and a word in season, Let your Moderation be known unto all Men, the Lord is at Hand.  

The parts of the Text are Obvious; these Two.  
1. A Duty enjoined; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Let your Moderation be known unto all men:  
2. An Argument to enforce it; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Lord is at Hand.   
2. The Duty is not only enjoined, but recommended also; it is not only to be an inherent quality, or a Disposition within us, that is, Our Moderation; but so Ours, that it may be known; yea, and known, not here and there, to one or two; but indifferently, as the circumstances of our Conversation engage us, unto all Men: whereupon, the Argument to enforce the Duty may be urged; this being the scope of the Text, either in our Church's Selection of it, as part of the Epistle for this day, or in the Apostles intention, as it is wholesome counsel given to these Philippians; The Lord is at Hand, that is, appearing in the Flesh, and whilst so going about, and doing good, proposing himself a pattern of Moderation unto all; Again, the Lord is at Hand, coming to be our Judge, when the secrets of our hearts shall be laid open, not only before the eyes of him, with whom we have to do, not only before our own Consciences, when our own sin, shall itself reprove us, and the iniquity of our heels shall compass us about; but likewise as a further aggravation, either of our shame or glory, we shall be made a spectacle unto Angels and to Men; since the children of darkness, have loved darkness rather than light, therefore to heighten there calamity, and enhance their misery, before their portion of utter darkness shall be assigned them, they, and their deeds of darkness shall be brought unto the Light; that we may therefore stand in that day upright in judgement, lift up our heads then with joy, it will be our prudence, as well as our Piety, now in this time to let our Moderation be known unto all Men, 

That I may not, in too nice a Division, lose the whole scope of the Text, I shall confine my Discourse to these three particulars.  
1. Consider we, what this Christian grace of Moderation is, that we be not mistaken about it in ourselves? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Your, or Our Moderation.  
2. How, and in what particular circumstances this Grace is to be Manifested unto others, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Let it be known; and that, although unto all Men; yet it is not said, at all times.  
3. How the Coming of Christ, either in the Flesh, or unto Judgement, is an argument that we should improve this Grace in ourselves, and manifest it to all; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Lord is at Hand.    

This is the Sum of the Text, and the Design of the ensuing Discourse from these words, Let your Moderation be known unto all Men: the Lord is at Hand.  
First, What this Christian grace of Moderation is, that we be not mistaken about it in our selves? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Your, or Our Moderation.  

And here I shall propose to your Consideration Three Things;  
1. What the word Moderation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in its signification, doth most properly import?  
2. Consider we it as good Counsel given to these Philippians; and compare we it with the other Apostolical advices scattered throughout the whole Epistle.  
3. How this Virtue may be considered, as it was eminent in our Blessed Saviour, who is here proposed the great Exemplar for Moderation?    

First. What this Moderation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in its signification doth most properly import?  
The word being an Adjective Neuter put for a Substantive, and the Article emphatically prefixed, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seems to denote to us, that whatever it may import, it is already supposed to be the fixed habit, and unalterable Disposition of the Mind, and in this place advised to be something more exerted, that so others may be the better for it. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Favorini Lexic. it signifies, the well ordered Disposedness of the trational Soul; when the apprehensive faculties are neither too slow, nor yet too hasty; but, the wiseman has his eyes in his head, and his wits about him, neither doth prejudice possess him, interest blind him, or any by-respect balance him on either side; but in aquilibrio, he is courteously ready to speak, and act so as becometh prudence, modesty, and sobriety: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as the same Critic, the moderate man is meek and humble, he doth recede and give way, he doth not stand too much upon his terms, capitulating either with his betters, or his equals, but being called forth unto company, as our Saviour adviseth, he takes the lowest Seat, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hesych & Favorin. It is a virtue proper to young men, or persons in a middle station, whose best breeding is their Humility, and the sweetness of their Conversation, is their Meekness: if we ascribed to the Aged, and the Honourable, to those that are in Dignity and in Power; than it signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hesych. It is the promoting of that which is decent and convenient; it is affability in those that are conspicuous, and withal, it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Besych. In a Magistrate, or a Dispenser of Justice, it is a courteous impartiality, without being prepossessed, an even and indifferent behaviour in passing sentence, it is what Tertullus the Orator, requested of Felix the Governor, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. A patiented and an attentive hearing of the whole matter, what can be said on either side, and then as the business under debate requires, giving the sentence according to equity: in a word, in Scripture we find it always joined with meekness, and opposed to strife and contention, 1 Tim. 3.3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, patiented, not a brawler; to which the Parallel place is, 2 Tim. 2.24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men; to which I add, as exegetical to all the former, and a paraphrase upon my Text, Titus 3.2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. To be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.  
In all this search, in which I hope, I have been indifferent and impartial; and shall again have occasion presently to improve it, we do not find either in the signification, or use of the word, that the virtue here enjoined, doth in the least imply such a frame or habit of mind, as is a compliance with all men, and all humours, especially in things sacred as well as Civil:— Moderation is that which we call Love and Charity, and Love is the fulfilling or keeping of the whole, not the breaking of any of the Laws of God or Man. A man may yield indeed his own personal right, as far as his own particular interest or profit is concerned; but it is a great piece of injustice, and as the circumstances may be laid, an injury unto a whole Community, tending to the utter Destruction and Dissolution of it, if, under the specious pretence of a good nature, and a sweet disposition, a man should dispense with himself, or (be he in Power) with others, as to that obedience which is strictly due, and peremptorily required in a Legal Constitution: it is true, Moderation is the result of Wisdom, and of an honest prudence; but then, it should be that wisdom which is from above, which, if it be peaceable amongst men, yet it is pure in relation unto God; in the Epistle of St. James, Chap. 3.17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. it is gentle, and easy to be entreated; and yet, though readily persuaded, it changeth not, it is not unconstant to itself, as it is full of mercy unto others, so it is likewise of good fruits at home; as it is without partiality in affection, so it is without hypocrisy in intention; this is the fruit of Righteousness, sown in peace, of all those who make peace.  
Secondly, Consider we this virtue Moderation, as it was good and wholesome Counsel given to these Philippians, and as it may be compared with those other counsels, scattered throughout the whole Epistle. To these Philippians it was a virtue recommended, after they had newly embraced the Faith of Christ, and were to meet with sundry afflictions, and various troubles; Chap. 1.29. Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; they lived amongst those, of whom the Apostle had told them formerly, and now with tears, Chap. 3.18. That they were enemies to the Cross of Christ, whose God was their belly, whose glory was their shame, who minded earthly things; this was to be their Moderation, Chap. 11.15. That they be blameless, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation, among whom they were to shine as lights; and upon this account, in their patience, they were to possess their Souls, not to cast away their hope, though afflicted; but, let it be known unto all men, that this was their comfortable expectation through many tribulations, that they should enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; and this they were to be assured of, that whatsoever afflictions did befall them, as they were for their sins, and why should men complain, men that are alive, for the punishment of their Sins? so, were they for their trial too, that patience might have its perfect work, neither should their hope make them ashamed, this is the hard usage, which they that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must expect, even the Rod of the Wicked, sometimes upon their backs; and the Righteous must be careful, that upon this, they do not put their hands forth unto iniquity, and so return to folly; Let us examine him with despitefullness and with torture, saith the ungodly oppressor, Wisd. 11.19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That we may know his meekness, and prove his patience: So then, this grace Moderation, as it is here recommended, implies valour as well as meekness, whilst it is gentle, it is courageous too; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Sylbury. Etym. It's Concomitant may not improperly be a steadfast Hope, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Gloss. It is not in the least inconsistent with, nay, the very word itself doth sometimes import, a generous resolvedness, a well-grounded  Constancy; and therefore, it is the APostles advice to these Philippians, Chap. 1.27. That they should stand fast in one Spirit, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, striving together for the faith of the Gospel; Chap. 3.16. Whereunto any of them had attained, they were to walk by the same Rule, and to mind the same things: And, ver. the first of this Chap. They were thus his dearly Beloved, and longed for, his Crown and his joy, in that they stood fast in the Lord; thus, while the Apostle recommends to his Philippians Moderation, a Spirit of Love and Charity towards all men, he gives them this likewise in advice, ver. the 8th. of this Chapter. That they follow things that are true and just in themselves, as well as honest in the sight of men; things that are pure, as well as those that are lovely, or of good report; if there be any virtue, as well as if there be any praise; and this chief to be their Moderation, that they think upon, and do those things: And after all, and throughout all, that they be sure to have an eye to him, and to his both work and reward, who is to be their pattern, the great exemplar for Moderation; Chap. 2.3. Let nothing be done through strife, or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem of others better than themselves; let the same mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; In the Text, Let your Moderation be known unto all men; The Lord is at Hand; which is the  
Third Thing I propounded, to wit, the consideration of this virtue, as it was eminent in our Saviour, who is proposed here as the pattern for our Moderation: the Lord is at hand; whilst, converseing with our Flesh, he went about doing good, humility was his clothing, and love was his delight; 2 Cor. 10.1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. the Moderation of our Saviour was his Meekness, as a Lamb, he was led unto the slaughter, and as a Sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth; being reviled, he reviled not again, being persecuted he threatened not, and yet, though dumb and answering nothing, it is said of him, that before Pontius Pilate, he witnessed a good confession; silentem videmus non audimus confitentem reum, his silence was no argument of his guilt, but of his well-resolved constancy, his courage and fortitude was all the while as evident, as were his Meekness and Gentleness, and throughout all, he committed himself and his cause to God alone, that that judgeth righteously: We therefore being to learn of our Saviour, who was meek and lowly, must be careful that our Moderation be manifest, as was his, in the personal occurrences of our lives: His Moderation was not in the least a Dispensation granted either to himself, or his Disciples, from that Subjection which he acknowledged to be due to the Jewish Polity, whether Sacred or Civil, under which he lived: No, in such cases it behoved him to fulfil all Righteousness; he wrought a Miracle, rather than he would not pay Cesar his due, and his command to his Disciples, was to hear those who sat in the Chair of Moses; (to sum up what I have elsewhere delivered at large) he went up to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast, every year; and though once the Pharisees enquired most eagerly after him, what; will he not come unto the Feast? his presence immediately took off those suspicions, and told them, and all the World, that his Principle was Conformity; he kept the Feast of Dedication, though of humane institution; this being an argument, both of his innocence and his Piety, that he could thus defend and plead for himself to the very last, that he was daily in the Temple, and in the Synagogues; and that in secret he had said nothing: But then, where his Person was in the least concerned, there his Moderation was conspicuous; to show, that he was no enemy to Cesar, he withdrew himself, when the People would have took him by force, and have made him a King; he never road in Triumph, but once, and then it was to his Passion; and at the same time when he owned himself to be the King of Israel, he publicly professed, and denied it not, that his Kingdom was not of this World; true, he was Crowned, but with Thorns, the Sceptre in his hand was a Reed, the Purple Robe upon him, was the Robe of shame, his humility was his greatest honour, his Cross was his Throne, the Proclamation of his Majesty was at Golgotha, and whatsoever truth might be in the Title, St. Mar. 15.26. The Inscription over his head, is styled his Accusation written, Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews: This is he, who is thus proposed to our imitation, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the Cross, and despised the shame; this was his Moderation (Chap. 11.7. of this Epistle) in that he made himself of no reputation; He took upon him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of man; and being found in fashion as a Man he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. And thus I have done with the first thing I proposed to you, What this Moderation is, that so we be not mistaken about it in ourselves? Your, or Our Moderation, it is no Indifferent lukewarmness; and here I have made a search into the signification of the Word, into the Recommendation of the virtue, as it doth consist with those other Apostolical Admonitions given to these Philippians, throughout the whole Epistle; and into the Example proposed to our imitatirn, our Blessed Saviour being a pattern as of Meekness, so of Integrity: thus, let our Moderation be known, as was his, not in a dispensation, or relaxation from our Duty, but in the personal circumstances and occurrencies of our Lives or Deaths; the Lord is at hand: and this brings me to the   

Second Thing proposed; how? and in what particular Circumstances this grace of Moderation is to be manifested unto others? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let it be known.  
Though the injunction is, that it should be known unto all men, yet it is not said, at all times: And here, in the first place, we are to be careful, that in our Moderation, there be no Affection, lest it degenerate into flattery and hypocrisy; it is indeed to be seen of men, not that we, but that God himself may have the Glory of it: our Moderation is to be exerted, just as our Alms are to be dispensed, not with a Trumpet sounding before us, that men may have our good nature in admiration; but our left hand must not know what our right hand doth, so shall our Heavenly Father, who seethe in secret, reward us openly. To appear all things unto all men to gain the more, is not a virtue for every one to be trusted with, it seems fit only for an Apostle to practice, who, in his whole Ministration is more immediately assisted and directed by the Spirit of God; and this practice of his too, if we rightly consider it, was only in such circumstances wherein the Doctrine of Christianity was like to suffer, or be promoted according to the more or less wary Dispensation of it, betwixt Mosaical Judaisme, and Philosophical Gentilism; and therefore we find the same Apostle, when he withstood St. Peter to the face, because of his Dissimulation, thus to vindicate himself throughout his Ministry, Gal. 2.18. That what ever misapprehensions some might have of him, or misconstructions they did put upon his Practices, he did not in the least build again the things which he had destroyed, and so make himself a Transgressor: But now, the Gospel is so far propagated, that as soon as we are come into the World, our Names are given up to Christ in Baptism, and with our first Milk we may suck in the Principles of Godliness, being weaned from our Mother's Paps, we are sent unto the Church's Breasts of consolation, The Scriptures of God, which are able to make us wise unto Salvation, hence we may suck the sincere Milk of the Word, and grow thereby, and whatsoever variety of Persuasions there be now in Religion, they do not proceed from our different estate, before our receptation of it, but from the different interests of Parties so and so affected under its Administration, having espoused a quarrel, they are too tenacious of it, they are unwilling to to forego what they have eagerly maintained: herein therefore, is to be the great expression of our Moderation, that we stand fast to the profession of our Faith, and hold it peaceably in the Unity of the Church; keeping, as the Apostle directs, the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace; that we have a tender regard to those that are gone aside. of some, we must have compassion, making a just, and an equal difference; and others, we must endeavour to save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; and yet all the while we must be careful, that we keep a strict watch over ourselves, hating the Garment whech is but spotted with the Flesh, St. Judes' Epist. v. 22.23. Thus must we make it our daily Prayer, as the Church directs, that God would bring into the way of truth, all such as have erred, and are deceived; and for ourselves, that from all Sedition, false Doctrine, Heresy, Schism, and Rebellion, our good and gracious Lord would deliver us. Would we convert a sinner from the error of his way? it is not to be done by going astray with him, and bearing him company, and so endeavouring our own steadfastness; for how do we know but that he may seduce us, as well as we hope to regain him? but, it is a Pious endeavouring to restore such wand'ring Sinners, as have wandered either from God, their Father, or the Church their Mother, in a Spirit of Love and Charity: there is no reason, that to make sure of Moderation, we should let go our own integrity; that to show our love to our Brother, we should forget that Charity which we own unto ourselves; that in keeping his, we should lose our own Peace; that in Love to any men's Persons, we should court their Vices, have their errors and their failings in admiration, and so much the worse, if it be because of advantage: 2 Tim. 1.7. The same God, who hath given unto his Servants a Spirit of Love, hath given them likewise the Spirit of a sound, and of a sober Mind: Gal. 6.1. Do we see any that is overtaken with a fault? herein consists our Christian Moderation, that we consider ourselves, lest that we also be tempted; and out of a Principle of good Nature we must not venture to run out after him; but, says the Apostle, You, who are yourselves Spiritual, do you restore such a one in the spirit of Meekness: in the Parallel to my Text, Titus 3.2. In whatsoever station of life God has placed us, we must labour to show all Meekness unto all men; 2 Mac. 9.2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Moderation is a kind of holy philanthropy, by which, abstracting some particular respects, not so acceptable unto ourselves, we can prosecute all with whom we have occasion to converse, with love, as Knowing them to be of the same Make with ourselves; that they, and we are all of us in the Body; and yet for all this, every one of us must faithfully abide in that Calling wherein he is Called in the Lord, watching thereunto with all Diligence and Perseverance. After all that has been said, though all men have a right to our Moderation, the Holy and the Good, that they may rejoice with us; the froward and the perverse, that they may be won by us; our friends, that they may go hand in hand with us; our enemies, that they may be reconciled unto us; those who are our Superiors, to whom we have submitted ourselves, in the fear of God, our equals, with whom we do converse in the love of Christ; and our inferiors, to whom, an example of meekness and sobriety, alluring them to the ways of holiness, by our affable, and acourteous Behaviour, in the strictness of a well-ordered Conversation; yet I say, though this Grace is so universally, so impartially to be made manifest unto all, there are mollisma tempora, certain times and seasons, in which it is most amiable, and it is part of Christian prudence so to exert it, that it may appear beautiful and lovely unto all in its proper season; the present circumstances are to be consulted seriously, lest our Moderation do degenerate into a sordid and a sneaking compliance; an Holy Zeal must sometimes have its perfect work, as well as Patience: when once Remissness gets the upper hand of Order, God himself is neglected, whilst his Divine Offices are perfunctorily, carelessly, and slubberly performed, when the public Solemnities of Religion are, if not laid aside, yet so managed, as if they were altogethar needless and to no purpose, the Moderate Man may mourn in secret, and by his silence, at such a time manifests his prudence; because it is an evil time; but, this seems to be, rather an opportunity for courage and constancy in the Resolute, that the world may see, that we are neither afraid, nor ashamed of that which some count madness and folly, that we are neither to be complemented by the sly Politician, nor Hectored by the profane Atheist out of that Faith which we have professed, and wherein we stand: In a word, this is our Moderation, when in affliction we are not froward, under discouragements we are not discontented, when we can love those who persecute us, and are ready to do good to those who do despitefully use us, when we count it all joy, that for righteousness sake, we are evil thought of, or evil spoke of, when we are not over-solicitous of every ones good word; but, should God and his Truth require it, we can venture through a bad report, to show our Constancy and Perseverance; and though the Moderate Man walks circumspectly, not as a fool, but as wise, endeavouring to approve himself to the Consciences of those, with whom he has to do, yet his heart doth neither mis-give him, nor reproach him; as his humility is conspicuous, so his integrity is solid; if he does approve himself; it is that the Lord may commend the singleness of his heart, and the integrity of his Soul; even the Lord who is at Hand: And so I press to the   

Third and Last thing propounded (to wit) How the Coming of Christ, either in the Flesh, or to Judgement, is an Argument to us, to improve this Grace of Moderation?  
The Lord is at hand; just now gone from us, lately appearing in our Flesh; And he is at hand, in like manner to come again; the day is approaching in which God will Judge the World, by the Man whom he hath ordained, even the Man Christ Jesus; and the Apostle doth in another place join both these together; (to wit) that the consideration of Christ's first Coming should have this effect upon us, that we live in a continual expectance of his Second; Tit. 2.11, 12. " The Grace of God which bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world, (Moderation is but one comprehensive word for all these) looking for that blessed Hope, and the glorious appearance of the Great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.  
First, Let your Moderation be known unto all men; the Lord is at hand, not far from every one of us, lately appearing in our flesh, having Sanctified our inclinations and affections, whilst he was subject unto like Passions with us, being in every thing tempted, as we are, yet without sin: we might indeed sometime have been foolish, deceived by, and deceiving one another, Status Naturae status Belli, in this sense, we were by Nature the Children of Wrath; not only in relation to God, whom we had provoked, but also, in relation to each other, delighting in violence and oppression; But, Tit. 3.4. After the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward Man appeared, we are freely justified by his Grace, and made Co heirs together according to the Hope of Eternal Life; and this is that which we must Persevere in, since we have believed on God, that we be always careful to maintain good works, and those, such which are not in the least Destructive, but every way profitable unto men; let every one, that nameth the Name of Christ Jesus our Lord, depart from all iniquity.   

Our Saviour in the Flesh, God incarnate in his Birth, throughout his Life, but chief at his Death, was not only a most successful example, but a prevailing argument for our Moderation.  
First, His Birth was, the Son of Righteousness, arising with healing in his wings; it was through the tender Mercies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. through the Bowels of the mercy of our God, that the Dayspring from on high did visit us; and this is our Happiness consequential hereupon, that being delivered from our Ghostly, and our carnal Enemies, we may serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives; this was the Angelical Hymn at his Birth, that as his coming into the World, was Glory to God in the highest, so it was in Earth Peace, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and good will towards Men: nay further, that our Love upon this occasion might be raised to its due pitch, those words are not unfitly rendered by the Vulgar, In terris pax hominibus bone voluntatis, On earth Peace, unto Men of Good will. And now, shall our Saviour empty himself of his honour, that he may accommodate himself unto us, and we be puffed up one against another? are we not all of us now Brethren, doubtly dear unto each other, both in the Flesh and in the Lord? or rather, in the Lord, who was made Flesh?  
Secondly, Nay, yet again, not only the fruit of his holy Mother's Womb, at his Birth, but the whole course of his Life was nothing else, but a continued labour of Love; could he do any good, were it to the poorest, and the meanest, to the basest, and unworthiest, it was his meat and his drink; he loved much, and therefore all along, though loaded with indignities, he forgave much, he had not where to lay his head, and yet he wrought Salvation wheresoever he came; how glad was he, though in a crowd, that virtue wentout of him! & in this chief was his humility conspicuous, in that he confessed and he denied it not, that He, though the Son of Man, and so the first born of the whole Creation, came not to be Ministered unto, but to Minister, and to give his Life a Ransom for many: And are not we likewise to tread in his steps? is not this the Lesson which hence we are to take out, that the greatest amongst us, be in all good and virtuous offices, as it were a Servant unto all, remembering always the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, that it is better to give than receive; we should therefore from his example be ready to give, and willing to communicate.  
Thirdly, Yet once more, and chief of all, his Death was the Reconciling of the World unto God and to himself; all enmity was slain, when he hung upon the Cross, though bleeding and dying, he was the Prince of Peace; herein the love of God toward man appeared, in that while we were yet sinners and enemies, Christ died for us; And shall we be froward and peevish against one another, vexing and fretting our Brethren, for whom Christ died; the Legacy that he left us, the Boon that he procured for us, was Love and Peace; he could not die till he had expressed his Charity to the worst of his enemies, pitying their ignorance, and praying against their malice, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do; And shall we live in contention, and in strife, as if we had no interest in this common Salvation, this unspeakable great Redemption; what shall I say? To observe the strange animosities and feuds, the contrivances and intreigs of Malice and of anger, by what arts they are industriously promoted, and wickedly fomented, even amongst those, who yet profess their Faith and Hope in one and the same Saviour, would make a man sometimes sadly to conclude, that such men are so desperately at variance amongst themselves, that they are loath to be reconciled in Heaven itself; these little think upon a Saviour, who has made an atonement for them; yea, and though he be sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, yet he is rising out of his place, to judge the World for their iniquity; Oh! why then is not our Moderation known unto all men, since the Lord, coming to be our judge, is at hand.  
Secondly, Christ coming to Judgement, to take vengeance of all ungodly sinners for their wicked deeds, which they have ungodlily committed, is an argument unto us, that if we would then behold our Lord in Righteousness, and with comfort, be satisfied when we shall arise in his likeness, now in this time, we must tread the paths which he has traced for us; follow Peace with, let our Moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand.— The Lord is at hand, either in a particular, or in a general judgement; for I find the Text Commented upon in both respects.  
First, In a particular Judgement; that is, the Lord is at hand, to visit upon the City Jerusalem all her iniquities, whose sad Desolation was to be, not only a forerunner, but a clear Type of the last dreadful Doom: And this is the Paraphrase which the most literal and verbal Interpreters of the New Testament-Text do give upon this, and the like expressions scattered and dispersed, especially, throughout 〈◊〉 Epistolical writings. Christ had foretell the Destruction, both of the City, and the Temple; and this was the expectation of the Christians, looking for the accomplishment of that Prophecy, assuring them, that true was the word which their Lord had spoken, and that with so much vehemence and eagerness, that when he foretold the thing, he said, That Heaven and earth possibly might, but not a little, an iota of the word which he had spoken, should pass away; and verily, faith our Saviour, This Generation shall not pass away until that all these things be fulfilled: this therefore being the general expectation of the New Converts unto Christianity amongst the Gentiles; that Jerusalem's extirpation was nigh at hand, and that their Destruction was to be a day of Retribution, wherein God would recompense unto the People of the Jews, all those injuries and Persecutions which they had raised against Christ and his Apostles, in the Plantation of the Gospel; When you see these things come to pass, lift up your heads with joy (said our Saviour) for the day of your Redemption draweth nigh; that is, in the Letter, you shall be Redeemed, not unlike Israel of old, from Egypt and the House of Bondage, God shall render tribulation to those that trouble you, and my Gospel shall run and be glorified, it shall be Salvation to the ends of the earth; And so the Advice in the Text is very much a word in season, that the Christians be not highminded, but fear, lest they likewise perish; let their Moderation, their universal Love and Charity, their impartial pity and compassion, be known and extended un to all Men, yea, though they have been violent enemies, and cruel, bitter Persecutors, for the Lord, in his particular judgement to the City and Nation of the Jews, which they all so much look for, is even now at hand.  
And is not this Lesson a suitable, serious, and seasonable advice to us likewise? The Lord is at hand; Nay, his hand has been hard upon us, in the day of his fierce anger he opened all his hand; How has the City of David amongst us, even the City of our Father's Sepulchers, been laid waste, and our Jerusalem been made an heap of stones! The Fire of God has burnt, and it has consumed, God spared not so much as his Footstool in the day of his wrath! not his Temple, nor his footstool there, not the places where the steps of a Divine presence meght be traced; were we not almost set forth like the Cities of the Plain, which the Lord destroyed, for an example of terror, and astonishment to the world round about us, suffering in the Type, and the Representation of it, the Vengeance of Eternal Fire? surely, except the Lord of Hosts had left us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah: And now, after all this sore evil which is come upon us, would we have our breaches made up, and places restored unto us to dwell in? would we have the Walls of our City, and of our Temples raised again? Love and Charity is the best Cement in the Mortar, this is the bond of all perfection, even of the Perfection of beauty and of safety: Our Hope is, that the Line of Confusion is not utterly stretched out upon us; and our care must be, that in our compassionate sorrows on the miseries of the afflicted, without an evil eye, either upon injuries received, or sins committed (which we are too willing to remove every one from himself) our Bowels be enlarged impartially, and indifferently to any object of mercy which Providence shall offer to us; what? is judgement begun at the house of God, and in the City of David? laying aside all animosities, uncharitable surmises, and wicked speaking, let every one put to his helping hand, that so the City may once more be called Bethlehem, an House of Bread, because of the Shewbread, even the Bread of our God, continually to be offered up, and dispensed in it; for, unless such be our Moderation, and it be made known unto all men, we have just cause to fear, that our God is still at hand, his hand, not turned away from us, but his Arm of Vengeance stretched out still; or, if Wrath overtake not our hardhearted uncharitableness here, the Day is coming, in which, it will be too late to ask, neither can we presume upon any pity; for, as has been our Moderation, our Love and Charity one to another, so shall be at that dreadful day our Final Doom; Ye have not clothed, nor fed, nor visited, nor Ministered to the necessities of the afflicted, therefore Go ye Cursed; And this brings me to the  
Second and last observable, that the coming of Christ to judgement, as it shall be a General, Universal, and a Final Doom, is an argument unto us, that our Moderation be known unto all men: So that, what the Apostle useth in another Place, as a Motive to constancy in the Faith, is here an incitement to Unity and to Peace in Conversation; 2 Thess, 2.1. We beseech you, Brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that you be not soon shaken in your Mind; yea, and by the same coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the same collection of the Saints together in one unto him, we beseech you Brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: And is it not high time that we should cease from wrath and anger, from evil speaking, and from evilthinking, from backbiting and back-sliding, since that our Great and common Salvation is now nearer, than when we first believed: Rev. 16.15. Behold, says Christ, I come, blessed is he that washeth, and keepeth his Garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame; would we put on the garment of praise at that Day, let us be clothed with humility now; though humility be modest and bashful, yet it is Covering and Fence sufficient against everlasting shame and contempt: They who do abuse this Christian Grace of Moderation, are great pretenders unto Liberty; but as for us, in the Love of men, and in the fear of God, let us so speak, and so do, as those who shall be judged by a Law, that so the Law by which we shall be judged, may be to us, what really it is in itself, a Law of Liberty;— A Law of Liberty, when we shall be delivered from our earthly Prisons, and without obloquy, shall be brought out of those Prisons, to Reign in the more glorious Liberty of the Sons of God.   

The Sum, Conclusion, and Application of all, is briefly this: Let your Moderation be known unto all men; the Lord is at hand:  
That is, the Celebration of his Nativity is now approaching, and his Coming unto Judgement is every day hastening; let us so commemorate the First, that we have all the while a continual Remembrance of the Second: our Moderation let it be known; be in perfect Charity with all men: The Constitutions of our Church oblige us to begin that solemnity with a Sacrament, and that is a feast of Love: again, our Moderation, let it be known, even in our pleasures, and our recreations; twelve days are allotted us for rejoicing, not one of them for chambering, or wantonness, for riot or excess; is not this the Feast which God has chosen, to deal our Bread unto the hungry, to give gifts unto the poor, a portion to six and to seven, to have our hearts and our hands open to the needy, not to throw away that substance which God has given us by the shaking of our elbows. I do confess, that we serve no hard Master: and times of joy, are times of indulgence too, we may eat our bread with cheerfulness, and drink our wine with a merry heart; yet let the World see, that we can be Moderate; let the B. Sacrament which we shall receive upon the first day, be a restraint upon us, that we run not out to excess in any of the rest: Oh! Why should we entertain the holy Child Jesus, yet once again in a stable? with our filthy lusts, and our beastly sins about us? This is to celebrate his Birth, and at the same time to renew his Death, Crucify the Lord of Life again a fresh, and put him to an open shame! whatever therefore may be the Ecstatical raptures, either of serious Melancholy, or profuse Joy, let us be careful that they do not degenerate either into Profaneness, or Enthusiasm, a Moderation betwixt both will do well; that so, neither a morose reservedness, a grim presciseness on the one hand, a debauched licentiousness, a drolling rude Atheism on the other, do transport us to do those things which are not convenient: in a word, while we keep Christmas, we are to think upon the Advent, just gone before, upon the Lent, presently to follow after; the Feast shall be no sooner over, but the Church will call us to Sorrow, Mourning, and Penance, Oh! that we could be sober and watchful, that the reckon betwixt God, and our own Souls, may be kind and easy; the Feast, we see, is ushered in with the Apprehensions of future judgement; let therefore our Celebration of the first Coming of Christ, in the time of this Mortal Life, in great Humility, be no other than our pious, and earnest expectation of his second appearance, when in the Last Day he shall Come in his glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and the Dead; that so this may be the result of all our pious Festivals, and Festival Solemnities, especially this of the Nativity, Christ, as it were Newborn, form in us, and we Regenerate, and Born again to him, and so this to be unto us, the Hope of Glory, whilst our fruit is unto Holiness, The end of all will be Everlasting Life: Thus our Blessed Apostle has backed his advice in the Text with a Promise; Let your Moderation be known unto all Men; ver. 7. And the Peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your Hearts and Minds, through Christ Jesus our Lord, who is the Prince of our Peace, who with the Father of all Mercy, and the Holy Ghost the Eternal Comforter, Lives and Reigneth One God, even the God of Consolation, now and ever; To whom be Glory, Dominion, and Adoration given throughout all Ages, in the Church, by Christ Jesus, Amen; Amen.   
FINIS.   

ERRATA.  
PAge, 40. diligent. p. 48. deal Secondly. p. 51. Vpper-Chambers. p. 54. Verse. Aethiopic. p. 69. recover our first Love. p. 71 deal destructive, etc. p. 75. heard, ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 82. persecution. p. 84. their backs. p. 87. caetum exert. p. 107. reception of the Gospel. p. 108. Orders of Men. p. 118. were there not. p. 120. visibly terrible. p. 127. Boar out of. p. 139. against Providence. p. 143. heel: ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 160. exclude you (or us) that, p. 162. two such potent. p. 166. deal affected. p. 169. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 176. deal as. p. 180. wish that they would. p. 186. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 205. serve our God. p. 209. than it is bad. p. 211. pretend the impulse. ibid. or ruling. p. 213. deal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 216. they left. p. 217. received from. p. 220 the Multitude. p. 227. our thoughts. p. 236. deal (2). p. 139. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. ibid. Hesych. p. 247. reception. p. 248. endangering.