A Coal From The Altar, To Kindle The Holy Fire of Zeale - In a Sermon Preached at a Generall Visitation at Ipswich by Samuel Ward
page 15 of 51 (29%)
page 15 of 51 (29%)
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The third, love and humility, exceeds measure.
The first abounds amongst subtile & crafty professours, and is to be abhorred and detected. The second among simple & devout, is to be pitied and directed. The third amongst passionate and affectionate, and is to bee moderated and corrected. The first is the meere vizor of zeale, looking asquint one way and tending another; pretending God and his glory, intending some private and sinister end; first, either of honour and promotion, as _Jehu_, who marched furiously, and his word was the Lord of hosts, but his project was the kingdome. Secondly, at filthy lucre: as _Demetrius_ and his followers, who cried great is _Diana_ of Ephesus; but meant her little silver shrines. It cannot bee denied, but many such there were, who helped to pull downe the Abbyes; not out of any hatred to those uncleane cages, but to reare their owne houses out of the ruines, and spoyled copes to make cushions. _Judas_ complained of superfluity, but greeved it fell besides his bag: many hold temporalities tithes and glebes, unlawfull, because they are loth to forgo them: If _Jezebel_ proclaime a Fast, let _Naboth_ looke to his vine-yard; If the Usurer & Trades-man frequent Sermons, let the buyer & borrower look to themselves. It is too common a thing to make zeale a lure & stale, to draw customers; a bait of fraud, a net to entrap; with malicious _Doegs_, to make it a stalking horse for revenge against the Priest, thereby to discharge their gall at Ministers and other Christians, for the omission and commission of such things, as |
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