as Christ, is betrayed by the covetous Judases of his own family. And the servants of the world, the flesh, and the devil, that take up the livery of Christ, and usurp the name and honor of Christian, do more effectually hinder the concord and prosperity of the church, than any open enemies do. And those that are indeed no Christians, do cause Christianity to be reproached; even as spies and traitors that are hired by the enemy to take up arms in the army which they fight against, that they may betray it by their fraud, and do more harm to it by raising mutinies, and by false conduct, than a multitude of professed enemies could have done. It is proud, and worldly, carnal bypocrites, that hinder most the concord of believers.

LIV. 1. A confirmed Christian is of a peaceable spirit. He is not masterly, domineering, turbulent, hurtful, cruel, seditious, factious, or contentious. He is like ripened fruits that are mellow and sweet, when the younger, greener fruits are sour and harsh. He is not wise in his own conceit, (Rom. xii. 16.) and therefore not over-urgent in obtruding his conceits on others, not quarrelsome with all that cannot entertain them, nor will he easily lay men's salvation or damnation, no, nor the church's peace, upon them. He is "kindly affectioned to others with brotherly love; yea, loveth his neighbor as himself;" ver. 10. xiii. 9, 10. And therefore he doth to others as he would they should do to him, and uses them as he would be used by them. And then how far they are like to suffer by him, you may easily judge. For "love worketh no ill to his neighbor;" ver. 10. He is above the portion of the worldling, and a contemner of that vanity which carnal men account their felicity; and therefore he preferreth love and quietness before it, and can lose his right when the interest of love and peace requireth it. He is become as a little child in his conversion, (Matt. xviii. 3.) and is low and little in his own eyes, and therefore contendeth not for superiority or preeminence, either in place or power, or reputation of his learning, wisdom, or piety; but "in honor preferreth others before himself;" Rom. xii. 10. "He mindeth

not high things, but condescendeth to men of low estate;" (Rom. xii. 16.) and therefore will not contend for estimation and precedency, nor scramble to be highest, though he rise by the ruins of men's bodies and souls. "If it be possible, as much as lieth in him, he will live peaceably with all men;" ver. 18. For he is not one that by word or deed will avenge himself; but when the wrath of others is up like a blustering storm, he giveth place to it, he boweth before it, or goeth out of the way. "If his enemy hunger, he feedeth him; if he thirst, he giveth him drink;" (ver. 19.) when oppressors would deprive not only an enemy, but the righteous, of their meat and drink; and thus he melteth his hardened

enemies by heaping kindness upon them when they are wrathful, and proud, and contentious, and do him wrong, or use provoking words against him; he is not overcome of their evil to imitate them, but he overcometh their evil with his good; ver. 20, 21. If God hath given him more knowledge and abilities than others, he doth not presently set up himself to be admired for it, nor speak disdainfully or contemptuously of those that are not of his mind. But he showeth the eminency of his wisdom, "with meekness by the works of a good conversation," and by doing better than the unwiser do; James iii. 1-13. He is endued with the "wisdom from above, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality," (or wavering in persecution, as Dr. Hammond renders it,) and without hypocrisy. And thus the "fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace;" James iii. 17, 18. As he is "taught of God to love his brother;" (1 Thess. iv. 9.) so that same teaching with experience of the effects assureth him, that they that pretend to be wiser and better than others, when "they have bitter, envious zeal and strife in their hearts, they vainly glory and lie against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work;" James iii. 14, 15, 16. (Read but the story of the Jewish zealots in Josephus, and the heretical zealots in all ages of the church, and you will perceive the truth of this.) When such quarrelsome spirits are filling the church with contentions, or vexations about their meats and drinks, and days, &c., the Christian indeed understandeth that the kingdom of God consisteth' not of such things as these, but 'in righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;' and he that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God, and approved of (wise and sober) men. Therefore he followeth after things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another; and will not, for meats, &c. destroy the work of God;" Rom. xiv. 17-20. He stayeth not till peace be offered him, or brought home to him, but "he followeth peace with all men, as well as holiness;" Heb. xii. 14. If it fly from him, he pursueth it; if it be denied him, he seeketh it, and will not refuse to stoop to the poorest for it, and to beg it of his inferiors, if it were upon his knees, rather than be denied it, and live an unpeaceable, disquiet life; Psalm xxxiv. 14. For he believeth that "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God;" Matt. V. 9.

2. And the weak Christian hath the same spirit, and therefore the love of peace is most predominant in him. But, alas! he is too easily tempted into religious passions, discontents, contentious disputations, quarrelsome and opprobrious words; and his judg

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ment lamentably darkened and perverted, whenever contentious zeal prevaileth, and passions do perturb the quiet and orderly operations of the soul. He wanteth both the knowledge and the experience, and the mellowness of spirit, which riper Christians have attained he hath a less degree of charity, and is less acquainted with the mischiefs of unpeaceableness; and therefore it is the common course of young professors to be easily tempted into unpeaceable ways; and when they have long tried them, (if they prove not hypocrites) to come off at last upon experience of the evils of them; and so the young Christians, conjunct with some hypocrites, make up the rigorous, fierce, contentious and vexatious party; and the aged, ripe Christians make up the holy, moderate, healing party, that groan and pray for the church's peace, and mourn in secret both for the ungodliness and violence which they cannot heal. Yea, the difference is much apparent in the books and sermons which each of them is best pleased with. The ripe, experienced Christian loveth those sermons that kindle love, and tend to peace; and love such healing books as do narrow differences and tend to reconcile and heal; such as Bishop Hall's Peace-maker, and “Pax Terris," and all his writings; and Bishop Davenant's, Bishop Morton's, and Bishop Hall's "Pacificatory Epistles to Duræus,” and "Mr. Burroughs' Irenicon," Ludov. Crocius, Amyraldus, Junius, Paræus's and many other Irenicons written by foreign divines, to say nothing that are upon single controversies. But the younger, sour, uncharitable Christians are better pleased with such books and sermons, as call them aloud to be very zealous for this or that contested point of doctrine, or for or against some circumstance of worship or church discipline, or about some fashions, or customs, or indifferent things, as if the kingdom of God were in them; Rom. xiv. 1, 2. 15, 16.

3. But the seeming Christian is either a mere temporizer, that will be of that religion, whatever it be, that is most in fashion, or which the higher powers are of, or which will cost him least; or else he will run into the other extreme, and lift up himself by affected singularities, and by making a bustle and stir in the world, about some small and controverted point; and careth not to sacrifice the peace and safety of the church to the honor of his own opinions. And as small as the Christian church is, he must be of a smaller society than it, that he may be sure to be amongst the best; while indeed he hath no sincerity at all, but placeth his hopes in being of the right church, or party, or opinion; and for his party or church, he burneth with a feverish kind of zeal, and is ready to call for fire from heaven; and to deceive him, the devil sendeth him some from hell, to consume them that are not of his mind: yet doth he bring it, as an angel of light, to defend the truth and

church of Christ. And indeed, when the devil will be the defender of truth, or of the church, or of peace, or order, or piety, he doth it with the most burning zeal; you may know him by the means he useth. He defendeth the church, by forbidding the people to read the Scriptures in a known tongue, and by imprisoning and burning the soundest and holiest members of it, and abusing the most learned, faithful pastors; and defendeth the flock by casting out the shepherds, and such like means, as the murderers of the Waldenses, and the massacres of France and Ireland, and the Spanish inquisition, and Queen Mary's bonfires, and the powder plot; yea, and the Munster, and the English rage and phrensies, may give you fuller notice of. He that hath no holiness, nor charity to be zealous for, will be zealous for his church, or sect, or customs, or opinions; and then this zeal must be the evidence of his piety. And so the inquisitors have thought they have religiously served God, by murdering his servants; and it is the badge of their honor to be the devil's hangman, to execute his malice on the members of Christ; and all this is done in zeal for religion by irreligious hypocrites. There is no standing before the malicious zeal of a graceless Pharisee, when it riseth up for his carnal interest, or the honor, and traditions, and customs of his sect; Luke vi. 7. And they were filled with madness, and communed with one another what they might do to Jesus;" Luke iv. 28. Acts v. 17. xiii. 45, John xvi. 2. Rom. x. 2. Phil. iii. 6. Acts xxvi. 10, 11. The zeal of a true Christian consumeth himself with grief to see the madness of the wicked; but the zeal of the hypocrite consumeth others, that by the light of the fire his religiousness may be seen. You may see the Christian's fervent love to God, by the fervent flames which he can suffer for his sake; and you may see the fervent love of the hypocrite, by the flames which he kindleth for others. By these he crieth with Jehu, "Come and see my zeal for the Lord;" 2 Kings x. 16. 2 Sam. xxi. 2.

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LV. 1. A Christian indeed is one that most highly esteemeth and regardeth the interest of God and men's salvation in the world, and taketh all things else to be inconsiderable in comparison of these. The interest of great men, and nobles, and commanders, yea, and his own in corporal respects, as riches, honor, health and life, he taketh to be things unworthy to be named, in competition with the interest of Christ and souls. The thing that his heart is most set upon in the world is, that God be glorified, and that the world acknowledge him their King, and that his laws be obeyed, and that darkness, infidelity and ungodliness may be cast out; and that pride and worldliness, and fleshly lusts, may not hurry the miserable world unto perdition. It is one of the saddest and most amazing thoughts that ever entereth into his heart, to consider how much of the world is overwhelmed in ignorance and wickedness,

and how great the kingdom of the devil is, in comparison with the kingdom of Christ; that God should forsake so much of his creation; that Christianity should not be owned in above the sixth part of the world; and Popish pride and ignorance, with the corruptions of many other sects, and the worldly, carnal minds of hypocrites, should rob Christ of so much of this little part, and leave him so small a flock of holy ones, that must possess the kingdom. His soul consenteth to the method of the Lord's prayer, as prescribing us the order of our desires. And in his prayers he seeketh first (in order of estimation and intention) the hallowing of God's name, and the coming of his kingdom, and the doing of his will on earth as it is done in heaven, before his daily bread, or the pardon of his sins, or the deliverance of his soul from temptations and the evil one. Mark him in his prayers, and you shall find that he is, above other men, taken up in earnest petitions for the conversion of the heathen and infidel world, and the undeceiving of Mahometans, Jews, and heretics, and the clearing of the church from those Papal tyrannies, and fopperies, and corruptions, which make Christianity hateful or contemptible in the eyes of the heathen and Mahometan world, and hinder their conversion. No man so much lamenteth the pride and covetousness, and laziness and unfaithfulness, of the pastors of the church; because of the doleful consequents to the gospel and the souls of men, and yet with all possible honor to the sacred office, which they thus profane. No man so heartily lamenteth the contentions and divisions among Christians, and the doleful destruction of charity thereby. It grieveth him to see how much selfishness, pride, and malice, prevail with them that should shine as lights in a benighted world, and how obstinate and incurable they seem to be, against the plainest means, and humblest motions, for the church's edification and peace; Psal. cxx. 6, 7. cxxii. 6. Phil. ii. 1-4. Psal. cxix. 136. Zeph. iii. 18. Ezek. ix. 4. Psal. Ixix. 9. John ii. 17. He envieth not kings and great men their dominions, wealth or pleasure; nor is he at all ambitious to participate in their tremendous exaltation. But the thing that his heart is set upon is, "that the kingdoms of this world may all become the kingdoms of the Lord;" (Rev. xi. 15.) and that the gospel may every where "have free course and be glorified," and the preachers of it be encouraged, or at least "be delivered from unreasonable, wicked men;" 2 Thess. iii. 1, 2. Little careth he who is uppermost or conquereth in the world, or who goeth away with the preferments or riches of the earth, (supposing that he fail not of his duty to his rulers,) so that it may go well with the affairs of the gospel, and souls be but helped in the way to heaven. Let God be honored, and souls converted and edified, and he is satisfied. This is it that maketh the times good in his account: he thinketh not, as the proud and carnal church of Rome, that the