A Coal From The Altar, To Kindle The Holy Fire of Zeale | Page 5

in cruelty, the brand of
the Malignant Church; feede their eyes with Massacres, as the
Queene-mother. No diet so pleasing to these ravening wolves, as the
warme blood of the sheepe. These are they that cry fire and fagot, away
with them, not worthy to live, their very mercies are cruelty: especially
in their owne cause, they heat the fornace seaven times hotter then in
Gods.
[Sidenote: 7 Variable and inconstant.]
Lastly, these Meteors and Vapours have no constant light, or continued
heat (as the fixed starres ever like themselves) but have onely their
aguish fits, & lunatick moods; sometimes in adversity they are good
under the rod, as Pharaoh, againe in prosperity like the fat kine of
Bashan, ingratefull and forgetfull: sometimes in prosperity when the
sunne of peace shineth on them, & the favourable influence of great
ones, they shoot foorth their blade with the corne on the house top,
running with the streame, & sayling with the winde; sometimes their
zeale depends upon the life of _Jehoiada_; sometimes on the company
of the Prophets: commonly in the beginning they blaze like straw-fire,
but in the end goe out in smoake and smother; whereas in their entrance

into profession, they galloped into shewes, and made some girds at
hand, they tire, give in, and end in the flesh, whereas all naturall
motions are swiftest toward their end.
[Sidenote: Be not over just hath 7. expositions heere 2. or 3. more
hereafter.]
The vestall fires were perpetuall, and the fire of the Altar never went
out. Spices and wefts of these evills may bee found in the sincerest
Christians: but they suffer not these dead flies to lie and putrefie in the
precious boxes of true zeale; of all these the Preachers caveat may be
construed, Be not over just, though it may also admit other
interpretations, as after shall appeare.
These are the speciall notes and symptomes of strange fires: the kinds
also are many, and might be distributed into many heads; but I will
reduce them into three, which are known by their names. [Greek:
pseudozêlos], _counterfet Zeale, false fire_. [Greek: tuphlos zêlos]
_blinde Zeale, smoakie fire, or fooles fire, ignis fatuus_. [Greek: pikros
zêlos], _turbulent Zeale, wilde fire_.
The first, wanting truth and sincerity, propounds sinister ends.
The second, knowledge and discretion, takes wrong wayes.
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 themselves care not
for; with the Strumpet in the Proverbs, to wipe their mouthes, and
frequent the Sacrifices, that they may be free from suspicion.
All these evils, have I seene under the sunne-shine of the Gospell: but
by how much, zeale is more glorious then common profession, by so
much is dissembled fervency more detestable then usuall hypocrisie;
yea, no better then divellish villany & double iniquity: such painted
walles and whited sepulchers, the Lord will breake downe. Let all
Timothies & Nathanaels learne to descry them, and discard them: The
cure of this was deepely forelayd by Christ; _I counsell thee to buy
gold tried in the fire_: all is not gold that glistereth, an image of faith
breeds but a shew of zeale; many seemed to trust in Christ, but Christ
would not trust them: but such faith as will abide