A Coal From The Altar, To Kindle The Holy Fire of Zeale | Page 4

on those that offer the right fire, & serve the Lord in spirit and truth: yet for their sakes is the name of zeale blasphemed all the day long.
Against these, as then, so now severe caveats and cleere distinctions must bee laid, lest such as have not their senses exercised to put a difference, mistake poysonfull weedes for wholesome hearbes, to their owne destruction; and for the sake of the one, revile the other to the wrong of God and his Saints.
It fares not otherwise with the soule then with the body: besides the native & radicall heat, the principall instrument of life, there are aguish and distempered heats, the causes of sicknesse and death.
To discerne of those, requires some skill and judgement: yet a good Empirick, a Christian of experience will give a shrewd ghesse at them, the easier & the better if he marke these following signes and symptomes, common to all the kinds of false zeale, here also following.
[Sidenote: 1 Ostentation.]
First, they are deeply sicke of the pharisaicall humor, they love to be seene of men, and say with _Jehu, Come and see how zealous I am for the Lord of hosts_: they proclaime their almes with a trumpet, paint their good deedes upon Church windowes, engrave their legacies upon tombes, have their acts upon record: Thus, Comets blaze more then fixed Starres. Aguish heats breede flushings, & are more seen in the face, then natural warmth at the heart. Schollers count hiding of Art the best Art: the godly man studies by all meanes how to conceale the one hand from the other, in doing well; hiding of zeale is the best zeale.
Secondly, of Ahabs disease exceeding in externall humiliation, affected gestures, passionate sighes, lowdnesse of voyce, odde attires & such like: These know how to rend the garment, hang the head with the bulrush, to whip and launce their skinnes with Baals Priests; and yet strangers to a wounded spirit: not but that true and hearty zeale doth lift up the eyes, knocke the breast, dance before the Arke. Therefore this character may deceive the unwarie; Let Ely take heede of judging _Hanna's_ Spirit rashly by the mooving of her lips: yet hypocrites so usually straine nature and without a cause exceed, and that in publique, and upon the stage, that for the most part, their actions and affections are palpable: as _Jesuites, Cappuchins_, &c. yea in many histrionicall Protestants: Horse-coursers jades will bound, curvet and shew more tricks, then a horse well mettled for the rode or cart.
[Sidenote: 3 Complementall.]
Thirdly, you may know them by their diligence and curiositie in lighter matters joyned with omission and neglect of greater, wise in circumstance, and carelesse in substance, tithing mint, straining at gnats, &c. In all cheape and easie duties, prodigall: niggardly & slothfull in the waighty things of the Law: these have at command good words, countenance, yea teares from their eyes, sooner then a farthing from their purse, having this worlds goods, and see their brother want; these sticke up feathers for the carcasse, beguiling the simple, couzening the world, but cheefly themselves.
[Sidenote: 4 Pragmaticall.]
[Sidenote: 5 Censorious.]
[Sidenote: 6 Cruell.]
Fourthly, these fires cannot keepe themselves within their owne hearths, these spirits cannot keepe themselves within their owne circles. True zeale loves to keepe home, studieth to bee quiet in other mens Dioces: false zeale loves to be gadding, is eagle-ey'd abroad and mole-ey'd at home: Insteed of burning bright and shining cleere; like brinish lights, they sparkle & spet at others, or like ill couched fire-workes let fly on all sides: onely out of their wisdome they know how to spare Agag and the great ones, and bee sure they anger not their great Masters, and meddle with their matches: whereas it is the property of fire that comes from above, to spare the yeelding sheath, and melt the resisting mettall, to passe by the lower roofes, and strike the towred pinacle, as _Nathan, David; Elias, Ahab; John, Herod; Jonas, Ninivie; &c._ Note also in all their proceeding with others, in steede of wholesome severity (which rightly zealous men never come unto but by compulsion, and not without compassion of the offender, weeping with Moses and Samuel over the people, beeing sory with the Emperour, that they know how to write sentences of condemnation) These delight 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