vertue so high in Gods books, could never be so much beholding to mens writings as to obtain a just treatise, which hath beene the lot of many particular vertues of inferiour worth; a plaine signe of too much under-value and neglect.

Hee that shall stedfastly view it, shall finde it not to bee a degree or intension of love, or any single affection (as the Schooles rather confined then defined zeale) neither yet any mixt affection (as the later, rather compounded then comprehended the nature of it) but an hot temper, higher degree or intension of them all. As varnish is no one color, but that which gives glosse & lustre to all; So the opposites of zeale, key-coldnes and lukewarmnesse, which by the Law of contraries must bee of the same nature, are no affections, but severall tempers of them all.

Paul warrants this description where hee speakes of the twelve Tribes. They served God with intension or vehemency.

The roote shewes the nature of the branch. Zeale comes of Ζω, a word framed of the very sound and hissing noise, which hot coales or burning iron make when they meete with their contrary. In plaine English, zeale is nothing but heate: from whence it is, that zealous men are oft in Scripture sayd to burne in the spirit. ζεοντες πνευματι.

Hee that doth moderately or remisly affect any thing, may be stiled Philemon, a lover; he that earnestly or extreamely, Zelotes, a zelot; who to all the objects of his affections, is excessively and passionately disposed, his love is ever fervent, his desires eager, his delights ravishing, his hopes longing, his hatred deadly, his anger fierce, his greefe deep, his feare terrible. The Hebrewes expresse these Intensions by doubling the word. This being the nature of zeale in generall, Christian zeale of which wee desire onely to speake, differs from carnall and worldly, chiefly in the causes and objects.

It is a spirituall heate wrought in the heart of man by the holy Ghost, improoving the good affections of love, joy, hope, &c. for the best service and furtherance of Gods glory, with all the appurtenances thereof, his word, his house, his Saints and salvation of soules: using the contrarie of hatred, anger, greefe, &c as so many mastives to flie upon the throat of Gods enemies, the Divell, his Angels, sinne, the world with the lusts thereof. By the vertue wherof a Zealot may runne through all his affections, and with David, breath zeale out of every pipe, after this manner for a taste;

How doe I love thy Law (O Lord) more then the hony or the hony-combe, more then thousands of silver and gold!

Thine enemies I hate with a perfect hatred.

Thy testimonies are my delight: I rejoyce more in them, then they that finde great spoyles, more then in my appoynted food.

Mine eyes gush out rivers of teares. Oh that my head were a fountain of teares, because they destroy thy Law.

Mine eyes are dimme with wayting: how doe I long for thy salvation?

Thy judgements are terrible, I tremble and quake, etc.

Look what pitch of affection the naturall man bestowes upon his dearest darling, what unsatiable thirst the covetous worldling upon his Mammon, the ambitious upon his honour, the voluptuous upon his pleasure; the same the Christian striveth in equall, yea, (if possible) farre exceeding tearmes to convert and conferre upon God and his worship.

In briefe, to open a little crevise of further light, and to give a little glimpse of heat: Zeale is to the soule, that which the spirits are to the bodie; wine to the spirits, putting vigour and agility into them. Whence comes that elegant Antithesis in the Scripture. Bee not drunke with wine wherein is excesse, but be filled with the Spirit.

Christ is sayd to lead his Spouse into the wine-cellar: which Simily Bernard delighting oft to repeat, in two or three Sermons interprets of a speciall measure of zeale inspired into his Church. Thus (saith hee) Christ led his Disciples into the wine cellar on the day of Pentecost; and filled them, and the house with such zeale as they came forth like Giants refreshed with wine, and seemed to the people as men drunke with new wine.

It is to the soule, as wings to the foule: this also is a Scripture embleme to picture the Angels with wings, as in the hangings of the Temple, and in the visions of the revelation, in token of their ardent and zealous execution of Gods will: whence also they have their name Seraphim; hee maketh his ministers a flame of fire.

To this fire and these wings, which we in the Lords prayer desire to imitate, there is nothing in us answerable but our zeale; as wheeles to the charriot: which makes us not goe, but runne the wayes of Gods Commandements, and so runne that we may obtaine. As sailes to the ship, and winde to the sailes, to which alludes the phrase so frequent in Scripture, Plerophorie.

As courage to the souldier, mettle to the horse, dust to the ground, which makes it bring forth much fruit, yea an hundredfold: vivacity to all creatures. To conclude this, this is that celestiall fire which was shadowed out unto us by that poore element in comparison, and beggarly rudiment, the fire (I meane) of such necessary use in the law, which rather then it should be wanting, the Lord caused it to descend from heaven, that it might cause the Sacrifices to ascend thither againe, as a sweet incense unto the Lord, without which no burnt offering was acceptable.

The Second Part.

But now, as then, there are certaine false fires, abhominable to God, odious to men, dangerous to the Nadabs and Abihues that meddle with them, bringing thereby coales upon their owne heads, & ill favor upon all their services; & not onely so, but that which is worse, an ill report and surmize even 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.

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