Parochial and Plain Sermons

HE Apostles commemorated on this Festival direct our attention to the subject of Zeal, which I propose to consider, under the guidance of our Saviour's example, as suggested by the text. St. Simon is called Zclotes, vhich means the Zealous; a title given him (as is supposed) fi'om his belonging before his conversion to the Jewish sect of Zealots, which professed extraordinary Zeal for the law. Ayhow, the appellation marks him as disti.nguished for this partictdar Christian grace.,q Jude's:Epistle, which forms part of the service of the day, is almost wholly upon the duty of manifesting Zeal for Gospel Truth, and opens with a direct exhortation to "' contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints." The Coilect also indirectly reminds us of the same dut.:5 for it prays that all the members of the Church may be united in spirit by the Apostles' doctrine; and what are these hut the words of Zeal, viz. of a love for the Truth and the Church so strong as not to allow that man should divide what God hath joined together? However, it will be a more simple account of Zeal, call it the earnest desire for (;od's honour, leading to strenuous and bold deeds iu His behalf; and that in spite of all obstacles. Thus when I'hinehas stood up and executed judgment in Israel, he was zealous for (od. l)avid also, in his punishment of the idolaters round about, and in preparing for the building of tho Temple, showed his Zeal, which was one of his especial virtues. Elij:fla, when he assembled the Israelites upon Mount Carmel, and slew the prophets of Baal, was " very zealous for the Lord God of ]lasts." Hezekiah besides, and Jsiah, were led to their reformations in religious worship by an admirable Zeal; and Nehemiah too, after the captivity, who with the very fire and sweetness of Gospel Love set the repenta.nt nation in order for the coming of Christ. l. Now, Zeal is one of the elementary religious qualifications; that is, one of those which are essential in the very notion of a religious man. A man cannot, be said to be in earnest in religion, till he magnifies his God and Saviour; till he so far consecrates and exalts the thought of lIim in his heart, as al object of praise, and adm.tion, and rejoicing, as to be pained and grieved at dishonour shown to Him, and eager to avenge Him. In a word, a religious temper is oue of loyalty towards God; and we all know what is meant by being loyal from the experience of civil matters. To be loya.1 is not merely to obey; but to obey with promptitude, energy dutifulness, disinterested devotion, disregard of consequences. And such is Zeal, except that it is ever tttended with that reverential feeling which is due from t creature and a sinner twards his Mtker, and t,ward, Him aloue. It is the main principle in all religious service to love God above all things; uow, Zeal is to love Him above all nmn, tbove our dearest aud most intimate friends. This was the especial praise of the Levites, which gained for them the reward of the Priesthood, viz. their executing judgment ou the people in the sin of the golden calf. " Let Thy Thummim and Thy Urim be with Thy Holy One, whom Thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah. Who stid unto his father and to his mother, I have not see, him; neither did lie acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children; for they have observed Thy word, and kept Thy coveuant. They shall teach Jacob Thy Judgments, and Israel Thy Law; they shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon Thine Altar. Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his bands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again." Phinehas was rewarded in like manner, after executing judgment. " Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace. And lie shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlastiug Priesthood, bectuse lie was zealous tbr his God."  Zeal is the very consecration of God's Ministers to their office. Accordingly,  Deut. xxxiii. 8—11.. Numb. xxv. 12, 13.

our Blessed Saviour, the One Great High Priest, the Antitype of all Priests who went before Him and the L)rd and Strength of all who come after, began His manifestation of I[imself by two acts of Zeal. qmn twelve years ohl he deigned to put before us in representation the sacredness of this duty, when He remained in the Temple "while tIis father and mother sought Him sorrowing," and ou their finding Him, returned answer, "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's bnsiuess?" And again, at the opening of His public Ministry, I[e went into the Temple, and " made a scourge of small cords, and drove out the sheep and Cr ' oxen, and overthrew the chaners tables '' that profaned it: thus fultilling the prophecy contained in the text, "The Zeal of Thine house hath eateu hie up." Being thus consumed by Zeal Himself, no wonder He should choose His followers from among the ZeMous. James and John, whom He eMled Boanerg'es, the sons of Thunder, had warm hearts, when He called them, however wanting in knowledge; and felt as if an insult offered to their Lord shofld have called down fire from Heaven. Peter cut off the right ear of one of those who seized Itim. Simon was of the sect of the Zealots. St. l'aul's ease is still more remarkable. He, iu his attachment to the elder Covenant of God, had even fought against Christ; but lie did so from earnestheSS, fl'om being "zealous towards God," though blindly. He " verily thought with himself, that he o,ght to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth," and acted "in ignorance;,,.o so lie was spared. With 1 Luke ii. 48, 49. John ii. 15. -" Acts xxvi. 9. 1 Tim. i. 13.

a sort of heavenly compassion his persecuted Lord told him, that it was " lmrd for him to kick against the pricks;" and turned his ignoraut zeal to better account. On the same ground rests the commeMatiou which that Apostle bestows in turn upon his couutrylnen, while he sorrowfully condemns their unpardonable obstinacy. " My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel," he says, "is, that they might be saved; for I bear them record, that they have a Zeal of God, but not accordiug to knowledge."  They were guilty, because they might have known what they did not know; but so far as they were zealous, they claimed fl'om him a respectful notice, and were far better surely than those haughty scorners, the Romaus, who felt no coucern whether there was a God or no, worshipped one idol as readily as another, and spared the Apostles from contelnptuous pity. Of these was Gallio, who "cared for none those things" which either Jews or Christians did. Such men are abominated hy our Holy Lord, wh, "honours them that honour Him," while "they that despised Him are lightly esteemed."" He signifies this judgment on the lukewarm and disloyal, in His message to the Church of Laodicea: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will cast thee forth out of My mouth."a Thus positive misbelief is a less odious state of mind than the temper of those who are indifferent to religion, who say that one opinion is as good as the other, and contemn or ridicule those who  Ilom. x. 1.  1 Sam. ii. 30.  Rev. iii. 15, 16.

are in earnest. Surely, if this world be a scene of contest betweeu good and evil, as Scripture declares, "he that is not with Christ, is against ]Iim;" and Angels who witness what is going on, and can estimate its seriousness, may well cry out, " Curse ye Ieroz, curse ye bitterly the inhabitauts thereof; because they came uot to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." a I do not deny that tiffs view of the subject is different from that which certain principles and theories now current in the world would lead us to adopt; but this surely is no reason that it, should not be true, unless indeed, amid the alternate successes of good and evil, there be any infallible tokeu given us to ascertain the superior illmnination of the present century over all those which have preceded it. In fact we have no standard of Truth at all but the Bible, and to that I would appeal. " To the Law and to the Testimcmy;" ff the opinions of the day are conformable to it, let them remain in honour, but if not, however popular they may be at the moment, they will surely come to nought. It is the present fashion to call Zeal by the name of intolerance, and to account intolerance the chief of sins; that is, any earnestness for one opinion above another concerning God's nature, will, and dealings with man, ol; in other words, any earnestness tbr the Faith once delivered to the Saints, any earuestness for Revelation as such. Surely, in this sense, the Apostles were the most intolerant of men: what is it but intolerance in this sense of the word to declare, that "he that hath the a Judges v. 23.

young convert and the matured believer; displayed by Moses at the first, when he slew the Egyptian, aud ly St. Paul in his last hours, while he was reaching forth his ],and for his heavenly crown. . On the other hand, Zeal is an imperfect virtue; that is, in our fallen state, it will ever be attended by unchristian feelings, if it is cherished by itself. This is the ease with many other tempers of mind which yet are alsolutely reqnired of us. Who denies that it is a duty in IIe returning simer to feel abhorrence of his past )ffenees, and a dread of (lod's anger? yet such feelings, nnless faith accompany them, lead to an unfruit fill remrse, to despair, t, hardened pride; or again, to per'erse superstitions. N,)t that humiliation is wrong in any sense or degree, bnt it induces eoateral weaknesses or sins, front unduly exciting one side of our imperfect natm'e. Mercy becomes weakness, when mmttended by a sense of jnstiee and firmness: the wisdom of the serpent becomes craft, unless it he received into the harmlessness of the dove. And Zeal, in like manner, though an essential part of a Christian temper, is but a part; and is in itself imperfect, eveu for the very reason that it is elementary. IIenee it appropriately fills so prominent a place in the Jewish l lispensation, which was intended to lay the foundations, as of Christian Faith, so of the Christian character. Whether we read the injunctions delivered by Moses against idolatry and idolaters, or trace the actual history of God's chosen servants, such as Phinehas, Samuel, Elijah, and especially David, we find that the Law was peculiarly a Covenant of Zeal. Ou from the very nature of it; for, in its ruder form, it manifests itself in sudden and strong emotions at the sight of presumption or irreverence, proceeding to action almost as a matter of feeling, without having time to inquire, which way is best. Thus, wheu our Lord was seized by the officers, Peter forthwith " drew his sword, and struck a serwmt of the lligh Priest's, and smote off his ear. '' Patience, then, and resiguation to God's will, are tempers of nfind of which Zeal especially stands in need,—that dutiful Faith, which will take nothing for granted on the mere suggestion of nature, h,&s up to God with the eyes of a servant towards his master, mnl, as far as may be, ascertains Ills will before it acts. If this heavenly corrective be wanting, Zeal, as I have said, is self-willed in its temler: while, by using sanctions, and expecting results of this world, it becomes (what is commonly called) political. IIere, again, we see the coutrast between the Jewish and the Christiau I)ispensations. The Jewish Law being a visible system, sanctioned by temporal rewards and punishments, necessarily involved the duty of a political temper on the part of those who were under it. They were bound to ailn at securing the triumph of Religion here; realizing its promises, enjoying its successes, enfireing its precepts, with the sword. This, I say, was their duty; and, as Nlfilli N it, among other reasons, David is called "'a man after God's owu heart." But the Gospel teaches us to "walk by Faith, uot by sight;" and Faith te,'mhes us so to be zealous,  still to forbear anticipating the next world," 1 Natt. xxvi. 51.