the exhortation of the apostle (Eph.
vi. 11), "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil." Truly we may stand against his darts, and
violent open thrusts at our conscience; when we,(439) being ignorant of
his devices, and not acquainted with his depths (2 Cor. ii. 11, Rev. ii.
24) will not be able to stand against his ways. For we have a great and
subtile party to wrestle with, principalities and powers, and spiritual
wickedness in high places, or heavenly things (as some render the word).
He exercises much wickedness, spiritual invisible wickedness in heavenly
and religious things, in which it is hard to wrestle, unless we be endowed
with faith, knowledge, and righteousness, and shod with the gospel of
peace, the peaceable gospel reducing our spirits to a peaceable temper. I
conceive there is nothing the world hath been more abused with, than the
notion of zeal, justice, and such like, and there is nothing wherein a
Christian is more ready to deceive himself than this. Therefore I conceive
the Holy Ghost has undeceived us in this, and hath of purpose used the
word zeal as often in a bad sense as in a good one, and usually chooses to
express envy and malice by it, though another word might suit as well, and
be more proper. So here bitter zeal, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ZETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, is reckoned among the
works of the flesh, Gal. v. 20. And we are exhorted to walk honestly as in
the day, not in strife and envy, or zeal. And therefore the apostle
rebukes sharply the Corinthians: "Are ye not carnal, and walk as men,
whereas there is among you envying, or zeal, and strife," 1 Cor. iii. 3.
Zeal is a vehemency of affection in any earnest pursuit, or opposition of
a thing, and to make it good, it must not only be fixed upon a commendable
and good object, but must run in the right channel, between the banks of
moderation, charity, and sobriety. If it overflows these, certainly that
excess proceeds not simply and purely from the love of God, or the truth,
but from some latent corruption or lust in our members, which takes
occasion to swell up with it. I find in scripture the true zeal of God
hath much self denia