Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/d_500.lzh/D_599.TXT

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CHAP. XIX.                                                  OF ZEAL.                                                               599

all surrounding evils.----3.. Such a temper and dispo-
sition of mind is attainable by faith, prayer, and wait
ing npon God. Bv faith men so eminent. for fortitude
of mind performed those heroic exploits we read of in
Hell xi. who by faith subdued kingdoms, stopped
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire,
endured with such greatness of mind the many evils
they did; anti through constant prayer saints obtain a
spirit of boldness both with God and before men; and
by waiting upon the Lord in religious exercises their
spiritual strength or fortitude is renewed; hence the
exhortation,, Wait on the Lord, Psalm xxvii. 14..
4.. The patterns of courage, the examples of fortitude
in the saints who have gone before us, of the prophets,
apostles, primitive Christians, and martyrs in all ages,
mav be a means of promotiug a like disposition, par-
ticularly that cloud of heroes before referred to; and
above all Christ himself, the pattern of courage set
before us, whom we are directed to look unto and
consider, lest we be weary and faint in our minds,
Heb. xii. 1,2, 3.    .5. The love of God, and a sense
of that, a persuasion of interest in it, and that nothing
shall separate from it, casts out fear {}, and inspires with
fortitude against every enemy, Rom viii. 35, 38, 39.
1 John. iv. 18.

CHAP. XIX.

OF ZEAL.

Zeal is an ardour of mind, a fervent affection for
some person or thing; with an indignation against
every thing supposed to be pernicious and hurtful to
it. As it is a divine grace, it is a vehement affection
for God and his glory, an earnest study, by all proper
means, to promote it; with a resentment of every
thing tl,at tends to obscure, let, and hinder it; it is
hot, burning, flaming love, which cannot be quenched
by water, nor drowned by floods, nor abated, re-
straineel, and stopped, by any difficulties in the way,
Cant. viii. 6, 7. It is sometimes used for that strong
affection God bears to his people, expressed by his
earnest care of them, and indignation against their
enemies, ca11ed, The zeal of the Lord of hosts, anti his
great jealousy, Isa. ix. 7. Zech. i. 14. and viii. 2,. And
sometimes for a gracious disposition in man, which has
God for its object., and is called zeal towards God, an
eager desire after his glory; and of which God is the
author, and is called, A zeal of God, or a godly jealousy,
2 Cot. xi. 2. In treating of which I shall co,,sidcr,
I. The various sorts and kinds of zeal; that it may
be the better known what is right and genuine. And.
First. There is a zeal of God, which is not according'
to knowledge, which the Jews had, as the apostle tes-
titles, Rom. x. 2. and which lay in a zealous concern
for the performance of legal duties, and in a studiou,.
attempt to set them up, and establish them as a ins
tallying righteousness before God:, to the entire neglect
and rt!iection of the righteousness of Christ. Which
zeal of theirs, in this attempt, arose,

     I. From ignorance of the perfection of God's righte-
 ousness, which is displayed in all his ways and works,
 who is the Judge of the whole earth, and will do right;
 and will not clear the guilty without full satisfaction
 to his justice, nor justify any without a perfect righte-
 ousness; and his judgment of things is according to
 truth; and he cannot reckon an imperfect righteous-
 ness a perfect one; nor account that for righteousness
 which is none: to secure his honour and glory in this
 point, he has set forth Christ to be the propitiatory
 sacrifice for sin, thereby making satisfaction for it; to
 .de.clare his righteousness: but of this the legal zealot
 is Ignorant, and therefore takes a wrong course.
 2. It arises fi'om ignorance of the righteousness which
 God in the law requires; the law is holy, just, and
 good, and requires a perfect righteousness; both as to
 the matter of it, and the manner of its performance;
 all that the law has commanded must be done, and as
 it is commanded, or it is no righteousness, Deut. vi.
 and the law is spiritual, and reaches to, and is con-
 cerned with the heart, the spirit, and the soul of man;
 it forbids sinful thoughts, inward lusts, and irregular
 affections, as well as the outward and grosset sins of
 life; it allows of no peccaddlo's, or little sins, but con-
 demns all; so extensive is the law, and such the spi-
 rituality of it; which the Pharisee being ignorant of,
 sets up his own righteousness as sufficient, and zea-
 lously endearours to establish it; but it will be of no
 service, Matt. v. 19, 2O.------3. This ignorant zeal arises
 from a want of knowledge of the righteousness of God
 revealed in the gospel; which is no other than the
 righteousness of Christ, who is God as well as man:
 behtg ignorant of this, its excellency, fullness, and
 suitableuess, men submit not unto it, but reject it,
 stumbling at the stumbling stone and rock of offence,
 Rom. i. 17. and iii. 21, 22..         4. It arises from igno-
rance of their own righteousness; the Spirit of God
not having convinced them of it, how imperfect and
polluted it is; how it is not answerable to the law of
God; and how short it comes of its demands and re-
quirements; and how insufficient it is to justify them
before God; and whilst this is the case they are warmly
attached to it, and zealous to establish it: but when
they come to be made sensible of the imperfection
,tnd nnprofitableness of it, they desire to be found in
ChriSt, and in his righteousness, and not their own,
Phil. iii. 9. -.5. It arises fi'om want of faith in Christ;
being destitute of that, the zealots follow eagerly after
righteousness, but do not attain it; Because they.. seek
it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law;
now, what is not of faith is sin, and therefore zeal
without faith cannot be right; zeal without faith in
Christ must be without knowledge, must be without
the knowledge of Christ, and without the .knowledge
of-God in Christ; and therefore cannot be well-pleas,
no' and acceptable to God; nor is such a righteous-
ness they are following after-and endeavouring to
establish. Wherefore, 6. Such a zealot goes contrary
to the will and way of God, in the justification of a
sinner; and therefore his zeal mnst be a false one:
the declared will of God is, that a man is not, and can-

Non potest amor cure timore misceri, Seneca, Ep. 47.