Timid, cowardly men, though otherwise well-disposed, very naturally take refuge here. The parsimonious are always ready with this good text.-The idolaters of custom, and of everything established and old.-An intellectual class content with mere speculation, and regarding scarcely any thing as worth being attempted to be done. With most of these classes of persons, however, it is not that Zeal itself, for some use or other, is denied to be a most excellent thing. No, certainly; they extol it,—and, “none would be more zealous than they,―on a proper occasion." But when can that occasion come? Is it to be an occasion expressly devised, and brought on by Providence for the one simple purpose of enabling them to show that they really possess this high virtue? Or, is it to be when the world, and themselves, and all things, are a great deal mended, so that there shall be less difficulty, less to be done and to be resisted? But who then, or what, is to do all this that is to be accomplished in the mean time? There are immediately and constantly at hand, plenty of such things as have always been deemed by zealous men the objects worthy of zeal. But the deficiency of this right spirit never fails to be supplied by ingenuity enough to make out, that these are not the proper objects and occasions. How evident it is, therefore, that everything which may be said in the way of disapproving and repressing zeal, should be said cautiously and discriminatively.

But still, there is in the world an ill-judging, and unwarrantable, and pernicious Zeal. Indeed, if we take zeal in its quite general sense-ardour,-persevering ardour, in prosecution of a purpose, it has been, in its depraved operation, the most dreadful pest on earth. It has been the very strength and soul, and animating demon, of every active evil. View it combined with any evil passion, and see what it can do, with hatred-revenge-love of power. Behold

it in the great troublers of the world, of all times and classes; the conquerors-the savage exterminators—the persecutors-the impostors! If this fire could have been suddenly quenched by some rain from heaven, these men would have sunk almost into nothing, though their depraved disposition had remained the same. And as to many that are comparatively harmless, but have the evil, the malignant disposition, within them,―let but this fire be kindled, by a torch from hell applied to the brimstone that lies cold and quiet in their nature-and we should see!

But, not to dwell on these terrible operations of zeal, we see its effect in numberless things of a more diminutive order. For example; earnest exertions, indefatigably prolonged, for supreme excellence in some most trifling attainment; unremitting efforts in prosecution of inquiry into something not worth knowing (at least, not worth any cost to know); an intense devotion, which devours the soul, to add particle after particle to the little sum of worldly possession; the earnest vieing with neighbouring fellow mortals in little points of appearance, consequence, precedence. So we see that zeal is an element that will combin with any active principle in man;-will give its strength and inspiration in any pursuit or interest under the sun;— will profane itself to the lowest, will be the glory of the highest; like fire, that will smoulder in garbage, and will lighten in the heavens.

Zeal thus has its operation in all the active interests of men. But, it is most usually spoken of as directed to something belonging to Religion, and it is in this relation that we have here to consider it. "Zeal of God." And who can help wishing that there were a thousand times more zeal directed this way? Think of the whole measure of it that there is constantly expending by the human race, and what it is expended upon! what proportion of it might well

be spared, from the actual application! Nay, even, what proportion of it would it be an unspeakable blessing to have extinguished and destroyed, rather than so applied? Say nine parts in ten; perhaps a still larger proportion. Now think, if but one of these portions misapplied, could be reclaimed, and purified, and devoted to the concerns of our relation to God! if two parts-if three,-and so forward. Look at an ambitious man's zeal ;-the zeal of a man eagerly intent on the pomp and state of this life;-an avaricious man's zeal;—an indefatigable intellectual trifler's zeal! nine parts in ten misapplied; wasted, at the best; a large portion of it far worse than wasted! So it is going-while there is, here in sight, what deserves it all. If it could be withdrawn, and brought with its mighty operation this way! (Simile of clouds, heavy with rain, passing in a direction away from a tract of plantations, gardens, and fields-languishing under drought-to be discharged on mere deserts, or marshes, or sea. Or illustration from fire. Suppose a great city on fire in a severe winter; besides the dreadful devastation and destruction, we might also have this idea— what a blessing so much fire would be, if distributed into all the abodes of shivering poverty and sickness.)

After such a view of the immense proportion of zeal altogether lost to what relates to God and religion, we are reluctant to be called to the consideration of this other fact; namely, that a share even of the zeal that is directed to the things relating to God, may be unsound, or unwisely applied-" not according to knowledge."

It were waste of time to insist on the necessity of a man's understanding something about what he is zealous for,— and why,—especially in what respects religion. The necessity of knowledge to zeal, when religion is concerned, is fearfully illustrated by the mighty empire of superstition over the far greater portion of this earth, even in this ad

vanced period of its age-(Pagan-Mohammedan-Popish.) It is true, that many of the adherents go no further than a stupid slavish acquiescence; and that some are sceptics or unbelievers, only preserving appearances; but countless legions of them are burning with fanatic zeal,-they know no better.

The direful history of Persecution, again, illustrates what religious Zeal may be without knowledge. For, though some persecutors have only been politic infernal hypocrites, yet the mighty host of them have really believed that they did God service. The plain truth we are speaking of, has been illustrated by the whole principle and operation of propagating true religion by force; to repress and destroy it has been the chief business of persecution, but in some cases to introduce and promote it.

The same instruction has been afforded by the wild novelties of fanaticism that have occasionally sprung up in the Christian community.

At the view of all these deplorable spectacles, the good man has still to exclaim, "Oh for knowledge!-for knowledge!" "When will the luminary rise, which shall let fall into men's souls the ideas, the few simple truths, that would dispossess them of so many legions of demons!" He thinks, too, "how few propositions, admitted by them in full conviction, would have the effect of exposing the objects of their insane zeal before them, blasted and prostrate."

But our original design was not so much to dwell on extreme and prodigious instances of a depraved religious zeal; but to remark chiefly on several of the more ordinary forms in which we may observe zeal of a religious kind devoid of the rule and benefit of knowledge.

Some of these may, comparatively, not be evils of a highly aggravated and destructive character. We cannot, however, say so, if we name, as one form of the erroneous zeal, that

which the apostle here speaks of, namely, men's zealously maintaining the sufficiency of a righteousness of their own which God will not accept. "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Fatal ignorance in zeal! What would true and divinely enforced knowledge do for them here? It would reveal to them the awful holiness, justice, and law of God; would reveal themselves to them; and then their zeal would go another way. As when an enlightened, convinced pagan perceives the god of his previous fanaticism to be no more than a worthless and loathsome idol.

But there are other modes of "zeal not according to knowledge," in matters of religion. Very palpably it is so, when accompanied by no seeking or desire of knowledge; rather aversion to it,—dread of it,—deprecation of it. There is such religious zeal. No disposition to think and inquire. Horror of free reasoning. A notion that all religious speculation is necessarily destructive to religious feeling; that all knowledge analogous to Christian principles is but a feigned and treacherous ally. Insomuch, that the very reasons for being zealous are not to be so examined as to be clearly defined in the understanding,-not so tried as to be verified, -not reduced to so positive a form that they can be distinctly assigned. So that the quality and excellence of the general, or the particular, object of the zeal cannot be so stated as to show how justly the zeal is applied. The active feeling is to be regarded as a kind of infallible impulse, so certainly under the direction of the Divine Intellect, that there is no need that the man should exert and improve his own. But, how is he so certain that his feelings are in such perfect acquiescent harmony with God? to be sure of that, would require knowledge, of no light attainment, truly! Whatever the strong impulse may be, it plainly is not