What meant by meeknele. 177 gracious meekneffe, grace will teach men and women to be meek and gentle when they :are croft themfelves, but grace will never teach them to be. meek, fo as .not to be angry when God is dishonoured: you (hall find that thofe that are in Scrip turé fet out as the molt eminent men for meekneffe in their own caufe, yet when it comes to Gods caufe, they have been the moil eminent in zeale : as for the example of Mofes, if you read the 12 of Numbers, you íhall find that the Lord doth give that Teftimony of Mofes, that he was the meék fi magi up. on earth, but yet. you know the Rory ofMofes, when he came down from the Mount and law how the children of Ifrael had fet up an Idoll ( the Golden Calfe) Mofes was all on fire and -having the Tables of stone where the Law was written in his hands, and having receiv'd them from God himfelfe, yet when he saw that Idoll, he Cooke thofe Tables and threw them down and brake them to pieces in his zeale for God : yea and after he had done that, he firs up the people to take their fwords and flay their Brethren, and yet Mofes the meekest man that ever liv'd upon the face of the earth .We read of Christ himfelfe, that he propounds himfelfe as a pattern of meeknefie, Learneof me for I am meek, yet when he comes to the Scribes and Pharisees that were wretched enemies againft the power of godlinefle, though they made an outwatd thew . and fo f duced the people in making them beleeve that all Re- ligion did conGft in outward formes,woe faith he, to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, he pronounces eight woes againft them in one Chapter, Match i 3, and fpeakes in a molt bitter way : Never did any godly man preach with a greater bitter- neffe ( as I may fo fpeake ) for it was a bitter anger that Christ had againfl the Scribes and Pha i ee in his fpe. .eking to them, and yet the meekeff man that ever was ; it was a bitternetfe of fpirit, and you cannot find more fiery zeale in any aÿainft fin then you f nd in Jesus Chia ; when. he came and faw how they did abufe the houle of God, he threw down the Tables of the Money-changers and took cords and made a ivhip,and whips them out of them Temples,the zeal of Gods heufe eat hm And fo Paul that was very meeke, and writes to Timothy to A a ïnfrufi
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=