Serm. XX.VII. The Vanity andWickednefrofHonottring,&c. 199 I. That it hath been the Lot of Holy and Righteous Men, in molt Ages of the. World, to meet with very bad ufage, to be Perfecuted and Slain. The Devil began this Work early. When there were but Three Men in all the World, and Two of them Brethren ; the one flew the other, becaufe he was morè righteous, and ferved God better than he did. And this Trade bath continued, and been pra-. &ifed more or lefs, in moft Ages and Generations of the World, as might be de- duced through the Hiftory of the Old and New Teftament, and of molt Ages finee: though the rodof the wicked hath not always abode .upon the back of the righteous, left at laic Piety should be quite difcouraged,, and thefaithful failfrom among the Children of Men. The People and the Church of God have had many ,Intervals of Peace and Profperity ; and foinetimes for a long continuance, the fa- vour and countenanceof Authority, and the Powers of the World, and the Laws of Nations on their fide. But yet there is a continual enníity between the Seedofthe Wbmara, and the Serr- pent, between the Righteous and the Wicked, between thofe thatferve God, and thofe thatferve him not ; becaufe their ways are contrary one to another, and quite of another faíhion, their Principlesand Pra&ices do contradict and clafh with one another ; the Virtues of Good Men are a continual upbraiding of the bad, a living reproofand, reproach to them; fo that it is no wonder, that evil Men do, fo violently hate and perfecute the good, and do by all means endeavour to remove out of the way thofe whoare fo oppofite and offenfive to them. II. We may obferve likewife hence, how great a Sin they are guilty of who perfecute the Righteous, and how terrible a Vengeance from God waits on them. Particular Examples of this have been in all Ages : But as the guilt of this Sid never went higher, than at this time foretold by our Saviour,, when God fent to the Jews fuch Prophets, andWife-men, and Scribes, and fuck a Number of them, as never upon any occafion were fent unto the World, and they ufed' them in that bloody and barbarous manner ; no wonder, if the Vengeance that came upon them was fuch as never had been before ; and if after they had filled up the meafure of their Sins, by crucifying the Lord 7efus, andperfecuting his Apo/lles; and flone- ing and killing all the Prophets that were fent unto them, the wrath ofGod came upon them to the urinal!, and fuch a terrible Deftruétion from the Lord, as never befel any People ; infomuch that our Saviour, upon the foretght and mention of it, Forty Years before it happen'd, could not but weep over them, and exprefs himfelf in thofe compalfionate Words, O Yernfalerrm, 7erufalem, thou that killed the Prophets, and flonefi them which arefens unto thee, how often would I have gathered thee, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings ; but ye would not ! Beholdyour !Joule is left unto you defolate. III. From this whole Paflage of our Saviour, which I have been explaining to you, we may learn, howvain it is for Men to pretend toHonour the dead Saints, when they Perfecute the living. This was the great Hypocrite of the Scribes and Pharifees among the yews in our Savióur's time ; and is at this Day of the Rulers and Governor's ofthe Roman Church among us Chr/fans ; Nay, they exceed the Scribes andPharifees, not only in their Veneration ofthe ancient Saints and Righ- teous Men, but alfo, if it be poffible, in their malice and cruelty towards the li- ving. Fox-they not only build coftly Monuments to their Memory, Which was the utmoft the Scribes and Pharifees did, but they honour them with Shrinesand rich Offerings, with Prayers and Vows to them, more frequent than to Almighty God himfelf; and our Bleffed Saviour : But then they hate and perfecute the living, with as great violence and cruelty, as ever was ufed by any part of Mankind to- wards one another. 'Tis true they do- it under the Notion of Herefie ; and fo did the Scribes and Pharifees too, as St. Paul witneffeth, After the way which ye call Hereje, foworfhip I the God of my Fathers, believing all things that are written in the Law and in the Prophets. So they call us Hereticki; tho' we receive and believe' all that is written in the Holy Scriptures, only reje &ing their Additions, whereby they would make the Commandment of God ofnone eye/i. And as Rams is parallel withjerufalezn in many other refpeds ; fo efpeciallyin the bloody Perfe- cation of righteous Men : And as ferzafalem is charged by our Saviour with the blood of
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