4. No profane man can heartily, and directly love, and affect a Christian for his zeal and spiritual graces; nay, naturally and ordinarily he disconceits and hates all holy impressions, wrought upon him by Gods sanctifying Spirit: 1. Partly by reason of that everlasting unreconcilable, and implacable enmity and antipathy between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the Serpent; between light and darkness; Christ and Belial; Grace and profaneness: 2. Partly also, because every unregenerate man, though furnished with the best perfections and excellencies attainable in that state, thinks, that his lukewarmness, and formality is censured and condemned by the zeal and forwardness of the true Christian; and that if those gracious endowments and holy strictness be real, and necessarily required, they plainly proclaim the damnableness of his estate, which he securely reposes upon, as sufficient for salvation. David, a man after Gods own heart, and of a sweet and loving disposition, yet was most heavily pressed and pursued with much causeless spite, and this hatred even for his goodness: They that hate me without a cause, saith he, are more then the hairs of my head: They that would destroy me, and are mine enemies falsely, are mighty; so that I restored that which I took not, Psal. 69. 4. And in another place saith he; They that hate me wrong fully, are many: they also that reward evil for good, are mine adversaries, because I follow agoodness. But yet understand this further in the point. The expression and exercise of this hatred of the forwardness and zeal in the Christian, which naturally and ordinarily lurks in the heart of every profane man, may be sometimes restrained ⟨p. 82⟩for advantage, and in policy; by accident, and for by▪respects. The sting and fury of it may be weakened, and lessened by the ingenuousness of the unregenerate man, or by other good natural and moral parts in the Christian. Nay, I do not see, but that sometimes it may be, as it were, quite dashed, and confounded by the extraordinary innocency, and heroical height of spiritual excellencies in a good man:
4. No prophane man can heartily, and directly loue, and affect a Christian for his zeale and spirituall graces; nay, naturally and ordinarily he disconceits and hates all holy impressions, wrought vpon him by Gods sanctifying Spirit: 1. Partly by reason of that euerlasting vnreconcileable, and implacable enmitie and antipathy betweene the seed of the woman, and the seed of the Serpent; betweene light and darkenesse; Christ and Belial; Grace and prophanenesse: 2. Partly also, because euery vnregenerate man, though furnished with the best perfections and excellencies attaine•ble in that state, thinkes, that his lukewarmenesse, and formalitie is censured and condemned by the zeale and forwardnesse of the true Christian; and that if those gracious endowments and holy strictnesse be reall, and necessarily required, they plainely proclaime the damnablenesse of his estate, which he securely reposes vpon, as sufficient for saluation. Dauid, a man after Gods owne heart, and of a sweet and louing disposition, yet was most heauily prest and pursued with much causelesse spite, and this hatred euen for his goodnesse: They that hate me without a cause, saith he, are more then the haires of my head: They that would destroy mee, and are mine enemies falsely, are mighty; so that I restored that which I tooke not, Psal. 69. 4. And in another place saith hee; They that hate me wrong fully, are many: they also that reward euill for good, are mine aduersaries, because I follow agoodnesse. But yet vnderstand this further in the point. The expression and exercise of this hatred of the forwardnesse and zeale in the Christian, which naturally and ordinarily lurkes in the heart of euery prophane man, may bee sometimes restrained ⟨p. 82⟩for aduantage, and in policy; by accident, and for by▪respects. The sting and furie of it may be weakened, and lessened by the ingenuousnesse of the vnregenerate man, or by other good naturall and morall parts in the Christian. Nay, I doe not see, but that sometimes it may bee, as it were, quite dasht, and confounded by the extraordinary innocency, and heroicall height of spirituall excellencies in a good man:
- aOmnis mal• ideò presequitur bonum, quia non illi consentit bonus ad malum, August. in Psal. 128.
