Men usually express themselves & carry it in religion according to their natural humour, and are apt to mis-judge others if they comply not with their temper: Some are so pitiful that they could ⟨p. 149⟩save the damned, others so Choleric that they could damn the saved: hence the melancholy christian is offended with the cheerful, and the cheerful with the melancholy: so that not only the world but saints themselves put false constructions, upon the carriage of saints. The melancholy man looks on John Baptist as a choice man, because of great abstinence and austerity, as well in cloths as diet. For such humours are apt to think that religion consists much in sadness (Christ say they wept often, but we read not that he laughed at all) and scarce will they believe him a good Christian, that is not something Hypochondriacal: yet the world passeth a clean contrary sentence, and say he hath a devil. The more sociable sort of cheerful saints, provided they they keep decorum, and be of Christs spirit, as well as christs example, do doubtless most adorn ⟨p. 250⟩and advantage religion: christ did not only rejoice in spirit, but was popular and disdained not the tables and conversations of the greatest sinners, for which the wicked world judged him as a wine-bibber, a great friend (and indeed he was) to Publicans and sinners. Now we should take heed, 1. That we take not our natural temper and humour for religion: a man may be moderate by the heaviness of his Phlegm, and zealous from the heat of his choler; our care therefore should be that our sorrow, moderation and austerity on the one hand, and our joy, cheerfulness and zeal on the other hand, be truly spiritual and christian. 2. we should take heed not to condemn other saints, that are not of our natural humour; not to think the sociable and cheerful to be but good fellows and genial-jovial blades; or to think the more depressed, sad dejected, and ⟨p. 251⟩retired spirits to be discontented.
Men usually expresse themselves & carry it in religion according to their naturall humor, and are apt to mis-judge others if they comply not with their temper: Some are so pitifull that they could ⟨p. 149⟩save the damned, others so Cholericke that they could damne the saved: hence the melancholy christian is offended with the cheareful, and the chearefull with the melancholy: so that not onely the world but saints themselves put false constructions, upon the carrage of saints. The melancholly man lookes on John Baptist as a choise man, because of great abstinence and austerity, as well in cloths as diet. For such humors are apt to thinke that religion consists much in sadnesse (Christ say they wept often, but we read not that he laught at all) and sc•rse will they believe him a good Christian, that is not somthing Hypocondriacall: yet the world passeth a cleane contrary sentence, and say he hath a divell. The more sociable sort of cheerefull saints, provided they they keep decorum, and be of Christs spirit, as well as christs example, doe doubtless most adorne ⟨p. 250⟩and advantage religion: christ did not onely rejoyce in spirit, but was popular and disdained not the tables and conversations of the greatest sinners, for which the wicked world judg'd him as a wine-bibber, a great friend (and indeed he was) to Publicans and sinners. Now we should take heed, 1. That we take not our naturall temper and humour for religion: a man may be moderate by the heavines of his Phlegme, and zealous from the heat of his choler; our care therefore should be that our sorrow, moderation and austerity on the one hand, and our joy, cheerfulnesse and zeale on the other hand, be truely spiritual and christian. 2. we should take heed not to condemne other saints, that are not of our natural humor; not to thinke the sociable and cheerfull to be but good fellows and genial-jovial blades; or to thinke the more deprest, sad dejected, and ⟨p. 251⟩retired spirits to be discontented.
