The saints support, set out in a sermon preached before the Honourable House of…

11. In an holy zeal, and just indignation, he imprecates vengeance against proud, scornful, implacable enemies of Gods Church, in this manner, Turn their reproach upon their own head, ¹and give them for a prey in the land of their captivity, and cover not their iniquity, &c. I must confess that the imprecations of holy men recorded in sacred Scripture, are sharp, two edged tools: not for every ones handling. When Christs Disciples would have commanded fire (as Elijah did) to come down from Heaven to consume the Samaritans,² he rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. Particular imprecations against particular persons are not for every spirit; but for such extraordinary spirits, as Prophets and Apostles had: Yet thus ⟨p. 23⟩far may every faithful spirit testify his holy zeal in this very kind of imprecation, by an indefinite extending it against such as are indeed mischievous and irreconcilable enemies of the Church. But because Saul may prove a Paul, and a persecutor may prove a preacher of the Gospel, we may not imprecate against any particular persons, yet against their mischievous practises we may.

11. In an holy zeale, and just indignation, he imprecates vengeance against proud, scornfull, implacable enemies of Gods Church, in this manner, Turne their reproach upon their owne head, ¹and give them for a prey in the land of their captivity, and cover not their iniquity, &c. I must confesse that the imprecations of holy men recorded in sacred Scripture, are sharp, two edged tooles: not for every ones handling. When Christs Disciples would have commanded fire (as Eliah did) to come downe from Heaven to consume the Samaritans,² he rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. Particular imprecations against particular persons are not for every spirit; but for such extraordinary spirits, as Prophets and Apostles had: Yet thus ⟨p. 23⟩