WE are at this time concerned with a people professing a Zeal for the House of God that has Eaten up a Little part of their Estates, which they have devoted unto the Building of the House, wherein We are now Assembled before Him. Our concern with them, is not only to assure them, that what the Zeal has Eaten up, will not be Lost, but also to remind them of other and further Operations, wherein their Zeal is to be demonstrated: That so their Zeal for the House of ⟨p. 4⟩God, may be uniform, and be universal, & be justified. Hearken, my Beloved Brethren. I do now something more than fetch a Red hot Stone from the Altar, for this purpose, to keep alive the Flame of your Zeal: I bring the pattern of our admirable SAVIOUR, Even, our God, who is a consuming Fire. When the Psalmist, who is Renowned in all Ages for the Zeal of the House of God, which was flaming in him, gave this Account of himself, The Zeal of thy House hath Eaten me up, we may say, I pray thee, of whom spake the Psalmist this? Of himself, or of some other Man? The Answer must be, He was a Type of the Messiah, in what he Spake. It was foretold of the Messiah, That the Lord should come into His Temple, and act as a Refiner there. Our SAVIOUR coming into the Temple, and purging the Temple of the Money-changers there, would have drawn the minds of the People unto the ⟨p. 5⟩Consideration of that famous Prophecy. Whether it had this Effect or no, the minds of His Disciples, were drawn to consider another Prophecy; and what was to be found in the Sixty ninth Psalm concerning Him. Every Israelite was to pay half a Shekel yearly to the service of the Temple. When any Man brought a Shekel, to change for Two Half-Shekels, there was a profit Exacted by the changer: And when the Shekel was brought for Two, there was a Double profit Exacted for the change. The like unlawful gains were made by selling of Cattle for the Sacrifices there. Our SAVIOUR having His Holy Soul, inflamed with a just Zeal, against the Dishonesties and Oppressions committed by these Ecclesiastical Harpies, appears with a Scourge […] small Cords in His Hand, threatening of them, and the guilty Thieves fled before Him: GOD in our SAVIOUR Struck them with such a dread, that they could not stand before Him.
WE are at this time concerned with a people professing a Zeal for the House of God that has Eaten up a Little part of their Estates, which they have devoted unto the Building of the House, wherein We are now Assembled before Him. Our concern with them, is not only to assure them, that what the Zeal has Eaten up, will not be Lost, but also to remind them of other and further Operations, wherein their Zeal is to be demonstrated: That so their Zeal for the House of ⟨p. 4⟩God, may be uniform, and be universal, & be justified. Hearken, my Beloved Brethren. I do now something more than fetch a Red hot Stone from the Altar, for this purpose, to keep alive the Flame of your Zeal: I bring the pattern of our admirable SAVIOUR, Even, our God, who is a consuming Fire. When the Psalmist, who is Renowned in all Ages for the Zeal of the House of God, which was flaming in him, gave this Account of himself, The Zeal of thy House hath Eaten me up, we may say, I pray thee, of whom spake the Psalmist this? Of himself, or of some other Man? The Answer must be, He was a Type of the Messiah, in what he Spake. It was foretold of the Messiah, That the Lord should come into His Temple, and act as a Refiner there. Our SAVIOUR coming into the Temple, and purging the Temple of the Money-changers there, would have drawn the minds of the People unto the ⟨p. 5⟩Consideration of that famous Prophecy. Whether it had this Effect or no, the minds of His Disciples, were drawn to consider another Prophecy; and what was to be found in the Sixty ninth Psalm concerning Him. Every Israelite was to pay half a Shekel yearly to the service of the Temple. When any Man brought a Shekel, to change for Two Half-Shekels, there was a profit Exacted by the changer: And when the Shekel was brought for Two, there was a Double profit Exacted for the change. The like unlawful gains were made by selling of Cattle for the Sacrifices there. Our SAVIOUR having His Holy Soul, inflamed with a just Zeal, against the Dishonesties and Oppressions committed by these Ecclesiastical Harpies, appears with a Scourge 〈…〉 small Cords in His Hand, threatning of them, and the guilty Thieves fled before Him: GOD in our SAVIOUR Struck them with such a dread, that they could not stand before Him.
