said they had no doubt of his being a servant of the Lord." And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him." I suppose one was a plasterer, and the other a musician; be that as it may, they enforced the law, and shewed they were no friends to antinomianism, nor to party spirits, for they agreed in their verdict. "And the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king." These men enforced the moral law, and shewed their loyalty in bearing a public witness against this singular man, who would not part with his vineyard. "Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died," 1 Kings xxi.

8-13.

This venerable mother Jezebel is the only precedent that our present prophetess has got to countenance her in writing against the servants of God; and the mystical body, to which this name Jezebel, is now applied, is as pregnant with mischief, and as insatiate with the blood of the saints, as her literal mother was, and all the artillery of God is levelled at her; even at popish Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and pretends to teach. From these few observations it may be seen how the servants of God have fared in every age; and I shall endeavour to shew that the best of men have been charged with antinomianism, and of being influenced by a bad spirit; though it must be acknowledged, that the

devil never could harden any women to write against the servants of God but Jezebel.

In former times the prophets were called fools; spiritual men were called mad; the snare of a fowler in all his ways, and was hated in the house of his God, Hos. ix. 7, 8. If he was a fool he was tinctured with enthusiasm, and if mad he was influenced by a bad spirit, for all madness is of the devil. Christ was accused of being influenced by a bad spirit; they said he cast out devils by Beelzebub, who was the god of Ekron; he was accused of antinomianism; "This man is not of God;" he makes void the law; "he keepeth not the sabbath day," John ix. 16; he was accused of disloyalty; he speaketh against Cæsar, John

xix. 12.

Paul was accused of teaching the people to forsake Moses, and of doing evil that good might come; and all these enemies pretended great zeal for the law; even Jezebel herself fled for refuge here, as hath been already observed. It appears evident that the worst adversaries that ever Christ or his church have had upon earth, were hypocritical professors of religion; and all their rage and murder that they committed upon the saints, was always done under a cloak of zeal for the holy law of God. Jezebel pretended to act by this rule: Naboth blasphemed God and the king; stone him to death. "Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin; and he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death; all

the congregation shall certainly stone him," Levit. xxiv. 15, 16.

The Jews took shelter under the law when they crucified Christ; "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God," John xix. 7. But the holy law of God was no protection for them; it countenances no murderer, no false witness, no hypocrite, no slanderer, no false teacher, no false accuser; "Did not Moses give you the law? and yet none of you keepeth the law: why go ye about to kill me?" When the Saviour brought the law against them, they accused him of a bad spirit; they said, "Thou hast a devil; who goeth about to kill thee?" This was the Jews plea against Paul: "And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses; saying, that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs." The rulers that attempted to put Paul to death at Jerusalem put on this cloak: "Thou seest, brother [Paul], how many thousands of Jews there are which believe, and they are all zealous of the law," Acts xxi. 20. And under this cloak of maliciousness they laid violent hands upon the apostle,

Crying out, Men of Israel help; this is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place." Poor Stephen was murdered under this cloak: "Then they suborned men which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.

For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us."

Thus it appears how the children of the freewoman have been put to death by the children of Hagar; and all under a cloak of zeal for the law. Modern hypocrites fly here when they attempt to ridicule the grace of God; yea, even Pharisees, who are farther from the kingdom of God than publicans and harlots, will charge the children of God with want of love to holiness. Yet none of these persecutors and murderers were destitute of candour. It is true, they used sharpness against the saints; yet even Jezebel, though she charged Naboth with antinomianism, or making void the law, by blaspheming God and the king, yet she shewed much gentleness and candour to some that were of a different persuasion, for she kept four hundred of these at her own table.

But I suppose you want to know what these people mean by candour. Let me once more describe an hypocritical professor of religion; though I have touched upon him before in this discourse, yet I will stir up your pure minds again by way of remembrance.

First, they attend alarming preachers, and receive some light into the letter of the law; which light does not reach the heart to discover sin, but the head only, which is enlightened into the letter of the law; they have a form of knowledge, that is all, and of the truth in the law, Rom. ii. 20.

This form of knowledge is the lamp which these foolish virgins take; the law is a light to their feet, the commandment is a lamp, Prov. vi. 23. These are said, as Paul said of himself, to be alive without the law; that is, they are alive to this their form of knowledge, and accordingly make this form their only and all-sufficient rule of life; and no wonder, when they have not got the law at all; they are alive without the law; the law has not killed them. To this form of knowledge which they are alive to, they perform a deal of eyeservice, which is mercenary; such as the elder son boasted of, who told his father that he never transgressed his commandment at any time, saying, "Lo, these many years do I serve thee," in the oldness of the letter, Rom. vii. 6. To this form of knowledge out of the law, the hypocrite adds an assent to the truths of the gospel; the law is his lamp and his rule; the gospel serves only for a cloak. To this assent to the truths of the gospel, they add a reformation of life and manners, which is called escaping the pollution that is in the world; and their apostacy is called a turning from the holy commandment, not from the promise of Christ, nor the grace of God, but from the holy commandment delivered to them, 2 Peter ii. 20, 21. To this form of knowledge out of the law, and assent to the gospel, or what is called a feigned faith, and an external reformation, they add one thing more, which makes the hypocrite pass in disguise into the church; which is, they