no one's? shall you, in the regions of death, read it-hear it? But even, suppose you should-what is your conception of how it should please or benefit you there? Have you such wretched notions of that economy, as to imagine it a mere counterpart to the vanities and delusions of this? Are you such a pagan as to fancy that heroes are to be recognized in the other world to be idolized just as here? You may be added to the heroes and conquerors departed thither; but the prophet has given the question with which a former great conqueror was greeted by them,-" Art thou become as one of us?" And if to you they add another question—“ Where have you left your glory?" would they not, from their own feelings, scorn you for answering-" In history-in imperishable fame ?"

In the last place might be named-intellectual glory,— that of knowledge, talent, and great mental performance. And on this topic it should be noted, that, throughout several of these illustrations, we have uniformly been supposing the glory of this world to be the men's object-a self-idolatry, and a passion for distinction and admiration. And it is as regarded in this light, that the men intellectually eminent may be accosted with the question, "Where will ye leave your glory?" If they reply, like the heroic class, "Fame, admiration of posterity," &c.-it is enough to say again,-what will that fame signify to you—to your self? Even if it could reach you, do you expect so very little enlargement of intellect there, that you could be flattered by recollecting what you knew here? But more than this. If, in that passion for 'renown, you have exerted great powers of mind to do fatal and lasting mischief—to overwhelm truth-to corrupt the morals-to explode religion to degrade the glory of the Redeemer-what then ? If you can, in that world, have any vital sympathy with your fame. your influence remaining in this-the conse

quence would but be-a quick continual succession of direful shocks, conveyed to your living spirit from what your works are doing here! Or do you reckon on nonexistence after death? then, of all forms of madness, this passion for your "glory" is the maddest !

Contrast with all these forms of folly, the predominant aim of a Christian-which is "glory" still; but a glory which he will not have to leave! a glory accumulating for him in the world to which he is going to which he is progressively transmitting, if we may so speak, the effects of all his exertions here, for God, for the Redeemer, for the good of men, for the future welfare of his soul, which he commits, together with his spirit, to Christ, and can say. “I know that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day."

February 5, 1823.

LECTURE XXVI.

ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE.

ROMANS X. 2.

"For I bear them record, that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.”

THE first good use of some texts is, to endeavour to prevent a bad one. To an evil-disposed mind it is exceedingly gratifying to find Scripture that can be quoted with a specious appearance of sanction. This sentence is an example; for it has very often been cited for the purpose of depreciating zeal itself, of the genuine kind, and in its best applications. Think,-on how many excellent projects, and efforts, and men, this has been pronounced—“ zeal without knowledge." How many excellent and eventually successful designs would have been abandoned, if this had always been listened to as a right application of the text. What would have become, for instance, of most of the missionary projects which are now in hopeful, or eminently successful, operation? of many designs for enlightening, reforming, christianizing, dark parts of our own nation? of many venturous experiments for good, hazarded upon the strength of one circumstance in favour,-while there appeared many against? of any project of hostility to a prevailing evil,-boldly conceived and undertaken? In every such instance, the cry has infallibly been-" Zeai without knowledge."

With men of indifferent, frozen temperament, this has been about the most favourite sentence in the Bible.

Timid, cowardly men, though otherwise well-disposed, very naturally take refuge here. The parsimonious are always ready with this good text.-The idolaters of custom, and of everything established and old.-An intellectual class content with mere speculation, and regarding scarcely any thing as worth being attempted to be done. With most of these classes of persons, however, it is not that Zeal itself, for some use or other, is denied to be a most excellent thing. No, certainly; they extol it, and, "none would be more zealous than they,―on a proper occasion." But when can that occasion come? Is it to be an occasion expressly devised, and brought on by Providence for the one simple purpose of enabling them to show that they really possess this high virtue? Or, is it to be when the world, and themselves, and all things, are a great deal mended, so that there shall be less difficulty, less to be done and to be resisted? But who then, or what, is to do all this that is to be accomplished in the mean time? There are immediately and constantly at hand, plenty of such things as have always been deemed by zealous men the objects worthy of zeal. But the deficiency of this right spirit never fails to be supplied by ingenuity enough to make out, that these are not the proper objects and occasions. How evident it is, therefore, that everything which may be said in the way of disapproving and repressing zeal, should be said cautiously and discriminatively.

But still, there is in the world an ill-judging, and unwarrantable, and pernicious Zeal. Indeed, if we take zeal in its quite general sense-ardour,-persevering ardour, in prosecution of a purpose, it has been, in its depraved operation, the most dreadful pest on earth. It has been the very strength and soul, and animating demon, of every active evil. View it combined with any evil passion, and see what it can do, with hatred--revenge-love of power. Behold

it in the great troublers of the world, of all times and classes; the conquerors-the savage exterminators—the persecutors-the impostors! If this fire could have been suddenly quenched by some rain from heaven, these men would have sunk almost into nothing, though their depraved disposition had remained the same. And as to many that are comparatively harmless, but have the evil, the malignant disposition, within them,-let but this fire be kindled, by a torch from hell applied to the brimstone that lies cold and quiet in their nature—and we should see!

But, not to dwell on these terrible operations of zeal, we see its effect in numberless things of a more diminutive order. For example; earnest exertions, indefatigably prolonged, for supreme excellence in some most, trifling attainment; unremitting efforts in prosecution of inquiry into something not worth knowing (at least, not worth any cost to know); an intense devotion, which devours the soul, to add particle after particle to the little sum of worldly possession; the earnest vieing with neighbouring fellow mortals in little points of appearance, consequence, precedence. So we see that zeal is an element that will combin with any active principle in man;-will give its strength and inspiration in any pursuit or interest under the sun;— will profane itself to the lowest, will be the glory of the highest; like fire, that will smoulder in garbage, and will lighten in the heavens.

Zeal thus has its operation in all the active interests of men. But, it is most usually spoken of as directed to something belonging to Religion, and it is in this relation that we have here to consider it. "Zeal of God." And who can help wishing that there were a thousand times more zeal directed this way? Think of the whole measure of it that there is constantly expending by the human race, and what it is expended upon! what proportion of it might well