It is possible fire may bee oppressed with too much wood, and heat suffocated with too much nourishment:  over-much prayer, reading, and study, may bee a wearinesse both to flesh and spirit:  but it so rarely happeneth, that I neede not mention it; and yet the soule hath its satiety.  There be some such perchance over-nice men in this sense also, who have not learned that God will have them mercifull to themselves:  It is often smoothered for want of vent and exercise.  Let such as use not and expresse not their zeale, bragge of their good hearts; surely they have none such, or not like to have them such.  If Nicodemus had not buried Christ by day, we might have feared his zeale had gone out, for all his comming by night.

Yet this is not so ordinary, as to extinguish it by the quench-coale of sinne; grosse sinne every man knowes will waste the conscience, and make shipwracke of zeale:  but I say, the least known evill unrepented of, is as a theefe in the candle, or an obstruction in the liver.  I feare, David served God but reasonably, till hee published his repentance; hee that steales his meat, though poverty tempt him, yet giveth thankes but coldly:  zeale and sinne, will soone expell the one or the other out of their subject; Can you imagine in the same roofe, God and Beliall, the Arke and Dagon?  Lastly, and most commonly, forraine heat will extract the inward, and adventicious heat consume the naturall.

The Sunne will put out the fire; and so will the love of the world, the love of the Father, they cannot stand together in intense degrees, one cannot serve both these matters with such affection as both would have.  Seldome seest thou a man make haste to bee rich, and thrive in religion.  Christs message to John holds true; The poore are most forward in receiving and following the Gospell:  as thou lovest thy zeale, beware of resolving to bee rich, lest gain proove thy godlinesse; take heede of ambitious aspiring, lest Courts and great places, proove ill aires for zeale, whither it is as easie to go zealous, as to returne wise:  Peter whiles hee warmed his hands, cooled his heart; Not that greatnesse and zeale cannot agree; but for that our weaknes many times severs them.  If thou beest willing to die poore in estate, thou mayest the more easily live rich in grace. Smyrna, the poorest of the seven Candle-stickes, hath the richest price upon it.

The diligent practise of these courses will make easie the practise of this counsell, Be zealous, &c.

The fift part.

[Sidenote:  1 Object.]

But heere mee thinke I heare the lukewarme worldling of our times, fume & chafe, and aske what needs all this adoe for zeale, as if all Gods people were not zealous enough.

[Sidenote:  Answer.]

Such as thinke they are, or can bee zealous enough, neede no other conviction to bee poore, blinde, naked, wretched and pittifull Laodiceans:  Fire is ever climbing and aspiring higher; zeale is ever aiming at that which is before; carried towards perfection; thinking meanely of that which is past, and already attained, condemning his unprofitable service, as Calvin his last Will:  this rule tries full conceited Christians.