The Works of Symon Patrick - 1858 Author:Simon Patrick Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: gave him a sensible demonstration of that which he already believed. He found that the God of peace could not make himself long a stranger to men of peaceable sp... more »irits, and that he waits sometimes to do us a pleasure there, where we feared to meet with harm and mischief. For falling one day into the company of some persons who were discoursing concerning the state of affairs abroad, he happened to light on that which he verily thought their vain jangling would fright and drive away. There were many debates passed about the several opinions that were then on foot, and about the grand supporters of them. Some leaned to this, others to that; but he could not perceive there was any of them who was not addicted to a sect, and did not seek to hear the voice of Jesus Christ amidst the clamours and hideous noises of the disputers of the world. At last there stood up an old man that was a perfect stranger to him, who told them that in his judgment (if it would be permitted him to deliver it boldly) they were hugely mistaken who marched under the banners of any of those leaders in defiance to the rest of their brethren. Jerusalem, he said, was very little beholden to them, which was a city at better unity within itself than it was supposed by their ensigns; and he believed the way to that place would be found to be more peaceable than to be disturbed with the sound of drums and trumpets. Their zeal (he continued) might be the effect of little, not of much knowledge; and their confidence the nursling of an overweening opinion of themselves, rather than the issue of a sound judgment and clear conception of things. In fine, he told them, that if they would take a little time to cool themselves, and would abate so much of their presumption as to think they might possibly err, he doubted not but ...« less