- A godly man is a sincere man,1 Iohn 1. 47. Behold an Israelite indeed, in whose spirit there is no guile. The word for sincere, […] signifies sine plicis, without pleats and folds: A godly man is plain-hearted, having no subtil subterfuges; Religion is the Livery a godly man wears, and this Livery is lined with Sincerity.
Quest. Wherein doth the godly mans Sincerity appear?
Answ. 1. The godly man is that which he seems to be; he is a Iew inwardly, Rom. 2. 29. Grace runs through his heart, as silver through the veins of the earth: The hypocrite is not what he seems. —Fronte positus, Astutam vapido servans sub pectore vulpem.
A picture is like a man, but it wants breath: The Hypocrite is an Effigies, a picture, he doth not breathe forth Sanctity; he is but like an Angel on a Sign-post: A godly man answers to his profession, as the Transcript to the Original.
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The godly man labours to approve himself to God in every thing, 2 Cor. 5. 9. We labour that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. ‘Tis better to have God approve, than the world applaud: They that did run in the Olympick Race, laboured to have his approbation, who was the Judge and Umpire of the Race: There is a time shortly coming, when a smile from Gods face will be infinitely better than all the applauses of men: How sweet will that word be, Euge bone serve, Well done thou good and faithful servant, Mat. 25. 21. A godly man is ambitious of Gods Letters-Testimonial; the hypocrite desires to carry it fair with men: Saul was for the vogue of the people, 1 Sam. 15. 30. A godly man approves his heart to God, who is both the Spectator and the Judge.
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The godly man is ingenuous in laying open of his sins, Psa. 32. 5. 1 confessed my sin to thee, and my iniquity have I not hid. The hypocrite doth vail and smother his sin; he doth not abscindere peccatum, but abscondere; like a Patient that hath some loathsome disease in his body, he will rather die than confess his disease: But a godly mans sincerity is seen in this, he will confess and shame himself for sin, 2 Sam. 24. 17. Lo I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: Nay, a Childe of God will confess sin in particular; an unsound Christian will confess sin by wholesale, he will acknowledge he is a sinner in general; whereas David doth as it were point with his finger to the sore, Psal. 51. 4. I have done this evil: He doth not say, I have done evil, but this evil; he points at his bloud-guiltiness.
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The godly man hath blessed designs in all he doth; he propounds this end in every Ordinance, that he may have more acquaintance with God, and bring more glory to God; as the herb Heliotropium turns about according to the motion of the Sun; so a godly mans actions do all move towards the glory of God: It is an axiom in Phylosophy, The means are in order to the2 end. A godly mans praying and worshipping is, that he may honor God; though he shoots short, yet he takes a right aim; the hypocrite minds nothing but self-interest, the sails of his Mill move not, but when the wind of preferment blows; he never dives into the waters of the Sanctuary, but to fetch up a piece of gold at the bottom.
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The godly man abhors dissimulation towards men, his heart goes along with his3 tongue, he cannot flatter and (Psa. 28. 3) hate, commend and censure, Rom. 12. 9. Let love be without dissimulation. Dissembled love is worse than hatred; counterfeiting of friendship is no better than a (Psa. 78. 36) lye, for there is a pretence of that which is not: Many are like Ioab, 2 Sam. 20. 9. He took Amasa by the beard to kiss him, and smote him with his sword in the fifth rib, and he4 died. —Impia sub dulci melle venena latent.—
There is a River in Spain, where the fish seem to be of a golden colour, but take them out of the water, and they are like other fish: All is not gold that glisters; there are some pretend much kindness, but they are like great veins which have little bloud; if you lean upon them, they are as a Leg out of joynt: For my part I much question his truth towards God, that will flatter and lie to his friend, Pro. 10. 18. He that hideth hatred with lying lips is a fool. By all that hath been said, we may try whether we have this note of a godly man, to be sincere.