A Godly Man Is Thorough-Paced in Religion

22. A godly man is thorow-paced in Religion,¹he obeys every Command of God, Act. 13. 22. I have found David a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. In the Greek […] all my wills. A godly man labours to walk according to the full bredth and latitude of Gods Law. Every Command hath the same stamp of Divine Authority upon it, and he who is godly, will obey one Command as well as another, Psal. 119. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect to all thy Commandments. A godly man goes through all the Body of Religion, as the Sun through all the Signs of the Zodiack. He that is to play upon a ten-stringed Instrument, must strike upon every string, or he spoils all the Musick. The ten Commandments may be compared to a ten-stringed Instrument, we must obey every Commandment, strike upon every string, or we can make no sweet Musick in Religion: True obedience is filial; it is fit the Childe should obey the Parent in all just and sober commands: Gods Laws are like the Curtains of the Tabernacle, which were looped together; they are like a Chain of Gold, where all the links are coupled: A conscientious man will not willingly break one Link of this Chain; if one Command be violated, the whole Chain is broken, Iam. 2. 10. Whosoever shall keep the whole Law, yet offend in one point, is guilty of all. A voluntary breach of one of Gods Laws, involves a man in the guilt, and exposeth him to the curse of the whole Law: True obedience is intire and uniform: A good heart, like the Needle, points that way which the Load-stone draws.

This is a grand difference between a Childe of God and an hypocrite; the hypocrite doth pick and chuse in Religion; some duties he will perform which are more facil, and do gratifie his pride or interest, but other duties he makes no reckoning of, Mat. 23. 23. Ye pay tithe of Mint and Annis, and have omitted the weightier matters of the Law, Iudgment, Mercy, and Faith. To sweat in some duties of Religion, and freeze in other, is the symptom of a distempered Christian. Iehu was zealous in destroying the Idolatry of Baal, but let the golden Calves of Jeroboam stand, 2 Kin. 10. 30. This shows men are not good in truth, when they are good by halves. If your servant should do some of your work you set him about, and leave the rest undone, how would you like that? The Lord saith, Walk before me, and be perfect, Gen. 17. 1. How are our hearts perfect with God, when we prevaricate with him? Some things we will do, and other things we leave undone; he is good, who is good universally. —Pater adsum, impera quid vis. (Plautus)—

There are ten duties God calls for, which a godly man will conscientiously perform; and indeed these Duties may serve as so many other Characters and Touch-stones to try our godliness by.

1 A godly man will be often calling his heart to account;² he takes the candle of the word, and searcheth his inward parts, Psa. 77. 6. I commune with my own heart, and my spirit made diligent search: a gracious soul searcheth whether there be any duty omitted, any sin cherished; he examines his evidences for heaven; as hee will not take his gold upon trust, so neither his grace; he is a spiritual Merchant, hee casts up the estate of his soul, to see what he is worth; he sets his house in order; often reckonings keep God and conscience friends; a carnal person cannot abide this heart-work, he is ignorant how the affairs go in […] soul; he is like a man, who is well acquainted in forraign parts, but a stranger in his own country. —ut nemo insese tentat descendere, nemo?

2 A godly man is much in closet-prayer, he keeps his hours for private devotion; Iacob when he was left alone, wrestled with God, Gen. 32. 24. So when a gracious heart is alone, it wrestles in prayer, and will not leave God till it hath a blessing; a devout Christian exerciseth eyes of faith, and knees of prayer.

Hypocrites, who have nothing of religion, besides the frontispiece, love to bee seen. Christ hath Characterized them, Mat. 6. 5. They love to pray in the corners of the streets, that they may be³ seen: The hypocrite is devout in the Temple; there all will gaze on him; but he is a stranger to secret communion with God; he is in the Church a Saint, but in his closet an Atheist; a good Christian holds secret intelligence with heaven: —ille dolet verè, qui sine teste dolet.

Private prayer keeps up the trade of godliness; when closet-holiness is laid aside, there is a stab given to the hear[…] of religion.

3⁴ A godly man is diligent in his⁵ calling; he takes care to provide for his family: the Church must not exclude the shop. ‘Tis a speech of Mr. Perkins, though a man be endued with excellent gifts, and hear the word with reverence, and receive the sacrament, yet if he practise not the duties of his calling, all is but hypocrisie; religion did never grant a pattent for idleness, 2 Thess. 2. 11, 12. There are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all; them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Iesus, that with quietness, they work, and eat their own bread: That bread eats most sweet, which is got with most sweat; a godly man had rather fast, than eat the bread of idleness. Vain professors talk of living by faith, but do not live in a calling; they are like the Lillies of the field, they toyl not, neither do they spin; an idle person is the Devils Tennis-ball; which he bandies up and down with temptation, and at last the Ball falls into the Hazzard.

4 A godly man sets bounds to himself in things lawful;⁶ he abates in matters of recreation and diet, hee takes only so much for the recruits of nature, as may the better dispose him for Gods service. Hierom lived abstemiously, his diet was a few dried Figs, and cold water. And Austin in his Confessions saith thus, Lord, thou hast taught me, to go to my meat as to a⁷ medicine: If the snaffle of reason, much more should the curbing-bit of grace check the⁸ appetite; the life of a Sinner is bruitish; the glutton feeds without fear, Iude 2. and the drunkard drinks without (Claud) reason: Too much oyle choaks the Lamp, whereas a lesser quantity makes it burn brighter; a godly man holds the golden bridle of temperance, and will not suffer his Table to be a snare.

5 A godly man is careful about moral righteousness;⁹ he makes conscience of equity, as well as piety; the Scripture hath linked both together, Luk. 1. 75. That wee might serve him in righteousness and true holiness: Holiness, there, is the first Table, Righteousness, there, is the second Table: Though a man may be morally righteous, and not godly, yet no man can be godly, but hee must be morally righteous: This moral righeousness is seen in our dealings with men; a good man observes that golden maxim, Mat. 7. 12. Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. There is a threefold injustice in matters of dealing.

1 Using of false weights, Hos. 12. 7. The ballances of deceit are in his hands: men by making their weights lighter, make their sin heavier, Amos 5. 8. They make the Ephah small: the Ephah was a measure they used in selling; they made the Ephah small, they gave but scant measure; a godly man, who takes the Bible in one hand, dares not use false weights in the other.

2 Imbasing a commodity, Amos 8. 6. They sell the refuse of the wheat: they would pick out the best grains of the wheat, and sell the worst at the same price as they did the best, Isa. 1. 22. Thy wine is mixed with water: they did adulterate their wine, yet make their customers beleeve it came from the pure grape.

3 Taking a great deal more than the commodity is worth, Lev. 25. 14. If thou sell ought to thy neighbour, ye shall not oppress one another: a godly man deals exactly, but not exactingly, he will sell so as to help himself, but not damnifie another. His motto is, A conscience void of offence, towards God, and towards men, Act. 23. 16.

The Hypocrite separates these two, which God hath joyned together, Righteousness and Holiness, he pretends to be pure, but is not just: This brings religion into contempt, when men hang forth Christs colours, yet will use fraudulent circumvention, and under a mask of piety, neglect morality; a godly man makes conscience of the second Table, as well as the first.

6 A godly man will forgive them that have wronged him,¹⁰ revenge is sweet to nature. […].¹¹

A gracious spirit passeth by affronts, forgets injuries, and counts it a greater victory to conquer an enemy by patience, than by¹²power: This is truly heroical, To overcome evil with good. Though I would not trust an Enemy, yet I would endeavour to love him; though I would exclude him out of my Creed, yet not out of my prayer, Mat. 5. 4.

Quest. But doth every godly man arrive at this, to forgive, yea love his Enemies?

Answ. He doth it in a Gospel-sense; that is, 1. Quoad assensum, he subscribes to it in his judgement, as a thing which ought to be done, Rom. 7. 18. With my mind I serve the Law of God. 2. Quoad dolorem: A godly man mourns that he can love his Enemies no more, Rom. 7. 24. O wretched man that I am! O this base canker’d heart of mine, that have received so much mercy, and can show so little! I have had Talents forgiven me, yet I can hardly forgive Pence. 3. Quoad votum: A godly man prays that God will give him an heart to love his Enemies; Lord pluck this root of bitterness out of me, perfume my soul with love, make me a Dove without gall. 4. Quoad conatum: A godly man doth in the strength of Christ resolve and strive against all rancour, and virulency of spirit: This is in a Gospel-sense to love our¹³ Enemies; a wicked man cannot do this, his malice boils up to revenge.¹⁴

7. A godly man lays to heart the miseries of the Church, Psal. 137. 1. We wept when we remembred Sion. I have read of certain Trees, whose leaves if cut or touched, the other leaves begin to contract, and shrink up themselves, and for a space hang down their heads: Such a spiritual sympathy is there among Christians, when other parts of Gods Church suffer, they feel themselves as it were touched in their own persons. Ambrose reports, that when Theodosius was sick unto death, he was more troubled about the Church of God, than about his own sickness. When Aeneas would have saved Anchises his life, saith he, Absit ut excisa possim supervivere Troiâ. (Virg) Far be it from me that I should desire to live when Troy is buried in its ruines; there are in Musick two Unisons, if you strike one, you shall perceive the other to stir, as if it were affected: When the Lord strikes others, a godly heart is deeply affected, Isa. 16. 11. My bowels shall sound like an Harp. Though it be well with a Childe of God in his own particular, he dwells in an house of Cedar, yet he grieves to see it go ill with the publick. Queen Esther enjoyed the Kings favour, and all the delights of the Court, yet when a bloudy Warrant was signed for the death of the Jews, she mourns and fasts, and ventures her own life to save theirs.

8.¹⁵ A godly man is contented with his present¹⁶condition; if provisions grow low, his heart is tempered to his condition: Many (saith Cato) blame me because I want, and I blame them because they cannot want: A godly man puts a candid interpretation upon Providence; when God brews him a bitter Cup, this (saith he) is my diet-drink; it is to purge me, and do my soul good, therefore he is well¹⁷ content.

9. A godly man is fruitful in good works,¹⁸ Titus 2. 7. The Hebrew word for godly […] signifies merciful; implying, that to be godly and charitable, are […], one and the same. A good man feeds the hungry, cloathes the naked, he is ever merciful, (Cyrill) Psal. 37. 6. The more devout sort of the Jews, at this day, distribute the tenth part of their Estate to the poor; and they have a Proverb among them, give the tenth, and you will grow¹⁹ rich. The hypocrite is all for Faith, nothing for Works; like the Lawrel that makes a flourish, but bears no fruit.

10. A godly man will suffer persecution;²⁰ he will be married to Christ, though he settle no other Joynture upon him but the Cross; he suffers out of (Heb. 11. 35) choice, and with a spirit of gallantry. Argerius wrote a Letter to his friend, dated, From the pleasant Garden of the Leonine prison. The blessed Martyrs, who put on the whole Armour of God, did by their courage blunt the edge of Persecution. The Juniper Tree makes the coolest shadow, and the hottest coal: So Persecution makes the coal of love hotter, and the shadow of death cooler.

Thus a godly man goes round the whole Circle of Religious Duties, and obeys God in what ever he commands. […].²¹

Object. But it is impossible for any one to walk according to the full bredth of Gods Law, and to follow God fully?

Answ. There is a two-fold obeying Gods Law; the first is perfect; when all is done that the Law requires, this we cannot arrive at in this life. Secondly, There is an incompleat obedience, which in Christ is accepted. This consists in four things.

1. An approving of all Gods Commandments, Rom. 7. 12. The Commandment is just, and holy, and good; and ver. 16. I consent unto the Law that it is good. There is both assent, and consent.

2. A sweet complacency in Gods Commands, Psal. 119. 47. I will delight my self in thy Commandments which I have loved.

3. A cordial desire to walk in all Gods Commands, Psal. 119. 5. O that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes.

4. A real endeavour to tread in every path of the Command, Psal. 119. 59. I turned my feet unto thy Testimonies. This God esteems perfect obedience, and is pleased to take it in good part. Zacharias had his failings, he did hesitate through unbelief, for which he was strucken dumb; yet it is said he did walk in all the Commandments of the Lord blameless, Luke 1. 6. Because he did cordially endeavour to obey God in all things. Evangelical obedience is true for the essence, though not perfect for the degree; and wherein it comes short, Christ puts his Merits into the Scales, and then there is full weight.

Footnotes

1. 22 Character. ↩

2. 1 Duty. ↩

3. […], plus valet qua […], Beza. ↩

4. 3 Duty. ↩

5. Nullus mihi per otium dies exit. Sen. ep. 8. ↩

6. 4 Duty. ↩

7. Lib. 10. confess. ↩

8. Magnu[…] sum & […] majora natus, […] ut sim corporis mei mancipium Seneca. ↩

9. 5 Duty. ↩

10. 6 Duty. ↩

11. Hom. II. ↩

12. Haud quaquam offensas […]bi illatas chaly[…]eo stilo marmore insculpit, se[…] Dei […] imitatur, qui injurias molli inscribit palimpsesto, cui gratiae suae spongia alligata est, ut illas statim deleat. ↩

13. Amicos diligere omnium est, inimicos autem s[…]lorum Christi anorum. Tert. ad Scapull. cap. 8. ↩

14. 7. Duty.
    ↩

15. 8 Duty. ↩

16. Dives est qui ni nil concupiscit. ↩

17. Phil. 4· 11. ↩

18. 9 Duty. ↩

19. Decima ut dives fias. ↩

20. 10 Duty. ↩

21. Polynices ap. Erip. ↩