Coln. r, Of Integrity, andPerfeverance,&c Chap:a7. I 85 he expeíìs his worfhip. For in the heartis the principal feat ofChrits Scepter , there be rules fubduing our wills to God. There is in all Men a corrupt defire.of appearing outwardly to Men , a,. rgc,nr , we affeEt to feem fomething as Saul when he ipake to Samuel, who had told him that God had rejeftedhim , yet faith r Sam, he , Honour me , I pray thee , before the Elders of my People, and before /pad : fuch is our nature to appear outwardlyto Men ; but this appearance'commends us not to God , for he delights molt in the truth , and fincerity of the heart : for, as the common faying is , every Man is chiefly delighted with that, wherein he is fingular, and exceeds others ; and becaufethat God alone can fearch the heart; there- fore he delights in it, and requires our obedience to be coram facie mea, as in his fight. Therefore itis that the Wife-man counfelleth a Man to keep his heart with all diligence. Hegives a double reafon, for it is the principal Member , and therefore 'MS'4' 3 gives God the chiefglory ; and farther, it is,the Fountain of all our AEtions by none of which is God ,honoured, ifthey come from a corrupt Fountain; nay, they are fo far from being accepted, that they are abominable and therefore according to the difpofition of the heart , life or death proceeds : if we worfhip God with aright heart , then we thall reap life; if that be, unfound , death eternal follows. And therefore necetae incurnbit , wehad need to keep that Member right. For allthofe glorious duties before fpoken of , if they want integrity or agood heart , they are fo far from Gods acceptation , that they become abomination. For if we believe , our Faith malt come from the heart ; if we love, it mutt not be in word Rom r °'ro. r John 3 but in truth , which comes from the heart. Our obedience alto mutt proceed Twm.6.,3, . from the heart. Toconclude this , whatfoever we do , we muft doit heartily , as Col.3.2.3. tp the Lord, and not to Men. That which is here commanded, is called , virtua imegritatis by the Fathers,- in- ward foundnefs againft hollownefs, and fincerity againft mixture. And they ground it upon Gods charge to Abraham , when he had made the Covenant ofCircumcifioe, Gen.57.1, Ambula coramme, what that is , God explained in the next words , t eRo in: eger, walk before me , and be upright,or perfei withouthypocrife. It is commonly joyned in Scripture with another word , 7ob was anupright and juft Man, the words lignifie properly, (trait and found , upright and pure in another place : and an Job r: honeft and good heart in another. The nature of the word integer is taken from tuk.S. is. 6, Timber, it muff be (irait without , and found within : ftrait that it be not crooked, coram facie lumina , and found, that itbenot hollow coram faciedivina, before God. Therefore theArkwas overlaid with Gold, without, and within ; and in thisrefpeat it was that the Pfalmiff diftinguifhed theChurch ( the Kings Daugh- Exod.zp.rr: ter) from other Kings Daughters, her outward beauty might yeparalell'd , but the Pfa1myf qe was all glorious within. It is the inward beauty which is required chiefly. That which is forbidden, is- hypocrite. Our Saviour tasted it in the Pharifees, by telling them they had a care to make clean the out-fide ofth'e Cupand Platter, but had no regard to that which was intas, within. Thisis thefignof (even woes, Mat.z3.2, s more than we read that any other fin had. Ofwhich St. Chryfoflome faith, Pharifæ- arum infliria eras in oflentatione opens, non in refliendine intentions, the righteoufnefs of the Pharifees , confined in oftentation of their works, not in the uprightnefsof their intents. The other extream is that the Prophet taxes in Ephraim, whomhe cail'dafilly Dove without heart: this is fimplicity without wifdom, when thereH017.1r: is, as our Saviour intimates, Columba fineferpente, the Dove withoutthe Serpent. OfMat.' °.16' filch fpeaks Solomon, whenhe faith , that a Fool utterer!) all his mind, hepoures out his fpirit without any manner of wifdom and difcretion, before every Man our integrity therefore mutt bepreferved with wifdom, z. The way to keep our felves in this integrity, Firft, Sesecá's counfel to LuciUtu (who defired this vertue) was , when he took any thing inhand , to imagine that T"means: Cato, Scipio, or fomeother of the antient Romans renowned for vertue, Rood be- fore him. But it is a better way for us to do as the Pfalmifl did, to fet God always before our eyes, conceiving, ( and that truly) that whatfoeverwe do is in his pre- Pfalm.r6.9; fence. Ifthat will not work with us, thento fet God not abfolutely, but as he will fit, when the ferrets ofall hearts fhall be difclofed at the dayofJudgement. Theday Rcm (as the Apoftle fpeaks) whenGod Thal! judge the fecrets ofall Menrfor as the Preach- ox faith) God (hall bringevery work into judgement, with every fecret thing. Eccle.R°17.,2.1.1 , z z,E¢, A a i. Another
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=