Chap. 23. An Expofttion up;n the BookofJ Vert 3. 'gut no Omniscient Judges in the world. Princes are faid to have long hands, and very cleare eyes, they can reach farre, and fee afar: e, but Orley cannot fee all ;hut God is able to Judge the fecrets ofall hearts, for he fees all fecrets, and knowes whit man cannot. For that rcafon a godly man loves the Judgement ofGod,becaufe he knowes his heart; And for the fame reason wicked men,hypo Crites efpecially, are afraidof the Judgement ofGod; they know if their outward a&ions should come to befcan'd, much more if their hearts fhould be turn'd outward, it mull needs goe ill with them. Mod hypocrites carry it faire onely for a while before the world they at laic difcovcr themfelves the difeafe breaks out at their fingersends, or at their tongues end Their words or works difcover the rottenneffe of their hearts,and the formality of their prof(ilìon, But forme hypocrites carry it faire to the world all their dayes, and feare not the Judgement ofmen,yet even then a thought of the Judgement ofGod is dreadful! to them, whereas theSaints, even all who are sincere, desire God to fudge them ; for indee.: their hearts are batter then their wages, and their af- fections then their actions, and they know that God difcernes with whit heart and fpirit every thing is done,as well as what is done. He doth not Judge by appearances (aswe ought nor, 7birn 7.24..)and therefore his is a righteous Judgement.God doth nc,t judge things as theyappear, but as they are, unleffe they are as they appear, and whatfoever their appearance is, he can judge them as they are.He can judge by difcerning what is in the deep,, and follow a matter to the very fpring ofit ; therefore Isle go to God (faith the upright heart) my desire is that he should Judge .tycPufe. Thirdly, TheLord is a gracious and a merciful! judge; he is as full of pity as he is ofwifdome, and as ready to relieve as he is quick lighted todifcerre. Fourthly, The Lord is verypatient; Fi,it, patient to heate; and Iecondly, patient to beare. Patience to heare is a great en- couragement ; many Judges are wearyof the work, they will not heare a poor man out, but God will; and God is patient alto to beare withand paffeby the failings ofhis people, whole upright- riffle he knowes., Lailly, AGodly man knowes that God his Judge hath recei- ved an atonement,, thatkirk made farhim, and upon grounds of Jutliçe
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