An expository comment, doctrinal, controversial, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…An expository comment, doctrinal, controversal, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…

Fifthly, Simplicity consisteth in an even, equal and uniform way of obedience. ¹The course of a mans life is for the general of the same complexion, always praying, always believing, always mortifying of sin, always heavenly mindedness. I do not speak this, as if there were never ⟨p. 407⟩any interruption, sometimes natural, as in sleep; and otherwayes, because the soul being finite, cannot attend to many things at once; sometimes moral by sin, or at least careless and dull affections, but the course of his life, or as the Scripture calls it, The way of a man, that is, generally of the same consonancy: Whereas Hypocrisy is full of uneven and unequal actions, sometimes mountains, sometimes valleys. There are many Hyperbatons, (as it were) in the oration of his life; his life doth speak in different Dialects; he can say Sibboleth, and Shibboleth too. Thus David describeth the godly man, as Meditating and delighting in the Law of God day and night. And the Apostle John speaketh once or twice, That those who are borne of God, sin not, neither can they: Not because they have not divers infirmities, but because the full purpose, and habitual inclination of such a mans heart is uniformly to Gods commands. Therefore you heard, that the opposite to [Greek or Hebrew], is [Greek or Hebrew]. If you look upon many examples of those, who did many things for God, yet wanted this simplicity, you shall find a great difformity in their lives; their lives speak contradiction, they are not the same men at one time, they are at another. Thus Soul at first very zealous to promote the will of God; yea from this he did put all the Witches to death, and yet at another time he himself maketh recourse to such. So Jehu, how active is he to destroy Baal's worship, but yet he retaineth Jeroboam's worship? If it was good to destroy Ahab's worship, because not commanded by God, was it not also good to demolish Jeroboam's, seeing that also had no command from God? But where there is no simplicity of heart, you may observe a great deal of unevenness, yea and contradiction in that mans conversation.

Fifthly, Simplicity consisteth in an even, equal and uniforme way of obedience. ¹The course of a mans life is for the general of the same complexion, alwayes praying, alwayes believing, alwayes mortifying of sinne, alwayes heavenly mindednesse. I doe not speak this, as if there were never