2. He loves All his Duty, he is neither afraid to know, nor ashamed to own all his duty: By this the Lord measures Integrity 1 King. 9. 4. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy Father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee. Here's the just Standard of sincerity. For can the holy, wise, and just God appoint any thing unreasonable or uncomfortable for his own creature, his dear child to perform? Alas! All his ways are mercy and truth, and all his Laws tend to his servants good. What harsher Law in appearance than that Matth. 5. 29. If thy right eye, if thy right hand offend thee, pluck it out, cut it off. ⟨p. 36⟩And yet if any of you had an eye that were always leading you into pits and precipices, to drown and destroy you, would not you have it out? if you had an hand that were always running into the fire, and you could not keep it out, would not you hack it off? why, it is no other eye or hand, the Gospel hath a quarrel with, but those that would lead into ruin, run you into hell: and how reasonable and necessary is it to be rid of such? The upright man is convinced of this, and so he knows nothing in Religion but what he likes. Some things may grate upon his carnal appetite, yet he loves them dearly. Now an hypocrite is quite another man, like a sorry Scholar in a hard Chapter, he skips over the hard words, and makes nothing of them; whereas the well taught Scholar, will spell, and labour at them, and rather venture a whipping, than skip over them: So is it between the hypocrite and the upright in the duties of Christianity. An hypocrite runs smoothly on in divers Religious exercises, till he meets with some costly, hard, or hidden duties, and there he stands stock-still; he considers that there is no credit or profit, but only pains or peril, to be got, and presently ⟨p. 37⟩skips over these hard words, and neither loves nor obeys: whereas the upright man finding his duty, bides by it, dwells upon it, and will deny himself ere he will deny his duty. If God will have me love mine enemies, I will love them: 1If he will have me forsake this company or course that I am taken with, I will freely leave them: If he will have me pray, yea and fast too, no duty shall be so hard, but I will do it; no sin so sweet, but I will leave it, with my whole heart and my whole soul.
2. He loves All his Duty, he is neither afraid to know, nor ashamed to own all his duty: By this the Lord measures Integrity 1 King. 9. 4. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy Father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee. Here's the just Standard of sincerity. For can the holy, wise, and just God appoint any thing unreasonable or uncomfortable for his own creature, his dear child to perform? Alas! All his wayes are mercy and truth, and all his Laws tend to his servants good. What harsher Law in appearance than that Matth. 5. 29. If thy right eye, if thy right hand offend thee, pluck it out, cut it off. ⟨p. 36⟩And yet if any of you had an eye that were alwayes leading you into pits and precipices, to drown and destroy you, would not you have it out? if you had an hand that were alwayes running into the fire, and you could not keep it out, would not you hack it off? why, it is no other eye or hand, the Gospel hath a quarrel with, but those that would lead into ruine, run you into hell: and how reasonable and necessary is it to be rid of such? The upright man is convinced of this, and so he knows nothing in Religion but what he likes. Some things may grate upon his carnal appetite, yet he loves them dearly. Now an hypocrite is quite another man, like a sorry Scholar in a hard Chapter, he skips over the hard words, and makes nothing of them; whereas the well taught Scholar, will spell, and labour at them, and rather venture a whipping, than skip over them: So is it between the hypocrite and the upright in the duties of Christianity. An hypocrite runs smoothly on in divers Religious exercises, till he meets with some costly, hard, or hiddén duties, and there he stands stock-still; he considers that there is no credit or profit, but only pains or peril, to be got, and presently ⟨p. 37⟩skips over these hard words, and neither loves nor obeyes: whereas the upright man finding his duty, bides by it, dwells upon it, and will deny himself ere he will deny his duty. If God will have me love mine enemies, I will love them: 1If he wil have me forsake this company or course that I am taken with, I will freely leave them: If he will have me pray, yea and fast too, no duty shall be so hard, but I will do it; no sin so sweet, but I will leave it, with my whole heart and my whole soul.
- 1V•niet verbum Domini & submittem•s •i sexcenta sinobis essent colla. baldaz. ad Oecolampadium.
