The Mystery of Self-Deceiving, Chapter 28
CHAP. XXVIII.
Of certaine notes which the worde of God giueth of an vpright heart.
AFter this discouery by the meanes, wee must 2. Marks to try the hearts sincerity, aslay our hearts to the rule of the word, and examine them by those notes which there are giuen of an vpright and sincere heart. And these are many. I will name onelyonly fiue.
1. A sincere heart is an humble heart. An hypocriticall 1. Humility.heart is alwaies proud, and vaine-glorious: As in the Pharisees Math. 6. And therefore our Sauiour said to them, How can ye beleeue, when ye seeke glory one of another? And so in Simon Magus seeking Ioh, 5. 44. Acts, 8. 18. 2. King. 10. 16his owne praise, and profit, in the desire of the Apostolicall gifts. Whom therefore Peter told, that his heart was not vpright before God. In Iehu likewise we may discerne the same spirit, when he saide to Ionadab, Is thy heart vpright, as mine? preferring himselfe before Ionadab. Whereas sincerity is alwaies better conceited of another, and very fearefull, and suspitious of it selfe. And so it will make a Christian, when he sees another, specially a Ionadab, to say to himselfe, Is my heart vpright, so as is his? Againe, Come, saies he, and see what zeale I hauehave for the Lord of hosts. Yea but sincere zeale desires not to be seen of any, saue him who seeth in secret. The Pharisees desire to bee seene of men, because they seeke the praise of men. Their lampes will not burne without this oile. Wind-mils they are, which will not turne about to do any good seruice, without the wind o… mens prayses. Hēce it is that they hauehave little zeal in prayer, vnlesse it be the publick, that so ostentation & vain▪glory may warme their harts. As in fasting, once it fared with one, that in the monastery could fast whole daies together with ease but in the desert he could not hold out vntil noon, but his belly would craue presently. Whereof when he demanded the reason, this answer was returned him, that in the monastery the praise of men was in stead of meat to him, he fed there vponupon it, which sustenance failing him in the desert, his fasting strength also failed. But vntounto sincerity her very obedience it selfe is meat and drinke. Iohn. 4. 34. In other works, the worker must hauehave meat, or else hee will not holde out in his worke. But vntounto sincerity, her very worke is her meate. Hypocrisie, which is soone tyred at this work, without the refreshment of humane praises, well may it seeke for publique theaters: But sinceritie hides it selfe in the closet, and as in prayer, so in all good duties shuts the doore.
And as the sincere hart is humble in regard of the end, wherat it aims in doing any good, namely Gods glory, not daring in any thing to seeke it selfe; so also in the manner of doing; not daring to trust it selfe, but affected with a thorough sense of it owne infirmity, it resteth it selfe wholly vponupon the power of God, to be perfected in her weakenes. Peter therefore, in that wherein his heart was vnsound, and deceitfull, shewed this spirit of pride, and vaine confidence in himselfe. For hee could not thinke that strength wherby he thought to stand was of Christ; because Christ flatly denied him his strength, and Peter neuer praied for it. And yet lo how confident he was? Though all men, yet not I; as though there had beene more in him, then in any other. Yea he contradicted Christ admonishing him of his frailty, & as Marke notes, the more Christ warned him, the more confident and peremptory was he.
Lastly, after the doing of eueryevery good thing sincerity stil remaines humble, and when men would deifie vsus, it will not accept of any such honors, but sends Dan. 2. 30. Act, 2. 12. and 14. 15. Nisi humilitas omnia quae benefacimus et praecesserit, et comitetur, et consecuta fuerit, et praeposita quam intuemur, et apposita cui adhaereamus, et imposita qua reprimamur, &c. Aug. epist. 56.them back to the Lord, as in Daniel, & the Apostles. And thus, if we be sincere, in al things we do, there must be humility, preposed, in regard of the end we must look at, apposed, in regard of the māner of doing, imposed, after wee hauehave done, as a curb to restraine vsus, least we reioyce not in the Lord but in our selues.
Obiect. But this is a hard saying will some say, and if the case be thus, who then can be sincere? for who is there that is not tainted with pride, if not in al, yet in some of these three respects?
Ans. It is one thing for a mans eye to glance towards a thing, another thing to fixe, and fully to settle it selfe vponupon it. Thoughts of pride and vain-glory may rush into the hart of a sincere Christian: they rest onelyonly in the heart of an hypocrite; who is set on worke onelyonly by them in al his actions, and seekes only to giuegive contentment to them.
I adde further, if sincerity bee not humble in this first kinde of humility, yet at the least, it is humble in an after-humility. If it hauehave beene ouerseene in the doing of any thing in pride, it is twise as humble afterward, because it was not hūble. A notable difference betwixt sincerity, & hypocrisie. There may be some kind of humility in hypocrisie, and of pride in sincerity: but hypocrisies humilty is followed with pride, and sincerities pride with humility. This latter humility is the better. And here only it is seemly for vertue to come behinde vice. Hypocrisie is proud because it is humble: Sincerity is humble, because it is proud. Epaminondas a Thebane captaine the day after his victory, and triumph went drouping and hanging downe the head; and being asked why he did so, answered, yesterday I felt my selfe too much tickled with vainglory; therefore I correct my selfe for it to day. The same is the spirite of the sincere Christian, of the true Israelite. As you may see in the example of Ezekiah, of whom it is thus written. His heart was lift vp—notwithstanding Ezekiah humbled himselfe after his heart was lift vp. In a 2. Chr. 32. 25. 26.sincere heart there must bee either the fore-humility, or the after-humility, which is the more seuere of the two; either the directing humility, for the right manner, or else the correcting humility, for the erroneous manner of doing. If wee can follow the swing and sway of our owne proud, and vaineglorious affections, without all respect of Gods glory, and yet neuer be truly humbled afterward, this is palpable hypocrisie, wee hauehave not so much as the least dramme of sincerity: Which is many times more humbled for such mixtures, and defilements of good workes, then for some workes simply euill in themselues.
2. The sincere heart is a good, and honest heart, 2 The good and honest heart.as our Sauiour calls it. The honest heart is that, which cherisheth a vniuersall hatred of all sin, without exception, and carrieth a constant purpose, and resolution in nothing willingly to sinne against God, but to indeuour it selfe to the vtmost, in eueryevery good way of Gods commandements. Whatsoeuer it shall know to be a sinne, it will not purposely and deliberately doe it for all the world, it will not deteine the trueth in vnrighteousnesse. This note the Prophet Dauid giueth. For hauing saide, Blessed are the vpright Psal. 119. 3.in their way, hee teacheth vsus to discerne them by this note, Surely they doe no iniquity. And in another place, hee opposeth such as walke in any crooked waies, to the vpright in heart. Do good O Lord to Psal, 125. 4.those that are vpright in heart: but those that turne afide by their crooked waies, &c. It is the property of an hypocrite, to dispense with his conscience, at least for some one speciall, beloued sinne. As Iob among other his characters makes this one, that hee holdes his wickednesse as a sweete thing in his mouth, & Iob. 20. 12.hideth it vnderunder his tongue, and fauoureth it, and wil not forsake it, but keepeth it close in his mouth. Now this honest heart, as it hates all sinnes, so at all times. Sometimes the vnsound heart will hate sinne, when there is no benefite by it, but if after it may chance to be beneficiall to our selues, then we louelove it. Heere is a notable triall of sincerity, to preferre vertue before vice, then, when in humane reason vertue shall be the looser, vice the gainer. This note discouered false-hearted Iehu. He would not downe 2. King. 10. 29.with the worship of the calues, as well as with Baals, and why? because hee thought that would bee daungerous for his kingdome, if the Israelites were let go to the temple at Ierusalem, to worship. Therfore Ieroboams pollicie still preuailed with him. By this note many are detected for vnsound.1, King, 12. 2…
1. Those that pretending conscience of small matters sticke not at greater. Like the Pharises streining a gnat, and swallowing a camell. Hypocriticall Saul seemed to make a hainous matter of eating the flesh of beasts with the bloud. For vntounto the people thus offending he said, Yee hauehave dealt wickedlie. 1. Sam▪ 14, 33.But it was nothing with him to spill the innocent bloud of worthy Ionathan his sonne: for vnlesse hee had beene hindered, he had put him to death. Nay hee was so scrupulous, that hee would not so much as name a guilty man or a sinner, but in casting of lots, in stead of saying, shewe the nocent or guilty, Ver. 42. Codo integrum. id est declara quis si… innoxius, pro eo quod est declara nocentem, sid e…phemismo vtitur vt solent hypocrita. Inn. Luc. 10. 31.he said, shew the vpright, or innocent person, as Tremellius reads it. And yet this man at the same time, made no conscience of cruell and bloudy oathes. The Priest in the Gospell, when hee saw the wounded manlye halfe dead, hee went on the other side of the way, fearing least, by comming neere vntounto him, hee might contract some legall vncleannesse: but he feared not to passe by without all mercy and compassion, his poore, and distressed neighbor. The Pharisees would not defile themselues, in comming into the common hall on the day of preparation to the passeouer: but they scrupled not a whit to imbrue their hands in the bloud of the innocent lambe Ioh, 18. 28.of God. In no case would they eat in vessels vnpurified: but the meats which they did eate in those vessels were horribly polluted, both with vniustice and oppression, in the getting of them, and with intemperancie, and riot in the eating of them. And this is the meaning of that of our Sauiour, Wo bee to you Scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make cle… Math 23. 27. opened. Math, 27, 6. Qualis haec innecentiae simulati…, pecuni…m sanguints non mittere in ar…ā, et ipsum sanguinem …it…ēre s… conscienti…m? Aug.the outward side of the cup, and pla…ter: but within they are full of bribery, and excesse: So likewise Iudas 30. pieces at no hand must go into the treasury, because it was the price of the bloud. What a counterfeiting of holinesse was this, not to suffer the price of bloud to lye in a chest, and yet to suffer bloud it selfe to lie in the conscience?
2. This note likewise discouereth such for vnsoūd, whose conscience is onelyonly for the greater matters, the importants of the Law, mercy and iudgement, without any regard of mint or annice, though these also be Gods commandements, and ought to be regarded. A sincere heart is like to the eye troubled with the least mote, or like to a neate spruse man, that no sooner spies the least speck or spot in his garment, but gets … washed out. Whereas a nasty-slouen, though he be: all to be smeared, and besoyled, hee can indure it well enough. A delicate garden may not hauehave the loast weede in it, though the wildernesse be all ouergrowne with them. And a boxe of pretious ointment may not hauehave the least flie in it, though abarrell of pitch hauehave swarmes of them. A strait shooe cannot indure the least pibble stone, though a wide one may indure a greater. An vnsound conscience is large and can swallow downe any thing. The sincere conscience is strait, and the Luc, 16, 10. Ioh, 12, 6, & 18, 3.least bone, though but such as are in little fishes, will sticke in her throat. And certainely, he that is vniust in the least, is vniust also in much. Iudas, being vnfaithful to Christ in the matter of monie proued also, at last, vnfaithfull to him in the matter of his life it selfe. And Salomon tels vsus, how hee, that will lye ordinarily in common speech, will lye also before the iudgement seat, when he is produced as a witnesse; as contrarily, he that is a true witnesse bearer there, will not lye in his ordinary discourse. For this I take to be the meaning of that Prouerbe, A Pro. 14. 5. expounded.faithfull witnesse will not lye: but a false witnes bloweth forth lyes. If a man bee truely faithfull in much, he must needs also be faithfull in little. For the same God that requires his fidelity in the one, requires it also in the other. Saint Paul vponupon this ground confirmes his sincerity in a matter of priuate promise to the Corinthians, concerning his comming to them, by his sincerity in the preaching of the Gospell, a far greater matter. God is witnesse, saith hee, that our worde, that is, promise of comming, towards you, was 1, Cor, 1. 18. 19.not yea and nay. Why? for the sonne of God, that is my preaching of him, was not ye, and nay. Neglect then of small matters may iustly bring our obedience in greater matters into suspicion of vnfaithfulnesse. And therefore in this regard must conscience bee made of obedience euen in the smallest matters, & that vntounto the death, namely that we may approoue our obedience to be sound, and free from deceit. For in greater matters if we should not stand out, all the world would crie shame of vsus. And heere it would he hard to say whether the shame of the worlde, or conscience of Gods commandement vrged vsus. But in lessematters, the world rather will cry shame of vsus, if we dost and out. And therefore in our obedience heere, Gods commandement seemeth to carrie the greatest stroke with vsus.
3. This note discouereth those also for vnsound, that hauing some care of outward conformity, yet mind not the inward reformation of the heart. In this regard our Sauiour cals the Pharises hypocrites, and resembles them to painted sepulchres. Art begins, where nature ends. Nature in the framing of mans body begins first with the hart, and other such inward parts, and then in the last place comes to the face, and the outward parts. Thus is it with hypocrisie, which is an artificiall kind of holinesse; it begins and ends in the outward face, and fashion of religion: The inward pith, the heart, and substance thereof it cannot attaine vntounto. But the heart, and the purity thereof is the speciall thing the sincere Christian lookes vntounto. Gods Israell is pure in heart, so that though sometimes the hand bee defiled, yet then the heart is not alike polluted, but still the true Israelite may say, My heart is awake, though mine eies sleepe. Whereas the base Israelite may say contrarily, My heart is a sleepe though my eies bee waking, Cant, 5, 2.and my tongue be walking. My hart is foule though my hand be neuer so fine.
3. A sincere heart is a plaine and open heart, not 3. The plaine & open hart.desirous to smother, or craftily to conceale it sinnes, but rather to hauehave them laide open, and to hauehave the conscience rubbed and ransacked. So that with Dauid it cryeth, Try mee O Lord, and see if there bee any wickednesse in me, and with the same Prophet, let the Psal, 139.righteous smite me. But an vnsound and crooked hart Psal, 141. 5.as well as crooked legges, loues to bee hid. It hates the light; it cannot away with reprehension, but wold rather eat of the del…tes of flatteries, against which the Prophet praieth, Let not my soule eate of Psal, 141, 4.their delicates, Let me not delight in their clawings, but rather in the blowes of righteous reprehensions. Neither in any sorte can it indure triall. Guilty Gen, 31. 35.Rahel durst not rise, when Laban came into her tent to search for his Idols. On the contrary, as it argued humility in the 11. disciples, to suspect the worst by themselues, so also sincerity, that they were not Math, 26, 22.priuy to any such wickednes, when hearing our Sauior foretell the trechery of one of them, they offred themselues to the triall saying, Master is it I? is it I?IV. Greatest seuer ty against our owne sinnes.
4. A sincere hart is alwaies most seuere against sin, where nature & carnall respects wold teach vsus to be mildest. As first to our selues. Indeed sincerity cannot indure sin in any, in it selfe least of all. An hypocrite will not indure the least sin in others, no not so much as a moat in his brothers; so sharp is he: in the meane time he can indure a beam in his own eye; so indulgent Math. 7, 3.is he to himselfe. Iudah could adiudge Thamar to the fire: vponupon himselfe yet, being far deeper in that Gen, 38, 24.transgression, he could pronounce no such sentence. Dauid lay snorting in his owne sinne, when yet hee sentenced a proportionable sinne, related in the person 2, Sam, 12. 5.of another. Wherein hee bewraied want of vprightnesse. It was said of Antonie, hee hated a tyrant, not tyranny. It may as truly be said of an hypocrite, tyrannum non tyrannidem.he hateth sinners, not sinnes. For he nourisheth many in him, notwithstanding the rigor of his zeale against other mens sinnes. This is an ill signe, wheresoeuer it is. A good heart is ready to throw the first stone at it selfe, beeing slower in censuring others. None can say so much …ainst it, but it selfe will bee ready to say much more.
And as the sincere man will no more winke at his owne sinnes, then at anothers, so neither at theirs, to whom he is tied more by naturall and worldly respects, thē others, to whom he is not so tied. No more at his owne childrens, then at anothers, at his owne parents, then at another, at great and rich ones, then at the meaner ones, at friends to whom he is bound for, and depends vponupon in hope of kindnesse, then strangers that hauehave no interest at all in him. Sincerity is free from partiality. With Leui it knowes neither father, nor mother, neither King nor Kaesar. This the Pharises, though hypocrites, knew well enough when they saide, Master, wee know thouteachest Math, 22. 16.the way of God in trueth, that is, in sincerity, and carest not for any mans person, no not for Caesars himselfe. Tell vsus then, whether lawfull to giuegive tribute to him or no. Heere then was Ionathans sinceritie, 1. Sam, 19, 4, 5when he condemned his owne Father, and that a King, in his proceedings against Dauid, & defended Dauids innocency. Heere was olde Iakobs sincerity Gen 49. Mark. 6, 18.on his death bed, when fatherly affections are most liuely, so deepely censuring Reuben, Simeon, Leui his owne sonnes. Heere was Iohn Baptists sincerity, that he would not be silent, no not at Herods incest. Here was our Sauiours sincerity, that his mouth was not stopped with the Pharisees good cheere, but euen at their owne tables layed them out in their owne colours, and intertaines them with as many menaces, Luc, 9, 37, 42.as they did him with dishes of meats. Here was the Beniamites vnsoundnes, that were ready with Iudg. 20. 14.the sword to defend in their brethren such prodigious lustes, which they could not but condemne in their iudgements, & in others no doubt would hauehave bin ready to hauehave punished with their swords. The Prophet ioyneth these two together, Thou art a God of pure eies, aad canst not beholde iniquity. So must it Hab, 1, 13.be with vsus, if we will be pure & sincere in heart, wee must behold no iniquity, no not in our selues, or those that are neerest vntounto vsus. For sincerity, as it loueth goodnes euen in the greatest enemy, so it hateth sin, euen in the greatest friend.
Lastly, to omitte many other notes, sincerity simply V. Reioycing & grieuing for others graces, & sins as well as our owne.reioyceth in goodnes, & in good things thēselues and the glory of God thence arising. Therfore as it grieueth for other mens sins, so it reioyceth in other mens obedience. Many are of a contrary spirit. They can be grieued for their owne sins, but not for other mens. Heere it is suspitious, we greeue not so much for Gods cause, for the dishonour our sins hath done to him (for then wee should greeue also at our brethrens sins, because they also staine Gods glory) but for our own sake, for fear, or feeling of some euil procured to our selues by our sin: and such griefe argues rather selfe-louelove, then any true louelove of God. So likewise they can be cheered, when they see Gods glory set forth by themselues in any good work: not alike, when by others. Nay rather they greeue at those good works of others, if of any marke, wherein they hauehave had no hand themselues. Like those Ephraimites, that said to Iptah, Wherfore wentst thou to fight Iud, 12, 1.against the children of Ammon, and didst not call vsus? But the sincere Christian, so God be truly glorified, though it be without his help, yet reioyceth and giueth thankes, nothing lesse, then if himselfe had bin the instrument. If any good thing be done, he doth not stand curiously inquiring of the authour; of his iudgment, of his affections, to find out something to imbase the work; but is glad that any glory is broght to God, or good to his Church, and with thankesgiuing taketh his part of benefit thereout. Euen as in eating of meats, wee aske not where or how it was got, but fall to it; and in the shambles, the Apostle willeth not to inquire whether it had been sacrificed to the idol or no, but being good meat, and fit to be 1. Cor. 10, 27.eat, without any more adoe to buy it. Thus Nathaniel the good Israelite did not so stand vponupon, or sticke at Nazareth, but that he would go and try what our Sauiour was. And though the Philippick preachers Ioh, 1, 47. Phil, 1. 18.preached of enuy, and vaine-glorie, yet for the matter soundly, their corrupt manner, what was that to Paul? that Christ was truely preached, he therein reioyced, and would reioyce. It is not then sincerities palate, not to relish good meat, and wel cooked, because we relish not the cooke.
Thus I hauehave shewed both the meanes to discouer and notes to trie our false hearts by. And of the third illustration of the deceitfulnesse of the heart, namely by the vnsearchablenesse thereof, so much.