The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 5 · Character 2
2. Character.
Sincere Obedience is ſuch an Obedience, Rightneſs ofwhich doth 1. Come from a right ſpring. 2. Is wrought by a right Rule. 3. In a right manner. 4. To a right end. I put all together, that I may not multiply too much.
1. Sincere Obedience ariſeth from a right ſpring, 1. Spring.a ſound Obedience ariſeth from ſound Principles. A ſoul renewed, a ſoul univerſally ſanctified, and principled from above. Such as the Principle is, ſuch is a mans Obedience, dead Principles, and but dead Obedience, unſound Principles, and unſound Obedience. A mans actions can go no higher than his Principles. There muſt bee a good tree, before good fruit, the perſon muſt bee good, before the actions can bee good; if there bee a crack in the perſon, all is naught. Now this ſincere Principle which is the ſpirit of all our Obedience; it is nothing elſe but an entire and ſpiritual frame of Grace and Holineſs ſet up in the ſoul, whereby a man is renewed and changed. Which is called in Scripture, a new Creation, a writing of the Law in the heart, Regeneration, Renovation, Reſurrection from death to life, and a forming Chriſt in the ſoul. As it hath a reſpect to the heart, the ſeat of theſe Principles, it borrows five names.
It is called 1. A ſound heart, in oppoſition to an unſound, a falſe ſpirit. 2. A perfect heart, in oppoſition to an Hypocritical ſpirit. 3. And a ſingle heart, in oppoſition to a doubleneſs of ſpirit. 4. An honeſt heart, in oppoſition to a deceitful heart. 5. A whole heart, in oppoſition to a half, a divided ſpirit which God hates. And where Obedience is ſincere, it ariſeth from ſuch a ſpirit. A ſound, perfect, &c. ſpirit.
2. As it comes from a right riſe, ſo hee walks by a right Rule in his Obedience, and that's the whole will of God revealed in his Word; if God ſaith, do, hee doth; if God ſaith, do not, hee will not do. If hee have no command from Heaven, hee ſtands ſtill like a ſhip becalmed, and wanting a wind, hee will not ſtir.
Thoſe things which are motives to others move not him. But when a command comes, his ſails are filled, he is carried on with ſtrength in obedience to it. Col. 4.12. Wee have the ſame metaphor; Bee filled with all the will of the Lord, let the will of God, his command, bee the only motive, that carries you on in the ſervice of God. Thus you ſee it was with David, he had reſpect to the Commandements, he had not reſpect to the world, to men, to his own ends, advantages, which are the ſpring of others obedience, but hee hath reſpect to the Command, he eyes that, hee will obey if there be a Command.
A Sincere heart doth not only do things good in themſelves, and ſuch as God hath commanded, but hee doth them becauſe God hath Commanded them; Gods preceps are the ground of his practiſe, Pſal. 119.4, 5. Thou haſt commanded us to keep thy Precepts. Oh that my ways were directed, &c.
3 He obeys after a right manner, &c.
4 He levels his actions to right ends.
As nothing below God is the ſpring of his obedience, ſo nothing below God is the end of his obedience. Gods grace is the ſpring, Gods glory is the end of all his obedience. An unſound heart hath baſe and unſound ends, credit, repute, profit, eſteem or the like. Hee now makes not the world his end, no not the world to come; the ſalvation of his ſoul, the end of all his obedience. Indeed this is a ſecondary, a ſubſervient, a ſubordinate end, but not the ultimate end, the primary, the univerſal end; Gods glory is the Sea, to which all his actions like ſo many rivers move and bend. It is true I grant, that other ends may creep into the performance of good actions, and that not only lower, but baſer ends than this.
But wee are to diſtinguiſh between a mans ſetled, and his ſuggeſted end, a mans ſetled end may bee one thing, yet his ſuggeſted end bee contrary, God reckons according to the ſetled end, the univerſal purpoſe and frame of his ſpirit, and not according to ſuggeſted ends. It is in this caſe as it may bee with a man that ſhoots at a mark, hee aims aright at the mark, but there may come a jog upon the elbow, which may carry the arrow another way, than hee intended. Or as it is with a man that ſets out to go to ſuch a haven, he ſets out aright, and ſteers aright by his compaſſe, but the winds blow contrary and carry him whether hee would not. But then as the Apoſtle, If I do the thing I would not, it is no more I, but ſinne. It was Bernards caſe, hee had ſet upon a good work, and levels his action to the glory of God, that was his aim, his end, but there were other ends ſuggeſted, pride, oſtentation, vain-glory, which hee obſerving, encounters them in this manner,Abi hinc, nec propter te incepi, nec propter te deſinam. Abi hinc, &c. get hence, avoid, you were not the ground of my beginning this work, nor will I for you conclude this work. And it would bee our wiſdome, when a man hath ſet his heart aright in the beginning, when hee hath ſet out aright, if any other ends bee ſuggeſted, to reject them in the like manner, being neither the ſpring of the action, nor the end of the action.
Obj. But you will ſay further, Is it requiſite for the clearing of the ſincerity of our hearts, that wee have a continuall eye to the glory of God in every action wee do? Is there required ſuch an actual intention of the ſpirit in every particular action, &c. that he ſhould aim at Gods glory?
Anſ. For the Anſwer of this, I muſt lay down this diſtinction.
There is firſt an actual.
Secondly, An habitual aime and intention.
For the firſt of theſe, An actual intention of the ſpirit in every particular action that a man doth to the glory of God. It is utterly impoſſible in the ſtate and condition of this life, it is poſſible for Angels and glorified Saints to do it, for they are in Gods viſion, and it is all their work in heaven, but it is impoſſible for us to do it here below, no it was not poſsible for Adam in his inno…ency to do it.
But now ſecondly, There is an habitual inclination in us in every action we do, to aim at Gods glory, though there be not the actual intention of the ſpirit in every action we do. It is with us as with a man travelling towards a town, hee thinks in the morning to go to ſuch a town; ſuch a place hee aims to bee at, at night; and therefore ſets out towards it; and though hee doth not think of this every ſtep hee takes, yet its his purpoſe in his journey to reſt there at night. Or as it is with a man who comes to Church, his end is to hear the word of God, yet in every word he hears ſpoken, he hath not the thought of his end upon his ſpirit, but he is there by vertue of his firſt intention. So here though in every particular, there bee not an intention of ſpirit to level this or that to this end; yet it is the drift and habitual ſcope of the ſpirit, that Gods glory may bee the end of his actions.
Nay, Thirdly, Though wee are not able to do it in the actual intention, yet it muſt bee our care to renew our habitual intention, and as farre as wee can, to draw up theſe habitual purpoſes, into actual levellings of theſe and theſe particular actions to the glory of God. There are ſome go further in this than others.
Aſſure your ſelves, the nearer you come to an actual intention of ſpirit for Gods glory in particular acts, the nearer you are the life of heaven. How ever let us ſo renew our firſt thoughts, habitual intentions, as that wee may thereby keep in the right path, the right way, till wee come to our journies end at night. So much intention a Travailer holds up as to keep him in the right way, to keep him from going into by paths, although not ſo much as ſhall make him in every ſtep hee takes to think of his firſt intention, the end of his journey. So much for the ſecond Character.