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A61396
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A plain discourse upon uprightness shewing the properties and priviledges of an upright man / by Richard Steele ...
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Steele, Richard, 1629-1692.
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1672
(1672)
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Wing S5392; ESTC R33855
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77,047
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190
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IMPRIMATUR Rob. Grove R. P. D no Episc. Lond. a Sac Dom. A Plain Discourse UPON UPRIGHTNESS SHEWING THE Properties and Priviledges OF AN Upright Man By Richard Steele M. A. and Minister of the Gospel John 1. 47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and saith of him Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile The Second Edition LONDON Printed for E. Calvert and are to be sold by John Williamson at the Sun and Bible in the New Buildings on London Bridge 1672. The Epistle to the READER Friendly Reader THis small Book hopes for thy Acceptance meerly for its Honesty and Plainness which I have chiefly studied all along a plain discourse being fittest upon plainness of Heart I am not ignorant of the various excellent Tractates upon this Subject unto which Matter and Variation of Method is super added which I hope you will find in this piece in hand Moreover there are such swarmes of litigious Books of Controversies which scorch up all true Love and Zeal and greatly grieve such as love Peace that may perhaps make such Discourses as this concerning the Vitals of genuine Piety to be very necessary For certainly if our ends were Right and our Hearts Upright with our God if Christian Magistrates Ministers and People were plainly and truly bent to promote the Honour Love and Fear of God and the indubitable wayes of Holiness we should soon agree or else charitably indulge one another in these lesser things 'T is Hypocrites on all sides that make our wound incurable Surely where the Mind is sound and the Heart sincere in the Main grains of allowance should be granted for some Errors of the understanding and Failings in the Conversation lest we deal with others as we would be loath to be dealt with either by God or Men. The Consideration hereof as also of the scarcity of sincere Christians to the plenty of Hypocrites in the world may make some Tolerable Apology for this small Tract which I do most earnestly recommend first to the blessing of the Lord and then to your diligent perusal Read and think and read and pray and then through his Grace it shall be useful to you And I beseech you for the Lord Jesus sake and for the love of the Spirit strive together with me in your prayers to God for me a miserable sinner that I may be Upright and Useful till I dye whereby you will abundantly recompence these Indeavours of Your Servant in the Gospel R. S. Octob. 1. 1670. The Contents CHAP. I. OF the Uprightness of Man Sect. 1. The Context Page 1. Sect. 2. The Text opened 4 Sect. 3. Doctrine Where God doth find an upright man he shews himself an upright God 8 Sect. 4. What is uprightness 9 Its Scripture Names 1. Truth ibid. 2. Sincerity 10 3. Singleness of heart 11 4. Integrity 12 Sect. 5. Uprightness distinguished into 1. Uprightness of heart where 14 1. The Ground of it 15 1. Total receiving of Christ. ibid. 2. Total resigning to Christ. 17 Sect. 6. 2. The Nature of it 20 1. Single without Division ibid. 2. Sound without Rottennâ—… 21 3. Pure without Mixture 23 4 Perfect without Reservation 25 5. Plainness without Guile 26 Sect. 7. 3. The Object about which it is conversant 28 1. Inward Religion ibid. 1. Obtaining invisible Graces 29 2. Performing invisible Duties 31 3. Avoiding invisible Sins 32 Sect. 8. 2. Universal Religion 33 1. Hating all Sin 34 2. Loving all Duty 35 Sect. 9. 3. Constant Religion He walks 39 1. Before God 43 2. With God 44 3. After God ibid. 4. Like God 45 Sect. 10. An Inference viz. The necessity of Regeneration 46 Sect. 11. II. Uprightness of Life where 1. Necessity of it 49 Sect. 12. 2. Description of it 1. In Simplicity 52 2. In Purity 53 3. In Perfection 55 4. In Plainness 56 Sect. 13. 3. The Object of it 1. In words being Opposite 58 1. To Flattering 59 2. To Lying 60 3. To Equivocations 61 4. To Promise-breaking 63 Sect. 14. 2. In Deeds being Opposite 65 1. To Craftiness 67 2. To Time-serving 68 3. To Defrauding 70 4. To All injustice 72 Sect. 15. An Inference viz. the Paucity of Upright men 75 CHAP. II. OF the Uprightness of God 78 Sect. 1. God shews himself upright 1. Why. It s agreeable to his 1. Nature ibid. 2. Method ibid. 3. Honour 79 4. Promise ibid. 2. How 1. Overlooking their Infirmities 80 Sect. 2. 2. Defending their Persons 84 Sect. 3. 3. Strengthning their Graces 89 Sect. 4. 4. Hearing their Prayers 93 Sect. 5. 5. Comforting them in their straits 98 Sect. 6. 6. Directing them in their doubts 103 Sect. 7. 7. Clearing their Integrity 106 Sect. 8. 8. Stablishing them to the end 110 Sect. 9. 9. Bestowing outward Blessings 114 Sect. 10. 10. Crowning their Integrity 1. With Internal Peace 118 2. With Eternal Glory 120 CHAP. III. THe Application 123 Sect. 1. Use 〈◊〉 Information 1. The Equity of God ibid. 2. The Misery of Hypocrites 124 Hypocrites Pleas answered 1. General Approbation 127 2. Singular Obedience 128 3. Quiet of Conscience 129 Sect. 2. Use 2. Repr 1. Those that Distrust an upright God 2. Those that Distast an upright man 133 Sect. 3. Use 3. Exam. 1. The necessity of Tryal 137 Sect. 4. 2. The marks for Tryal An upright man 1. Really approves himself to God 141 2. Chiefly Loves God 143 3. Willingly Obeys God 145 4. Judiciously Appeals to God 146 5. Trades not in presumptuous sins 148 6. Keeps himself from his Iniquity 150 Sect. 5. Use 4. Exhortation 1. To the upright 1. Praise the Lord. 152 2. Proceed in your Integrity 153 Sect. 6. 2. To such as doubt of their Uprightness 1. Sit not down quiet in this uncertainty 155 2. Set about the means of assurance 156 Sect. 7. 3. To those that want uprightness Labour for it 1. Motives 1. It s Amiable 158 2. Itâ—… Comfortable 159 3. It s Necessary 160 1. To good Duties here ibid. 2. To Salvation hereafter ibid. Sect. 8. 2. Means 1. Study Humility 161 2. Be faithful in Self-examination 162 3. Get an hatred to Hypocrisie and a love to Uprightness 163 4. Attend a scarching Ministry 164 5. Be instant in Prayer 166 Sect. 9. Use 5. Consol. of the upright Their doubts resolved 1. From Allegations of Satan 168 2. From the Censures of men 169 3. From the Cry of Conscience 170 4. From sad Experience 171 1. Of Dryness in secret Duties ibid 2. Of Decayes 172 3. Of Inconstancy 173 5. From the deceitfulness of the Heart 175 A Plain Discourse UPON UPRIGHTNESS Psal. 18. 25. With an Upright Man thou wilt shew thy self Upright CHAPTER I. Of the Uprightness of Man SECTION I. HE that would be Wise let him read the Proverbs he that would be Holy let him read the Psalms Every line in this Book breaths peculiar Sanctity This Psalm though plac'd among the â—…rst was penn'd among the last as the â—…reface assures us and
is left as the Epiâ—…me of the General history of Davids life It is twice recorded in the Scripture 2 Sam. 22. and in this Book of Psalms for the Excellency and Sweetness thereof surely that we should take double notice of it Holy David being near the shore here looks on his former Dangers and Deliverances with a thankful heart and writes this Psalm to bless the Lord As if each of you that are grown into years should review your lives and observe the wonderful Goodness and Providence of God towards you and then sit down and write a modest Memorial of his most remarkable mercies for the comfort of your selves and your posterity An excellent practise What a comfort would it be for you to read how good your God was to your Father or Grandfather that are dead and gone So would your children rejoyce in the Lord upon the reading of his Goodness to you and you cannot have a better pattern for this than holy David who wrote this Psalm when he was threescore and seven years old when he had out-liv'd most of his troubles and almost ready for his journey to his Father in heaven he resolves to leave this good Report of him upon Earth And I pray mark how he begins he setâ—… not up Trophies to himself but Triumphs in his God I will love thee O Lord my strength As the love Of God is the beginning of all our mercies so love To God should be the end and effect of them all As the stream leads us to the spring so all the gifts of God must lead us to the giver of them Lord thou hast saved me from sickness I will love thee from Death and Hell I will love thee on me thou hast bestowed Grace and comfort I will love thee O Lord my strength And after he had heaped on God all the sweet names he could devise vers 2. As a true Saint thinks he can never speak too well of God or too ill of himself then he begins his Narrative I. Of his Dangers verse 4 5. Snares of death Flouds of ungodly men Sorrows of Hell Hell and Earth are combin'd against each Holy man and will trouble him sufficiently in this World if they cannot keep him out of a better II. Of his retreat and that was earnest prayer to God verse 6. I called upon thâ—… Lord and cryed unto my God When our Prayers are Cryes ardent and importunate then they speed my Cry came before him â—…ven into his ears The mother trifles while the child whimpers but when he raises his note strains every nerve and tries every vein then she throws all aside and gives him his desire While our Prayers are only Whispers our God can take his rest but when we fall to crying now will I arise saith the Lord. III. Of his Rescue verse 7. to 20. By the powerful and terrible Arm of the Lord who is in a lofty strain brought in to his servants help as if he would mingle Heaven and Earth together rather than leave his Child in the Lyons paws IV. Of the Reason of this gracious dealing of God with him verse 20 c. He was a righteous Person and he had a righteous Cause And thereupon he turns to God saying Thou hast dealt with me just as thou art wont to do For with the merciful thou wilt shew thy self merciful and with the upright man thou wilt shew thy self upright SECTION II. ANd so we are arriv'd at the Text itself which being resolv'd is an intire Proposition containing 1. A Subject aâ—… Upright man 2. A Predicate or what is spoke of him to or with him God will shew himself upright For Explication With or before him unto him An Upright The same word is oft translated Perfect hec's good throughout though not throughly not one that personates Religion but that is a Religious Person He is perfect because he would be so So Noah is termed Gen. 6. 9. Noah was a just man and perfect i. e. upright in his Generation he was a good man in a bad Age. He was like a glowing spark of fire in a Sea of Water which is perfect goodness and therefore the Holy Ghost doth so hang upon his Name as if he could not give over It is an excellent Preachers observation verse 8. But Noah was a just man and perfect in his Generations and Noah walked with God And Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the Generations of Noah Noah begat three Sons Noah Noah Noah I love the sound of thy name and so are all your names precious to God though hated by men if the Name of God be dear and sweet to you 'T is also sometimes translated Plain Gen. 25. 27. Jacob was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a plain that is an upright man dwelling in Tents Esau was a cunning hunter but Jacob was a plain man without welt or gard you might know his heart by his tongue save once when Rebeccah put a cunning trick into his head otherwise he was a most upright downright man And the plain meaning of it is a simple cordial unfeigâ—…d and exact man this is the man we are looking for Man This Substantive the Hebrews use to drown in the Adjective but here the Holy Ghost exhibits a word and a choice one too signifying a Strong Valiant man the same word Psal. 45. 3. O mighty man that 's meant of our Lord Christ who was a most strong and valiant man that could meet the wrath of God the malice of the Devil and the sin of man in the face and come off with triumph And so the Dutch translate this clause in 2 Sam. 22. With the right valiant person thou behavest thy self upright In short if the words were literally translated they run thus a man of uprightnesses that is every way you behold him an upright man like an even Dye cast him which way you will he will be found square and right A stiff and strong man to tread down both lusts within and temptations without An Athanasius contra mundum A Luther contra Romam this is a man of an an excellent spirit and such is our upright man Thou wilt shew thy self upright or wilt be upright with him for one word in the Hebrew makes all these six thou wilt upright it with him If men will deal plainly with God he will deal plainly with them He that is upright in performing his duty shall find God upright in performing his Promises It is Gods way to carry to men as they carry to him If thou hast a Design to please him he will have a Design to please thee if thou wilt Eccho to him when he calls hee 'l Eccho to thee when thou call'st On the other side if a man will wrestle with God he will wrestle with him if thou wilt be fast and loose with him and walk frowardly towards him thou shalt have as good as thou bringest if thou wilt provoke him with never-ending sins