cast into hell Yea I say unto you fear him The Psalmist also thus expresses himself My flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy judgements But though fear has an influence 't is not the only inducement to walk with God He that is upright knows that love is the great thing which God commands and love hinders any other command from being accounted grievous A man has a great evidence of uprightness when love is predominant in him when he is byassed by love to God to do these things that are pleasing in his eyes and he is overcome with a sense of God's loving-kindness to him and is truly his servant Psal 26. 3. Thy loving-kindness is before my eyes and I have walked in thy truth 5. The upright man holds fast his integrity When Mammon and Satan combine to rob him of this Jewel yet neither fair means nor foul can make him part with it The reproaches of Job's Friends did enter and go deep into him but a reproaching Conscience would have been a thousand times worse Therefore though he ceased to be Job the wealthy Job the greatest of all the men in the Fast yet he remained Job the upright still Job 27. 5 6. Till I die I will not remove my integrity neither the thing it self nor the evidence of it from me My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live The Providences of God may sometimes be dark and cloudy and his Hand very heavy upon his upright ones so that themselves and others may be amazed at those Trials which their Faith and Patience may be put upon Yet true Gold will endure the hottest Furnace and lose nothing of its Weight and Worth However the Lord deals with them the upright have reason to conclude the immutability of his love and that his faithfulness never fails Job 17. 8 9. Vpright men shall be astonied at this and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite The righteous also shall hold on his way and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger And if it be ask'd how the upright man comes to be thus tenacious of his sincerity I answer 'T is not only because of the delight and sweetness he finds in reflecting upon it but also and that chiefly because God's right hand upholds him God fixes his heart renews a stable and a constant spirit in him it 's God who keeps holy Inclinations and religious Purposes alive and firm and strong in him This is acknowledged by David Psal 41. 12. As for me thou upheldest me in my integrity and settest me before thy face for ever In the third place it follows What the perfect and upright man is worthy of He is worthy to be marked He is worthy to be beheld First He is worthy to be marked Mark the perfect man saith the Text And marked he should be and that both For conviction and also For imitation 1. The perfect and upright man is to be marked for conviction As the Saints shall judge the World at last so they are a conviction to the World at present The wicked think it strange that believers run not out with them to the same excess of riot and their Tongues speak evil of them 1 Pet. 4. 4. But their Consciences at the same time may fly in their own Faces and tell them plainly that those whom they speak ill of are much wiser and better than themselves An exemplary Conversation is a very convincing thing it stops the mouths of ignorant and evil Speakers 1 Pet. 2. 15. For so is the will of God that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men It fills the faces of such with shame they being convinced that accusations are false when consciences and conversations are good 1 Pet. 3. 16. Having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you as of evil doers they may be ashamed who falsly accuse your good conversation in Christ If the World did but mark the perfect man it might prevent that woe from falling upon them which is denounced against them because of offences which they are apt to take at Religion as if it self were but an imaginary thing and all that profess it were Dissemblers And if loose and carnal Professors would but mark them whose exact and circumspect walking does shew them to be sincere and Saints indeed it might startle their Consciences and make them very unquiet because they are so very unlike those who in their manner of living do shew forth the power of godliness their Consciences might call them vain men their faith a dead faith their profession an empty and vain shew Jam. 2. 20. But wilt thou know O vain man that faith without works is dead 2. The perfect man is to be marked for imitation That excellent Company of Faithful ones mentioned Heb. 11. are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a cloud of Witnesses Heb. 12. 1. here seems to be an allusion to the cloud in the Wilderness which directed the Children of Israel to the land of Canaan Perfect men are Clouds their dark side their faults and failings if we observe any in them it must be our care to eschew them But their bright side may be of great use for our direction and encouragement When we observe how holy heavenly full of love to God and goodness and diligent in the Lord's work others have been we should shew the same grace and diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end We should by no means be slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises Heb 6. 11. 12. Our Lord himself indeed is incomparably the best Pattern Sin never found any place in him 1 Pet. 2. 22. Who did no sin neither was guile sound in his mouth Never in the least faulty either in word or deed Yet perfect and upright men are fair Copies for others to write after Phil. 3. 17 20. Brethren be ye followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example for our conversation is in heaven And Chap 4. 9. He says not only those things which ye have heard but what ye have seen in me do and the God of peace shall be with you All would be better if the best were but more imitated Secondly As the perfect and upright man is to be marked so he is worthy to be beheld the Text says Behold the upright The Psalmist beheld the transgressors and was grieved Upright men may be beheld with joy and pleasure though grief may well be raised when by death they are snatched away Now that the Upright man may be beheld to good purpose 1. Behold him in his usefulness Though the perverse and prejudiced World does think the Upright man not fit to live in it yet indeed the world is not worthy of him and is very much beholding to
The Perfect Man described in his Life and End IN A Funeral Discourse Upon Psalm XXXVII 37. Occasioned by the DEATH Of that Pattern of Uprightness Mr. EDWARD LAWRENCE By Nathanael Vincent M. A. Minister of the Gospel Whereunto are added some Passages out of Two Letters written by Two Excellent Ministers concerning Mr. Lawrence who were well acquainted with him and with the Worth of him LONDON Printed for B. Aylmer at the Three Pigeons against the Royal Exchange in Cornhill 1696. Mr. VINCENT's Funeral Discourse Occasioned by the DEATH of Mr. EDWARD LAWRENCE TO THAT CONGREGATION Who had Mr. EDWARD LAWRENCE For their PASTOR My much respected Friends WHen I preached this Sermon which now I present especially to you I was so far from having the least thought of Printing it that I had not written so much as one word of it and when your Desires were express'd that it might be Publish'd I discovered a great averseness because I knew how much averse my deceased and most true Friend was from a Discourse relating to Himself and much more would he have been against the Printing any thing concerning Him But your reitereated Desires prevailed being seconded by that Argument that Mr. Lawrence himself went contrary to the declared Will of an Eminent Christian in Preaching a Funeral Sermon and giving him his deserved Commendations Adding that because that Excellent Saint was against his Preaching therefore he was the more forward to do it So that I have only made bold to mete the same Measure to my Friend who is dead and gone which He did mete to his Friend that died before him This Sermon for the Substance of it was taken from my Mouth in Short-hand and brought to me written out in Long. And since you have importuned the making of it publick I desire you may give it a serious perusal A perfect Man is the most glorious and lovely of all visible Creatures How much of the Image of the invisible God does shine forth in him The Grace of God in Truth whereever t is wrought what a blessed Change does it make Out of the rubbish and ruins of corrupt Nature there is built an Holy Temple for the living God! And in this Temple how is He honoured and served The perfect Man hath an high Aim and a commendable Emulation he desires to do the will of God on earth as it 's done in heaven And Heaven is esteemed a blessed place because there he shall be able fully to do what he does desire I have heard your deceased Pastor express his longings to be in an holy and happy Eternity Tho he had many other Loads Sin was his heaviest Burthen and perfect Holiness was look'd upon as a great part of his expected Blessedness He was a powerful and a profitable Preacher and this must be added that he preached continually His serious Looks his edifying Communication which administred Grace to the Hearers his holy just and unblameable and shining Conversation were greatly instructive and by these he was ever speaking to all that observed him that it was much for their Interest to be like him And now being dead he yet speaks to you that the Counsels he gave you which are the Counsels of God should not dye with him nor be buried in Oblivion The Flock of such a Pastor should be Eminent for Contempt of the World serious Holiness and Heavenly-Mindedness else they will be far from resembling their Faithful Shephard I cannot wish you better than that the Lord would direct you to settle under a Minister most like him who is taken from you and who will naturally care for your Spiritual Estate I wish his Family may be cared for by that God whom he served in Truth and Sincerity whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto childrens children to such as keep his covenant and remember his commandments to do them Earth is emptying apace of them who are ripe for Heaven I wish the Death of those that are gone may make both Ministers and Saints that remain and survive to be more lively and diligent in their Lord's Work The Time of Labour is short but to Eternity it will be found that labour is not in vain in the Lord. My Friends I commend you and yours to the Great Shepherd of Souls and to the Word of his Grace and wish your Perfection and Peace living dying and for ever Your Servant for Jesus sake NATHANAEL VINCENT PSALM XXXVII 37. Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace ALTHO Liberty to Preach the Gospel is justly esteemed the privilege and pleasure of my Life and tho a Regal Throne or a Triple Crown is to me contemptible in comparison of a Pulpit yet I must needs confess that I come with a sad heart to preach the Word this day and the reason of my Sorrow is the loss of that Excellent Man and Minister of Christ who dwelt in this place who is now effectually silenced by Death and must be heard to Preach no more for ever This burning and shining Light a great many Years ago was put under a Bushel which was worthy to have been set in a Golden Candlestick but now alas in a sense 't is quite extinguished He is gone into darkness and the shadow of Death where there is no order and where the light is as darkness He had in his life-time declared his Will against a Funeral Sermon for he was far from affecting those Praises and Commendations which are usually given in Funeral Discourses but I must say that the less he desired the more he deserved to be praised and commended having such a large share of Humility joyned with his other great Ministerial Accomplishments When the news of his Death came first to my ears I said what I thought and had good ground to be perswaded of Now there is a Man gone out of the World that was one of the best Men in it Good Men may truly be called Pillars of the Earth and when a very strong Pillar is thrown down there should be great Lamentation and the Earth may tremble at the fall of it But tho he is gone down to the Dust where his Face is bound in secret and must be seen no more till this World be no more yet methinks I have a view of him plainly in the Text I have chosen here we have his Character both Living and Dying Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace In which words I shall offer these particulars to your Observation First Here is a remarkable Man and he is the perfect Man Secondly Wherein the perfection of this Man lies it lies in his being upright Thirdly What the perfect and upright Man is worthy of he is worthy to be marked he is worthy to be beheld Fourthly What of this perfect and upright Man our eye in a special manner should be upon
and that is his end Fifthly His end is remarkable as well as himself for his end is peace An upright Life and a peaceful Death how truly desirable are they and the former is the way to the latter whereas there is no peace saith the Lord to the wicked while he lives and when he dies and his Soul is required at his hands he will perceive how foolish he was in crying peace and safety to himself These Particulars I shall insist on and then conclude with the Application In the first place I am to speak of the remarkable Man in the Text and he is the perfect Man It is a wonder considering the general Corruption and Depravation of Humane Nature and how full of Snares and Temptations this World is that there should be ever a perfect Man upon Earth But see what the powerful Grace of God can do It can renew and alter Nature it self and change it from contrary to contrary from wickedness and deceitfulness to holiness of truth That the perfect Man may be the better understood you must know that there is a threefold Perfection spoken of in Scripture Legal Coelestial Evangelical 1. There is a Legal Perfection This was in Adam before the Fall he was made perfect and upright but being made mutable he quickly sought out many inventions Eccles 7. 29. and made himself quite and clean another Creature from what he was at first created When other things were made God's bare word of command that they should be gave them a Being but when Man was to be formed it was not done without some kind of Solemnity and Consultation Gen. 1. 26. And God said Let us make man in our image after our likeness And how did Man shine with this Image upon him when he came first out of his Maker's hands If all things were very good in their kind how perfect was Man's Goodness in his kind not the least moral Evil was to be found in him What a clear light was there in his mind How exactly conformed was his Will to the Divine Will How regular were his Affections Not the least Evil was in him either in Action Thought or Inclination He had a Power to keep the whole Law of God in every Part and Point of it and a Will most free and forward in it He could and for a while did come up to the terms of the first Covenant Do this and live And thus perfect he did remain till through the Temptations of the evil One he let go his primitive Righteousness and Integrity 2. There is a Coelestial Perfection and that is the Perfection of glorified Saints in Heaven we cannot aspire unto or desire any thing for our selves higher than or so high as this This the Apostle speaks of 1 Cor. 13. 9 10. For we know in part and we prophecy in part but when that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall he done away This Perfection is preached of and heard of at present and they who attain to the greatest measure of Grace and Holiness can best give a guess at it Our Brother who is lately taken away from us now understands and experiences to his Joy what Heavens perfection is We read Heb. 12. 23. of the general Assembly and Church of the first-born which are written in Heaven and the spirits of just Men made perfect How clear is that light in which God who is light is seen How perfect is that Purity which is consequent upon this Vision of him how have they all been transformed into the Image of him whom they do behold fully resembling him in Righteousness and true Holiness 1 John 3. 2. We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is The separated Spirits of Saints having left their Earthly House and Tabernacle have put off their sinful Infirmities nothing that makes them in the least unlike to God or that he dislikes remains in them The great Physician began the Cure of those blessed Souls in this World and now in the other World 't is perfected that Scripture is applicable to every one of them Cant. 4. 7. Thou art all fair my love there is no spot in thee And as the Spirits of just Men in Heaven are perfect so their vile bodies will be changed and made like unto Christ's glorious body Heb. 3. 21. this corruptible will put on incorruption this mortal immortality Adam's Body before the Fall was of an admirable Make and Constitution not the least peccant Humour in it And if he had stood the Tree of Life the Sacrament of the first Covenant was to assure him of Immortality yet that Body was much inferior to a Spiritual Body at the Resurrection Oh how illustriously perfect as to their whole Man will all Saints be when Christ their life shall appear and they appear with him in glory Col. 3 4. The perfection of Heaven which Christ is the Purchaser of will be found by many degrees to be beyond that Perfection which was in the first Paradice 3. There is an Evangelical Perfection and the Man spoken of in the Text is in this Sense perfect Legal Rigour is abated in the Gospel the Gospel does not curse every one that continues not in all things required in the Law Legal exactness is not expected from Believers God does not mark iniquities nor enter into judgment with them A sincere Saint is evangelically a perfect Man tho in strictness of Law there is some Imperfection in his Holiness The Apostle without Self-contradiction affirms himself to be perfect and not perfect almost in the same breath Phil. 3. 12. Not as tho I had already attained or were already perfect and yet he says ver 15. Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus indeed He had a perfection of sincerity but unto a sinless perfection he had not attained The Evangelically perfect Man I am now to describe The perfect Man is renewed in all his Parts and Powers The whole Man is corrupted by Nature and the whole Man is renewed by Grace This the Apostle expresses by Sanctification throughout in body soul and spirit 1 Thes 5. 23. Tho in degree Sanctification be put in part yet every part is truly and really sanctified When the Lord makes a perfect Man he works a change in the whole Man Nothing in the Soul but has some gracious Alteration wrought in it No one Power or Faculty is let alone to be altogether as it was The Mind is enlightned the Conscience awakened the Will and Affections have a new byass and the Memory retains things necessary and worthy to be remembred and the heart being purified the members are yielded as Instruments of Righteousness unto Holiness The new Creature lacks not any parts and degrees of Grace are still to be added In this Sense all things are become new 2 Cor. 5. 17. and yet the inward man is further to be renewed day by day 2