GULIELMUS BATESIUS S. S. Theol Prof. Aetat 62 Nov 1687. Sold by N. Ranew I. Robinson 1688. THE SURE TRIAL OF Uprightness Open'd in several SERMONS Upon PSAL. xviii v. 23. I was also upright before him and have kept my self from mine Iniquity By WILLIAM BATES D. D. LONDON Printed for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1689. The PREFACE 'T IS the blessed Priviledg obtain'd by our Saviour for his People that sincere though imperfect Sanctification is graciously accepted of God the Judg of all This sincere Holiness is strictly and indispensably requir'd by the Law of Faith in the hand of the Mediator Without it we cannot partake of the Treasures of Mercy and of Glory that are reveal'd in the Gospel 'T is therefore a matter that infinitely concerns us both in respect of our present Peace and future Blessedness to make a true discovery of our Uprightness And usually all the Fears and Inquiries about our Spiritual State issue in this whether we are upright or not The assurance of our Uprightness is a Fountain of Relief in all perplexing Jealousies about the Favour of God for notwithstanding our Defects he will spare us as a Father spares his Son that serves him This great Question of our sincerity may be clear'd by a due observing our Hearts and Ways for Conscience is an inseparable Faculty of the Soul and even in the Heathen accus'd or excus'd as their Actions were exorbitant or regular according to the internal Law and consequently gave testimonies of their wickedness or moral Integrity The Scripture indeed tell us The Heart of Man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it But this primarily respects the discerning it by others as the Apostle saith Who knows the things of a Man save the Spirit of a Man which is in him There may be the affectation of the name of Religion joyn'd with a disaffection to the thing there may be solemn Formality without cordial Godliness an acting of Piety and personating Devotion for vile Ends. But though the impure Artist under a Vail of Hypocrisy may be conceal'd from others yet he is not from the conviction of his own Mind I shall add further that many from ignorance or carelesness may presume they are in a State of Salvation when they are in the Gall of Bitterness and Bond of Iniquity There are many carnal Shifts made use of to palliate the evil condition of Mens Souls but their Security proceeds from the neglect of due examining their Hearts and Lives It will be a vain excuse at the last Day to plead the Serpent beguil'd me for 't is not meerly our deceivableness but willingness to be deceiv'd that exposes us to mistake our spiritual Condition by the insinuations of Satan As the wise Philosopher observes A Man is the first and principal Flatterer of himself and therefore apt to be deceived by other Flatterers But if we take the Candle of the Lord and impartially search our selves though the Heart be such a dark Labyrinth that every secret turning cannot be discovered though all the Deflections and Errors of our Ways cannot be exactly known yet we may understand the habitual frame of our Hearts and the course of our Lives 'T is the End of the following Sermons to direct Men in the discussion of Conscience that they may not from an erring Mind and corrupt Heart deceive themselves in a Matter that so nearly concerns them and incur the double Punishment in proportion to their Guilt as our Saviour foretells When the Blind lead the Blind both fall into the Ditch Many useful Rules are laid down by Divines whereby true Grace may be discern'd from Counterfeit but the plainest Trial and Level to the perception of the lowest Christian is Whether there be a sincere respect to all God's Commands without the reservation of any known Sin how pleasant soever to the carnal Appetites or the exception against any known Duty that is displeasing to them If Men would retire from the Vanities and Business of the World into themselves and search their Spirits with that seriousness that is due to so weighty a Matter if with a resolution to know the State of their Souls if Conscience were inquisitive as under God's Eye that has a full prospect into every Breast they might have an inward Testimony of their Sincerity or Deceitfulness The Apostle refers the decision of our State with respect to God to the Testimony of the enlightned Conscience If our Hearts condemn us not of any habitual indulged Sin then we have peace towards God. If our Hearts condemn us God is greater than our Hearts and knows all things From the neglect of trying themselves many live in a Cloud of Delusion and from inward Darkness pass to outer Darkness for ever The sure Trial of UPRIGHTNESS PSAL. xviii 23. I was also upright before him and have kept my self from mine Iniquity THE Title of this Psalm declares the Occasion of it David spake unto the Lord the words of this Song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his Enemies and from the hand of Saul 'T is a clear Evidence of his Heavenly Mind that after his Victories and Triumphs when his Throne was establish'd in Peace he recounts the signal Acts of Divine Providence with holy Extasies of Praise and Thankfulness and leaves an everlasting Memorial of God's excellent Goodness to him Carnal Persons in Extremities may be ardent in Requests for Deliverance but when 't is obtain'd they retain but a cold remembrance of God's preserving Mercy nay they often pervert his Benefits the affluence and ease and security of their Condition occasions the ungrateful forgetfulness of their Benefactor Self-love kindles desires for what we want the Love of God inspires a holy Heat in Praises for what we enjoy In the Psalm the inspir'd Composer displays the Divine Perfections in lofty Figures of Speech suitable to Sacred Poesy and in a relative endearing Way as manifested in his Preservation He attributes such Titles to God as are significant of the Benefits he received Sometimes God discovers the crafty and cruel Designs that are form'd against his People his Eye saves them and he is stil'd their Light Sometimes he breaks the strength of their Enemies his Hand and Power saves them he is stil'd their Defence Here the Psalmist with exuberant Affections multiplies the Divine Titles The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer my Shield and my high Tower and my Refuge and my Salvation A Rock is a Natural a Tower an Artificial Defence both are used to express the safe Protection he found in God. He then sets forth the extremity of his Danger to add a Luster to the Name of his Preserver The Waves of Death compassed me the Floods of ungodly Men made me afraid His ruin was imminent and seem'd to be inevitable But in that distress his servent Prayer his crying to God
pierc'd the Heavens God heard his Voice out of his Temple and speedily in the best Season came for his deliverance He was seen upon the Wings of the Wind he rode upon a Cherub those swifter Spirits and did fly He describes the Terrors of his coming against his Enemies The Lord thundred from the Heavens he sent down his Arrows and scattered them his Lightning discomfited them The Acts of Justice reverst have the Ensign of Mercy on them The drowning of the Egyptians in the Red Sea was the preserving of the Israelites Briefly He ascribes his deliverance to the Favour of God as the sole Mover and the Power of God as the sole Worker of it He delivered me because he delighted in me His free and compassionate Love was primarily active and drew forth his Power in its most noble Exercise for the Salvation of David Such an ingenuous and grateful Sense the Psalmist had of the Divine Mercy this gave the sweetest relish of his deliverance this was his true triumph after the final conquest of his Enemies Indeed his Enemies were unjust and cruel and God vindicated the justice of his Cause against them therefore he saith The Lord rewarded me according to my Righteousness according to the cleanness of my Hands hath he recompensed me He declares the Holiness of his Conversation I have kept the Ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. And as an eminent Instance of this he saith in the words of the Text I was upright also before him and kept my self from mine Iniquity In the Text there is a solemn Declaration of David's Uprightness by his attesting God the Searcher and Judg of the Heart I was upright before him and by an infallible proof of it I kept my self from mine Iniquity There is one Difficulty to be remov'd before I come to discourse upon the Proposition and that is how this Profession of Uprightness is reconcileable with David's Actions in the Matter of Uriah Whether we consider the Quality of his Sins the crimson Guilt and killing Circumstances that attended them especially the deliberate and cruel Contrivance of Uriah's Death or whether we consider the fearful Interval between his Sin and Repentance for like some fair Rivers that in their Current suddenly sink under Ground and are lost in their secret Passage till at a great distance they rise and flow again thus it was with David he that was so conspicuous in holiness of Life sunk into a Gulf of Sensuality and Cruelty and for a long time was unrelenting and unreformed till by a speciall Message from God by the Prophet Nathan he was renewed to Repentance and restored to the forfeited Favour of God. To this Objection some Learned Interpreters answer That the Declaration of his Innocence and Integrity must be understood with a tacit Exception according to the Testimony of Scripture concerning him That he did that which was right in the Eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his Life save only in the Matter of Uriah That Sin though a dreadful Provocation yet did not blast the Uprightness of the rest of his Life and make it unacceptable to God. 2. This affirmation of David may refer to his afflicted State when his Conscience was tender and vigilant and his Passions so subdued that though Saul his most unrighteous and implacable Adversary was at his Mercy and he could as 〈◊〉 have cut off his Head as the Lap of his Garment though he was provok'd to take his full revenge on him and put an end to his own Fears yet he rejected the Motion with abhorrence God forbid I should lift up my Hand against the Lord 's Anointed He spared Saul and would not by such an irregular Act obtain the Kingdom though elected to it by God himself By this we may take an estimate of his Integrity which God rewarded at last The Proposition that I shall discourse of is this That the preserving a Man's self from his Iniquity is an undeceiving Evidence of Uprightness In the managing the Doctrine three Things are to be considered and unfolded 1. What Sin may be denominated a Man's own 2. What the preserving ones self from that Sin implies 3. How this is an undeceiving Evidence of Uprightness 1. What Sin may be denominated a Man's own In general every Sin that a Man commits may be stiled his own as 't is the issue of his corrupt Nature and the Off-spring of his depraved Will. St. James expresses it Every Man is tempted that is effectually when he is drawn away of his own Lust. The Devil may sollicite and excite but without the consent of the Will he can never fasten Guilt upon us Every actual Sin is in some degree voluntary But some Sins in an eminent propriety and peculiar manner may be called our own such as there is a strong tendency to commit either from the natural Iâ—â—lination or Custom that is an accessary Nature or from special respects that engage the Will and Affections As in the natural Body compos'd of various Members some are more dear and useful as the right Eye and the right Hand So in the Body of the Sins of the Flesh as the corrupt Nature is stil'd by the Apostle from the variety and union of the vicious Affections there are some particular Lusts either for Pleasure or Profit are as the right Eye or right Hand in our Saviour's Language so dear to Men that they will lose Eternal Life rather than be separated from them These reigning Sins that have a compleat dominion in the Unregenerate are of different kinds in several Persons I will proceed in the discovery of them 1. By a direct Light from their Causes 2. By a reflex Light from their Effects The Causes of special Sins are either Natural or Moral The Natural are the different Temperaments of Mens Bodies and the Connexion of the Passions that so strongly draw the Will that we may as certainly understand what vicious Actions are naturally consequent as Astronomers foretel the Eclipses of the Lights of Heaven I will begin with the consideration of the different Temperaments of Mens Bodies which are the secret Springs of their Inclinations and Aversions 'T is requisite to premise that Original Sin the Poison distilled through all the Faculties of Man by propagation is an universal supreme Evil 'T is a Seminary of all corrupt Desires from whence the Issues of actual Sins are derived and that some are less inclin'd to notorious Sins than others is not from naked Nature but from the singular distinguishing Mercy of God. This Depravation so general and deplorable was observed by the wiser Heathens who were ignorant of the Cause of it the rebellious Sin of Adam the common Father and Representative of Mankind This Corruption of Nature doth not extenuate but aggravate our Guilt As the Psalmist with deep sorrow acknowledges his native inherent Pollution In Sin was I
the Inquisition and Judicature of Conscience Wealth and Wickedness harden them against the most serious Counsels the most solemn Reproofs and ardent Exhortations they are blind to the Sun and deaf to Thunder but a sharp Affliction clears the Eyes unlocks the Ears opens the Heart and pricks the tender Vein The awaken'd Penitent will make an exact search to find out the Achan the troubler of the Soul and the special Sin is so in the interpretation of the vigilant and afflicted Conscience The bitter remembrance of that Sin is answerable to its Guilt the more it was indulg'd the more the Law of God was despis'd the more it wounds the Spirit when the Pleasure is past nothing remains but the Sting and Poison Joseph's Brethren who so long had been insensible of their treacherous selling him to Bondage and Misery yet in their Fears Conscience remembers it with aggravations of their unnatural Cruelty And they said one to another We are verily guilty concerning our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us Lastly Consider the several kinds of Sins to find out your own some are of Omission some of Commission some are Spiritual and Inward some are Carnal and acted with Noise and Notice some distinctly flow from visible Causes some spring from an unsuspected Fountain There are many of a civil compos'd Conversation who are careless of spiritual Duties of holy Communion with God by raised solemn Thoughts and ardent desires of watchfulness over their Hearts to regulate their Aims and Affections by the pure Law and are insensible of their Neglect and Guilt The unrenewed Nature has a strong reluctance against spiritual Duties Many are righteous to Men and unrighteous towards God they do not pay those Duties that are indispensibly required from reasonable Creatures to the blessed Creator the highest Love for his Perfections and Benefits an obedient respect to his Commands in their Actions a resigned submission to his Will and Wisdom an entire trust in his fatherly Providence and zeal for his Glory Many rob him of that Time that is consecrated to his Service the Lord's Day though 't is our Priviledg as well as Duty to keep it Holy when the Publick Worship is at an end as if the remainder were unsanctified they wretchedly waste in complemental Visits in civil Matters in Discourses impertinent to the solemn Work of it Many who are diligent to provide for their Families yet are as bad as Infidels in neglecting to instruct their Children and Servants in the saving Doctrine of the Gospel to command them to be circumspect in their Ways to set before them a living Pattern of Holiness and carelesly suffer their precious Souls to perish for ever How many who are not guilty of open rebellious Sins against the Law yet neglect the great indispensible Duty of the Gospel an humble unfeigned entire closing with Christ as their Prince and Saviour They presume upon their moral Vertues of the safety and goodness of their Condition they never had a feeling sense of their want of the imputed Righteousness of Christ to reconcile them to God nor of the Holy Spirit to make them partakers of the Divine Nature as if only the Prophane Riotous notorious Sinners had need of his most precious Merits and Mediation to abolish their Guilt and save them from Hell and of the Holy Spirit to sanctify them From hence it is that many civil Persons remain in an unrenewed State and are the natural Subjects of Satan and die in their Sins Some are regular in a course of Religious Duties they pray hear the Word receive the Sacrament but without those Holy Affections that are the Life of Religious Duties yet content themselves with the external bodily Service which is neither pleasing to God nor profitable to their Souls Some cherish a secret Pride that they are not so bad as others some a vain presumption of the Divine Favour because they serve God in a purer way of Worship than others when they neglect substantial Religion that recommends us to his gracious Eye Some will severely reflect upon the visible Sins of others whilst there is an unperceiv'd consumption of the spiritual Life in themselves This may seem to proceed from the hatred of Sin when the real inward Motive is to quiet Conscience by an appearance of Zeal against Sin and make it inobservant of their inward voluntary Defects The most excellent Things may be counterfeit Satan may transform himself into an Angel of Light sinful Affections may be varnish'd and gilded so as to be mistaken for Divine Graces Briefly the Heart is an everlasting Deceiver and without a perpetual watchfulness we are in danger of close Corruptions that will blast our Sincerity To find out our Sin 't is requisite to search where we may think there is little reason to expect the finding it 2. I will now consider what the preserving himself from his peculiar Sin implies 1. An abstaining from the practice of that Sin. When David had an opportunity to destroy Saul his unrighteous and implacable Enemy and secure himself when excited to it by Abishai who would have dispatch'd him at a Blow yet he rejected the Temptation with abhorrence The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my Hand against the Lord 's Anointed thus he preserv'd his Innocence and Integrity Our Saviour tells us He that commits Sin is a Servant of Sin an indulgent course of Sin denominates a Person a Slave of Sin and a Rebel against God and is utterly inconsistent with Sincerity 'T is true an upright Man may fall by suddain surreption by an insinuating Infirmity into a foul Sin from which he has a setled aversation and keeps himself in the general Course of his Life and that single Act of Sin is a blemish of his Integrity but retracted by a speedy Repentance does not denominate him a Hypocrite One may be pale from an accidental surprize by fear or red through a suddain flush of Blood from Anger yet not be so by Complexion for the Complexions Pale and Sanguine are drawn by the Pencil of Nature the lively Characters of the predominant Humours and are usually visible in the Countenance But although an upright Person keeps himself from the gross Acts of Sins that are clearly against natural Conscience and supernatural Grace yet whilst we are cloth'd with Flesh the Body of Sin does not finally expire and Temptations are as importunate as Flys about us from whom the Tempter has his Title that 't is morally impossible to be absolutely undefiled therefore Uprightness requires that we should carefully consider our weak side what Passions we are most inclinable to by our Temper and so diligently fortify our selves against them that they may not have dominion over us and though we cannot arrive yet we may advance towards the compleat conquest of Sin. And in our endeavours against the Sins to