condemned already Many in their fond imaginations thinke that like the Giant of Gath they haue vpon the hand of their faith sixe fingers yet alas when they come in the day of death or time of triall to feed on the promise to put on the Lord Iesus Christ they like Adonibezek will lacke their thumbes and dye for want of feeding on the food and true bread of eternall life Now the righteous haue not only the precious promises but also precious faith the which two being vnited carry the whole man into the garner of God and large field of the kingdome of glory for me are saued by faith And as the sickle is to the hand of the reaper so is faith to the soule of the righteous and true beleeuer Reason 4 And last of all hee that is a reaper of these fauours must fit himselfe for the kingdome of heauen and that the Lord of glory may come in He must cast out the bondwoman and her sonne Satan and all the seeds of sinne purge himselfe of the old leauen cleanse the inside of the cup and platter of his soule and this will none but the righteous doe vngodly men lodge their Lord in the Inne they cast him into a cratch suffer him to knocke yet permit him not to enter and suppe with them They will not dresse and sweepe the floore of their soules cast out the rotten goundsell in the barnes of their hearts and emptie themselues of that rubbish that shutteth the doore dammeth vp the roome and shouldreth out this heauenly ricke this haruest of the Lord But the righteous they sweepe the house make way for the haruest open the doore pluck vp the euerlasting gates and giue the King of glory good great and royall entertainment so that he will sup with them they with him and partake of all his fatlings Vse 1 And seeing the point thus by reason and Scripture confirmed let vs come to make application And here in the first place we may see the vanity of our prophane and vngodly persons who crie out as the people in former times if wee preach this doctrine that Only the righteous reap these great fauours you take too much vpon you Moses and Aaron for all the congregation is holy Thus they in this cleere light of the Gospell say what in their hearts with the foole No in publique and seeke to defend it that All shall be heires of Gods greatest benefits not one shall perish And wee say too that if they be righteous and for number as the dust of the earth or starres in heauen that they shal all inherit the kingdom of God and of glorie but if they be proud vniust deceitful and want vpright hearts were they as the sand on the sea shore drops in the huge Ocean graines on the ground or fishes in the water for multitude that so liuing and so dying they must reape nothing but wrath vengeance and the largest fields of Gods highest displeasure euery mothers sonne Darkness trembling terror and the sting of the second death shal be the sheafe of their field the corne of their barne and the best graine that shall be preserued for the garner of their soules for they were neuer vnited to Christ haue any right to the promises truth of faith in their hearts neither would open the gates of their soules that the King of glorie might come in and finde fauourable acceptation And yet for all this in the land of vprightnes they will doe wickedly What shal I say or where shal I begin and when make an end Haue wee not the biting vsurie the cursed couetousnesse the deuouring oppression the destroying extortion the shop of dearth darknes and deceit the vnequall weight mixt ware and counterfeit stuffe And as sure as the word of God is true and holy and iust that vpon whom these foule sinnes shall be found hee shall dye the death I know that this is a hard position to settle in their minds yet he that denieth this for a truth must turne Atheist gainsay that there is a resurrection a iudgement to come and a iust Iudge that reuengeth all wrong Psal 50. 21. 2. Pet. 3. 3. 4. Vse 2 And in the second place here is a world of comfort to the vpright in heart For whatsoeuer the Lord hath sowne in earth or heauen if thou faint not thou shalt reape in due time In earth thou shalt haue food and raiment fit and conuenient and if need be in great abundance Let the waters swell the sea rore the earth tremble the winde blow and the floods come yet thou shalt escape all danger Let the Sunne be darke the Moone turned into blood the Starres fall the heauens burne and the elements melt with heate yet iust Lot shall be deliuered Noah escape drowning for righteousnes is written in thy forehead and the destroyer shall not destroy thee What if thou sow in teares plow vp thy ground in a time of mourning yet thou shalt reape with ioy and by the hand of the Angell be carried like a rick of come in due time into the garner of God For faithfull is he that hath promised and will surely doe it Hee hath sowen and his sonnes shall reape though the haruest be long in comming the crop shall be the bigger the better Therefore in the middest of all thy sorrowes let this meditation comfort thy soule that the righteous and vpright in heart of which number thou art shall be the reapers of Gods greatest benefits Vse 3 And seeing this is thus Let no man say that It is in vaine to serue the Lord and that Godlinesse is not gainfull for it is profitable euery manner of way Iob serues not God for nought neither doth righteousnes preuent riches The fooles prouerbe is that He that vseth plaine dealing shall die a beggar I say no and adde more that hee that doth not vse it shall dye like Iudas a very beast and iudge whether is the better I can tell you that when the heauy sentence shall visit vs that did Ezekiah Thou must dye not liue then will the worth of a well led life be a matter of moment a thing much set by seene into and this tidings shal come and will not tarry and then shall the iust liue by his faith haue boldnes of spirit and reape that riches the great husband in heauen had sowne and prepared from the beginning for the vpright Then shall he haue all teares wiped from his eyes rest from his labours and his life shall see the euerlasting light yea he shall reape fulnes of ioy freedome from all bondage and pleasures for euermore Vse 4 And in the last place seeing the righteous are the only reapers of the Lords greatest blessings it must be a strong motiue to moue vs to be such We would all be set at libertie both spirituall and corporall enjoy all the blessings that the great
and the not keeping of the Law be debts as in truth they be then as Paul writeth to Philemon concerning Onesimus let vs in all humilitie of heart by the hand of faith set both on Christs score And thus much for the matter of our iustification by which we are made righteous The manner how or by what meanes it is applied followeth and that is faith and faith onely for we are iustified by faith onely as by an instrumentall cause for faith laieth hold on the obiect matter of our iustification Christ and his obedience and so vniting the beleeuer to him hee is iustified though not by his owne inherent and actuall righteousnesse So that God the Father accepteth of this satisfaction as if we in our owne persons had both for holinesse of nature and perfection of obedience absolutely answered and fulfilled the Lawes iustice And from this that I haue said we may gather these conclusions First that None was euer personally righteous but Christ onely For if his Father would marke what was done amisse yet he was and is and euer shall be able to abide it for he was holy for nature and perfect for life Againe hence it will follow that all men stand in neede of Christs merits and all cause of boasting is totally excluded from mankind yea whatsoeuer Papists babble the blessed Virgin her selfe So that the person for whom light is sowne is hee that by faith applieth Christ and his obedience being offered by the Father to himselfe in particular And thirdly we may from this safely conclude that They who haue no faith cannot be iustified and consequently saued For wee must of necessitie haue faith to apply Christ as an instrument for faith is as a hand to receiue and put on the righteousnesse and merits of the second Adam We are said to liue by faith that is in beleeuing in the Lord of life They therefore that haue no faith are dead in trespasses and sinnes Adam had life in himselfe at the creation now we haue it out of our selues from Christ at our iustification And last of all we may collect that the obiect of faith and matter of iustification is not within vs but without vs and that we stand in need of the same else no saluation whence these three Corollaries follow First that sinnes before conuersion cannot hinder mans perfect iustification Let this bee well obeserued Secondly that good workes after our effectuall vocation doe not further our iustification before the Lord they will helpe to assure vs that our faith is sound and iustifie vs in the eyes of the world but no other waies And lastly from this I also conclude that They are in a great errour who hold the bare act of faith without the application of Christ and his obedience to iustifie We are said to liue by our hands yet wee vnderstand that it is meant by that we get by labor and trauell for no man eates his fingers so wee may truly be said to be iustified and saued through faith but wee must know that it is by what faith resteth on and applieth to the person and no otherwise this is the plaine meaning And now I come to the second branch of my text and ioy Some expound the first part by the second and say that by light is meant ioy and by iust vpright in heart But I rather vnderstand that sanctification is meant in this clause for many are apt to say they haue faith yet want holinesse therefore the spirit would take away that false cauill Againe good and righteous persons call the soundnesse of their faith sometimes into question doubting of the truth of their spirituall condition therefore to remoue that scruple and to comfort and settle their wauering minds the Prophet annexeth as a helpe this other clause wherein is comprehended sanctification And vsually in the holy Booke these two are coupled together and they may not be put asunder 1. Cor. 6. 11. Now for the interpretation of the words some reade ioy others gladnesse the difference of these two I take to be this Ioy is in the heart secretly hidden and gladnesse may be seene in the face or by some outward signe discerned for where one Euangelist writeth Reioyce and bee glad another saith Reioyce and leape Feare and ioy are internall but trembling and gladnesse externall See Mat. 5. 12. Luk. 6. 23. Psal 2. 11. Matth. 28. 8. Vpright Seemes to be a Metaphor tooke from a pillar or thing that standeth as wee say bolt vpright not inclining more one way than another or some reade it Right or Streight of heart that is in whose thoughts intentions and conuersations is no guile like Nathanaël or Ezekiah and heart is added to shew the true roote of sinceritie as also to condemne outward hypocrisie for some like the old Pharisies are iust outwardly but inwardly full of rottennes the heart is not vpright what shew soeuer they make of holinesse and righteousnes or it may be annexed for the comfort of the iust that though they faile sometimes in outward act yet it falleth foorth contrary to the intent and former purpose of their heart for the most faithfull hath his failings whatsoeuer his resolutions haue been to the contrary And now in few other words thus may we plainly resolue these What if the faithfull be afflicted ouerwhelmed with the waues of sorrow compassed about with great and manifold euils drowned in the depth of depths and well neere swallowed vp of ouermuch heauinesse shall they not heare of glad tidings will not ioy breake out as light in the morning and all teares be wiped from their eyes yes this is an eternall truth that All such as are iustified by faith in Christ sanctified hauing hearts without guile by the word and spirit though they sow in teares plow in paine and all their crop seeme to be blasted yet there be great blessings appointed by God for them which though for a season they be couered and hidden like corne in the furrowes they shall one day reape and receiue in earth and heauen according to the sure promise of the Lord. Thus to our power hauing pickt out the true meaning wee come to gather some profitable instructions and out of the word sowen we may first obserue that Doct. 1 The righteous mans haruest in secret and hidden It lieth like the corne couered in the ground Their life is hid and it is not manifest what they shall be No eye hath seene or eare heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man what the Lord hath laid vp for them that loue him Name what you can and it will be a mysterie a secret thing that belongs to the vpright in heart Reason 1 First is not the decree of God a hidden thing a depth vnsearchable and able to make a man astonied Did not Paul crie out Oh the deepnesse of the riches both of the wisedome and counsell of God! how
THE IOY OF THE VPRIGHT MAN IN A SERMON PREACHED AT GRAYES INNE BY I. B. WHEREIN IS DECLARED THE hidden comfort the sure reward the present condition of the vpright-hearted PSAL. 126. 6. They went weeping and carried precious seede but they shall returne with ioy and bring their sheaues LONDON Imprinted by Felix Kyngston for Nathaniel Newbery and are to be sold at his shop vnder Saint Peters Church in Corne-hill at the signe of the Starre and in Popes-head Alley 1619. TO HIS MVCH RESPECTED AND APPROVED FRIEND Mr. DA. M. IT hath been the custome of them that penned the Booke of Bookes the Bible to direct seuerall writings to some particular and priuate persons although it was in their mindes that the Church in generall should also receiue edification and comfort by them So then I haue in this respect trod in their stepps whose patterne cannot but be worth the imitation Were it as conuenient as lawfull I would fully haue set downe your name but to auoide the least appearance of euill I haue omitted that and though many reasons might be produced why I made choice of you before others yet it would be tedious and to no purpose to relate them wherefore let these following suffice I assure my selfe that it will be well accepted and as from the hands of a true though meane friend receiued I also so farre as my iudgement leades me verily beleeue that the Lord hath begun his good worke in you wherefore though the meanes be but weake the powerfull Creator can vse it as an instrument to fur-ther the same He that could cure the blind man with clay and spittle can produce the like effects by an ordinarie meanes who doubteth I will not proclaime to the eares of the world what kindnesses I haue receiued from you for that might seeme to smell of flattery or by a more secret manner of begging to craue some future fauour But this I will onely mention that it is out of Christian affection and a singular desire of your good comfort as also to declare my remembrance of you that I haue in this kind put pen to paper And to say much in one word If I haue more than an ordinary affection to any priuate person the current thereof runneth towards your selfe Let these lines what euer they be therefore the rather find a friendly entertainement and not so onely but especially striue to apply them to what end I haue aimed at in the penning of them They will plainely declare vnto you by what meanes we are to stand iust before God of which mystery the vulgar people are for the most part ignorant of or not thorowly grounded in Againe you shall find in them that the spiritual estate of a Christian is secret not onely to others but often hidden from himselfe especially at the time of his effectuall vocation for then he is like the late manured field naked and bare without the least true apprehension or sight of sauing grace and good graine in the furrowes of his soule By this you may vnderstand who are the reapers of Gods greatest benefits And finally you shall euidently see confuted the opinion of those that hold there is no mirth or comfort in a Christian course who cry out what turne Puritane become a Precisian then farewell all ioy and welcome melancholy But we say leauing those names to whom they of right pertaine that faith in the promises of God and obedience to his precepts will expell feare quiet the troubled soule and make a sad heart the merriest man in the world for faith in the Gospell sets vs euen with God and obedience to the Law will bring vs to his presence where all the righteous and vpright-hearted shall bathe themselues in Riuers of pleasure that shall neuer be dried vp but spring flow and be full for euer To the which the Lord bring you in a conuenient season through the merits of his Sonne by the hand of his blessed Spirit Amen Amen Your friend if friend to any I. B. THE IOY OF THE VPRIGHT MAN PSAL. 97. 11. Light is sowne for the righteous and ioy for the vpright in heart THese words consist of a double proposition but some vnderstand that like Pharaohs dreames though diuers the same thing is onely meant Others thus that the first part of the verse is vnderstood of Iustification the latter of Sanctification for they both vsually goe together and the one is neuer in Gods children separated from the other for if the Lord iustifie any person through Christ in some measure he sanctifieth the same by his Spirit these like Naomi and Ruth runne together In the former proposition are two things to be considered first that light is sowen secondly for whom and that is for the righteous Againe in the latter proposition are two things also to be noted the one that ioy is sowne the other who shall reape it viz. the vpright in heart But for the better vnderstanding of the words we must know that this Text is an Allegory that is a continued similitude wherein we may obserue fower things First the sower and that is God Secondly the seede and that is ioy and light Thirdly the reapers and they be the iust and vpright in heart Fourthly the ground where and that is in Gods Word and workes earth and heauen within vs and without vs. This metaphor of husbandry is often vsed in the Scripture for First it is of antiquitie our first parents were to till the ground Secondly it is of good report therefore to bee thought vpon Thirdly it is profitable for he that soweth shall reape Lastly it is of necessitie for grounds must bee plowed vp or they will not bring forth any good fruite but briars thistles and all vnprofitable rubbish Now wee will proceede to the meaning of the words And first for Light Light is either taken litterally or tropically Litterally two waies First either for an accident or qualitie in a subiect as in the Sunne or any cleare body or Secondly as an effect proceeding from its cause and so the Fier Moone and starres are said to be Lights and to giue light Gen. 1. 15. Eccles 11. 9. Againe light is metaphorically applied many waies First God is said to be light 1. Iohn 1. 5. Secondly Christ is called the light Iohn 3. 19. Thirdly the Ministers are stiled Lights Matthew 5. 14. Fourthly the Gospell walke in the light Iohn 12. 36. Fifthly the precepts and word was to Dauid a Lanthorne or light Psal 119. 105. Sixthly Grace is called light Ephes 5. 13. 14. Seuenthly deliuerance from danger Esth. 8. 16. In a word light is taken for all true comfort and spirituall blessings that wee receiue from God through Christ temporal or eternal and so it may be taken in this place though more particularly of deliuerance from trouble or some present danger the people of God were cast into for the Kingdome of Christ is fore-spoke of and prophecied in this