upholdeth the righteous.' The righteous man in that psahn is the upright; by the wicked is meant the hypocrite. A little true grace mixed with much corruption in the sincere Christian is better than the hypocrite's riches, great faith, zeal, and devotion he brags so of. The former hath the blessing of the promise to recover it when decaying ; these, the curse of God threatening to blast them when in their greatest pomp and glory. The hypocrite's doom is to grow ' worse and worse,' 2 Tim. ii. 13. Those very ordinances which are effectual, through the blessing of the promise, to recover the sincere soul, being cursed to the hypocrite, give him his bane and ruin. The word, which opens the eyes of the one, puts out the eyes of the other ; as we find in the hypocritical Jews, to whom the word was sent to ' make them blind,' Isa. vi. 9, 10. It melts and breaks the sincere soul, as in Josiah, 2 Kings xxii. 19; but meeting with a naughty false heart, it hardens exceedingly, as appeared in the same Jews, Jer. Ixii. 20. Before the sermon they speak fair, ' Whatever God saith they will do;' but when sermon is done, they are further off than ever from com- plying with the command of God. The hypocrite he hears for the worse, prays for the worse, fasts for the worse ; every ordinance is a wide door to let Satan in more fully to possess him, as Judas foimd the sop.
CHAPTER XVIII.
OF A SUPPORTING AND COMFORTING PROPERTY SINCERITY HATH, SHEWN IN SEVERAL PARTICULAR INSTANCES.
Thirdly, Sincerity hath a supporting, comforting virtue ; it lifts the head above water, and makes the Christian float'a-top of the waves of all troubles with a holy presence and gallantry of spirit: Psa. xi. 24, 'Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness;' not only light after darkness, when the night is past, but in darkness also : ' Out of the eater comes meat, and out of the strong, sweetness.' Those afflictions which feed on, yea, eat out the hypocrite's heart, the sincere soul can feed on them, suck sweetness from them, yea, hath such a digestion that he can turn them into high nourishment both to his grace and comfort. A naughty heart is merry only while his carnal cheer is before him. Hosea ii. 11, God tells Israel, ' He will take away her feasts, and all her mirth shall cease ;' her joy is taken away with the cloth. Sincerity makes the Christian sing when he hath nothing to his supper. David was in none of the best case when in the cave, yet we never find him merrier; his heart makes sweeter music. than ever his harp did : Psa. Ivii. 7, ' My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed ; I will sing and give praise.' The hypocrite's joj', like the strings of musical instruments, crack in wet weather ; but sincerity keeps the soul in tune in all weather. They are unsound bodies that sympathize with the season, — cheerly in fair, but ill and full of aches in foul ; so the unsound heart ; a few pinching providences set him going, kill him, as a sharp winter doth weak bodies ; whereas the sincere soul never is more hale, never more comfortable. Afflictions do him but this courtesy, to call in his affections, which in the summer of prosperity were possibly too much diffused and scattered among creature delights, and unite them more entirely and closely upon Christ, into whose bosom it goes as directly, when storms come, as the bee to its hive ; and he must needs be comfortable that hath so soft a pillow to lay his head on as Christ's lap. Sincerity keeps the soul's mouth open to receive the sweet conso? lations that drop from word and Spirit ; indeed all the promises are directed to such. But hypocrisy is like the quinsy in the throat of a sick man, he burns within, and can get nothing down to quench the fire which his sins have kindled in his soul. Conscience tells him, when the sweet promises are offered, These are not for me, I have dealt falsely with God and man ; it is the sincere soul God invites, but I am a rotten-hearted hypocrite : and how much short comes such a poor wretch of Dives's miserj' in hell, I pray? Dives burns, and hath not a drop to quench his tongue ; the hypocrite in affliction he burns too, and hath indeed, not a drop, but a river, a fountain full of water, yea, of blood, presented to him, but he cannot drink it down, he cannot make any use of it for his good ; his teeth are set so close, no key can open them ; his hypocrisy stares him in the face; it lies like a mastiff at his door, and will suffer no com- fort to come near him. And which is worse, he that hath no bread, or he that
GIRT ABOUT WITH TRUTH. ggg