4. The last thing I shall premise is, Upright hearts in their constant course are even-carriaged hearts. An upright heart in his constant course is an even-carriaged heart. AH the ways of an upright soul are as commentaries one upon another; and look, * as face answereth face,' as Solomon speaketh, so the ways of an upright heart do one answer another. Christ sits at the stern of the soul, and guides the soul into those ways that are most like to himself: 2 Chron. xxxiv. 2, ' Josiah, he walked in all the ways of the Lord, as his father David did ; he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left.' In all his ways he carried himself evenly. But an unsound heart, a rotten heart, is a very uneven-carringed heart. You shall have one way wherein he walks to speak him out an angel, another to speak him a very sinful man, and a third to speak him a devil. Now he is for God, anon against God; now for justice and righteousness, anon for injustice and unrighteousness. 13ut an up- right heart is an even-carriaged heart. Let heaven and earth meet, let trials come, temptations and afflictions come, he keeps his ground, he is an even-carriaged heart. So much concerning the first thing.
For the second, concerning the ways of God, I shall briefly premise these five things : —
1. First, The ways of God are righteous ivays, the ways of God are blessed luays: Prov. viii. 20, ' I lead in the way of righteousness, and in the midst of the paths of judgment ; ' and in the 33d verse of that same chapter, ' Hearken unto me now therefore, 0 ye children, for blessed are they that keep thy ways.' The ways of God are blessed ways ; they bring in temporal, spiritual, and eternal blessings upon all that walk in them. They are righteous ways ; they lead to righteous- ness, to the love of righteousness, to the practice of righteousness, to a delight in righteousness. As for the ways of profaneness, pride, hy- pocrisy, neutrality, formality, and apostasy, these are none of the ways of God ; they are unrighteous ways, cursed ways, and they bring no- thing but curses and crosses upon all that walk in them. Those that
' In the niaririn Brooks tlius reads the original, Mikkol mishmar nehar llbbecha Li memeunu lolneoth huiim.
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walk in these ways are nowhere secure, but are every moment liable to the thunderbolts of divine displeasure.
2. And secondly, The ways of God are soul-refreshing ways. Oh, they yield the soul abundance of refreshing and sweetness that walks in them. In Jer. vi. 16, ' Ask for the old way, the good old way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest,'— O^IJIQ, margocing, ' ye shall find refreshing to your souls,' as the original hath it. If a man's soul be tired and weary, the ways of the Lord will refresh it ; if it be dead and dull, the ways of the Lord will quicken it ; if he be fainting, the ways of the Lord will be as a cordial to him.
3. And then, thirdly. The ways of the Lord, as they are soul-re- freshing ways, so they are transcendent luays, ways that transcend all other ways. What is darkness to light ? What are pebbles to pearls ? What is dross to gold ? No more are the choicest ways of the crea- ture to the ways of God : Isa. Iv. 8,9, ' My ways are not as your ways, nor my thoughts as your thoughts ; but as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts above your thoughts, and my ways above your ways.' What is said of wisdom. Pro v. iii. 15, ' that she is more precious than rubies, and that all the things we can desire are not to be compared to her,' the same may be affirmed of the ways of God. Oh ! they are more precious than rubies, and all other ways are not to be compared to them.
4. And then, fourthly. The ways of God are soul-strengthening ivays, ways that yield strength to the soul. In Pro v. x. 29, ' The way of the Lord is strength to the upright,' (' magnos ') : from gnazaz, the way of the Lord maketh strong. The original word, ^^V signifies to confirm, to make strong. Oh, the ways of the Lord confirm upright hearts, they make upright hearts strong, strong to withstand tempta- tions, strong to conquer corruptions, strong to rejoice under afflictions, strong to perform the most heavenly duties, strong to improve the most spiritual mercies. The ways of the Lord make strong, they con- firm such hearts as walk in them.
5. Then, fifthly and lastly. As the ways of the Lord are soul-strengthen- ing ways, so they are affiicted, perplexed, and persecuted ways. Mat. vii. 14, ' Strait is the gate,' &c. The original word, reOXifjiixevrj, signi- fies perplexed, afflicted, persecuted ; and the way is made strait by afflictions and troubles and persecutions. And so in Acts xix. 9, ' This way is everywhere evil spoken of ; ' and in Acts xxiv. 14, ' In the way that you call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers.' The ways of God are afflicted, persecuted, and perplexed ways. And so much for the second thing.
The third — to make haste to what I chiefly intend — for the reasons why upright hearts will hold on in the ways of God, notwithstanding all the afflictions, troubles, and discouragements that do befall them, are these : —
1. The first is drawn from the nature of a Christian's life, which is a race ; and as he that runs a race, if he holds not out, notwithstand- ing all discouragements, till he comes to the goal, loseth tlie garland ; and as he that faints in wrestling loseth the crown, so do those that hold not out to the end ; therefore upright hearts will hold out to the end, notwithstanding all the discouragements they meet with in the
344 god's delight in the [Ps. XLIV. 18.
ways of God : 1 Cor. ix. 24, ' Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the crown? So run, that ye may ob- tain.' So in Heb. xii. 1, ' Let us with patience run the race that is set before us.'
2. A second ground of their holding out, notwithstanding all the afflictions and discouragements they meet with in the ways of God, and in the ways of well-doing, is drawn from the glorious promises of reward. For mark, as there is a comforting virtue in the promises, so there is a quickening and an encouraging virtue in all the glorious promises, as to warm the heart, so to raise and encourage the heart to run the ways of God's commandments, especially such promises as these : — Rev. ii. 10, ' Satan shall cast some of you into prison : but fear not, but be faithful unto the death, and I will give thee the crown of life.' That crown is a sure crown, a matchless crown, a glorious crown, a lasting crown : ' I will give you a crown of life ;'
1 that am faithfulness itself, I that am truth itself, I that am good- ness itself, 1 that am power itself, I that have all in heaven and earth at my disposing, I will give thee a crown of life. And Paul,