6. He hath a great deal of peace : Gal. vi. 16, 'And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.' Obedience and holy walking bringeth peace : ' Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them/ Ps. cxix. 165 ; as there is peace in nature when all things keep their place and order. This peace others cannot have. There is a differ- ence between a dead sea and a calm sea. A stupid conscience they may have, not a quiet conscience. The virtue of that opium will soon be spent ; conscience will again be awakened.
Use. Oh, then, let us put in for a share of this blessedness ! There are two encouragements in the service of Christ — our vails and our wages. Our wages should be enough, the eternal enjoyment of him- self. But oh ! we cry out of the tediousness of the way. We have our vails also, that are not contemptible. If a man should offer a lordship or farm to another, and he should say, The way is dirty and dangerous, the weather very troublesome ; I will not look after it — ■ would you not accuse this man of folly, that loves his ease and pleasure ? But now, if this man were assured of a pleasant path and good way, if he would but take a little pains to go over and see it, this were gross folly indeed to refuse it. Our Lord hath made over a blessed inheri- tance to us upon gospel terms ; but we are full of prejudices, in that to keep close to the rule may bring trouble, and deprive us of many advantages of gain ; and we think we shall never see good day more. But we are assured there is a great blessing goeth along with God's yoke ; and we having a promise of the enjoyment of God's presence where there are pleasures for evermore, this should make us rouse up ourselves in the work of the Lord.
SEEMON IL
Blessed are they that l^eep his testimonies, that seeh him icith the ichole heart. — Ver. 2.
In this psalm the man of God begins with a description of the way to true blessedness. In the former verse a blessed man is described by the course of his actions, ' Blessed are the undefiled in the way.' In this, by the frame of his heart, ' Blessed are they that keep his testi- monies, that seek him with the whole heart." The internal principle of good actions is the verity and purity of the heart.
Here you may take notice of two marks of a blessed man : —
1. They keep his testimonies.
2. They seek him ivifh the ivhoJe heart.
Doct. 1. They that keep close to God's testimonies are blessed. By way of explication, two things take notice of: —
16 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. II.
1. The notion that is given to precepts and counsels in the word : they are called his testimonies.
2. The respect of the blessed man to these testimonies, to heep them.
First, The notion by which the word of God is expressed is testi- monies, whereby is intended the whole declaration of God's will, in doctrines, commands, examples, threatenings, promises. The whole word is the testimony which God hath deposed for the satisfaction of the world about the way of their salvation. Now, because the word of God braucheth itself into two parts, the law and the gospel, this notion may be applied to both. First, To the law, in regard whereof the ark is called ' the ark of the testimony,' Exod. xxv. 16, because the two tables were laid up in it. The gospel is also called the testimony, ' the testimony of God concerning his Son :' Isa. viii. 20, ' To the law, and to the testimony ; ' where testimony seems to be distinguished from the law. The gospel is so called, because there God hath testified how a man shall be pardoned, reconciled to God, and obtain a right to eternal life. We need a testimony in this case, because it is more unknown to us. The law was written upon the heart, but the gospel is a stranger. Natural light will discern something of the law, and pry into matters which are of a moral strain and concernment ; but evan- gelical truths are a mystery, and depend ^ by the mere testimony of God concerning his Sou. Now, from this notion of testimonies we have this advantage : —
[1.] That the word is a full declaration of the Lord's mind. God would not leave us in the dark in the matters which concern the ser- vice of God and man's salvation. He hath given us his testimony, he hath told us his mind, what he approves and what he disallows, and upon what terms he will accept of sinners in Christ. It is a blessed thing that we are not left to the uncertainty of our own thoughts : Micah vi. 8, ' He hath showed thee, 0 man, what is good.' The way of pleasing and enjoying God is clearly revealed in his word. There we may know what we must do, what we may expect, and upon what terms. We have his testimony.