To add one thing more. As there is an order of other graces ; so there is an order in this sincerity which we should labour for. There is this order to be kept.
1. ]Ve must dig deep. We must lay a sincere foundation. What is that ? A deep search into our own hearts and ways by sound humiliation. We say of digestions, if the first be naught, all are naught ; if the first concoc- tion in the body be naught, there can never be good assimilation, there can never be good blood. So if there be not a good, a sincere foundation, there can never be a sincere fabric. Therefore many mistake, and build castles in the air, comb-downes, as we say {-pp)- They build a fwime of pro- fession that comes to nothing in the end ; because it is not sincere in this order. They were never truly humbled. They had a guileful heart, in the confession of their sins. They never knew what sin v.as throughly, and feelingly. ' Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile,' Ps. xxxii. 2. The psalmist especially means and intends there, in regard of down- right dealing with God in the confession of sins. For he himself when he did not deal roundly and uprightly with God in the confession of his sins, with detestation, and with resolution never to commit the same again, he
252 COMMENTAKY ON
was in a pitiful plif^lit both of soul and body ; his moisture was turned into * the drouf^dit of summer,' Ps. xxxii. 4.
2. But when without guile he laid open his soul to God, then he came from sincere humiliation, and sincere confession, to sincere faith. Therefore, for the order, let us first labour to be sincere in the sight of that which is ill in us, in the confession of our sins, and then we shall bo sincere, the better to depend upon God's mercy in Christ by faith.
3. And from thence we shall come to sincere lore. When we believe that God is reconciled in Christ, we shall love him. Our love is but a reflection of his love to us. When once we know that he loves us, wo shall love him again.
The spring of all duty is sincere love, coming from sincere faith ; as sincere faith is forced out of the sincere sight of our sins, of the ill and miserable estate we are in. A man will not go ol^t of himself, so long as he sees any hojie in himself ; and therefore sound knowledge of the evil condi- tion we are in, it forceth the gi'ace of faith, which fbrceth a man to go out of himself. And then when he is persuaded of God's love in Christ, he loves him again.
Love is that which animates, and quickens, and enlivens all duties. What are all duties, but love ? Christ reduceth all to love. It is a sweet affection that stirs up and quickeneth to all duties. It carries us along to all duties. All ai'e love. What need I stand on sincere patience, sincere temperance, sincere sobriety, &c. ? If a man have sincere love to God, it will carry him to all duties. Remember this order.
Especially every day, enter into your o^vn souls, and search impartially, what sin there is there unconfessed, and unrepented of, and make your peace with God by confession. And then go to sincere dependence on God by faith in the promises. And then stir up your hearts to love him ; and from the love of him to love one another in sincerity, not in hypocrisy. Thus we have the manner of the blessed apostle's carriage in the world, whereupon his rejoicing was founded. ' Our rejoicing is this, the testi- mony of om' conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity,'
' We have had our conversation in the tvorlcL' I will speak a little of those words, before I come to the negative part, ' Not in fleshly wisdom.'
' Our conversation.' By ' conversation,' anastrojihe* he means the several turnings of his life, in what relation soever he stood to God, to men, as _ a minister, as a Christian, as a friend, as a neighbour, at home or abx'oad, in all estates, in all places, and at all times. His conversation was ' in simplicity and sincerity.'
' In the world,' that is, wheresoever he had lived. And mark how he joins them together. His conversation in the world amongst men, it was with sincerity to God. It was that that did rule his conversation in the world. And so it should be with us wheresoever we are, or v/hatsoever we do in the world, our carriage here must be directed by a higher aspect. The ship while it is tossed in the sea, it is ruled by the pole-star. That must guide it. So in our conversation in the w^orld. The stuff of our conversation may be the business we have in the world, but the rule, the regiment f of all must be from heaven, with an eye to God. I touch that from the knitting of these together.
Now where he saith, that his conversation was in simplicity and sin-
* That is, dvatTT^ofTi, turning about, = manner of life.— G. t That is, ' government.' — G.