100 OF WALKING HUMBLY WITH GOD.
seen in me, that you are gone away?" And our Saviour, the husband of the church, carries this to the greatest height imaginable, Cant. iv. 9-16. He speaks as one transported by a delight not to be borne, which he receives from the love and obedience of his spouse, — com- paring it with things of the highest natural delight, and preferring them far before them.
Now, surely, if God hath this delight in us in our walking before him, is it not expected that our delight should be in him in our obe- dience? It suits not my present business to go over the testimonies of Scripture, wherein either we are required to delight in the Lord, or have the example of the saints, who did so to the height proposed to us; or to insist on the nature of the delight I speak of. Job makes it a sure mark of a hypocrite, that he " will not," notwithstanding all his obedience, "delight himself in the Almighty," Job xxvii. 10. Only take notice that there is a twofold delight in this matter: — [1.] A delight in the obedience itself, and the duties of it; [2.] A delight in God in that obedience.
[1.] There may be a delight in the duties of obedience, upon some foreign respect, when there is no delight in God in them. A man may delight to go along with another in the way, on the account of some pleasantness in the way, or other occasions which he hath to draw him that way, though he hath no delight at all in the company of him with whom he walks. God tells us of a hypocritical people, that sought him daily, and delighted to know his ways, and took delight in approaching to God, Isa. lviii. 2. And it is said of some, that Ezekiel's ministry was to them as " a cheerful song of one that had a pleasant voice;" wherefore they came and heard and attended on it, when their hearts went after their sins, Ezek. xxxiii. 81, 32. There may be something in the administration of the ordinances of God, in the person administering, in the things administered, which may take the minds of hypocrites, so that they may run after them, and attend to them with great delight and greediness. John " was a burning and a shining light," saith our Saviour to the wicked Jews; and " they were willing for a season to rejoice" (or delight) " in his light," John v. 35. How many have we seen running after sermons, pressing with the multitude, finding sweetness and contentment in the word, who yet have nothing but novelty, or the ability of the preacher, or some outward consideration, for the bottom of their delight!
[2.] There is a delight in God in our obedience, — " Delight thy- self in the Lord," saith the psalmist, Ps. xxxvii. 4; — and a delight in obedience and duties, because it is his will, and his ways. When a person aims in eveiy duty to meet with God, to have converse with him, to communicate his soul to him, and to receive refreshment from
OF WALKING HUMBLY WITH GOD. 101
him ; when on this account our duties and all our ways of obedience are sweet and pleasant to us ; — then do we in them walk with God. Let not men think, who perform duties with a bondage-frame of spirit; to whom they are weariness and burdensome, but that they dare not omit them ; who never examine their hearts whether they meet with God in their duties, or have any delight in so doing; — let them not think, I say, whatever they do, that at all they walk with God.
I shall not insist on more particulars.
Use 1. Of direction. Know that it is a great thing to walk with God as we ought. We heard before how many things were required to render it acceptable; now, some of the things that it consists in. Who, almost, hath prepared his heart to walk with God as he ought? who considers whether his walking be such as it ought to be? Be- lieve me, friends, a formal performance of duties, in a course or a round, from one day, one week to another, both in private and public, may possibly come exceeding short of this walking with God. Men content themselves with a very slight and formal course. So they pray morning and evening ; so they take part with some of the people of God against open jorofane persons; so they keep themselves from such sins as would wound a natural conscience, — all is well with them. Be not deceived, walking with God must have, —
(1.) All the strength and vigour of the soul laid out in it. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." The soul and heart of a man is to be in the work; his design and contrivance about it ; his contending in it. Form and a course will not do it.
(2.) It is to have the perfection of the new covenant in universality, and sincerity attending it. It is not the doing of this or that thing, but the doing of all things by Christ commanded; not a loving of friends only, but of enemies; not a denial of the ways of ungodly men only, but a denial of self and the world ; not a doing hurt to none only, but a doing good to all ; not a hatred to evil men's ways only, but a love to their persons; not praying and hearing only, — but giving alms, communicating, showing mercy, exercising loving-kind- ness in the earth ; not a mortification of pride and vanity only, espe- cially if as to others in any outward appearance, — but of envy, wrath, discontent. In a word, it is " perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord" that is required. If men professing religion, who are almost devoured by world, or flesh, or envy, or faction, or idleness, or use- lessness in their generation, would but lay their hearts to the rules we have considered, they would find they had but little cause to hug themselves in their ways and walking.