well-wisher must pass; but 'tis the honest and sincere doer of
these things, that will abide the test and stand the trial; when all
other flashy pretences shall, in those searching flames, be burnt and
consumed like "hay and stubble," as the apostle expresses it. To wear
Christ's livery and to do him no service is but to mock a gracious
Master; to own him in our profession and deny him in our
practice, is, with Judas, to betray him with a kiss of homage;
with the rude soldiers to bow the knee before him, and, in the
meantime to beat his sacred head with his reeden sceptre, and with
Pilate to crown him with thorns, to crucify the Lord and write over
his head, "King of the Jews:" in a word, to grieve him with our
honours, and wound him with our acknowledgments. A Christian
profession without a life answerable, will be so far from saving any
one, that 'twill highly aggravate his condemnation; when a dissembled
friendship at the great day of discoveries shall be looked upon as
the worst of enmities. A mere outside formality of worship, is at
best but Prometheus's sacrifice, a skeleton of bones and a religious
cheat. . . . . . The harmless humour of meaning well is not
enough to approve a man's spiritual state, to acquit obligations, or
to ascertain his expectations. For he that bids us "eschew evil" does
immediately subjoin, that we must "follow" and "hold fast that which
is good." It will be no good account not to have done evil, unless we
make it appear that we have been doing good too; since the
non-commission of great sins will not excuse our omission of great
duties. In the best commonwealth of bees, the drone without a sting,
as she has no weapon for mischief, so, wanting a tool for employ, is
deservedly cashiered the hive. Condensed from Adam Littleton,
D.D., 1627-1694.
Verse 5. "He that doeth these things shall never be
moved." Mark how the prophet saith not, he that readeth these
things, or he that heareth these things, but he that doth them, shall
never be removed. For were it enough to read or hear these precepts,
then should an infinite number of vain and wicked persons enter into,
and continue in the church, which notwithstanding have no place
therein; for there are very few, or none at all, which have not read,
or at least have not heard these things, yet they will not do them.
Neither doth he say, he that talketh of these things, but he that
doth them; for many now in these days can talk gloriously of
uprightness, justice, truth, in whom notwithstanding, there is
neither upright dealings, nor sound righteousness, nor unfeigned
truth to be found. Many can say that slander is sin, injury is
iniquity, to receive false reports is uncharitable, that it becometh
not the saints to flatter the wicked, that to break promise and
falsify their oaths is unseemly, to give upon usury is oppression, to
receive bribes against the innocent is extreme cruelty; yet
themselves backbite and hurt their neighbour, they themselves believe
every tale that is brought them, they flatter and fawn upon the
wicked for advantage, they swear and forswear for commodity, they
oppress through usury, and receive gifts of bribery against the
innocent; and so in word they speak of these things, but do them
not indeed. . . . . . . Neither doth David say he that preacheth
these, " shall never be removed," for then not only many other
wicked persons, which can speak of, yea, many ungodly men which can
also preach of virtue, should have the place in the Lord's
tabernacle, and rest upon his holy hill; but also among others, even
Balaam the covetous prophet, should have a sure place in God's
tabernacle; for he could say, "If Balak would give me his house full
of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God,
to do less or more" (Numbers 22:18); yet he took rewards; yet he was
carried away with covetousness, as much as in him lay, to work the
destruction of Israel, the innocent people of the Lord. Richard
Turnbull.
Verse 5. "Shall never be moved." Moved he may be for a
time, but not removed for ever. His soul is bound up in the bundle of
life, near unto the throne of glory; when the souls of the wicked are
restless as a stone in the midst of a sling, saith the Targum in 1
Samuel 25. John Trapp.
Verse 5 ( last clause ). The holy soul is the love of
God, the joy of angels; her eyes dare look upon the glorious Judge
whom she knows to be her Saviour. Her heart is courageous; she dares
stand the thunder; and when guilty minds creep into corners, she is
confident in him that will defend her. She challengeth the whole
world to accuse her of injustice, and fears not the subornation of
false witnesses, because she knows the testimony of her own
conscience. Her language is free and bold, without the guiltiness of
broken stops. Her forehead is clear and smooth, as the brow of
heaven. Her knees are ever bent to the throne of grace; her feet
traveling toward Jerusalem; her hands weaving the web of
righteousness. Good men bless her; good angels guard her; the Son of
God doth kiss her; and when all the world shall be turned to a
burning pile, she shall be brought safe to the mountain of joy, and
set in a throne of blessedness for ever. Thomas Adams.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. Qualifications for church membership on earth and in
heaven. A subject for self-examination.
Verse 1.
I. Comparison of the church to the
tabernacle. God's presence manifested, sacrifice offered, and
vessels of grace preserved in it;mean externally, glorious
within.
II. Comparison of its double position
to that of the tabernacle. Moving in the wilderness, and fixed on
the hill.
III. Enquire into qualification for
admittance into church and tabernacle. Parallel with the priests,
etc.
Verse 1. The great question. Asked by idle curiosity, despair,
godly fear, earnest enquirer, soul troubled by falls of others, holy
faith. Give answer to each.
Verse 1. The citizen of Zion described. Thomas Boston's
Sermons.
Verse 1. Anxiety to know the true saints, how far lawful and
profitable.
Verse 1. God the only infallible discerner of true saints.
Verse 2. "He that walketh uprightly."
I. What he must be. He must be upright
in heart. A man himself bent double cannot walk uprightly.
II. How he must act. Neither from
impulse, ambition, gain, fear, or flattery. He must not be warped in
any direction, but stand perpendicularly.
III. What he must expect. Snares, etc.,
to trip him.
IV. Where he must walk. Path of duty,
the only one in which he can walk uprightly.
V. Where he must look. Up, right-up, and
then he will be upright.
Verse 2. "Speaketh the truth in his heart." Subject:—
Heart falsehood and heart truth.
Verse 2 ( first clause ). The citizen of Zion, an upright
walker.
Verse 2 ( middle clause ). The citizen of Zion, a worker
of righteousness.
Verse 2 ( last clause ). The citizen of Zion, a speaker
of truth. Four Sermons in Thomas Boston's Works.
Verse 3. The evils of detraction. It affects three persons
here mentioned: the backbiter, the suffering neighbour, and the
taker-up of the reproach.
Verse 3. "Nor taketh up a reproach." The sin of being
too ready to believe ill reports. Common, cruel, foolish, injurious,
wicked.
Verse 4. The duty of practically honouring those who fear the
Lord. Commendation, deference, assistance, imitation, etc.
Verse 4. The sin of estimating persons other than by their
practical characters.
Verse 4 ( last clause ). The Lord Jesus as our unchanging
Surety, his oath and his hurt.
Verse 5. The evidences and privileges of godly men.
Verse 5 ( last clause ). The fixedness and safety of the
godly.
WORKS UPON THE FIFTEENTH PSALM
Fower Sermons and Two Questions,
as they were uttered and disputed by that learned Frenchman, P[ETER]
B[ARO]. 1560.
Lectures on the XV. Psalme read
in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, in London. By GEORGE DOWNAME.
Doctor of Divinitie, London. 1604. 4to.
Four Sermons, by way of
Exposition of Psalm XV., by RICHARD TURNBULL, are found at the end of
the old 4to containing his Exposition of the Epistles of James and
Jude. There is no separate title page to the Exposition of the Psalm;
the date of the book is 1606.
The Works of John Boys, D.D., Deane
of Canterburie, 1629, folio, contains Expositions of Psalms II.,
IX., and XV. (The folio edition of Boys' Works consists of
Expositions of the Scriptures used in the Liturgy.)
A Practical and Polemical Commentary,
or Exposition on the whole Fifteenth Psalm, wherein the text is
learnedly and fruitfully explained, some controversies discussed,
sundry cases of conscience are cleared; more especially that of
USURIE. By CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT, late minister of Saint-Martin's,
in the city of York. 1658. 4to.