IV. SERM. even the vulgar fort of men (yea, as Plato hath well observed, the worst men) do pass this judgment, do prefer true goodness above all things c. 15. Prov. xxi. 1. 4. God, by his extraordinary providence, as there is reafon and occafion, doth interpose, so as to procure honour to them, to maintain and further their reputation, Pf. xxxiii. who honour him. God fashioneth the hearts of men: the hearts of the greateft men are in his hand; he turneth them as the rivers of waters, whitherfoever he will: he consequently raiseth or depresseth us, as he pleases, in the Prov. xvi.7. judgments and affections of men. When a man's ways pleafe the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him, faith the Wife Man; that is, he disposeth the moft averse minds to love and honour him. No envy can fupplant, no flander can deface the credit of fuch a perfon; fince God hath taken it into his charge and care, Pf. xxxvii. fince he hath said it, that he will bring forth his righteoufPl. xxx. 7. nefs as the light, and his judgment as the noon day. God alfo by fecret methods, and undifcernible trains, ordereth all events, managing our thoughts and defigns, our enterprises and actions so, that the result of them shall be matter of benefit, comfort, and reputation, or of difafter, regret, and difgrace, as he thinks good. Victory and fuccefs he abfolutely difpofeth of, and confequently of the honour that follows them; and they do ufually attend the hoFf. cxi. 10. nours of God: for, as it is in the Pfalm, a good fuccefs Prov. iii. 4. have they who keep his commandments. Many are the in 6. XC. 17. stances of perfons, (such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Job, and Daniel,) who, for their fignal honouring of God, from a base and obfcure, or from an afflicted and forlorn condition, have, in ways ftrange and wonderful, been advanced to eminent dignity, have been rendered Is gloria maxime excellit, qui virtute plurimum præftat. Cic. Adeo gratiofa virtus eft, ut infitum fit etiam malis probare meliora. Sen. de Benef. iv. 17. • Θεῖόν τι καὶ εὔςοχόν ἐςι καὶ τοῖς κακοῖς· ὥσε πάμπολλοι τῶν σφόδρα κακῶν εὖ τοῖς λόγοις καὶ ταῖς δόξαις διαιρῶνται τὰς ἀμείνες τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τοὺς χείρας. Plat. de Repub, xii. IV. 1 Sam. ii. 8. moft illustrious, by the providence of him, who raiseth SERM. the poor out of the duft, and lifteth the beggar out of the dunghill, to fet them among princes, and to make them inhe- Pf. cvii. 41. rit the throne of glory. He doth it in an evident manner, and eminent degree, to fome; he doth it in a convenient way, and competent measure, to all that honour him. 1. Pf. cxii. 6. 5. Whereas men are naturally inclined to bear much Cic. Tufc. regard to the judgment of posterity concerning them, are defirous to leave a good name behind them, and to have their memory retained in esteem: God fo difpofes things, that the memory of the just shall be blessed; that his righ- Prov. x. 7. teoufnefs fhall be had in everlasting remembrance; that his Prov. xiii. light shall rejoice, (or burn clearly and pleasantly, even 9. when his life is put out here.) No fpices can fo embalm a man, no monument can so preserve his name and memory, as a pious conversation, whereby God hath been honoured, and men benefited. The fame of fuch a person is, in the best judgments, far more precious and truly glorious, than is the fame of those who have excelled in any other deeds or qualities. For what fober man doth not in his thoughts afford a more high and hearty respect to those poor fishermen, who by their heroical activity and patience did honour God in the propagation of his heavenly truth, than to all those Hectors in chivalry, those conquerors and achievers of mighty exploits, (thofe Alexanders and Cæfars,) who have been renowned for doing things which feemed great, rather than for performing what was truly good? To the honour of those excellent poor men, confpicuous monuments have been erected every where; anniversary memorials of their names and virtues are celebrated; they are never mentioned or thought of without refpe&t; their commendations are interwoven with the praises of their great Lord and Maker, whom they honoured *. Η 'Ανάγκη, ὡς ἔοικε, μέλειν ἡμῖν καὶ τοῦ ἔπειτα χρόνω· ἐπειδὴ καὶ τυγχάνεσι κατά τινα φύσιν, οἱ μὲν ἀνδραποδωδέςατοι, οὐδὲν φροντίζοντες αὐτῷ· οἱ δ' ἐπιεικέςαται, πῶν ποιοῦντες ὅπως ἂν εἰς τὸν ἔπειτα χρόνον εὖ ἀκούωσιν. Plat. Εpif. ii. • Τῶν δὲ δούλων τῷ Χρισᾶ καὶ τὰ σήματα λαμπρά, καὶ ἡμέραι καταφανεῖς, ἑορτὴν Tỹ dixvuívy woiurai, &c. Chryf. in 2 Cor. Or. 27. SERM. 17. 6. Laftly, to those who honour God here, God hath referved an honour infinitely great and excellent, in com, parison whereto all honours here are but dreams, the loudeft acclamations of mortal men are but empty founds, the brightest glories of this world are but duskish and fleeting fhadows; an honour most solid, most durable; an 2 Cor. iv. eternal weight of glory. They fhall, in the face of all the world, be approved by the most righteous Judge's unquestionable sentence; they fhall be esteemed in the unanimous opinion of angels and faints; they shall be applauded by the general voice and attestation of heaven; they shall then be feated upon unmoveable thrones, their heads encircled with unfading crowns, their faces fhining with rays of unconceivable glory and majefty. The lefs of honour they have received here, in this tranfitory moment of life, the more thereof they shall enjoy in that future eternal state; where, with him who, through the whole course of John viii. his life, fought not his own honour, but the honour of him that fent him; who, for the fuffering of death, was crowned with glory and honour; who, for the joy that was fet before him, endured the cross, defpifing the shame, and is fet at the right hand of God; with those who confecrated all their endeavours, and who facrificed their lives to the promoting of God's honour, they fhall poffefs everlafting glory. Which, together with them, God Almighty of his infinite mercy grant unto us all, through Jefus Christ our Lord; to whom, with God the Father, and God the Holy Ghost, be for ever all honour and praife. Amen. 49, 50. Heb. ii. 9. xii. 2. SERMON V. UPRIGHT WALKING SURE WALKING. PROV. X. 9. He that walketh uprightly, walketh furely. V. THE world is much addicted to the politics; the heads SERM of men are very busy in contrivance, and their mouths are full of talk about the ways of consulting our safety, and fecuring our interefts. May we not therefore prefume, that an infallible maxim of policy, propofing the most expedite and certain method of security in all our tranfactions, will be entertained with acceptance? Such 1 Kings iii. an one the greatest politician and wifeft man for business (if we may take God's own word for it) that ever was or will be, doth here fuggeft to us. For the practice couched in our text he otherwhere voucheth for a point of policy, telling us, that, A man of understanding walketh uprightly: Prov. xv. and here he recommendeth it as a method of fecurity, He that walketh uprightly, walketh furely. Treating upon which aphorifm, I fhall, by God's help, endeavour, first, in way of explication, briefly to defcribe the practice itself; then, in way of proof, by fome confiderations to declare, that fecurity doth attend it. For explication. To walk (as well in the ftyle of holy Scripture, as in other writings, and even in cominon fpeech) doth fignify our ufual courfe of dealing, or the conftant tenor of our practice. 12. 21. SERM. V. בתים He that walketh in Uprightly, according to the original, might be rendered, in perfection, or with integrity: and by the Greek translators in several places is fuppofed chiefly to denote fincerity and purity of intention. In effect, the phrafe, He that walketh uprightly, doth his upright- import, one who is constantly disposed in his designs and `nefs, feareth dealings to bear a principal regard to the rules of his duty, Prov. xiv. 2. and the dictates of his confcience; who in every cafe the Lord. emergent is ready to perform that, which upon good deliberation doth appear most just and fit, in conformity to God's law and found reafon, without being swayed by any appetite, any paffion, any finifter respect to his own private interest of profit, credit, or pleasure, to the commiffion of any unlawful, irregular, unworthy, or base act; who generally doth act out of good principles; (namely, reverence to God, charity to men, fober regard to his own true welfare;) who doth aim at good ends, that is, at God's honour, public benefit, his own falvation, other good things fubordinate to thofe, or well consistent with them; who doth profecute his defigns by lawful means, in fair ways, such as honest providence and industry, veracity and fidelity, dependence upon God's help, and prayer for his bleffing: in fhørt, one who never advisedly doth undertake any bad thing, nor any good thing to ill purposes; nor doth use any foul means to compass his intents. For proof. That fuch an one doth ever proceed with much fecurity, from the following confiderations may appear. I. An upright walker is fecure of easily finding his way. For it commonly requireth no reach of wit or depth of judgment, no laborious diligence of inquiry, no curious intentnefs of obfervation, no folicitous care, or plodding study, to difcern in any case what is just; we need not much trouble our heads about it, for we can hardly be to feek for it. If we will but open our eyes, it lieth in view before us, being the plain, straight, obvious road, which common reafon prompteth, or which ordinary inftruction pointeth out to us: fo that usually that di |