CHAP. XII.

FOUR CHARACTERS OF TRUTH OF HEART OR SINCERITY.

HAVING broke the flattering glasses wherein hypopocrites use to look, till they fall in love with their own painted faces, and conceit themselves sincere; as also those which disfigure the sweet countenance and natural beauty of the sincere soul, so as to make it bring the grace of God which shines on it into question, I now proceed to draw a few lineaments, and lay down some undoubted characters of this truth of heart and godly sincerity, whereby we may have the better advantage of stating every one his own condition.

SECT. I.

First, a sincere heart is a new heart. Hypocrisy is called the old leaven. 1 Cor. v. 7. "purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump." Dough once soured with leaven will never lose the taste of it; neither will corrupt nature cease to be hypocritical, till· it cease to be corrupt nature: either the heart must be made new, or it will have its old quality. There may be some art used to conceal it, and take away its unsavouriness from others for awhile, as flowers and perfumes cast about a rotten carcase may do its scent, yet both the rotten carcase and the corrupt heart remain the same. They say of the peacock, that roast him as much as you will yet his flesh when cold will be raw again: truly, thus let a carnal heart do what it please; force upon itself never such a high strain of seeming piety, so that it appears fire-hot with zeal, yet stay a little, and it will come to its old complexion, and discover itself to be but what it was, naught and false. One heart and a new heart both are covenant mercies, yea so promised that the new is promised in order to the making of the heart "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new

spirit in you, and I will take away the stony heart," &c. Ezek. xi. 19. God promiseth he will give them one spirit, that is, a sincere spirit to God and man; contrary to a divided heart, a heart and a heart, the mark of hypocrisy. But how will he give it? he tells them, "I will give you a new spirit;" and how will he do that?" I will take away the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh;" upon which words one very well thus glosseth, I will give you one heart, which that I may so do, I will cast it anew; and that I may do this also, I will melt and soften it; as oue that having many pieces of old silver or plate lying by him, which he intends to put into one bowl, he first resolves to cast it anew, and to that end throws it into the fire to melt, and so at last shuts up all in one piece. Indeed by nature man's heart is a very divided broken thing, scattered and parcelled out, a piece to this creature, and a piece to that lust. One while this vanity hires him (as Leah did Jacob of Rachel), anon when he hath done some drudgery for that, he lets himself out to another; thus divided is man and his affec tions. Now the elect (whom God hath decreed to be vessels of honour, consecrated for his holy use and service) he throws into the fire of his Word, that being there softened and melted, he may by his transforming spirit cast them anew, as it were, into a holy oneness; so that he who before was divided from God, and lost among the creatures and his lusts (that shared him among them), now his heart is gathered in to God from them all; it looks with a single eye on God, and acts for him in all that he doth. If therefore thou wouldest know whether thy heart be sincere, enquire whether it be thus made new. Hath God thrown thee into his furnace? ever his Word like fire take hold upon thee, so as to soften thy hard heart, and melt thy drossy spirit, that thou now seest that desperate hypocrisy, pride, unbelief, and the like, which before lay hid, like dross in the metal before the fire finds it out? and not only seest it, but seest it sever and separate from thy soul, that thou, who before didst bless thyself as in a good condition, now bewailest thy folly for it, heartily confessing what an unsavoury creature thou wert to God in all thou

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didst; the things which appeared so gaudy and fair in thy eye, thy civil righteousness, keeping thy church, slubbering over a few duties in thy family, that for them thou thoughtest Heaven was as it were in mortgage to thee; dost thou lament to think how thou didst mock God with these hypocritical pageants abroad, while thy lusts were entertained within doors in thy bosom, there sucking the heart-blood of thy dearest affections? In a word, canst thou say that thou art not only melted into sorrow for these, but that thou findest thy heart (which was so divided and distracted betwixt lusts and creatures) now united to fear the name of God? Hast thou but one design, that above all thou pursuest, and that to approve thyself to God, though with the displeasing of all beside? one love, how thou mayest love Christ, and be beloved of him? If the streams of thy affections be thus (by the mighty power of God renewing thee) gathered into this one channel, and with a sweet violence run this way, then blessed art thou of the Lord; thou art the sincere soul in his account, though much corruption be found in thee still, that is disturbing thy stream, and endeavouring to stop the free course of thy soul God-ward. This may put thee to some trouble, as the mountains and rocks do the river-water running to the sea, causing some windings and turnings in its course, which else would go the nearest way, even in a direct line, to it so thy remaining corruptions may now and then put thee out of thy way of obedience; but sincerity will (like the water) on its journey for all this, and never leave till it bring thee, though with some compass, to thy God, whom thou hast so imprinted in thy heart as he can never be forgot by thee. But if thou never hadst the hypocrisy of thy heart thus discovered and made hateful to thee, nor a new principle put into thy bosom, to turn the tide of thy soul contrary to the natu ral fall of thy affections-only thou, from the good opinion which thou hast of thyself, because of some petty flourishes thou makest in profession, takest it for granted thou art sincere, and thy heart true-I dare pronounce thee an unclean hypocrite. The world may saint thee possibly; but thou wilt never (as thou art) be so in God's

account; when thou hast dizened and spruced thyself up never so finely into the fashion of a Christian, still thou wilt have but a saint's face and a hypocrite's heart. It is no matter what is the sign, though an angel, that hangs without, if the devil and sin dwell within. New trimmings upon an old garment will not make it new, only give it a new shape and truly it is no good management to bestow a great deal of cost in embellishing an old suit, that will drop in a while to tatters and rags, when a little more might purchase a new one that is lasting. And is it not better to labour to get a new heart, that all thou doest may be accepted and thou saved, than to lose all the pains thou takest in religion, and thyself also, for want of it?

SECT. II.

Secondly, A sincere heart is a plain heart, a simple heart, sine plicis, a heart without folds. The hypocrite is of the serpent's brood: he can, as the serpent, shrink up, or let out himself for his advantage, unwilling to expose himself much to the knowledge of others; and he has reason to do so, for he knows he hath most credit where he is least known: the hypocrite is one that " digs deep to hide his counsel," Isa. xxix. 15. "their heart is deep," Psal. Ixiv. 6. their meaning and intent of heart lies no body knows how far distant from their words; a sincere heart is like a clear stream in a brook, you may see to the bottom of his plots in his word, and take the measure of his heart by his tongue. I have heard say, that diseases of the heart are seen in spots of the tongue, but the hypocrite can shew a clear tongue, and yet have a foul heart. He that made that proverb, loquere ut te videam, speak that I may see you, did not think of the hypocrite, who will speak that you shall not see him. The thickest clouds that he hath to wrap up his villainy in, are his religious tongue and sandy profession. Wouldest thou know whether thou hast a true heart in thy bosom, look if thou hast a plain-dealing heart? see them joined, 2 Cor. i. 12. Paul and the rest of the faithful messengers of Christ had their conversation among the Corinthians, "in simplicity, and godly sincerity." They had no close

box in the cabinet of their hearts, in which they cunningly kept any thing concealed from them of their designs, as the false Apostles did. Now this plain dealing of the sincere heart appears in these three particulars.

First, A sincere heart deals plainly with itself, and that in two things chiefly.

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First, In searching and ransacking its ownself; this it doth to its utmost skill and power. It will not be put off with pretences, or such a mannerly excuse as Rachel gave Laban, when at the same time she sat brooding on his idols. No, an account it will have of the soul, and that such a one as may enable it to give a good account to God, upon whose warrant it does its office. O the fear which such a one shews, lest any lust should escape its eye, and lie hid (as Saul in the stuff), or that any the least grace of God should be trodden on regardlessly by belying or denying it. When David found his thoughts of God (which used to recreate him, and be his most pleasing company) occasion some trouble in his spirit, Psal. lxxvii. 3, "I thought on God, and was troubled;" this holy man (wondering what the matter should be) do but see what a privy search he makes; he hunts backwards and forwards, what God's former dealings had been, "and communes with his heart, and makes diligent search" there, ver. 6. never gives over till he brings it to an issue; and, finding the disturber of his peace to be in himself, he is not so tender of his reputation as to think of smothering the business, or smoothing it over; but attaches the thief, indicts his sin, and confesseth the fact, to the justifying of God, whom before he had hard thoughts of: "and I said, this is my infirmity." ver. 10. As if he had said, Lord, now I see the Jonas that caused the storm in my bosom, and made me so uncomfortable in my affliction all this while; it is this unbelief of mine, that bowed me down to attend so to the sorrow and sense of my present affliction that it would not suffer me to look up to former experiences; and so while I forgat them, I thought unworthily of thee. Here was an honest plaindealing soul indeed; what akin art thou, O man, to holy David? is this thy way in searching of thy soul? dost thou do it in earnest, as if thou wert searching for a mur