A faithfull man shall abound in blessings,Prov. 28.20. that is, he that dealeth sincerely and truly with men, and is not willing to deceive any in word or deed, carrying himself in all holy simplicity towards God, as he liveth honestly amongst his Neighbours, and that not in one thing, but in all, and is therefore in the Originall Text called a man of faithfulnesse; he shall abound in blessings of all sorts, with plenty so farre as is expedient, with good estimation, with kind friends, with spirituall graces, &c.
The more sincerity, the more affinity with God: for truth is a neere tie, and hath an uniting power in it. The true and sound Christian is the Lords neere neighbour:Psal. 73.27,28. so much the neerer, as the wicked are farre off: for God will draw nigh to them, that draw nigh unto him in truth.Jam. 4.7.
Jer. 30.21. God is the God of truth, Psal. 31. 5. Christ is truth, Joh. 14. 6. the spirit is the spirit of truth, Joh. 14. 17. Truth is one speciall branch of that Image of God according to which man was made. And the greater measure of truth in the inward parts,Ephes. 4.23,24.
2 Cor. 3.18. the more are we (to speake with the Apostle) changed into the Image of God. And the more we resemble God and have communion with him, the more is our affinity with him. Satan ever did, and still opposeth sincerity by persecutions, opprobries, and reproaches, as of pride, hypocrisie, dissimulation, specially when God afflicteth his people, Job. 2. 6, 9. But the more Satan opposeth truth and simplicity, the more should we be in love with it: for Satan would not loade it with disgraces if it were not excellent. Satan labours to foist in the leaven of hypocrisie in our daily course, that by little and little he might pick the good seed of righteousnesse out of our hearts, but our care must be to disappoint him. Here our resistance is to hold us to our owne, and pray to God to rebuke him.
And here to prevent mistaking we must distinguish the degrees of soundnesse and simplicity, and the nature of it. In nature the soundnes of the godly is true, but in degree weake and imperfect, and therfore now and then through frailtie and weakenesse in the performance of good duties they looke more at man then at God, and propound indirect meanes when they should eye his glory only. But as we say of other sinnes, so of hypocrisy, it is either raigning, or not. In the hearts of true Christians there may be hypocrisie, but not raigning hypocrisie. David when he said, Blessed is he, in whose spirit there is no guile,Psal. 32.2. did take himselfetardie
