What Uprightness Is
G. Downame. Psalm 15:2 He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. I. TOWARDS GOD. 1. For first, to be upright, it is to walk with God, or before God (as the Lord saith to Abraham, walk before Me and be upright, Genesis 17:1), that is, so to lead our lives as in the sight and presence of God, who seeth the hearts and searcheth the reins of men. 2. Again, to be upright is to walk with a right foot, neither covertly treading awry with Peter (Galatians 2), nor openly halting with the Israelites (1 Kings 18:21). 3. It is also to be void of hypocrisy and doubling, not to have an heart and an heart, or to be double minded, but to be single hearted. 4. Lastly, this virtue of uprightness is commended unto us under other names, namely, sincerity and truth, sincerity being opposed to mixture, and truth to falsehood, both which hypocrisy is. II. NOW THAT UPRIGHTNESS IS A PROPER NOTE TO THE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, it may easily appear by the reciprocal conversion which is betwixt them. For if all the citizens of heaven be upright, and all that be tip. right are citizens of heaven, then is it manifest that uprightness agreeth to all that be the sons and heirs of God, and to them alone. III. IT BEHOVETH US DILIGENTLY TO TRY AND EXAMINE OURSELVES, WHETHER THIS NOTE DOTH BELONG UNTO US OR NOT. For unless we be upright we shall not rest in God's holy mountain, but must look to have our portion with hypocrites. 1. And first, the study and endeavour of the upright is to approve himself to God. 2. It is the property of upright men to yield simple and absolute obedience to the Word of God, denying themselves, their own affections and reason. 3. A third sign of an upright man is, so to contemn the world, and to be weaned from worldly desire, as that he preferreth the keeping of a good conscience. 4. The property of an upright man is to hate sin as well in himself as in others, and to be exercised in judging himself. 5. The upright man repenteth of all sin, having an unfeigned purpose and resolution to abstain from all sin, and not to retain anyone, howsoever besides and contrary to his purpose he may fail in some particulars. But the hypocrite, howsoever he may be brought to abstain from diverse sins whereunto he is not so much addicted, yet he will be sure to cherish and retain some sin or sins that are more dear unto him. 6. It is the property of the upright to love and reverence the good and godly for their godliness sake, and to contemn and despise the wicked, though mighty in the world, because of their wickedness. 7. It is the property of the upright to prefer the greater and weightier duties before the less, the substance before circumstances, the works either of piety or mercy before ceremonies. 8. Another note of an upright man is humility. As contrariwise, pride is the companion of hypocrisy. 9. Again, the upright man, being imbued with a good conscience, is confident in good causes and courageous in time of peril; as Solomon saith, "He that walketh uprightly walketh boldly" (Proverbs 10:9; Proverbs 28:1). And again, "The righteous are bold as a lion." 10. It is the privilege of an upright man to be constant in good things and to persevere to the end, keeping also a continued course of piety; for the upright man is he which hath built upon the rock, and therefore cannot utterly be overthrown by any blasts or tempests of temptations. IV. TO CONSIDER BY WHAT ARGUMENT WE MAY BE STIRRED UP TO EMBRACE THIS VIRTUE IF WE WANT IT, OR TO CONTINUE AND INCREASE THEREIN IF WE HAVE IT. The argument may be reduced to three heads, the excellency, the profit, the necessity of uprightness. But if neither the golden reason of excellency can move us, nor the silver reason of profit allure us, then must the iron reason of necessity enforce us to integrity and uprightness of heart. For first, such is the necessity thereof, that without integrity the best graces we seem to have are counterfeit, and therefore but glorious sins, the best worship we can perform is but hypocrisy, and therefore abominable in God's sight. For uprightness is the soundness of all grace and virtues, as also of all religion and worship of God, without which they are unsound and nothing worth. Wherefore in the Scriptures it is required that our faith should be unfeigned, that is, such a faith as inwardly purifieth the heart, and outwardly worketh by love; otherwise it is not a true and a lively, but a counterfeit and dead faith. Likewise our love must be unfeigned, that is, as John saith, we must not love in speech and tongue, but in deed and truth; or as Paul speaketh, our love must proceed from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. Our wisdom also must be without dissimulation. Lastly, our repentance and conversion unto God must be unfeigned and from our whole heart. As of prayer: to the acceptable performance whereof there is required uprightness, not only in the action itself, but also in the life of him that prayeth. V. LET US OBSERVE THESE FEW RULES. 1. Let us, according to the example of David, learn to set God always before our eyes, and ourselves in the sight and presence of God. And to this end let us meditate on His omnipresence and omniscience. 2. To meditation on His omnipresence and omniscience, let us add the consideration of His omni-sufficiency, remembering, as the prophet Hanani said to Asa, that the eyes of the Lord behold all the earth, to show Himself strong with them that are of an upright heart towards Him. 3. Thirdly, to the former let us join a serious meditation of the just judgment. Hitherto we have spoken of integrity, as it is referred unto God; it followeth now that we should entreat thereof as it hath reference unto men. For as we must walk before God in truth and sincerity without hypocrisy, so must we have our conversation among men in simplicity and singleness of heart, without dissembling or guile. To conclude, therefore, this first note: seeing uprightness is made a proper mark of the true child of God and citizen of heaven, whereas contrariwise dissimulation and deceit are the brands of the wicked: it behoveth everyone to apply this note to himself. Dost thou walk uprightly without hypocrisy towards God, without guile towards man? happy and blessed art thou, for thou shalt see God, and as thou art now a sound member of the Church militant, so shalt thou be an inheritor of glory in the triumphant. Dost thou not walk in sincerity towards God, and simplicity towards men, but in hypocrisy and dissimulation? then most fearful is thine estate, unless thou repent, for thou hast no part or fellowship in the doctrine of salvation, or in the communion of saints, but thy portion shall be assigned thee with hypocrites, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth. (G. Downame.) Parallel Verses KJV: He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. WEB: He who walks blamelessly does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart;