January 10

Walk before me, and be thou perfect.—Genesis 17:1.

It is written in Scripture, "Thou shalt serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart:" and he who hath this integrity of heart, he is a perfect man; that is, 1. He is a perfect man with God, that hath a whole heart; that is, such a heart, whereof every part and faculty is sanctified; there is no part of it, but is sensed with grace; there is no wheel in all the soul, but it is turned the right way; there is not any thing within him of which he can say, the bent of it is another way. 2. That hath an eye to all the commandments, there is no duty but he gives up his heart to it: and again, there is no sin but his heart is averse from it, and he resists it to the uttermost. You see this expression, James 1:26: "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, that man's religion is vain." Take but this one instance, that this is the judgment of the Holy Ghost. Should a man have an eye to every commandment, and should he fail in but this one thing, not bridling his tongue, all the rest of his religion is but vain. Why? Because he hath not an eye to the whole law; and if a man fail in this, he is not a perfect man. And 3. He is perfect, that moreover hath regard to all the ordinances of God. For, if a man will not use all God's ordinances conscionably, and in their season; if he do not pray, and receive the sacrament, and use the communion of saints, and fasting, in their season; and again, if he do not abstain from all occasions of sin, he is not a perfect man.

In order to know whether you are thus perfect, consider that property of a perfect heart expressed Philippians 3:12, 14: "Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect, but I follow after, if I may apprehend that for which I am also apprehended by Jesus Christ. I press to the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus; let therefore as many as are perfect be thus minded." The meaning is this; this is my course, saith the apostle: I have not yet attained to perfection; but this I do, I aim at the utmost, even at "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus:" I aim even at the top of perfection, and I follow hard after it: and, saith he, not only I, but "as many as are perfect, let them be thus minded;" where, by the perfect, he means, you see, not one that hath already a perfect holiness, but one that is sound-hearted. So you find here these two properties of a man, whose heart is perfect with God. First, he aims at the highest degree of holiness; he looks at the very mark itself; he looks at the top, at the standard, at the utmost exact line of holiness, and he labors to square himself to it; and though he can not reach it, yet it is his endeavor; he propounds not to himself a shorter journey's end than he should do, but his aim is even at the very top of perfection, at a perfect conformity to the image of Christ; for that is it the apostle speaks of, that we may be conformable to

the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was his aim. Whereas on the other side, another doth not so; but he sets a certain compass, a certain limit to himself; there he fixeth his staff; he doth not intend to go any further; he doth not intend to grow up to full holiness; he doth not intend to be "holy, as the Lord is holy, in all manner of conversation." Secondly, He follows hard; he doth not only make the mark his aim, but he follows hard after it; he doth not loiter in the way; his constant and ordinary work is, every day to make his heart perfect; where he finds any crookedness, to set it straight again; where he finds any defect, to supply it; he still amends his heart, still brings it to a good temper; that is his work from day to day, to set it right and straight before God in all things.

When a man doth any thing truly and in good earnest, he doth it always exceeding diligently. Therefore that expression, which you find so often in the Scriptures, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, with all thy heart, and with all thy strength," is not an expression of the degrees of love. No, that is not the sole scope of that place, but it is an expression of the sincerity of a man's love; as if he should say, herein is the sincerity of a man's love; this is an argument that a man loves God truly, he loves him with all his heart, and with all his might. It is so in all things; when you do any thing for itself, you will do it with all your might.

"This, this is our high calling's prize; Thine image in thy Son I claim; And still to higher glories rise, Till, all transform'd, I know thy name And glide to all my heaven above,— My highest heaven in Jesus' love."