a man such checks as a man shall consider and by the custome of it conclude that it is thus and thus with him For looke as it is with the Saints under full light and full evidence so it is with a hypocrite under the enlightenings of his conscience saies Paul I have lived in all good conscience unto this day that is walked according to the principles of reason and Religion according to the light I had lived in all good conscience unto this day never strained my conscience Now it is impossible for a man under enlightening if he have not a mighty secure frame of spirit or wonderfull dexteritie of colouring his heart but naturall conscience will reflect upon him and say this was not intended right though the action was done this was not so spirituall nor so firmely acted before God you know you had your intention besides the rule But then Secondlie Take such a conscience under the Ministrie of the Gospell where there are Characters given on both sides where hearts are dealt withall seriouslie and with abundance of clearenesse where the designe is to anatomize the spirit to give characters of a Saint and give distinctions between common graces and those graces that are purely sanctifying changing and transforming the soule and those that are common and worke nor the image of God in the soule if you have any light as hypocrites have abundance of light otherwise they could never play their tricks so as they do it is impossible but the heart should say this is not right I find not this right in my own spirit it is impossible they should lye under these things and have no convictions no checks secretly that he is truly such an one Thirdly He may by reflecting upon himselfe know it by his getting in his duties if he had nothing but that which he gets in duties when he hears how Saints get communion with God in duties how their soules are taken up with Christ what glorious enjoyments they have of God in Prayer and Sacraments what glorious frames they find upon their spirits when they have communion he knows he can hardly get from one duty to another the truth is a hypocrite is the poorest miserablest soule in the world he never hath any thing but what he gets from hand to mouth when he comes to dye he is a begger nothing at all to live on and he knows he never met with Christ so as to humble him and to lay him low he knows when he heares other Saints speake of the Gospell and the sweetnesse they have had in the sights of Christ pardoning and applying his love to them he knows he hath not these things when he comes to action he is as dead and as low as may be and as I told you he is poorest and worst at last Fourthlie God delights to discover a hypocrite he delights in that exceedingly and commonlie doth it and laies it upon a man closely and wonderfullie by wonderfull flashes of spirit and God delights to do it First Because it is a secret that none can find out but himselfe therefore he delights to anatomize a wicked cunning deceitfull heart Secondlie God he delights to do it because he loves to put a speciall marke upon them of all persons in the world those that have deceived others shall deceive themselves he put a marke upon the first hypocrite in the world that ever was that he changed his countenance so that if you had no more take them altogether and you shall find that a man may very well be a hypocrite and know himselfe to be so and yet go one nay it is very hard for a man to be long a hypocrite under the Gospell but he must lye under the checks of it But Secondly you will say how can this be How can he continue in Congregations in Churches how can he continue all this while and not be terrified and not leave off all profession My Brethren In the first place pray take in these things know it is the most deluding sin in the world the most pleasant sin in the world to a man as men love by Art to imitate nature they are mighty pleased with it to represent Nature in Art how men give up themselves and their studies and are pleased with it there is nothing more pleasing to a man as hypocrisie is that he can turne himself at any time here and there evade all things that are laid upon him by the Gospell It is just as you see with those that are your theeves or cut-purses that have a curious art and dexterity to do it they will take a mans purse out of his pocket so exactly that he cannot know it is done but they are gone and when they come together at night they rejoyce and brag who hath done the best feats so hypocrites cannot but know in their naturall consciences it is against the rule but there is abundance of pleasure in it to cheat themselves and cheat others till God worke mightilie upon them for to imitate a Saint in every thing and do it exactly pleases a hypocrite that he can delude others when he hath been in prayer cosened and deluded the best sort of men in the world as I have heard some say they could delude all the Saints in the world for that is pleasing to a man that nourishes his selfe-love and that does carry him on to act so as to be well thought of by others it shews a man an artificiall man that can thus and thus move up and down the world and none see him or take notice of him all think him a blessed Saint I am confident there is no sin so pleasing to a soule as hypocrisie is for it will have so many varieties of Artificiall motions laid before it to act by that a man is not tyed to one or tother but still acted in variety and the sence of divine things is not on his heart at all as I shall shew you in the second place Secondly he may go on in profession though he know himselfe to be so he may go on because he knows not the nature and vilenesse of his sin at all only sees he is not as he should be and it is the same with other sins he may lye long under a sin so long as Conscience is not pressed on with an unresistible conviction only a generall cold conviction is upon him he sees that he hath done so and so and he is so and so but there is not any thing of the power of conviction upon his soule for then a soule should not be able to stand under it but cry out he cannot endure it but commonly it is with hypocrisie such a pleasing sin as with other sins a man sees the guilt by the rule but not by the light of a divine conviction strangely working in his soule and spirit and so goes on as those did which the Prophet speakes of you lye and steale and commit
Law to give you but a short hint of their life and actings they gave themselves up wholly to it so you shall find up and downe all the New Testament they were sequestred persons from all sorts of men must not be so much as touched by any For so it seems there when the poore woman came to Christ and touched the hemme of his garment they wondred that Christ would suffer himselfe to be touched by her being a sinner they were so exact that they would have no legall pollution upon them they would not eat a bit of meat untill they washed especially at a Fast then some of them would even goe to wash their whole bodies for feare any pollution should fall upon them they were so exact that they counted all men but themselves to be sinners these things you shall find up and downe the Scriptures I need not name the places they alwayes were fasting twice a weeke would not touch any meat so exact that they wore schedules about their armes and necks whereon the Law was written the chiefest and most positive Commandements so exact were they as to outward appearance humbling themselves on purpose so that they seemed to be most exact Paul was of the same Sect which he gloried of and yet the most hypocriticall and unworthy generation of men that ever were and the greatest enemies of Christ that ever he had and there 's none he gave that bitter language to as to them They did ever endeavour these two things First To intrap and intangle him with with their questions to make him speake something contrary to the Law Or secondly To blurr him if they could to put a publique blot upon him before the people and such a kind of calumny that they might all hate him therefore the greatest woes that Christ pronounces are against the Scribes and Pharisees But to goe no further observe only this Obs The more outwardly Religious men are without spirituall Principles the more dangerous they are to converse withall there 's a leaven in them there are no such persons so dangerous to converse with the Saints as these a man is gone insensibly and taken insensibly with these things before he knowes where he is the authority of the person takes hold on his heart Can such a person be so and so he is rather fit for heaven then earth and so a man sucks in all the venome of his spirit and opinions and so it was with those that went about to be false Apostles in 2 Tim. 4 chap. they went about cunningly to deale with men and they gained exceedingly and I am confident that in these latter dayes more have been deceived by the seeming profession of men speaking great things and lifted up high in esteeme then by any otherway as they speak lyes secretly and with hypocrisie all their actings and all they did was but hypocrisie But the thing I shall come to is to open hypocrisie Now that which I shall shew in the generall is First what hypocrisie is what the nature of it is 2. and the severall sorts of it 3. how it acts 4. what the characters of hypocrites are how they passe through all sorts of duties Hyprocrisie may be considered these two wayes First as opposed unto the reality of the worke of the Gospell in a mans heart as opposed unto what 's reall in a man that 's hypocrisie when I have an appearance of what I have not that 's the first thing I doe it may be conceive I have this and that which I have not and so hypocrisie lyes in a defect of those Principles that should be in a man it 's opposed unto that reall worke in a mans soule when I act those things outwardly that I have no reall foundation for in my owne heart pray and preach and heare and doe all duties that are suitable to the will of God and no reality of these things in my owne heart nothing within but the stirrings of my naturall affections and the like when as a man hath not that clearnesse of judgement to discerne his owne state and hath not that within him that is reall Secondly hypocrisie is opposed to that inward simplicity of heart and intention in a mans spirit when I doe professe that which I doe not intend that 's hypocrisie when I doe that in the Gospell which my intentions are not reall in and yet my intentions may be reall in the things I doe but I have not a reality in the principle but this is the grossest sort of hypocrisie when it is opposed to that singlenesse of sincerity and intention they are as Stage-players act the part of them they know they are not A man doth out of shew and vanity faigne himselfe to be that which he is not this is the second sort of hypocrisie when I would be counted so for strictnesse and holinesse that I am not and there 's now in the very intention of my soule hypocrisie But hypocrisie may be without the intention where there is not that spoken of in the 1 Philip. 10. that you may be sincere * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a very large word and signifies that cleare judgement a man should have as if he were tryed by the beames of the Sun Now though there be sincerity as to intention yet there may be hypocrisie as to the defect of the reality that should be in a mans soule So that from these two considerations in generall you may see that hypocrites may be of those sorts First a man may be an hypocrite and may not know it he may go on in all sorts of duties of Religion and do all things exactly according to the letter of the Law and do it with integrity in his spirit as he thinks not knowing that he doth it out of any false intention hath not that cunningnesse to deceive as I shall shew you by and by not so cunning a hypocrite as one who deales from the inward wickednesse of his heart on purpose to deceive but yet he goes on and never had the worke of God upon his soule he follows on the outward Letter of the Law goes on in a drudging way he finds some naturall propensity in his spirit to it from ingenuity and common principles which are left in him by the Gospell so a man may be long in duties Paul was so he professeth that what he did was out of Ignorance 1 Tim. 1.13 he did not know he was an hypocrite he had no designe to deceive the world and to deceive himselfe he thought he was an exact man and carried it as clearely as could be he had no designe but to propagate his own principles and he was above all the Pharisees therefore he puts down himselfe as the most zealous of them and surely he had a good intention as to his own thoughts as to designe he was as it were an innocent hypocrite And surely so it was with the
are they have the same motion as to will and desire but not the same principles And therefore it is no wonder a man may be deceived in his own spirit and thinkes he knows Christ and beleeves on Christ and hath many motions of him and all it may be are of outward considerations of him never hath a pure light shining from heaven upon his soule so that I say it is a very easie thing to see how a man can be a hypocrite and not know it to consider what voluntary motions there are of the Holy Ghost upon a mans spirit yet not a saving worke for as the Spirit blows upon whom he will is not bound to convert you so he may present the outward species of Christ to you and never change your will nor understanding and yet a man may thinke he knows perfectly what 's the nature of the whole Gospell in his soule For a man hath to be improved in the Gospell a rationall understanding the Gospell can improve as well as any other Rule Secondly There are those passionate love-expressions that will worke mightily upon the affections as they are taken in with so much fulnesse and variety as to thinke of Christs dying that was innocent and out of love if it were but read in a History would worke upon the affections and yet leave nature as nature a man thinks he loves Christ and may weep at the thoughts of Christs death and yet be unsound for all this Fourthly if you consider the variety of Gods workings upon soules in conversion how many waies he workes he may thinke he is perfectly converted and yet an unsound man for all this Alas the ways of God are so mysterious it is comapred to a new birth Joh. 3. who knows how a child is borne in the womb A man must have a divine light in his soule to see through and through his soule Take a Saint himselfe in his cleare light he can hardly tell how to discerne into the variety of Gods workings what hath been the pure working of God where lies the Child the new-borne babe as it were It hath come and past through the many varieties of Nature and Grace and then if I should adde how apt men are to be perswaded of the goodnesse of their conditions and not know the badnesse of them and how easily selfe-love will be trying to set off what hath but a shadow of Religion with many other deceits then you will easily say A man may be unsound and never know it in his own spirit for a long while Secondly A man may be sincere and have honest intentions in all his duties and actions and yet be an hypocrite And that it may be so I shall demonstrate it thus to you First There is in some men such a morall such a naturall sincerity as I may so say in their actings that they are not disposed unto the contradicting of their principles and their actings they are tempered within themselves they are not disposed to contradict their actings so it is said of the sincerity of Alimelech as concerning Abraham's wife he appealed to God in Genesis 20. in the beginning Saies he in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this saies God I know thy integrity Now there is such a sinceritie even in men that have not grace that they would not do such a thing if they knew it to be unjust according to their Principles they would not do it for a world or if they had taken up an opinion they would not go against their opinion there is such a kind of sincerity Now the same may be in the Gospell that is I go on honestly as I think able to preach and pray and I have no kind of ill intention to deceive only I have not a spirituall principle to act me there is my misery I come not so much to be seen of men as from the intention of my heart but I come not to have Christ or to meet with Christ so I am a hypocrite because I come not from the maine principle Therefore first know this as a Rule that you may see this cleare That simplicity of intention cannot justifie any acts of men that are bad all will grant that for as it was with Pilate he washed his hands yet that did not excuse him Secondly My intentions in any action doe not make a thing to be true or good in it selfe at all as if I have a Jewell to sell my intention in the selling it for a good one may deceive the buyer it being counterfeit no act can be good without a good intention but my good intention makes not the thing really good in it self if the thing in it selfe be not perfect and good it is hypocrisie Thirdly know that a meere good intention may proceed from the naturall constitution of a person not from the goodnesse of his heart It may be I am not given so much to cunning and deceit as other men but have a plaine naturall constitution but if it come to a particular it may be I have as much in my intention if I were put to it as others Fourthly know this about intentions and the sincerity of them That sincerity that will demonstrate a man to be a Saint must flow from the pure and even workings of principles towards their ends sincerity must flow from the even acting of faculties within towards their ends I do not act sincerely to God though I pray never so much in duties if I have not a divine spirituall spring of love to God A heart impulsed moved to God from the power of his own spirit If I have not graces acting together in a harmony faith and love and all other graces purely and really working to God For sincerity as I may say is but the spirituall tune of the motions of all graces in a mans soule it is no more But I will close up all there are many things I should have shown you But now for distinction sake having laid down this That a man may be a hypocrite and not know it thinke he hath grace and hath it not I shall therefore come and shew you the severall sorts of hypocrites I will but name them First there is a meer formall hypocrite that insensibly drudges on in his duties praies and heares and comes to Church and no more and hath no inward power nor virtue in his own soule nor is convinced of any thing to the contrary as Papists say over their beads whilst they are sleeping I confesse every Formalist is a hypocrite but there is a low sort of Formalist that meerely drudges and that is all there is something wanting within Secondly there is a zealous hypocrite and he seemes to actuate his Forme a fiery hypocrite as I may so say one that you would thinke had life and soule indeed and follows on Religion to purpose and yet it is but his passion and humour no grace at all
not debate it with him but you must take it for granted else he will try your graces as well as you try his and question your state as much as you his And then if he be put to it at last as to triall of his own spirit he will save all with a whining confession and that is all you will get of him therefore look to your selves as to these things In the second place I should now have come to have prest on the exhortation of the Lord Jesus beware of hypocrisie you that are Christians you that are reall Saints should beware of it and so to all sorts of professours take heed and beware of it and shewed you these things To have opened the nature of it and the hideousnesse of it And first from the danger of it to your soules it is the most dangerous sin you can have in your soules and that First because it is the last reserve it is undiscernable a man must search as with a Candle that finds it out as the Jews were to search for the Leaven with a Candle and then curse all the rest it is a close sin indeed there are some actings of it that are very grosse but as for spirituall secret hypocrisie in duties compare them with actings they are exceeding close and undiscernable in the soules of men a soule must dig very deep and be very observant and have a watch over his soule every moment if ever he would trie his heart it is so close and so cunning that a man will hardlie beleeve it is there there is such a hidden motion upon a man that he cannot tell how it comes Secondlie beware of it It is infectious it is a dangerous infectious spreading nature it will be over all the faculties on a sudden it will represent you all kind of glasses that can be possible it can in the morning give you one glasse to looke in at noone another glasse and in the evening one different from both take one part of the Law you shall see your selves in it very faire it spreads over all it will it may be begin with your understandings and give you strange sights and apprehensions of God then come in upon your affections upon a sudden and work them to this end and to their end it will kisse and kill at once looke to it for it is the most dangerous sin of any in the world in a mans heart For if the soundnesse be gone from a mans heart what will he do then A man cannot act like a man when the substance of the soule is gone he cannot act neither Scripture reason nor his judgement but a particular close humour Thirdlie beware of it It is the most inconstant in its motions the most various in its representations so many habits and so many formes it will appeare in to you and alter upon every occasion that it is impossible unlesse a man be given up to try his own heart to find it out A heart and a heart you shall have a faire heart now and a wicked heart anon come and talke with a Person now and you shall find them in a good frame so as if they were commanded by the power of of it come an houre after and you shall find them in a wicked damnable straine of spirit speaking like mad men this is most common especiallie come to talke with a man privately what abundance of ingenuitie there is come to another action and at another time and he is not the same man hypocrisie will appeare and this is the misery mens soules are juggled to hell put in so many formes they know not when they are right know not what is the reall complexion they should have in the Gospell it is so various and so cunning it juggles a mans soule to hell Fourthly It is the most odious thing to God of any it takes his name in vaine most of any it is against his simplicitie omnisciencie his puritie God hates nothing more than this state therefore he sets himselfe against hypocrites of all sorts of people in the world I should have come to have shewed you how to avoid it what are the speciall remedies of hypocrisie the speciall things to keep a man from the evill of it the way to preserve a man from this dangerous sin but I would not leave some poore soules without some kind of comfort all this while many will say Alas I am the man I am the woman certainlie I have been a hypocrite all my daies I would only speake a little comfort to such poore soules First know this Jealousie of thine own heart and severe inquisition into it is a good hopefull Character that thou art far off that condition There is a twofold jealousie that therefore you may not be deceived First A jealousie on probable grounds secret and close symptomes and hints from actings which may teach many a soule that hypocrisie may have place in his heart for I find this and that when I come to looke on the whole straine of my life I have not my heart so carried out in spirituall things I never minded this and that in my actings this is a jealousie that may consist with the knowledge of hypocrisie Secondlie there is a jealousie that ariseth from feare and care lest I should be such an one from the hatred of the thing thou seest the vilenesse of it and thou seest thou canst never be quiet till thou hast the clearenesse of integritie made out to thee that is good that is sweet none more apt to censure a Saint than himselfe you know when Jesus Christ made the question about his betraying the hypocrite spake last never spake till he was put to it every one said at the Supper Lord is it I Is it I Every one had rather dye than heare that word spoken but when it comes to Judas he was forced to it at last and yet he would not confesse it but when the conviction lay upon him and he must needs be under it then he went out and that was all you heard of him till he hanged himselfe Secondlie To comfort poore soules they have no reason to conclude themselves hypocrites when they are glad if God by any meanes discover and destroy their hypocrisie whatever way it be for there lies the weight when God shall be blessed for discovering a mans heart to him take this for a rule If a soule can rejoyce and blesse God for his convictions of sin as for his comforts after conviction it is a signe of a most blessed glorious spirit though the sight of hypocrisie be the ugliest sight in the world yet when he sees it he blesseth God for it Thirdlie Never thinke thou art an hypocrite if thy heart is set against the nature of sin and pursuest the enjoyment of the nature of God whilest thy heart is set against the nature of sin and followest on the nature of God that is to be really possessed with a