eye to the outward part of the command; but Christ charges them
and trying his own heart, or severely judging his bosom sins, or humbly mourning and lamenting over secret corruptions, or doubling his guards about his own soul, or rejoicing in the graces, services, or excellencies of others, or striving or pressing after the highest pitches of grace, holiness, and communion with God, or endeavouring more to cast out the beam out of his own eye, than the mote out of his brother's eye, or to be more severe against his own sins than against the sins of others? Alas! an hypocrite is so far from practising these duties, that he thinks them either superfluous or impossible. An hypocrite's obedience is always a limited and stinted obedience. It is either limited to such commands which are most suitable to his ease, safety, honour, profit, pleasure, &c., or else it is limited to the outward part of the command, and never extends itself to the inward and spiritual part of the command; as you may see in the scribes and pharisees. Their obedience was all outward; they had no regard at all to the inward and spiritual part of any command; as is evident in that high charge that Christ gives in against them, Mat. 6. They did not murder, they did not commit adultery, they had an eye to the outward part of the command; but Christ charges them with unjust and adulterous thoughts, unchaste glances, contemplative wickedness, speculative uncleanness, &c., they having no regard at all to the inward and spiritual part of any command. Common grace looks only to some particular duties, but saving grace looks to all. Renewing grace comes off to positives as well as negatives; it teacheth us to cease to do evil, and it learns us also to do good, Isa. 1:16, 17. It teacheth us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and also to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, Titus 2:11–13. These words contain the sum of a Christian's duty. To live soberly towards ourselves, righteously towards our neighbours, and godly towards God, is true godliness indeed, and the whole duty of man. There is never an hypocrite in the world that can sincerely appeal to God, and say, Lord! thou knowest that my heart is
subdued to a willingness to perform all known duties; I would willingly do the best I can to observe all thy royal laws: Lord! I unfeignedly desire, and really endeavour to have, an eye upon every command of thine, and to live up to every command of thine; and it is the real grief of my heart, and the daily burden of my soul, when I violate any of thy blessed laws, Ps. 119:6; Luke 1:5, 6; Acts 13:22. He that can in uprightness thus appeal to God, shall never miscarry in that other world. But,
[4.] Fourthly, There is never an hypocrite in the world that makes God, or Christ, or holiness, or his doing or receiving good in his station, relation, or generation, his grand end, his highest end, his ultimate end of living in the world. Pleasures, profits, and honours, are the hypocrite's all he aims at in this world; they are his trinity which he adores and serves, and sacrificeth himself unto, 1 John 2:16. An hypocrite's ends are corrupt and selfish. God may possibly be at the higher end of his work, but self is at the further end; for he that was never truly cast out of himself, can have no higher end than himself. An hypocrite is all for his own glory; he acts for himself, and from himself. So I may have the profit, the credit, the glory, the applause, come of God's glory what will! this is the language of an unsound heart. An hypocrite will seem to be very godly when he can make a gain of godliness; he will seem to be very holy when holiness is the way to outward greatness and happiness; but his religious wickedness will double-damn the hypocrite at last. Self-ends are the operative ingredients in all an hypocrite does; self is the chief engine, self is the great wheel, that sets all an hypocrite's wheels a-going. When hypocrites take up religion, it is only to serve their own turns, to bring about their own carnal ends; they serve not the Lord, but their own bellies, Rom. 16:18; Philip. 3:19. They use religion only as a stream to turn about their own mill, and the more neatly to effect their own carnal projects. Simon Magus will needs be baptized, and
he is very desirous to have power to give the Holy Ghost to others; but his aim being only to get a name, and to get money, Peter tells him to his face, that his heart was not right in the sight of God, Acts 8:21. No man can go higher than his principles, and therefore an hypocrite having no higher principles than himself, all he does must needs be terminated in himself. Look, as all the rivers that come from the sea do return back again to the sea, from whence they come, so all those duties which arise from a man's self, must needs centre in a man's self. An hypocrite always makes himself the end of all his service; but let such hypocrites know, that though their profession be never so glorious, and their duties never so abundant, yet their ends being selfish and carnal, all their pretensions and performances are but beautiful abominations in the sight of God. An hypocrite has always a squint eye, and squint-eyed aims and squint-eyed ends in all he does. Balaam spake very religiously, and he multiplied altars and sacrifices; but the thing he had in his eye was the wages of unrighteousness, Num. 22:23, 2 Pet. 2:15. Jehu destroyed bloody Ahab's house, he executed the vengeance of God upon that wicked family; he readily, resolutely, and effectually destroyed all the worshippers of Baal, but his ends were to secure the kingdom to him and his, 2 Kings 10. Ahab and the Ninevites fasted in sackcloth, but it was merely that they might not feel the heavy judgments that they feared would overtake them, 1 Kings 21, Jonah 3. The Jews in Babylon fasted and mourned, and mourned and fasted seventy years, but it was more to get off their chains than their sins, it was more to be rid of their captivity than it was to be rid of their iniquity, Zech. 7:5, 6. Look, as the eagle hath an eye upon her prey when she flies highest, so these Jews in all their fasting, praying, mourning, they had only an eye to their own ease, deliverance, freedom, &c.; in all their religious duties they were acted from evil principles, and carried on by self-respects; and therefore Daniel denies that in all that seventy years' captivity they had prayed to any purpose. 'All this