and searched and laid open to

phrases, or some quaint expressions, or some seraphical notions— with which a sermon may be decked or dressed up.

Some are pleased with the word, because the profession of it brings in customers into their shops, and keeps up their credit in the world. Others are pleased with the word as it seems to tickle their ears and please their fancies. Some are pleased with sermons because of the elegance of the style, delicacy of the words, smoothness of the language, and gracefulness of the delivery. And these deal with sermons as many do with their bouquets, which are made up of many sweet flowers, who, after they have enjoyed them for a while, cast them into a corner, and never mind them any more. So these, after they have commended a sermon, after they have highly applauded a sermon—they say, "It is sweet, it is sweet!" and shortly they throw it aside, as a withered flower, and of no further use. But a sincere heart savors the word, and relishes the word and is affected and pleased with the word as it is a holy word, a spiritual word, a pure word—which the most refined hypocrite under heaven never was affected or pleased with, nor can be, while hypocrisy keeps the throne in his soul.

13. A hypocrite cannot endure to be tried and searched and laid open to examination.

A hypocrite hates the light, and would rather go to hell in the dark— than come to be weighed in the balance of the sanctuary. A soulsearching ministry is to a hypocrite, a tormenting ministry. That is no preacher for him—who will never let his conscience alone. He

knows that he looks good on the outside—but is rotten within. He knows he is like a whited sepulcher, glorious on the outside—but dead bones within; and therefore his heart rises and swells against such a man and such a ministry—which is all for the anatomizing and laying him open—to himself and to the world.

But as pure gold fears neither fire nor furnace, neither test nor touchstone, neither one balance nor another—so a sincere heart dares venture itself upon trial, yes, upon the very trial of God himself: Psalm 139:23, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts." A sincere Christian begs his friends to search him, and he prays for soul-searching ministers to search him; but above all, he begs hard for God to search him: "Search me, O God." The Hebrew word is in the imperative mood; he commands God to search him. The original word signifies a strict, thorough, diligent search.

A sincere Christian is very willing and desirous that God should thoroughly search him, that God should search into every corner and cranny of his heart: Psalm 26:2, "Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my thoughts and my heart." Every word here has its weight: "Examine me, O Lord." The Hebrew word signifies to melt, and so to make the most intrinsic and exact discovery. O Lord, let my heart and thoughts be melted, that it may be known what metal they are made of, whether gold or tin. "Prove me." The Hebrew word signifies to view, as when a man gets upon some high tower or hill to see all from thence. "Mount aloft, O Lord, take the high tower, take the hill, that you may see what is in me." "Try me, and know my thoughts." The Hebrew word properly signifies to take away. "Lord," says the psalmist, "if, upon searching and examining of me, you shall find any sin, any creature, any comfort, any enjoyment which lies in your room—take it away that you may be all in all to me!"

A sincere Christian knows that God never brings a pair of scales to weigh his graces—but only a touchstone to try the reality of his graces. He knows if his gold, his grace, is real, though it be ever so little, it will pass for current with God, and therefore he is free to venture upon the closest search by God. As bankrupts care not for casting up their accounts, because they know all is bad, very bad, yes, stark bankruptcy with them; just so hypocrites—they care not to come to the trial, to the test, because they know all is bad, yes, worse than bad with them. They have no desire to cast up their spiritual estates, because at the bottom of the account they must be forced to read the summary—"Undone, undone!" And therefore, as old deformed women cannot endure to look into the looking-glass, lest they should see wrinkles and deformity; so hypocrites cannot endure to look into the looking-glass of the gospel, lest their deformities, impieties, and wickednesses should be discovered and detected!

I have read of the elephant, how when he is forced to go into the water—he purposely muddies it, lest by the clearness of the stream he should discern his own deformity; so hypocrites are very unwilling to look into their own hearts, or into the clear streams of the Scriptures, lest their soul's deformity and ugliness should appear —to their own terror and bewilderment.

O sirs! as it is a hopeful evidence that the client's cause is good when he is ready and willing to enter upon a trial; and as it is a hopeful sign that a man's gold is true gold, when he is willing to bring it to the touchstone; and that a man is thriving when he is willing to cast up his account books; so it is a hopeful evidence that a man is sincere with God when he is ready and willing to venture upon the trial of God, when he is willing to cast up his books, his accounts—that he may see what he is worth for the eternal world.

Augustine speaks of a wise person, who said that he prized that little time which he constantly set apart every day for the examination of his conscience, far more than all the other part of the day. Of all the duties of religion, a hypocrite dreads most, that duty of selfexamination, and that of venturing himself upon the search and trial of God.

Though a hypocrite may deceive all the world, yet the great God will not be deceived; for his eyes are sharp and piercing into all things, persons, and places. As the eyes of a well drawn picture are fastened on you whatever way you turn—so are the eyes of the Lord fastened on you, O hypocrite, whatever way you turn! It was a worthy saying of one, "If you cannot hide yourself from the sun, which is God's minister of light, how impossible will it be to hide yourself from him whose eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the sun!" The eye of God many times is very terrible to a hypocrite, which makes him very shy of venturing upon the trial of God. No hypocrite since the world stood, did ever love or delight to be searched and tried by God.

And thus I have showed you the several rounds or steps in Jacob's ladder, which no hypocrite under heaven can, while he remains a hypocrite, climb up to.

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