taken out of the way, that the blot which she had brought upon his family might with her be out of sight. Some again find it a thriving trade, and make this advantage of inveighing against others' faults, to hide their own the better, that they may carry on their own designs with less suspicion. Absalom asperseth his father's government, as a stirrup to help himself into the saddle. Jehu loved the crown more than he hated Jezebel's whoredoms, for all his loud cry against them. In a word, (for it is impossible to hit all,) there may be much of revenge in it, and the person is rather shot at, than his sin ; this was ob- served of Antony's zeal against Augustus, Odit tyranninn, amarit tyrannidem ; he hated the tyrant, but loved well enough the tyranny.
Secondly, Saith the hypocrite, I am bold and fearless in dangers, sure I am no hypocrite : ' Fearfulness surpriseth the hypocrite :' but it is ' the righteous that is bold as a lion.'
Alls. The better way sure, were to try thy boldness by thy sincerity, than to conclude tlij^ sincerity by thy boldness. Truly, confidence, and a spirit undaunted at death and danger, are gloi"ious things, when the Spirit and word of Christ stand by to vouch them, when the creature can give some account of the hope that is in liim, as Paul, who shews how he came by it. This is Christian (not Roman) courage, Rom. v. 1 — 4; many rooms he passeth before he comes to this, which indeed joins upon heaven itself; faith is the key which lets him into all. First, it opens the door of justification, and lets it into a state of peace, and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ ; ' Being justified by faitli, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,' ver. 1 : through this he passeth on to another, the presence-chamber of God's favour, and is admitted nigh unto him, as a traitor once pardoned is ; ' By whom also we have access by him into this grace wherein we stand,' ver. 2 ; that is, we have not only our sins pardoned, and our persons reconciled to God by faith in Christ, but now under Christ's wing, we are brought to court as it were, and stand in his grace as favourites before their prince : this opens into a third, and ' rejoice in the hojie of glory ;' we do not only at present enjoy the grace and favoiu- of God, and conmumion with him here, but have from this a hope firmly planted in our hearts for heaven's glory hereafter. Now he is brought to the most inward room of all, which none can come at, but he that goes through all the former, ver. 3 : ' And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also.' If thou hast not entered at these doors, thou art a thief and a robber ; thou gettest thy con- fidence too quickly to have it brought to thy hand by God ; if God means thee well for eternity, he will make thee smart for this thy boldness, as he did Jacob for stealing his father's blessing ; and therefore content not thyself with bare boldness and confidence in dangers, but inquire whether it hath a Scrip- ture bottom and basis to stand on, or whether the pillars supporting it be not ignorance in thy mind, and stupidity in thy conscience : if the latter, thou art in a sad condition ; thy boldness will last no longer than thou seest it doth in one that is drunk, who, when he is wine-s])rrmg, thinks, as they say, -he can skip over the moon, and ventures to go without fear upon precipices and pit- falls ; but when sober, trembles to see what he did in his drunken fit. Nabal, that feared nothing when dnmk, his heart died within him, and became as a stone, at the story Abigail told him in the morning, when the wine was gone out of him, 1 Sam. xxv. 37. Therefore as he, when his caxise miscarried, through the sleepiness of the judge on the bench, ' appealed from the judge asleep to the jndge awake,' so do I here with you, that through tlie present stupidity of conscience are bold and fearless of death, and from this plead your uprightness. I appeal from your conscience asleep, to the sentence it will give when it shall be awake : which I wish may be in this world, that you may see your mistake where you may amend it.
Thirdly, Sure, saith another, I am no hypocrite, for I perform secret duties in my closet : the hypocrite he is nobody, except on the stage ; it is the brand of the hypoci-ite, he courts the world for its applause, and therefore does aU abroad.
Ana. Though the total neglect of secret duties in religion speaks a person to be a hypocrite, yet the performing of duties in secret will not demonstrate thee a sincere person ; hypocrisy is in this like the frogs brought on Egypt, no "place was free of them, no, not their bedchambers ; they crept into their most
GIRT ABOUT WITH TRUTH. O49