at tlie same time have his own heart cold and idle ; therefore he doth not count he prays well, except he finds his own ati'ections drawn out in the duty. Whereas the hypocrite, if he come off the duty with the applause of others in the external performance, is well pleased. Secondly, When thou joinest with another that prayeth. Do the gifts and graces that hreathe from others in prayer, warm thy affections, and draw out tliy so>d to hear them company to heaven in the petitions they put up ? Or do they stir up a secret envying and repining at the gifts of God bestowed on them ? This discovers much pride and unsoundness in thy spirit. The hypocrite is proud, and thinks all the water lost that runs beside his own mill : whereas the sincere soul prizeth the gifts of others, heartily blesseth God for them, and maketh a humble and holy use of them ; his heart is as much affected with the holy, savoury requests that another puts up, as when they come out of his own mouth ; but the hypo- crite's eye is evil, because God is good.
Section II. — Thirdly, Observe if thy fervency in prayer be uniform. A false heart may seem very hot in praying against one sin, but can skip over another, as a partial witness, "that would fain save the prisoner's life, will not s-peak all he knows : a hypocrite will be favourable to one lust, and violent against another; whereas a sincere Christian abhors all sin : ' Order my steps in thy word ; and let not any iniquity have dominion over me,' Psa. cxix. I.'3;3. The hypocrite is as uneven in his petitions as in his deprecations, earnest for some mercies, and commonly of an inferior nature, but more indifferent in his desires for those that are greater; he tithes mint and cummin in his prayers, but neglects the weightier things of the promise, the sanctifying graces of the Spirit,- — humility, heavenly-mindedncss, content, self-denial ; a little of these will satisfy him. Fourthly, Observe whether thy endeavours correspond with thy prayers. The hypocrite seems hot in prayer, but you will find him cold enough at work ; he prays very fiercely against his sins, as if he desired them to be all slain upon the place; but doth he set himself upon the work of mortification? Doth he withdraw the fuel that feeds them ? When temptations come, do they find him in arms, resolved to resist their motion ? No ; if a few good words in prayer will do, well and good ; but as for any more, he is too lazy. Whereas the sincere Christian is not idle after prayer ; when it hath given heaven the alarm and called God to his help, then he takes the field himself, and o])poseth his lusts with all his might, watching their motions, and taking every advantage he possibly can to fall upon them ; every mercy he receives, he beats it out into a weapon to knock down all thoughts of sinning again. ' Seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this, should we again break thy commandments?' Ezraix. 1.3, 14. God forbid ! saith the holy soul : every promise he reads, he lifts it up as a sword for his defence against his enemy ; ' having these promises, — let us cleanse ourselves,' 2 Cor. vii. 1. I shall close this with a few directions.
Section III. — First, See that thy heart is united by faith to Christ. It is faith that purifies the heart from its false principles and ends in duty. ' God made man upright, 'and while he stood so, his eye and foot went right ; but after Eve had talked with the serpent, she, and all mankind after her, learnt the serpent's crooked motion, to look one way, and go another ; ' God made man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions,' Eccles. vii. 29. Beg, therefore, with David, that God would 'renew a right spirit within thee,' Psa. li. 10. What the evil spirit hath perverted, the Holy Spirit alone can set right. Hypocrisy in duty comes from the falseness of man's depraved nature ; the heart, therefore, must be made new before it can be sincere. The new heart is the single heart: Ezek. xi. 19, ' I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you.' Secondly, Make hypocrisy in prayer appear as odious to thee as possible, and thou need dress it up in no other than its own clothes. First, Consider what a grievous sin it is. A lie spoken by one man to another, is a sin of high aggravation; what then is that lie which is uttered in prayer to God ! Surely, this must be much more horrid, for here is blasphemy in the untruth. God spares not to give the hypocrite the lie,, — ' Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit,' Hos. xi. 12; the lies they told God were as numerous as their prayers. O, the patience of God, ihat doth not strike the hypocrite dead, while the lie is in his throat, as he did
'754 IN THE SPIRIT.