^ It is most true that the heafhon man saith, Qui hahct nnum vilium hahct omnia ; he that liatU any one vice, viz., reigniuy, hath all others with it. — Seneca, de bene/., lib. v. cap. XV.
Chap. IV.] a cabinet of jewels. 439
wound strikes Goliath dead, as well as three-and-twenty did Cassar ;' one Delilah will do Samson as much mischief as all the Philistines ; one wheel broken spoils all the whole clock ; one vein's bleeding will let out all the vitals as well as more ; one bitter herb will spoil all the pottage. By eating one apple, Adam lost paradise. Gen. iii. ; one lick of honey endangered Jonathan's life, 1 Sam. xiv. 83 ; one Achan was a trouble to all Israel, Joshua vii. ; one Jonah was lading too heavy for a. whole ship, Jonah i. ; so one sin lived in and allowed, is enough to make a man miserable for ever. One millstone will sink a man to the bottom, of the sea as well as a hundred; so one sin lived in and indulged will sink a man to the bottom of hell as well as a hundred. I have read of a great Roman captain, who, as he was riding in his triumphant chariot through Rome, had his eyes never off a courtezan that walked along the street, which made one say, Behold how this great captain, that hath conquered such and such armies, is himself conquered by one silly woman ! There is never an hypocrite in the world, but lies under the conquest of one base lust or another, but lives under the reign and dominion of one sin or another. That soul that can in sincerity of heart appeal to a heart-searching God, that it is otherwise with him, viz., that he does not Uve nor allow himself in any one sinful way or practice, that soul, I dare assure in the Lord's name, is no hypocrite, Ps. cxxxLx. 23, 24.
[3.] Thirdly, As an hypocrite's heart is never thoroughly subdued to a willingness to part with every lust, so neither is his heart thoroughly subdued to a willingness to perforin all knoivn duties. Sometimes he is all for public duties, but makes no conscience of closet-duties, or of family-duties ; sometimes he is all for the duties of the first table, but makes no conscience of the duties of the second table ; and sometimes he is all for the duties of the second table, but makes no conscience of the duties of the first table. If he obeys one command, he willingly lives in the neglect of another ; if he does one duty, he will be sure to cast off another; as he is not willing to fall out with every sin, so he is not willing to fall in with every duty. An hypocrite's obedience is always partial, it is never universal ; he still baulks or boggles with those com- mands that cross his lusts. The pharisees fasted, prayed, gave alms, and paid tithes. Mat. xxiii. 23. Oh but they omitted ' the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith,' chap vi. ; and they were unnatural to parents, and under a pretence of praying, they made a prey of widows' houses. Mat. xv. 4-6 ; under a pretence of piety, they exer- cised the greatest covetousness, unrighteousness, and cruelty, and that upon widows, who are usually the greatest objects of pity and charity ; they made no bones of robbing the widow, under a pretence of honouring of God. So Judas, under a pretence of laying up for the poor, robbed the poor ; he pretended to lay up for the poor, but he intended only to lay up for himself, and to provide against a rainy day, John xii. 6. It is probable that he had no great mind to stay long with his Lord, and therefore he was resolved to make the best market he could for himself. Judas being willing to set up for himself, under a cloak of holiness, he practises the greatest unfaithfulness. Though the eagle soars high, yet still her eye is upon her pi'ey ; so though Judas did soar high in ' Suetonius [Julius Caesar. — G.]
44-0 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. IV.