30, ' That the liypocrites reign not, lest the people be ensnared,' — jiiim- loch, from malach, [~\bf2,] ' that the hypocrite king it not.' There are no sorts of men on earth that delight to king it as hypocrites do. ' That the hypocrite king it not, lest the pco|)le be ensnared.' There are no men in tlie world so skilful and careful to lay snares and traps to ensnare the silly birds, as hypocrites are to ensnare the children of men : Frov. xi. I), ' An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neigh- bour.' The breath of the hypocrite is poisonous ; he breathes out no- thing but poison. The word that is rendered ' destroy' signifies utterly to destroy. It is used for corruption both in religion and man- ners. Hypocrites destroy persons by their vices and corruptions : Mat. xxiii. 13, ' But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men ; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.' The great mischief that a hypocrite may do, will sufficiently appear by this history.
Constantia, the widow of Licinius, sister of the emperor Constantino the Great,^ entertained in [her] house a certain presbyter, who professed the orthodox religion for fear of Constantine, but was in secret an Arian. Several bishops of the Arian sect made use of this man to promote their cause by his sly dissimulation. At length, Constantia, lying sick upon her death-bed, her brother, the emperor, came to visit her. She soon i)revailed with him to entertain the presbyter into his court. He soon grew into great credit and favour with Constantine, so that when he died he intrusted him Avith his last will, whereby he had an opportunity to make himself gracious with Constantius, the emperor's son and successor, wliich opportunity he did improve. First, he corrupts one Eusebius, a eunuch, the new emperor's chief cham- berlain, and by this means other courtiers, and then the empress, and at length the emperor himself, and by degrees brought him to be [a] defender of Arianism, and a great persecutor of the truth which his father had professed, and which himself had been brought up in.
Reason 2. The second reason is this : Because, of all sorts of sinners, there is none so hardened against the Lord Jesus Christ as hypocrites are. None stout it against Jesus Christ as hypocrites do. If that Christ call upon the profane man, lie hearkens ; if he entreats, he yields ; if he knock, he opens. But as for the hypocrite, Christ may call and cry, entreat and beseech, and yet the hypocrite will not hear, nor yield, nor open to him : ]\Iat. xxi. 31, 32, ' Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of heaven be- fore you; for John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and yet ye believed him not ; but the publicans and the harlots believed him.' Christ comes to the harlot's door, and to the profane man's door, and knocks, and they open to him, and kiss him, and embrace him, and receive him ; but as for the hypocrite, though Christ does knock, and call, and ciy out to him, yet he Avill not hear ; nay, though he take his soul and hang it over the scotching fiames of hell, and say to him. Ah hypocrite ! ' is it good to dwell in everlasting burnings ?' yet he will not yield ; and though he take him and shew him the glory of heaven, and the happiness of sincere souls, yet he will not yield nor
' Sozom., lib. iii. cap. 1 ; Soerat., lib. i'l. caj*. 2.
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open to Christ, though he miss of heaven, and be cast into the hottest and the lowest place in hell.
Reason 3. Because hypocrites yield the greatest assistance to Christ's grand enemy, to loit, Satan. One hardened and seared hypocrite is more advantage to carry out Satan's design, than a thousand loose profane persons. A hypocrite is Satan's firstborn ; he is Satan's darling ; he leans upon the devil's breast, as John did upon Christ's. There are none so active for Satan, nor none have those advantages to carry on his work, as the hypocrite hath. Mat. xxiii. 15. They ' compass sea and land to make a proselyte.' They are very active to enlarge the dominion of Satan, and therefore no wonder God is so severe in his judgments against them.
Reason 4. A fourth reason is, Because hypocrites are false to the maiTtage-bed ; and therefore Grod is so severe against them. They pretend love to Christ, and yet they give up their hearts to other lovers besides Christ, Ezek. xxxiii. 31 ; Isa. xxix. 13. You know in law nothing gives a man that advantage to put away his wife as falseness to the marriage-bed ; and Christ will take that advantage to cast off hypocrites for ever.
Reason 5. Because they are tlie very loorst of sinners. They are often in Scripture compared to the very worst of things, to vipers, serpents, wolves, &c., which speaks them out to be the worst of men. They are secret enemies, which are of all enemies the worst ; as Leo the emperor said, Occulti inimici pessinii, A close €nemy is far worse than an open ; a close enemy kisses and kills, but an open enemy shoots off his warning-piece before he shoots off his murdering- piece. Again, hypocrites are doomed to the worst of judgments, as that they shall not come before God: Job xiii. IG, 'An hypocrite shall not come before God ;' he shall not be taken up into spiritual enjoyment of God on earth, nor into glorious communion with God in heaven. Hypocrites, they are doomed by Christ to the greatest tor- ments in hell : Mat. xxiii. 14, ' Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ; for ye shall receive the greater damnation.' The darkest and the lowest place in hell is theirs. Hypocrites are hell's free-holders ; all other sinners are but inmates to hypocrites. Of all sinners, hypo- crites sin against the greatest light, and against the greatest knowledge, against the greatest discovery of God, which speaks them out to be the worst of sinners ; yea, though they do know sins against knowledge to be very dangerous, though they know them to be wounding and wasting sins — peccata vulncrantia et devastaiitia — yet hypocrites will hold on in their sin. The hypocrite will rather go to hell with his lusts, than to heaven without his lusts. Though he be convinced that he and his beloved sins must part, or Christ and his soul will never meet, yet the hypocrite will say. Farewell Christ, and welcome sin! A hypocrite will hold on in religious duties, and yet hold on in a resolved way of wickedness, Jer. vii. 9 ; Ezek. xxxiii. 30-32. A hyj)o- crite will sin and pray, and he will hear and swear, &c. ; like Louis the Eleventh, king of France, he would swear, and then kiss the cross, and swear again, and then kiss the cross. And is there any people on earth who are more infamous for this than the Scots, against whose liypocrisy God has given so great a testimony ? A hypocrite hath
374 TUE HYPOCRITE [IsA. X. 6.