In all hypocrisy there is considerable, 1. The thing pretended; 2. The pretence, or means of seeming, or the cloak of their deceit. 1. The thing pretended by common hypocrites is to be true christians, and servants of God, and heirs of heaven, though not to be so zealous in it as some of a higher degree. The thing pretended by eminent hypocrites is to be zealous, eminent christians, or at least to be sincere in a special manner, while they discern the common hypocrite not to be sincere. 2. The cloak of seeming or pretence by which they would be thought to be what they are not, is any thing in general that hath an appearance of godliness, and is apt to make others think them godly. And thus there are divers sorts of hypocrites, according to the variety of their cloaks or ways of dissimulation; though hypocrisy itself be in all of them the same thing. As among the very Mahometans, and heathens, there oft arise some notable hypocrites, that by pretended revelations and austerity of life, profess themselves (as Mahomet did) to be holy persons, that had some extraordinary familiarity with God or angels. So among the papists there are, besides the common ones, as many sorts of hypocrites as they have self-devised orders. And every where the cloak of the common hypocrite is so thin and transparent, that it showeth his nakedness to the more intelligent sort: and this puts the eminent hypocrite upon some more laudable pretence, that is not so transparent. As for instance, the hypocrisy of common papists, whose cloak is made up of penances and ceremonies, of saying over Latin words, or numbering words and beads for prayers, with all the rest of their trumpery before named, (chap. iii. gr. direct. xv. direct. xi.) is so thin a cloak that it will not satisfy some among themselves, but they withdraw into distinct societies and orders, (the church and the profession of christianity being not enough for them,) that they may be religious, as if they saw that the rest are not religious. And then the common sort of ungodly protestants have so much wit, as to see through the cloak of all the popish hypocrisy; and therefore they take up a fitter for themselves; and that is, the name of a protestant reformed religion and church, joined to the common profession of christianity. The name and profession of a christian and a protestant, with going to church, and a heartless lip-service or saying their prayers, is the cloak of all ungodly protestants. Others, discerning the thinness of this cloak, do think to make themselves a better; and they take up the strictest opinions in religion, and own those which they account the strictest party, and own that which they esteem the purest and most spiritual worship: the cloak of these men is their opinions, party, and way of worship, while their carnal lives detect their hypocrisy. Some that see through all these pretences, do take up the most excellent cloak of all, and that is, an appearance of serious spirituality in religion, with a due observation of all the outward parts and means, and a reformation of life, in works of piety, justice, and charity; I say, an appearance of all these, which if they had indeed, they were sincere, and should be saved; in which the godly christian goeth beyond them all.
By this it is plain, that among us in England all men that are not saints are hypocrites, because that all (except here or there a Jew or infidel) profess themselves to be christians; and every true christian is a saint. They know that none but saints or godly persons shall be saved; and there is few of them that will renounce their hopes of heaven; and therefore they must pretend to be all godly. And is it not most cursed, horrid hypocrisy, for a man to pretend to religion as the only way to his salvation, and confidently call himself a christian, while he hateth and derideth the power and practice of that very religion which he doth profess? Of this see my Treatise of "The vain Religion of the Formal Hypocrite."
The hypocrite's ends in his pretences and dissemblings are not all the same: one intendeth the pleasing of parents, or some friends on whom he doth depend, that will else be displeased with him, and think ill of him. Another intendeth the pleasing of the higher powers, when it falls out that they are friends to godliness. Another intends the preserving of his esteem with religious persons, that they may not judge him wicked and profane. Another intendeth the hiding of some particular villany, or the success of some ambitious enterprise. But the most common end is to quiet and comfort their guilty souls, with an image of that holiness which they are without, and to steal some peace to their consciences by a lie: and so because they will not be religious indeed, they will take up some show or image of religion, to make themselves as well as others believe that they are religious.[148]