not digeft the gofpel-command, of doing good for evil: Tit. iii. 3. "For we alfo ourselves were fometime foolish, disobedient, deceived, ferving divers lufts and pleafures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."--Reigning love to the pleasures of this world, and covetoufness: Ezek. xxxiii. 31. "And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they fit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; for with their mouth they fhew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetoufnefs." But the gracious foul's obedience is universal; all fuch in fo far fincerely aim at every known duty, approve the holy law in every point; defiring their spirits to be conformed to it, not it to be brought down to them; lamenting from the heart their fhortcoming in all points.

of punish11.; their Jehu pro

The infide Chriftian's obedience is fon-like obedience, the other is fervile and flavish. The higheft principle with the hypocrite is fear ment, and hope of reward, Hof. x. highest end is themfelves, Hof. x. 1. feffed zeal for the Lord, but in effect it was but zeal for a kingdom. The infide Chriftian ferves God as a fon does his father. -Prompted by love to him, next to his command: 1 Tim. i. 5. " Now, the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure heart, and of a good confcience, and of faith unfeigned."-Leaning on him for ftrength to perform his duty: Col. iii. 17. " And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jefus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."-Aiming at his honour: 1 Cor. x. 31. "Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

From this learn, that thofe are inevitably expofed to death, who come not the length of the outward O 2 duties.

duties of religion, of mercy towards their neighbours, or of piety towards God. Lay this to heart, ye unrighteous, ye flighters of religion, prayerlefs perfons, &c. Ye come not even the length of fome who will fall fhort, and never fee heaven. Ọ! if those who do all these things be loft, what will become of you ?-Ye that even come that length, lay no ftrefs upon it, it will be but a broken reed to truft to. Duties are by no means fufficient confidences; nor in themselves, without internals joined to them, can they even be evidences of your fafety. Examine not only what ye do, but how ye do it, for this laft is that to which God chiefly looks. I now come to the

IV. AND laft propofition, That he is not a true Christian, who has infide religion only in the letter of it, but he who also has it in its fpirituality. We have purfued the nominal Christian through his outfide religion, but we may not leave him here; for, as an hypocrite may go farther than mere externals, fo the text pursues him for difcovery, even in internals in the letter.--For explaining which, I observe,

1. That a man may carry his religion into internals, and yet be but a Christian in the letter. He may do and have that in religion which no eye but God fees or can fee, and yet be no true Chriftian: Jer. xvii. 9. 10. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? I the Lord fearch the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." A perfon may form fuch a fine thread of hypocrify, as to beguile every eye but the all-feeing eye: Jer. iii. 10. "And yet for all this, her treacherous fifter Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole

heart,

heart, but feignedly, faith the Lord." Do not think that all hypocrify is grofs diffimulation, or yet that all a hypocrite's religion lies only in his outside, and in nothing within.- For,

(1.) A natural confcience may check for heartfins, and fins that no eye fees but God's: Rom, ii. 15. "Which fhew the work of the law written on their hearts, their confcience also bearing witnefs, and their thoughts the mean time accufing, or else excusing, one another;" and confequently muft prefs to inward duties, according to the light. Hence there may be forrow and grief for what is hid from all the world; fince the confcience perceives that God fees it, and that he will write his indignation on it. This fire has burned in many an unfanctified breaft, yet it behoved it to have a vent, though to their own fhame and lofs.

i

(2.) An unfanctified defire of falvation, in the way of the covenant of works, may carry a man to internals in religion: Rom. x. 3. "For they being ignorant of God's righteoufnefs, went about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteoufnefs of God. -The covenant of works is engraved on man's heart naturally, and under the influence of it a man may do his utmost to conform to the letter of the law, in the inward as well as outward duties of it. Observe the cafe of the young man im Matth. xix. 16.-20. It is no rare thing to see men eager to purchafe heaven by their works.

(3.) Light may be strong, and kept strong by the common operations of the Holy Spirit, in an unholy heart. Thus, Balaam durit not entertain. a thought of curfing Ifrael; though he would fain have gained the wages of unrighteousness, if his light would have fuffered him. Our Lord Chrift

breaks up the outer door of our understanding often while the inner remains fhut. This cannot mifs to have fome bond on the heart, as well as on the outer man.

(4.) Even in the internals of religion, there is a letter and a fpirit; there is the body or matter of the thing, and the foul and spirit of it lying in the right manner of doing it. The former is not beyond the power of nature, but the latter is; and therefore a hypocrite may come the length of the letter of internals of religion. He may have defires of good: Prov. xiii. 4. The foul of the fluggard defireth," &c. though not holy defires; fo in other cafes.

2. The true Chriftian has infide religion, not in the letter only, but in the fpirituality thereof: Phil. iii. 3. "We--worship God in the spirit, and--have no confidence in the flesh." He does not fatisfy himself with the thing itself, but labours to get it, and maintain it as of the right stamp, fuch as God will approve. Here lies fincerity, that ornament of all religion, or rather the fpirit and life of all, John, i. 47. Now, this fpirituality confifts in two things.

(1.) In the gracioufnefs of the principle, 1 Tim. i. 5. Their inward religion is the fruit of their new nature, influenced by the Lord the Spirit; it is natural, and not violent or forced out by terrors, or from neceflity, as fcreening them from the wrath of God. The new nature makes it their abfolute choice, in whatever circumstances they may be; whereas it is the choice of others, only because they cannot otherwise act fafely. It confifts,

(2.) In the holinefs of their aim; their chief aim is to please the Lord, Col. i. 10. The ftrefs of their falvation is laid on the obedience of Christ, not their own, whether outward of

inward;

inward; and hence their aim in all their duties, is not to please themselves, but him who has called them to be partakers of his glory. The hypocrite is fervile in his aims to pleafe God, as he is mercenary for his own profit, fo that himself, and not God, is his chief, end; but the fincere foul acts like a fon, by virtue of the spirit of adoption. -From all this we may learn,

That this fhews they are not true Chriftians, whofe religion lies all in externals, and have no concern about their hearts, Matth. xxiii. 25. A whited fepulchre is the emblem of a hypocrite, not of a true Chriftian. Perfons alfo may be at much pains inwardly, who yet never come the length of the fpirit of religion. What, then, will become of thefe, whofe cafe is entirely confined to the outward man?-Let those who carry religion inwardly alfo examine well, what are the principles and ends they act from, left their infide religion be found a spiritless lifeless corpse of religion, the mere product of their own exertions. Such may perceive whether or not they have the spirit of religion, by,

1. Their endeavouring to approve themselves to the Lord, as an all-feeing holy God, not in fome things only, but in all things, Col. i. 10. Being content to know the whole word of God as to duty, and what they know not to be discovered to them, in order to their fetting about it, Job. xxxiv. 32. Pfal. cxxxix. 23. 24. They will know it by,

2. Their endeavouring to purge their inward, as well as their outward religion, of all carnal and felfish motives, principles, and ends, John, iii. 21. Self is an infinuating thing, and much of our fpirituality lies in perfons endeavouring to be fpiritual in what they do. So fhort length do moft come, we must be concerned to be purged from hypocrify}