A PERP INTO

Pharisees,which is hypocrisy.-Luke xii.1."

An hypocrite is of the devil's making, in the devil's employment, and breathes the devil's spirit. And they are beholden to the devil for the religion they pretend to have. But the wolf does not appear with his rough hairy skin, but he wears the sheep's soft clothing; with affected humility and pretended zeal for God and godliness, raises a violent outcry against open and notorious sins; strenuously enforcing moral precepts, and outwardly in a crowd appears to walk in them, to be seen of men, for the purpose of temporal advantage. They were the greatest enemies to Christ, his people, and his truth when he was upon earth, and they are the greatest enemies the true church have now; though none pretend to more friendship, yet under this cloak (like Joab) they stab God's children under the fifth rib. The tiger is not more cruel to the lamb, than they are to the victims of their merciless dominion, esNovember, 1841.]

the sound of their voice, it costs them nothing. We do find in this awful day of profession, that the hypocrites, like the pharisees of old, are proud, malicious, and covetous. Many are the besetments of God's children (says a late writer), and their imperfections, because their carnal minds remain as polluted as ever; yet there are two characters, profess what they may, that I never can consider regenerated persons. The one malicious, the other covetous. A malicious christian! a covetous believer! We may as well expect to find an holy infernal! For the malice of the one plainly excludes him from the exercise of that admirable forgiveness, which the pardon of heaven so sweetly produces in the soul of a true believer; and the covetousness of the other, miserably prevents him from displaying that kind benevolence to his fellow-creatures, and especially to the household of faith, with which the munificence of heaven so powerfully actuates the

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heart, and employs the liberal hands of a sincere follower of Christ, the fountain of tenderness, compassion, and liberality.' "The love of money (saith Paul), is the root of all evil, which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." It seems, indeed, by this scripture, that even a child of God may fall into this snare, against which the apostle cautions Timothy; yet I must still contend that the real believer cannot go on in a regular course of covetousness, without remorse of conscience and distress of soul. He may fall into the snare; but there is a wide difference between being "overtaken in a fault," and persevering in practical ungodliness. When a christian falls into this heinous sin of covetousness, this oppressive, cruel, and disgraceful sin, which is always attended with hard-heartedness towards suffering humanity, he, saith the apostle, "pierces himself through with many sorrows.' His conscience will bleed, and the heart ache, till he is compelled to cry unto the Lord to save him from this cursed idolatry.

We shall now consider the text in the following order: 1st, What is hypocrisy. 2nd, How it is resembled by leaven. 3rd, Why called the

leaven of the pharisees.

1st, What is hypocrisy. Much of the nature of a thing is many times discovered in its name. The word hypocrite properly signifies an actor or stage-player, a personater of other men in their speech, habit, and actions. The learned say the Hebrew word signifies both a wicked man and a deceiver. Hence whom David calls wicked, Solomon calls fools, and Job, the most upright man, calls hypocrites. All is but one and the same thing, under different names. Hypocrisy, then, is but a feigning virtue and godliness it seems to put on, and the vice and impiety it conceals will pretend to put off. It is indeed vice in a mask: the face is vice but

virtue is the mask. The form and nature of it is imitation; the ends are vain glory, to be seen of men, or some gain or carnal ends. There is a gross hypocrisy whereby men pretend to the good they know they have not; and there is a formal close hypocrisy whereby men deceive others and themselves too. Many of these have the doctrines clear in their heads, and can speak of them fluently, without possessing the grace and power of them. And there are some who pretend to an experience which they have picked from sitting under a sound experimental ministry, and the writings of good men, without knowing them by the power and teaching of the Spirit; these seldom mention the fruits of the Spirit, but talk and boast much of the works of the flesh (Gal. v. 19), and are vainly puffed up their fleshly minds. There are others with feigned humility, and outward morality, hide their cloven feet. In this case the pharisees were, and those signified by the five foolish virgins, and all formal professors who are not regenerated by the Spirit, and joined to the Lord.

2nd, How is hypocrisy resembled by leaven ? 1st, Leaven is hardly discerned from good dough by the sight, and hypocrisy is hardly distinguished from godliness. "You outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity," Matt. xxiii. 28. Leaven is very spreading, "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; " and so it is with hypocrisy, it spreads over all the man, and all his performances, it leavens all (Isa. i. 12, 13). Leaven is of a sour taste, and disagreeable smell; so is hypocrisy to God and man: 'I will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn assemblies," Mal. ii. 3. All was lea vened with hypocrisy, and was accounted and savoured but as dung in the nostrils of the Lord. Leaven is of a swelling nature, it extends and puffs up the dough,; and so does hy

pocrisy, it is all for the praise of men. The scribes and pharisees were all for pre-eminence, chief places, chief seats, chief appellations, to be called Rabbi, Rabbi; and if others will not admire and overvalue them, they will admire and advance themselves: "I am not as this publican." Hence says Jesus, "You are they that justify yourselves, but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to the Lord," Luke xvi. 15. They highly esteemed themselves, they justified themselves, they derided Christ for not having the same thoughts of them. Pride and vain glory is the inseparable companion of hypocrisy. Why is it called the leaven of the pharisees? Because they were leavened with it to purpose; they were exact and super eminent in this devilish art of personating and counterfeiting to the life. The devil indeed is the archhypocrite of the world, transforming himself into an angel of light; his first-born in this generation are the pharisaical, free-will, duty-faith legalists; and his second, the high doctrinal preacher and professor, without the work of the Spirit. It is between these two thieves that Christ is crucified. Wherein is this leaven of hypocrisy so dangerous, that ministers and people ought chiefly to beware of it? There is great danger in it, for we have the ground of the matter in ourselves : "" hearts deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart and try the reins," &c., Jer. xvii, 9, 10. As if none besides the Lord knew the bottomless depths and deceits of the heart.

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the heart are those lusts and affections, that feed and foment all the hypocrisy in the world: pride, vain glory, concupiscence, carnal wisdom; were it not for these there would not be an hypocrite living. The devil watcheth night and day to set fire to this tow; he is fitted for the purpose, and filled with a raging desire to com

ply with a filthy heart, and to engender this spurious offspring of hypocrisy. He has in readiness his wiles and his depths, his baits and his snares; for a false heart he has false ways, false doctrines, false faiths, false ends and aims. When two such are agreed to such a purpose, they are hardly ever frustrated. There will be a full detection and manifestation of them in the sight and face of all the world, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be known. The mask will be then taken off which was feigned sanctity, and the face will appear which was indeed double iniquity; and for going about to deceive God, and the church, and his own soul, the miserable hypocrite will be left to eternal intolerable confusion. To be detested and derided by God, angels, and saints; and to be insulted by devils to all eternity. To beware of the leaven of the pharisees is also to beware of advancing anything in man, or of man to puff him up, or doctrines that are derived from any other fountain but the pure word of God. It doth not acquit men from this charge of hypocrisy that they hear the word with joy, that they believe with some sort of faith, so did the stoney-ground hearers; that they take some pains for it, so did they (John vi. 26); that they are moral and without blame in some things outwardly, so was the young man (Matt.xix. 20); that they are zealous, against some public corruptions, so was Jehu; that they have much light and knowledge of the letter of truth, so had Balaam (Numb. xxiv. 4).

How many that have been hardened with fear have melted with honour! There is no doubt of that soul that will not bite at the golden hook. Liars and vain glorious boasters, we may see the top of their pedigree; that Satan doth borrow the use of their tongues for a time: whereas fidelity and truth are the issue of heaven. Nor doth this acquit them

and set them out of danger, that they have some serious cares and fears about their salvation, so had Felix, so had the sinners in Zion; they were afraid, fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites; they were afraid of dwelling with devouring fire and everlasting burnings (Isa. xxxiii. 14). Satan gilds over his counterfeit coin with scripture that it may pass current. Even Satan is transformed into an angel of light, and will appear godly for to do mischief. If hypocrites make a fair shew in the flesh, to deceive with an outside lustre of holiness, we see from whom they borrow it. How many thousand souls are betrayed by the abuse of that word, whose use is sovereign and saving! No devil is so dangerous as the religious devil. In Pharoah there was fear but no sincerity; in the devil fear but no penitence; nor is it some reluctance against sin by an awakened conscience, Herod and Pilate had that; nor many natural desires of good, Balaam desired to die the death of the righteous, and the five foolish virgins desired oil; there is the desire of the slothful that even kill them; (Prov. xxvi. 14), desires like the turning of the door upon hinges, never the farther off; desires of the wavering man, the double-minded man, when a man hath some mind to grace to escape punishment but more to lust. There may be a pouring out of prayer, outwardly, as the Ninevites (Jonah iii. 8), they cried mightily; "They poured forth a prayer when thy chastening was upon them, and yet they brought nothing but wind." When he slew them then they sought him, and they returned and enquired early after God; nevertheless they did but flatter him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongues. Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it."

How then may we know whether we are in the number of hypocrites, and tending to their portion? 1st,

A loving of the world and the things of the world supremely; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," this is a fearful evidence of hypocrisy, for it is inconsistent with the love of God; and the loving God above all things is the very essence of sincerity, and whatsoever is contrary to this, is the very essence of hypocrisy. I know there are many subterfuges and evasions, and it is a hard matter to convince men that they love the world in the apostle John's sense (1 John ii. 15,16). But if a man make these lusts of the eye, of the flesh and pride of life, honours, riches, carnal and sensual pleasures his aim, his interest, his chief delight; if the heart and affections be let out to these things immoderately, either about the getting, enjoying, or desiring or advancing them; if the activity and endeavours of the soul's bent are employed chiefly this way, though there may be many excellent performances and expressions, yet the leaven of the pharisee is there, and sours all, and all is but in hypocrisy. This leavened all Balaam's pretences, all his goodly expressions, and professions both to God, angels, and men, that he would do nothing, speak nothing but what God would have him (as much as to say he would be upright and sincere), yet still he looked after the reward (Balak's promotion). This was the error of Balaam, he followed the wages of unrighteousness. And this leavened all Judas' hearing and conversing with Christ. Some conceive from his kissing Christ in the garden, that he was more than ordinarily familiar and officious about him, and made more pretences of love and service to him; but he appeared a painted sepulchre, an hypocrite; he loved the wages of iniquity; it was the world and hypocrisy were predominent in him, and now he is gone to his own place, the place and portion of hypocrites. This leavened all the pharisees' alms, fasting, prayers, pro

fessions, and pretences. They were covetous, saith one evangelist, and they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God, saith another; and that is in effect, they loved the favour of men more than the favour of God. In short, they loved the world and the love of the Father was not in them.

There can be no serving God and mammon. If we cannot be moderate and temperate, both in the desires, in the affections, in the use, in the enjoyments, and moderate our cares and griefs in the loss and want of worldly things, to have them as if we had them not, to rejoice in and for them as if we rejoiced not, to grieve for the want of them as though we grieved not, seeing they are to us as if they were not; they are as the waters that pass away. Nay, if the world be not crucified to us, and we to the world, we are still in danger of this gall of bitterness, this leaven of hypocrisy. This is exemplified in the Jews; they would come to the prophet and sit before him as God's people, with much seeming reverence, and appearance of devotion and affection:They hear thy words but they will not do them, for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness," Ezek.

xxxiii. 31.

It is the property of the word of God, under the Spirit's teaching, to be "quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." This is the word of God, and these are the properties of it. Such a word an hypocrite cannot love, because he loves his carnal sinful self, he loves his lusts, which this word opposeth: he flattereth himself in his own eyes until his iniquities be found to be

hateful." The word preached faithfully will shew him that all is ill, when he fattereth himself that all is "Hast thou found me, very well.

O mine enemy?" saith Ahab an hypocrite thinks he has no greater enemy than a faithful minister, because hypocrisy hath no greater enemy than the word of truth, which will detect and make it odious. So Ahab hated Micaiah and his ministry because he prophecied evil to him in his evil ways; he spake the truth to him, which Ahab's corrupt life and hypocritical heart could not bear. Herod heard John the Baptist gladly in other things, but when he preached against his having his brother's wife, when he came home to his conscience, to his very darling sin, then he stopped his mouth and shut him up in prison.

There is no villainy so great but it will mask itself under an outward shew of godliness. A crafty hypocrite never intends to do you so much harm as when he speaks the fairest and pretends to do you the most good. What an invisible and yet sure guard there is about the poor servants of God, that seem helpless and despicable in themselves! There is over them a hand of divine protection which can be no more opposed than seen. Malice is not so strong in the hand as in the heart. The devil is stronger than a world of men, yet a legion of devils cannot hurt. one lamb without divine permission. What can bands of enemies or gates of hell do against God's hidden ones? A faithful minister of God, although he be poor in this world's goods, must fear no faces, spare no wickedness. There must meet in God's ministers, courage and impartiality; impartiality not to make a difference of persons; courage not to spare the sins of the greatest. Many there are with honey and butter in their tongues, with nothing but envy and malice in their hearts against the poor faithful servant of the Lord, to injure