· Jln Expojition ·upon the fuland vigil:mt Attenti?n when he delivers to us the f!iOil: imr<?;tant thin~s of his Law, and of our Salvauon. Thefc and many other thmgs, whJCh to particularize would perhaps be to defcend below the Maiefty of this Work, do too C\'idently de dare, th:tt th~ preti~us Truths of the Gof~l are grown yile among us, that we hav; taken a Snrfett of thts heavenly Ma.nna, thts Bread of L1fc, and now begin to loath it. Beware left this Surfeit bring not a Famine after it. It plainly argues much Prophanenefs in our Spirits, when we bring only our antward Man, our dull and heavy Carc1ffes to attend npon God, while onr Hearts and Minds are ftra~ing and wandr ing from him: This is a_fign that we dcfpife God, and account any thmg good enon~h, the Lame and the Blind to be offer'd up unto him. Ag:tinJl: fuch God hath thundred out a mort dreadful Curfe, Curfed be the deceiver · 1 ' 1'Jhich hath in hM flrJck a male, and voweth and f•urificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing; for [ ' am agreat King, faith the Lord ofh~{fs, ttnd my name U dreadful. Thon who fhtferclt thy Thoughts or thine Eyes, which are the Index of them, to rove in Prayer .or to be feal'£l up with Ocep in hearing, thou defpifeft the great God before who~ thou appeareft, and _thinkefi: it enough if tho~ affordeft him thy bOdily prefence, although thy heart be Wlth the eyes of the Fools m the ends of the Earth: For fuch a Service is but Mockery; and it is lefs irrifion eo· tender God no Servke than to perform it ilightly and perfnnll:or il y; the one is Difobedience, but the other is Contempt. This is a fourth CharaCter of a prophane Perfon. 5· J;;;thly, He is a pmpha~e Perfon that perform!' holy Duties for worldly End<:: and Advantages: For what greater contempt ofGod can there be, than to make hio; Service truckle under the bafe and low defigns of this prefent Life? This is to m:tke Religion tributary to lntercft, and God himfelf an Homage to Mammon. And this all Hypocrjreo; are guilty of; tho' they mafque their Defigns with fpecious Pretences and draw the Veil of Religion over their fordid and wicked Contrivances, yet theY cry .out with 7t'hu, ();me fee my z.eal for the Lord of hofts; when he drove on fo furioufiy only for the Kingdom. . · Indeed an Hypocrite (rho' he be not commonly fo e11eemed) is the m oft prophane V..Tretch that lives; the grofs profligate Sinner offers not half fo much Indignity to Religion as he doth ; For, 1 • Firft, The Hypocrite calls in God to be a Complice and Partaker with him in his" · Crimes, and intitles his Majdty who is infinitely pure and holy, to the Wickcdne(s he commit<;, ac; if they were done for his fake, and mcerly upon his account; :md fo inakes Gcd to be the Patron of Sin, who will be the Judge and Condemner of Sinners. All hie; Injul1ice, Rapine, and Rebellion, are co!opred over With the fuir pretences of the Glory of God, the Interefl: of the Kingdom of Chrifr, the Advancement of the Power of Godlinefs, Reform:ttion of Idolatry and Supcrftition, &c. and there is no act of Fraud or Violence, Fafriori or Sedition, but he thinks it juftified and hallowed by thefe glorious Names; which is nothing elfe but to rob Men, and make God the Receiver, who is the Detefter, and will be tfle Punifher of filCh Crimes. Now the open and flagitious Wr_etch.,. altho'. he h~tes God. as much ~s the Hypocdte, yet he doth not fo much dende hun; hts Wtckedne~es are plam and avowed· and every one may fee from whence they proceed, and wh1ther they tend, · that theY come from Hell, and diredly tend thither: Religion is not at all concerned tl) c0lot1r, hut on ly to condemn them.. And judge ye, which doth moft clefpile God and Godlinefs, either he who profefieth it not at all, or he who profeJTeth u Olily that he m1y ahufe and ab:tfe it,. and make it fubfervient to fitch vile and fordid ends as arc iofinitely unworthy of It. 2 . Secondly~ The wound that Rel igion receives from Hypoc:ites i~ fa: more d:t~gerous and incurable than that which the open and fcandalous Smner mfhc:ts upon It. For Religion is n~vcr broueht in to quefl:ion by the enormous Vices of an infamous Perfan : all fee, and all abhor his Lcwdnefs. But when a Man !hall have his mouth full of Pietv and hands fnll of Wickednefs, when he Ihall fpeak Scripture, and live Devilif~, Profefs Il:ric:tly and \}.Talk loony; this lays a gr!eyou~ Stumbling-block in the way of others, and tempts them to think that all Rehgton IS but Mockery, and that the Profelfors of it are but Hypocrites, and fo imbitters their he:uts againfi: it, a-s a folemn Cheat p!lt upon the credulous World . Certain~y fitch Men are the caufes ofall that Contempt which is cart upon the \:Vays a~d Ordmances of God; and their fecret Prophancnefs bath given occafion t? the grofs and open Pt:ophanenefs th::~ _r nO\V abounds in the World; and the Hypocn!ic of former Years, bath too futally Jn tronuced the Atheifm of thefe. Nay,
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