344 CHRISTIAN MORALITY, VIZ. IMAM. XX. still pursuing a regular course of piety, and his dying pillow confirms the sincerity and practice of his life. Religion is ever uppermost in his heart, and all his af- fairsand businesses in the world, are managedwith regard to his last great end. Thus though his engagements and actions of life be veryvarious daily, according to the va- rious calls ofduty; yet his design is ever the same, and the rule that governs all his practices is the word of God, the gospel of our Lord Jesus. How fax from the gloryof this character were the false- hearted sons of Israel in Jeremiah's time ! They were guilty of stealing and murdering in the streets, or by- ways, or private houses, yet they came and stood before the Lord in the house which was called by his name, :Tcr. vii. 3, 4, &c. There were also in our Saviour's days men of the samedeceitful spirit, whom he frequently and sharply reproved under the odious name of hypo- crites, who made long prayers in the temple, and in the corners of the streets; but devoured widow's houses, and neglected judgment, mercy and faith ; who made clean the outside of their cup, but filled it with all extortion, luxury, and excess. You read their infamous manners at large in vi. and xxiii. chapters of Matthew. They had no more truth in them than whited sepul- chres or flowery graves,- fair indeed and beautiful on the outside covering; but all within is death, and horror, and rottenness. O, how inconsistent were the two pieces of this charaçter one with another ! How far from that truth and uprightness, that sincerity and con- stancy, that the gospel requires, and so much approves of! What a most sharp and shameful reproach is it, and yet a righteous' one too, that is thrown on some persons ? They are saints at church, and devils at home ! It is pity we must borrow a word from hell to describe any sort of men that dwell on earth : I would nòt will- ingly apply it to any particular person living : But in describing a general .character of this kind, we can hardly. paint it in colours frightful enough. In public they are all meekness and innocence, all demure, and abstemi ous, and heavenly, and they transform themselves, as their father does, into angels of light, 2 Cor. xi. 14. but follow them to their houses, and you see a surprizing
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