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thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty: if thou wert pure and upright, surely now He would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. The hypocrite's hope shall perish, whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure !"

This language is itself all just and proper, and was as well known to Job as it was to Bildad the Shuhite who spoke it; but it was miserable consolation to one who felt he did not deserve to have it spoken against himself, as if he were the greatest hypocrite alive. Job detested hypocrisy as much as his friends did; and yet, from his great sufferings and his maintaining the integrity of his life of faith in God, he appeared to be to those friends an hypocrite. Oh, let this lesson teach us the great duty of charity, and make us careful how we attribute hypocrisy to those whose afflictions make them more anxious, thoughtful, and careful about the affairs of another world than they are about the things of this. We are not to suppose every afflicted person an hypocrite whose mind is brought to see things in the most serious light, and who consequently shuns the follies of this world as distasteful to his sober judgment and ideas of responsibility. They would be hypocrites, indeed, if fully convinced of the duty of setting their affections on things above, not on things on the earth, of becoming transformed by the renewing of their minds, they were afterwards conformed to this world! After having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they fall back from grace and merely seek

to be good men in the eyes of the present world— this would be the most fearful hypocrisy, and denying of the Lord Jesus Christ, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondagein other words, who released them from the captivity of sin and gave them the hope of the life to come. "The hypocrite's hope shall perish." If, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning; for it were better for them never to have known Christ, than, after they have known Him, to fall from their own stedfastness in Him, for so it happens to such. "The dog hath returned to his own vomit, and the sow that was washed to his wallowing in the mire."

That hypocrisy does and will exist there can be no doubt the world will have its hypocrites in religion to the very last day-men who pretend to be what they are not, who say with their lips," Thy kingdom come, O, Lord," but who neither prepare their hearts for that kingdom nor really desire that it should come. Sincerity in our profession of Christ's religion is that one thing most earnestly to be commended-sincerity in our prayers, not mere lip service-sincerity in our confession to God of all our sins, and not merely the exclamation, "Lord, Lord!" -sincerity of devotion, a giving ourselves to God with all our hearts and all our souls and all our strength-not merely a part of our heart and another part to the world: "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." There are a great many men who have the name of Christ always on their lips, and who talk

very much of the Lord and of their faith-of their temperance, strictness, and prayerful dispositionwhose very hearts are set upon the prudential gain of this life, who hypocritically devote themselves to Mammon, whilst they talk very much against their neighbours and measure all men by themselves. I need scarcely say that such men so insincere, so very wise and worldly, are in a very dangerous way, and that there is more hope of the most abandoned sinner than of such deceivers. Cunning, crafty hypocrites, dissemblers with God, they think to deceive even the elect, but they do not long prosper; "for the hypocrite's hope shall perish."

We must consider what is the hope of the hypocrite. One thing he always hopes-namely, to exalt himself and his own condition in the eyes of men at the expense of justice, judgment, and mercy. These latter things, as our Saviour tells us, are totally neglected by them. Justice with the hypocrite is severe condemnation of all others who in the least degree differ from him or suspect his sincerity. Judgment with him is without evidence, and founded upon the hearsay of slanderers, backbiters, revilers, and extortioners. Mercy is a quality he never exercises; but, always measuring man by outward appearance, he makes no allowance for the infirmities of others, because he would fain persuade the world he has himself no such infirmities. On this account the hypocrite, ever beholding the mote in his brother's eye, says " Brother, let me pull out the mote which is in thine eye, whilst he perceives not the beam that is in his own eye."— "Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam that is in thine eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out

the mote which is in thy brother's eye." Hypocrisy is very difficult to discover, because men cannot read their fellow-men's hearts; but we may always be sure of this-that, when we see men pretending great external appearance of sanctity in themselves which they deny to others, there we behold, if not the deepest hypocrisy, at least such a want of humility as all men should avoid.

God, who is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, wishes to see those hearts internally purified, more than the elongated hair nicely parted-clothing of the coarsest and most mortifying kind, put on to attract the thoughts of men towards your personal holiness. You can never be too religious, too pure in heart, too humble, too pious, too devout but it is very possible to appear externally so, and yet have no real, vital, faithful humility. Job says "What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call upon God? (Job xxvii. 8, 9, 10).

When the hypocrite is reduced to affliction, then, indeed, he does call upon Him bitterly, lamentably, loudly, and thinks he is heard for his strong ejaculations; but, when he is well-when his bodily health is good-will he then worship God in sincerity and delight himself in the Almighty? No: the Almighty is pure, all-seeing, all-loving wisdom; and a hypocrite never loves his fellow-creature as he ought, and never desires to see him really good or happy, lest he should appear or be better than himWith the lowly in heart alone is wisdom. The Almighty will not hear the cry of the hypocrite,

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though trouble, sorrow, and distress may bow him down with bitterness: for "the hypocrite's hope shall perish."

The true Christian is not often deceived in discovering the real professors of Christianity and the pretenders thereto. Faith is not a fanciful but a real possession-not a thing of imagination, but a truly glorious and heavenly gift. By faith in God we discover our own utter unworthiness, and see so many infirmities in our own selves that we are much more apt to think all men better than worse than ourselves. By faith we see so much to struggle against in our own hearts, in our own lives, in our own sinful thoughts, words, and actions, that we are wonderfully astonished at God's mercy in sparing us when we have so often deserved punishment.

Faith is as opposite to hypocrisy as light is to darkness-as pride is to humility-as the shadow is to the substance. But, as the shadow cannot exist without the substance to which it bears a resemblance, so hypocrisy, which is, indeed, but the resemblance without the substance of religion, would not make its appearance among men were it not for the goodly appearance-the truly god-like walk of the faithful Christian. "Let no man deceive you with vain words. That which a man soweth, that shall he also reap "-either the good seed of life eternal or that which is only like it in appearance, but has no vitality. Now, in all that I have this day advanced, I pray you not to mistake my words, nor imagine that I wish to throw any discouragement upon the sincerely humble, lowly Christian, who is walking with God and striving all he can to be good, perfect, and holy-aye, as if his salvation depended

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