pocrite may exprefsly and folemnly covenant with God, by word or by writ, and thus engage to be the Lord's. This is evident from the practice of the Ifraelites: Exod. xiv. 8. "And all the people anfwered and faid, All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And Mofes returned the words of the people unto the Lord."-Here we may obferve, how full they are in their confent and engagement, "All that the Lord hath fpoken, we will do." See alfo Exod. xx. 19. But mark the Lord's own verdict on this covenanting: Deut. v. 29. “O that there were fuch an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep my commandments always, that it might be well with them and their children for ever!" Not only may all this be claffed among the externals of religion, but I shall add, for illuftration, that perfons may be morally ferious in their confent to the covenant, that is, thinking and refolving in the time to do as they fay. Meral ferioufnefs is oppofed to grofs diffimulation, which there was no place for here, Deut. v. 24.

Yet it may be where there is no fincerity, Pfal. Ixxviii. 37. Of the fame people it is said, "For their heart was not right with him, neither were they ftedfaft in his covenant.". Hypocrites, in this cafe, are like thofe who, out of mere fimplicity, and ignorance of the worth of a thing, offer to buy it; but if they really knew what it could not be fold under, they would never once bid for it. They may alfo confent to the covenant out of a real fenfe of their fin and mifery, and a conviction of their need of a Mediator, as in Exod. xx. 19. "And they faid unto Mofes, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God fpeak with us, left we dieThere was the mountain on fire, for a tribuyal; the voice of a trumpet, fuminoning the criminals; tcrrible thunders, to

pronounce

pronounce the fentence of death against them; This filled them with horror and fear of death, and fhewed them the need of a Mediator. But there are three things in which the Christian in fpirit goes beyond the Christian in the letter, in this point.

[1.] He engages freely and heartily to the Lord in his whole covenant. The hypocrite is but dragged and forced into it, when the matter is fe riously confidered. They are not a willing people: Pfal. xxviii. 34. 36. & 37. "When he flew them, then they fought him; and they returned and inquired early after God. Nevertheless, they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfaft in his covenant." I doubt not but a hypocrite may be very hearty in his confent to receive the comforts of the covenant: Matth. xiii. 20. 21. "But he that received the feed into ftony places, the fame is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. Yet he hath not root in himself, but dureth for a while." But if he confider the duties of the covenant, there he sticks, and can come no other way to the whole covenant, but as he is dragged: Rom. viii. 7. "Because the carnal mind. is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

When the Spirit enters into a person's heart, he takes fuch hold of it, that the perfon is overcome by grace into willingness. Thus it is faid, Jer. xxxi. 3. " Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee." Then the perfon pours out his heart like water: Pfal. lxii. 8. " Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us." Terror may begin the work, but love crowns it:

Hof.

Hof. ii. 14. "Therefore, behold I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and fpeak comfortably unto her.”

[2.] While the perfon's heart confents to the covenant with the Lord, it is divorced from fin; but the hypocrite confents to the covenant, with a heart glewed to his lufts: Pfal. xlv. 10. "Hearken, Ö daughter, and confider, and incline thine. ear; forget alfo thine own people, and thy father's houfe." It is an ill-made fecond marriage, where there is neither death nor divorce from the first husband; and this is the cause of apoftafy, men going back to their lufts, because they never freely parted with them. What makes a man and his lufts one, is, the greedy hold the heart takes of them; the heart cleaves to them: Jer. viii. 5. "Why, then, is the people of Jerufalem flidden back by a perpetual backfliding? they hold faft deceit, they refuse to return." But the bond is loofed by divine grace, and their liking is turned to loathing; though fin cleaves to them, they cleave not to it: Rom. vii. 21. 22. " I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man." In which case, it is not only put out of the life, but out of the heart.

[3.] In covenanting with God, the person refigns himself abfolutely to the Lord, the hypocrite never. without referves. The fincere foul abfolutely gives up itself, (1.) To the yoke of his commandments, Pfal. cxix. 128. "Therefore, I efteem all thy commandments concerning all things to be right, and I hate every falfe way." But there is fome one duty or other the hypocrite's heart cannot digeft, as in Mark x. 21. (2.) The foul gives. up itself to the providential will of God, Luke xiv. 26. He is content to bear his crofs, as well.

as

as to wear his crown; but there is always fomething in the cross to which the hypocrite cannot fubmit.

(4.) And lastly, A perfon may be in the exercife of religious duties, may be much enlarged and affected, and yet only a Christian in the letter, Heb. vi. 4. Many get a tafte of gofpel-benefits, who never digeft them, this tafte arifing only from common operations of the Spirit on an unrenewed heart; and a perfon may, at a time, get another heart, who never gets a new heart. Thus it was with Saul, 1 Sam. x. 9.-As to this, I would obferve,

I.

1. In the general, that a hypocrite may have a mighty enlargement in duties, and be much affected in them. That there may be a great flir and motion among the affections, while the ftony heart does yet remain, is plain from the cafe of the ftony-ground hearers, Matth. xiii. 20. and the many inftances of joys and forrows raifed in unrenewed hearts by the word. Many lay a great deal of weight on this, that they are not always alike in duties: Sometimes they are bound up, fometimes enlarged; fometimes they drive heavily in them, fometimes they have a great deal of comfort and pleasure in them. But, do not fuch fwallow down this as an evidence of the grace of God without examination? To understand this, confider, that there is an enlargement in the exercife of a gift, as well as in the exercife of a grace; and the one may be mistaken for the other, 2 Cor. ii. 13.-15. Thus alfo God both enlarged and ftraitened king Saul in gifts: And as the gifts of others, well exercised in holy things, may greatly delight a man, as in Ezek. xxxiii. 32. "And-lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely fong of one

that

that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument;" fo much more may the exercise of one's own gift with ease and readiness, delight the perion's felf-Confider also, that the power of a deluded fancy may produce this, as in the ftony-ground hearers, Matth. xiii. 20. As a

man may have a great deal of pleasure in a dream, or in a misconception, fo a deceived heart may make a perfon feed very sweetly upon afhes, and never suspect that there is a lie in his right hand, If. xliv. 20. Do we not read of a fire of men's own kindling, which, though it may mightily comfort them for a time, yet ends in forrow and darknefs, If. 1. 10.-Confider, in a word, that there are common influences of the Spirit which are not fanctifying, which may produce a mighty commotion among the affections, Heb. vi. 4. 5. 6. Even fignal providences will have this effect on unrenewed hearts, whether they be in mercy or in judgement: Pfal. Ixxviii. 34. When he flew them, then they fought him; and they returned and inquired early after God.” These things come like a fummer-fhower, which wets the furface of the earth, and makes every channel run for a while, but is quickly again dried up.-Now, the difference between the Chriftian in the fpirit in his gracious enlargement in duties, and the Christian in the letter in his delufive enlargements in duty, may be seen in these two particulars.

(1.) Gracious enlargements tend always to the killing and mortifying of felf, that grand competitor with Chrift: 1 Chron. xxix. 14. "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer fo willingly after this fort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee." The hypocrite's enlargements feed and nourish it, fwelling the heart with pride and

felf.