A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

Hypocrites are like blazing Stars, which so long as they are fed with vapours, shine as if they were fixed Stars; but let the vapours dry up, and presently they vanish and disappear; let but the eye, the ear, the applause of men fail the hypocrite, and he will be ready to throw up all.¹ If an hypocrite can't make some gain of his godliness, some profit of his profession, some advantage of his Religion, he will be ready with Demas, to turn his back upon all religious duties and services. Look, as a lame horse, when he is heated will go well enough, but when he cools will halt down right; even so an hypocrite, though for a time he may go on fairly in his way, yet in the end he will halt down right, & bid farewell (if not defiance) to all religious duties and services: Profit and applause are usually the baits that hypocrites bite at, and if they miss these baits, then farewell profession, farewell Religion, farewell all. John 6.66. From that time many of his Disciples went back and walked no more with him. Many hypocrites who had given up ⟨p. 315⟩their names to Christ, and who for a time had been followers of Christ, at last deserted him and turned their back• for ever upon him, Mat. 13.5. Some fall upon stony places, where they had not much earth (not much care to receive, not much understanding to apprehend, not much faith to believe, not much will to obey, or not much love to retain it) and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth. Ver: 6. And when the Sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. This second ground goes beyond the former; For 1. It receives the seed. 2. Incontinently: 3. With joy. 4. It brings up the seed sown, it sprung up to sundry degrees. 1. To external obedience and reformation in many things. 2. To an outward profession. 3. To a kind of faith; but when the Sun of persecution beat hot upon them they withered and fell away, not all at once, but by little and little, as a leaf loseth his greenness and flourish, and withers by degrees. In the Palatinate, when the Sun of persecution began to scorch them, scarce one Professor of twenty stood out, but fell to Popery as fast as leaves in Autumn. The Chrystal looks like pearl till it comes to the hammering;