An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…

There is yet a third step or degree of sense in this word, He shall not only be displeased with himself, and loath himself, but he shall fall out with himself; his hope shall displease or vex him, into self-anger.¹ Some render the word by contending or chiding: as a man that is displeased with another, falleth out with him, wrangleth and contendeth with him; so an hypocrite, at last shall chide, contend and wrangle with himself: he shall contend as much with himself at last, as ever the word of God contended with him before. An hypocrite never cometh to a Sermon, but God chides him, the Word of God contends with him, and the Spirit of God hath a controversy with him; this man will not be warned by the chiding of God, nor take that to heart, he still goes on in his hypocrisy. But when no reproofs nor chidings can prevail upon his heart, he is left to the reproofs and chidings of his own heart: which will read him such a lecture, and give him such a schooling as he never had in all his life. Conscience may be long silent, and it may long flatter, but when once it begins to speak, and to speak right, it is the most terrible Preacher in the world. There is no Boanerges or son of thunder hath so dreadful a voice. Mount Sinai it self did not thunder so loud as conscience will. And as conscience speaks loud, so it speaks long. An hypocrite shall reprove and chide himself for ever; What a fool was I? What a beast was I thus to flatter my self, thus to mask mine own filthiness, and to daub over the rottenness of my heart with the fair covering of a verbal profession? Why did I wilfully deceive my self into irrecoverable perdition?

There is yet a third step or degree of sense in this word, He shall not only be displeased with himself, and loath himself, but he shall fall out with himself; his hope shall displease or vex him, into self-anger.¹ Some render the word by contending or chiding: as a man that is displeased with another, falleth out with him, wrangleth and contendeth with him; so an hypocrite, at last shall chide, contend and wrangle with himself: he shall contend as much with himself at last, as ever the word of God contended with him before. An hypocrite never commeth to a Sermon, but God chides him, the Word of God contends with him, and the Spirit of God hath a controversie with him; this man will not be warned by the chiding of God, nor take that to heart, he still goes on in his hypocrisie. But when no reproofs nor chidings can prevail upon his heart, he is left to the reproofs and chidings of his own heart: which will read him such a lecture, and give him such a schooling as he never had in all his life. Conscience may be long silent, and it may long flatter, but when once it begins to speak, and to speak right, it is the most terrible Preacher in the world. There is no Boanerges or sonne of thunder hath so dreadfull a voice. Mount Sinai it self did not thunder so loud as conscience will. And as conscience speaks loud, so it speaks long. An hypocrite shall reprove and chide himself for ever; What a fool was I? What a beast was I thus to flatter my self, thus to mask mine own filthinesse, and to dawb over the rottennesse of my heart with the fair covering of a verball profession? Why did I wilfully deceive my self into irrecoverable perdition?