Doth he obey all God's Precepts, as well as believe all God's Promises? 2. As to his Faculties, his understanding may be somewhat enlightened, but his affections may be carnal, and his will oppose me, being averse to True Godliness. Is not his Heart divided? Come Conscience, I do now command you, in the presence of the great and dreadful God who searches all hearts, to make a righteous decision, tell me plainly; Is my Enemy Hypocrisy here or no? By these brief Hints you may easily know him.
Conscience, Sir, I must confess Hypocrisy is here; now I have found him out; nay Sir, and he hath hid him secretly in his House ever since he came to live in this Town Religion; he is seemingly holy, ⟨p. 97⟩but really wicked; he loves the Face of Holiness, but is without the Grace of Holiness; his greatest care has been to wash the outside of the Platter; if he can but keep his name from being reproached by men, he cares not though his Heart be grievously defiled before God, Should I tell you of all those Lusts which he harbours in his heart, and what favour he shows to that Old-Man (you mentioned before) I should quite shame him; he is a Saint indeed abroad, but a Heathen (to say no worse) at home, he prays, hears, and reads, but 'tis to keep up his Credit, Name, and Esteem amongst many Christian men of this Town; for I have often found him very weary of these Duties, God knows it as well as I: Nay Sir, he would seldom pray at all were it not to quiet me; for he doth not love my lashes; besides, he performs them with a sad, cold, dead, carnal and lifeless spirit; he is much for the lesser things of Religion (as you minded) he keeps a mighty stir about Mint, Anise, and Cummin, but quite neglects the greater and more weighty things; nay there is one thing more I will tell you, as he does not love strict Godliness himself, so his heart is ready to rise against all such who outdo him. Sir, he is a mere Dissembler, yet he would be thought as religious a man as any in the Town. I find him also much abroad finding of faults in others, or spying the more that is in his Brothers eye, but never minds the beam that is in his own: nay, and he is ready to fall out with many good Christians, because they will not follow him in Habit, Mode and Gesture, &c. In a word, most of all those black Marks of this deceitful Villain Hypocrisy, you hinted at, I find in him also.
Godly.
Doth he obey all God's Precepts, as well as believe all God's Promises? 2. As to his Faculties, his understanding may be somewhat enlightned, but his affections may be carnal, and his will oppose me, being averse to True Godliness. Is not his Heart divided? Come Conscience, I do now command you, in the presence of the great and dreadful God who searches all hearts, to make a righteous decision, tell me plainly; Is my Enemy Hypocrisie here or no? By these brief Hints you may easily know him.
Conscience, Sir, I must confess Hypocrisie is here; now I have found him out; nay Sir, and he hath hid him secretly in his House ever since he came to live in this Town Religion; he is seemingly holy, ⟨p. 97⟩but really wicked; he loves the Face of Holiness, but is without the Grace of Holiness; his greatest care has been to wash the outside of the Platter; if he can but keep his name from being reproach'd by men, he cares not though his Heart be grievously defiled before God, Should I tell you of all those Lusts which he harbours in his heart, and what favour he shews to that Old-Man (you mentioned before) I should quite shame him; he is a Saint indeed abroad, but a Heathen (to say no worse) at home, he prays, hears, and reads, but 'tis to keep up his Credit, Name, and Esteem amongst many Christian men of this Town; for I have often found him very weary of these Duties, God knows it as well as I: Nay Sir, he would seldom pray at all were it not to quiet me; for he doth not love my lashes; besides, he performs them with a sad, cold, dead, carnal and lifeless spirit; he is much for the lesser things of Religion (as you minded) he keeps a mighty stir about Mint, Anise, and Cummin, but quite neglects the greater and more weighty things; nay there is one thing more I will tell you, as he does not love strict Godliness himself, so his heart is ready to rise against all such who outdo him. Sir, he is a meer Dissembler, yet he would be thought as religious a man as any in the Town. I find him also much abroad finding of faults in others, or spying the more that is in his Brothers eye, but never minds the beam that is in his own: nay, and he is ready to fall out with many good Christians, because they will not follow him in Habit, Mode and Gesture, &c. In a word, most of all those black Marks of this deceitful Villain Hypocrisie, you hinted at, I find in him also.
Godli.
