Useful instructions for a professing people in times of great security and degeneracy

Reas. From his Omniscience, Psal. 94.8. Heb. 4.13. he is the heart maker, and therefore hath the power of discerning the heart, and all the motions and turnings of it; all the nooks and corners of it are open: it is so full of deceitfulness, that we cannot know it throughly, but he perfectly and exactly views, and discerns it; if he did no: know the secrets of our hearts, if any thing were […] from him, he were not God.

Reas. From his Omniscience, Psal. 94.8. Heb. 4.13. he is the heart maker, and therefore hath the power of discerning the heart, and all the motions and turnings of it; all the nooks and corners of it are open: it is so full of deceitfulness, that we cannot know it throughly, but he perfectly and exactly views, and discerns it; if he did no: know the secrets of our hearts, if any thing were 〈…〉 from him, he were not God.

Use. Learn hence that you cannot deceive God, man you may put off with fine words and fair pretences, but not so God: hath not God made it to appear that he will not be mocked by us? we have offered up to him hypocritical services, and accordingly we have been paid: we come with an Idol in our heart, and he hath answered us according to our Idol. Let us then look to our selves, and beware how we come before him, with what heart we come into his presence: know it, if we sow wind, we shall reap the east-wind; we may think to deceive and put him off with our mockeries, but he observes and takes notice even of those thoughts, and will make us to see and feel that he i• displeased with them: Bring then no more vain oblations, offer up no more heartless sacrifices to him, but come loathing our selves, taking the true shame of our sins, and with a real desire to be rid of them, and we shall be accepted.