The saints everlasting rest, or, A treatise of the blessed state of the saints in their enjoyment of God in glory wherein is shewed its excellency and certainty, the misery of those that lose it, the way to attain it, and assurance of it, and how to live in the continual delightful forecasts of it and now published by Richard Baxter ...

* 1.1SECT. IV.

3. THe third sort that fall under this Reproof, are those self-couzening, formal, lazie Professors of Religion, who will be brought to any outward duty, and to take up the easier part of Christianity, but to the inward work, and more difficult part, they will never be perswaded: They will Preach, or hear, or read, or talk of heaven, or pray customarily and constantly in their Families, and take part with the persons or causes that are good, and desire to be esteemed among the godly, but you can never bring them to the more spiritual and difficult duties, as to be constant and fervent in secret Prayer, to be conscionable in the duty of self-examination, to be constant in that excellent duty of Meditation, to be heavenly minded, to watch constantly over his heart, and words, and wayes; to deny his bodily senses their delights, to mortifie the flesh, and not make provision for it to fulfil its lusts, to love and heartily forgive an enemy, to prefer his brethren heartily before himself, and to think meanly of his own gifts and worth, and to take it well of others that think so too, and to love them that have low thoughts of him, as well as those that have high; to bear easily the injuries or underva∣luing words of others against him, to lay all that he hath at the feet

of Christ, and to prefer his Service and Favor before all; to prepare to die, and willingly to leave all, to come to Christ, &c. This outside Hypocrite will never be perswaded to any of these. Above all other, two notable sorts there are of these Hypocrites. First, The superficial, opinionative Hypocrite.* 1.2 Se∣condly, The worldly Hypocrite. First, The former entertaineth the Doctrine of the Gospel with Joy, but it is onely into the sur∣face of his soul, he never gives the seed any depth of earth; It changeth his opinion, and he thereupon ingageth for Re∣ligion, as the right way, and sides with it as a party in a Fa∣ction, but it never melted and new molded his heart, nor set up Christ there in full Power and Authority; but as his Reli∣gion lyes most in his Opinion, so he usually runs from Opinion to Opinion, and is carried up and down with every winde of Doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness where∣by they lye in weight to deceive; and as a childe is tossed too and fro; for as his Religion is but Opinion, so is his Study, and Conference, and chief business all about Opinion: He is usually an ignorant,* 1.3 * 1.4 proud, bold, unreverent enquirer and babler about controversies, rather then an humble embracer of the known truth, with love and subjection; you may con∣jecture by his bold and forward tongue, and groundless concei∣tedness in his own Opinions, and sleighting of the Judgments and persons of others, and seldom talking of the great things of Christ with seriousness and humility, that his Religion dwel∣leth in his brain, and not in his heart; where the winde of Temptation assaults him, he easily yieldeth, and it carrieth him away as a Feather, because his heart is empty, and not ballaced and stablished with Christ and Grace. If the Temptation of the Times do assault mens Understandings, and the sign be in the Head, though the little Religion that he hath lyes there, yet a hundred to one but he turneth Heretick, or catcheth the Vertigo of some lesser errors, according to the nature and strength of the seducement: If the winde do better serve for a vici∣ous conversation, a hundred to one but he turns a purveyor for the flesh, and then he can be a Tipler, and yet religious, a Gamster, a Wanton, a neglecter of Duties, and yet religious: If this mans Judgment ••ead him the Ceremonious way, then doth he imploy his chiefest zeal for Ceremonies, as if his Religion lay in Bowing,

Kneeling, observation of Dayes, number, and form of words in Prayer, with a multitude of Traditions and Customs of his Forefathers. If his Judgment be * 1.5 against Ceremonies, then his strongest zeal is imployed against them, studying, talking, disputing against them, censuring the users of them, and perhaps fall into a contrary superstition, placing his chief Religion in Baptism, Church Combinations, and forms of Policy, &c. For having not his soul taken up with the essentials of Christianity, he hath onely the Mint and Cummin, the smaller matters of the Law, to lay out his zeal upon. You shall never hear in private conference any humble and hearty bewai∣lings of his souls imperfections, or any heart bleeding acknow∣ledgments of his unkindnesses to Christ, or any pantings and longings after him, from this man,; but that he is of such a Judg∣ment, or such a Religion, or Party, or Society, or a Member of such a Church, herein doth he gather his greatest comforts; but the inward and spiritual labours of a Christian he will not be brought to.

Secondly, The like may be said of the worldly Hypocrite, who choaketh the Doctrine of the Gospel, with the thorns of worldly cares and desires; His Judgment is convinced, that he must be Religious, or he cannot be saved, and therefore he reads, and hears, and prays, and forsakes his former company and courses; but because his belief of the Gospel-Doctrine is but wavering and shallow, he resolves to keep his hold of present things, lest the promise of Rest should fail him, and yet to be religious, that so he may have heaven when he can keep the world no longer, think∣ing it wisdom to have two strings to his bow, lest one should break. This mans Judgment may say, God is the chief good; but his heart and affections never said so, but look upon God as a kinde of strange and disproportionate Happiness, to be tollerated rather then the flames of hell, but not desired before the felicity on earth.* 1.6 In a word, the world hath more of his Af∣fections then God, and therefore is his God, and his Coveteous∣ness is Idolatry. This he might easily know and feel, if he would judg impartially, and were but faithful to himsef: And though this man do not gad after Opinions and Novelties in his Religion as the former, yet will he set his sails to the winde of worldly ad∣vantage, and be of that opinion which will best serve his turn▪

And as a man whose spirits are seised on by some pestilential malignity, is feeble, and faint, and heartless in all that he does; so this mans spirits being possessed by the plague of this malig∣nant worldly disposition, O how faint is he in secret prayer! O how superficial in Examination and meditation! How feeble in heart-watchings, and humbling, mortifying endeavours! how nothing at all in loving and walking with God, rejoycing in him, or desiring after him! so that both these, and many other sorts of lazy Hypocrites there are, who though they will trudge on with you in the easie outside of Religion, yet will ne∣ver be at the pains of inward and spiritual duties.

Notes

• * 1.1

  §. 4.
• * 1.2

  Matth. 13.5.
• * 1.3

  Ephes. 4.14.
• * 1.4

  Confidentiâ astra petimus, ruimus in prae∣cipitia. Albe••e¦ric. Gentilis d Jur. Interpraet. lib. 4.
• * 1.5

  Facile cer∣suadeas senem ut sellam de∣serat, si bacu∣lum prius quo niti possit, in manum dede∣ris; qui te alioqum nun∣quam audi∣turus est, sed insidiatorem potius judica∣turus, ut qui cupias pronum ad silicem cra¦nium frangere. Sic mentes hu∣manae ante om∣nia sunt ad in∣fallibilem Dei cognitionem adducendae. quam ubi at∣••••gerint jam facilè dimit∣tent salla∣cia, &c. Zuinglius de vera & falsa Relig. pag. 406.
• * 1.6

  Phil. 3.9.