and converfation among men, left, while we are gazing upon the stars, we fall into the ditch of grofs and foul immorality.

It is very poffible, that men may be devout and zealous in religion, very nice and fcrupulous about the worfhip and fervice of God; and yet, because of their palpable defect in points of justice and honesty, of meekness and humility, of peace and charity, may be grofs and odious hypocrites. For men must not think, for fome acts, either of outward or inward piety, to compound with God for the neglect of mercy and judgment, or to demand it as a right from men to be excufed from the great duties and virtues of human converfation; or pretend to be above them, because they relate chiefly to this world, and to the temporal happinefs of men; as if it were the privilege of great devotion, to give a licence to men to be peevish and froward, fowre and morofe, fupercilious and cenforious, in their behaviour towards others. Men must have a great care, that they be not intent upon the outward parts of religion, to the prejudice of inward and real goodness; and that they do not fo use the means of religion, as to neglect and lose the main end of it; that they do not place all religion in fafting and outward mortification for though these things be very useful and neceffary in their place, if they be difcreetly managed, and made fubfervient to the great ends of religion; yet it is often feen, that men have fo unequal a refpect to the feveral parts of their duty, that fafting and corporal feverity, thofe meagre and lean duties of piety, in comparifon, do, like Pharaoh's lean kine, devour and eat up almost all the goodly and well-favoured, the great and fubftantial duties of the Chriftian life and therefore men muft take great heed, left, while they are so intent upon mortifying themfelves, they do not mortify virtue and good nature, humility, and meeknefs, and charity; things highly valuable in themselves, and amiable in the eyes of men, and in the fight of God of great price.

For the neglect of the moral duties of the fecond table is not only a mighty fcandal to religion, but of pernicious confequence many other ways. A fierce and illgoverned, an ignorant and injudicious zeal for the honour of God and fomething or other belonging necef

farily,

farily, as they think, to his true worship and service, hath made many men do many unreasonable, immoral, and impious things; of which hiftory will furnish us with innumerable inftances, in the practice of the Jefuits, and other zealots of the church of Rome. And there are not wanting too many examples of this kind amongst ourfelves. For men that are not fober and confiderate in their religion, but give themselves up to the conduct of blind prejudice and furious zeal, do eafily perfuade themselves, that any thing is lawful which they strongly fancy to tend to the honour of God, and to the advancement of the caufe of religion. Hence fome have proceeded to that height of abfurdity, in their zeal for their religion and church, as to think it not only lawful, but highly commendable and meritorious, to equivocate upon oath, and break faith with hereticks, and to destroy all thofe that differ from them; as if it were piety in fome cafes to lie for the truth, and to kill men for God's fake.

So that if we would approve the integrity of our hearts to God, and evidence to ourselves the fincerity of our obedience, we ought impartially to regard all the laws of God, and every part of our duty; and if we do not, our heart is not upright with God. It is obfervable, that fincerity in fcripture is often called by the name of integrity, and perfection; because it is integrated and made up of all the parts of our duty.

6. The laft evidence I fhall mention of the fincerity of our religion, is, if it hold out against persecution, and endure the fiery trial. This is the utmost proof of our integrity, when we are called to bear the cross, to be willing then to expofe all our worldly intereft, and even life itself, for the cause of God and religion. This is a trial which God doth not always call his faithful fervants to; but they are always to be prepared for it in the purpofe and refolution of their minds. This our Saviour makes the great mark of a true disciple: If any man (faith he) will be my difciple, let him deny himfelf, and take up his cross, and follow me. This is a certain fign, that men have received the word into good ground, and are well rooted in their religion, when they are not fhaken by these fierce affaults: for many (as our Saviour tells us)

hear

hear the word, and with joy receive it; but having not root in themfelves, they endure but for a while; and when perfecution or tribulation arifeth, because of the word, prefently they are offended: nay fome, when they fee perfecution coming at a diftance, wheel off, and bethink themselves of making their retreat in time, and of agreeing with their adverfary whilft he is yet in the way.

So that conftancy to our religion in cafe of danger, and fuffering for it, is the best proof of our fincerity. This is the fiery trial, as the fcripture calls it, which will try what materials we are made of, and whether we love God and his truth in fincerity.

And thus I have confidered fincerity as it refpects God, and imports true piety and religion towards him. And I proceed to the second confideration,

II. Of fincerity as it regards men. And fo it fignifies a fimplicity of mind and manners in our conversation, and carriage one towards another; fingleness of heart, difcovering itself in a conftant plainnefs and honeft opennefs of behaviour; free from all infidious devices, and little tricks, and fetches of craft and cunning; from all falfe appearances, and deceitful disguises of ourselves, in word or action: or, yet more plainly, it is to fpeak as we think, and do what we pretend and profefs; to perform and make good what we promife; and, in a word, really to be what we would feem and appear to be.

Not that we are obliged to tell every man all. our mind; but we are never to declare any thing contrary to it. We may be filent, and conceal as much of ourfelves, as prudence, or any other good reafon, requires; but we must not put on a disguise, and make a falfe appearance and empty fhew of what we are not, either by word or action. Contrary to this virtue is, I fear, moft of that compliment which is current in converfation; and which, for the most part, is nothing but words, to fill up the gaps and fupply the emptinefs of difcourfe; and a pretence to that kindness and esteem for perfons, which either in truth we have not, or not to that degree which our expreffions feem to import: which, if done with defign, is that which we call flattery; a very odious fort of infincerity: and fo much the worse, because it abuseth men into a vain and foolish opinion of them

felves,

felves, and an ill-grounded confidence of the kindness and good-will of others towards them: and so much the more dangerous, because it hath a party within us, which is ready to let it in: it plays upon our felf-love, which greedily catcheth at any thing that tends to magnify and advance us; for, God knows, we are all too apt to think and make the best of our bad felves; fo that very few tempers have wisdom and firmness enough to be proof against flattery: it requires great confideration, and a refolute modesty and humility, to refift the infinuations of this ferpent; yea, a little rudeness and moroseness of nature, a prudent diftruft and infidelity in mankind, to make a man in good earnest to reject and despise it.

Now, befides that all hypocrify and infincerity is mean in itself, having falfhood at the bottom; it is also often made ufe of, to the prejudice of others, in their rights and interefts. For not only diffimulation is contrary to fincerity, because it confifts in a vain shew of what we are not, in a falfe muster of our virtues and good qualities, in a deceitful reprefentation and undue character of our lives but there are likewife other qualities and actions more inconfiftent with integrity, which are of a more injurious and mischievous confequence to our nature; as falfhood, and fraud, and perfidioufnefs, and infinite little crafts and arts of deceit, which men pra&ife upon one another in their ordinary converfation and intercourse. The former is great vanity; but this is grofs iniquity.

And yet thefe qualities dexterously managed, fo as not to lie too plain and open to discovery, are looked upon by many, as figns of great depth and fhrewdness, admirable inftruments of business, and neceffary means for the compaffing our own ends and defigns: and though in those that have fuffered by them, and felt the mischief of them, they are always accounted dishonest; yet, among the generality of lookers-on, they pafs for great policy; as if the very skill of governing and ma naging human affairs did confist in these little tricks and devices. But he that looks more narrowly into them, and will but have the patience to obferve the end of them, will find them to be great follies; and that it is only for want of true wisdom and understanding, that

men

men turn afide to tricks, and make diffimulation and lies their refuge. It is Solomon's obfervation, that he that walketh uprightly, walketh furely; but the folly of fools is deceit. The folly of fools; that is, the moft egregious piece of folly that any man can be guilty of, is to play the knave. The vulgar tranflation renders this claufe a little otherwife, but yet towards the fame fenfe; fed ftultus divertit ad dolos; I but the fool turns afide to "tricks:" to make use of thefe, is a fign the man wants understanding to fee the plain and direct way to his end. I will not deny, but thefe little arts may serve a prefent turn, and perhaps fuccefsfully enough: but true wisdom goes deep, and reacheth a great way farther; looking to the end of things, and regarding the future as well as the prefent; and, by judging upon the whole matter, and fum of affairs, doth clearly difcern that craft and cunning are only useful for the prefent occafion; whereas integrity is of a lafting ufe, and will be ferviceable to us upon all occafions, and in the whole courfe of our lives: and that diffimulation and deceit, though they may do fome prefent execution in bufinefs, yet they recoil upon a man terribly afterwards, fo as to make him ftagger, and by degrees to weaken, and at laft to deftroy his reputation; which is a much more ufeful, and fubftantial, and lafting inftrument of profperity and fuccefs in human affairs, than any tricks and devices whatsoever. Thus have I confidered this great virtue of fincerity, both as it regards God, and the mutual converfation and intercourfe of men one with another.

And now having explained the nature of fincerity to God and man, by declaring the properties of it, and in what inftances we ought chiefly to practise it, and what things are contrary to it; that which remains is, to perfuade men to endeavour after this excellent quality, and to practise it in all the words and actions of their lives.

Let us then, in the first place, be fincere in our religion, and ferve God in truth and uprightness of heart, out of confcience of our duty, and obligations to him; and not with finifter refpects to our private interest or paffion, to the publick approbation or cenfure of men. Let us never make use of religion to serve any base and unworthy