The Danger of Hypocrisie A SERMON Preached at GVILD-HALL CHAPPEL August 3d. 1673. By William Asheton B. D. Domestick Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Ormond LONDON Printed for R. Royston Bookseller to His most Sacred Majesty 1673. TO The Right Honourable Sr. ROBERT HANSON LORD MAYOR Of the City of LONDON AND THE Honourable Court of Aldermen Right Honourable I AM so far from being guilty of any trifling Apologies the usual Embellishments of these Dedicatory Epistles that quite contrary to common expectation I have thought fit in my own defence to give this Assurance That the following Discourse is if not Pertinent at least Seasonable and had not their prejudices prevented might have been as profitable to others as to my great encouragement I find it is acceptable to your Honour who by your Command to publish it have made it yours Had some men who have no mean thoughts of themselves been my Judges herein they would sooner have sent it to the Fire than to the Press For to deal ingeniously as will appear upon its perusal it is not calculated for their Meridian I have neither blazon'd the priviledges of the Saints nor enlarg'd any other of their darling Doctrines Nor indeed that I may freely declare my Opinion have I any great kindness for them unless it be for this one wherein I confess I am their perfect Convert 'T is their Doctrine of Perseverance That is such Saints as the World hath hitherto found them and I have not now judg'd it suitable to give you their Character such they resolve still to continue And thus far upon good Grounds I am very apt to believe them For when men are once grown to this height of Confidence this is a real Truth but it will not please them to boast of it as their Glory to head and hold up a Party when they shall study ways how to evade where they are called to obey and are resolv'd to erre because they have err'd and to hold the Conclusion in despite of all Premises when they are angry with all those that shall endeavour though by the mildest Methods to reform them the utmost that can be said is this Great is Diana of the Ephesians 'T is their Interest to have it so the cry runs on and who can help it Were it pertinent to detain your Lordship with such Expostulations I would then express my trouble that any one should so far mistake my Discourse and there were some that did so for they had not the Patience to hear it as to interpret any thing by me then deliver'd either as a discouragement of Preaching or an encouragement of its Opposers As I am sure such a Gloss was beyond my Intention and certainly I should best know my own meaning so I dare be confident if my Accusers will but allow my words such a favourable Interpretation as the composures of men do usually challenge That is Let them but consider my Discourse as a Totum complexum give every Sentence its due connexion and dependence with the preceeding and subsequent matter and they will then confess That had their hearts been as innocent as my Sermon there had been no cause to have troubled either Them or my Self with this present Vindication The God of Heaven grant them humble Hearts and governable Spirits is the constant Prayer of Your Honour 's most humble Servant WILLIAM ASHETON A SERMON Preached at GVILD-HALL CHAPPEL August 3d. 1673. MATTHEW VII XXI Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven THERE are two extreams in the Church of God have been ever fatal to Religion and destructive to the power of Godliness they are Hypocrisie and Prophaneness Prophaneness is indeed more visible and notorious but Hypocrisie is more dangerous Our Blessed Saviour who certainly best knew how to judge in the Case hath thus determin'd it to our hands For in 21. of S. Matth. at 31. verse speaking of the Scribes and Pharisees the Rulers of the People those great Professors of their Age Verily saith he I say unto you the Publicans and Harlots go into the Kingdom of Heaven before you The Reason of which Sentence seems to be this Because Conviction that necessary either preparatory to or part of Conversion is more easily wrought in these latter than the former For tell a man that is notoriously prophane of his idle graceless debauched courses and the Law of God is so express against him the world takes such notice of these things his own awakened Conscience maugre all his Charms to quiet and appease it doth so smite and buffet him that if he hath any shame and ingenuity left in him he is forc'd to subscribe the Charge and confess the Indictment But now the Hypocrite such is the nature of his sin is not so easily converted because not so easily convinc'd For when the Preacher hath employ'd the best Rhetorick he can first to aggravate his sin and guilt and then to direct him by what ways and means he may avoid the snare either this Discourse is beating of the Air a mere empty Harangue which as to any particular Application belongs to no man or else if the guiltiest wretch in a whole Congregation should but fancy that our Reproofs were directed against him in special could I open his breast and display his tumultuous Thoughts unto the world I could then but not till then discover his entertainment of such Doctrine The truth is and it is a sad Truth men can endure plain dealing in any thing rather than in matters of Salvation where it is certainly most needful But we who are the Ambassadors of our dear Lord and Master must not be partial or unfaithful in our Duty for the pleasure or displeasure of any mortal Creature If mens confident hopes shall encourage them to cry Peace Peace when the Scripture tells us there is no Peace but sudden Destruction must we then sow Pillows under mens Elbows and betray the Truth by a cowardly silence No but we must then blow the Trumpet and warn them of the approaching Danger and if they will not regard us if they will not repent their Blood be upon their own heads we have given them warning we have delivered our own Souls There are several men amongst us but with what warrant I know not that bestow upon themselves by way of difference the Titles of Professors the Godly party the Praying people and the like as if none but they were fit to be own'd either as Professors as Saints or as Godly men Of what ill Consequence as to the Church of God the appropriating of these distinctive Titles that sound so like the Pharisees I am holier than thou and warp so much towards a separation may prove 't is no part of my business at present to enquire Only I must desire them and I do it in compassion to their poor immortal Souls
to take good care that their hearts be right in the sight of God in this matter The Devil so he may but deceive them will easily transform himself into an Angel of Light That they are a Praying people that they are frequenters of Sermons we are so far from disliking that we tell them 't is but their Duty and commend them for it But we must withall remind them That there is something else to be done besides Preaching and Praying even the great things of the Law the Duties not only of the First but also of the Second Table which if they must neither be preached up by us nor practis'd by them lest thereby we should too much exalt a Moral state I must tell them and I do it with some dread upon my Spirits we may come to roar in Hell for not being Moral men Not every one c. For the Explication of the words I must shew First What it is to say Lord Lord. Secondly What to do the Will of his Father that is in Heaven To say Lord Lord it is to make an outward Profession by performing external acts of Worship that we are Christians that we believe in Jesus Christ that we acknowledge him for our Lord and look for Salvation by him That this may appear more plain and intelligible I must remind you that there is a twofold Worship or to speak more properly the name of Worship is consider'd two several ways 1. There is Internal Worship which denotes the exercise of those inward Graces whereby the Soul doth shew its dependence upon and Relation unto God as Faith Hope Love Patience c. 2. There is External Worship which comprehends such outward actions whereby the inward Piety and Devotion of the Soul in the exercise of the foremention'd Graces is express'd and cherish'd as Prayer hearing of Sermons Receiving the Sacraments and such outward Duties which are the Marks and Characters of a visible Church and whereby she is distinguish'd from all civil Societies So that the full meaning of this first Clause is this Not every one that saith c. Not every one that is a Member of the visible Church Not every one that is a Professor of Religion Not every one that can Preach or Pray or hear Sermons shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven No there is something more to be done and what that is the latter part of my Text informs you But he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven By the Doing of his Fathers Will is meant the Doing of those Duties of Obedience which his Father hath commanded in his Law particularly the Decalogue Which our Blessed Saviour is so far from destroying that he tells us expresly he came to fulfil it Not by the Addition of any new Precept the Socinian conceit Nor by taking off its Obligation as to the Person of a Believer the Antinomian fancy But First By fulfilling it in his own Person thus it behoveth us to fulfil all Righteousness 2. By a particular explication and wiping off the false Glosses of the Pharisees and other Jewish Doctors 3. By adding new and more spiritual Motives of Obedience to its former Obligations The words thus explain'd do afford us this Observation which I intend the subject of my present Discourse Observ An outward Profession of Religion without Obedience and amendment of Life is not sufficient to bring us to Heaven I shall give you these two Reasons for it First An outward Profession may be found R 1. in Hypocrites and Cast-aways such men as shall never come to Heaven Secondly An outward Profession of Religion R. 2. without Obedience and amendment of life is displeasing and abominable in the sight of God and therefore I argue à fortiori 't is not sufficient to bring us to Heaven The former Reason when put into Logick runs thus That which may be found in Hypocrites and Cast-aways such men as shall never come to Heaven is not sufficient to bring us to Heaven But an outward Profession of Religion without Obedience and amendment of life may be found in Hypocrites and Cast-aways such men as shall never come to Heaven Therefore 't is not sufficient to bring us to Heaven The Major Proposition stands upon this foundation That which gives us a Right and Title to Heaven must be something proper to the called and chosen of God something peculiar to his peculiar People Hence 't is that in Scripture we read of the faith of Gods Elect and amongst our Divines that we hear so often of these Distinctions Common and special Grace Gratia gratis data and gratia gratum faciens The Graces of Illumination and Sanctification The which latter being wrought by the blessed and powerful operation of the Holy Spirit of God after a most effectual but unconceivable manner regenerating and renewing seasoning and sanctifying the hearts of his Chosen though Hypocrisie may make such a semblance as that we who are oblig'd to the judgment of Charity may have probable inducements to perswade us that they are in such a man who hath nothing but their counterfeits yet the inward power and reality of them can never be found in any Hypocrite or Cast-away For such Persons being not united to Christ the Head of his Church cannot possibly have the truth of those spiritual Graces which do necessarily require such an union as the root and fountain from whence they must flow The right understanding of this is of great use in Divinity particularly for a true apprehension of our spiritual Estate and Condition and therefore before we proceed any farther I shall endeavour to make it as plain as I can Now since Spiritual Beings which are of a more abstracted nature are best known by reflecting upon things corporeal we cannot find a more easie way to understand this Spiritual union than by comparing it with the Union of the Body natural with which indeed it hath no small resemblance Every good Christian hath a twofold Life Natural and Spiritual And as his natural Life is twofold 1. Substantialis the Soul it self 2. Accidentalis the real Effects and Operations of it and in this sence it is that when we see a man stretched out in a swouning fainting fit without sense or motion we usually say The man is dead though his immediate recovery doth convince us that his Soul was still united to his Body So likewise his Spiritual life is 1. Substantialis and so the Spirit of Christ or Christ himself who is our Life Col. 3. 4. working in us by his Spirit is our vita Substantialis our essential Life the first Principle of all our Graces and Operations 2. Accidentalis and so Faith and all other Spiritual Graces are call'd our Life As therefore in Naturals unless the Soul be united to it the Body neither stirs nor moves neither sees nor hears nor walks nor performs any other Operation either of sense or motion so it is in Spirituals
unless the Soul be united to God and Christ it neither lives the life of Grace here nor shall live the life of Glory hereafter By this time I hope you see the Reason why Hypocrites and Cast-aways shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven because though they have a name to live though they have many counterfeit Graces proceeding from the Principles of moraliz'd restrained nature yet they are dead for want of this union they are no living members of Christ's Body and therefore shall never reign with Christ as their Head And now as to the Assumption viz. That an outward Profession may be found in Hypocrites and Cast-aways in such men as shall never come to Heaven I cannot give you a more full either proof or illustration than the stories of the Scribes and Pharisees particularly the Pharisees That they were a company of errand Hypocrites we have little cause to doubt because our Blessed Saviour who knew their very Thoughts calls them so even to their faces and confutes them under that notion for a whole Chapter together as you find it Matth. 23. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites is the burden of it That they were likewise Reprobates and Cast-aways we have great cause to think not only from their obstinate refusal of the Messiah Have any of the Pharisees believed on him But also John 7. 48. because Christ himself assures us Except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes Matth. 5. 20. and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Such were these Pharisees such Hypocrites such Cast-aways And yet if you consult their Character you will find they were as zealous Professors of Religion as any can be nam'd either in the Jewish or Christian State It was no small part of their holiness and whereby they begat an Opinion of Saintship that they were a praying People and often repair'd to God's house as if they had been intimate friends of his and had frequent Communion with him They would extend their Prayers to a very great length which is an Argument they were well pleas'd in the Duty I might tell you of their fasting twice a-week their strict Observance of the Sabbath with other instances which I have not time to enlarge only I must not omit to remind you how precise they were in their Separations from other men Out of a superstitious fear it 's likely lest they should pollute themselves by a mixt Communion And yet these seeming Saints as the Scripture tells us were unnatural to their Parents devour'd Widows houses absolved men from their Oaths were full of Extortion ravening and wickedness and derided the Sermons our Blessed Saviour made because not sorted to their Covetous humour He did not flatter them with stories of their Priviledges no they could do that well enough themselves God I thank thee that I am not as other men but he tells them plainly and roundly of their damned Hypocrisie and of the sad Consequences of it from which all their mock-Devotion would not be able to secure them Ye Serpents ye Generation of Vipers how can ye escape the Damnation of Hell And this brings me naturally to the second Reason That an outward Profession of Religion R. 2. which these Pharisees had without Obedience and amendment of Life which they wanted is displeasing and abominable in the sight of God and therefore is not sufficient to bring us to Heaven That Sacrifices and other Ceremonial Observances under the Law were of Divine Institution is clear and express they being usually deliver'd with this Sanction That Soul that doth not thus or thus observe them shall be cut off from Israel And yet if you consult the writings of the Prophets you will there observe that when these Sacrifices stood in competition with any moral Duty they were so far from being accepted by Almighty God that I find them rejected with the greatest Detestation The Prophet Isaiah is very full and pertinent to our purpose read his first Chapter from the Eleventh to the Twenty first Verse I cannot stay to repeat the whole you may do that at your leisure To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices Bring no more vain oblations your new Moons and your appointed Feasts my Soul hateth when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when you make many Prayers I will not hear And why all this abhorrence Your hands are full of Blood Wash you make you clean put away the evil of your Doings cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the Oppressed judge the Fatherless plead for the Widow To these you may add that noted place Hosea 6. 6. which is likewise cited by our Saviour Matth. 9. 13. I desired Mercy and not Sacrifice The reason of all which is this Because Sacrifices and such like performances were therefore instituted that they might keep men from Sin and the better encourage them to perform moral Duties Now that which Sacrifices were under the Law that are Preaching and Praying and receiving the Sacraments under the Gospel even Ordinances of Divine Institution which are not to be observ'd for any intrinsick worth and value in themselves but only in ordine ad aliud for the better promotion of those two grand Fundamental Duties Piety towards God and Charity towards our Neighbour Wherefore is it that we Pray unto God is it not to bewail and beg pardon for our former neglect of these Duties to implore Divine Grace and assistance that we may perform them better for the future in which endeavours if we are sincere he will then assist us by his Holy Spirit and grant our Petitions Whatsoever we ask we receive of him saith S. John But why not because our Prayers are many or long or loud deliver'd with seeming vehemency and affectation of Spirit but Because we keep his Commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight 1 John 3. 22. So likewise for Preaching Wherefore is it that you come to hear Sermons is it only to entertain your selves with a continu'd well-compos'd Discourse concerning Divine matters which perhaps you leave even at the Door of Gods house and yet can have the confidence to boast of your attainments and tell strange stories of your Conversion and of your former days of Ignorance from which you are now happily translated because you have tasted the Heavenly gift and are followers of the word I would not willingly be here mistaken This is a captious Age and we cannot be too cautious I do not come to decry Preaching or declaim against Sermons it is the abuse of them I endeavour to remove Preaching is necessary and will be of continu'd use in the Church of God it being a blessed Instrument when enforced by the Spirit to open the eyes of the blind to turn us from darkness to light from the power of Satan unto God So that as long as there is Ignorance in