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strong allurements, oftentimes look towards the pleasure, gain, and glory of this present world: but because he is truly touched with the sanctifying Spirit of God, he still inclines towards God; and has no rest until his mind is steadily fixed on Christ and heaven.

But it is not so with the hypocrite. He is in each particular directly contrary. I leave the full and particular application thereof to yourself.

Eighthly, You will find the most evident mark of uprightness from your sense of hypocrisy in yourself, and from your conflict with it, Gal. v. 17. The upright man is sensible of too much hypocrisy and guile in his heart, Psa. li. 10. Yea, so much, that oftentimes he makes it a question whether he have any uprightness; and, until he has brought himself to due trial by the balance of the sanctuary, the word and gospel of Christ, he fears he is still a hypocrite. But there is nothing which he would oppose more, nothing which he complains of, or prays to God more against, than this hypocrisy, nor is there any thing he longs after, labours and prays for more, than that he may love and serve the Lord in sincerity, 1 Cor. ix. 26, 27. All this plainly shows, that this man would be upright, which hearty desire so to be, is uprightness itself.

The hypocrite contrariwise, neglects to observe his guile and false heartedness in religion: or if he can see it, he is not much troubled at it, but suffers it to reign in him: and as he boasts of his good actions, so likewise of his good heart, and good meaning in all that he does, except when his lewdness and hypocrisy are discovered to his face; flattering himself in his own eyes, till his iniquity is found to be hateful, Psa. xxxvi. 2.

Before I leave this, I will answer a question or two, concerning judging of uprightness by these marks.

(1.) Whether an upright man can at all times discern his uprightness, by these or any other marks?

Ordinarily, if he will impartially compare himself with these evidences, he may. But sometimes it so happens that he cannot; namely, in the case of spirit-