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Such is preaching, hearing, praying, almsgiving, &c.

Thirdly, Hypocrisy, in whom it reigns, does not only take away all goodness from the best gifts and actions, and cause the loss of all reward from God, but it poisons and turns the best actions into most loathsome and abominable sins, Isa. lxvi. 3; insomuch that in those good works wherein the hypocrite seems to make haste to heaven, he still runs post to hell. For such allowed hypocrisy is worse than professed wickedness, Rev. iii. 15. It is so odious in God's sight, that for it he will plague those in whom it rules with his severest judgments. For the hypocrisy of men professing the truth, brings the name, religion, and best services of God into disgrace and contempt, Rom. ii. 24, and causes the best actions and best men to be suspected. For such as have not spiritual wisdom to judge rightly, stumble thereat, and forbear the exercises of religion, and the company of those that are religious, ignorantly judging all who profess that religion to be alike. Besides, hypocrisy is high treason against God; for it is a gilding over, and setting the king's stamp upon base metal. It is tempting and mocking of God to his face, Psa. lxxviii. 36; a sin so abominable, that his holy justice cannot endure it.

God's just judgments upon hypocrites.

Fourthly, God's judgments on such hypocrites are manifold. For this cause God gives them over to believe lies, 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11; Heb. vi. 5, 6; even popery, or any other damnable error or heresy. Hence it is that God gives them up many times to fall from seeming goodness to real wickedness, and from one evil to another, Luke viii. 18, even unto final apostasy, Heb. x. 25, 26. And at last, when God takes away a hypocrite's soul, he is sure not only to lose his hope, which adds much to his hell, Job xxvii. 8, but to be made to feel that which he would not fear, being ranked with those sinners, who shall be punished with the greatest severity in the eternal vengeance of hell fire, Matt. xxiv. 51. For after that a hypo-