The Doctrine of the Sacrament, Part
Divers Markes and notes of an Hypocrite, which we may obſerve out of the firſt book of Samuell, and the 15. Chap.
FIrſt, He is very forward in boaſting of his obedience, and to have a very high eſteeme of himſelfe by reaſon therof, though it be nothing ſo; as we may ſee in the 13. verſe, ſaith Saul there to Samuell, after he was come from the ſlaughter of the Amalekites, the very firſt word he utters to him, I have performed the commandement of the Lord, though it was nothing ſo, as Samuell ſhewes there unto him; for ſaith he to him, What then meaneth this bleating of Sheep and this lowing of Oxen in my Ears: For Gods commandment to him was, to ſlay all, man and woman, young and old, infant and ſuckling, Oxe and Sheep, Camell and Aſſe, but theſe he had ſaved alive.
Secondly, He makes Religion a cloake for to cover and hide his ſin, or at leaſt to leſſen it when it is diſcovered; So Saul here when Samuell had begun to tell him of his ſin, why? as if hee ſhould ſay you have no cauſe to blame us for this, for the people tooke of the beſt of the Sheepe and the Oxen to Sacrifice unto the Lord thy God, &c.
Thirdly, He is obſtinate and obdurate in his ſin, and will not endure to be convinced of it though it be never ſo plaine, and ſo we ſee here that when Samuell had ſhowen Saul his ſin in ſaving the Sheepe and Oxen alive, the which God had commanded him for to deſtroy▪ yet for all that he juſtifies himſelfe and ſaith I have obeyed the voyce of the Lord, and have gone the way the Lord ſent me.
Fourthly, The Hypocrite when he is told of his ſin he will extenuate and leſſen it, and ſhift it off upon others; ſo Saul here, verſ. 21. The people tooke of the ſpoyle, ſheepe and oxen, the chief of the things which ſhould have bin deſtroyed, to Sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in G…lgall, as if hee ſhould have ſaid, thou haſt no reaſon to lay all the fault upon me, it was the people that ſaved theſe alive.
Fifthly, Hypocrites when they are convinced of their ſins, and they humble themſelves for them, and doe confeſſe and acknowledge them, it is of conſtraint, not becauſe they are grieved for that they have offended God thereby, but becauſe they ſee ſome evill or judgement is like to befall them for the ſame, as in the 23. and 24 verſes, Saul would never be brought to ſay, I have ſinned, till ſuch time as Samuell told him what would come of it, ſaying, Becauſe thou haſt rejected the word of the Lord, therefore he hath rejected thee from being King, then he ſaith, I have ſinned, for I have tranſgreſſed the Commandment of the Lord and thy words, all the time before nothing could be gotten from him, but this, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, &c.
Sixthly and laſtly, Hypocrites when they ſee that their ſin and hypocriſie is diſcov…red, they doe not ſo much deſire to get into Gods favour, and to make their peace with God, as to keepe it from the eyes of the world, that it may not turne to be a reproach and a ſcandall upon them, but that ſtill the world may thinke well of them and may have them in high account, and this was that, which as may appeare in the 30. verſe, did moſt trouble Saul. For Saul he had made a faire ſhew and had profeſt a great deale of love and obedience to God, but now he was caught tardy, and his hypocriſie diſcovered, fearing this ſhould turne to his ſhame in regard of his former great profeſſion, after a ſleight confeſſion that he makes of his ſinne in generall, ſaying, I have ſinned, ſaith he, honour me yet now I pray thee before the Elders of my people and before Iſrael, whereby it appeares that this was the chiefe and maine thing that he ſtood upon, his credit and reputation in the world.
FINIS.
End of the text · Charles Chauncey, The Doctrine of the Sacrament (1642)