Dyke, Daniel, -1614. The mystery of self-deceiving : being some extracts from a discourse on the deceitfulness of mans heart ... / written by the late faithful minister of Gods word, Rev. Daniel Dyke : manuscript, 1796. MS Am 923. Houghton Library,

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This is the best uncasing of the hypocrit namely, when he shall uncase (uncover) himself: not when God shall uncase him by judgi him; but when he shall uncase himself b judging & humbling himself & reforming Not when God shall wash out thy paint with the dashing tempests of his judgm but when thyself shalt wash them out w the sweet dew of thy repenting & weepin eyes, being angry with thyself for form deceit, & now turning shows into substan shadows into truth, a double heart & clov tongue, into a heart of simplicity & lips o sincerity.

If thine own hand shall unmask thee, it be for thy credit & comfort; if not, but tho will rather stay till Gods hand come t unmask thee (for certainty every hypoc must be unmasked either by God or hims thou shalt find how fearful a thing it is fall into the hands of God, which shall pl thy mask from thy face, & thy head (soul) from body, both at once. It will unvizor the & uncolour thee, thou coloured hypocrite will strike thee thou whited wall, to thy sha & confusion - it may be in this life, by givin thee over into Satans power, that thou Shoudst fall by his temptations into aposta & with Demas embrace this present worl But if not in this life, assuredly he will do it thoroly in the life to come - & make thee a laugh stock to men & Angels at the Great Day.

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II. The deceitfulness of the heart where by we deceive even our own selves. Self deceit

This is far more deep & dangerous than the other. It is two fold. It may be consider :ed, either in the mind & affections jointly together, or in the affections separately & by themselves.

The deceitfulness of the heart, in the former view of it, as in the mind & affections jointly shews itself in four things especially. In judging - in perswading - in pro:mising - in practicing. for the first, which is in judging, tho it may seem that judment belongs properly to the mind, yet because here the affections interpose themselves, & the erroneous judgment of the mind commonly recie its tincture from the affections I therefore Equally interest both the mind & y.e Affec tions in this first deceit.

Now the deceit of the heart in judging, is either in judging of our persons, or of our actions. In judging of our persons there are three deceits principally - when we think our bad estate is not so bad as it really is - when we mistake our bad estate for a good estate - when we think our good estate is better than it is.

1. The first deceit in judging of our persons is, when we think, thro pride & ignorance we are no so bad as in truth we are. This

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This deceit may be considered with resp to the time present - past- & to come. as to the time present, How many are grossly tainted with many horrible sins, yet in no case they will be brot to see or :knowlege - so blinded are they thro' self & self-deceit. The pharisee boasts, that is not injust, nor an extortioner, yet ou Saviour, who coud not be deceived, faste this imputation upon that whole tribe full of ravenings & wickedness - devour widows houses - teaching children to sla their (own) parents, to offer to the altar, that is, to paunches & purses. was not this extortion injustice? - Thus many with the pharis think themselves innocent enough of theft, such like crime, when indeed they have hands very deep in the transgressions. Usually robbing their brethren of their name, which is above the theft of silver gold - nay, robbing God himself of his ship, & of his titles, the props of his worsh What a mockery is it then for thee to tal paying man his due, when thou denie God his? - So others free themselves of pr only because they exceed not in their ap rrel, as others, when yet inwardly they ar swollen with self-conceit, & no men thin better of themselves, than they do. Man blustering & valorous & heroic spirits, they think themselves to be, who will n bear the imputation of pusillanimity

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cowardice, - yet in truth are most base & vile cowards, slavishly yielding to their own vile affections, which to overcome & by repentance to be revenged of, is a far greater argument of a noble & generous spirit, than to pursue w.th eagerness every petty injury. If it were true valour, why sh.d not they be as hazardous of their estates & lifes for Christ sake & the gos:pels, when Occasion requires? but then none so faint-hearted & dastard by as they Infinite are the examples of this deceit. of all other, this is the most general branch thereof, when men think they have not such & such corruptions be :cause they feel not the powerful opera :tion of them, by reason of Gods restrain :ing hand. - Lest we be deceived in this point, we sh.d diligently examine, whether the rest & silence of our corruption, be fr. the restraining or the renewing spirit. from want of a mind disposed, or of an occasion to be proposed for the draw:ing forth of the corruption.

As we are thus deceived in judging of ourselves for the time present, so also past & to come. For the time past, thinking, as the pharisees, if we had lived in the days of our fathers, we sh.d not have done as they did. & for the time to come, not believing it possible we shoud be guilty of some particular sins.

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sins hereafter, because we have been ke from (them) hitherto - not sensible of the pow of original sin, by which we may drove to the worst of sins - as Peter, :zael &c We sh.d fear the worst w we hear of others sins - sh.d fear fall into them ourselves - as the disciples Christ "Master, is it I?" When on we retain this deceit, that there are sins which we need not greatly fe then are we nearest falling (into) them. often so, that shilst we carefully w against those sins, we see ourselves strong temptations exposed to, & w neglect others we think not ourselves subject to, that by watchfulness w cape the former, while thro' the dec :fulness of our hearts, & the fruit there our security, we fall into the lesser dang

The second deceit is, that our bad esta is good. a deceit very common but dangerous. tis better to (err) the contrary w to think our state bad when tis good. Here we may observe the deceit of fou several sorts of persons - the rich w :ling - civil justiciary - lose libertine & the temporary believer.

The rich worldling mistakes outwa prosperity for Gods special favor. thi himself Gods special favorite on th account - or because of that.