(82)
man thinks his profaness &c are less nes
in religion is sufficiently covered under
his uprightness & just dealing in the thin
of this life. The glorying hypocrite
thinks his zeal in outward professing
may bear him out in his uncharitable
unrighteous & unreasonable dealing
with men. - Thus nobly do our hearts
deceive us. - whereas the contrary is
the truth, that our little good is rather
obscured & eclipsed with our many
great evils. as the thorny ground
is said to bring forth no fruit, not be
cause (the seed) did not spring up & bear some
fruit, but because the thorns grew up
above the fruit: therefore the fruit of
this ground is no fruit, it lies buried
under the thorns & is choked by them
Lo, now, the fruit does not cover the
thorns, but the thorns the fruit. It is
not said, there were no thorns, because
of some hopeful beginnings of fruit
but contrarily, no fruit because of the
thorns thriving & increasing. - It
the truth, that where there is but one sin
nourished & fostered, all our graces, are
not only blemished but abolished, th
are no graces. But most of all is this decei
dangerous in the true children of God. -
EN