Chapter XVI. That it is impossible for him that sins, so to hide himself, as not to be seen

I Have Walls, says he, round about me, who sees me? Let it be; no man sees thee; yet notwithstanding somebody sees thee. Thy bad Angel sees thee; thy good Angel sees thee, and one that is greater than both bad and good Angels; God sees thee, the Accuser sees thee, a multitude of Witnesses see thee, yea the very Judg himself, before whose Tribunal thou must one day stand, sees thee; in whose sight to do amiss, is as mad, as it is dreadful to fall into the hands of the Living God. Be not secure, ambushes lie secretly hid, which thou canst not hide thy self from ambushes I say lie hid, which as thou canst not see, so thou canst not be seen by them. Hear the naked truth, he who planted the Ear, and he who made the Eye, he looks upon thee. The rayes of that Sun are not kept out by an heap of stones, which himself created, not even the very wall of this our body can exclude his prospect of the very truth. All things lie open to his sight, it is more piercing than a two-edged Sword. Moreover he not only sees, but also distinctly discerns the ways of our thoughts and immost affections. Finally, if he did not see more clearly than man himself, the very bottom of mans heart, and whatsoever lies hid in it, one that were conscious to himself of nothing, would not now so greatly fear the sentence of his Lord that is to judg him. To me, says he, it is the least of all that I should be judged by you, or by man's day; but neither do I judg my self, for I am guilty of nothing as far as I know my self, but for all this I am not justified; but he who judges me is the Lord, 1 Cor. 4. v. 3, 4. If by the interjection of a wall, or by some counterfeit pretext, thou gloriest that thou shalt be able to cheat the judgments of men, assure thy self, true crimes shall never escape his notice, who is wont to accuse us even of false ones. If thou doest so greatly dread thy Neighbours being conscious to thy life, who perhaps does no less fear thy being conscious to his; much less oughtest thou to contemn their knowledg, to whom iniquity is more odious, and corruption far more execrable. If finally thou doest not fear God, and reverest only the sight of men, remember the man Christ cannot be ignorant of the deeds of men; and what thou wouldst not dare to attempt in my presence, much less dare to attempt in his: and what thou wouldst not think lawful, nay even would not please thee to presume to do in the sight of thy fellow-servant, abhor to have so much as a thought of it, thy Lord looking upon thee. Or if thou wilt needs stand in more awe of an eye of Flesh, than of that Sword which is to devour Flesh, even that very fear which thou fearest shall happen unto thee, and what thou dreadest shall come to pass. Nothing is hid which shall not be revealed, or secret which shall not be known. Works of darkness being brought forth into the light, shall be condemned by the light: not only the abominable secrets of obscenities, but also the unjust bargains of the sellers of the Holy Sacraments, and the fraudulent sighs of Deceivers and subverters of Judgment; he who knew all things, shall make these things known to all: when that Searcher of the heart and reins shall begin to search Jerusalem with Candels.