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heart, as an argument to take off the people of Ifrael from trusting in the arm of flesh, and in thofe promises which were made to them of foreign affistance from Egypt: because men may pretend fair, and yet deceive thofe that rely upon them; for the heart of man is deceitful, and defperately wicked; and none but God knows whether mens inward intentions be anfwerable to their outward profeffions; for he fearcbeth the heart, and trieth the reins. And this I verily believe is all that the Prophet here intends, that there is a great deal of fraud and deceit in the hearts of bad men, so that no man can rely upon their promises and profeffions, but God knows the hearts of all men. But now, becaufe God alone knows the hearts of all men, and the fincerity of their intentions towards one another, doth it from hence follow, that it is a thing either impoffible or very difficult for any man to know the fincerity of his own prefent in. tentions and actions? To make any fuch conclufion, were to condemn the generation of God's children, those holy and excellent men in fcripture, Job, and David, and Hezekiah, and St Paul, who do fo frequently appeal to God concerning their own integrity. And furely when the Apostle faith, No man knows the things of a man, but the Spirit of a man which is in him, he plainly fuppofes, that every man is confcious to the motions and intentions of his own mind. I have infifted the longer upon this, that I might, from the very foundation, destroy an imagination, which is not only untrue in itself, but has likewife been a very great hinderance to the peace and comfort of many good men.

III. Let us inquire whence it comes to pafs, that, notwithstanding this, fo many perfons are at fo great uncertainty about their fpiritual condition. For the clearing of this matter, we will diftinctly confider thefe three things. 1. The grounds of the falfe hopes and confidence of men really bad, concerning their good condition. 2. The caufelefs doubts and jealoufies of men really good, concerning their bad condition. And, 3. The juft caufes of doubting in others. As for the troubles and fears of men who are notoriously bad, and live in the practice of known vices, thefe do not fall under our confideration. If they be troubled about their con

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dition, it is no more than what they ought to be; and if they be only doubtful of it, it is lefs than they ought to be. To perfons in this condition, there is only counfel to be given to leave their fins, and become better; but no comfort to be administered to them till first they have followed that counsel: for, till they reform, if they think themselves to be in a bad condition, they think juft as they ought, and as there is great reafon; and no body fhould go about to perfuade them otherwise.

1. First then, we will confider the grounds of the falfe hopes and confidence of men really bad, concerning their good condition. I do not now mean the worst of men, but fuch as make fome fhew and appearance of goodnefs. It is very unpleafing to men to fall under the hard opinion and cenfure of others; but the most grievous thing in the world, for a man to be condemned by himself; and therefore it is no wonder that men use all manner of shifts to avoid fo great an inconvenience, as is the ill opinion of a man's felf concerning himself and his own condition.

Some therefore rely upon the profeffion of the Chriftian faith, and their being baptized into it. But this is fo far from being any exemption from a good life, that it is the greatest and most folemn obligation to it. Doft thou believe the doctrine of the gofpel? thou of all men art inexcufable, if thou alloweft thyfelf in ungodliness and worldly lufts. Others truft to their external devotion; they frequent the church, and ferve God conftantly; they pray to him, and hear his word, and receive the bleffed facrament: but let us not deceive ourfelves, God is not mocked. All this is fo far from making amends for the impiety of our lives, that, on the contrary, the impiety of our lives fpoils all the accep tance of our devotions: He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, (that is, from obeying it) even his prayer fhall be an abomination.

Others, who are fenfible they are very bad, depend very much upon their repentance, efpecially if they fet folemn times apart for it. And there is no doubt, but that a fincere repentance will put a man into a good condition but then it is to be confidered, that no repent ance is fincere, but that which produceth a real change

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and reformation in our lives. For we have not repented to purpofe, if we return again to our fins. It is well thou art in fome meafure fenfible of thy miscarriage; but thou art never safe, till thou haft forsaken thy fins; thy estate and condition towards God is not changed, till thou haft really altered thyfelf, and the courfe of thy life.

Others fatisfy themselves with the exercise of fome particular graces and virtues; juftice, and liberality, and charity. And is it not a thousand pities that thy life is not all of a piece, and that all the other parts of it are not answerable to thefe; that thou shouldst lose the reward of fo much real goodnefs, out of thy fondness to any one vice or luft; that when thou art not far from the kingdom of God, for lake of one or two things more thou fhouldft fall fhort of it? Haft thou never heard what the fcripture faith, that he who offendeth in one point, is a tranfgreffor of the whole law? To make a man a good man, all parts of goodness must concur; but one way of wickedness, is fufficient to denominate a man bad.

Laftly, Some who are very careful of their outward carriage and converfation, but yet are confcious to them. felves of great fecret faults and vices, when they can find no comfort from themselves, and the teftimony of their own confciences, are apt to comfort themselves in the good opinion which perhaps others have of them. But if we know ourselves to be bad, and our own hearts to condemn us, it is not the good opinion of others concerning us which can neither alter or better our condition. They may have reafon for their charity, and yet thou none for thy confidence. Truft no body concerning thyfelf rather than thyfelf; becaufe no body can know thee fo well as thou mayeft know thyfelf.

These, and fuch as thefe, are the hopes of the hypocrite, which Job elegantly compares to the fpider's web, finely and artificially wrought, but miferably thin and weak; fo that we ourselves may fee through them; and, if we lay the leaft ftrefs upon them, they will break. They are but pleafant dreams and delufions, which, whenever we are awakened to a ferious confideration of our condition, by the apprehenfions of approaching death and judgement, will presently vanish and disappear. So VOL. I. the

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the fame holy man tells us, Job xxvii. 8. What is the hope of the hypocrite, when God taketh away his foul?

2. We will confider, in the next place, the caufelefs doubts and jealoufies of men really good, concerning their bad condition. For as fome are prone, beyond all reafon, to delude themselves with vain hopes of their good condition; fo others are apt as unreasonably to torment themselves with groundless fears and jealousies that their eftate is bad. And of thefe doubts there are feveral occafions, the chief whereof I fhall mention, by which we may judge of the reft that are of the like na

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ift, Some are afraid that they are reprobated from all eternity, and therefore they cannot be the children of God. This is fo unreasonable that, if it were not a real caufe of trouble to fome perfons, it did not, deserve to be confidered. For no man that fincerely endeavours to please God, and to keep his commandments, hath from fcripture the leaft ground to fufpect any latent or fecret decree of God against him that shall work his ruin. But whatever the decrees of God be concerning the eternal state of man, fince they are fecret to us, they can certainly be no rule either of our duty or comfort. And no man hath reason to think himself rejected of God, either from eternity or in time, that does not find the marks of reprobation in himself; I mean an evil heart and life. By this indeed a man may know, that he is out of God's favour for the prefent; but he hath no reafon at all from hence to conclude, that God hath from all eternity and for ever caft him off. That God calls him to repentance, and affords to him the space and means of it, is a much plainer fign that God is willing and ready to have mercy on him, than any thing elfe is, or can be, that God hath utterly caft him off. And therefore, for men to judge of their condition by the decrees of God, which are hid from us, and not by his word, which is near us, and in our hearts, is as if a man, wandering in the wide fea in a dark night, when the heaven is all clouded about, fhould yet refolve to fteer his courfe by the ftars, which he cannot fee, but only guefs at, and neglect the compass, which is at hand, and would afford him a much better and more certain direction. This therefore is to be rejected as a fond and groundless

groundless imagination, and which ought to trouble no body; becaufe no body doth nor can know any thing concerning it. Mofes hath long fince very well determined this matter, Deut. xxix. 29. Secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but thofe things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

2dly, Good men are confcious to themfelves of many frailties and imperfections, and therefore they are afraid of their condition. But God confiders the infirmities of our present state, and expects no other obedience from us, in order to our acceptance with him, but what this ftate of imperfection is capable of: and provided the fincere endeavour and general courfe of our lives be to please him and keep his commandments, the terms of the gofpel are fo merciful, that our frailties fhall not be impu ted to us, fo as to affect our main ftate, and to make us cease to be the children of God. And though we may be guilty of many errors and fecret fins, which efcape our notice and obfervation, yet it is not impoffible for us to exercise fuch a repentance for these as will be avail able for their pardon. For we have to deal with a mer ciful God, who is pleased to accept of fuch an obedience and of fuch a repentance as we are capable of performing. Now, there is a great difference between those fins which require a particular repentance, before we can hope for the pardon of them (as all great, and deliberate, and prefumptuous fins do, which are never committed without our knowledge; and are fo far from flipping out of our memory, that they are continually flying in our faces, and we cannot forget them if we would), and fins of infirmity, occafioned by furprise, and violence of temptation, through ignorance or inadvertency: for a general repentance, fuch as we every day exercife in our devotions and prayers to God, may fuffice for thefe. I fpeak not this to hinder any from a more particular repentance of all their known failings, the more particu lar the better; but to remove the groundless fears and jealoufies of men about their main estate and condition. And if any afk, how I know that a general repentance will fuffice for these kind of fins? I anfwer, Becaufe more than this in many cafes is impoffible; fo that ei

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