The Caufes and Danger of Self -Deceit. 6i minds, and their deliberate aftions. Solomon SERm. fays *, The ways of a man are clean in his own Ill. eyes ; not that he difguifes them to the world, and affefts to throw a veil over their infirmi- ties, which he himfelf in the mean time, is inwardly confcious of ; but they are pure in his own judgment, he fees them in a wrong light ; by a ftrange infatuation he imagines them to be innocent, at leaft, not fo criminal as to forfeit his integrity and his acceptance with God ; which is a molt pernicious mif- take, amounting to a thorough, or a total clarknefs ; and it proceeds from an erroneous judgment concerning the true nature and cha- rater of our ways, or the courfe of our de- liberate works. Thus, I fay, men often judge concerning their own ways, which will then appear to be wrong, when a fuperior and more impartial judge shall prpnounce fen - tence upon them, as is clearly infinuated by the facred writer referred to in the following claufe of his proverb, but the Lord weighetb the fpirits. Again the prophet, j- denounces a woe to them who call good evil, and evil good ; that put light for darknefs, and dark- nefs for light ; that put tweet for bitter, and bitter for f meet ; which certainly is to be un- Prov, xvi, z: .- Ifa, v, 20. derflood.
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