J22. DireEtions for_getting and keeping Affeftions ; who depended molt on that whiCh is commonly called The fence or feeling, of gods love ; and were the loweft at fometimes, as they were the higheft at other times : and theythat were one moneth certain to be faved, perhaps the next maned' were almoft ready to fay, they fhould cet tainly be damned. So that taking out all thefe forts ofperlons, the fober, folid judicious believers, that couldgroundedly and ordinarily fay, / amCertain that 1.1ballbe Saved, have been fo few, that it is fad tome toconfider it. If anyother mens experiences becontrary, I am glad of it ; fo be it they be Sober Judicious men, able to gather experiences ; and fo they live not among meer Antinomians,and take not thedifcovery of theirmeer opinion,fora difcovery of experience. For I have ken indivers Profeffors of my long acquaintance, the ftrange power ofOpinion and Phantafie in this thing. I have known thofe that have lived many years in doubting oftheir Salvation, & all that while walked uprightly;& in the lateWars, falling intò the company offome Anabaptifts, they were by them perfwaded that there was no right way to their comfort but bybeing Re- baptized; and al. fociating themfelves with the Re-baptized Church, and abfiaining from the hearing of the Unbaptized Pun Priefts (as theycalled them) No loaner was this done, but all their former doubtings and troubles were over, and they were as comfortable as any others (as themfelves affirmed) Which no doubt pro- ceeded from, partly the ftrength of Phantafie, con- ceiting it fhould fo be, and partly from the Novelty oftheir way whichdelighted them, and partly from the thongOpinion they had that this was the way of
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=