4~- oJt'lie dtceitfolnejfo An(fgmlt of il4nsiea·n: ttlings ofGod,infirumentall to bring aboutoorearthlyeuds: Thus_ whert u man wa.s made fer God, he makesGod for man j and whereas .A~tflin fa id, we mayut• onely all thegood' things in the or d(ufe them)andfrHi,(f njoyGod;) thtfe ufe God ·and 'fnjoyeartllly things. Tbe Scdpture givcth fenraH inftances of this guile: The Sichtmites thty would be cir– cu rnci fed, artdundertake that religious ferv ice only uponcar– nail ends, that their Prince mi-ght have Dit~ah to •ife, and they make advantage of the Ifraelitu, what an horrible pro– faRatioR of rellgion is this, to make the feale oft he righteouf– ne-ffe of faitb, apolitick defi!ne to accomplitb their worklly ends? JerobMm herein alfo had anry deceitfuJl heart, that his people might,not ~o up to Jerufaltm, and tbereby return to that Kingdom from which they were divided, he fets up gelden Ca/vu to plcafe tha peoples fancies,and to detain them with delight in that wodhip. · Herodalfo, when hehad ama· Jicious intent to·kiUChrlft, carried it fair, as if he hadadet4re to Wor/hip him: Thus you fee;what horrible falfhood andd·e· c-eit may be inmens hearts, in matter of Religion, andyet th'e end be only carnaH and earthly : This is to make the foot af– ter the Chooe,andnot the fhooc after the foqt. · ·;. 3· The NMrt u deetitfull in makjng thofemetirmJ and debtfionJ An~ thcfe. YrJhich 11rife from its [elf, to he the 'Workings andmotions ofGods m~;~o~ wh!ch Spirit: So that by one of th~fe deceitfull wayes, tb'e de-vil ar.lle nom tt h h 1 . fi .n d h Ch I E' h . . felf to be the at a wayes m cue t e uro. ~~ er mans mnovattoos workings of or imaginations have been taken for wodhip, or the motions· the Spjrit of and ddnfions ofmens private fpirits, have been taken for the God. infpiruions ofGods Spirit: and truly, this may be fo eafie a deceit, that unles men have thfir [enfes tXercifed to difcern be– tween.goodand evil, and keep c~Qfc to the word, theywill be deceived. Hence is that command, I rob. 3. T() try theJPirits: .. We mnft not bdeeve other meris t1fertions, or our own opi– nions, though thought to be of the Spirit ·of Goi, but we muft try them by the Word; for as it was no di(honour to · Cbrift upon . ~e earth, when his hearers fear, bed int.o the ,· Scrip~ures, whether he fpake confonantly or no : fo it~ nodi– fhonour to the SpirirofGod, to try the .pretences of itl by ' th~- Word, tfp~cially we .being commanded thereto. Cnrift · - ·- - . .. him(cJf I
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