Cha.p.15. An Expofrionupon the Boo* 6f J O B. Ve,rï31 , or weaknefs (äs I noted before) whereby they are apt` to be deceived, but there is in our hearts an át. ivenefs, yea, an ef- ficacy to deceive ; weare not onely paffiye, but active ; we are feldom, if at all, deceived, till we deceiveour felves : And as Come men are very adive.'in deceiving others, Co all men are active in_adegree to deceive themfelves (Jer. 17. 9.) The heart of man is deceitful,anddefperatelywick,ed : The heart . is deceitful in reference to a threefold oblea. Firti, The heart would deceive God hinufelf, and impofe upon the e411. 'ife : That's the defign of "a Hypocrite, his bufinefs is to deceive God, though the iffue be the deceiving of himfelG Secondly, The heart of man is deceitful in contriving ways to deceive and fupplant other men. The complaint of, the Prophet goes very high upon this(Mich. 7. a.) 7hegood man isperifhedout of "the-earth, and there is none upright among men ; they all lie in wait for blood ; they hùee: every man his bro- ther with a net. To lie in wait, is the att, and a not is the inftrument of a Deceiver. The Prophetie of Chrifi goes yet higher (Matth.24.24.) Far there (hall arifefalfe Chrojfs, and falle Prop} ets, andjhall_themgreat figns andwonders : inJimueh that (if it were poffible) they(hall deceive the very elea. Da- ceit works to its utnlon poflibility, when it puts hard to de- ceive thole, whom to deceive is impotíîble, If Elect men could be deceived, God should be deceived in his Election ; but this is impoflible, and therefore that is ; the man who is elect is deceiveable, but becaufe he is an Elect man, he cannot be deceived And though an Elect manmay be, deceived in fome things (for even he is fubject to error, becaufe he is Hill (while in this World) the fubject of fin) yet he can- not be fo far deceived in any thing, as to null or fruftrate his election. How rcalefs is mawto deceive man, feeing he ceafeth not hisendeavour todeceive, where he cannot prevail-. ingly deceive. Third, (Which I conceive the Text in Jeremiah fpecially aims at ) the heart of man is very butiie to deceive himfelf; °Tis bad enough todeceive others, but to deceive Our felves is worfe, and that not onely .becaufe it makes us more mite- itable,but more finful Self-deceit is the molt get finful deceit.. The heart of man is defperately wicked, there is no hope that it 173
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