aS4 Chap. 3 r. An Expoftion upon the Took, of j o a. Verf. 9. thing like it, no march for it in fubtlety; 'cis deceitful! above all things, and about all things ; pretending one thing when it in- tends another : moftly croflïng our promites both to God and manby fecret purpofes.who can know it ? Noman canknow ano- ther mans heart at all, no man can know all, no nor one halfe of his owne heart; God only can. Now as the heart is the greateft ,deceiverof others, fo it is as greatly deceived ; Ourowne hearts put fallacies and crickes uponus, and there are as many fallacies and trickes put upon the heart by the world, and by Sathan :'Tis deceitful! above all thingc,and'cis deceaved more then any thing. He is a wife and a holy man indeed,whofe heart Both not deceave him, And he is no leffe, whole heart bath not been deceived. But where (hall we find filch a man? who is there eyther fo wife or fo holy, whole heart hath not deceaved him, or whole heart bath not been deceaved; They arebelt who hove been !call deceaved, thereare none fo good as not to bedeceaved at all ; There are not many who can fay (as lob here did) their hearts have not been deceived by a woman, Hence obterve fecondly. Women have often proved men- Deceivers. The woman aoat firf made for mansgood ; thee was made for a mette helper ( Gen. z. i8.) yet through the corruption ofman, Ate be- comes bitfeare .4 metre deceiver. All that God made was good, and it was all made good for roan. But man turning to evill from good, bath turned all his owne good to evill. What good thing is there which one time or other one way or other hat!' not been evill to man ? That was a dreadful' denunciation againft the yemes, whom the Spirit of prophecyforefaw crucifyingChrift, giving him gall for meare, and in his thirft giving him vinegar to drinke ( Pal. 69. Z2. ) Let their Table become afnare before them, and that whichlhould havebeen for their welfare, let it become a trap. Now as this was a fpeciall curie upon that people for that fpeciail fin ; fo fin in general! bath fub;e6ted all men to tome droppings of this curie. And as while we looke through the whole creation, we mete with loares and traps in thofe things whichwere inftituted and àppoynted for a Table to us, or for our welfare; fo this is moli obvious in that part of the creation,woma.n,in reference towhom
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