I a 8 The deceitfislnelje of mans heart. TOÍi.¢.I. Aas Iz.ia+ then to thefe words, to this fecret cry, whence art thou ? Commeft thou from Gods fpirit , or fi om 8athan ? As wee muff try the fpiriti, in the out- ward words delivered by men, fo alto in the fecret thoughts ofour heart,fpecially thefe concerning our own efl:are to God-ward,wbether they be the voyce of Gods fpirit, or the evil! fpirit of error and il- lufion. It was vile for thofe clawing flatterers to fay unto a man,The voyce of God ; much more for us to fay fo to the Devil himfelf. And what do we elfe, when we apprehend and applaud his mocking u lufi- ons,and lying fuggeffions, as the Oracles of God, and goe away with them , as if God from heaven had told us we were his ?Try we then thefe founds,before we truft them, and carefully examine the grounds which thy heart can thew to make good her fo con fident affurance. Here efpecially remember thofe fearefull deceits of the Temporary, how like a true believer hee is , and yet none ; how neer he comes to heavens door, and yet enters not; how far he tra- vels in the way of Canaan,even with thole Ifraelites, to Kadifhbarnea, within eleven dayes journey of the land, and yet never fees it, never enjoyes it,but is as farre off as if hee had fitter) Rill in Egypt, and ne- ver ftirred foot out ofdoor. Confider ferioufly with thy felfe how farre Pharaoh, saul,Içhu, 4hab,Iudas, and others have gone in humiliation, forrow, de- fire.zeale,reformation,and yet for all this have gone to their own place. Deale now unpartially with thy felfe, and tell me whether thou doll not come (bort of any of thefe, who never yet hadft the heart, upon the threatning of the word, to relent and
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