ii ii 9 2 2'he firft Sign PART III. periences and Privileges. SuchHypocrites are fo conceited of their"own LVifdom, & fo blinded &harden'd with a very greatSelf-Righteoufnef , (but very fubtil and fecret, under the Difguife of great Humility) and fo invinceable a Fondnefs of their pleating Conceit, of their great Exaltation, that it ufually fignifies nothing at all, to lay before them the moft convincing Evidences of their Hypocrify. Their State is indeed deplorable, and next to thofe that have committed the unpar- donable Sin. Some of this Sort of Perfons feem to be moft out of the Reach of Means of Conviction and Repentance. But yet the laying down good Rules may be a Means of preventing fuch Hypo- crites, and of convincing many of other Kinds of Hypocrites : And God is able to convince even this Kind, and his Grace is not to be limited, nor Means to be neglected. And befides, fuch Rules may be of Ufe to the true Saints, to detest falle AffeEiions, which they may have mingled with true. And be a Means of their Religion's becoming more pure, and likeGold tried in the Fire. Having premifed thefe Things, I now proceed directly to take no- tice of thofe Things in which true religiousAffe&ions are diflinguifh- ed from falle. I. AfFestions that are truly fpiritual and gracious, do arife from thofe Influences and Operations on the Heart, which are fpiritual, fuper- natural and divine. I will explain what I mean by thefe Terms, whence will appear their Ufe to difinguifh between thofe Affections which are fpiritual, and thofe which are not fo. We find that true Saints, or thofe Perfons who are fanaified by the Spirit of God, are in the new Teflament called fpiritual Perfons. And their beingfpiritual is fpoken of as their peculiar Character, and that wherein they are diflinguifhed from thofe who are not fan&ified. This is evident becaufe thofe who are fpiritual are let in Oppofition to natural Men, and carnal Men. Thus the fpiritual Man, and the natural Man, are let in Oppofition one to another ; t Cor. 2. 14, 15. The natural Man receiveth not the Things of the Spirit of God, for they are Foolifhnefs unto him ; neither can he know them ; becaufe they are fpiritually difcerned. But he that is fpiritual judgeth all Things. The Scripture explains it felt to mean an ungodly Man, or one that has no Grace, by a natural Man : Thus the Apoflle 7ude, fpeaking of certain ungodly Men, that had crept in unawares among the Saints, Verfe 4. ofhis Epiflle, fays, Verfe icy. Thefe are fenfual, having not the Spirit. This the Apoflle gives as a Reafon why they behaved lhemfelves in fuch a wickedManner as he had defcribed.Here theWord tranflated fenfual, in the Original is 4'vXn of ; which is the very fame, which in thole Verfes in i Cor. Chap. 2. is tranflated natural. In the
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