PART III. of ' gracious Afeeiions. 113 I have had Occafion to fay fomething of this already; and what has been Paid may be fufficient to evince it : But if the Reader bears in Mind what has been Paid concerning the Nature of fpiritual Influ- ences and Effe&s, it will be more abundantly Manifeft that this is no fpiritual Effea. For I fuppofe there is no Perfon of common Un -, tlerftanding who will fay or imagine, that the bringing Words ( let 'em be whatWords they will) to theMind, is an Effea of thatNature which it is impoible theMind of a naturalMan,while he remains in a State of Nature, fhould be the Subjea of, or any thing like it ; or that it requires anynew divine Senfe in the Soul ; or that the bring- ing Sounds or Letters to the Mind, is an Effeét of fo high, holy and excellent a Nature, that it is impoffible any created Power fhould be the Caufe of it. As the fuggeftingWords ofScripture to theMind,is only the exciting in the Mind Ideas of certain Sounds or Letters ; fo it is only oneWay of exciting Ideas in the Imagination ; for Sounds and Letters are ex - ternal Things, that are the Objeas of the external Senfes of Seeing and Hearing. Ideas of certain Marks upon Paper, fuch as any of the twenty four Letters, in whatever Order, or any Sounds of the Voice, are as much external Ideas, as of any other Shapes or Sounds whatfoe- ver : And therefore, by what has been already Paid concerning thefe external Ideas, it is evident they are nothing fpiritual ; and if at any Time the Spirit of God fuggefts thefe Letters or Sounds to the Mind, this is a common, and not any fpecial or gracious Influence of that Spirit. And therefore it follows fromwhat has been already proved, that thofe Affections which have this Effe& for their Foundation, are no fpiritual or gracious Affeaions. But let it be obferved what it is that I fay, viz. When this Effe&, even the immediate and extraor- dinary Manner of Chords of Scripture's coming to the Mind, is that which excites the Affethons, and is properly the Foundation of them, then thefe Affe1ions are not fpiritual. It may be fo, that Perfons may have gracious Affeaions going with Scriptures which come to their Minds, and the Spirit of God may make ufe of thofe Scriptures to excite them ; when it is fome fpiritual Senfe, Tafte or Relifh they have of the divine and excellent Things contained in thofe Scriptures, that is the Thing which excites their AffeUions, and not the extraor- dinary and fudden Manner of Words being brought to their Minds. They are affected with the Inftru&ion they receive from the Words, and the View of the glorious Things ofGod or Chrift, and Things ap- pertaining to them, that they contain and teach ; and not becaufe the Words came fuddenly, as tho' force Perfon had fpoke them to 'em, thence concluding that God did as it were immediately fpeak to 'ems Perfons oftentimes are exceedingly affected on this Foundation ; the Words of fome great and high Promifes of Scripture come fuddenly to their Minds, and they look upon the Words as dire ted immedi- I ately i
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