PART IL to dillinguilh .Aft ions. 59 wicked Man, and of a haughty Spirit, when he (tho' a great King) was brought, in Conviaion of his Sin, as it were to fall down, all in Tears, weeping aloud, before David his own Subjedt, (and one that he had for a long Time mortally hated, and openly treated as an E- nemy) and condemn himfelf before him, crying out, Thou art more Righteous than I. Thou hall rewarded me Good, whereas I have re- warded thee Evil ? And at another Time, I have finned, I haveplayed the Fool, I have erred exceedingly, i Sam. 24. 16, 17. and Chap. 26. 21.And yetSaul feems then to have had very little of theInfluences of the Spirit of God, it being after God's Spirit had departed from him, and given him up, and an evil Spirit from the Lord troubled him. And if this proud Monarch, in a Pang of Afitetion, was brought to humble himfelf fo low, before a SubjeCt that he hated, and ftill con- tinued an Enemy to ; there doubtlefs may be Appearances of great Convi6lion and Humiliation in Men, before God, while they yet re- main Enemies to him, and tho' they finally continue fo. There is oftentimes in Men who are terrified thro' Fears of Hell, a great Ap- pearance of their being brought off from their own Righteoufnefs, when they are not brought off from it in all Ways, altho' they are in many Ways that are more plain and vifible. They have only ex- chang'd fome Ways of trufting in their own Righteoufnefs, for others that are more fecret and fubtil. Oftentimes a great Degree of Dif couragement, as to many Things they us'd to depend upon, is taken for Humiliation : And that is called a Submiffion to God, which is no abfolute Submifiion, but has force fecret Bargain in it, that it is hard to difcover. Secondly, If the Operations and Effe&s of the Spirit of God, in the Convictions and Comforts of true Converts may be fophifticated, then the Order of themmay be imitated. If Satan can imitate the Things themfelves, he may eafily put them one after another, in fuch a cer- tain Order. If the Devil can make A, B, and C, 'tis as eafy for him to put A firft, and B next, and C next, as to range 'em in a contrary Order. The Nature of divine Things is harder for the Devil to imi- tate, than their Order. He can't exacctly imitate divine Operations in their Nature, tho' his Counterfeits may be very much like them in cc brought off from his ownRighteoufnefs ; and that fomeMen cc do juftify God, from a partial Conviction of the Righteouf- cc nefs of theirCondemnation; Confcience takes notice of their ee Sinfulnefs, & tells them that they may be righteoufly damn'd ; cc as Pharaoh, who juftified God, Exod. 9. 27. And they give ec fome Kind of "Content to it, but many Times it don't con- " tinue, they have only a Pang upon them, that ufually dies a- 66 way after a little Time ". Guide to ChrfJl, p. 71. external
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