8t What are no Signs PART IL. And thefe religious Affedlions may be carried to a great Height, and may caufe Abundance ofTears, yea, may overcome the Nature of thofe who are the Subjects of them,and may make them afft tionate, and fervent, and fluent in fpeaking of the Things of God, and difpofe them to be abundant in it ; and may be attended with many Tweet Texts of Scripture, and precious Promifes, brought with great Im- prefiîon on their Minds ; and may difpofe them with their Mouths to praife and glorify God, in a very ardent Manner, and fervently to call upon others to praife him, crying out of their Unworthinefs, and extolling free Grace. And may, moreover, difpofe them to abound in the external Duties of Religion, fuch as Prayer, hearing the Word preached, Singing, and religiousConference; and thefeThings attended with a great Refemblance of a chrif}ian Affurance, in its greateft Height, when the Saints mount on Eagles Wings, above all Darknefs and Doubting. I think it has been made plain, that there may be all thefeThings, and yet there be nothing more than the com- mon Influences of the Spirit of God, join'd with the D.elufions of Sa- tan, and the wicked and deceitful Heart. To which I may add,that all thefe Things may be attended with a Tweet natural Temper, and a good do&rinal Knowledge of Religion, and a long Acquaintance with the Saints Way of talking and of expreffing their AffeIions and Experiences, and a natural Ability and Subtilty in accommodating their Expreflions &Manner of fpeaking to theDifpofitions &Notions of the Hearers, and a taking Decency of Expreffion and Behaviour, formed by a good Education. How great therefore may the Refm- blance be, as to all outward Expreflions and Appearances, between an Hypocrite and .a true Saint ! Doubtlefs 'tis the gloriousPrerogative of the omnifcient God, as the great Searcher of Hearts, to be able well to feparate between Sheep and Goats. And what an indecent, Self: Exaltation, and Arrogance is it, in poor fallible dark Mortals, to pretend that they can determine and know,who are really fincere and upright before God, and who are not ! Many Teem to lay great Weight on that, and to fuppofe it to be what may determine them with refpea to others realPiety, when they not only tell a plaufible Story, but when, in giving an Account of their Experiences, they make fuch a Reprefentation, and fpeak after fuch a Manner, that they feel their Talk ; that is to fay, when their Talk feems to harmonize with their ownExperience, and theirHearts are touched and afFe ted and delighted, by what they hear them fay, and drawn out by it, in dear Love to them. But there is not that Certainty in fuck: Things, and that full Dependance to be had upon them, which many imagine. A true Saint greatly delights in Holi- nefs r It is a mof$ beautiful Thing in his Eyes ; And God's Work, in favingly renewing and making holy and happy, a poor, and before Dealing Soul, appears to him a molt glorious Work. No wonder therefore,
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