DISCOURSE Si. 588 VIII. The last thing I shallmention, wherein some chris- tiaus are guilty of an irregular conduct, with regard to their af- fections in matters of religion, is this'; "when they live entirely by their devout passions, and.make them the only rules of self- enquiry concerning their temper, their habitual state ofsoul, and their present frame of spirit, and concerningevery thing that belongs to their christianity." Such persons have little regard to the growth of their knowledge, the improvement of their un- derstanding in the things of God, the steady and fixed bent of their will toward religion, and the constant regular course of a holy conversation. They seem to make all their religion consist in a few warm and pious affections. There are two sorts of per- sons subject to this mistake. L Awakened sinners, who feel their passions of fear and desire excited by some convincing sermon, or awful providence, and the rich doctrinesof grace suited,to their case and state, raise in them some hopes of heaven, and'seusitive commotions of joy. This maycontinuefor many months, and incline them to infer that they are converted from sin to God ; and being also in a great measure reformed in their lives, they imagine they are new creatures, and all is safe for eternity : Whereas they never had a heart fixed in the love of God, and in the hatred of every sin ; they never becameheartyand resolved christians ; and, hi a little time, their devout passions die, and all their religionvanishes, for it had no root. 2. There areAlso some real converts, who are but weak, and live tomuch by their passions. If their hope, and desire and delight, are but engaged and raised high in their seçret retire- ment, or in public worship, then they Are good christians indeed, in a heavenly state, and they think exceedingly well of them- selves : But if at any time there is 'a damp upon their passions, through the indisposition of their animal nature, when they feel not "a'great degree of animal fervor powerfully assisting their pious exercises, they are ready to pronounce against themselves ; theysink intogreat despondencies, and imagine they have no true grace ' Such christians as these live very much by sudden fits and starts ofdevotion, without that uniform and steady spring of faith and holiness, which would render their religion more even and uniform, more honourable to God, and comfortable to them- selves. They are always high on the wing, or else lying move- less on the ground They are ever in the heights or the depths, travelling on bright mountains with the songs of heaven, on their lips, or groaning and labouring through the dark values, and never walking onward, as on an even plain, toward heaven. There is much danger, lest such sort of 'professors as these two, which I have mentioned, should deceive themselves, if not in judging of the truth of their graces, yet, at least, in their
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