cleave to the children of God, nor to minifters of the Spirit, but to them of the letter: as the prodigal fon did under his legal terrors: "he joined himself to a citizen of that country;" not of the heavenly country, but of this; not to a citizen of Mount Zion, but to a citizen of " Jerufalem that now is, and is in bondage with all her children :" and he tried hard to fill his belly with hufks, and would have done it if the Spirit of life had not entered into him; but as foon as he was quickened he felt a mighty famine, then he left his hufks and cried for bread. "This my fon was dead;" and while dead he cleaved to the fwine. But he "is alive again:" and this life gave him his appetite, his ery, and his motion towards God; and the food that fed his foul was Christ crucified, imputed righteousnefs, the everlasting love of God, and pardon and peace by faith in the blood of the Lamb; all of which are meant by the fatted calf, the beft robe, the ring, and the fhoes; and every foul that feeds not upon these is as fure to perifh as he is born. Now let us fee the converfion of this modern profeffor.

He attends the minifter of the letter under whom he got his wound; and by and by the fame infenfibility, prefumption, falfe-confidence, blind zeal, and deceitful hopes, which poffefs the preacher, are communicated, and applied by the devil to this convicted finner, and out he comes into liberty, as he calls it. This is his conviction,

and

and this is called a feal of fuch a man's miniftry; like prieft, like people; he hears the word, and anon with joy receives it; yet hath he no root in himself.

Now he compares himself, not with the word of God, nor with the experience of the children of God, nor with the minifters of the Spirit, but with thofe to whom Satan fends him, thofe of his own caft. "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourfelves with fome that commend themselves: but they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wife." Then they are fools. 2 Cor. x. 12.

2. He now makes his converfion known to the preacher; and others in the fame delufion give their judgment of the work, and conclude it to be a real work of grace; and the poor deluded mortal believes it and is established in it; and thus his faith ftands in the wifdom of man, but not in the power of God.

3. He often finds his paffions moved by oratory; for he is very fond of an orator, and he drops a few tears; this is called a watering time with him, and it paffes for godly forrow. At other times his fancy is tickled, and he laughs and rejoices: this paffes for the joy

but God gives it another name.

of the Lord;

"The joy of

the hypocrite is but for a moment." Job xx. 5.

"As the crackling of thorns under a pot, fo is the laughter of fools." Eccl. vii. 6.

4. He goes and tries himself and his ftate under other minifters of the fame caft (for there are but very few others in our days), and he hears different definitions of faith, and rather excels in confidence the defcriptions that are given: this wonderfully establishes him. "In the multitude of counfellors there is fafety." Thus one builds up a wall, and the other daubs it with untempered morter; and there it will ftand till the ftorms of divine vengeance rend it, and then it will be no more, neither them that daubed it. Ezek. xiii.

5. In order to make this deception complete, the devil cafes to ftir up the concupifcence of the finner's heart, and doth not roll him in uncleannefs as heretofore; that he may fee that there are fome fruits without, as well as joys within; this feeds his pride not a little. Thus the unclean Ipirit goes out of the man, and the house is empty, Iwept and garnished.

6. Now and then poor confcience will firuggle and move her pulfe, as if fomething elfe was wanting, and fome doubts will rife up. He makes this known to fuch as the devil fends him to, and they tell him it is the motions of the old man, and Satan's devices, and cry, Peace, Peace; this fettles him for the prefent, and thus he receives

the

the witness of men, but not the witness of God, which is greater. 1 John v. 9.

7. Sometimes fuch an hypocrite is brought by curiosity to hear a minister of the Lord; and, perceiving fomething new, he is wonderfully ravished with the novelty, and new joys feem to spring up: he takes fome of the new cloth to patch his . old garment with, but parts with nothing of the old the more he hears the more his head is furnished, and he is ready to pluck out his own eyes to give to the preacher; but by and by he hears him defcribe a genuine work of grace, and conscience seconds the motion, and his heart-ftrings begin to give way, and then off he goes to one who cries, Peace, Peace: and after this he becomes a moft defperate enemy both to the preacher and his doctrine, for fuch cannot endure found doctrine. Thus the Jews rejoiced in John's light for a season, and then changed their minds, and faid he had a devil.

8. This fort of profeffors are to be known by a multitude of words; for they are more fwift to speak than they are to hear. This brings many eyes upon them, and they are looked up to as faints of no common magnitude: this leads their minds much to think and ftudy to get something to fay; and the more he talks the better figure he cuts in talking; and now he is wonderfully elated with his gifts; reproving, exhorting, and praying in company, becomes his element, and this in

F2

creases both his pride and his prefumption. He has got the gift of prophecy, and in his own conceit understands all myfteries, and all knowledge, and a faith ftrong enough to remove mountains, and yet is nothing but founding brafs or a tinkling cymbal. 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 2.

9. He fometimes meets with an honeft foul who fees through him, and fpeaks to him, and who tells him his doubts of him, and fhews him his ftate this mortifies his pride and injures his confequence; he ftorms fadly at this. "A wife man feareth and departeth from evil, but the fool rageth and is confident." Prov. xiv. 16.

10. If the lip of truth hath damped his joys, he calls together a company of them of the like occupation, and afks them: one tells him he has been much edified by him, another has been reclaimed, the bowels of another have been refreshed, and another eftablished; and thus he is compaffed about with a whole cloud of witneffes, and 'he believes them all, and no wonder: "For the fimple (or fool) believeth every word; but the prudent man looketh well to his going." Prov.

xiv. 15.

This is the modern faith of the day, and it paffes as current among us as Birmingham halfpence do. And I believe that there are many congregations in this country that have not one grain of any other faith than this among them; and fure I am that the devil is the author of it,

and