dreams, and applications of the most terrible pafsages of scripture; fo, on the other hand, by applying the promises to hypocrites, and by encouraging dreams, he alfo deceives them, and leads them into perilous prefumption. I once was acquainted with a great profeffor, who was a man of much wealth, and who stood very high in his confidence, too high to admit of any doubting in believers. This perfon invited me and my wife to come and dine with him, which we did; and he told us of a wonderful view that he had had, and of a voice that had spoken to him; both of which were respecting the fonship of Chrift; and he was so pleased and charmed with his wild conceit, that he put it in the newspaper. He and I could not agree in our opinions; we differed widely. He laboured hard to gain me over to his fentiments, but I was inflexible; and therefore he ordered me out of his houfe, and I obeyed and went out; and, as foon as I was gone out, I told my wife that that man would go mad; and, about feven years after that, he went raving mad, and died fo.

I knew another, a woman, and a very fenfible one, and who attended for many years one of the brightest minifters which the church of England hath lately been honoured with, and was very fond of his miniftry; nor could fhe fit under any other. This woman had the promises of the gofpel continually applied to her, as the thought,

and

and mentioned many of them to me; and I once afked her how it was that none of them came to pafs? She replied, "I know that they muft all be fulfilled," and added, "God cannot be just except he does fulfil them." Soon after this fhe had heard that I had infifted that God required worship in fpirit and in truth; and that a form of prayer was not fufficient; and that fome things in our forms of prayer were repugnant to fcripture. At this fhe was much exafperated, and faid, "Such a fellow as that prefume to take the work of our great reformers to pieces !" At laft fhe began to fink in her confidence, and fearful bondage came upon her, which made her a burden to herfelf, and to all about her. A near relation of hers brought her up to my house in WinchesterRow; but I was not at home. The request of her relation was, that fhe might come and lodge and board with me. My wife gave her to understand that it would not be agreeable; fo fhe went away, and not long afterwards the hung herself upon her bed's head; which fully convinced me that the implacable enemy of mankind had deceived her by applying thofe promifes to her.

Poor Tom Smith, whom you know, or at least have heard fomething of, was wonderfully toffed to and fro, up and down, this way, by every fcripture that came to his mind, however contradictory; as for inftance; at fome times the Lord had told him he was to go and fettle at fuch a place, and

then

then another text contradicted it, that he was to ftay where he was. He mentioned to me the fearful ftate that he had been in, and the temptations that he had to fuicide, and of the people that were gathered together about him in this his diftrefs, and of the fudden deliverance, from mifery to laughter, by the application of a paffage of fcripture, which I now forget, and which first fet him off in a profeffion, as one that had obtained mercy; and of his joining himself to a church in the country; and, after fome time, that one of my pamphlets fell into his hands, and of his reading it; and of this paffage coming into his mind, "I went up to Jerufalem to see Peter." This he looked upon as an order from God to come to London to fee me; and he came, but could not find me, and therefore went back again; and, if I mistake not, he came again, and found me not. However, the fame text followed him, and he came the third time, if I mistake not, but not fucceeding, was returning home; but, fecing a road across the fields which led to Hampstead, fome paffage occurred to his mind directing him to go there; and thither he went, and inquired of a fhoemaker if he knew me : he answered, he did, and gave him a fhilling, and fent him to another perfon in Hampstead, who knew where I lived; he gave him a direction to me, and put fixpence more into his hand. This appeared a kind Providence, for he had no money in his pocket; it P

ferved

ferved alfo to confirm him that he was right in feeking me. At first I could make nothing of him, but thought him deranged, and gave him a trifle. However, he kept coming to me; for, Providence thus appearing for him confirmed him more and more that he was to go and see his fupposed Peter; but, when he began to fink, and found his hopes give way, and madness come on, he was much aftonifhed that he could be thus deceived, but was forced to own that the whole was nothing but the works of the devil; and, indeed, felf-abhorrence, godly forrow, evangelical repentance flowing from pardoning love, tenderness, meekness, and an abiding sense of his infufficiency for the great work, never appeared in him.

I once knew a gracious woman who laboured long under heavy perfecution both from her husband and his friends, and who was long kept in fears and diftrefs by the following text: "He will furely violently turn and tofs thee like a ball into a large country: there fhalt thou die." Ifa. xxii. 18. It is fpoken of Shebna's captivity, who was fteward and treasurer of the king's household; and the devil applied it to this poor woman, and the conftrued it to mean that perfecution was coming on the church, and that the fhould be banished into a strange country for her religion. And true enough fhe was, for foon after fhe died, and made a moft glorious end; nor was there any violent turnings or toffings in her death, for fhe was taken

ill, and died in less than ten hours after. Thus the devil can apply fcripture when it will ferve his own turn, and promote his own intereft. His aims with the children of God are to difcourage them, to raise doubts in the mind, and to ftir up unbelief; to call the truth of God, and the work of God on their fouls, into queftion, that they may murmur, rebel, be discontented with their state, and unthankful to God for what they have. And here he often prevails by damping their affections, and fo robs God of his praise and glory, by tempting the believer that he has no grace to thank God for; and this he partially believes, and fo holds back the Lord's revenue. This is a temptation, it is plain, because every visitation of God disproves it, and expels it.

By applying fcripture the devil encourages the prefumptuous, and blows them up with pride and vain confidence, to dream of the goodness of their ftate, without any fight or fenfe of the heinoufness of fin, or any humility under it, or forrow on the account of it, and even to expect the great reward of inheritance without either pardon, righteoufness, or holiness, by the Holy Ghost, which alone can give us right unto it, and meetnefs for it. Under these delufions the confciences of fome are feared, fo that they have no bands in their death; and the prefumptuous, he goes on till his hope expires with him: "Their hope shall be as P 2

the