(2.) Civilians deceive. themselves, and think their state good, because they live honestly without scandal, saying, Whose ox or ass have I stolen? Whom have I wronged? But, what sort of religion is that, which consists only in honesty towards men, while there is not also devotion towards God? A negative and external religion, without something positive and internal, will never bear a person out in the sight of God: "Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven."

(3.) Libertines deceive themselves; even these who turn the grace of God into wantonness, and apprehend their case to be good. Why, they have been born in the church, and enjoy the privileges thereof; they have been washed with holy water, and fed with the spiritual manna of the word and sacraments; they cry, temple of the Lord:" we have gone to church and heard sermons: yea, we believe, say they; though yet the means of faith, the word, and powerful ministry thereof, are what they despise.

"The

(4.) The temporary believer deceives himself with a false faith, repentance, and obedience; apprehending it to be true faith, true repentance, true religion; nay, hence concludes he shall be saved: and this is more dangerous than the former, because he thinks his argument is certain, and agreeable to the word. And, indeed, his graces may be so like the true believer's, that the most discerning Christian cannot distinguish between them: although in fact his faith fails both in the knowledge and application of it. It fails in the knowledge of it, in that it is not grounded and rooted in the testimony of the word and spirit: and in experience, in that it is not a heating and warming knowledge, working love in the heart to the truth known; and in that it is not humble and abasing, making him to loath and abhor himself. Yea, his faith fails in the application of it; in that the application of it is not mutual; the believer takes hold of Christ, because Christ takes hold of him. True faith conflicts with unbelief; the believer finds much ado to believe, and to live by faith. The

hypocrite finds it very easy: Satan doth not try his faith; for he begat that presumptuous faith in him. The true believer believes against sense; and like the woman of Canaan, can pick comfort out of the reproachful name of a dog; and with Jonah, even in the whale's belly, look towards God's holy temple: can see heaven in the very extremity of misery. But, in such a case, the temporary believer's jolly confidence fails him. And so I might instance how his repentance and obedience fail him. But however, herein the man apprehends his state good, while yet he is in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity.

There are two extremes of judging of ourselves. Some judge their state worse than it is; as when the children of God judge themselves to be Satan's : and their faith to be no faith, their repentance to be no repentance. Some again, are in the other extreme, and judge better of themselves than they are, even to be the children of God, when they are Satan's; to have faith, when it is but presumption; to have religion, when it is but hypocrisy. So men may be puffed up with a conceit of knowledge; as of faith, repentance, love, and other graces: and surely, of these two, the last is most dangerous, as well as the most common deceit and error. It is better for a good man to think he hath no faith, no religion; than, on the contrary, for an ill man to judge that he hath them: for, to judge the worst of ourselves, is a mean to awaken us out of security, and to stir us up to make our calling and election sure; but to judge we have grace, when we have none, this lulls us asleep, and sends us securely to hell.

III. The third thing proposed was, To speak of the grounds, causes, and springs of this self-conceit. The grounds of this great and epidemical distemper are many; such as,

1. The deceitful and desperately wicked temper of the heart; for, "The heart is deceitful aboye all things, and desperately wicked," Jer. xvii. 9. As Jacob cheated Esau out of his earthly inheritance; so doth the hearts of the children of men cheat them out of their eternal inheritance. There are many deceitful things

in the world; riches are deceitful, favour is deceitful, beauty is deceitful, enemies are deceitful; but the heart is deceitful above all things; yea, above the devil himself: and this doth in nothing more palpably appear, than in making people believe that they are going to heaven, when they are going the straight road to hell. O sirs, do not trust your own hearts.

2. Ignorance is another cause of self-conceit. Many, through ignorance, cannot distinguish between good and evil; but take common grace for saving grace, as Saul took the devil for Samuel. Many do not know or consider what it is that brings the soul to heaven; that they must be born again, and go through the pangs of the new birth, and the hardships of mortification. We must not think to lie in Delilah's lap all our days; and then betake ourselves to Abraham's bosom when we die. Ignorance is so far from being the mother of devotion, as the Papists affirm, that it is the mother of pride and presumption. "Thou thoughtest that thou wast rich, and increased in goods: Why? Thou knewest not that thou art poor, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked," Rev. iii. 17. Men are proud because they know not their misery; it is impossible that a man, who truly knoweth his misery should be proud. True, the apostle saith, "Knowledge puffeth up" that is, unsanctified knowledge, notional knowledge; but true knowledge humbleth; and none more proud and arrogant than the brutishly ignorant_man. I will get you an ignorant man, that will truly imagine he can keep the whole law: "All these things have I done from my youth up; what lack I yet?"

3. Negligence and sloth is another cause of pride and self-conceit. Many are at no pains to consider where their landing shall be, when the shadows of the everlasting evening will be stretched over them. Truly, the whole world are either atheists, or downright mad; either they believe not that there is a heaven and hell, and that the scriptures are the word of God, whereby they may know how it is between him and them: or, if they believe that there is a God, an heaven, and an hell, they are mad and distracted, if they consider not

where they are going.-Spiritual sleep and security is the great cause of self-conceit. As natural sleep, so spiritual sleep is full of dreams: "It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth; but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold he drinketh; but he awaketh, and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite," Isa. xxix. 8. A man may dream of riches, and treasures, and crowns, and kingdoms conferred on him, but he awaketh, and no such matter, though he truly thought in his dream, that he was possessed of all. So, in spiritual sleep, people may have strange dreams; they may dream of heaven, and that they have faith, and repent. ance, and Christ, and salvation, and a crown of glory; when, alas! all is but a dream; and the man awakes, either in time or at the day of judgment, and finds himself deceived; and the sweeter the dream, the sader the disappointment. For, as in natural dreams, it is better, when they are false, to dream of fearful things than of joyful as for instance, it is better for a king to dream that he is a beggar, than for a beggar to dream that he is a king; for the king, when he awakens, his grief is gone, and his joy is redoubled, seeing the vanity of his dream; but the beggar, when he awakes, his joy is gone, and his grief redoubled, in regard of the false joy of his dream. So it is in spiritual matters; it is safer to be in some fears about our state, than to be filled with presumptuous hopes. Christ tells us, that few shall be saved: but if all were saved, that dream they shall be so, surely there would be few that should be damned; but, "Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it."

4. Another cause of self-conceit is Satan, who hath a great hand herein. This is one of the great wiles of this cunning sophister. He takes all methods to deceive people: he persuades them that their state is better than it is: and makes them look upon themselves as really good enough, and safe enough: The god of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that believe not. While the strong man armed keeps the house, the goods

are at ease. And we are not ignorant of his devices; he hath great skill in deceiving souls. He deceived our first parents when sinless; how easily must he deceive us, who are sinful and ignorant? He deceived them, by making them think they should be as gods, to know good and evil: and he deceives us, by making us think, that we are gods, knowing all that. we need to know and so, lifting them up in pride, they are pure in their own eyes, though remaining in their impurity.

5. Another cause of self-conceit is judging the goodness or badness of our state by false rules. Many form very erroneous opinions and mistakes of a good condition and they frequently mistake a bad state for a good one, by reason of the false rules by which they judge themselves.-Sometimes they judge themselves by the opinion that others have of them: they are held in reputation by others in the world who know them, for persons of wisdom, knowledge, prudence, discretion, &c.; and accordingly form such sentiments of themselves. Sometimes they judge themselves by their affections, whether of hatred or love: it may be they hate some of the evils of the day, and some of the sins of the times; and shew some zeal against these but Judas may preach against the Pharisees, and preach up Christ, and yet be a traitor. It may be, they have a love to the godly; but not because they are godly, and for the holiness and purity they perceive about them.-Sometimes they judge by the false rule of an erring conscience; and many apprehend that matters are right with them, because of storms and calms in the conscience; but people may have storms in the conscience, like Judas; and calms in the conscience, like the peace of justification; and yet it is but carnal security, saying, "We shall have peace, though we walk after the imagination of our own evil hearts." Sometimes they judge by the false rule of the audience of their prayers. God may hear the prayer of people, with respect to some blessings that they need: and yet give leanness to their soul-Sometimes persons judge by the false