Though these and such like ways be dangerous, yea, deadly, yet how many are there to be found among Christians, that have no better ground of their hope of salvation, and will cleave to them so fast, as no preaching will make them so much as once question the matter, or suspect that these ways will in the end deceive them; so strong is their inclination to the way of error, though not as the way of error.
Fourthly. It presupposeth also an inclinableness in us by nature to wander out of the way; for being nothing but a mass of error, made up of darkness, ignorance, and mistakes, we have a strong bias to error, which agreeth best with our natural, corrupted temper. Hence it is, that we have such a strong propension to errors and mistakes: Whether,
1. Concerning God, and his way of dealing with his church, or with ourselves. O how ready are our hearts by nature, to hatch and foment wrong, unseemly, untrue, yea, unchristian, if not blasphemous thoughts and conceptions of his nature, attributes, word, and works? And how ready and prone are we to receive and entertain wrong apprehensions of all his ways and dealings with his church and people? And as for his works in and about ourselves, O! what unsuitable, erroneous, false, ungodly, absurd, and abominable opinions do we with greediness drink in and foster; yea, feed upon with delight? Who is able to recount all the errors and mistakes which our heart by nature is ready to admit and foster with complacency? Are we not by nature ready to say, that there is not a God,—as the fool, Psal. xiv. 1. Or, that he is not such a God as his word and works declare him to be—a holy, just, righteous, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God, &c. Or that he is a changeable God, and actually changed, not being the same now which sometime he was. That he hath forgotten to be gracious, and remembereth not his people in adversity; and so is not tender and merciful. That he hath forgotten his promises, and so is not faithful and true. That he approveth of sin, because he suffereth the way of the wicked to prosper, and so is not a holy God, &c. Yea, do not ofttimes such thoughts as these lodge within the heart of the truly godly? All which sheweth how prone we are to receive and entertain erroneous and false thoughts of God.
2. Concerning ourselves. Supposing ourselves to be born again and reconciled to God, when yet we are living in black nature: And who so bold and confident that they are right, as they that are furthest out of the way? Or, on the other hand, supposing ourselves to be in a bad state, and in nature and darkness, when the day-star from on high hath visited us, and brought our souls from death unto life. And who more ready to complain than such as have least cause? Or supposing ourselves in a good condition; lively, active, diligent, watchful, &c, when it is just otherwise with us: Or, on the contrary, complaining of deadness, formality, upsitting, fainting, heartlessness in the ways of God, when it is not so. Or, in questioned matters, taking truth to be error, and error to be truth.
3. Concerning others. How ready are we to run either to the one extremity or the other in judging their persons and actions?
Oh! where is the faith of this natural condition? where is the real conviction of it? Sure there is but little real believing of this when,
(1.) There are so many that never so much as suspect themselves or question either their state or condition, at one time or other; never once imagine that their blinded hearts may deceive them; never once dream of a possibility of mistaking, and of dying with a lie in their right hand.
(2.) And so many that are not lamenting and bewailing this their condition, nor crying out and complaining of a false, deceitful, and desperately wicked heart.
(3.) And so few that are indeed humbled under the sense of this, and made therefore to walk more watchfully and soberly with an eye always upon their treacherous and deceiving hearts.
(4.) And so few, crying for help from God against this deceitful adversary, through daily experience of the atheism, hypocrisy, ignorance, misconceptions of God and of his ways, and deceitfulness of our hearts, might sufficiently put it out of doubt with us.