nature, dwelling in the same heart, with so much corruption, hypocrisy, and iniquity, in a particular saint. Yet neither of these is more mysterious than real. And neither of them is a new or rare thing. It is no new thing, that much false religion should prevail, at a time of great reviving of true religion; and that at such a time multitudes of hypocrites should spring up among true saints. It was so in that great reformation and revival of religion in Josiah's time; as appears by Jer. iii. 10. and iv. 3, 4. and also by the great apostacy that there was in the land, so soon after his reign. So it was in that great out-pouring of the Spirit upon the Jews, in the days of John the Baptist as appears by the great apostacy of that people, so soon after so general an awakening; and the temporary religious comforts and joys of many: "Ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." So it was in those great commotions that were among the multitude, occasioned by the preaching of Jesus Christ: of the many that were then called, but few chosen; of the multitude that were roused and affected by his preaching, and appeared mightily engaged, full of admiration of Christ, and elevated with joy; but few were true disciples, that stood the shock of the great trials that came afterwards, and endured to the end: many were like the stony ground, or thorny ground; and but few, comparatively, like the good ground. Of the whole heap that was gathered, great part was chaff, that the wind afterwards, drove away; and the heap of wheat that was left, was comparatively small; as appears abundantly, by the history of the New Testament. So it was in that great outpouring of the Spirit in the apostles days; as appears by Matt. xxiv. 10, 13. Gal. iii. 1. and iv. 11, 15. Phil. ii. 21. and iii. 18, 19. and the two epistles to the Corinthians, and many other parts of the New Testament. And so it was in the great reformation from Popery. It appears plainly to have been in the visible church of God, in times of great reviving of religion, as it is with the fruit trees in the spring: there are a multitude of blossoms, all which appear fair and beautiful, and there is a promising appearance of young fruits; but many of them are but of short continuance, they soon fall off and never come to maturity. Not that we suppose it will always be so; for though there never will, in this world, be an entire purity, either in particular saints, or in the church of God, in a perfect freedom from mixtures of corruption; without any mixture of hypocrites with saints, and counterfeit religion, and false appearances of grace with true religion, and real holiness: yet it is evident, there will come a time of much greater purity in the church of God, than has been in ages past, as is plain by these texts of Scripture.* And one great reason of it will be, that at that time God will give much greater light to his people, to distinguish between true religion and its counterfeits: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness." And which is a continuation of the prophecy of the same Isa. lii. 1. Ezek. xliv. 6, 7, 9. Joel iii. 17. Psal. Ixix. 32, 35, 36. Isa. xxxv. 8, 18. and iv. 3, 4. Psal. xxxvii. 9, 10, 21, 29. Zech. xiv. 21, happy times," Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not." It is by the mixture of counterfeit religion with true, not discerned and distinguished, that the devil has had his greatest advantage against the cause and kingdom of Christ hitherto. It is principally by this means that he has prevailed against all revivings of religion that ever have been, since the first founding of the Christian church. By this he hurt the cause of Christianity, in and after the apostolic age, much more than by all the persecutions of both Jews and Hea thens: the apostles, in all their epistles, show themselves much more concerned at the former mischief than the latter. By this, Satan prevailed against the reformation, begun by Luther, Zuinglius, &c. to put a stop to its progress, and bring it into disgrace, ten times more than by all those bloody, cruel, and before unheard-of persecutions of the church of Rome. By this, principally, has he prevailed against revivals of religion, that have been in our nation since the reformation. By this, he prevailed against NewEngland, to quench the love, and spoil the joy of her espousals, about a hundred years ago. And I think I have had opportunity enough to see plainly, that by this the devil has prevailed against the late great revival of religion in New-England, so happy and promising in its beginning: here most evidently has been the main advantage Satan has had against us; by this he has foiled us it is by this means that the daughter of Zion in this land now lies on the ground, in such piteous circumstances as we now behold her, with her garments rent, her face dis figured, her nakedness exposed, her limbs broken, and weltering in the blood of her own wounds, and unable to arise; and this so quickly after her late great joys and hopes: "Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her; the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries will be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them." I have seen the devil prevail the same way against two great revivings of religion in this country. Satan goes on with mankind as he began with them. He prevailed against our first parents, cast them out of paradise, and suddenly brought all their happiness and glory to an end, by appearing to be a friend to their happy paradisaic state, and pretending to advance it to higher degrees. So the same cunning serpent that beguiled Eve through his subtlety, by perverting us from the simplicity that is in Christ, hath suddenly prevailed to deprive us of that fair prospect we had a little while ago, of a kind of paradisaic state of the church of God in New-England. After religion has revived in the church of God, and enemies appear, people that are engaged to defend its cause, are commonly most exposed, where they are least sensible of danger. While they are wholly intent to make head against the opposition that appears openly before them, and neglect carefully to look around them, the devil comes behind them, and gives a fatal stab unseen; and has opportunity to give a more home stroke, and wound the deeper, because he strikes at his leisure, being obstructed by no guard or resistance. And so it is ever likely to be in the church, when ever religion revives remarkably, till we have learned well to distinguish between true and false religion, between saving affections and experiences, and those manifold fair shows, and glistering appearances, by which they are counterfeited; the consequences of which, when they are not distinguished, are often inexpressibly dreadful. By this means the devil gratifies himself, by bringing it to pass, that that should be offered to God by multitudes, under a notion of a pleasing acceptable service to him, which is indeed above all things abominable to him. By this means, he deceives great multitudes about the state of their souls, making them think they are something when they are nothing, and so eternally undoes them; and not only so, but establishes many in a strong confidence of their eminent holiness, who are in God's sight the vilest of hypocrites. By this means, he damps and wounds religion in the hearts of the saints, obscures and deforms it by corrupt mixtures, causes their religious affections wofully to degenerate, and sometimes, for a considerable time, to be like the manna, that bred worms and stank; and dreadfully insnares and confounds the minds of the saints, brings them into great difficulties and temptations, and entangles them in a wilderness, out of which they cannot extricate themselves. By this means, Satan mightily encourages the hearts of open enemies of religion, and strengthens their hands and fills them with weapons, and makes strong their fortresses: when, at the same time, religion and the church of God, lie exposed to them as a city without walls. By this means, he brings it to pass that men work wickedness under a notion of doing God |