ing evening will be ftretched over them. Truly, the whole world are either atheifts, or down-right 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 confider not where they are going.-Spiritual fleep and fecurity is the great caufe of felf-conceit. As natural fleep, fo fpiritual fleep is full of dreams; "It fhall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth; but he awaketh, and his foul is empty or as when a thirfly man dreameth, and behold he drinketh; but he awaketh, and behold he is faint, and his foul hath appetite," Ifa. xxix. 8. A man may dream of riches, and treasures, and crowns, and kingdoms conferred of him, but he awaketh, and no fuch matter, though he truly thought in his dream, that he was poffeffed of all. So, in fpiritual fleep, people may have Arange dreams; they may dream of heaven, and that they have faith, and repentance, and Chrift, and falvation, 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 him felf deceived; and the fweeter the dream, the fader the disap, pointment. For, as in natural dreams, it is better, when they are falfe, to dream of fearful things than of joyful; as for inflance, 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, feeing the vanity of his dream; but the beggar, when he awakes, his joy is gone, and his grief redoubled, in regard of the falfe joy of his dream. So it is in fpiritual matters; it is fafer to be in fome fears about our ftate, than to be filled with prefumptuous hopes. Chrift tells us, that few fhall be faved; but if all were faved, that dream they shall be fo, furely 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 caufe of felf-conceit is Satan, who hath a great hand herein. This is one of the great wiles of

this cunning fophifter. He takes all methods to deceive people he perfuades them that their flate is better than it is; and makes them look upon themfelves as really good enough, and safe enough: The god of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that believe not. While the ftrong man armed keeps the houfe, the goods are at ease. And we are not ignorant of his devices; he hath great fill in deceiving fouls. He deceived our firit parents when finlefs; how eafily muft he deceive us, who are finful 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 fo, lifting them up in pride, they are pure in their own eyes, though remaining in their impurity.

5. Another caufe of felf-conceit is judging the good. ness or badness of our state by falfe rules. Many form very erroneous opinions and miftakes of a good con. dition; and they frequently mistake a bad flate for a good one, by reafon of the falle rules by which they judge themfelves. Sometimes they judge themfelves by the opinion that others have of them: they are held in reputation by others in the world, who know them, for perfons of wisdom, knowledge, prudence, difcretion, &c.; and accordingly form fuch fentiments of themselves.Sometimes they judge themfelves by their affections, whether of hatred or love: it may be they hate fome of the evils of the day, and fome of the fins of the times; and fhew fome zeal against thefe: but Judas may preach against the Pharifees, and preach up Chrift, and yet be a traitor. It may be, they have a love to the godly; but not because they are godly, and for the holinefs and purity they perceive about them.-Sometimes they judge by the falfe rule of an erring confcience: and many apprehend that matters are right with them, because of storms and calms in the confcience: but people may have ftorms in the confcience, like Judas; and calms in the confcience, like the peace of juftification; and yet it is but carnal fecurity, faying, "We fhall have peace, though we walk after the imagination of our own evil hearts." Sometimes they judge by the falfe rule

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of the audience of their prayers. God may hear the prayer of people, with refpect to fome bleffings that they need; and yet give leannefs to their foul. Sometimes perfons judge by the falfe rules of the law, milunderftood as when they judge either by a part of the law, or judge by the outfide of the law, and not the infide and fpirituality of it. Indeed, the application of the law, is one great caufe of felf-conceit: fo it was with Paul; "I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, fin revived, and I died," Rom.vii. 9. Sometimes perfons judge themfelves by the falfe rules of the gospel, mistaken; such as that word, “If there be a willing mind, it is accepted;" which belongs only to believers, that are accepted in the Beloved.

6. Another caufe of felf-conceit, is felf-righteousness; Rom. x. 3. Being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, they have not fubmitted" their over-proud conceit of their own righteoufnefs; it flows from their being poffeffed with a legal righteoufnefs of their own; and this makes them fo proud and felfish, that they will have nothing ado with the righteoufnefs of the God-man.-Some have a righteousness of difpofition; a good natural temper that they lean to, and deceive themselves with. Some have a righteoufnefs of education; they have been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and have had a good example; and this hath had much influence upon them, to restrain them from many evils; and this deceives them. Some have a righteoufnefs of profeffion, as Paul; one of the stricteft Pharifees, of the ftricteft fide; one that fides himself with those who make the most splendid profeffion. Some have a righteoufnefs of intention: they have good refolutions; "All that the Lord hath commanded, we will do."-Some have a righteousness of reputation: they are of good repute among others, and held in high efteem amongft thofe of diftinguifhed abilities. Some have the righteousness of reformation: they do many things, and reform in many particulars, and keep themselves from many of the groffer and more open violations of God's holy law. Some have the righteoufnefs of common fpiritual operations; common enligh

tenings

tenings and taftings of the heavenly gift, Heb. vi. 5, 6.; a common work of the Spirit upon the underflanding, will, affections, confcience, and converfation.-In a word, fome have a natural righteoufnefs, a cradle-faith; they never did any thing amifs,--Some have a negative righteoufnefs; they are not as other men, They are not guilty of this and the other grofs violation of God's holy law. Some have a pofitive righteoufnefs; they read, and pray, and faft, and give alms, and attend upon ordinances.-Some have a comparative righteoufnels; they imagine they are better than others: "I am holier than thou,"-Yea, fome have a fuperlative righte oufnels; they fay and do their best. And I know not how many kinds of righteoufnefs might be mentioned. Some have an active righteoufnels; they do what they can: nay, they do many things.-Some have a paffive righteoufnefs; they have fuffered loffes and croffes for a good caufe, and the fake of religion. Upon these, and the like, many profeffors build and hence they conceive highly of themselves, and are pure in their own eyes; and yet, after all, are not wafhed from their filthinefs.

IV. The fourth general head of the method was, to speak of the evil of this fin of felf conceit. We may view this, I. More generally. 2. More particularly.

ift, We may view the evil of fell-conceit more generally. Where felf-conceit is, in its power, it is an evidence and plain indication of being a stranger to religion, and of being a grofs hypocrite: for, he that lifteth up his heart, is not upright: Hab. ii. 4. "His foul that is lifted up in him, is not upright." He that hath a conceit of his own purity and attainments, is but a diffembler, is not what he pretends to be.

2dly, Let us take a more particular view of the evil of felf-conceit. The evil of it will appear in these fix refpects 1. In refpect of ourfelves. 2. In respect of others. 3. In refpect of Chrift. 4. In refpect of graces. 5. In refpe&t of duty. 6. In refpect of danger.

1. The evil of felf-conceit will appear in refpect of qurfelves. Where felf-conceit is in a perfon, there is

pride; and, you know, "God refifteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble." Where felf-conceit is, there is carnal fecurity; and, "Droufinefs fhall clothe a man with rags." Where it is, there is contempt of means: Self-conceit produces either a defpifing of the means, or a not ufing of the means that God hath appointed. The man being felf-fufficient, he is, in fome manner, above means: the means of grace, the means of knowledge are undervalued.

2. The evil of felf-conceit will appear, if we take a view of it, with refpect to others. The evil of it is fuch, that it produceth either a contempt of others; "Bleffed be God, I am not like this man;" he undervalues them, and looks down upon them, as below him: or, it produceth uncharitablenefs, if not contempt. None fo uncharitable as the man that hath a conceit of himself. I think the apofile Paul feems to hint at this, Gal. vi. 3. compared with the firft verfe: q.d. I know none will ftand in oppofition to this duty of charitable carriage towards their neighbour, but thofe that are puffed up with an high conceit of themselves.

3. The evil of this felf-conceit will appear in refpect of Chrift. Such people contemn him; and they defpife his fulness, righteoufnefs, and blood. They defpife his fulness for their fupply: why, they are full of themfelves; they are rich and increafed with goods, and stand in need of nothing. They come rich, and go empty away. They defpife his righteoufnefs for their juflification: while they are pure in their own eyes, they content themselves with a righteousness spun out of their own bowels, out of their own duties.-They defpife his blood, his Spirit, his grace, for their fanctification: why, a person that thinks himself already pure, will not make application to the fountain where unclean fouls are made clean.

4. The evil of felf-conceit will appear, if we view it in refpect of graces. The evil of it is fuch, that it ftands in oppofition to every grace; particularly to that mothergrace, Humility: "God giveth grace to the humble; but he refifteth the proud." Humility is fuch a grace, that, without it, a man cannot be a Christian. Now, this pride