as in the universal deluge, the destruction of Sodom, thewonders in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness; the causing the sun to stand still in Joshua's time and many others. And they had a very affecting manifestation of God's mighty power on themselves, in casting all their host down from heaven into hell; and have continual affecting experi ence of it, in God's reserving them in strong chains of darkness, and in the strong pains they feel, and will hereafter have far more affecting experience of it,when they shall be punished from the glory of God's power, with that mighty destruction which they now tremble in expectation of So the devils have a great knowledge of the wisdom of God: They have had unspeakably more opportunity and occasion to observe it in the work of creation, and also in the works of providence, than any mortal man has ever had; and have been themselves the subjects of innumerable affecting maifestations of it, in God's disappointing and confounding them in their most subtle devices, in so wonderful and amazing a manner. So they see and find the infinite purity and holiness of the divine nature in the most affecting manner, as this appears in his infinite hatred of sin, in what they feel of the dreadful effects of that hatred. They know already by what they suffer, and will know hereafter to a greater degree, and far more affecting manner, that such is the opposition of God's nature to sin, that it is like a consuming fire, that burns with infinite vehemence against it; they will feel the vehement heat of that fire in a very dreadful manner. They also will see the holiness of God, as exercised in his love to righteousness and holiness, in what they will see of the reward of the righteousness of Christ, and the holiness of his people, in the glory of Christand his church; which also will be very affecting to devils and wicked men. And the exact justice of God will be manifested to them in the clearest and strongest, most convincing and most affecting light, at the day of judgment; when they will also see great and affecting demonstrations of the riches of his grace, in the marvellous fruits of his love to the vessels of mercy; when they shall see them at the right hand of Christ phining as the sun in the kingdom of their father, and shall

hear the blessed sentence pronounced upon them; and will be deeply affected with it, as seems naturally implied in Luke, xiii. 28, 29. The devils know God's truth, and therefore they believe his threatenings, and tremble in expectation of their accomplishment, And wicked men that now doubt his truth, and dare not trust his word, will hereafter, in the most convincing, affecting manner, find his word to be true in all that he has threatened, and will see that he is faithful to his promises in the rewards of his saints, Devils and damned men knowɔ that God is eternal and unchangeable; and therefore they des pair of there ever being an end to their misery..

Therefore it is manifest, that merely persons' having an af-. fecting sense of some, or even of all God's attributes, is no certain sign that they have the true grace of God in their hearts,

Object. Here possibly some may object against the force of the foregoing reasoning, That ungodly men in this world are in exceeding different circumstances from those which the devils are in, and from those which wicked men will be in, at the day of judgment; those things which are visible and pres ent to these, are now future and invisible to the other; and wicked men in this world are in the body, that clogs and hinders the soul, and are encompassed with objects that blind and stupify them; and therefore it does not follow, that because the wicked in another world have a great apprehension and lively sense of such and such things without grace, that ungodly men in their present state may have the same.

Ans. To this answer....It is not supposed that ever men in this life have all those things which have been mentioned, to the same degree that the devils and damned have them. None supposes that ever any in this life have terrors of conscience to an equal degree with them. It is not to be suppos ed that any mortal man, whether godly or ungodly, has an equal degree of speculative knowledge with the devil. And, as was just now observed, the wicked, at the day of judgment, will have a vastly greater idea of the external glory of Christ than ever any have in the present state. So, doubtless, they will have a far greater sense of God's awful greatness and ter

rible majesty, than any could subsist under in this frail state. So we may well conclude, that the devils and wicked men in hell have a greater and more affecting sense of the vastness of eternity, and (in some respects) a greater sense of the importance of the things of another world, than any here have, and they have also longings after salvation to an higher degree than any wicked men in this world.

But yet it is evident, that men in this world may have things of the same kind with devils and damned men. The same sort of light in the understanding, the same views, and the same affections....the same sense of things....the same kind of impressions on the mind, and on the heart. If the objection is against the conclusiveness of the reasoning that has been made use of to prove this, it is against the conclusiveness of that reasoning which is the apostle's, more properly than mine, The apostle judged it a conclusive argument against such as thought their believing there was one God, an evidence of their being gracious, that the devils believed the same. So the argument is exactly the same against such as think they have grace, because they believe God is a holy God, or because they have a sense of the awful majesty of God. The same may be observed of other things that have been mentioned. My text has reference not only to the act of the understanding of devils in believing, but to that affection of their hearts, which accompanies the views they have; as trembling is an effect of the affection of the heart; which shews, that if men have both the same views of understanding, and also the same affections of heart, that the devils have, it is no sign of grace.

And as to the particular degree, to which these things may be carried in men, in this world, without grace, it appears not to be safe to go about so to ascertain and fix it, as to make use of it as an infallible rule to determine men's state. I know not where we have any rule to go by to fix the precise degree, in which God, by his providence, or his common influences on the mind, will excite in wicked men in this world, the same views and affections which the wicked have in another world; which, it is manifest, the former are capable of as well as the latter, having the same faculties and principles of soul, and

which views and affections, it is evident, they often are actually the subjects of in some degree...some in a greater, and some in a less degree. The infallible evidences of grace, which are laid down in scripture, are of another kind; they are all of a holy and spiritual nature, and, therefore, things of that kind, which a heart, that is wholly carnal and corrupt, cannot receive, or have any experience of. I Cor. ii, 14.

I might also here add, that observation and experience, in very many instances, seem to confirm what scripture and reason teach in these things.

The second Use may be of selfexamination.

Let the things which have been observed put all on examining themselves, and enquiring whether they have any better evidences of saving grace, than such as have been mentioned.

We see how the infallible Spirit of God, in the text, plainly represents the things the devils are the subjects of, as no sure sign of grace. And we have now, in some instances, observed how far the devils and damned men go, and will go, in their experience....their knowledge of divine things....their belief of truth....their awakenings and terrors of conscience.... their conviction of guilt, and of the justice of God, in their eternal, dreadful damnation....their longings after salvation.... their sight of the external glory of Christ, and heavenly things ....their sense of the vast importance of the things of religion, and another world....their sense of the awful greatness and terrible majesty of God, yea, of all God's attributes. These things may well put us on serious selfexamination, whether we have any thing to evidence our good estate, beyond what the devils are the subjects of. Christ said to his disciples, "Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." So the Spirit of Christ, in his Apostle James, does, in effect, say, in my text, except what you experience in your souls go beyond the experiences of devils, ye shall, in no case enter into the kingdom of God.

Here it may be, some will be ready to say, I have something besides all these things, which have been mentioned; I have things which the devils have not, even love and joy.

I answer, you may have something besides the experiences →of devils, and yet nothing beyond them. Though the experi ence be different, yet it may not be owing to any different principle, but only the different circumstances, under which these principles are exercised. The principles, from whence the forementioned things in devils and damned men dó arise, are these two; natural understanding and selflove. It is from natural understanding or reason that they have such a degree of knowledge in divine things and such a belief of them. It is from these principles of natural understanding and selflove, as exercised about their own dispositions and actions, and God as their judge,that they have natural conscience,and have such convictions of conscience as have been spoken of. It is from these principles that they have such a sense of the importance of the things of religion and the eternal world, and such longings after salvation. It is from the joint exercise of these two principles that they are so sensible of the awful majesty of God, and of all the attributes of the divine nature, and so greatly affected with them: And it is from these principles, joined with external sense, the wicked, at the day of judgment, will have so great an apprehension of, and will be so greatly affected by, the external glory of Christ and his saints. And that you have a kind of love, or gratitude and joy, which devils and damned men have not, may possibly not arise from any other principles in your heart different from these two, but only from these principles, as exercised in different circumstances.

As for instance, your being a subject of the restraining grace of God and being under circumstances of hope, and the receipt of mercy. The natural understanding and selflove of devils possibly might affect them in the same manner, if they were in the same circumstances. If your love to God, has its first source from nothing else than a supposed immediate divine witness, or any other supposed evidence, that Christ died for you in particular, and that God loves you, it springs from no higher principle than selflove, which is a principle that reigns in the hearts of devils. Selflove is sufficient, without grace, to cause men to love those that love them, or that they