the operation of an invisible agent

There are some who make this an argument in their own favor, when speaking of what they have experienced, they say: "I am sure I did not make it myself: it was a fruit of no contrivance or endeavor of mine; it came when I thought nothing of it; if I might have the world for it, I can't make it again when I please." 

And hence they determine, that what they have experienced, must be from the mighty influence of the Spirit of God, and is of a saving nature; but very ignorantly, and without grounds. 

What they have been the subjects of, may indeed, not be from themselves directly, but may be from the operation of an invisible agent, some spirit besides their own: but it does not thence follow, that it was from the Spirit of God. 

There are other spirits who have influence on the minds of men, besides the Holy Ghost. We are directed not to believe every spirit, but to try the spirits, whether they be of God [I John 4:1]. There are many false spirits, exceeding busy with men, who often transform themselves into angels of light, and do in many wonderful ways, with great subtlety and power, mimic the operations of the Spirit of God. 

And there are many of Satan's operations, which are very distinguishable from the voluntary exercises of men's own minds. They are so, in those dreadful and horrid suggestions, and blasphemous injections with which he follows many persons; and in vain and fruitless frights and terrors, which he is the author of. And the power of Satan may be as immediate, and as evident in false comforts and joys, as in terrors and horrid suggestions; and oftentimes is so in fact. 

'Tis not in men's power to put themselves into such raptures, as the Anabaptists in Germany, and many other raving enthusiasts like them, have been the subjects of.

And besides, it is to be considered, that persons may have those impressions on their minds, which may not be of their own producing, nor from an evil spirit, but from the Spirit of God, and yet not be from any saving, but a common influence of the Spirit of God: and the subjects of such impressions, may be of the number of those we read of, Hebrews 6:4–5. "That are once enlightened, and taste of the heavenly gift, and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and taste the good Word of God, and the power of the world to come"; and yet may be wholly unacquainted with those "better things that accompany salvation," spoken of, v. 9.

And where neither a good nor evil spirit have any immediate hand, persons, especially such as are of a weak and vapory habit of body, and the brain weak, and easily susceptive of impressions, may have strange apprehensions and imaginations, and strong affections attending them, unaccountably arising, which are not voluntarily produced by themselves. 

We see that such persons are liable to such impressions, about temporal things; and there is equal reason, why they should about spiritual things. As a person who is asleep, has dreams, that he is not the voluntary author of; so may such persons, in like manner, be the subjects of involuntary impressions, when they are awake.

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The cup of his indignation

 If the damned were the objects of divine benevolence, and designed by God for the enjoyment of his eternal love, doubtless it would be required of all God's children to love 'em, and to pity 'em, and pray for 'em, and seek their good; as here in this world 'tis required of 'em to love their enemies, to be kind to the evil and unjust, and pity and pray for the wickedest and vilest of men, though their own persecutors, because they are the subjects of God's mercy in many respects, and are capable subjects of infinite, divine mercy and love.

If Christ, the head of all the church, pities the damned and seeks their good, doubtless his members ought to do so too. If the saints in heaven ought to pity the damned, as well as the saints on earth the wicked that dwell here, doubtless their pity ought to be in some proportion to the greatness of the calamity of the objects of it and the greatness of the number of those they see in misery. But if they had pity and sympathizing grief in such measure as this for so many ages, what an alloy would it be to their happiness.

God is represented as whetting his glittering sword, and bending his bow, and making ready his arrows on the string against wicked men, and lifting his hand to heaven and swearing that he'll render vengeance to his enemies and reward them that hate him, and make his arrows drunk with their blood, and that his sword shall devour their flesh (Deuteronomy 32:40–42 and Psalms 7:11–13). Certainly this is the language and conduct of an enemy, and not of a friend and of a compassionate, chastening Father.

The degree of misery and torment that shall be inflicted is an evidence that God is not acting the part of benevolence and compassion, and only chastening from a kind and gracious principle and design. 'Tis evident that 'tis God's manner, when he thus afflicts men for their good and chastens them with compassion, he is wont to stay his rough wind in the day of his east wind, to correct in measure, not to stir up all his wrath, to consider the frame of those that are corrected, to remember their weakness and consider how little they can bear; he turns away his anger, and don't stir up all his wrath (Psalms 78:37–39, Isaiah 27:8, Jeremiah 30:11 and Jeremiah 46:28). And 'tis his manner in the midst even of the severest afflictions to order some mitigating circumstances and to mix some mercy.

But the misery of the damned is represented as unmixed. The wine of the wrath of God "is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation," that they may be "tormented with fire and brimstone in the

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presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment shall ascend up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night" (Revelation 14:10–11). They are tormented in a flame that burns within them as well as round about them, and they shall be denied so much as a drop of water to cool their tongues. And God's wrath shall be inflicted in such a manner as [will] show his wrath and make his strength known, as on vessels of wrath fitted for no other use but to be destroyed, and shall be punished with everlasting destruction, answerable to that glory of Christ's power which he shall appear in at the day of judgment, when he shall come in the glory of his Father, with power and great glory, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel. Can any imagine that, in all this, God is only correcting from love, and that the subjects of these inflictions are some of those happy ones whom God corrects in order to teach 'em out of his law, whom he makes sore and bindeth up (Job 5:17–18, Psalms 94:12)?

There is nothing in Scripture that looks as if the damned were under the use of means to bring 'em to repentance. 'Tis apparent God's manner is, when he afflicts men to bring to repentance with affliction, to join instructions, admonitions and arguments to persuade. But if we judge by Scripture representation of the state of the damned, they are left destitute of all these things. There are no prophets or ministers or good men to admonish them, reason and expostulate with them, or set 'em good examples. There is perfect separation made between all the righteous and the wicked, with a great gulf, so that there can be no passing from one to the other. They are left wholly to the company of devils and others like 'em. When the rich man in hell cries to his father Abraham, begging a drop of water, he denies his request and adds no exhortation to repentance.

Wisdom is abundantly represented in the book of Proverbs as counseling, warning, calling, inviting and expostulating with such as are under means for the obtaining wisdom, and that [God] is waiting upon in the use of means, that they may turn at his reproof. But as to such as are obstinate under these means of grace and calls of wisdom till the time of their punishment comes, 'tis represented their fear shall come as desolation and destruction as an whirlwind; that distress and anguish shall come upon them, and that then it will be in vain for 'em to seek wisdom; that if they seek her early they shall not find her, and if they call upon her she will not hear, but instead of this will laugh at their calamity and mock when their fear cometh. Which certainly don't consist with wisdom, or the God of wisdom, still striving with them and using means in

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a benevolent and compassionate manner to bring 'em to seek and embrace wisdom; still offering wisdom, with all her unspeakable, infinite benefits, if they will hearken to her voice and comply with her, and not only so, but actually using the most powerful and effectual means to bring them to this happiness, even such as shall surely be successful, though they have obstinately refused all others, and when wisdom called they heretofore refused, and when she stretched forth her hand they did not regard; and so still most effectually doing the part of a friend to deliver 'em from their distress and anguish instead of laughing at their calamity (Proverbs 1:24–33). This declaration of wisdom, if ever it be fulfilled at all, will surely be fulfilled most completely and perfectly at the time appointed for obstinate sinners to receive their most perfect and complete punishment.

If all mankind, even such as live and die in their wickedness, are and ever will be the objects of Christ's good will and mercy, and those whose eternal happiness he desires and seeks, then surely he would pray for all. But Christ declares that there are some that he prays not for. John 17:9, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine," compared with John 17:14, "the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world"; John 17:25, "the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me"; and John 17:20, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." By all which it appears that Christ prayed for all that should ever be true believers. But he prayed [not] for those who should not be brought by the word of the apostles, and such means of grace as are used in this world, to believe in him, and should continue notwithstanding not to know God. And [those] in enmity against true holiness, or Christianity, were such as Christ prayed not for.

No contention

There they shall live in a world of light and happiness with God and Jesus Christ.

That world is not like this, where men sometimes are sick and in pain: there they have no sickness or pain or sorrow.

Here in this world, good men have enemies oftentimes that hurt 'em and afflict 'em, but there they shall be set on high, out of the reach of all their enemies, [where] nothing can hurt 'em.

Here they have a great deal of trouble and sorrow of mind, but there they shall have no more sorrow, but all tears shall be wiped away from their eyes.

Here they often labor and are weary; but there they shall be at rest, and then all sin shall be taken away and their souls shall be perfectly clean and bright, without any spot.

Here oftentimes the devil tempts 'em and tries to draw 'em on to sin, and is a great trouble; but no devil shall ever be suffered to come there.

This8 world is an evil world, because there is so much quarreling and contention, but there is no contention [in heaven] and all shall live together in perfect love and peace.

Here the saints know but little of God, but there they shall know ten thousand times as much as now. They shall see God's glory and beauty very clearly, which will fill 'em with joy.

The Apostle says, "now we see through a glass, darkly"; and, "but then we shall see face to face" [1 Corinthians 13:12].

Then they shall see Christ in his glory, and be along with him, and he will show them his great love to 'em.

They shall all live as one great family, all his own dear children. [They] shall be made like Christ and shall shine forth as the sun, and then their hearts will be full of love and full of joy, as the sun is full of light.

And they shall never die; there is no death in heaven.

And they shall never grow old, but shall [be] always young, and shall

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never need any meat or drink or sleep; and in this happy and joyful state, they shall remain forever and ever. There shall be no end to it.

Awful state

 Ans. 3. Concerning the tendency of this way of confining baptism to professors of godliness and their children, to promote irreligion and profaneness; I would observe, first, that Christ is best able to judge of the tendency of his own institutions. Secondly, I am bold to say, that the

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supposing this principle and practice to have such a tendency, is a great mistake, contrary to Scripture and plain reason and experience. Indeed such a tendency it would have, to shut men out from having any part in the Lord (in the sense of the two tribes and half, Joshua 22:25) or to fence them out by such a partition wall as formerly was between Jews and gentiles; and so to shut them out as to tell 'em, if they were never much so disposed to serve God, he was not ready to accept 'em; according to that notion the Jews seem to have had of the uncircumcised gentiles. But only to forbear giving men honors they have no title to, and not to compliment them with the name and badge of God's people and children, while they pretend to nothing but what is consistent with their being his enemies, this has no such tendency: but rather the contrary has very much this tendency. For is it not found by constant experience through all ages, that blind corrupt mankind, in matters of religion, are strongly disposed to rest in a name, instead of the thing; in the shadow, instead of the substance; and to make themselves easy with the former, in the neglect of the latter? This overvaluing of common grace, and moral sincerity, as it is called; this building so much upon them, making them the conditions of enjoying the seals of God's covenant, and the appointed privileges, and honorable and sacred badges of God's children; this, I can't but think, naturally tends to sooth and flatter the pride of vain man, while it tends to aggrandize those things in men's eyes, which they, of themselves, are strongly disposed to magnify and trust in, without such encouragements, to prompt 'em to it, yea, against all discouragements and dissuasives that can possibly be used with them.

This way of proceeding greatly tends to establish the negligence of parents, and to confirm the stupidity and security of wicked children. If baptism were denied to all children, whose parents did not profess godliness, and in a judgment of rational charity appear real saints, it would tend to excite pious heads of families to more thorough care and pains in the religious education of their children, and to more fervent prayer for them, that they might be converted in youth, before they enter into a married state; and so if they have children, the entail of the covenant be secured. And it would tend to awaken young people themselves, as yet unconverted, especially when about to settle in the world. Their having no right to Christian privileges for their children, in case they should become parents, would tend to lead 'em at such a time seriously to reflect on their own awful state; which, if they don't get out of it, must lay a foundation for so much calamity and reproach

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to their families. And if after their becoming parents, they still remain unconverted, the melancholy thought of their children's going about without so much as the external mark of Christians, would have a continual tendency to put 'em in mind of, and affect 'em with their own sin and folly in neglecting to turn to God, by which they bring such visible calamity and disgrace on themselves and families; they would have this additional motive continually to stir 'em up to seek grace for themselves and their children: whereas, the contrary practice has a natural tendency to quiet the minds of persons, both in their own and their children's unregeneracy. Yea, may it not be suspected, that the way of baptizing the children of such as never make any proper profession of godliness, is an expedient originally invented for that very end, to give ease to ancestors with respect to their posterity, in times of general declension and degeneracy?

This way of proceeding greatly tends to establish the stupidity and irreligion of children, as well as negligence of parents. 'Tis certain, that unconverted parents do never truly give up their children to God; since they don't truly give up themselves to him. And if neither of the parents appear truly pious, in the judgment of rational charity, there is not in this case any ground to expect that the children will be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, or that they will have anything worthy the name of a Christian education, how solemnly soever the parents may promise it.