An exposition with practical observations continued upon the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of…

Secondly, The heart of man is deceitful in contriving ways to deceive, and supplant other men. The complaint of the Prophet goes very high upon this (Mich. 7.2.) The good man is perished out of the Earth, and there is none upright among men; they all lye in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. To lye in wait, is the act, and a Net is the instrument of a Deceiver, The Prophecy of Christ goes yet higher (Matth. 24.24.) For there shall arise false Christs, and false Prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that (if it were possible) they shall deceive the very Elect. Deceit works to its utmost possibility, when it puts hard to deceive those, whom to deceive is impossible. If Elect men could be deceived, God should be deceived in his Election; But this is impossible, and therefore that is; the man who is elect is deceivable, but because he is an elect man, he cannot be deceived: And though an elect man may be deceived in some things (for even he is subject to error, because he is still (while in this World) the subject of sin) yet he cannot be so far deceived in any thing, as to null or frustrate his election. How restless is man to deceive man, seeing he ceaseth not his endeavour to deceive, where he cannot prevailingly deceive.

Secondly, The heart of man is deceitfull in contriving wayes to deceive, and supplant other men. The complaint of the Prophet goes very high upon this (Mich. 7.2.) The good man is perished out of the Earth, and there is none upright among men; they all lye in waite for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. To lye in waite, is the act, and a Net is the instrument of a Deceiver, The Prophesie of Christ goes yet higher (Matth. 24.24.) For there shall arise false Christs, and false Prophets, and shall shew great signes and wonders; insomuch that (if it were possible) they shall deceive the very Elect. Deceit workes to its utmost possibility, when it puts hard to deceive those, whom to deceive is impossible. If Elect men could be deceived, God should be deceived in his Election; But this is impossible, and therefore that is; the man who is elect is deceiveable, but because he is an elect man, he cannot be deceived: And though an elect man may be deceived in some things (for even he is subject to errour, because he is still (while in this World) the subject of sin) yet he cannot be so farr deceived in any thing, as to null or frustrate his election. How restlesse is man to deceive man, seeing he ceaseth not his endeavour to deceive, where he cannot prevailingly deceive.