The dying man's testament to the Church of Scotland, or, A treatise concerning scandal…

4. In such a case also, the Lord doth justly deprive men, whom He mindeth to plague with that delusion, of these means, which might be useful to discern and resist the same. As, 1. he may take away all outward restraints, which usually keep corrupt teachers from open and professed spreading of their errors; and in His providence, give them full way to multiply, and avowedly to pursue their design. This is to pluck up the hedge, Isa. 5. and to suffer the winds to blow, Rev. 7. which are ever great inlets to this judgement of delusion, when, to say so, there is a flood spewed out, and there is no earth to help the woman, and to dry up that flood. 2. He may take away prime lights and guides, which are useful to keep people right; or, if they continue, he may suffer jealousy, division and other things to intervene so, that thereby their weight and authority is lessened to such persons: in which respect, Ahab becometh jealous of Micajah, whereby the devil hath occasion to make the lies of the false Prophets the more to be commended to him. 3. The Lord may withdraw the light that persons have (and, it may be, some common gifts of the Spirit) and by depriving them of that, they become the more obnoxious to tentation, although it may be they think themselves wiser, and more understanding than they were: thus the Apostle calleth the Galatians foolish and bewitched, Gal. 3. 1, 2. as having fallen from that light which at first they had. 4. He may remove common convictions of the Spirit, and challenges of a natural conscience, so that they may go on in their delusion without a challenge; yea, (as it is said, Joh. 16. 2.) think that ⟨p. 175⟩they do God good service in so doing: this is, to have the conscience feared with an hot iron, 1 Tim. 4. 2. that waiteth upon seducing Spirits; and thus we see, that the most vain and reasonless confidence doth often wait upon the foulest errors, as, Isa. 44. 9. unto 20. This is called,