First, The Lord lets in some unexpected flashes of §1spiritual Truth, discovering the evil of sin in the general, and the dangerous conditions of such as stand guilty thereof, and continue therein, which were never considered, nor before that time conceived of, by him that hath been an ignorant and careless hearer of the Word: who came to the means either by constraint, or custom, or complement in a way of course for company sake, never set price upon the means, nor attended to the Truth and goodness thereof, and therefore the Ordinances were as the Waters that pass by, left neither power nor profit upon the soul. But now there is some evidence of Truth which God so directs and darts in, that it flashes like lightning into his face, leaves a kind of amazement upon his mind, and like a sudden blow gasters the […] of the sinner, so that he begins to stagger, and is driven to give some attendance to that of which he never took notice before, not knowing well […] to make of himself, nor yet of that which he heard, only he is forced to observe something he never formerly regarded. Hence therefore […] a confused kind of tumult and lumber of thoughts within himself, he begins to be in a ⟨p. 364⟩muse what such things mean, whither they tend, is at a loss with himself, and knows not which way to take; I never heard so much as now, if all be true that I have heard, and the Minister hath preached; there is more in sin than ever I imagined, and my condition more miserable than ever I did conceive. This maskering of spirit drives him to make enquiry, the things seem strange, he begins to search […] they be true or no. So they to Paul, disputing concerning false Worship, and their Idolatrous practices, Acts, 17. 19, 20. Thou bringest strange things to our ears, we would know therefore what these things mean. So it was with Paul at his first bringing home to God, Acts, 22. 6. There shone a great light from Heaven about him, and he heard a voice, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? The thing was strange, but what it was he could not tell, and therefore he makes yet further enquiry, Who art thou Lord? As the poor woman having heard the Minister preach out of that Text, Isai. 27. 11. They are a People of no understanding, therefore he that made them, will not […] them: he that created them, will not show mercy to them.
First, The Lord lets in some unexpected flashes of §1spiritual Truth, discovering the evil of sin in the general, and the dangerous conditions of such as stand guilty thereof, and continue therein, which were never considered, nor before that time conceived of, by him that hath been an ignorant and careless hearer of the Word: who came to the means either by constraint, or custom, or complement in a way of course for company sake, never set price upon the means, nor attended to the Truth and goodness thereof, and therefore the Ordinances were as the Waters that pass by, left neither power nor profit upon the soul. But now there is some evidence of Truth which God so directs and darts in, that it flashes like lightning into his face, leaves a kind of amazement upon his mind, and like a sudden blow gasters the 〈…〉 of the sinner, so that he begins to stagger, and is driven to give some attendance to that of which he never took notice before, not knowing wel 〈…〉 to make of himself, nor yet of that which he heard, only he is forced to observe somthing he never formerly regarded. Hence therefore 〈…〉 a confused kind of tumult and lumber of thoughts within himself, he begins to be in a ⟨p. 364⟩muse what such things mean, whither they tend, is at a loss with himself, and knows not which way to take; I never heard so much as now, if all be true that I have heard, and the Minister hath preached; there is more in sin than ever I imagined, and my condition more miserable than ever I did conceive. This maskering of spirit drives him to make enquiry, the things seem strange, he begins to search 〈…〉 they be true or no. So they to Paul, disputing concerning false Worship, and their Idolatrous practices, Acts, 17. 19, 20. Thou bringest strange things to our ears, we would know therefore what these things mean. So it was with Paul at his first bringing home to God, Acts, 22. 6. There shone a great light from Heaven about him, and he heard a voyce, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? The thing was strange, but what it was he could not tel, and therefore he makes yet further enquiry, Who art thou Lord? As the poor woman having heard the Minister preach out of that Text, Isai. 27. 11. They are a People of no understanding, therefore he that made them, will not 〈…〉 them: he that created them, wil not shew mercy to them.
