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They are ready to argue, that if God had indeed done such great Things for them, as they hoped, such Ingratitude would be inconsistent with it: They cry out of the hardness and wickedness of their Hearts; and say there is so much Corruption, that it seems to them impossible that there should be any Goodness there: and many of them seem to be much more sensible how corrupt their Hearts are, than ever they were before they were converted; and some have been too ready to be impressed with Fear, that instead of becoming better, they are grown much worse, and make it an Argument against the Goodness of their State. But in truth the Case seems plainly to be, that now they feel the pain of their own Wound; they have a watchful Eye upon their Hearts, that they don't use to have: They take more notice what Sin is there, and Sin is now more burdensome to 'em, they strive more against it, and feel more of the Strength of it.

They are ready to argue, that if God had indeed done such great Things for them, as they hoped, such Ingratitude would be inconsistent with it: They cry out of the hardness and wickedness of their Hearts; and say there is so much Corruption, that it seems to them impossible that there should be any Goodness there: and many of them seem to be much more sensible how corrupt their Hearts are, than ever they were before they were converted; and some have been too ready to be impress'd with Fear, that instead of becoming better, they are grown much worse, and make it an Argument against the Goodness of their State. But in truth the Case seems plainly to be, that now they feel the pain of their own Wound; they have a watchful Eye upon their Hearts, that they don't use to have: They take more notice what Sin is there, and Sin is now more burdensome to 'em, they strive more against it, and feel more of the Strength of it.

They are somewhat surprised that they should in this respect find themselves so different from the Idea that they generally had entertained of godly Persons; for tho' Grace be indeed of a far more excellent nature than they imagined; yet those that are godly have much less of it, and much more remaining Corruption, than they thought. They never realized it, that Persons were wont to meet with such Difficulties, after they were once converted. When they are thus exercised with Doubts about their State, through the Deadness of their Frames of Spirit, as long as these Frames last, they are commonly unable to satisfy themselves of the Truth of their Grace, by all their Self-examination. When they hear of the Signs of Grace laid down for 'em to try themselves by, they are often so clouded, that they don't know how to apply them: they hardly know whether they have such and such things in them or no, and whether they have experienced them or not: That which was sweetest, and best, and most distinguishing in their Experiences, they can't recover a sense or Idea of. But on a Return of the Influences of the Spirit of God, to revive the lively Actings of Grace, the Light breaks through the Cloud, and Doubting and Darkness soon vanish away.