True grace, distinguished from the experience of devils; in a sermon, preached before the…

Ans. To this I answer: 'Tis not supposed, that ever Men in this Life have all those Things which have been; mentioned, to the same Degree that the Devils and Damned have them. None supposes that ever any in this Life have Terrors of Conscience to an equal Degree with them. 'Tis not to be supposed, that any mortal Man, whether Godly or Ungodly, has an equal Degree of speculative Knowledge with the Devil. And, as was just now observed, the Wicked, at the Day of Judgment, will have a vastly greater Idea of the external Glory of CHRIST, than ever any have in the present State. So, doubtless, they will have a far greater Sense of GOD's awful Greatness and terrible Majesty, than any could subsist under in this frail State. So we may well conclude, that the Devils, and wicked Men in Hell, have a greater and more affecting Sense of the Vastness of Eternity, and (in some Respects) a greater Sense of the Importance of the Things of another World, than any here have. And they have also Longings after Salvation to an higher Degree than any wicked Men in this World.

But yet, it is evident, that Men in this World, may have Things of the same Kind with Devils and damned Men. The same sort of Light in the Understanding; the same Views, and the same Affections; the same Sense of Things, the same Kind of Impressions on the Mind, and on the Heart. If the Objection is against the Conclusiveness of the Reasoning that has been made use of to prove this; 'tis against the Conclusiveness of that Reasoning which is the Apostle's, more properly than mine. The Apostle judged it, a conclusive Argument, against such as thought their believing there was one GOD, an Evidence of their being gracious; that the Devils believed the same. So the Argument is exactly the same, against such as think they have Grace, because they believe GOD is a holy GOD, or because they have a Sense of the awful Majesty of GOD. The same may be observed of other Things that have been mentioned. My Text has Reference not only to the Act of the Understandings of Devils in believing, but to that Affection of their Hearts, which accompanies the Views they have: As trembling is an Effect of the Affection of the Heart. Which shows, that ⟨p. 30⟩if Men have both the same Views of Understanding, and also the same Affections of Heart, that the Devils have, it is no Sign of Grace.