6.  The commendation and applause of ministers and Christians, is that which many rest upon, which is a sad proof of the blindness of their hearts.

7.  The way of good works and alms-deeds blindfoldeth many, and sheweth that they were never led by truth, or taught of Christ, who is the truth.

8.  Some pinching grief and sorrow for sin, is another way which people, strangers to the truth, deceive themselves withal.

9.  A common sort of repentance, backed with some kind of amendment and outward reformation, is a way that many rest secure in, though it lead to destruction.

10.  Freedom from challenges of conscience deceiveth many.

Though these and such like ways be dangerous, yea, deadly, yet how many are there to be found among Christians, that have no better ground of their hope of salvation, and will cleave to them so fast, as no preaching will make them so much as once question the matter, or suspect that these ways will in the end deceive them; so strong is their inclination to the way of error, though not as the way of error.

Fourthly. It presupposeth also an inclinableness in us by nature to wander out of the way; for being nothing but a mass of error, made up of darkness, ignorance, and mistakes, we have a strong bias to error, which agreeth best with our natural, corrupted temper.  Hence it is, that we have such a strong propension to errors and mistakes:  Whether,

1.  Concerning God, and his way of dealing with his church, or with ourselves.  O how ready are our hearts by nature, to hatch and foment wrong, unseemly, untrue, yea, unchristian, if not blasphemous thoughts and conceptions of his nature, attributes, word, and works?  And how ready and prone are we to receive and entertain wrong apprehensions of all his ways and dealings with his church and people?  And as for his works in and about ourselves, O! what unsuitable, erroneous, false, ungodly, absurd, and abominable opinions do we with greediness drink in and foster; yea, feed upon with delight?  Who is able to recount all the errors and mistakes which our heart by nature is ready to admit and foster with complacency?  Are we not by nature ready to say, that there is not a God,—­as the fool, Psal. xiv. 1.  Or, that he is not such a God as his word and works declare him to be—­a holy, just, righteous, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God, &c.  Or that he is a changeable God, and actually changed, not being the same now which sometime he was.  That he hath forgotten to be gracious, and remembereth not his people in adversity; and so is not tender and merciful.  That he hath forgotten his promises, and so is not faithful and true.  That he approveth of sin, because he suffereth the way of the wicked to prosper, and so is not a holy God, &c.  Yea, do not ofttimes such thoughts as these lodge within the heart of the truly godly?  All which sheweth how prone we are to receive and entertain erroneous and false thoughts of God.