except the heart : but he, when he is deceiving, is conscious that he is deceiving : he does not for a moment imagine that he is speaking truth : but the heart persuades itself that it is not guilty of any im- position : it is as confident of its own integrity, as if it were really upright ; and as fully convinced of the truth of its representations, as if they were really true. This is the case universally amongst those who are yet in a carnal and unconverted state. Those who imagine that religion consists in the observance of certain forms, are often as free from doubts as any people upon earth ; and if it be insinuated that they are blind, they ask with surprise and indignation, " Are we blind also?" In like manner a ferocious bloody-thirsty persecutor will actually think., that, whilst he is killing the Lord's people, "he is doing God service :" just as the persecuting Saul " verily thought with himself that he ought to do many things con- trary to the name of Jesus." But further, even the Atheist, who reduces God to a level with man, per- suades himself that he is right ; " Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself0." In- deed the same propensity of heart shews itself even after that we are converted : the Apostles themselves, when they would have called fire from heaven to consume a Samaritan village, thought, undoubtedly, that their proposal was at least an acceptable ex- pression of their zeal : but our Lord told them, that ft they knew not what spirit they were of:" and Peter, when dissuading his Master from entertaining any thoughts about sufferings and death, supposed that he displayed most unexceptionably the tender- ness of his love ; whilst in reality he was, as our Lord himself told him, no other than an agent of the devil.
Of this power of the heart to deceive itself, all men are conscious, in relation to others ; but all overlook it in relation to themselves. Nothing is easier than for a spectator to form a tolerably correct judgment of the motives and principles of others, and to see
c Ps. 1. 21.