Dyke, Daniel, -1614. The mystery of self-deceiving : being some extracts from a discourse on the deceitfulness of mans heart ... / written by the late faithful minister of Gods word, Rev. Daniel Dyke : manuscript, 1796. MS Am 923. Houghton Library,

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Thus the deceit of the temporarys kn lege may be seen in the ground of it It may also be seen in its effects not heating nor humbling as the h christian knowlege is.

Tis not warming & heating nor humbling as that The true christians knowlege wa him at the very heart, working lo of the truth known. Truth kno stamps goodness in the heart. B the temporarys heart recieves not impression.

Neither is it humbling. The knowlege faith is an humbling knowlege. mine eye hath seen thee, saith Job therefore I abhor myself in dust But the temporaries knowlege is swelling knowlege, puffing him in a conceit of himself. Thus for the first part of faith, whi is knowlege.

Secondly, for all application which the very pith & marrow of saving No doubt but the temporary doth in h own conceit apply Christ; but tis like the application of food in a dream. not a reality but a fancy: for true faith apprehension of Christ is mutual. doth not so lay hold of Christ as we take hold of a tree or some inanim

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thing; but as we use to do in our salutations of one another - when we embrace one another, there is a mutual hold on both sides. Whence the act of the patriarchs faith in apprehending the promises is ele :gantly, set out by the Apostle, by the metaphor of saluting, they saluted, kissed, or embraced the promise. So that true faith kissing Christ is kissed of him, embracing Christ is re-embraced of him, & it so apprehends Christ as to be at the same time apprehended of him. Now those whom Christ once apprehends he never loses -none shall ever pluck them out of his hands. But temporary believer, as we see in Judas, may fi =nally fall away from Christ & got to their own place: therefore they were no true believers. they apprehended only an idol that could not hold them & not Christ whose hand is a sure hold-fast.

But it may be asked "Why then are such calld believers? Because their faith having some re :semblence of true faith, it is mistaken for it, & is calld true faith by them & others. also, because they have a sort of faith true in its kind, namely a joyful assent to the truth of the gospel, but is not that justifying faith which they think to be How then shall we know the difference so as that the true believer may be delivered from false fear & the temporary from false joy.

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I answer,

1. The true believer believes with much difficult & great conflict, with unbelief. crying, Lord believe, help my unbelief. He is fain to tugg wrestle, even till he sweat again. The believ has much ado to believe, not only in regard the apposition made by the flesh (full of infir which, as in all good things, so especially in :lieveing, we must beat down with Paul) but also regard of the violent Assaults of Satan, imple our faith as naught, & so often putting us to Shifts, making us to search & try our faith, to earnestly for faiths confirmation. It is not so with the temporary believer in his faith finds it very easy to believe. Satan, who by his presumptuous faith, troubles him not: b rather confirms him in this his deceit. The He does not so suspect himself, so try & exam himself, so work out the work of his faith u those strong cries, offervent prayer, with th fear & jealousy, & with those bitter conflicts infidelity; that the true believer doth.

2. Faiths application of Christ to the Believer. with application of the believer to Christ. believer takes Christ to himself, & gives him to Christ, whereas the temporary only take to himself, but is lame in that hand with wh he shoud give himself to Christ. Therefore :plying Christ to himself, & not himself to He misapplys.

3. A third property of true faith is set out in Abra example, who is said to hope against hope. T is the evidence of things not seen. It can see even contrary in another. It can see heaven in the very depths of hell - happiness in extremity of misery, m in the midst of anger - when nothing but war is

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be seen in God's face, yet then it can behold the sweet sunshine of Gods favor & Grace in Christ The eye of true faith can look upon God not only smiling & inviting us to himself by a sweet & gracious coutenance but even when driving us away by a low'ring & frowning countenance But then our temproraries faith is quite dashd out of countenance. "Will the hypo:crite pray always, saith Job. So, will he believe always? No, a little wind blows down the spiders web of his hope. When God's hands are full of gifts to bestow, then his faith is ready to lay hold on them. He is like to dogs, which (when) they see a crust in your hand, come fawning about you, but if they see a cudgel, & that you come toward them to strike, either they fearfully runaway, or des :perately flye in your face. But the true believer goes further & when there is a naked drawn sword in Gods hand yet he dares venture & press towards God Tho' the Lord set never so stern a coun :tenance against him, he will not be out faced but in a holy kind of impudency he will out-look him & say, Lord, tho' look upon me, as tho' thou wouldest slay me, yet still I will look unto thee for help. (tho') Thou kill me, yet will I trust in thee. But in such a case, the temp :rarie, former jolly confidence vanishes Here is the tryal of faith.

Thus the temporary deceives himself in the parts of faith - so also in The signs of faith. These are those feeling

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those delights & joyes which are felt in hear the word, in prayer, in meditation of the pr mises. for as in feeding upon sweet & pl :sant food there is a natural; so also in fai feeding upon the promises there is a spiri :tual gladness. we believe & rejoice. Now these comforts & joyes, the tempor in some sort feels. He receives the word with joy. {Matthew} 13. He tastes of the good word of God & of the powers of the wor to come. {Hebrews} 6. But there is great =ceit in this joy & feeling - tis not solid but superficial - tis but a taste no ea :ing to any purpose.

1. The first property is sincerity, when by the believer rejoices in the word for i own sake, for the goodness & holiness of But the delight which the temporary believer takes in the word, is rather f the novelty of the doctrine delivered, a for some affection to the preacher, f some common & outward gifts, either life or learning, or for his elocution, :tion, words phrases in the delivery. such like respect - as was the case w Izekiel heard, & Herod heard John g by till here proved his Sin. Thus it is w The temporary. he can delight in the wor as long as it troubles him not in his be :ed sins: but let it once touch him there