But some persons continue wandering in such a kind of labyrinth, ten
times as long as others, before their own experience will convince them
of their insufficiency; and so it appears not to be their own experience
only, but the convincing influence of God's Holy Spirit with their
experience, that attains the effect. God has of late abundantly shown
that He does not need to wait to have men convinced by long and often
repeated fruitless trials; for in multitudes of instances He has made a
shorter work of it. He has so awakened and convinced persons'
consciences, and made them so sensible of their exceeding great
vileness, and given them such a sense of His wrath against sin, as has
quickly overcome all their vain self-confidence, and borne them down
into the dust before a holy and righteous God.
There have been some who have not had great terrors, but have had a very
quick work. Some of those who have not had so deep a conviction of these
things before their conversion, have much more of it afterwards. God has
appeared far from limiting Himself to any certain method in His
proceedings with sinners u