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hearts have been strongly
impressed, and their affections greatly moved with a sense of the beauty
and excellency of Christ, have had their imaginations so wrought upon,
that, together, with a sense of His glorious spiritual perfections,
there has arisen in the mind an idea of One of glorious majesty, and of
a sweet and gracious aspect. Some, when they have been greatly affected
with Christ's death, have at the same time a lively idea of Christ
hanging upon the cross, and His blood running from His wounds. Surely
such things will not be wondered at by them who have observed how any
strong affections about temporal matters will excite lively ideas and
pictures of different things in the mind.
The vigorous exercises of the mind, doubtless, more strongly impress it
with imaginary ideas in some than others, which probably may arise from
the difference of constitution, and seems evidently in some, partly to
arise from their peculiar circumstances. When persons have been
exercised with extreme terrors, and there is a sudden change to light
and joy, the imagination seems more susceptive of strong ideas; the
inferior powers, and even the frame of the body, are much more affected,
than when the same persons have as great spiritual light and joy
afterwards; of which it might, perhaps, be easy to give a reason. The
forementioned Reverend Messrs. Lord and Owen-who, I believe, are
esteemed persons of learning and discretion where they are best
known-declared, that they found these impressions on persons'
imaginations quite different things from what fame had before
represented to them, and that they were what none need to wonder at-or
to that purpose.
There have indeed been some few instances of impressions on persons
imaginations, which have been somewhat mysterious to me, and I have been
at a loss about them. For, though it has been exceeding evident to me,
by many things that appeared both then and afterwards, that they indeed
had
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