Part 14

Our Blessed Saviour has blessed us, with a counsil, as Wholsome and as Needful as any that can be given us, in _Math. 26.41._ _Watch and Pray, that yee Enter not into Temptation._ As there is a Tempting _Flesh_, and a Tempting _World_, which would seduce us from Our Obedience to the Laws of God, so there is a Busy _Devil_, who is by way of Eminency called, _The Tempter_; because by him, the Temptations of the _Flesh_ and the _World_ are managed.

It is not _One Devil_ alone, that has Cunning or Power enough to apply the Multitudes of _Temptations_, whereby Mankind is daily diverted from the Service of God; No, the _High Places_ of Our Air, are Swarming full of those _Wicked Spirits_, whose Temptations trouble us; they are so many, that it seems no less than a _Legion_, or more than twelve thousands may be spared, for the Vexation of one miserable man. But because those Apostate Angels, are all _United_, under one Infernal Monarch, in the Designs of Mischief, 'tis in the Singular Number, that they are spoken of. Now, the _Devil_, whose Malice and Envy, prompts him to do what he can, that we may be as unhappy as himself, do's ordinarily use more _Fraud_, than _Force_, in his assaulting of us; he that assail'd our First Parents, in a _Serpent_, will still _Act Like a Serpent_, rather than a _Lion_, in prosecuting of his wicked purposes upon us, and for us to guard against the _Wiles_ of the _Wicked One_, is one of the greatest cares, with which our God ha's charged us.

We are all of us liable to various _Temptations_ every day, whereby if we are carried aside from the strait _Paths of Righteousness_, we get all sorts of wounds unto our selves. Of _Temptations_, I may say, as the Wise Man said, of _Mortality_; _there is no discharge from that war._ The _Devils_ fell hard upon both _Adams_, nor may any among the Children of both, imagine to be excused. The _Son_ of God Himself, had this _Dog_ of Hell, barking at Him; and much more may the Children of _Men_, look to be thus Visited; indeed, there is hardly any _Temptation_, but what is, _Common to Man_. When I was considering, how to spend one Hour in Raising a most Effectual and Profitable _Breast-work_, against the inroads of this Enemy, I perceived it would be done, by a short answer to this.

CASE.

_What are those Usual +Methods+ of +Temptation+, with which the Powers of Darkness do assault the Children of Men?_

The _Corinthians_, having upon the Apostles Direction, Excommunicated one of their Society, who had married his Mother-in-law, & this, as it is thought, while his own Father was Living too; the Apostle encourages them to Re-admit that man, upon his very deep and sharp _Repentance_. He gives divers Reasons of his propounding this unto them; whereof one is, _Lest Satan should get advantage of them_; for, had the man miscarried, under any Rigour of the Sentence continued upon him, after his _Repentance_, 'tis well if the Church itself had not quickly fallen to pieces thereupon; besure, the Success of the Gospel had been more than a little Incommoded. The Apostle upon this Occasion, intimates, That _Satan_ has his _Devices_; by which word are meant, Artifices or Contrivances used for the _Deceiving_ of those that are Treated with them well, But what shall _we do_ that we may come to this _Corinthian Attainment_, _We are not Ignorant of Satan's Devices?_ [_Non cuivis homini Contingit!_]

Truly, the Devil has _Mille Nocendi Artes_; and it will be impossible for us, to run over all the _Stratagems_ and _Policies_ of our Adversary. I shall only attempt a few Observations upon the _Temptations_ of our Lord Jesus Christ: who was _Tempted in all things like unto us, except in our Sins_. When we read the _Temptations_ of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Fourth Chapter of _Matthew_ There, Thence, you will understand, what was once counted so difficult; Even, _The way of a Serpent upon the Rock_. There are certain Ancient and Famous _Methods_ which the Devil in his _Temptations_, does mostly accustome himself unto; which is not so much from any Barrenness, or Sluggishness in the Devil, but because he has had the Encouragement of a, _Probatum est_, upon those horrid Methods. How did the Devil assault the First _Adam_? It was with Temptations drawn from _Pleasure_, and _Profit_, and _Honour_, which, as the Apostle notes, in _1 Joh. 2.16._ are, _All that is in the World_. With the very same temptations it was, that he fell upon the Second _Adam_ too. Now, in those _Temptations_, you will see the more _Usual Methods_, whereby the _Devil_ would be Ensnaring of us; and I beseech you to attend unto the following Admonitions, as those _Warnings_ of God, which the Lives of your souls depend upon your taking of.

There were especially Three _Remarkable_ Assaults of _Temptations_, which the _Devil_ it seems, visibly made upon our Lord; after he had been more invisibly for Forty dayes together _Tempting_ of that Holy One; and we may make a few distinct _Remarks_ upon them all.

S. The first of our Lords three Temptations is thus related, in _Mat. 4.3._ _He was an Hungry; and when the Tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, Command that these Stones be made Bread._

From whence, take these _Remarks_.

I. The Devil will ordinarily make our _Conditions_, to be the Advantages of his _Temptations_. When our Lord was _Hungry_, then _Bread! Bread!_ shall be all the Cry of his Temptation; the Devil puts him upon a wrong step, for the getting of _Bread_. There is no Condition, but what has indeed some _Hunger_ accompanying of it; and the Devil marks what it is, that we are _Hungry_ for. One mans Condition makes him _Hunger_ for Preferments, or Employments, another mans makes him _Hunger_ for Cash or Land, or Trade; another mans makes him _Hunger_ for Merriments, or Diversions: And the Condition of every Afflicted Man, makes him _Hunger_ with Impatience for Deliverance. Now the Devil will be sure to suit his Perswasions with our _Conditions_. When he has our _Condition_ to speak with him, & for him, then thinks he, _I am sure this man will now hearken to my Proposals!_ Hence, if men are in _Prosperity_, the Devil will tempt them to Forgetfulness of God; if they are in _Adversity_, he will tempt them to Murmuring at God; in all the expressions of those impieties. Wise _Agur_ was aware of this; in _Prov. 30.9._ says he, if a man be _Full_, he shall be tempted, _to deny God, and say, who is the Lord?_ if a man be Poor, he shall be tempted, _to steal, and take the Name of God in vain._ The Devil will talk suitably; if you ponder your Conditions, you may expect you shall be tempted agreeably thereunto.

II. The Devil does often manage his _temptations_, by urging of our _Necessities_. Our Lord, was thus by the Devil bawl'd upon; _You want Bread, and you'll starve, if in my way you get it not._ The Devil will show some forbidden thing unto us, and plead concerning it, as of _Bread_ we use to say, _it must be had._ _Necessity_ has a wonderful compulsion in it. You may see what _Necessity_ will do, if you read in _Deut. 28.56._ _the tender and the delicate Woman among you, her eye shall be evil towards the Children that she shall bear, for she shall eat them for want of all things._ The Devil will perswade us that there is a _Necessity_ of our doing what he does propound unto us; and then tho' the _Laws_ of God about us were so many _Walls_ of Stone, yet we shall break through them all. That little inconvenience, of our coming to beg our _Bread_, O what a fearful Representation does the Devil make of it! and when once the Devil scares us to think of a sinful thing, _it must be done_, we soon come to think, _it may be done_. When the Devil has frighted us into an Apprehension, that it is a _Needful_ thing which we are prompted unto, he presently Engages all the Faculties of our Souls, to prove, that it may be a _Lawful_ one; the Devil told _Esau_, _You'll dye if you don't sell your Birthright;_ the Devil told _Aaron_, _You'll pull all the people about your ears, if you do not countenance their superstitions;_ and then they comply'd immediately. Yea, sometimes if the Devil do but Feign a Necessity, he does thereby _Gain_ the Hearts of Men; he did but feign a Need, when he told _Saul_, _the Cattel must be spared, and the sacrifice must be precipitated_, & he does but feign a Need, when he tells many a man, _if you do no servile work on the +Sabbath-day+, and if you don't Rob God of his evening, you'll never subsist in the world._ All the denials of God, in the world, use to be from this Fallacy impos'd upon us. It never can be necessary for us to violate any Negative Commandment in the Law of our God; where God says, _thou shalt not_, we cannot upon any pretence reply, I _must_. But the Devil will put a most formidable and astonishing face of necessity upon many of those _Abominable things, which are hateful to the soul of God_. He'll say nothing to us about, the one thing needful; but the petite and the sorry _Need-nots_ of this world, he'll set off with most bloody Colours of _Necessity_. He will not say, _'tis necessary for you to maintain the Favour of your God, and secure the +welfare of your Soul+;_ but he'll say, _'tis necessary for you to keep in with your Neighbours; and that you and yours may have a good Living among them._

III. The Devil does insinuate his most Horrible _Temptations_, with pretence, of much _Friendship_ and _Kindness_ for us. He seemed very unwilling that our Lord should want any thing that might be comfortable for him; but, he was a _Devil_ still! The _Devil_ flatters our Mother _Eve_, as if he was desirous to make her more Happy than her Maker did; but there was the _Devil_ in that flattery. _Sub Amici fallere Nomen_,----to Salute men with profers to do all manner of Service for them; and at the same time to Stab them as _Joab_ did _Abner_ of old; this is just like the _Devil_, and the _Devil_ truly has many Children that Imitate him in it. Some very Affectionate Things were spoken once unto our Lord; _Lord, be it far from thee, that thou shouldest suffer any Trouble!_ But our Lords Answer was, in _Mat. 16.23._ _Get thee behind me Satan._ The Devil will say to a man, _I would have thee to Consult thy own Interest, and I would have Trouble to be far from thee._ He speaks these _Fair Things_, by the Mouths of our professed Friends unto us, as he did by the Tongue of a Speckled Snake unto our Deluded Parents at the first. But all this while, 'tis a Direction that has been wisely given us; _When he speaks fair, Believe him not, for there are seven Abominations in his Heart._

IV. Things in themselves _Allowable_ and _Convenient_, are oftentimes turned into sore _Temptations_ by the Devil. He press'd our Lord unto the making of _Bread_; Why, that very thing was afterwards done by our Lord, in the Miracles of the _Loaves_; and yet it is now a motion of the _Devil_, _Pray, make thy self a Little Bread._ The Devil will frequently put men by, from the doing of a _seasonable Duty_; but how? Truly by putting us upon another _Duty_, which may be at that juncture a most _Unseasonable_ Thing. It is said in _Eccl. 8.5._ _A Wise Mans heart discerns both Time and Judgment._ The _Ill-Timing_ of good Things, is One of the chief Intregues, which the Devil has to Prosecute. The Devil himself, will Egg us on to many a _Duty_; and why so? But because at that very Time a more proper and Useful Duty, will have a _Supersedeas_ given thereunto. And, thus there are many Things, whereof we can say, though no more than this, yet so much as this, _They are Lawful ones_, by which Lawful Things----_Perimus Omnes._ Where shall we find that the Devil has laid our most fatal Snares? Truly, our Snares are on the _Bed_, where it is _Lawful_ for us to Sleep; at the _Board_, where it is _Lawful_ for us to Sit; in the _Cup_, where 'tis _Lawful_ to Drink; and in the _Shops_, where we have _Lawful_ Business to do. The _Devil_ will decoy us, unto the utmost Edge of the _Liberty_ that is _Lawful_ for us; and then one Little push, hurries us into a Transgression against the Lord. And the _Devil_ by Inviting us to a _Lawful_ thing, at a wrong time for it, Layes us under further Entanglement of Guilt before God. 'Tis _Lawful_ for People to use Recreations; but in the Evening of the Lords Day, or the Morning of any Day, how Ensnaring are they! The _Devil_ then too commonly bears part in the Sport. If _Promiscuous Dancing_ were Lawful; though almost all the Christian Churches in the World, have made a Scandal of it; yet for Persons to go presently from a _Sermon_ to a _Dance_, is to do a thing, which Doubtless the _Devil_ makes good Earnings of.

V. To _distrust_ Gods Providence and Protection, is one of the worst things, into which the Devil by his _Temptations_ would be hurrying of us. He would fain have driven our Lord unto a Suspicion of Gods care about Him, said the Devil, _You may dy for lack of Bread, if you do not look better after your self, than God is like to do for you._ It is an usual thing for Persons to dispair of Gods _Fatherly Care_ Concerning them; they torture themselves with distracting and amazing Fears, that they shall come to want before they dy; Yea, they even say with _Jonas_, in _Chap. 2.4._ _I am cast out of the sight of God;_ He wont look after me! But it is the Devil that is the Author of all such Melancholly Suggestions in the minds of men. It is a thought that often raises a Feaver in the Hearts of _Married_ Persons, when Charges grow upon them; _God will never be able in the way of my Calling, to feed and cloath all my Little Folks._ It is a Thought with which _Aged_ persons are often tormented, _Tho' God has all my dayes hitherto supplied me, yet I shall be pinched with Straits before I come to my Journeys end._ 'Tis a malicious Devil that raises these _Evil surmisings_ in the hearts of Men. And sometimes a distemper of Body affords a Lodging for the Devil, from whence he shoots the cruel Bombs of such _Fiery Thoughts_ into the minds of many other persons. With such thoughts does the Devil choose to persecute us; because thereby we come to _Forfeit_ what we _Question_. We _Question_ the Care of God, and so we _Forfeit_ it, until perhaps the Devil do utterly _drown us in Perdition_. Our God says, _Trust in the Lord, and do good, and verily thou shall be fed._ But the Devil says, _don't you trust in God; be afraid that you shall not be fed;_ and thus he hinders men from the _doing of Good_.

VI. There is nothing more Frequent in the _Temptations_ of the Devil, then for our _Adoption_ to be doubted, because of our _Affliction_. When our Lord was in his Penury, then says the Devil, _If thou be the Son of God;_ he now makes an _If_, of it; _What? the Son of God, and not be able to Command a Bit of Bread!_ Thus, when we are in very Afflictive Circumstances, this will be the Devils Inference, _Thou art not a Child of God._ The Bible says in _Heb. 12.7._ _If you are Chastened, it is a shrow'd sign that you can't be Children._ Since he can't Rob us of our _Grace_, he would Rob us of our _Joy_; and therefore having Accused us unto God, he then Accuses God unto us. When _Israel_ was weak and faint in the Wilderness, then did _Amalek_ set upon them; just so does the Devil set upon the people of God, when their Losses, their Crosses, their Exercises have Enfeebled their Souls within them; and what says the Devil? E'en the same that was mutter'd in the Ear of the Afflicted _Job_, _Is not this the Uprightness of thy Ways? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being Innocent? If thou wert a Child of God, He would never follow thee, with such Testimonies of his Indignation._ This is the _Logic_ of the Devil; and he thus interrupts that patience, and that Chearfulness wherewith we should _suffer the will of God_.

VII. To dispute the Divine Original and Authority of _Gods Word_, is not the least of those _Temptations_ with which the Devil troubles us. God from Heaven, had newly said unto our Lord, _this is my Beloved Son_; but now the Devil would have him to make a dispute of it, _If thou be the son of God._ The Devil durst not be so Impudent, and Brasen fac'd, as to bid men use _Pharaohs_ Language, _Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?_ But he will whisper into our Ears, what he did unto our Mother _Eve_ of old, _It is not the Lord that hath spoken what you call his Word._ The Devil would have men say unto the _Scripture_, what they said unto the _Prophet_, in _Jer. 43.2._ _Thou speakest falsely; the Lord our God hath not sent thee to speak what thou sayst unto us;_ & he would fain have secret & cursed Misgivings in our hearts, _that things are not altogether so as the Scripture has represented them._ The Devil would with all his heart make one huge Bonefire of all the Bibles in the world; & he has got Millions of persecutors to _assist him in the suppression of that miraculous book_. _It was the +devil+ once in the tongue of a Papist_, that cry'd out, _A plague on this bible; this 'tis that does all our mischief._ But because he can't _Suppress_ this Book, he sets himself, to _Disgrace_ it all that he can. Altho' the Scripture carries its _own Evidence_ with it, and be all over, so pure, so great, so true, and so powerful, that it is impossible it should proceed from any but God alone; yet the Devil would gladly bring some Discredit upon it, as if it were but some _Humane Contrivance_; Of nothing, is the Devil more desirous, than this; That we should not count, _Christ_ so precious, _Heaven_ so Glorious, _Hell_ so Dreadful, and _Sin_ so odious, as the Scripture has declared it.

S. The Second of our Lords Three Temptations, is related after this manner, in _Mat. 4.5, 6._ _Then the Devil taketh him up, into the Holy City, and setteth him upon a Pinacle of the Temple; and saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thy self down; for it is written, He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee, and in their Hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy Foot against a Stone._

From whence take these _Remarks_.

I. The places of the greatest _Holiness_ will not secure us from Annoyance by the _Temptations_ of the Devil, to the greatest wickedness. When our Lord was in the Holy City, the Devil fell upon him there. Indeed, there is now no proper _Holiness_ of _Places_ in our Days; the Signs and Means of Gods more special Presence are not under the Gospel, ty'd unto any certain _places_: Nevertheless there are _places_, where we use to enjoy much of God; and where, altho' God visit not the _Persons_ for the sake of the _Places_, yet he visits the _Places_ for the sake of the _Persons_. But, I am to tell you that the Devil will visit those _Places_ and best _Persons_ there. No _Place_, that I know of, has got such a _Spell_ upon it, as will always keep the Devil out. The _Meeting-House_ wherein we Assemble for the Worship of God, is fill'd with many Holy People, and many Holy Concerns continually; but if our Eyes were so refined as the Servant of the Prophet had his of old, I suppose we should now see a Throng of _Devils_ in this very place. The Apostle has intimated, that Angels come in among us; there are Angels it seems that hark, how I _Preach_, and how you _Hear_, at this Hour. And our own sad Experience is enough to intimate, That the _Devils_ are likewise Rendevouzing here. It is Reported, in _Job 1.5._ _When the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them._ When we are in our Church-Assemblies, O how many _Devils_, do you imagine, croud in among us! There is a _Devil_ that rocks one to Sleep, there is a _Devil_ that makes another to be thinking of, he scarce knows what himself; and there is a _Devil_, that makes another, to be pleasing himself with wanton and wicked Speculations. It is also possible, that we have our _Closets_, or our _Studies_, gloriously perfumed with Devotions every day; but alas, can we shut the Devil out of them? No, Let us go where we will, we shall still find a Devil nigh unto us. Only, when we come to Heaven, we shall be out of his reach for ever; _O thou foul Devil; we are going where thou canst not come!_ He was hissed out of _Paradise_, and shall never enter it any more. Yea, more than so, when the _New Jerusalem_ comes down into the _High Places_ of our Air, from whence the Devil shall then be banished, there shall be no Devil within the Walls of that Holy City. _Amen, Even so Lord Jesus, Come quickly._

II. Any other acknowledgments of the Lord Jesus Christ, will be permitted by the Temptations of the Devil, provided those Acknowledgments of him, which are _True_ and _Full_, may be thereby prevented. What was it, that the Devil hurried our Lord Jesus Christ unto the Top of the _Temple_ for? Surely it could not meerly be to find _Precipices_; any part of the Wilderness would have afforded _Them_. No, it was rather to have _Spectators_. And why so, Why, the carnal Jews had an Expectation among them; that _Elias_ was to fly from Heaven to the Temple; and the Devil seems willing, that our Lord should be cry'd up for _Elias_, among the giddy multitude; or any thing in the World, tho never so considerable otherwise, rather than to be received as the Christ of God. The Devil will allow his Followers to think very highly of the Lord Jesus Christ; O but he is very lothe to have them think, _All_. We read in _Col. 1.19._ _It has pleased the Father, that in Him there should all Fullness dwell._ But it is pleasing to the Devil that we deny something of the Immense _Fullness_, which is in our Lord. The Devil would confess to our Lord, _Thou art the Holy One of God!_ but then he claps in, _Thou art Jesus of Nazareth;_ which was to conceal our Lords being _Jesus of Bethlehem_, and so his being, _The True Messiah_. All the _Heresies_, and all the Persecutions, that ever plagued the Church of God, have still been, to strike at some _Glory_ of our Lord Jesus Christ. A CHRIST Entirely Acknowledged, will save the Souls of them that so Acknowledge Him; but, says the Devil, _Whatever tides I must not give way to that._ As they say, the Devil makes Witches unable to utter all the _Lords Prayer_, or some such System of Religion, without some Deprevations of it; thus the Devil will consent that we may make a very large Confession of the Lord Jesus Christ; only he will have us to deprave it, at least in some one Important Article. Some one Honour, some one Office, and some one _Ordinance_ of the Lord Jesus Christ, must be always left unacknowledged, by those that will do as the Devil would have them.