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A00459 The Christian conflict and conquest set forth in a sermon at Pauls-crosse, upon Sunday the 19th of Iuly, 1635. By W.E.B.D. of St Mary Hall in Oxford Evans, William, b. 1598 or 9. 1636 (1636) STC 10595; ESTC S114790 45,067 78

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as the the crafty pyrate doth somtime hang out the same colours that the honest Mariner doth thereby to entrappe him So Sathan will sometimes transforme himselfe into an Angel of light As thus he will set out licentiousnesse under the name of libertie drunkennesse under the colour of good fellowship covetousnesse under the name of good husbandry fury under the name of mettle or manhood whoredome under the name of loving a mistresse Simony under the name of gratuity unlawfull sports under the name of honest mirth and recreation Poperie under the name of old Religion or the Catholicke faith Depopulation and enclosing of commons under the name of using ones owne or doing with ones owne as he list c. Thus he dies all his bad clothes in good colours guilds over his false coyne sugars over his temptations and paints the foule faces of sinne with the fine colours of vertues and graces Yea hee will not sticke to adventure to deceive Saul under Samuels mantle O then what need have we to flye to Iesus Christ who dwelleth with prudence What need have we not to be carried with every thing that hath a shew of goodnesse or indifferency But to bring these painted strumpets of the Devill to the light yea and to the heat of the word of God And then their painting shall melt away and we shall see their beauty came out of the Devills boxe Beloved nimium ne crede colori be not carried away with colours and showes The Devill hath a faire colour for the foulest sinne A 7 th trick of the Devill is to put a vizard of evill upon that which is good As to call the Catholicke and Apostolicke doctrine of our Church heresie and the Professors thereof Hereticks so the Papists to call the wholesome discipline of our Church Popish superstition so the Schismaticks To call conscience of sinne and a desire in all things to live honestly precise nicenesse so the carnall Gospellers Thus by calling evill good and good evill hee would bring it to passe that there should be nothing but evill and so in the end nothing but woe For woe shall be to him that calls evill good and good evill Isa 5. 20. Another Stratageme of the Devill is to wound us with our owne weapons even with our very graces As thus if he sees some zealous and fervent in religion so that he can in no wise quench this fire then he will throw his Gun-powder into it and under the colour of zeale bring them to preposterous indiscretion yea to a blind and bold madnesse As to undertake being private men to reforme publick abuses without the Magistrates authority and to make as great fire for the rosting of an egge as for the rosting of an Oxe I meane to bee as zealous for the small as for the weightier matters of the law for the swadling clothes as for the body of religion for the circumstance as for the substance A thing very dangerous to the Church as we may see in the example of Auda Bishop in Persia who in an excesse of zeale throwing downe a Temple of the Pagans was the cause that the king thereby incensed threw downe all temples of the Christians as Theodoret writes Lib. 5. Remember then to keep the meane according to Gods word Isa 30. 21. Be not righteous overmuch make not thy selfe over wise Eccles 7. 16. If ye cannot doe that good ye desire doe that ye can and so bee zealous according to knowledge Rom. 10. 2. If with Paul ye cannot put downe Castor and Pollux the badges of heathenisme or Papisme yet doe not run out of the shippe S. Paul did not so Act. 28. 11. or if ye dwell in Ephesus an idolatrous place where the great Goddesse Diana is worshiped so that with S. Paul ye canot hinder it yet for all that doe not in an undiscreet zeale leaue your Minister runne out of Ephesus S. Paul did not so Act. 19. 10. I take it that wisdome is not from above when men will doe nothing unlesse they may doe what they will Surely such fiery zeale hath some of the Devills powder in it Another pollicy of Sathan to overthrow Gods servants and souldiours is to perswade those that bee great wits to prie into the counsells and decrees of their Generall Christ Iesus when they should follow him And to meddle with his Mysteries when they should meddle with their owne businesse knowing that to be the way to bring them out of favour and to be rebuked with Peter for curiosity with Quid ad te what is that to thee follow thou me Ioh. 21. 21. Many other wiles and Stratagems Sathan hath to ensnare and entrap us which I have now no time to relate these be they which be now most in use And by these you see what a dangerous enemy you have What remaineth then but that we shake off all security and provide and prepare to withstand him What remaineth but that wee should bee sober and watch seeing our adversary the Devill goeth about and seeketh so many waies to devoure us That is the counsell of the Apostle in this case let us follow it and watch Specially let us be carefull that wee give him no advantage against us and so betray our selves into his hands There be many waies whereby advantage is given unto Sathan And whereby as it were we tempt the Temptor One is being too wordly minded so much the text here doth teach us for therefore the Devill is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a ruler of the world Quia praevalet adversus eos qui mundana cogitant Saith Aretius upon the place that is because he prevailes much against those that are wordly minded And this the Apostle witnesseth more plainely in another place saying that they which be rich fall into temptation and a snare of the Devill 1. Tim. 6. 9. A second way whereby we give advantage unto Sathan against us is by living in the darknesse of ignorance This we are taught also here in the text in that Sathan is here called Rector tenebrarum .i. Ruler of the darknesse of this world for this is because he rules and domineires most over them that live in darknesse and blindnesse of mind in darke and blind ignorance of the Scripture And this our Saviour speakes in more plaine termes saying ye erre not knowing the Scriptures Mark 12. 24. so that if we will not fall into errours and the snares of the Devill we must beware how we live in darke ignorance A third way whereby we give the Devill advantage over us is by yeelding a little to his temptations as to sweare lie or steale a little and the like For if he can get us to yeeld to his motions in a little he will quickly bring us to more If this Serpent can wind in his head hee will quickly draw his whole body after Patente portâ impossibile est malum ulteriùs non procedere Set open but one gate