in Gods Church must goe together with the outward element else it is nothing Thirdly for the Apostles Creed they haue it in word but they deny it in deede For though they say they beleeue in God the father and in Iesus Christ yet in effect they deny both God and Christ. For the God of the Papists is an idol God and the Christ of the Papists a false Christ as we haue shewed in handling of the Creed Fourthly for the scripture wee must know the word of God stands not in bare words and letters but in the true sense and meaning of the Holy ghost contained in the scriptures of the Prophets and Apostles Now though they haue the bookes of Scripture yet in sundry main grounds of religion they ouerthrow the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Again they keep the scripture as a lantern holds a candle not for it selfe but for passengers so is the scripture with them not for their synagogue but for Gods secret ones among them for euen in the midst of Poperie hath God euer had some of his elect who haue not embraced their cursed doctrine Lastly for their plea to be the mother Church we must distinguish between the ancient Church of Rome and the strumpet that now is the ancient Church of Rome to whom Paul writ was a true and famous church and a mother Church but she is now dead and buried and the now Roman Church is no mother Church no spouse of Christ but the whore of Babel the mother of abhominations from which we are commanded to depart Reuelat. 18. 4. Secondly in that Christ is brought to Ierusalē that holy City there to be tempted wee learne that no holinesse of place on earth can debarre the Diuell from his temptations he brings Christ from the wildernesse to tempt him in the holy city euen vpon the holy temple hee will thrust himselfe on Iehoshuahs right hand to resist him though Iehoshuah stand before the Angell of the Lord to minister to the Lord. And therefore the follie of Papists is egregious that thinke the signe of the crosse holy water reliques and such Massing inchantments haue vertue in them to free their houses or their bodies frō the assaults of Satan Lastly heereby wee see that change of place is but a sillie cure for a troubled mind indeed change of aire may much further bodily cures but a troubled mind hath conflicts with the diuel who will not leaue for change of place Ierusalem will fit his turne as well as the wildernesse The second part of the Diuels preparation to this conflict is this and set him on a pinnacle of the temple The word translated pinnacle signifieth properly a wing of the temple whereby some take to be meant the sharpe brouches and spires on the top of the temple whereof there were diuers but these as I take it are not heere meant for such a spire cannot wel be called a wing others take it for some part of the battlement made on the top of the Temple which was flat as the Iewes vsed to build to keepe men from falling others take it for any top corner of the Temples and whether of these it was we cannot certainly define but this we must holde that it was some dangerous steepe downe place on some corner of the Temple or on the battlements from which a man might easily cast himselfe whereby we see the Diuell will omit no aduantage that may further his temptations which should make vs the more carefull of our standing against him VERSE 6. And said vnto him If thou be the sonne of God cast thy selfe downe for it is written that he wil giue his Angels charge ouer thee and with their hands they shall lift thee vp lest at any time thou shouldst dash thy foot against a stone THese wordes containe the second maine point in this conflict to wit Satans assault vpon Christ wherein we are to obserue first his temptation then the reason whereby he doth enforce it His temptation heere is framed as the former was in a kind of reasoning thus If thou be the sonne of God then shew the same by casting thy selfe downe from this pinnacle of the temple But as I see thou art certainly perswaded that thou art the sonne of God Therefore cast thy selfe downe and thereby declare it Seeing this is a distinct temptation from the former I doubt not but it must be thus framed with this conclusion for if it had the same conclusion with the former it should be the same temptation Satans meaning then is this as if he had said I haue made triall to see expresly whether thou be the sonne of God or not and it seemes thou doest vndoubtedly beleeue that voice of thy father to be true which said This is my welbeloued sonne in whom I am wel pleased Now if this be so indeed it is conuenient thou shouldest confirme the same by some miracle and the fittest place thou canst doe it in is this therefore cast thy selfe downe headlong from this pinnacle and yet preserue thy selfe in safety without all hurt in the fall The drift of Satan in this temptation was to bring our Sauior Christ to a vaine confidence in his Fathers protection and indeed to flat presumption vpon his extraordinarie prouidence in the neglect of lawfull ordinary means as by Satans conclusion the answer of Christ will easily appeare And hereby we may obserue that one maine drift of Satan in his ordinarie temptations in Gods church is to carry men to presumption and vaine confidence in the loue fauor and mercy of God this appeares by the strange reasonings for libertie in sinne which many frame to themselues and some are not ashamed to vtter as first God is mercifull and Christ shedde his bloud for their redemption and therefore they will not be so strict and precise in hearing sermons and reading conferring about the word as many are but they wil take the pleasures and seeke the profits of this life Thus reasoned some in the Apostles daies Let vs continue in sin that grace may abound of such Iude complaineth saying They turne the grace of God into wantonnesse Such there haue beene euer since at this day they doe euerie where abound Secondly some say they are either ordained to saluation or damnation now if to saluation they are sure of it how euer they liue and if to damnation they cannot escape it though they liue neuer so holily for Gods decree is vnchangeable and therfore they will take their pleasure and liue as they list Thirdly others say they haue euer found Gods goodnesse towards them and they are perswaded he will neuer see them want and therefore they will not toile themselues with labor care as others do but take their ease and pleasure while they may haue it and so neglect their charge and calling and giue themselues wholly to their sports and pleasures to company keeping or such
God in the land This Dauid knew well and therefore said He hid Gods saying in his heart that he might not sinne against him Psal. 119. 11. For as Sauls speare stood in readinesse at his head euen when he slept so should Gods word which is the sword of the spirit be euer in our hearts as it were ready drawen that to what sinne soeuer the Diuell allures vs we may be able to say for our defence It is written through want hereof it comes to passe that the Diuell at his pleasure leads men captiues into all impieties Lastly this excellent vse of the word vnderstood beleeued and obeied must moue all ignorant persons to labour for knowledge heerein and with all endeuor after growth in knowledge by holy obedience to shew foorth their faith If we had an enemy that had sworne our death and vowed to see our bloud how carefull would we be for our naturall life both to get vs weapons and also some knowledge to vse the same not only for our defence but also for the annoyance of our deadly foe Oh then how carefull should we be for the safetie of our soules to put vpon vs the whole armour of God and to learne to vse aright this sword of the spirit that when we meet with Satan our irreconciliable enemy in the field of temptation which is this miserable world we may be able both to award his blowes and to wound his head It is lamentable to see how ignorant people will blesse themselues in their ignorance and say they defie the Diuell and spit at him in defiance and yet they know not how they are intangled in his snares of their owne sinnes he little regards such defiance so long as their soules lie naked and bare before his deadly darts let two men meet that be at enmity the one armed the other naked what will it auaile for the naked man to defie his enemie with bigge words while in the meane time his armed enemy takes away his life Lo Satan is this strong man armed and ignorant persons are poore naked caâ—â—ffes they defie the Diuell and spit at him with their mouth but in the meane time the diuel wouÌ„ds their soules vnto death They wil say they feele no such wounds and therefore they feare him not but they must know that the lesse they feele the more cause they haue to feare for Satans wounds are most deadly when they are least felt The third point is Christs Answer it selfe Man shall not liue by bread onely but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God This answer is borrowed from Deuteron 8. 3. And it is that lesson which Moses sought to teach the children of Israell after the Lord had fedde them with food from heauen in that barren wildernesse where they were afflicted with hunger The words are something hard and therefore I will shew the meaning of them Man shall not liue that is shall not preserue his temporall life in this world for of eternall life neither Moses nor Christ did intend to speake By bread only that is onely by such ordinary meanes as food and raiment sleepe physicke c. which God hath appointed in his prouidence for the ordinary preseruation of natural life But by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God This title word betokens diuers things in scripture I. The substantiall word of God the second person in Trinity Ioh. 1. 1. In the beginning was the word and the word was God II. It is vsually taken for the written word conteined in the bookes of the olde and new Testament 1. Pet. 1. 25. Thirdly it is sometime taken for Gods will and decree and it is called his good pleasure so Heb. 1. 2. Christ sustaineth all things by the word of his power that is according to his will and decree by his powerfull appointment and by this word were all things made in the beginning and heerby haue they been preserued euer since this is that word that melteth the Ice Psal. 147. 18. And in this last sense must we vnderstand word in this place meaning that man doth not preserue this naturall life by ordinarie meanes onely but withall by Gods good pleasure will and decree sanctifying the meanes for his good Note further that it is said by euery word and therein lieth the substance of this sentence for the vnderstanding whereof wee must know that this powerfull working word of God may be distinguished according to the matter whereabout it is occupied Thus sometime God will haue men to liue by bread the ordinary food of naturall life and this is his ordinary word Sometime his will and appointment is that man shall liue by extraordinarie meanes as the Israelites did in the wildernesse while they liued vpon Mannah and this is his extraordinary word Otherwhiles hee ordaines that man shall liue without all meanes as Moses did in mount Sina Elias in mount Horeb and our Sauiour Christ in this wildernesse for the space of fortie daies and fortie nights together And lastly he ordains sometime that man shall liue against meanes and contrary to the course of nature Thus Daniell liued in the Lions denne and the three children in the firy furnace both which last may be called Gods miraculous word So that wee see good reason of this clause euery for heereby we learne that man doth not preserue his life only by ordinary means ordained of God but likewise by euerie word proceeding out of the mouth of God that is by euery appointment and decree of God whether extraordinary aboue the vsuall meanes or miraculous without all means or against the course of nature this we must labour to know and be perswaded of Nature teacheth that man liueth by Gods blessing and appointment in ordinary meanes But nature knowes not this that God preserueth mans life by his worde aboue meanes without meanes yea against meanes The beleeuing hart will hardly yeeld to this which Moses would teach the Israelites and therefore wee must take the more paines to be resolued of it If any shall thinke hereupon that a man may liue by the written word without meat and drinke he is deceiued for Christ meaneth not that euery word that God hath spoken shall preserue naturall life but that whatsoeuer way he hath appointed whereby man shal liue whether by ordinary or extraordinary meanes whether without meanes or against meanes the same shall be effectuall for mans preseruation Thus much for the meaning The applying of this testimony to the Diuels temptation is thus to be conceiued the Diuels temptation was this If thou be the sonne of God then commaund these stones to be made bread But thou canst not make these stones to become bread Therefore thou art not the sonne of God To this Christ answers by denying the proposition or first part of this argument the ground whereof was this which the Diuell tooke for granted that when a man is hungry
God he can tempt Christ yea transport his body and set him in a dangerous place for thus far God permits him to goe but to cast Christ downe from the pinnacle he cannot therein comes Gods restraint So it fareth with Gods children for the triall of his graces in them and to chastise them for some sinnes he suffers Satan to buffet them but yet one iotte of his malice beyond Gods permission he cannot shew as in Iobs affliction by him may notably appeare Which wee must carefully remember for our special comfort in our most grieuous assaults Gods will permitting Satan so farre must make vs patient and yet his power restraining Satan from doing worse must giue vs comfort Thus much for the temptation itselfe The reason whereby Satan enforceth his temptation is taken from a testimony of Scripture For it is written he shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee c. Satan hearing Christ alledge scripture for his defence against the first assault comes now vpon him with his owne weapon that if it were possible he might foile him after this sort Thou shewest thy selfe to be the Doctor of the Church by thine alleadging of Scripture and that it seemes thou makest the rule of thine actions well then thou maiest well and safely cast thy selfe downe hence if thou bee the Sonne of God for it is written he shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee and with their hands they shall lift thee vp c. From this dealing of Satan wee are taught not to embrace an opinion in religion because a shew of proofe by testimony of Scripture may bee giuen for it But we must trie the spirits that is the doctrines of men whether they be of God or not 1. Ioh. 4. 1. For the Diuell can alleadge Scripture to mooue Christ vnto presumption and it is his vsuall practise when he caries men into schisms errors and heresies Reason with a man that minds to liue in sinne and tell him of that dangerous state by reason of the shortnesse and vncertainty of this life will he not tell you straight he will doe as he does and repent when he is old for it is written At what time soeuer a sinner doth repent him of his sinne I will put all his wickednesse out of my remembrance saith the Lord And some thinke three or foure good words at a mans last end wil serue his turne for the thiefe on the crosse said no more but Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdome And all such as are trained vp in the schoole of Satan can easilie alledge scripture to further them in euil But let vs come to the scripture which the Diuel doth notoriously abuse by his allegation it is written in the 91. Ps. v. 11. In the alledging whereof he would seeme very carefull and precise at the first not omitting so much as this particle for which might haue beene left out and yet nothing haue been wanting to the force of his reason But heerein is the deepenesse of his policy to cause Christ not to suspect any falshood afterward for towards the end hee leaueth out that on which the promise is grounded of being kept by the Angel to wit to keepe thee in all thy waies that is in all the good duties of thy lawfull calling wherein thou shalt glorifie God and doe good to others to such as so walke in their waies doth that promise belong Heere then behold Satans notable fraud and craft that can so cunninglie leaue out that which makes not for his purpose and so peruert the true meaning of scripture this is his vsuall practise in enmity against the word to depraue the true meaning by cutting off some part when hee cannot vtterly ouerthrow the whole The like is the dealing of all heretickes who by cutting off and leauing out play legerdemaine with the scripture The Arrian holds the Bible for the word of God but such places as serue to proue the godhead of Christ he doth notably abuse and peruert The familie of Loue also doth hold the bible for the word of God but come to the true meaning of it therein they faile turning all into Allegories euen most true histories as the fall of our first Parents and such like which are maine grounds of religion in their naturall sense and the Apostaticall Church of Rome doth hold with vs the bookes of the old and new Testament but yet they put in and take out at their pleasure and take from it all sense and meaning which agrees not with the determination of their holy father the Pope and thereby they ouerturne the word of God and strongly maintaine their mystery of iniquity This dealing of Satan and his wicked miscreants with the scripture must make all Gods children willing to spend their strength in searching out the Scripture for that is the onely way to descrie their fraude in deprauing of it This caused Christ to bidde the people in his time to search the Scriptures to learne to know him to bee the true Messias which the Iewish teachers did then deny In regard whereof wee must say with Moses oh that all the Lords people were Prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit vpon them oh that all could reade and vnderstand the word of God! This is it wherein all that either be or intend to be ministers must labour especially euen to get sound knowledge and iudgement in the text of Scripture The Minister must not only be able to teach the truth but also to discerne to discouer and to confure errors and heresies which hee can neuer foundly doe without good vnderstanding in the text it selfe The Diuell knowes the whole Scripture and he will spare no text therein it hee can corrupt it therfore to resoue Gods truth out of his hands who is the father of lies the Minister must shew himselfe a good souldier of Iesus Christ as Paul exhorteth Timothy giuing such attendance to the word that all men may see his profitting therein yea with Ieremie the Minister must eat the bookes of God and digest them in his vnderstanding and rejoice therein labouring to feele them the joy of his heart The Diuell knowes that Scripture truely vnderstood and well applied is the onely engine for the battery of his kingdome and therefore euen from the beginning but specially since the comming of Christ hee hath laboured by all meanes to keepe men from the knowledge and true vnderstanding of them hee it is that hath brought men from the reading of the Scriptures to betake themselues to the writings of men as schoolemen fathers and such by this meanes hee hath for many yeares euen to this day in the Church of Rome locked vp the Scripture in an vnknowen tongue yea euen in Gods church the Diuel works mightily this way by stealing away the affections of yong students from the Bible and rauishing them with delight in the writings of men for thus he keeps them from the