by a further Spirit and power then their own From these and such like things many conclude that their Dreames and visions are of the holy Ghost and therefore they ought to be the Rule and Ground of their Actions Prayers and Performances But if men did minde that which the Apostle prophesied of they would not be too forward to do so For Saint Paul did foreshew that in the latter Time some should depart from the Faith and give heed unto Spirits of Errours and Doctrines of Divils 1 Tim. 4.1 for this is Truth that whatsoever Spirit doth set men upon the doing of those things that are contrary unto the word of God we should not be guided by it Satan is very busie even among the best of the Saints and therefore they cannot be too watchful Wherefore I shall indeavour to try the Spirits that are in the world even the Spirits of Delusion comparing them with the commands of the Spirit of God The Spirit of God saith search the Scriptures Joh. 5.39 and compare Spiritual things with Spiritual 1 Cor. 2.13 but the Spirit of delusion saith Judge of Scripture by natural Reason which is the Light that God hath set up in you The Spirit of God saith no Scripture is of any private Interpretation 2. Pet. 1.20 the Spirit of Delusion saith you may make any Interpretation of Scripture either mystical prophetical literal or what you will The Spirit of God saith let every one esteem others better then themselves Phil. 2.3 the Spirit of Delusion saith I am more holy then such an one I am more instant in Duties then such The Spirit of God saith Judge nothing before the time untill the Lord come 1 Cor 4.5 the Spirit of Delusion saith this man is guilty of the Sin against the holy Ghost this man is falne from Grace this man is not to be prayed for this man is a hypocrite The holy Ghost saith blesse and Curse not Rom. 12.14 the Spirit of Delusion saith Curse such an one for he hath persecuted the Saints The Spirit of God Saith Let Prayers be made for all men 1 Tim. 2.1 the Spirit of Delusion saith we may Pray for those who are our Enemies but not for those who are the Enemies of Christ I could try these Spirits in many other Particulars but I will indeavour by the Scriptures to try the Spirits of those who say they Dreame Dreames and see visions of God but are false Dreamers 1. Such Dreamers say they doe Dreame in the Name of the Lord when they prophesie the vision of their owne heart Jer. 23.25 26. 2. By their Dreames they cause the People to forget the Name of the Lord. v. 27. they give more heed unto their Dreames then unto the Word of the Lord 3. These Prophets have sweet Tongues and say Thus saith the Lord and make the People to erre by their Lyes and their flatteries deceiving them v. 31.32 Jer. 29.8 4. They speake vain things and comfort in vain Zach. 10.2 and 5. These false Dreamers cause many to despise Government and speake Evil of them that are in Authority Jude 8. Having thus shewed how we should try the Spirits that are in the world I will declare how these Temptations cunning Practises of Satan may be prevented Therfore In the first place the Apostle doth exhort to Sobrietie Sobrietie doth not onely consist in the moderate use of Meat and drink but in beleeving Loving and trusting in the Lord. He is a sober Christian that continueth stedfast in the Faith that abideth in the commandements and trusteth in the Lord. 1 Thess 5 6 7 8. He is a Sober Christian that is indued with wisdom and Gravitie Tit. 1.8 not given to wantones and Levity He is a Sober Christion that wil not give confidence to the Dreams and delusions of men but doth trust on the Grace that is brought unto him by the Revelation of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.13 that walketh by the Rule of the Word which was written by the Inspiration of the holy Ghost and Revelation of Jesus Christ He is a Sober Christian who is not carelesse or negligent but vigilant and instant in Prayer 1 Pet. 4 8. He is a Sober Christian that arrogateth not unto himselfe those Gifts which he hath not nor boasteth of those Gifts which he hath Rom. 12.3 He is a Sober Christian who liveth Righteously as towards men and godly as towards the Lord in this present world Tit. 2.12 So that this exhortation of the Apostle is very necessary for that in it is conteyned those Duties which hold forth stability and Constancy in our Resolutions Because that Satan taketh great advantage against those who are unstable minded 2 Pet. 2.14 not endued with Sobrietie Secondly the Apostle doth exhort to vigilancy or Watchfulnesse To watch over our hearts over others over the drawings out of our affections over our Zeale over our Principles over the world and over Satan To watch because the Coming of Christ is uncertain Mat. 24.42 43 44. To watch Rev. 3.3 least Satan take Advantage of our weaknesse in the Faith 1 Cor. 16.13 To watch over our Prayers continually Col. 4.2 To watch in all things 2 Tim. 4.5 And if a Christian ought to watch in all things even in the Least things much more over the malice Rage and Subtilty of Satan Thirdly that the Saints may avoid the Designes of Satan the Apostle exhorteth to prayer Prayer and watchfulnesse must alwayes go together Watch and Pray Mar. 13.33 Be ye Sober watching in Prayer 1 Pet. 4.7 Sober and Stedfast in our resolutions watchful over every enemy and earnest in Prayer to call for divine assistance If Satan doth tempt the Saints when they pray and God doth require that they pray according to his minde and will then it is their duty to try and weigh every Petition which they put up by the Word and not to desire any thing of the Lord but what the word doth allow of for the word is the Revelation of the minde and will of God The holy Ghost doth help the Saints to call for those things onely which are agreeable to the minde and will of God that is to his Word And if their hearts be drawn out to other things they are not to give heed unto the motions of their hearts Also in their Prayers the Saints should have respect not only to those things which God hath promised but to the Times Places and Persons to which they relate Otherwise the Lord may draw out their hearts as to the thing promised but Satan may tempt them to pray amisse as to circumstances A Fourth remedy to prevent the designes of Satan is to hold fast to the Faith resist Satan stedfast in the Faith 1 Pet. 5.9 saith the Apostle Peter So likewise St. Paul exhorteth Above all take the shield of Faith wherewith yee may quench the fiery Darts of the wicked Eph. 6.16 He that is Sober will not easily be tempted He that is
Vigilant will not easily be surprized with the subtilties of Satan he who hath the spirit of Prayer will mightily prevaile against Satan and by Faith the Saints are guarded against every assault of Satan Besides these two great Snares there are six erroneous opinions which Satan hath drawn many Saints to take up upon the mistake of divers Texts of Scripture The first is they do hold that it is the duty of the Saints to call for Judgements and divine vengeance upon their Enemies as being the enemies of God So they say Elias did 2 Kin. 2.24 whereas we have an expresse Rule to the contrary Bless I say and curse not Ro. 12.14 for which they alledge that which is written in the Revelation where the Soules which lay under the Alter cried How long Lord holy and true dost thou Judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth which words by the very poynting of them do appear to be spoken by way of Interrogation rather then by way of Deprecation For hereby the Saints do rather desire to know how long it would be before the Lord would Avenge them of their Enemies then call for vengeance upon them Another Text they produce to prove that the Saints may cal for judgments on the heads of wicked men is because it is said Rev. 11 6. the witnesses of Jesus have Power to shut heaven to turn water into blood and to smite the Earth with plagues as often as they will which I suppose they did not by cursing and bitternesse but by patient bearing of afflictions and forgiving heartily their Enemies Hereby they put vengeance into the hand of God and heaped coales of fire upon their Enemies Prov. 25.21 22. Secondly many do now hold that in the Apostles Daies the Saints were to looke upon the Magistrate as the Ordinance of God but in these Times they are not so to esteeme of him And the Reason they say is because then he received his Power from God but now the Beast the great Monarchy receiveth Power from the Dragon which is a Delusion in the main for in the Apostles Daies the Romane Monarchy as governed by heathen Emperours being the Beast that came out of the Sea received then power from the Dragon Rev. 13.2 as well as the Romane Monarchy governed by Popes which was the Beast that came out of the Earth Rev. 13 11. who did exercise all the Power of the first Beast v. 12.14 This is quite contrary to the rule of the Gospel which commandeth the Saints to yeild obedience to Magistrates to Principalities and Powers Tit. 3.1 Rom. 13.1 1 Pet. 2 13 14. And if the Israelites while they remained in heathenish Babylon were commanded to seeke the prosperity of the City wherein they lived and to pray unto the Lord for it because in the Peace thereof they were to have Peace Jer. 29 6 7. I suppose it is the duety of every Christian in what place soever of mystical Babylon he live in until the time Come in which the Lord hath appointed to deliver his people thence to Pray Earnestly for those who are in Authority and for the peace of the Nation wherein they live For to stirre up those who profess Religion against the higher Powers is a slieght of Satan to move them to Insurrection and Rebellion as he did in Germany by many lying visions to their shame and Reproach and scandal to Religion The main End that Satan aimeth at in seducing those who professe Godlinesse to revile and rebel against the Civil Power is thereby to deprive them of their Liberty of assembling and meeting together An unvalued mercy for hereby by their reproaching the Magistrate the Magistrate being provoked doth move Persecution for which many times both he and the whole Nation is plagued and many real and guiltles Saints do suffer for the offences of some deluded Professors Hereby the Name of God and Religion is dishonoured and the Propagation of the Gospel hindred by those who thinke themselves the onely Persons who carry on the worke of God more then any other in their Generation Thirdly this Errour is frequent among those who professe Religion they say they ought to Pray for their own Enemes but not for the Enemies of Christ As if any were an Enemy to the Saints and not an Enemy to Christ What Injury is don to them is don to Christ He that persecuteth them persecuteth the Lord Jesus Acts 9.4 22.7 26.14 22.8 26.15 so that if the Saints were not to Pray for the Enemies of Christ they could not pray for their own Enemes If the one were forbidden the other precept could not be kept Besides Christ prayed for his Enemies Luke 23.34 and Stephen prayed for the Persecutors of the Saints Act. 7.60 and our Saviour declared that all Sins and Blasphemies except against the holy Ghost should be forgiven unto men Mar. 3.28 29. then if all Sins wherewith men sin against Christ be remissible or pardonable they may be prayed for 1 Joh. 5.16 17. The Rule then is not onely to pray for men as they are Enemies unto us but as they are Enemies to Christ And indeed hereby Satan doth seeke to destroy a Saint and frustrate all Graces in him If a man should loose a Leg or an Arme or any other Limbe he might notwithstanding live many yeares but if a mans Heart were wounded he would suddenly dye although all the rest of his body were safe So if Satan can worke any to forsake Charity he knoweth then that the rest of their Graces if they had all other would not Advantage them 1 Cor. 13.1 2 3. for Love is the very being of a Saint and the true Image of God So that under colour of hating of the Enemies of God Satan seeketh in these last Times to deface the Image of Christ in the Saints To make this passe the more current he doth minde them of that which David saith I hate those that hate thee Psal 139.21 22 23 24. where first this was spoken prophetically of Christ who knew all those who were Enemies unto God appointed unto destruction and therefore he could distinguish the irreconcileable Enemies of God from his Saints so that he knew whom to pray for and whom to hate but the Saints cannot do this therefore they must follow the Rule and Pray for all men If they be worthy their Prayers and welwishes remain with them if not they return to them again Luk. 10.5 6. and secondly in the time of the Law they knew who were the Enemies of God and who were not they knew that onely the Seed of Abraham were freinds and in Covenant with God and that all the rest of the world were his Enemies whom they were to hate Therefore it was that the Prophet said to Jehosophat wouldst thou love them that hate the Lord therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon the 2 Chr 19.12 But when Jesus Christ suffered then the partition wall was
taken away and since that time there is neither Jew nor Gentile Circumcision nor uncircumsion but a new Creature Now the Gospel is tendered to all and so farre as the mercy of God doth extend which is to all so farre our mercy should reach Luke 6.35 36. Fourthly Satan would perswade the Saints that they are the litle Stone spoken of in Daniel which must break the great Image And because the Kingdome of Christ must be set up in the dayes of those Kings spoken of in Daniel therefore Satan would perswade them that before the comming of Christ they must oppose the Kingdomes of the world and powers thereof and so endeavours to stirr them up to insurrection and rebellion contrary to that in Daniel The Horne shall make Battel against the Saints and prevail until the ancient of dayes come and the time approached that the Saints possessed the Kingdome Dan. 7.21 22. So that until Christ come the Horne must prevaile and the Saints must not have a Kingdome and until Christ come to set up his Kingdome the little Stone or Kingdome must not break the Image in pieces Fifthly Satan telleth them that they must beare testimony against all ungodliness and that is truth but he would hereby stirre them up to beare their testimony in such a way that they may justly be esteemed to be railers revilers Incendiaries to rebellion disswaders of divers from their obedience to the Magistrate Whereas Michael when he strove against the Divel and disputed about the body of Moses durst not blame him with cursed speaking and hereby he stirreth them up to all bitternesse and uncharitablenesse and to look upon none as brethren but those who are of their own Judgements and opinion in all or most things and they whom they look upon otherwise they suppose are the enemies of Christ and therefore they ought not to pray for them Lastly Satan in these last times stirreth up the Saints to Judge of one another by their outward actings whether they be natural failings or such things as they do amisse by reason of the subtile frequent and powerful temptations of Satan And to this purpose there is a Text very much abused which is By their fruits you shall know them Math. 7.20 And indeed by the actions we may see what for the present is in the poor sinful and corrupt heart yet hereby we cannot Judge of any ones interest in Christ notwithstanding from this Scripture Satan doth tempt and provoke many very hardly and unchristianly to censure others nay not only to passe a Judgement on their actions wherein there may be a mistake by reason of misrepresentation misapprehension misunderstanding misinformation and the like but of their intents and purposes when none is able to judge of the sincerity of the heart but only the Lord nay of their spiritual condition when no man can tell whose name is written in the Book of life and whose not it being a secret which God hath reserved unto himselfe and to strengthen them in this unchristian practice Satan moveth them to Judge of others by the Letter of the Law and then they say they have a warrant for what they do As sometimes they Judge a man to be a backslider from his former professions and who can say he is not a backslider and then they censure him a Castaway alledging that in Luke He that putteth his hand to the Plough and looketh back is not fit for the Kingdome of God Luke 9.62 And sometimes they Judge a man of hypocrisie and then they look upon him as utterly lost alledging that in Job The Hypocrites hope shall perish Job 8.13 Not considering that by the workes of the Law no flesh shall be justified and if the Lord should Judge them that thus Judge others by the letter of the Law their condition would be very sad Not considering that they whom they Judge may belong unto Christ for ought they know not considering that Christ is tender of the temptations of his Saints and that he might be so he was in all things tempted in like sort not considering that although the unjust of whom Peter speaketh 2 Pet. 2.9 10. shall be reserved unto the day of Judgement yet the godly shall be delivered out of temptation Therefore Brethren we should not Judge one another by the letter of the Law but by the rule of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which biddeth us to Judg no man neither our Brethren nor those who are without For we are not under the Law but under grace Thus Satan by these fallacies and delusions and such like doth breake in sadly among the Saints and those who professe Religion in these last Times And now having discovered many Subtilties of Satan and the way by which they may be perceived and by mercy prevented I will lay down some particulars as a Rule for the Saints to walk by in the Last Times which indeed is their Generation worke They must continue in the things which are conteined in the Scriptures 2 Tim. 3.14 to 17. they must be diligent and peaceable without spot and blamelesse and grow in Grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.3 14 18. they should edifie themselves in their most holy Faith they should pray in the holy Ghost they should keep themselves in the Love of God looking for the mercies of Jesus Christ and have compassion of some in putting difference Jude 18. to 22. watching and preparing themseves for the Coming of Jesus Christ Math. 25.1 to 14 They must love their Enemies blesse them that Curse them and do good to them that hate them praying for them that despitefully use them and persecute them Math. 5.43 to 48. They should blesse and Curse not Being defrauded they should intreate 1 Cor. 4.12 13. They should not revile the Gods nor Curse the Rulers of the People Exod. 22.28 They should shew out a good Conversation by their works with meeknesse and wisdom Jam. 3.8 to 18. They should not speake evil of their brethren nor Judge them Jam. 4.11 12. Rom. 14.4 10 13. Math. 7.1 2. Joh. 8.15 12 47. They should Judge nothing before the time until the Lord Come 1 Cor. 14. 15. and as they ought not to Judge their brethren so they should not Judge those that are without 1 Cor. 4.12 13. They should forgive their Enemies Math. 6.14 15. They should not be tossed and carried too and fro with Every winde of Doctrine but speake the Truth in Love Eph. 4.14 15. They should pray for all men for Kings and all that are in Authority according to the Rule of the Apostle 1 Tim. 2.1 2 3. If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholsom words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Doctrine which is according to Godlinesse he is proud knowing nothing 1 Tim. 6.3 4. whosoever abideth not in the Doctrine of Christ hath not God and if any come and bring not this Doctrine receive him not neither bid him God speed 2. Job 10.11 for there are some that pervert the Gospel of Christ but if any though an Angel from heaven Preach any other Gospel then what Christ and the Apostles have preached let him be accursed Gal. 3.7 8. Neither beloved friends be ye too credulous of all those things which you heare spoken by the most precious Saints untill you try them by the Scriptures For Satan hath not onely Power to enter into the Saints before their conversion Mar. 16.9 but hath great power to tempt them after the Lord hath called them Math. 16.23 and over those who are only seeming Professors although they may be indued with many excellent gifts of the Spirit he hath Power even to tempt them to their utter Destruction Act. 5.3 Yet here is the Comfort of the Elect that there is a time appointed in which Satan shall be troden underfeet Rom. 16.20 and until then notwithstanding Satan doth endeavour to winnow them like wheate they shall be preserved by the Intercession of the Lord Jesus Luk. 22.31 32. It is a difficult thing to know the depths of Satan Rev. 2.24 for he taketh Advantage not onely against the sins of the Saints but of their best Gifts As of their zeale knowledge desires after God and of their very Prayers but especially of their coldnesse of Love and want of Charity 2 Cor. 2.1 to 12. Therefore Brethren often consider and endeavour to the utmost to practise the Apostles Rule and Exhortation Be sober and watch for your Adversary the Divil as a roaring Lyon goeth about seeking whom he may devour FINIS