The true Picture of Iohn Preston Dr. in Diuinity and sometimes Preacher of Lincolnes-Inn THE SAINTS SVBMISSION and Sathans overthrow Or SERMONS ON IAMES 4. 7. Submit your selves therefore unto God resist the divell and he will flee from you By that faithfull and reverend Divine IOHN PRESTON Doctor in Divinitie Chaplaine in ordinarie to his Majestie Master of Emmanuel Colledge sometime Preacher of Lincolns-Inne LONDON Printed by I D. and are to be sold by Peter Cole at the signe of the Glove in Cornhill neere the Royall-Exchange 1638. The Contents SVbmission to God what Pag. 9 1. It must bee with the whole heart 11 Reason God will have the whole heart or nothing 18 The inward man must bee subject 22 Reason 23 Rebellions of the inward man what 27 1. Thoughts vaine 29 wicked 30 2. Affections 1. Manifest 43 2. Secret 44 Rebellions of the outward man what 48 1. Speeches 49 2. Actions 53 Why we must bee subject to God 3. Reasons 59 1. Vse to justifie God 61 2. Vse to humble us 64 Signes of submission to God 87. 108 Motives to submit to God 109. 114 Why we must resist the divel Satan is our adversary 119 How Sathan tempts 131 1. By substracting the means God useth to bring men to himselfe 131 2. By laying snares and baites 148 Sathans subtiltie appeares 1. in fitting his baites according to mens callings 153 2. Fitting them according to occasions and opportunities offered 154 3. In the glosses hee covers sinne withall 159 How to resist Satan 166 1. We must have our hearts filled with grace 168 2. We must remove all false friends viz. our lusts 186 How to root lusts out of the heart and how to know it 194 3. Wee must seeke to Christ for helpe 198 Three things hinder Christ from helping us First unfruitfulnesse 206 Secondly sins unrepented of 209 Thirdly thrusting our selves into temptation 210 Wee must resist the divell 215 1. We must watch and pray 216 2. We must resist the divell at first motion 221 Doctrine Whosoever doth truly resist the divel shall get the victory of him 234 1. Reason 136 2. Reason 137 3. Reason 141 Objections answered page the 244. to 269. 1 Vse Reproofe of those that doe not resist the divell 2 Vse The fearfull estate of those that have not put Satan to flight by resisting which are of two sorts First those that never resisted Satan at all 274 2. Those that after resisting a while fall back 278 Three causes of falling back 280 3. Vse of exhortation not to faint be Satans temptations what they will 287 Satan tempts concerning 1. Our effectual calling 288 2. Our Iustification 291 3. Our sanctification 293 Signes of yeelding to Satans temptations 206 1. When wee lay aside our weapons 298 2. When we are lesse troubled at the temptation 299 3. When sinne prevailes more 300 Helpes against Satans temptations 1. Wee must use strong meanes 301 Viz Fasting and prayer with diligent use of the Word 304 2. Wee must get strong reasons against strong lusts 306 3. We must labour willingly to undergoe tentations waite till God send deliverance 310 THE SAINTES SVBMISSION and Sathans over-throw IAMES 4. 7. Submit your selves therefore unto God resist the Divell and he will flee from you IN this whole context from the beginning of the Chapter to the end of this verse the Apostle doth five things first he reproves his dispersed brethren of the Iewish nation for divers of their sinnes Secondly He shewes the cause of all these sinnes Thirdly The meanes to avoide them Fourthly The hinderances and impediments hereof that it takes not effect Lastly The way and course to be taken for the removall of these impediments The sinnes or vices here principally taxed are foure First their contentions illustrated from the cause of them vers 1. viz. Their lusts which fought in their members from whence come warres saith hee and fightings among you come they not hence even of your lusts that warre in your members Secondly Their remissenes in prayer set forth by the effect of it not obtaining their desires verse 2. yee lust and have not c. yee fight and warre yet yee have not because yee aske not Thirdly their asking amisse or not praying according to the will of God declared by the cause of it verse 3. Yee aske amisse that yee may consume it upon your lusts Fourthly Their covevetousnesse or immoderate affecting the things of this earth aggravated from the nature of the vice and Gods affection to it its enmity with him vers 4. Yee adulterers and adulteresses know yee not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God For the second particular the the cause of all these sinnes and lustes is set downe vers 5. Doe yee thinke saith he that the Scripture saith in vaine The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy The corrupt frame of our nature alwayes inclines stirs us up to that which is evill The third particular the meanes to avoide these lusts wee have expressed in the beginning of vers 6. But he giveth more grace Fourthly the hinderances and impediments of this grace that it takes not effect are two first Pride of heart a vaine conceit of a mans owne sufficiency and uprightnesse before God Secondly yeelding to temptations snares to each of which in the last place the Apostle applies an exhortation wherein he shewes how these hinderances may bee removed if the Iewes of the dispersion desire to remoove the first they must submit themselves to God if the latter they must resist the Devill submit your selves thereefore unto God resist the Devil and he wil flee from you So then you see what the words of this text containe a double exhortation and upon what occasion propounded For the better understanding of the first exhortation wee may consider these particulars First what the submission here required is Secondly what are the reasons to enforce it Thirdly the uses of the point For the first this submission may be thus described it is a gracious frame of the heart whereby the whole man doth submit it selfe unto the Law of God in all things in all estates For the particulars in this description they may thus be explained first the heart must be brought into a right frame and order concerning this frame order of the heart see 1 Chron. 29. 18. and Isa. 43. 21. This frame must be of the whole heart it 's called a gracious frame to distinguish it from that evil frame of heart which is in wicked men mentioned Gen. 6. 5. the reason why this gracious disposition of the heart is required is because God at the first did plant his Image in man wherby hee was set in an excellent frame and this image God requires to be repaired againe in man even the same image for substance though not for degree the same for all the parts though not for the perfections of the parts and therefore we finde that the
omission of some good is rebellion although there concurre not an act of the will at the same time for the omission first because the will at the same time doth concurre with the doing of some thing which should not then be done that the doing of evill is rebellion against God as the committing of Murder or Adultery none will deny Next it followes in the description that the whole man must be subject to the law of God viz. the Law of righteousnesse not the Law of sinne which reignes in our mortal members and that in all things and in all estates as well prosperitie as adversitie There are two sorts of professors sometimes the true professor the upright man when he grows fat strikes with the heele whereas before in adversity he subjected himselfe to the Lord like an horse which being kept low will easily be ruled by his rider but being pampered and kept very lusty and fatte lifts up the heele against him and will not suffer the bit Contrarily others so long as they continue in an even and pleasant course will subject themselves to God and his service but when afflictions come when God leadeth them through craggie and thornie wayes then they will goe no further the reason is because their feete are not shod with the preparation of the Gospell of peace they have not that peace of conscience which will make them willing to passe through all estates which is like shoes to the travellers feet We know he that is well shod will easily passe through Craggy and thorny wayes whereas hee that is not so shod dares not Thus much for explication of the point in the second place follow the reasons to enforce the exhortation from every word a reason may be gathered First seeing every sinne is a rebellion against God let this the rather move us to submit our selves unto him that we may not be so great offenders as traitors The Second may be taken from the person of God to whom we are exhorted to submit our selves first in respect of his greatnesse over us this reason the Prophet Malachy useth Chap. 1. 6 14. Secondly in respect of his goodnesse towards us who is so mercifull a father to us this we may see urged Isa. 2. 2 3. Isa. 5. 23 4. The third may be taken from our selves who are exhorted to this duty First consider that we are all his Creatures we hold our being and all that we have continually from him therfore it concernes us to yeeld all homage to him the more a man holdeth of his Lord the more homage he oweth him Secondly we are all his servants therefore we are not to fulfill our owne lusts or to obey Sathan but only to doe our Lords worke yea we are not his servants only but besides bought with a deare price even the precious blood of his onely Sonne 1 Cor. 6. 20. when a man hath bought a servant and that at an high rate he expectes the more and better service to be done by him Thirdly we are all his children therfore we must yeeld all duty obedience to him this reason the Apostle useth 1 Pet. 1. 14 15. As obedient children fashion not your selves according to the former lusts in your ignorance but as hee which hath called you is holy so be yee holy in all manner of conversation Lastly we are all the Temple of the holy Ghost a Temple that is consecrated to holy uses must not be profaned by putting it to common uses this is sacriledge so when we are temples consecrated to the holy Ghost it's sacriledge to profane these temples to put them to base uses this reason the Apostle useth 1 Cor. 6. 19. What know yee not that your â—ody is the temple of the holy Ghost which is in you which yee have of God and yee are not your owne c. We now come to the uses of that which hath beene delivered This serves to cleare the justice of God who punisheth sinne with eternall death both of body and soule Obj. Sinne being a rebellion deserveth indeed punishment but death seemes to be too severe a punishment Ans. When we heare that a rebellious childe is put to death we judge him worthy of it to have deserved it of his father because the child received life from the father his father is so farre above him and deserved well at his hands By the same reason may God in an higher degree punish every sin with death Obj. But it seemes much that God should punish one sin with eternall death Ans. The reason hereof is because the rebellions of the wicked are continuall If they would cease to rebell and submit themselves to God he would cease to punish Againe it 's just because God set before Adam life and death eternal for him and his posterity as by justice for his obedience he should have had eternall life so for transgression he and all his deserved eternall death This may also serve to humble us for our sinnes seeing the least of them is a rebellion against God The reason why many goe on quietly in their course of sinning is because they consider not that God is highly provoked to anger by the same For the better working of this humiliation in us let us consider a few meanes The first is to make catalogues of our sinnes to set them in order before the light of our countenance for otherwise God will surely set them in order before the light of his countenance By setting them in order before us is meant that we should set the greatest in the first ranke and so accordingly in order untill we come to the least so that it is needfull to know the greatnesse heinousnesse of every one of them For the better understanding of the greatnesse of every one of them let us consider but this a traitour if after his treason committed the King sends out his Proclamation to take him and he after a third or fourth Proclamation will not yet come in it doth much more aggravate the offence so often as we have despised the word not hearkned to the reprehension for our rebellions committed so often have we refused to be called in when the King of Heaven hath sent out his Proclamations for us therefore we cannot but conceive our former rebellion to be much more aggravated therby therfore our soules should be humbled for it for the multitude of our rebellions it will be objected that we cannot possibly number them yet a speciall meanes to discover them unto us will be to examine our selves by the word For although a man have never so many spots about him yet if he have not a glasse to looke in how will he espie them If a man come into an house in the darke though it be all besmeared with slime and dirt he cannot discerne it without bringing a light with him the word is this light which wil discover to us the foulenes corruption of out
4. vers 7. Submit your selves therefore unto God resist the Devil and he will flee from you THe second exhortation followes Resist the Devill and hee will flee from you Which words containe two particulars First the exhortation it selfe resist the Devill Secondly the encouragement hereunto which may stirre us up to the performance of the duty and hee will flee from you For the first exhortation resist the Devill Surely beloved there is no need of motives to stir up Christians to take up this exhortation as a man being set upon by a Lyon needs no perswasion to flee from him for that he will do as fast as he can onely desires to have some way shewed him whereby he may escape so the Christian which truely sees in what great danger he is continually by the continuall lying in waite for him of Satan needs no exhortation to flee from him shun him only wantes a way to be shewed him wherby he may escape this great danger Therefore passing by all such motives as might be here propounded let me set down only three particulars implyed in the text First the Devill is our adversary Secondly we must be furnished with strength and weapons to resist him Thirdly we must put in practise this strength and use these weapons otherwise they wil not profit us For the first that Satan is our adversary and that we must resist him and fight with him though wicked men that are dead in their sins take no notice of it yet it 's evident by Scriptures Eph. 6. 12. Wee wrestle not against flesh and blood but against Principalities and powers against the Rulers of the darkenesse of this world against Spirituall wickednesses in high places If the Devill were not our enemie why should the Apostle here exhort us to resist him so that text 1 Pet. 5. 8. is most evident for this purpose Bee sober and vigilant because your adversarie the Devill goes about like a roaring Lyon seeking whom hee may devoure Here we see what kinde of adversarie he is First his strength appeares in that he is called a Lyon Secondly his fiercenesse and crueltie in that he is called a roaring Lyon Thirdly his diligence in that he is said to walke about seeking whom he may devoure That Satan is our professed adversary and takes all occasions hee can of tempting us appeares partly by experience partly by reason By experience as Eve in Paradise was tempted by Satan so at this time we have many experiences of the like kinde in Witches to whom the Divell hath appeared in sundry shapes as many of them have confessed and others also have seene so that it cannot be doubted of And surely if Satan take upon him a voyce to be heard of the outward eare as he did to Eve and doth now to many VVitches then without doubt he being a spirit can much more by a mans phantasie present things to the minde and so speake to the minde Further also it cannot be doubted but that he can make and frame propositions and reasons present them to the minde and perswade by these his reasons as we see in Eve Gen. 3. And this truth is also evident by reason those which are usually called Faedae tentationes cannot but be suggested by Satan as will appeare whether we consider the manner of the suggestions or the matter of them First for the manner by which they are cast into a mans minde that they come not accidentally appeares in that they come so often and continue so long Many have bin troubled with them for many yeares together Againe they come not by discourse as appeares from the suddennesse of them in that they are cast into a mans minde without any former thoughts which might bring them in Againe that they come not by the strength of a mans affections appeares in that he doth presently abhor them in many there is no consent at all given to them it remaines therefore that they must needes proceed from Satans suggestion Secondly it appeares in the matter of temptations as to instance in that one for a man to kill himselfe seeing it 's a principle deeply grafted into every creature as it cannot be otherwise to preserve it selfe its own life this thought in a man to seeke all meanes to kill himselfe cannot come by any other meanes then by the suggestion of Satan for we never knew any other creature willingly worke it 's owne destruction onely the Swine in the Gospell into whom the Devil had entred Therefore surely man but by the Devills perswasion man being a reasonable creature may be moved with reason would never doe it Here it may be said that reason will move a man to under-goe a lesse danger to escape a greater and for this cause men make away themselves With the heathen indeed who knew neither heaven nor hell this might prevaile but how can this be true in a Christian I meane one borne in the Church who is perswaded there is a Hell for the wicked can any such man be so fearelesse and so voyd of reason as to cast himselfe into hell which he seekes to shunne would any man standing by the fire voluntarily throw himselfe into the fire that he might not be burnt or cast himself into the water that he might not be drowned the reason is the same here There are two speciall wayes by which Satan useth to tempt men the first by subtracting the meanes God useth to call men by to himselfe The second is by laying snares and baites of his owne For the first there are three meanes by which God useth to unite man unto himselfe The first and principall is his word the second his mercies the third is afflictions Which two latter serve to quicken the first and make it ef effectuall Concerning the first his word Satan labours to frustrate it many wayes either by keeping it from men so he kept S Paul from comming to the Thessalonians to preach the word 1 Thess. 2. 18. We would have come unto you even I Paul once and againe but Satan hindered us Or else keeping men from the word as in the parable Luk. 14. 17 18. Or if men come to heare it by making it unprofitable unto them either by making them delight only in the pleasantnesse and sweetnesse of the style wherein it is delivered and so neglect the word as if a man should only delight to behold the curious workmanship of a peece of cloth he hath and never use the same to cloath himselfe with or by making them delight in observing the defectes and infirmities of him which preacheth so that the Sermon being ended their whole talke is of the slips and infirmities of the preacher These men are like a strainer through which the pure and good milk runs without stay only the haires and motes remaine behind Or else Satan doth it by making men at the hearing of the word to be senslesse stupid either by blinding their eyes that
tryall so is opportunity Vpon all opportunities the divell tempts men to some sinne or other Hence the Apostle 2 Cor. 2. 7. exhorteth the Corinthians to forgive the incestuous person amongst them and to comfort him lest otherwise the divell might have more power over him and tempt him to despaire or some such sinne Ye ought rather to forgive him and comfort him lest perhaps such a one should bee swallowed up with overmuch sorrow wherfore I beseech you that you would confirme your love towards him Hence it stands every man in hand when Satan drawes him into some sinne by occasion as by evill company or the like then to consider and looke what sinne he is most exposed unto by that occasion and so to defend himselfe that Satan foyle him not Thirdly his subtiltie appeares in the convenient glosses which hee covers sin withall whereby he blinds a mans judgement so that either he sees it not to be a sinne or else he sees not the punishment of it So that as a blind man knowes not whether hee goe aright or no or when he is right no more doth hee Hee useth two meanes to blind mens judgements in this manner first by stirring up in them some immoderate affection which whiles it raignes hinders the judgement from discerning aright of things As the eye of a man when it is troubled sees all things amisse and not as they are indeed yet afterwards the impediment being removed it sees things as perfectly as before so when the mind of a man is distempered with anger or some immoderate affection hee judgeth not aright of Kings but being carried with violence of passion doth many things amisse afterwards when his distemper is ceased he comes to his right judgement and plainly sees how he was deceived before Secondly hee doth it by hindring us from applying the rule aright to our actions Thus in Vsury when a man is possessed with the love of money and takes great delight in it that man is not able to apply the rule in Scripture to himselfe whereby this his sinne is forbidden Satan is so crafty that he invents sundry distinctions whereby he perswades him of the lawfull toleration hereof So when the rule in Scriptures for Ministers is that they ought to care and bee solicitous onely for their flocke to feed it yet few can apply this rule to their actions but seek chiefly their owne gaine preferment When a man beholds a thing through his affection like as his affection is so seemes the thing to be like as a man when hee sees any thing through a glasse the object seemes to bee of the same colour that the glasse is thus affection deceiveth a man But these things though they are hidden from men here yet for the most part at their death they are layd open before them the immoderate affection that hindered judgement is then taken away and Satan also who blinded men before makes things appeare unto them as they are Who sees himselfe thus beset with his adversary and desires not to have strength and weapons wherby he may resist him which is the second point The strength and meanes whereby we may resist him are especially these three First to have our hearts filled with grace that so the diâ—ell may find no roome to enter Secondly to cast â—ut our false friends which when our adversary assailes will turne from us and take his part these are our wicked lusts Thirdly to seeke this help from Christ we have no strength of our selves it is hee onely which can helpe and uphold us For the first Wee must have our hearts filled with grace which is an especiall meanes the reason may bee gathered out of the Parable Luk. 11. 24 25. When he commeth he findeth it swept and garnished that is voide of goodnesse empty of grace were it not for this hee could not have entered our hearts therfore must be filled with grace The Conscience of man is like a strong fortresse out of which he casteth this his enemy who had possession of it or like an house wherein the divell dwelt and tooke delight which when hee is cast out of hee goeth up and downe through dry places that is seeking to get in and enter into some others seeking rest and finding none that is not able to enter into any others hee returnes againe and as an enemy cast out of a strong hold if hee bee not withstood by a garrison gets possession again So if Satan returning findes not a garrison of graces and vertues fortifying the man if there be but the least roome voide enters againe into him which if the conscience had been full of grace he could not have done As in nature non datur vacuum there is no place empty So in the heart of man there will be something or other if it be not filled with good thoughts it will be filled with bad if it bee not filled with the graces of Gods Spirit it will be filled with Satans temptations This may rather be called emptinesse then fulnesse a thing is said to be empty when it is voide of that it should be filled withall A Well when there is no water in it is said to be empty though it be full of ayre So long as the true fulnesse of Gods grace tastes in our hearts so long the divell cannot enter but when there is not this fulnesse then according to the measure of vacuity more or lesse Satan entring into a man doth possesse him Moreover as there is a double emptinesse so there is a double fulnesse First there is an emptinesse of knowledge such was in those Gentiles of whom the Apostle speakes Rom. 1. 22. Professing themselves to be wise they became fooles and vers 21 they became vaine in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened Answerable to this there is a fulnesse of knowledge and of all the graces of Gods Spirit Such is that which the Apostle prayes for Coloss. 1. 9. Wee cease not to pray for you and to desire that yee might bee filled with the knowledge of Gods will in all wisdome and spirituall understanding Ephes 3. 14. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ that yee may bee able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of CHRIST which passeth knowledge Secondly there is an emptinesse of conversation voide and empty of the duties which are performed in a good Conversation This is called vaine Conversation 1 Pet 1. 18. Yee were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vaine conversation received by tradition from your fathers So likewise there is a fulnesse of conversation opposed to this emptinesse when a mans whole life is filled with the fruits of Gods grace such the Apostle prayes for Phil. 1. 10 11. This I pray that yee may approve things that are excellent that yee may bee sincere and