wear a Surplice then to pinch our carkass Thus many it is to be feared destroy their consciences to keep their places and conform against their judgements to preserve their profits this is as if a man to save his hat should lose his head or as if a man should sink the ship to avoid the storm Alas poor souls how are they fallen in the hour of temptation Suppose a man were put to this either he must swear canonical obedience or he must be put to silence either he must prostitute the seals to all or he must preach to none Either he must take up the ceremonies or lay down his Ministry This would be a great temptation which part ought a man to chuse in this case Why you will say It is pitty but such a man should preach I but it is greater pitty that he should sin you will say He may do much good in his Ministry would he but conform I but he must not do evil that good may come on it Rom. 3.8 If I suffer for conscience sake God is honoured but if I sin for Gods sake he is dishonoured for my lye cannot advance his glory and 3.7 and therefore the resolution of the three children is a good pattern we will not worship the image thou hast set up So that if when temptation brings me under a dilemma I chuse that part of the dilemma which is for Gods glory though to my loss rather then that part which is for Gods dishonour and my gain then I walk wisely in temptation 9. Wisdom lies in a diligent endeavour to improve grace by temptation As the Israelites were multiplied by being oppressed Exod. 1.12 it is said The more they were afflicted the more they grew so a true Israelite the more he is tempted the more is his grace encreased as trees are the deeper rooted by the wind that most shakes them so beleevers are most strengthned by the temptations that most try them Temptation is the Devils bellows which he brings to blow out the spark of that heavenly fire that is in us but as the breath of the bellows makes the fire flame the more so the blasts of temptation make grace increase the more God hath an over-ruling hand over temptation and he turns them to good when Satan intends them for hurt and makes grace prosper by that very means whereby Satan hopes to make it wither Thus can God out-shoot Satan in his own bow So then if I labour to grow in grace in time of temptation if I turn a tempting season into a growing season then do I walk wisely in temptation 10. It is wisdom in temptation to use no indirect means for riddance but to rest upon the promise for deliverance There is no temptation that can befalus but God hath made a suitable promise to releive us that so we might not sinfully deliver our selves but patiently rest on him for deliverance He hath promised to tread Satan under our feet to bind the strong man Rom. 16.20 not to suffer us to be tempted above what we are able but to make a way for us to escape Cor. 10. that we may be able to bear it O that Christians would study the promise and converse much with the promise in time of temptation Heb. 13.5 God hath promised never to for sake us and therefore neyer let us forsake the promise There are three things very remarkable in every promise The faithfulness of the Father who gives it Owen The grace of the Son which is the matter of it The power of the Spirit which accomplisheth it The faithfulness of the Father makes the promise good to us The grace of the Son makes the promise sweet to us The efficacy of the Spirit make the promise good in us So that the promise is a sure resting place for a tempted soul Now then if in temptation I use no indirect means for riddance but rest upon the promise for deliverance then do I walk wisely in temptation 11. The wisdom of walking in temptation lieth in not yielding to temptation Temptation from Satan is our suffering but it is from our selves if it becomes our sin The Devil may flatter us but he cannot force us He may provoke but without our consent he cannot prevail He may tempt us unto sin but he cannot tempt us into sin He could never come into the house if we did not open the door Iam 1. â— Every man is tempted when when he is assaulted no but when he is drawn away of his own lust and onticed The true procreating cause of sin is in every mans soul Satan is the Father of temptation but the heart is the Mother of sin Suggestion without could do nothing were it not for corruption within it is not calliditas diaboli decipientis Aug. de â—ec orig l 2 ap 37. but voluntas hominis consentientis outward crast could do nothing without inward lust Satan woes our wills but we will our own woes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fire is in our wood though it be the Devils flame we may do the Devil wrong as bad as he is to lay all our sins at his door as though we were innocent For though the Bastard be gotten by him it is conceived and brought forth by us This is an old trick as old as Adam when God asketh him Goâ— 3.11 12. Hast thou eaten of the tree I forbad thee mark how he shifteth it off The woman which thou gavest to be with me she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat And when God comes to the woman and asketh What is this that thou hast done saith she the Serpent beguiled me and I did eat Adam shifteth the fault from himself to the woman and she from her self to the Serpent But had not they been willing what could the Serpent have done if we are tempted it is Satans fault but if we yeild it is our guilt Sceva at the siege of Dyrrachium so long alone resisted Pompeys Army that he had two hundred and twenty darts sticking in his shield and lost one of his eyes and yet gave not over till Caesar came in to his rescue Deut. 22.23 to 2â— Under the Law if a man met a Damsel and lay with her if she consented she dyed but if she cryed out she was innocent and acquitted So if when Satan assaults us he obtaines consent from us we die for fin when it is finished brings forth death Iam. 1.15 But if we consent not but cry out to Christ for help against temptation we shall be delivered So that if I stand out and yeild not when temptation comes if I consent not to the sin the temptation leads to if though Satan perswades yet he prevailes not then I walk wisely in temptation 12. The wisdom of walking in temptation lyeth in praying much when we are tempted much this is the Lord Christs own counsell Watch
us into the wilderness Paul was no sooner come down out of the highest heaven but he is straight way set upon by an enemy from the lowest hell He had no sooner received abundance of revelations to comfort him Cor. 12. â— 7. but the next news is a Messenger of Satan to buffet him After that glorious revelation he falleth into a grievous temptation insomuch that the joy of his spirit was much abated by the thorn in the flesh Thus it was with the Lord Christ himself he no sooner heareth the voyce of God from Heaven saying This is my belóved son but immediately the spirit from hell cometh and questioneth his Sonship Matth. 3. 16. câ—mp with Mat. 401. he was no sooner gone up out of the water where he was baptized but he is forthwith lead up into the wilderness to be tempted And if he did thus to the green tree what will he not do to the dry So that it is clear that the Saints of God are very incident to temptations from Satan Secondly Ps 119.117 and 17.5 Man is very weak at best to withstand temptation when it is least So long as God holdeth us up we cannot fall but if God giveth us up we cannot stand It is mans weakness to presume upon his own strength when as his best strength is but weakness Peter promises not to leave Christ but when the temptation cometh then he leaveth his promise To persist in duties of sanctification and to resist in cases of temptation both these are mans work to do but we must have Gods strength to do them How vain is man to think himself any thing when without Christ he can do nothing Ioh. 15. â— Thirdly We have in our natures much for temptation to work upon Our corrupt hearts are like tinder apt to take when the Devil striketh fire He that promiseth himself that the frame of his heart will be the same under a temptation as it was before may as well promise himself that though he fall into the water he shall be dry because whilst he was upon the shoar he was not wet It is not with Christians as it was with Christ when Satan came to tempt him he found nothing in him no carnal principles no secret lust no corrupt matter to fasten his temptations upon The Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me Joh. 14.30 But it is otherwise with Christians Satan hath for the compassing his ends a sure party in our own bosom When Satan beleagureth us without sin is ready to betray us within A mans enemies are they of his own house Christ had onely the suffering part of temptation when he entred into it but we have also the finning part of it Though when Satan came to Christ he found nothing in him yet when he comes to Christians he findes much in them Though Beleevers are not in sin yet there is sin in Beleevers much lust remaineth in the Best Where grace is it destroyeth sins power but it doth not destroy its presence Though we are sanctified in every part Cor. 13 1â— yet we are sanctified but in part Though Regeneration taketh much sin out of us yet Temptation findeth much sin still in us There is much for temptation to work upon and therefore we have need to walk wisely in temptation Fourthly Satan with great cunning suiteth his temptations to mans nature and disposition as he hath great malice as being a Devil so he hath great knowledge as being an Angel and as his knowledge is great by intelligence so it is heightned by experience For he hath been trading with souls well nigh Six thousand years He doth not love to sail against the wind nor row against the tide he suits the temptation without us to the lusts and corruption within us and so hath winde and tide with him If he meet vvith Peter he dealeth vvith his carnal fear vvith Davids lust vvith Jonahs passion vvith Diotrephes his ambition Oh hovv vvisely doth it behove us to vvalk in temptations Fifthly As all Saints are tempted to commit sin so many commit the sin to which they are tempted As Satan is alvvays very treacherous so he is often very prosperous He cannot make us fail finally but yet he maketh us fall free-quently He doth often bruise our heel though he cannot break our head He blovveth the coals of lust in David and hovv quickly doth it flame in Adultery and Murder Though Satan cannot break our backs yet he may break our bones and send us halting to our graves and therefore vve had need vvalk vvisely in temptation Sixthly A man may withstand a temptation at one-time and yet fall under the same temptation at another For the influences of grace may be more at one time and less at another a mans own heart may be in a watchful frame at one time and in a sleepy carnal frame at another and Satan then cometh soonest when the heart is securest Mark 13.37 It is the beleevers duty to watch always but the beleever is not always in that duty Now if Satan cometh once and findeth him watching he will go and come again when he may find him sleeping Satan is not for ever conquered because he is once resisted What he faileth in at one time he attempteth at another When he left Christ it was with an intent to come again Luk. 4.13 when the devil had ended all the temptation he departed from him for how long for a season 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 untill another opportunity for he set upon him again Joh. 14.30 We shall never be out of Satans reach till we come into the bosom of Jesus Christ As Christ sometimes leaveth us and then returneth again so doth Satan Christ leaveth us to make us act grace and walk more strictly Satan leaveth us to make us lay aside grace and walk more remisly When Christ departs we are apt to be cast down and to say We shall never see comfort When Satan departs we are apt to be lifted up and to say We shall never see trouble When as both withdraw to return again Christ withdraws that he may return with the greater mercy and Satan withdraws that he may return with the greater fury 7. In every temptation the soul runs a great hazard of eternal destruction The design of the Tempter is the ruine of the Beleever As the design of Christ in regeneration is to save the soul so the design of Satan in temptation is to destroy it Our blessed Redeemer would fane make us as happy as himself in heaven and this cursed Tempter should fain make us as miserable as himself in hell He that kept not his own station Iude v. 6. grudgeth us ours it is matter of his envy that we should possess that habitation which he so sinfully left and therefore his work on earth is to hinder vs in our working for heaven He envieth us everlasting crowns of Righteousness when he himself lieth in
everlasting chains of darkness and therefore he would fane defile us here that so he might destroy us for ever Surely therefore if at all times a Christian should walk wisely then in time of temptation more ospecially Query But you will say Where lieth the wisdom of walking in a time of temptation Suppose I am much exercised with temptations of several kinds wherein doth the wisdom of walking consist at such a time I shall answer the Question in thirteen particulars 1. In submitting to the will of God in temptation There is no tempration befalleth us but it is according to the will of God God willeth our trials that he may try our wills whether they will how to his will or no A Christian should say the will of the Lord be done Act. 21.14 though he be undone much more he should be contented when it is the will of God he should be tried God ordereth and disposeth and timeth all our temptations Satan cannot do what he pleaseth but what God pleaseth He had not power to touch Job till God gave him leave Iob. 1.12 and when he had power he could go no further then the wise God gave him order In temptation it is not what Satan will but what God will Yet how frowardly do many of the children of God carry themselves in temptation speaking hardly of God as if he had forsook them because he suffers Satan to buffet them Now then if I submit to the will of God in temptation and say Although I could rejoyce to be rid of this temptation yet it is not fit I should chuse my condition then I walk wisely in temptation 2. In disclaiming self-confidence and not trusting to our own strength Self-confidence usually meeteth with some sad miscarriage for its recompence Satan desires no greater advantage against us then to find us in our own strength when he cometh to assault us Solomon saith He that trusts in his own heart is a fool Why a fool Pro. 28.26 because he is sure to be deceived So foolish was Peter Though all men forsake thee Mat. 26.33 yet will not I. What deny my Master the Son of God my Redeemer What deny the blessed Jesus Thou art Christ the Son of the living God and therefore though I die though I should die with thee 16.16 yet will I not deny thee and yet who forsook Christ so sadly as Peter 26.35 he doth only forsake him but forswear him The strength of a Beleever lieth not in himself but in his Saviour God can overcome Satan without our hands but we cannot so much as defend our selves without his arm He can do all things without us we can do nothing without him 18 am 15.29 He is the strength of Israel And therefore when the Apostle layeth down directions for the withstanding temptations he giveth this as his first counsel Be strong in the Lord Eph. 6.10 and in the power of his might Gods power is greater to help us then Satans is to hurt us As without Gods leave he cannot tempt us so when he doth tempt God vvill not leave us vvhen Satan doth his vvorst to throvv us dovvn God vvill do his best to make us stand As we are kept by the power of God to salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 so vve are kept by the povver of God from temptation Novv then if in temptation I disclaim self-confidence and rest upon divine omnipotence if I cease from my own strength and rely upon the strength of God then do I walk wisely in temptation 3. In distinguishing between temptations from God and Satan Sometimes God tempteth and sometimes Satan God tempteth for good ends Satan for evil ends God tempteth to try grace Deut. 13.3 The Lord your God proveth you to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart Thus it is said God tempted Abraham Gen. 22.1 It was to try his faith and obedience Thus he tempted Hezekiah 2 Chron. 32.31 God left him to try him that he might know all that was in his heart But Satan tempteth to destroy grace not to try it As the design of temptation is the ruine of grace so God is said to tempt no man Ian. 1.13 But as the design of temptation is the tryal of grace so God tempteth every man 1 Pet. 1.97 God tempteth for probation Satan for reprobation God when he tempteth cometh with his fan to fan out the chaff and the rubbish Mat. 1.12 but to keep in and preserve the wheat but Satan when he tempteth cometh with his sieve Luc. 22.31 to let out the wheat but to keep in the rubbish The fan casteth out the worst and keepeth in the best but the sieve keepeth in the worst and casteth out the best So God by his temptations purgeth corruption out of us and nourisheth grace in us But Satan by his temptations laboureth to confirm sin and weaken grace God tempteth because he would have us stand Satan tempteth to make us fall God tempteth to purge out sin that when Satan tempteth he may not take advantage againstus by our sin God tempteth to cleanse corruption out of us Ioh. 14.10 that so when Satan cometh he may finde nothing in us God tempteth us because he loveth us Satan tempteth because he hateth us God tempteth to make us like Christ Satan tempteth to make us leave Christ Now then if I distinguish aright between temptations from God and temptations from Satan between those that are only to try grace and those that are to destroy grace that I may improve the former and resist the latter then do I walk wisely in temptation 4. It is wisdom not to bring our own reason to the temptation but to bring the temptation to the blood of Christ Vain man thinketh in the strength of his own reason to out-argue the Tempter this is to shoot with Satan in his own bow To argue with him is as the proverb hath it To light a candle to the Devil Yet how ready are we to parly with him when he knocks at the door how apt are we to look out at the window Eve ventureth to treat with him about the forbidden fruit and from treating she falls to eating Pro. 6.27.28 to the ruine of a whole world at once Can a man take fire in his bosom and his cloaths not be burnt Can he go upon hot coals and his feet not be burned Reason is but a carnal weapon but our enemy is spiritual Eph 6.12 and therefore the weapons of our warfare must not be carnal 2 Cor. 10.4 he must be spiritually subdued The blood of Christ can quench temptation Reason cannot Satan saith to carnal Reason as the evil spirit did to Sceva's sons Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are you and it leaped upon them and overcame them Act. 19.14 15 16. Bring Reason to a temptation and it beareth down that but bring a temptation