have room to receive it and make that all Nations shall call you blessed To the like purpose we read in Psal 81.13 14. O that my People had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my Ways I should soon have subdued their Enemies and turned my Hand against their Adversaries But they would not try me and trust me GOD condescends to speak such Language unto All of us Prove me saith he by obeying my Voice and hearkening to my Word Enter into my Service see whether I am a hard Master Take my Yoke upon you see whether it be not easy and my Burden light Try whether my Service be not better than that of Sin and the World See whether any can do for you that which I can and will do Come unto me says Christ if you are weary and heavy laden and see whether I cannot give you Rest Do but make a Trial whether the Ways of Wisdom be not Pleasantness and her Paths Peace Condemn not Religion for a melancholy tedious burdensome thing before you have found it so upon Trial. See whether seeking the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof in the first place be not the way to have all other things added in the best Proportion Make a Trial at least for a time whether to walk uprightly and keep a Conscience void of Offence towards God and Man be not the only way to walk surely in the most difficult Times and turn of Affairs publick or private PROVE me now says God whether he that fears God and works Righteousness shall not be Accepted See whether I am a barren Wilderness or a Land of Drought whether ever you shall have reason to Repent your turning from Sin and Vanity to walk in my Way whether ever any shall be Losers by their Fidelity to me O THAT Magistrates Ministers Gentlemen Students Merchants Tradesmen Parents Children Heads of Families and Servants younger elder Persons under what Denomination soever they may be ranked would All in their several places instead of Tempting Christ make a Trial of his Faithfulness to his Promises unto such as are diligent and faithful to the performance of the Duty O that Magistrates would but try whether Fidelity to God and Zeal for his Glory and Concern for his Honour and Care that his Laws be observed and the Violation of them punished whether this be not the best way to their own Safety Honour and Establishment and the only Exaltation and Security of the People O that Ministers would but try whether hearty Love to God and Christ and the Souls of Men and fervent Desires and Endeavours to approve our selves to the All-seeing God in seeking to promote the Faith and Holiness and Joy of Christians and their Union Love and Concord one with another be not the best way for our Acceptance and Success O that Merchants and Tradesmen would but try by constant Dependance upon God and daily Prayer in their Closets and Families and strict Justice and Righteousness in their Dealings and by chusing and encouraging such Servants as fear the Lord and by keeping up the Worship and Authority of God in their Houses whether this be not the best way to banish the Curse of God from their Habitation and to obtain that Blessing of Heaven upon their Diligence in their Callings which will make Rich without the Addition of Sorrow O that Parents would try whether by dedicating their Children to God betimes and educating them diligently in the Fear and Nurture of the Lord and disgracing Sin to them telling them the Evil and the Danger of it and antidoting them against Temptation saving them from Pride and Idleness and evil Company making Religion pleasant to them and setting an holy Example before them c. whether this be not the best and only way to have Comfort in them O that we who are the Children of Religious Holy Parents would but try whether there will not be a double Blessing from Heaven upon us if we own our Fathers God and our Mothers God If we keep within the Bond of his Covenant and remember his Commandments to do them if we cut not off the Entail of Covenant-Blessings with our own Hands if we obey the God of our Fathers with a perfect and upright Heart Let us prove him and try whether he will not fulfil his Promise That the Mercy of the Lord shall be from everlasting to everlasting to them that fear him and his Righteousness or Faithfulness to the Childrens Children IN SHORT let us All resolve to Tempt God and Christ no more as we have done but to prove him by our holy Obedience And we shall find by Experience that committing our Way to God in well-doing is the wisest and easiest and sweetest Life through all the Changes of this present World That by casting our Bread upon the Waters and giving to the Poor we do but lend unto the Lord and he will surely repay it That to sanctify the lord's-Lord's-Day is the proper Method to have the Blessing of Heaven all the Week That to live the Life of the Righteous and to begin to remember and serve him in our Youth is the only proper Method for a long Life and a good old Age or a peaceful Death a Comfortable Account and a Blessed Eternity FINIS These following Books are published by Mr. John Shower and sold by John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultrey SOme Account of the Holy Life and Death of Mr. Henry Gearing late Citizen of London Who departed this Life January the 4th 169¾ Aged 61. With the Trial and Character of a Real Christian collected out of his Papers for the Examination of himself From which several other Particulars are added for the Instruction Encouragement and Imitation of Christians The Mourners Companion or Funeral Discourses from several Texts 8o. Price bound 1 s. 6 d. Death a Deliverance A Funeral Discourse to bind up with the Mourners Companion Sacramental Discourses on several Texts before and after the Lord's-Supper together with a Paraphrase on the Lord's-Prayer 12o. Price bound 1 s. 6 d. Practical Reflections on the late Earthquakes in Jamaica Engalnd Sicily Malta c. with a particular Historical Account of those and divers other Earthquakes Price bound 1 s. 6 d. The Day of Grace Or a Discourse concerning the Possibility and Fear of its being past before Death Shewing the groundless Doubts and mistaken Apprehensions of some as to their being finally forsaken and left of God with the dangerous Symptoms and Approaches of others to such a sad State In four Sermons from Psal 81.11 12. in 12o. Serious Reflections on Time and Eternity with some other Subjects Moral and Divine To which is annexed an Appendix concerning the first Day of the Year how observed by the Jews and may best be employed by a serious Christian The Third Edition 12o. In the Press of the same Author ' s. A Discourse of Family Religion in three Letters to a Friend in 12o. BOOK' 's Printed for John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultrey MR. Slater's Sermon on the Funeral of Mr. John Reynolds Minister 4o. His Sermon on the Funeral of Mr. Fricher 4o. His Sermon on the Thanksgiving-Day Octob. 27 1692. 4o. Mr. Giles Firmin's Answer to R. Davis 4o. An Apology for the Ministers who subscribed Mr. Williams his Book shewing that the Gospel which they preach is the old everlasting Gospel of Christ Against the Antinomians 4o. Mr. Hammond's Sermon on Mr. Steel's Funeral 8o. Miscellanea Sacra Containing Scriptural Meditations Divine Breathings occasional Reflections and sacred Poems 12o. A perpetual Almanack of Spiritual Meditations 12o. The Triumphs of Grace in the last Words and edifying Death of the Lady Margaret de la Musse 12o. Aickin's English Grammar or the English Tongue reduced to Grammatical Rules 8o. Clavis Grammatica or a ready way to the Latin Tongue 8o. The is now in the Press A Discourse of Family Religion by the Reverend Mr. Samuel Slater in 8o. Printed for J. Lawrence
Eyes on should just answer your Case and administer Resolution or Comfort is without sufficient Ground or Warrant and is a kind of limiting God and so a Tempting of him For what reason hath any Man to believe that God will certainly discover and reveal himself that way to fatisfy his Doubts May a Divine Blessing accompany this serious Admonition and Warning to take heed how we Tempt God by any of the various Methods here explain'd J. S. London March the 8th 169¾ The CONTENTS Sect. 1. THE Introduction Context and proposed Method of the following Discourse page 1. Sect. 2. Of the Person tempted and sinn'd against by the Jews Jesus Christ His Existence before his Incarnation prov'd against the Socinians p. 5. Sect. 3. What was the particular Sin of the Jews in the Wilderness here called a Tempting of Christ p. 12. Sect. 4. Of the Punishment by Fiery Serpents The Wisdom of Providence therein Of the Serpent in Paradise Vpon what Accounts Serpents have been reckon'd Sacred and Venerable by the Heathens p. 16. Sect. 5. How we may be guilty of the like Sin Explicitly and Directly or Implicitly Two Instances of the former p. 25. Sect. 6. The many ways of implicit indirect Tempting Christ Some Instances with respect to his Truth p. 36. Sect. 7. Of Tempting God and Christ with respect to the Divine Power in several Instances p. 41. Sect. 8. Of Tempting Christ with respect to his Knowledg p. 50. Sect. 9. Of Tempting God and Christ with respect to his Providence in several Instances p. 53. Sect. 10. It is a Tempting of Providence to use unlawful or suspected Means to accomplish our Desires or supply our Wants p. 62. Sect. 11. Of laying Wagers concerning the future Determinations of Divine Providence p. 67. Sect. 12. Of Tempting Christ with respect to his Inward Grace and the Assistance of the Holy Spirit Especially by bold venturing upon Temptation and the Occasions of Sin p. 70. Sect. 13. Of Tempting God and Christ as to his Patience p. 85. Sect. 14. The Improvement of this Discourse for Conviction of Sin and Humiliation The Aggravations of this Tempting Christ The Danger of it as applied to our Nation from this Example of the Jews p. 87. Sect. 15. An Exhortation to all sorts of Persons instead of Tempting Christ to make Trial and Proof of his Goodness and Faithfulness in a way of Duty Obedience and Dependance p. 97. A DISCOURSE of Tempting Christ 1 COR. x. 9. Neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also Tempted and were destroyed of Serpents SECT I. The Introduction Context and proposed Method of the following Discourse WE experience the mighty Force of Example to draw or to disswade when bare Counsel will not move and naked Precept makes little Impression It is easier to oppose and contradict the most positive Rule to despise and make light of the plainest Prohibition and Caution against Sin than when we see the Evil of it as in a Glass by some remarkable Instance of Divine Severity On this Account the Historical Part of the Holy Scriptures is of excellent Use and accordingly the Examples of God's Antient People the Jews are frequently referr'd to in the New Testament They are said to be Types and Patterns unto us to instruct us what we may expect if we imitate their Transgressions by the Righteous Judgments of god that followed them A GOOD part of this Chapter is imployed by the Apostle in admonishing and warning these Corinthians against several particular Sins from the Consideration of the Punishments which God inflicted upon the Israelites for the like Tho they were his peculiar People he would not spare them but did rather execute Vengeance with the greater Severity and Speed They enjoyed many Advantages above the rest of the World especially as to them belonged the Covenant and the Adoption On which Account they are called their Fathers ver 1. which the Jews could not otherwise be to these Corinthians who were Heathens and some of the First-fruits of the Gentile Church Types and Examples unto us ver 6. to warn us against such and such particular Sins from what they suffered in the Wilderness for the like Adding that these things are written for our sakes ver 11. on whom the Ends of the World are come That is on our account who live in the latter Ages of the World when those latter Days are begun in which the great Change foretold by the Prophets to be made by the Messiah's Kingdom doth take place which Kingdom is to last and increase to the end of the World without the expectation of any other considerable Change of that Nature It is for our sakes on whom the Ends of the World are come that these things are written That thereby we may know and be convinced that whatever the Difference may be imagined between Christians and Jews between Moses and Christ between the Law and the Gospel between the Typical Egypt Wilderness and Canaan of the Jews and the Antitype to these things amongst us Christians whatever the Difference may be between us and them and whatever Advantages may lie on our side yet if we will not take warning by their Example we must expect the like Severity of Divine Justice as they experienced AMONG other Provocations of which the Jews were guilty and which the Apostle takes notice of in this Chapter This in these words deserves to be considered Neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted c. 1. I SHALL consider the Example of the Antient Jews and what Sin that was which is here referred to and the Punishment of it 2. How We may be said to tempt Christ what is the Nature of that Sin or how many ways we may be guilty of it 3. Close with a Practical Exhortation to impress and improve the whole SECT II. Of the Person tempted and sinn'd against by the Jews Jesus Christ His Existence before his Incarnation prov'd against the Socinians I. LET us consider this Example of the Jews We are cautioned not to tempt Christ as They also tempted him Before I speak to the Nature of their Sin and the Punishment of it whereof we have a more particular account Numb 21. it will be necessary to enquire who is the Person offended how the Jews in the Wilderness can be said to have tempted Christ so long before his Incarnation which is the Apostle's Charge here and the Ground of his Admonition to us not to incur the like Guilt THE Socinians and others who disown the Divinity of our Blessed Saviour are here perplexed to evade the force of the Argument for the Existence of Jesus Christ before he was born of the Virgin Mary For the Scripture speaks frequently concerning the Jews as tempting Jehovah and of their being punished for it in the Wilderness and it is plain that this Passage refers unto that time by the mention of their being destroyed by Serpents Now it was for tempting of Christ says
may be had Thus the Devil would have Christ to cast himself down from the Pinacle of the Temple when there was an easy way of going down safely by the Stairs and Steps We may expect God's Blessing upon our Diligence in the use of lawful Means but must not pretend to trust him with the neglect of what is in our Power to be done We must not look that Water should be fetched out of a Rock for us by Miracle when there is hope we may find a Spring if we will but dig for it or that we should be able to swim cross an Arm of the Sea when we may have a Vessel to transport us We must not look for Bread from Heaven as the Israelites had it if the Ground will bear Corn and we will not plough or sow It is to Tempt God to expect Recovery from Sickness without the use of Means when they may be had or Supplies of Poverty without Diligence to seek Relief or Deliverance in Danger if we sit still and will do nothing that is within our reach When our Lord was in the Wilderness and Provision could not be had for the Multitude that followed him he then made use of his Almighty Power to multiply a few Loaves and two or three little Fishes into sufficient Provisions for thousands But at other times when he was near a Town we find that he sent his Disciples to buy Food Joh. 4. To expect the End without using the Means that are within our Power is a Tempting of God BUT it is more common in Spiritual and Religious Matters than in Civil and Temporal Ones How many do hope for Divine Acceptance without fearing God and working Righteousness and that they shall die the Death of the Righteous tho they continue all their Days to be Workers of Iniquity 3. WHEN we repine and murmur at his Disposal of us and ours When we are dissatisfied with our State and Condition in the World when the Station he has put us in and the Provision he has made for us doth not content and please us tho it may be we have such Fruits of his Wisdom Care and Love as to these things that many of our Betters have not Herein did the Israelites sin in the Wilderness This Dissatisfaction occasioned all their Murmurings and Complaints upon the account whereof they are so often said to Tempt God and to provoke him 4. IT is a tempting of God as to his Providence when we venture upon Vnnecessary Avoidable Dangers and expect that God should interpose to preserve us He that will give his Angels charge to preserve us while we keep in his way hath not promised to bring us off in Safety when we expose our selves to Danger without his Warrant Thus our Lord replies to Satan that it is to Tempt God for any one to fall from the Pinacle of the Temple upon a false Assurance that the Angels would be at hand to prevent his Danger MANY have paid dear for their Presumption in this respect and too late bethought themselves Where was my Call What did I here What a rash Adventure did I make St. Paul would not have had the Centurion put to Sea in stormy Weather and it cost them the loss of all that they had but their Lives that they did not hearken to him so much was God displeased with such bold adventurous Enterprizes A wise Man feareth and departeth from evil saith Solomon but a Fool rageth and is confident Prov. 14.16 When David had rashly sent three of his Captains to fetch him Water from the Well of Bethlehem by the Gate with the extreme hazard of their Lives as soon as he reflects his Heart smote him and he would not drink it saying * 2 Sam. 23.17 Is not this the Blood of the Men that went in Jeopardy of their Lives God commanded the Leper should dwell alone without the Camp and that no clean Person should come near him because of the Contagion They who are in Health are not obliged to accompany with the Sick in infectious Diseases unless to give them necessary Succour in a Spiritual or Temporal Way and therein we may expect Divine Preservation IT is observable that when the Plague was great in Israel David would not go up to offer Sacrifice at Gibeon where was the Tabernacle of the Lord that Moses had made in the Wilderness and the Altar of Burnt-Offering because he was afraid of the Sword of the Angel of the Lord that is of the Pestilence 1 Chron. 21.30 And the Apostle Paul tho he desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ yet when his Life was sought after he fled away from his Enemies because he would not Tempt the Providence of God SECT X. It is a Tempting of Providence to use unlawful or suspected Means to accomplish our Desires or supply our Wants Fifthly IT is another Instance of Tempting God as to his Providence when we make use of unlawful or suspected Methods to accomplish that which we desire Many sick People by reason of Impatience under Pain from the Fear of Death or over-eager Desires of a speedy Recovery will venture to make use of such things in order to it as have no natural Virtue or Influence towards such an Effect As the pronouncing of such or such hard words to charm away the Disease the carrying such or such things about them using Talismanical Figures c. and many other such Methods whereof no tolerable Account can be given but that the Effect when there is any must proceed from a very ill Cause or what we have reason to suspect to be so I could mention Instances of sad Effects of using such Methods of Cure Among others there is one * By my Respected Friend Mr. J M Letters to a sick Friend 8º Letter 15. printed of a Gentlewoman having an Ague a Beggar gave her a Charm to hang about her Neck bid her not read it but when she was cured burn it The Minister of the Parish being a sober learned and pious Conformable Divine came casually to visit her She telling him the Medicine and the Cure which had attended it threw it into the Fire in his Presence but he catching it read it the words were Ague farewel till you and I meet in Hell Upon hearing of which she fell into her Ague again with greater Violence than ever and also into a deep Melancholy which occasion'd her to lay violent Hands on her self THE like may be said for Amulets and things used to preserve from Infection in a time of Pestilence or for Security of Mens Persons in a time of War or of Herbs and Plants to preserve from Witchcrafts and Power of Evil Spirits Such things I mean which can have no natural Efficacy to produce the desired Effect as Charms and Spells and Magical Arts and many insignificant Forms of Words with their several Modes and Manners of Pronunciation used to avert Evils from themselves or their Substance