8. Temptations

BY perſwading them that theis eſtate is not good, their hearts are not upright, their graces are not ſound, becauſe they are ſo followed, vexed, and tormented with ‘temptations; ‘tis his method, firſt to vex, and weary the ſoul with temptations, and then to tempt p. 254 the ſoule, that ſurely ‘tis not beloved,⁵⁸⁸ becauſe ‘tis ſo much tempted; and by this ſtratagem he keeps many precious ſouls in a ſad, doubting, and mourning temper many years, as many of the precious ſonnes of Sion have found by wofull experience, &c.

1. 588. He may ſo tempt, as to make a Saint weary of his life. Job 10. 1. My ſoule is weary of my life.

THe firſt Remedie againſt this Device⁵⁸⁹ of Satan, is, ſolemnly to conſider, that thoſe that have been beſt, and moſt beloved, have been moſt tempted by Satan. Though Satan can never rob a Chriſtian of his Crown, yet ſuch is his malice, that hee will therefore tempt, that he may ſpoyle them of their comforts; ſuch is his enmity to the Father, that the nearer and dearer any child is to him, the more will Satan trouble him, and vex him with temptations;⁵⁹⁰ Chriſt himſelfe was moſt neer, and moſt deare, moſt innocent, and moſt excellent, and yet none ſo much tempted as Chriſt; David was dearly beloved, and yet by Satan tempted to number the people; Iob was highly praiſed by God p. 255 himſelfe, and yet much tempted, witneſſe thoſe ſad things that fell from his mouth, when he was wet to the skin; Peter was much prized by Chriſt, witneſſe that choiſe teſtimony that Chriſt gave of his faith and happineſſe, and his ſhewing him his glory in the Mount, and that eye of pity that he caſt upon him after his fearfull fall, &c. and yet tempted by Satan. And the Lord ſaid,⁵⁹¹ Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath deſired to have you, that he may ſift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith faile thee not, &c.

1. 589. 1 Remedie. [dropped from the edition]
2. 590. Pirats do not uſe to ſet upon poor, empty veſſels; and beggars need not feare the thieſe; thoſe that have moſt of God, and moſt rich in grace, ſhall be moſt ſet upon by Satan, who is the greateſt and wiſeſt Pirate in the world.
3. 591. Luke 22. 31, 32.

Paul had the honour of being exalted as high as high as heaven, and of ſeeing that glory that could not be expreſt; and yet hee was no ſooner ſtept out of Heaven, but he is buffetted by Satan, leſt he ſhould be exalted above meaſure. If⁵⁹² theſe that were ſo really, ſo gloriouſly, ſo eminently beloved of God; if theſe that have lived in Heaven, and ſet their feet upon the ſtars, have been tempted, let no Saints judge themſelves not to be beloved, becauſe they are tempted.

1. 592. 2 Cor. 12. 2. 7.

It is as natural for Saints to be tempted that are dearly beloved, as ‘tis for the Sun to ſhine, or a bird to ſing; the Eagle complains not of her wings, nor the Peacock of his train, nor the Nightingale of her voyce, becauſe theſe are p. 256 naturall to them; no more ſhould S^ts. of their temptations, becauſe they are naturall to them; For wee wreſtle not againſt⁵⁹³ fleſh and blood, but againſt principalities, againſt powers, againſt the Rulers of the darkneſſe of this world, againſt ſpirituall wickedneſſe in high places.

1. 593. Epheſ. 6. 12.

The ſecond Remedie againſt this Device⁵⁹⁴ of Satan, is, to conſider, that all the temptations that befall the Saints, ſhall be ſanctified to them by a hand of love; ah! the choiſe experiences that the Saints get of the power of God, ſupporting them, of the wiſdome of God directing them (ſo to handle their ſpirituall weapons, their graces, as not only to reſiſt, but to overcome) of the mercy and goodneſſe of the Lord, pardoning and ſuccouring of them. And therefore ſaith Paul, I received the meſſenger⁵⁹⁵ Satan for to buffet me, leſt I ſhould be exalted, leſt I ſhould be exalted above meaſure, ‘tis twice in that verſe he begins with it, and ends with it; if he had not been buffeted, who knows how his heart would have ſwelled; hee might have been carried higher in conceit, then before he was in his extacie. The ſchool of temptation is a choiſe ſchool, a ſchool wherein God gives his people the cleareſt, and the ſweeteſt diſcoveries of his love; a ſchool wherein God teaches p. 257 his people to be more frequent, and fervent in duty; when Paul was buffeted, then he prayed thrice, that is, frequently, and fervently; A ſchoole wherein God teaches his people to be more tender, meek, and compaſſionate to other poor tempted ſouls then ever; A ſchool wherein God teaches his people to ſee a greater evill in ſinne then ever, and a greater emptineſs in the creature then ever, and a greater need of Chriſt, and free-grace then ever; A ſchool wherein God will teach his people, that all temptations are but his Gold-ſmiths, by which he will try, and refine, and make his people more bright and glorious. The iſſue of all temptations ſhall be the good of the Saints; as you may ſee by the temptations that Adam, and Eve, and Chriſt, and David, and Job, and Peter, and Paul met with. Thoſe hands of power, and love that bring light out of darkneſſe, good out of evill, ſweet out of bitter, life out of death, Heaven out of Hell, will bring much ſweet and good to his people, out of all the temptations that come upon them.

1. 594. 2 Remedy. [dropped from the edition]
2. 595. 2 Cor. 12. 7. Vide Bezam, Grotium, & Estium Lather ſaid there were three things this made a Preacher; Meditation, prayer, and temptation.

The third Remedie againſt this Device⁵⁹⁶ of Satan is, wiſely to conſider, that no temptations don’t hurt nor harm the Saints, ſo long as they are not reſiſted p. 258 by them, and prove the greateſt affliction that can befall them; ‘tis not Satans tempting, but your aſſenting; not his enticing, but your yeelding, that makes temptations hurtfull to your ſoules; if the ſoule when ‘tis tempted, reſiſts the temptation, and ſaith with Chriſt, get thee behind mee Satan; and with that young Convert, I am not the man that I⁵⁹⁷ was; or as Luther counſells all men, to anſwer all temptations with theſe words (Chriſtianus ſum) I am a Chriſtian; if a mans temptations be his greateſt affliction, then is the temptation no ſin upon his ſoule, though it be a trouble upon his mind: when a ſoule can look the Lord in the face, and ſay, ah Lord! I have many outward troubles now upon me, I have loſt ſuch and ſuch a neere mercy, and ſuch and ſuch dear deſirable mercies, and yet thou that knoweſt the heart, thou knoweſt that all my croſſes and loſſes do not make ſo many wounds in my ſoule, nor fetch ſo many ſighes from my heart, nor teares from my eyes, as thoſe temptations doe, that Satan follows my ſoul with: when ‘tis thus with the ſoule, then temptations are only the ſouls trouble, they are not the ſouls ſin.

1. 596. 3 Remedie. [dropped from the edition]
2. 597. Ego non ſum ego.

Satan is a malious and envious enemie;⁵⁹⁸ as his names are, ſo is he; his p. 259 names are all names of enmity; the Accuſer, the Tempter, the Deſtroyer, the Devourer, the envious Man; and this malice, and envy of his, he ſhewes ſometimes by tempting men to ſuch ſins as are quite contrary to the temperature of their bodies, as he did Veſpaſian and Julian, men of ſweet and excellent natures to be moſt bloody murtherers; and ſometimes hee ſhews his malice, by tempting men to ſuch things as ſhall bring him no honour, nor profit, &c. fall downe and worſhip mee, to blaſphemie, and Atheiſme, &c. the thoughts and firſt motions whereof cauſe the beart and the fleſh to tremble; And ſometimes he ſhewes his malice, by tempting them to thoſe ſins, which they have not found their natures prone to, and which they abhor in others, &c.

1. 598. Sometimes he ſhewes his malice, by letting thoſe things abide by the ſoule, as may moſt vex, and plague the ſoule, as Gregory obſerves in his leaving of Jobs wife, which was not out of his forgetfulneſs, careleſneſſe, or any love, or pity to Iob, but to vex, and torment him, &c. and to work him to blaſpheme God, deſpair, and die, &c.

Now if the ſoule reſiſts theſe, and complains of theſe, and groanes and mourns under theſe, and lookes up to the Lord Jeſus to be delivered from theſe, then ſhall they not be put down to the ſoules account, but to Satans, who ſhall be ſo much the more tormented, by how much the more the Saints have beene by him maliciouſly tempted, &c.

Make preſent and peremptory reſiſtance againſt Satans temptations, bid defiance to the temptation at firſt ſight;⁵⁹⁹ ‘tis ſafe to reſiſt, ‘tis dangerous to diſpute; Eve loſt her ſelfe, and her poſterity, by falling into the liſts of diſpute, when ſhe ſhould have reſiſted, and ſtood upon terms of defiance with Satan; he that would ſtand in the hour of temptation, muſt plead with Chriſt, ‘tis written; he that would triumph over temptations, muſt plead ſtill, ‘tis written. Satan is bold and impudent, and if you are not peremptory in your reſiſtance, he will give you freſh onſets. ‘Tis your greateſt honour, and your higheſt wiſdome, peremptorily to with-ſtand the beginnings of a temptation, for an after remedie comes often too late.

1. 599. When Conſtantine the Emperour was told that there was no means to cure his leproſie, but by bathing his body in the blood of Infants, he preſently anſwered (malo jemper aegrotare quam tali remedio convaleſcere) I had rather not be cured, then uſe ſuch a remedie.

Miſtris Katherine Bretterge, once, after a great conflict with Satan, ſaid, Reaſon not with me, I am but a weake woman; if thou haſt any thing to ſay, ſay it to my Chriſt, he is my Advocate, my ſtrength, and my redeemer, and he ſhall plead for me.

Men muſt not ſeek to reſiſt Satans craft with craft (ſed per apertum martem) but by open defiance; he ſhoots with Satan in his own bow; who thinks by diſputing and reaſoning to put him off. As ſoon as a temptation ſhewes its face, ſay to the temptation, as Ephraim p. 261 to his idols; get you hence, what have I any⁶⁰⁰ more to doe with you? oh! ſay to the temptation, as David ſaid to the ſonnes of Zerviah; What have I to doe with you?⁶⁰¹ you will be too hard for me. He that doth thus reſiſt temptations, ſhall never be undone by temptation, &c.

1. 600. Hoſea 14.
2. 601. 2 Sam. 16. 10.

Make ſtrong and conſtant reſiſtance⁶⁰² againſt Satans temptations, make reſiſtance againſt temptations by arguments drawn from the honour of God, the love of God, your union and communion with God; and from the blood of Chriſt, the death of Chriſt, the kindneſs of Chriſt, the interceſſion of Chriſt, and the glory of Chriſt; and from the voice of the Spirit, the counſell of the Spirit, the comforts of the Spirit, the preſence of the Spirit, the ſeale of the Spirit, the whiſperings of the Spirit, the commands of the Spirit, the aſſiſtance of the Spirit, the witneſſe of the Spirit; and from the glory of Heaven, the excellency of grace, the beauty of holineſſe, the worth of the ſoule, and the vildneſſe or bitterneſſe, and evill of ſinne, the leaſt ſin being a greater evil, then the greateſt temptation in the world.

1. 602. I have read of one who being tempted with offers of money to deſert Chriſt, gave this excellent anſwer, let not any man think, that he will embrace other mens goods to forſake Chriſt, who hath forſaken his own proper goods to follow Chriſt.

And looke that you make conſtant reſiſtance, as well as ſtrong reſiſtance; be conſtant in armes, Satan will come p. 262 on with new temptations; when old⁶⁰³ ones are too weak in a calme, prepare for a ſtorm; the temper is reſtleſſe, impudent, and ſubtile; he will ſute his temptations to your conſtitutions, and inclinations; Satan loves to ſaile with the winde; if your knowledg be weake, he will tempt you to errour; if your conſciences be tender, he will tempt you to ſcrupuloſity, and too much preciſeneſſe, as to do nothing but heare, pray, read, &c. If your conſciences be wide and large, hee will tempt you to carnall ſecurity; if you are bold ſpirited, he will tempt you to preſumption; if timerous, to deſperation; if flexible, to inconſtancy; if proud and ſtiffe, to groſſe folly, therefore ſtill fit for freſh aſſaults; make one victory a ſtep to another. When you have overcome a temptation, take heed of unbending your bow, and look well to it, that your bow be alwayes bent, and that it remains in ſtrength; when you have overcome one temptation, you muſt Be ready to enter the liſt with another; as diſtruſt (in ſome ſenſe) is the mother of ſafety, ſo ſecurity is the gate of danger; a man had need to feare this moſt of all, that he fears not all; if Satan be always a roaring, wee ſhould be alwayes a watching, and reſiſting of p. 263 him; and certainely, hee that makes ſtrong and conſtant reſiſtance of Satans temptations, ſhall in the end get above his temptations, and for the preſent is ſecure enough from being ruin’d by his temptations, &c.

1. 603. Luke 4. 14. And when the Devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a ſeaſon. Chriſt had no reſt untill he was exactly tried with all kinds of temtations. Calvin.

For a cloſe of this, remember that tis⁶⁰⁴ dangerous, to yeeld to the leaſt ſin, to be rid of the greateſt temptation. To take this courſe were, as if a man ſhould think to waſh himſelfe cleane in Inke; or as if a man ſhould exchange a light croſſe made of paper, for an Iron croſſe which is heavy, toileſome, and bloody, the leaſt ſin ſet home upon the conſcience, will more, wound, vex, and oppreſſe the ſoul, then all the temptations in the world can; therefore never yeeld to the leaſt ſin, to be rid of the greateſt temptation. Sidonius Apolinaris relateth, how a certain man named Maximus, arriving at the top of honour, by indirect meanes, was the firſt day very much wearied, and fetching a deep ſigh, ſaid, Oh Damocles! how happie doe I eſteem thee, for having been a King but the ſpace of a dinner, I have been one a wholeday, and can beare it no longer. I will leave you to make the Application.

1. 604. He that will yeeld to ſin, to be rid of temptation, will be ſo much the more tempted, and the leſſe able to withſtand temptations.