that which belongs to God alone The consideration whereof must moue vs who in all godlie conuersation must be contrary to Satan to renounce all lying and to make conscience to speake the truth from our hearts And also to abandon all vaine boasting of our selues what we are or what we can do yea rather to speake basely of our selues that so God in all good things we do may haue the glory Lying and bragging are the properties of Satan and therefore can not beseeme the tongue and heart of the children of God The second point in this temptation is the hard condition which satan would haue Christ to yeeld vnto for this gift If thou wilt fall down worship me euen to commit most abominable idolatrie in worshipping the Diuell himselfe Heerein we may obserue sundrie things First that it is a principall part of the Diuels endeuours against Gods church to seeke the ouerthrow of true religion and the pure worship of God by sowing therein the seeds of heresies and idolatries for if he dares be thus bold with Christ the head as to seeke to draw him from the worship of his Father to such abominable idolatrie what will he not attempt with silly and sinfull men The Scriptures are plentifull in shewing his indeuours this way Michaiah saw in vision an euill spirit offering himselfe vnto God to become a lying spirit in the mouth of all Ahabs prophets euen foure hundred at one time When Iehoshuah the high Priest stood before the Lord Satan stood at his right hand to resist him hee sought to hinder the building and worship of the materiall temple much more therefore will he seeke to hinder the building of the spirituall temple euen the worke of the ministery in conuersion of soules whereby they are pulled out of Satans kingdome and made pillars in the temple of the liuing God Satan is that enuious man that soweth tares of errors and heresies in the church of God which is the field of the good husbandman He hindred Paul from comming to the Thessalonians whereby it appeares that he did his endeuour to hinder the course of the Apostolicall ministery In the church of Smyrna he cast some into prison stirring vp wicked men so to do thereby to hinder the embracing of the Gospell Iohn saw three vncleane spirits like frogges come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet These are spirits of Diuels working miracles and going to the kings of the earth thither they go for the stoppage of the Gospell for if kings oppose themselues they become greatest hinderers to the Gospell of all other And these frogges by the common consent of Catholike expositors are the rabble of Popish Friers Priests and Iesuites who seeke the infection of States thorow all the world By all which the Diuels enmitie against the Church is most apparent The vse I. This shewes what care and diligence Gods Ministers should shew for the building of Gods Church and the furtherance of the Gospell for they should seeke to the vttermost of their power to counteruaile the enuious practise of satan against the Church II. Euery Christian must hence learne to pray not only for their owne good estate but also for the welfare of Gods Church euery where in the free passage of the Gospell in the establishing of true doctrine and in the continuance of constant obedience therunto For Satans endeuour is to subuert and corrupt the truth and to draw men from obedience and vnto him Gods children must euer oppose themselues the rather because their welfare stands in the good of Gods Church Secondlie in this condition of Satans offer to Christ wee may obserue that his endeuour is to bring men to worship him for if he durst attempt a demaund heerof at the hands of Christ who shall thinke to escape this assault when oportunity serues him And howsoeuer men thinke it impossible that Satan should thus far preuaile with any as to bring them to worship him yet doubtlesse though hee could not preuaile with Christ heerein hee attaines his purpose in the world and that with the greatest part thereof for the three religions of the Iew Turke and Papist doe at this day ouerspread the greatest part of the face of the earth and in them all such a worship of God is propounded vnto men wherein God is not worshipped but the Diuell For the euidence whereof marke these two rules First that all doctrines denised by man in the matter of religion which either directly or by iust consequence oppugne the word of God are doctrines of Diuels 1. Tim. 4. 1. 3. Doctrines repugnant to the word touching mariage and meares are doctrines of Diuels and so by proportion are all such like Secondly all deuised worship of God by man against Gods word is no worship of God but of the Diuell 1. Cor. 10. 20. The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice vnto Diuels and not vnto God Doubtlesse the Gentiles intended to worship God in their images but because that worship was not according to Gods wil the Apostle respects not their intent as a thing that could nothing auaile in this case but saith peremptorily their worship was done vnto the Diuell And in reason it must bee so for why should wee thinke that God should accept that for his worship which is not agreeable to his will but denised by man according to the will of the Diuel From these two rules it will follow that the best of the three forenamed religions is no worship of God but of the Diuell for all of them haue such worship as is deuised by man not of God The Iew worships God out of Christ and so doth the Turke yea and the Papists worship God but yet out of the true Christ for as hath beene shewed elsewhere the Christ of the Papists is a counterfet Christ. And in many other points of their religion there is apparent repugnancy to the word of God yea of their sacrifice of the Masse wee may as truly say as the Apostle did of heathen idol worship that they sacrifice not vnto God but to the Diuell for therein is as vile accursed and abominable idolatrie as euer was deuised by man So that it is plaine the Diuel doth mightily preuaile in causing men to worship him Yea hee preuaileth thus not onely in the world but in Gods Church for all such as notwithstanding their outward profession haue their hearts set vpon the world more eagerly affecting the honours profits and pleasures thereof then God and his word do in deed and truth worship the Diuell for hee is the God of this world ruling in the heart of the children of disobedience by the baites of honour profit and pleasure he steales mens hearts from God and so heerein they doing the will of the Diuell must needs worship him for looke whereon a man seteth his
thēselues vnto God for the preuenting or remoouing of some heauie iudgement thus the Iewes fasted sometime for one day sometime for three daies and three nights Hester 4. 16. yea sometime for seuen daies together but then it is like they receiued some sustenance in the euening for so Daniel fasted for three weekes of daies eating no pleasant things Daniel 10. 2. 3. but of neither of these must Christs fasts heere be vnderstood The third kinde of fast is miraculous done by the power of God restraining the appetite for many daies togither without meate or drinke beyond the power of nature Thus Moses fasted fortie daies and fortie nights in mount Sina where he enioied the presence of God so long And so did Elias fast in mount Horeb and our Sauiour Christ in this wildernesse We reade indeed that Paul in his conuersion fasted three daies and three nights eating nothing Act. 9. 9. So did the Iewes with Hester and her maides Hest. 4. 16. And experience teacheth that a sicke man may liue seuen or nine daies together without meate or drinke yea as some learned Physitians write foureteene daies And Pauls companions in his iourney to Rome are very little or nothing at all for foureteene daies for the words are plaine eating nothing And it may be so sith the like hath beene found true by experience in our age And this is the longest that a man can fast and liue to wit foureteene or fifteene or seuenteene daies for so much is recorded of some that after so long abstinence haue liued though with some weaknesse of nature but for a man ordinarily being of good constitution of body to fast fortie daies and fortie nights togither is impossible Indeed it hath beene auouched that a man might fast monethes yea a whole yeare togither without meat or drinke and yet liue but we may perswade our selues it is not true Now our Sauiour Christ which is yet more during this fast felt no faintnesse nor weaking of his body as we ordinarily do with a little abstinence so that his fast was not ordinary but miraculous altogither The reasons why Christ fasted thus long in the wildernesse may be these First that he might performe his ministery which now he was to begin with more reuerence and authority for this cause would God haue Moses to fast forty daies and forty nights before he deliuered the law written in two tables of stone vnto the people and so must Elias do before he did restore religion in his daies Secondly that it might appeare he was no whit inferiour to Moses and Elias and Thirdly that he might shew his full consent with them Quest. Seeing Christ did farre excell Moses and Elias why did he not exceed them in the length of his fast for threescore daies or a whole yeare Answ. Hee did it not through want of power to haue fasted longer but because he would not giue occasion thereupon that any should call into question the truth of his manhood which might easily haue happened if he had fasted a whole yeere together The vse Heereon the Church of Rome would build their Lent fast but very fondly for first Christ did not thus fast to giue vs example to follow him heerein but to prepare himselfe to the great worke of his ministery secondly there is great difference between Christs fast and theirs Christ fasted thus but once and that by the instinct of the Holy Ghost they keepe their fast yearely and that on their owne heads Christs was a true fast without all meat or drink but theirs is a mocke-fast for they eat the finest fishes and other dainties and drinke wines wherein is as much nourishment to the body and as good as in flesh neither can they iustly build it on the practise of the primitiue Church for they vsed to fast at least in some places but two or three daies before Easter and their Lent fast was not ordained nor imposed til many yeares after Christ so as euery one might choose whether he would fast or not II. Circumstance S. Marke doth further set out Christs abode in the wildernesse by his being and conuersing with wild beasts Mark 1. 13. which some thinke Christ did for this end that wild beasts might come to him and doe him homage due to their Creator Gouernour but this is a deuice of man without likelihood of truth for howsoeuer Christ in himselfe deserued all homage and reuerence of all his creatures yet because he abode among wild beasts to be abased and humbled in the low estate of a seruant therefore it is not like he went to receiue homage from them The true cause rather is this we find in Scripture that among the Iewes were two sorts of deserts one in part peopled and inhabited hauing heere and there cities and villages in such a desert was Iohn Baptist borne and did baptize and preach that the prophesie of Isay might be fulfilled The voice of a crier in the wildernes make straight the way of the Lord. The other not inhabited at all by men being a place of abode only for wild beasts as Lions Beares Tigers Woolues c. which liued therein continually Now into such a desert as this was our sauiour Christ led by the spirit and made his abode among such wild beasts which circumstance is therefore noted to giue vs to vnderstand that in this combate our Sauiour Christ had no aid protection succour helpe or comfort from any man or other creature whatsoeuer for by nature his companions were so farre from being an helpe and comfort vnto him that they would rather seeke to deuoure him Whereby we plainly see that the praise of victory in this combate is proper to Christ alone and not communicable to any creature whatsoeuer The vse In this estate of Christ in this wildernesse we may behold the condition of Christs militant church to wit that it is in this world as in a wildernesse and desert of wild beasts for during their abode on earth Gods children liue with men who in disposition and affection are like Woolues Beares Tigers Lions and Cockatrices vntill such time as the Holy Ghost by grace shall turne their hearts as we may plainly see Isay 11. 6. 7. 8. in regard whereof they must arme themselues with patience against manifold assaults and vexations comforting their hearts with this consideration that Christ their head hath vndergone this estate before them III. Circumstance S. Luke obserueth that while Christ abode in the wildernesse within the space of those forty daies and forty nights he was tempted of the Diuell before the three great temptations the words are plaine And was there fortie daies tempted of the diuell And when they were ended then the diuell said c. what these temptations were either for matter or forme the holy Ghost hath not set downe and yet we may probably thinke they were more milde and gentle temptations then those
godlinesse as Paul exhorteth Timothie and vnlesse we thus striue to be vnlike him we shall neuer be able to withstand his temptations Thirdly we must hence learne to beware of the practise of seducers in seeking to draw backe others from the loue or practise of religion or in hindring the good meanes whereby religion is begun and furthered in men for if either by endeuour in action or by bad example we shall thus doe doubtlesse we become tempters and the children of the diuell for to tempt and draw to sinne is the propertie of Satan and he that in tempting fulfils the lusts of Satan must needs be his childe Ioh. 8. 44. hence it was that our Sauiour Christ cals Peter Satan when he went about to disswade him from that worke for which his Father had sanctified him and sent him into this world saying Get behinde me Satan Matt. 16. 23. And when Elymas sought to turne away the Deputie from the faith Paul cals him enemy to all righteousnesse full of all subtiltie and childe of the diuell Act. 13. 10. The second thing in this preparation is the time when Satan began to tempt our Sauiour Christ in a more strong and violent maner noted in this word Then that is when Christ had now fasted fortie dayes and fortie nights and was an hungred when the diuell saw Christ not onely to be alone in the wildernesse but also perceiued that hee was afflicted with hunger and so the more weake being in the low estate of a miserable man Then he prepares to assault Christ with a most violent temptation The vse This discouereth vnto vs the deepe policie of Satan in making choise of the fittest time for his assaults he will not tempt all men at all times neither alwaies with the greatest temptations but he forecasts for the time of mans greatest weaknesse and thereto he reserueth his strongest assaults Now vsually a man is most weake when he is vnder some grieuous affliction either in bodie minde or both or when he lieth in the panges of death these times doth Satan obserue and keep his strongest temptations against they come as doth notablie appeare by his dealing with Christ not onely at this time when he was an hungred but also and especially at his passion for the Scripture saith He spoiled principalities and powers vpon the crosse wherby is apparent that the Diuell with his greatest power did then assault him thinking either then or neuer to giue him the foile when as he did sustain the wrath of God due vnto the sinnes of man and so will he handle all the members of Christ in their greatest extremities they shall be sure to feele Satans deepest malice vnlesse God restraine his power Which must teach vs in the day of peace and strength to prepare against the day of weakenesse by any affliction or by death it selfe that so we may by Gods grace be able to stand against the rage of Satan for then he will be sure most eagerly to seeke our ruine and vnlesse we prepare before hand we shall neuer be able to stand Now our best preparation is to come to heare the words of Christ and to do the same for then though the winds blow the raine fall the waues beat and Satan do his woorst yet being built vpon the rocke Christ Iesus we shall neuer fall Matth. 7. 24. 25. The third thing in this preparation is the occasion of Satans onset at this time namely Christs bodily hunger as the knitting of this verse to the former will plainly shew for Christ being an hungred Satan came vnto him and tempted him He could not find in Christs most holy manhood any blemish of sinne or inclination thereto whereon to build his temptation yet such is his malice that rather then Christ should escape his hands he will take occasion from the infirmitie of his nature in bodily hunger to prouoke and allure him vnto sinne Heerein we learne a speciall point namely that the diuell will haue some ground in vs for those temptations wherewith he doth assault vs for as we may see by his dealing here with Christ he obserues not onely the inclination of mans heart and soule but the state and constitution of the body that if either body or minde will affoord him the least aduantage thereon hee will be sure to take occasion to tempt If we regard the seed and root of sinne it is true that euery man hath all sinnes in him but yet through the worke of God restraining corruption in some and renewing grace in others it comes to passe that each man is more inclined naturally to some sinnes then to others which thing Satan doth obserue most diligently and as an enemie that besiegeth a citie will goe about it and espie where the wall is weakest and most fit for his entrance and there will be sure to giue his strongest onset and as a man that would strike fire with a flint will turne it about in his hand to see what part is fittest euen so the diuell he goes about a man and as it were turnes him to and fro to spie out his weakenesse and to what sinnes he is most inclined and there he will be sure to trie him often and to assault him with greatest violence Example If a man be impatient of pouertie he will seeke to carry him to picking and stealing If a man be proue to couetousnesse he will prouoke him to fraud and oppression If he be enclined to ambition Satan will puffe him vp with pride and vainglory nay which is farre more Satan will take occasion from the verie constitution of a mans bodie to draw him vnto sinne if choler be predominant in him Satan will labour to stirre him vp to wrath anger and furie and if he can to bloodshed and murther If a man be of a sanguine complexion Satan will seeke to carrie him to immoderate mirth and to excesse in pastimes pleasures and delight that if it be possible he may drowne him therein whether they be good or bad If a man be melancholike Satan will sometime take occasion by that humour to strike him with exceeding sadnes with terrors and feares and otherwhile to intoxicate his braine with strange fantasies and delusions causing a man to thinke himselfe to be Elias Iohn Baptist Christ c. So as it is true which an ancient Diuine saith of this humour that it is the Diuels bait wherewith hee sports himselfe See the experience heereof in the lunatike person whose disease was to be exceedingly troubled certaine times of the moneth by reason of melancholie oppressing the braine Now Satan as it there appeares tooke aduantage of that humour to abuse him most fearefully not onely in making him deafe and dumbe but also causing him to cast himselfe into fire and water So that looke how many sinnes and infirmities we haue in vs so manie dares we carry about vs wherewith Satan will seeke to wound vs. He taketh ground
fountaine of truth that they either fal into error themselues or be lesse able to discerne and confute it in others And hence come dissentions and errors into the schooles of the Prophets which cannot be auoided while men leaue the text of scripture addict themselues so much to the writings of men for thereby hee can more cunningly conuey strange conceits into mens minds and therfore euery one that would maintain the truth in purity and syncerity must labour painfully in the text Secondly Gods ministers must heereby be admonished to be carefull in alleadging any text of Scripture that the same be fit and pertinent for to wrest the same from the proper meaning of the holy Ghost to serue their owne conceit is the practise of Satan which euery seruant of God must be farre from and therefore must not do it hand ouer head Which also may serue for a good aduertisement to those that vse to heape vp manifold allegations of Scriptures in the doctrine of a sermon for as in many words there cannot want iniquity as Salomō saith so in affected multiplicity of quotations can the abuse of Scripture bee hardly escaped If we deliuer but a mans testimony honesty will compell vs as neere as we can to keepe both his words and his meaning much more should conscience moue vs in alledging the testimony of the Lord to haue carefull respect to the euidence of truth and therfore that sparing course is very commendable whereby in quoting of Scripture men make sure to keepe themselues to the Lords true meaning lest by deprauing his word they become followers of Satan And thus much for the maner of Satans allegation The true and proper meaning of that text is now briefly to be discussed The ninety-one Psalme from whence it is alledged is a most heauenly part of scripture penned for the comfort of Gods people in the time of some grieuous plague or sickenesse and it containes a notable preseruatiue against the plague and by consequent against any iudgement of God to wit true affiance and confidence in the Lord that is the ground of all comfortable safety thereto among many other is this gratious promise made of the protection of Gods holy Angels which the Diuell doth heere alledge who shall be as carefull for the safety of Gods children in common calamities of famine plague pestilence c. as the nurce is ouer her tender child to hold it in her hands and beare it vp in her armes lest it should fall and hurt it selfe alwaies prouided that the child of God keepe himselfe in his waies that is in obedience to Gods commandements and in the duties of his lawfull calling It is true indeed that iudgement begins at the house of God and the righteous are taken away from the euill to come yea many times the same outward iudgement lights vpon the good that doeth vpon the bad yet this taketh not from Gods child the comfort of this protection in common calamities for all promises of temporall blessings must be vnderstood with the exception of the crosse as heere Gods Angels shall guard his children in time of plague famine and pestilence vnlesse it please God heerewith to chasten them for some sinne past or to preuent some sin or greater euill to come or to make triall of their faith and patience in which cases also the child of God doth greatly differ from the wicked for through the fruition of Gods loue in Christ the euill of the punishment is taken away and the outward smart thereof sanctified to the greater good of his soule but out of this case their protection is certaine see Exod. 12. 23. Psal. 105. 16. 17. Ezek. 9. 4. 6. The vse The consideration of this gratious protection of Gods Angels ouer such as keepe themselues in their waies must moue euery one to labour to know and practise the duties of his calling both generall of Christianity and particular for the state of his life in all good conscience so doing let come what will in all dangers hee shall haue safety for Gods angels pitch their tents about him they are as watchfull ouer him as a nurce ouer her child but if wee forsake our waies wee lose the comfort of their protection expose our selues to all Gods iudgements VERSE 7. Iesus said vnto him Againe it is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God HEere is the third generall point in this conflict to wit Christs answer and repulse made to Satans assault taken as the Diuels temptation was from a text of scripture for hee saith Againe it is written where yet hee meaneth not to oppose scripture to scripture but to confute the abuse of scripture by scripture after this sort as if he had said to Satan It is true indeed that God hath made many worthy promises of aid and protection to his children in his word yet they shal not be performed to those that presume to tempt God as thou wouldest haue me to do From this dealing of Christ with Satan we may obserue that the scriptures of God are sufficient in themselues truely to interpret and expound themselues The Diuel alledging scripture did wrest it from the true sense this our Sauiour Christ sheweth by alledging another text out of Moses which being applied to the place which the Diuel abused doth shew the true meaning thereof So Ezra expoūding the law vnto the Iews read distinctly in the law of God and as the words do signifie gaue the sense by scripture and caused the people to vnderstand much more then at this day may the scriptures be thought sufficient for the expounding of themselues sith to the Canon there of since Ezra his time there is added the whole new Testament by the hand of God wherein the deepe things of God are plainelie reuealed The Church of Rome cannot away with this that Scripture should be sufficient to expound it selfe And therefore against it they reason thus That which must expound Scripture must haue iudiciall power to determine of the sense thereof but the scriptures haue no such ludiciall power for they are but a dumb letter and therfore no sufficient iudge to determine of their owne sense and meaning Answ. The Scriptures haue iudiciall power to determine of their owne true sense and meaning for they speake euidently to all that are inlightned by Gods spirit and therby made able to know what the Scripture saith wee know a man may speake to his friend not only by word of mouth but also by letter and thereby expresse his meaning sufficiently euen so though God speake not now vnto his Church by created voice yet by his written word he speakes sufficiently for the cleare manifestation of his will and pleasure concerning them and therefore it is a shamefull slander and blasphemy against the Scriptures to call them an inkie letter and dumbe iudge And let them shew if the Scripture be not where is that speaking iudge
glory of them 9. And said vnto him all these will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship me 10. Then said Iesus vn so him auoid Satan for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue THese words containe the third conflict betweene our Sauiour Christ and Satan wherin consider three points I. Satans preparation v. 8. II. Satans assault vpon Christ v. 9. III. Christs answer thereto v. 10. For the first before wee come to the handling of it in particular wee are to consider that vnto euery assault the Diuell prepares himself afresh which should teach vs to labour to furnish our hearts euery day afresh to be able to repulse his new assaults Now particularly this preparation hath two parts first Satan takes Christ into an exceeding high mountaine secondly he shews him all the kingdomes of the world and the glory of them all For the first it may bee demanded what way Satan tooke vp Christ into this high mountaine Answ. He might do it two waies either by vision or by reall and locall transportation of his body from the temple to some high mountaine Some thinke this was done by vision only in Christs mind as Ezekiel was caried by the Lord from Babylon to an exceeding high mountaine in the land of Israel But I rather thinke that Christ was really and locally transported by the Diuell in body from the temple to some high mountaine for Christs temptations were not imaginary but true and reall Againe the words import a true and reall transportation without any mention of a vision The reasons why the Diuell carries Christ to an high mountaine may bee these first the Diuel hath a great desire to imitate God in his glorious workes that so hee may disgrace the workes of God yea and God himselfe as much as he can Now we read that God tooke vp Moses into mount Nebo from whence hee shewed him all the land of Canaan so Satan that he might seeme to go beyond God takes vp Christ into an exceeding high mountaine to shew him all the kingdomes of the world and the glory of them Secondly he did it for the furtherance of this last assault wherewith hee tempted Christ for hee meant to entice Christ with the glory of the world and therefore brings him where hee might take the fairest view thereof Now in that Satan transports the body of our Sauiour Christ this second time wee see that by Gods permission Satan may haue power ouer the bodies of Gods children to transport the same from place to place or otherwise to vex them and that not once onely but sundrie times This we must obserue and remember carefully as a stay and prop against distrust despaire if God should suffer Satan to vex vs by such transporting of our bodies from place to place or by any outward calamity that not once or twise but diuers times for that which befell the head Christ Iesus may well befall any of his members The second part of the Diuels preparation is this he shewes vnto Christ all the kingdoms of the world the glory of them This he could not do actually for there is no mountaine so high in all the world whereon if a man were placed he could see one halfe or one quarter of the kingdomes of the world as they are seated and placed vpon the face of the earth nay if a man were set in the sunne and from thence could looke vnto the earth yet hee could not see past the halfe therof And therefore wee must know that the Diuel did this in a counterfet vision for heerein hee can frame an imitation of God Now the Diuels visions bee of two sorts either in the outward senses or in the mind and vnderstanding His visions in the outward senses be delusions whereby he makes men be leeue they see that which indeed they do not see this might easily be proued by manifold examples recorded in the histories of all times but that one shall suffice of his counterfait resemblance of Samuels forme and attire to the witch of Endor for the deluding of Saul when as indeed Samuels true body was in the graue and his soule with the Lord. Secondly the diue hath visions wherbv he deludes the vnderstanding Zak. 13. 4. The Lord saith heereof the Prophets shal be ashamed euery one of his vision These visions the Diuell shewes to men sometime sleeping and sometime waking euen as the Lord doth shew his visions to his owne seruants The visions of Satan shewed to men sleeping are called dreames Deut. 13. 1. the false Prophet hath his dreame His visions shewed to men waking are to such as haue crazed brame whom he perswades strange things of themselues as some that they are kings or princes others that they are Christ Iohn Baptist such like examples heereof in all ages are many Now touching this vision of Satan to Christ some thinke it was inward in Christs minde but I rather take it to haue beene in his outward senses only as the words of the text do import the Diuell by his art did cunningly set forth and represent vnto the eies of Christ a notable shew and representation of all the kingdomes of the earth and the glory of them Heerein the Diuell sheweth great power and skill in that he can represent vnto the eie in his counterfet visions such strange and admirable sights And it teacheth vs that the practises of forcerers and magicians vndertaking to represent vnto the eie partly in the aire and partly in glasses either the persons of men that liued long since or actions done in farre countries or long before are not meere fancies as some thinke who deny altogether that such things can be shewed for the Diuell can resemble things done long since and a far off for if he could set such a sight before the eie of our Sauiour Christ in vision as the view of the whole world and the glory thereof then much more can he represent vnto the eie of man strange and maruellous things The Diuels drift in this resemblance vnto Christ is this heereby he intended most cunningly to insinuat himselfe into the heart of our Sauior Christ for before he propounds this third assault hee shews vnto Christ all the kingdomes of the world and the glorie of them that Christ might take a liking of them and so desire them and at length accept of them vpon Satans offer Thus he dealt with our first parents vpon their first communication he shewes vnto Eue the outward beauty of the forbidden fruit that it was faire to locke vpon and tels her of the good estate they should attain vnto by eating of it and so at length brings her to yeeld to his temptation Hence we must learne to haue speciall care in the good ordering of all the outward senses of our bodies specially the two senses of learning seeing and hearing for