not accuse those of acting by the Devil but from the Power of God from hence he concludeth That he did not cast out Devils as they malitiously charged him by the help of the Devil and that they were themselves otherwise convinced in their own Consciences therefore he did it by the Spirit of God and by that they could not but know that the Kingdom of God was come amongst them and so they spake Evil of God and the Spirit of God and that out of Malice contrary to the Conviction of their own Consciences Now saith he Take heed what you do this is a kind of Sin which God will never forgive though all other Sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven yet for you knowing that what I do I do as God and by the Power and Spirit of God to Persecute me and to Repraoch me and that you may the better do it to ascribe that to the Devil which is the Work of God done by me this is a Sin which shall never be forgiven So that according to our Saviours Words this seemeth to be the Sin That the Pharises knowing well enough that Christ was God Eternal God and having sufficient means to convince them of it and that from his Casting out of Devils and several other Miraculous Operations which it was in the Power of God onely to do Notwithstanding yea against this Conviction Maliciously Persecuted the Lord Jesus Christ and denied these mighty Operations to be from the Spirit of God but said they were from Beelzebub the Master Devil From hence will appear though not distinctly what the Specifical Sin against the Holy Ghost is yea what Sins border upon it and come nearest to it 1. All Sinning against Light and Convictions 2. Apostacy from a former Profession and owning of the Gospel and the Holy Ways of God 3. A Malicious Pursuing and Persecuting of such as our Consciences tells us are Righteous Persons 4. An Ascribing to the Devil what we are Convinced of to be the Works of God and so reproaching the Operations of the Spirit of God whatsoever the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost be These things or the most of them must be ingredients into it and truly if Persons have been enlightened with the Knowledge of the Truths and Ways of God and have made some Profession of them and have had some Savour of them if they fall away from that Profession and that to such a degree as not onely to disown what themselves formerly owned but to hate those Truths and Ways of God and to Persecute such as still Profess them and adhere to them and charge those Impressions and Operations which are from the Holy Spirit of God to be from the Devil so Blaspheming the Holy Spirit of God if there be such an unpardonable Sin to be commited surely these are under the guilt of it nor can I see any thing can possibly free them from the dreadful Consequence of it but a timely Repentance remembring their first professed Love and turning unto God which whosoever can do or shall obtain Grace from God to do undoubtedly hath not sinned beyond Pardon for he that confesseth his Sins and forsaketh them shall have Mercy But as I said before these Sins comes nearest this Guilt and where any Soul hath been or shall be in this kind and to this degree guilty the Devil hath a very fair Advantage against him to move him to Despair upon a Suggestion that he hath committed that Sin which according to the Revealed Will of God in Holy Writ shall never be forgiven nor will he find any way to get out of this Snare nor any thing to answer the Tempter pressing hard upon him with a Temptation of this Nature until he can say I have indeed done this but God hath given me an Heart to Repent of it to remember from whence I fell and to do my first Works and he will find it as hard for him to recover any just hopes of Pardon and Eternal Life and Salvation as he will find it to be renewed by Repentance if the latter be found impossible to a Soul under these Circumstances so will the former also be found O therefore to prevent Temptations of this nature take heed of all sinning of any continuance and going on in a course of Sin especially of any sinnings against Light and Convictions or against former Professions and especially of any Malice and Hatred to the ways of God which you either have formerly owned and acknowledged or which your Consciences tell you are the right ways of the Lord. 3. Thirdly Let me again commend to you an Acquaintance a through Acquaintance with the Covenant of Grace and the Dispensation of Salvation revealed to us in the Gospel The Despairing Soul hath ordinarily a Legal Spirit and sticks in the Covenant of Works Remember that we are not under the Law bâ—t under Grace in some sense not onely true Believers but even the whole World or at least that part of it to which the glad Tidings of Salvation through the Gospel is published is not under the Law but under Grace not under a Legal Dispensation So as none can be saved without a personal perfect Obedience to the Law of God but under a gracious Dispensation wherein as the Apostle saith Rom. 1. 17. The Righteousness of God is revealed from Faith to Faith that is wherein it is revealed that the Righteousness wherein a Man must stand Just and Righteous before God is not his own Righteousness made up of his Obedience to the Commandements contained in the Divine Law but the perfect Righteousness of Christ by God reckoned unto every Soul that repenteth and believeth in the Lord Jesus Christ who walketh not after the Flesh but after the Spirit minding and savouring the things of the Spirit which Righteousness of Christ is reckoned to the Soul as soon as it comes to own receive and lay hold upon Christ in the Gospel exhibited and tendered unto it The Soul well possessed of the Doctrine of Free Grace and Gospel Justification though it may see frequent Causes for Heart-sorrow and Humiliation as well for its former as for its renewing Sins yet cannot easily see the umbrage of any ground to Despair and cast away its hope as to Divine Mercy and Forgiveness or Eternal Life and Salvation But I have elsewhere enlarged upon this Argument 4. Fourthly If you would avoid Temptations to Despair take heed of presuming You shall observe in the Tempers of those with whom you converse in the World That those whose hopes are most quickly up find them also soonest down The reason is because they are persons that usually have no great depth of judgement and do not build their hopes upon good and sufficient bottoms So that as it is with some little Rivolets whose Channel is but a small continent and which want depth every good showr of Rain raiseth them and causeth them to overflow the Banks but then the same degree of Rain
hearts Or else they are such as in heart thinketh so though in words they profess otherwise Such as the Apostle speaketh of Tit. 1. 16. Who profess that they know God but do in works deny him being abominable disobedient and to every good work reprobate I shall very little concern my self as to either of these only consider what may be said as to those who have such impressions but they are their intollerable burthen and affliction Indeed they are rather to be called impressions than thoughts and let us first inquire into this bitter stream from what source and fountain it floweth CHAP. II. From whence Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts may proceed sometimes from Lust sometimes from the World but these are usually imbraced and nursed up in the Soul Those that are the Subject of the present Discourse ordinarily proceed from the Devil as a Tempter and a Blasphemous Spirit THE Adversaries of a Christian with whom the good fight is to be managed are usually reckoned to be The Flesh the World and the Devil their Opposition to us is by moving inticing and perswading us to sin to the ruin of our Souls Hence Divines distinguishing Temptations from their Efficient Cause or Causes say There is Tentatio a Carne a Temptation from the Flesh which agreeth with St. James Every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own LUST and inticed but that must be understood of such Temptations by which a man is conquered 2. There is Tentatio ab hoste a Temptation from the Enemy without and this is either from the World that is the Things or Men of the World Or from the Devil Any of these may be Tempters in this Case 1. Lust may be a Tempter to Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts though I must confess I cannot understand how that should be a tempter to such Thoughts as these not by us chosen studied or delighted in by them Debaucht Wretches that give up themselves to Drunkenness Whoredom Lying Cursing Swearing Neglect of all Duty to God and Man are concern'd if they can to perswade themselves That there is no God that seeth them or dâ—â—approveth them or that hath a superiour power to them or will judge or condemn them for did they believe this their Consciences would never let them be quiet Now that lust that Sinful desire which is in them to keep their lusts without regrets of Conscience or any sowre Reflections after their Debaucheries may be a Tempter to them to say in their hearts yea and to imbrace a perswasion in their hearts That there is no God but this doth not properly concern our present Case 2. The World also the men of the world may be Tempters to such thoughts as these The discourses of others you know offer matter for our thoughts to run upon and as in other causes so in this there may be some who may argue Atheism and Blasphemy with us and who may endeavour to perswade us to such Sentiments Atheistical and Blasphemous Books may set our thoughts on work but these can have no great causation in such thoughts as are permanent afflictive and troublesome to us It is in the power of Christians to avoid Atheistical and Blasphemous company and to abstain from reading of such Books Though therefore men of the world may be Tempters to Atheism yet they can hardly be charged as Tempters in this Case 3. The Devil whom you know the Scriptures call the Tempter the Enemy the Envious one is doubtless the principal Efficient cause He goeth about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour and he hath many Arts and Wiles and Depths and Methods which he useth to destroy Souls with amongst which this is one to make impressions of Atheism and Blasphemy upon persons by some they are imbraced as Notions that are suited to their Sensual Appetite and which will very well fit their Carnal Desires By others they are disgusted as contrary to those Impressions which the Holy Spirit of God hath made upon their Souls and their former Notions Apprehensions and Belief in God Yea so far disgusted that their Souls are frighted at the sight of these Strangers comming to their House and are amazed which way they should ever come in having to their knowledg never opened the least Window or Door to them nor any way invited them so much as for an hour or a moment their Souls loath and abhorthem and yet they revive upon them Temptations of this nature thus circumstanced can be from no other Tempter than the Devil CHAP. III. No seeming good propounded to such Souls as are thus Tempted to whom the Temptations are Afflictive Nor doth the Tempter always use Arguments not so much hoping to prevail with such souls as to trouble them to that degree as to put them upon destroying themselves To others he useth Arguments From the No Evidence of the Divine Being to our Sense The Incomprehensibleness of it and the Perfections of it by our Reason The many Disorders which the Divine Wisdom thinketh fit to permit in the World These are the usual Topicks of Tempters that tempt souls unto Atheisme EVery Man when he is tempted is drawn away by his own Lust and enticed saith St. James 1 Jam. He is enticed by some glimmerings of good and so he is drawn away but it is vain for us to enquire what seeming good enticeth a Soul who looketh upon his motions and solicitations and the things to which the Soul is so solicited as the greatest Evils in the world St. James therefore is there speaking not of Temptations in the general but of such Temptations as flow and proceed from our innate Lust There must in all Temptations of that nature be a Bait upon which the Lust in our hearts may feed and tho it be not necessary that that Bait be a real Good yet it must have some appearance of good in it for the principles of Humane Nature will not allow it to move into the Embraceâ— of any thing which it apprehendeth Evil but this is not necessary in Temptations which flow solely from the Devil the eternal ruin of the Soul is the Design of that Envious One and it is all one whether he can affright or intice the Soul into Hell whether he can destroy it by Poison or by a more certain Stabb It may be more worthy our Enquiry what Arguments the Devil can possibly use with a Soul so far prejudiced against imprâ—ssions of this nature that he can hope should prevail with it to receive any such impressions For the Soul of Man being a rational being is not like without something of Reason or a shew of it to be brought over to agree to any such impression 1. What if we should say that possibly the Tempter promiseth himself no such success what if his design be not to proselyte a Religious Soul to the Proposition which is contrived in his Suggestion but meerly to weary the Christian out of his life by
of his Birth and Job 6. 8 9. Oh that I might have my Request and that God would grant me the thing that I long for even that it would please God to destroy me that he would let loose his Hand and cut me off So Elijah c. 3. Sometimes the Lust of Servile slavish fear when men and women have a Prospect of some great Evils that are like to come upon them and are not able to bear the thoughts of them nor to live in the view of them In this case we shall find Temptations also have prevailed upon Gods own People to desire Death though not to be the instruments of their own Death This was the Case of Elijah 1 Kings 19. 4. Jezebel sending a message to him had sworn by her Gods that by the next day she would kill Elijah as he had done by Baals Priests v. 3. v. 4. he goes into the Wilderness he goeth into the Wilderness and sits under a Juniper Tree and requesteth for himself that he might die and saith It is enough now O Lord take away my life for I am not better than my Fathers Now where any of these Lusts predominate at any time the Devil doth very ordinarily join his strength with it and makes frequent and violent impressions upon the Spirits of Christians putting them upon the murthering of themselves and where he meets with men or women that are ignorant or of base Atheistical hearts who do not believe there is a God or that there is such a thing as Eternity either an Heaven or Hell a place of Eternal happiness or Eternal torment or misery or an Immortal State of a Soul it is not at all to be wondered that he doth very often prevail For if they can but look upon death coming upon them any way as a freedom from misery and the grave as a place where the wicked cease from troubling where the weary be at rest where the prisoners rest together and hear not the voice of the oppressor it is but natural to them to cry out Wherefore is Light given unto him that is in Misery and Life to the bitter in Soul which long for death but it cometh not and dig for it as for hid Treasures and rejoyce exceedingly and are glad when they can find the Grave But now it being impossible that a Believer that knoweth the Scriptures and believeth them and agreeth to the Immortality of the Soul and the torments of Hell the truth of the Worm never dying and the Fire that never goeth out and that all Murderers shall have their portion in the Lake where this Worm this Fire is should ever look upon Death and the Grave in this dull notion Satan can never prevail with him So that no such Soul while he is possessed of any Liberty to use his Reason and to conclude from Principles can possibly be prevailed upon 2. Sometimes it may be The Motion may be first from the Devil who seeing a Man or Woman in great pain or misery or in great fears and expectations of misery may come to it and say as Job's Wife said to him Doest thou still retain thy Integrity Curse God and die I mean make some such Impressions upon a Man or Womans Spirit This possibly Men and Women at first discern and receive with great abhorrence cry Get thee behind me Satan tell their Friends and Neighbours of it beg of them to pray to God for them but the Devil reneweth his Motions and Impressions with great frequency violence and importunity until at length their own Lusts incline them to hearken either their over-eager desire to be out of their fears or out of their pain and at some more rest and quiet than they can possible arrive at and come to so as they yield CHAP. IV. By what Seeming Good the Soul tempted to Self-Murther may be drawn away and inticed What good greater than Life Eternal Life a greater good This can bait no Believer to such an Act why Immunity from some great Evil felt or imminent the onely appearing Good in the Case A Case arising from a Souls being possest of the Doctrine of Election Whether that can give this Temptation advantage It is denied BUt it may possibly be worthy of our Inquiry What can be a Bait fitting for such a Trap He who is tempted saith the Apostle is drawn away by his own lust and enticed No Man is enticed but by some appearing Good None can be drawn away from a Good nor enticed out of the possession of it but upon the view of a greater Good possible or probable to be obtained by parting with that which is lesser Now Life being in the Eye of Nature the greatest Good Skin for Skin saith the Devil and all a man hath for his Life One would think the Devil could not shew a Man or Woman any thing for the obtaining of which he should deliberately and voluntarily part with his Life To this I Answer two things 1 Though Natural Life in Pleasing Circumstances be the greatest Natural Good yet Life Eternal is a more Excellent Good So that if it be possible that a man should be cheated by his own heart or by the Devil so as to believe that the dispossession of himself of his Natural Life shall bring him into the possession of an Eternal Life he may upon that account be rationally perswaded to determine his own Life Thus the Devil imposed upon some of the Heathens who had by the Light of Nature but a dim Prospect of that Life and Immortality which the Apostle telleth us is brought to Light by the Gospel Dreaming that an happy State of the Soul in another Life was the common portion of all men or at least of all that lived up in any degree to the Rules of Moral Vertue and not understanding that the Wages of Sin was Death nor the right way to Eternal Life nor that of the Apostle That no Murtherer hath Eternal Life abiding for him no more than abiding in him they might easily be so cheated as Cleombrotus and others But it is not possible that a Believer one I mean who believeth the Scriptures should be thus enticed for by Faith he knows That the Law is Thou shalt do no Murther That no Murtherer hath Eternal Life That the Murtherer is one of those Sinners that have their portion in the Second Death Rev. 21. 8. and therefore not in the Second Life 2. Secondly Though Natural Life in pleasing Circumstances may be the greatest Natural Good yet this Natural Life as to particular persons may be so ill circumstanced that a present freedom from some Evil may to a Natural Eye appear a much greater Good in comparison of which even Life it self may be an Evil undesirable and abhorred Life is much rated by the happy or less happy Circumstances of it Even Nature it self would not desire a Life of Continual and Extream pain And indeed This Ease and Immunity from Evils which either at
to be exposed to shame contempt and obloquy It is therefore of very high concernment to all of us that would be out of the danger of these Fiery Darts to study humility while we are in health while we are in the highest circumstances of prosperity to be thinking of a lower state and condition and meditating of the vanity of the high things of the World the incertainty and slipperiness of them the littleness of them under their greatest appearances to be thinking what poor Creatures we are how little we brought into this world with us how little any of us have deserved at the hands of God to feed our selves continually with Meditationâ— which may keep us in a low opinion of our selves CHAP. VII A Third Direction for the preventing of this Temptation The possessing of our Souls with Patience under and arming of our Souls against all manner of Discontent The Mischief of Discontent the Excellency of Contentment and the usefulness of it 3. IF we would keep our selves from the Assaults of this Temptation we must make it our business to learn in all estates to be content To possess our selves with Patience and arm our selves against all manner of Discontent No Soul satisfied and contented with his or her state and condition falleth into this Snare of the Devil it is always the effect of Discontent Now Discontent is ordinarily bottomed in Pride but possibly not always St. Paul telleth us Phil. 4. 11. I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both how to abound and suffer need There is no such Antidote as this against the Poison of this Fiery Dart The Temptation lyeth here Better be out of the World any way then endure this Misery then be exposed to this Shame then come into the hands of such Enemies But the Soul that hath possessed it self with Patience that hath learned in every Estate to be Content and hath brought it self into a willingness that God should chuse its Lot and carve its Portion for it is Armed as with a Coat of Male no Dart of this Nature can possibly penetrate such a a Soul And suffer me to tell you this will be a Lesson hardly learned if once the Evil be come upon you when the Sense of the present Evil naturally stirreth up Passion in us of so unspeakable a Consequence is it to have our Wills subdued to the Will of God to that degree that it shall perfectly rule over us In matters of Action we sometimes may be at loss doubting what the will of God is and what we ought to do but now in any Case of Suffering the Will of God is clear there can be no dispute about it There can be no Evil of Punishment in a City or in a Family but God must be the Author of it it must be the Will of God that such or such a Person should come to Poverty come into Disgrace be exposed to Shame and Contempt that this or that Man or Woman should be Racked and Tormented with such a Disease Now our Business must be to bring our Wills to the Will of God nor must this be studied with reference to a particular Case for who can tell what shall befall him but to learn with Saint Paul in all things to be content to have an Heart ready in all Essaies in all Contingences of this Life to comply with the Divine Will Not that it is possible for a Christian so far to subdue himself that it shall not at all reluct nor wish it it self to be in a better Condition but so far that the Spirit shall get the Victory and Conquer the Motions of the Flesh and the Heart shall prefer the Will of God to its own Will and this is a great business to bring the Soul of a Man to this pass And in order to this there is nothing so much to be studied as Humility and the Mortification of Pride For as Solomon saith Onely by Pride comes Contention So give me leave to tell you Onely from Pride cometh a Discontent at the Condition wherein God hath set us For why is the Man or Woman discontented But because he or she thinketh he or she is unworthily dealt with and hath not according to what they have merited It would be a far too great undertaking for me in a branch of Application to direct means in order to this Contentment and propound Rational or Spiritual Considerations which duly digested with the Blessing of God upon them may work the heart into this frame there have been whole Volumns that have been written upon it by Divines of all sorts I should onely commend one to you written in our own Language It is Mr. Borroughs his Book called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment where enough is said upon this Argument upon the due digestion of which there will be found nothing wanting but Prayer on our side for the great Work must be the Lords who alone can bow and change the Will of Man and work it into a compliance with the Will of God Our Passions since Man in the Fall lost the Reins and Government of them are grown too hard for our Reason I shall onely tell you That a Discontented Spirit is the Devils great Advantage in the forcing of this Dreadful Temptation No Man can possibly be under the power of this Impression but that Man onely who is perswaded That it is better not to be then to be so Miserable as he is in his present State and Condition And hence it is that although Godly Men and Women may often fall under the molestations of this Temptation yet they seldom fall under it I will not say never but I say seldom because although their Wills are not fully subdued to the Will of God yet they are generally so far subdued to the Divine will that the Devil seldom getteth this Advantage against them so as they shall commit such a Sin CHAP. VIII A Fourth Direction for the preventing of this Temptation The Increase of Faith and Mortifying Vnbelief As to the Being of God his Providence his Promises What Vnbelief advantageth this Temptation What Faith prepareth the Soul against it Three particulars instanced in An Explication of them and of the Forces of this Direction 4. FOurthly Endeavour to promove the habit and work of Faith in your Souls and to subdue Unbelief It is the Apostles Exhortation Heb. 3. 12. Take heed Brethren least there be in any of you an Evil Heart of Unbelief in departing from the Living God To depart from the Living God is to depart from the Law of God from the Rule which he hath set us to guide our Conversation Thou shalt do no Murther or Thou shalt not Kill is a part of that Rule you know Now it is Unbelief which gives a Man
Old in any Sin Secondly Take heed of any kind of prodigious Sinning There are degrees in Sin all Sin is not of the same dy or magnitude There are some Sins that more waste Conscience than others now observe this The greater Violence is done to our Conscience by any Sins the more Advantage the Devil hath from the guilt of them to raise a Temptation to Despair For although it is as easie with God to Pardon the greatest Sins as the smallest yet we shall not find it so easie to believe that God will forgive the greatest Sins as the smallest and so the Devil hath the greater advantage from the Reflection upon them to run us out of a Hope of the Divine Mercy Fear all Sin but above all take heed of notorious Acts of Impiety against God or Unrighteousness toward Men. 3. Thirdly Take heed of all Sinning against Light indeed against any Light whether it be that of Nature or Revelation Take heed of Sinning against those common Notions of Piety and Righteousness which are Planted in all by Nature against the Common Illuminations of the Holy Spirit by the Preaching of the Word of God against the Admonitions of Parents or Governours against the reflex Light of your own Conscience Sins against the direct or reflex Light of Conscience do often Cause a very great Darkness which is felt in the Soul for though in the heat and madness of our Pasnons in our Youth we sometimes run down Conscience and it keepeth silence a while yet it often recoileth and reproveth the Sense and setteth its Sins in order before it and shews them to it to a very great disadvantage and these are a kind of Sins which the Tempter often hangs much upon in order to promove Despair and putting the Soul out of Hope of Mercy 4. Particularly take heed of such Sinnings as border nearest upon the Sin unto Death you know that Christ hath told us That all Sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven onely the Sin against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven And the Apostle hath told us That there is a Sin unto Death for which he did not direct the Christians to Pray that it might be forgiven their Brethren Now Divines have much exercised themselves in the finding out what this Unpardonable Sin is nor is it to this day well determined nor shall I undertake to determine what it is or whether it be any single Sin yea or no. We find in experience that the Tempter often maketh use of this Suggestion to drive a Soul to Despair telling it that it hath sinned this Sin and therefore there is no hope for it The vanity of which appears from the Souls thus tempted usual Ignorance What the Sin against the Holy Ghost is as to which indeed the most Judicious Divines have been much at loâ—s to determine or what comes nearest to it upon the Light we have from Scripture to help us to make a determination of it but though we cannot punctually determine in the Case and it be much more easie to determine what it is not then what it is yet we have Light enough from Scripture to shew us what sinning comes nearest to it and it is ill treading upon the brink of such a Pit That Text Heb. 6. v. 4 5 6. instructeth us thus far That it must be the Sin of an Enlightened Soul one upon whom the Light of the Gospel hath Shined and who hath tasted something of the Heavenly Gift and been in some Measure made Partaker of the Holy Ghost and Tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come and after this falleth away From whence these things follow That Heathens who never heard of God nor Christ cannot be Guilty of this Sin no nor titular Christians who never made any profession of Religion or Godliness nor had any degrees of Godliness They must be such as have been Enlightened Tasted of the good Word the Heavenly Gift and the Powers of the World to come and after this shall fall away Yet it is plain that all sinning against Gospel Light and Spiritual Illumination all degrees of falling away from the profession of this Truth is not this Sin The Apostle Heb. 10. 26. and 29. v. seemeth as to this Sin to instruct us further for he is there speaking of some for whom there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adversaries Now who are these v. 26. Such as Sin wilfully after they have received the Knowledge of the Truth v. 29. Such as tread under foot the Son of God and count the Blood of the Covenant wherewith he was Sanctified an unholy thing and do despite to the Spirit of Grace And this also agreeth with that Phrase Heb. 6. v. 6. Where the Apostle giving a Reason why they cannot be renewed by Repentance assigneth this Seeing they Crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame so that it should seem that to make up this Sin to Apostacy after Illumination or at least having received sufficient Means of Illumiation and making some Profession there must be added some eminent Affront done to or Abuse of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of Grace either by Word or Deed and therefore our Saviour calleth it Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost Consonant to this is what the Gospel tells us of this Sin you have the first mention of it Matth. 12. 31. If you look into v. 24. you shall find That Christ having healed one that was possessed with the Devil who was both Blind and Dumb and People upon that recognizing him as the true Messias saying v. 23. Is not this the Son of David the Pharises said This Fellow doth cast out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince of Devils Christ confuteth them and vindicateth himself by this Argument easily to be diserned and made up from v. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30. I either cast out Devils as you say by the Prince of Devils or by the Power of God I will make it out that I do it not by the Prince of Devils 1. For this were a Ruin to Satans Kingdom if one Devil could be employed or would be employed in casting out another the Devils Kingdome would be quickly at an end it could not stand 2. Again saith he not I onely but your Children in my name cast them out for there were some Exorcists amongst the Jews who were the Children that is the Disciples of the Pharises who though they followed not Christ yet used his Name to cast out Devils as you shall find Mar. 9. 38. where John telleth Christ Master we saw one casting out Devils in thy Name and he followeth not us and we forbade him because he followeth not us and as you shall read v. 39. Christ allowed it the like you find Luk. 9. 48 49. So did the Sons of Sceva Acts 19. 12. Now the Jews did
Such a Temptation may be and often is from the Devil he is the Destroyer and he goeth about like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour He Tempts to Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts to Self-Murther to Despair but these are his Back-Game which he seldome or never playeth with the Soul until he seeth his Fore-Game lost So long as he can perswade a Soul to go on in a course of Sin and yet flatter it self with Peace and Hope of its Salvation or confidence as to it he will never perswade it to Despair or Self-Murther the other Temptation doth his business with far less noise and the effect of it will be every whit as certain if not more Who would fight his Enemy if he can kill him with a sleeping Potion Now if you ask me how the Devil worketh here I Answer either more Immediately or more Mediately More Immediately by Impressing Notions in our Minds which believed will raise up such confidences in us Mediately making use of others to suggest such Notions to us and to perswade us to imbrace them If once the Devil can Imprint such Notions upon our Souls as these That God will save all his Creatures or all these that are Baptized or all that are absolved and take the Sacrament when they die c. or an hundred such like and either by the force of his Impressions or by the Swasions and Suggestions of others induce Men to believe them he hath done his Work 2. Such a Temptation may be from our own Lust Lust in the general notion of it is nothing else but inordinate desire whether it be the desire of a thing which God hath forbidden us such was Eves desire of the forbiden Fruit or an unlawlawful irregular desire of something which under due Circumstances or in a lawful manner we might have our Appetite carried out after The Peace and Quiet of our Spirits is a good thing and the true object of a good Christians desire but when a Man or Woman desires to obtain it any way and by any means this is Lust Now by this Lust Men are tempted and enticed to Presumption to hatch up a confidence a groundless confidence in their Hearts that they are in Favour with God and when they die shall go to Heaven c. tho they have no just ground for any such hope or confidence Every Man Naturally wisheth well to himself and hath no inclination to prophecy evil unto himself No Man loves to live under a constant awe and fear of such a thing as having his portion for ever in a Lake burning with Fire and Brimstone and from his eager desire to be free from such a Torment conjoyned 2. With a desire not to deny himself in sensual satisfactions proceedeth this Temptation to lay hold upon any thing that may give him any colourable pretence to hope for a better Portion and thus this Temptation may be from our Lust as St. James saith Every Man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own Lust and enticed The poor Sinner hath a desire to wallow in his Lusts and to enjoy himself in the gratifying of his Senses and withal he hath no desire to be in the middest of his Cupps frighted as Belshazzar with a Mene Mene nor troubled with the sowre reflections of a Guilty and Condemning Conscience Hence he is enticed to Persume to lay hold upon some Hope and to possess himself with some confidence that what ever Ministers say he may walk in the Imaginations of his Heart and add Drunkenness to Thirst and yet have Peace 3. Such a Temptation may be from the World the Things of the World or the Men of the World The Things of the World they are but Mute inoperative Tempters They are gay and glistering to a sensual Eye Fistula dulce canit Like Eves forbidden Fruit. When the Woman saw that the Tree was good for Food and that it was pleasant to the Eye she took of the Fruit. The unsanctified heart looks upon these things and saith shall I leave all my satisfaction in Pleasure unlawful gain c. in hope of an unseen reward But indeed here Lust is the Tempter of which I spake before The Men of the World have a greater Causation both the false Prophet and the false Friend or Brother perswading Souls to trust in Lies to drink in Notions which are false and otherwise representing the Will of God to People as to Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life and Salvation then indeed it is Such a generation there was of old Ahab's Three hundred false Prophets bad him go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper Hananiah perswaded the Kings and Princes of Israel that God would break the Yoke of the King of Babylon Jer. 28. 11. You read of others Jer. 29. 31. Shemajah Prophesied and caused the People to trust in a Lie There were Prophets in Samaria That caused Israel to Err Jerem. 23. 13. that made People vain spake Visions out of their own Heart and not out of the Mouth of the Lord That said to those that despised the Lord The Lord hath said you shall have Peace and to every one that walked after the Imaginations of his own Heart No Evil shall come unto you That daubed with untempered Mortar Ezek. 22. 28. That cryed Peace Peace when there was no Peace There were such in Christs and in the Apostles times that taught another way of Salvation then what they taught This hath been the great Art of the Papists to Interpret the Law and Will of God with reference to Mans Salvation into such a sense as it might consist with a satisfaction of Mens Lusts so as Men might keep their Lusts and yet go to Heaven by a few external good Works parting with a little money or the like The false Teacher hath an eminent Causation in these Temptations he causeth People to trust in a lie So that in Temptations of this Nature all our three Spiritual Enemies have great Parts CHAP. III. The Seeming Good enticing is Temptations of this Nature the enjoyment of unlawful Sensual Satisfactions without regrets or disturbances from Conscience Several false Notions instanced in which the Tempters instill into Men and Women upon which they build up Presumptuous Hopes THe seeming Good which is the Bait that covereth this Hook is evident enough from the former Discourse It is The Enjoyment of unlawful sensual Satisfactions without Regrets or Disturbances from Conscience There are many Trees of forbidden Fruit in the midst of the World wherein we live As there are many other Trees the Fruit of which we may eat of under due Circumstances and yet live with God many lawful Pleasures which we may take and use moderately many Actions which may tend to our Profit and Advantage in order to our comfortable Subsistance and a living in the World with Honour and Reputation so that God hath not scanted us and we need not Steal for the Satisfaction of our just Hunger So I say
the unbelieving and the abominable the murderers and the whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the Lake which burns with fire and Brimstone which is the second Death It saith 1 Cor. 6. 9. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolators nor adulterers nor effeminate persons nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall ever enter into the Kingdom of God We own these Scriptures to be the Word of God we see we hear of persons dying daily who we know lived in these some of these Sins and never gave any visible Signs of Repentance and Reformation What did they die without hope No they hoped to be Saved and it may be died with Confidence they should be Saved What was what could be the ground of their hope but either God made them and they hope he will not destroy them Or Christ dyed for all Or though they had their failngs yet they have done such or such good works Or they were Members of the Church Or they have asked God Pardon Or they say they are sorry for their Sins and have been absolved and received the Sacrament or some such things as these O dreadful Is Eternity to be adventured in this Manner Presumption Sirs slayeth its Ten thousands Oh that it might not slay any Soul that heareth me this day Let this be a Second piece of Advice in order to the avoiding this Rock 3. Thirdly Possess your Souls of the Difficulty of getting to Heaven and the small number of those that shall be Saved I say first the Difficulty of getting into Heaven You have it confirmed to you from him who came from Heaven from the Bosom of his Father on purpose to reveal his Fathers Will in the Case Matth. 7. 14. Strait is the Gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to Eternal Life and few there be that find it Oh what an easie thing do Papists make it to get to Heaven What an easie thing do some others make it too But whoever makes it easie makes God a Lyar. Christ hath said Strait is the Gate and narrow is the way If being Baptized If Confessing Sins in the Ears of the Priest and taking Absolution from him if living all your Life in Sensual Satifactions then crying Lord Receive my Soul when you die and Receiving the Sacrament will bring men to Heaven Oh what an easie thing it is to be Saved But if a man must Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ if he must deny himself and take up the Cross and follow Christ if he must keep under his body and bring it in subjection to his Spirit and also bring his Spirit in subjection to the Will of God If he must forget what is behind as St. Paul did and press on to what is before unto the price of the high Calling if he must Watch and Pray and Strive and Fight and give all diligence to make his Calling and Election sure then Sirs it is no easie thing Christ judged it no easie thing St. Paul judged not so and is it not ridiculous for any to think that God should send his own Son to die an accursed Death to purchase atonement and reconciliation with God that he should sweat drops of Blood and powre out his Blood on the Cross and be put to cry out My God My God Why hast thou forsaken me and after this a Sinner living in the Church and knowing and hearing of this should think it so easie a thing to get into favour with God and obtain the Application of this Blood for the pardon of Sin and so great a mercy as Eternal Life Brethren let none deceive you it is either no easy thing to get to Heaven or the Scriptures are not to be believed nor Christ to be believed that Christ in whom we alone hope for Salvation those Scriptures which we own as the Revelation of the Will of God to us concerning our Salvation and all those holy servants of God before us who spent their time in Fastings Watchings Prayers Mortifying their Members and in all Examples of an Holy Life and in the constant owning and profession of the Truth unto death were deceived and mistaken and lived and died as fools Let men write and talk what they will possess your Souls of the Difficulty of being Saved you will find them to be at last in possession of a great and useful Truth 2. Yea and Secondly Possess your selves of the Truth of that which you have upon the same credit That there are but few that shall be Saved Matth. 7. 14. One pronounced that Question to our Saviour Luke 13. 23. Lord are there few that shall be saved He replied unto them v. 24. Strive to enter in at the Strait Gate for many I say unto you will seck to enter in and shall not be able It is a Truth that there are but few will be saved and he who observeth what conditions of Salvation the Scripture hath made and considereth the lives of most will see it must be true But our Saviour in that answer teacheth us the true use we ought to make of that Notion Not to conclude that we shall not For who hath ascended into Heaven to bring us news from thence whose Names are or are not written in the Book of Life Or who can tell who will repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 2. Not to deaden us to Duty and make us say then it is in vain for us to do any thing for we shall not be saved do we what we will no Scripture saith so but to quicken us if we be in a state of Ignorance Unbelief and Impenitency to Strive to enter in to give diligence to make our Calling and Election sure For tho it be true That in light matters that are of no great concernment Difficulty discourageth indeavours yet in things that we cannot be without and be happy where our well being is highly concerned Difficulties especially not appearing to us insuperable instead of deadening quicken us to the use of utmost Indeavours Live therefore in the daily view and apprehension of the Difficulty of getting to Heaven and under the daily thoughts of what God hath revealed That there are but few that shall be saved 4. Fourthly Be frequent in the Examination of the grounds of your hope and in the Examination have a care that your grounds have a Scripture Foundation and that as to your Grounds from Holiness you conclude rather from your affections than your actions and if at all from your actions from the course of them not from any single acts and lay more stress upon the Covenant of Grace and the application of your souls unto it than either upon your affections or actions Here is a great deal put together in this one Direction Let me shortly discourse the several