SERMON VI. Deliverance from Temptation, why to be reputed a great Mercy.

2 PETER ii. 9.

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation.

Have twice already difcourfed upon this

I in foue thor, explica

tion and account given, both of the sense and defign of the words, I caft the further profecution of them under thefe following particulars.

ift, To fhew how far God delivers perfons truly pious out of temptation.

2dly, To fhew what is the grand motive or impulfive cause inducing God thus to deliver them. And,

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3dly,

3dly, and laftly, To fhew why, and upon what grounds, this is to be reputed fo great a mercy, and fo tranfcendent a privilege.

The two first of these I have formerly treated of, and proceed now to the third and laft; which is to fhew, why and upon what grounds deliverance out of temptation is to be reputed fo great a mercy, and fo tranfcendent a privilege.

In order to which, as all deliverance in the very nature and notion of it imports a relation to fome evil, from which a man is delivered; fo in this deliverance out of temptation, the furpaffing greatness of it, and the sovereign mercy fhewn in it, will appear from thofe intolerable evils and mischiefs, which are always intended by, and naturally confequent upon a prevailing temptation. To give some account of which, fhall be the business of our present difcourfe.

And for this, we shall first in general lay down this as a certain truth: That all the mischief that fin can poffibly do a man, temptation defigns him. All that is valuable either in this world or the next, it would rob him of; and all that can be called mifery either here, or hereafter, it would fubject him to. All that a man can enjoy is ftruck at, and all that a man can fuffer is intended; and if the tempter

allows

allows him the quiet enjoyment of any thing defirable in this life, it is only to bereave him of that which is infinitely more fo in the o=ther.

Which being fo, as to that high concern in debate between the devil and the fouls of men ; fince his malice is fuch, that he cannot but tempt, it is an infinite mercy, that he can do no more than tempt, and that a man's own confent must be had to his own deftruction. For if the tempter could have his will upon the perfon he tempted, he would fcorn to court, where he could compel. He would make directly at his head, and not come stealing upon his heel. He would break in upon him with open force, and not ftand poorly waiting at his elbow with a temptation.

But to come to particulars, four things more especially are defigned, and driven at by the tempter in all his temptations. As,

it, To begin with the greatest, and that which is always first intended, tho' last accomplished, the utter lofs and damnation of the foul. For this is the grand mark which the tempter shoots at, this being the beloved prize which he contends fo hard for:

And as two enemies may be really as much enemies while they are treating as when they are fighting, fo the devil bears the fame malice

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to a man while he tempts him, as when he actually torments him. Temptation is the way to torment, and torment the end of temptation.

When men first venture upon finful objects, lewd converse, and occafions of life fuitable to their corrupt humours, the face of the temptation looks fair and harmlefs, the first propofals of it plaufible and modeft, and the last and dismal iffue of things is with great art and care kept out of their fight; so that they shall not perceive that their enemy is so much as about to ftrike, till the final and fatal stroke is effectually given.

The devil perhaps offers the pleafure; but, poor creature! it is thy life which he aims at, thy darling life which he is driving a base bargain for. Or he may lay wealth and riches before thee, but be affured he will have fomething for his money, fomething of more value to thee than both the Indies, and the whole world befides. Sometimes he courts with bonour and greatness, but ftill expects to be well paid for both. And as great a prince as he he never knights any one, but he expects more than knights fervice from him in return. In a word, he will have thy confcience, and thy religion by way of earnest here, and thy foul in full payment for it hereafter. There is not the least thing in the world, which the tempter offers

offers a man for nothing; not so much as a pitiful mess or morfel to relieve thy craving, starving appetites, but he will (if he can) have thy birth-right, thy immortal birth-right in exchange for it.

Could we but look into those manfions of horror, where he has lodged fo many millions of loft fouls, the cruel monuments of his victorious delufions, and whom almost amongst them all, might we not hear charging his coming into that woful eftate, upon the overreaching arts of this great impoftor! Some we fhould hear curfing thofe falfe and fallacious pleasures which had baited, and beguiled, befooled and drawn them into those direful pains, from which there is neither refpite nor redemption. Others we should hear raving and crying out of those guilty gains, thofe ill-filled bags, and deluding heaps, which ferved only to treasure up wrath to the owners of them, and at length sink them into a bottomless pit, deeper, and more infatiable (if poffible) than their own covetoufnefs. Others again we fhould hear, with the height of rage and bit-` terness, reflecting upon those treacherous dearbought honours, the unconscionable price of their wretched fouls, by which the tempterhook'd them into his clutches, blinding the judgment, and blasting their innocence, till