Faithful is he that hath called thee, who will also preserve thy whole spirit, and soul, and body blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess. v. 23, 24.

CHAP. III.

COMFORT AGAINST TEMPTATIONS.

SECTION 1.

Christ himself assaulted.—Our trial is for our good.

THOU art haunted with temptations; that which the enemy sees he cannot do by force or fraud, he seeks to effect by importunity. But can this seem strange to thee, when thou seest the Son of God in the wilderness, forty days and forty nights, under the hand of the tempter? He that durst thus set upon the Captain of our salvation, God blessed for ever, how shall he spare frail flesh and blood? Why should that Saviour of thine, thinkest thou, suffer himself to be tempted, if not to bear thee out in all thy temptations? The keys of the bottomless pit are in his hands he could have shut up that presumptuous spirit under chains of darkness, so that he could have come no nearer to him than hell; but he would let him loose, and permit him to do his worst on purpose that we might not think much to be tempted, and that he might foil that great enemy for us.

Canst thou think that he who now sits at the righthand of Majesty, commanding all the powers of heaven, earth and hell, could not easily keep off that malignant spirit from assailing thee? Canst thou think him less merciful than mighty? Would he die to save thee; and will he turn that lion loose upon thee to devour and destroy? Dost thou not pray daily to thy Father in heaven, that he would not lead thee into temptation? If thou knowest thou hast to do with a God that heareth

prayer, oh thou of little faith, why fearest thou? Lo, he that was led by his own divine Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of that evil spirit, bids thee pray to the Father, that he would not lead thee into temptation; implying that thou couldst not go into temptation, unless he lead thee; and while he who is thy Father leads thee, how canst thou miscarry?

Let no man, when he is tempted, say, I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. James i. 13. God tempteth thee not, my son yet know, that being his, thou couldst not be tempted without him; both permitting and ordering that temptation, to his own glory and thy good. That grace which God hath given thee, he will thus have exercised, thus manifested. So we have known some indulgent father, who being assured of the skill and valour of his dear son, puts him upon difficult and dangerous services, and looks on with contentment, well knowing that he will come off with honour. How had we known the admirable self-denial of Joseph, if he had not been strongly solicited by a wanton mistress? How had we known the invincible piety of the three children, if there had not been a furnace to try them; or of Daniel, if there had been no lions to accompany him? Be confident that thy glory shall be according to the proportion of thy trial: neither couldst thou ever be so happy, if thou hadst not been beholden to temptations.

SECTION 2.

The powerful assistance of God's Spirit, and the example of Paul.

How often, thou sayest, have I beaten off these wicked suggestions yet still they turn upon me again, as if denials invited them; as if they meant to tire me with their continual solicitations; as if I must yield and be overcome, though not with their force, yet with their frequency.

Know, my son, that thou hast to do with spiritual wickednesses,' whose nature is as unwearied, as their malice is insatiate. Thou hast a spirit of thine own; and besides, God hath given thee of his. He therefore ex pects that through the power of his gracious assistance, thou shouldst be able to match the importunity of that evil spirit, with an indefatigable resistance. Be strong therefore in the Lord, and in the power of his might; and put on the whole armour of God, that thou mayest be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Ephes. vi. 10-13.

Look upon a stronger champion than thyself, the blessed apostle, and thou shalt find him in thine own condition. See the messenger of Satan sent to buffet him, and he did it to purpose: how soundly was that chosen vessel buffeted on both sides, and how often! Thrice he besought the Lord that it might depart from him; but even yet it would not be. The temptation holds, only a comfort shall countervail it. My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Cor. xii. 7-9.

It is not so much to be considered, how hard thou art laid at, as how strongly thou art upheld. How many, with the blessed martyr Ignatius, have found upon racks and gibbets, their consolations stronger than their pains! While therefore the goodness of thy God sustains and supplies thee with abundance of spiritual vigour and refreshment, answerable to the worst of thine assaults, what cause hast thou to complain of suffering.

The advice is high and heroical, which the apostle James gives to his compatriots: My brethren, count it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations. James i. 2. Let those temptations be rather trials by afflictions, than suggestions of sin. Yet even those overcome, yield no stnall cause of triumph; for by them is our faith no less tried, and the trying of our faith worketh patience, and the perfect work of patience is a blessed entireness of grace. The number of enemies adds to the praise of the victory; to overcome single temptations is commendable, but to subdue troops of temptations is glorious.

SECTION 3.

Spiritual enemies overcome by the power of God.

ALAS, thou sayest, I am overdone, not with multitudes only, but with power. In all challenges there is some respect paid to the equality of the combatants, and also of weapons: but woe is me, for I am overmatched! I am weak and helpless; and we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers; against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephes. vi. 12. Behold the

Amorite, whose height is like the height of the cedars, and their strength as the strength of oaks. Amos ii. 9. What are we to these men of stature, but like so many poor ants in the valley. Who can stand before these sons of Anak?

I did not advise thee, my son, to be strong in thyself: alas, we are all made up of weakness: one of those powers of darkness were able to subdue a whole world of men: but to be strong in the Lord, whose lowest angel is able to vanquish a whole hell of devils; and in the power of his might, who commandeth the most furious of those infernal spirits to their chains. Woe to us, if we were left to our own hands; there would then be nothing but defeat and death. But our help is in the name of the Lord, who hath made heaven and earth. The Lord is our strength and our shield. He is our rock and our salvation he is our defence, and we shall not be moved. It is he that girdeth us with strength to the battle, and that subdueth those that rise up against us. Psal. xxviii. 7. lxii. 2, 6.

Take courage therefore to thyself; there cannot be so much difference betwixt thee and those hellish powers, as there is betwixt them and the Almighty. Their force is finite, and limited by his omnipotence. How fain dost thou think Jannes and Jambres, the great magicians of Egypt, by the conjoined powers of hell, would have made but a louse in opposition to Moses; yet they could not. How earnestly was that legion of devils fain to beg for

leave to prevail over a few Gadarene-swine! Therefore how strong soever they seem to thee, yet to him they are such mere weakness, that they cannot so much as move without him. Who need be afraid of a lion or a bear, when he sees them chained to their stake. Even children can behold them baited, when they see their restraint.

Look not therefore upon thyself, look not upon them, but look up to that overruling hand of the Almighty, who orders all their motions to his own holy purposes; and even out of their malice, raises glory to himself, and advantage to his servant.

SECTION 4.

The benefit of temptations.

It is a woeful advantage, thou sayest, that I have made of temptations; for alas, I have been shamefully foiled by them. What by their subtlety, and what by their violence, I have been hurried into a grievous sin against my God. I lie down in confusion of face, for having been so miserably vanquished.

Hadst thou wanted tears, my son, for thine offence, I should willingly have lent thee some. It is indeed a sad case, that thou hast given thy deadly enemy this cause to triumph over thee, and hast thus provoked thy God. Be thou thoroughly humbled under a sense of sin, and be not too sudden in snatching a pardon out of the hand which thou hast offended. Be deeply humbled; but after thou hast made thy peace with God by a serious repentance, be not disheartened with thy failings.

Neither do I fear to tell thee of an advantage to be made, not of thy temptations only, but even of thy sin. What art thou but a gainer, if having been beaten down to thy knees, thou hast in a holy indignation risen up, and fought so much the more valiantly. A wound received only whets the edge of true fortitude; many a one had never been victorious, if he had not seen himself bleed first. Look where thou wilt upon all the saints of