man, that it prevents him, seizing and prepossessing his will and affections; and that to such a degree, that he has no heart to pray against it; but like a thief it steals upon him, and then binds his hands and stops his mouth, so that he can neither lift up heart nor hand to call in aid from heaven. In which forlorn estate, if Christ prays not in his stead, and solicits his Father for the succours of recovering grace, the sinner is left remediless in the cruel grasp of his insulting enemy, to be crushed and devoured by him at his pleasure.

And now, what Christ did for Peter and other of his saints, while he was here upon earth, the same he still does, and that with advantage; for all believers know that he is in heaven, where he has changed his place indeed, but not his office; his condition, but not his affection.

What it was to be tempted, our Saviour knew of old, by the sure, but sharp convictions of his own experience: and therefore treats such as are tempted with all the sympathizing tenderness that fellowship in suffering can produce in a mind infinitely merciful of itself; as it is expressly affirmed, Heb. ii. 18, "For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succour those also who are tempted." To which we may add these words, Heb. vii. 25, that "he liveth for ever, to make intercession for us." And from both together we have all that comfort, that a boundless compassion, supported by an infinite power and an endless duration, can afford.

And this is that invaluable advantage which we reap from having such a high priest as can be "touched with the feeling of our infirmities." For as he who has broken a limb, having his choice of several chirurgeons equally skilful, would much rather choose one who had not only cured many others, but had also suffered the same disaster, and felt the same pain and anguish of a broken limb himself: for that from such a hand he might rationally expect not only a sound, but a gentle cure; a cure in which compassion should combine with skill, and make one ingredient in every application. In like manner, it is not so much the greatness, the power and majesty of our intercessor, that should animate persons under a temptation to address to him, as his having drank of the same cup and passed through the same furnace himself. From which one endearing consideration it is, that the prayers of such persons find stronger arguments to enforce them in the breast of him who hears, than they can derive from the heart of him who makes them.

For as it is commonly, and perhaps very truly said, that none knows the heart of a father, but he who has been a father; so none knows what it is to be pursued and worried with the restless buffets of an impure spirit, but he who has endured the same terrible conflict himself. Christ has endured it, and his experience moves his compassion, and his compassion engages his

prayers; and where he has promised us his prayers, we may promise ourselves the success.

And thus I have shown, that the great impulsive cause of the saiuts' deliverance out of temptation, is partly the free, sovereign, distinguishing mercy of God, and partly the mediatorial intercession of Christ: that is, they have a gracious Father, and a powerful Advocate; and therefore, being assaulted, they are not conquered, and being tempted, are not destroyed.

But now, by way of objection to the foregoing particulars, you will say, Does not this doctrine open a door to presumption, and naturally encourage men to venture themselves into temptation, by giving them such assurances of an after-deliverance from it? Does it not tend to lessen the awe and dread they should have of their spiritual danger, by telling them that the mercy of God and the intercession of Christ are engaged for their recovery?

I answer, No; for as the persons who are here said to be delivered are persons truly sanctified and regenerate by a principle of grace, which was wrought upon and changed their nature (so much being implied in the very name and character of the godly), so it is utterly against the very nature of such a principle to draw such consequences from the mercy of God and the intercession of Christ. For moral ingenuity could not do so, and therefore much less. grace "The love of God," says the apostle, 2 Cor. v. 14, "constraineth us." And as it is impossible for a principle of love to exert acts of hatred, so it is equally impossible for a principle of holiness to suggest to the heart such villanous deductions, as to make the very mercy of God an argument to offend him. Every faculty or principle is carried by its own nature, as by a strong bias, to act suitably to itself; and you may as well expect that the fire should cool, or the water dry, or a false proposition issue from a true, as that a principle of grace should argue or discourse in this manner. "He who is born of God," says the apostle, 1 John iii. 9, "cannot sin, because he is born of God." That is, the principle which constitutes a man a new creature, cannot incline or induce him to sin. And therefore, how did Joseph answer and repel the temptation which accosted him? Why, he neither pleaded the disgrace nor danger that might ensue upon it, but the utter inconsistency of that principle which he both acted and was acted by, with the commission of so vile a fact. "How can I do this great wickedness ?" says he, Gen. xxxix. 9. Not only, how shall I, but, how can I do it? As if he had said, there is something within me so utterly contrary to, and so wholly averse from this wicked proposal, that I cannot comply with it, I cannot frame or bring my will to it.

In like manner, for a person regenerate, acting by that principle which makes him so, to take confidence to venture upon

a temptation, from an assurance of God's mercy or Christ's intercession, is a thing absolutely unnatural, and consequently impossible.

But you will say, How then can a person endued with this mighty and divine principle come ever to be prevailed upon by a temptation?

Why, the reason of this is, because such a one does not always act according to this principle, but sometimes either through surprise or neglect of his duty, or remissness in it, or want of watchfulness over himself, the working force and energy of this mighty principle comes for a while to suspend its actings, and to lie, as it were, stupified, or in a trance; the giant is asleep, and the sword of the Spirit is not drawn, during which fatal interval or cessation the flesh and the devil take their advantage to assault, and get ground even of the best of men.

Nevertheless, the case is surely very different, when a man thus overtaken with a kind of spiritual slumber drops into a temptation; and when with his eyes open, and all the powers of his soul awake, he argues and debates the matter with himself for and against the temptation; and in the issue of that debate comes at length to a formed resolution to venture upon it from a confidence, that after he has taken his fill of his sin, the divine mercy will deliver him out of it. This, I say, is a case so vastly different from the former, that though the former may very well consist with a habit of piety and sincerity, yet this latter looks so very ill, and has in it something so desperately wicked, that I very much question whether it be, or can be, incident to the heart of a person truly regenerate.

But because this is so great a mystery of iniquity, and apt to work so fatally upon the minds of such as think themselves sincere and regenerate, but indeed not so; I think it may be of no small use to look into and resolve this case of conscience, namely, whether a regenerate, a godly, or sincere person (which are all but several words for the same thing) can have any rational assurance, before he enters into a temptation, that being once prevailed upon by it, he shall in the issue be delivered out of it?

To which I answer in these two propositions:

1. That a person under such circumstances can have no antecedent assurance one way or other, either that he shall or shall not be delivered. And,

2. That it is more probable, and that he has greater reason to believe, that he shall not be delivered, than that he shall.

Of both which propositions with as much brevity as the thing will bear.

1. And for the first of them, I affirm, that such a one cannot certainly and positively conclude that he shall not be delivered: forasmuch as this would be a bold, unwarranted intrusion into

the counsels of God, and a limitation of that mercy, the precise measures of which are determined by bounds known only to God himself. But this, I must confess, is an error of such a nature, that men need not be much cautioned against it, as being still more apt, in all their expectations of mercy, to conclude too much for, than at all against themselves.

2. And therefore I affirm also, on the other side, that much less can a person thus offering himself to temptation have any ground of assurance that he shall in the issue be brought out of it.

For the clearing of which matter, we must observe, that the temptations here spoken of are generally such as lead to great sins; great, I say, either for the matter of them, such as are blasphemies, perjuries, rebellions, murders, adulteries, thefts, extortions, and the like; or great for the manner of committing them, as being committed against the clear light and conviction of conscience, or, as the scripture sometimes expresses it, presumptuously, and with a high hand, and with full deliberation. All which kind of sins wound and waste the conscience, grieve the Holy Spirit, hazard a man's final and eternal estate; and in a word, make a very great and dangerous alteration in his spiritual condition.

Those, I say, are the sins which we are now treating of; for such, and such only, the devil drives at in most of his temptations, whether he effects them or no: but the malignity of a temptation is to be measured by the greatness of the sin, which it designs to bring a man to. And concerning these sins I affirm, that when any man is tempted to them, he can have no sufficient assurance, that, in case he should be prevailed upon by them, God will deliver them out of them. And the full, serious, thorough consideration of this, is that flaming sword, which God has placed before the door and entrance of every such temptation, to warn all who value the present peace and future happiness of their souls, to fly from it as they would from the regions of death and the mansions of the damned.

But you will say, Have there not been several instances of persons whom God has delivered out of temptation, after they have been prevailed upon by it? And if so, may not others in following times, of the same qualifications and under the same circumstances, antecedently assure themselves of the same deliverance?

To this I answer, first, that of all persons whom God has at any time delivered out of temptation, I believe it will be hard to produce any one who ever entered into it with such a presumption. But secondly, I add moreover, that it is hardly possible for any man to assure himself, that his qualifications and circumstances are exactly the same with those who have been delivered. Besides that, in the last place, there is nothing to oblige God to

vouchsafe the same mercy to persons under the same circum

stances.

But you will urge further, that there are not only instances and examples, but also promises of such a performance in several places of the scripture, and particularly in the text; where, by God's knowing how to deliver, the apostle no doubt meant his will and purpose to deliver the godly out of temptation. And if so, may not such persons be beforehand sure of their deliverance; since, where there is a promise on God's part, there may and ought to be an assurance on ours.

To this also I answer, that we are still to remember, that neither this nor any other the like promises are made immediately to any particular person, but only in general to the godly and regenerate; amongst which no man can with any rational evidence account himself, while he is either actually committing, or at least purposing to commit some great sin; as every man under the power of such temptations (as we have mentioned) certainly is. And consequently, while he cannot be sure of his regeneracy, neither can he be sure that a promise made only to the regenerate does at all belong to him.

But you may yet say, Suppose that such a one had a former assurance of his regenerate state, may he not now, from his remembrance of that, draw a present assurance that he shall be delivered out of all temptations?

For the clearing of which, I observe, that there are two sorts of assurance: the first consisting in such a certain persuasion of a man's regenerate estate, as is subject to no mistake about it: the second consisting in such a persuasion, as excludes all actual doubting of it. Which two sorts of assurance differ as much from one another, as a man's being sure of a thing differs from his being only confident of it; which latter he may very easily be, and yet be far enough from the former. Accordingly in the case now before us, I shall not consider that first sort of assurance, consisting in an infallible persuasion of a man's regenerate estate; it being much questioned by many, whether such an assurance be attainable in this life, unless by the special and immediate gift of God: albeit all confess, that in case he should vouchsafe to any one so high a privilege, it would certainly be attended with such a confirmed habit of holiness, as would effectually keep him who had it from all gross and deliberate sins.

But then as for the other sort of assurance, which only excludes all actual doubting of a man's regenerate estate, it is much another thing; for being raised chiefly upon the stock of a forward confidence, and not supported with an equal measure of grace, it may rise and fall, ebb and flow, and in many cases and with several persons come at length totally to be lost.

Which being premised, I answer to the foregoing question in the negative, and that upon the ground of a double hypothesis. As,