Master's use; think which way thou mayst do most to pro mote the gospel, to fave fouls, as Chrift bade Peter, When thou art converted ftrengthen thy brethren, Luke xxii. 32. Why thus wouldst thou do in fincerity and truth, thou wouldft put all out of question, that thy faith were not a dead faith, but a living, working, juftifying, foul-faving faith. 3. Defpife not the day of fmall things,. the breathings of faith are as much true faith as its full voice, when it faith, My beloved is mine and I am his. 4. State thy condition, and fee if thou dost not find fuch a temper of fpirit as faith ufeth to fuit the foul with in fuch a condition; faith hath his change of raiments for gracious fouls; fometimes it acts the foul in joy and rejoicing, fometimes only in adherence and waiting: Thou fayft thou canst not find in thy foul fuch a perfuafion of God's love, fuch an holy rejoicing in God, as the fcripture expreffeth, to be effects of true faith; why it may be it is a day of darkness in thy foul, and therefore examine the other way: Is not thy heart wrought into a fit temper to wait upon him who hides his face from thee, and to cling unto him that feems as if he would kill thee? This is true trial: First state thy condition, and look for faith's answe rable workings to thy condition, as it is ftated. And thus much of our wrestling with Satan as to his affaults in our youth, or the time of our converfion, or fecond period. I cannot fay but Satan in this time hath many more affaults than I have numbred, or poffibly can number. As the Spirit's workings are various, fo are Satan's counterworkings; the Spirit humbles fome much, and comforts others as much: Some, it may be, had a falfe and counterfeit work before a true one, and others were never enlight ned until favingly; and this variety affords rife and occa fion for feveral temptations; I was never thus humbled, fays one; nor I thus comforted, fays another: I had fome workings and enlightnings heretofore, fays a third, and I was deceived then, and I may be fo now alfo: And I had a fudden violent work indeed, fays a fourth, which came in like a fpring-tide, but now the tide is fallen, and my first love is abated. Thus every feveral way of work. ing lyes open to feveral exceptions, and hath its feveral Petemptations; but the remedy is, that fouls should look to the main, and for the manner and measure of the work in every part and place of it, to leave it to the good pleasure of the spirit, who is a free agent, and must not be limited by our reafonings. I fear I have been too tedious in this period, and therefore I fhall add no more. CHAP. IV. SECT. I. HE third period, wherein Satan affaults or combats ΤΗ with us, it is from our manhood, or riper years, in until our death, or dying moment. And in profecution of this, as of the former, first learn we fome of thofe depths or wiles of Satan against us. And fecond, practise we thofe duties that concern us in our wrestling with him in these respects: 1. For his affaults in this period, I fhall reduce them to this method, viz. They are either perfecutions, temptations, or diabolical injections: So one of our worthies divided his fiery darts, his perfecutions are by the world, his temptations are by the flesh, his injections are only and immediately by himself: Satana tela dum certis ea cancel lis includere moliebar, vifa funt mihi reduci poffe ad perfecutiones, tentationes, et injectiones diabolicas. D. Arroufmith, tactica facra. H SECT. II. Of Satan's Perfecution by the World. IS perfecutions are by the world, fo Chrift tells the church of Smyrna, The devil fhall cast some of you into prifon, that ye may be tried, and ye fhall have tri⚫ bulation ten days,' Rev. ii. 10. The devil fhall do it; but how fhould the devil do it, but by the aid of his inftrument the world? He is the God of this world, he rules in the hearts of wicked men, he directs their thoughts, wills and affections, and fo he moves them, and carries them to perfecute the children of God; and casts them into prifon. This is ordinary after converfion; no fooner is the change wrought, and the man brought truly home to H Chrift, Chrift, but by this time he is become the drunkard's fong, table-talk to thofe that fit in the gate, mufic to great men at their feasts, a by word to the children of fools, more vile than the earth. Now is it that the feed of the ferpent difcovers itfelf; the devil, and his angels, and his fans com bine, to lay a load of lying imputations, unworthy ufages, and airy kind of perfecutions upon his faints. In this cale the wicked are as preffers, and the godly are as olives and grapes. And what can they expect from fuch men, but to be preffed and fqueezed till the blood come out? But why is it that the wicked fhould be thus enraged against the godly? Have they done them any wrong? Do they with them any evil? Or would they not be glad to do them good as to their eternal welfare? No queftion of all this; but ungodly men are compelled by Satan to do what they do; the old ferpent hates God, and the holiness of God which fhines in his faints with deadly hatred; he knows that he himself was caft out of heaven, and therefore he envies, and vexes at the falvation of any. And as thus it is with Satan, fo ungodly men (that are Satan's tools and inftruments whereby he works) have fucked up the old ferpent's poifon, and they fwell with it, and by it they are enraged against all godlinefs alfo, that as it is faid of tygers, they enter into a rage upon the fcent of fragrant fpices; fo ungodly men without any other reason, are in a rage at the bleffed favour of godlinefs, wherefoever it is * An un 'just man is an abomination to the juft, and he that is upright in the way, is an abomination to the wicked,' Prov. xxix. 27. I know not any that fear God, but in fome measure of other they have felt this affault. Bleffed Mr. Bolton could fay, If Satan meet with a man that is already entred into a ilate of regeneracy, then he ftands like a great red dragon in the way, and casts out of his mouth floods of perfecuti. on, vexations and oppofitions; that fo he may overwhelm and crufp him before he come to any growth or ftrength in Chrift; and to this end he fets on foot and fire too, and whets with keen razors many lewd and profane tongues, to fcoff, difgrace, and difcourage him in his narrow, but bleffed paffage to immortality. But how do they do it? Why, Why either by reproaches, flanders, exprobation of his former life, or by odious names of hypocrite, fingularity Paritan, a fellow of irregular confcience and ftirring hu mour, of a factious and contradictious fpirit, and fuch like. Nor is it thus only at firft entrance, but ever after, for fo he goes on; Every faithful Chriftian knows by good! experience, that as he fall fir in a good caufe, ftand an gainst the corruptions of the place where he lives, or difcharge his calling with confcience and faithfulness, that prefently he thall have the fpirit of profanenefs to fly in his face with brutish and implacable malice and infolency. So true is that of the apoltle, At Antioch, at Iconium, dat Lyftra, I endured perfecutions; yea, and all that will live godly in Chrift Jefus, shall suffer perfecution,' 2.Tim.. . 14, 12 SECT. III Of Wrestling with Saten as to this Affault. Nrepelling thefe affaults, confider we the kinds of pet fecution wherewith Satan affaults; it is either in word or in deed. 1. If it be only in word; as taunts, jeers, reproaches then confider thefe rules: 1. Take heed that we be not hindred in our ways or breaks off our profeffion of religion because of reproaches; what tho there be filth, caft in the way, fhall we decline our way? Tho' clouds do arife and darken the light of the fun, does the fun ceafe in its courfe because it is darkned ?a 0 No, no, it goes on ftill, and anon it breaks forth; fo fhould we go on and fay, I knew this way would be cloudy, I entred into it upon thele terms to be willing to suffer res proaches; this is God's ordinary way towards his people, and I expect yet greater trials than thefer 2. Confider, how is God and Chrift reproached daily? confider how is the majefty, fovereignty and authority of God contemned in the world? How are the dreadful. threatnings of God, and the revelation of God's wrath forned in the world? This made Luther to fay, No man is able to bear fo much contempt as Ghrift bears daily. And Bolton to fay, If any meek spirit should fit but one hour in the throne of God Almighty, and should look H 2 down down upon the earth, as God doth continually, he would undoubtedly in the next hour fet all the world on fire, and not fuffer his wrath to be pacified, or the fire to be quenched; be thou then for ever afhamed to take on, or to break patience for every trivial provocation. Oh what be our names to God's name? Or what are the reproaches of a creature, to the reproaches, difhonour, vilifying of God? 3. Confider the great mercy of God in concealing the fecret fins of our thoughts; there are none fo innocent, but if God should turn the infide outwards, and discover all the filth and balenefs within the heart to the world, certainly it would make them afhamed of the fociety of men, Now if God conceal thefe, well may this quiet our hearts, when troubled for any reproach. It is a great work of nature to keep the filth of the body when it is in: a man, from being unfavoury to others, fo it is a great mercy of God to keep the filth of the foul, tho' it be unfavoury to God, from that unfavourinefs that it might be to men. 4. Confider what honour God hath put, and will put on us, befides the honour of reproach itself: For my part, faith Stillingfleet in his Irenicum, I think the minifters of the gospel would want one of the badges of honour belonging to their office, were they not thus reproachfully ufed. It is part of the ftate which belongs to the true minifters of the gofpel to be followed by fuch black mouthed lacqueys, who by their virulent fpeeches, are fo far their friends as to keep them from that curfe, Woe be unto you when all men Speak well of you. Hath not the Lord been pleased to bring us into the honourable estate of fons and daughters? Hath he not put his glory upon our fouls, and honoured us with that near relation we have to Chrift? Hath he not honoured us in the hearts of his laints, men of precious fpirits, who know much of God's mind, who are able to judge wherein true excellency confifts? When Doeg reproached David with devouring, bafe words in Saul's court, yet David bleffed himself in this, But I am like a green olive tree in the houfe of my God, Pfal. lii. 8. q. d. Doeg flourisheth in the court, and my name may be blafted there, but in the houfe of my God my name is pre |