Imatges de pàgina
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SECT. VIII.

Off Satan's Temptations to Wantonneft or Mefbly lufts T is Satan which tempts. men for their incontinency; 1 Cor. vii g. And incontinency is in the apostle's stile, turning afide after Satan, 1 Tim. v. ug. A near corres fpondency and communion there is betwixt these two, thơ devil and freshly lufts; and hence as he is called the unclean fpirit, Mat. x. 1. fo are they called unclean lufts, Eph. v. 5. or uncleannefs itfelf in the abstract, Rom. i 24 Eph. iv. 1o. 2 Pet. ii. ta. Some call these lufts the devil's captains, that fmite at the foul efpecially, Dearly beloved I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from flesbly lufts which war against the foul, 1 Pet. ii. 11.

Queft. How doth Satan Air up thefe lufts in men? I aufwer,

1. He obferves the temperature and complexion of fuciu and fuch a man, and if it be fanguine, he takes the advan tage thereof, and accordingly tempts him to luft, incon tinency, and all voluptuous pleasures of the feflr. Hence the apostle was much afraid of his body, as probably being of fuch a temperature, I keep under my body, and bring *it into subjection, left that by any means when I have "preached unto others, I myself should be a caft away, Cor. ix. 27. It is an allufion to wrestlers, who fought for malleries, when one did beat the other black and blue about the face; fo was he fain to wrestle with his body, to keep under his body, and to bring his body, by morti fying of his carnal lufts, into fubjection. He names not his fighting with the world and devil, tho' thefe be potent snemies, but with the body only, because they could not eafily hurt us, if this domestical enemy, and home bred adverfary did not betray us; lufts lie in the body like fire in flint, and any temptation will draw them out. This Satan marks in the first place, that he may fuitably fit his temptations to the temperature and difpofition of the body.

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2. Sometimes he fets before fuch an one a taking object, he prefents and holds up a fight or spectacle suitable to his temper. Thus when David walked upon the roof of the king's houfe, he faw a woman washing herself, and * the woman was very beautiful to look upon, and David

3. Satan

⚫fent, and enquired after the woman,' 2 Sam. xi. 2, 3. I make no question but Satan had an hand in this. Many a time fuch a wanton object is caft into the way by Satan's flight, and he needs do no more to overcome a lafcivious mind, if he but fay, See yonder is a naked breast, a naked arm, a naked neck, and if fuch figns hang at the door, you may guess what immodefty is within. This he knows is taking, and thus he overcomes thousands of men, by stir ring up their lufts even thro' their eyes.

3. Satan deals with a man a degree farther, he not on. ly prefents fuch and fuch an object, but he cafts in, and injects the motion, he ftirs and moves the imagination, (furely that is the devil's room wherein he often doth ap pear) he works upon the imagination many an impreffion, and many a fuggeftion to this and that base luft; in this refpect may we all cry out, O wretched men that we are, who fball deliver us from this body of death! Rom. vii. 24. or from thefe carnal lufts, which, are a death to us, or which threaten our spiritual death. A man, while un blameable in his life, may yet have his imagination like a cage of unclean birds, and fo in his foul become guilty before God. The apostle Peter fpeaks of fome who had eyes full of adultery, (as it is in the original, full of the adulterefs) and that ceafed not from fin, 2 Pet. ii. 14. The meaning is, that imagination fet their eyes continually upon the adulterefs, fo that they ceafed not from fin, even while fhe was abfent; they might be reftrained from the actings of fin, and yet their hearts burned inwardly with lufts. And this is the meaning of the prophet, They bave made ready their hearts like an oven, Hof. vii. 6. That as the oven heated is ready to bake any thing put therein, fo was the heart of those wicked men prepared for any kind of naughtiness, it lay in their heart and imagination day and night. O the perpetual conftant workings of Satan u pon the imagination! We fay of other parts of the foul, (as of the will and mind) that they are only subject to fin while we are awake, but the fancy or imagination is many times very finful in the night time. How many polluted and wicked dreams do men fall into at fuch a time, at which they tremble and abhor themfelves when once awaked. 4. Satan

4. Satan can do more than inject and fuggeft fuch thoughts, for he can mightily irritate and provoke; he can ftir up the heart to be willing to give entertainment to fuch a luft. As Satan food up and provoked David to number Ifrael, 1 Chron. xxi. 1. fo I believe he flood up and provoked David to ly with Bathsheba; he did not only prefent the object, and move the imagination, but he provoked David, he never let him alone, but followed him, and folicited him to it. 'Tis true he could not forcè David to do evil, the will is never forced by Satan, nor can it be, he uses no compulfions beyond a moral perfuafion well fet on, he hath no imperious efficacy over the will, yet he can ftrongly flir the imagination, and that exceedingly provokes the will, that it gives confent: And indeed if the foul be naturally destitute of grace, it cannot withftand the fuggeftions and provocations of Satan, but anod it yields. And this is the manner of Satan's stirring up fleshly lufts in the minds and spirits of the fons of men. SECT. IX.

I

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Of Wrestling with Satan to overcome this Sin.

F this be thy darling fin; if by the conflitution and grain of thy body, or by finifter education, or otherwife, thy mind and heart run much this way, then wref-· tle thus,

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1. Avoid all occafions of lufts. The Jewish doctors thus charged their novices, That by no means they thould feed their eyes with staring on the generation of beafts, for fear of provocations. It is our wifdom to check the beginnings of temptations, to caft away the very firft fancy of luft, with indignation. Surely if we give liberty, and fo fall to parly and talk with lufts, they will gain more and more upon us, and then be harder to refift. He walks more evenly that flieth from temptations, and keeps at a diftance from that which would enfnare him, than he that fuffers the bait to be near him, and at hand. David's woeful experience may tell what it is to give way to a wan dring lustful eye; and Jofeph's refolution may tell what an advantage it is to fly away, and not to ftand and parly with temptations. In this cafe he wreftles beft with the devil, that turns his back on the temptation. Flee youth

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ful

ful lufts, faith Paul to Timothy, 2 Tim. ii. 22. he calls on him not only to avoid, not only to run, but to flee from, or to make all post haste away from them, Come not near the door of her house, Prov. v. 8. It was the fpeech of one, who tho' fick, yet would not have the temptation come nigh him, faying, Auferte ignem, adhuc enim paleas habeo, Take away the fire, for I have yet chaff within me.

2. Set a guard on the outward fenfes. He that looketh on a woman to luft after her, faith Chrift, he hath commit. ted adultery with her already in his heart, Mat.v.28. There are ftories of heathens, that they would not look upon excellent beauties, left they should have been enfnared; 1 made a covenant with mine eyes, faith Job, why then should I look upon a maid? Job xxxi. 1. the eye must be guard. ed, nor is that all, take heed alfo of lending thy ears to filthy talk, rotten fpeeches, wanton difcourfes, ribald fongs: It was the apostle's charge, But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetoufnefs, let it not be once named a mong ft you, as becometh faints, neither filthiness, nor foolifb talking, nor jefting, which are not convenient; and let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the ufe of edifying, that it may minifter grace unto the hearers, Eph. v. 3, 5. and iv. 26, 30. Mark here how filthy fpeech is called corrupt, or rotten communication, like carrion in a ditch, which fhould cause all that pass by to ftop their nofes. Oh that any should delight to speak or hear fuch things! What! fay fome, may we not jeft and be merry without all this a do? but we anfwer, Have you no honefter mirth than this? will you feed upon that which is carrion and corrupt? will you make merry with that which God condemneth, and threatneth to shut you out of his kingdom for? have you nothing but filthinefs, and the fervice of the devil, and the wrath of God to play with, and to make merry withal? Idle talk is the devil's minftrelfie, and prepareth people to actual whoredoms, for thoughts and words are the prepa ratives to deeds. The fame may we fay of unchafte touchings, lascivious behaviours, lustful smilings, &c. why all these must be avoided; a fparkle if it ly maketh a great fire; a little leaven doth run thro' the whole lump.

3. Act all thy affections of defire, and love, and joy on Jefus Chrift. Is not be thy bridegroom? hath not he married thee to himself in holinefs? and wilt thou efpoule mathyfelf to the devil his enemy, by the meditation of filthy and bafe lufts? Oh what indignity is this to Jefus Chrift? If there be any thing of Chrift in thee, turn the stream of Fathy defires and luftings in a spiritual manner towards him; it is he that is thy husband, whose comeliness should be always in thine eye, and whose beauty should for ever inflame thine heart, whose love should draw out thine affections ftrongly, and whofe converfe fhould fill thy mind, and enlarge it all together; here is one that fhould lead thee captive body and foul. Now for this excellent One be to be out-bid by fo bafe and harlotry love, for Jefus Chrift to be caft off, as if not fair or worthy enough for a polluted creature, how should it but be deep in the heart of God, and of Jefus Christ? Hark how the apoftle quelliDons, Know ye not, that your bodies are the members of Chrift? Shall I then take the members of Chrift and make them the members of an hariot? God forbid, I Cor. vi. 1j.

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4. Avoid idleness, for that is the proper foil for thefe weeds to grow in. Fancies of finful lufts feldom offer themselves where the foul is bufied in fome innocent and virtuous employment. A man that diligently follows his particular calling hath fomething elfe to mind, but if he gives himself up to idleness, then Satan is bufy with a bait As a ftanding pool, not having any courfe of running, -groweth filthy of itfelf, and full of toads and noifom vermine, fo the heart that is not taken up in fome honest calling, is a fit place for the devil wherein to breed, and to ingender lufts. What was the reason why the Sodomites grew fo filthy and unclean, but because haying the most fruitful and abundant country in the world, they grew rich, and gave themfelves to nothing elfe but to cafe and delight? their nature was no worse than others, but their idlenefs did fo corrupt their hearts, as the devil had liberty to caft in, and they had leifure to put on all monftròus and unclean defires.

5. Keep under thy body, and bring it into fubjection I 2

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