Imatges de pàgina
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1 Cor. ix. 27. Subdue thy flesh to the obedience and dif cipline of the Spirit of God. My meaning is not to fafted any thing of will-worship on thee, fuch as fcourges, hair cloths, pilgrimages, vows of willing beggary, and perpe. tual continency. The keeping under of thy body is a bufinels of another nature, and confifts in the mortifying of lufts, and in the exercifes of piety; and yet this I grant, that intemperance and delicacy in meat and drink is herein forbidden; the more the fuel, the greater is the flame; the body must be fo dieted, as that the nimblenefs and readinefs requifite to a spiritual combat may still be maintained. This was Paul's care, left that when he had preached to others, he himself bould have been a caft away: A caft-away, what's that? Not a reprobate, as if he were uncertain of his election, but reproveable, or unapproved. It is a metaphor taken from those who proved mafteries, and hath a regard to thofe times when there were certain colleges or academies (like our artillery gardens) for exercise of arms, where the novices that fubmitted not themfelves to the ri gour of their difcipline or were found tardy in their trials, or of purfie or unwieldy bodies, were cashier'd or reprov. ed by their mafters. In this refpect Paul kept his body under, left he fhould have been reproveable, or unapprov ed, as thofe were that poorly and faintly wreftled, or ran for the prize.

6. Be in the use of holy ordinances. What ordinances? 1. The word, whether read, or heard, or meditated on. Paul calls it the fword of the Spirit, Eph. vi. 17. When Chrift had his combat with Satan, he made no use of his authority to command him away, but of the word, Thus it is written. Mere reafon was never appointed by God to drive away Satan, but run we to the word, and that will do it: I have fuffered, faid Luther, many great paffions, but fo foon as I lay hold on any piece of scrip ture, and flayed myself upon it, as upon my chief anchorhold, ftraightway my temptations vanifhed. Hence we are commanded to fearch the fcriptures, as men fearch in mines of gold, and the rather, because here is all gold, and no drofs. The particulars that herein thou art to follow, are thefe,

I. Thou

1. Thou must have ready the precept forbidding that fn to which thou art prone; what is it, uncleanness, urge then these texts, Avoid Satan, for it is written, Thou fhalt not commit adultery; and avoid Satan, for it is written, Mortify your members which are upon earth, fornication, uncleannefs, inordinate affection, evil concupifcence. Again, avoid Satan, for it is written, This is the will of God, even your fanctification, that ye fhould abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to poffefs his veffei in fanctification and honour, not in the luft of concupifcence; for God hath not called us unto uncleannefs, but unto holiness,' Col. iii. 5. i Thef. iv. 3, 4, 5, 7.

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2. Thou must have ready the threatning, that if thou yieldeft, thou endangereft all. Eve was ftrict enough to mind the commandment, God hath faid, Ye shall not eat of it, neither foall ye touch it, Gen. iii. 3. but when the came to the threatning, where God faid, Ye fball furely die, the faulters, and hath it thus, Left ye die. fore of this, to add the threatning to the prohibition, not only to fay it is written, Thou shalt not commit adultery, but withal, Fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 'The works of the fe are manifeft, which are thefe, adultery, fornication, uncleannels, lafcivioufnefs, of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in times 'paft, that they which do fuch things fhall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, fhall inhe rit the kingdom of God,' Heb. xiii. 4. Gal. v. 19, 21. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 1o. Lu, as it is kindled of hell, fo it fhall be there perpetually punished; the holy angels will at the laft day be most active against fuch, to bring them to con dign punishment, 2 Pet, ii. 19.

3. Thou must have ready the promife both for avoiding and rewarding.

1. For avoiding the temptation, thou haft thefe promifes; Whofo pleafeth God, (hall efcape from her, but the finner fhall be taken by her. And the God of peace fanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole fpirit, and foul, and body may be preferved blamelefs unto the ⚫ coming

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coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift; faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it,' Eccl. vii. 26. 1 Thess. V. 23, 24.

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2. For rewarding thee if thou overcomeft, thou haft thefe promifes, Bleffed are the pure in heart, for they 'fhall fee God. And I looked, and lo a lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their fore ⚫ heads. Thefe are they which are not defiled with wo men, for they are virgins; thefe are they which follow the Lamb whitherfoever he goeth; thefe were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God, and to the Lamb, Mat. v. 8. Rev. xiv. 14. O live by faith and feed on these promises!

3. Prayer. A man is never overcome by temptation as long as he can pray against it, he may be perhaps more troubled then, but what if he be, let him pray on still, yea, pray with perfeverance, and all manner of prayer, and the end will be, that if he do not give over to pray, Satan must, and will give over to tempt. But what should I pray for? Why, pray that God may purify thy heart, and fanctify it by his holy Spirit, pray that God may give thee frength to overcome Satan in his fiery temptations, tell him that thy lufts and corruptions are too hard for thee, and therefore thou art forced to bring to him this unclean devil, and either he must help thee to caft him out, or thou shalt not prevail. Pray alfo that God may give thee patience to wait upon him, till he fhail perform thy de fires; how long thou must be put to wait, I know not, but if thou dieft waiting, thou shalt be blessed; only pray that it may be, and wait with patience till it fhall be, and God will come in then in his appointed time. 4. Meditation. But on what fhould I meditate?

1. On God's prefence, he fees, knows, underftands thy actions, words, geftures, thoughts within thee; thou wouldst be afhamed to be feen of men, and is not God of purer eyes? Oh let thine heart be on his eye!

2. On the fhortnefs of pleasure, it is but momentary, but the gnawing of thy guilty confcience will abide for e

ver.

3. On thy mortality. the death of thy lufts! firangers, and pilgrims, ji. II.

O let thoughts of thy death be Dearly beloved I beseech you as abftain from fiefbly lufts,

Pet.

4. On hell fire. Fiery fins will beget fiery torments, I have read a ftory of a young virgin, that being tempted of a young man to the act of uncleannefs, fhe gave him this answer, If you will grant me one thing, faid he, I will fatisfy your demand; he told her he would; Well then, faid he, I delire you would put your finger for a whole hour to burn in this candle. O, faid the man, what you afk of me is unreasonable: It is true, faid fhe, it is unreasonable, but you ask me a request more unreasonable, to fatisfy you in a thing for which I fhall not only burn an hour, but for ever and ever in the fire of hell. The like story is that of a young man, who every time he felt luft to arife in him, he would run to the fire and put his finger in the flame, and fcorch his finger, and then would reafon with himself, and fay, O my foul! and O my body! if thou canst not endure a minute's time to hold thy finger in the fire, how wilt thou endure to all eternity to have not only thy finger, but thy whole body in hell flames? And by this means, as he faith of himself, he got much Arength to mortify thofe burning lufts within him.

4. Looking unto Jefus in his death. Art thou troubled with a fpirit of uncleannefs? go to the cross of Christ, contemplate his death, confider feriously and fadly his bitter, fhameful, painful (offerings, and then cry, O that virtue may come out of the death of Chrift to mortify my lufts! Certainly there is a conveyance of mortifying virtue flowing into the foul in the time of its viewing eyeing, contemplating, reflecting upon Chrift crucified, Chrift lifted up, and this comes from the fecret prefence of God, bleffing this our looking upon Chrift, as the ordinance by which he hath appointed to make an effectual impreffion upon the heart. It may be when all is done, this fin, as to fome bubblings within, will not die nor ceafe in thee. altogether, only thro' the grace of Chrift it fhall not reign, it shall not have dominion over thee, Chrift's death will kill it by degrees, and be thankful for that.

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5. The

5. The laft ordinance I hall name is marriage, and the due and lawful enjoyment of it. This is a principal end of marriage, to keep a man chafte; It is good for a man not to touch a virgin, nevertheless to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, 1 Cor. vii. 1, 2. And if this prevail not, fee whether thou haft not been guilty of uncleannefs before marriage: If fo, thou must truly repent of it, for marriage without repentance abates not the power of luft. Be in the practice of all the particulars mentioned before, avoid all occafions of luft, fet a guard on thy fenfes, for thou mayft be drunk with thine owa fountain, if either in eye, or ear, or tongue, or hand, or out of time, or out of measure, thou abufeft thyfelf; fet thy affections of defire, and love, and joy, on Jefus Christ, take heed of idlenefs, and idle company, keep under thy body, be in ufe of holy ordinances, bring the unclean devil to Chrift himself to be caft out, and if the word or prayer will not do it, add fafting to all, and either in ordinary or extraordinary duties God will be feen And if ever thou diest to luft in thy affections and in thy conver fation, if ever thou getteft the victory and God eafe thee of thy vexation, and give thee a chafte mind to thy con tent and comfort. Oh remember to be thankful, left the temptation come again, and bring seven temptations with it worse than himself,

SECT. X.

Of Satan's Temptations to Pride.

OME men are naturally and by difpofition prone to pride; not that any one is free, but fome are more prone than others. Indeed there is a great difpute which. is the mafter fin in every man? No question, as we have faid, in every one is fome one fin, which carries one one way, another another way; and this fio, whatfoever it is, arifeth from complexion, education, condition, and other caufes and occafions, which often varies, as the temper of our bodies, and the order of our estate doth change: Hence this year it is one fin, and seven years hence (as every feventh year there is a fenfible change in the humcurs of the body) it is another fin. But that fin of all fins, which runs thro' all ages, and thro' all the race of man

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