Thus Satan perfuades men to have hard thoughts of God, as if he envied our happiness, and laid the reftraints of his law upon our appetites out of ill-will; but infinite Goodnefs is not capable of envy. Thus he tempteth us to be uneafy in the condition Providence has allotted us, and prompts us to be ambitious of things too high for us. And thus he deludeth with falfe hopes of benefit and advantage from fin; and, when this laft point is gained, we fall an eafy prey to the Tempter. ver. 6. And when the woman jaw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleafant to the eyes, and a tree to be defired to make one wife, fhe took of the fruit thereof, and did eat. "She faw it was to be defired to make one wife." What wrought this opinion in Eve was, poffibly, the affurance the Serpent gave her, that he which, the very well knew, before was, like other brutes, dumb and irrational, was, by the admirable virtue of the fruit, advanced in fpeech and reafon, as The faw, to an equality with herself, the most excellent creature in the earth; and, therefore, the needed not doubt but it would, in the same proportion, exalt the human nature to the high perfection of the an gelic order. This would pafs for demonftration with her, who knew not that it was an evil spirit that acted and spake in the Serpent. But this is only my own conjecture.And she gave alfo unto her husband with her, and he did eat: being, probably, perfuaded (befides the arguments the Serpent ufed with Eve) by the ftrong affection they had for each. other. Thus the Devil, by tempting our firft parents to tranfgrefs the law, fubjected them, and their pofterity in them, to eternal death. Thus he was a murtherer, and may be faid to have had the power of death. Heb. ii. 14.

BY

CHA P. XII.

Reflections on the DEVIL'S TEMPTATIONS.

Y fearching the Scriptures we have found, that there is a malicious Spirit which, by Divine Permiffion, ranges about this world, attended with many more of the fame depraved nature; and, as any opportunity offers, is endeavouring to draw men from the practice of virtue, into all wickedness and alienation from the truth.

To prevent any cavils against the fcriptural account of this wicked Spirit, let it be well observed,

I. That we cannot be fure, from any unaffifted knowledge or obfervation of our own, that this earth is not frequented by numerous fpirits of a nature much fuperior to the human. Our knowledge even of the animals which naturally belong to our globe, hath been, and probably still is, very defective. Without the help of microfcopes, we could never have discerned vaft tribes of infects, which we now plainly fee do live

D 3

and

and move even in our own bodies, and in all parts of the earth and water; and even with this advantage of fight, there may ftill be a world of fmaller animals, which our fenfes cannot reach. Much more may myriads of fpirits be mixed amongst us, which come not under our obfervation. Therefore, as without the aid of microscopes we fhould never have difcovered the most numerous part of the inhabitants of our earth; fo neither, without the light of Revelation, can we be ascertained, what spirits are and act in the region of the air. And Revelation is a mean as proper, at leaft, for difcovering the one, as our own arti, ficial inventions for difcovering the other. But Revelation informs us, that angels, both good and bad, are converfant in this world; which may be true, though we have no diftinct, fenfible perceptions of their existence and operations. Under former difpenfations of religion they might appear, and act in a fenfible manner; but under the prefent difpenfation they may, for wife reafons (particularly, because we are now fufficiently inftructed in their nature and agency), be wholly invifible: nor may we be capable of diftinguishing their fecret internal impresfions from the fuggeftions of our own minds; or the external, kind affiftances of good angels, or the malicious injuries of evil angels, from the common courfe of Providence,

II. That we are now upon trial hath been already proved; and that our trial is well and wifely adjusted, cannot be doubted. We ourfelves are by no means capable of judging what kind of trials are most suitable to our own fpirits, because we know but little of the nature of them. To fettle the kind and degree of our Trials, belongs entirely to him who alone understands the nature of our minds, and the defigns of his own wifdom. Therefore, if we are fhocked when we hear God hath permitted many evil fpirits to range our world, and to exercise their malice in tempting mankind, we are really fhocked at our own ignorance, feeing this method of trial, as well as the reft, is under regulations of infinite wifdom, and defigned for the purposes of infinite goodness.

OBJECTION. "Suppose God hath for wife ends permitted fuch be"ings to mingle among mankind, is it not very ftrange that any fhould "be found fo malicious as to employ that permiffion to the worft of pur

pofes? How can we fuppofe any fpirits, any intelligences, efpecially ❝of a fuperior nature, fo far abandoned to all fense of goodness and "virtue, as to endeavour without ceafing the corruption and perdition of "their fellow-creatures?"

ANSWER. That wickedness exifts in the universe, is too plain from the ftate of things in that part of it which we inhabit; where we fee great numbers, in fpite of their own reafon and understanding, and of all the inftances of God's love and goodness, and of all the most evident and powerful arguments to virtue and piety, who not only are very vicious themfelves, but take an unnatural pleasure in tempting and corrupting others, and making them as bad as themselves. It cannot then be hard to fuppofe, that there are other fpirits, in other circumftances, who, in the fame manner, oppofe God; that is to fay, oppofe truth and virtue, For the Devil oppofeth and fetteth himself against God, not by might and power, as if he were able to contend with the Almighty, but only

as

as he opposeth virtue and truth; juft as wicked men do among ourselves.. Indeed, we men are under ftrong temptations from the flesh, and the. objects that relate to it; but the fpirits we are fpeaking of, may be under as ftrong temptations of fome other kind, that we are not acquainted with; they may, by fome finful purfuits and compliances, have funk themfelves into the laft degrees of moral pravity, and even be more wicked than the wickedeft man in the earth, more blind to the goodness of God, and more fearless of his wrath. Nor are fuperior natural abilities an abfolute fecurity against the very worst moral cor-, ruption for we do actually find, that great knowledge and underftanding are so far from always making men good and virtuous, that, on the contrary, thefe are often in a high degree the inftruments of fin and disobedience; being wholly employed in finding out pleas and pretexts for the most abandoned iniquity.

Thus you fee it is very poffible fuch vicious fpirits may be, may be mixed among us, and be permitted to tempt us; and, according to Scripture representations, they are very dangerous enemies. For,

I. Satan is continually going about feeking all advantages against us, Job i. 7. The Lord faid unto Satan, Whence comeft thou? Satan answered, and faid, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And from the query in the next verfe, Haft thou confidered my fervant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and efcheweth evil? and alfo from what our Saviour faith to Peter, Luke xxii. 31. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath defired to have you, that he may fift you as wheat; it appears, that he is inquifitive into the characters of men, and bufily feeks, and gladly lays hold of any occafion to try, and, if poffible, to overthrow their integrity. I Cor. vii. 5. Defraud you not one the other, except it be with confent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fafting and prayer ; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

II. We may fuppofe a fpirit of fuperior faculties to be very fubtle in understanding our various conftitutions and inclinations, and the particular fins to which our circumftances do expose us; and in laying his baits, and addreffing his temptations accordingly.

III. Such a tempter can apply a great variety of machinations, devices, [vonuala, 2 Cor. ii. 11.] and wiles [bodas, Ephef. vi. 11,] to deceive. This is feen in the cafe of Eve. And in tempting our Lord, it is very obfervable, how he varied his devices, and fhifted the fcene of temptation, to fix, if poffible, fome ftain upon his fpotlefs mind. He can put himself into any shape, either of terror, or pleafing allurement; either as a roaring lion, or an angel of light, [2 Cor. xi. 14]. Sometimes he works by his agents, employing thofe who are already infnared to draw in others; fo Eve was his tool to tempt Adam: fometimes injecting into our minds unrighteous, impure fuggeftions, [Luke xxii. 3. Acts v. 3.] fometimes taking the word out of our heart, [Luke viii. 12.] or mixing tares with the good feed, [Mat. xiii. 25.] and corrupting our minds from the fimplicity that is in Chrift.

But then, all this must be understood under the following reftrictions.

1. That the Devil can neither hurt us, nor fo much as attempt to D 4 hurt

hurt us, further than God permits. He is not like the pretended evil god of the Manichees, eternal, felf-exiftent, almighty, and independent, but as much under the power of God as the weakest reptile under our feet. When God gives him a commiffion, he cannot act beyond it; and when he has no commiffion, he is chained up and can do nothing. He is therefore no other than an agent, entirely and always in God's hand, to be used as he fees fit.

2. Nor can he any ways pollute our minds, further than we ourselves do confent. If God permits, poffibly he may work upon the humours of the body, he may inflame our paffions, abuse our imaginations, or fuggeft evil things to our thoughts; but unless we willingly admit thofe impreffions, he cannot poffibly ftain our confciences with fin.

3 God hath not only furnished means and ftrength to refift him, but hath appointed that, if we do refift him, he shall be conquered and van-. quifhed. Fam. iv. 7. Refift the Devil, and he will, he fhall, he muft, flee from you; not by his own choice, but by the will and power of God. "The God of our peace and fafety fhall bruife Satan under our feet. And fuch a victory hall turn to the praife and glory and establishment of our virtue. Hence it follows,

1. That it must be our own act and deed if we are overcome by the temptations of the Devil. It is common for people to confider themfelves as altogether paffive in this cafe, and to afcribe the wickedness they commit to the power of temptation; whereas, in truth, fo far as we are tempted effectually, we are active, we confent and agree to the temptation, we are drawn away of our own luft and enticed, Jam. i. 14. Satan tempts, yet can have no advantage over us but what we choose to give him. And therefore,

2. It must be an aggravation of any crime, that it was done under the power and influence of this wicked fpirit. For we must be the children of difobedience, we must have abandoned ourf: Ives to wickednefs, before Satan can work in us. If Satan can fill our hearts, confider in what a wretched condition we must be. We must have abused the faculties of our minds; we must have despised all the riches of Divine Goodness; we must have fhut our eyes against the light of faving truth, hardened our hearts against the fear of God, feared our confciences, ftifled many and ftrong convictions, done despite to the Spirit of Grace; we must have withdrawn ourselves from God, till he hath forfaken us; we must have advanced from one degree of iniquity to another, till our hearts are prepared to be the feat and refidence of the unclean spirit, the murtherer, the father of lies, the prince of darkness. A condition unfpeakably deplorable!

With men of virtue and piety he hath no power, though he may vex and affault them, but only with the vicious; and they not only imitate his wickedness, which is bad enough, and conftitutes him their father, but likewife are under his government, which is ftill worfe, and conftitutes him their prince and ruler. Moft dreadful cafe, to be the children of fuch a father, the subjects of fuch a prince, the children of perdition, the fubjects of the enemy of all righteoufnefs! To have the powers of our minds, defigned for the nobleft acts and enjoyments, under the dominion of error and luft; to have the fpirits created for eternal happiness

in union with God, in flavery to the vileft of beings; to have the fouls for whom Chrift fhed his blood, to deliver them from iniquity, to purify them into the Divine Image, and to prepare them for everlafting falvation,-to have thofe fouls quite infenfible to all that is true and excellent, heavenly and divine, guided by the grand deceiver, in the power of the deftroyer, and by him pufhed on in the way of iniquity to eternal perdition; how frightful is the reflection! how dreadful mult the ftate of fuch fouls be!

To prevent our falling into fuch a fad condition, and to fecure ourfelves from the encroachments of this wicked fpirit, let us ever be mindful that we have fuch an enemy, and that, without due care and circumfpection, we fhall fall under his power. Let us carefully guard our hearts, and obferve well the temper and frame of our minds, that we may seasonably restrain every inordinate affection, and immediately reject every evil thought and fuggeftion which starts up in our minds, Be fober, be vigilant. Nothing gives this adverfary greater advantage than fenfual indulgences. Mortify the flesh with the affections and Jufts. Shun all intemperance and excefs; and never dare to venture, how little foever, into the way of temptation and fin. And let us be fure to keep close to God in prayer, and other exercises of religion. Thus we fhall put ourselves under the banner of the Prince of Life, the Lord Jefus Chrift, and fhall be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto falvation.

CHA P. XIII.

Of the Confequences of ADAM'S TRANSGRESSION.

Gen. ii. 7, to the End.

WE are now come to a very grand point in Theology, the Fall of

Man, or the Confequences of Adam's Tranfgreffion upon himfelf and his pofterity. Which Confequences Divines, both Papift and Proteftant, have generally, and for a long tract of time, reprefented to be those that follow, namely, "the guilt of Adam's firft fin imputed "to, or charged upon, all his pofterity a total defect of that righ"tequfnefs wherein he is fupposed to have been created the corruption of the human nature, whereby all mankind are utterly in"difpofed, difabled, and made oppofite unto all that is fpiritually good, "and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually; which corruption of our nature is the fource of all wickedness that is committed "in the world. Further, by Adam's Tranfgreffion all mankind were deprived of communion with God and all, as foon as ever they "come into the world, under his difpleasure and curfe, being by nature the children of wrath, bond-flaves to Satan, juftly liable to all

"punishments