Greenham. pag. 35. ther ufeless, when Chriftians have gotten up to any of these imaginary degrees of a fuppofed Perfection. Enough of this may be feen in the writings of Saltmarsh, Winftanly, and others, in the late times. How great a Trade Satan drove by fuch misapprehenfions not long fince, cannot easily be forgotten; fo that God's Worship did almoft lye waft; and in many places, the way to Sion. did mourn. 2 Bypleading Secondly, He will fometimes confefs an equality of priviledge an inequality among the Children of God, and yet plead an inequality of duty, of Duty. that God is as good and ftrong to us, and that we have all an equal advantage by Chrift, he will readily acknowledge. But then when we should propound the diligence of the Saints in their Services for our pattern (as of Davids praying feven times a day, Daniels three times, Anna's ferving God with faftings and prayers night and day, &c.) He tells us, these were extraordinary Services, and (as it were) works of fupererrogation, more than the Command of God laid upon them. So that we are not tyed to fuch strictness; and we being naturally apt to indulge our felves in our own ease, are too ready to comply with fuch Delufions. And by degrees Men are thus brought to a confident belief, that they may be good enough, and do as much as is required, though they flacken their pace, and do not Fast, Pray, or Hear so often, as others have done. 3. By beight- Thirdly, Another Sophism of his, is to heighten one Duty, to the ning one Du-ruine of another. He firives to make an intestine War among the ty above o-feveral parts of the Services we owe to God; and from the ex thers. cellency of one, to raise up an enmity, and undervaluing disregard of another. Thus would he fever, as inconfiftent, those things that God hath joyned together. As among falfe Teachers, fome fay,. Lo bere is Chrift; and others, Lo he is there. So we find Satan dealing with Duties, he puts fome upon fuch high refpects to Preaching, that (fay they) Chrift is to be found here, molt frequently, rather than in Prayer, or other Ordinances; others are made. to have the like efteem for Prayer: and they affirm, in this is Chrift efpecially to be met withal. Others fay the like of Sacraments, or Meditation. In all thefe Satan labours to beget a diflike and neglect of other Services. Thus (in what relates to the Conftitution of Churches) he endeavours to fet up purity of Churches, to the Destruction of Unity; or Unity to the ruine of Purity. A notable Example hereof we have in the Euchyte, (a Sect of pray Hiftoria. ing Hereticks, which arofe in the time of Valentinian and Valens) Theod. Ecclef. who upon the pretence of the Commands of Chrift and Paul, for Praying continually, or without ceafing and fainting, owned no other Duty as neceffary; vilifying Preaching and Sacraments, as things (at beft) useless and unprofitable. The like attempts he makes daily upon Men, where though he prevail not fo far, as to bring Luk. 18. 1. fome neceffary Duties of Service into open contempt; yet he car- 1 Thef. 15.17. ries them into too much fecret neglect, and difregard. Greenham. pag. 35. Fourthly, He improves the grace of the Gospel, to infer an unne- 4 By fevering ceffariness of Duty; and this he doth, not only from the advan- the means. tage of a prophane and careless Spirit in fuch as prefumptuously ex- from the end. pect Heaven, though they mind not the way that leads to it: for with fuch it is ufual (as one observes) for Satan to fever the means from the end, in things that are good, to make them believe, they' Shall have Peace, though they walk in the Imaginations of their Heart; to make them lean upon the Lord for Heaven, in the apparent neglect of Holiness and Duty. As in evil things, he fevers the end from the means, making them confident they fhall escape Hell and Condemnation, though they walk in the path that leads thither. But befides this, he abufeth the understandings and affections of Men, by strange and uncouth inferences; as that God hath received a fatisfaction, and Chrift hath done all; fo that nothing is left for us to do. The Apofile Paul was fo much aware of this kind of arguing, that when he was to magnifie the Grace of God, he always took care to fence against fuch perverse reasonings; feverely rebuking and refelling fuch objections: as in Rom. 3.7, 8. where fpeaking,that our unrighteousness did commend the righteousness of God, he falls upon that reply, Why then am I judged as a finner? Which he fharply refells, as an inference of flanderous imputation to the Gofpel, which hath nothing in it to give the leaft countenance to that Conclufion, Let us do evil, that good may come. And adds, That Damnation fhall justly overtake fuch as practise accordingly. The like we have, Rom. 6. 1. Shall we continue in fin, that grace may abound? which he rejected with the greateft abhorrency, God forbid! From both which places we may plainly gather, that as unfound as fuch arguings are, yet Men (through Satans fubtilty) are too prone, upon fuch pretences, to difpute themselves to a careless neglect of Duty. This might be enlarged in many other inftances, as that of Maximus Tyrius, who difputed all Duties unneceffary upon this ground, That what God will give, cannot tics. 148 behindred; and what he will not give, cannot be obtained; and therefore'twere needless to feek after any thing. Much to the fame purpose do many argue, If they be Predeftinated to Salvation they hall be faved, though they do never fo little; if they be not Predestinated,, they shall not be faved though they do never fo much. In all which inferences the Devil proceeds upon a falfe Foundation, of fevering the Means, and the End, which the Decree of God hath joyned together: but the main of the Defign, is to hide the. neceffity of Duty from them. Fifthly, By urging a neceffity or conveniency for fufpending or 5 By fufpend-remitting Dutics. In temptations to Sin, he doth from a little, ing and re- draw on the Sinner to more; but in omiffions of Duty, he would mitting Du entice us, from much to little; and from little, to nothing. Very bufie he is with us, to break, or interrupt our conftant course of Duty. Duties in order, and Practice, are like fo Pearls many upon one firing, if the thread be broken, it may hazard the scattering of all. If we be once put out of our way, we are in danger to roave far.. before we be fet in our rank again. To effect this (1) He will be fure to ftraiten or hinder us in our opportunities if he can, and then to plead neceffity for a Difpenfation. 'Tis true indeed, necessities, when unavoidable (as the iffue of Providence, rather than our negligence) may excufe an omiffion of Duty: because in fuch cafes, God accepting the will for the deed, will have mercy and not facrifice. But neccility is, moft-what a pretence or cover to the flothfulness of Profeffors; and the Devil will do all he can to gratifie them in that humour, and to prepare Excuses for them, from fuch hinderances or interruptions, as bufinefs, or difturbances can make: yet if these be not in readiness, he will (2) endeavour to take off our carneftnefs, by fuggefting to us our former diligence, that we at other times have been careful and active: Or. (3) by setting before us the greater negligence of those that are below us. The meaning of both which infinuations is to this one purpofe, that we may make bold with fome omiffions, without any great hazard of our Religious intentions, or fcandal and offence to others. Now, if he can by any of these wayes, bring us to any abatement of our wonted care and exercife, he will then ftill prefs for more, and from fervency of Spirit, to a cold moderation; from thence he will labour to bring us down to feldom performances: from thence, to nothing. The Spiritual Sluggard that will be overcome to fome neglects, fhall be found a companion at last to a Wafter; and will be brought Prov. 18.9. .to to a total neglect of all. The Church of Ephefus, Rev. 2.4, 5. may fadly give proof of this, they left their first love; and from thence declined fo far, that at laft God was provoked to remove the Candlestick out of its place. Sixthly, Satan puts tricks upon Men, (in order to the hindring of Duty) by putting us from a Service presently needful, with the propofal of another, in which, at that tiine, we are not fo concerned. In feveral Duties of Chriftianity, there is a great deal of skill required to make a right choice, for prefent or first performance; and to have a right judgment to difcover the times and feafons of them, is matter of neceffary ftudy. Our Adverfary obferving our weakneffes in this, (when no other art will prevail,) endea vours to put us upon an inconvenient choice, when he cannot make us neglect all. As (1) by engaging us in a lefs duty, that we may neglect a greater; he is willing that we (as the Pharifees) should tithe Mint and Annis, upon condition that we neglect the greater things of the Law. This was the fault of Martha, Luk. 10.41. who bufied her felf in making entertainment for Chrift's welcome, and in the mean time neglected to hear his Preaching: which, as he notes, was the only neceffary Duty of that times one thing is neceffary. She is not blamed, for doing that which was fimply evil in it felf (for the thing fhe did was a Duty ;) but for not making a right choice of Duty; for that rebuke, Mary bath chofen the better part, is only a comparative difcommendation, as Austin interprets, Non tu malam, fed illa meliorem, the thing thou doeft is not evil, if it had not put thee upon a neglect of a greater good.. (2) He fometimes puts Men upon what is good and neceffarys but fuch, as they cannot come at without Sin. Thus Sacrificing in it felf was a neceffary duty: and fuch was Sauls condition, that it concerned him at that time, to make his peace with God, and to enquire his mind. Yet when the Devil upon that pretence, put him, upon offering a Sacrifice, he put him upon no fmall tranf-1 Sam. 13.1365greffion. The like game Satan fometimes plays with private Christians, who are perfwaded beyond their station and capacity in.. reference to fome Ordinances of God. (3) He fometimes puts Men upon dangerous undertakings in purfuit of their fancy, of gaining an advantage for fome fervice; and fo are they turned out of the way of prefent Obedience, in grafping at opportunities of Duty out of their reach Saul pared the Sheep and Oxen of the Sam. 15. 15, Amalekites for Sacrifice, when Obedience had been more acceptable 22. than.. than Sacrifice. (4) There is a further cheat in the choice of Duty; when Satan employs them to provide for Duties to come, to the neglect of Duties prefently incumbent upon them; whereas we are more concerned in that, which, at prefent, is neceffary; than in that, which may be fo for the future; which is a mistake, like that of caring for the morrow, while we ufe not what God puts in our hand for to day. 2.Satans de fign CHA P. XVIII. Satan's fecond grand defign against Duties, is to spoil them. (1) In the manner of undertaking; and how he effects this. (2) In the act or performance, by distracting outwardly, and inwardly. His various ways therein, by vitiating the Duty it felf. How he doth that. (3) After performance, the manner thereof. fan to foile THE chief of Satans ways for the hindring and preventing of Duty have been noted; what he comes fhort in this defign, he next labours to make up, by fpoyling and depraving them: and this he doth endeavour three ways. Duties. I In the man. them. First, By putting us upon Services in fuch a manner as shall renner of put- der them unacceptable, and difpleafing unto God, and unprofitable ting us upon to us: As (1) by a careless and rafb undertaking of Service. We are commanded to take heed to our felves how we hear, or pray; and to watch over our hearts, that they be in a fit pofture for meeting with God. Because the heart, in Service, is that which God molt looks at, and our fervices are measured accordingly; if then by a heedlefs undertaking, we adventure upon them, not keeping our Ecclef 5. 1. foot when we go into the house of God, we offer no other than the Sacrifice of fools and give occafion to God to complain that we do but dram neer to him with our lips, while our hearts are far from him. Secondly, The like spoil of Duty is made, when we adventure upon it, in our own strength, and not in the strength of Christ. Satan fees the pride of our heart, and how much our gifts may contribut |