ral Rule.

the Weights and Plummets, that is, by moving and acting our Imaginations and Affections.

Satan's The motion being thus made, notwithstanding all his imporfourth gene- tunity, often finds refiftance: in which cafe he comes to the practice of a fourth Rule, which is to draw away and entice the Manton in loc, heart to confent; as 'tis expreffed, Jam. 1. 14. Everyman is tempted, when he is drawn away and enticed. I fhall avoid here the variety of the apprehenfions which fome declare at large about the meaning of the words, fatisfying my felf with this, that the Apostle points at thofe Artifices of Satan by which he draws and allures the will of Man to a complyance with his motions,which when he effects in any degree, then may a Man be faid to be prevailed upon by the Temptation. But then here is the wonder how he should fo far prevail against that Reason and Knowledg which God hath placed in Man, to fence and guard him against a thing so abfurd and unreasonable as every fin is? The Solution of this knot we have in 2 Cor. 4. 4. The God of this World blinds the eyes of Men, draws a curtain over this Knowledg, and raiseth a darkness upon them which darkness though we cannot fully apprehend, yet that it is a very great and ftrange darkness may be discovered; (1.) Partly by confidering the Subject of it, Man, a rational Creature, in whom God hath placed a Confeience, which is both a Law, and Witneß, and Judge. It cannot be fuppofed an easie matter to cloud or obliterate that Law, to filence or pervert that Witness, or to corrupt that Judge; but it will rife higher in the wonder of it, if we confider this in a godly Man, one that fets God before him, and is wont to.have his fear in his heart fuch a man as David was, that in fo plain a cafe, in fo high a manner, fo long a time, with so little sense and apprehenfion of the evil and danger, Satan should so quickly prevail, 'tis an astonishment: neither will it be lefs ftrange if we confider (2.) The issue and effect of this blindness: Some rife up against this Law of Confcience, arguing it falfe and erronious, and making conclufions directly contrary, as Deut. 29. 19. I shall have peace, though I walk on in the imaginations of my heart. I have fellowship with him, though I walk in darkness, 1 Joh. 1.6. We will not hearken unto thee, but will certainly do whatfoever thing goeth out of our own mouth, Jer.45.16,17. in which cafes, the outlugnas, or principles of Confcience are quite overthrown. Some are hardned, and as to any application of

their acts to this Rule, quite dead and fenflefs; though they rife not up against the light, yet are they willingly ignorant, without any confideration of what they aredoing; here the ouveídos, or witnefling and excufing power of Confcience is idle and afleep. Some though they know the Law, and in fome measure fee their actions are finful, yet they pafs no judgment, apprehend no danger; No man fmites upon his thigh, saying, what have I done? Jer. 8. 6. Nay, fome are fo far from this, that they prefumptuously juftify themselves, though they fee their own blame and ruine before them, I do well to be angry, and that to the death, faith Jonah, when Satan had spread a darkness upon him.

What fhall we fay of these things? here is darkness to be felt, Egyptian darkness: to explain the way of it fully is impoffible for us, to do it in any tollerable way is difficult. To make fome discovery herein Ifhall, (1.) Shew that the Devil doth entice to fin, by stirring up our luft. (2.) That by the power and prevalency of our luft, he brings on the blindness spoken of.

1

CHA P. X.

That Satan enticeth by our Luft. The feveral ways by. which he doth it. Of the power and danger of the violence of Affections.

TH

He way then by which he doth entice, is by stirring up our Luft. By luft, I mean thole general deftrings of our minds after any unlawful object, which are forbidden in the tenth Com- Tit. 2. 12. mandment; thus we read of worldly lufts, of the lufts of the flesh, 1 Pet. 2. 18. Fam.4.5. of luftings to envy, and in a word, we read of divers lufts, the Tit. 3.3. whole attempt and ftriving of corrupt Nature against the Spirit, being set forth by this expreffion, of lufting against the Spirit.

That Satan takes advantage of our own lufts, and fo plows with our Heifer, turning our own Weapons against our selves, is evident by the general vote of Scripture. The Apoftle James 1.14. tells us, that every Temptation prevails only by the power and working of our own lufts: Satan is the Tempter,

but

Gal.. 17.

but our lufts are the advantages by which he draws and enticeth; the corrupt principle within us, is called flesh, but the way whereby it works, either in its own proper motion, or as stirred up by the Devil, is that of lust and affection; and therefore he that would ftop that iffue, must look to mortify it in its affections and lufts, Gal. 5. 24. We are further told by John, 1 Epift. 2. 16. that all thofe fnares that are in the World, are only hazardous, and prevailing by our Lufts. More generally the Apostle Peter fpeaks; the whole bundle of actual Sins that have ever been in the World came in at this door, The corruption that is in the World is through Luft. In the stirring up our Lufts, Satan ufeth no finall Art and Subtilty, and ordinarily he worketh by fome of these following ways.

Firft, He useth his skill to dreß up an Object of Luft that it may be taking and alluring; he doth not content himself with a Simple propofal of the Object, but doth as it were paint and varnish it, to make it seem beautiful and lovely; befides all that wooing and importunity which he useth to the Soul by private and unfeen Suggeftions, he hath (no doubt) a care to gather together all poffible concurring Circumftances, by which the feeming goodnefs or conveniency of the Object is much heightned and enlarged. We fee those that have skill to work upon the Humors of Men, place a great part of it in the right circumftantiating a motion, and in taking the Tempers and Inclinations of Men at a right time. And they obferve, that the miffing of the right season is the hazard of the defign,even there where the Object and Inclination ordinarily are futable. There is much in placing a Picture in a right pofition, to give it its proper grace and luftre in the Eyes of the Beholders. When a man is out of humor,he naufeats his ufual delights, and grows fulien to things of frequent practice. 'Tis likely Eve was not a Stranger to the Tree of Knowledg before the Temptation, but when the Serpent fuggefts the goodness of the Fruit, the Fruit it felf feems more beautiful and defirable, good for Food, and pleafant to the Eyes. Though we are not able to find out the way of Satan's beautifying an Object, that it may affect with more piercing and powerful delights; yet he that shall confider, that not only Prudence (in an advantageous management of things) adds an additional beauty to Objects propofed; but also that Art by placing things in a right pofture, may derive a radiancy and beam of Beauty and Light upon them, (as an or

dinary piece of Glafs, may be fo pofited to the Sun beams, that it may reflect a fparkling light as if it were a Diamond:) He that fhall confider this (I fay) will not think it ftrange for the Devil to ufe fome Arts of this kind for the adorning and fetting off an Object to the Eye of our Lufts.

Secondly, We have reafon to fufpect that he may have ways

of Deceit and Imposture upon our Senfes. The deceits of the Senfes are fo much noted, that fome Philofophers will fcarce allow Des Cartes. any credit to be given them; not that they are always deceitful, Ant. le grand. but that they are often fo, and therefore always fufpitious. The Philofoph.vet. Soul hath no intelligence but by the Senfes: 'tis then a bufinefs of eafie belief, that Satan may not altogether flight this advantage, but that when he fees it fit for his purpose, he may impofe upon us by the deception of our Eyes and Ears; we little know how oft our Senfes have disguised things to us. In a pleafing Object, our Eyes may be as a magnifying or multiplying Glass. In the firft: Temptation Satan feems to have wrought both upon the Object, and alfo upon the Senfes, She faw it was good for Food, and pleasant; who can queftion but that the faw the Fruit before? but this was another kind of fight, of more power and attraction. An inftance of Satan's Cunning in both the forementioned particulars, we have from Austin, relating the Story of his Friend Alipius, who by the importunity of his Acquaintance confented to go to the Theatre, yet with a refolve, not to open his Eyes, left the fight of Spectavit, thefe Spectacles fhould entice his Heart; but being there, the clamavit, exarnoife and sudden fhouting of the multitude prevailed so far with fit, abftulit him, that he forgot his refolution; takes the liberty to fee what infaniam qua occafioned the fhouting, and once feeing, is now fo inflamed with ftimularetur delight, that he shouts as the reft do, and becomes a frequenter of redire, &c. the Theatre as others: What was there to be feen and heard he knew before, by the relation of others; but now being present, his Eyes and Ears were by Satan fo heightned in their offices, that thofe bloody Objects feemed pleasant, beyond all that had been reported of them, and the luft of his Heart drawn out by Satan's cunning difpofal of the Object and Senfes.

Thirdly, There is no fmall inticement arifing from the fitnes and futableness of Occafion. An Occafion exactly fitted, is more than half a Temptation; This often makes a Thief, an Adulterer, &c. Where the acts of thefe Sins have their rife from a fudden fit of humor, (which occafion puts them in,) rather than

inde fecuni

from...

from defign or premeditation. Cunningly contrived Occafions are like the danger of a Precipice; if a Man be fo foolish as to take up a stand there, a small push will throw him over, though a far greater might not harm him if he were upon a Level. 'Tis Satan's Cunning to draw a Man within the reach of an Occafion. All the refolves of Alipius were not fafe-guard to him when once he was brought within hearing and fight of the Temptation: If he had ftaid at home, the hazard of Satan's Suggeftions (though earneft) had not been fo much as the hearing of his Ears, and fight of his Eyes. In 2 Cor. 2. 11. Paul's fears of Satan's taking advantage against the Corinthians did manifeftly arife from the prefent pofture of their Church affairs: for if the excommunicated Perfon fhould not be received again into the Church, an ordinary pufh of Temptation might either have reVid. Calvin newed or confirmed their Contentions, or precipated them into an opinion of too much severity against an offending Brother; and that their prefent frame, made them more than ordinarily obnoxious to these Snares, is evident from the Apostle's caution inferted here in this Difcourfe, fo abruptly, that any Man may obferve the necessity of the Matter, and the earnestness of his Affections did lead his Pen. The Souls of Men have their general Difcrafia's, and Difaffections, as our Bodies have, from a lingring diftemperature of the Blood and Humors; in which case, a small occafion (like a particular crror of Diet, &c. in a declining Body) will eafily form that Inclination into particular acts of Sin.

in loc:

Fourthly, Satan hath yet a further reach in his Enticements, by the power which he hath upon our Fancies and Imaginations: That he hath fuch a power was difcovered before. This being then fuppofed, how ferviceable it is for his end, 'tis now to be confidered. Our Fancy is as a Glaß which with admirable celerity and quickness of motion, can prefent before us all kinds of Objects; it can in a moment run from one end of the Earth to the other; and befides this, it hath a power of creating Objects, and cafting them into what forms and fhapes it pleaseth, all which our understanding cannot avoid the fight of. Now the power of Imagination is acknowledged by all to be very great, not only as Burtons Me- Working upon a Melancholy and diftempered Spirit, (of which Janch, Part 1. Authors give us large accounts) but alfo upon Minds more remote from fuch peremptory Delufions; as may be daily observed in the Treat. of Paf prejudices and prepoffeffions of Men, who by reafon of the impreffions

§. 2. P. 93.

Reynolds

ficns. c. 4.

of