within us, without disturbance.

When Christ

"stands at the door, and knocks," and "waits to be gracious" to us; let us not refuse to open to him, nor seem not to hear him; but say with Samuel, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."

CHAP. IV.

That we are not only to suffer the Spirit to work in us; but ought also to work with him, in heartily opposing our self-desires. What endeavours we should use, shown in five particulars.

FOURTHLY. Thou must not be merely passive, and only suffer the Holy Spirit to do his work in thee; but thou must likewise work with him, in vigorously resisting and crossing thy self-desires. Thou must put on heroical resolutions, stoutly to oppose the impetuous desires of thy sensitive powers. "It is God that worketh in thee, both to will and to do:" but yet thou must also "work out thy own salvation with fear and trembling."* Thou must" strive according to his working, which worketh in thee mightily." Thou must be faithful to that lesser light and strength which is in thee and then thou shalt have more light and strength : if thou be faithful in fewer talents, thou shalt receive more. Here take these following directions.

m

;

1. Deny the first solicitations, and resist the first motions of inordinate appetites; depress them at their first rising. Quench lust, when it doth begin

f Rev. iii. 20. * Ver. 12.

8 Isa. xxx. 18.

1 Col. i. 29.

h1 Sam. iii. 9. i Phil. ii. 15. m Matt. xxv. 21.

a

to smoke, ἀναθυμιω μένην ὀρέξιν. Facilius est initia affectuum prohibere, quam impetum regere, as Justin Martyr phraseth it, before it bursteth out into a flame; for then it would be unruly, and too hard to master. Think not to ease thyself by giving some satisfaction to thy lusts: for by this means they will solicit and vex thee the more; and the yielding to commit a sin leaves a greater propension and desire to sin again. Thou shalt best silence the clamours and importunities of a temptation, by not listening in the least to them. As one act of mortification prepares for, and enables to, another; so, on the contrary, by once yielding to corrupt nature, thou art made less able to resist another time.

2. As to those sins which either through constitution, or custom, thou hast the strongest inclination to, thou must show a more than ordinary roughness and severity against them. It is not safe so much as to dispute, or argue, with temptations to such

sins.

6

It was a good observation of Aristotle, that some passions are not to be vanquished λόγῳ ἀλλὰ βίομ, by reason, but force; that is, not so much by the one as by the other; not so much by arguments, as by a holy violence and resolution. And there is not more need of taking this course against any temptations, than against those that solicit to the sin of uncleanness. Duriora sunt prælia castitatis, The battles of chastity, are more sharp than any other' as St. Cyprian saith.

The forementioned philosopher, in his ethics, observing that man is ζῶον ἐυθήρατον ὑπὸ τῶν ἡδονῶν,

a Seneca, Ep. 86.

'a creature very apt to be taken and insnared by pleasures,' rà déα sioì Biara, adviseth; that for the attaining of virtue, the middle between two extremes, we should shun most, and keep farthest from, that extreme which pretends to most pleasure. Εν πάντι μάλιστα φυλακτέον τὸ ἡδὺ καὶ τὴν ὁδονήν. This is good advice: and there cannot be better given for the attaining the virtue of chastity, and the overcoming temptations to uncleanness, which of all other sins doth promise the most pleasure, than not to trust ourselves to enter into the least parley with them; but presently to fly from them, by diverting ourselves to other thoughts, and forcing our minds to other objects.

3. As much as lieth in thee, shun whatsoever may probably be an occasion of thy being tempted; especially to such sins as thou art most inclined to. Art thou prone to excess, either in meat or drink? Art thou apt suddenly to take fire, and to be inflamed with passion? Art thou of a lustful temper, or the like? Avoid, all thou canst, such places, company, and objects, as may be incentives to those appetites. Thus in order to the avoiding of the sin of uncleanness, the wise man adviseth, "not to come near the house" of the whorish woman: and for the prevention of the sin of drunkenness, not so much as "to look on the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup."

d

4. For the better securing thy perseverance in the spiritual warfare, it is of good use, with humble dependance on God for the aids of his grace, to engage thyself in solemn vows; especially against those sins which have gotten most power and dominion over

Aristot. Eth.

Prov. v. 8.
M

d Ibid. xxiii. 31.

ness.

thee. I cannot commend the obliging ourselves by vows, as the manner of some is, to certain tasks, which have not an immediate and special tendency to the mortifying of sin, and advancement of holiSuch vows are found by experience to be both unprofitable and burdensome, to be insnaring and hampering; and rather to gratify superstition, and minister questions and scrupulosities, than godly edifying. But to vow against things unquestionably evil, and to the use of certain means that are necessary to "the destroying of the body of sin ;" and that first for a shorter space of time, and afterwards for a longer; and so, that time being expired, to renew these vows as long as we shall see it needful, and till we be well grounded and established in holiness; till religion become our nature, the temper and constitution of our souls, the joy of our hearts, our deliberate choice and settled practice; till we have gotten the complete mastery over those lusts, which we have been most carried away captive by: I say, to vow with such cautions, is found by experience to be of exceeding great benefit and advantage.

And when we have thus vowed, we should frequently reflect upon what we have done; and especially when we are solicited to sin, either by the tempter within or without. Let us then Let us then say with holy David; "Thy vows are upon me, O God." " I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments." • Neither hopes nor fears, neither the terrors nor allurements of the world, shall dissuade me from a faithful obedience to them.'

a Rom. vi. 6.

b Psal. lvi. 12.

c Ibid. cxix. 106.

Vows prudently managed are of great use to secure us to religion; and this is the only end of them. Vovere nihil aliud est, quam animum immobilitare, ne possit retrogredi. To vow,' saith Cajetan, is nothing else but to fix the mind, and make it immoveable, that it may not start back from the practice of religion.' And as for those that are shy, or slack, thus to engage and devote themselves to God, which, I fear, in most proceeds from a too dear affection to some sin or sins, let them know, that God's vows are already upon them. They are under the obligation of the baptismal vow, to renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh; so as not to follow, nor be led by them.' So much is implied in being "baptized in (or into) the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost:" and besides, those that have received the Lord's Supper, have thereby virtually renewed their vow in baptism. In this other sacrament we make a profession; that we offer and present unto God ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto him :" than which there is nothing more due or reasonable, considering the great love of God in giving his Son for us, the great love of our Saviour Christ in his death and sufferings represented in this sacrament, and the great blessings procured for us by the blood of that spotless Lamb. So that all of us, young or old, have already "bound our souls with a bond," as to vow is described, being under the

d See the Offices for Public Baptism.

f See the Communion Service.

f

e Matt. xxviii. 19. Numb. xxx. 2.