spiritually, while he is in the light; but for a poor soul to pray, and to work towards God, and to be obedient, when he is in the dark, and hath no assurance of the love of God, is something: I confess indeed that the more assurance you have, the more full your obedience will be, but the less assurance you have, the more ingenuous may be your obedience; I say, the more full your assurance is, the more full and large your obedience will be; but the less assurance you have, the more ingenuous your obedience may be. Every child will serve his father for his portion, and for his inheritance; but when a child shall doubt of his father's love, yea, when a child shall conclude and say, I know that my father will disinherit me, I know that my father will bestow nothing upon me, yet I will serve him because he is my father; will not all men say, Here is ingenuousness indeed in this child? So between God and you; it is good for a christian to be obedient at all times, and the more assurance you have, the more you are bound to obey; but doth thy soul fear that God will disinherit thee? and yet dost thou say, However it be, I will obey God, for he is my Father; though I cannot see him, yet will I serve him; and though I have no comfort from God, yet will I be obedient to him, for it is my duty, he is my Father? The Lord will take this kindly at thine hands, and what thou wantest in the largeness, shall be made up in the ingenuousness of thine obedience. Wherefore, then, dost thou want assurance of the love of God? Comfort thyself with this, and say within thine own soul, Well, though I do want assurance, I hope, through grace, I am in some measure obedient, and the less assurance I have, the more kindly God takes my obedience at my hand: and therefore why should I be discouraged or cast down? Think, and think often of this rule; and it will help you to be obedient, and bear up your hearts also in the want of assurance.

And thus I have done with the fourth instance.

SERMON VIII.

A LIFTING UP IN CASE OF TEMPTATION.

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me," &c.-Psalm xlii. 11.

V. SOMETIMES the discouragements of the saints are drawn from their temptations.

And thus they argue with themselves: I am a poor creature, that hath laboured under many temptations, never any so tempted as I have been: these two, three, four, five, six, or many years, that I have lien under these temptations, and no relief comes, no help comes; have I not reason then to be discouraged and cast down?

No; no reason yet: I grant that the least temptations are great afflictions; for the more a man is unfitted by affliction for God's service, either in doing good or receiving good, the worser and more heavy is that affliction to a gracious spirit. Now, though God doth so overrule the temptations of his people, that they receive good thereby, as appeareth afterward, yet the temptation in itself doth indispose a man unto what is good. The more a man is tempted unto what is evil, the more a man is hindered from what is good. It is an affliction to a gracious heart to be conflicting, fighting and combatting with a man: but in temptations, we do combat and conflict immediately with Satan, who is the prince of the air; with principalities and powers; with that evil one, who for his devouring nature is called a lion, for his cruelty is called a dragon, and for his subtlety an old serpent: and in every temptation, a poor soul goes into the field with Satan, and fights a duel with him. "Satan hath (saith Christ to Peter) desired you;" in which duel and combat a man doth not miscarry for this present life barely, but, if he miscarry, he miscarries to all eternity; he dies, is killed and slain to all eternity oh what a mighty hazard doth a poor soul run in every temptation! The chaste and good woman counts it an affliction to her, so long as she lives, if she be but once violated; if a filthy person meet her in the field, and violate her, though she do not consent unto him; she wrings her

hands, and saith, I am undone for ever. N. these temptations are the solicitations of an unclean spirit, and what though a man do not consent unto them, yet thereby his soul suffers violence. Oh, saith a gracious soul, what though I do not consent, yet what an infinite misery is it to be thus abused, defiled, and violenced by these temptations! The more any affliction doth seize on soul and body, the greater it is: it is comfort in a family that the wife is well, when the husband is sick; or that the husband is well, when the wife is down: where both are down at once, it is a sad family indeed. So though the soul be afflicted, yet if the body be well; although the body be afflicted, yet if the spirit be well, it is some comfort: but where both are down, the condition is sad: and seldom doth any great temptation befal a man, but soul and body are both down at once; though at first it falls upon the spirit, yet it descends into and fires the body. And therefore saith Paul," I received a messenger of Satan, a thorn in my flesh, buffetting of me." As in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, though the comforts be poured out upon the soul and spirit, yet they run down upon the body: so in the troubles of temptation, though they seize first upon the inward man, yet they run upon the skirts of the outward man also. And thus you will find it with Job (chap. vii. 1). God had put Job into Satan's hand, only with this reserve, "See that thou spare his life." The devil having the power, first he loads him with outward afflictions, and then with inward temptations: while he was under his outward afflictions, how sweetly did he carry it, blessing the Lord, saying, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be his name;" but when the volley of temptations came, then see what a sad condition the good man was in, how he was all on fire, as if Job could not be found in Job: while he was under these afflictions, he rebuked his wife, for saying, "Curse God, and die;" but now, being under temptations himself, he wisheth to die, and curseth the day of his birth: "My soul chooseth strangling and death rather than my life," Job vii. 15. But had this temptation any influence upon his body too? it seems his heart, and soul, and spirit was much disquieted, for he saith, "Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee?" verse 20. But was his body fired with it too? Yes: "When I said, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;

then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me with visions." verse 13, 14. As now we find by experience, many poor souls cannot sleep while they are under their temptations; and if you will see the sum and upshot of all, read what he says at verse 20: "I am a burden to myself." And so many now; Why should I live any longer? I am a burden to my family, I am a burden to mine acquaintance, a burden to all my friends, I am a burden to myself; who knows the burden of a poor tempted soul but he that bears it? Heb. xi. 37. Temptations are ranked among the greatest afflictions: "They were stoned, sawn asunder, were tempted:" and, in Heb. ii., it is said of our Saviour, that "himself suffered being tempted," yet he sinned not under his temptation. So that there is somewhat of a suffering in every temptation, although one be free from sin. And in Rev. xii. 12, it is said, "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath." And wherein is his wrath more seen than in his temptations. Oh, what a sad and woeful condition is it then to lie under temptations! Yet, let me tell you, though there be some suffering in every temptation, and the least temptation is a great affliction, yet the saints and people of God have no reason to be discouraged or cast down, whatever their temptations be.

How may that appear?

Four demonstrations of it.

1. If Satan do therefore tempt the people of God, that he may discourage them; then have they no reason to be discouraged because they are tempted by Satan. I say, if Satan's great design, end and aim, in all the temptations of the saints, be to discourage them; then they have no reason to be discouraged because they are tempted, for then they should gratify Satan, and give him his end. Now Satan doth tempt that he may tempt; he tempts unto one sin, that he may tempt unto another; he tempteth a man to sin against the law, that he may make him sin against the gospel; and what greater sin against the gospel, than unbelieving discouragements? He knows or thinks, such and such a person is gone from his kingdom, and he saith, Though I cannot hinder his salvation, but he will be saved do what I can; yet I will hinder his comfort, and make him

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draw heavily, and if I can but discourage him in his duty, I shall in time make him to cast it off. His great design is to discourage; and therefore whenever any godly man is tempted, he should say, Well, through the grace of Christ, seeing Satan's design is to discourage, my design shall be to bear up my heart and spirit against all discouragements.

2. If God our Father doth pity his children under their temptations, and the more they are tempted by Satan, the more they are pitied by God; then have they no reason to be discouraged, whatever their temptations be. How is it with your own bowels? If you had two children, one that is in your house with you at home, and another that is in Spain or Italy, abroad, exposed to great temptations; is not your pity most towards that child that is abroad, and exposed to most temptations? Your love may be expressed to him that is at home as much another way, but your pitying love is most to him that is abroad.* As in the time of a storm, great rain or hail, if you have one child lie in your bosom, or sitting upon your knee, and another that is abroad in the open fields; though your love in one kind may run out to him that is upon your knee, yet, doth not your pitying love run out more to him that is abroad in the open fields? Thus it is with God, he hath two sorts of children; some that are exposed to more temptations, and some that are exposed to less; though his grace and love may run out more in one kind to them that are less tempted, yet his pitying love runs out most unto those that are most tempted. And upon this account you will find in Scripture, that when God saw any of his children were to go into any sad temptation, he did either immediately before, in or after, more than ordinarily reveal himself unto them. The more you are tempted by Satan, the more you are pitied by God. It matters not whether your temptation be great or small: if less, you have the less pity; if more, you have the more pity. Why then should you be discouraged, although your temptations be never so great?

3. If all the temptations of God's people be overcome and broken, before they do fall on them; then have they no

* Quo gravior incumbit tentatio, eo solet indulgentius agere cum suis Deus.— Brightman Apoc. ii. 49.