wounded by him. Yea, others may sometimes see them deeply engaged whilst themselves are utterly insensible; they sleep without any sense of danger, until others come and awake them, by telling them that their house is on fire. Temptation in a neuter sense is not easily discoverable, namely, as it denotes such a way, or thing, or matter, as is, or may be made use of for the ends of temptation; few take notice of it, until it is too late; and they find themselves entangled, if not wounded. Watch, then, to understand betimes the snares that are laid for thee; to understand the advantages thy enemies have against thee, before they get strength and power; before they are incorporated with thy lusts, and have distilled poison into thy soul.

(2.) Consider the aim and tendency of the temptation, whatever it be, and of all that are concerned in it. Those who have an active concurrence into thy temptation, are Satan, and thy own lusts. For thine own lust, I have manifested elsewhere, what it aims at in all its actings and enticings. It never rises up, but its intendment is the worst of evils. Every acting of it, would be a formed enmity against God. Hence look upon it in its first attempts, what pretences soever may be made, as thy mortal enemy; 'I hate it,' saith the apostle; Rom. vii. 15. that is, the working of lust in me, I hate it; it is the greatest enemy I have; oh! that it were killed and destroyed; oh! that I were delivered out of the power of it. Know then that in the first attempt or assault in any temptation, the most cursed, sworn enemy is at hand, is setting on thee, and that for thy utter ruin: so that it were the greatest madness in the world, to throw thyself into his arms, to be destroyed. But of this I have spoken in discourse of mortification.

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Hath Satan any more friendly aim and intention towards thee, who is a sharer in every temptation? To beguile thee as a serpent, to devour thee as a lion, is the friendship that he owes thee. I shall only add that the sin he tempts thee to against the law, it is not the thing he aims at; his design lies against thy interest in the gospel. He would make sin but a bridge, to get over to a better ground to assault thee, as to thy interest in Christ. He who perhaps will say to day thou mayest venture on sin, because thou hast an in

terest in Christ; will to-morrow tell thee to the purpose, that thou hast none, because thou hast done so.

(3.) Meet thy temptation in its entrance with thoughts of faith concerning Christ on the cross: this will make it sink before thee. Entertain no parley, no dispute with it, if thou wouldest not enter into it. Say it isChrist that died,' that died for such sins as these. This is called ́ taking the · shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of Satan;' Eph. vi. 16. faith doth it, by laying hold on Christ crucified, his love therein, and what from thence he suffered for sin. Let thy temptation be what it will; be it unto sin, to fear or doubting for sin, or about thy state and condition, it is not able to stand before faith lifting up the standard of the cross. We know what means the Papists, who have lost the power of faith, use to keep up the form. They will sign themselves with the sign of the cross, or make aerial crosses; and by virtue of that work done, think to scare away the devil. To act faith on Christ crucified, is really to sign ourselves with the sign of the cross; and thereby shall we overcome that wicked one;' 1 Pet. v. 9.

(4.) Suppose the soul hath been surprised by temptation and entangled at unawares, so that now it is too late to resist the first entrances of it; what shall such a soul do, that it be not plunged into it, and carried away with the power thereof?

1. Do as Paul did; beseech God again and again, that it may 'depart from thee;' 2 Cor. xii. 7. and if thou abidest therein, thou shalt certainly either be speedily delivered out of it, or receive a sufficiency of grace not to be foiled utterly by it. Only, as I said in part before, do not so much employ thy thoughts about the things whereunto thou art tempted, which oftentimes raiseth farther entanglements; but set thyself against the temptation itself. Pray against the temptation that it may depart; and when that is taken away, the things themselves may be more calmly considered.

2. Fly to Christ, in a peculiar manner, as he was tempted; and beg of him to give thee succour in this needful time of trouble;' Heb. ii. 11. the apostle instructs us herein, ‘In that he hath been tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.' This is the meaning of it; when you are tempted,

nd are ready to faint, when you want succour, you must ave it or you die; act faith peculiarly on Christ, as he was tempted; that is, consider that he was tempted himself, that he suffered thereby, that he conquered all temptations, and that not merely on his own account, seeing for our sakes he submitted to be tempted; but for us (he conquered in, and by himself, but for us) and draw, yea, expect succour from him; Heb. iv. 15, 16. lie down at his feet, make thy complaint known to him, beg his assistance, and it will not be in vain.

3. Look to him who hath promised deliverance; consider that he is faithful, and will not suffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able. Consider that he hath promised a comfortable issue of these trials and temptations. Call all the promises to mind, of assistance and deliverance that he hath made; ponder them in thy heart, and rest upon it, that God hath innumerable ways that thou knowest not of, to give thee in deliverance; as,

(1.) He can send an affliction that shall mortify thy heart unto the matter of the temptation, whatever it be; that that which was before a sweet morsel under the tongue, shall neither have taste, or relish in it unto thee, thy desire to it shall be killed; as was the case with David; or,

(2.) He can by some providence alter that whole state of things, from whence thy temptation doth arise; so taking fuel from the fire, causing it to go out of itself; as it was with the same David in the day of battle; or,

(3.) He can tread down Satan under thy feet, that he shall not dare to suggest any thing any more to thy disadvantage (the God of peace shall do it) that thou shalt hear of him no more; or,

(4.) He can give thee such supply of grace, as that thou mayest be freed, though not from the temptation itself, yet from the tendency and danger of it, as was the case with Paul; or,

(5.) He can give thee such a comfortable persuasion of good success in the issue, as that thou shalt have refreshment in thy trials, and be kept from the trouble of the temptation ; as was the case with the same Paul; or,

(6.) He can utterly remove it, and make thee a complete conqueror. And innumerable other ways he hath, of keeping

thee from entering into temptation, so as to be foiled by it.

4. Consider where the temptation, wherewith thou art surprised, hath made its entrance, and by what means, and with all speed make up the breach: stop that passage which the waters have made to enter in at. Deal with thy soul like a wise physician; inquire, when, how, by what means thou fellest into this distemper, and if thou findest negligence, carelessness, want of keeping watch over thyself, to have lain at the bottom of it, fix thy soul there; bewail that before the Lord; make up that breach, and then proceed to the work that lies before thee.

CHAP. VIII.

The last general direction, Rev. iii. 10. watch against temptation by constant keeping the word of Christ's patience, what that word is; how it is kept ; how the keeping of it will keep us from the power of temptation.

THE directions insisted on in the former chapters are such, as are partly given us in their several particulars, up and down the Scripture; partly arise from the nature of the thing itself. There is one general direction remains, which is comprehensive of all that went before, and also adds many more particulars unto them; this contains an approved antidote against the poison of temptation; a remedy, that Christ himself hath marked with a note of efficacy, and success that is given us, Rev. iii. 10. in the words of our Saviour himself to the church of Philadelphia: 'Because,' saith he, 'thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell in the earth;' Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; as he dealt with the church of Philadelphia, so will he deal with us; if we keep the word of his patience, he will keep us from the hour of temptation. This then being a way of rolling the whole care of this weighty affair on him who is able to bear it, it requires our peculiar consideration.

And therefore I shall shew, 1. What it is to keep the word of Christ's patience, that we may know how to per

form our duty. And, 2. How this will be a means of our preservation, which will establish us in the faith of Christ's promise.

1. The word of Christ is the word of the gospel; the word by him revealed from the bosom of the Father. The word of the Word; the word spoken in time of the eternal Word. So it is called, 'The word of Christ,' Col. iii. 16. or the gospel of Christ,' Rom. i. 16. 1 Cor. ix. 12. and the doctrine of Christ,' Heb. vi. 1. of Christ, that is, as its author, Heb. i. 1, 2. and of him, as the chief subject or matter of it; 2 Cor. i. 20. Now this word is called the 'word of Christ's patience,' or tolerance, and forbearance, upon the account of that patience and long-suffering which in the dispensation of it, the Lord Christ exerciseth towards the whole, and to all persons in it; and that, both actively and passively; in his bearing with men, and enduring from them,

(1.) He is patient towards his saints, he bears with them, suffers from them. He is 'patient to us-ward ;' 2 Pet. iii. 9. that is, that believe. The gospel is the word of Christ's patience, even to believers. A soul acquainted with the gospel knows that there is no property of Christ rendered more glorious therein, than that of his patience; that he should bear with so many unkindnesses, so many causeless breaches, so many neglects of his love, so many affronts done to his grace, so many violations of engagements, as he doth; it manifests his gospel to be not only the word of his grace, but also of his patience. He suffers also from them, in all the reproaches they bring upon his name and ways: and he suffers in them; for in all their afflictions he is afflicted.'

(2.) Towards his elect, not yet effectually called, Rev. iii. 20. he stands waiting at the door of their hearts, and knocks for an entrance. He deals with them by all means, and yet stands and waits, until his head is filled with the dew, and his locks with the drops of the night;' Cant. v. 2. as enduring the cold and inconveniences of the night, that when his morning is come, he may have entrance; oftentimes for a long season, he is by them scorned in his person, persecuted in his saints, and ways, reviled in his word, whilst he stands at the door in the word of his patience, with his heart full of love towards their poor rebellious souls.

(3.) To the perishing world; hence the time of his king