think it finful; but there is too much reafon to fear, that the time is spent upon our own lufts, and then it is exceeding finful, it is against our own fouls, and it is against the good of our families, and inftead of commemorating the birth of our dear Redeemer, we are difhonouring him in the greatest degree poffibly we can. Therefore, enquire ftrictly into your end and defign in spending your time; fee, my brethren, whether it proceeds from a true love to your Redeemer, or whether there is .not fome worldly pleasure or advantage at the bottom: if there is, our end is not right; but if it proceed intirely from love to him that died, and gave himself for us, our actions will be a proof thereof; then our time will be spent, not in the polite pleasures of life, but according to the doctrines and commands of the bleffed JESUS; then our conversation will be in heaven: and O that this might be found to be the end of each of you, who now hear me; then we should truly observe this festival, and have a true regard to the occafion thereof, that of CHRIST'S Coming to redeem the fouls of those which were loft. Let me now conclude, my dear brethren, with a few words of exhortation, befeeching you to think of the love of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Did JESUS come into the world to fave us from death, and fhall we fpend no part of our time in converfing about our dear JESUS; fhall we pay no regard to the birth of him, who came to redeem us from the worst of flavery, from that of fin, and the devil; and shall this JESUS not only be born on our account, but likewife die in our stead, and yet shall we be unmindful of him? Shall we spend our time in thofe things which are offenfive to him? Shall we not rather do all we can to promote his glory, and act according to his commands? O my dear brethren, be found in the ways of GOD; let us not disturb our dear Redeemer by any irregular proceedings; and let me beseech you to ftrive to love, fear, honour and obey him, more than ever you have done yet; let not the devil engross your time, and that dear Saviour who came into the world on your accounts, have fo little. O be not fo ungrateful to him who has been so kind to you: What could the LORD JESUS JESUS CHRIST have done for you more than he has? Then do not abuse his mercy, but let your time be spent in thinking and talking of the love of JESUS, who was incarnate for us, who was born of a woman, and made under the law, to redeem us from the wrath to come, Now to God the Father, GOD the Son, &c. ON XVII, SERMON The Temptation of CHRIST. MATTHEW iv. 1-11. Then was JESUS led up of the fpirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fafted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he faid, If thou be the Son of GOD, command that these ftones may be made bread. But he answered and faid, It is written, Man fhall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and fetteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and faith unto him, If thou be the Son of GOD, caft thyfelf down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, left at any time thou dash thy foot against a ftone. JESUS faid unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the LORD thy GOD. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them and faith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then faith JESUS unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the LORD thy GOD, and him only fhalt thou ferve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and miniftered unto him. D EARLY beloved, to-day you are invited to take a walk into the wildernefs, to behold, fympathize with, and get inftruction and comfort from a Saviour tempted. In the conflict, he approves himself to be God's beloved Son; and the Faher gives demonftrable evidence, that with, and in him, he is indeed well pleated. Let us with ferious attention confider, when, when, where, and how, our great Michael fought with and overcame the dragon. The Evangelift Matthew. is very particular in relating the preparations for, the beginning, process, and iffue of this glorious and important combat, "Then was JESUS led up of the fpirit into the wilder-: nefs, to be tempted of the devil." In the clofe of the foregoing chapter we are told, that the bleffed JESUS had been, publicly baptized, and was alfo folemnly inaugurated to his mediatorial office, by the opening of the heavens, by the Spirit of GOD defcending on him like a dove, and by a voice` from heaven, faying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleafed ;" and then it was, when he came from the folemn ordinance of baptifm; when he was about to fhew himself openly unto Ifrael; when he was full of the Holy Ghoft (Luke iv. I.); even then was he led, with a holy unconftrained violence, as a champion into the field, to engage an enemy, whom he was fure to conquer. But whither is this conqueror led? Into a lonesome, wide, howling wildernefs probably, fays Mr. Henry, into the great wilderness of Sinai; a wilderness, not only lonesome, but inhabited by wild beafts. Mark i. 13. Hither was our LORD led, not only that he might prepare himself by retirement and prayer, but also that he might be alone, and thereby give Satan allthe advantages he could defire. In this combat, as well as that of his last agony," of the people, there was to be none with him." Neither does he content himself with praying, but he fafts alfo, and that" forty days and forty nights," (ver. 2.): as Mofes and Elias had done, many years before, it may be, in the very fame place. All these fafts were miraculous; and therefore, though we are taught hereby, that fafting is a chriftian duty, yet, to pretend, in an ordinary' way, to imitate them, by fafting for fo long a term together, is no doubt fuperftitious, prefumptuous, and finful: but few people, I believe, need fuch a caution. During these forty days, we may fuppofe, our LORD felt no hunger converfe with heaven, to him was instead of meat and drink; but "afterwards he was an hungered;" exceedingly fo, no doubt. And now, the important fight begins. For, then "the tempter," emphatically fo called, becaufe he firft tempted our first parents to fin, and hath ever R 4 fince fince been unwearied in tempting their defcendants; then the tempter, who in an invisible manner had been attacking our blessed LORD all the whole forty days, when he faw him hungering, and in fuch diftreffing circumstances, came to him, as it fhould feem, in a vifible fhape, and probably transformed into the appearance of an angel of light. And what does he tempt him to? To nothing lefs, than to doubt of his being the Son of GOD." "If thou be the Son of GOD." What! put an if to this, Satan, after the glorious JESUS had been proved to be GOD's fon, and repeatedly too in fuch a glorious manner? Surely, thou thyfelf couldft not but fee the heavens opened, and the Spirit defcending; furely, thou didst hear the voice that came to him from heaven, immediately after his baptifm, faying, This is my beloved Son:" And dost thou now fay unto him, "If thou be the Son of God." Yes; but Satan knew, and believed he was full well; but he wanted to make our LORD to doubt of it. And, why? Because he was in fuch a melancholy fituation. As though he had faid, "If Gop was thy father, he would never fuffer thee to ftarve to death in a howling wilderness, among wild beafts. Surely, the voice thou lately didft hear, was only a delufion. If thou waft the Son of GOD, efpecially his beloved Son, in whom he was so pleased, thou wouldst be taken more care of by him." Thus he attacked our first parents, by suggesting to them hard thoughts of their all-bountiful Creator: "Yea, hath GoD faid, Ye fhall not eat of every tree in the garden?" “ Hath he placed you amidst such a variety of delicious fruits, only to teaze and make you miserable?" And how artfully now does he labour to infinuate himfelf into our LORD's affections, as he then did to ingratiate himself with our first parents. thou be the Son of GOD, fays he, come, prove it, by commanding these ftones (a heap of which, probably, lay very near) to be made bread: this will demonftrate thy divinity, and relieve thy preffing neceffity at the fame time." Thus, as in all his other temptations, Satan would fain appear to be his very kind friend; but the holy JESUS faw through the disguised enmity of his antagonist; and scorning either to diftrust his righteous Father on the one hand, or to work a miracle to please and gratify the devil on the other, although he had the Spirit of Gop without meafure, and might have made ufe of a " If thoufand |