The Christians Apparelling, Part 3 · Section 35 – Section 43
Section 35.
Thirdly, ſound and ſincere Chriſtians make reſiſtance by faith, 3 By ſauing and Iuſtifiing Faith.and by flying to the ſpeciall promiſe of Chriſt, according to thoſe precepts,1 Pet. 5.9. Epheſ. 6.16. whom reſiſt ſtedfaſt in the faith, and, aboue all things take the ſheild of faith, wherwith yee ſhall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked, or of the Deuill. Which faith is that eſpecially, whereby, they, being by it ingrafted into Chriſt, in all aſſaults, fly to Chriſt,By vertue whereof the godly (to helpe them) partake. truſt and reſt on him. And how is it poſsible, that they who are Chriſts, and whoſe Chriſt is, ſhould be either wholly or finally ouercome by Satan, and his temptations?1 Of Chriſts victory. Coloſ. 2.15 When Firſt, being in Chriſt, they in him hauehave obtained victory ouer theſe infernall powers, hee hauing for them, ſpoiled Principalities, and powers, made a ſhew of them openly and tryumphed ouer them in the Croſſe. So that they deale with a vanquiſhed enemie; whereas the vnſound Chriſtian, being indeed not truly, but in ſeeming only, in Chriſt, partakes not of this his victory, but is ſtill in bondage to Satan.
2 Of his intermiſſion.2. True Chriſtians, being truly in Chriſt, hauehave the benefit alſo of the Interceſsion of Chriſt, who, what he performed for Peter when Satan ſought to ſift him as wheat, he performes for all his, I hauehave prayed for thee that thy faith faile not. Luk. 22.31.Yea, this his very example were enough to ſtrengthen his brethren, who in like trialls and temptations may learne by his example, and by the mercy ſhewed him, to ſeeke ſtrength from Chriſt, and from his interceſſion.
3. Beſides theſe, they being in Chriſt by faith, hauehave to ſtrengthen them,3 Example the example of Chriſt himſelfe, who was in all points tempted like as we are (though without ſinne) which yet,Simpathy. to ſtrengthen their faith, was more then a bare example, he being tempted for vsus, And ſuccourand we in him, and he for vsus, and we in him ouercomming the tempter; yea, in that regard, they hauehave him as a Brother to ſympathize with thē,Heb. 4.15. being touched with the feeling of their infirmities; who accordingly in louelove compaſsionates their caſe, and ſhews himſelfe ready and willing to aſsiſt them; nor that only, but being as well God for power, Heb. 2.18.as man for his pitie, hee, in that himſelfe hath ſuffered being tempted, is able to ſuccor them that are tempted; ſo that they hauehave from him, (who was tempted before them as an example, for them as a Sauiour, and now in them as a head and brother) the benefit both of his ſympathy and ſuccour.
4. Yea laſtly,4 Healing power. in caſe they bee ſometimes foyled by Satan, (as through Gods wiſe and iuſt prouidence they now and then are) yet, they being in Chriſt by faith, partake of vertue that goes out from him, and of his healing power: for he is their Sun of righteouſneſſe, Malach. 4.2which ariſeth with healing in his wings; yea that true Serpent, figured by the Brazen Serpent which was lifted vp;Ioh. 3.15. ſo that finding any of Satans fiery darts in their fleſh, or themſelues ſtung with theſe fiery Serpents, they, by faith looking vp to Chriſt crucified, are certainly healed.
Thus the true Chriſtian either feeling himſelfe aſſaulted by the deuill, or foyled by him, either keepes or recouers ſtrength by ſtirring vp his thoughts to meditate, and his faith to lay hold on theſe things in Chriſt: by which hee either keepes his ſtanding againſt theſe powers which wreſtle with him, or recouers himſelfe after a foyle.
Of ſuch benefits, hypocrites and the wicked do not pertake.But where is the painted Chriſtian now in ſuch conflicts? how is it poſsible for him, wanting true faith in Chriſt,Par. 3. §. 36. being left alone, hand to hand to the deuill, to ſtand out, and not to bee wholly ſubjugated and captiuated vnderunder Satan, when hee is left to himſelfe without any benefit, from Chriſts death and victory, from his Interceſsion and prayers, from his pity, ſuccour, and healing? nay, being ſo vſually foyled by Satan and his temptations, yea and in a willing bondage vnderunder him, doing, without much, if any reſiſtance, his luſts and will, wee may conclude him, for all his name of Chriſtian or leaues of profeſsion, to want and be without all theſe benefits of Chriſt, and ſo to want true faith in him, and to be without his ſpirit, which, where it is, is a ſpirit of ſtrength, and reſiſts by faith Satan himſelfe.
Section. 36.
A fourth meanes of the Chriſtians reſiſtance of Satan,4 By prayer Epheſ. 6.18. &c. is by Praier, without which all the other parts of Chriſtian armour are little availeable, Prayer buckles all the reſt on:Par. 3. §. 37 he fights praying, and ſo ſhewes himſelfe to hauehave this ſpirit, which is a ſpirit of prayer: but a wicked man cannot pray, & an hypocrite is neuer accepted of in his formall prayers, and therefore can reape no aſsiſtance from Chriſt, which he either ſeeks not, or ſeekes amiſſe, and ſo is foyled. But of this formerly.
Section 37.
Laſtly, heerein ſhewes the true Chriſtian ſpirituall ſtrength, 5 By watchfulneſſe.ioyned with wiſdome (both which in all kinds of incounters, bodily or ghoſtly, muſt goe together) in as much as he is made by the Spirit, watchful againſt ſinne, yea againſt the beginnings and occaſions of it, whatſoeuer his ſpeciall ſin bee, by which Satan ſeeks aduantage. This he ioynes to his prayers, according to that of our Sauiour,Mark. 14.38 Watch yee and pray, leſt ye enter into tentation: for he knows that ſluggiſh prayers will doe no good. This makes him avoid all knowne or ſuſpected occaſions of ſin, reſtraining eyes, mouth, hands, feet,Par. 3. §. 38 from beholding, ſpeaking, acting or following vanities; with all theſe bodily members making a couenant, as Iob did, with his eyes.Iob 31.1. Sinne being the deuils Bawd, hee, knowing it to be a tempter, deales with it,Prou. 6.27. as he would doe with an harlot,Againſt ſuch things as by which Satan ſeeks aduantage. he remoues his way far from her, and comes not nigh the doore of her houſe; hee puts farre from him all ſtumbling blocks of iniquitie, and all to this end, that hee may giuegive the deuill no aduantage, by ſuch things as whereby hee ſeekes aduantage. Now theſe are diuers.
Section. 38.
Firſt and generally, Securities through want of watchfulneſſe;1. Securitie he knowes and conſiders that Satan is euer watchful, and that therfore hee himſelfe can no ſooner grow careleſſe and ſecure, and to neglect his watch ouer his own heart,Bifields Promiſes. and to bee without feare of euill, but Satan will quickly eſpie the ſame, & vponupon the aduantage, giuegive ſome ſudden, vnexpected and ſtrong aſſault, by darting and ſhooting into the heart and thoughts ſome one temptation or other, to this or that ſinne, vntounto which he finds the ſoule to lie moſt open. Herevpon he dares not be ſecure, but fearing alwayes, (which feare may ſtand with Chriſtian courage) he ſtands vponupon his Watch-tower, hath his eyes in his head, ſoone eſpies the danger, or occaſion by which hee may bee tempted, & ſo either preuents the deuill, (who finding him ſo watchfull, tempts him not) or withſtands and repels the temptation, which he foreſaw. Thus, hee foreſeeing danger, and how Satan may tempt him by occaſion of ſuch company as he is to frequent, or of ſuch eſtates and conditions of life as hee is to change, or the like; he either auoyds both the one and other, if no vrgencie or neceſſitie compell him; or if hee muſt needs, then, foreſeeing the danger, and occaſions of temptation to ſinne thereby, hee carefully armes himſelfe againſt them. Whereas,Par. 3. §. 39 on the contrary, the ſecure Chriſtian, not knowing his owne danger, neither fearing any euill, liues careleſſe, quiet and ſecure, like the citie Laiſh, Iudg. 18.7.8.9. &c.ventures vponupon all occaſions, and ſo incouraging the deuill to aſſault him, (as thoſe others did the Danites by their ſecurity) he is both aſſaulted, and as ſoone foyled, inſnared & taken: for thus, whiles he ſleeps,Mat. 13.25. & 12.44.45 the enemy ſowes his tares; and finding the heart emptie, ſwept, and garniſhed, hee enters with a troope.
Section. 39.
More particularly; the Deuill ſeekes aduantage from trying our thoughts and affections,2. Intertainement giuen to the firſt motions of ſin. by preſenting therunto obiects to withdraw them, and by that intertainment he finds vsus to giuegive therunto: ſo that ſeeing vsus to giuegive any the leaſt welcome to theſe his Harbingers, and to lodge them with vsus, hee then comes himſelfe, attended with legions, & takes vp the beſt roome, which is our hears, & there ſeates himſelfe. Now the wiſe Chriſtian, knowing this his method in tempting, accounts it not ſafe for him to dally with ſuch thoghts, or to giuegive them the leaſt intertainment: heereupon thus timely reſiſting & repelling them, he ſo long as he ſo doth, findes the leſſe incumbrance and more freedome from ſtronger aſſaults, euen as he that ſtoppeth the flood-gates at the firſt, and giues no way thervnto, no not a little. But the vnſound Chriſtian wanting this wiſdome, pleaſeth himſelfe with ſuch obiects as are injected by the deuill, and ſetting his thoughts theron, dallieth therewith, and pleaſeth himſelfe with contemplatiue vanities projecting to himſelfe now this, now that, and ſo delights himſelfe in the thought of that euill and ſin, which hee neuer purpoſed to commit; and by this meanes giues the deuill hope to proceed and to imploy his skill to put fire to this fuell, and ſo to inflame the heart to inſnare the ſoule;Par. 3. §. 40 which he no ſooner doth, but poſſeſsion is giuen him preſently, & ſo from euill thoughts as the ſeede, conceiued by delight and daliance, the birth of ſinne followes,Heb. 3.12. and ſo at length by degrees there is a departure from the liuing God. So vnwiſe and weake is an vnſound Chriſtian, as ſhewing not ſo much ſtrength as to withſtand the firſt and weakeſt aſſault. A ſhrewd argument therefore of vnſoundnes it is, any waies to dally with ſin, and to make no reſiſtance at the firſt diſcouery of it, or to thinke a mans ſelfe able, after hee hath play'd with it awhile, to caſt it off when he will.
Section. 40.
Againe, the Deuill gets great aduantage when he finds men exceſsiue and inordinate in their louelove, care,3 Immoderation about the things of this life. and indeauours after the things of this life, as of riches, honours, pleaſures, &c. For when he ſees any ſo much as nibling at theſe his baites, much more when he ſees any greedily to ſwallow them downe, he failes not to pull the line, and to faſten the hooke in their iawes; that is, he, ſeeing them wedded to theſe things, hookes them to himſelfe thereby, and as they hauehave ſwallowed his baites, ſo doth he ſwallow and deuoure them; for, hee goeth about like a roaring Lyon ſeeking whom he may deuoure. Now the wiſe Chriſtian, knowing the Deuill as a cunning Fowler, will bee readieſt to ſpread his Net, and ſhoote and ſtrike when hee feeds on theſe his baites, without feare; as hee watcheth to preuent him,1 Pet. 5.8. ſo alſo he will be ſober in the vſe and injoying of theſe outward things, and giuegive the Deuill no occaſion againſt him by his intemperate louelove of ſuch things, or by glutting himſelfe therewith; if he taſte of them, as of neceſsitie hee muſt, then is it, but as the dogge by the Riuer Nilus, a lapp and away, with his eye in his necke, for feare of being deuoured of the Crocadile that old Serpent Satan, Par. 3. §. 41whiles he greedily ſatiates and filles himſelfe of them. Whereas the greedy worldling, that knowes not to moderate himſelfe in theſe things, and they that will bee rich (and I may ſay,1 Tim. 6.9. they that will be high & honoured in the world, they that will inioy their pleaſures) fall into temptation and a ſnare, and into many fooliſh and hurtfull luſts, which drowne men in deſtruction and perdition. And by ſuch exceſsiue minding and following of worldly things, and reioycing in them, they ſhew both their want of wiſdome in not preuenting Satans ſnares, and of ſpirituall ſtrength, in not reſiſting him in theſe his baites, of which formerly.
Section. 41.
The ſound Chriſtian, knowing that vnſetledneſſe in the faith,4 Vnſetlednes in the faith. and doubtfulneſſe of Gods truth, fauour & aſsiſtance, or of his owne ſaluation, giues the Deuill occaſion to put at ſuch, and to blow ſtrongly with the blaſts of his temptations vponupon ſuch, whom he ſees to be as Reeds, & as waues of the Sea, through inconſtancie, hee hereupon labours to ſet his feete firmely on firme ground againſt a iuſtle, and to ſettle himſelfe in the aſſurance of Gods truth, louelove and fauour, and vponupon this ground he ſtands faſt againſt ſeducers, withſtands and reſiſts the Deuill,1 Pet. 5.8.9. ſtedfaſt in the faith; thus neither feares of man, perſecution, death, Hell, or the Deuill himſelfe can preuaile with him, or moue him; nor hopes, flatteries, or the fauours of the world remoue him from God, or his word and truth. But the Hypocrite, being double minded, is inconſtant in all his waies, and eaſily inclined and withdrawne to the right hand or to the left, by hopes and feares of of the world, and by the inticements of ſeducers; he is oppoſite alſo to the doctrine of aſſurāce, & therefore a meet obiect for Satan to aſſault,Par. 3. §. 42 & this his Inconſtancie ſhewes him to hauehave no ſtrength.
Section 42.
Laſtly, there are other occaſions, which Satan takes for the effecting of his wicked deſignes and faſtning his darts of temptations;5 Solitarineſſe. as firſt Solitarineſſe whether in regrad of cōpany, or of imployment, for ſo he watched to find Eue alone from her Husband, and then ſet vponupon her; and ſo he watcheth parties giuen to melancholy and ſadneſſe of ſoule, and preuayleth with many to cauſe them deſtroy their bodies, & ſoules (without extraordinary mercy) at once. 2. Pride, & high conceit of a mans ſelfe;6 Pride. for thē ſends he ſome meſſenger or other of his, ſome further temptation, as to Paul. 3. Anger, 7 Anger.by which, as by a doore, he enters, and by which we giuegive place vntounto the Deuill.Epheſ. 4.26. Now the watchfull and wiſe Chriſtian, dares hardly truſt himſelfe alone with Satan, but either keepes with the company of the Godly (eſpecially when melancholy apprehenſions poſſeſſe him) or finds himſelfe imployed in his calling, as neither truſting to, nor hauing any promiſe of protection from God, but ſo long as he walkes in the right way; ſo, his thoughts (whatſoeuer his excellencies or priuiledges are) are humble thoughts for the moſt parts; and he watcheth ouer his heart leaſt raſh anger lay him open to Satan; and all theſe by Chriſtian wiſedome, whereas the vnwiſe Chriſtian, feeding his owne humour, loues ſolitarineſſe, and retiredneſſe more then hee ſhould, and to walke in the way of idleneſſe, in which Satan finds him, or otherwiſe would bring him,Pſal. 41.11. that being out of Gods protection (who promiſeth to giuegive his Angels charge ouer his, to keepe them in all their waies, not otherwiſe) hee might the eaſier deale with him; or otherwiſe he giues Satan aduantage by pride, which deceiueth him, or anger, as did Cain; Par. 3. §. 43.and by theſe they become Satans ſlaues.
This watchfulneſſe is the greateſt part of the Chriſtians wiſedome; and this wiſedome is the greateſt part of his ſtrength; yea,Eccleſ. 9.15.16. wiſedome (eſpecially in ſuch kind of incounters) though often it bee deſpiſed, is better then ſtrength: and this ſtrength argues that the ſpirit of ſtrength and power is in ſuch an one; whereas the other ſhewes his weakeneſſe by his folly, and his folly in his want of watchfulneſſe, whereby laying himſelfe open to all occaſions of temptation, he, as it were, tempts the Deuill to tempt him.
Section. 43
Now how ſhould ſuch an one make reſiſtance,By theſe meanes the wiſe and ſtrong Chriſtian, withſtands Satans Malice. or withſtand either the Malice, the Power, or Policies of Satan? Only the true valorous Chriſtian both can doe it, and accordingly in good meaſure, doth it. 1. He ſtrengthneth himſelfe againſt Satans Malice, which he knowes to be mortall, and implacable, by a ſtedfaſt purpoſe and indeauour to hold out in this ſpirituall fight,Vna ſalus victis nulla ſperare ſalutem. without euer yeelding, as knowing, though he ſhould yeeld, there is no merciemercy to be expected; this makes him bold, if not deſperate in his fight, yea this deſpaire makes him more couragious, and in the end a victor, ſo that being foyled, yea wounded, he will fight againe, and reſiſt to the laſt gaſpe, & thus being faithfull to death, he obtaines the Crowne of life. Whereas the carnall Chriſtian, either goes on ſecurely, as if hee had no enemie at all to deale with, or as if the Deuill were ſome meeke Lambe, and not rather a deuouring Dragon; or, if he reſiſt Satans temptations awhile, hee finds that incumbrance from thē, and himſelf ſo hard ſet and in cumbred therwith, as to be free, (as he thinkes) from ſuch moleſtations of Satan (who moſt troubles them that moſt reſiſt his worke in them) hee yeelds himſelfe to the temptation, ſwimmes with the ſtreame of the world and of his owne corruption, and ſo ſeekes his eaſe and thinkes he hath that peace which hee ſees others to want, who goe mourning daily vnderunder the burthen of ſinne, and are moleſted with Satans temptations.Iſa. 48.22. But there is no peace, ſaith my God to the wicked. It's an argument of vnſoundneſſe, for a man to ſeeke his peace and quiet here in this world; or to reſt in any ſuch ſuppoſed peace with the world, or the deuill, or yet his owne fleſh and corruption.
2. Though Satan be powerfull, 2 Power.yet the godly Chriſtian doth know that his power is limitted; though hee be a roaring Lyon, yet he himſelfe, though a timorous Hart for any courage or ſtrength of his owne, hath a Lyon, the Lyon of the Tribe of Iudah to bee his Leader, and expects,1 Cor. 15.57 yea findes victorie through Ieſus Chriſt: whereas the wicked truſting to his owne power, is foyled.
3 Subtilties.3. Though Satan bee wiſe and wily, yet the good Chriſtian denying himſelfe, makes himſelfe a foole (in the account of the world, and in the acknowledgement of his owne folly & carnal wiſdome) that he may be wiſe: his wiſdome is to know and feare God according to his word; he followes the directions therof, and armes himſelfe with that armour it preſcribes; whereas the worldly wiſe care not for Gods word, which they reiect, both in iudgement and practiſe, and then what wiſedome is in them? They proue wiſe only to deceiue themſelues;Ier. 8.9. whiles they truſt to their owne wiſdome,1 Cor. 3.19. it deceiues them; and as God taketh the wiſe in their owne craftineſſe, ſo doth the deuill take them, notwithſtanding their wilineſſe.