Temptations, Part 1 · Chapter 4 · Section 1
SECT. I.
Of Satans Tentations.
SAtan at firſt ſinned without a Tempter; for hee had no luſt in him to draw him or intice him: having ſinned without a tentation, and without any remedy, he ſets upon man, & by his beguiling, he wrought upon that power he had in his will and man was overcome. As the caſe ſtands with us, Satan could not hurt us, were it not for our luſt.
He did ſet upon Chriſt,Ioh 14. 30. but found no matter in him, he had no power over him not ſimply,Piſ…: & Ma… don: in lo…cum. becauſe in Chriſt there was no ſin, but becauſe hee was alſo ſo ſupported by the eternall Spirit, that Satan had not to doe with him.Heb. 9. 14▪ Eve had no ſin: yet his tentations went beyond her, and her firſt liſtening to him and his Syren ſong, was a ſinne in her; his firſt tempting her to the firſt ſinne could not poſſible preſuppoſe a former ſinne in her to worke with and upon. Tis onelyonly the power of God, not of our will, that doth keepe us from the fiery darts of the Divell: how farre Satan can goe I cannot ſet downe; onelyonly I ſay that hee cannot goe ſo farre, as to force the wil of man by plain violence: will were no will, if it could be compulſed or conſtrained by any. It is held to be the priviledge of God alone, immediately to inflow into the worke upon that noble part, the ſoule of man; much leſſe is any created power able directly to turne and winde the will of man;Tile…. De malis Angelis. Th. 31, 32 & de Pro. 24. Bonav. lib. 2. Diſt. 8. part. 2. per. totum. it is beyond the ſphere of Satan, and quite out of his element to reach ſo farre: but to trouble the ſpirits pote…tly, to raiſe the humours, to proceed by preſenting matter immediately to the phantaſie of man, is within his reach; that the divell can doe, and therefore (having leave) hee is able to put thoſe acts into a man, and to worke with power in the children of diſobedience.
In the phraſe of the Scripture it is ſaid: Hee put it into the hart of Iudas to betray his Lord and Maſter: He filled the heart of Ananias to lye to the holy Ghoſt.Act. 5. 3. The beſt is Satan hath no kinde of command over, nor power in us to force us, and therefore the care of a Chriſtian is to reſiſt him, and not to feare him: he is a coward and trembles all over; fly not but ſtand, and he will fly: for Satan muſt have a double leave ere he can ſay or doe any thing unto us.
1. Hee muſt have leave of God, as we ſee in Iob; hee was faine to come morning after morning to have his Commiſſion renewed:1 Kin. 22. 22. GOD muſt bid him goe and doe, or elſe we need not care (thus much) for all his power; hold in with God,Calvin. Inſtit. l. 1. c. 14▪ Sect. 17. and then let Satan doe his worſt: hee doth of himſelfe wiſh us all evill, but for the effect how farre hee ſhall goe; it is in the hands of God, not of Satan; according as we read, Luke 22. 31. Satan hath deſired to have you to winnow you, as a challenger deſireth to have one of the other ſide to combate with, ſo did Goliah. So we ſee Satan muſt deſire leave of God to harme us; our prayer then is, that God would not lead us into temptation: what a matter of comfort is this? that our caſe is in the hands of Chriſt, who is our head.
2. So he muſt have leave of us;Diabolum potentem ad homines ſibi ſubdendos & in captivitate retinendos non virtus ejus facit, ſed humana peccata. I meane we muſt give way to his Tentation, elſe his Tentation will be fruſtrate, ſo Acts 5. 3. Why hath Satan filled thy heart? hee doth there expoſtulate the matter with Ananias, not with Satan;Mat. 12. 29▪ and askes him what he meant to give Satan occaſion to fill his heart with ſuch wickedneſſe,Auguſt. in Pſal. 71. wee muſt then thanke our ſelves if the Divell ſnare us: he had a conſent from our firſt Parents, hee did wooe them to it, and hee muſt winne us to yeeld, elſe the ſinne is his, not ours: I am perſwaded that many men do diſcourage themſelves over and above, by reaſon of the too much feare they have of Sathan; I would wee would feare God more and Satan leſſe, and then the divell and we ſhould be leſſe accquainted; wee yeeld often out of a baſe feare: feare of yeelding occaſions us to yeeld, when it is too much. Many diſpute it, how to find out the point of difference; betwixt tentations that are ours, and ſuch as are wholly diabolicall; I thinke hee doth beſt who doth ſtudy how to reſiſt them, rather than to difference them. That there is a difference I know; but where the indiviſible point of the difference doth ſtand, I know not: ſome tell us that a man may finde them out by their ſuddenneſſe, and becauſe they are independent and not conſequent of any former occaſion: but to ſay that our luſt doth not puſh out as ſudden or as independent motions and ſuggeſtions is hard. Beſides for a man to determine the difference betwixt the independency and ſuddenneſſe of Satans tentations, and our corrupt flying motions, I conceive to be a worke to hard for moſt men. And for the other note commonly produced, that they bee unnaturall and terrible it ſatisfies not: in that originall ſin worketh unnaturally, and violently, and terribly, deny it who can, and where the act of our ſinne ends, and Satans begins, who can tell? What needs all this if we reject them, whether they come from him or us: in the matter of juſtification wherein lies our ſalvation and our peace; they are not imputed to us,Rom. 5. 1. no more being ours than we accept and aſſent unto. In a naturall corrupt motion: Paul ſaith,R…m. 7. 20. When I doe that I would not, All c…e uſed.it is no more I that doe it: therefore no more is imputed by God, than is ſeene and allowed by us; wee ſhall doe well then not to perplex our ſelves with needleſſe queries which be Satans, and which be ours: ſith that we all find that the act of our owne minde, the motion of our fancy, the wiſhes of our owne will in thoſe things wee have no reaſon to ſuſpect Satan hath any thing to doe; I ſay, wee finde them to goe and come, to be in and our very ſuddenly, and without any coherence at all; and the rage of our Luſt is terrible and violent of it ſelfe, and therfore paſſe that; and be ſure come the tentation which way it will, wee doe reject it and then wee are ſafe, it is not ſet on our ſcore: if it come from Satan it is no ſinne of of ours at all: if from our luſt, ſin it is materially, but not formally, for the guilt is done away, in that we doe not allow it but abhorre it, as ſome are of opinion.