A Century of Sermons, Sermon 13
THE THIRTEENTH SERMON UPON Our Saviours Tentation.
MAT. iv. 7.
Jeſus ſaid unto him, it is written again, Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
THis is the ſecond repulſe which was given to the Tempter, who had diſputed, as he thought, upon good ſuppoſition, If thou be the Son of God: Upon good authority, For it is written: Upon good aſſurance, For he ſhall give his Angels charge concerning thee. This was an Argument ſubtilly compact together, and yet it is fully anſwered. Beloved, I reduce it to this head of Admonition, when the wicked have done all they can, and diſguiſed their plots with as much ſafety, as wit can invent, yet the Lord will find a flaw in their contrivance, and ſay, here I will make a breach, here I will enter in. As Ahab was admoniſh'd of his death by the Prophet Micaiah if he went to Battel againſt Ramoth in Gilead, yet he thought to meet with no harm in ſpight of the Propheſie, for he had buckled his Armour about him from head to foot; but a certain man drew a Bow at a venture, and ſmote him between the joynts of the Harneſs that he died. The Lord directed the mans Arrow to that place where Ahab lay open to death though he thought he had been impenetrable. Goliah came down to fight with any Champion that Saul ſhould ſend againſt him, with his Shield of Braſs, his Coat of Male, his Greaves of Braſs, his Helmit of Braſs, and ſo impudent he was in defying God, that I may ſay his Forehead was of Braſs. This Giant that thought himſelf invulnerable all over David ſmote with a ſtone in his brazen forehead that he died. I could be luxuriant in Examples, I will ſpeak but once more.2 Sam. vi. 8. The Jebuſites were within the ſtrong hold of Zion, and they boaſted it could not be taken, therefore they derided David, but David found a way to ſend up his men by the Gutter, and ſmote the Jebuſites; they were ſurprized at one weak paſſage which was not fortified, and never dreamt of it.
I lay all this down at the door of their conſcience that dare venture upon any conſpiracy or injuſtice, if they think their work ſo ſtrong that it will hold out all detection. I tell you when you have made your Covenant with Hell by forgery, falſe witneſs, perjury, corruption, ſubornation, and with all the forms of damnable iniquity beſide, God will ſtart an Objection, which was never foreſeen, that ſhall unmaſque all their villany. You cannot ſtop your gaps ſo cloſe but he will break open your hedge: for here is a preſident in my Text, the wittieſt Jugler in the world, and the Father of devices, he could not wind up his reaſons ſo well but Chriſt did eaſily find an end to unravel them. Jeſus ſaid unto him, it is written again, Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God. The anſwers of our Saviour grow ſtronger and ſtronger; before he replied affirmatively, Man ſhall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; Here he decides the Objection with a Negative Rule, (and Negative Precepts are ſtronger than Affirmative,) tenent ad ſemper, they bind a man at all times, at every minute of his life. Again, Chriſt anſwered to the firſt tentation, Non eſt neceſſarium, he might have made ſtones become bread, but there was no need of it. Unto this Tentation he anſwers, Non eſt bonum; not it may be ſpared and left undone well enough, but it muſt not be done, it is unlawful. But at both times our Saviours anſwer was a true Elench moſt pat againſt that which the Tempter urged, and that in two reſpects. Firſt, here is Chriſts Scriptum eſt againſt Satans, Scripture to counter-poiſe Scripture, he cenſures the Devils malicious interpretation of Scripture by Scripture truly applied, Again it is written. Secondly, Satan blew the coals of preſumption, Caſt thy ſelf down, &c. Chriſt puts them out with the ſtill waters of Siloah with godly fear and circumſpection, Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Theſe are the contents of the Text, which you ſhall make yours by attending unto them, and I by opening and enlarging them.
Will a Thief ſue a true man in the Law whom he hath robb'd and deſpoiled by violence? No ſurely, he will avoid the Law, if he can ſhift it, for it will certainly condemn him. Yet Satan hath perſwaded Chriſt to rebel againſt heaven, he hath robb'd God of his honour, and yet pleads his cauſe out of the holy Scriptures, and flies to them: Our Saviour was glad to catch him there, and holds him hard to Scripture whether he would or no, Rurſum Scriptum eſt, again it is written. The evil Spirit perceived his own errour, that it was unadviſedly done to deal with thoſe Tools, and remove his ſuit out of that Court in the next Tentation. And becauſe he was once beaten upon that ground, he would never meddle more with Scriptures. But Chriſt goes them over and over, Again it is written; for the oftner you uſe the Word of God, you ſhall ſpeed the better with it. If any thing in the Prophets or Apoſtles be ſtrange unto you, blame your ſelf if it be for want of acquaintance; every man will be to ſeek in the way where he goes but ſeldom. The more you uſe that ſharp Sword of the Spirit, the more expert you will be to handle it. Threaten the Devil that you will lay this ſtone in his way if he ſhall approach you, that you will betake you to the Teſtament of God again and again if he come againſt you; and while the Scripture laſts there is no conquering of a righteous man, for his defence is impregnable.
But after what ſort doth Chriſt meet his enemie in the face? Again it is written. What, doth he knock Scripture againſt Scripture? Is there civil diſcord in the Word of God within it ſelf? Are there Twins of ſeveral natures and conditions in it, like Eſau and Jacob in the womb of Rebeckah? Not ſo Beloved; Chriſt alledgeth Moſes againſt the place of the Pſalm which the Tempter quoted, not, as we ſay, to drive out one nail with another, but by way of Harmony and Expoſition, to ſhew that the Devil did miſalledge the Pſalm of David, becauſe he gave it a ſenſe repugnant to the Text of Moſes. It was a blaſphemous aſſertion of Pighius, let his Pew-fellows ſalve it as they will, that the Sacred Bible, without the Gloſs and Expoſition of the Church, was like a Noſe of Wax, you might pull it ſtraight, or turn it which way you would. If it ſpeak not clearly of it ſelf, but be obnoxious to a good ſenſe or a bad by mens interpretations, they might paſs that cenſure upon it, which is horrid to be ſpoken, that a man of a clear notion and ſtile might endite a Book of leſs danger to give offence than that which was inſpired throughout by the Eternal Spirit. Ariſtotle could ſay there was no uſe of an Indefinite Rule, becauſe there was no certainty in it: Such, ſays he, was called a Lesbyan Rule,Lib. 5. Moral it was made of lead, flexible, and would bend to any thing that you would meaſure with it. To ſettle reaſon by the example of mens actions, and not to reduce mens actions to the notions of common reaſon, were it not ridiculous? To apply the Law to mens manners, and not to make mens manners be directed by the Law, were it not prepoſterous? So let the Scripture expound unto men the myſteries of the Kingdom of heaven. But if men will teach the Scriptures how to expound themſelves, were not that moſt arrogant and moſt blaſphemous? If the Trumpet give an uncertain ſound, who ſhall prepare himſelf to the Battel, ſays St. Paul? 1 Cor. xiv. 18. The Scripture is the Trumpet of God, that Trumpet of which St. Hierom ſpeaks, that it always ſounded in his ears, Surgite mortui, venite ad judicium; Ariſe ye dead and come to judgment. And how uniform the ſound of it is, no way diſſonant from it ſelf, I read it in an Allegory, Num. x. 2. God ſpake unto Moſes, Make thee two Trumpets of ſilver, of one whole piece ſhalt thou make them, that thou mayſt uſe them for the calling of the Aſſembly. The two Trumpets are the two Teſtaments, they call the Aſſemblies together, all Nations from the Eaſt unto the Weſt to ſerve the Lord, and they are made of one whole piece, becauſe they do no where vary or contradict themſelves. As the whole world, before the confuſion of Babel, was of one Speech, and of one Language: So the whole maſs of Scripture is of one conſent, and one harmony; they may make diſcords in it indeed, that are building Hereſies in their own fancy like the Tower of Babel.
I recollect all this to one Head, That Chriſt replied out of the Law to confound that which Satan quoted out of the Pſalms; not as if Scripture were made to joſsle againſt Scripture; not as if it were a fencing School, that had foyls for the Challenger, and for his Antagoniſt that anſwered him, for then we ſhould never have peace; but to ſhew that the Devil had ſtained the true Word of God Chriſt produced another place of the Word to parallel it; and if this Text do prohibit unneceſſary daring, Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God, then Caſt thy ſelf down from a Pinacle of the Temple is unauthorized, albeit the Promiſe goes, He ſhall give his Angels charge concerning thee, &c. To diſpatch this out of hand, the miſconſtruing the Word of God is the beginning of all ſtrife; the true Allegation of it is the end of a Controverſie. Therefore upon the ſurging of Hereſies the holy Fathers were wont to convene in Councils, or great Aſſemblies, Poſitis in medio ſacris Scripturis; the holy Scriptures ever lying in the midſt, they were the Center of all their opinions, and by them they built up the Church in unity, which was divided before. By them the Faithful ſtopped the mouths of Lions that they could rore no more. And as Socrates ſays,Socrat. lib. 3. c. 12. when Babylas the Martyrs bones were buried near to the Oracle of Apollo, the Oracle ſpake no more; ſo the clamours of all Satanical men are huſht by the ſound of the two ſilver Trumpets. By one blaſt of the Trumpet Satan was outed from his firſt tentation, and by another blaſt in theſe words from a ſecond tentation; Rurſus ſcriptum eſt, Again it is written, thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
I paſs from theſe few gleanings in the firſt part of the Text to the full ſheaves in the ſecond. A Medicine works upon a Diſeaſe to expel it partly by ſimilitude, partly by contraries: So our Saviour provided an Antidote againſt the Devils pernicious counſel, partly by ſimilitude, giving him like for like, Again it is written: partly by contraries, reſiſting preſumption with modeſty, with fear and reverence, Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God. This Precept is ſo full of caſes and inſtances, that it is like a thick over grown Wood, and the ambiguities ſo many, that I can light upon no man that hath made a clear path to go through; and the reaſon is, that there are ſuch multiplicious ſignifications in this phraſe, to tempt God, that you cannot deſcribe it in one Propoſition. The great Schoolman was fain to ſhuffle it up thus,Aquin. 2.2. qu. 97. art. 1. Tentare Deum eſt explorare an Deus ſciat, velit, aut poſſit id quod ei proponitur; To tempt God is to enquire unneceſſarily what God hath folded up in his Knowledge, or laid up to do in his ſecret Will, or comprehended in his mighty Power. You perceive plainly, this is not to draw one ſtraight Rule, but to ſpread an ambiguous thing into many branches: I am purpoſed therefore to impart my apprehenſions upon the point unto you on this wiſe. Firſt, how many ways God may be tempted without offence. Secondly, how many ways it is ſin to tempt him. Thirdly, wherein the treſpaſs doth conſiſt to tempt the Lord. From hence the ordinary hearer ſhall learn ſome inſtances for his ſhare, and the intelligent Auditor may apply all caſes, which I muſt omit for brevity to theſe general Rules.
The firſt Doctrine to be paſs'd over is, how many ways the Lord may be tempted without offence. One, and the prime inſtance is, when we cannot help our ſelves by any natural means, where all the poſſibilities, which humane Providence can imagine, have failed us, therein to caſt our burden upon the Lord, and to look for ſome extraordinary deliverance from his protection is a tentation of Faith, and not of Preſumption. This Pſalm xci. from whence Satan drew his Text to inveigle our Saviour, He ſhall give his Angels charge, &c. I ſay, this Pſalm goes very far to ſtrengthen my obſervation; for if you mark it, thoſe perils from which the moſt High hath promiſed to deliver us, are not ſuch things which we may avoid, Proprio Marte, by our own Arm, but they are things quite out of our own defence, as the ſnare of the Hunter, the Peſtilence, the flying Arrow. What good can we do our ſelves againſt ſuch inviſible miſchiefs? If we had means to help our ſelves, thank God for that ſupply; but his Omnipotency is for that time diſcharged. But the Promiſe of the Pſalm doth extend to them who fly to extraordinary Providence when ordinary induſtry will not ſerve the turn. Luther ſays very well therefore, that the Contents of that xci Pſalm are not for every mans humour now adays; he means, it is not for thoſe who will expect what the Lord is able to do for them in ſome ſtrange way, when neceſſity doth not thruſt them upon it to have ſuch expectation. The uſual ſimilitude of the School is this, he that gallops an horſe, only to mark how ſwift he is of pace, Tentat equi virtutem, he doth it to find out the metal of the horſe; but he that puts him to his ſpeed upon a journey, doth it not to find out the worth of the horſe, but to rid the way for his buſineſs: So one man leaves the event of his affairs totally to Gods eſpecial ſuccour, that he may try his goodneſs or his omnipotency; another man flies to the ſame goodneſs and omnipotency, becauſe neceſſity hath incloſed him about; the former tentation cannot be approved, the latter cannot be condemned. I will fit the Point with an example to make it eaſier. Every ſickneſs is not unto death, and therefore the Lord hath appointed Drugs for the maladies of the body. Altiſſimus creavit medicinam, ſays the Son of Syrach, The moſt High hath created Medicines, and a wiſe man will not deſpiſe them; therefore they choſe an ill matter to commend, who praiſed St. Agatha, that ſhe would never take any remedy for the infirmities of her body, Habeo Dominum Ieſum qui ſolo ſermone reſtaurat univerſa; this was raſh adventuring. Far otherwiſe, that woman in the Goſpel, diſeaſed with an Iſſue of bloud twelve years, and had ſpent all her means upon Phyſicians; when no receipt of mans skill would do her good, ſhe put her faith in a Miracle, and came near to touch Chriſt, to explore if ſhe ſhould be cured by laying her finger upon the fringe of his Garment, and ſo it came to paſs. Firſt, the courſe of Nature had failed, and then the Lord bleſſed her for relying upon a ſupernatural Medicine. When we have nothing, and ſee nothing like to fall unto us, we may reſolutely ſay with Abraham, God will provide; and as Jehoſaphat ſaid, There is no ſtrength in us to ſtand againſt this great multitude, now we know not what to do, our eyes are toward thee, 2 Chron. xx. 12.
This is the declaration of the firſt inſtance, that it is no unlawful tempting of God, when it is not wantonneſs, or curioſity, but the laſt and moſt extreme neceſſity that puts us upon it. The next inſtance is thus framed, ſuch as had commandment, or Prophetical inſtinct from God to ask a ſign from heaven, or to look for ſome wonderful effect, theſe did not offend by unlawful tentation. The Diſciples, when they were ſent abroad two by two to preach in ſeveral Cities, had a Rule given them by Chriſt, To take no proviſion with them for their journey; they did ſo,Luk. ix. as they were bidden, and that bidding made it no intruſion upon their Fathers Providence. The Lord alſo bad Gideon bring his Souldiers down unto the water,Judg. vii. and he would try them by a ſign which of them ſhould go againſt the Madianites, the Lord did ſay it, and therefore it was fit for him to obey that miraculous direction. And Divines agree, that it was not a fair anſwer in King Ahaz, when God bid him ask a ſign either in the depth beneath, or in the height above; he anſwered, I will not ask, Iſa. vii. 12.neither will I tempt the Lord; for the favour was propounded unto him both for his own part to increaſe his faith, and much more for the inſtruction of all the people, therefore he ſhould have ask'd it. But ſometimes, though upon no expreſs command, yet holy Prophets upon ſome divine inſtinct, have tempted God to grant them a ſign above the common and ordinary way of nature, and yet their asking was laudable, as Gen. xv. God is very gracious to Abraham in all the paſſages, I, and commends him for his faith; yet Abraham ſays, Whereby ſhall I know that I ſhall inherit this Land of Canaan? And a miracle was wrought to eſtabliſh the Promiſe unto him. Thus you muſt interpret, whereſoever in holy Scripture you find ſuch eminent men ask a ſign, to whom God talkt familiarly, or poured Revelations into them, or ſpake unto them in Viſions, that they had a Prophetical inſtinct for it, which maks their caſe different from us that walk by ordinary faith. Now I pray you mark, that many times wicked people undertake things of a ſtrange condition by inſtinct, and bring them to paſs, but it is not Prophetical; for it is an inſtinct of which themſelves are not aware; as the Mariners were prompted by inſtinct, no doubt, to caſt lots, and the Lot fell right upon Jonas, yet they had no feeling that the hand of the Lord was in it: But it is a Prophetical inſtinct which makes the act warrantable when the party imployed in it by God, knows it, and underſtands it to be ſuch, and concurreth with God as well in will as in the work. Eliezer, Abrahams Servant, was ſent to provide a Wife for Iſaac, and coming to Meſopotamia, to the City of Nahor, he makes this Prayer, O Lord God of my Maſter Abraham, ſend me good ſpeed this day: Loe I ſtand by the Well of water, grant that the Maid to whom I ſay,Gen. xxiv. 14. bow down thy Pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, if ſhe ſay, drink, and I will give thy Camels drink alſo, may be ſhe that thou haſt ordained for thy Servant Iſaac: And it was ſo in the event. The Scripture makes no deſcription of this Eliezer for a Prophet, yet if he felt a motion from God to try the Marriage this way good and lawful: if not, howſoever God let it come to paſs for Abraham and Iſaacs ſake, the courſe was not excuſable, but ſuperſtitious. The like judgment I paſs upon Jonathan, for God only knows by what inſpiring or revelation he did this; he went up againſt the Philiſtines with his Armour-bearer, and he reſolves, if they ſay come up unto us,1 Sam. xiv. 10. we will go up, For the Lord hath delivered them into our hand, and this ſhall be a ſign unto us. Though ſome ſay, this was not to doubt of Gods excellency, but of their own act, yet that diſtinction avails not to explore the ſucceſs of your own act by means unordained for that uſe, unleſs divine inſtinct do help, it is a vicious tentation. Yet this I will add, Jonathans act may be reſcued from being tax'd for a tempting of God, and expoſing themſelves to moſt doubtful peril, in that two of them fought with an whole Hoſt; for the place was narrow, where they could grapple but one to one, and Jonathan had the upper ground; and the Promiſe was ratified in the Book of Moſes, That one of them ſhould chaſe an hundred, and two of them put a thouſand to flight. Therefore Gods Command, or his Promiſe, or a Prophetical inſtinct do qualifie thoſe things to be vertuous actions, which otherwiſe were tentations ill adventured to anger the Lord.
Thirdly, Weighty and extraordinary callings had need of a mighty faith to undergo them; and ſuch men of old had a liberty allowed unto them, to try their Vocation by ſome ſign, or ſome powerful work of God, both for themſelves, and principally for the people that were committed to their governance. As Moſes pleaded when he was deſtined to be the Captain that ſhould bring Iſrael out of Egypt, Loe they will not believe me, Exod. iv. 1.nor hearken to my voice, they will ſay the Lord hath not appeared unto thee; preſently he was ſatisfied, God bad him caſt forth his Rod and it became a Serpent. This the Lord did bear withal, and let him require an extraordinary Warrant for an extraordinary Function. So Gideon being a poor Threſher was called upon by the Angel to ſight for Iſrael againſt the Madianites, he deprecates, that the Angel would take it no offence if he deſired the encouragement of a Miracle to raiſe his faith to an eminent pitch; Be not angry with me, let me prove thee once again with the Fleece, let it now be dry only upon the Fleece, and let dew be upon all the ground. To a private man this demand had been ſin, but to Gideon to ſuſtain that excellent perſon which the Angel impoſed on him, at leaſt it was tollerable.
Fourthly, and finally, there is a ſpeculative inquiry or Antecedent to prove Gods will and power by Signs and Tokens, and that is unlawful; and there is an experimental or conſequent one to enquire after Gods goodneſs in a mans own ſelf by deſcending into the effects and enumerations of his mercies, and proving our own Spirit, and that is lawful. So Mal. iii. 10. Bring ye all the Tithes into the ſtore-houſe, and prove me therewith, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, if I will not open the windows of heaven unto you. It were ſinful to pay Tythes to that end, as if you would tempt God by that concluſion whether he could open the windows of heaven, and help you with ſtore; but conſecutivè, the trial is good, do you that, and God will do this; put it to the ſucceſs, if the Lord do not treble his bounty unto thoſe that pay him his Tythes and Offerings; this is to taſte and try how gracious he will be to our obedience, not to put him to ſuch effects, as we imagine in the capreols of our own fancy, for that is a culpable tentation.
So this Point being traverſed as much as I intend, and the time will give me leave, I leave it behind me, and proceed to the next, What are the general heads of thoſe preſumptuous ways, wherein the party ſins that tempts the Lord, And ſurely one principal and notorious offence is committed, when a man expoſeth his life to unneceſſary dangers, upon an ill-grounded confidence, that God will bring him off with ſafety. Upon this inſtance our Saviour toucheth in my Text alone, and upon no other. The Rule is written in Moſes, and it is large and copious, Ye ſhall not tempt the Lord your God, Deut. vi. 16 Not you of the houſe of Iſrael in no caſe, I know not how the 72 Tranſlators came to read the words in the Singular, foreign. Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord; but our Saviour doth ſo quote the words, and makes them ſerve for this caſe, that it was moſt profane to urge a man to fall from a Pinacle of the Temple upon a fals aſſurance that the Angels would be at hand to prevent the danger, for no man muſt wittingly throw himſelf into the jaws of deſtruction, Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Life is a gift of Nature, it is common to Beaſts and Fowls of the air, to the Plants of the Garden: Now natural things muſt be kept and ſuſtained on our part by natural means; we muſt not depend upon ſupernatural and miraculous protection, that happens ſo ſeldom, that there is no Rule or certainty when it ſhall be done; ſometimes it is done, not for our fleſhly and natural benefit, but for Gods glory.
Paul would not have had the Centurion put to Sea in ſtormy weather, and when they would not hearken to him it coſt them the loſs of all they had but their lives, ſo much was God diſpleaſed with ſuch adventurous enterpriſes. When man loſeth his wit, that he is not tender to ſave himſelf, it is a ſign that God gives him over to miſchief, and will not be his deliverer. It was a deſperate ſenſeleſs ſpeech of Ignatius Loiola, that he would put forth to Sea without Sail, or Oars, or Tackling, if his Superiour bad him; for God hath made no Promiſe to conduct a man in ſafety that leaves himſelf to ſuch tyrannous commands upon blind obedience. Says Solomon, A wiſe man feareth and departeth from evil, but a fool rageth and is confident, Prov. xiv. 16. David ended the matter conſcionably, but began it preſumptuouſly, when he deſired that ſome would give him of the waters of the Well of Bethlem by the Gate. This was a deſperate demand, for his three Captains were fain to fetch it with the imminent peril of their life, breaking through the whole Hoſt of the Philiſtins: But David rouling things in his ſecond cogitations his heart ſmote him; ſays he, O Lord, far be it from me to drink it, 2 Sam. xxiii. 17.is not this the bloud of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? God taught man this provident reſpect, to decline his own peril, and not to tempt him by wading into dangers farther than unavoidable neceſſity puſht him. I ſay the Lord commended it in a certain Law, Lev. xiii. that he who had the uncleanneſs of Leproſie upon him, ſhould dwell alone without the Camp, and that no clean perſon ſhould come near him becauſe of the Contagion. The whole muſt not mix themſelves with the unſound, where diſeaſes have a diſpreading infection. They that come neceſſarily to ſuccour others, either in a ſpiritual or a temporal way, are not to be diſſwaded, becauſe it is to be yielded that the bleſſing of Gods mercy will go along with them that bring neceſſary reliefs of charity. But promiſcuous Viſitants are to be admoniſh'd, that they tempt the Lord whoſe preſence is no way needful, but are mere raſh adventurers. I have an example that may deter the refractory, if they will mark it: When the Plague was great in Iſrael David went up to the threſhing flore of Araunah to offer Sacrifice. You will ſay, Why not to the Altar before the Tabernacle? That was the true form of Religion. Why, the Tabernacle of the Lord, which Moſes had made in the Wilderneſs, and the Altar of burnt Offerings, was at that ſeaſon in the high places of Gibeon, 1 Chro. xxi. 30.and David could not go before it to ask counſel at God, for he was afraid of the Sword of the Angel of the Lord: That is, the place was much infected with the Peſtilence, that is the Sword of the Angel, therefore David durſt not go up to Gibeon. Qui amat periculum peribit in illo; He that loves to walk dangerous ways ſhall periſh in them. Even King Joſiah, one of the moſt lovely Darlings of Gods favour among all the Kings of Judah, fell under the Sword for preſſing further againſt his enemies than the word of the Lord did permit him. The ancient Eliberitan Council Enacted that all thoſe who pluck'd down the Idols or Temples of the Heathen ſhould not be accounted Martyrs, though they died for the faith of Chriſt, becauſe they pluckt Perſecution upon themſelves, and provoked their own Martyrdom. Paul fled away from his enemies, where his life was ſought, not that he ſaid untruly, he deſired to lay down his Tabernacle, and be with Chriſt. Neque quaſi non credendo in Deum, Lib. 22. cont. Fauſt. cap. 36ſays St. Auſtin, ſed ne Deum tentaret, ſi fugere noluiſſet: Nor as if he had no hope in Gods aſſiſtance, but becauſe no providence was to be omitted, to preſerve life, leſt he ſhould tempt the Lord his God.
2. In another way the Lord is tempted, when we will not believe him, unleſs we ſee Signs and Wonders, and provoke him to let us ſee ſome print of his Omnipotent hand, or we will fall off, and truſt in him no more. When once our faith grows ſo dainty and queamiſh, that it will be fed with miracles and wonders, it will pine away to nothing. When we have a little miracle, we will ask a greater, and a greater after that will not ſerve the turn. Thus it was with the Phariſees, for when Chriſt had been long among them, and done ſuch mighty works, as the like were never heard of, yet theſe Tempters urge him to do ſome new feat for their ſake, Maſter we would ſee a ſign from heaven. Why, they had ſcarce wipt their eyes ſince they had ſeen one; and now they call for a ſign a freſh, as if thoſe were none which they had ſeen before. God hath threatned ſuch ſigns and tokens to ſhew them openly to the world, that theſe who ask ſo boldly for ſigns would be out of their wits to ſee them, There ſhall be ſigns and tokens in the heavens, the Sun ſhall be turned into darkneſs, and the Moon into bloud. If God ſhould terrifie them with theſe ſights they would ſay, Lord ſhew us no ſigns. Yes, if you will tempt the Lord, and ſtint, and preſcribe him to work Miracles, you ſhall have theſe or none. Have you loſt all your Humility, that you ſhould hope or deſire that God would produce the moſt noble effects of his omnipotent hand for ſuch a ſinner as you are, which he reſerves only to magnifie his holy Name? note that therefore for the ſecond way to tempt the Lord.
And thirdly, there is another crooked branch, much like unto the former, growing out of the ſame root; not ſimply by declining natural means, but by declining all means; having no calling, uſing no labour, caſhiring all providence, and yet expecting to live and thrive, as well as they that eat the bread of carefulneſs by the ſweat of their brows. They look to be Gods Sparrows, that lay up nothing; neither ſow nor reap, and yet hope to be fed. But Solomon's Piſmire is ſo little, that they cannot ſee the ſimilitude, that the ſluggard ſhould lay up for Winter, and tred after the providence of that forecaſting creature. When Chriſt was in the Wilderneſs far from any proviſion, he made uſe of his tranſcendent power, to multiply many portions of food out of five loaves and two fiſhes: but when he was near a Town, he ſent his Diſciples to buy ſome food, John 4. There is a way to uſe this world, as if we us'd it not; theſe tanquam non utentes, God loves exceedingly; ſuch as ſeek for neceſſary means of life, as if they ſought it not: ſuch as poſſeſs that portion of riches which they have freely, charitably, being willing to communicate, as if they poſſeſt it not. Finally, ſuch as uſe the delights of the world, yet ſparingly in offenſively, as if they us'd it not. Theſe I ſay are tanquam non utentes: but wretchleſs regardleſs humours, ſuch as are abſolutely non utentes, that will not ſeek after the natural benefits which God hath given, but let his benefits drop down in their mouths like Manna, and come to them; theſe contemn Art and Nature, and induſtry: theſe are one rank of them that tempt the Lord.
Then they ſhall ſtand for the fourth, that make holy vows, and bind themſelves in a perpetual obligation, where God hath given no promiſe of aſſiſtance, that they ſhall be able to perform them. The Apoſtles were offended with them that injoyned Chriſtians to obſerve Judaical Ceremonies, after Chriſts Aſcenſion into Heaven; not meerly becauſe the Levitical Law was not only dead and buried, but even become mortiferous to them that uſed it, but becauſe there was no promiſe any longer, that the grace of Chriſt would aſſiſt them that undertook that kind of Worſhip, which was diſcharg'd and abrogated. The words of Peter are plain to this ſenſe, Acts xv. 10. Why tempt ye God to lay a yoke upon the necks of the Diſciples? God is tempted, when ye expect his Grace to bleſs you in thoſe inventions of Will-worſhip, where he never engaged himſelf to be preſent with his holy Spirit. I ſtep into this obſervation: ſome have the gift to be Virgins, without any dangerous reluctancy againſt the rebellion of the fleſh, all the days of their life: but there is no expreſs and punctual promiſe made, that ſuch as will endeavour it, pray for it, be earneſt to attend it ſhould be able to lead a vowed ſingle life, without the remedy of Matrimony: therefore it is a groſs preſumption, and no modeſt aſſurance, for any one to bind himſelf by Vow to perpetual Virginity; for ſuch a man or woman will ſeem to engage God to give them victory over all Concupiſcence, that they may not be beholding to his holy inſtitution of Matrimony. But we ſee it by woful experience, and they are too impudent that deny it, how ſuch preſumption and tempting of God, inſtead of unſpotted Virginity, falls very often into moſt groſs carnality.
Fifthly, to uſe ſuch things again, which either always, or for the moſt part have been unto us an occaſion of ſinning, is to tempt the Lord, whether he will let thoſe things prevail againſt our ſouls, which ſo often have proved unto us an occaſion of falling. Look not on the wine while it is red in the glaſs, ſays Solomon; and that's a proverb too which the Prophet uſeth, Put not your finger upon the hole of the aſp: liſten not to a ſmooth enticing tongue, though you think your ſelf and your conſtancy as impenetrable as flint, yet a little rain wears out the hardeſt ſtone inſenſibly, we know not how, falling drop by drop upon it. We do not read what became of Naaman after he craved leave to bow down ſometimes in the houſe of Rimmon, I fear his integrity ſuffered ſome detriment; but I am ſure both he and all men elſe are guilty of thoſe ſins, towards which they drew near and approach'd, when they might have kept further off. I am ſure we do read of Amnon what an hell of iniquity he brought upon himſelf, when he entreated that his Siſter Tamar might ſtand before him: a conſcionable man that feared to do evil, would have turn'd away his eyes as from a Baſilisk,; a moral man could do it barely to be renowned and ſpoken of, and for no further end. foreign, ſays Alexander; he would not look upon thoſe eye-ſores, the faireſt of the Perſian women, for fear of incontinence. Shall not Religion make us as cautelous as popularity made the heathen? he that dares ſail near the Syrens within hearing, hath forfeited himſelf to unlawful pleaſure; he that dares come cloſe to the threſhold of ſin ſhall be pluck'd into the doors, for he hath tempted the Lord his God.
And ſixthly, this ſmells of a moſt audacious ſpirit, provoking wrath, and urging the patient God to indignation, when you make ſlight of all the terrors and minacies in the Law, as if they were high words: but do what you will they ſhall never fall upon you: this was the firſt impoſture that Satan put upon our firſt Parents. The threatning of the Lord is very ſtrict indeed, but nequaquam moriemini, do you not regard it, you ſhall not dye. O how it exaſperates the Divine Juſtice, and draws down ſeverity, when any one deludes himſelf, that the vengeance denounced againſt him is, but, as one ſaid of the Popes Bull, vacui murmur culici…, the humming of a poor empty gnat. Some diſpute it with Originiſts, that at the end of certain years the damned ſhall be releaſed from Hell: As for the ſentence of eternal fire, Magis minaciter quam veraciter dictum. Thoſe words have more terror in them then verity. Some would make it good by their wit, that the ſouls of Reprobates ſhall have no ſenſe of roſting and burning in fire; but only be damnified and deprived of eternal happineſs, not to ſtand before the face of God; at leaſt that nothing but the loſs of the beatifical preſence was threatned againſt the diſobedience of our firſt Parents. And ſome mens hearts are hardned againſt all the thundering of Judgments, which ſhall be diſcovered at the laſt day, as if they were Chimera's or poetical fictions. Such as theſe do moſt ſtrongly tempt the terrible Judge, to open the earth immediately, and ſwallow them up quick into Hell like Dathan and Abiron, that their bodies and ſouls may feel the pains of Hell ſooner then all other men, becauſe they provokt him with their infidelity.
I have reſerved to ſpeak of one ſtrong temptation in the ſeventh and laſt place. To aſcribe ſome notable effect unto a thing, unto which it was not enabled or appointed by nature, or by the Divine Ordinance revealed for ſuch power and efficacy: therefore it is very ancient Canonical Law which forbad that any perſon endicted for a fault ſecretly committed, and therefore accuſed either upon bare ſuſpicion, or upon the mouth of one witneſs, ſhould purge himſelf by dipping his arm in hot ſcalding water, or by walking between plow-ſhares red hot, unequally laid, which was called the Ordeal Fire: for theſe creatures thus imploy'd have no force by nature to manifeſt a truth, and much leſs is any promiſe annex'd unto them, to be the inſtruments of examinatory Juſtice by Divine Revelation. If it be pretended that God appointed the woman ſuſpected for Adultery to drink a draught of bitter waters,Numb. v. 24. which ſhould diſcover whether ſhe were innocent or no; I anſwer, That this one inſtance was peculiarly enacted by God, who no doubt would aſſiſt ſuch miraculous proceedings, as were of his own inſtitution: but it is an unpardonable boldneſs to imitate him in his Omnipotent Ordinations; and to aſcribe unto other humane cauſes, that they ſhall reveal hidden things, which cannot be ſearcht by mans wit, which is proper only to the Creator, is to commit Idolatry obliquely, and to ſeek that from a poor contemptible creature, which is to be expected only from Almighty God. Nor doth my Doctrine hold only in things that are common and profane; but even things of the Divineſt uſe are abuſed, when we would wring out from them to detect Thefts, or Murders, or other Treſpaſſes, which cannot be diſcover'd by the ordinary way of Juſtice. Therefore this Canon of a Provincial Council in Worms is diſlik'd by grave Authors, That if any things were ſtoln in a private Monaſtery, where ſome Monk muſt needs be the Thief, and all denied it, every one of them ſhould receive the Holy Sacrament, with theſe words pronounc'd, Corpus Domini noſtri ſit tibi ad probationem, Let the Body of our Lord be thy trial or probation. This was an inſolent temptation, for the Sacrament is taken to Commemorate Chriſts Death until he come; not to detect ſuch as were ſuſpected of pilfering.
And however the ſifting out of truth, to diſcover the enemies of Gods Anointed, and to lay open perilous talk againſt his Sacred Perſon, may require ſuch means and trials, as are juſtly to be denied to all other caſes; yet we ſee the renowned Piety of his moſt Religious Majeſty, that would not have truth decided by the ſharpneſs of the Sword; no, not in a matter that concern'd his own Royal Safety: and when the Laws of the Realm did directly put that courſe into his hands, and when his Royal Anceſtors in this Iſland, and ſundry Princes in other Kingdoms have often us'd it: for all this his excellently guided Conſcience would not hazzard the blood of an Innocent, (as one party muſt needs be ſo) where there is no certainty of aſſiſtance promis'd from God, that the guiltleſs ſhould be the Conquerour. My Text hath directly led me to praiſe God, that hath ſo guided the heart of his Majeſty, not to tempt the Lord. I did not ſtrain to bring this note in by force, for I wiſh no mercy if I do not vehemently abhor ſlattery.
But how ill is this noble example followed by the vulgar? no toy can be loſt, no ſecret which we deſire to know be kept in obſcurity; but being impatient to want their will, an hundred ſenſleſs Charms, and old Wives devices, and caſting Figures, and caſting Lots, ſhall be ſought after; which God hath no more appointed to manifeſt hidden things, then the wagging of a Feather; or the ſhaking of a Leaf before the Wind. Beloved, mark this Rule, Si non poteſt ſciri, quare inquiritis? ſecreta ad Dei tribunal ſpectant. It may be the thing we inquire after concerns us deeply, and would give us much quiet and content to find it out: but where God hath denied you the ordinary means of diſcovery, it is a ſign that he means to reſerve it in his own power and knowledge; therefore to fly to theſe extraordinary ways, (ways after our own hearts, but never allow'd in the word) is to endeavour by force to pluck it out of Gods boſom. If the Lord ſhould offer you a miraculous, or ſupernatural aſſiſtance to unrip any ſecret wickedneſs, it were not to be refuſed: as in a few examples, the caſting of Lots is granted in Scripture, either to reveal ſome hidden truth, or to foreknow ſomewhat to come; but out of thoſe caſes ſuch things are not to be medled with, nor in no wiſe to be taken into your conſultation. For it is not in the power of thoſe that uſe the Lot, nor in the nature of the Lot to effect that neceſſarily, whereunto it is employ'd: therefore I damn it as an indirect means, that is taken up againſt or beſide the will of the Lord. Let me give you to ſee, that one word of excuſe which is very trivial is very erroneous, and I will haſten to conclude. Many do object that the Scripture hath no pregnant place in it, which condemns the deciſion of truth, or the finding out of hidden things by Duels, by Ordeals, by Lotteries, by other Divinations. I, but can you ſhew me where the Scripture hath bid it to be done? or elſe you have ſaid nothing: for where no Faith is, the act which you undertake cannot be free from ſin; but where there is no warrant of the Word of God, there can be no Faith. Do you think it is poſſible to build Faith hereupon, that ſuch a courſe is not directly forbidden, it cannot be: for Faith without the Word, and without promiſe is not Faith but preſumption. So I have delivered my mind, how many ways it is offenſive to tempt the Lord.
I have prepared all things before, to ſay little to the laſt point: wherein the treſpaſs conſiſts to tempt the Lord. In two things: firſt, in Infidelity: ſecondly, in want of due reverence to the Divine honour. 1. It is a token of little Faith, yea of Infidelity, to be uncertain, or unskilful in any of the Divine Attributes: but he that tries God, it makes his action guilty, that either ſome whole Attribute of the Divine Nature, or ſome degree of excellency in it is unknown unto him: as Ananias and Saphira put it to the trial, if God had ſo much knowledge to diſcover their diſſimulation. Zachary tempted him, whether the meſſage which the Angel brought were verily the Divine Will. The Iſraelites miſ-doubted his power, when they ſaid, Can he prepare a Table in the Wilderneſs? Secondly, He that tempts a thing upon no neceſſary cauſe, eſteems light of it, and makes no reverential account of it as he ought; but that he may toy with it at his pleaſure: as he that will pluck a Lion by the lip, certainly he neither fears the anger, nor the ſtrength of the Beaſt: So he that will aſſay what God can do, only to ſatisfie his own curioſity, it is evident he ſets very little by the Divine Honour. But we were not beſt to make ſport with Sampſon, as the Philiſtines did, leſt he pluck the houſe about our ears.1 Cor. 10.22. Do we provoke the Lord to anger? are we ſtronger then be? O provoke him not, leſt he ſwear that ye ſhall not enter into his reſt: but with holy reverence, and ſtedfaſt faith ſubmit your ſelves to his revealed will. Amen.