A Crystal Mirror, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
Of the Hearts Treachery.
1. AFter (1.) the Matter, and (2.) the Manner, follows, (3.) the Meaſure, how much the Heart is corrupted with Treachery and Deceitfulneſs: the Prophet Jeremy tells you, [gnacob ha leb mi col] 'tis deceitful above all, whether perſons or things: 1. Let me ſhew you how the Heart of Man is more deceitful than any deceitful perſon in Scripture-Record; and (2.) how 'tis more deceitful than any deceitful thing that the Holy Scripture doth mention. Firſt, of perſons, and they are two fold, 1. Male, 2. Female: firſt of the Males; and the firſt inſtance to exemplifie it, (by way of Alluſion, is [Jacob] and the rather, becauſe the Prophet uſeth the ſame word [gnacob] from whence Jacob (call'd in Hebrew Jagnacob) had his name, Jer. 17. 9. whereby is moſt graphically and aptly deciphered and deſcribed, that the fleſhly Heart doth the ſame thing to the Spirit (in doing of good) which Jacob did to his Brother, to wit, catch it by the heel., and ſupplant it (as the word [gnacob] ſignifies) while it is running the race of Chriſtianity ſet before us, Hebr. 12. 1. 1 Cor. 9. 24. Though David was as wiſe as an Angel of God, 2 Sam. 14. 20. yet it deceived him, and tripped up his heels, (as the word imports) Pſal. 39. 1, 2, 3. and ſo it did Peter, Joh. 13. 37, 38. though he were a pillar of the Church, Gal. 2. 9. yet this ſupplanting heart, ſupplanted and over-turned this very pillar: Oh little did thoſe two great and good Men imagine, that their own hearts had been ſo treacherous and deceitful!
2. Therefore Jacob (or Hebr. Jagnacob) is the firſt and moſt fit Scriptural Alluſion, to demonſtrate the Hearts deceitfulneſs: as you have the name [Jacob] many times in Scripture, ſo ſometimes the Etymology of the name, eſpecially upon three occaſions. 1. From his ſtrugling with his Brother in his Mothers Womb: 2. From his beguiling him of the birth-right; and then 3ly, of the Bleſſing. Firſt, of the firſt of thoſ…; The word [gnacab] ſignifies Calcaneariu…, or an Heel-Catcher; and becauſe he not onelyonly ſtrugled with his Brother in Rebecca's Womb for priority, but alſo catch'd his Brother by the heel or foot-ſole there, as if he would have turned up his Brothers heels, or (at leaſt) have pull'd him back, and ſo got to the goale (of the birth) before him, Gen. 25. 22, 26. Hoſea 12. 3. therefore did his Father call him Jacob; a ſtrange preſage of what he ſhould do in ſupplanting [Eſau] which ſignifies [perfect] becauſe born with a Beard, (as ſome ſay) or however, with hair ſo grown, as if he had been a Man already, rather then a Child; he was [factus & perfectus pilis] and yet encountred by this ſupplanter at his Birth. Thus both of them brought their own Names along with them into the World: [Conveniunt rebus nomina ſaepe ſuis.] Oftimes Names and Natures anſwer each other. 2. Though he could not bring down his Brothers head, by tripping up his heels in the Womb, yet he ſupplants him in the World, gaining the birth-right by ſubtilty, (when he was grown up) which he got not by ſtriving and ſtrugling with him before he was born, Gen. 25. 29, 33. Hebr. 12. 16.
3. And then thirdly in beguiling him of the bleſſing, (as well as of the birth-right) whereupon Eſau (himſelf) gives the Interpretation of Jacobs Name, [Hache Karah Shemo Jagnacob, Vajegnekebéni Zeh pagnamaiim] is he not rightly called Jacob? for he hath [Jacobd] me theſe two times; he firſt ſupplanted me of the birth-right, and now of the bleſſing, Gen. 27. 36. yea, and the good old Man (his Father) ſaith, in v. 35. Thy Brother came in ſubtilty, and hath taken away thy Bleſſing. Eſau's Gloſs or Alluſion may be read (word for word) thus: My Brother may well be called an Heeler, for he hath heeled me theſe two times; that is, he hath come behind me, ſet his foot before me (as runners in a race play fowl play to each others) and tripped up my heels twice: juſt ſo, and much more than ſo, dealeth your Gnacob, (or deceitful) heart (as the Prophet calls it) with you: As there was a ſtrugling in Rebeckahs Womb, ſo there is a Conflict in the Soul of the Elect; what can you ſee in the Shulamite, (or one brought into Gods peace by Chriſt, as the word [Shulamite] ſignifies) but as it were, the company of two Armies, Cant. 6. 13. the Army of the fleſh, and the Army of the ſpirit, both ſtrugling for the birth-right? and how doth the fleſhly Heart take hold of the heel of the Spirit, (its Brother) they are [ut fratres ſimul jacentes in eodem utero] as twinns lying both together in the ſame Soul: This Holy David complained of, and groaned under, Pſal. 49. 5. [gnaven gnakebi (the ſame words with the Prophets, Jer. 17. 9.) Jeſubeni.] The iniquity of my Heels (or Supplanters) do ſurround me with their ſnares: alas, the beſt of Men have ſome dirt of iniquity cleaving to their heels, ſome deceitfulneſs of ſin, Hebr. 3. 13. he that is (already) waſhed, needeth not, ſave to waſh his feet, Joh. 13. 10. or his heel of the unrenewed part, which will be playing fowl play, trip up his heels, and caſt him down too, Pſal. 18. 23.
4. And that not onelyonly [Zeh pagnamaiim] two times, as Jacob did his elder Brother, (who was the Prieſt of the Family by his birth-right) but even ten times, yea times without number: oh, how oft hath the iniquity of your heels, or this Heeler (your ſupplanting heart) catched hold of your heel, and pulled you back from duty, not onelyonly from the new-birth, but alſo to hinder your growth in Grace, and in your paſſage and progreſs towards Heaven! nay, how oft hath it tripped up your heels, and brought down your head, and given you many a deſperate fall, to the very breaking of the bones of your Soul! as it did Davids, Pſal. 51. 8. and had your falls been backward, (as that of Eli was, 1 Sam. 4. 18.) which (through Grace) were rather like Abrahams, Gen. 18. 2. a falling forward onelyonly, Pſal. 37. 24. Cant. 2. 6. you might have got the fall of an Elephant, thar riſeth no more; and had not the covenant of Grace (which indeed permits a fall) alſo enſured Repentance after the fall, this heel-catcher (your own treacherous heart) would not onelyonly have catched your heel, but alſo your very birth-right and bleſſing, and bereaved you of both for ever: Jacob beguiled his Father Iſaac, as well as his Brother Eſau; and though your [Gnacob] Heart may not beguile you of the birth-right at one time, yet will it at another time, either by force or fraud, as Jacob did; take heed of it, 1 Cor. 10. 12.
5. The ſecond Scriptural Alluſion is, Laban beguiled Jacob, (who had beguiled his Father and Brother) Gen. 29. 25. God frequently retaliates, and pays men with their own coyn; he had beguiling for beguiling, crying out, Why haſt thou beguiled me with Leah for Rachel? Jacob in a cunning diſguiſe deceives Iſaac into a miſtake of the younger for the elder, and that by uttering three lyes with one breath, [I am Eſau thy firſt-born, I have done as my Father commanded me, and calling his Meat, Veniſon, which the Lord had brought to his hands, Gen. 27. 11, 12, 19, 20.] and here Laban beguiles the beguiler, (as if fallere fallentem had been no fraus) with the elder for the younger, [in the morning behold it was Leah!] Thus the Heart beguiles Man, who thinks he is embracing the beautiful Rachel of a bleſſed eſtate, all the long night-time of Ignorance; but in the morning of Regeneration, (when God ſaith Let there be light) or however, in the morning of the Reſurrection, it then appears to be but a blear-eyed Leah, of a vain preſumption or profeſſion: and how eaſily is a blind Soul beguiled by a beguiling Heart (as blind Iſaac by a beguiling Son) perſwading man to believe, (1.) That he is of the firſt-born of God, (while he is of the Children of wrath) (2.) That he hath done as God the Father had commanded him, (when poſſibly it never came into his Fathers heart, Jerem. 7. 31. (and (3.) That he hath provided Veniſon for God, and fine flour, (when indeed it is but coarſe bran, and corrupt things: yea, (4.) entituling God to all, as if the Lord did help him to his Proviſion and Worſhip, whereas 'tis all but the cry of the Creature, and the earneſtneſs of a natural Spirit, unſavory to the Lord, Hoſ. 7. 14. Prov. 15. 8. Ezek. 14. 3, 4.
6. The time would fail me (as the Apoſtle ſaith, Hebr. 11. 32.) to ſpeak largely of every Scripture-Hiſtory, that (by way of Alluſion) may evidence the Myſtery of the Hearts deceitfulneſs.
The 3d. Alluſion is more briefly of others: As the Sons of Jacob beguiled the Shechemites, Gen. 34. 13. (the Sons had ſomething of the ſupplanting Image of their Father) and under a pretence of Religion, v. 14. [We cannot do this thing, and it would be a reproach to us, &c.) this treachery made Jacob ſtink, v. 30. ſo the Heart of Man deceives Man, and that under as ſpecious pretences, betraying him into the hands of cruelty, (as they did, when they had cozened them into a Covenant, baſely butchering them, while unable to help themſelves) into Satans hands: oh, how will the deceitful Heart ſay, I cannot do this, and I cannot do that, 'twill be a reproach, &c. yet will it run into greater ſins than thoſe it pretends to ſhun (as they did) notwithſtanding all this, the Heart (with this plague-ſore of treachery on it) is not made to ſtink and be abhorred, but like fools (as we are, Prov. 28. 26.) we truſt it ſtill, and think there is ſence in ſinning, and reaſon enough to be mad after Idols, and to be evil. The fourth Alluſion is Huſhai, 2 Sam. 16. 16, 17, 18, 19. As he offered Abſalom his ſervice, that he might dive into his ſecrets, and defeat his Counſels; yea, that he might overthrow his perſon and power, [Ambiguo ſermone ludiſicando] by mocking Abſalom with Ambiguities and Arguments, accommodated to his ambitious humour, 2 Sam. 17. 11, 12. whereby he brought him into the ſublime dotage of a fools paradiſe; even ſo deals your deceitful heart with you; how oft doth the fleſh baffle and defeat the good counſel of the Spirit, (quenching its motions and admonitions, 1 Theſ. 5. 19.) as this Archite did the good counſel of Achitophel? ſo the Scripture calls it, 2 Sam. 17.14. as it was politick for attaining the end that Abſalom did aim at, and the moſt probable way to win all: how oft doth the fleſhly Heart give crafty counſel, (fitted to your humour) and betrays you into Satans hands!
7. The fifth Scriptural Alluſion to illuſtrate the Hearts treachery and falſhood, is Jehu, 2 Kin. 10. 19. [Vajehu gnaſha begnakebah] but Jehu did it in ſubtilty, he played the [gnacob] and being homo [foreign] ambidexter, having the uſe of both hands, [pelle vulpinâ aequè ac leonina uti potuit] he could be as crafty as a Fox, as well as cruel as a Lion; Jehu ſubtilly ſaid, v. 18. Ahab ſerved Baal a little, (though he had ſerved him more than any had done before him, 1 Kin. 16. 31, 32.) but Jehu ſhall ſerve him much: intending one thing, and pretending another thing; he pretendeth that Ahabs incomparable zeal for Baal, ſhould not be comparable to what he intendeth, and therefore he chargeth, that if any of the Prieſts of Baal were wanting at his Sacrifice, they ſhould not live; by this Wile he caught them all into his ſnare, and ſlew them: but alas, all the pretences of Jehu could never be ſo fraudulent, for the worſhipping of Baal, as thoſe of the deceitful heart are for the worſhipping of God: this deſperately wicked Heart will ſometimes pretend (with Herod) to come and worſhip Chriſt, when (indeed) it intends to worry him, and to kill Chriſt in the Cradle, Matth. 2. 8, 16. This is the double heart, Pſal. 12. 2. [leb-ve-leb] an heart and an heart, Hebr. one heart pretending in the Mouth, and another heart intending in the Belly: as [a ſtone and a ſtone, Hebr.] ſignifies deceitful weights, Deut. 25. 13, 14. ſo [an heart and an heart] imports a deceitful heart, ſuch as thoſe had in Jerem. 41. 17. & 42. 3, 5, 6. 20. who promiſed obedience to whatever God would command them, (whether pleaſing or diſpleaſing) where in ſo ſaying, they did but diſſemble in their hearts, being reſolved before-hand what to do, which was deep diſſimulation, thus in a pretence of Piety, to ſeek for Gods Approbation to their own (taken up before-hand) reſolution: The men of Zebulun, 1 Chron. 12. 33. were better men, they were not of a double heart, or Hebr. they were without an heart and an heart; they had not one heart in the mouth, and another in the breaſt, but were plain-hearted, and down-right dealers, true Iſraelites in whom was no guile, Joh. 1. 47.
8. The ſixth Alluſion, The Midianites, Numb. 25. 18. as they beguiled Iſrael by the Counſel of Balaam, (who taught Balak to lay a ſtumbling block before them, Revel. 2. 14.) with their cutthroat kindneſs, and counterfeit courteſies, they gulled Iſrael into thoſe two Siſter-ſins of Idolatry, which God ſo ſeverely puniſhed, Numb. 24. 14. & 25. 3, 4, 5, 17, 18. even ſo your heart will vex you with its Wiles, wherewith it begulles you; firſt plunging you into ſin, and then into puniſhment for ſin: Gods commands ſtands good to you; vex your heart that vexes you, mortifie and croſs the corruptions of it. Maſter, ſpare thy ſelf, is one of its Wiles, and is a cut-throat kindneſs; inaſmuch as Chriſt had ſaid, He that ſaveth his life, ſhall loſe it: ſmarting experience tells you, how your heart hath cunningly plotted to enſnare you in ſin, and to bring you to ruine; therefore you may not walk in the way of your own heart, Eccleſ. 11.9. (as Iſrael did in Midians way) but uſe it, (as well as take it) for your enemy; yea, for your worſt (as Satan is your greateſt) Adverſary.
9. This ſeventh Scripture-ſtory, (whereby the treachery of the heart may be illuſtrated, by way of Alluſion) to wit, the Gibeonites beguiling Joſhuah, Joſ. 9. 22. (as is ſaid before) add hereunto, that they did work wilily with Iſrael, v. 4. [begnarmah] the ſame word with [gnarum] Gen. 3. 1. the Serpent was more ſubtle, &c. Thoſe Gibeonites exerciſed the ſubtlety of the Serpent, without the ſimplicity of the Dove; they tell Joſhuah, how they had heard the fame of Gods Miracles in Egypt, but not a word of dividing Jordan, nor of the overthrow of Jericho, theſe things were too new to be known to a people that dwelt afar off, (as they pretended) but ſubtlely relate thoſe things that were done long ago, and were far and near talked of, v. 9, 10. Hereupon, Iſrael was gulled into a compliance with them, not asking counſel of the Lord, (by the Urim and Thummim) v. 14. through precipitancy and credulity, which are ſeldome ſucceſsful: thus alſo your heart will work Wilily with you, and ſtrain hard to ſave it ſelf from Mortification, and to bring you into a ſinful compliance with it: oh take heed of precipitancy and credulity in this caſe; he that truſts his own heart is a fool, Prov. 28. 26. he was no fool that ſaid ſo, but a wiſe man, yea the wiſeſt of men, and ſo able enough to judge who are fools indeed: oh do not neglect to ask counſel at the mouth of the Lord: conſult with the wonderful Counſellour, Iſa. 9. 6. and not with fleſh and blood, Gal. 1. 16. do not confer with your own fleſhly heart; at the end of three days you will ſee your folly, as Iſrael did, v. 16. Truth is the Daughter of time, and deceit will out at length: oh that the ſeed of God (in you) may murmure at the League and Complyance with your treacherous heart, as they did, v. 18. you may well ſay, (as they ſaid, v. 23.) thou art a curſed heart for thus beguiling me; and God may turn it into a bleſſing, as he did to thoſe curſed Canaanites, who after this became Nethinims [i. e. given] to Gods Worſhip, 1 Chro. 9. 2. Ezr. 2. 43.
10. The word [Nethinim] ſignifies [Deodati] men given to God, devoted to the ſervice of Gods Houſe; thoſe were the poſterity of the fraudulent Gibeonites, whoſe puniſhment for their fraudulency, was that ſervile employment of miniſtring to the Levites, (hewing of wood, and drawing of water for them) as the Levites miniſtred to the Prieſts: and hereby, not only the Iſraelites (a Royal Nation) were exempted from ſuch ſlaviſh drudgery; but alſo thoſe ſame Gibeonites had their very puniſhment converted into a priviledge, and their miſery into a mercy: for by this Sanctuary-ſervice, they were brought nearer the Church, and ſo nearer God, both to partake of the things of God, and to behold his face in Righteouſneſs: yea, and coming under ſubjection to Joſhuah, they became under his protection alſo, againſt thoſe mighty Kings, Joſh. 10. at large. Thus likewiſe when your heart is (indeed) brought into ſubjection to your bleſſed Joſhuah or Jeſus, 'tis both your priviledge (to be but a door-keeper, Pſal. 84. 10. even a mighty King (as David) accounted it ſo) and your protection too, when you are beleaguered with Troops of Temptations, and a great body of corruptions, after your profeſſed ſubjection to Chriſt: oh then ſend your winged Meſſengers (of Prayers and Tears) to the Captain of your Salvation, Hebr. 2. 10. ſaying, Lord Jeſus, come to me quickly, and ſlack not thy hand (as they did) Joſh. 10. 6. if ſo, your Joſhuah will come upon your enemies ſuddenly, as v. 9. and he will diſcomfit them, as v. 10. yea, he will brain them with hail-ſtones, as v. 11. and rather than want time for the purſuit of the Victory, the Sun ſhall ſtand ſtill to lend light and time, &c. otherwiſe, as thoſe Gibeonites, (being of the poſterity of curſed Cham) beguiled Iſrael with pretence of Antiquity, into a League with them: even ſo your heart will beguile you into a truce with it, though it be of the curſed off-ſpring, and ſhould be mortifyed: 'twill cheat you with ſeeming Antiquity, telling you it hath been a good heart (God-ward) ever ſince you were born; and that 'twill be your ſervant, but a treacherous one: oh make it an hewer of wood, and a drawer of water to Jeſus your Joſhuah.
11. Thus much of the Male-perſons that were deceitful in Scripture-ſtory: (upon the laſt of which, I have been larger than I intended, being a little warm'd with the Alluſion, yet abhorring to deſtroy the litteral ſence of the Holy Scriptures by wanton Allegories, as ſome have done, from the frothy exuberances of their own addle brains:) now take a ſhort ſurvey of the Female-perſons, ſuch as 1. Rachel, 2. Tamar, 3. Joſephs Miſtriſs, 4. Jael, 5. Dalilah, 6. the Witch of Endor; yet none of theſe aſunder, nor all theſe together, puts a comparable cheat on others, to that which your own heart will put upon you, if you watch it not. (1.) Of Rachel, ſhe deceived her own Father of his gods, (goodly gods they were, that could not ſecure themſelves from ſtealing) Gen. 31. 30, 34, 35. &c. She puts them into the Camels furniture, and ſat upon them, ſaying, The cuſtome of women is upon me. 'Twas a ſubtle, and yet a ſinful ſhift, whereby to hide her ſhame from her earthly Father; even ſo, and much more than ſo, will your heart become wittily wicked: 'tis a wickedneſs with a witneſs, to ſteal from ones own Father, eſpecially Plate, Jewels, the beſt of Goods; yet your heart will ſteal from you (its own owner) and that the unſearchable riches, Eph. 3. 8. yea the beſt of Goods, and the beſt of Gods, 1 Cor. 8. 5, 6. your heart will take away your Lord, and you will not know where it hath laid him, as Joh. 20. 15. And you may be juſtly jealous, that your heart is tainted with a love of Imagery, Ezek. 8. 12. (as you have chambers of imagery in you, for there be many Idols ſet up in your heart, Ezek. 14. 3. 1. Joh. 5. 21.) as Rachel was with her Mawmets: And you may ſurely ſay, (in ſadneſs of Spirit) to your Heavenly Father, Let it not diſpleaſe my Lord, that I cannot riſe up, for the cuſtom of ſinning (which is both the cuſtom of Men, and the cuſtom of Women too) is upon me: how oft alſo is your heart wittily wicked, in ſitting upon your ſins, to hide them by ſinful ſhifts from the eye of your Heavenly Father, (which yet is an all-ſeeing eye, and nothing can be hid from the ſight of it, Hebr. 4. 13.) without any due and true ſenſe of the evil of ſin, when [conſuetudo peccandi tollit ſenſum peccati] that cuſtom of ſinning (which is upon you) taketh away all ſenſe of ſin?
12. The ſecond Alluſion is Tamar, who deceived her Father (in-law) Judah, by putting upon her the attire of an Harlot, and ſitting in the way-ſide to tempt him, (upon a feaſting day) Gen. 38. 12, 13, 14. &c. mark this by the way, that Harlots in thoſe times were nothing ſo ſhameleſs, (for ſhe covered her ſelf with a Vail) as they are in our times, with their naked breaſts, &c. to enflame a Judah: the Father [Hierome] ſeverely ſaith, that all ſuch ſhall be damn'd for proffering poiſon, though there be none to drink it: mark alſo how Judahs luſt beſots him, he gives her whatever ſhe demanded, v. 17, 18. whereby to prove him afterwards a Partner in the Crime, ſhe ſeals up her charge againſt him with his own Signet, entangles him with his own Bracelets, and beats him with his own ſtaff, &c. v. 25. juſt ſo, and more than ſo, will your heart (that is full of harlotry) deceive you, and cauſe you to commit uncleanneſs with it in ſinful thoughts, which (like Lots daughters, Gen. 19.32. to 35.) are buſie to contrive and compaſs ſome ſin or other while you are faſt aſleep, and your heart (as Tamar) will firſt tempt you to ſin, and then accuſe you for ſin, 1 Joh. 3. 20. 2 Sam. 18. 12, 13. writing down time and place, and bringing forth undeniable evidences, ſaying, Diſcern whoſe are theſe; I pray thee; oh ſublime treachery! you muſt acknowledge all, condemn your ſelf for having been unrighteous, and know your ſin again no more, as Gen. 38. 26.
13. The third Alluſion is, Joſephs Miſtreſs, which was a Blackmoore, a Gypſy, (or Egyptian) and a very compound of impudence, fraudulency, and maliciouſneſs, Gen. 39. 7. to 14. (1.) Her impudence, that ſhe who ſhould be ſhame-fac'd by her Sex, (as a woman) and grave by her condition and quality, (as a wife, and that of a governour, ſo a Miſtreſs) yet her lawleſs luſt tranſports her beyond all bonds and bounds both of Piety and Modeſty, ſo as to make an impudent offer of committing a Rape, not onelyonly upon a man, but upon her own man-ſervant: oh prodigious propudium, and a frontleſs fore-head! not unlike the ſtrange impudency in the ſtrange woman, Prov. 7. 13, 18. both of them barely and baſely ſollicite aſſociates, whoſe beauty had captivated their wanton eyes and wicked hearts. (2) Her fraudulency, when her unceſſant ſollicitations, [day by day violently renewed, and as valiantly vanquiſhed] prov'd (all) unſucceſsful, as Joſephus ſaith, ſhe feigned her ſelf ſick, (as Amnon did after, 2 Sam. 13. 6.) not going with Potiphar to the Feaſt, that her ſolitarineſs might give a more effectual opportunity for her ſolicitation, v. 11, 12. This became a ſtrong ſnare to Joſeph, ſo that he muſt part either with his chaſtity, or with his garment, (not daring to ſtay and parley with her) this ſecond time is Joſeph ſtripped of his garment before; by the violence of envy in his brethren, Gen. 37. 31. now, by the vehemence of concupiſcence in his Miſtreſs; before, out of conſtraint, now out of choice; before, that his Father, now that his Maſter might be deceived by it: however, he, being good before the Lord, eſcapeth from her ſnares, as Eccleſ. 7. 26. (3.) Her maliciouſneſs and treacherous cruelty, ſhe cloaks her own villany under Joſephs garment, and as his coat had cauſed his Fathers ſorrow before, Gen. 37. 32, 33, 34. now it cauſeth his own miſery: ſhe incenſeth her Husband, accuſing firſt him of fooliſhneſs, (for bringing in ſuch an Hebrew) and then his ſervant of filthineſs, which ſhe both affirmeth by words, and confirmeth by deeds, to wit, producing the Garment left in her hands; no doubt but the accuſer of the brethren had ſet her on, to charge that upon the innocent, whereof ſhe (herſelf) was onelyonly moſt guilty: all this, and much more, will your heart do to you, 'twill firſt intice you to ſin, and then accuſe you of ſin, as before: 'twill ſhift off ſin from it ſelf, and lay the fault upon company, occaſion, &c. and not upon it ſelf; as Apollodorus his heart did, when he dreamed that he was taken by the Scythians, who flead off his skin, and lifting him into the Caldron to boil him, his heart cryed out within him, [foreign,] I am the cauſe of all this evil.
14. The fourth Alluſion is Jael, who beguiled Siſera, Judg. 4. 18. & 19. &c. with her [turn in my Lord, turn in to me.] Fair words make fools fain, ſaith the Proverb: ſhe ſaith unto him [fear not] and promiſes him protection from his purſuers; ſhe covers him with a rug or cover-lid [Stragulâ Villoſa] pretending both to hide him from his enemies, and to ſecure him from catching cold, but indeed, intending to get him aſleep, that ſhe might the eaſier deſtroy him: yea, as a ſhew of greater reſpect, when he asked but Water, (to cool him in his great heat, by his haſty flight on his feet) ſhe gave him Milk, v. 19. & Judg. 5.25. which was ſafer drink than water, yet more procuring ſleep, (which was her deſign) yea, ſhe brought him Butter alſo in a Lordly diſh to eat, as well as Milk to drink; and all this kindneſs ſhe ſhewed him, to make him ſleep more ſecurely under her protection, and to prepare him the better for her Nail and Hammer, wherewith ſhe faſtned his head, (when faſt aſleep) to the ground, as if it had been liſtning (there) what was become of his Soul: he that boaſted before of his Iron-chariots, lies now ſlain by a Woman with a Nail of Iron, (a Nail of the Tent both long and ſtrong enough, both to pierce his skull, and to faſten this proud worms-meat to the ground) and all this carried on with ſhews of great kindneſs: ſuch are all the Murthering morſels of your ſinful heart; oh the flatteries thereof, (the Milk and the Butter) wherewith it will lull you aſleep in a falſe peace, (as the Syrens Songs) Deut. 29. 19. but beware of the Tent-nail and the Hammer, at the upſhot of all.
15. The fifth Alluſion is Dalilah, who dealt deceitfully with Sampſon, and betrayed him into the hands of the Uncircumciſed, Judg. 16. 4, 6. to 21. no doubt but ſhe allured him with all ſeeming ſigns of her love, that thereby ſhe might hide from him all ſuſpition of treachery; ſhe might magnifie his Heroick exploits, and admire the prodigious and extraordinary ſtrength whereby he atchieved them; and then deſire (for her own private ſatisfaction onelyonly) to know wherein his great ſtrength did lie; and probably ſhe added many fair promiſes, and poſſibly not a few fowl Oaths, (Harlots abound with ſuch Helliſh Rhetorick) that ſhe would keep his counſel ſecret to her ſelf: then ſhe prevailed, (1.) To bind him with three green withes, v. 7, 8. which he yielded to, not onelyonly as a put-off, but alſo in a way of ſport and wanton dalliance with her: but this availed not; hereupon, (2.) after her blaming him for mocking her, he yields to be bound with new Ropes; this proves unſuccesful alſo: then (3.) ſhe continuing her importunate allurements, brings him nearer to the mark and myſtery than before; and yields to have the ſeven locks of his head weaved with the Web, and winded about the beam of the loom, v. 13, 14. This likewiſe took not, as the other before it, he having feigned a falſe cauſe of his ſtrength three times to her, all along forgetting that Gods children will not lye, Iſa. 63. 8. as their Father is a God that cannot lye, Tit. 1. 2. but at the (fourth) Aſſault ſhe carries it, and conquers him; the great Conqueror of Men, was at laſt Conquered by a Woman: he was ſo bewitched with her flatteries, that ſhe at laſt exhauſted (as the Hebrew word [Dalal] from whence her Name [Dalilah] comes, ſignifyeth) his very heart, v. 16, 18. which whoredom had (indeed) taken away before, Hoſ. 4. 11. Thus this ſtrong man diſcovers great weakneſs, in yielding further and further, (even till it came to Neck-break, and life it ſelf, Prov. 6. 26. & 7. 21, 23.) to a treacherous Strumpet, that had given juſt grounds of ſuſpecting her treachery againſt him, both in putting all thoſe three former experiments upon proof, and in having ſo many cut-throat Philiſtims ready by her; yet ſo beſotted was he with his ſenſual ſins, that he reveals that ſecret to her, which coſt him the loſs of his ſtrength, of his eyes, of his liberty, of his life, yea of his God too All this will your treacherous heart do to you, if God leave you in the hand of your own counſel: 'twill make you ſleep upon the knee of preſumption, (as ſhe did him, v. 19.) 'twill cut off your Locks, or ſeeming graces, (thoſe ſeven locks, or ſeven ſpirits, Revel. 1. 4.) and you may not know that your God is gone from you, as he, v. 20. and you may ſtand out for a while (as he did) againſt the ſollicitations of your fleſhly heart, (which hunts for your life, and wars againſt your Soul, 1 Pet. 2. 11.) but woe to you if left of God (Hoſ. 9. 12.) to the luſts thereof; you fall, you fall, and may never riſe any more: as Dalilah was not alone in the room, but had her company of Philiſtims with her; ſo your treacherous heart will not be alone, but will have its company of deceitful luſts, Eph. 4. 22. to be with it.
16. The ſixth Alluſion (among Scripture-Females) is the Witch of Endor, that cheated Saul, 1 Sam. 28. 11, 12. with (indeed) Satan, for Samuel: That [Spectrum Samuelis] or apparition of Samuel, whereby ſhe beguiled Saul, was no other than Satan, [the Devil] who firſt perſonates Samuels form, and then his ſpeech: Samuel (while alive) had told Saul, that rebellion is as Witchcraft, 1 Sam. 15. 23. Now he falls from the like to the ſame, and trades with Witches (indeed) which he had turned out of his Kingdome, (1 Sam. 28. 3.) but not out of his heart: and bids this Witch to bring him up Samuel. This is more than the Devil (himſelf) can do; for it could not be (1.) the Soul of the true Samuel that is here brought to Saul, 'tis not in the Devils power to degrade a glorified Saint, and to bring him from glory: Satan fell from Heaven, and can fetch none out of Heaven: neither was it (2.) the body of the true Samuel, for the Devil hath not the key of the Grave, but that key hangs at Chriſts girdle, Revel. 1. 18. Neither (3.) would the true Samuel have ſaid, as v. 15. Why haſt thou diſquieted me? It can therefore be no other but Satan repreſenting Samuel, who can transform himſelf into an Angel of light, 2 Cor. 11. 14. and Samuel (himſelf) could not have preach'd more gravely, ſeverely, divinely, then this foul fiend of Hell did, v. 16. &c.
But above all, (4.) this Apparition appears to be a meer cheat, in his appearing in a Mantle; for the true Samuel could not (well) have a Mantle to bring with him from the grave, and place of the dead: it could be nothing elſe but onelyonly a garment (in ſhew) of Satans making, and by him put upon himſelf, that he might the more ſpeciouſly act the part of Samuel, both his perſon and his habit, as well as his words and ſpeeches, in his conference with Saul. Thus as the Witch of Endor cheated Saul with a repreſentative ſhew, inſtead of a real and true preſence: even ſo your heart may cheat you with ſeeming inſtead of ſaving grace; yea, the Devil is Gods Ape (thus far) in mans heart, that he beguiles him ſo far by falſe repreſentations, as to make him believe thoſe to be glorious truths, which indeed are no better than Doctrines of Devils, 1 Tim. 4. 1. and damnable errours, 2 Pet. 2. 1.