Temptations – Their Nature Danger and Cure Part 3, Tract
TENTATIONS: Their
Nature,
Danger,
Cure.
The third PART: BY RICHARD CAPEL, Sometimes fellow of Magdalen Colledge in Oxford.
LONDON, Printed by R. Y. for John Bartlet, and are to be sold at his Shop in Cheap-side, at the signe of the Gilt Cup. 1636.
TENTATIONS: Their
Nature,
Danger,
Cure.
The third PART.
WEe are now in this third part to treat of such Tentations, as doe not use to stare in the face of common Christians: but of such Tentations as startle the consciences of such Christians as are now a1 Cor. 2. 6. Inter imperfectos nonnulla▪ obtegunt, nulla mentiuntur. Aug. de vera relig. c. 28.perfect, as Saint Paul cals them in one place, and become Spirituall in some great degree, as hee meanes by that terme in b1 Cor. 3. 1.another place. For when a man comes once to be very spirituall, to have an eye to see, and a sense to feele such things, which before hee made no care of, then his heart will ake at some faults, and his soule will smite at such things, which before he used not to see to be any sinnes at all; or if he did, yet he felt no great bitternesse in them. Paul, because hee had much grace, and was in comparison of many now (as it were) all conscience, and his conscience was (almost) all tendernesse, a seeing, a speaking, a feeling, and a smiting conscience, therefore hee did cry out for ordinary scapes, O wretched man, a body of sinne, a Law in my members: So Rom. 7. 14. I am carnall: What, simply? No, but he had a quicke eye, and saw too much flesh in himselfe: sold under sin: What a slave to sinne simply? No, no sinne raigned in him, but sold in respect of his flesh, and in respect of his feeling, he felt abundance, it even wearied him out. Ahab sold himselfe to doe evill. Paul was sold under sinne, hee did not sell himselfe: Ahab sold himselfe to sinne, Paul was sold under sinne. All this cry was not because his sins were so great, but because his heart was so good, and for that he had an extraordinary conscience of his owne. And thus it is (in our measure) with some now, who because they are come to be very heavenly, and exceeding spirituall, they finde great trouble for such matters, which others (though otherwise good people) make little or nothing of. But before we come to mention any particulars by name▪ I will first speak of an head or two, under which lye many branches.