Care for managing himself under his Temptations; to watch and pray diligently; as being duly fenfible that he hath a watchful Enemy to deal with,one who will not fail to take all Advantages of De

ceiving, and who goes about continually, feek- 1 Pet. V. x, ing whom he may devour. Nor muft our Attainments in Virtue, difpofe us to remit of this Care, for Virtue is no abfolute Security: No Man is fo perfect, fo holy, as never to be affaulted,or out of the reach of this Adverfary. We may defend our felves against his At-. tacks, but ftill attack'd, we must, and most certainly fhall be.

Now tho' there be great hazard and uneasiness, yet is there likewife great Profit to be made fromTemptations; particularly as they contribute to the humbling our Minds, to the purging off our Drofs, and the making us wifer by fuffering. This is the rough Way to Happiness, which all the Saints of God have travell d before us,and by it at laft were fafe conducted to their Journey's end: And they who fell off, and were difcouraged at the ruggednefs of the Paffage, are all Reprobates and Caft-aways. No Order or Profeffion of Men is fo facred,no Place fo remote or folitary,but that Temptations and Troubles will find them out, and intrude upon them.

Nor ought it to feem ftrange, that thefe fhould haunt and purfue us clofe,at allTimes and Places,fince we our felves carry about us the very Matter of our Temptations, and can never run away from that inborn Concupifcence upon which they work,and from whence they take occafion to deftroy us. This is the Account we may reasonably give our felves, why there fhould be fich an uninterrupted fucceffion of Temptations and Miseries, and why one Trouble fhould prefs fo hard upon the heels of another. For how indeed can it be otherwife? fince with our Innocence we loft our Safety and Happiness, and muft be born to

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Trouble, because the Ground of our Trouble is now become a part of our Nature. Many Men involve themselves deeper in Temptations, by being too follicitous to decline them: for we must not fuppofe our felves always to have conquered a Temptation, when we have fled from it; the nobler, and fometimes the more effectual way, is to vanquish them by patient enduring, and being humbled under them.

Thus much is plain; That by declining a Temptation we have not difarmed it. The Root is ftanding ftill, and will foon be fprouting again; and a Man who flees, is fo far from getting ground upon his Adverfary, that he rather gives him Encouragement to purfue more vigorously. The way to overcome is by Patience and Long-fuffering; which, by God's Affiftance, and by degrees, tho' perhaps but flow ones, is more likely to fucceed, than Heat, and Vehemence, and any the violentest and moft obftinate Efforts of our own Strength. When you find your felf tempted, be fure to ask Advice; and when you fee another fo, deal with him gently: Support him with Compaffion, and adminifter all the Comfort in your Power, as You could not but wish to be treated your felf, were You in his afflicted Circumstances.

The beginning of all Temptations to Wickedness is the fickleness of our own Mind, and want of Trust in God. An inconftant and irrefolute Man is like a Ship without a Pilot, driven to and fro, at the Mercy of every guft of Wind. Metals are tried in Ecclus. ii. 5. the Fire, and Acceptable Men in the Furnace of Affliction. We feldom know the true extent of our own Power, till Temptation discover it to us. But Watchfulnefs, which is always neceffary, is chiefly fo when the first Affaults are made; For then the Enemy is more easily repulfed, if we never fuffer him to get within us, but upon the very firft approach draw up our Forces,and fight him without the Gate. Twas well advised of the Poet.

Take

TakePhyfick early, Med'cines come too late
When the Difeafe is grown

inveterate.

Ovid. Principiis ob fta,fero Medicina paratur.

Cum mala per longasinvaluere mo

ras.

And this will be more manifeft, if we obferve by whatMethods and DegreesTemptations grow upon us. The first thing that prefents it felf to the Mind, is a plain fingle Thought; This ftreight is improved into a strong Imagination; That again enforced by a fenfible Delight; Then follow evil Motions, and when These are once ftirred, there remains nothing but the Affent of the Will, and then the Work is finished. Now the firft Steps of this are feldom thought worth our Care; fometimes not taken notice of; fo that the Enemy frequently is got clofe up to us, and even within our Trenches, before we observe him; and we have loft the Day for want of defending our felves, while he was in a condition of being refifted: For the longer we defer the Engagement, the weaker we grow, and the more our Adverfary gathers Strength.

The Seafon of thefe Tryals is various and uncertain. Upon fome they are feverer prefently after their Converfion, upon others towards the latter end of their Days. Some have them fo thick repeated, that their whole Life is one continued Conflict; and fome again have but very few and gentle Tryals : All which different Cafes are ordered by a Juft and Wife God, who knows what each Man deferves, and what he is qualified to undergo; and weighs all Circumftances fo juftly, that his feveral Difpenfations are conftantly fubfervient to the Salvation and Happiness of his chofen Servants.

Let us not therefore defpair, when Temptations befet us, but excite our Zeal, ar pray to God more fervently, that he would be our prefent Help and

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I Cor. X. 13.
I Pet. iv.

Refuge in all our Troubles: and, St. Paul expreffes it, That he would with the Temptation alfo make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it. Let us humble our felves under the trying Hand of God, and patiently fubmit to his good Pleafure in all our Tribulation. For those Pfalm xxxiv. who do fo, he will exalt in due time, and fave them that be of a meek and contrite Spirit.

By Temptations and Afflictions a Man is brought (as it were) to the Touch; by these his Proficiency is measured, and easily discernible: The greater these are, the more acceptable the Sufferer is to God, and the brighter Luftre they add to his Virtue. For, to be Religious and Zealous in the Service of God, when no Uneafinefs is upon us; This is no mighty matter. But if we can fuffer with Patience and Refignation, and continue steady in the Love and Service of God,when he afflicts and fends Bitterness into our Souls, this argues a noble Difpofition, and promifes an extraor¬ dinary Perfection. Some Perfons have come off with Şafety and Honour in very fharp and trying Inftances, and yet are worsted in common and trivial ones. And this Cafe is capable of a very good Improvement: For thus no doubt God gives Men warning, that they fhould not prefume upon their own Strength, but humbly take Sanctuary in Him,in Matters of Difficulty; Moved by the Experience of that Weaknefs, and Frailty, which hath yielded to flighter and lefs violent Temptations.

CHAP.

TU

CHA P. XIV.

Against Rafh Judgment.

you

Urn your Eyes inward upon your felf; for can very hardly exceed in judging your own Actions, nor be too cautious and fparing in cenfuring thofe of others. And Cenfuring indeed this deferves to be called in the worft fenfe of the word, rather than Judging; if we confider, not only how unprofitable to any good End, but how liable to infinite Mistakes, and very often how exceeding finful, all fuch Judgments are; Whereas the Examining and Judging our own felves is a Work very proper for us; Such as we are qualified to undertake, and always turns to good account. We generally determine and give fentence, juft as we ftand affected to Perfons and Things; Our own Paffions and Private Prepoffeffions blind our Minds, and either hinder us from difcerning the Truth, or from letting it have its due Weight with us. Whereas, if we proceeded from no other Principle but the Love of God, thofe Matters, which difagree with our own Senfe of Things, would be allow'd fairer Confideration, and be lefs uneafy to us.

But now fomething foreign to the Cafe in hand, either lurking privately in our own Breaft, or happening from without, engages and draws our Minds. after it. Many People act upon private Refpects and perfonal Interefts, even when leaft fenfible that they do fo. Thefe Men continue well fatisfied, fo long as Things agree with their own Inclination; but are out of all Patience, upon the least Difference and Contradiction. And hence it comes to pafs, that good Correfpondence is fo often broke, and Quarrels commenced between Friends and Neighbours, even Men of Piety and the moft Sacred Profeffions, upon no other

Ground,