Excellent, but yet ftill imperfect Joys here, to those abfolute and Eternal Bleffings, which neither Eye has Seen, nor Ear beard, nor does it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive.

To which God of his infinite Mercy vouchsafe we may all arrive, through Jefus Chrift our Lord.

(54)

SERMON III.

Of the Devices of Satan.

Preached at White-Hall, April 26.
1688.

2 COR. II. II.

For we are not ignorant of his Devices.

A

Mong all the Parts of Chriftian Inftitution, which either the Gospel of Chrift directs, or we as the Minifters of Chrift, and your Servants, for Fefus Sake, exhort you to; there is none after the Knowledge of our Duty towards God, and what he requires of us, in order to our Eternal Salvation, either more neceffary to be well underftood; or, would Men seriously apply themselves to

I Cor. iv. 5.

it,

it, more eafy to be attain'd by us, than how to Arm and Fortify our felves against thofe Devices of Satan, whereby he continually Endeavours to Seduce

us.

There are few fo ignorant in this Matter, but are able at leaft to trace out his moft ordinary Temptations, and to difcover what it is that the moft ufually expofes them to Sin. And though he has his Crooked and by-paths too, Devices both more fubtily laid, and more difficult to be difcern'd; yet a little more Vigilancy and Care

would ferve to discover even thefe alfo, I Cor. iv. 5. and to bring to light the most hidden

Myfteries of Iniquity.

But though there be then nothing more obvious to a fincere and inquifitive Mind, than to find out thefe Artifices of the Devil; yet alas! A fad Experience fhews us, that there is fcarce any Thing in the World, in which Men for the moft Part feem more to betray either their Ignorance or their Inadvertency; whilft they fuffer every the most ordinary Temptation to overcome them, and fcarce an Affault fo weak can be made upon them, but what is fure to have its Effect, and find them altogether unprepared to refift it.

To correct, if it may be, this careless and supine Temper, fo difhonourable to God, and fo dange rous to our own Souls; I fhall endeavour at this Time to lay before you fome of thofe Methods whereby the Devil is most wont to lead Men, into' Sin; That fo knowing our Danger, we may be the better able to Arm our Souls against it, left Satan fhould get an Advantage of us; For we are not ignorant of his Devices.

The Occafion of which Words was this.

See I Cor. v. 1.

St. Paul having in his former Epistle to the Corinthians, commanded them to pronounce a Sentence of Excommunication upon a certain incestuous Man amongst them, who had Married his Father's Wife; had fince received an Account of a very good Effect that this Infliction had wrought upon the offending Perfon; fo as to bring him to a great Senfe both of the Sin he had committed, and of the Scandal which thereby he had given to the Church.

Upon this the Apoftle in this his Second Epiftle, commands them to take off the Cenfure under which he lay; and to receive him again into Communion with them, left being Swallow'd up of overmuch Sorrow, he fliould be driven to Despair, and fo the Devil get an Advantage against them; and that not only in the Ruin of a fingle Brother, but yet much more, by turning that Difcipline which was defigned for the Edification of the Church, into the Deftruction of it; For, fays he, we are not ignorant of his Devices.

Were I not refolved against entring on any Point of Controversy in this Place, I fhould not here want a very fair Occafion to do it. It has been the great Endeavour of thofe of the other Communion, to Establish on this Procedure of St. Paul with this Corinthian, their new and dangerous Doctrine of Human 'Satisfactions to be made for Sin, and of the Power of the Church to grant Indulgences for the Remiffion of them. But I defire now to have no other Enemy but that of my Text to Encounter: And the half of whofe Devices will be more than

See the Khemifts Annor. on this Chap. Catholick Scriptur. Point 26. of Indulgences. n. 6.

enough

enough for our prefent Confideration, without ex-
pofing the Artifices of any Others, how bufy fo-
ever they too may be to get an Advantage of us.
And therefore it thall fuffice to remark, with Re-
ference to the Subject before us, That all which can
reasonably be concluded from St. Paul's process with
this Corinthian, is no more than what we readily
allow of; viz. The Exercife of publick Difcipline
for the Correction of Open and Scandalous Offen-
ders; and whom the Church has certainly Power
both for their Sins to feparate from her Society,
as the Apoftle did this Incestuous Man; and upon
a fincere Repentance to release the Cenfure, and
receive them again into Communion, as in this
Chapter he ordered them to do this Penitent Co-
rinthian.

But now this is neither the Doctrine nor Practice
of those who pretend to argue from this place.
Their Satisfactions and Indulgencies are of another
kind, than what Canonical Penances and the Re-
laxations of them will amount to. They fuppofe,
that after Mens Sins by the Sacrament of Penance
are Forgiven to them, fo that there is now no
more Guilt remaining, nor by Confequence any
more Obligation to an Eternal Punishment due to
it; there continues nevertheless an Obligation to
Temporal Punishment, to be undergone as a true
and Proper Satisfaction for Sin, either here, or in
Purgatory and that this the Pope has Power to
difpenfe with, by Applying to them the Satisfactions
not only of Chrift, but of all his Saints; who ha-
ving lived fevere Lives, and fuffered a greater Tem-
poral Punishment than was requifite to fatisfy for
their own Sins, have left a Stock in Bank to the
Treasure of the Church, for the Advantage of
others; and the Remiffion of thefe Temporal Pains,

by

1