ALthough the Substance of that Baptismal Oath of Allegiance, which every Chri­stian takes at his entrance into Covenant with God, be, to renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil; and although this solemn obliga­tion be laid by God and the Church upon the Conscience of every Christian, to make him more vigilant and resolute in resisting the Tem­ptations which the World without, the Flesh with­in, or the Devil both ways can present unto him: Yet to the scandal both of our Nature and Reli­gion, there have often been, and now are in the Church of God, a sort of licentious perjur'd [Page 2] Christians, who taking a pride to aggravate the weakness of Humane Nature, and undervalue the power of Gods assisting Grace, represent it as impossible for sinful Flesh and Blood to over­come the Pleasures of some, and the Terrours of other Temptations; and so make Religion it self, which is nothing, but the practice of resi­sting Pain and Pleasure out of love to God, an idle Romantick notion, and in effect, renounce their Baptismal Vow.

But to the lewd Pretensions, and authority of these most insolent Men, my Text is an appa­rent contradiction, and reproof; wherein the Apostle assures the suffering Corinthians, that, as among all the sharp Trials and Persecutions they had undergone for Religion, none had happen'd to them, but such as were [...], proportiona­ble to the Nature of Man, or such as others be­fore them had endur'd: So for the future he like­wise assures them, that God, who was faithful to his Promises, would not suffer them to be tempted above their Strength; but upon the due exercise of their patience and courage in resisting, would make a way for them to escape in all their Trials, and give them sufficient supplies of his Grace to support and overcome the violence thereof.

There hath no Tempation taken you, (saith he) but [Page 3]such as is moderate or common to man, for God is faith­ful, who will not, &c.

This is the true and obvious meaning of these words; and therefore by good analogy both of Faith and Reason, we may counclude, that God, who is acquainted with the infirmities of our Nature, takes the same care of us in all other Trials and Temptations, as the Apostle here assures us he doth in persecutions; which are in this and many other places of the Gospel emphatically called Temptations, because that of all the Trials which men can undergo for the sake of God and Reli­gion, those terrible pains and sufferings wherein persecutions consist, are by far most difficult to be withstood by feeble Flesh and Blood.

But what need is there of proving so great a Truth by consequence and analogy, when the promise of the Spirit, (that assistant form of Chri­stians,) is the most general promise of the Gospel, and one of the principal terms upon which we are encouraged to enter into Covenant with God? For we bind our selves by our Sacramental Oaths, to resist such Temptations as unassisted Humane Nature is not able to resist, because we are assur'd from the beginning to the end of the New Testament; That God will give his Spirit to them that sincerely ask it, that the Graces of it are sufficient for us, that he will perfect his Strength in Human Weak­ness, [Page 4]and that he will make us more than conquerours in all Temptations, and find out a way by which we shall escape. A considerable part of the Gospel consists in such like promises of receiving sufficient assi­stance from God; and indeed in had been inconsi­stent with his Wisdom and Goodness, as he is the Author of the Covenant of Grace, to require us to swear resistance against such Temptations as de­praved Human Nature is not able to withstand, unless withal ne would have given us concurrent supplys of supernatural Strength, sufficient of sup­port us in them, and enable us to perform what he doth exact.

This then being certain, that God stands bound in his Gospel to take special care to assist us in all Temptations, and grant us sufficient supplys of his Grace, I proceed to prove the Apostles con­sequnce, That no Temptations how violent soever, are irresistible by Christians, or that no Temptation or Trial hath or ever shall happen by Gods permission unto any Person in Covenant with him, but such as is suitable to the Powers of Human Nature strengthened by Grace, and such as a reasonable considerate Man that duly uses and improves the present assistance of God, may not easily conquer and subdue.

This assertion I shall prove two ways; First, by authority or precedent; and Secondly, by reason.

First, by authority, taken from the practice and examples of wise and sober Men in all Ages, who have resisted the strongest, and overcome the most difficult Temptations for the sake of God; and therefore those Traiterous ungodly Christians, who love to represent the cause of Virtue and Re­ligion as desperate and indefensible, contradict the experiences of Ages, and belye the Records both of God and Man.

I shall but instance in three or four of the most violent assur'd Temptations, which the Devils and their cursed Agents use as the strongest battery to subdue the souls of the bravest Men.

The first whereof, is the fear of Death, which Bildad in Job, calls [...] the King of Con­sternations, or Terrors; and yet as terrible as are the approaches of this King of Terrors, the brave adventures of those gallant Heathens, who have met him with all his train of Terrors, with­out astonishment and fear, and sacrific'd their lives for their Country and Friends: These gene­rous souls, I say, who could scarce dye for higher ends, infallibly shew, that 'tis so far from being impossible, that 'tis neither strange, nor difficult for Reason without Grace, or unassisted Humane Nature, to overcome the fear of Death.

But then if we consult the Records of the Church, we shall find the supreme motives of [Page 6]Religion to have made Cowards, and common People valiant, and the Spirit of God, which the Jewish Writers call the Spirit of Might, so to have fortifi'd the Courage of Women and Chil­dren; as to make them dye with more Resolu­tion, than the Worthies of Greece and Rome.

The time would fail, as the Author to the He­brews speaks, in telling of those that were ston'd, sawn asunder, Vid. imadversio­s honorabilis doctis. Nort. natchbulli, u. aur. in Ep.! Hebr. c. 11.7. empaled, and slain with the Sword. And the Jewish and Christian Martyrologies; the bloody Calendars of the Greek and Latin Chur­ches; the Histories of the Persecutions of the Jews by the Heathens, of the Christians by them both, and of the former and latter Reformers by the Papal See, from the time of the Waldenses, to this last Age, are so many standing Acts and Mo­numents to prove, that no tryals can happen to Men, but what Humane Nature is able to bear, and particularly that Death in all his array of Terrors is no such insuperable consideration, when it stands in competition with our Duty to God.

The Spanish Christians in the time of Trajan, behav'd themselves with such resolution, and assurance at the Heathen Tribunals, that his Pro­curator and their Judge Pliny mistook their con­stancy and perseverance for stubbernness of Opinion, or a certain Superstitious obstination of Mind. And afterwards in the tenth Persecution, [Page 7]they so little regarded their Lives, that they threw them away, and offer'd unnecessary affronts to the Heathen Gods, that so they might be sure to dye Martyrs in the Fact, and have the honour to Seal the Truth with their Blood. Insomuch that the Wise Council of Ex. Consil. Elib, annv. 305. siquas idola for gerit, & ibi­dem fuerit oc­cisus placuit numerum eun nonre ipi Ma­tyrum. Eliberis was fain to make a Decree to correct such unwarrantable rio­tous Zeal, and make them less prodigal of their Blood. But both they, and the more Primitive Christians of other Countrys would have dy'd, had it been possible a thousand times, rather than drop a grain of Incense, bow before an Idol, or do any other significant Action, which Custom had made a sign of denying Christ.

And since the corruption of the Latin Church, the noble Army of reformed Martyrs in these Western parts of the World, have chosen to meet the King of Terrors in his most terrible appea­rance, I mean in the dreadful Inquisition, and endure the most painful sorts of death, rather than Worship a Cake of Bread, Invoke their Fellow-creatures, admit any Advocate in Heaven but Jesus, or make the Gospel depend upon the dictates of the Pope, how illiterate and wicked so­ever he may be. But were there no other Hi­stories extant but the Bible, the number of the Saints recorded there, that have embraced the most bitter Ignominious Deaths, and despised [Page 8]the Torments and Shame thereof, are more than enough to prove, that there is no Temptation so dreadful, but what may be born by Man, and that 'tis neither impossible, nor so exceeding diffi­cult for Christians to conquer the fear of Death, as the profane and sensual part of the World, to the dishonour of our Religion, pretend it to be.

The second instance, under which I shall bring examples to prove, that no Temptation is irre­sistible, shall be taken from the Sin of Unclean­ness, or fornication, a Sin which the World is so apt to excuse, and pretend a kind of necessity to commit, because it is so natural to Flesh and Blood. And yet as natural and hereditary as the Advocates of Uncleanness represent in to be 'tis so far from being an irresistible Temptation, that Joseph re­sisted the frequent importunities of his own Lady or Mistress, although besides the quality of her Person, and the danger of denying, his own Youth, and all other circumstances concurr'd to make him consent and Yield. And were the dread of the Majesty of the Pure and Holy God, impress'd upon the heart of the most lustsul Satyr, but half as deep, as it was upon his, that Grace alone would be sufficient to check his sinful pro­pensions, and make him cry out as he did in the critical moment of Tryal, How shall I do this dam­nable act, and sin against my God.

But lest you should object that Joseph was an extraordinary person, and had more than common assistance from God; let us suppose the most ordinary unexperienc'd Christian surrounded with the strongest Temptations imaginable, to commit this natural, and therefore concluded un­conquerable Sin; Let us suppose him to have the most charming Beauty to entice him, together with opportunity, and all other Circumstances to heighten the Temptation, and make it as outra­geous as it can be imagin'd to be; yet for all this, if this Man should say that he were not able to rosist this violent Temptation, he would lye a­gainst his Conscience, and contradict the univer­sal experience of the World. For if at that in­stant God should say unto him, as unto the Rich Man in the Gospel, Thou Fool, this night thy Soul shall be required of thee; That dreadful Summons to appear so soon in the next World, would make this mighty Temptation become none at all, and presently drive out that unclean Spirit of Lust which possest his Soul before. But much more, if at the same time should come forth the Fingers of a Mans hand, and write upon the Wall, Mene, Mene, Tekel Upharzin, Do this, and thou shalt be immediately damned; I desire any one of you to Answer in his heart for this Man, what you think he would do: You cannot but [Page 10]confess, that his Amorous intentions and Coun­tenance would be chang'd, his jovial Thoughts troubled, his Joints loos'd, and his Knees like King Belshazzar's, knock one against another. Or lastly, let us suppose at the same instant, that an unexpected Message should come from his Prince, threatning the Gibbet, or the Ax, if he proceeded to gratifie his sinful Desires; such a terrible Message would undoubtedly be sufficient to extinguish his present Flames, and restrain him from the Sin he intended to commit. Or not to take the advantage of such frightful Enemies to his Pleasure, as Damnation or Death, let us ra­ther suppose, That a little Child, much more a Grave and Reverend Person, should unexpe­ctedly come into the Room before he proceeded to execute his filthy Lust; certainly instead of finding it impossible to resist the Damnable Sin, he would find it impossible for him to commit it in their prefence, unless he had made an utter shipwrack both of his Conscience and Honour, and were become as shameless as a Beast. Or, let us suppose that a mighty reward, imagin a Kingdom, or some vast Sum of Money were offer'd him upon condition he would resist this pretended ir­resistible Temptation, what do you think would find Strength and Resolution enough to overcome [Page 11]the unconquerable Temptation upon these terms, and be glad to be hired by such a Reward, to abstain from his Damnable Lust. And therefore, if all this be true, Why should not the remem­brance of our own Mortality as effectually Mor­tifie our Lusts, and keep us from daring to com­mit a presumptuous Sin, as if God himself should tell us we should shortly dye? Why should not the consideration of Eternal Torments threat­ned in the Gospel, be as perswasive against Sin, as the consideration of them written by a Spirit upon a Wall? Or why should not the Message of Eternal Death which we deliver from God, pre­vail as much upon Men, as the Message of tem­poral Death from a King? Lastly, why should not the presence of the Omnipresent God over­awe Men more than the presence of a Man? Or, why should not the Infallible Promise of Heaven and Infinite Happiness, be a more powerful motive to Self-denyal, than the Promise of a Kingdom, or Treasure here below?

The shameful inconsideration, stupidity, and carnality of Mens hearts, is the cause why Tem­poral expectations and proposals have more force upon their Souls, than the hopes of Eternal Glory; and that present or approaching sensible Pain or Loss, fills their earthy Minds with more dreadful apprehensions, than the prospect of Infinite Misery to come.

But to conclude this Instance with a more fa­miliar Argument; If the Temptations to this Sin be so very difficult to be resisted, as Debauch'd Men pretend it is, how comes it to pass, that care­ful and Religious Parents suffer their Children to Sojorn in Mesech, and dwell in the Tents of Kedar, I mean to go abroad and converse in this wicked World? How dare they expose their Souls, which they tender next to their own, to such certain dangers in an Adulterous Generation, if to deny ones self, and resist the Temptations of the Flesh be either impossible, or next to impossible, as the injurious Discourses of the unclean Spirits of this licencious Age upon all occasions represent it to be?

My third Instance to prove how capable the nature of Man, by Gods Grace, is to resist or over­come the most dangerous Temptations, shall be taken from a Temptation to commit some Sin upon a certain proposal of gaining or loosing a Crown. Among all the Trials or Temptations the World, the Devil, or our own Hearts can pre­sent unto us, none can be more powerful or un­conquetable than this: For a Crown is the highest secular Interest, the possession of it is both Go­vernment and Riches, and by consequence, the hopes of getting, or fear of loosing that supreme degree of Temporal Happiness, which consists [Page 13]in the enjoyment of it, must at least to covetous, or ambitious Souls, be the strongest inducement that can be to Sin. And yet as powerful as this motive is, Moses, who might have passed for the Son of Pharaohs Daughter, and by consequence, have been Heir presumptive to his Crown, when he came to Years, (as the Author to the Hebrews writes) rather than renounce the Covenant, which his Ancestors made with God, Excommu­nicate himself from his visible Church, and for­fake his Brethren, though the persecuted People of God, refused to be call'd, that is, to be the Son of that August Princess, and expect the most glorious Kingdom of the World. And not to ransack forreign Histories, or multiply Exam­ples in this short Discourse, our late Soveraign Charles the Martyr, whom God was pleased to make perfect through sufferings, and reserve for these latter times, as the most glorious Mo­nument of Christian Courage that ever was in the World. That incomparable Prince and Christian, rather than Rob God, Prostitute his Royal Ho­nour, justifie Sacrilege and Rebellion by Law, and Perjure his Righteous Soul, by accepting those Sinful Conditions the Rebels proposed; after ma­ny other unparallell'd sufferings, chose to Sacri­fice his Blood to his Conscience, and secure his Innocence by the loss of his Triple Crown.

My last Instance to prove how capable Hu­mane Nature in a Christian is to resist Temptati­ons, shall be taken from the natural desire of Re­venge, which of all other sinful affections, but Pride and Self-love, from whence it proceeds, discovers it self early in Man: For with how much impatience and eagerness will even little Children strive to be revenged? How quickly will they resent, and how long remem­ber injuries; and how will Malice, as it were, possess their little Souls; and Anger, the actual ex­ercise of that Malice, swell their Hearts and Eyes? And how natural this Sin is to the corrupt con­stitution of Man, and how proper it is to some particular complexions and tempers; the Brawls, Curses, Duels, Factions, Slanders, Libels, Mur­thers, Schisms, and Rebellions, which happen in all Societies of Men, are most sad deplorable proofs. And yet if any Man deny that it is possi­ble to mortifie this damnable passion of Revenge, wherein the Image of the Devil so much consists, he Libels the Christian Religion, and injures the Reputation and Authority of the Gospel, which teacheth Men to forgive and love their enemies, to bless them that curse us, and to do good to them that hate us and despite fully use us. This Doctrin is proper to the Christian above all the Religions in the World; God hath made it the very condition upon which [Page 15]he'l accept our Oblations, and grant us Pardon for our Sins; and therefore if thou bring by gift be­fore the Altar, and there remembrest that thy Brother hath ought against thee, leave thy Gift there, and go thy way, thou must first be reconciled to thy Brother, and then return, and offer thy gift. And unless we can prevail with our selves to forgive men their tres­passes, the Oracle of our Religion hath assur'd us, 'tis in vain to Pray for the Pardon of our own. Therefore if it be impossible to resist Temptati­ons to this devilish Sin of Revenge; or which is all one, to Forgive the Enemy that strike the first stroke, 'tis impossible to be Saved, or else all the Precepts of mutual forbearance and forgiving one another must pass for Gospel-gal­lantry, or only for the Romantick and Ornamen­tal part of the Christian Religion, which it con­cerns us not at all to practice or believe. But alass, 'tis as easie to conquer this damnable Passion of Revenge, as to become Meek, and Humble, and Charitable; for the mutual exercise of which most excellent Graces, the Primitive Christians, as Marcellinus hath observed, were famous among the Heathens, when Slanders, Quarrels, Blood­shed, and all other Tragical effects of Revenge, were scarce ever heard of in the Church of God.

But besides the Examples I have taken out of [Page 16]the Bible, and other Sacred Histories to prove under these four Instances, that no Temptations are too strong to be overcome, let me add some examples out of Heathen and Mahumetan Historians for the further confirmation of this fundamental Truth.

Under my first Instance I might have produc'd a thousand illustrious Examples, as of Socrates, Regulus, Curtius; all which chose to dye very cruel Deaths: The first, rather than deny God; The second, rather than perjure his Soul; And the third, to deliver his Country from a Plague.

My second Instance I might have adorn'd with the memorable examples of Scipio Numantinus, and Mahumet the Great; whereof the first abhor'd to look upon that charming Beauty which his Captains presented unto him, as his prize: And the latter, after an humble remonstrance of his Lords, how much it was beneath the Majesty of the Ottoman Emperour to enslave it self to the Weaker Sex, immediately sacrificed his dearest Mistress Irene to his Honour, with his own victo­rious Hands. The Action was Barbarous, but the Self-denial was great, and may justly serve to upbraid those slothful cowardly Christians, who have not only lost all sense of Honour, but all sense and consideration of infinite future Rewards, and so harden their hearts, that they will not attend to [Page 17]the dictates of their own Reason, and thereby dispose their Souls to hearken to the secret Di­rections and Inspirations of God. They could be content to have him for their Champion, but not for their Second; for they hate to assist him, or which is all one, to let him assist them against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil; but because they cannot do all, therefore they will do no­thing, nor contribute that little they have left as men, to secure themselves from Sin. To con­clude, they will not, like Cornelius, prepare them­selves by Morality for Grace, but would have God entirely force their Nature, and influence their Souls by the irresistible motions of his Spi­rit; being unwilling to do so much in Spiritual Matters, as is requisit to denominate good Acti­ons their own.

Under the third Instance I might have added the great Examples of Abdolominus, Dioclesian, and Otho; the first of which was unwilling to change a private Life for a Crown; The second chang'd, a Crown, I cannot say, but the Empire of Rome, which had Crowned heads for Subjects, for a private Life; And the third, though he was elected Empe­rour by his conquering Legions, refus'd to ratifie the Election by his Sword, but Kill'd himself, on purpose to leave the Imperial Seat to his Rival, and save the expence of his faithful Souldiers Blood.

The fourth Instance I might have confirm'd with the Testimony of the Greek and Latin Mora­lists, all which determin with one Voice, that Revenge is a Passion violent in none, but weak and cowardly Souls; and that Revenge an injury, as the Greek word [...] imports, is according to the Doctrin of Maximus Tyrius, to offer one again; so that he that Returns is as much to be condemned by the Verdict of right Reason, as he that gives an Affront.

And therefore since 'tis plain by these Exam­ples, that bare Reason and Moral Gallantry of Spirit, have sometimes enabled Heathens and Mahumet ans to resist those Pains, and Pleasures, and Interests, which, as all men grant, are the stron­gest Temptations to Sin; is it not shameful Non­sense, and horrid Impiety for Christians, whom God, without a just provocation, never fails to support and assist with his Grace, to magnifie the weakness of Humane Nature, and the strength of these and the like Temptations, with a Mali­cious design, nor only to justifie themselves and excuse others, but to Debauch Mankind to the utmost of their power, and render the Christian the most grievous intollerable Religion that ever was in the World?

From whence I proceed to prove by Reason that no Trial or Temptation can happen to Men, [Page 19]but such as is suitable to Humane Nature, aided with Grace, and such as any Christian that is true to his own endeavours, and faithfully uses the restraining and assisting helps of God, my not easily conquer and subdue.

My first Reason shall be taken from the consi­deration of the nature of Virtue and Grace, which are nothing, but an habitual power, and ability in the Rational Soul of Man, to bear all sensible Pain and Loss, and forbear all sensible Pleasure and Profit, out of love to Reason and the Righ­teous Laws of God. This excellent spiritual power and ability of the Soul, as far as it is Na­tural, or acquired by our own Acts and Endea­vours, is of Moral consideration, but as it is supernaturally wrought in the Soul, or infus'd into it by the Spirit of God, so far it is of Theo­logical consideration, and belongs not to Mora­lists, but Divines. But because Grace, as all Men grant, is the perfection of Nature, and ac­quired Virtue is consistent with infus'd; I have put them both together in one Definition, in which Divines and Philosophers both agree. But were it impossible, or so exceeding difficult as some Men make it, to resist Temptations; this defini­tion of Grace or Virtue would be but an useless fictitious notion, and Divines and Philosophers from the beginning of the World would have [Page 20]been either Knaves or Fools. All the excellent Sermons the former have made with so much elo­quence and authority concerning Mortification, Self­denial, and Perseverance, and all the brave Dis­courses the latter have penn'd with such admirable Reason and Rhetorick, concerning Fortitude, Tem­perance, and Patience, are idle unprofitable Ha­rangues, and as insignificant to the impotent Race and Nature of Man, as the practical Rules of Dancing to a Cripple, or a Lecture in Geo­metry to a natural Fool. In particular, St. Paul, who Magnifies the Grace of God so much in his Epistles, and protests he took pleasure in bearing Reproaches, Persecutions, and Distresses for Christs sake. This great Doctor and Saint, who declar'd upon his own experience, that he was alwaies most strong, when he was most weak, and that he could do and suffer all things through the strength he receiv'd from Christ, must pass for a Cheat, or Enthusiast, if Men by the promised supports and assistance of Gods Grace be not able to resist Temptations unto Sin.

There was never yet in the Church of God a more apt Example to confirm this Doctrin I now maintain, than this Apostle was; for when the Jews and Gnosticks persecuted his righteous Soul with so much rage and violence as to make him call them the Messengers of Satan, and compare [Page 21]the sharpness of the Persecution, which they rais'd against him, to a thorn in the flesh; like a true Souldier of Christ, he still resisted and held out; but yet suspecting his own perseverance, and fearing lest his Faith and Patience might at last fail, he Prayed God thrice to remove the sharp Trials from him: But God, who knew whereof he was made, better than he himself, still con­tinu'd them, assuring the suffering Apostle, that his concurrent Grace was sufficient for him, and that his strength was made perfect in his weakness.

This relation the Apostle makes of himself, is either true or false: If false, then he was ei­ther an Impostor, or a Mad-man: If he was Mad, as the Festuses of this Age represent him to be, how came he to speak the words of Truth and Soberness? Hw came he to write such learned and profound Epistles, and make such admirable defences for himself and the Christian Religion, before so many Procurators, and the Emperour himself at Rome? How came he to be so very Wise upon occasion, as to plead the Priviledge of a Roman Citizen, and divide the Sadducees against the Pharisees, when they had both conspir'd to take away his Life? How came he to baffle the Jews out of their own Traditions and Prophecies, to convert the greatest Cities of the World to the Christian Religion, and acquire such a parti­cular [Page 22]Veneration and Authority, not only among the common People, but among the Philoso­phers both of Greece and Rome? To conclude, how came the Church Universal to Canonize his Writings; and how came they particularly to be ador'd by such gallant Men as Justin, Origen, Ter­tullian, and Clemens of Alexandria, who were all as great Wits and Philosophers as ever the World could shew.

An Impostor likewise he could not be; for then he must have acted for Glory, or Gain. For Glory he did not; because he hath so often ac­knowledg'd his own Sinfulness, Unworthiness, and Insufficiency, representing himself as the least of the Apostles, and freely confessing that he was what he was by the Grace and designation of God. And for Gain or secular Interest he could not act, for in this Life, he was of all Men most miserable; his Apostolical Office rendring his whole Life but a continual Tragedy or Catalogue of Miseries; as you may read, 2 Cor. 11. from the 23. to the end of the Chapter. This Story, then, I cited out of his Writings must be infallibly true; and if it be, then Virtue and Grace are real notions; and by consequence, no Tempation can happen to any Man, but what Humane Nature is able to bear. And lest you should think that God had a more particular care for this Apostle than other [Page 23] Christians, and supply'd him with more particular aids, than the rest of the Church, you may find him exhorting the whole Church of Ephesus to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might; you may find him charging Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ; and exhorting the whole City of the Philippians, to work out their Salvation with care and sollicitude, because God, by his preventing and assisting Grace was working in their hearts both to Will and to Do. Perseverance or the working out of Salvation, consists in nothing but in constantly resisting Temptations to Sin; and there can be no sense in that, nor any other such like Exhortations, unless God (as the Psal­mist speaks) be a present help in time of trouble, and his assisting Grace concur to the aid and re­lief of all those that need, and sincerely desire it; and, like the good and faithful Servant in the Gospel, improve it as fast as it is bestowed.

To all which let me add the Precepts of Mor­tification, Patience, and Self-denial; the Exhorta­tions to keep our selves Pure, Temperate, Sober, Chast, to be stedfast and unmoveable, to be stedfast to the end, to resist the Devil, to resist him unto Blood: Of all which and the like Exhortations, if we consider God as the Original Author, it must needs follow, that Men in Covenant with him, have ordinarily power to resist the World, the Flesh, [Page 24]and the Devil, nay to resist them all to Martyr­dom, and to Blood. And therefore none but Fools and Atheists can be so absurd and impious as to imagin that God (with Reverence be it spoken) can so transgress the Rules of common sense, as to advise his Creatures to the practice of those Du­ties, which he knew bofore were impossible to be done. Nay this damnable assertion of the Liber­tines of this Age, (who, like that filthy Goat Nero, think all the World as lascivious as themselves,) robs God of his Goodness, by imagining he can delude his reasonable Creatures so far, as to put them upon the Practice of those Duties, which he knew were impracticable and above their Power to do. But God, that is better acquainted with our Nature than we our selves, can put us upon nothing, but what he knows is either absolutely in our power, or at least, as to conquer Temptati­ons is, within the power of our Nature, assisted by Grace to perform. For this very reason it is, that God and the Church bind every Christian at his first admission into Covenant by such a solemn Oath to resist Temptations, as I mention'd in the beginning of this Discourse: the substance of which solemn obligation amounts to thus much; I do here in the presence of God, my Saviour, and all the Heavenly Host devote my self to the service of God; I call Heaven, and Earth, the [Page 25]Church Militant and Triumphant to bear witness that I renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil; and that I'le resist their Temptations to my last breath. This I avow to be my resoluti­on; and upon this condition, and this alone, I now desire to enter into Covenant with my God, and be admitted into his Church; and I call my Conscience to Record this day, that I will never repent of this Promise, nor revoke it, but conti­nue Christs faithful Souldier to the end of my Life: So help me, O my God. 'Tis impossible for the Conscience of Man, or Angel to be bound by a stronger Obligation than this; but unless the Matter of it be practicable, 'tis a solemn piece of Nonsense and Delusion; and God and his Church for above 1600 Years have mock'd and abus'd the World.

The second Reason, by which I undertake to prove my Assertion, shall be taken from the consideration of the nature of Repentance; which consists in an unfeigned sorrow for our Sins past, and a sincere Resolution by Gods assistance to lead an Holy Life for the time to come. But if Men be conscious to themselves, that the Sins they com­mitted they could by no means resist, why should they sorrow and repent for what is past, or so contradict themselves, and mock God, as to pro­mise amendment for the time to come? Why [Page 18]instead of confessing their Sins to him, do they not rather expostulate with him, and say, 'Tis true, O Lord, I have done many things which Men that pretend to be thy Ministers, and trouble the World by thy Authority, declare to be grie­vous Sins; but if they be, I protest I could not help it; Thou knowest I could not resist them; and if Thou wouldst have me do better for the time to come, thou must give me more Grace than hitherto I have had. Which horrible Expo­stulation shews how inconsistent this damnable Doctrin I oppose, is to the Duty of Repentance; how ridiculous it renders Confession and Contri­tion for Sin; nay how it makes the greatest Sins we are tempted to commit no Sins at all: And many more such dreadful consequences flow from it, as may justly make the Blades or licentious Wits, that talk it about the Town, if they have any Sense or Conscience left, to abhor it, and recant.

My third Reason is taken from the consideration of the Nature of Laws; which commonly, be­sides the things they command, or forbid, contain either general or special Threatnings and Promi­ses, as most proper and suitable motives to en­gage us to perform the Duties we ought to do, and abstain from the Sins we ought not to com­mit: But if the free and rational Nature of Man, [Page 19]neither simply in it self, nor with the assistance of God; if Reason with, no more than without Grace, have power to overcome Temptations to wilful Sin, it would be transcendent Folly and Cruelty for Princes, and States to make Temporal Laws for their Subjects; and much more for God to make Spiritual Laws for his Church. He might with as much Wisdom and Justice have charged Men not to be Hungry, or Sick; not to be Hot, or Cold; as not to commit Adultery, not to Steal, not to Murther, not to bear False Witness, &c. unless by some means or other it be in their power to resist the strongest Temptati­ons that the Wit of Men or Devils can invent, to induce them to commit the foresaid Sins.

My fourth Reason I ground on the 10th of St. Matthew, v. 33. where our Saviour declares that Whosoever shall deny him before Men, that him will he deny before his Father whith is in Heaven: But were any Suffering so intolerably sharp, were any persecutions so dismal and grie­vous, that it were impossible for supported Hu­mane Nature to bear them; were all the Torments of a Roman Inquisition, and all the Artifices of Cruelty, which Wit and Malice could invent, above the Courage and Resolution of a Christian, and insuperable by Reason, strengthened with Grace: The Blessed Jesus, who took our Infirmi­ties [Page 20]upon him, and knew by experience what Humane Nature was: He, I say, that was made like unto his Brethren, that he might be a Merci­ful and Faithful High-Priest, would never deny any Man a share in his Atonement, for doing that, which extremity of Torment must force him to commit.

To conclude with such another Reason: You may remember that our Saviour, in the Descri­ption he gives of Hell, in the 9th of St. Mark, hath this ingenious Hebrew Phrase, Where their Worm dy­eth not; which Worm, according to the sense both of the Jewish and Christian Church, signifies no­thing here; and in the 66th of Isaiah, but that Stinging remorse of Conscience, or continual Fret, or Vexation of Soul in Damned Spirits, caused by the remembrance, and consideration of the wilfull. Treachery and Baseness of their own Hearts, in committing those Sins, and yielding to those Temptations, which they knew they had power sufficient to resist. But were the Damn'd Souls in Hell of this opinion, that it were im­possible, or next to impossible, for Men to resist Temptations; were they conscious to themselves that they were overcome by all Temptations to which they yielded, because they wanted power sufficient to conquer them; what outward Tor­tures soever they may endure, they must needs [Page 21]be free from inward Pangs and Torments, from that intolerable horror and remorse of Conscience which our Saviour calls the Worm, because, like a Moth or Worm, it constantly frets and gnaws upon the tenderest part of the Soul that breeds it, and increases the Torments of Hell more, than all the Rivers of Fire and Brimstone that constantly flow therein.

And thus, I hope, I have said enough to confirm and illustrate this great Truth, having prov'd it both by Authority and Reason; and charg'd the con­trary error (or Blaspemy shall I say) with such absur'd and damnable Consequences, as may just­ly make any Man, that is not desperate, both a­sham'd and afraid to assert it in the presence of God, and reasonable Men. But we live ( God knows) in a Nation and Age, wherein Sin and Nonsense are Presumptuous, and wherein 'tis long since become fashionable and gentile to que­stion Principles, and deny all those fundamental Truths of natural and revealed Divinity, which neither Heathens nor Christians ever Questioned be­fore. This is the reason, why Divines, whom God hath set for the service and defence of the Gospel, have of late been fain to lay the Foun­dations again, and Preach up such Doctrins as sober Men, not acquainted enough with the ini­quity of the Time, have judged at first hearing, [Page 22]to need no proof: Such as the being and providence of God, the immortality of the Soul, and the necessity of good works; to which I may add the Subject of this Discourse, which hath been to prove, that no Temptations which God suffers to fall upon Christians are irresistible, or that no thinking, circumspect, vigilant Man, that's true to his own Reason, and careful to make use of the promised assistance of God, can be over-matched by any Trial, though never so sharp, nor meet with any Temptation too strong to be withstood, how de­lightful or charming soever it be.

And this Doctrin being proved by so many un­deniable experiments, and reasons, I hope may be sufficient to demonstrate the Folly, and chastise the Insolence and Impiety of those Prophane Men, who, because they have enslaved themselves to their own Passions, affect to make Man like a Beast, (that is, like themselves) all Sense and Appetite, and represent him as determin'd in all his actions by outward objects, and unable to moderate his Lusts, and Fears. But had these Men but common Reverence for God, or man, they would not so Libel the Nature of the latter, which is the workmanship of the former; they would be more modest and civil, than to define Humane Nature by their own Corruptions, or pretend to judge of the Thoughts, Actions, and [Page 23]Inclinations of all other Men by their own; they would be more considerate and reserv'd, and not take a Pride to maintain and propagate an Opinion which is chargeable with such foul and absurd conclusions, and which shews them to be an inconsiderate sort of Men, that Think little, and Talk much, and makes them obnoxious to that dreadful curse pronounced by the Prophet a­gainst those, that call good evil, and evil good; that put light for darkness, and darkness for light; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

'Twould be very seasonable for these Licenti­ous Times, that such Blasphemers Tongues were restrained by severe Laws, that they might only discourse these, and their other pernicious Doctrins in their own Cabals, and not dare to divulge them, and corrupt and trouble the company of civil, and sober Men, wich such damnable confident talk. But since these Mens Tongues are their own, and in this great defect of Civil and Ecclesiastical Cen­sures, they take the liberty to speak of God and Man as they please, 'tis more necessary that they should be rebuk'd, and their horrid Opinions ex­pos'd and confuted in the Pulpit, lest their De­vilish Doctrin should spread, and corrupt the World like a Canker, while the Ministers of the Gospel hold their Peace.

As for this Opinion, it devests Man, as you [Page 24]have heard, of his better part, viz. his free and rational Nature, wherein the Image of God con­sists; it proves all Laws and Orders of Societies to be useless, insignificant, and unnatural Institu­tions; and so makes the Legislative Power, whe­ther invested in God, or the King, to be Tyranny and Violence; and Men that live under Govern­ment to be worse Slaves, than the Children of Israel in AEgypt, where they were commanded to make Brick, when they had no Straw. It contradicts the Doctrinal and Historical parts of Scripture, and with unparallel'd Impudence, gives the Lye to the Martyrologies both of the Jewish and Christian Church. It contradicts the Definition of Virtue and Grace; in particular, it makes Fortitude, Tem­perance, Self-denial, Patience, Sobriety, Chastity, and all other infus'd and acquir'd Habits of resi­sting Sin, to be idle Fictitious notions; and so makes all the Divines and Philosophers that have ever been, to have been Impostors or Fools. Fur­thermore, it is inconsistent with the Doctrin of Repentance, and destroys the Goodness and Wis­dom of God, who, upon the supposition that the Scriptures are true, hath exhorted his People to the practice of such Duties, which he knew be­fore, they could not do. To conclude, it over­throws the Catholick Hypothesis of assisting Grace, dissolves the Obligation of our Sacramen­tal [Page 33]Vows, disarms Hell of the most exquisit part of its Torments, and confounds the notion of Good and Evil, by making it Lawful, in suppo­sing it sometimes necessary for Men to commit the most heinous Sins. All which absurd and de­testable Consequences, I hope, you now hear with Christian Indignation, and will remember here­after with horrour and disdain, when ever you shall hear these sensual Men, like those that were sent to spy out the Holy Land, represent them­selves and their Brethren, as Grashoppers; but their Spiritual Adversaries, the Temptors and Tem­ptations with which they ought to conflict, as in­superable Anakims, as enemies of a prodigious stature, greater, and taller, and stronger than themselves. But these are usually Men, that have turn'd the grace of God into lasciviousness, whose glory is their shame, whose God is their belly, who mind earth­ly things. And because they have debauch'd them­selves into Brute Beasts, or at least have a mind to do so, therefore (as St. Jude Speaks) they foam out their shame and infidelity in slandering the ratio­nal nature of Man, exploding the Doctrin of assisting Grace, Drolling upon Godly Men, and discrediting, as much as they can, the Authority of the Gospel, because it thwarts their Lusts, and disturbs their sensual repose, by Teaching, that Men by the grace of God have power to [Page] overcome the World, resist the Devil, and deny all ungodliness and wordly Lusts; and because it exhorts Men in Gods name to be patient, vigilant, and sted­fast; to be sober, temperate, and chast; to fight the good fight; to finish the course; and persevere unto the end. Lastly, because it assures us that God assists us in all our Spiritual Combats, supports us in all our Trials, and will make us more than Conque­rours through Christ that loveth us; nay, that Christ himself, who hath suffered and been tempted, is able to succour them that are tempted; and that no Temptation hath taken us, but such as is mode­rate and common to Man; because God is faithful to his Promises, and will not suffer us to be Tem­pted above our strength, but will with the Tem­ptation make a gracious way to escape, that we may be able to bear it.

A Letter to a Deist, in Answer to several Objections against the Truth and Authority of the Scriptures; Sold by Moses Pitt, at the Angel in St. Paul's Church­Yard.