fions (the efficacy of error) that they should believe a lie, and that they all might be damned, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness; that is, as a juft punifliment for their renouncing the truth, God gave them over to the power of delufion; their error had its full fcope at them, to tempt them with all its colours and pretences.

But it is obfervable, that in all thefe places which I have mentioned, God is faid to give men up to the power of temptation, as a punishment of fome former great crimes and provocations. And it is not unjuft with God thus to deal with men, to leave them to the power of temptation, when they had firft wilfully forfaken him; and in this cafe God doth not tempt men to fin, but leaves them to themselves, to be tempted by their own hearts lufts and if they yield and are conquered, it is their own fault, becaufe they have neglected God's grace, whereby they might have been able to have refifted thofe temptations; and have forced his Holy Spirit to withdraw himfelf from them, and to leave them open and naked to thofe affaults of temptation, againft which they might otherwife have been fufficiently armed.

3dly, The last end of temptation which I mentioned, is to try men, with a direct purpofe and inten. tion to feduce men to fin. Thus wicked men tempt others, and thus the devil tempts men. Thus he tempted our firft parents, and feduced them from their obedience and allegiance to God. Thus he tempted Job, by bringing him into thofe circumftances which were very likely to have forced him into impatience and difcontent. And thus he tempted our bleffed Saviour; but found nothing in him to work upon, or to give him any advantage over him. And thus he daily tempts mien, by laying all forts of baits and fnares before them, going about continually fecking whom he may feduce and deftroy; and as far as God permits him, and his power reacheth, he fuits his temptations as near as he can to the humours, and appetites, and inclinations of men, contriving them into fuch circumftances, as that he may ply his temp tations upon them to the greatest advantage; pro

pounding

pounding fuch objects to them, as may moft probably draw forth the corruptions of men, and kindle their irregular defires, and inflame their lufts, and tempt their evil inclinations that way, which they are most ftrongly bent. He tempts the covetous man with gain, the ambitious man with preferment, the vo luptuous man with carnal and fenfual pleatures; and where none of thefe baits will take, he tirs up his intruments, to perfecute thofe who are itedfaft and confirmed in refolutions of piety and virtue, to try if he can work upon their fear, and thake their conftan cy and fidelity to God and goodness that way; and all this he doth with a direct defign and earneft defire to feduce men from their duty, and to betray them to fin.

But thus God tempts no man; and in this fenfe it is that the Apoftle means, that no man when he is tempted, is tempted of God. God hath no defign to feduce any man to fin. He often proves the obedience of men, and fuffers them to fall into divers temptations, for the trial of their faith, and exercife of their obedience and other virtues; and he permits bad men to be affaulted with great temptations, and, as a punishment of their former obftinacy and impiety, withdraws the aids and affitances of his grace from them, and leaves them to their own weaknefs and folly; but not fo as to take away all re-, ftraint of his grace even from bad men, unless it be upon very high provocation, and a long and obftinate continuance in fin. But God never tempts any man, with any intention to feduce him to fin, and with a defire he fhould do wickedly. This is, the proper work of the devil and his inftruments; in this fenfe it is far from God to tempt any man; and whenever in the ordinary courfe, and by the common permiffion of his providence, men fall into temptation, the utmoft that God does, is to leave them to themfelves; and he does not do this neither, but to thofe who have highly provoked him to depart from them, that is, to thofe who have justly deferved to be fo dealt withal.

VOL. V.

N n

And

And thus I have confidered the propofition which the Apostle here rejects, namely, That God tempts men; and have fhewn as clearly as I can, how it is to be limited and understood.

2. I now proceed to the fecond thing which I propounded to confider, viz. The manner in which the Apostle rejects this propofition, Let no man fay, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. By which manner of fpeaking, he infinuates two things.

Ift, That men are apt to lay their faults upon God. For when he fays, Let no man fay fo, he intimates that men were apt to fay thus; and it is probable fome did fay fo, to excufe themfelves for their deferting their religion upon the temptation of perfe cution and fuffering. It is not unlikely that men might lay the fault upon God's providence, which expofed them to thefe difficult trials, and thereby tempted them to forfake their religion,

But however this be, we find it very natural to men to transfer their faults upon others. Men are naturally fenfible when they offend, and do contrary to their duty; and the guilt of fin is an heavy burden, of which men would be glad to eafe themfelves as much as they can; and they think it is a mitigation and excufe of their faults if they did not proceed only from themfelves, but from the violence and compulfion, the temptation and inftigation of others. But efpecially men are very glad to lay their faults upon God, because he is a full and fufficient excufe, nothing being to be blamed that cornes from him. Thus Adam did, upon the commiffion of the very firft fin that mankind was guilty of. When God charged him for breaking of his law, by eating. of the fruit of the forbidden tree, he endeavours to excufe himfelf by laying the fault obliquely upon God: The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, he gave me of the tree, and I did eat. woman whom thou gavest to be with me; he does what he can to derive the fault upon God. And though this be very unreafonable, yet it feems it is very natural. Men would fain have the pleafure of com

The

itting fin, but then they would be glad to remove

as

as much of the trouble and guilt of it from themselves as they can.

2dly, This manner of fpeech which the Apoftle here ufeth, doth infinuate further to us, that it is not only a falfe, but an impious affertion, to fay that God tempts men to fin. He speaks of it, not only as a thing unfit to be faid, but fit to be rejected with the greatest indignation: Let no man fay; that is, far be it from us to affirm any thing fo impious and fo dihonourable to God. For nothing can be more contrary to the holy and righteous nature of God, and to thofe plain declarations which he hath made of himself, than to feduce men to wickedness; and therefore no man, that hath any regard to the honour of God, can entertain the leaft fufpicion of his having any hand in the fins of men, or give heed to any principles or doctrines from whence fo odious and abominable a confequence may be drawn. I proceed to the

3. Third thing I propounded to confider, viz. The reafon and argument which the Apoftle brings against this impious fuggeftion, That God cannot be tempted with evil, and therefore no man can imagine that he fhould tempt any man to it: Let no man fay, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth be any man. in fpeaking to this, I fhall,

And

ft, Confider the firength and force of this argument; and,

2dly, The nature and kind of it.

1, The ftrength and force of this argument, God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man; άnriçaços isi xaxāv; he is untemptable by evil; he cannot be drawn to any thing that is bad himfelf, and therefore it cannot be imagined he fhould' have any inclination or defign to feduce others. And this will appear to be a ftrong and forcible argument, if we confider,

(1) The propofition upon which it is grounded, That God cannot be tempted by evil.

(2) The confequence that clearly follows from it; and that is, that becaufe God cannot be tempted by evil, therefore he cannot tempt any man to it.

Nn 2

(1) We

(1) We will confider the propofition upon which this argument is built; and that is, that God cannot be tempted by evil. He is out of the reach of any temptation to evil. Whoever is tempted to any thing, is either tempted by his own inclination, or by the allurement of the object, or by fome external motive and confideration; but none of all thefe can be ima gined to have any place in God, to tempt him to e.vil.

For, [1] He hath no temptation to it from his own inclination. The holy and pure nature of God is at the greateft diftance from evil, and at the greatest: contrariety to it. He is fo far from having any inclination to evil, that it is the only thing in the world to which he hath an irreconcileable antipathy. This the fcripture frequently declares to us, and that in a very emphatical manner: Pfal. v. 4. He is not a God that hath pleafure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with him. The words are a diminution, and lefs is faid than is intended by them: the meaning is,. that God is fo far from taking pleasure in fin, that he hath a perfect hatred and abhorrence of it, Hab, ii.. 13. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canft not look upon iniquity. As when men hate a thing to the highest degree, they turn away their eyes, and cannot endure to look upon it. Light and darknefs are not more oppofite to one another, than the holy nature of God is to fin. What fellowship hath light with darkness, or God with Belial?

[2] There is no allurement in the object to ftir up any inclination in him towards it. Sin in its very nature is imperfection and irregularity, crookednefs and deformity; fo that unless there be an inclination to it beforehand, there is nothing in it to move any one's liking or defire towards it; it hath no attractives or enticements in it, but to a corrupt and ill-difpofed mind.

[3] Neither are there external motives and confi-. derations that can be imagined to tempt God to it. All arguments that have any temptation, are either founded in hope or in fear; either in the hope of gaining