but I referve both the one and the other to the next opportunity. SERMON CXVI. The fins of men not chargeable upon God, but upon themselves. JAMES . 13. 14. Let no man fay, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own luft, and enticed. WH The fecond fermon on this text. Hen I made entrance upon thefe words, I told you, that next to the belief of a God and a providence, nothing is more fundamentally neceffary to the practice of a good life, than the belief of thefe two principles, That God is not the author of the fins of men; and, That every man's fault lies at his own door. And both thefe principles St James does clearly and fully affert in thefe words: 1. God tempts no man to fin. 2. Every man is his own greatest tempter. The first of thefe I have largely fpoken to in my former difcourfe; and from what I then faid, I fhall only draw a few ufeful inferences, before I proceed to the fecond, viz. thefe which follow. I. Let us beware of all fuch doctrines, as do any ways tend to make God the author of fin; either by laying a neceffity upon men of finning, or by laying fecret defigns to tempt and feduce men to fin. thing can be farther from the nature of God, than to do any fuch thing, and nothing can be more dif honour No honourable to him, than to imagine any fuch thing of him. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil; and can we think, that he who cannot endure to fee it, fhould have any hand in it? We find that the holy men in fcripture are very careful to remove all thoughts and fufpicion of this from God. Elihu, Job xxxvi. 3. before he would argue about God's providence with Job, he refolves, in the first place, to attribute nothing to God that is unworthy of him. I will (fays he) afcribe righteoufnefs to my maker. So likewife St Paul, Rom. vii. 7. What shall we fay then? Is the law fin? God forbid. Is the lar fin? that is, hath God given men a law to this end, that he might draw them into fin? far be it from him. Gal. ii. 17. Is Chrift the minifter of fin? God forbid. You fee then how tender good men have always been of afcribing any thing to God, that might fee to render him the author of fin. So that we have reason to take heed of all doctrines that are of this tendency; fuch as are the doctrines of an abfolute and irrespective decree to damn the greatest part of mankind; and in order to that, and as a means to it, efficaciously to permit them to fin. For if these things be true, that God hath abfolutely decreed to damn the greatest part of men, and to make good this decree, he permits them to fin, not by a bare permiffion of leaving them to themfelves, but by fuch a permiffion as fhall be efficacious; that is, he will fo permit them to fin as they cannot avoid it: then thofe who are under this decree of God, are under a neceffity of finning; which neceffity, fince it does not proceed from themfelves, but from the decree of God, does by confequence make God the author of fin. And then that other doctrine, which is fubfervient to this, That God does by a phyfical and natural influence upon the minds and wills of men, determine them to every action that they do, to bad actions as well as good, I know they who fay fo, tell us that God only determines men to the action, but not to the evil of it. For inftance, when Cain killed his brother, God determined him (they fay) to to the natural action of taking away a man's life, which in many cafes may be done without fin. Very true but if in thefe circumstances the natural action could not be done without committing the fin, he that determined him to the natural action, determined him likewife to the fin. I am far from any thought that thofe that maintain thefe doctrines, had any intention to make God the author of fin: but if this be the neceffary confequence of thefe doctrines, there is reafon enough to reject them, how innocent foever the intention be of those who maintain them. 2. Let us not tempt any man to fin. All piety pretends to be an imitation of God, therefore let us endeavour to be like him in this. It is true indeed, we may be tempted with evil, and therefore we are likely enough to tempt others; but we ought not to do fo. It is contrary to holiness and goodness, to the temper and difpofition of the most perfect being in the world. God tempts no man; nay, it is the per work and employment of the devil; it is his very trade and profeffion; he goes about feeking whom he may betray into fin and deftruction. To this end he walks up and down the earth, waiting all opportunities and advantages upon men, to draw them into fin; fo that we are his factors and inftruments, whenever we tempt men to fin. pro Let thofe confider this, who are fo active and busy to feduce men into any kind of wickedness, and to inftruct them in the arts of iniquity, who tempt men into bad company and courfes, and take pleafure in debauching a virtuous perfon, and make it matter of great triumph to make a fober man drunk, as if it were fo glorious an action to ruin a foul, and destroy that which is more worth than the whole world. Whenever you go about this work, remember whose inftruments you are, and whose work you do, and what kind of work it is. Tempting others to fin is in fcripture called murder, for which reafon the devil is faid to be a murderer from the beginning, because he was a tempter: Whofoever committeth fin, is of the devil: but whofoever tempts others to fin, is a fort of devil himself. 3. Since God tempts no man, let us not tempt him. There is frequent mention in fcripture of mens tempting God, i. e. trying him as it were whether he will do any thing for their fakes that is mifbecoming his goodness, and wifdom, and faithfulness, or any other of his perfections. Thus the Ifraelites are faid to have tempted God in the wilderness forty years together, and in that fpace more remarkably ten times. The meaning of which expreffions is, that when God had promised Abraham to bring his feed into the land of Canaan, that people by their great and repeated provocations of God, did often provoke him to have destroyed them, and confequently to have failed of the promife which he made to the fathers. The devil likewife tempted our Saviour to tempt God, by cafting himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, in confidence that the angels would take care of him but our Saviour anfwers him, It is written, Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God. From which inftance it appears, that men are faid to tempt God, whenever they expect the protection of his providence in an unwarrantable way. God hath promifed to take care of good men, but if they neglect themselves, or willingly caft themfelves into danger, and expect his providence and protection, they do not truft God, but tempt him; they try whether God's providence will countenance their rafhnefs, and provide for them when they neglect themselves, and protect them from thofe dangers to which they wilfully expofe themselves. So likewife if we be negligent in our callings, whereby we fhould provide for our families, if we lavish away that which we fhould lay up for them, and then depend upon the providence of God to fupply them, and take care of them, we tempt God to that which is unworthy of him; which is to give approbation to our folly, and to countenance our floth and careleffness. We cannot feduce God, and draw him to do any thing that mifbecomes him; but we tempt him, in expecting the care and protection of VOL. V. bis his providence, when we wilfully run ourfelves into danger, and neglect the means of providing for our own fafety. And thus I have done with the first great principle contained in the text, viz. That God is not the author of the fins of men. I proceed now to the II. Second, That every man is his own greatest templer: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own luft, and enticed. God does not tempt any man to fin: but every man is then tempted, when by his own luft, his irregular inclination and defire, he is feduced to evil, and enticed; xai dire 3vos, is caught as it were with a bait, for fo the Greek word fignifies. In which words the Apoftle gives us a true account of the prevalency and efficacy of temptation upon men. It is not because God has any defign to ensnare men in fin; but their own corruption and vitious inclinations feduce them to that which is evil. To inftance in the particular temptations the Apostle was fpeaking of, perfecution and fuffering for the caufe of religion, to avoid which, many did then forfake the truth, and apoftatized from their Chriftian profeffion. The true caufe of which was not the providence of God, which permitted them to be expofed to thofe fufferings; but their inordinate love of the good things of this life, and their unreasonable fears of the evils and fufferings of it: they valued the enjoyments of this prefent life more than the favour of God, and that eternal happiness which he had promifed to them in another life; and they feared the perfecutions of men, more than the threatenings of God, and the dreadful punishments of another world. They had an inordinate affection for the ease and pleafure of this life, and their unwillingness to part with thefe, was a great temptation to them to quit their religion; by this bait they were caught, when it came to the trial. And thus it is proportionably in all other forts of temptations. Men are betrayed by themfelves, and the temptation without hath a party within them, with which it holds a fecret correfpondence, and |