A DISCOURSE TO PROVE That the strongest Temptations are Conquerable BY CHRISTIANS: OR, A Sober defence of NATURE and GRACE, Against the Cavils, and Excuses of lose incosiderate Men.  
IN A SERMON Preached before the Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR of London, and Court of ALDERMEN, The 14th of January, 1676/7.  
By GEORGE HICKES, B. D. Chaplain to his Grace the Lord Duke of Lauderdale, And Fellow of Linc. Coll. Oxon.  
I can do all things through Christ, that strengtheneth me.  Phil. 4.13. 
Ye are of God little Childaen, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  1 Joh. 4.4. 
LONDON, Printed by W. Godbid, and are to be sold by Moses Pitt, at the Angel in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1677.   

DAVIES MAYOR.  
Martis twenty-three. die Januarii, 1676. Annoque Regni Regis CAROLI secundi, Anglie, etc. xxviij.  
THis Court doth desire Mr. Hicks to Print his Sermon lately Preached at the Guild-Hall Chappel, before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this City.  
Wagstaffe.   

IMPRIMATUR,  
Guil. Jane, R. P. D. 
 Hen. Episc. Lond. à 
 Sacris dom. Feb. 16. 1676/ 7.   

To the Right Honourable Sir THOMAS DAVIES, Lord Mayor of LONDON, AND The Court of ALDERMEN.  
My Lord,  
I Have a singular veneration for your Lordship, and the Court, which makes me submit my Judgement to yours, and publish this Discourse, to comply with your joint request, which I think as obliging as any Command. Your Authority, more than all the interest I have in it, will recommend it to the World, and if it be but read with as much satisfaction, as your Honours heard it, it will answer the ends of its Publication, and prove as useful, as it is suitable to the necessities of the age. 'Tis a sad thing to consider, that there should be an occasion for such a Discourse as this, and nothing reflects more dishonour upon the Gospel, or more grieves and disheartens the Ministers thereof, then to see themselves constrained by men's extravagant Opinions, to Preach up those Truths, they ought to presuppose. But so, my Lord, it is, that men's Errors and Vices give us subjects for Sermons, as the sometimes give our Lawgivers matter for their Laws, and particularly Scepticism, which is nothing but Infidelity in several dresses and degrees, so possesses the Minds of Men, that instead of Preaching up Practical Divinity, we are often constrained to insist upon Doctrinal Points. Instead of persuading Men to the Love of God, we are fain now and then to prove that he is, instead of urging them to have a care of their Souls, we are forced to prove, that their Souls are beings worthy of their care, and instead of pressing them to resist all manner of Temptations, and Pray for the Grace of God, we sometimes find it needful, first to convince then, that they have power to resist them, and that his Grace is a real thing. This bitter root of unbelief is the Reason, why the Gospel hath no better success in the World, and one of the true causes, why so many Men have a secret ill-will for the Ministers of it, because they are an Order of Men set aside to maintain the everlasting Truths of God, and oppose themselves to those impious Opinions, by which they are willing to Damn their Souls. But were other Men, my Lord, as Orthodox, and understood their Religion as well as you, there would be no occasions for such Discourses as this, but we should wholly set ourselves to press home upon men's Consciences the practical Duties of Religion, and by that means make the Preaching part of Divinity more delightful to ourselves, and much more profitable to the Church of God. We should not then complain so much of the unsuccessfulness of our labours, but see more of the travel of our Souls, when the work of our Lord did prosper in our hands.  
But whether we Preach Practically, or whether we Preach about Speculative Truths, we do the Work of him that sent us; by the former, we reform men's Vices, by the latter, we confute their Errors, by both we keep their Consciences awake, and make it impossible for them to live without remorse, or die in their Sins without fear. So that the Ministerial Function, were it merely Humane, must needs be confessed to be an excellent Institution, and its greatest Enemies cannot but acknowledge, that the Pulpit conduces as much as the Bench, to preserve Civil Order, and restrain the exorbitant Passions of Men. In particular, my Lord, were it not for us, this populous City, which is now so happy in your Government, would be far more Wicked than it is, and both your Honour, and all other Ministers of Criminal Justice, would have much more Employment for their Axes and Rods. As for you, my Lord, your Honour, by your diligent and impartial Administration of Justice hath testified to the World, that you bear not the Sword in vain. For ever since it was put into your hands, you have severely Punished Vice, and reformed more disorders, and disorderly Persons, than I have opportunity here to relate. The World sees, and the City feels the effects of your good Government: Good Men Honour you, bad Men Fear you, God will Bless you, and Posterity will mention your Name with Praise. In particular, none Honours your more for your private and political Virtues, than,  
My Lord, 
 Your Lordship's most humble Servant, 
 GEORGE HICKES.   
1 Cor. 10.13. 
There hath no Temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the Temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.  
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 perjured 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 Terrors of other Temptations; and so make Religion itself, which is nothing, but the practice of resisting Pain and Pleasure out of love to God, an idle Romantic 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 happened to them, but such as were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, proportionable to the Nature of Man, or such as others before them had endured: 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 Temptation taken you, (saith he) but such as is moderate or common to man, for God is faithful, who will not, etc.  
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 ourselves by our Sacramental Oaths, to resist such Temptations as unassisted Humane Nature is not able to resist, because we are assured 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, and that he will make us more than conquerors 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 supplies 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 supplies 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 God's 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 Traitorous ungodly Christians, who love to represent the cause of Virtue and Religion as desperate and indefensible, contradict the experiences of Ages, and belie the Records both of God and Man.  
I shall but instance in three or four of the most violent assured 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 sacrificed their lives for their Country and Friends: These generous souls, I say, who could scarce die for higher ends, infallibly show, 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 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 fortified the Courage of Women and Children; as to make them die 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 stoned, sawn asunder, 
(a) Vid. imadversios honorabilis doctis. Nort. natchbulli, u. aur. in Ep.! Hebr. c. 11.7.  impaled, 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 trials 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, behaved 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, they so little regarded their Lives, that they threw them away, and offered unnecessary affronts to the Heathen Gods, that so they might be sure to die Martyrs in the Fact, and have the honour to Seal the Truth with their Blood. Insomuch that the Wise Council of 
(a) 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 Countries would have died, 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 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 concurred to make him consent and Yield. And were the dread of the Majesty of the Pure and Holy God, impressed upon the heart of the most lustsul satire, 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 Trial, 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 unexperienced 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 imagined to be; yet for all this, if this Man should say that he were not able to rosist this violent Temptation, he would lie 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 possessed his Soul before. But much more, if at the same time should come forth the Fingers of a Man's 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 confess, that his Amorous intentions and Countenance would be changed, his jovial Thoughts troubled, his Joints loosed, 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, threatening the Gibbet, or the Axe, if he proceeded to gratify 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 presence, unless he had made an utter shipwreck both of his Conscience and Honour, and were become as shameless as a Beast. Or, let us suppose that a mighty reward, imagine a Kingdom, or some vast Sum of Money were offered him upon condition he would resist this pretended irresistible Temptation, what do you think would find Strength and Resolution enough to overcome 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 Mortify our Lusts, and keep us from daring to commit a presumptuous Sin, as if God himself should tell us we should shortly die? Why should not the consideration of Eternal Torments threatened in the Gospel, be as persuasive 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 over-awe 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-denial, than the Promise of a Kingdom, or Treasure here below?  
The shameful inconsideration, stupidity, and carnality of men's 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 Debauched 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 one's 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 licentious Age upon all occasions represent it to be?  
My third Instance to prove how capable the nature of Man, by God's 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 losing 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 losing that supreme degree of Temporal Happiness, which consists 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 called, that is, to be the Son of that August Princess, and expect the most glorious Kingdom of the World. And not to ransack foreign Histories, or multiply Examples in this short Discourse, our late Sovereign 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, justify Sacrilege and Rebellion by Law, and Perjure his Righteous Soul, by accepting those Sinful Conditions the Rebels proposed; after many other unparallelled 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 itself 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, Murders, 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 mortify 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 Doctrine is proper to the Christian above all the Religions in the World; God hath made it the very condition upon which he'll accept our Oblations, and grant us Pardon for our Sins; and therefore if thou bring by gift before the Altar, and there remember'st that thy Brother hath aught 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 ourselves to forgive men their trespasses, the Oracle of our Religion hath assured 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 Romantic and Ornamental part of the Christian Religion, which it concerns us not at all to practice or believe. But alas, 'tis as easy 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 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 Mahometan Historians for the further confirmation of this fundamental Truth.  
Under my first Instance I might have produced a thousand illustrious Examples, as of Socrates, Regulus, Curtius; all which chose to die 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 adorned with the memorable examples of Scipio Numantinus, and Mahumet the Great; whereof the first abhorred 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 Emperor to enslave itself 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 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 requisite 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 changed, 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 Emperor by his conquering Legions, refused to ratify the Election by his Sword, but Killed himself, on purpose to leave the Imperial Seat to his Rival, and save the expense of his faithful Soldiers Blood.  
The fourth Instance I might have confirmed with the Testimony of the Greek and Latin Moralists, all which determine 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 Doctrine 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 mohammed 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 magnify the weakness of Humane Nature, and the strength of these and the like Temptations, with a Malicious design, nor only to justify themselves and excuse others, but to Debauch Mankind to the utmost of their power, and render the Christian the most grievous intolerable Religion that ever was in the World?  
From whence I proceed to prove by Reason that no Trial or Temptation can happen to Men, 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 infused 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 infused; 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 been either Knaves or Fools. All the excellent Sermons the former have made with so much eloquence and authority concerning Mortification, Self-denial, and Perseverance, and all the brave Discourses the latter have penned with such admirable Reason and Rhetoric, 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 Christ's sake. This great Doctor and Saint, who declared upon his own experience, that he was always most strong, when he was most weak, and that he could do and suffer all things through the strength he received from Christ, must pass for a Cheat, or Enthusiast, if Men by the promised supports and assistance of God's 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 Doctrine I now maintain, than this Apostle was; for when the Jews and Gnostics persecuted his righteous Soul with so much rage and violence as to make him call them the Messengers of Satan, and compare the sharpness of the Persecution, which they raised against him, to a thorn in the flesh; like a true Soldier 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 continued 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, than he was either an Impostor, or a Madman: 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 Emperor himself at Rome? How came he to be so very Wise upon occasion, as to plead the Privilege of a Roman Citizen, and divide the saducees against the Pharisees, when they had both conspired 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 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 adored 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 show.  
An Impostor likewise he could not be; for than he must have acted for Glory, or Gain. For Glory he did not; because he hath so often acknowledged 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 rendering 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, than Virtue and Grace are real notions; and by consequence, no Temptation 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 Christians, and supplied 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 solicitude, 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 ourselves Pure, Temperate, Sober, , to be steadfast and unmoveable, to be steadfast 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, 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 imagine 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 ourselves, 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 mentioned 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 myself to the service of God; I call Heaven, and Earth, the Church Militant and Triumphant to bear witness that I renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil; and that I'll 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 Christ's faithful Soldier 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 mocked and abused 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 God's 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 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 shows how inconsistent this damnable Doctrine 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 forbidden, contain either general or special Threaten 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, neither simply in itself, 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 Murder, not to bear False Witness, etc. 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  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 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 Highpriest, 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 wilful. 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 Damned 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 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 proved it both by Authority and Reason; and charged the contrary error (or Blaspemy shall I say) with such absurd and damnable Consequences, as may justly make any Man, that is not desperate, both ashamed 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 Doctrines as sober Men, not acquainted enough with the iniquity of the Time, have judged at first hearing, 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 Doctrine 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 Profane 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 determined 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 Inclinations of all other Men by their own; they would be more considerate and reserved, and not take a Pride to maintain and propagate an Opinion which is chargeable with such foul and absurd conclusions, and which shows 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 Doctrines in their own Cabals, and not dare to divulge them, and corrupt and trouble the company of civil, and sober Men, which such damnable confident talk. But since these men's 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 rebuked, and their horrid Opinions exposed and confuted in the Pulpit, lest their Devilish Doctrine 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 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 Egypt, where they were commanded to make Brick, when they had no Straw. It contradicts the Doctrinal and Historical parts of Scripture, and with unparallelled Impudence, gives the Lie 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 infused and acquired 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 Doctrine 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 Catholic Hypothesis of assisting Grace, dissolves the Obligation of our Sacramental Vows, disarms Hell of the most exquisite 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 horror 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 Grasshoppers; 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 turned the grace of God into lasciviousness, whose glory is their shame, whose God is their belly, who mind earthly things. And because they have debauched themselves into Brute Beasts, or at least have a mind to do so, therefore (as St. Judas Speaks) they foam out their shame and infidelity in slandering the rational nature of Man, exploding the Doctrine 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 overcome the World, resist the Devil, and deny all ungodliness and worldly Lusts; and because it exhorts Men in God's name to be patiented, vigilant, and steadfast; to be sober, temperate, and chaste; 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 Conquerors through Christ that loveth us; nay, that Christ himself, who hath suffered and been tempted, is able to secure 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.  
FINIS.