THE TRUE RELATION Of the bloody Attempt by JAMES SALOWAYES To cut his own Throat in the Compter, upon Sunday the 21. of June, 1663. TOGETHER WITH Satan's Attempt and Overthrow, IN A SERMON Preached upon that occasion in Wood-street-Compter, upon Sunday the 21. of June, 1663. B R. F. Minister of God's Word. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Psal. 51 14. LONDON, Printed by R. Dickinson, Anno Dom. 1663. To the Honourable Sir William Turner, Knight and Baronet, Sheriff of the City of London. SIR, IT is the occasion, not the opinion of any worth in this work, which presumeth a necessity to become public; for seeing the best of men are not exempted from, and the worst do too willingly admit temptations, it is my desire that this example may not only be printed in this paper, but imprinted in our hearts, Actiones Precedentium sunt succedentium libri, The Actions of our Predecessors are our books, much more may this exemplary act become a book to us who are present, wherein we may read Man's frailty, the Tempter's malice, God's great and ever to be remembered restraint. The Press and the Pulpit have of late been too guilty of light Wares, and traded too much (to our shame and sorrow) in triflls and unhappy troubles, Truth hath rather been suppressed then printed, not commended to the print, but condemned to the Press for silence; we have had papers stuffed with words of a new stamp, cruel murders vizarded with the title of signal victories, Faelix & prosperum scaelus virtus vocatur, and those sheets may now serve for the Author's penance. And it hath been the delight of the troublers of our Israel, to enlarge their Pamphlets with a list of their murdered Brethren: As I cannot but sorrow for their sin and protest against their practice, so I cannot but conceive the printing of this haynom act may be no less than necessary: Here is not one 〈◊〉 against another, but which is worse, a more unnatural war, a man fight against himself; the Tempter here designing the final discomfiture of soul and body. Nobis est in exemplum; these works are warning-pieces, our sins and Satan's wiles do assume his name, Legion, for they are many: Many sad blows do we receive from Satan, Peccata sunt totidem vulnera, and every day whilst we are in the field of this world presents a Duel unto us, our members warring against the Spirit we stand in need of Armour, and this presents unto us Armour like david's, which we ought to prove; and Christ is here presented as a Champion, through whom we are only conquerors. This is all I presume to present to you, it is no pride that puts me upon it, but that warrantable ambition to do the weaker people service, which, I hope, may beseech your acceptance and excuse. SIR, Your unworthy, but obliged Servant R. F. The true Relation of that strange attempt by James Salowayes upon himself, to cut his own Throat, in Wood-street Compter, Sunday June 21. 1663. UPon Saturday the twentieth of June he was brought prisoner to Wood street Compter, his debt was about three pounds, but his grief was more than his debt: He was observed to beside which was rather imputed to his condition then his constitution, few men come there but are accompanied with sadness: The next day, being Sunday, he was present whilst divine Service and Sermon command, and afterwards invited by a Friend to dine, a kindness not to be denied in that place, where he eat little, and, as was observed, spoke less; after dinner some words, not so well understood as heard were spoken by him to his 〈◊〉 ●●●er in love then a Prisoner, viz. That he wondered that people in the prison should talk of him, and something of ●●●ni●e, but so imperfect, that his ●rother was ●ather 〈◊〉 then serupulous to know 〈◊〉 meaning: He r●●●●●d himself without suspicion of any his brother supposing only he had gone to sleep; but a voice (as he afterwards confessed) uttered within him. Thou shalt be burned in this Prison, therefore it is better for thee to make away thyself then be burnt: He presently went to a House of office a little distrant from his chamber, where with a knife broken in the edge he wounded himself in the throat, and took the gullet, by which the meat passeth into the body in his hand, and cut a piece of it, and threw it in the House of Office, he widened the wound four ways, and leaned upon his hands to let his blood run into the House of office; some Prisoners which heard a noise came near, but suspecting nothing, only supposing his sickness and vomiting, withdrew, which gave him further time to execute his purpose; then he lays his knife by, and takes his band, with which he wiped the blood from the boards, and stopped his band into his wound, whereby you may conceive the largeness of it; but finding not so sudden a dispatch as he desired, he willing to put an end to it, draws his band from the wound, throws it into the House of office, and betakes himself to his knife, resolving, as he says, to strike home and cut the windpipe, when lo the Power of God, whilst he was lifting it to his throat, the knife (though, as he says, firmly holden) dropped out of his hand into the House of office, where he could not recover it. This continued till Evening-service was begun, at which time some Prisoners, having oocasion that way, found him all bloody and speechless. It was forth with made known to the Officers, who readily sent for a Chirurgeon; the skin was stitched, but the part of the gullet wanting: he continued for full six hours speechless; yet while we were in prayer he did by lifting up his hand answer to our desires, and when I urged unto him the danger of his condition and necessity of unfeigned repentance, he did by shaking his head evidence his sorrow; I desired him to keep his thoughts a work in praying unto God, he lift up his hand and looked earnestly upon me; about eight that evening it pleased God to give him strength to speak, and he did assure us he understood and remembered what we had said whilst he was speechless, he said he was sorry for his heinous fact, and told me, he hoped by the morning to be better able to satisfy me further: That night was troublesome to him and passed without rest, but in the morning he s●ept for some hours, and upon his waking I came to him, and spoke to him, he presently thanked me for my pains, and told me he had great cause to give God praise for the addition of that mercy, to add one day more to his life, and he desired to live to glorify God. I found it not requisite to trouble him with many questions, those few I asked were, first, if he were not very sensible of his sin, how much he had offended the Mercy of God in offering to commit that horrid act? He told me he had finned grievous●y, and hearty desired pardon. I asked what might chief occasion that desperate act? He told me, Sabbath-breaking, that he had the Sabbath day before by lewd Soldiers been persuaded to drink and play, and in his excess they had deceived him of moneys, and since that time he had been melancholy, and bad motions were suggested to him. I asked him in what manner his temptation was, whether by appearance, or some voice uttering express words? He told me again, not by appearance, but a voice since he came into Prison spoke within him, and told him, He should be burned in prison, and therefore better to make himself away with his knife. I asked him if now he had not a great desire to live? He told me yes, that he might glorify God. I asked him, if he had a comfortable experience of God's Power over Satan, and Mercy towards him, in preventing the full execution of the act? He told me, looking more steadfastly upon me. O yes yes, my good God would not let me hold my knife, but dropped it down. I pressed him no more with questions, but spoke some comfortable and assuring sentences of holy Writ unto him, and ended in Prayer. Whilst he continued there he did demonstrate his sorrow, and desire to live to serve God in a stricter manner. This is the plain and impartial relation of this bloody business, which is worthy of reading and remembering: The breach of the Sabbath did occaon it, and on the Sabbath he endeavours to pay himself the wages of so bad a work. With this be pleased to read the Sermon purposely preached to warn the Auditors, and printed for no other end but the advantage of the Reader, which is the desire of R. F. ERRATA. Page 4 line 10. read praedi●ere: l 11. for prodict c. praedict: p. 6. l. 26. fo Ba l●d● Ba●ak p 8 l 15 Judamy r Judae●●: p 10. l. 25. for templatio ● templatio: p 13. l. 2, r, let them have a double portion of honour: p 18. l. 1●. ● interiorem and exteriorem: p. 26. l. 34. r. tecum ero, I will be with thee. Satan's Attempt and Overthrow. MAT. 4. ver. 3. And when the Tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. THere is not mention of many actions of our Saviour Christ betwixt his Birth and his Baptism, in those thirty years, as if he had not been man●re for any public matter, or otherwise not called to them he lived privately; only we read of his Father and his Mother) though that Sex may seem to be exempted) their yearly going to Jerusalem, and himself very probably went along, for certain he was there in the twelfth of his age, where he stayed behind them, to the grief of his Parents, and occasion of their search with sorrow, and the third day (as if he would so early intimate the time of his Resurrection) was he found of them, in a place and posture where they could not expect him: He was in the Temple, and that n●t with mean company but amidst the Doctors; nor idle, for he was hearing, ask, and answering Questions, and not according to an ordinary rate, but so, that it filled all that heard him with admiration: His Parents return not from Jerusalem till the holy Duties he ended, those which attend not the accomplishment of holy Exercises depart without a blessing: His Mother she is present, love to the happy Child, and love to the holy Duty, takes away the tediousness of the journey: Christ after his return contents himself with privacy, and whilst so he is at quiet, Satan is not so busy to assault him, till he be ready for the conflict, Christ stays till he have power, and when he hath ability stays for authority, runs not before he be called; and knowing that he must finish his course with the Baptism of Blood, he gins it with the Baptism of Water, which no sooner done, and God doth own him for his Son, but Satan would tempt him to his service, no sooner is he out of the Water than he is in the Wilderness, where and when it was that the Tempter came unto him and said; The words do plainly divide themselves into three parts. 1. The Person tempting, called here, The Tempter. 2. The Person tempted; Him, in the first verse, Jesus, 3. The manner of his tempting, and that twofold. 1. By approaching: He came to him. 2. By express words: He said. In the Person tempting, there is three particulars. 1. The time, Forty days. 2. The place, The Wilderness. 3. The present want, He was hungry. The time was tedious, forty days, and very troublesome, a continued series of temptations: The place was sad and solitary, the Wilderness, and wild beasts: His present want is much, he was hungry; and in this hunger, after forty days, does the Tempter take his opportunity, Then came unto him the Tempter, etc. The time, forty days. He which found our first Parents in P radise finds our Saviour ●ere in the Wilderness: There he tempted them to eat the Fruit which was forbidden; and here he tempts our Saviour, when he hath not any thing to eat. Then the Serpent tempted man by a subtle insinuation to eat, that he may become as God. Here he works and tempts by necessity, that our Saviour would distrust God, and by providing to eat would become as the worst of men; God there bestowed his Image and an innocent estate upon Adam, which he lost in eating; And no sooner hath he owned the innocency of his Son in the likeness of a D●ve, ●at 3. ulr. and an express approbation, but Satan tempts him by his diffidence to forfeit that title, and part with his birth ●ight for a piece of bread. These forty days we cannot think free from fiery onsets; t●● Tempter would not lose any time to further his design; 〈◊〉 he directs his greatest Ordnance against the weakest wall, 〈◊〉 raiseth his strongest battery when and where he can expect the least resistance, when forty days was done, and when he was hungry. Moses who received the Law, Elias by whom the Law was restored, and Christ by whom the Law was fulfilled, had their fast of forty days. In Moses his first fast the sight of the glory of God was like a consuming sire, and the anger which he conceived, if it did not satiate, Exod. 24. 1●. yet did it not admire of any appetite to meat. And when he goes up the second time, as he was not mindful of it, so there was no need of provisions; if the vision of God did before fright him, now it feasts him, and if before he was possessed with anger, now he is replenished with glory; but in both he lives the life of faith, and like one who rightly shadowed Christ, it was his meat and drink t●●o the Lords work. And we must confess, though want did attend Elijah, yet in his fastings no less than a miracle did feed him; the Ravens they became his Purveyors, and the Widows last Cake was sustenance to him, and a store-house to herself, and though the threats of Jezabel makes the Prophet's life as a burden to him, yet whilst he is sleeping, 1 K●rg. 1●. ●. the Keeper of Israel slumbers not, his Angel awaketh him, gives him command to arise, gives him meat to enable him to that command, and in the strength of that to accomplish his journey to Mount Horeb. In that Mount where Moses saw God, shall God find Eliah; and Moses, and Eliah, and Christ, the three great Easters, shall be seen in Mount Tabor in his Transfiguration; yet must we consider a difference in their condition, Moses was both times on the Mount talking with God; but Christ is in the Valley, nay in the Wilderness tempted of the Devil: Moses was on the Mount receiving Gods Commands and the Tables of stone, but Christ is in the Wilderness receiving Satan's demands, that the stones may become bread for his table; Eli●ah was in the Wilderness under the Juniper tree, and though he was hungry and thirsty, his soul fainting within, yet could he sleep; but Christ is in the Wilderness, where his temptation doth not admit or an intermission, but the increase of necessity doth strengthen the assault. Then came the Tempter. In remembrance of this fast the holy practice of his dearest Spouse may aptly be approved, the like time of forty days being by her sequestered to abstinence; a fast it was for admiration not for imitation, and this commends unto our use the moral, not the miracle, wherein we are to abstain a tanto, though not a toto, by abatement, but not by ablation of meat. And very seasonably hath the Church appointed this Fast, Fassionem predicate & a● Resucre●ti●nem preparare, to humble us in the sense of his 〈◊〉 st●ring and so pr●diet us the Passion, Christ Resolutionist Ch●y●●●u●● Ex●l●●. ●. and that his rising may be our only Festival. Agreeable with this is the continue practice of the Eastern Church, who solemnly observed this Fast for six weeks before the Resurrection: And an ingenious Pen observeth, that this forty days is attended with Christ's forty hours or thereabouts remaining in the Sepulchre, his forty days conversing with his Disciples betwixt his Ruing and Ascension; all which days, like Jonah's errand of forty days, proclaims unto us a sitting down in sackcloth, and turning to our God by true repentance, that we may expend o●r days according to this happy precedent in prayer and in fasting. Noltut tentari Christus usquedum ●ejunasset, 〈◊〉 ●●d. Christ would not be tempted before he had fasted; not that he should have offended without that preparation, but to teach others the best preparative and preservative against temptation; for seeing that Adam's innocent estate could not exempt him from the Serpent's cunning, nor Christ's entire and untainted Piety could not privilege him from the Tempter, it is our parts to arm against so fierce assaults, and in our f●lness and fasting, plenty and want, to be upon a good guard when the Tempter shall come unto us. As this temptation was for forty days and forty n●g●●s, 〈◊〉 this lose and powerful assault is likely to be at the expiration▪ Achitophe●'s advise to Absalon was, 2 Sam. 17.2. I will come upon him whilst he is weary and weak banded. 'Tis the policy here of this Tempter I will fall upon him when this fast hath produced hunger, skin for skin, what will he not do for his life? And this was his con●ition, he was hungry. That Christ had the passions and affections of a man none which are more than brutish will deny, joy and sorrow, fear and want, hunger here, and thirst at his Passion; and that Satan is sedulous and subtle, in baiting his books with what is most taking▪ and tendering such supply as is most suitable to the tempteds necessity, is as easy to affirm: Christ is hungry what will he not do to procure meat? Jacob rather than his Sons and himself shall starve will send them into Egypt to buy Corn and, though hardly persuaded, parts from his Benjamin rather then their lives shall part from them for want of bread: David when he was hungry entered into the House of God, eat of the Shewbread, which was only for the Priest: Christ on the Sabbath plucked the ears of Corn where was the proprieties, Matth 12. besides the profanation of the day, yet for all this blameless; necessity legitimates that act which otherwise was sin●●l, and want was the warrant for this work: And why may not his present hunger engage him to a miracle for his maintenance? He that for pleasuring of others, manifesting of his glory, John 2. and augmenting faith in others, turned water into wine, and at a Wedding, when we presume there was not much want▪ Why may not he in the Wilderness, when he is hungry for refreshment, for evidencing his power, confounding Satan, turn stones into bread? He that had compassion on the multitude that came from far and had not to eat, hath he no pity on himself, who had fasted far beyond their time in the desert? This Tempter could answer God concerning J●b. Doth J●b serve God f●r nought? And hath God less care of his Son then of his servant? Job. 1 must Christ serve him for nought? Did Christ say to his Disciples, when he sent them out without scrip or pur●e, did you lack any thing? and doth God send f●rts his Son into t●e Desert amongst Wolves and wild beast's and hath nothing? Quare adduxisti, was the peoples against Moses O blessed Jesus, how much rather hadst thou suffer want then thy Father's wrath, death then thy Father's displeasure, famish then offend thy God, or need of that great work thou hadst in hand: Adam eats and sins, bidden by Satan and forbidden by God to eat, but thou fasts and sins not, though bidden by Satan to eat, yet forbidden by God; Thou wast not here without power to command bread, but thou art with●●… purpose to distrust thy Father; thou wast not without power●●… do a miracle, b t without will to gratify Satan, and do it a●●… pleasure: What God was pleased to say to the Jews Christ thought meet in effect to say unto Satan, If I were hungry I will not tell thee, though thou usurps it, Psa●. 50. yet the World is mine and the fullness thereof; I will offer thanksgiving and pay my vows to the most High; bread is not that only which I depend upon, that Providence which hath kept me forty days will not let me perish man lives not by bread only, there is another Ma●m which it left for relief, and that is the Word of God, that is the children's bread, O seed us with these crumbs and we shall not perish. And is this nothing unto us that pas● by? Yes it is, see and c●rs●●er how answerable Christ's obedience is to our offence; Adam cast behind him the Commandment of God, and having the Apple before his eyes he eat; Christ he casts the temptation behind him, and having the fear of God before his eyes he fasted, but answers for that sin in fasting which was committed by eating. This Tempter, like a cunning Broker, will not that his Customer shall want any Commodity, his store-house must furnish at the le●st promise him what he most desireth; he wants not his Factors and active Agents to drive on his design and bring the deceitful heart within his books; if thou art low he hath a way to promise riches and wants not a Ballad to promote thee unto ●●no●r; if poor, he will tender thee a supply, and though he can challenge nothing but torments as his due, yet Omnia ha● dubitibi is as ready with him to offer, as with our depraved natures to accept? God tells thee, Thou shalt have no other Gods; if thou be'st weary of thy subjection unto him, Satan h●● a Serpent can ●●ll thee how to be exempted from thy obedience instead of thy submission to his Commands, Eritis sic●t d●i, you shall be as gods. G●d says, Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image, but the Tempter tells thee of a greater liberty, If God from ab●ve do not condescend to thy desires, attend thy expectations; if Moses st●y but in the Mount, Satan hath his season in the Valley; Up let us make ourselves Gods which shall go before us; we know not what is become of Moses, Exod. 32. let us make g●ds will go with us: Thus Satan frames gods according to their minds, and their minds according to their gods. God says, Exod. 5.2. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain, but Satan can afford thee a release of this severity, the Tempter wanteth not his Pharaohs, Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice, and what is his Name that I should reverence it? He wants not his Rab●hakeh to belch out ugly language, What is the Lord, Isai. 36.4. or what is this confidence wherein thou trustest? This Tempter will suggest unto thee to take his Name in thy mouth, so do those servants who draw near to God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him; and Satan hath other servants, who have his Name to●●●ten in their mouths, because it is to make up their vanity; his Name is used, not to call upon him for a blessing, but is used in cursing, such Oaths as the horridness thereof commands me to rebuke, though modesty forbids me to mention, madness of men, nay monsters rather: Was it Thomas his weakness that he must have his fingers in his Wounds, and must it be the sinful wickedness of these wretches that they must have his Wounds in their mouths; let them beware, that Fountain which was opened for uncleanness, may that upon their filthiness. God says, Swear not at all, let your communication be yea, yea, and nay, nay, that is, make not an use of Oaths in your discourse, mingle not your conference with them, swear not unless where and when controversies are to be decided, and right to be evidenced and vindicated by your solemn Oaths: but Satan will not have his gallants to be thus tongue-tied, their Tongues are their own, who shall control them: yea and nay are syllables which serve not their turns, such morsel; of words will not fit their mouths, tearing of his Heart renewing of his Wounds, piercing of his Soul, profaning of his Majesty, engaging of confusion, calling down daman●●●n, and it Gods Justice were ready to answer our desires and deserts, confirming it, are only such terms as do them service; their curses must be like their clothes, Alamode and east in the latest mould; this temptation hath been too taking, under which the Land mourneth, every parish, nay this place, where I forbear to personate any, but should I forbear to rebuke all the stones would speak, doth grievously lie under this temptation; the Lord reform them, and cast out these Devils of drunkenness and swearing by fasting and by prayer, for, Hoc genus Damomi, etc. these kind of Devils is not otherwise to be ejected. God commands thee to remember the Sabbath in keeping it holy; but the Tempter will release thee from the severity of this Precept; some he tempts them to so much superstition, that they will not do good, nor have good done on that day; if Christ cure on that day the people murmur, and that which is the perfection of the Gospel must be accounted the breach of the Law. It is not lawful to beal on the Sabbath-day; nay such superstitious observers may be very well observed to be derived from the family of Solomon that Anglo Judamy, who falling into a ditch on the Sabbath refused to 〈◊〉 taken out, Sabbata nostra colo de ●●er ●re surgere nolo. which occasioned the Christian that came by on the Sunday to answer him in his own kind; Sabbata nostra quidem Sal●●on celibrabis ibidem. Thus some will not heal others, n●● be healed, on the Sabbath, so let the superstitious perish: In our times we are more under the temptation of profaneness then superstitious observation. God commands holy Duties and commends them: Satan insinuates, what doth it avail to walk mournfully all the day long? and what profit have ye that ye have served the Lord? thus 〈◊〉 the Tempter. God requires that yo● shall account his Sabbath a delight; Satan tempts you to repu●e it a burden. God requires that in it you will call for a blessing on your weeks-work; Satan he tempts you to account this work a weariness, this service a hindrance, When will the Sabbath be gone that we may set f●rth ●heat? God would have you to observe it as a rest from your la●our, from your sin: Satan he tells you it is a ceasing from you lucre, and in it tempts you to sin: This is no● all, God would have you to his Church, the Devil would keep you in his Chapel, because it is a day of rest from the labour of the body, he must have it a rest from the service of the soul; Thou shalt keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my Sanctuary: A holy time the Sabbath, Levit. 26.2. and a holy place the Sanctuary, and holy duties reverence to be used. Satan tempts thee against the time, Every day is a Sabbath; but never a day is kept holy: against the place he wants not Factors of Jeroboam's family, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem to the public place of worship, behold nearer gods; 1 King 12.28. and he set the one in Dan and the other in Bethel: Why should we go to God's place, let God come to our place. What Corah said of the persons Satan says of the places, You take too much upon you seeing all the places are holy: I speak not against private duties, prayer in families, but I would not have Martha to justle out Marry, many cumbers, and troubles, and inventions to take place of the one thing which David desired, of that better part which Mary chose; I would not have them to look to their own and let God's House lie waste: What as the Tribes said concerning their Brother Benjamin, I say with sorrow for these separating Brethren, O Lord, how comes it to pass that one Tribe this day is wanting in Israel? How comes it to pass, that one Tribe, one Family, one Person, is this day wanting in thy Temple? It was David's joy, and let it be ours, to go up to the Temple of the Lord but admit we come to the Sanctuary, Satan hath yet more baits to catch simple souls into his drag-net; Abraham he prepares to sacrifice, but Fowls lights upon it; we prepare to sacrifice, but Satan hath Fowls ready to fall upon it; when the heart is unprepared, when the affections are indisposed, suspect a Fowl upon the sacrifice. God commands Nehemiah to build up the wall, that there may be no breaches; but Satan wants not a Sanballet to send an errand to obstruct the work, Come let us meet together, let the work alone: Nehem. 6.3. Nehemiah knew it to be a temptation replies like a Prophet, I am doing of a great work, I cannot come down, why shall I leave the work and let it cease whilst I come down to you? It is the observation of an ancient Writer, that Satan doth especially busy himself at these times. In principio bonae actionis ne sit. Hugo Car. In medio ut obsit In fine bonae actionis ne prosit. That this is Divinity Christ his temptations will attest it, and I think our own experience will confirm it. What Saint Paul says of Afflictions, Christ and Christians may say of Temptations, me manent, They wait for me: Christ, though formerly in the world, is but entered into the work of our Redemption, publicly appearing to the world for our welfares, newly baptised into obedience, and acting what God had sent him for. David had a security in the sheepcoats, though his flocks, yet himself was not assaulted: but when he was sent by his father to visit his brethren, he meets with the insolences of a great Goliath, he is in the public Court, entertains the Challenge, hearing the promise made, That whosoever killeth the Philistine the King will enrich him, will give him his Daughter, and make his Father's house free in Israel. 1 Sam. 17.25. He is now not only tempted, but his weakness is contemned: a youth, a stripling, our better David in his privacy and retirement we find not to be tempted; but now that he is sent out to gather his lost brothers, now that he appears openly, and hath received an assurance, that he that overcomes the spiritual Goliath, the King will enrich him, giving him his Daughter the Church, making his Kindred free, which noteth our freedom through Christ our Conqueror ●he is unprovidedly assaulted by a strong Phi●●stine, and in the beginning of his work, when want is upon him is tempted by him whose weapons threaten ruin, and promise victory to the owner, Thus came the Tempter, etc. Secondly, Though he be disappointed in the first design he m●y withdraw, but he will not wholly desist the enterprise; he leaves him for a season; Luke 4.13. he set upon him without meat, and he will endeavour to find him without ministration, to come upon him when the Angel is gone from him, and this ut obsit; Christ's life was said, and truly, to be continuata passio as well it may be templatio; for in the midst of this work his Disciple Peter savoureth of Satan, and would withdraw his Master from his business: had the Son of God gone ten degrees backward he had spo led all; had he stood still, Non progredi est regredi, he had hindered the work of our restoration; but he rejoiced to run his course, and therefore speaks a defiance to all delay, rebukes Peter, Get thee behind me Satan. Third●●, To c●●th him in his words was the Pharisees design, and at last to catch him in their hands, in the end of his work Ne prosit. At his end how strongly is he tempted, betrayed by his Disciple, apprehended by the multitude, forsaken by his followers, arraigned, accused, exclaimed against, mocked, struck, blindfolded, and derided in the Tempter's language, If thou be the Christ prophesy who is this that smote thee; either must he choose to submit to their temptation, or it must pass, pro confess●, he was not the chosen of God. Miracles he did in the time of his trouble, his enemies fall backward, and yet can these blinded Jews go forward to condemn him; he heals Malchus his eat, and yet they kill their Physician: Nay his temptation is yet stronger, one of the Malefactors in the same condemnation with him raileth on him, with an If, the language of the Tempter, If thou be Christ save thyself and us. O blessed Jesus, if thou at the instance of thy Tempter's hadst saved thyself from temporal, how hadst thou saved us from eternal death: We must not forget his Agony, where those grumae sanguinis, that bloody sweat, that exceeding fear, that parching thirst, but that bitter cup, that sense of his Father's desertion was upon him, which made him with his precious blood to pour out cries and prayers, and all this doth not express a tithe of his temptations whilst this work was a finishing. Thus in the beginning, progress and perfecting the work of our reconcilement, the Tempter came unto him. If Satan be thus busy at our holy works, we must likewise expect him on God's holy Day, set apart for performance of holy duties. The last Lord's day afforded us a sad example, whilst we were tendering of an Evening-sacrifice, our sacrifice was mingled with blood: The Word of God read, and the work of Satan under the same roof, our eyes and ears were witnesses; and when the occasion of this dismal act was required, what return could we expect? Was it blood that might have required blood? Was it the murdering of another which provoked ●●m to his own murder? No, but it was a due denied to God▪ the breach of his Sabbath, turning his Grace into lewdness, the day of prayer and devotion into playing and drunkenness; this he did against God on his day, and this doth the Devil against him on the Lord's day: this was the day when he should have drawn near to God, but withdrawing himself from God, Satan draws near to him, into him, and he that could not keep a Sabbath cannot have a rest, but must attempt to be his own murderer. This example should serve to imprint the first line of this Commandment in all our hearts, Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. And in the performance of the duties relating to the Sabbath let not thy services be cold; coldness and luke warmness are not relishing; be zealous is God's expectance, yet let thy ●eal have knowledge, otherwise it will but be madness, and let thy knowledge have zeal, otherwise it will be deadness; let thy service be entire, God loves not a half service, a half heart is no heart; Aut totum honora aut totum abjice, God loves not a sleepy service; N. 〈◊〉 z. Awake thou that sleepest and call upon thy God: God loves not an unmannerly service, he is not proud, he delights that thou shouldst walk with him; but let not condiscension lift up thy heart, for he requires thou shouldst walk humbly with him: M●●. God would not have his Spouse to be gaw●y ga●ish and painted, but he loves to have her decent, not in a new ●a●hion, but in a Matron-like and ancient order: He that will have her glorious within, will not have her sluttish without; 〈◊〉. ●6. 14. She shall be brought to the King in a raiment of needlework, not masked as to externals, but one part of decency joined and woven with another. How dreadful is thy dwelling-place, O God, how carefully must we enter thy presence Chamber? How must we long to hear thy Will imparted to us? How must we fear to impart our wants unto thee? If our Petition be rude, how can we expect a gracious reference? How shall not we deport ourselves with reverence when we have to deal with a holy God in a holy place, on a holy day, to do a holy duty, knowing that i● these duties the Tempter comes unto us, etc. God says, Honour thy Father and thy Mother; but 〈◊〉 Tempter ran from the mouth of Christ; quote Scripture and acquit thee from this obligation: Marry in the mouth of her Son is no more than Woman, and that not with obedience but objurgation, What have I to do with thee? Jo. 2.4. What say we to this bait? doth he who teacheth this Commandment disdain his Mother? The giver of the Precept is he a precedent for the breach? Let Reverend Bishop Hall answer this Objection; Bish. Hall. In all bodily actions his stile was Mother; in spiritual and heavenly Woman; she was the Mother of his flesh, his Deity was eternal; that part which he took from her shall observe her, she must observe that nature which was above her; as that nature made him a Son and Man, so that nature made her both a Woman and a Mother: God as thy heavenly Father calls for fear, the King as Pater patriae calls for honour; Fear God and bonour the King; the Conjunction couples them; Whom God hath put together let no man put asunder. The spiritual Fathers, so says Saint Paul, Vos genui in Evangelio, I have begotten you in the Gospel; claim an honour, let them have a double portion of the spirit of your honour: Thy natural Father calls or obedience; Can the Mother forget her affection? Shall the Child forget his duty? Can the Parent forget his care? Shall the Child not crave a blessing? Blesseme, even me also my Father. And now am I come to that great temptation, which hath been and is too common in our bloody days; God says, Thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not shed the blood of thy brother under the Gospel, who might not eat the blood of the beast under the Law. The Tempter comes, yea, hath God said so? and hath no small store of provocations and pretences to the breach of this Commandment: The first and most unfortunate quarrel was the Tempter's, when in Paradise he prevailed with our first Parents to rebel against God; this quarrel, from the mouth of God that sharp-edged sword, did produce no less than death, Morte morieris; in this Duel Man, being instigated by the Tempter, lost the field, and in this rebellion was the whole posterity tainted, and without the satisfaction of that blessed and powerful second Adam wholly and finally destroyed; and as if t●ls had not been a too sufficient witness of his malice against man: The Tempter starteth another quarrel betwixt two brothers when there was none to rescue, Here was the first ●nhappy field wherein Cain spills the blood of his brother Abel, provoked by this grand murderer, because his brother's sacrifice was better accepted, he cannot rest till the innocent blood of his brother be sacrificed to his malice, Cain made himself drunk with revenge, and now that deadly draught doth so distract him, that he proceedeth to despair, and now his guilt as clamorous as the act makes him cry out, My sin is greater than can be pardoned, passing from the ●in against a finite creature, to sin against the inexhausted mercy of an infinite and eternal Majesty; Thus hell tempting him ●o this heinous act, bequeathes its horror to him, which whatsoever way he looks still stands before him. And still this Tempter, as if blood were his business, continueth his course he hath now charactered Cain in the checkered colours red and black, blood and despair; his next piece must be to set a difference betwixt Jacob and Esau, these struggling in the womb must not be quiet in the world; That the Devil therefore may become a perfect dueller, he without doubt appoints the place in Cain, the field; now the time in Esau. The day of mourning for his Father to be the day of murdering his Brother, which purposed and heart-murder being prevented by a great providence, as if the Tempter were engaged to prosecute in the defence of his servant Esau, he sows a dissent betwixt the children of Jacob, and patches a conspiracy amongst the brethren to kill Joseph, still more blood? what pretence can this furious fiend have for his acting? horrid enemy! how couldst thou design a duel betwixt God and man? the Potter and the ●lay? How dared thou attempt this affront against the Maker of mankind? How canst thou gloss or any way excuse the lifting up cain's hand against his brother? Esau's heart against Jacob? and all the brethren's voices against Joseph 〈◊〉 thou ●●●st out rebellion, and interlines reasons thou bl●●●●● out disobedience towards God, and settest down advance into man, Eat, says God, and thou shalt die, Eat, says S●● and thou shalt be as Gods, which do not die: Thou blot●●● murder, and writest in cain's near a copy of discretion, justice and of policy: There's none stands in comperition with the only Abel what obstruction to the acceptance of my offering? why dost thou not remove him and then thy tender will be received; Besotted Cain! couldst thou be tempted to believe that the blood in the field smelled sweeter than the fruit of the ground? Thou blottest out murder in Esau, and tells him it is justice; Has not Jacob supplanted thee in thy birth right, and in thy blessing? what's thy life unto thee if he lives he will again dissemble? is it not justice to stop his breath who stole thy blessing (how can it be counted murd nor revenge, or construed cruelty to put a period to his days, who hath supplanted thee in thy enjoyments? Thou blo●test out murder in the false brethren, and though in Letters of blood thou writest Reason, great cause why Joseph should be slain, first he is a tell-tale, Gen. 37. he pries into our actions, and gives an evil report to our father: then though a youngling he wears the only livery of our father's favour, as if we were not his children, or it so that we were cast off; next the lad makes bad use of that favour, it makes him insolent; the dearness of our father doth distract him, pride swells him and makes him burst out into disdainful and undutiful language: He dreams, and not only so, but says it waking, that be shall have dominion over us; A son to rule over his father, where is nature? where is grace? is this the requital? hath Jacob bestowed a coat upon Joseph to go naked himself? a brother, and a younger brother to rule over us his elder brethren, where is nature? where's affection? Though he come to see us, it is but to be ray us; though he hath taken this journey, it is but to return our evil report, Come therefore and let us kill him and let his blood be charged in the savage beasts, wil●e creatures! bruits and without understanding, though Satan hath informed you, his subtlety hath tempted you, yet Joseph doth live, Joseph must reign over you, your eyes shall see it, and your hearts shall enforce your tongues to confess your bloody act, your guilt, Gen. 4. and his innocency: Thus did the ●empter move the Jews to kill our better Joseph, but in despite of his and their malice it is our joy, Joseph, Jesus is yet alive and triumphs. But though this was of old, and the Tempter might prevesrie in those times yet can it be that any such temptation should take place in our century; whose eyes do not drop a tear, nay, whose hearts do not bleed to hear our Rachel's weeping for their children, and cannot be comforted because they are not; War hath of late been as a pastime, we have lately lived as if Abner and Joab had been among us; Come let the young men play before us: 2 Sam. 2.14.16. Each caught his fellow by the head, thrust him thorough with his sword, they fell together, this Tragic play deserves a memory, and the field is called Helkath hazzurim, The field of strong men: surely the strength of our transgression hath slain the strength of our Nation, Quis legit haec, who reads these red lines running so lately and drawn amongst us, and receives temptations to bloodshed. This crafty Serpent can yet skin over these wounds, and mitigate the sting of these complaints; the commonness and seeming advantages, the present satisfactions, are not the least and meanest of the baits. Abimilech forgets the murder of his brethren for a Kingdom; he hath so much thought of what he would have, that he forgets what he doth to obtain it; the end makes him forget the act: O Abimelech, thou layest the sixty nine brethren's blood upon a stone to gain a Crown, which though upon thy head is not armour enough against one stone by a weak Woman, but from the powerful hand of Heaven. Rebellious Absalon, thou forgettest thy duty towards David, envies him as King, for a Crown foregoes thy Father, suffers thyself to be tempted, and tempts others to the excess of sinfulness, goes up to thy Father's Concubines, makes thyself odious in the sight of Heaven and Earth, all this for a Crown, whilst that giddy head shall only live for thy shame and punishment, and lives to learn thee, that a Tree is fit than a Crown for thy treachery. Full n Ahab. can the sight and the unwarranted desire of thy Neighbour's Vineyard make thee forget his murder? Who hath tempted thee? Is not thy subject's blood ●earer than his field? Is not the welfare of his person more to thee then his possession? Hast thou not learned to know, that a good King's heart cannot but bleed in the loss and slaughter of a subject? He cannot but bleed with them that bleed, suffer with them that s●●●er. Thou and the Tempter's Minion shall know, that you shall not be privileged from your shares in this destruction. Let us come further: Blindfolded Jews, who hath tempted and bewitched you to kill the Lord of life? Can you forget his Miracles, the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the Lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised, and will not yet your souls be subject to his Sceptre? what profit can you propose to yourselves and your posterities by his death? what evil do you find in him? for which of his works of wonder do you kill him? Satan hath seared their consciences, Let us kill him, not one check but an encouragement, the inheritance will be ours. Deluded Herod, how hath the Devil tempted thee to the murder 〈◊〉 a Man who endeavoured thy salvation? Art thou become his enemy because he hath told the truth? must he be exposed to the sword because he hath opened his mouth against thy sin? shall the Devil first tempt thee to act filthiness with thy brother's wife, then draw a rash and unadvised oath from thee, to grant whatsoever the Strumpet requires? and must thou now to make good thy bad oath murder a good man? Matth. 14.9. can the Tempter make thee mindful of thy oath, and forgetful of thy murder? Much better hadst thou bro●k thy promise then have slain thy Prophet: must thy birth needs be his dying day? is this the glory thou givest to Christ for being born, to murder him who was the forerunner of Christ born? Consider how the Tempter deals with them, with you, where there is murder he pretends Justice, where there is murder he pleads advantage: Here for the kill John he pleads the necessity of performing his promise, he is prompted to it for the companies sake, where he ought to have forborn it for conscience sake. Yet a little further; the Devil doth skin ever this wound, let us lance it to the bottom; God says, Thou shalt not kill; Satan says, (for in plain truth it is he) it is against thy honour to pass by an injury unrevenged: Grant that thou worst injured, shall God forgive sins, and thou not forgive errors? What a thing is this b●●ble o● honour, that cannot be maintained but by dishonouring God defacing his Image wounding thy soul, and without God's great mercy destroying and damning bo●y and soul. But all this is against killing of another; does he then pass by or privilege the kill of thyself? ●very temptation thou entertainest is a wound, Peceata sunt t●tidem vulnera, sins are so many wounds to Christ, to thy soul, makes him bleed afresh, kills thy soul without found repentance: ●very man in acting wickedness lays violent hands upon himself, like Baal's Priests, cuts, lances and wounds himself. Think not then, he that is angry, if thy hand be lifted up against others, will not be offended if thou liftest thy hand against thyself. It was a bad sign Achitophel had not ordered his house aright when he hanged himself: We must have care to dispose domum intertorum, and domum exteriorum, thy inward and outward stare: Achitophel might distribute his goods, I doubt he did not dispose his soul; he might bequeath his goods to the world, not give his soul to God: What if his counsel was not taken, must therefore this desperate course be taken? O the Tempter's cunning! First, it was he that bids him give Absalon bad advi●e, now it is he that gives Achitophel worse counsel; hadst thou kept close to thy God in Heaven, than hadst thou not forsaken thy God, I mean the King upon earth; hadst thou continued loyal to him thou mightest have lived as an Oracle, and died as a Saint; but now rebelling, Quem Deus vult perdere dement at trius, thy wisdom is become foolishness, thy hand which was against thy King is now against thyself, thou livest a Rebel, and dies a Reprobate: so let the enemies of my Lord the King perish. Monster of men, accursed Judas, son of perdition, it was Satan came to Christ, but into thee and made thee go out from, thy Master; How wast thou guilty of betraying thy Master and canst be innocent in murdering thyself? The Pens of Angels cannot write thy impiety. A Disciple one which saw Christ, which the Fathers longed for; one who heard Christ, with whom was the Words of Life; one which knew Christ, whom to know was life eternal if rightly known; one which was entrusted by Christ with what he had; How hath the Tempter fooled thee? A little money becomes thy master; and at last the fact is so ugly presented to thee, to thy conscience, that, as if thou wert unworthy of another's hand, thou becomes thy own Executioner: Thus comes the Tempter, etc. Neither doth he want fig-leaves to hid the breach of other Commandments, let him patch them they are but fig-leaves, the eye of God can easily look thorough them: If God says, Thou shalt not commit aduliery: Thou shalt not steal: Satan who dares appear amongst the Children of God to tempt Job, and here dares assault Christ, can present David with a Bathsheba, and with her a way to cover the transgression: Uriah must be sent for home, invited, encouraged to her bed to smother their unlawful dalliance: when that leaf will not do, another must be applied, drunkenness must be added, that may prevail with Vriah to do he knows not what: when this will not serve, Uriah must be sent away recompensed, with the tru●● of a Letter, as he conceives: This proves a fatal order, the message of his own mortality; Place him in the front (the place of perilous honour) but leave him alone in the urn, forlorn, void of aid, for fear of his evasion, so shall he not live to return, not return to know his Wife's sin and his own sorrow. David a King, a Priest, a Prophet, yet under his sinful passions blinded in iniquity; to what purpose dost thou slay thy loyal subject, that prizes the event of thy wars before the joys of wedlock? canst thou by this means mask it? No, the blood of thy subject cries in the ears of God, in the ear of another Prophet, thou canst not be at quiet till thou hast condemned thyself in a Parable, and afterwards becomes the moral of that history, and notwithstanding all these vizards acknowledge thy sin, shame and sorrow. Unhappy Achan, the Tempter brings thee to an accursed thing; unhappy to Israel, who cannot stand before the enemy; unhappy to thyself, thou trustest this betrayer: Satan is a bad Secretary, he bids thee hid the Golden Wedge▪ the Garment, in the ground; what ground is this for thy security? He that can cause the earth to open upon Corah to his destruction, cannot he cause the ground to open for the discovery of Achan's fact; a l●t shall do it, and now must Achan confess his sin, and give glory unto God. Poor spirited Soldiers, what tempted you to witness against your consciences, against Christ, who came to be your Jesus? What moved you to report the Disciples stole away our Saviour by night when you were sleeping? Soldiers and sleep upon your watch! If sleeping, how could you tell they st●le him? if waking, why did you not obstruct it? 'Twas the J●ws money, that Aqua vitae to a bad cause, and Satan paid it; this testimony stands upon record, and their false witness will be against them when truth itself shall appear. I 〈◊〉 at the last Commandment, Thou shalt not covet, so says G●d: but Satan can dispense with that, and give another comment upon the Commandment. Simple Ananias and Saphira, who moved you to sell? You will say, God's Spirit. Who moved thee to give? the same Spirit. But who moved thee to lie? who moved thee to court a strange courting? before thou sold'st it, was it not thy own? but when it was sold it was Gods, that alienes the propriety; the whole sum is required, what moves thee to deny it? Deceitful and distrustful heart's, would seem to serve God, but reserve something for yourselves, would trust to God but with a reservation, seals God a● Deed but keeps possession. I have posted through the Precepts, I have s●own you precedents, I have set before you Satins b●its, the best works, and duties, and persons are not free from his temptations; let our Saviour's Rules be general he ha●● his exceptions; let Gods Commands be absolute, Satan's demands shall be peremptory, plausible, and very spacious; so was it here for bread when Christ was hungry: Then came to him the Tempter, and said▪ etc. And this leads us to the third part observable, Third Part. the manner of his temptation, He came unto him and said, etc. He came unto him. There is a vast difference betwixt coming unto, and coming into, the Tempter came unto Christ, but into Judas. Shall I seem to speak a Paradox, if I say Satan hath a will to come near to Christ, but no will that Christ should come near to him; Job 1: Satan came into the presence of God as a servant amongst the Sons of God, some company is ever with Christ with whom Satan would have to do: There is a J●b, and as God hath kept him, so Satan hath considered him; M●●●m. Imm●nei huic occasiont: If Christ and his Angels have true joy in the conversion of a sinner, Satan and his Angels have their joy in the delusion of a Saint; let Peter be with Christ, Satan is about him, and would be within Peter; let Christ do his work to win, Satan doth his part to winnow him▪ yet is the power of Christ so awful unto Satan, his presence so much of prejudice to his proceed, that the very sense thereof makes them complain of his coming near them. Quid habemus tecum agere, Ma t● 8.29. etc. What have we to d● with thee, O Jesus of N●z●reth art thou come to torment us before the time. What plea ure can they have in his approach, or quiet, when they know it is to displace and dispossess. When a stronger man cometh the Fort must be surrendered. Wherever the Devil was found by Christ he discomfited him; he found him in heaven, thence he ejected him by his power; he finds him lurking in the secret cabinet of the heart, thence he throws him by his Word and Spirit; he finds him in the bodies of possessed men, thence he commands their departure and they unwillingly obey him; he might have kept his state and would not, he would have kept heaven his habitation, but co●ld not; and this present trouble which they have at his presence, gives them to remember their future tormen, for as he shall come to the completion of the joy of his elect, so shall he come to the fullness and aggravation of the demands, grief and sorrow. If any shall inquire in what manner or form the devil c mes unto the creatures, we must know that no form is ●o glorious that he either does not, or dares not undertake, no language so heavenly which he cannot dissemble. He transforms himself into the likeness of an Angel of light, 2 Cor. 11.14. light is taken there for glory, and without peradventure, where he deludes one as devil, he deceives thousands as an Angel of glory. When Saul contracts with the witch for the raising up Samuel, we find Satan appearing like the good old prophet, when Saul asks her what she saw, she answers, 1 Sam. 18. 1●. Gods ascending from the earth; He bids her not fear when he had more cause of sear and horror; He inquires the form, an old man covered with a mantle, S tan neither wants the habit nor the hairs of Samuel, not yet the language of the Prophet, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? wherefore dost thou ask of me seeing the Lord is departed from thee? What could Samuel have said if he had been present that Satan says not in his likeness; he tells him his present condi●ion, and that he may evidence himself a prophet he pr●●●cts his future state. To morrow thou shalt be with me and thy s●ns, 1 Sam. 28.19. and God shall give the army into the hands of the Phil●s●mes; and if we wonder at his speaking since nothing can natur●l●y speak but what hath the instruments of speech, which spirits have not, they can not otherwise speak vocally (then as they ●ss me voices) in taking of bodies. This Tempter did appear in one likeness of a Serpent, and hath communicated m●ch of his subtil●y to that creature, plausible appearance and crafty insinuation, seducing the we●ker creature, the woman but we m●st conceive the spirit of the Devil in that Serpen●, and so that Angel speaks in the Serpent as the good Angel spoke in Bal●ams ●sse; nor can we wonder of these miraculous transformings, and pr●phet-like expressions, nor ye● of the wor●s of his evil spirit in the Serpent; if we consider of the author whose Almightiness can as easily create a voice without a body as a body without a voice. When God asks Sa●an, not but that he knew it, Whence com●st th' u? that liar is fo●●ed to re●urn a truth, From compassing the earth, walking to and fro up and down in it; Then as he comes unto Christ so is he continually about Christians, and within the wicked, for by God's permission he is the same in the men●al p●ss●ssi ns, as he is in the corporal, and as he seats himself in the bodies, s● h● endeavours to seize the souls of all wh●n he 〈◊〉 s duce. There is a threefold coming of Christ, saith holy Bernard. Ad homin●m in hominem, c●ntra h●minem; Bernard. unto man to redeem him, into man to comfort him, against man to judge him: And on the contrary we may admit the like come of Satan unto man, so unto Christ in●o man, so into Ju●as and against man, so against the wicked who ha●●●o 〈◊〉 ●●●●rmed, and are reserved for further torment: 〈…〉 coming there is this difference, unhappy they unto whom Chr st only came, and came not into them; but happy those unto whom Satan comes, but enters not into them; Christ and Christians cannot be free from the assaults of Satan, but happy ●re we, if with an● through Christ he have not entertainment: The godly man is ●h● greatest combatant, and it is through Chr●st only ●hat he is conqueror: So much of Sa an attends the regenerate man, n●y, creeps within that he hath a great militancy within himself, which the elect vessel St. Paul did undergo, Rom. 7.23. I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity: His only confidence was in his champion Christ: the assa lts of Satan co l not be by that holy man prevented, but by Christ in Paul they were repelled; And though our brainsick Saints will br●g of their impeccancy, yet I must rank them among Saint John's rabble, who deceive themselves, and there is no truth in him, and then there must be much of error; and dare affirm with confidence and warrant, that whilst we live in this Wilderness we can nei her free ourselves from remanencies of sin, nor several temptations: And though S●z men could report of Apoll●nius, that he never was tempted, never wanted what he wished, yet I may doubt that full supply might turn a temptation, and shall not without scruples ascertain their titles unto Heaven, who labour not to assure it under the seal of many trials. It was the complaint of our Saviour, that though his House was appointed for prayer, yet they had made it a den of thiefs: And it is to be feared that our bodies, which ●re as the Temple, and our souls as the sanctum sanct●ram, ●re become the receptacles of Satan. For what requireth or coveteth Satan, but that which is God's due, the heart? our condition is never so dangerous whilst we quench his evil motions, and do not give w●y to his suggestions and suffer ourselves to be overcome of ou● own corrupti●●● A g●od Soldier, when he is besieged, though he cannot 〈◊〉 ●●er his enemy from assaulting, yet he will be circumspect th' t he may not enter, and if he have a Mutineer within his Garrison he will be sure to secure him: A good Christian, though he has enemies abroad, yet he will ●●bour to have all at home in quiet. Cortugal the Turkish Ambassador returns from Rhodes with this intelligence to his Master, Christianus occasus intestinis dissid●is corroboratur, Home differences do promise and confirm victory to our foreign Adversaries, Israel could not stand against Ai because there was an accursed thing in the midst of Israel: Josh. 7.13. Satan's temptations are not in their way unlike to J●shuahs besieging of Jericho, Diabolus est dei simia, he goes about the City, he shuts up the soul strictly he would not have any thing of Christ to come in, nor any thing of a good motion to come out for its assistance; yet can he not take the City, enter the soul, till the walls fall. And more, Satan though he seem to slight it at the first, that his assaults be not so assiduous, yet at the last he shall compass the City seven times: At the first he draws forth his temptations, which may be named after him, Legion, for they are many, give thy soul an Alarm, proffer thee fair conditions, draw a league betwixt you, proffer a truce if thou wilt pay him tribute, promise to remove hostility if thou wilt pay him homage, but all this time he waits but an opportunity of approaching, nay of entering. It was a prudent and safe piece of advice which a Counsellor gave to his King. That it was only safe for a King to treat with a sword in his hand: And it is safe for every Christian, we have a dangerous enemy to deal withal. Judas was their General and led those that took Jesus, he comes unto him with a kiss, when he brought them to kill him; we have no safer way then to keep him at the swords point. A noble and judicious Peer of this Realm was wont to say, Prevention was cheaper than recovery, our armour avails us little after the wound be received, that which timely put on had kept out the bullet, now serves but to increase the wound, and to that purpose● though Saul's Armour will not fit David, yet is it not fitting that David should combat with Goliath wholly unprepared. We must observe, that saul's Armour▪ another man's▪ will not serve us in this day of battle; and why? says David, For that I have not proved. 1 Sam. 17.39. Christ Armour, by which he repels Satan, was his own Armour which he hath proved, we may say it, himself, for he was the Word, and this is temptation proof, one job one syllable of this shall no● sail. Holy Job n● had special Armour, the Devil considered him, considered what way he might enter him, but he finds God had made a hedge about him; his goods they were abroad in the fields, the lives of his children they were in the house of their eldest brother, only the life of Job was enclosed, was hedged about: Satan attempts a nearer assault, moves that his bone and his flesh may be touched, and yet can he only fire the suburbs, but the City he cannot take; his body may be plagued, but his life and soul is protected. The Church the Spouse of Christ hath Armour of proof, she is builded upon a Rock, and that Rock is Christ, like a good Wife she is under covert, the gates of Hell, though they labour her discomfiture, yet shall they not prevail against her: The Dragon may and will make war against the Woman, he may like a resolute Soldier rally his forces, prepare his batteries▪ pour out his poison, floods and waters, crosses and persecutions, schisms and heresies, yet shall he not prevail, Christ shall break his head; but let his members be prepared, wrath and war is against them; he will, though he shall not break, we bruise his heel; he will labour to se● the Bush on fire, though, blessed 〈◊〉 God, it shall not be consumed; this fire of the Church shall give light though it doth not burn, but Satan's ●ell fire shall burn though it gives no light. And thus I am come to the Application. Nunquidego Domine, was the Disciples, Is it I Lord? Who is it that Satan does thus assault? No less than Christ; and if this befall the Master, 2 Cor. 16.15. what may the servant 〈…〉 If Sat●● dare assault Christ, his servants will dare to 〈…〉 disciples: If Satan be transformed, it is no gre●● 〈…〉 ●●nisters be transformed: If no man can be 〈…〉 ●ration, than no man but he is concerned in thi●●●ex●●, a●●●●e sad example, which occasions this Sermon, concerns us, and to good and evil is an admonition; the time, place and condition of the person tempted doth concern us: The time, when Christ had begun the great work of our redemption, when he was entering into the execution of his divine Office, it is not for man to appear in the field of God without he be armed for all encounters, shrubs may be unmoved when the tallest Cellars are shaken, and privacy doth supersede from several attempts, whereunto those of public concernment are exposed. He that espouseth the Lord's quarrel cannot but expect many adversaries, and few men, though they may put themselves forward, are fitted for this conflict. gideon's Army of thirty two thousand are reduced to three hundred, and serves to inform, ●at as God can do his work by few, so few are sitting for doing Gods work▪ how few will stand & lap water in their spiritual mar●●● not y●el an inch of ground, ●u●e. ●. 6. not lose of their neight in time of danger? How many will kneel and bend for water in the fiery trial? and though they be armed and furnished to the field yet, like the children of Ephrams, they prove but broken bows, and start back in the day of battle: but Christ hath not to taught us. Saul ●e killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands; but Christ doth more, for though his person meets with Legions, his word ejects them, stays them. Lord, thou h●st given us thy Word, give us thy Spirit, and we shall not be afraid if thousand, be against us. 2. The place doth concern us, it was in the Wilderness: Eli●ah was much dejected when he was alone, and the place doth not a little contribute to the lessening or augmenting of misery. Adam had a Paradise, Christ finds a Wilderness, Jos●●h a Prison, Jeremy a Dangeon, Daniel a ●●ons Den, the three Children a fiery F●●●●ce, Peter and Paul a Prison, but ●●l●x●●●o passio cum Christus ingreditur careres, happy prison 〈…〉, unhappy paradise where Satan inhabits: 〈…〉 are in the Wilderness how weary we are of 〈…〉 ●e die, says Elijah: when Peter was left alone 〈…〉 ●ith began to saint, and going afar off gave 〈…〉 ●n to interpose temptations: Hold up our 〈…〉 ●derne●s of this world with that comfortable 〈…〉 with ye in life in death: thus shall the Desert be leli●●●ome to us. 3. The condition, He was hungry: Sometimes want and sometimes wealth are in laqueum. Agar prayed against both; ●●ve m● neither poy●● 〈◊〉 nor riches, not poverty, lest I be poor and steal, not riches lest I b● full and forget God: Pread● the bait which he laid before Christ, if that would have temp●● him, Christ had turned thief and ●ob'● God of his honour. I●●ness was Judah's, yes and Sodoms sin, and hath been, my, and 〈◊〉 our iniquity, It we want we murmur, if we have plenty we lift up our hearts against God, and our ●●lness ●erve●●, ●in to the full against God: And we have great cause to impect the sins of our fullness when we do but ●●ll●●t upon Christ's ●●●er 〈◊〉 by his fasting, seeing therefore for our sakes and sins, that righteousness did hunger, Give us Lord, for thy son's sake, hearts to hunger after righteousness. Again it is the Tempter which comes unto Christ's surely we cannot (though he assumes several forms) but understand him. Wouldst thou know him by his appe●latives? Names are predictionary, so are ●is, not one but it hints the evilness of, ●s nature. W●●l 〈◊〉 judge of him by his works▪ they are like the author, and speak not his pr●●se, but his s●ame in the gates. Is it any thing would tempt thee to unlawful acts? it is 〈◊〉, thou canst but suspect him: Is it any thing would diver thee from thy God? it is the Devil thou hast cause to 〈◊〉 him: Is it any thing would tempt thee unto si●? it is the deceiver: Is it any thing would make ship●v●●ck of thy saith▪ it is the son of perdition: Is 〈◊〉 my thing may 〈◊〉 the 〈…〉 of one precept, the commission of a s●n ●n 〈…〉 of the Devil thy unto him as Christ unto Satan tempting Peter, 〈◊〉 thee behind me Satan. But if he presumes to come unto Christ how shall I withstand him; Christ promised 〈◊〉 ●eave 〈…〉 le●s; what he promised he hath performed: That a●●our w●●h hep●●●d, wherewith he prevailed, as a legacy of his l●ve, is tendeth bequeathed unto thee, Scripium si, it is written was Satan's weapon; this proud Goliah's sword ●ath our better D●vid t●ken f●●● him, cut off ●●s hea● with his own sw●rd, and turned the 〈…〉 himself: The while panoply▪ the complete ar●●●● 〈◊〉 ●roved furniture are afforded; Christians must the C●●●● 〈◊〉: med from top to toe, Ephe●. 6.14. there is a he●met and a breastplate, a shield and a tried sword, and if your enemies be principalities and powers, your armour is experienced, your engines 〈…〉 as powerful, not parleys and surrenders, but prayers 〈◊〉 supplications, these ordnance does gall your adversaries, 〈◊〉 with an acceptable violence opens the gates of heaven, 〈◊〉 only place of refuge to the conquerors, the choicest Centinel is perseverance; In this quarrel our Captain is before us, that valiant J●nathan, who through temptations hath prevailed, ascended up the hill, and having in his father's house prepared Mansions, calls to us for our following; good soldiers will not fail the expection of their Captain; loyal subjects will go wheresoever their King goeth, in life and death they will be with him, O blessed Captain glorious King! thou hast conquered Satan for us, thou hast left us thy Spirit to conduct us, thy Word to comfort us, the sword of thy Word and Spirit to de●end us; let the same spirit go along with us in this conflict, and in ourselves, though we are unable, yet through thy strength we shall be more than conquerors. In this battle be thou with ●s, who by thy blood hath overcome our enemies, and give us hearts to ascribe the glory of this conquest unto thee, that when this painful time of our militancy is ended, we may become members of the Church triumphant praising thee with Songs of Salvation and victory for evermore, Amen. FINIS.