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provements. Can we then fuppofe, him SER M. liable to be impofed on by the fubtilty, or XIV, overpowered by the force, of any Tempter' whatfoever, that he might be either drawn or driven into evil? Either of these again, is equally abfurd and impoffible, and plainly inconfiftent with the notion of a Being of infinite perfections. That perfect Being is the Cause and Author of all others, and it can imply no less than contradiction, to fuppofe him any way outdone by the creatures of his own workmanship, whose excellencies and endowments (whatfoever they are) are only borrowed and derived from him.

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Now, from this great abfurdity of suppofing God capable of being tempted to fin, it is convincingly argued in the Text, by the Apostle, that neither does he tempt or incline others to it. God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth be any man. The confequence is plain and natural; for he muft first be evil and impure himself, who can delight or take pleasure in feducing others to be fo. The action of feducing is itself foul and abominable, and makes the Tempter, in good earneft, a partaker of that fin and wickednefs which he propofes and fuggefts to others. Befides, the whole tenor of the Divine law, the rewards and punishments fet before us in the Gofpel, the means and opportunities of Grace. that are afforded us, were, all defigned to

destroy,

SERM. deftroy the kingdom of Satan, and affift our XIV. progrefs and increase in virtue: Which is

all entirely inconfiftent with fuppofing God to be the Author of fin, or the Tempter to it, whether by direct immediate impulse, or by establishing a fatal neceffity of things; or laftly, by involving men in fuch difficulties as are fuperior to their ftrength, without fupplying their natural defects by supernatural affiftances.

Such are the arguments which have been urged already, and will often deserve our recollection, to vindicate the purity of the Divine nature from being any way the caufe or fountain of our fin and corruption. And, though there may be certain difficulties from fome particular examples in fcripture, or from the fubtilties of false reasoning, or elfe from obfervations made by our own narrow experience, yet we have already feen, in many inftances, that they are capable of fair folution, and may be answered, with fuch clearnefs and folidity of reafon, as cannot but confirm and establish the doctrine of the Text, whilst it discovers the weakness of those fophifms which are defigned to overthrow it. And if there fhould be any other objection, not reducible to thofe which were confidered in the former Difcourfes, and to which a man of ordinary capacity fhould not be able to return a clear and fatisfactory anfwer, yet

that

that ought not in any wife to fhock his be- SER M. lief, which is already founded on the clear- XIV. est and most convincing arguments. It will be always easy for men of parts and ill defign to raise a duft before the brightest truths, and object fuch difficulties as men of uprighter intentions, but lefs acquainted with fallacy, may not be able to remove. Let fuch perfons, in that cafe, be content with the affirmative evidence, and judge that, whilft clear and ftrong, to be of greater weight than ten thousand objections put together, which only take advantage of the weakness of their faculties, and are not therefore to be deemed unanfwerable, because they themselves are not able to account for them. We are affured most exprefly, that there has no temptation overtaken us but fuch as is common to man, and that God is faithful, who (will not only not tempt us to fin himself, but) will not fuffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but will, with the temptation alfo, make a way to efcape, that we may be able to bear it. Upon this truth let us reft, as a fure and immoveable foundation; and let no pretences, that may be alledged to the contrary, ever Induce us to entertain unworthy notions of God, inconfiftent with this fundamental truth, so clearly taught us both by Reason and by Revelation. Again, 2. Secondly,

SERM.

2. Secondly, As our heavenly Father is XIV. thus vindicated from the charge of our iniquity, fo we may eafily perceive from hence, where the guilt is to be laid, namely, upon the luft and corruption of our own hearts. Every man is tempted (fays the Apostle) when he is drawn away of his own luft, and enticed. Let God, therefore, be true, and every man a liar; and let God's honour be vindicated, though man's honour fhould be laid in the duft. It was by the tranfgreffion of our firft Parents that fin entered into the world, and death by fin, and fo death paffed upon all men, for that all bave finned. We have a principle of vice and depravity inherent in ourselves, and it muft therefore be an inftance of the groffeft ftupidity, as well as of the moft ungrateful blafphemy, to throw the odium of those fins upon God, which he forbids and punifhes, rather than on ourfelves, who appear fo extremely forward and greedy to

commit them.

Let this mortifying reflection be allowed to affect us with the deepest humility. For, can the creature, whofe Understanding is .blinded, and his Will depraved, whose affections have all of them a wrong turn given them; can fuch a one as this have any thing to boaft or value himself upon? If there be nothing criminal or guilty in that pollution which could not be avoided,

at

at least there can be nothing to incline our SERM, esteem, or fwell us up with pride. Behold XIV. (fays the Pfalmift, when he meant not to excufe his guilt, but to exprefs his humility: Behold) I was shapen in wickedness, and in fin hath my Mother conceived me. And if notwithstanding we find ourselves too apt to be elated and grow proud of ourselves, in the midst of fuch pollution, this gives but a farther proof of the blindness and perverfeness of our nature, and fhews that the lefs we have, the more we ftand in need of humility. When that principle of concupifcence, breaks out into actual transgreffions, this fhould more and more convince us of the wretched frailty and vilenefs of our nature, and teach us that our misery is fo plainly from our own folly and wickednefs, that we may juflly make to ourselves the Prophet's application, O Ifrael, thou haft defroyed thyself.

The Devil, without doubt, takes his advantage of our natural difpofition and proclivity to fin, and, by playing our own artillery against us, difpatches his business with the greater eafe, and finds means to take many of us captive at his will. But ftill, without our own concurrence, his ftratagems must be ineffectual; his power is not unlimited or unconfined, and it is not fo much his taking the advantage of our natural infirmity, as our own want of vi

gilance

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