Book U. SECT. XX v. Of S••~~ts injeG/ions by bimfelf. Si\tans next a!faults we tall injections, which are only and immediately by himfdf: Thefe ufually are Satans referves ; when his other a!faul ts prove unfuccdsful ,_ then he opens this quiver, and fends a fhower of thefe arrows to fet the foul on · ftame if nor of 1fin, yet of terrour and horrour : Thefe injections are terribili~ de fide borribilia de Divinitatt, terrible things of fllith, ~ntl horrible things coHcerning God. w~ may call them blafphemies,b!afphemous thou~hts, which the de.vil_throws into the fantafie, infinitely againll our wtlls,_ and by w_h~eh he fets ~11 ":'thm on tire; they are fhot in like thunderboults, as thtck and qntck as can be trnagtned, and they caul< a uembling, even to flefh as well as the fpirit, feeing there is neither pkafure nor profit in them, but a fearful expect>tion ot fpeedy vengeance. But you may won· der, are ever Chrilljans, Profe!fors, Saints, troubled with fuch a!faults as thefc? I anfwer , yes, the moll holy hearts are many times moll haunted with thefe horrou 11, it was ble!fed Boltons faying, That ftr~ng,ers to the wayes nfGod are not much tmtbled ilf this kjnd, nor ordinarily vexed with fucb hormtrJ ; S''"" mJk,rs as much of bi1 i11 this world as IJe can pof!ibly, k_nowing that he bath tim' enough, evC/1 Eternity it (elf, to torment thtlf< in the world to come ; and therefore he i1 not wont to wield this terrifYing weapon •gain}! them, fave onry at fome dead lift , or ttpOit [11111c Jpccial a-ivotntage , a1 11 nder fomt txtroadinary mifiry, or in excefr of mellancho'J , to drive them tbereb 1 to diftramon, or diJPore, ., to hinder convcrfion, by a t/iverfion into by wayes : But fore I am (faith he ) the ordin.ry objtil, and Jpecial aim of SatanJ malice in this point, are only tbo[< who have h•ppily efcaped out of his clutches already 11nd are fully, Jtnd fot ever free& from hit damning {Hry, and all deadry hurt. And I know nrJt whether 1 here be any of thefe, which 4oth not lefs or more, at one rime or other , fuffer under this horro11r; and yet every one of them thinks,himfelf fingular in this futfer– iag and that it is eot ufual for Gods children to have fuch prodigiouOy fol!land fearful th;ughts put into their Iaeads which they dare not mention for their abhorred mon– llroufnefs, neither think ofat any time without trembling. I remember I was fame– times told, that in a Lecture fer up at London againll the Jewifu Religion, and for the converfion of that people, holy· Mr. Vinu preaching his turn, he arguer.! llrongly again£\ the Jews in their horried blafphemies of Jefus Chrill. In conclu• firm of his Sermon, he feemed to recollect himfelf, f~ying, but to whom preach 1 ~ to Jews, or Chrifiians : If none be here but Chrillians, to what purpofe tbould I re– fdl tbefe ]ewifu Blafphemies Ab (faid he) have Chrijlianr no nud offuch Sermons l ~rt'not Chrijliam fomttimer tro.ubled with Satans injtilioMs of this llllture againft the Di– vinityof JefurChri?l Alar! for~y •wnpart, Ii<_~ow not howto clearmyfilf, butthat 1tell you, I wo11ld ki[1 the feet ofh1m. that would brmg me thefe glad tidingr that I jhoultl never more. be_troubled .'tPith theft in]eilion~, that. ]<fur Cbrift i1 not the Mef!iah, or that Je[t<J,Chrift tt not Goi/. T~e ~ongregattOn be10g very throng, and hearing this, they gave out a groan, as tf t! had run through the Congregation, and had been the groan only of one man ; the Relator being prefent, and affected with it he told me, be fuppofed the meaning of that groan was this. q. d. If th•u that.fPe;k£jt, "k._nowing godly Di~ine ar1 afraid of tbe[e bl6jphemies, how mHch more may we ? SE C T. XXVI. Ofour .,reftling with Sat~n, 41 to thi1 ajJ'anlt. I N this cafe that we may prevail againll Satan , let its learn 'chef< Leffoas As-- '· Let us learn for at leall endeavour it) that we may dillinguilh Satans in- I jectlons, a_nd thofe temptations bubbling up fwm our one heart : Certainly there is a ddference,tfwe could but know,betwtxt thofe fire· balls which are thrown in at our win· dows by Sata11? ~nd thofe fparks of corruption which fly ( as it were ) from our own 3 heart, and take fir~ at our own finful hearts. Thefc differences are not agreed on by !/urn•! all, and yet fome mward, \'\)Werful, fpmtual meu, lay them down thus.- . Amwjmitb. M l •· The ,.
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