j[.,ootung unto jjcfu.s. ----------- --- ----- 176 Book IV, Chap. 1. Sect 4 hungred; we kno": well enough, that Chrifl: could have lived without meat, and h~ c?uld have ~afl:ed wuhout hunger; ': had been an eafie matier for htm to have fupponed lus body wuhout any means of nounJltmem or !tfe; but to Jltew that he was man as well as God, and fo fit a Mediato~ betwixt God and man, he would both feed andfaft. makeufe of the Creature, and Withal fuffer hunger.---And now oar Saviour is a; hungred; this gives occa!ion t? Satan to f~r upon him with his fierce and violent tempta– tions; he knows well what baitS to fiflllvlthal, and when and how to lay rhem. he bath Temptations of all fom; he bath Apples to cozen Children, and Gold for :Oen. he bath rhe Vanities of rbeworld for the intemperate, and the Kingdoms of the world for the ambitious; he confider~ the temper and confl:ittnion of the perfon he is ro tempt; and be obferves all our exterior Acctdems, Occafions, and opportunities ; bur of this herrafrer. · 5, The Temptations themfelves are in number three ; whereof rhe firfi was this: If thou be the Son of God, command that thefe jfonesbc m,1de bread. What an horrible En. trance is this? if tho" be the Son of God; no queflion Saran had he~rd the glad tidings of the Angel, he faw the Star, and the Journey, and rhe Offerings of the Sages; be could not buttake nonce of the gratulauonsof Zachary, Simron, Anna ; and of late he faw the Heavens open, and he heard the Voice that came down from Heaven, 'Thi&umy ·beloved Son in who"! I am we!lplea[ed: and yet now that he f1w Chrifi fainting with hunger, as not comprehendmg how mlirmltles could confit! wtrh a Godhead, he puts it !o the queftion, If thou be the Son of God. Oh here·s a point in which lies all our happinefs! how miferable werewe, if Chrill were not indeed and in truth the Son of God? Satan firikes at the root in this fuppofirion; If thou' be the Son of God: Surely all rhe work of our Redemption , and all the work of our falvarion depends upon this one necelfa– ry Truth, that (efm Chrift u the Son of God. If Chrifi had nor been the Son of God, how lhould he have ranfomed the world ? how Jl10uld he l11ve done, or how lhould he have futfered that which was fatisfactory to his Fathers wrath ? how nwuld his Life or Death have been vaiuable to the fins of all the world I If Chril~ be not the Son of God, we a\e all gone; we are loft, we are undone, we are damned for ever: 0 alas! farewel GlorY, farewel Happinefs, farewel Heav~n: If Cltrifl be nor the Son of God, we mull never come there ; well Satan, thou begmnefl rhy Alfaulr like a Devil i~deed; if thollbethe Son of G•d: bur what then? Command that thefe Stones be made Bread. He knew Jefus was hungry; and therefore he invites l1im ro ear Bread only of his own providing, that fo he might refreJl1 his Humanity, and prove his Divinity: Come, f1yes he, brealuhyFaftupontheexpenceofa Miracle, turnthefe ftones into Bread, and it will be fome Argument that thou art the Son of God. There is n0rhing more ordfnary with our fpirirual enemy, than by occafion of want to move us to unwarranrablecourfes ; If thou art poor, then jftt~l; if thou canj} not rife by honeft means, then ufe indireCt mMnJ: I know Chrifi might as lawfully have turned fiones into bread, as he turned water into wine; but to de this in a difl:rufl: of his Fathers Providence, to work aMiracle ofSarans choice, and at Satans bidding, it could not be agreeable with the Son of God: And hence Jefus refufeth to be relieved; he would rather deny to manifeft the Divinity of his perfon, than he would do any let which had in it the intimation of a different fpim. 0 Chrifiians! it is a finful, impious, wicked care, to rake evil courfes to providefor our neceffities: Come, it may be thou hall: found a way to thrive, which thou couldfr not do before; 0 rake heed; was it nor of rhe Devils prompting to change fiones inro Bread? fadnefs imo fenfual Comforts? if fo, then Satan bath pr~vat!ed : alas, alas, be cannot endure thou lhouldfllive a life of aufleriry, or felf-denial, or of mortifica– tion; if he can but get thee to farisfie thy fenfes, and to pleaCe thy narunl defires, h• then bath afair field for the Bartel; it were a thouf1nd ttmes better for us to make fioaes our meat, and rears our drink, than to iivim in our ill-gorren Goods, and in the fu!nefs ofVolupmoufnefs. Bur what was Chrif\s Anfwer? why rhus ; it >s written, man Jl,a!l not live by Brwl alone, but by every word that proccedeth out oft he mouth of God. ·I. ft i& written] He eafily could have confounded Satan by the power of lm Godhead , but l1e rarher chufes to vanquiJl 1 him by the Sword of the Spirit; furely this' was for our Infiru– ction. by this me 1ns he reacheth m how ro rehft and to cvercome; notlung m Heav;n or Earth can beat the Forces of Hell, if the VVord of God cannot do it: 0 then how Jl10uld we pray with David,'Tcachme, 0 I.ord,the way of thyftanltes'" Mdtiks not from ~r.c the words of trHth,.-letthem be myfongs in thchoufa ofmy ptlgnmagefo
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