Book lY· 177 fo ~,.u I mak§ anfiver to my blafphemers. 2. Mall Jhall not live by bread~ &c. V\ hiles we are in God's work, God barb made apromtfe of the fu~pl~ of,all pr::mlions necdfa– ry for us ·now this was rhe prefenr cafe of Jefus,he was now 111 bts Fathers work,and pro– moting ofour inrere!l:, and ~herefo~e he was fure robe provided fo~ according to God's Word. Chri!l:ians! are we mGods ferVICe? God wtll certllnly .gtve us bread; and ull he does, we can live by the breath of hts mourh, by the ltght of hts countenance, by rh~ refrefi 1 ment of his promifes, by every 1rord that proceedethom of the mouth of God; every word of God's mouth can create a grace, •nd every grace can fupply two necel!iues, bot·h of the body, and of thefpirit: I remember one kepdlraitly in ptifon, andforely rhreatned with famine, he rep!ted, that if he muft have no bread, .God would fo provrdc, that he j1, 011 ldhave no Stomach; if our flock be fpenr, God can leffen our necefiiries: Ifa Tyrant will rake away our meat, God our Father knows how to alter our famr, and feeble and hungry appemes. Th~ fecond remprarion is not fo fenfual; the Devil fees that was too low for Chri!l:, and therefore he comes again with a temptation fomerhing more fpirirual ; heJets him on 11 pinacle of the Temple andfaith unto.him, if thou be the Son of God, caj/ tby felfdown, Ver, 5• 6 • for it zi written, he jiMilgzve hu Angels cnarge concernzngthee, &c. He that was content to be led from Jordan inro the wi1dernefs, for the advantage of the firft temptation, he yields to be led from the wildernefs to 'feritf~lem, for advantage of the fecond; the wildercefs was ..fir for a temptation arifing from want, and Jerufalem is fit for a temptation ariliog from vain-glory; Jerufalem was the glory of the world, the Temple was the olory of fenfalem, the pinacle was the highe!l: piece of the Temple, and there is Chrill: ~ontenr to. be fet for the opportunity of temptation. 0 that Chrill would fuffer his pure and facred body to be rranfporred and hurried through the air by the malicious band of the old Tempter! But all this was for us, he cared not what the Devil did in this way with him, fo that he might but free m from the Devil. merhinks it is a fweet contemplation of an holy Divine: He fuppofed as if he had feen Chrill on the highe.!l: Battlements of the Temple, and Satan !l:anding by him, with this Speech in his mouth, WeOthen, Jinceinthematterof nOI<rifhment, thouwiltnecds depend ttpon thy Fa- 0 Hall thers providence, rak.§ nolV afurther trialof that providence, in t h)'miracu/om pre{ervatiolt; r. • caft down thy [elf from this height; behold, tho~t art herei1t Jerufalem, the ft~moiUand holy City of the world; here thou art on the top of the pinade of that Temple which was dedicated tp thy Father; and if th,zbceft God, why now the eyes of all mm are ftx'a upon thee, there cannot be devifcda more ready way to fpriad thy ,Gl~ry, and to proclaim thy Deity, than by cafting thy [elf headlong to thctfarth; all the world will fay, there z'; more in thee than a man; ~tnd for tknger (if thou art the Scn of .God) there can be none ." what can hurt him that u the Son of God? and wherefore ferves Jhat gloriozu Gtt.trd of Angels, which have by Divine G_ommijfion tak§n ~tpon them the,Charge of thy humanity ? Come, caft chy felf down; here hes the temptation, Come, caft thy felf down (faith Saran) bur why did not Satan call: him down? He carried him up thither; .and was it nor more eafie ro throw him down thence? 0 •no, the :Oevil may perfwade us 10 a fall, bur he cannot precipitate us without our own act. his malice is infinite, but hispower i; limirred ; . he cannot d~ us any harm,but by perfwading us to do it our'felves ; and therefor~ fatrh_he to Chrtll, caft thy felf down. . To tbts Chrtll anfwers, Thon Jh~lt not tempt the Lord thy God. .Though it is true, that vor. 7; God mull berru!l:ed in, yet he mull: nor be tempr~d; if means beallowed, we mufl not · t~row them away upon a pretence of God's protection: we read of one Heron, an Inhabttanr of the Defart, that he fuffereil rhc fame temptation, .and was overcome by it; he .would nee~s ~all: lumfelf down, prefumiog on God's promife, and be linfully died with ·hts fall. Chnll knew )"ell enottgh that there were ordinary defcenrs by Hairs from the top of the Temple, and therefore he would nor fo iempr God to throw him himfelf– bea~long; what?,ro make trial of Ged's powet', and fuitice, and mercy, and extra– ordmary p:efervauon, where there w1s no need : all the Devils in hell could not fo tempt Ch:tfl, asro make him tempt his God. Th~ rhtrd remp;arron is yex more horrid; the Temple was nor bj_gh enough; fo rim n?w Satan takes htm up to the top of an exceeding high moimtain, andhejiJtws him all the ver. s, 9 • lungdoms of thnvorld, and the 15lory of them, fa)'ing, allthefewill I give thee, if thozt wzlt fnlld•wnandworjhiy me. Not ro in!i!l: on rhofe many Q!Ieries; how lhould all the l~m~dom_sof. the world be prefemed 10 Chri!t's eye? or if•they were only prefenred to Ius 1magmauon, why could not the ·valley have f,rved the Devil's mrn, as A a · well
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