386 Book IV. Lockhtg unto '/-efns. Chap.r.Sett.4 - ---------------- the glory of(erufal~m, t_he pinacle was the bighdt piece of the Tem pie, ana there 1s Chnft content w be fet for the opportunity of remptat ion. 0 that Umil: wou-ld fuff"Cr his pure and facred body to be tranlporced, and burned through che ayre by the mahcious hand of the old tempter ! but all chis was f0r us, he cared r.oc what the Devil did in chis way wi th him fo that he rni11h t but fr~e us from the Devil ; me-chinks it is a'fweet cont.er:;'p iatton of an holy Divine. He fuppofed as if he had feen Chrift on che higheft battlements of the Temple, and Sachan ft anding by him W!th this fpeech in his mouth, well then,Jince in the matter ofnourijhment thou wtlt ncedJ depend upon .thy Father.r providence, rak.! now a further trya/ of that providence in thy mira- . culous pre(enwion,cajl down thy ftife from thu height; behold, thou art herein { erufalem, thefamous and holy Ciry of the world her~ thou ,;rt •n the top of the pinacle of r<har Temple which WM dedicated te thy Father; and tf t hou becft Cod, why now the eyes ef all merJ are jxt upo1J thee, there c~nnot be ~evifed a m1re read; . way to jpread thy glory, nnd to procla11m thy de1'J• ther; by cafting thy feife headLong to the earth; all the world wsll f ay, there is m~re in thee 1hen" mdn,and for danger (if thuu a~t the Sonne ofGcd) there c>~nbe none, what cdn hurt him th.!t is the Sonne of (jvd? and whrrtfore Jerve.r that glorious gut~rd of Angels, which li,w e by divine commijfion taktn upon trJem the charge of hy humanity ? come, caft thyJelfe dawn ; here !yes the temptat!on, •ome, caft thy Jelfe down, ( f3ith Sathan) but why did not Sathan caft him down ? he carried him up thtther, and was it noc more ea!ie to throw him down thence? 0 no, the Devil may perfwade us to a fall, but he can. not rredpitate us without our own aCt; h;s malice is infinite, but his power is limited; he cannot do us any harm but by perfwading us to do it our felves; and therefore faith he to Chrift, caft thy (e /fe down. . · To th is Chrift anfwers, thou foalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Though it is tru e that God mull: be trull:ed in , yet he mulf not be tempted; ifmeam be allowed, we mull: not throw them away -llpon a pretence ofGods prote·et ion; we reade of one Hm n, an inhabitant ofthe defcrt, that he fnffe red tqe 1ame tem13tation, and was overcome by it, he would needs call himfelfe down, prefutning on Gcrds proq1ife, a.nd he Gnfully dyed with his fall. Chrift .knew well enough that there was ordinary d-efcents by llayres from .
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