Of cl)erfeverañcë. 203 "* And thatfor great fin, he oft delivereth men up to Satan, and giveth Thé Bada ar4 "him the greater power r °n:. Tea that the nature offin itfelt is dine, 1. Caine f n t6 !Colder "fttch as giveth greater a.lvantagc to the Tempter As he that will with that the toute óf the "Achan loon- on the wedge of Gold, or that will pleafe his tali withdel;:- damneds obttinacy ;iti Ç . is non doily them "ciotesDrinks andMeats, or that willpermit his eyes immodef SpeCtacles, (elves, and Gels nor- "bath thereby let in the Devil into hit Imagination, and will not eafily w'llingto entre and fave " thence call him out : And on the otherfide he that pleafeth God, and, them , bac 'malty > , poGtivé will b .which cc their obfiinate wills are conquereth one Temptation , obtaineth that Grace by which he is much v "favedrom the next, and the Tempter t the more difadvantaged and re- the for aefter . Dut con i tinu fee ed noin t "flrained. Io. Daftly, We therefore hold, ThatfeeingTeoaptationsdo not why we Mould affert " only try our ancerit or h ocrr ie (elfe we Could de tie theirs' far (elf- Sods pHuilve Will hf y f y yp f> . f' s n m e or Earl , " examination) but älfo tend to change mensminds, andmake themwórfe, when his not- effeaual " the way toperfevere is'to pray againft and avoid Temptations, and relit lt. willing tá cure it is " thofe that cannot be avoided. éncug "This is ourjudgment : In whichyoufee that we hold that alltneakChryii- "ans that arefncere, may have affurance of their prefent yufifacation, "though they are not Prong enough to /land the greateff trials. And " that theymay well hopethat Godwill fave themfrom over f rong Tempts- " Lions, while theyAccra"do his Will. B. But Chrift faith, That he that forfaketh not all that hehath, and hateth not his own life, cannot be his Dilciple. And what greater trial can therebe, than the lofs of life it felf?. A. " Though fame taking it to be hard that none are true chrifians, "that would not be Martyrs were they tried, have faid that thisTextfpegl¿-, " eth de neceffitate.prxcepti, non medii, [You muf grow up' to this "at laíf, ifyou will be my Difciples ] 3 yet I will not fo force the"Text, "but fay as you do. But t. There are far flrongerTemptations than the "love ofLife: Thoughnotfrom Intereft, yet from falfe reafonings, which " may deceive thejudgment : And one that would diefor Chrill while he " believeth inhim, maypoffìblyhaoiefo f roñg Temptations to unbelief as " (hall exceed in danger, hisfearOf death. 2. And all men that at the "prefent wouldforfakeLife and allfor Chrif, yet have not the fame fix- " ednefs ofRefolution, nor the famedegree of Faith and Love. No doubt "but the Martyrs in thefame flames hadvarious degrees of Grace. Now a " lefs firm and fixedmeafure may be loofenedby degrees, or f aken bysedu- cers, and mutable man may after be overcome by thatfame Temptation "which once hecould have overcome. " So that I accufe their Dohlrine, asutterly incongent with true "an Comfort, on both theft accounts. 'And filch is the fuccefs of thole "men thatwill overdo, and devife means of their own, for' extraordi- " nary comforts, which God never gave them. B. The comfort of poor Chriftians it feems ftandeth but on flippery terms in the Opinionof both fides,, while each Party thinks that there is no truecomfort in theothers way. * But dothnot experience confute you ? Doyou not fee that many have true Chriftian comfort that arenot ofyour mind ? A. " 7hat it becaufe offume better Principles Which they hold, and be- " caufe theyfee not the contraditlion and inconfiflence. B: You come near to this truth; Indeed there are Principles better than either of your controverted Opinions , common to both fides, which may afford us great Confolation, and which found Chriflians live upon. , And I doubt your Difputeson both fides do more difturb thancomfort moll. But this muff be granted, that Opinions are not true, becaufe they are comfortable, nor all falle that have any thing in them apt to trouble men , who have the frnful matter of trouble in D d a them- *hèther sve may bi morally fare of our prefent Juflification,the Papifia Dotors agree not among themfelves,. Bellarmine and many then affirm it , and others deny it t is Aa- realon (cited by Brian- fnït, inq. I. 4. fal. 36.1 and others that fay, no man tin know whether his Habits are infcted
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