Chap. 3 I. An Expostlan upon the Book of re ti. Verf. 3 3 would brake us with his power, but he is retirained there, and bath only wiles and tricks to vex us with . He dealeswith us like a OW.atchivelor an Achitop,hel, not like a C9oli4o,or an Alexander. And hence it is fsid in the Revelation , He deceivetb the nbole earth; He doch all by craft, he cunningly infnares our affections, and being a Spirit can irfnuate strongly into ours. The Apohie Peter dealing with 4nanias ( Ads 5. 3.) expostulates the mat- ter with him thus ; Why ka:h Sathan filled thy heart to ly to the holy Gh<fi ; As if hehad fayd, Sathan tempted thee indeed, bat why haft ebengiven up thycontent , wbyhafi thouyeilded/o eufaly to doe fetch an abomination ? Sathan in a fpeciall manner takesfeme men captiveat hie will (2Tim: z. a6.) But he leads no man captive againft his will; Sathan leads many captive at his owne will, and beck, he finds them ready, they are free tocome at the firft call of a temptation, yea poílibly they are ready to call fora temp- tation ; but Sathan leads none captive againft their ownewills or, take it thus, manyare taken captive by Satan at his will, but Satan cannot captivate the will ofany rnan; wlsenfoever any man fins, he fins freely.Therefore Satans temptation cannot be an ex- cute to any man and the hearts ofmolt men are as much in the temptation, as Sathan himfelfe was, and they rise to the baite as willingly as he calls in the hooke. Thus I have opened the fecond obfervation, wherein it ap- peares that the heart ofman is very pregnant in finding out and fuggetting variety ofcoverings for the hidingof fin. And by in- lifting upon thefe three grand heads of excuses pradifed by our firft parents ( the man excufing his fin by the periwafion of the woman, as allo by the difpenfation of God, and the woman ex. cnfing her fin by the temptationof the Devill, by thefe I fay ) it appeares what lob meant in this Scripture when he fayd,If I have coveredmy tranfgre/lion aß Adam. And I might flew you many other coverings oftranfgrcflions, taking AdamAppellatively, If dhave coveredmy Bran/gre fons men, that is, as the common fort of mengenerally doe, who have teveráll coverings, induiltri- oufly, and artificially framed, and wrought to hide their inner with ; bur poflibly I have gone too farre alread frommy me- thod of expofition ; yet this difcovery was fo proper to the ex- preffe words ofthe Text,chat I could cot well paffe it by,though it (hould be called adigrefion. There 695
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