For we 2vrefile. 7 16n agile to offend thy enemy. Think how Chrift wreftled, in thy quarrel, fin, hell and wrathhad all come full mouth upon thee, had not he coped with them in the way. And canft thou *ride in thy heart to requite his love, bybetraying his glory into the hands offin, by cowardife or treachery :"fay not thou fovea him, fo long as thou canft lay thofe fins in thy bofome, which pluck't his heart out ofhis bofome. ,It'iventoftrange if a childe ihould keep, and delight to ufe noother knife, but that wherewith his father was ftabb'd. Thirdly, improve the advantage thou gettefl at any time wife- 3. ly. Spmetimes the Chriflian hath his enemy on the hip, yea, on the ground, can let his foot on the very neck of his pride, and throw awayhis unbelief, as a thing abfurd and unreafonable ; now (as a wife wreftler) fall with all thy weight upon thine e- nemy ; though man think it foule play to ftrike when his ad: verfary is down, yet do not thou fo complement with fin, as to let it breath or rife. Take heed thou beeft not charged of God, as once Ahab, for letting go this enemy now in thy hands, whom God hath appointed to deftruaion. Learne a little wif- 'dome of the Serpents brood, who when they had Chrift un- der their foot, never thought they had him lureenough ; no,not when dead, and therefore both feale and watch his grave. Thus do thou to hinder the refurre&ion of thy fin, feal it down with stronger purpofes, folemn covenants, and watch it by a wakeful circumfpe& walking, This is ground ofconfolation to the weakChriflian, who dif- Vfe. 3 pates againft the truthof his grace, from the inward conflias and fightings he hath with his lulls, and is ready to fay (like Gideon, in regardof outward enemies,) If God be rib me, why u all tbir befallen me? why do finde filch ftruglings in me, pro- voking me to fin, pullingme back from that which is good ? Why doeft ask ? The Anfwer is foon given, becaufe thou art a VVreftler, not a Conquerour. Thou mifiakeft the Rate of a Chriflian in this life : when one is made a Chriftian, he is not prefently call'd to triumph over his flaine enemies, but carried into the field to meet and fight them, The Date of grace is rhe commencing of a war againft fin, not the ending of it ; rather then thou shalt not have an enemy towreftle with, God himfelf will conae in a difguife into the field, and appear to be thine e- nemy,
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