on the Lord's Prayer. Providence offers w his Sword and Violence; and all the Villainy that ever was acted in the World was by a Providence, r&;ndring the Lulls o£ Men Obj dls and Opporrum· ties wirhour which Sin conceived in us could not be brought ro Light. lnd therefore when we pray that God would not lead us into Temptation, we pray that God by his Providcnu wot,~ld fa order and difpofeall the Occurrencesof our Lives, fo as nO[ to lay befOre us rhofe Ohje8.r, ·nor proffer us rhofe Occa/rons, which rnightei~ rher excite or draw fonh our inbred Corruptions. And indeed eh is is a moft nece!fary Petition robe preferred to the Throne of Grace ; for we cannor but be confdous to our~ felves how hard a Thing it i's to keep our Hearrs from finful Defires when we encoumer Obje8s roexcite rhem_, and how hard ~ Th~ng it is to keep ourfelves from finful AEHons when once finful D.efires are excited m us. Secondly, God is fa id ro leadus into Temptation when he wit~draws the. Influences of his Grace and Spirit from us, and leaves us underthePower of a Temptt:K_ron. Thofe very Temptations which when afli!led by Divine Grace we could eafily rehll and fubdue will when God withdraws himfelffrom us, fadly prevail over us, and fhamefully foil' us. Thus it is fa id that God left Hezekiah to try or to tempt him, 2 Chron. 3 2. 3 1. And indeed finceour corrupt Natures are of them(Clves prone only unro Evil, if God withdraw the Auxiliaries of his Grace, (as for many Righteous Caufes he often doth,) every Temptation that affiults us will ravifh our Confciences, and captivate our Souls: For all the Security that we have from the comminingofrhe moft flagitious Crimes is wholly from God'sGrace, either retlraining or renewing us ; the former holding us back horn the outwar<l Aft-ofSin, the latter weakning and dellroying the inwnd Habit and Principle of Sin: And rherc:fore when we pray that God would nor lead tu into Teml)totion, we beg that he would fiillcontinue the influences of his Grace unto us, and by"them excite and quicken our Graces, thar his Grace may not fOrfake us, nor our Grace: fail us ; that we may nor be expofed to the Affaults of Spiritual Enemies, Naked and Defencelefs, to become a fure and eafie Prey unto them. Thirdly, God is fa id w lead Men into Temptation when he permits Satan, and Wicked Men, his Infiruments, to tempt us; yea, fornetimes he gives them Commiffion as welt as Permiffion, and appoints and fends them to do it. Thus we find in the Cafe of .Abab, 1Kings 22. 24· Who foal/ pcrfroade Ahab that be may go up andfall at Rai!JOtbGilead? And an Evil Spirit fleps forth and very officioufly accepiSofrhe Employment, as mofi congruous to fa malicious a Nature, and God fends him with his Commiflion in the 2 2d Verfe, Tboujhalt perfwade bi1n, andprevail; goforth, anddo fo; and fo he did. And as God dorh iOmerimes rhus fend rhe Tempter, and give him Commiffion to a f. fault and prevail over Wicked and Ungodly Perfons, their former Sins provoking him ro puni!hthem with farther lmpieties, fO whenfoever any of us-are TempudGod cloth at leafi permit Satan ro fifr and winnow us, fometimes to his own Defeat, ~ut too of.. ten to ours. And in this Senfe there is no Temptation that befals us bur God leads us in. tJ it; and therefOre it is very obfervable, that whereas in 1 Chron. 21. 1. it is faid that Satan provoked Da\•id to N~tmher lfcael, yet in 2 Sanz. 24. t. it is faid tbe Lord moved David again.fl·lfraelto fay, Go Number lfrael and Judah. Here one and the fame T emptation is attributed both to God and to the Devil; but it mufi be underflood under a diverfe Habirude and RefpeEt:; Satan Tempted himeffe8:ively, God only permiHively ; and thus God may be fa id to lead every hi an into Temptation whom he iUffers robe Tempted : When therefore we pray that God would not lead us into Tetnptation, we pray that he would not permit the Devil ro approach near umo us, nor tocafi his Fiery Dr1rts at us; but that he would put a Hook into the Nofe of chat great Lcviatblln, and fa bridle :!nd refirain his Fury that he may nor be able ro a!fault us. Thefe now are all the Ways that I know of how God may be fa id to lead Men mto Temptation; either by ofFering them ObjeEts and Opportunities by his Providence which may correfpond with thdr inward Lufts and-Corruptions, and as it were em ice: and call them forth; or elft: by permitting Satan and Wicked Men to tempt us: Or llflly, by wi1hdrawing horn uS!he Influences ofhis Grace and Holy Spirit, and leavir.g us UDder the Power of Temptations when they do affault us; hut fo r any proper effective, or perfwafive, Tempting ofMen roSin, th is is infinitely abhorrent to his 'Pure and Holy Nature, in which Senfe St. James tells us, Jamcs 1. '3· Let no Allln jay_ when be is rcmpud tbat br is tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted to Evil, ne11her temputb be any Man . But though God cannot rhus tcmpt any Man without a Stain to his lplinite ·Puricy and Holinefs, yet he may leadMen into T emptation either providentially or permiflively, or by fuhl!raE! ing his Grace whereby they !h~uld !land·;
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