4 OfTEMPTATION,&c. deuores anaftive efficiency towards finning (as it is managedwith evil, unto evil) that í intend. In tisis. fenfe, temptation may proceed either fingly from fatan, or the world, or other men in the world, or from our felves, or jointly from all, or tomeof them, in their feveralcombinations. [ t 3 Satan tempts.fòmetimes finglyby himfelf, without taking advantage from theworld,. the things, or perfons of it, or our felves. So he deals in his inje£tion of evil and blafphetnousthoughts of God, into thehearts of the Saints ; which is Ills o`vn work alone, without any advantage from the world, or our own hearts. For nature will contribute nothing thereunto, nor any thing that is in the world, norany man of the world ; for none can conceive a God and conceive evil of him. tierciu Satan is alone in the fin, and ]hall be fò ira the punilhment There fiery darts are prepared . in the forge of his on malice, and fhall with all their venom and poyCon he turned into his own heart for ever. [ z. ] Sometimes he makes Life of the world, and joins forces againft us ; with- out any helps from within. So he tempted our Saviour, by Mewing him the King. doms of the world, and the glory of them. -l. And the varietyof the afïiffances he-finds from the world, in perlims, and things which I muff not infili on, the in- riumerable-infroments and weapons he takes from thence of all forts, and at all feafons, are,inexpreffible, -. [ 3. ] Sometimes betakes in affrltence from our felves alai. It. is not with us, as it was with Chrift, when Satan came to tempt. him, lie declares that he had no- eking in hia gam xiv. go. It is otherwife with us : he bath, for the eompaffing óf mortof his ends, a fure party within our own breath, gam.; i. r 4, r5. Thus he tempted Judas ; he was at work Minielr; he put it into hisheart, tobetray Chrift, Luke, xxii. 3. he entred.into him for that purpofe, and he lets the world at work, the things of it,. providing for him thirtypieces of flver, verf v. they covenanted to give ]him mosey ; and the men of it, even the Prieu s and the Phari fees; and calleth in the affiftance of his own corruption ; he was coveteous, a thief, and had the bag. I might alfo chew, how the,typrld had our .own corruptions to ai fingly by themfelves, and jointly,in coujunition with Satan, andone another in this bufinefs of Temptation. But the_Ttyth is,;, the principles, ways and means of tempta- tions, thekinds, degrees, efficacy, and caufes of them, are fo inexprelfible large, andvarious, thecircumftances of them from providence,' natures, conditions, fpi- xrtuál: and náturai; with the particular cafes thence. anfing fo innumerable, and impoffrble,to be-comprised withinmy bound or order.; that to attempt the giving an account ofthem, would be to undertake that, which wouldbe end lefs. I fhall content myfeltto give a defcription of the general nature ofthat which weare to Watch ägaini ; which will make way for what I aim at. Temptation then ingeneral, is any thing, gate, way or condition, that upon any account whatever, }lath à force or efficacy to (educe, to draw the mindand heart of a man from its obedience which God requires of him, into any fin, in any de- gree of it whatever., In particular, that. is a temptatiton to any man,which caries, or occafons him to fin, or in.any thing to go off from his duty, either by bringing evil into his heart, ordrawing out that evil, that is in his heart, or any other way, diverting him from communion with God, and that confiant, equal,: univerfal obedience, in matter, and manner, that is required of him. . For the clearing of this defcription, I than only obferve, that, though tempta- tion feems to be of a more .a&¡veimportance, and fq to denote only the power of fedu£tion to frnit felt, yet in the Scripture it iscommonly taken in a neuter fenfe, and denotes the matter of the temptation, or the thing whereby we aretempted, And this is a ground of thedefcription I have givenof it ; be it what it will, that from anything whatever, within us, orwithout us, bath advantage to hinder in duty, or to provokeunto, or inany may tooccafion fin, that is a temptation, and, fo t4be looked on; -be it bufinefs, imployment, courfe of life, company, affe£ti- dos, nature, or eorrupt.defignj, relations delights, name, reputation, efeem, abi- lities, parts or excellencies of body, or mind, place, dignity, art, fo faras they t M. iv. 8. further,
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