6 Of TEMP TAT I ON, ere. fpecial:offing of Authour,.:and principles of temptation, required there- untó., (,x ) That the heart be fo far entangledwith it, as to be put to difpute, and argue in its own defence, and yet not be ablewholly to eject or call out the poifggl and leaven that which hath been injeaed ; but is furpriáed, if it be never fo little off itswatch;-into an entanglement not eafy to beavoided -, fo that the may and pray, and cry again, and yet not be delivered ; as Paul foughtthe Lord thrice fir the departure of his temptation, and prevailed not. The entanglement continues. And this ufually fallsout in one of there two feaí'ons. t ,I.,. When Satanby thepermiflion of God, for ends heft known to himfelfà hath got fothe peculiar advantageagainft the foul. As in the cafe ofPercr a hefought ro wissalo him, andprevailed. L 2.3 When a man's lufts and corruptions meet with peculiarly provokingob- Îe ts,,apd, occafions, through thecondition of life that a man is in, with the cir- fúnii ai ces of it; as it was withDavid : of both whirls afterward. In this ftate of things, a man is entred into temptation; and this Is called the beer of Detnpegries, Rev.gi. r o. The feafonwherein it grows to a head;. thedirest- eery whereof will give farther light into the prefent enquiry, about what it is to enteriotortemptation; for when the hour of temptation is come upon ùs, we are Mitred, min it. Every great and premng temptation hath itshour, a felon where- }n itgrows to a head, \wherein its moll vigorous, aetive,.operative and prevalent At may be,long in riling, it may be Ion_ urging more or lofs ; but it hash a feafon; wherein from the conjunétion of other occurrences, fach asthole mentioned, out'- aegyd..Ór:inward, It hath a dangerous hour, and then for the molt part, men enter into it. Hence that very temptation.. which at one timehath little or nopower ppn a man, he can defpife it, fcom the motions of it, eafily retift it; at another, heats away, quite before it : it hath from other circumftantes and occurrences, getnew ftrength andefficacy ; or the man is enervated and weakned, thehour is come, he rsentred into it, and it prevails. David probably had temptations before in hie Younger days toadultery or murder, as he had in the cafe of Nabal 7, but the hsg,oüi or: temptationVas, not come, it had not got its advantages about it, and fo rte e,fca ed until afterwards. Let icen look for it, that areexpofed unto tempta tops,,_as,whoisnot? theywill have a feafon wherein their felicitations will be more urgent, their reafoniggs more plaufnble, pretences moreglorious, hopes of recovery xRr,e.ARpearing,opportunities more broad and open,_ thedoors of evil made more peautr ul ttaan ever theyhave been: bleffed is he who is preparedfor fuch a feafon, without which there is no efcaping. Thisas I Paid is the fidt thing required to entring into temptation ; if we flay here, we are fafe. Before I defcend to other particulars, having now entred hereon, Mall íhew its general, t.) How, or by what means, commonly any temptation attains itshour. 7..) Howwe mayknow when any temptation is come to itshigh noon, and is in its hour. .) It doth the fileby feveral ways. r, By long felicitations, caufing the mind frequently to converfe with the evil ¡blinited unto, it begets extenuating thoughts of it. If it makes this procefs, it is coming towards its hour. It may be when hilt itbegan to preis upon the foul, the foul was amazed with the ugly appearance of what it aimed at, and cryed, am I u dog?, If this indagation be not daily heightned, but the foul by converting with theevil,, begins to grow as it were familiar with it, not to bePrattled as formerly, but rather enclines to cry, It is not a little one; then the temptation is coming. towards its highnoon, lull hath then enticed and entangled, and is ready tocon. chive, yam. ii. 14. of which more at large afterwards, in our enquiry, how we may know, whether weare entred into temptation, or no: our prefent inqueft is after the hour and power of temptation it fell. (t. When it bath prevailed on others, and the foul is not filled with diflike and abhorrency of themand their ways, nor with pity and prayer for their deliverance. This proves an advantage unto it, and railes it towards its height. When that temptationPets uponany one, which at the fame time bath pofleffed andprevailed with many, it bath fogreat, and fo many advantages thereby, that it is $row
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