tage; propounding fuch objects to them, as may moft probably draw forth the corruptions of men, and kindle their irregular defires, and inflame their lufts, and tempt their evil inclinations that way, which they are most strongly bent. He tempts the covetous man with gain, the ambitious man with preferment, the voluptuous man with carnal and fenfual pleasures; and where none of these baits will take, he ftirs up his inftruments to perfecute those who are ftedfaft and confirmed in refolutions of piety and virtue, to try if he can work upon their fear, and shake their conftancy and fidelity to God andgoodnefs that way; and all this he doth with a direct defign and earnest defire to feduce men from their duty, and to betray them to fin.

But thus God tempts no man: and in this fense it is that the Apostle means, that no man when he is. tempted, is tempted of God. God hath no defign to feduce any man to fin. He often proves the obedience of men, and fuffers them to fall into divers temptations, for the trial of their faith, and exercife of their obedience and other virtues; and he permits bad men to be affaulted with great temptations, and, as a punishment of their former obftinacy and impiety, withdraws the aids and affiftances of his grace from them, and leaves them to their own weakness and folly; but not fo as to take way all reftraint of his grace even from bad men, unless it be upon very high provocation, and a long and obftinate continuance in fin: But God never tempts any man, with any intention to feduce him to fin, and with a defire he fhould do wickedly. This is the proper work of the Devil and his inftru ments in this fenfe it is far from God to tempt any man; and whenever in the ordinary courfe, and by the common permiffion of his providence, men fall into temptation, the utmoft that God does, is to leave them to themfelves; and he does not do this neither, but to thofe who have highly provoked him to depart from them, that is, to thofe who have justly deferved to be fo dealt withal. N n

VOL. V.

And

And thus I have confidered the propofition which the Apoftle here rejects, namely, that God tempts men, and have fhewn as clearly as I can, how it is to be limited and understood. I now proceed to the fecond thing which I propounded to confider, viz. The manner in which the Apostle rejects this propofition, Let no man fay, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. By which manner of fpeaking, he infinuates two things:

First, That men are apt to lay their faults upon God. For when he fays, Let no man fay fo, he intimates that men were apt to fay thus; and it is probable fome did fay fo, to excufe themselves for their deferting their religion upon the temptation of perfecution and fuffering. It is not unlikely that men might lay the fault upon God's providence, which expofed them to thefe difficult trials, and thereby tempted them to forfake their religion.

But however this be, we find it very natural to men, to transfer their faults upon others. Men are naturally fenfible when they offend, and do contrary to their duty; and the guilt of fin is an heavy burden, of which men would be glad to eafe themfelves as much as they can; and they think it is a mitigation and excufe of their faults if they did not proceed only from themfelves, but from the violence and compulfion, the temptation and inftigation of others. But efpecially men are very glad to lay their faults upon God, becaufe he is a full and fufficient excufe, nothing being to be blamed that comes from him. Thus Adam did, upon the commiffion of the very firft fin that mankind was guilty of. When God charged him for breaking of his law, by eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree, he endeavours to excufe himself by laying the fault obliquely upon God ; The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, he gave me of the tree, and I did eat. The woman whom thou gavest to be with me; he does what he can to derive the fault upon God. And though this be very unreafonable, yet it feems it is very natural. Men would fain have the pleafure of committing fin, but then they would be glad to remove

as

as much of the trouble and guilt of it from themselves as they can.

Secondly, This manner of speech which the Apoftle here ufeth, doth infinuate further to us, that it is not only a falfe, but an impious affertion to fay that God tempts men to fin. He fpeaks of it, not only as a thing unfit to be faid, but fit to be rejected with the greatest indignation let no ; man fay, that is, far be it from us to affirm any thing fo impious and fo difhonourable to God. For nothing can be more contrary to the holy and righteous nature of God, and to thofe plain declarations which he hath made of himself,. than to feduce men to wickedness; and therefore no man, that hath any regard to the honour of God, can entertain the leaft fufpicion of his having any hand in the fins of men, or give heed to any principles or doctrines, from whence fo odious and abominable a confequence may be drawn. I proceed to the

Third thing I propounded to confider, viz. The reafon or argument which the Apoftle brings against this impious fuggeftion; That God cannot be tempt ed with evil, and therefore no man can imagine that he fhould tempt any man to it; Let no man fay, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God can not be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. And in fpeaking to this, I fhall

First, Confider the ftrength and force of this are gument; And

Secondly, The nature and kind of it.

First, The ftrength and force of this argument, God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man ; απείρατος ἐςὶ κακῶν ; he is untemptable by evil; he cannot be drawn to any thing that is bad himself, and therefore it cannot be imagined he fhould have any inclination or defign to feduce o thers. And this will appear to be a strong and forcible argument, if we confider,

First, The propofition upon which it is grounded, that God cannot be tempted by evil.

Secondly, The confequence that clearly follows from it; and that is, that becaufe God cannot be

L12

tempt

tempted by evil,therefore he cannot tempt any man to it. First, We will confider the propofition upon which this argument is built, and that is, that God cannot be tempted by evil. He is out of the reach of any temptation to evil. Whoever is tempted to any thing, is either tempted by his own inclination, or by the allurement of the object, or by fome external motive and confideration: but none of all these can be imagined to have any place in God, to tempt him to evil.

For, firft, he hath o temptation to it from his own inclination. The holy and pure nature of God is at the greatest distance from evil, and at the greateft contrariety to it. He is fo far from having any inclination to evil, that it is the only thing in the world to which he hath an irreconcileable antipathy. This the fcripture frequently declares to us, and that in a very emphatical manner, Pfal. v. 4. He is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither fhall evil dwell with him. The words are a diminution, and lefs is faid than is intended by them; the meaning is, that God is fo far from taking pleasure in fin, that he hath a perfect hatred and abhorrence of it, Hab. ii. 13. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canft not look upon iniquity. As when men hate a thing to the highest degree, they turn away their eyes, and cannot endure to look upon it. Light and darkness are not more oppofite to one another, than the holy nature of God is to fin. What fellowfhip hath light with darkness, or God with Belial?

Secondly, There is no allurement in the object, to ftir up any inclination in him towards it. Sin in its very nature is imperfection, and irregularity, crookednels and deformity; fo that unless there be an inclination to it before-hand, there is nothing in it to move any one's liking or defire towards it ; it hath no attractives or enticements in it, but to a corrupt and ill-difpofed mind.

Thirdly, Neither are there external motives and confiderations, that can be imagined to tempt God to it. All arguments that have any temptation, are either founded in hope or in fear; either in the hope

of

of gaining fome benefit or advantage, or in the fear of falling into fome mifchief or inconvenience. Now the divine nature being perfectly happy, and perfectly fecured in its own happiness, is out of the reach of any of thefe temptations. Men are many times tempted to evil very strongly by thefe confiderations; they want many things to make them happy, and they fear many things which may make them miferable; and the hopes of the one, and the fears of the other, are apt to work very powerfully upon them, to feduce them from their duty, and to draw them to fin: but the divine nature is firm against all these attempts, by its own fulness and fe curity. So that you fee now the propofition, upon which the Apostle grounds his argument, is evident ly true, and beyond all exception, that God cannot be tempted with evil. Let us then in the

Second place, confider the confequence that clears. ly follows from it, that becaufe God cannot be tempted with evil, therefore he cannot tempt any man to it. For why: fhould he defire to draw men into that, which he himself abhors, and which is fo contrary to his own nature and difpofition? When men tempt one another to fin, they do it to make others. like themfelves; and when the Devil tempts men to fin, it is either out of direct malice to God, or out of envy to men. But none of thefe confiderations can have any place in. God, or be any motive to him to tempt men to fin

Bad men tempt others to fin, to make them like themselves, and that with one of thefe two defigns; either for the comfort or pleasure of company, or for the countenance of it, that there may be fome kind of apology and excufe for them.

For the comfort and pleasure of company. Man does not love to be alone; and for this reafon bad men endeavour to make others like themfelves, that agreeing with them in the fame difpofition and manners, they may be fit company for them. For no man takes pleasure in the fociety and conversation: of thofe, who are of contrary tempers and inclinations to them, becaufe they are continually warring N. 113

and