make them send to their King for aid; (a) and if that be done, I know what time of the day it will be with us: therefore let us affault them in all pretended fairness, coLegion advifes vering our intentions with all manner of lyes, diffimulation flatteries, delufive words: feigning things and craft. that will never be, and promifing that to them which they fhall never find: this is the way to win Manfoul, and to make them willingly open their gates to us; yea, and defire us also to come in to them. And the reafon why I think that this project will do, is, because the people of Manfoul are now every one fimple and innocent; all honeft and true; nor do they as yet know what it is to be affaulted with fraud, guile, and hypocrify. They are ftrangers to lying and diffembling lips; wherefore we cannot, if thus we be difguifed, by them at all be difcerned; our lyes fhall go for true fayings, and our diffimulation for upright dealings. What we promise them, they will in that believe us; especially if in all our lyes and feigned words we pretend great love to them, and that our defign is only their advantage and honour. Now there was not one bit of a reply against this, for it went as current down as doth the water down a steep descent: wherefore they go to confider of the laft proposal, which was, IV. Whether (a) Craft and diffimulation are here deferibed as deftructive weapons in the hand of our grand adversary, in which he placed his chief hopes of fuccefs. The danger, weak. nefs, and ruin of our firft parents arofe, if not from too great confidence in their own ftrength, yet at least from not fufpecting the baneful views of the tempter: therefore Satan accofts them in fuch a guise as might beft cover his defign, induce them to turn away their eye from Ged, and confent to a parley with a too potent enemy.-May this teach us, who are by nature infinitely weaker than they were, to look to the strong for ftrength, and apply inceffantly to the God of all grace, by prayer; which as we shall find it a source of new ftrength, so it will be a certain forerunner of victory: Pray without ceafing," fhould be the chriftian's motio, engraved upon his fhield of faith, IV. Whether they had not beft to give out orders to fome of their company, to fhoot fome one or more of the principal of the townfmen; if they judge that their caufe might be promoted thereby. fiftance. This was carried in the affirmative; and the man that was defigned by this ftratagem to be destroyed, was one Mr. Refiftance, (a) otherwife called Captain ReOf captain Re fiftance, and a great man in Manfoul this captain Resistance was; and a man that the giant Diabolus, and his band, more feared, than they feared the whole town of Manfoul befides. Now who should be the actor to do the murder; that was the next and they appointed one Tifiphone, (b) a fury of the lake, to do it. They thus having ended the council of war, rofe up, and affayed to do as they had The refult of determined they marched towards Mansoul, but all in a manner invifible, save only one; nor did he approach the town in his own likenefs, but under the shape and in the body of the dragon. their council. (a) OBSTA PRINCIPIIS, withstand the beginnings,' is a wife maxim among physicians; because it is much easier to nip a disorder in the bud, than to remove it when it has taken root in the conftitution.-This rule is not less useful in fpiritual concerns: Had Eve refifted with abhorrence the first fuggeftion of the tempter, fhe would undoubtedly have repulfed him, and retained her integrity. In like manner, for our better fecurity, we are exhorted to refift the devil, and he will flee from us, James iv. 7. Satan is a coward, when manfully refifted; but grows bolder, and the tempted foul weaker, by yielding. But a victory cannot be obtained, unless we be strong in the LORD, and go forth in the power of his might, Eph. vi. 10. In our own ftrength, which is perfect weakness, we fhall be unequal to the combat; but in the ftrength of Chrift, the captain of our falvation, we fhall come off more than conquerors. The Lord give us watchful hearts, and an earnest looking for grace and ftrength every time of need, that, being stedfaft in the faith, we may be enabled to refift, and escape the fnares of the wickedone! 1 Pet. v. 9. in (b) Literally, the avenger of murder. In heathen mythology, one of the furies, whofe head was faid to be covered with fnakes instead of hair. Diabolus the town. So they drew up, and fat down before Ear-gate; for that was the place of hearing for all without the town, as Eye-gate was the place of perception. So, marches up to as I faid, he came up with his train to the gate, and laid his ambufcade for captain Refiftance, within bowlhot of the town. This done, the giant afcended up clofe to the gate, and called to the town of Manfout for audience. Nor took he any with him but one Ill-paufe, who was his orator in all difficult matters. Now, as I faid, he being come up to the gate (as the manner of thofe times was), founded his trumpet for auThe lords of dience; at which the chief of the town of Manfoul ap- Manfoul, fuch as my lord Innocent, my peared. lord Will-be-will, (a) my Lord-mayor, Mr. Recorder, (b) and captain Refiftance, came down to the wall to fee who was there, and what was the matter. And my lord Will-be-will, when he looked over, and faw who ftood at the gate, demanded what he was, and wherefore he was come, and why he roufed the town of Manfoul with fo unusual a found? Diabolus's ora tion. Diabolus then, as if he had been a lamb, began his oration, and faid, "Gentlemen of the famous town of Manfoul, I am, as you (a) The will. While that remained unfhaken, as before obferved, the enemy could gain no advantage: man's will, and God's, were originally one; but are now in a state of oppofition and contrariety. However, when grace has rectified the will, and given it a bias to what is holy, juft, and good, it is then in a measure brought into a conformity to the will of God; the Lord having made us willing, in the day of his power, Pf. cx. 3. and God accepts our imperfect services, when performed in faith, through the prevailing interceffion of Christ, if there be first a willing mind. See 2 Cor. viii, 12. (b) The confcience. It evidently appears from many places, in fcripture, that there is in man a confcience; fee Rom. ix. 1, &c. which is as a light, or witness for God in the foul the book of conscience is one of thofe out of which the ungodly world will be judged at the great day. St. Paul, fpeaking of the heathens, obferves, that their con science bears them winefs, either by accufing, or else excusing them, Rom. ii. 15.-Sins against that faithful monitor, confcience, will be feverely fmarted for by the believer, ས་ } Manfoul en gaged. you may perceive, no far dweller from you, but near, and one that is bound by the King to do you my homage and what fervice I can; wherefore, that I may be faithful to myfelf and to you, I have somewhat of concern to impart unto you; wherefore grant me your audience, and hear me patiently. And, firft, I will affure you, it is not myself but, you, not mine but your advantage, that I feek by what I now do; as will full well be made manifeft, by affeek that I have opened my mind to you. For, Gentlemen, I am (to tell you the truth) come to fhew you how you may obtain great and ample deliverance from a bondage that unawares to yourselves you are captivated and enslaved un der." At this the town of Manfoul began. to prick up it's ears. And what is it, Pray? what is it thought they. And he faid, "I have fomething to fay to you concerning your King, concerning his law, and also touching yourselves. Touching your King, I know he is great and potent but yet, all that he has faid to you is neither true, not yet for your advantage, (a) 1. It is not true; for Diabolus's subthat where with he hath hitherto awed you, tilry made up Amade fhall not come to pafs, 'tho' you do the of fyes." thing he hath forbidden. But if there was danger, what a flavery is it to live always in fear of the greatest of pur nifhments, for doing fo fmall and trivial a thing as eating a little fruit is! 2. Touching his laws, this I fay, further, they are both unreasonable, intricate, and intolerable. Unreafonable, as was hinted before, for that the punifa (a) Here our Saviour's remark was verified, that Satan is a lyar, and the father of lyes, John viii. 44. for, in the beginning of the temptation, he gives the God of truth the lye, by denying that his threatened punishment on difobedience would enfue; and artfully infinuated, that the prohibition was only intended to with-hold some real good from the foul, as fuperior knowledge, liberty, &c.-but our too credulous ancestors were soon, fatally convinced, that, by their tranfgreffion of the divine command, all good was loft, and all evil got; even spiritual, temporal, and eternal death. 1 1 ment is not proportioned to the offence: there is a great He holds out a no (a) This bafe and falfe fuggeftion of Satan, that the divine injunction, not to taste the fruit, debarred man of a degree of wisdom effential to his happiness, and laid a reftraint on the freedom of his will-injected pride, and a defire of independence, into the breaft of Eve: whereas, on the contrary, the beneficent Creator, knowing that the tranfgreffion of his command could only impart the knowledge that they should thereby become the fubjects of fin and mifery, graciously warned them by the threatened penalty.The true and nobler freedom and rectitude of the will was totally deftroyed as foon as fin had perverted it; it was then free to nothing but evil continually, and ever rebellious against God. -Hence we see, and feel too, the dire effects of not implicitly obeying the precept iffued by Goodness itself, and the dreadful confequences of reasoning with the temp tation.Reader, note well, that all the commands and threatenings of God, if duly attended to, will be found, in the end, to be tokens of love and kindness to thy too im patient, and unstable soul |