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SERM to fin; and to this end he walks up and down the earth, and watcheth all occafions and opportunities to tempt men to fin: and fo far as his power reacheth, and GoD permits him, he lays baits and temptations before them in all their ways, prefenting them with the occafions and opportunities to fin, and with fuch baits and allurements as are most fuitable to their tempers, and moft likely to prevail with their particular inclinations, and as often as he can, furprizing men with these at the easiest time of accefs, and with fuch circumstances, as may give his temptations the greatest force and advantage. Of this the fcripture affures us in general, when it tells us of thefe wiles and devices of Satan, and of the methods of his temptations; so that tho' we do not particularly difcern how and when he doth this, yet we have no reafon to doubt of the thing, if we believe that there is such a spirit in the world, as the fcripture particularly tells us there is, that works in the children of difobedience, and that Go, from whom nothing is hid, and who fees all the fecret engines which are at work in the world, to do us good or harm, hath in mercy to mankind given us particular warning of it, and that we may not be wholly ignorant of our enemies, and their malicious defigns upon us, that we may be continually upon our guard, aware of our danger, and armed against it.

Secondly, the devil does not only present to men the temptations and occafions of fin; but when he is permitted to make nearer approaches to them, does excite and ftir them up to comply with these temptations, and to yield to them. And this he does, not only by employing his inftruments to fo

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licit for him, and to draw men to fin by bad coun- SER M, fel and example, which we fee frequently done, and probably very often by the devil's inftigation; (thofe who are very wicked themselves, and confequently more enflav'd to the devil, and under his power, being as it were factors for him to feduce others;) befides this, 'tis not improbable but the devil himself does many times immediately excite men to fin, by working upon the humours of their bodies, or upon their imaginations; and by that means infufing and fuggefting evil motions into them; or by diverting them from those thoughts and confiderations, which might check and reftrain them from that wickedness to which he is tempting them; or by fome other ways and means more fecret and unknown to us. For the power of fpirits, whether good or bad, and the manner of their operation upon our minds, are things very fecret, and of which we can give little or no account, but yet for all that, we have many times reafon fufficient to believe a thing to be fo, when we are wholly ignorant of the manner of it.

And there is reafon, from what is faid in fcripture, to believe that the devil, in fome cafes, hath a more immediate power and influence upon the minds of men, to excite them to fin, and, where he difcovers a very bad inclination or refolution, to help it forward, and to keep men to it; as when it is faid, John xiii. 27. that "the devil enter'd into Judas," to push him on in that ill defign which he had already engaged in, of betraying our SAVIOUR. And Acts v. 3. Satan is faid to have "filled the heart of

"Ananias,

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SER M. "Ananias, to lye to the HOLY GHOST, and to keep "back part of the price" for which he had fold his eftate; which expreffions do feem to intimate to us fome more immediate power and influence which the devil had upon those perfons: but then 'tis very obfervable, that this power is never afcribed to the devil, but in the cafe of great and horrid fins, and where men are beforehand notoriously depraved, and either by the actual commiffion of fome former great fin, or by entertaining fome very wicked defign, have provoked GOD to permit the devil a nearer access to them. For Judas had firft taken counfel how to betray CHRIST, before it is fajd "the devil "entred into him," to push him on to the execution of it. And Ananias his covetoufness had first tempted him to keep back part of his eftate, before it is faid the devil filled his heart to lye to the "HOLY GHOST;" fo that what power the devil hath over men, they first give it him; they confent to his outward temptations, before he can get within them. Hence it is that in fcripture great finners are described, as being more immediately under the government and influence of the devil. Ephef. ii. 1, 2. where the apoftle fpeaking of thofe, who from heathenifm were converted to christianity," you (fays he) hath "he quickned, who were once dead in trefpaffes and "fins; wherein in times paft ye walked, according to "the courfe of this world, according to the prince of "the power of the air, the fpirit that now worketh " in the children of difobedience, or unbelief;" TO πνέυματα τὸ νῦν ἐνεργόντα, "the fpirit that ftill "acts and infpires the children of unbelief;" that is, those who continue in their infidelity, and would not believe and obey the gofpel. When men are notoriously

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notorioufly wicked and difobedient to the counfels of S ER M. GOD, the devil is faid to act and inspire them, which certainly fignifies fome more immediate power and influence which he hath over such persons.

For as it is very probable, that the devil is fometimes permitted to come near good men so as to tempt them; fo by notorious wickednefs and impiety, men do give admiffion to him, and he is permitted by the juft judgment of GoD, to exercise greater dominion over them. By refifting his temptations, we drive him from us. So St. James tells us, chap. iv. ver. 7. " Refift the devil, and he "will flee from you :" but as we yield to his temptations, he continually makes nearer approaches to us, and gains a greater power over us.

Thirdly, but for all this, the devil can force no man to fin; his temptations may move and excite men to fin, but that they are prevalent and effectual, proceeds from our own will and confent; 'tis our own lufts closing with his temptations, that produce fin; the devil hath more or lefs power over men, according as they give way to him; but never so much as to force their wills, and to compel them to confent to, and comply with his temptations; the grace of GoD doth hardly offer this violence to men for their good, in order to their falvation; and therefore much less will he permit the devil to have

this

power over men to their ruin and deftruction. GOD's commanding us to refift the devil, fuppofeth that his temptations are not irresistible.

Fourthly, from what hath been said, it appears, that tho' the devil be frequently acceffary to the fins of men, yet we our felves are the authors of them; he tempts us many times to fin, but it is we that

com

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SER M. commit it. His temptations may fometimes be fo violent as to extenuate our fault, but never fo forcible as wholly to excufe us; for we are so far guilty of fin, as we give our confent to it; and how powerful foever the temptation be to any kind of evil, there is always enough of our own will in it to render us guilty.

It is not to be doubted, mifchief he can to the

I am far from thinking that the devil tempts men to all the evil that they do. I rather think that the greatest part of the wickedness that is committed in the world, fprings from the evil motions of mens own minds. Mens own lufts are generally to them the worft devil of the two, and do more strongly incline them to fin, than any devil without them can tempt them to it. that the devil does all the fouls of men, fo far as GoD permits him; and tho' the number of evil angels be probably very great, yet it is but finite, and every one of them hath a limited power; and tho' they be very active, yet they can be but one where at once; fo that his malice at the utmost does only all the evil that it can, not all that it would; he plies where he has the best custom, where he has the faireft opportunity, and the greatest hopes; he leaves men many times for a season (as it is faid he did our SAVIOUR) because he defpairs of fuccefs at that time, and it may be fometimes when he is gone, thefe perfons grow fecure, and through their own fecurity and folly fall into those fins, which the devil with all his baits and wiles, whilft they were upon their guard, could not tempt them to commit.

Others, after he has made them fure, and put them into the way of it, will go on of themselves, and

are

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