Use 2. Secondly, This may afford matter of admiration and thankfulness to any of you, O ye saints, who are not at this day under Satan's hatches. Is he so subtile to disquiet; and hast thou any peace in thy conscience? To whom art thou beholden for that serenity that is in thy spirit? To none but thy God, under whose wing thou sittest so warm and safe. Is there not combustible matter enough in thy conscience for his sparks to kindle ? Perhaps thou hast not committed such bloody sins as others ; that is not the reason of thy peace ; for the least is big enough to damn, much moi'e to trouble thee. Thou hast not grossly fallen, may be, since conversion ; that is rare, if thou art of long standing ; yet the ghosts of thy unregenerate sins might walk in thy conscience. Thou hast had many testimonies of God's favour; hast thou not? Who more than David ? Psa. Ixxvii. Yet he is at a loss sometimes, learning to sjDell his evidences as if he could never have read them. The sense of God's love comes and goes with the present taste. He that is in the dark, while there, sees not the more for former light. O bless God for that light which shines in at thy window ; Satan is plotting to undermine thy comfort every day. This thief sees thy pleasant fruits as they hang, and his teeth water at them, but the wall is too high for him to climb ; thy God keeps this serpent out of thy paradise. It is not the grace of God in thee, but the favour of God, as a shield about thee, defends thee from the wicked one.
Use 3. Thirdljf, Let Satan's subtilty, to molest your peace, make thee, O Christian, more wise and wary ; thou hast not a fool to deal with, but one that hath wit enough to spill thy comfort, and spoil thy joy, if not narrowly watched. This is the dainty bit he gapes for ; it is not harder to keep the flies out of your cupboards in summer, from tainting your provision, than Satan out of your consciences ; many a sweet meal hath he robbed the saints of, and sent them supperless to bed ; take heed, therefore, that he roams not thine away also.
CHAPTER VII.
CONTAINING SOME DIRECTIONS, TENDING TO ENTRENCH AND FORTIFY THE CHRIS- TIAN AGAINST THE ASSAULTS AND WILES OF THE DEVIL, AS A TROUBLER OF THE soul's PEACE.
Quest. How shall I stand in a defensive posture, may the Christian say, against these wiles of Satan as a troubler?
Section I. — Answ. First, If thou wouldest be guarded from him as a troubler, take heed of him as a seducer. Tliehaftof Satan's hatchet, with which he lies chopping at the root of the Christian's comfort, is commonly made of the Christian's wood. First, he tempts to sin, and then for it. Satan is but a creature, and cannot work without tools ; he can indeed make much of a little, but not anything of nothing, as we see in his assaulting of Christ, where he troubled himself to little purpose, because ' he came and found nothing in him,' John xiv. 30. Though the devil throws the stone, yet it is the mud in us that disturbs our comforts. It was in vain for the Philistines to fall on Samson till his lock was cut : take heed therefore of yielding to his enticing motions ; these are the stumbling-blocks, at which he hopes thou wilt bruise thy con- science, which, when once done, let him alone to spin out the cure. Indeed, a saint's flesh heals not so easily as others' : drink not of the devil's wassail, there is poison in the cup, his wine is a mocker ; look not on it as it sparkles in the temptation ; what thou drinkest down with sweetness, thou wilt be sure to bring up again as gall and wormwood. Above all sins, take heed of pre- sumptuous ones, thou art not out of the danger of such, Psa. xix. 13. Sad stories we have of saints' falls: and what follows? Then take him, jailor,
gj, THAT YE JFAY BE ABLE TO STAND