the heart in cares and fears ; for carnal pride in beauty, riches, honour, there is a spiritual pride of gifts, graces, &c. Now Satan ui an especial manner assaults the Christian with such as these ; it wouh) require a larger discourse than I can allow, to run over the several kinds of them ; I shall of many j)ick out two or tin-ee. At first, Satan labours to corrupt the mind with erroneous principles ; he was at work at the very lirst plantation of the gospel, sowing his darnel, as soon almost as Christ his wheat, which s))rung up in j)ernicious errors, even in the apostles' times, which made them take tiie weeding-hook into their hands, and in all their epistles labour to countermine Satan in this design. Now Satan hath a threefold design in this his endeavour to corrupt the miuds of men, especially })rofessors, with error.
Section I. — First, He doth this in despite to God, against whom he cainiot vent his malice at a higher rate, than by corrupting his tnith, which God hath so highly honoured, Psa. cxxxviii. 2 ; ' Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.' Every creature bears the name of God, but in his word and truth tlxerein contained it is written at length, and therefore lie is more choice of this than of all his other works ; he cares not much wliat l)ecomes of the world and all in it, so he keeps his word, and saves his truth. Ere long we shall see the world on a light flame ; the heavens and eartii shall pass away, ' but the word of tlie Lord endures for ever.' When (iod will, he can nuike more such worlds as this ; but he cannot make another truth, and therefore he will not lose one jot thereof. Satan knowing this, sets all his wits on work to deface this, and disfigure it by unsoiuid doctrine. Tlie word is the glass in which we see God, and seeing him, are changed into his likeness by his Spirit. If this glass be cracked, then the conceptions we have of God will misrepresent him unto us ; whereas the word, in its native clearness, sets him out in all his glory unto our eye.
Secondly, He endeavours to draw into this spiritual sin of error, as the most subtle and effectual means to weaken, if not destroy the power of godliness in them. The apostle joins the spirit of power and a sound mind together, 2 Tim. i. 7. Indeed the power of holiness in practice depends much on the soundness of judgment. Godliness is the child of truth ; and it must be nursed, if we will have it tlirive, with no other milk than that of its own mother. Therefore we are exhorted to 'desire the sincere milk of the word, that we may grow thereby,' 1 Pet. ii. 2. If this milk be but a little dashed with error, it is not nutritive. All error, how innocent soever it may seem, like the ivy, draws away the strength of the soul's love from holiness. Hosea tells us, whoredom and wine take away the heart. Now error is spiritual adultery. Pcud speaks of his espousing them to Christ : when a person receives an error, he takes a stranger . into Christ's bed ; and it is the nature of adulterous love to take away the wife's heart from her true husband, that she delights not in his conqjany so much as in that of her adulterous lover. And do we not see it at this day ful- filled ? Do not many shew more zeal in contending for one error, than for many truths? How strangely are the hearts of many taken off from the ways of God, their love cooled to the ordinances and messengers of C'hrist? And all this occasioned by some corru])t principle got into their bosoms, which controls Christ and his trutli, as Hagar and her son did Sarah and her child. Indeed Christ will never enjoy true conjugal love from the soul, till, like Abraham, he turns these out of doors. Error is not so innocent a thing as many think it ; it ia as unwholesome food to the body, that ])oisons the spirits, aiul surfeits the whole body, and seldoni passeth away without breaking out into sores. As the knowledge of Christ carries the soul above the pollution of the world, so error entangles and betrays it to those lusts whose hands it had escaped.
Thii-dly, Satan, in drawing a soul into this spiritual sin, hath a design to disturb the peace of the church, which is rent and shattered when this fire-ship comes among them. ' I hear,' saith Paid, ' there are di\isions among you, and I ])artly believe it, for there must be heresies,' 1 Cor. xi. 18, 19; implying that divisions are the natural issue of heresy, terror cannot well agree with error, exce))t it be against the truth ; then indeed, like I'ilate and Herod, they are easily made friends ; but when (ruth seems to be overcome, and the battle is over with that, then they fall out among themselves; and therefore it is no
134 AGAINST SPIRITUAL V/ICKEDNKSS.