Section X. — Tenthly, Fortify thyself against those discoui'agenients by which Satan, if possible, will divert thee from thy purpose, and make thee lay aside this breastplate of righteousness and holiness as cumbersome, yea, preju- dicial to th)' carnal interests. Now the better to arm thee against his assaults- of this kind, I shall instance two or three great objections whereby he scares many from this holy walking, and also lend a little help to wrest these weapons out of thy enemy's "hand, by preparing an answer to them against he conies.
CHAPTER XII.
WHEREIN THE FIRST POLICY OR STRATAGEM OF SATAN IS DEFEATED, WHICH HE USETH TO MAKE THE CHRISTIAN THROW AWAY HIS BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AS THAT WHICH HINDERS THE PLEASURE OF HIS LIFE.
Assault 1. First, Satan labours to picture a holy, righteous life with such an austere, sour face, that the creature maybe out of love with it. O, saith he, if you mean to be thus precise and holy, then bid adieu to all joy ! you at once deprive yourselves of all those pleasures which others pass their days so merrily in the embraces of, that are not so strait-laced in their consciences.
How true a charge this is that Satan lays upon the ways of holiness we shall now see ; and truly he that desires to see the true face of holiness, in its native hue and colour, should do well not to trust Satan, or his own carnal heart, to draw its picture. I shall deal with this objection, first, by way of concession. There are some pleasures, if they may be so called, that are inconsistent with the power of holiness : whoever will take up a purpose to live righteously, he must shake hands with them, and they are of two sorts.
Section I. — .^iis. 1. First, All such pleasures as are in themselves sinful; godliness will allow no such in thy embraces. And art thou not shrewdly hurt, dost think, to be denied that which would be bane to thy drink? Would any think the father cruel that should charge his child not to dare so much as taste of any ratsbane ? Truly, I hope, you that liave passed under the renewing work of the Spirit can call sin by another name than pleasure. I am sure saints in former times have not counted themselves tied up, but saved from such pleasures. The bondage lies in serving them, and the liberty in being saved from them. Tit. iii. 2. The apostle bemoans the time when himself and other saints were ' foolish, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures ;' and he reckons it among the prime benefits they received, by the grace of the gospel, to be delivered from that vassalage, ver. 5 : ' But according to his mercy he saved us ;' how ? not by pardoning them only, but ' by the washing of regene- ration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.' However the devil makes poor creatures expect pleasure in sin, and promiseth them great matters of this kind, yet he goes against his conscience, and his own present sense also. He doth not find sin so pleasant a morsel to his own taste, that he should need to commend it upon this account to others.. Sin's pleasure is like the pleasure which a place in the West Indies affords those that dwell in it ; there grows in it most rare, luscious fruit, but these dainties are so sauced with the intolerably scorching heat of the sun by day, and the multitude of a sort of creature stinging them by night, that they can neither well eat by day, nor sleep by night, to digest their sweetmeats, which made the Spaniards call the place, ' comfits in hell.' And truly what are the pleasures of sin but such comfits in hell? There is some carnal pleasure they have, which delights a rank sensual palate^ but they are served in with the fiery wrath of God, and stinging of a guilty, restless conscience ; and the fears of the one, with the anguish of the other, are able sure to melt and waste away that little joy and pleasure they bring to the sense.
Secondly, There are pleasures which are not in their own nature sinful ; such are creature-comforts and delights. T]ie sin lies, as to these, not in the using, but in the abusing of them, which is done two ways.
First, When a due measure is not kept in the use of them. He cannot live holily and righteously in this present v.'orld that lives not soberly also. Godli- ness will allow thee to taste of these pleasures as sauce, l)ut not feed on them as
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