which they have at tlieir tongue's end, and interpose to break the blow that is made at them. Tell the sensualist of his voluptuous, brutish life, and you shall have him sometimes reply, Solomon was not so precise and scrupulous, who saith, ' A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat and to drink, and to be merry :' as if Solomon, yea, Ciod himself, that directed his pen, meant to fill the drunkard's quaffing cup for him, and w^ere a friend of gluttons and wine- bibbers : whereas, to eat and drink, and be merrj', as Solomon meant there, amounts to no more, than to serve God with gladness in the abundance of those good things which God gives us to enjoy, as Moses says, Dent, xxviii.47. Such is the desperate wickedness of man's heart, that the sweetest portions of Scrip- ture are wrested by many to serve their lusts. The declarations of God's free grace, made on purpose to melt sinners' hearts, and draw them from their lusts to Christ, how often ai'e they abused to harden them in their sins, and keep them from him ! Examples of holy men's fall, recorded merely to make them fear who stand, and to preserve a hope of mercy alive in those that have fallen, whereby they are in danger of being swallowed up with desjjair, — how are they perverted by many, who lie like beasts wallowing in their own filth, and think all is well, because such eminent saints fell so foully, and yet came off so fairly at last, with their sins pardoned and souls saved ! The good success that late repentance hath now and then had in a few, yea, very few Scripture instances, it is strange to think what use and advantage Satan makes of them, to beg time of the sinner, and make him linger still in the midst of his sins. The eleventh hour, saith he, is not yet come ; why will .ye repent so long before you need ? Why should he set out in the morning, who may dispatch his journey well enough an hour before night ? The penitent thief, as one saith, stolen to heaven from the cross, hath, I fear, been an occasion, though on God's part an innocent one, to bring many a sinner to the gallows, if not to a place of longer execution in another world. Oh, take heed of this, sinners, as you love your souls ! Is it not enough to have your lusts, but you must also fetch your en- couragement from the word, and forge God's hand to bear you out? The devil, indeed, thus abuseth Scripture, Matt. iv. 4 ; thinking thereby to make Christ more readily hearken to his cursed motion : and wilt thou tread in his steps ? By this thou makest one sin two, and the last the worst. To be drunk was a fearful sin in Belshazzar ; but to quaff in the bowls of the sanctuary was far worse. No sin is little, but the least sin amoimts to blasphemy when thou connnittest it on a Scripture pretence. The devil cannot easily desire a greater occasion of glorying over God, than thus to wound his name with his own sword. When Julian the apostate saw the Gentile philosophers confuted by the human learning of some Christians, he said. We are taken by our own wings ; looking upon it as a great disgrace for them to be beaten and worsted at that which they counted their own weapon. The word is the Holy Spirit's sword. O, for shame ! let not Satan make his boast over thy God, Christian, by thy means, which he will, if he can persuade thee to wound his name with this his own weapon. He that fetcheth an argument from the Holy Scriptures to countenance any corrupt opinion or practice, what doth he but go about to make God fight against himself? He shoots at him with an arrow out of his own quiver. He sins, and then, as it were, says God bid him. If there be a man on the face of the earth, that God will single out as a mark for his utmost wrath, this is he, who shelters his wickedness under the wing of the Holy Scrip- tures, and so makes Ciod tlie patron of his sin.
CHAPTER XX.
AN EXHORTATION TO THANKFULNESS FOR THE SWORD OF THE WORD, WHERE- BY WE ARE ENABLED TO STAND ON OUR DEFENCE AGAINST OUR GREATEST ENEMIES.
First, Let us be excited and provoked to bless God for this sword, with which he hath furnished us so graciously, whereby wo may stand on our defence against all our bloody enemies. If a man had a kingdom in his possession, but no sword to keep the crown on his head, he could not expect to enjoy it long. Tliis is a world, that there is no living or holding anything we have in safety, without tlie help of arms ; least of all, coidd our st)uls be safe if naked
53g AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.