Mat. IV. 11.] Christ's temptation. 323
like worship and service done to an all-seeing Spirit ? His attributes : Greatness, goodness, holiness —
(1.) His greatness and glorious majesty : Heb. xii. 28, ' Let us serve him acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.' Then is there a stamp of God's majesty on the duty.
(2.) His goodness and fatherly love : Ps. c. 2, ' Serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with singing.'
(3.) His holiness : 2 Tim. i. 3, 'I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers, with pure conscience ; ' 2 Tim. ii. 22, ' With them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.'
SERMON VII.
Then the devil leaveth him, and behold angels came and ministered unto him. — Mat. IV. 11.
In these words you have the issue and close of Christ's temptations. The issue is double : — (1.) In respect of the adversary ; (2.) In respect of Christ himself
I. In respect of the adversary : then the devil leaveth him.
II. In respect of Christ himself : behold angels came and ministered unto him.
I shall consider in both the history and the observations.
First, The history of it, as it properly belongeth to Christ : and there —
1. Of the first branch, the recess of Satan : * Then the devil leaveth him.'
[1.] It was necessary to be known that Christ had power to chase away the devil at his pleasure ; that, as he was an instance of temp- tations, so he might be to us a pattern of victory and conquest. If Satan had continued tempting, this would have been obscured, which would have been an infringement of comfort to us. The devil being overcome by Christ, he may be also overcome by us Christians : 1 John v. 18, ' He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not.' That is, he useth all care and diligence to keep himself pure, that the devil draw him not into the sin unto death, and those deliberate, scandalous sins which lead to it. Christ having overcome Satan, in our name and nature, showeth us the way how to fight against him and overcome him.
[2.] Christ had a work to do in the valley, and therefore was not always to be detained by temptations in the wilderness. The Spirit, that led him thither to be tempted, led him back again into Galilee to preach the gospel : Luke iv. 14, ' Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.' All things are timed and ordered by God, and he limiteth Satan how far and how long he shall tempt.
[3.] In Luke it is said, chap. iv. 13, 'He departed from him, axpt KMpov, for a season.' He never tempted him again in this solemn way hand to hand; but either abusing the simplicity of his own disciple : Mat. xvi. 22, 23, ' Then Peter took him, and began to
324 Christ's temptation. [Ser. VII.
rebuke him, saying, Beit far from thee, Lord ; this shall not be imto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me Satan ! thou art an offence unto me ; ' or else by his instruments, laying plots to take away his life ; as often, but especially in his passion : Luke xxii. 53, ' This is your hour, and the power of darkness.' So Johnxiv. 30, ' The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.' Satan shall join with the Jews to destroy me, but they shairfind nothing to lay to my charge ; nor, indeed, have they power to do me any hurt, but that, in obedience to my Father's will, I mean voluntaril}- to lav down my life for sinners. So he had a permitted power over him", and was the prime instrumental cause of his sufferings ; set aside his voluntary condescension to be a ransom for sinners, Satan had not any power over him, or challenge against him. Well, then, though he lost his victory, he retained his malice.
2. The second branch, the access of the good angels : ' And behold the angels came and ministered to him.' There observe three things:
[1.] The note of attention : hehoJd. The Holy Ghost would ex- cite our minds, and have us mark this : the angels are always at hand to serve Christ, but now they come to him in some singular manner — some notable appearance there was of them, probably in a visible form and shape ; and so they presented themselves before the Lord to minister to him, as the devil set himself before him to molest and vex him. As Christ's humiliation and human nature was to be manifested by the devil's coming to him and tempting assaults, so the honour of his divine nature by the ministry of angels, lest his temp- tations should seem to derogate from his glory. When we read the story of his temptations, how he was tempted in all parts like us, we might seem to take scandal, as if he were a mere man ; therefore his humiliation is counterbalanced with the special honour done to him : he was tempted as man, but, as God, ministered unto by angels.