5. Most grossly, when you think he useth any suggestion to the soul, to persuade it and incline it to evil. Satan may come, and, by the help of fancy and the senses, transmit evil counsel to the soul. But God doth not, as more fully hereafter : Mat. v. 37, ' Whatsoever is beyond these cometh of evil ; ' in the original it is e'/c Trovrjpov, not only of the evil heart, but the evil serpent ; from the devil, and our corruption, if it be beside the rule. There is Satan's counsel in all this, not the Lord's.
6. When you have an ill understanding and conceit of his decrees, as if they did necessitate you to sin. Men will say, Who can help it ? God would have it so, — as if that were an excuse for all. Though Grod hath decreed that sin shall be, 5'et he doth neither infuse evil nor enforce you to evil. God doth not infuse evil ; that which draweth you to it is your own concupiscence, as in the next verse. He doth not give you an evil nature or evil habits ; these are from yourselves. He doth enforce you, neither physically, by urging and inclining the will to act, nor morally, by counselling and persuading, or commanding you to it. God leaveth you to yourselves, castcth you in his pro- vidence, and in j)ui'suance of his decrees, upon such things as are a snare to you ; that is all that God doth, as anon will more fully appear. I only now take notice of that wickedness which is in our natures, whereby we are apt to blemish God, and excuse ourselves.
Obs. 3. From that he cannot he tempted 7uith evil, that God is so immutably good and holy that he is above the power of a tempta- tion. Men soon warp and vary, but he cannot be tempted. There is a wicked folly in man which maketh us measure God by the creature ; and, because we can be tempted, think God can be tempted also ; as suppose, enticed to give way to our sins. Why else do they desire him to prosper them in their evil projects, to further unjust gain, or un- clean intents? — as the whore, Frov. vii. 14, had her vows and peace- offerings to prosper in her wantonness. And generally, we deal with God as if he could be tempted and wrought to a compliance with our corrupt ends, as Solomon s[)eaketh of sacrifice offered with an evil mind, Frov. xxi. 27 ; that is, to ffain the favour of heaven in some
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evil imdertalvlng and design. Thus the king of Moab hoped to entice God by the multitude of his sacrifices, seven altars, seven oxen, seven rams, Num. xxii. , and the prophet, of some that thought to draw God into a liking of their oppression: Zech. xi. 5, 'Blessed be God, I am rich.' So in these times wicked men ha.ve a pretence of religion, as if they would allure the Lord to enter into their secret, and come under the banner of their faction and conspiracy. Oh ! what base thoughts have carnal men of God ! No wonder the word of God is made a nose of wax, when God himself is made an idol or puppet, that moveth by the wire of every carnal worshipper ! Oh ! check this blasphemy. God cannot be tempted ; he is immutably just and holy : Ilab. i. 13, ' Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.' Iniquity shall never have a good look from him. Oh ! then, how should we tremble that are easily carried aside with temptation ! How can you stand before the God that cannot be tempted ?
Uses of this note are two : —
1, It is an inducement to get an interest in God, and more com- munion with him : a believer is ' made partaker of the divine nature,' 2 Peter i. 4. Now the more of the divine nature in you, the more you are able to stand against temptations. We are easily carried aside, because we have more of man than God in us. We are so mutable, that if all memory of sin and Satan were abolished, man himself would become his own devil ; but God is at the same stay. Oh ! let us covet more of the divine nature, that when the tempter cometh he may find the less i'n us. We do in nothing so much resemble God as in immutable holiness.
2. You may make use of it to the purpose in hand. When natural thoughts rise in us, thoughts against the purity of God, say thus : Surely God cannot be the author of sin, who is the itUor or the avenger of it ; he is at the same pass and stay of holiness, and cannot warp aside to evil. Especially make use of it when anything is said of God in scripture which doth not agree with that standing copy of his holi- ness, the righteous law which he hath given us. Do not think it any variation from that immutable tenor of purity and justice which is in his nature, for ' he cannot be tempted ; ' as when he bade Abraham offer his son, it was not evil, partly because God may require the life of any of his creatures when he will ; pai'tly because, being the lawgiver, he may dispense with his own law : and a peculiar precept is not in force when it derogateth from a general command, to wit, that we must do whatsoever God requireth: so in bidding them spoil the Egyptians. God is not bound to our rule ; the moral law is a rule to us, not to himself, &c. In all such cases salve the glory of God, for he is a7r6LpaaTo<i kukcov, altogether incapable of the least sin or evil.