Obs. 4. From that neither iemijteih he any man, that the Lord is no tempter ; the author of all good cannot be the author of sin. God useth many a moving persuasion to draw us to holiness, not a hint to encourage us to sin ; certainly they are far from the nature of God that entice others to wickedness, for he tempteth no man — man tempteth others many ways :
1. By commands, when you contribute your authority to the counte-
88 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JaS. I. 13.
nancinc; of it. It is the character of Jeroboam that lie ' made Israel to sin: ' ' Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin.' It is again and a<;ain repeated ; the guilt of a whole nation lieth upon his shoulders ; Israel ruined him, and he ruined Israel. So 2 Chron. x.Kxiii. 9, ' Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and do worse than the heathens.' Mark, he made them ; their sins are charged upon your score. In the 7th of the Revelations, where the tribes are numbered, Dan is altogether left out, and Ephraim is not mentioned. Dan was the first leading tribe that by exami)le went over to idols : Judges xviii., and Ephraim by authority : so some give the reason.
2. By their solicitations and entreaties, when men become panders to others' lusts : Pro v. vii. 21, ' With much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.' Mark, she caused him to yield, and then forced him ; first he began to incline, and then he could no longer resist. When such Eves hiy forth their apples, what evil cometh by it ? Solicitations are as the bellows to blow up those latent sparkles of sin which are hidden in our natures into a flame.
3. Those that soothe up or encourage men in their evil ways, calling evil good and good evil, like Ahab's prophets. Their word is, ' Go up and prosper ; ' they cry, Peace, peace ! to a soul utterly sunk and lost in apit of i)erdition. Oh! howfar are these from the nature of God. He tcmpteth no man ; but these are devils in man's shape ; their work is to seduce and tempt — murderers of souls, yea (as Epiphanius calleth the Novatians), nun-derers of repentance.^ Dives in hell had more charity ; he would have some to testify to his brethren ' lest they came into tliat place of torment,' Luke xvi. 28. But these are factors for hell, negotiate tor Satan, strengthen the hands of the wicked, and (which God taketh worse) discourage and set back those that were looking towards heaven. So the apostle, 2 Peter ii. 18, they 'allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonne.s.s, those that were clean escaped from them that live in error, rou? dvrwq uTrocpv- y6vTa<;, really or verily escaped, that is, had begun to profess the gospel ; or, as some copies have, 6Xly(o<i a'rro^vyovTa'; , having a little escaped from error; thence the vulgar cos qui pnululum rffi(r/iu7if, with which the Syriac and Arabic translations agree ; ^ and so it showeth how ill God taketh it, that the early growth and budding of grace should be blasted, and as soon as they began to profess any change, that a seducer should set them back again, and entangle those that had made some escape, and were in a lair way to a holy life. This is Satan's dis- position outright : the dragon watched for the man-child as soon as he was born, Ilev. xii. 4, and the.se make advantage of those early ten- dencies and dispositions to faith which are in ])oor souls ; for while they are deeply aflected with their sins, and admiring the riches and grace of Christ, they strike in with some erroneous representations, and, under a colour of liberty and gospel, reduce and bring them back to their old looseness.
Use 2. If God temptcth no man, then it informeth us that God can-
' ' Toyj (t>oi>tU riji fifTavoia^.' — I'jiijjhan.
* So see Jeroin. lib. iii. coutm Joviii. et Aug. du l''ido ct 0i)i.'iibu8, cap. 25.
JaS. I. 13.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 89
not be the antlior of sin. I shall hero take occasion a little to enlarcje upon that point. I shall first clear those places which seem to imply it ; then, secondly, show you what is the efficiency and concurrence of God ahout sin.