VER. 13, 14.] SERMONS UPON 1 JOHN II. 12-14. 421
to receive Christ upon the hardest terms, though reduced to rags and beggary, and the greatest extremities; and this is no more than needeth. Our religion and the apparent light of truth compelleth us to use those terms : Mat. xiii. 45, 46, ' The kingdom of heaven is like 'unto a merchant-man seeking goodly pearls ; and when he hath found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.' God will try whether we will stand to our word, or whether this be a compliment extorted from us by the present pang ; and that we are resolved to fight as well as work : Rom. vi. 13, ' Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.' Now though God keep back the assault of furious and boisterous temptations for a while, yet at length after some time it is needful to try the sincerity of our covenant vow.
2. The devil tempteth and molesteth the saints, either in hope to recover the prey (newly taken out of his hands) back again ; as Pharaoh made hue and cry after Israel as soon as they were escaped. After long experience and many resistances he hath the less hopes. It is in vain to think he will be dispossessed quietly : 2 Peter ii. 18, ' For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who lived in error ;' 6Vt&>?, clean, or oA,r/&)?, for a little while, escaped from error ; or else to weary them, and to make their pilgrimage uncomfortable. At first, while they are admiring the love of God, and the offers of grace to sinners, and their blessed change is fresh in their memories, and that woful estate wherein they were by nature, while they are but as brands plucked out of the burning, the devil dareth not set upon them ; but when these qualms of love are over, he is very busy in hope they will return to their old master, when they find nothing but blows and buffets ; or if not, that they shall never serve God cheerfully. The devil is not only an enemy to our grace, but to our peace and comfort. They snarl at the feast God hath provided for us : Ps. xxiii. 5, ' Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies ; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.' The devils grieve and envy at the riches of God's bounty to his beloved ones.
3. In regard of themselves and their own flesh, which is not as yet perfectly subdued to Christ's discipline. The bullock at first yoking is most unruly ; the fire at the first kindling casts forth much smoke: Rom. vii. 9, ' Sin revived, and I died.' They have much to do with a naughty heart : Mat. vii. 14, ' Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way;' at least, at the beginning, or upon our first entrance upon Christianity ; and when christians are young and raw, and of little experience in the ways of God, it is more tedious to them ; they are more unprovided, more unresolved, than they thought themselves to be; and they set upon the mortification of sin, and feel the force of corrupt nature more powerful than ever they imagined it would be, and their light and love is increased, and so their sin is more grievous than it was before. When a man is dead in trespasses and sins, he hath no feeling ; but when he has a deeper insight into the law, and the nest of unclean birds is more discovered, then a child of God begins to groan : Rom. vii. 24, ' 0 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the
422 SERMONS UPON 1 JOHN II. 12-14. [SEE. V.
body of this death ? ' When first we began to be serious, the guilt of sin troubled us, and engaged us to look after justification by Christ ; but when we are more acquainted with God, the power of sin troubleth us, and we are more engaged to look after mortification, and so we are put upon the greater conflicts.
Prop. 3. That which is most eminent in this rank of christians is strength, ' Because ye are strong.' How strong ?
There is the strength of the body and there is the strength of the soul.
1. The strength of the body ; that is incident to young men naturally considered : Prov. xx. 29, ' The glory of young men is their strength.' But this is no great thing in a spiritual eye and consideration ; for a bull or an ox may exceed us in this kind of strength, for they are strong to labour, Ps. cxliv. 14 ; and a robust temper of body doth more often incline to sin than to virtue and grace. So many show their strength in pouring down strong drink : Isa. v. 22, ' Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink.' Many wicked ones glory in their ability to take in much liquor, and go away with it ; or else in prodigious lust ; they spend their strength on women, contrary to Prov. xxxi. 3, ' Give not thy strength unto women ; ' or at best have only strength for bodily conflicts. Now this is not the strength intended, not strength for bodily conflicts, but for wrestling with Satan and spiritual wickedness ; not strength of nature, but grace ; strength to overcome temptations to sin, to govern our passions and affections in the fear of God, to do the things which God commandeth. This much excelleth the outward bodily strength : Prov. xvi. 32, ' He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.' These are strong indeed ; the others may be feeble and impotent ; as Samson had great bodily strength, but was easily overcome by his lusts. That is a weak heart that lieth open to the assault of every temptation, that is at the beck of every foolish and hurtful lust, as pride, sensuality, worldliness, carnal fear, and sorrow ; and so an imperious heart is a weak heart : Ezek. xvi. 30, ' How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord ! seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman.'