If it be objected that others of late time have digged in the same mine and laljoured in the same field, and to good purpose and success, I answer, it is true, the more this age is bound to God that directs the spirits of men to so useful, so necessary, an argument, seeing without faith we have no communion with the fountain of life, nothing in this world that can yield settled comfort to ground the soul upon, seeing without it the fairest car- riage is but empty and dead morality, neither finding acceptance with God nor yielding comfort to us in our greatest extremities, and by it God him- self and Christ, with all that he hath done, sufiered, conquered, becometh ours and for our use. Besides, none that I know have written in our lan- guage so largely of this argument ; and such is the extent and spiritualness of this heavenly point, that many men and of the gi'eatest graces and parts, may with great benefit to the church dive and dig still into this mystery. Neither let any except against the multitude of quotations of Scriptures ; they are brought under their proper head, and set in their proper place, and the matter itself is cut out into variety of parts. Store (as we used to speak) is no sore, we count it a delight to take out of a full heap ; the more light the conviction is the stronger ; what suits not at one time will suit our spirits and occasions at another, and what taketh not with one may take with another. But the full and well handling of matters in this treatise carries such satisfaction with it, that it frees me from necessity of further discourse, and mine own present weakness of body taketh me off. Only I was willing to yield that testimony to the fruitful pains of a faithful labourer in God's vineyard, and I judge it deserved. Beceive it, therefore. Chris- tian reader, with thanks to God that stirreth up such helpers of that faith
MEMOIR OF RICHARD SIBBES, D.D. CVU
by ■which we live, stand, conquer, and in which we must die, if we look to receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls.
Richard Sibbes.
The last epistle known to me is prefixed to a very striking and suggestive book, to wit, Richard Capel's ' Treatise of Tempta- tions.' * Nearly related to the noble family of Capel, he was yet a staunch Puritan and 'Nonconformist:' his son Daniel having also been one of the ' ejected ' of 1662. He was very much esteemed by Sibbes, who left to him a memorial 'ring' in his wilLt The book itself is well fitted to comfort the despondent, and may be placed beside Brook's 'Precious Remedies for Satan's Devices,' which it somewhat resembles, though wanting in the wonderful learning and ingenuity of illustration of that most learned and vivid of the later Puritans. The ' epistle ' follows : —
To the Christian Fieader.
After the angels left their own standing, they envied ours, and out of envy became both by office and practice tempters, that they might draw man from that happy commimion with God, unto that cui'sed condition with themselves. And success in this trade hath made them both skilful and dihgent, especially now, their time being but short. And if neither the first or second Adam could be free fi-om their impudent assaults, who then may look for exemption ? The best must most of all look to be set upon as ha\ang most of Chi-ist in them, whom Satan hates most, and as hoping and disheartening of them, to foil others, as gi'eat trees fall not alone ; no age or rank of Christians can be free. Beginners he labours to discourage ; those that have made some progress, he raiseth stoiTQS against ; those that more perfect he labours to undermine by spiritual pride ; and above aU other times, he is most busy when we are weakest, then he doubles and multi- plies his forces, when he looks either to have all, or lose all. His course is either to tempt to sin or for sin. To sin, by presenting some seeming good to draw us fi-om the true good, to seek some excellency besides God in the creature, and to this end he labours in the first place to shake our faith in the word ; thus he dealt with Adam, and thus he dealeth with all his posterity. And besides immediate suggestions, he cometh unto us, by our dearest friends, as unto Christ by Peter ; so many tempters, so many deAdls in that iU office, though neither they or we are oft aware of it ; the
* Tentations : their nature, danger, cure. By Eichard Capel, sometime Fellow of Magdalen College in Oxford. The sixth edition. The fourth part left enlarged hy the author, and now there is added his remains to the work of Tentations. To which thou hast prefixed an abridgment of the author's life, by Valentine Marshall, of Elmore, in Gloucestershire. 1 Cor. x. 13, There hath no tentation taken you, but such as is common to man : but God is faithful, who will not suifer you to be tempted above that yoii are able ; but will with the tentation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. London : Printed by Tho. RatclifiFe, for John Bartlet, long since living in the Goldsmith's Eow in Cheapside, at the Gilt Cup ; since at St Austine's Gate ; now in the New buildings on the south side of Paul's near St Austine's Gate, at the sign of the Gilt Cup, and at the Gilt Cup in West- minster Hall, over against the Upper Bench. 1659.