Do not many of you love to make a lie? And if it is done in your trade, you therefore look on it as excusable; but whether you believe it or not, it is sinful, it is exceedingly sinful. Though you may value yourselves as fine rational creatures, and that you are noble beings; and you were so, as you first came out of GOD’s hands; but now you are fallen, there is nothing lovely, nothing desirable in man; his heart is a sink of pollution, full of sin and uncleanness: Yet, though a man’s own heart is so desperately wicked, he is told by our modern polite preachers, that there is a fitness in men, and that GOD seeing you a good creature, gives you his grace; but this, though it is a modern, polite, and fashionable way of talking, is very unscriptural; it is very contrary to the doctrines of the Reformation, and to our own Articles. But however contrary to the doctrines of the Church of _England_, yet our pulpits ring of nothing more, than doing no one any harm, living honestly, loving your neighbour as yourselves, and do what you can, and then CHRIST is to make up the deficiency: this is making CHRIST to be half a saviour, and man the other part; but I say, CHRIST will be your whole righteousness, your whole wisdom, your whole sanctification, or else he will never be your whole redemption. How amazing is it, that the ministers of the church of _England_ should speak quite contrary to what they have subscribed! Good GOD! if these are the guides of the ignorant, and esteemed to be the true ministers of JESUS, because they have a great share of letter-learning; when at the same time they are only the blind leaders of the blind; and without a special Providence, they both will fall into the ditch.
No wonder at people’s talking of the fitness and unfitness of things, when they can tell us, that the Spirit of GOD, is a good conscience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost are consequent thereupon. But this is wrong; for it should be said, the Spirit of GOD, are the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and a good conscience consequent thereupon. _Seneca_, _Cicero_, _Plato_, or any of the heathen philosophers, would have given as good a definition as this; it means no more than reflecting we have done well.
But let these modern, polite gentlemen, and let my letter-learned brethren, paint man in as lovely colours as they please, I will not do it: I dare not make him better than the word of GOD does. If I was to paint man in his proper colours, I must go to the kingdom of hell for a copy: for man is by nature full of pride, subtilty, malice, envy, revenge, and all uncharitableness; and what are these but the tempers of the devil? and lust, sensuality, pleasure, these are the tempers of the beast. Thus, my brethren, man is half a beast, and half a devil, a motley mixture of the beast and devil. And this is the creature, who has made himself so obnoxious to the wrath of GOD, and open to his indignation, that is told, that he must be part his own saviour, by doing good works, and what he cannot do CHRIST will do for him.
This is giving the tempter great room to come in with his temptation; he may press a soul to follow moral duties, to go to church, take the sacrament, read, pray, meditate; the devil is well content you should do all these; but if they are done in your own strength, or if you go no farther than here, you are only going a smoother way to hell.
Thus, my brethren, you may see who it is that tempts us. But
II. Why he tempts you, is the second thing I am to shew you.
It is out of envy to you, and to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, he endeavours to keep you from closing with JESUS; and if he can but keep you from laying hold by faith on CHRIST, he knows he has you safe enough; and the more temptations you are under, and according to their nature and greatness, you are more hurried in your minds; and the more unsettled your thoughts and affections are, the more apt you are to conclude, that if you were to go to CHRIST, at present, in all that hurry of mind, he would not receive you; but this is the policy of the tempter, to make you have low and dishonourable thoughts of the blessed JESUS; and so by degrees he works upon your minds, that you are careless and indifferent about CHRIST. This, this, my brethren, is the design of the tempter. Nothing will please him more, than to see you ruined and lost for ever. He tempts you for that end, that you may lose your interest in JESUS CHRIST, and that you may dwell with him and apostate spirits to all eternity. He knows that JESUS CHRIST died for sinners, yet he would fain keep souls from seeking to this city of refuge for shelter, and from going to _Gilead_ for the true balm.