Zech. 3. I.

then doth the Devil labour to improve this for their hindrance: that he accufeth us to God, is evident by Satans standing at Joshua's right hand how he accufeth God to us we know. He tells us, 'tis in vain to feck to make up our Peace after fo great Provocations; urging, that he is a jealous God, of pure eyes: highly refenting the affronts we have given him, &c. Nay, he goes fo high this way, that God is put to it in Scripture (of purpofe to furnish us with an Answer to thefe Objections) to proclaim, that he is flow to anger, not eafily provoked: that if Men return from the evil of their ways, he will return to them, accept, and pity them, &c.

Thirdly, If this divert them not, but that they still perfift in their refolves, then he follows after them with an high hand; fometimes, (as Pharaoh did with Ifrael) he grows fevere and imperious with them,and redoubles the tale of their bricks; he forceeth them to higher and more frequent iniquities: fometimes (as the fame Pharaoh) he mutters up all his Chariots and Horfe-men to pursue after them, and in the higheft diligence imaginable, he brings forth his greatest power, befetting them on all fides with Temptations and Allurements of Pleafures and Delight: Where he perceives his time to be short, and his Power fhaken, he comes down in refolves to try his utmoft Strength. And hence is it that Converts complain, that when they begin in earneft to look after God, they are most troubled with Temptations. Befides this, what ever he can do to make them drive heavily, fhall not be wanting. Sometimes he makes attempts upon their thoughts and affections, which are as their Chariot wheels; and if these can be knocked off any way, it retards them. Sometimes he cafts ftumbling-blocks in their way; if any prejudice may divert them, if Threatnings or Penalties can hinder; if the frowning of Friends, or any thing elfe can put a stop to their Proceedings, he will have them ready. Sometimes he endeavours to retard them by follicitations of acquaintance, offers of former occafions and opportunities of finning, or what ever elfe may be as a remora to their intentions.

Fourthly, But if none of thefe ferve, then as his last thift, he proclaims open War against them, pursues them as Enemies and Rebels: now he begins to accufe them, for that which they did by his Advice and Temptation. Now Sins that were called little are aggravated. Now that day of Repentance, which he was wont to fay was long, he tells them 'tis quite spent, that the Sun of their hope is fet nothing now doth he fuggeft but Hell, Damnation,

and

and Wrath; he makes them (as it were) fee it, hear it, and feel it in every thing that intereft in their hearts which he dissem bled before, now he ftands upon and afferts, and will not be beat off,defigning in all this,either to make them weary of these new refolver by this unufual difquietment, and hoftility, or to precipitate them upon fome defperate undertaking, or at leaft to avenge himfelf upon them, in venting his Malice and Rage against them; but of this more afterward.

CHAP. XVII.

Satan's Deceits against Religious Services and Duties. The Grounds of his displeasure against Religious Duties. His firft defign against Duties, is to prevent them. His feveral fubtilties for that end, by external hindrances, by. indifpofitions, bodily and Spiritual, by difcouragements; the ways thereof, by diflike; the grounds thereof; by faphiftical arguings. His various pleas therein.

Ο

Ur next work is to take notice of the spite and methods of the Serpent against the ways of Worship and Service, that thefe are things against which his heart carries an high fury, and for the overthrow of them imploys no fmall part of his Power and Subtilty: needs no proof, feeing the experience of all the Children of God is an irrefiftible evidence in this matter. I fhall therefore first only fet forth the grounds of his difpleafure, and earneft undertakings against them (before I come to his particular ways of Deceit ) which are thefe:

22.

First, By this means (if he prevail) he deprives us of our: Weapons. This is a ftratagem of War which we find the Phili- ftims practifed against Ifrael, they took away all their Smiths, left 1 Sam. 13, 19 the Hebrews fhould make them Swords or Spears: hence was it that in the Battel there was neither Sword nor Spear found in the hand of any of the People that were with Saul and Jonathan. The Word of God is exprefsly called the Sword of the Spirit; Prayer is as a Spear, or rather a general piece of Armour if the Devil deprive us of i thefe,

Cart. 4.4.

thefe, he robs us of our Ammunition; for by reafon of these, the Church is compared to a Tower built for an Armory, wherein hang a thousand Bucklers, all Shields of mighty Men; and the Apoítle ex2 Cor. 10. 4. prefsly calls them Weapons of our Warfare, of purpose given us, for the pulling down of Strong Holds, and the denolithing of thofe Forts and Batteries of high Imaginations that Satan rears up in the hearts of Men against their happiness; if these be taken away, our Locks are cut, (as Samplon's were) our Strength is departed, and we become weak as other Men, we are open to every incurfion and inroad that he pleaseth to make against us.

Secondly, If he hinders these, he intercepts our Food and cuts off our Provifions. The Word is called Milk, fincere Milk of the Word 'tis that by which we are born, nourished, and increase; 'tis our Cordial and Comfort; Chrift indeed is the Bread of Life, and the fountain of all our Confolations, but the Word and Prayer are the Conduit Pipes that convey all to us; if these be cut, we fade as a Leaf,we languifh, we confume and waste, we become as a Skin, Bottle in the Smoak, our moisture as the drought in Summer, our Soul fainteth, our Heart faileth and we become as thofe that go down to the Pit; fo that if the Devil gain his defign in this,he hath all give him this, and give him the Kingdom alfo; this is the most compendious way of doing his work, and that which faves him a labour in his Temptations. The ftrongeft Holds (that cannot otherwise be taken) are easily fubdued by Famine; and, like Figtrees with their ripe Figs when they are fhaken, even fall into the Nabum 3. 12. mouth of the eater: if our Spiritual Food fail us,of our own accord we yield up our felves to any luft that requires our complyance.

Thirdly, Ecfides thefe, there is no defign whereby Satan can fhew more malice and fpite against God. He doth all he can to maintain a competition with the Almighty: his Titles, of the God of the World, the Prince of the power of the Air, fhew what in the pride of his heart he afpires to,as well as what by commiffion God is pleased to grant him. Thefe duties of Worthip and Service are the homage of God's Children, by which they teftify the acknow ledgments of his Deity; by wrefting thefe, out of our hands, Satan Jobs God of that honour, and makes the allegiance of his Servants. to ccafe; if he could do more againft God, doubtlefs he would: but feeing he hath not an Arm like God, and fo cannot pull him out of Heaven, by this means he fets up himself as, the God of the World, and enlargeth his Territories, and ftaves off the Subjects

of

of the God of Heaven from giving him the honour due to his Name and that the Devil in thefe endeavours is carried on by a fpite againft God, as well as by an carneft defire of the ruine of Souls, may be abundantly evidenced, by his way of management of that oppofition that he gives to the duties of Service and Worship. Ifhall only to make this out, inftance in three things: (1.) That where the Devil prevails to fet up himself as an Object of Worship, there he doth it in a bold infolent prefumptuous imitation of God's Appointments in the ways of his Service; he enjoyns Covenants, Seals, Sacrifices, Prayers and Services to his miferable Slaves, as may appear by undoubted Hiftories, of which more in due place. (2.) He never acknowledgeth the truth of God's ways, but with an evil mind, and upon defign to bring them under contempt; his Confeffions have fo much of deceit in them that Chrift would not accept them;, and therefore we read that when the Devil was fometime forward to give his teftimony to Chrift, (as Mark 1.25. I know thee who thou art, the baly one of God,) Jefus rebuked him, and commanded him to hold bis peace he clearly faw that he confeffed him, not to honour him, but by fuch a particular acknowledgment to stir up the rage and fury of the People against him. To this end Satan, in As 16. 17. many days together publickly owns Paul and Silas, Thefe Men are the fervants of the most high God, which few unto us the way of Salvation though he fpake truth, yet had he a malicious aim in it, which he accordingly brought about by this means, and that was to raife up perfecution against them, and to give ground to that accufation which they afterward met withall, verf. 21. That they taught customs which were not lawful to be received. But (3.). His particular fpite againft God in feeking to undermine his Service is further manifested in this, That the Devil is not content to root out the fervice due to God, but when he hath done that, he delights to abufe thofe places where the Name of God was moft celebrated, with greatest prophanations. I fhall not in this infift upon the conjecture of Ti- Syag. Part 1. Tenus, that Sylva Dodonea, a place highly abufed by the Devil, and Difput. 2. refpected for an Oracle, was the feat, or a religious place of Doda nim, mentioned in Gen. 10.4. nor upon that fuppofal, mentioned alfo by the fame Author, that the Oracle of Jupiter Hammon was the place where Cham practifed that religious worthip which he learned in his Fathers houfe. We have at hand more certain evidences of the Devils fpite. Such was his abufe of the Taber

V

nacle

Theff. 20. 21,

22.

nacle by the prophane fons of Eli, who prophaned that place with their uncleannefs and filthy adulteries. Such was his carriage to the Ark while it was captivated by the Philiftims. Of like nature were his attempts against the Temple it felf. Solomon in his latter days was tempted to give an affront to it, he built an high King 11. 7. place for Chemofh, the Abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerufalem, in the very fight and face of the Temple; but after

ward he prevailed to defile the Temple it felf. Gilgal and Beth-aven are places of fuch high prophanation, that the Prophet Hof.9.15. Arrowsmith tells them all their wickedness was in Gilgal, none of their abomi Tract.Sacr.l.. nations were like to thofe; and in Hof. 4. 15. they are dehorted Go 3.5.9

from going to Gilgal or Bethaven, and yet both thefe places had been famous for Religion before. Gilgal was the place of the general Circumcifion of the Ifraelites that were born in the Wildernefs, there was their first folemn Paffover kept after their entring into the Land. Bethel was a place where God (as it were) kept Houfe, the boufe of God. Here Jacob had his vifion. But the more famous they had been for duties of Worship, the Devil fought to put higher abufes upon them, fo that Gilgal became an Hatred, and Berbel became a Beth-aven, an houfe of Vanity.

Fourthly, Satan is the more animated to undertake a defign against the ways of religious Service, because he feldom or never miffeth, at leaft fomething of fuccef. This attempt is like Saul and Jo aatban's Bow, that returned not empty. In other Temptations fometimes Satan comes off baffled altogether, but in this work Judg. 20. 16. (as was faid of fome Ifraelites) he can throw a stone at an hairs breadth, and not mifs: he is fure in one thing or other to have the better of us; his advantage in this cafe is from our unfutableness to our fervice. What we do in the duties of Worship requires a choice frame of Spirit; our hearts fhould be awed with the most ferious apprehenfions of divine Majefty, filled with Reverence, animated with Love and delight, quickned by Faith, clothed with Humility. and felf-abhorrency, and in all the procedure of duties there mult be a fteady and firm profecution under the ftricteft watchfulness. Of this nature is our work, which at the firft view would put a Man to a ftand, and out of amazement force him to fay, who is fufficient for thefe things? who can ftand before fuch an boly Lord God? But when we come to an impartial confideration of our manifold weakneffes and infufficiences in reference to thefe Services, what fhall we fay? we find such a narrowneßß of Spirit, fuch ignorances,

11 4812 10 71.