I begin with the first, in which we pray to be preferv'd from all Temptations, in thofe words, And lead us not into Temptation: where it will be requifite to explain,

First, What is here meant by Temptation.

Secondly, How God may be faid to lead us in or out of Temptation.

Thirdly, What we pray for, when we defire him not to lead us into Temptation. For the

First, Temptation in the general fenfe fignifies any kind of Trial or Probation of any Perfon. 'Tis fometimes taken in a good fenfe, for the trial of a Man's Virtue or Conftancy; and that is done either by fome difficult Act of Obedience, fo God tempted Abraham by bidding him to facrifice his Son, Gen. 22. 1. or by fome great Suffering and Affliction, fo he try'd the Patience of Job, call'd by St. Peter the fiery Trial: both which are in Scripture styl'd Temptations, becaufe by them the Temper, Difpofitions, and Intentions of Men are discover'd, and their Virtues exercis'd and improv'd.

Sometimes again, Temptation is taken in a bad fenfe, for the enticing or drawing Men into Sin. And this is done either by way of Terror and Affrightment; fo Troubles and Perfecutions are call'd Temptations, becaufe by them many are drawn and discourag'd from their Duty: or elfe by way of Allurement and Sollicitation to Evil; fo Satan is fyl'd the Tempter, and the Profits, Pleasures, and Honours of the World are call'd Temptations, becaufe by them many are enfnar'd and drawn afide to their own Deftruction. Now 'tis in this last and worse sense, that we are here and generally elfewhere to understand Temptation, viz. for an Allurement unto Sin, a Stumbling-block, a Snare, or an Occafion of falling into Evil: In which fenfe St. Paul tells us, that they who will be rich, fall into Temptation and a Snare, and into many finful and hurtful Lufts, which drown them in Deftruction and Perdition; 1 Tim. 6. 9. This for Temptation. But,

Secondly, How is God faid to lead us in or out of Temp

tation?

In answer to which, I fay,

1. If we take Temptations for Trials and Afflictions, fo God is faid to lead us into Temptation, when he lays any

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Part II. Trouble or Calamity upon us himself, or permits it to be done by others. Thus he is faid to tempt Job, by laying his own hand heavy upon him, and fuffering the Chaldeans and Sabeans to defpoil him of all his Goods. And thus he frequently tries the Patience of his own People in the Furnace of Affliction, by which he defigns to purge out their Dross, and refine them as Gold purify'd in the Fire. And as he is faid to lead us into Temptation, when he lays any Trouble or Calamity upon us, fo does he lead us out of it, when he takes off his Hand, and removes the Affliction from us; which is the fenfe of the Apostle in thofe words: There hath no Temptation taken you, but fuch as is common to Men; but God is faithful, who will not fuffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the Temptation make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it: 1 Cor. 10. 13. But,

2. If we take, Temptation (as it commonly is) for an Enticement or Sollicitation to Evil, fo God cannot be properly faid to lead any into Temptation; for that would make him the Author of Sin, and fhew him to be the Encourager of that, of which he hath declar'd himfelf the Avenger, which would be Blafphemy to affirm or imagine : And therefore St. James cautions us, Let no man fay, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with Evil, neither tempteth be any Man; James 1. 13.

But tho God cannot in any direct, proper, or perfuafive way tempt any to Sin, yet he may be faid fometimes indirectly and accidentally to lead us into Temptation. As,

(1.) When in the Courfe of his Providence he propounds thofe Objects, and affords thofe Opportunities, that excite our Corruptions, and prove to us an Occafion of falling. Thus Wealth, Honour, Beauty, Power, and the like, tho in themselves not only harmlefs, but useful things, do yet many times adminifter to Pride, Luxury, Luft, and Oppreffion, and become the accidental Caufes of much Evil. Achan was tempted by the glittering of the Wedge of Gold: David was enfnar'd by the Beauty of Bathsheba: And Solomon tells us of Riches given fometimes to the Owners thereof to their burt. Not that they are fo defign'd by God who gives them, but that Mens corrupt Natures too often take occafion to abufe and pervert the Bleffings of Heaven to their own Deftruction, and so turn the Inftruments of Good into the Occafions of Evil. And therefore we find Agar praying against Riches, left being full be Jhould be tempted

to

to deny God, and fay who is the Lord? and likewise against Poverty, left being empty, he fhould be tempted to steal, and take the Name of God in vain which is in effect not to be led into Temptation by either.

(2.) God is faid to lead into Temptation by permitting the Devil to tempt us: Thus he let loofe Satan upon Job, who tempted him to Impatience and Curfing of God; yea, we read, that Chrift himself was led by the Spirit of God to be tempted by the Devil, Mat. 4. 1. Our Saviour told St. Peter, that Satan had defir'd him, that he might fift him as Wheat, Luke 22. 31. but he had pray'd for him, that his Faith fhould not fail, nor himself be foil'd by him. Tho the evil Spirits are all under the Command of God, and can have no power over us but what is given from above, yet they sometimes obtain leave to tempt us, for the Exercife of our Graces, and the Trial of our Conftancy; yea, fometimes God Almighty not only permits, but gives them a Commiffion to this purpofe: Thus the evil Spirit was bid to go and perfuade Ahab to go up and fall at RamothGilead, 1 Kings 22. 20, 21, 22. And the Lord is faid to move David against Ifrael, to go and number the People, 2 Sam. 24. 1. tho this is elsewhere afcrib'd to the Solicitation of Satan, 1 Chron. 21. 1. And thus God may be faid to lead every one into Temptation, whom he fuffers to be tempted.

Laftly, God is faid to lead us into Temptation, by withholding his Grace from us, and leaving us under the power of Temptation: Thus he is faid to have left Hezekiah, to try what was in his Heart, 2 Chron. 32. 31. And the Pfalmift tells us of the Ifraelites, that when they refus'd to hearken to the Voice of the Lord, God gave them up to their own Hearts Lufts, and to walk in their own Counsel; which led them on headlong to their own Destruction : Pfal. 81. 12.

These are the chief, if not the only ways, whereby God is faid to lead us into Temptation: By which we learn,

Thirdly, What we pray for, when we fay, Lead us not into Temptation; by which we are not directed to pray fimply and abfolutely against all Trials by Affliction and Adverfity, which are fometimes of greater Ufe and Benefit to us than Plenty and Profperity: for tho no Affliction for the prefent be joyous but grievous, nevertheless they oft-times yield the peaceable Fruits of Righteousness to them that are exer

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cis'd therewith: and these light Afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory. For which reafon we are bid not fo much to pray againft, as to prepare for them, to arm ourselves againit they come, and to make a right use of them, when it fhall pleafe God to fend them: yea, St. James wills us, to count it all Foy, when we fall into divers Temptations, knowing that the Trial of our Faith worketh Patience, and that these things redound not only to our own Good, but to the Praise and Glory of God.

But that which we are here taught to pray against, is in general against all the Enticements and Allurements to Sin, which is the Bane of our Peace, and the Ruin both of Body and Soul. More particularly we pray,

1. To be preferv'd from all the Inveiglements of fenfible Objects, and from all the Occafions and Opportunities inviting to any Evil, as from the Influence of bad Counfel, evil Company, wicked Customs, and bad Examples; from all danger from the Frowns or Flatteries of the World, that we be neither difcourag'd by the one, nor betray'd by the other: But that God in his Providence would fo order things, that we may not be endanger'd by them; and chiefly that he would keep us from thofe Objects and Opportunities that are apt to excite or work upon our Corruptions, and prove to us an Occafion of falling.

2. We pray that God would not withdraw from us the Affiftance of his Grace, or leave us to follow our own Hearts Luft, which is one of the foreft Judgments that can betide us; for we are naturally feeble and impotent Creatures, unable of ourselves to guide our fteps aright, and likewife too prone and willing to be mifled: Our Hearts are deceitful above all things, and defperately wicked; our Lufts make a Party againit ourfelves, and are ever ready to betray us: fo that if God with-hold the Affiftance of his Grace, we are in a helpless and dangerous Condition, and to be left to ourselves must be a difmal Calamity and therefore we are taught to pray that God would not take away his Holy Spirit from us, nor leave us to the unfafe Conduct of our own Spirit, which will not only lead us into Temptation, but give all the Venom and Advantage to it; for then are we most dangerously tempted, when we are drazon away of our own Hearts Lufts and entic'd, James 1. 14.

:

Laftly, we pray that God would not permit Satan or any evil Spirit to tempt us; that he would not flacken the

Chain in which they are held, nor let them loose upon us ; but that he would fo bridle and reftrain their Fury, that either they may not be able to affault us, or that we may be kept from being foil'd or endanger'd by them. In a word we pray here that we may neither enter into Temptation ourselves, nor be led into it by any other. And this will lead me to confider the

2d Branch of this Petition, in thofe Words, But deliver us from Evil; which is not a diftinct Petition, but only an Illuftration and Enforcement of the former. In the Original it is aо To wongs, from the Evil one, which St. Chryfoftom interprets of the Devil, who is frequently styl'd the Tempter, that feduceth us into Evil; from whofe Wiles and Devices we pray to be deliver'd, that Satan may have no power over us, nor poffeffion of us, but that we may efcape the fiery Darts of that Wicked one, or be kept from being hurt or wounded by them.

Tertullian understands it more largely of all Evil of Sin, from whofe Power and Dominion we pray to be deliver'd, that no Sin or Wickedness whatsoever may fo reign in our mortal Bodies, as to make us obey it in the Lufts thereof.

But both these being included in the former Clause to avoid Repetition, which may not well be fuppos'd in this fhort form, 'twill be requifite to add a farther Senfe of thefe words; and that is to understand by Evil here in the Clofe, all the bad Effects of Sin, or the Evil of Punishment, from which we likewife pray to be deliver'd. For having before afk'd to be preferv'd from the Commiffion of Sin, and all the Temptations leading thereunto, we here farther pray to be preferv'd from the fad Effects and Confequents of it, and that we may be safe from all Evils, Temporal, Spiritual, and Eternal.

As for Temporal Evils, as Afflictions, Sickness, Loffes, and Difappointments in worldly Affairs, evil Reports, Reproaches, and the Contradiction of Sinners, with other fuch earthly Calamities; these we are to deprecate as our Saviour did the bitter Cup, with fubmiffion to the Divine Will, faying as he in the like cafe did, Father, if it be poffible, let these things pass from us. Nevertheless, because thefe may be fometimes neceffary, and tend to our greater good, we are to add with him, Not my Will, but thine be done.

As for fpiritual Evils, fuch as Blindness of Mind, Hardnefs of Heart, a wounded Confcience, the want of Love, Fear and Reverence towards God; of Good-will and Cha