Page:Comer's conflict, or, The beginner's battle with the devil, when essaying to come to Christ by faith.pdf/20

 20 The Comer's Conflict ; or ly, for ſuch or ſuch ſpiritual bleſſings, who do you thinks dictates to you? This is not your mother-tongue; doubt- leſs it is the Spirit of Chriſt that helps your infirmities. In a word Chriſt, by his active and pafſſive obedience, where- by he hath ſatisfied juſtice, magnified the law, appeared the wrath of God, and obtained eternal redemption for ſinners, hath a wonderful intereſt with God, more than all the angels of heaven, inſomuch that God delights to par- don the greateſt of ſinners for Christ's fake: therefore, in prayer, conceive of God as a great, an infinitely great God; and as a God in Chriſt. Look on God thro' Chriſt, keeping the humble ſenſe of your own distance and pro- vocation; look upon God as thro' Chriſt the moſt com- paſſionate fondeſt Father in the world; it he give thee not every thing thou thus aſkeſt, it proceeds not from his unwillingneſs to give, but thine unfitneſs to recive. 6thly, There are temptations with reference to ſelf-mur. der. Satan many times tempte people, particularly theſe that are coming to Chriſt, he throws them down and tears them, urging them to tear themſelves to pieces, to make away themſelves, and cut off the thread of their own life. This is a ſubject I seldom or never took occaſſion to ſpeak in this manner upon; but now, I think it the more neceſ- ſary that we are living in a time, wherein we are compaſ- ſed about with awful instances of profeſſors being left un- der the power, and ſwallowed up with the violence of this temptation ; yea, ſuch inſtances thereof, as have perhaps made the hearts of many here preſent to tremble. And ſince what hath been, may be, and not knowing but in ſuch a great company as is here, ſome one or other may be under ſuch temptations, I would offer theſe following advices ſhortly to fortify you againſt theſe aſſaults. 1. Confider, that ſelf-murder, is a fin againſt the very light of nature, and the very letter of the law of God, Lx.xxii. 13. Thou ſhall not kill. And you may be ſure, that no thought of this fort, that enters into your heart, can be from God; for it hath the very image of the devil upon it: He was a murderer from the beginning. 2. Yield not to the tempter; for tho' this is a temp- tation incident to God's people, - inſomuch that, perhaps, there are few of them that have not been thus tempted, as the Lord Jeſus himſelf was, to whom the devil ſaid, Cast