Sermons (pages 142–176) – Part 1 (pages 142–161)
great Temptation,
and aracious Deliverance. I73S.
SERMON
GENESIS xxxix. 12. na he left his Garment in her Hafij, and fle ,
an/ got him out.
H 3ve of account here andBehaviourCon-of @ VV Houfc of Potiphar, f-' was 7 sip Occanon, of dvanccincnt 1? Affliaion andalfoaficrwardsof an
ihdC rcniarkablc
that
great
hisl igh
and g eat Prosperity in the Land of K-
The Behaviour thai I fpejk of, is that which Was an Occasion of the Tt mptation that his Miltfcfs la d before him to commit Unci annefs with her.
We rei'd in the
cginningof the Chapter, how Jo" feph after he had been (b cruelly treated by his Brethren, and fold into Egypt for a Slave, was advanced '
the louse of Potiphar, who had bought him. yofeph was one th-r feared GOD, and therefore a d wonderfully ordered Things so: v/a: wiih him
Ser. II.
and gracious Deliverable.
and so influenced the Heart of Potiphar his that instead of keeping him as a meer Slave, to which Purpose he was fold, he made him his Steward and Overfcer over his House, and all that he had in fomuch, that we arc told, was put into his Hands all he he had in his Hand that that and 6 left f. thdt he knew not ought that he had fave the Bread which he did eat * While Joseph was in these prosperous Circumstances, he met with a great Temptation in his MaHer's House : so we are told, that he goodly Per/on, and well favoured, his Mistress ht\v g cad her Eyes upon and lusted after him, and used all hCr Art to tempt him to commiCU ncleannefs with her. him,
Madcr,
Concerning this Temptation, and his Behaviour un, many Things are worthy to be noted. We may oblerve, how great the Temptation was, that he was under. It is to be confidcred, Joseph was now in his Touth ; a Season of Life, when Persons arc most liable to be ovcrcome by Temptations of this Nature. And he was in a State of unex'peflcd Profwhich has a tendency to perity in Pottphar s House lift Persons up, efpeciafly young Ones, whereby commonly they more easily fall before Temptations. And then, the Superiority o the Person that laid der
the Temptation
before
him,
rendcr'd
much the
She w:iSi his Jvfflrefs, and he ervant under her. And theMa/2Wfrof her tempting him. She did nolfonly carry her self io to J o/eph, as gave him Cause to fufpe l that he might be admitted to such criminal Converse with her, that yet might be accompanied w'th some Apprchenfion, that polTiblyhe might be miitaken, and so deter him from adventuring on such a Proposal ; but Ihe dire lly propos'd it to him plain'ly manifeifirtg her Disposition to it. So that here was DO such VThing as a Suspicion of her unwillingness to -otter him, but a Manifcftation of her desire to entice hiin to //, Yea, Ihe appeared greatly engaged in the greater. .
Matter.
'JOSE'PH's great Temptation,
Ser.II.
And there was not only her Desire manifened
Matter.
toeniicc him, but hcr uthority over him to enforce the
Temptation. She was his Miflrefs, and he might well imagine, that if he utterly rcfus'd a Compliance, he fliould
and she,
incur her Difplcafure :
being his
J daflar's Wife, had Power to do much to his di fadvantage, and to render his Circumflances more un» comfortable in the Family.
And the Temptation was the greater, in that she did not only tempt him once, but frequently,
him.
T ay by
And at lad became more violent with
— She caught him by
Garment,
saying,
ivith me : as in the Ver. of the Text.
His Behaviour was very remarkable under thefc Temptations. He abfolutcly refused any Compliance with them : he made no Reply that manifeftcd as tho* the Temptation had gained at all upon him; so much as to hcfitate about it,
or at all to deliberate
upon it.
He complied in no Degree, either tothcgrofs A , she proposed, or any thing tending towards it,or that should
Degree be gratifying to her wicked Inclinaand unjlmken under her continual SoUicitations, f. lo. And it came to sass as She (pake to Joseph 'Day by 'Day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to he with her. He tohis utmost avoided so much as being where she wa . And the Motives and Principles, from which heaftcd, manifeftcd by his Reply to her Sollicitauons, in a lefter tion,
And he perfifled resolute
are remarkable.
PIe first fcts before her, how injuriously he fliould his Master, if he should comply with her
aft against
Proposal : Behold my Majler hath commuted all that he hath to my Hand ; there is none greater in this Houfc than I ; neither hath he kept back any thin from me, but thcc, because thou a t his If ife. But he then jxoceeded to inform her of that, which bovc ail things, dcter'd him from a Compliance, viz,
SeR. II.
an J gracious D Uvsrance.
would bs great Wickedness. r\\ ' 1 GOD.— H;w/ fbill I do this, and sin a atn/t He would x\)t do any such ihiiig. as he would
that
hot injure his Maflcr ; but that whic 1 infljenced mxC than all 0X1 this OccaHon. was the fear of liaaui a ainll
GOD.
On this Accouni: he peril led in his Refjlu-
tion to the last. lyj the Text we have an Account of his B-haviour under the lad and greueilTempcacioa that he had from This Temptation was greac, as we arc told her. was at a Time when there was no. 3.idy in the House, but he and his Mistress x . 1 1. there was an Opportuit:
nity to
commit the Fa6l with the
grcateft secrecy.
And at this Time it seems that ilie was more violent She caught him by the Garment &c. She laid hold on him, as tho' fli- ' vere rjfolute to at-
than ever before.
tain her Purpose of him.
Umde these Circumflanceshe not only refused her, but fled from her, as he would have don from one that was going to aftidinate, or murder him he elcap'd, as for hislife. He not only would not be guilty of such a Fast, but neither would he by any Means be in the House with her, where he fliould be in the vVay of ;
her Temptation. doubtless recorded This Behaviour of Joseph Therefore from the Words for the Inftruaion of all. 1 fliall obfgrve this
DOCTRINE. IT is our T>uty, not only to avoid tbofe Th'm that are the?nfelvei sinful ; but also, as far as jnay b , thofs Things that lead and exp:)/e to Sin,
Thus did J f ph
He not only refused a6luil!3r
to com nit (Jncleannffi with his Miflrefs, who enticed him but refused to be there, where he should be in ;
th;i
Way of Temptation /. io« He refused to lie by
SET IT s great Temptation, Ser.
her,
or be with her.
And in the Text we arc told,
and got him out ; would by no Means be in her Company. Tho* it was no Sin, in it self, for 7o/fph to be in the Houfc where his Mistress was lie Jled,
but under these Circumstances it would cxpofe him to Sin. Joftfh was sensible he had naturally a corrupt Heart, that tended to betray him to Sin and therefore he would hy no Means be in the fl of Temptation ; but with hade he fled, he run from the dangerous Place. In as much as he was exposed to Sm in that House where he was, he fled out pf it with as much hatte asif the House had been all of a light Fire ; or full of Enemies, who flood ready with drawn Swords, tojlab him to the very Heart. When fhc took him by the he had G> rment, he left his Garment in her Hands rather /<?/ hisGarmenr, than (lay aMomcnt ihtxCyZuhere he was in such Danger oi losing\\\% Chastity. I say in the Doclriney that Persons should avoid things that cxpofe to Sin as far as may be, bccaufe the Cafe may be so, that Persons may be called to ex * pose thcmfclves toTemptation and when ir is so,they may hope for divine Strength and Protc£lion under Tempt:tion. The Cafe may be so. that it may be a Man's indispensable Dury to undertake an Ofiice, or Piece of Work, that is attended with a great deal of TemptaThus, altho' ordinarily a Man ought not to run tion. into that Temptation, of being exposed to Persecution for the true Religion; left the Temptation should be ;
too hard for him
but should avoid it, as much as may
(Therefore Christ thus dire s his Disciples, Mat. X. 23. When ye be persecuted in one City, flee to another.) Yet, the Cafe may be so, that a Man but to may be called n .t to flee from Persecution to run the venriire of such atrial, trufling in nphoM him under if. MiniHcrs and lagill ates may be obliged to continue with their People in iuch " he
cumjla.'
— and gracious Deliverance,
SeR. II. eumftances
as Nehemlah says, Neh. vi.
29 Should
such a Man as Iflee ? So the Apostles, Yea they may be called to go into the midst of it ; to thofe Places, where they can't reasonably expe£l but So sometimes the to meet with such Temptations. Apostles did. i aul went up to Jerusalem, when he knew before hand, that there, Bonds and Affii6lions
awaited htm, A£ls xx. 23. So in some other Cases, the Necefljty of Affairs may call upon Men to engage in some Business that is peculiarly attended with Temptations. But when it is so.
Men are indeed in this Way, lead exposed to Sm
for they are always safest in the Way of Duty.
Ptov'.
9. He that walketh uprightly, walketh surely. And tho' tliere be many Things by which they may X.
have extraordinaryTcmptationsjn thcaffairs they have undertaken, yet if ihey have a clear Call to ir, it i?
no Presumption to hope
for divine Support and Pre-
fervation in it.
But for Pcrfons needlefly to expofi'themfelvesto Temptation, and to do thofe Things that tend to Sin, is unwarrantable ; and contrary to that excellent Example, we have set before us in the Text. And that
we ought to avoid not only thofe Things that are in ihcmfelves (inful, but also thofe Things that lead and
expofc to Sin, is manifest by the following Arguments. I.
IT is a Thing very evident and manifefl, that
we ought to use our utmofi Endeavours to avoid Sm : which is inconfijlent with needlefly doing thofethings that expose and lead to Sin. That we ought to do our utmost to avoid Sin greatefl: Evil
manifefl,
that
being the
And the greater any Evil is, the greater
Care, and the more earnest Endeavours does it require to avoid it.
This is plain, and what we by our pra61ice
fliew that we are all sensible of
the truth of.
Thofe
Things that appear to us very great and dreadful Evils, do we use proportionably great Car« to avoid.'
And/
JO SET H's great Temptdtiofi, Srr.II.
And rhcrcf(Te
the greared Evil of
grcatefl and utmoli
all,
requires the
Care co avoid it.
Sin is an infinite Kvil. because committed against an and excellent Bejmg, and so a VioObligation infinite Therefore however of lation Care to avoid be Stn, our it cannot be more than great the we to Evil would proportionable avoid. Our care and ci-.dcavour cannot be infinite, as the Evil of Sin is infinite ; but yet it ought to be to the utmofl of our Power wc ought to ufc every Method that tends to This is manifest to Reason. the avoiding of Sin. And not only so, but this is positively required of US in the W.rd of GOD. Jofli. xxii. 5-. Take diligent heed to do the Cavimandment and the Law, -which 'lofts the Servant of the LORT> charged you, to love the Lord your GOT>, and to walk in all his U'ays, infinitely great
and to keep his Commandments, and to cleave unto Deut. iv. Lim, and to serve him with all your Soul, 15, 16. Take ye therefore god heed unto ur selves, Chap. xii. 30. Take heed Left ye corrupt your selves. to thyjelf. that thou be not snared» i)'c, Luk.xi. 36. Take Ued and beware of Covet oufnefs, i Cor.x.12. Let him that thinketh he flandeth, take heed left he Deut. iv. 9. Take heed to thy self keep thy fall,
Sgu( diligently.
These and many
Scripture, plainly require of us,
other
Texts of
the utmofl
poflible
Diligence and Caution to avoid Sin.
But how can he be said to use the utmofl pofublo diligence and caution to avoid
Stn,
that voluntarily
does ihofe Things, that naturally cxpofe and lead to
Sin f How can he be said with the uimod poffiblc Caution to avoid :ihEnemy,i\Ydt voluntarily lays himself in his way P How can he be said to use the utmoli polTible Caution to prefcrvc the Life of his Child, that fuffcrs it to go on the Edge of Precipices or Pits
to play on the Borders of a deep Culph ;
or to wan *
dcr in a \\ ood, that is haunted by Bcalls of Prey ? 11.
Ser. II:
IT IS evident that we ought to avoid thofe
Things that expose and lead to Stn ; becauje a due Sense of the Evil of Sin and ajufl hatred of it, will tiecejfarily have this Eff 6l upon us, to cause us so ta do.
If we were duly sensible of the Evil and dreadful Nature of Sin we fliould have an exceeding dread of it upon our Spirits. We should hate it worse than
eathi nc! should fear it worse than the Devil himand dread it even as we dread T>amnation, But
self :
thofe Things that Men have an exceeding dread of upon their Spirits, they naturally and ncceftarily keep and avoid thofe Things that at a great distance from they apprehend expose to them. As a Child that has been greatly terrifyed by the sight of any wild Beafl wi'i by no Means be perfwaded to go any where, where it apprehends that it shall be exposed to it, or fall in it' Way. Sin in it's own Nature is infinitely hateful, so in ;
it's natural tendency, it is infinitely dreadful.
It is the
tendency of all Sin, eternally to undo the Soul. Every Sin naturally carries Hell in iE»!. Therefore, all Sin ought to be treated by us, as we would treat a Thing that is infinitely terrible. If it be not so that any one Sin, yea the lea/l Sin, don't ncceffarily bring eternal Ruin wiih it it is owing to nothing but the freegrace and Mercy of to us, and not to the Nature and Tendency of Sin it self. But certainly, we ought ;
not to take the less care to avoid Sin,or all that tends to freeness and greatness of God's Mercy to us, through which.thereishope of Pardon for that would be a most ungrateful and vile abuse of LMercy indeed. it, for the
If it were so,
that
were made known to us, that if
we ever voluntarily committed any particular A.<fl ofsin we should be damned without any Remedy or Efcapc, should we not exceedingly dread the commidlon of such Sins ? Should we not be very watchful and careful
JO SE 9 H*s great Temptatiott,
careful to Aand at the grcatefl Diftancc from that Sin :
and from every thing that might expofc us to il and has any tendency to stir up our Lufls, or to betray us to such an A of Sin Let us then confi* that if it be nor so, that the next voluntary Aft d''»or known Sin» fiiail not neccfrarily and unavoidably iCnc in certain 'Damnation yet it will certainly de;
that
We shall thereby really dcferve to be cast
without any R; medy or Hope
and it can or.Iy be Grace, that it will not certainly and rerrcdiirfly be followed with such a Punishment. And {\.?M we be guilty of such a vile Abuse of GOD's off.
C'.vfog to free
as to take Encouragement
from
more boldly to expose our selves to Sin ? III. IT ts e*(iident that -we ought not onfy to avoid Sin I'M Things that eicpcfe and lead to Sin ; because this is the IVay we
a in
Things that pertain
cur tejnporal Intere/},
Men d o not only avoid thofcthings that are themselves the hurt and ruin of their temporal Intcrcft, but also the Things that tend or expose to it. Because they love their temporal Lives, they will not only a lu-
ally avoid killing ihemfclves, but they arc very care-
avoid
into Danger
t'lose
tho'
Things they do
that
bring
their
Lives but
not certainly know
They are careful not to pass Rithey may cfcapc. vers and deep Waters on rotten Ice, tho' they do not certainly know that they { r.v W fall thro' and drown : So they will not only avoid thofe Things that would be in thcmfclves the ruin of their Elktes ; such as the setting their own Houses on Fire, and burning them up with their Substance their taking their Ioney, and throwing it into the Sea, L'c. but they carefully avoid tliofc I'hings by which their Estates are cxpofod. They are watchful, and have their Eyes about theto; arc careful v.ho ihcy Jcai with ; they arc watchfuu ; and grudous Deliverance.
be not over reached in their Bargains that do not lay themselves open to Knaves and frau-
that they the)'
dulent Persons.
If a Man be (ick of a darperous DiQemper, he 12 -
careful to avoid every thing li. at tends to increase the
Disorder ;
not only what he knows
his Situation,
to be mortal in but other Things that he fears the Con-
Men sequence of,, or that may be prejudicial to him. are in this Way wont to take care of their temporal Interest, as what they have a great Regard for. And therefore if we are not as careful to avoid Sin, as ws are to avoid
Injury in our temporal Interest",
will
shew a regardless Disposition with Refpc l to Sin and Duty or that we do not much care tho' we do fia Gods Glory is surely a Thing of as: against GOD. much Importance and Concern as our temporal Interest. Certainly we should be as careful not to bccxpofed to sin against the MAJESTY of Heaven and Earth, as Men are wont to be of a few Pounds yea, the lattec are but meer Trifles, compared with the former, ;
IV. ff E are wont to do thus by our dear earthly Friends.
We not only are careful of thofc Things whereia the Dedruif ion of their Lives, or their Hurt and Ca-
lamity in any Refpe l do direftly consist ; but are careful to avoid thofc Things that do but remotely tend to it. We are careful to prevent and cut off all Occasions of their Loss or Damage, in any Refpcfl ; and are watchful against that, which tends in any wife, 19 de-
them of their Comfort or good Name and the Reafbn is, bccaufe they are very dear to us. In this Manner, Men are wont to be careful of the good of their own Children, and dread the Approaches of any priv'e
Mi (chief that they apprehend they are, or may be exAnd we should take it hard if our Friends
pjfed to.
did not do thus by us.
JO SET H' J great Tcmffdtton. SeR. II. AVtd furcly wc ought to treat GOD as a dear
Friend
Wc ought to aft towards Him, as thofethat
havc a sincere Love and unfeigned Regard to Him ; and so ought to watch and be careful againfl all Occasions
of ihar which is contrary to bis Honor & Glory. If we have not a Temper and Desire so to do, it will shew that whatever our Pretences arc, we arc not God's and have no true love to Him. that have proftfs'd Friendship to us, if they treated us in this man-
(incere Friends,
If we should be offended at any
ner, and were no more careful of our Intercft \ surely
GOD may justly be offended, that we are no more direful of his Glory.
would have COT> in his Providence to* V. wards us, not order tho/e T'hings that tend to our Burt, or exj)o/e our Interest :
therefore certathly rve
ought to avoid tho/e Things that lead to Jin againjl
We desire and Icfvc to have God's Providence fuciv toward us, as that our Welfare may be well secured. No Man loves to live in exposed, uncertain and danWhile he is so, he lives tmgerous CircumOances. We comfortabiy, in that he lives in continual fear. would so order Things concerning <3efirc that and that us, that we may be fafc from fear of Evil no Evil may come nigh our Dwelling ; and that be So wc do not love the cause we dread Calamity. Approaches of it and love to have Appearance and us. from We Distance desire to have great it sii round aboat / u// Fire as a us to be to of us, as that he would surround and to us us defend every to from the Vallies, guard us Mountains do the
Danger, or Enemy
that (b no Evil
may come nigh
Now this plainly fhewr, that wc ought in ouf Bcha* GOD, to keep ai a great Dillancc front
viour towards an J gracious Deiiverance.
Sin, and from ail that exposes to k ; as we dcf re in his Providence to us, (hould keep Calamiiy and Misery at a great Distance from us, and not order
ihofe Things that expose our Welfare
VI. S ein we a e to pray -we may not be led into 'T'imptation j certainly we ought not to run ourfelvcs into it.
Th s
in that
one Request that Christ direfts us to make Form of Prayer, which he taughc
Lead us not into T emptation. And how incondftent (hall we be with our fclves if we pray his X)\k!\\i\t
GOD, not to order
so in his Providence, that we
fliould be led into Temptations ;
and yet at the same
buc Time, we are not careful to avoid Temptation bring orr (elves into ic, by doing thofe Things thaC. lead and expose to Sin. What Self-Contradiftion i» ;
there in it, for a Man to pray to ihac he inav be kept from that, which he takes no care to avoid r By praying that we may be kept from Temptation, we profess to GOD, that being in Temptation, is a Thing that is to be avoided ; but by running into it, iho that we chufe the contrary, viz. mt to avoid it«
VII. The poftle direds us to avoid thofe Things that are in themfehei lawful but tend to lead others into Sin ; fureiy then zt/e Jhould avoid what tends to lead our fclves into Sin, The Apoflle dire£ s to this, i Cor. viii. 9. Ta.h besd lejl- th'is Liberty of your'* s become a /lumblingkhck to them that are weak. Rom. xiv. i 3. 7 hat ita Man put a flumbling Block, or an Occafton to fill i J)is Brother's ] ay, Ver. 15. But if thy Brother e grieved with thy Meat, n w walkefl thou not cba titably, T e/Iroy not him with thy Meat. Vcr.2 0p
For Meat destroy not the Work of COT>.
Tfkings indeed are pure ; but it is exil for tlatMjn
zi 'ho yOSET H's great Temptatioi:, S E R
It is good rifitker to eat Flesh,nor to drink iVme, nor any Things whereby thy
who eateth with Cfffnce.
Brother J}umbleth» or is cffendedy or is made weak. if this Rule of ihc A port le be agreeable to the Word of Christ, as wc mnft fuppo'b, or expunge what he says out of the Canon of the Scripture then a like
Rule obliges more (Irongly in thofe Things that tend to Icail our felvcs into Sin.
THERE
are many Precepts of Scripture, VIIL that do dire !y and positively imply, that we ought to avoid thofe Things th:>t tend to Sin.
This very Thing is commanded by Christ, Mar. xxvi. 41.
where he directs us to watch
into Temptation.
left
we enter
But certainly running our
selves
intoTemptaiion, is the reverse of watching against it. Again, We are commanded to abstain from all i.e. do by Sin, as a Man does by Appearance of Evil a Thing he hates the Sight or Apppearance of; and therefore will avoid any Thing that favors of it, or ;
looks like it
and will not come near it, or in Sight of
Christ commnnded to feperate from us, Things that are tumbling Blocks, or Occaflons of Sin, however dear they are to us. Matth. v. 29. Aga'n,
ijiofe
If thy right Eye off'end thee, pluck it out and cafl it from thee, Ver. 30. nd if thy ri ht Hand offend thee, cut 't off is
By the right Hand offending us,
not meant it's paining us
cr'inal, signifies,
but the Word in ihtors-
being a Humbling Block
Hand prove a Humbling Block,
thy r ght
or orcaflon lofwif;
Thofe Things are called c. an Occafon to Sin. OUenccs or Humbling Blocks in the NeivTe (lament i,
that are the Occjiions of falling into Sin.
We ought to
avoid running up.igainft HumblingBIocks ; i.e.vvefhould
avoid ihofe ThJrgs that expose us to fall into Sin.
Ser. II.
anJ graehus Deliverance*
Yea Christ ever
tells us,
wemuft avoid them, how-
dear they are to us,
rho' as dear as our right If there be any Praflice that wc
Hand or right Eye.
have been accustomed to, that naturally tends and exposes us to Sin, v/c must have done with it ; tho'
and are never 'so loth to purt Jove it never so well tho* it be as contrary to our Notion, as to with it ;
cut off our right Hand, or pluck out our own right Eye; and that upon pain oi 'Damnation for it is in,
timated that if we do not, we must go with two Hands ; 9 nd
two Eyes into Hell-Fire,
And again
God took great Care to forbid the
Children of Israel thofc Things that tended to lead ihem into Sin. For this Reason, he forbid them marry'ing strange Ts ivcs, (Deut. vii. 3, 4.) neither fijalt thu make Marriages with them,— for they will turn
away thy Son from following tne, that they may serve other Gods.
For this Reason they were commanded
to destroy all thofe Things, that theNations of Canaan
had used in their Idolatry ; and if any were enticed over to Idolatry they were to be destroyed without Mercy ; tho' ever so near and dear Friends. They >vere not only to be parted w\ih,h\itJloned withStones ; yea they themfcives were to fall upon them, and put them to Death, tho* Son or Daughter, or ihe'it Bo/bm Friend (Deut.xii'i 6 &c.) If thy Brother or thy Sony .ar thy Daughter, or the Wife of thy Bosom, or thy Friend, which is as thine on;n Soul, entice thee fe cretly, saying, let us go afid serve other Gods thou t
shalt not consent unto himneither jJjqU thine Eye pity him, neither f}:alt thou spare, neither shalt th.u conceal him.
But thou shalt fur ely kill htm ;
thine
Hand Jhall he firfl ufon him to put him to Death. Again, The wile Man warns us to avoid thofe Things that tend and expose us 10 Sin ; especially the Sin of Unclean ncfj. Prov. vi. 27. Can a Man take Fire in his Bosom, and his Clothes not b'- bufnf i Can *ne C 3
JO SET H's great Temptat'toy.,
ene 9 upon hot Coals, and his Feet 7iot be burnt ?-— (t who/oever touches her, /hall not be innocent.
This is the Truth held forth and
Prafliccs,
that
naturally
avoid
ihofe
tend to
fiir
Customs
Lust.
And there arc many Examples in Scripturc,which have the force of Precept and recorded, as not only wor* thy. but demand our Imitation. The Conduft of jfo';
Jeph in the Text is one
and that recorded of
King
J)av ID. is another. Pfal. xxxix. 1,2. I Jaid I will fake heed to my Ways, that I sin net zvith myTongue : J -will keep my Mouth with a Bridle, while the Wtcked is before me. I was dumb with Silerce, I held my
— even from good —
J eoce, even from good
that is, he and kept at such a great Diflance from fpeakingwhat might in any Way fend to Sin that he avoided, in certain Circumflances, fpcaklng what was in it self lawful ; left he should be
was so watchful over
his Words,
ietrayed into that which was sinful.
IX. sA prudent Sense of our own weakness, and e * fofedne/s to yield to Temptation,
obliges us t9 avoid that which leads or exposes to Sin, W HOEVER knows himself and is sensible how weak lie is and his constant expofcdnefs to run into Sin how full of Corruption his Heart is, which like Fuel, 5s cxpofcd to catch Fire, and bring Dcflr nation upon him how much he has in him to incline him to Sin ; nd how unable he is to (land of himself who is fcniible of this, and has any Regard of his Duty, but will be very watchful against every thing hat may lead and cxpofc to Sin ? On this Account Christ dirc cd us, ;
lefl we enter into The Rcnfon (here is added, The Flesh
( 4at. xxvi. i.) to watch andpr'y
temptation.
is weak that in Confidence of his own Strength, boldly runs the venture o{ sinning by going iniotf mp-
Jaiion, manifcfis rcat Presumption,
and afottifhjniehfibiliry
— sensibility
and gracious Deliverance
of his own Weakness.
He that tru/letb in
his own
'Heart is a Fool, Prov. xxviii. 26. Thewifcfland strongest, and feme of the most holy Men in the World, have been overthrown by So was David : So was Soiomon.' such Means. His Wives turned away his Heart. ]f such Persons,
so eminent for Holiness,
were this Way led into Sin,
(hould be a warning to us. Let him that he thinketh flandeth, take heed left heJalL surely i;
SERMON, GENESIS xxxx.
left his fled
III.
Garment in her Hand and
and got him out,
DOCTRINE; IT
is our Duty, not only to avoid tho/e T'hings hat are them/elves sinful ; but also, as far in us lies, fhofe Things that lead and exfofe to Sin,
The Do£lrine has been explained and proved in the foregoing Discourse.
1 now proceed to the
APPLICATION. In one Ufa of
EXHORTATION.
35§(sq O Exhort all to a Compliance with their
&Ti% Duty in this Refpe l, not only il%i
avoid
" Things that lead and expose
If it be made out clearly and evidently from Rca* fen and the Word of
GOD, to be our Duty so to do, this C 4
JOSET H's gnat'Tetnptatwn, Shr. HI.
"Will a this would be enough with all Christians. Follower of Christ Oand obje£ling and difpnting againlt.a Thing, that is irrefragably proved and demon-
ftratcd to be his Duty
But here some may be ready to inquire: How shall we know whatThingsdo lead and expole to Sin ? Let a Man do what he will, he cannot avoid sinning,
ss long as he has such a corrupt Heart
within him.
And liicre is nothing a Man can do, or turn his Hand to,
Ar»d bui that he may find some Tcmpration in if. it is said in the Hrft Dcflrine, thai
tho' it be true, as
a Man ought, as far as may be, to avoid ihofe Things And it is evident by the shat lead and cxpofe to Sin.
Arguments ihat have been brought, that thofe Things rhat have fpccial tendency to cxpofe
what wc ought to (hun,
Men to Sin, arc
much as in
lies
hozv fliall we judge and determine, what Tliirgs they
have a natural tendency to Siu j or do efpe-
that
cially lead to it ?
I would answer in feme Particulars, which are plala and cafy and which cannot be deny'd without the ;
greatcft Absurdity.
Anfw.
That which is bordering en thofe Sins,
ihatthelufls of Mens He art i flrongly incline them to, u cf this Sort. Men come into thcWorld with many ilrong and violent ufls in their Hearts, and are exceeding prone of themfelvcs to trans rejs even in The fafcfl Circumdnnccs they can be placed in. And /urcly so much the nearer they arc to ihat Stn, which I
ii)ry arc naturally rtrorfgly inclined to;
much the
v.orc are they c::pnfcd.
Jf any of i.;s that are Paich i s, should see our Children near the Brink of some or cl sc by the edge of the Precipice of an loep i ic and nor only so, bi:t the Ground inv -gh Mv>,unfain which i/jc Child Hood, slippery, and deeply delrrno*
r.ir.uld
wc noi rrr-
StiK. III.
kon a Child exposed in such a Cafe ? Should we not be in haste to remove the Child from it's very dangerous Situation ?
It was the manner among the Ifraelius,
to build
Houses with flat Roofs, so that Persons mighc walk oh the Tops of their Houses, And therefore their
God rook care to make it a Law among them, that every Man (bould have Bartlernents upon the Edges of left any Person should fall off and be their Roofs ;
Deut. xxii. 8. l hen thou butldefl a new Houfi, then thou /halt make a Battlement for thy Roof, that thou bring not Blood upon thine House, if any Man fall from thence. And certainly we ought to take the like care that we don't fall into Sin ; which carries in it eternal Death. We ihould as it were, fix a Battlement, a Guard to keep us from the Edge of the Precipice. Much more ought we to take care, that we don't go upon a Roof that is not only without Battlements, but when it is fieep, and we killed.
Ihall naturally incline to fall.
Men's Lufls
are like strong Enemies, endeavour-
If a Man stood upon a dangerous Precipice, and had Enemies about him, pulling and drawing him, endeavouring to throw him ing to draw them into Sin.
down
would one, in such a Cafe, chufe, or dare to ? Would he look upon himself
iland near the Edge safe close on the
Brmk ?
for his own safety, 2.
Would he not endeavour
to keep at a Distance
THOSE Things that tend to/eedLuJIs inihs
Imagination, are of this Kind. They lead and expose Men to S!h. Thofe Things that have a natural tendency to excite inthe Mind.thc
Idea or Imagination of that which is the Obje6l of the to feed and promote that Lust.
Lufl, certainly tend
What can be more plain and evident, than that a pre« Tenting the Obje . lends to stir up theAppetite ?
Rea-
Ton and "Experience teach this.
Therelore
JO SETH's great Temptothn, Ser. III.
Th EREFHR z.all Things, whether they be Words or A£iions, have a tendency and expose to Sin, that tend to raise and uphold in the Mind's Imaginations o|
Ideas thofe Things which the Liifl tenc's to.
certainly wrong and unlawful to feed a Lufl even in
thelmaginaiion. It is quite contrary to the holyRulca of God sWord. (Prov.xxiv.p ) TheT'bought of foolijh' nefi is Sin. (Mat. v. 28. Ivhofoever looketh on a ff cmm to lufl after her, hath commi tied Adutery A Man by gratifying his Luflsin his Imagination and Thoughts, may make his Soul in the Sight of GOD, to be a Hold 0) soul Spirits ; and like a Cai e of every unclean and hurtful Bird, And sinful Imaginations tend to (inful Aifbions and outward Behaviour in the Lurt is always firfl contrived in the In agina End. lion, and then brought forth in the outward Pra ice. You may see the Progress of it in, Jam. i. 15. Then when Lufl hath conceived, it bringeth forth Sin. Therefore for a Man to do thofe Things that tend to excite the Objects of his Lusts in his Imagination, he does that which has as natural a tendency to Sin, as a Conception has to a Birth. And such Things are therefore abominable in the Sight of a pure and holy GOD. We are commanded to keep at thegrcatcft Distance from spiritual Pollution and to hate even the very Garment spotted with the Flcfh, Jude 23. things that the Experience and Ob5. fervation of Mankind /hew to be ordinarily attended or followed with Sir. arc of this Sort. Experience is a good Rule to determine by in things ;
THOSE
of this Nature.
iTow is it we know the natural ten-
dency of any thing, but only by Obfcrvation and Experience ?
Men obfcrve and find, time after time,
that such Things are commonly attended and fouowid
with such other things. And hence Mankind pronounce of them, that they have a natural tendency to
them.
We hivc no other Way to know the tendency of any tli'ng.
ttnd gractcus Deliverance.
Thus Men by Observation and Expc-
tience know that the warmth of the Sun, and showers t)f Rain, re attended with the growth of Plants of
the Earth : and hence they learn, that they have a Tendency to it. So they find by Experience, that the Vite of some Kinds of Serpents, is commonly followed Hence they with Ulnefs ; and often with Death. learn, that the bite of fnch Serpents has a natural tenilency to bring Difbrder upon the Body, and exposes to Death, And so, if Experience and common Observation fiiews, that any particular Pra£ ice or Custom is commonly attended with that which is very sinful, we may fafcly conclude that such a Practice tends to Sin ; that it leads and exposes tb it. Tht:s we may determine thatTavern haunting and Gtiming. arc things ihat tend to Sin ; bccaufe common "Experience and Observation (hew, that thofe Prad ices are attended with a great deal of Sin and Wickedness. The Observation of all Ages and all Nations, with one Voice declares it. It shews, where Taverns are much frequented, for drinking and the like, they are especially Places of Sin, of Prophanenefs and other Wickedness : and it (hews, that thofe Towns, where there is much of this, are Places where no Good generally pre-
And it also (hews, that thofe Persons that are given much to frequenting Taverns,are most common-
'vall
ly vicious Persons.
And so of Gaming; as playing at
Cards, Experience shews, that thofe Persons that practice this, do generally fall into much Sin.
Hence these
Practices arc become infamous among all sober vertu-
ous Persons. 4.
ANOTHER way by which? erfons may deter
tnim of some Things, that they lead and expose to Sin, is by their cwn Experience, or what they have
found in tbemfehes. If