General exhortation to the duty prescribed
CHAPTER 9
General exhortation to the duty prescribed Having thus passed through the considerations of the duty of watching so that we do not enter into temptation, I suppose I need not add motives for observing it. Those who are not moved by their own sad experiences, nor by the importance of the duty as laid down at the start of this discourse, I must leave to the further patience of God. I will only close the whole with a general exhortation to those who are in any measure prepared for it, by considering what has been said. If you were to go into a hospital, and see many people lying sick and weak, sore and wounded, with many filthy diseases and distempers, and were to inquire of them how they fell into this condition, and they all agreed in telling you that such or such a thing was the occasion of it — "I got my wound by that," says one, "And I got my disease by it," says another — would it not make you a little careful how or what you had to do with that thing or place? Surely it would. If you were to go to a dungeon, and see many miserable creatures bound in chains for an approaching day of execution, and inquired what was the way and means by which they were brought into that condition, and they all fixed on one and the same thing, would you not take care to avoid it?
The case is so with entering into temptation. Ah! how many poor, miserable, spiritually-wounded souls, we have everywhere! — one is wounded by one sin, one by another; one falls into the filthiness of the flesh, another of the spirit. Ask them now, how they came into this estate and condition? They must all answer, "Alas! We entered into temptation; we fell into cursed snares and entanglements; and that has brought us into the woeful condition you see!" Indeed, if a man could look into the dungeons of hell, and see the poor damned souls that lie bound in chains of darkness, and hear their cries, what would he be taught? What do they say? Are they not cursing their tempters, and the temptations that they entered into? And shall we be negligent in this? Solomon tells us that the simpleton who follows
the strange woman, does not know that the dead are there, that "her house inclines to death, and her paths to the dead" 113 (which he repeats three times); and that is the reason that he risks her snares.
If you knew what has been done by entering into temptation, perhaps you would be more watchful and careful. Men may think they do well enough notwithstanding; but,
Pro 6:27, 28, "Can a man put fire in his breastpocket, and his clothes not be burnt? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be burnt?"
No such thing! Men do not come out of their temptation without wounds, burns, and scars. I do not know any place in the world where there is a greater need to press this exhortation than in this place. Go to our several colleges and inquire about such and such young men; what is the answer in respect to many of them? "Ah! he was very hopeful for a season; but he fell into bad company, and he is quite lost. He had a good beginning of religion; we had great expectations for him, but he has fallen into temptation." And so too in other places. "He was useful and humble, and adorned the gospel; but now he is so woefully entangled with the world, that he has grown all selfish, and has no sap or savour. He was humble and zealous; but he has advanced in life, and has lost his first love and ways."Rev 2.4 Oh! how full is the world, how full is this place, of these woeful examples, to say nothing of those innumerable poor creatures who have fallen into temptation by delusions in religion. And is it not time for us to awake before it is too late — to watch against the first risings of sin, the first attempts of Satan, and against all the ways by which he has made approaches to us, however harmless they may be in themselves?
Do we not experience our weakness, our folly, the invincible power of temptation, once it has gotten within us? As for this duty that I have insisted on, take these considerations: —
1. If you neglect this duty, which is the only means prescribed by our Saviour, you will certainly enter into temptation, and just as certainly fall into sin. Do not flatter yourselves. Some of you are "old
disciples;" you have a great abhorrence of sin; you think it is impossible that you would ever be seduced in such a way; but,
1Cor 10.12, "Let him (whoever he may be) that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall."
It is not any grace received, it is not any experience obtained, it is not any resolution improved, that will preserve you from any evil, unless you stand upon your watch: "What I say to you," says Christ, "I say to all, Watch." Perhaps you had some good success for a time in your careless frame; but awake: admire God's tenderness and patience, or else evil lies at the door.Gen 4.7 If you will not perform this duty, whoever you are, one way or another, in one thing or another, whether spiritual or carnal wickedness, you will be tempted, you will be defiled; and what will be the end of it? Remember Peter!114
2. Consider that you are always under the eye of Christ, the great captain of our salvation, who has enjoined us to watch thus, and pray that we do not enter into temptation. What do you think the thoughts and heart of Christ are, when he sees a temptation hastening towards us, a storm rising around us, and we are fast asleep? Does it not grieve him to see us so expose ourselves to danger, after he has given us warning upon warning? While he was in the days of his flesh, he considered his temptation while it was still coming, and armed himself against it. "The prince of this world comes," he says, "but he has no part in me." Joh 14.30 And shall we be negligent under his eye?
You only have to think that you see him coming to you as he did to Peter, when he was asleep in the garden, and with the same reproof:
"What! Can you not watch one hour?" Mar 14.37 Would it not grieve you to be so reproved, or to hear him thundering from heaven against your neglect, as he did against the church of Sardis? 115
3. Consider that if you neglect this duty, and so fall into temptation — which you will assuredly do — that when you are entangled, God may also bring some heavy affliction or judgment upon you, which (because of your entanglement) you will not be able to look at any other way than as evidence of his anger and hatred. And then what will you do with your temptation and affliction together? All your
bones will be broken, and your peace and strength will be gone in a moment.116 This may seem like only the noise of words for the present; but if it is ever your condition, you will find it to be full of woe and bitterness. Oh then, let us strive to keep our spirits unentangled, avoiding all appearance of evil, and all ways leading to it; especially all the ways, businesses, societies, and employments that we have already found disadvantageous to us.
Notes [←1] A number of sentences and phrases were accidentally omitted in Ages' digital conversion. They have been recovered using the same 1850-53 edition of this work, but separately printed from Owen's Works, and titled On Temptation and the Mortification of Sin (see title page "Alt. Source").
[←2] Owen's references to "our several colleges" in chapter 9.
[←3] Heb 2.9; Gal 3.13; 2Cor 5.21.
[←4] Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
[←5] Deu 13:3 "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
[←6] Gen 22:12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
[←7] 2Chr 32.25-31
[←8] Mat 26:35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"
And so said all the disciples.
[←9] Gen 20:6 And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
[←10] 2Cor 12:7-9 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
[←11] 1Pet 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ...
[←12] Joh 14:30 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
[←13] Jas 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
[←14] ejmpi>ptein empipto [NT:1706]
[←15] A thousand injurious arts, or a thousand ways to injure.
[←16] Emended from On Temptation, p. 35.
[←17] That is, acquit: to behave in a certain manner.
[←18] prose>cein prosecho [NT:4337], as in Mat 16:12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Or Heb 2:1 "Therefore we must give more earnest heed to the things we have heard..."
[←19] Gregoreuo [NT:1127], as in Rev 3:2 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain..."
[←20] Heb 2:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
[←21] Rev 3:10 "Because you have kept My command to persevere [or patiently endure], I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
[←22] Gen 12:12-13 "Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." Gen 20:2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
[←23] Footprints frighten me. (Horace)
[←24] Emended from On Temptation, p. 42.
[←25] 2Kng 8:9-13 "Your son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this disease?'" 10 And Elisha said to him, "Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover.' However the LORD has shown me that he will really die." 11 Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. 12
And Hazael said, "Why is my lord weeping?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child." 13 So Hazael said, "But what is your servant-- a dog, that he should do this gross thing?" And Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Syria."
[←26] See 3.(1) above.
[←27] Hos 4:11 Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart.
[←28] Originally, "withe" – a band or rope made of twisted twigs or stems.
[←29] Rev 12:4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
[←30] "The people hiss, but I applaud myself."
[←31] Joh 15:6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."
[←32] That is, "I will not petition for it again." We fool ourselves into thinking this won't happen again, that we won't need to solicit God to restore our peace after this. We cry out, "Just this once!" as we go over the cliff's edge.
[←33] We presume to say, "I may have no peace, but at least I'm saved."
[←34] Battery: a group of cannons fired together at one place to create a breach in the defensive wall.
[←35] 2Cor 4:4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
[←36] Rev 3:10 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
[←37] 1Kng 22:21-22 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.' 22 "The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, 'You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.'
[←38] Emended from On Temptation, p. 55.
[←39] Emended from On Temptation, p. 56.
[←40] Isa 8:12 Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
[←41] That is, falling into worldly ways, and following after vain opinions.
[←42] That is, the status quo.
[←43] Isa 32:19 When it hails, coming down on the forest [i.e., when judgement falls, Rev
16.21], the city shall be low in a low place [i.e., brought low, humbled] – Isa 26:5 For He brings down those who dwell on high, The lofty city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He brings it down to the dust.
[←44] Pro 1:32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
[←45] Emended from On Temptation, p. 61.
[←46] Whether a frame of heart, mind, or will, our "frame" is a system of assumptions and standards (values) that serve to sanction our behavior and give it meaning, for better or worse.
[←47] i.e., trials and afflictions, see the special nature of temptations in Chap. I, sec. I.
[←48] 1Pet 4:13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when
His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
[←49] Psa 91:11-12 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. Mat 4:5-6 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"
[←50] Emended from On Temptation, p. 70.
[←51] Out of the ordinary.
[←52] Exo 3.22 with Exo 35.29
[←53] Hos 7:9 Aliens have devoured his strength, But he does not know it; Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, Yet he does not know it.
[←54] Emended from On Temptation, p. 78.
[←55] That is, this malaise and distemper doesn't just happen. It is caused to happen, and temptation is the cause.
[←56] Inquiry into the current condition of our soul is one of our spiritual duties. 2Cor 13:5
"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 1Cor 11:29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. The sacrament is a good occasion for such an inquiry.
[←57] ejk tou~ ponhrou~ ek tou ponerou [NT:4190]
[←58] Emended from On Temptation, p. 84.
[←59] They are not sensed or perceived.
[←60] Jas 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
[←61] Mortification of Sin in Believers
[←62] Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
[←63] Emended from On Temptation, p. 87.
[←64] Amo 6:3 Woe to you who put far off the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; Isa 56:12 "Come," they say, "let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure." Luk 12:19
'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' We attract destruction by being indifferent to it, as if there were no price to pay for sin.
[←65] That is, rote obedience without a change in heart; "just going through the motions".
[←66] Mat 13:22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. Heb 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
[←67] Mat 26.41 with Luk 22.46.
[←68] 2Cor 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
[←69] Become less intense.
[←70] To pummel or beat violently.
[←71] Surprisal is used in a military sense: a surprise attack or ambush that shocks and stuns the victim.
[←72] Expressions of discontent.
[←73] Pro 4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. 15
Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
[←74] Mat 12:35 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
[←75] Jas 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
[←76] Emended from On Temptation, p. 102.
[←77] frourh>sei ta<v kardi>av phroureo humon kardia [NT:5432, 5216, 2588]
[←78] Emended from On Temptation, p. 103.
[←79] 1Pet 5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith...
[←80] Psa 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.
[←81] Heb 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
[←82] 2Sam 24.10-15 – regarding David's numbering of Israel, and the plague that followed.
[←83] 1Chr 12:17-18 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, "If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment." 18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: "We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you." So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.
[←84] Mal 4:3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, On the day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts.
[←85] 2Cor 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
[←86] Act 27:24 "saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.'
[←87] 2Cor 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
[←88] Joh 17:17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
[←89] 1Pet 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 2Tim 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and,
"Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
[←90] Joh 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 1Cor
7:23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
[←91] 1Pet 2:16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
[←92] Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
[←93] 2Tim 1:14 That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
[←94] Th<n kalh<n parakataqh>khn tou kalos parakatatheke [NT:2570, 3872]
[←95] Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
[←96] Rev 7:3 saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
[←97] 2Cor 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
[←98] Heb 2:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
[←99] Isa 59:21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."
[←100] Isa 57:20-21 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. "There is no peace," Says my God, "for the wicked."
[←101] Gal 6:14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
[←102] That is, "the constant, universal keeping of Christ's word of patience," as described above.
[←103] Phi 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ...
[←104] Phi 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
[or communion] of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
[←105] When wine is left to age "upon the lees" (the sediments that are left in the bottle), it increases the complexity of the wine, providing additional flavors, body, and richness.
[←106] Rev 2:19 "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. 20 "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
[←107] Song 3:4 Scarcely had I passed by them, When I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, Until I had brought him to the house of my mother, And into the chamber of her who conceived me.
[←108] Gal 2:19 "For through the law I died to the law that I might live to God. 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me.
[←109] 2Pet 1:5-8 And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things are in you, and abound [i.e., if they increase or improve], they make you neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Also Rev 2:19 "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works [of faith], the last are more than the first [improved].
[←110] Hos 10:6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria As a present for King Jareb.
Ephraim shall receive shame, And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
[←111] KJV Song 7:5 Your head upon you is like Carmel, and the hair of your head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. John Gill writes, "the 'galleries' in which he is held may mean the ordinances of the Gospel; where Christ and his people walk and converse together; where he discloses the secrets of his heart to them, leads them into a further acquaintance with his covenant, and the blessings and promises of it; and from which they have delightful views of his person and fulness; they see the King in his beauty, and behold the good land which is afar off."
[←112] Heb 4.16.
[←113] Pro 2:10-19 When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 discretion will preserve you, understanding will keep you... 16 To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the stranger who flatters with her words; 17 Who forsakes the guide of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God. 18 For her house inclines to death, and her paths to the dead. 19 None that go to her return again, nor take hold of the paths of life.
[←114] Luk 22:31-34 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." 33 But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." 34 Then He said,
"I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."
[←115] Rev 3:2-3 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
[←116] Lam 3:1-5 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light. Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. He has aged my flesh and my skin, And broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe.