A09463:101
The combat between Christ and the Devil displayedThe combat betvveene Christ and the Diuell displayed
The combat between Christ and the Devil displayed: or A commentary upon the temptations of Christ: preached in Cambridge by that reverend and judicious divine M. William PerkinsThe combat betvveene Christ and the Diuell displayed: or A commentarie vpon the temptations of Christ: preached in Cambridge by that reuerend and iudicious diuine M. William Perkins
London: printed by Melchizedek Bradwood for E. Edgar, 1606London: printed by Melchisedech Bradwood for E. Edgar, 1606
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Therefore thou art not the Son of God. The ground of this temptation is this: It is no reason that the Son of God should starve for want of food; but thou must starve unless thou canst make these stones bread: and therefore unless thou canst do so, thou mayest persuade thy self it was but a false voice which thou heardest from heaven; This is my well-beloved Son, &c.
Therefore thou art not the sonne of God. The ground of this temptation is this: It is no reason that the Sonne of God should starue for want of food; but thou must starue vnlesse thou canst make these stones bread: and therefore vnlesse thou canst do so, thou maist perswade thy selfe it was but a false voice which thou heardest from heauen; This is my welbeloued Sonne, &c.
The scope and drift of Satan in this temptation stands in two things; First he labours to overthrow the faith of Christ. Secondly, to bring him to a practise of unbelief. For the first, By faith I mean, a gift or grace in Christ, whereby as he was man, he believed his Fathers words to be true, which said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: whereby we may see, what the Devil aims at principally in his temptations against Gods children; for these his assaults against our Saviour Christ are set down for our instruction in this behalf.1 Satan's main drift then in temptation is to overthrow our faith, whereby we believe every part and parcel of Gods word to be true: See this in his tempting of Eve; first he labours to weaken her faith in the trueth of Gods threatening, which done, he easily brought her to actual disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit. The same course he holdeth at this day; first he will seek to nuzzle men in ignorance, that he may keep them in unbelief: if he fail that way, then will he endeavour to plunge their souls into some damnable error and heresy; and by one of these means doth he destroy the faith of many; for while a man remains in ignorance he can have no saith; and if he miss of the trueth of God, he wants ground for his faith. Now the reason why the Devil labours so much against our faith is, because we cannot truly rely upon Gods mercy, nor depend upon his providence, nor yield any acceptable obedience to his commandments, unless we believe his word.