Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

To this Christ answers, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Though it is true,¹ that God must be trusted in, yet he must not be tempted; if means be allowed, we must not throw them away upon a pretence of God's protection: we read of one Heron, an Inhabitant of the Desert, that he suffered the same temptation, and was overcome by it; he would needs cast himself down, presuming on God's promise, and he sinfully died with his fall. Christ knew well enough that there were ordinary descents by stairs from the top of the Temple, and therefore he would not so tempt God to throw him himself headlong; What? To make trial of God's Power, and Justice, and Mercy, and extraordinary preservation, where there was no need: all the Devils in Hell could not so tempt Christ, as to make him tempt his God.

1. 1Ver. 7.

The third temptation is yet more horrid; the Temple was not high enough; so that now Satan takes him up to the top of an exceeding high mountain, ¹and he shows him all the Kingdoms of the World, and the Glory of them, saying, all these will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me, Not to insist on those many Queries; how should all the Kingdoms of the World be presented to Christ's eye? Or if they were only presented to his imagination, why could not the Valley have served the Devil's turn, as ⟨p. 178⟩well as an hill? or whether was not Rome the object that the Devil presented? because at that time, Rome was the top of all the Kingdoms of the world, and the Glory of them? For my part, I think, in this Temptation, the Devil united all his Power of stratagems, and by an angelical Power he drew into one centre, the several Species and Idea's, from all the Kingdoms and Glories of the world; and he made an admirable Map of Beauties; and represented them to the eyes of Jesus; he thought Ambition more likely to ruin him, because he knew it was that which prevailed upon himself, and all those fallen stars, the Angels of darkness; and therefore, come (saith Satan) all these will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. How? God worship the Devil? was ever the like Blasphemy since the first Creation? indeed now we have many fearful, execrable, cursed Blasphemies belched out, and Idolatry, I believe, is the spreadingest sin in the World; but was ever the like Blasphemy, or Idolatry to this, that not only a Creature, but the Creator himself must fall down before the Devil, and give worship unto him? The Lamb of God, that heard all the former Temptations with patience; he could by no means endure this; our own injuries are opportunities of patience; but when the Glory of God, and his immediate Honour is the question, then our Zeal should be all on a flame; now Christ bids him avoid; as soon as he observes his demands so impudent and Blasphemous; he commands him away, and tells him, it is written,