First; Our Good God With-holds the Temptations and Occasions of Sin; This is one Method in which He withholds us from Sinning against him There is an Army of Evil Spirits, united under one Leader, for which cause they all go under the single Name of, Saran, or, The Devil. The Design of these Evil Spirits, is to Tempt us unto Sin, that so they may by their Temptations bring us under their Condemnation. Our Tempter, the Devil, goes about, seeking ⟨p. 7⟩whom he may Deceive into Sin, & by Deceiving Devour them. As our Lord said, Luk. XXII. 31. Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you: So may it more or less be said, about every man in the World; Sinner, Sinner, Satan the Tempter hath desired, that he may have thee, to Tempt thee unto some undoing Wickedness. Indeed Satan must have the permission of God for it, before he can fall upon us. But now our God very often does not permit Satan, to Tempt us with such Fury, and such Success, as he would otherwise assault us withal. Our God has the Tempter in a Chain; He holds in the Ty-'Dog. He withholds the Tempter from Ensnaring of us, and thereby He withholds us from falling into the Snare of the Wicked. There are People set upon mischief. 'Tis very strange that they do no more. 'Tis because God Chains up the Devil, and won't let him suggest unto them, what they may do. Our Indians had else done a thousand times more mischief, ⟨p. 8⟩than they have, to our Plantations. This World is also full of those Things, which are the Occasions, the Incentives, the Inducements of Sin. The Stumbling Block: of Iniquity do even fill the World. But our God with-holds us from Sin, by with-holding from us, those things that would provoke us to Sin. He takes the Stumbling-blocks out of our way, & so withholds us from Falling into Sin upon them. Our God withholds us from the exorbitant Out-breakings of the Lust of the Flesh, and the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life, by withholding from us the Objects, that are the Fuel of them. We say, 'Tis opportunity that makes a Thief. Our God withholds many a man from many a Th••t & other Sins by this; He won't give him an Opportunity. He won't give Riches to one man; and so the man is withheld from the Denying of God. He won't pinch another man with Poverty; and so the man is withheld from Taking the Name of God in vain.
First; Our Good God With-holds the Temptations and Occasions of Sin; This is one Method in which He withholds us from Sinning against him There is an Army of Evil Spirits, united under one Leader, for which cause they all go under the single Name of, Saran, or, The Devil. The Design of these Evil Spirits, is to Tempt us unto Sin, that so they may by their Temptations bring us under their Condemnation. Our Tempter, the Devil, goes about, seeking ⟨p. 7⟩whom he may Deceive into Sin, & by Deceiving Devour them. As our Lord said, Luk. XXII. 31. Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you: So may it more or less be said, about every man in the World; Sinner, Sinner, Satan the Tempter hath desired, that he may have thee, to Tempt thee unto some undoing Wickedness. Indeed Satan must have the permission of God for it, before he can fall upon us. But now our God very often does not permit Satan, to Tempt us with such Fury, and such Success, as he would otherwise assault us withal. Our God has the Tempter in a Chain; He holds in the Ty-'Dog. He withholds the Tempter from Ensnaring of us, and thereby He witholds us from falling into the Snare of the Wicked. There are People set upon mischief. 'Tis very strange that they do no more. 'Tis because God Chains up the Devil, and won't let him suggest unto them, what they may do. Our Indians had else done a thousand times more mischief, ⟨p. 8⟩than they have, to our Plantations. This World is also full of those Things, which are the Occasions, the Incentives, the Inducements of Sin. The Stumbling Block: of Iniquity do even fill the World. But our God with-holds us from Sin, by with-holding from us, those things that would provoke us to Sin. He takes the Stumbling-blocks out of our way, & so witholds us from Falling into Sin upon them. Our God witholds us from the exorbitant Out-breakings of the Lust of the Flesh, and the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life, by withholding from us the Objects, that are the Fuel of them. We say, 'Tis opportunity that makes a Thief. Our God witholds many a man from many a Th••t & other Sins by this; He won't give him an Opportunity. He won't give Riches to one man; and so the man is witheld from the Denying of God. He won't pinch another man with Poverty; and so the man is witheld from Taking the Name of God in vain.
