sure or desertion of us, but only as trials of our virtue; as means of proving (as Moses tells the Israelites) what is in our hearts, whether we will keep God's commandments or no*; as opportunities graciously afforded us to demonstrate our sincerity, our fortitude, our integrity, our unshaken allegiance and fidelity to the great Ruler of the world. 2. Whenever we are thus brought into temptation, we have every reason to hope for the divine assistance to extricate us from danger. We have the example of our blessed Lord to encourage us. We see the great Captain of our salvation assaulted by all the art and all the power of Satan, and yet rising superior to all his efforts. We see him going before us in the paths of virtue and of glory, and calling upon us to follow him. Though he was led by the Spirit of God himself into the wilderness in order to be tempted, yet the same divine Spirit accompanied and supported him throughout the whole of *Deut. viii. 2. of his bitter conflict, and enabled him to triumph over his infernal adversary. To the same heavenly Spirit we also may look for deliverance. If we implore God in fervent prayer to send him to us, he will assuredly grant our petition. He will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape (when we ourselves cannot find one) that we may be able to bear it*. 3. We may learn from the conduct of our Lord under this great trial, that when temptations assail us, we are not to parley or to reason with them, to hesitate and deliberate whether we shall give way to them or not, but must at once repel them with firmness and with vigour, and oppose to the dictates of our passions the plain and positive commands of God in his holy word. We must say resolutely to the tempter, as our Lord did, "Get thee hence, Satan" and he will instantly flée from us as he did from him. 4. It *1 Cor. x. 13. + Matt. iv. 10. 4. It is a most solid consolation to us under such contests as these, that if we honestly exert our utmost efforts to vanquish the enemies of our salvation, most humbly and devoutly soliciting at the same time the influences of divine grace to aid our weak endeavours, the unavoidable errors and imperfections of our nature will not be ascribed to us, nor will God be extreme to mark every thing that is done amiss; for we shall not be judged by one who has no feeling of our infirmities, but by one who knows and who pities them, who was himself in all things tempted like as we are, yet without sin*, and who will make therefore all due allowances for our involuntary failings, though none for our wilful transgressions. 5. And lastly, in the various allurements presented to our Lord, we see but too faithful a picture of those we are to expect ourselves in our progress through life. Our Lord's temptations were, as we have seen, sensual gratifications, incitements * Heb. iv. 15. citements to vanity and ostentation, and the charms of wealth, power, rank, and splendour. All these will in the different stages of our existence successively rise up to seduce us, to oppose our progress to heaven, and bring us into captivity to sin and misery. Pleasure, interest, business, honour, glory, fame, all the follies and all the corruptions of the world, will each in their turn assault our feeble nature; and through these we must manfully fight our way to the great end we have in view. But the difficulty and the pain of this contest will be considerably lessened by a resolute and vigorous exertion of our powers and our resources at our first setting out in life. It was immediately after his baptism, and at the beginning of his ministry, that our Lord was exposed to all the power and all the artifices of the devil, and completely triumphing over both, effectually secured himself from all future attempts of that implacable enemy. In the same manner it is on our first setting out in life, that we are to look for for the most violent assaults from our passions within, and from the world and the prince of it without. And if we strenuously resist those enemies of our salvation that present themselves to us at that most critical and dangerous period, all the rest that follow in our maturer age will be an easy conquest. On him who in the beginning of life has preserved himself unspotted from the world, all its consequent attractions and allurements, and its magnificence, wealth and splendour, will make little or no impression. A mind that has been long habituated to discipline and self-government amidst far more powerful temptations, will have nothing to apprehend from such assailants as these. But after all, our great security is assistance from above, which will never be denied to those who fervently apply for it. And with the power of divine grace to support us, with the example of our Lord in the wilderness to animate us, and an eternity of happiness to reward us, what I 4 |