The seventh device that Satan hath to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition, is,
Device (7). By suggesting to the soul lis often velapses into the same sin which formerly he hath pursued with particular sorrow, grief, shame, and tears, and prayed, complained, and resolved against. Saith Satan, Thy heart is not right with God; surely thy estate is not good; thou dost but flatter thyself to think that ever God will eternally own and embrace such a one as thou art, who complainest against sin, and yet relapsest into the same sin; who with tears and groans confessest thy sin, and yet ever and anon art fallen into the same sin.
I confess this is a very sad condition for a soul after he hath obtained mercy and pity from the Lord, after God hath spoken peace and pardon to him, and wiped the tears from Iis eyes, and set him upon his legs, to return to folly? Ah! how do relapses lay men open to the greatest afflictions aud worst temptations! How do they make the wound to bleed afresh! How do they darken and cloud former assurances and evidences for heaven! How do they put a sword iuto the hand of conscience to cut and slash the soul! They raise such fears, terrors, horrors, and doubts in the soul, that the soul cannot be so frequent in duty as formerly, nor so fervent in duty as formerly, nor so confident in duty as formerly, nor so bold, familiar, and delightful with God m duty as formerly, nor so constant in duty as formerly. They give Satan an advantage to triumph over Christ; they make the work of repentance more difficult; they make a man’s life a burden, and they render death to be very terrible unto the soul, &c.
Now the remedies against this device are these:
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly to consider, That there are many scriptuies that do clearly evidence « possibility of the saints falling into the same sins whereof they have formerly repented. 1 will heal their backslidings, 1 will love them freely: tor mine anger is turned away from them,’ saith the Lord by the prophet Hosea, chap. xiv. 4. So the prophet Jeremi speaks: Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and
will not keep mine anger for ever. Turn, O backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion,” chap. iii. 12, 14. So the psalmist: They turned back, and dealt unfaithfully with their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.” And no wonder, for though their repentance be never so sincere and sound, yet their graces are but weak, and their mortification imperfect in this life. Though by grace they are freed from the dominion of sin, and from the damnatory power of every sin, and from the love of all sin, yet grace doth not free them from the seed of any one sin; and therefore it is possible for a soul to fall again and again into the same sin. If the fire be not wholly put out, who would think it impossible that it should catch and burn again and again?! Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is, seriously to consider, That God hath nowhere engaged himself by any particular promise, that souls converted and united to Christ shall not full again and again into the same sin after conversion. I cannot find in the whole book of God where he hath promised any such strength or power against this or that particular sin, as that the soul should be for ever, in this life, put out of a possibility of falling again and again into the same sins; and where God hath not a mouth to speak, 1 must not have a heart to believe. God will graciously pardon those sins to his people that he will not in this life effectually subdue in bis people. I would go far to speak with that soul that can shew me a promise, that when our sorrow and grief hath been so great, or so much, for this or that sin, that then God will preserve us from ever falling into the same sin. The sight of such a promise would be as life from the dead to many a precious soul, who desires nothing more than to keep close to Christ, and fears nothing more than backsliding from Christ.
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is, seriously to consider, That the most renowned and mow crowned saints have, in the duys of their being on earth, velupsed into one and the same sin. Lot was twice overcome with wine; John twice worshipped the angel: Abraham did often dissemble, and lay his wife open to adultery to save his own life, which some heathens would not have done: And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, as he is my brother,” Gen. xx. 13. David in his wrath was resolved, if ever man was, that he would be the death of Nabal, and all his innocent family; and after this he fell into the foul murder of Uriah. Though Christ told his disciples that his kingdom was not of this world,’ yet again, and again, and again, three several times they! The sin of backsliding is a soul-wounding sin, ‘I will heal their backsliding.” Yon read of no arms for the back, though you do for the breast. When a soldier brageed too much of a great scar in his forehead, Augustus Caesar (in whose time Christ was born) asked him if he did not get it as he looked back when he fled.
? In some cases the saints have found God better than his word. He promised the children of Israel only the land of Canaan, but besides that he gave them two other kingdoms which he never promised. And to Zacharias he promised to give him his speech at the birth of the child, but besides that he gave him the gift of prophecy.
3. A sheep may often slip into a slough, as well as a swine.
would needs be on horseback; they would fain be high, great, and glorious in thix world. Their pride and ambitious humour put them, that were but as so many beggars, upon striving for pre-eminence and greatness in the world, when their Lord and Master told them three several times of his sufferings in the world, and of his going out of the world. Jehoshaphat, though a godly man, yet joins affinity with Ahab, 2 Chron. xviii. 1-3, 30, 31; and though he was saved by a miracle, vet soon after he falls into the same sin, and joins himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly,’ 2 Chron. xx. 35-37. Samson 1s by the Spirit of the Lord numbered among the faithful worthies, yet he fell often into one gross sin, as is evident, Heb. xi. 32. Peter, von know, relapsed often, and so did Jonah; and this comes to pass that they may see their own inability to stand, to resist or overcome any temptation or corruptions, Jude 14, 15, 16} And that they may be taken oft from all false confidences, and rest wholly upon God, and only upon God, and always upon God; and for the praise and honour of the power, wisdom, skill, mercy, and goodness of the physician of our souls, that can heal, help, and eure when the disease 1s most dangerous, when the soul is relapsed, and grows worse and worse, and when others say, There is no help for him in his Ged, and when his own heart and hopes are dying.?
Remedy (+). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is. to consider, That there ave relapses into enormities, and there are relapses into infirmities. Now it is not usual with God to leave his people frequently to relapse into enormities; for by his Spirit and grace, by his smiles and frowns, by his word and rod, he doth usually preserve his people from a frequent relapsing into enormities; yet he doth leave his choicest ones frequently to relapse into infirmities (and of his grace he pardons them in course), as idle words, passion, vain thoughts, &e.3 Though gracious souls strive against these, and complain of these, and weep over these, yet the Lord, to keep them humble, leaves them frequently to relapse into these; and these frequent relapses into mfirmities shall never be their bane, because they be their burden.
Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, to consider, That there ave involuntary relapses, and there are voluntary relapses. Involuntary relapses are, when the resolution and full bent of the heart is against sin, when the soul strives with all its might against sin, by sighs and groans, by prayers and tears, and yet out of weakness is forced to fall back into sin, because there is not spiritual strength enough to overcome. Now, though involuntary relapses must “humble us, yet they must never discourage nor detect us; for God will freely and readily pardon those, in course. Voluntary relapses are, when the soul longs and loves to return to the flesh-pots of Egypt, Exod. xvi. 3; when it is a pleasure and a pastime to a man to return
to his old courses, such voluntary relapses speak out the man blinded, hardened, and ripened for ruin, &ec.!
Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is, to consider, That there is no such power, or infinite virtue, in the greatest horror or sorrow the soul can be under for sin, nor vn the sweetest or choicest discoveries of God’s grace and love to the soul, as for ever to fence and secure the soul from relapsing into the same sin. Grace is but a created habit, that may be prevailed against by the secret, subtle, and strong workings of sin in our hearts; and those discoveries that God makes of his love, beauty, and glory to the soul, do not always abide in their freshness and power upon the heart; but by degrees they fade and wear off, and then the soul may return again to folly, as we see in Peter, who, after he had a glorious testimony from Christ’s own mouth of his blessedness and happiness, labours to prevent Christ from going up to Jerusalem to suffer, out of bare slavish fears that he and his fellows could not be secure, if his Master should be brought to suffer, Mat. xvi. 15-19, and ver. 22-24. And again, after this, Christ had him up into the mount, and there shewed him his beauty and his glory, to strengthen him against the hour of temptation that was coming upon him; and yet, soon after he had the honour and happiness of seeing the glory of the Lord (which most of his disciples had not), he basely and most shamefully denies the Lord of glory, thinking by that means to provide for his own safety; and yet again, after Christ had broke his “heart with a look of love for his most unlovely dealings, and bade them that were first acquainted with his resurrection to go and tell Peter that he was risen,” Mark xvi. 7; I say, after all this, slavish fears prevail upon him, and he basely dissembles, and plays the Jew with the Jews, and the Gentile with the Gentiles, to the seducing of Barnabas, &e., Gal. 11. 11-13,
Yet, by way of caution, know, it is very rare that God doth leave his beloved ones frequently to relapse into one and the same gross sin; for the law of nature is in arms against gross sins, as well as the law of grace, so that a gracious soul cannot, dares not, will not, frequently return to gross folly. And God hath made even his dearest ones dearly smart for their relapses, as may be seen by his dealings with Samson, Jehoshaphat, and Peter. Ah, Lord! what a hard heart hath that man, that can see thee stripping and whipping thy dearest ones for their relapses, and yet make nothing of returning to folly, &e.