Disce vivere Learne to live : a briefe treatise of learning to liue, vvherein is shewed, that the life of Christ is the most perfect patterne of direction to the life of a Christian : in which also, the well disposed may behold their orderlie passage, from the state of grace, to the state of glorie.

Chap. 7.

What we learne by Christes lea∣ding into the wildernes, his fa∣sting, and temptations there.

IT cannot but adde courage and comfort vnto the souldier, whē he séeth his Captaine in the fore-front of the battaile, to encounter and foyle the ene∣mie: who is not animated in mindé, when he heares of Chri∣stes conflict, and conquest, with, and against the professed enemie of vs all? Men are wont to reade with delight, and marke with attention, the magnanimitie of great champions shewed in as∣saulting their enemies in warre, how they haue gone forth in the day of battaile, and quited them∣selues like men, for the sauing of their liues & liberties: but what co•…•…bate more ioyfull vnto the Christian man, then this of our

Sauiour, who vndertooke hand to hand that great Goliah, which did vpbraide the God of Isra∣ell.

2 For the better obseruation héereof, we are heere to consider foure thinges: First, Christes baptisme: Secondly, his depar∣ture into the wildernes: Third∣lie, his fasting: Fourthly, his conflict and conquest ouer the tempter and temptation. In the first, we call to mind our regene∣ration in the fountaine of grace; in the second, our departure from the vanities of the world: in the third, the mortification of the flesh: in the fourth, how to resist the enemie. If wee respect ou•…•… regeneration in the fountaine of grace, wee looke vpward where we see heauen opening, and heart a voyce testifying of euery one, Hic est filius meus dilectus, This is my beloued Sonne, in who•…•… God was well pleased, and i•…•… whom wee are well pleased. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 wee respect the second, (our de∣parture from the vanities of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 world,) we heare that of our saui∣our,

I haue chosen you out of the world. If the third, that of the Apostle, Take no thought for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts of it. If the fourth, that of Saint Iohn: And they ouercame him by the blood of the Lambe: Watch, sayth S. Peter, for your aduersarie the de∣uil •…•…s a roaring Lyon goeth about, seeking whom hee may deuoure? Why doth the shéepheard watch, but because the woolse watch∣eth?

3 And héere, before wee enter into consideration of our Saui∣ours departure into the wilder∣nes, we may call to mind, how be∣fore his preaching the Gospel, or •…•…lad tydings of saluation vnto the world, he first prepared him∣selfe by fasting, being thus pre∣pared, hee goeth out against the enemie. Now, as the Arke of God went before the people in the wildernes, not onely to shew them the way, but also to strike a feare and terrour into the harts of their enemies: the same hath Christ done for vs all, and what he wrought for vs, he doth work

in vs. Hauing entered o•…•… names into his familie, we ha•…•… the title and testimonie to be h•…•…▪ hauing this title and testimonie, wee are led by his spirit: being led by his spirit wee leaue th•…•… world: leauing the world, we f•…•… to fasting, and other exercises of piety: in these exercises of piety, the tempter will assay vs: t•…•… tempter assaying vs, wee l•…•… vnto Christ, who is gone be•…•…, and hath subdued our mortall∣nemie.

4 By Christes fasting, w•…•… sée howe to arme our selues •…•…∣gainst this aduersarie, that t•…•… flesh may be obedient vnto t•…•… spirit, the spirit to grace, and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to say as Dauid, I come forth v•…•…∣to thee in the name of my God, This fasting dooth much h•…•… the soule, which is the chiefe •…•…∣gent in this battaile, that 〈◊〉〈◊〉 and body both together, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 withstand the force of the •…•…∣mie. When two are combati•…•… if one step in to assist eyther p•…•…∣tie, the party assisted is like•…•… to preuaile: Fasting helpes 〈◊〉〈◊〉

soule, Christ fasteth, and is strengthened against the force of the tempter.

Phisitians can tell vs, then fasting there is nothing better for the body: and Diuines can shew vs, then fasting nothing better for the soule: in this com∣bate it is not the worst policy to weaken the enemie before wee •…•…ght with him: the flesh is an e∣nemie. For this holy exercise of fasting, it beséemes no man more then Christians. First, because they are men, not brute beasts, led by sensuality, and therefore those whom temperance should •…•…de: Secondarily, that they •…•…e men, yea Nazarites, set a part amongst men to serue God. Who are to liue, not according to the •…•…sh, but according vnto the spirit, and therefore are not to passe their liues as Epicures, •…•…or stuffe themselues like wooll∣packs: Let vs eate and drinke, to morrow wee shall die. Thirdly, for that they are men now in the •…•…d, and besieged •…•…aylie with a •…•…full aduersary, and therefore

should be sober, and watching vnto prayer.

5 Christ fasted forty dayes, & was armed against the temp∣ter, Christ fasted forty dayes, and forty nights, whence wee may gather, that we must be ar∣med against this enemie, as we•…•… in the dayes of prosperity, as nights of aduersity. Hee fas•…•… truly, giuing vs an example, and for this cause, sayth Saint Basil, is fasting necessarie for our spiri∣tuall combate. Who ouercame the hoast of the Assyrians, Fasting Iudith: who mittigated the wrath ready to come vpō a gre•…•… Citie? Fasting Niniuites: wh•…•… preuailed for the preseruation of the people? Fasting Moyses: who stayed the intended destru∣ction of many Innocents? Fa∣sting Hester. That thou may•…•… learne, O man, how necess•…•… a thing fasting is, against the e∣nemies bodily and ghostly, s•…•… Christ thy Sauiour, after his baptisme, led of the spirit into the wildernes, where he fasted. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 which brought ruine vnto the

state of man, began the same by eating: but hee that brought re∣couerie vnto the ruinated state of Adam, began the same by fa∣sting. He in whom we all fell, did fall by yéelding to temptation, but he in whom wee all rose, and being risen, are still preserued from falling, did raise vs vp by vanquishing the Tempter, and temptation.

6 When one cureth a sick man, he commaunds him not to doe a∣gaine in any case the things that procured his sicknes: Christ hath wrought our cure, and pre∣scribes vs a diet, Take heed that your hearts be not ouercome with surfetting, and thus shewes vs what is hurtfull to our health.

The sinnes of Sodome a∣mongst other, were these, pride, and fulnes of bread, which ful∣nes was the very fuell of foule i∣niquity, that followed. Wee must be eyther Niniuites, or Sodo∣mites: Niniuites, and so those that fasted and prayed, that God would haue mercy vpon them for their sinnes: Sodomites, and so

those who liued in all voluptu∣ousnesse, and were consequently consumed in their sinnes. The more abstinent at the table, the more continent in the chamber. Moses that was fasting, sawe God aboue in the mount: the peo∣ple that were eating and drin∣king, committed Idolatrie be∣neath in the valley. As fasting is a most excellent meane of sharpning our deuotion to God: so on the contrary, sacietie and fulnesse, doth often cause vs to forget him. They were filled (saith the prophet Ose) as in their pa∣stures, and their hearts were exal∣ted, therefore haue they forgot∣ten me.

They who are Christs (saith the Apostle) haue crucified the flesh, & this crucifying is for the soules safety. The Champion loues his buckler wel, & yet for all that, he cares not how it 〈◊〉〈◊〉 hackt and hewed, so his bodie be defended. It is no matter for chastis•…•…ng the outward man, so the man within the man may b•…•… kept safe and sound.

7 Nourish the flesh, & nourish the vices of the flesh: nourish the flesh, & giue thy very enemy wea∣pō to hurt thee: what more séem∣ly then a temperate man? what more vnséemly then the vntem∣perat, who is compared vnto the bruit beasts, the wolf, the Beare, and such like. There is not (saith Salomon) any great hope in him that loueth banquetting.

But how abstinēce is a mean to bring vs to all vertues, it ap∣peareth in those thrée children, who being content with pulse & water, increased in wisedom and vnderstanding, aboue all the delicious wantons that were in Babylon.

8 A singular example may be séene in Christ fasting, Vt •…•…m v∣tilem, non solum verbis, sed etiam exemplis instrueret. For so ne∣cessarie instruction, saith one, Christ woulde not onely teach vs by words, b•…•… by example also.

What a goodly Christian art thou which disdainest Fasting, and séest how the Sonne of God

endured such hunger for thy sal∣uation? Should that flesh fast, that knew not how to rebell a∣gainst the spirit, and should not thine, that knoweth to doe no∣thing else? But thou wilt say, Christ fasted forty dayes & forty nights, therefore should I ende∣uour to fast so long? A thing im∣possible. Why nothing that goeth into the man, deflieth the man? What Logicke call they this, which is a resoning without rea∣son, and comes from the schoole of carnall security. Though we•…•… fast not as Christ fasted, should we doe nothing at all? Though no meares are vncleane of them∣selues, if some superstitiously put a difference betwéene time, and time, meate and meate, is there no order to be obserued? Is this fasting a matter onely of policy? Which serueth first of all to s•…•…ew our sorrow for sinnes past: Se∣condarily, feare of punishment for •…•…o come: Thirdly, in that it serues for the castigation of the body: and in the fourth place, for the humiliation of the soule. If

we respect the first of these ends, so did the people fast, Iudges, 20, ver. 26: If the second, so did the men of Niniuie fast, Ionah. 3, ver. 5. If the third, so did the Apostle fast, in the 1. to the Cor. and •…•…th chapter. If the last, so did the Prophet fast, saying, I haue humbled my soule with fa∣sting. Psal. 35, 16.

9 Can the world better gra∣•…•…e the old enemie of man, then to make light of fasting, which Tertullian calleth, A work of re∣uerence to God? should we care∣lesly (besides those many pre∣cepts & examples in holy scrip∣tures) passe ouer this one exam∣ple of our sauiours fasting, which being duly considered, doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉 much matter worthy of our Christian obseruation?

Christ, sayeth S. Ambrose, wrought our saluation, not by ryot, but by fasting, and he fasted not to deserue grace to himselfe, but for our instruction: for them that say wee should not fast, let them shew mee (sayth the same Father) why Christ fasted, but

that his fasting should be an ex∣ample to vs.

And héere fitly is the number of forty dayes mentioned in chri∣stes fasting: Because the number of forty dayes, saith S. Ierome, is often times in holy Scripture applied vnto a time of penitencie and affliction for our sinnes.

Fortie dayes continued the waters of the flood, forty yéeres wandred the people in the wil∣dernes: Forty dayes had the Niniuites to repent them of their sinnes: Fortie dayes slept Ezechiel vpon his right side, sor∣rowing for the Tribe of Iudah: Fortie dayes fasted Elias, when hee s•…•…ed before Iesabell: Fortie dayes fasted Moses when hee receiued the Law vppon the Mount. Moyses for the Lawe, Elias for the Prophets, Christ for the Gospell, which all com∣muned together, saith S. Austen, and accorded in one. Thrée suffi∣cient witnesses to authorize fa∣sting, & the number of forty dayes fasting, which time, saith S. •…•…e∣rome, the church hath kept since

the time of the Apostles them∣selues. Wee haue the dayes of Lent, saith Cyrill, consecrated to fasting all our life time, saith S. Austen, wee should tend to she course set before vs, but chiefly in the daies dedicated to abstinence: wherefore considering the excel∣lencie of Christes example, the deuotion of the ancient Fathers, to both which we may wel think nouelty should giue place

10 And now come we vnto the conflict it selfe. The Tempter saith, If thou be the son of God, as yet doubtfull of his Deitie: When he heard that a virgin had conceiued & born a sonne, there he thought hee was the Sonne of God: but when he perceiued she was espoused to Ioseph, there he thought hee was the sonne of man. When hee heard the An∣gels make that heauenly melo∣die at his birth, there he thought he was the Sonne of God, but when he saw the tender babe in Bethlehem, with Mary his mo∣ther, layd in a Manger, there he thought he was the Son of man.

When hee saw him circumcised, then he thought there appeared a plaine signe of his humanity: but when hee heard the name of Ie∣sus, then he began to suspect his Deitie. When hee saw him bap∣tised with the multitude, hee thought, sure he was the Sonne of man: but when the voyce came from heauen, then he heard other∣wise, that hee was the Sonne of God. When he saw him fasting so long, and not hungering, then he thought he was the Sonne of God: but when at the end of for∣tie dayes hee hungred, then hee thought hee was the Sonne of man. And therefore in the first place, he assayes him by eating, as man, with a conditionall, if, to haue hun shewe his power, whether he were or no the Son of God.

But our Sauiour, when hee had fasted forty dayes and forty nights, hee proceeded no farther, that the power of his Deitie as yet might be hid, seeing that Moyses and Elias, men, had afore time fasted so long. Forty dayes

without hunger, was not of man; and yet afterward to hunger, was not of God: and therefore the deuil as doubtful what to do, tempted him after this manner, If thou art the Sonne of God, that naturall Sonne, and so equall to him in power, Commaund that these stones may be made bread. There is a voyce that hath testi∣fied of thée from heauen, that thou art the Sonne of God, canst thou liue by this title or testimonie? thy Father, either he sées not thy distresse, or he will not helpe thée: the best way is, helpe thy selfe, and looke thou to thine own safe∣tie, while the voyce is testifying thou art staruing.

11 In this, or the like temp∣tation, great is the subtilty of the olde serpent; wherein first hee moues to distrust Gods proui∣dence: Secondarily, to trust in our owne power, and thirdly, to neglect fasting and patience, the exercises of true pi•…•…tie. Com∣maund that these stones may be made bread, As if, now shall I sée, whether he be the Sonne of

God or no: If hee turne stones into bread, assuredly hee is the sonne of God, if not, it shal plain∣lie appeare hee is the sonne of man; whereby he would at once both trie him whether hee were God, as also allure him as man.

But the tempter méeting with Christ, met with his match, for he could not gather the certainty of either, Man, saith he, shall not liue by bread onely, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

12 Doth the Tempter thus leaue? no, he assayes him again; this man fasteth, liueth deuoutly in the wildernesse, is not caried away with the temptation of ea∣ting, surely hee is good, and bet∣ter then others, may hee not be brought to affect glory? This af∣fectation of glory is wont to moue the best. Now he taketh him to the pinnacle of the Temple, set∣teth him on high, vnto the Tem∣ple, a shew of holines; on high, a place of eminencie, a hundred to one, (thinkes he) if a shew of ho∣lines, if a place of dignitie, be not

a meane to tempt: If thou be the Sonne of God cast thy selfe down, being the Sonne of God, thou canst by thine owne power saue thy selfe, if not, thou hast the mi∣nisterie of Angels to saue thee. The Scripture it selfe saith it, and therefore doubt not, throw thy selfe downe, He shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee: Ca∣sting thy selfdown, & the Angels sauing thée, all the world will giue thée applause, and thou shalt be so glorious as neuer was any.

Wee sée the drift of this temp∣tation, when intemperancie doth not take place, when a meane e∣state beneath doth not seduce, yet to be aloft, the tempter thinkes it a fitter opportunitie of preuai∣ling. But what doth hee say, Ego mittam te? I will cast thée downe? no. But, Tu te mitte: Cast thy selfe downe, to shewe that he can hurt none, vnlesse a∣ny by consenting to temptation, hurt himselfe: for he that desireth that all might fall, can perswade, but not cast downe, his property it is to suggest, but our duty it

is to resist his suggestions a di∣abolicall voyce truly prouoketh to descend, not to ascend. The tempter sayth in desperate man∣ner, throw thy selfe downe, but God sayth in hope of mercy, raise thy selfe vp.

13 In that hee alleadgeth scripture, or rather misse-allead∣geth holy writ, it teacheth vs with the men of Berea, to try whether it be so or no. Wee sée it hath béene the manner of decei∣uers, following this old deceiuer, to forge euidence, and somtimes saith Origen, to shew themselues like subtill Pyrats, who set vp lights néere dangerous rockes, that the trauailer repayring thi∣ther, thinking by the lights all is safe, is by that meanes entrap∣ped, and taken of his enemies. In this fashion, peruerse men to strengthen their fancies vse also to deale, and force scriptures to the bent of their owne opinions.

But consi•…•…er wee a little the place of scripture héere alleadged, taken out of the ninety and one Psalme, all which Psalme, say

the auncient Fathers, concer∣neth Gods protection of the faithfull man, ouer whom he hath appointed the ministerie of An∣gels. Now for Christ, who was God from euerlasting, he rather kéepes the Angels, then the An∣gels him, & therfore no way was it appliable vnto him. They shall keepe thee, that is to say, thy self, O man, which art fraile & weak, least at any time thou dash thy foote against a stone, or fall away being striken at the stone of of∣fence: so in the first place the text is not rightly vnderstoode, if wee respect the state of the righteous man, as the Prophet meaneth: yet héere is a contrary sence, hee shall keepe thee in all thy wayes, true, but not in all thy presump∣tions: Hee shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee, well, shalt thou therefore tempt God the Lord of Angels? Christ aunswered ra∣ther, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. In the third verse of the same Psalme, it is said, Hee shall defend thee from the snare of the hunter, and in the thirtéenth

verse, Thou shalt goe vpon the Lyon and Adder, both which places concerne our preseruation from the tempter, which he lea∣ueth out, and onely inserteth 〈◊〉〈◊〉 vnperfect sentence, which Christ soone aunswereth, Non tentabi•…•… Dominu•…•… deum tuum, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

14 Hath the deuill yet done tempting? no, he taketh our bles∣sed Sauiour into an exceeding high mountaine, and there shew∣eth him the Kingdomes of the world, with the glory of them at once, making a large promise to bestow them all, who had not authority to dispose of any one: he will giue kingdomes, but vp∣pon such a condition, as should make any good dealer breake off from coping with so bad a bar∣gayner. The condition is, hee must be worshipped, what, should man forsake the worship of God, and bestow that vpon a∣nie but God, for riches or king∣domes themselues? these were déere riches and Kingdomes in déede: no, saith Balaam, I cannot

doe it if he would giue me a house full of siluer and gold.

15 Hitherto hath our Saui∣our shewed no signe of his Deity, the tempter takes him to be man, & therfore tempts him as man, in the Desert where is hunger, hee tempts him to gluttonie: vpon the temple where was the chaire of doctors, he tempts him to vain glory: vpon the high mountaine, whence worldly things are séene, hee tempts hun to couetousnesse, which is indéede, as the Apostle saith, Idolatrie: for héere hee would haue worship.

All in vaine was it to shewe Christ the glory of the world, who beheld it no otherwise then Phisitians are wont to doe vl∣cers, & diseases of their patients, he offereth earthly kingdomes, to him who had in his owne hands to bestow heauenly, hee would haue worship of him whō all the Angels doe worship, & at whose very sight himselfe did tremble.

And héere is to be noted, that by this temptation vppon the mountaine, thou mayst learne,

that when thou art great and high, the deuill setteth before thée great and high desires, & would haue thee fall downe, that thou mayest accomplish them. Ambi∣tio, saith Saint Ambrose, dome∣sticum malum, & vt dominetur a∣lijs prius seruit; curuatur obsequio, vt honore donetur; & dum vult esse sublimior, sit remissior. This ambition hath a domesticall dan∣ger, that it may rule, it serues: that it may be honoured, it bends & bowes in giuing honour: while it would be aboue others, it be∣comes inferiour to others.

16 Let men knowe that all rightfull power & preheminence is from God, and that all ambi∣tious power is of the tempter. In this temptation consider wee Christes answer vnto the temp∣ter, Dominum Deum tuum ado∣rabis, et ei soli seruies: Thou shalt worship thy Lord thy God, and him onely shalt thou serue. And this aunswere Christ gi∣ueth him with authoritie, commaunding him to depart, at which commaunding the temp∣ter

leaueth him, finding himselfe euery way confounded, and that his combate with Christ was •…•…mpar congressus, hee was not able to stand in this champions hands.

Now concerning the last as∣sault, we may call to minde how quickly our sauiour reiects him, when once he begins to mention Gods worship, whereby wee are taught to beare iniuries offered to our selues, but no wayes to to∣lerate iniurie offered vnto God. For the other temptation, sayth Saint Chrysostome, Mitte te de∣orsum, Cast thy selfe downe, Christ was not so much moued, did not rebuke the tempter, but when hee began to meddle with Gods worship, and speake of ca∣sting that away vpon worldlie glory: Christ sends him packing with a vade Sathana, anoyd Sa∣than, and tels him, for worship it was Gods onely, and none but Gods.

17 Against the temptation of intemperancie, wee learne these things, first, not so much to re∣spect

the life of the body, as the life of the soule: for should we regard the house, and let the housholder pine away in misery? Should the seruant be adorned, and the Maister himselfe become an ab∣iect? Secondarily we learne, not to yéeld vnto any perswasion of the tempter, for the necessaries of a fraile, momentarie & transitorie life. Thirdly, that man doth not liue by bread onely, but by Gods sanctifying his creature, by his word. Fourthly, that for the want of bodily sustenance wee should not breake out into impa∣tience, but depend vpon Gods prouidence, and vse the order that God hath ordained to maintaine his creatures.

18 Against the temptation of vaine glory, wee learne, not to beléeue the embracings of this deceitfull Ioab, who when hee knowes any one to be giuen to fasting, or any other exercise of Christian piety: he would make hi•…•… as the boasting Pharisie, to say with contempt, Non sum ve ut ille publicanus, I am not

as yonder Publicane. Wee see when he hath men on high, how hee there mooues them to tempt God by presumption, and séeke by submission, but we learne also in this case what to doe. I am a man, and therefore can other∣wise descend, then by casting downe my selfe, I wil not tempt God, and neglect the meanes he hath ordayned for my preserua∣tion, for a little glory I respect it not.

19 Against the temptation of desiring the greatest thinges in the world, I learne to pre∣ferre Gods worship before all, and so to breake off by his good grace from euill motions of the •…•…end. Against all temptations in generall: I learne by this of our Sauiour, to resist temptations when they come. S. Basill like∣neth the tempter vnto the Leo∣pard, which hath such a naturall hatred against man, that if he sée but mans picture, hee is ready to flie vpon it, & all to teare it. Such is the enmitie of the red Dragon whom Christ vanquished, if hee

sée but a picture or resemblance of Christ in a good man, hee is ready to rage against it: wee sée him assaulting, but not preuai∣ling.

20 By the order of these temp∣tations, it is manifest, that the tempter first beginneth with lighter, then commeth to greater. First, he began with eating, then he goeth to the affectation of glo∣rie, and last of all, falleth to flat Idolatrie: in all these Christ méeteth with the temptation in the beginning, kils the serpent in the egge, •…•…ps vice in the blade, strangles sinne in the first moti∣on. For the old serpent, sayth Ie∣rome, is slipperie, and vnlesse we kéepe out the head of suggestion, he will get in his body of consent and all.

21 In these temptations, Christ repaireth, as we see, to a scriptum est, it is written, a spe∣ciall lesson for our Christian lear∣ning: if we are tempted with a desire of sinfull delights, we may call to minde, we haue a Scriptum est, to aunswere this temptation:

Not in chambering & wantonnes. If wee be tempted with an in∣ordinate desire of riches, we haue 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Scriptum est, Godlines is great gaine, if a man be content with that he hath. If wee be tempted with a vain opinion of our selues, we haue a Scriptum est: Behold, I am but earth and ashes. If we be tempted with a carelesnes of our estate and condition, wee haue a Scriptum est, It is appointed for all men once to die, and after that comes iudgement.

Furthermore, wee sée Christ would not turne stones into bread: to learne vs not to con∣sent vnto the Tempter in any thing, no though it haue a shew of good. There were many high pla∣ces in Ierusalem, yet the temp∣tation of the casting downe was from the Temple, the best, the ho∣liest estate of all.

Christ would not cast himself downe, though he might haue sa∣ued himselfe without the mini∣sterie of Angels: to shew vs not to séeke supernaturall meanes, when God doth lend vs natural;

we tempt him when wee séeke health without a medicine, or victorie without a combate: wee tempt him when wee may by reason or counsaile auoide some euill, and will notwithstanding explore his power: and last of all, we tempt him, when we en∣quire too farre into his wisedom, or require that of him vnlawful∣lie, which hee is wont to offer by meanes.

22 Christ would not hearken vnto the temptation of win•…•… praise, wherby the tempter seeks to drawe many from God, and godlines, nor vnto a desire of ha∣uing Kingdomes of the world, whereby he is wont to draw ma∣nie for a great deale lesse, & néede not be at cost to offer so much to withdraw them from Gods wor∣ship. What Christ did we sée, and hence all may learne what they should doe.

23 At the end of this conflict of our Sauiour, the Angels come vnto him: at the end, for so long (saith Saint Chrysostome) as he was combatting, he suffe∣red

them not to appeare, nor to come néere him, least hee might haue séemed to haue put the ad∣uersarie to flight, by the helpe of Angels. At this time the An∣gels minister vnto him, as appli∣able to his Deitie, in his agonie they are said to comfort him, as hauing reference to his huma∣nitie.

Another thing we heere learne is, that the Angels doe congra∣tulate at resisting the temptati∣ons of the deuill. We sée we haue a great aduersarie, but a greater Captaine to stand with vs in the combate. For the aduersarie, he doth assaile the children of God by many meanes: in that w•…•…ch is good, by pride: in that •…•…h is euill, by abiect feare: for the meeke, hee is ouer them: for the stout and wilfull by perswading good for euill, hee is vnder them: hee hath nets for euery dispositi∣on: For the ambitious hee hath glory, for the couetous gaine, yea, for the most religious themselues hee hath some meane or other to assaile them.

24 I would you should know (sayeth Saint Bernard) that no man whilest he liueth in this bo∣die can liue without temptation. When the Apostle sayes, God is faithfull, which will not suffer you to be tempted aboue that you be able: he doth not say, which will not suffer you to be tempted at all, sayeth Saint Austen, but which will not suffer you to be tempted aboue that you be able. Sathan sléepeth not, but is bu∣sie to tempt, and specially when thou art in the desart of the con∣templation, and euen caried by the spirit of God in the wilder∣nes, that is from the delights and pleasures of this world: but wee may be of good courage, our Iosuah goeth in & out before vs; he was tempted, that we might not thinke much to endure temp∣tation: he ouercame temptation, that in him wee might haue po∣wer likewise to ouercome. The tempter come vnto him, not once, or twise, but the third time, to shewe that our temptations are many: but howe many so euer

they •…•…re, we haue these comforts, which are more and of more effi∣cacie: First, that Christ hath subdued the force of our enemie: Secondarily, that hee taketh compassion vpon the tempted, ha∣uing himselfe endured temptati∣on: Thirdly, that from hence∣forth he wil ouercome him in his members, whom he ouercame in his owne person, being the head of the body. Wherefore, as Moy∣ses sayd vnto the people, Dread not, nor be afraid, for your God fighteth for you: So may it be said vnto euery Christian man, whose armour is the shielde of faith, the sword of the spirit, whose battaile is temptation, whose grand Captain is Christ Iesus our Sauiour, whose con∣quest is an immortall crowne of euerlasting glory: be of good cou∣rage, pluck vp a good heart, the Lord of heauen & earth, is with thée, and for thée, in the conflict.

Notes

• 1 Sam. 17, 10.
• Mat. 3, 18.
• Ioh. 17, 16.
• Ro. 13, 14.
• Apo. 12. 11
• 1, Pet. 5, 8
• Exo. 13, 21
• 1, Sam. 17.
• Rom. 18,
• 1. Cor. 15. 32.
• 1, Pet. 5, 8.
• Basil. de •…•…ud. Ieiu. Iudic. 9, 1. Ion. 3. 6. Exod. 17, 11. Hest. 14, 2.
• Math. 4, 2.
• Gal. 5, 24.
• Luk. 21. 34
• Eze. 16, 49
• Exo. 32. 2.
• Deu. 9. 16.
• Ose. 3. 6.
• Gal. 5. 24.
• Iud. 20, 26
• Ion. 3, 6.
• 1, Cor. 9.
• Psa. 35, 16
• Tertul de laud. ie•…•….
• Ambros. Tom. 3. Epist. 10.
• Hieron. in Ezech.
• Gen. 8, 4. Psal. 95.
• Ion. 3, 1.
• Ezec. 4, 4,
• 1, Reg. 19, 8. Exod. 32, 2
• Hier. con. Mont. nos secundum traditio∣nem Apo∣stolorum vnicam ob∣se•…•…uamus Quadra∣gesimam.
• Cyrill in L•…•….
• Aug. Serm. 64. de temp.
• Mat. 1, 20 23. Luc. 2, 14. 16.
• Luk, 2, 21.
• Mat. 3, 16. 17.
• Deut. 8, 3.
• Psa. 91, 11
• Act. 17, 11
• Deu. 6, 16.
• Num. 22, 18.
• Deu. 10, 20.
• Chrysot. hom. in 4, Math.
• Basil. in aliquot s•…•…ript. loco. hom. 21.
• Rom. 13, 13.
• 1, Tim. 6, 6
• Ge. 18, 27.
• Heb. 9, 27.
• 1, Cor. 10, 13.
• Deut. 29, 30.