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BVt yet, let no man deceiue himselfe, as though his ene∣mie would presently betake him to his heeles: not so, hee beares no cowards heart, to turne his backe after one blow giuen. Nay, thou shalt finde (gentle Reader) vnlesse thou slauishly yeeldest to his temptations, that he is not in vaine termed a Lion, as hauing indeed a Lions courage: so that
sometimes that is verified be∣tweene the holy Ghost and him, which is said of the house of Da∣uid and Saul, There was long war betweene the house of Saul and the house of Dauid, before the victory inclined to either part. And this is most commonly seene in that first and great combat: I meane, when first a man perceiuing his miserable thraldome vnder Sa∣tan (whose slaues wee are all by nature) and the exceeding great danger hee liues in by meanes thereof; beginneth, through the good motions of Gods Spirit, to draw his necke out of the collar, and to deny subiection vnto him any longer. S. Augustine repor∣teth of himselfe, that before his conuersion hee felt a great and long combat within him, be∣tweene the flesh and the Spirit, betweene God drawing him on the one side vnto amendment of
life, and the world, the flesh, and the Deuill, seeking to hold him backe on the other side in that wicked course of life, which hee had led hitherto. In this con∣flict (saith that godly Father) what did I not say against my selfe? How did I beat, and euen whip mine owne soule, to make her follow thee O Lord? But she held backe, she refused and excu∣sed her selfe: and when all her arguments were ouerthrowen, she remained trembling and fea∣ring as death to be restrained of her loose custome of sinne. Af∣ter this, all his pleasures past re∣presented themselues before his eies, saying; What, wilt thou de∣part from vs, and shall wee bee with thee no more for euer, after this moment? Shall it not bee lawfull for thee to doe this or that any more heereafter? And then (saith Saint Augustine) O
Lord, turne from the minde of thy seruant, to thinke of that which they obiected to my soule: what filth, what shamefull pleasures did they lay before mine eies? Moreouer, the De∣uill would needs perswade him, that it was vnpossible for him to ouercome his passions. At length, the battell still increa∣sing, hee said to God. O Lord, how long wilt thou suffer mee thus? How long, how long shall I say, to morrow, to morrow? Why should I not doe it now? Why should there not be an end of my filthie life, euen at this houre? Thus at length after a long combat and many hot skir∣mishes, through the helpe of his God, and by the power of his might, his soule escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fow∣ler, the snare was broken, and he was deliuered.
The Deuill (I say) will not presently giue ouer in the first & great combat: if Moses would bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Pharaoh will not yeeld thereto for a long time, and no sooner shall they set one foote out of his kingdom, but he will follow with his horsemen and chariots to bring them backe againe with all speed. Although indeed this is also verified many times in those sundry and manifold conflicts which happen in our life time af∣terward. When the messenger of Satan was sent to buffet Saint Paul, hee prayed to the Lord once, and he would not depart: he prayed the second time, nei∣ther would he stirre a foote: and though he prayed the third time, yet, as may bee gathered by the answer God made him, the De∣uill would not flee away notwith∣standing. And what true souldi∣our
of Christ is there, which knoweth not this to bee true by daily experience? The reasons heereof are two principally: the one is yeelded by St. Paul, ver: 7. Lest I should be exalted out of mea∣sure, &c. The other, by God himselfe, vers: 9. My grace is sufficient for thee; for my power is made perfect through weaknesse. It pleaseth that God, who is able to enable his seruants to put the ad∣uersarie to foyle out of hand, to suffer him neuerthelesse to con∣tend dubio Marte for a time: partly, that so his grace may be magnified, whose power in vs ap∣peareth to bee by so much the greater, by how much our owne is acknowledged to bee lesser: partly againe, to teach vs that good lesson Nosce teipsum, to know our selues in some good measure, that so we may be truly humbled, when we see aswel what
wee want, as what we haue recei∣ued. For indeed in this world we receiue only the first fruits of the spirit, and not the tenthes: wher∣as many of vs are no sooner en∣tred into Christs campe, I mean, truly sanctified; but presently, as though we had receiued the Spi∣rit of power in the greatest mea∣sure, and were euer fed to the full with abundance of spirituall gra∣ces, we thinke our selues strong inough and wel able to goe vpon the Lion and Serpent, & to tread Satan vnder foot at our pleasure. But (alas) wretched men that we are, how often doe wee prooue the contrarie by wofull experi∣ence in the course of our liues af∣terward.
Sam. 3.
2. Cor. 12▪
Rom. 8.