and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone"

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He insinuates, that Jesus is not what he professes to be, and defies him to give proof of his being so, by relying upon this prophecy and casting himself down from the temple. If," said he, " thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down;" Jesus, knowing that ample proof had already been offered, and that there was at that time no adequate occasion for requiring the exertion of miraculous power; then reminds the tempter of the rebuke which the Israelites had received, for doubting the Divine presence and power, after it had been evinced beyond all question by multiplied evidence. He silences him by replying, that in the same Scriptures from which he had quoted the prophecy," it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." And it would be tempting the Lord to require him to perform a miracle in proof of his power, and divinity, when he had already displayed sufficient wonders, to satisfy any reasonable, and candid enquirer.

Before we conclude this head of our subject, we may enquire how far, and in what respects the prohibition, here mentioned, and

1 Matt. iv. 6.

illustrated by our Saviour's case, applies to our situation; in short, how, in the sense here intended, we may be said to "tempt God."

say

One of the first, and most obviously similar cases, in which we may tempt God, is to entertain the expectation of miracles in these times without an adequate occasion assigned; I the expectation of miracles, for the of fence of those, who pretend to perform them is of a different kind. We know no properly authenticated cases of their being, in these times, really performed; and we cannot hesitate to pronounce attempts to delude the foolish and the ignorant, with the appearance of them, gross and scandalous impostures.

But it is presumption, it is tempting God, to expect them. However necessary miracles were during the first age of the Christian Church, that necessity has long since ceased. The maintenance of religion may be effected by the instrumentality of human efforts; or, more correctly speaking, by the ordinary means of God's grace, duly employed and improved by the attention and diligence of men, both teachers and hearers". And, if this be "sufficient" for us, our Saviour, in the example before us, has exhibited a strong and striking proof, that the miraculous interpo

See Sermon on Manifestation of the Spirit.

sition of God will never be granted without necessity. God's general dealings indicate that he will not suffer a deviation from the laws by which he governs the universe, merely to indulge the visionary whims and fantastic expectations of a fanatic, or to satisfy the idle and captious doubts of a self-willed infidel. When either of these descriptions of men expect miracles, let them be reminded of the caution given by our Saviour. "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." The former of them we may caution, not to be led away by vain imaginations; to "refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise themselves rather unto godliness"." To the latter we may address the impressive admonition which is given in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

With respect, however, to this mode of tempting God, most persons to whom this discourse is likely to be addressed, will probably fancy themselves in no danger. They will say, we neither require nor expect miracles we have no disposition thus to tempt

1 Tim. iv. 7.

God. But reflect a little; be not too hasty in conclusions upon this point.

your

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You will admit that you have ample proofs of the power and providence of God. Besides the repeated and known declarations of Scripture, every thing around you and within you, proclaims his wondrous wisdom, his superintending care. Every breath which you inhale, every pulse which beats; every animal, every insect, nay, every leaf, indicates the workmanship and the presence of that God, without whose care all things must perish, and creation revert to its original chaos. Yet are your thoughts, words, and actions, always framed upon a lively sense of these facts. Or do not sometimes appear rather to tempt God, and require a miraculous exertion of his power? Do you never, for instance, form, and encourage ardent wishes, and even offer up importunate prayers for objects which, without a diversion of the course of things, specially adapted to your views; or, in other words, without a miracle; could not reasonably be expected to take place? How many form the most impracticable wishes; how many offer up the most preposterous petitions! How many wish and pray to be wise, who will not take the trouble to reflect; how many to be learned, who will

you

not study! How many to be rich without diligence pure without trial-received without being chastened-inheritors of the glories of the next world, without being liable to the labours, the duties, and the crosses of this world; and, finally, how many, through their whole lives, act as though they expected salvation on other terms than those which the Scriptures have laid down, and as though they had never heard that it is a Christian's duty to "work out his salvation with fear and trembling!" To act thus is not to rely on God's grace; it is to tempt him: it is to look for a deviation from his laws, without any adequate occasion.

We may also be said to tempt God in a manner analogous to that which was referred to in the rebuke of our Lord, when we needlessly thrust ourselves into spiritual and bodily dangers, from which, in the ordinary course of things, we cannot expect to escape harmless. History abounds with fanatical and foolish actions of this kind; but far from being agreeable to reason and religion, they are condemned by the example of our Saviour, who has shown that God is not to be tempted.

III. We will now proceed to the third head of our discourse, the consideration of a few