_That presumption was the chief design of this temptation.—Of tempting
to extremes.—What presumption is.—The several ways of presuming.—The
frequency of this temptation, in the generality of professors, in
hypocrites, despairing persons, and in the children of God.—The
reasons of Satan’s industry in this design.—His deceitful contrivance
in bringing about this sin.—Preservatives against it._
Next to the preparation which Satan made for the second conflict,
already explained, the temptation intended offers itself to our view,
which is this, ‘Cast thyself down.’ What Satan chiefly intended by
it, we may collect from Christ’s answer, as well as from the thing
itself; for he thus replies, ‘It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the
Lord thy God.’ Christ doth not use this scripture to any such sense
as this, that he should hereby prohibit Satan to tempt him because he
was Satan’s Lord and God; but he mentioned this scripture as a rule
of obedience: as if he should say, ‘I may not cast myself down, and
so rely on extraordinary help, seeing I can go down another way;’ for
the neglect of ordinary means, when we have them, is a tempting of
God, which may not be done. So that it appears by this, that Satan
here tempted Christ to presumption. There is only this objection in
our way, that Deut. vi. 16, the place by Christ cited, refers to the
temptation of the Israelites in Massah, mentioned Exod. xvii. 2, where
they chide with Moses for water; and there it would seem their tempting
the Lord was rather in despairing of his power and help than presuming
in the neglect of the ordinary means. I answer, though the occasion
and matter of that temptation be different from this of Christ’s, yet
the presumptuous experiment that they there made of God’s presence
and power was the same with this which Satan designed; for ver. 7,
where the account of that tempting is given, it is said, ‘because they
tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?’ they put it
to this issue, that the being and power of God should be tried by the
giving or not giving of water. The manner, then, of that temptation
being so agreeable to this, Christ very pertinently applies that
command to it, presumption being the thing which Christ was tempted
to. It might occasion some wonder in us to see Satan take such strange
steps. He was before tempting him to despair, now to presumption; but
it is no argument of his lightness or uncertain roving in his way of
tempting, but rather of his depth and subtlety. Note then,
_Obs._ 7. _That it is Satan’s policy in tempting, to run from one
extreme to another._ The Corinthians were first tempted to a sinful
compliance with the adulterous person, and were averse to his
excommunication; afterwards they were tempted to the contrary severity,
and were as backward to receive him again. The same men that have been
overcome by prodigality and excess, when they begin to see the evil
of that, are oft tempted to worldliness or covetousness, the contrary
disposition. Reasons of this policy are:—
(1.) First, _The avoiding of one extreme gives the soul such a swing,
if care be not used to prevent it, that they are cast more than half
way upon the other_. Peter, in an extreme of modesty, refused the
washing of his feet by Christ; but when he understood the danger, then
he runs as far wrong another way—‘Not my feet only, but my hands and
my head,’ John xiii. 9. Thus some are so for purity of churches, that
they exclude the weak; others so for unity, that they admit the open
scandalous and profane.
(2.) Secondly, _While men avoid one extreme by running into another,
they carry with them such strong impressions of the evil they would
avoid, and such fierce prejudices, that it is not an ordinary
conviction will bring them right, but they are apt to be confident of
the goodness of the way they take, and so are the more bold and fixed
in their miscarriage_.
Presumption being the great design of Satan in this temptation, we may
further observe:—
_Obs._ 8. _That as distrust on the one hand, so presumption on the
other, is one of his grand designs._ Of these two, we may say as it was
said of the sword of Hazael and Jehu, that of all those that are slain
by the devil, whosoever hath escaped the sword of distrust and despair,
the sword of presumption hath slain. To explain this I shall,
1. First, _Shew what presumption is_. It is in the general _a
confidence without a ground_. [1.] _First_, It is made up of
_audacity_—which is a bold and daring undertaking of a thing—and
_security_. [2.] _Secondly_, The ground of it is _an error of
judgment_. A blind or a misled judgment doth always nourish it; and
this is either a mistake of the nature of such means on which we rely
for assistance, as when a man lays as much stress upon a thread as
upon a cable, or expects as much nourishment from a stone as from
bread;[410] or a mistake of the will of others, from whom we expect
aid and help, without a warrant for such a confidence. [3.] _Thirdly_,
In its way of working _it is directly opposite to distrust, and is a
kind of excessive though irregular hope_; not that in this case a man
believes or hopes overmuch, for there can be no excess properly in the
exercise of divine graces, but that he hopes too rashly or lightly,
without a solid foundation or reason.[411] Hope hath for its object
that which is good under the considerations of futurity, possibility,
and difficulty. On the one side, desperation looks upon that good as
future, but under so great a difficulty that it forgets the possibility
of it, and thereupon surceaseth all endeavours. Presumption, on the
other hand, is so keenly apprehensive of the possibility, that it
never regards the difficulty, and so thrusts forward into irregular
endeavours or expectations. The nature of this will be better
understood when the particular instances of presumption are before us.
(1.) First, Then it is presumption, _when from external or subordinate
means men expect that for which they were never designed nor appointed
of God_. To expect ‘grapes of thorns or figs of thistles,’ would be a
presumption, because God never designed them for such fruits; and no
less is it when in any other case men look for high and extraordinary
things from any created good above what God hath put into it by the law
of creation.
(2.) Secondly, _When men do expect those fruits and effects from
anything unto which it is appointed, in neglect or opposition to the
supreme cause, without whose concurrent influence they cannot reach
their proper ends_—that is, our hopes are wholly centred upon means,
when in the meantime our eye is not upon God. Thus ‘to make gold
our hope,’ Job xxxi. 24, ‘to make flesh our arm,’ Jer. xvii. 5, ‘to
make Ashur a saviour,’ Hosea xiv. 3, or to trust to any creatures
whatsoever, is in Scripture condemned as a presumptuous reliance, and,
in regard of the necessary disappointment, ‘a trusting in a lie;’ in
which sense it is said that ‘every man is a liar,’ Ps. lxii. 9. The
like presumption it is when we boast great things of ourselves, and, as
Peter, make confident engagements, in our own strength, that we will
avoid such a sin or perform such a duty; for we are but frail, and
all our sufficiency is from the Lord, so that it can be no less than
intolerable arrogance to promise anything of ourselves without him;
neither can men promise to themselves the continuance of that good or
advantage which they have already received from second causes, if their
confidence builds itself upon that sole consideration, without a just
blame. Job had said he should ‘die in his nest,’ [chap. xxix. 18,] and
David that ‘he should never be moved,’ [Ps. xvi. 8,] but both of them
afterward noted these confidences to have been no other than deceitful
presumptions.
(3.) Thirdly, It is a presumption _to expect things above the reach
of our present state and condition_; as for a mean man to beg of
God authority and rule, or to expect to be set with princes; or for
ordinary Christians to look for miracles, signs from heaven, visions,
revelations, extraordinary answers to prayers, and the like, all which
expectations are groundless, and the issue of a presumptuous pride:
_sperare non speranda_.
(4.) Fourthly, _When men expect things contrary to the rules that God
hath set for his dispensations of mercy, they boldly presume upon
his will_. God hath promised preservation to his children while they
are in God’s way, but if any shall go out of that way, and sinfully
put himself into dangers and hazards, it would be presumption in him
to expect a preservation. It is the same in spiritual things. God
promiseth eternal life and the blessings of his covenant to such as
give up themselves to him and his laws; will it not be intolerable
presumption for men ‘to bless themselves in their heart’ with
expectations of reigning with him in glory, while in the meantime they
contradict his own rule and neglect his order, walking in profaneness
and living to themselves? This is a high presumption of mercy against
his express will. Hence are such courses called ‘presumptuous sins,’
Ps. xix. 13, and such sinners transgress ‘with a high hand.’
(5.) Fifthly, It is also a presumption _to expect any mercy, though
common and usual, without the ordinary means by which God in providence
hath settled the usual dispensations of such favours_; as when men
look for his aid and help for supply of corporal wants, while they
throw off all care, and refuse their own endeavours, which are the
ways of God’s appointment, in the conscientious use whereof such
mercies are to be expected. The heathen, upon the consideration of
the necessary connexion of means and the end, have usually judged
such sluggish expectations to be no better than solemn mockings of a
deity: _admotâ manu invocanda est Minerva_. In spiritual things it is
no less presumptuous to expect conversion, and an interest in Christ
and heaven, while they refuse the careful use of his ordinances; and
therefore we are commanded to pray for such blessings, ‘to cry after
knowledge, and to lift up the voice for understanding,’ Prov. ii. 3-5,
and to second these prayers with our own utmost endeavours ‘to seek for
it as for silver, and to search for it as for hid treasures,’ and in so
doing to expect the finding of the knowledge of God.
(6.) Sixthly, _When ordinary or extraordinary mercies are expected
for an unlawful end_; as when the Israelites at Massah called for
water,—which they ought to believe God would supply them withal, their
condition considered,—but for a test and proof of the being of God; for
they said, ‘Is God among us, or not?’ Exod. xvii. 7. It is by James
made a piece of spiritual unfaithfulness and adultery to ask anything
of God with a design ‘to spend it upon a lust,’ [chap. iv. 3.] Ahaz
his refusing a sign when God offered it, however he made a show of
modesty and believing, argued no other thing but that he was conscious
to himself that, in case he had accepted it, he should have abused
that favour to an unlawful end, and have tempted God by it, as putting
it upon this experiment whether there was a God or not. This is also
another act of presumption. When a man becomes guilty of any of these
miscarriages, he is presumptuous.
2. Secondly, I further add to this discovery of the nature and kinds of
presumption, that this is one of Satan’s grand engines; which I prove
by two demonstrations:—
(1.) First, _By Satan’s common practice in this kind upon all sorts
of men, in most occasions_. That which is his frequent practice upon
most men, and on most occasions, must of necessity be understood to be
chiefly designed. Some men may possibly be free from the trouble of
some particular temptations, as Hieronimus Wallerus saith of Luther
his master, that he heard him often report of himself that he had been
assaulted and vexed with all kind of temptations, saving only that of
covetousness; but none can say they have not been assaulted with this.
I shall make it out by an induction of particulars:—
[1.] First, _The generality of men that live in the profession of
religion are presumptuous, nay, the greatest part of the blind world
are so_. They presume of mercy and salvation. The devil preacheth
nothing else but all hope, no fear, and in these golden dreams they
slide down to hell. If we look into their way of sinning, and then
into their hopes, we can judge no less of them. They stick not at the
most grievous abominations, the works of the flesh, and in these they
continue. It is their trade, their life; they make provisions for them,
they cannot sleep except they do wickedly; he that reproveth is derided
by them; they make but a mock and sport of those things which, as the
shame and reproach of mankind, should rather fly the light and hide
themselves as things of darkness. These things they practise without
regret or sorrow of heart, without smiting upon the thigh, and in all
this they have the confidence to say, ‘Is not the Lord among us?’
They can call themselves Christians, and have as bold expectations
of eternal happiness, as if the committing of these evils were made
by God the necessary qualifications to everlasting happiness. What
is more common, and yet what more presumptuous? For (1.) These men
audaciously hope and expect mercy, expressly contrary to the peremptory
threatenings of God. God saith, ‘There is no peace to the wicked;’ they
say, ‘We shall have peace.’ (2.) These run upon the greatest hazards
of ruin and woe, with the least fear, in the contempt of all danger,
‘as the horse rusheth into the battle, who mocketh at fear, and is not
affrighted, neither turneth his back from the sword,’ Job xxxix. 22.
(3.) They dare God to do his worst, they provoke God to jealousy, and
that to his face; hence was it that Nimrod was said to be a mighty
hunter before the Lord, [Gen. x. 9;] and Er, the son of Judah, that he
was wicked ‘before the Lord,’ [Gen. xxxviii. 7,] because such audacious
sinners will not, as we may say, go behind his back to sin.
[2.] Secondly, _Hypocrites whose carnage is more smooth, they also are
presumptuous_; for while they hide their sin, they do against dictates
of conscience presume ‘that he that made the eye doth not see,’ and
that there is a possibility to cheat God as well as men: besides, their
boastings and hopes have a special mark set upon them in Scripture as
audaciously false; ‘the hope of the hypocrite shall be cut off,’ [Job
viii. 13;] their confidence of the temple of the Lord is but a lie, and
so termed expressly by the prophet.
[3.] Thirdly, _Even despairing persons are not always free of
presumption_. The act of self-murder is a terrible presuming upon
infinite justice. Spira’s desire to know the worst was of the same
kind. These are indeed extraordinary; but there are some other kinds
of despair that come nearer to presumption, as that sensual despair
which ariseth out of an excessive love of carnal delights, and a
secure contempt of spiritual things; for when sensuality prompts them
to eat and drink while they may, despairing and hopeless of a future
happiness, ‘for to-morrow they shall die,’ [Isa. xxii. 13,] and their
pleasure cease, they highly presume against the patience and goodness
of God.
[4.] Fourthly, _The best of men are too frequently overcome by it_.
(1.) Not only while they are overtaken with sins more grievous, and
above the rate of sins of infirmity, to which how liable the holiest
saint may be upon temptation, may be gathered from David’s prayer,
‘Keep thy servant from presumptuous sins, that they have not dominion
over me,’ [Ps. xix. 13.] (2.) But by their earnest prosecutions of
their own wills when contradicted by providence. It is by the prophet,
Isaiah ix. 9, called ‘a pride and stoutness of heart,’ to contend with
providence, to attempt to build with ‘hewn stone when the bricks are
fallen,’ or to ‘strive for cedars when divine wrath hath cut down the
sycamores.’ (3.) How frequently are they guilty of presuming upon their
privileges, their strength, their graces, and upon that score venture
themselves upon occasions of sin, or bear high above others upon a
conceit of their higher attainments, or when they boldly put themselves
upon suffering, or upon doing, while they want that due humility and
care that should balance them. (4.) There is also a presumptuous
rashness, upon which the zeal and good intentions of holy men may
sometimes precipitate them. Such was Uzziah’s putting forth his hand
to hold the ark, for which the Lord smote him. All these instances
put together will sufficiently demonstrate that presumption is one of
Satan’s master designs.
The second demonstration of this truth is from the general subserviency
of other things to this. Most of Satan’s endeavours and temptations
aim at this point, and this is the result and consequence of most
sins. That must needs be chief, to which so many things do but serve
and minister. In this centre do most of the lines of his policy
meet,—pride, vainglory, conceited privileges, supposed advantages, and
many things more were but under-agents to this temptation which the
devil attempted upon Christ, as hath in part, and presently shall be
further, evidenced.
3. Thirdly, Having thus proved that presumption is one of the
great things he aims at, I shall next _discover the reasons of his
earnestness and industry in his design_, which are these:—
(1.) First, _It is a sin very natural, in which he hath the advantage
of our own readiness and inclination_. However that some from a
melancholy temper are inclinable to fears and distrust at some time,
when these black apprehensions are exalted, yet, these excepted, hopes
are more predominant than fears; and self-love, which provides fuel to
these hopes, is a natural principle in all. When so many things give
him such advantages and promise him a success, we may well suppose he
will not miss such an opportunity.
(2.) Secondly, _As it is easy for Satan’s attempt, so it is remote from
conviction, and not rooted out without great difficulty_. It is a sin
that is covered with a pretext of a higher degree of hope. Men in many
ways of this iniquity are under persuasions of duty, and by reason of
that confidence, fear, which is the soul’s sentinel, is asleep. Hence
do they not lie so fairly open to counsel or reproof. The Israelites,
Deut. i. 27, 28, being under discouragement, refuse to go up to Canaan,
when they were upon the border of the land; but being convinced of
their sin in distrusting the arm of the Lord, by God’s declared wrath
and threatening against them, they fall upon the contrary extreme of
presumption, and then, ver. 41, ‘they would go up and fight;’ and
the conviction of their former sin made them so confident that this
was their present duty—for thus they argue, ‘We have sinned against
the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord
our God commanded us’—that though they were expressly forbidden from
God, ver. 42, ‘Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you;’ yet
were they so strangely carried by their former persuasion, that they
refused to be convinced, ‘and went presumptuously into the hill.’ By
which instance we see what great pretences lead on presumption, and how
difficultly they are removed, which two things do no less than tempt
Satan to lay out himself to the uttermost in that design.
(3.) Thirdly, _The greatness of the sin when it is committed, is
another reason of his diligence in the pursuit of it_. It is not only
from a simple error or mistake, but that error ariseth from intolerable
pride; they say and do such things from the pride and stoutness of
their heart, Isa. ix. 9. He that is presumptuous is self-willed, 2 Pet.
ii. 10. Hence these sins, which we translate presumptuous, are in the
original called prides or arrogancies, Ps. xix. 13; Deut. xvii. 12.
Besides, they are contradictions to Gods order, separating those things
that God hath joined together, as the means from the end, or the end
from the means, as if the ‘earth should be turned out of its place’ for
us. And in some cases it is no less than the open affronting of God
by abusing his own favours against himself; for thus they deal with
him, who are opinionated in sin because of his mercy, concluding, by
an irrational consequence, that they ought to be wicked because God is
good, or that they may freely offend because he doth not punish.
(4.) Fourthly, _The dangerous issues and consequences of this way
of sinning, do not a little animate Satan to tempt to it_. In some
cases it was to be punished by death: Deut. xvii. 12, ‘The man that
doth presumptuously, even that man shall die;’ and most usually it
is plagued with sad disappointments, by a severe engagement of God’s
displeasure against it. ‘The hypocrite’s hope shall perish, it shall
be as the giving up of the ghost,’ Job viii. 13, and xi. 20. And
generally, ‘He that thus blesseth himself in his heart, when he heareth
the words of the curse,’ Deut. xxix. 19, 20, ‘the Lord will not spare
him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke
against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book
shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under
heaven.’
4. Fourthly and lastly, I shall lay before you _the deceitful
contrivance of Satan in bringing this sin about_, by shewing the
particulars of his craft against Christ herein. As,
(1.) First, _He takes advantage from his resolve to rely upon
providence, contrary to the former temptation of turning stones to
bread_. Christ had refused that, telling him it was duty to trust
him, who not only by the ordinary means of bread could feed him, but
also by any other appointment. To this Satan rejoins, by offering
an irregular opportunity of such a trust, in casting himself from
the pinnacle of the temple: as if he should say, ‘If thou wilt thus
rely upon providence, do it in this.’ Wherein we may note, that from
an obediential dependence, he would draw Christ to an irregular
presumption. He retorts Christ’s argument back again upon him thus,
‘If God is to be relied upon by a certain trust for food, by the like
trust he is to be relied upon for preservation; if the belief of supply
of bread can consist with a neglect or refusal of ordinary means for
the procurement thereof, then may the belief of preservation in casting
thyself from the pinnacle of the temple consist also with a neglect
of the ordinary means.’ Thus, like a cunning sophister, he endeavours
to conclude sin from duty, from a seeming parity betwixt them, though
indeed the cases were vastly different. For, though it be duty to
depend upon providence, when God, in the pursuit of service and duty,
brings us out of the sight and hopes of outward means, yet it can be
no less than sinful presumption for us to make such experiments of
providences, when we need not, and when ordinary means are at hand.
After the same manner doth he endeavour to put fallacies upon us, and
to cheat us into presumptuous undertakings, by arguing from a necessary
trust, in some cases, a necessity of presuming in others, upon a
seeming likeness and proportion.
(2.) Secondly, _It was no small piece of Satan’s craft to take this
advantage, while the impression of trust in the want of outward means
was warm upon the heart of Christ_. He hoped thereby the more easily
to draw him to an excess. For he knows that a zealous earnestness to
avoid a sin, and to keep to a duty, doth often too much incline us to
an extreme, and he well hoped that when Christ had declared himself
so positively to depend upon God, he might have prevailed to have
stretched that dependence beyond its due bounds, taking the opportunity
of his sway that way, which, as a ship before wind and tide, might soon
be overdriven. And this was the design of his haste in this second
temptation, because he would strike while the iron was hot, and closely
pursue his advantage, while the strength and forwardness of these
resolves were upon him.
(3.) Thirdly, _He endeavours to animate him to this presumption by
popular applause, and to tickle him into a humour of affecting the
glory and admiration, which by such a strange undertaking might be
raised in the minds of the spectators_; and therefore did he bring
him to the most conspicuous place of a great and populous city, not
thinking the matter so feasible if he had tempted him to it in a
solitary desert.
(4.) Fourthly, _He propounds to him a plausible end, and a seeming
advantage_, viz., the clear and undoubted discovery of his divine
nature and near interest in God; urging this as a necessary duty, for
his own satisfaction, and the manifestation of his sonship to others.
(5.) Fifthly, To drive out of his mind those fears of miscarrying in
his attempt, which otherwise might have been a block in his way, _he is
officious in strengthening his confidence by propounding treacherous
helps and preservatives_, suggesting a safety to him from the privilege
of the place where this was to be acted, a holy city and temple,
producing more of a divine presence for his safety than other places.
(6.) Sixthly, To make all sure, _he backs all this with a promise of
preservation_, that nothing might be wanting to his security.
By this method applied to other things and cases, he endeavours to
bring us to presumption.
_Applic._ The consideration of this should _put us upon a special care
and watchfulness against presumption_. It is more designed, and hath
a greater prevalency than men are aware of. Two things I shall only at
present propound for our preservation, out of Ps. xix. 12, 13.
[1.] First, _He that would be kept from presumptuous sins must make
conscience of secret sins, to search for them, to mortify them, to
beg pardon for them_. With what face or hope can we expect from God
help against these, when we provoke him to leave us to ourselves, by
indulging ourselves in the other?
[2.] Secondly, He that would avoid them _must be under the awe and
fear of being overcome by them_. He that slights and contemns such
visible hazards shall not long be innocent. David here first shews his
conscience to be concerned with secret sins, and then begs to be kept
from presumptuous sins, and by such earnest begging he next shews how
much he dreaded such miscarriages. [Dickson, _in loc._]