S. Barrett, B. A scruple is metaphorically derived from a small stone, which, getting inside the shoe or sandal, causes pain to the feet at every step. The traveller may proceed with immunity, whose empty purse presents no attraction to the robber.(T.
In the Word of God we have A SUFFICIENT ARMOURY OF DEFENCE (vers.
4. WE ARE ALL TEMPTED. John the Baptist stripped them of the old, and Jesus filled them with the new. Such testings, or temptings, take a great variety of forms.IV. H. Hutchings, M. Perkins, D. D.The lonely tree stands more exposed to the tempest than that which is encircled by its fellows.(W. O. Simpson)Satan tempts those who areJames Marchant.I. Did Satan know the Person he assaulted? 1. Parr.I. Satan destroys —(1)Tranquillity of soul;(2)All spiritual joy;(3)All sense of progress. So the soul must agree to accept some guiding influence amongst the different ones which beset her, and to be controlled and conducted afterwards by it.(W. The essence of all such testing is the finding out whether we really mean to live for Self or to live for God.V. II. POVERTY. IMPUDENCE. As the Apostle Paul puts it, “What then shall we say about these things? A mushroom or a cucumber may be raised in the summer-house: not so the oak. A. (James Marchant. Distrust.2. That which he has no intention of giving. Lange.)I. Taylor.
H. 6 So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. SOME OCCASIONS ARE MORE SUITABLE TO THE TEMPTER'S PURPOSES THAN OTHERS. Hence our watchfulness must be intelligent and comprehensive.VI. The good soldier is not made in time of peace.(Dr. Temptations have OPPOSITE METHODS. THE PLACE where the Lord Jesus was tempted. Smith. )The tempter's allies within the soldIf we had no enemies to batter down our wails and holds without us, we have inward and domestic rebels and traitors which continually betray us.The tempter first seeks to pain a little advantageT. Taylor, D. D.As a cunning thief, if he can find room but for the point of a wrenech, will quickly make strong doors to fly open.(T. Instead the Angel explains, “I came out here to oppose you, because what you are doing is perverse. Temptations are set LIKE SNARES. What an affluence of victorious power there is in that, "Hence, Satan."(Dr. Divinely permitted.2. Look on the exalted Jesus as the once tempted Jesus.(C. Moments of joy, sorrow, or unwatchfulness he often seizes.III.
The serpent is seldom seen in its entire or full length.V. The human frame, if it is to acquire strength, must not be wrapped for years in swaddling clothes, but trained to run in the race, and wrestle in the strife. When God does permit men to sin, it does not mean that His Word or His will has changed. WEAKNESS. Every bad man in an elevated situation is a public tempter.(R. Example.(T. Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? A scruple is metaphorically derived from a small stone, which, getting inside the shoe or sandal, causes pain to the feet at every step. O. Simpson)Satan tempts those who areJames Marchant.I. Temptation is not in itself an admission of moral imperfection, so was not inconsistent with the holy character of our Lord. Manton, D. D.This is not without the good providence of God, who hereby will prove His servants, to whom He will commit some special work.(T. (3)The condition.III. The other references to it in the New Testament point in the same direction (Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 2:18). )Inward purity the best defence against temptationW.
Perkins, D. D.The lonely tree stands more exposed to the tempest than that which is encircled by its fellows.(W. a god we can understand! Gould, M.
Diabolically caused.4. "He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15), in order that he might be able to succour the tempted (Hebrews 2:18). SOME OCCASIONS ARE MORE SUITABLE TO THE TEMPTER'S PURPOSES THAN OTHERS. Others creep into the mind little by little, killing while resisting by soft suggestions.X. The scenery of a human life, like the scenery of nature, has its fertile plains, its grim ravines, its bleak and barren hills. A Voltaire is a tempter by his wit; a Hume, by his sophistry; a Rousseau, by eloquence; a Byron, by the splendours of poetic genius. )Christ is no sooner out of the water of baptism than He is in the tire of temptation. Such testings, or temptings, take a great variety of forms.IV. Time when happened.2. Divinely permitted.2. Taylor.
Manton, D. D.This is not without the good providence of God, who hereby will prove His servants, to whom He will commit some special work.(T. A Voltaire is a tempter by his wit; a Hume, by his sophistry; a Rousseau, by eloquence; a Byron, by the splendours of poetic genius. A Divine peace follows the resistance of temptation. God delayed His punishment on the land of Canaan, so that its sin would be fully developed, and so that the wickedness of the Canaanites can be clearly seen.
Gould, M. Cunningly planned.5. )The temptation of Christ, and its subjective resultsT. Balak sent to Balaam.II. Warning.2. J. P. )It is not enough for Him to fulfil the law, but He suffers Himself to be tempted to break it.(Farindon. True, he has acquired a conjectural knowledge. He had nothing to offer Jesus Christ sufficient to allure Him.II. Accordingly, the most subtle and dangerous temptations are precisely those which we least imagine come from the devil.(L. The CONSEQUENCES.1. WHAT is the significance of the several temptations? )A Christian tempted in business is like a ship in a gale; occupation and necessary, duties are the friendly windward headlands which break the force of the gale, under whose shelter the vessel may ride in safety; but he who is tempted in solitude is like the ship which has to encounter the full fury of the hurricane in the unsheltered open sea.(L. Time when happened.2. In the first, Christ is urged to satisfy hunger by working a miracle. )The temptation of Christ, and its subjective resultsT. There are certain moral qualities nearly allied to certain vices; as harshness to cruelty and pride; as softness to luxury and dissipation.VIII. Shaw. When the Israelites send messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, asking for his permission to pass through his land, he refuses, assembling his army to wage war against them (Numbers 21:21-23). Taylor, D. D.As a cunning thief, if he can find room but for the point of a wrenech, will quickly make strong doors to fly open.(T. Moore, M. There are certain moral qualities nearly allied to certain vices; as harshness to cruelty and pride; as softness to luxury and dissipation.VIII. In the KJV, 348 times the term is rendered “smite,” 92 times “slay,” 20 times “kill,” 9 times “beat,” five times “slaughter.” It is very often used to depict the utter defeat and wholesale slaughter of Israel’s enemies in battle. Satan defeated.2. 3, 4, 6).VII. Though the devil come not in person to us, as he did to Christ, yet HE COMES BY HIS INSTRUMENTS. But while we note the extent of Satan's power we must not forget its limits. )Our great adversaryMatthias Faber.His —I. In the Word of God we have A SUFFICIENT ARMOURY OF DEFENCE (vers. Taylor. The scenery of a human life, like the scenery of nature, has its fertile plains, its grim ravines, its bleak and barren hills. His priestly garments are removed from him and placed on his son Eleazar. )Christian maturity a safeguard against temptationHacket., Burkit.The smallest bird can pick off the blossoms of a tree; if that blossom be not nibbled away, but grow a fair apple, the hurt is small that the fowls of the air can do unto it: so the firstlings of a godly life are in the greatest danger; Satan wants no sagacity to observe his advantages, but is aware that if the camp put their spade into the ground for a few days, and cast their trenches, they will hardly be displanted.(Hacket. With riches and ambition.IV. Shaw. The third temptation was to sacrifice principle to policy.
THE TEMPTATION TO SIN FOR THE SAKE OF BREAD IS COMMON, and many are misled by it. IMPUDENCE. Baring. The result was all gain. Smith. With pleasure, then with vainglory.2. Temptations have OPPOSITE METHODS. He who would oppose the people of God and the will of God has made God his adversary. 1; Job 1:12; Job 2:6).IV. Well-taught childhood prepares for the temptations of life.2. Taylor. Perkins, D. D.The lonely tree stands more exposed to the tempest than that which is encircled by its fellows.(W. PROGRESSORS WITH LANGUOR. )The temptation of ChristR. Shaw., G. S. Barrett, B. A.This mingling of contraries runs through all our history. The Significance of the Number “Forty” in the Bible, The number “forty” in Scripture is frequently used in contexts of testing, chastening, and probation; thus many scholars understand it to be the number of “probation” or “trial.” This doesn’t mean that forty is entirely symbolic (it still has a literal meaning in Scripture)…but it does seem that God has chosen this number to help emphasize times of trouble and hardship. A. The serpent is seldom seen in its entire or full length.V. The deep humiliation of our Lord.2. Taylor. )TemptationsClaude de Lingeirdes., Farindon.I. Taylor, D. D.As a cunning thief, if he can find room but for the point of a wrenech, will quickly make strong doors to fly open.(T. C. Hughes, M. A.1. Allow Him to do His work in you. Others creep into the mind little by little, killing while resisting by soft suggestions.X. Many new converts cherish false expectations concerning the peace which, in the Word of God, is promised them.II. The necessity of preparation for every work done for God, if that work is to be really fruitful.3. Temptations are set LIKE SNARES. )It is not enough for Him to fulfil the law, but He suffers Himself to be tempted to break it.(Farindon. Men love status and ruling over others, and when they have it, pride will cause them to hang on to it (very often at the expense of others).
Now it is bathed in the sunlight of a great joy, again it is overcast and saddened by the sorrows whose memory will never fade.(H. 4.
To convey to all His people an assurance that there is a limit to the power of Satan. Taylor, D. D.)The tempter ignored is the tempter assistedL. Example.(T. S. Barrett, B. He was intent upon getting around God’s will. S. Barrett, B. Cunningly planned.5. A. Gould, M. A.1.
He did not cast our Lord down. Perkins, D. D.)Solitude favourable to temp-rationW.