No wonder if Satan gets into
the saddle by William Secker. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians
5 22 He who now gives way to the least
sin may yet be given up to the greatest sins. We are never far
enough from lust while we are on earth or near enough to Christ
while we are out of heaven. Oh, stand far off from the devil's
mark, unless you would be hit by his arrows. The drawing near
to the appearance of evil is the first step to the accomplishment
of the most enormous evil. A spark will easily catch a box
of tinder on fire. Little streams will find a passage
to the great sea. Christian reader, why should
you venture on slippery places, when you can scarcely stand upon
the firmest ground? Who will pity that man whose
house is blown off with gunpowder, if he stores it in the chimney
corner? Such is the monstrous wickedness
of men, that though the streams and currents of their own lusts
carry them too swiftly already, yet they hoist up sails to catch
the devil's winds. The fowler spreads his net, but
the wings of the bird carry her into it. If you would not step
into the harlot's house, you should not go by the harlot's
door. If you would not gather the forbidden
fruit, then beware how you look on the luscious tree. To pray
against temptations, And yet to rush into occasions to sin
is to thrust your fingers into the fire and then pray that they
might not be burnt. If you hold the stirrup for him,
no wonder if Satan gets into the saddle. watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation Matthew 26 41 that man who is the most watchful
is the least sinful a soul without its watch is like a city without
its wall exposed to the attack of all its enemies Those who would not fall into
the river should beware how they approach too near to its banks. He who crushes the egg need not
fear the biting of the serpent. He who were to not drink of the
wine of divine wrath let him not touch the cup of sinful pleasure. A person who carries gunpowder
with him can never stand too far from the fire. If we accompany
Sin one mile, it will compel us to go too. Sin swells like
Elijah's cloud from the size of a man's hand to such an expansion
as to cover the whole sky. Let him who thinks he stands
take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10 12. You will quickly lose your standing
if you are fearless of falling.