joint witness with confcience that the believer is juftified by his faith;--where there used to be nothing but the fentence of felf-condemnation, and the tormenting accufation of an evil confcience. Things are fo changed, that the believer finds the accufation is filenced, and a joint teftimony for God is evidently felt and enjoyed;-be that believeth bath the witnefs in himself, for the Spirit beareth witness. 1 John v. 6. 10. These things enable fouls to fay, Our rejoicing is this, the teftimony of our confcience; as I faid before, the believer hath a joint witnefs; for the Spirit beareth witness with our Spirits that we are the children of God. Rom. viii. 16. Thus you fee that love, joy, peace, and faith, are the first-fruits of the Spirit. Rom. viii. 23; and the spirit of thefe fruits is the foretaste and the earnest of our [future] inheritance, until the redemption of the purchafed poffeffion, unto the praise of his glory. Eph. i. 14.

Abimaaz. I clearly fee that my foul is interested in the covenant of grace; nor am I without the evidence, the first-fruits, and the earnest that you have mentioned; and I believe, according to my prefent frame and views, that I shall never doubt again, thou, Lord, of thy goodness, haft made my kill fo ftrong. I fuppofe that Prodigalis enjoyed thefe heavenly bleflings in Chrift Jefus, these sweet foretafles of heaven, in a wonderful degree; for it is often feen, that a miferable Prodigal meets with a confpicuous deliverance, and a foul-humbling

reception,

reception, when God gives him repentance unto life. And indeed if fuch poor fouls had not, it would be impoffible for them to believe to their eternal falvation; they having fuch a dreadful fight of an angry God, and their finful felves, it requires a work of faith with power, to put their unbelief to the blush, and the devil and confcience to filence; nothing will confound these but a wonderful ray, an almighty deliverance, and a divine and all-prevailing evidence.

Cufbi. That is another excellent speech; you begin to mend upon it, I think. But to your inquiry. Prodigalis did, I believe, enjoy as much of the foretaftes of heaven as moft do, until the Spirit of grace had armed him with the whole armour of God, and then he led him forth as an armed soldier of Jefus Chrift, to be tempted of the devil.

Abimaaz. It is amazing to me that the devil fhould be fo unwearied in tempting the children of God, feeing he has met with nothing but repeated difappointments; befides, the Saviour has promised power to his children, fufficient to vanquifh all the power of the devil; infomuch that nothing fhall by any means burt them. Luke x. 19. The devil muft know this, because he never could deftroy one of God's elect; and, as the gates of bell fhall not prevail, Matt. xvi. 18, I am furprifed that Satan does not raife the ficge as an affailant, and get weary of the fuit as a plaintiff.

Cufbi. There is no likelihood of that; Satan ftill ploughs

ploughs in hope; and though he cannot deftroy. the elect, yet if he can destroy their peace, or get them to rebel against God, it is pleasing to him: the devil has a feaft when we have a faít. And, on the other hand, when we are on the mount the devil has a double hell: befides, his enmity against Chrift and his elect is fo deeply rooted, that he cannot endure the fovereignty of the Saviour, nor the objects of his choice.

Abimaaz. But why is the devil fo incenfed against the Saviour, any more than against God the Father.

Cufbi. Several reafons may be affigned for it; First, The Lord Chrift left the rebel-angels in their rebellion, when he charged them with folly. Jobiv. 18. Secondly, He curfed and condemned their prime leader in Eden. Gen. iii. 14. Thirdly, He referved them in everlasting chains [debarred of light] under darkness to the final judgment, Jude 6; while, on the other hand, he confirmed the elect angels by an irrevocable decree, took them from the bafis of free-will, and fixed them in immutable love and almighty power; fo as to render it impoffible for them ever to fall, as the other had done. They are not left now to the freedom of their own will, but confirmed in their glorious Head, Chrift; who is therefore called, the Head of all principality and power. Col. ii. 10. And as the angels are confirmed by the Saviour in eternal friendship, their willingness to renounce their former standing

in the freedom of their own will; their ready acquiefcence in, and thankful acceptance of confirmation in Chrift the elect Head, in whom God had predeftinated their everlasting standing; for this reason they are called elect angels: and their acquiefcence is called a reconciliation, though they were never at enmity. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to bimfelf; by him, I fay, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. Col. i. 20.

This is one cause of the devil's enmity against election; and he has got thoufands in the world who make a profeffion of religion that are influenced by him, and boldly efpoufe and defend his cause against the fovereign will of the Almighty. The great and terrible day of the Lord will discover many wonderful and awful scenes of this fort, to the everlasting confufion of many who now triumph in it.

Secondly, It is a moft galling and degrading confideration to a proud and lofty fpirit, as the devil is, that fallen men, after they were feduced by Satan, were found under the condemnation and curfe of God, as well as themfelves; and when both natures appeared before God equally condemned and on a level; that the Saviour should reject the angelic nature, and affume the humanfor verily be took not on him the nature of angels, but be took on him the feed of Abraham. Heb. ii. 16.

This fovereign act, this difcriminating grace of the Saviour, the devil hates.

Thirdly, By the Saviour's death on the cross the devil fuffered lofs in his kingdom; his dark dominions were wonderfully discovered; the destroying power of fin (the main pillar of his empire) was taken away, infomuch that it fhall never destroy one of God's elect. The devil was caft down as an accufer, and cannot in one fenfe be called the god of this world, for the heir of all things overcame him.

Death, another inferior fovereign in Satan's dominions, was plagued, and fhall furely be deftroyed. Hofea xiii. 14. Satan, fin, and death were triumphed over, and expofed openly on the cross, Col. ii. 15, the devil led captive by the Saviour, Eph. iv. 8, and a kingdom of grace fet up in the world, that fhall furely demolish his. Dan. vii. 14.

Another reafon that may be affigned of the devil's malice is, that the Saviour, whom he fo hates, will bring him and all his legions forth to judgment; Satan is referved under darkness to judgment; and, when the Lord will expofe or reveal the whole mystery of iniquity, 2 Theff. ii. 7, 8, then fhall the faints appear in the truth which the devil left, as Efther did, in Vafhti's palace, Efther ii. 17; for they fhall be as the angels of God in heaven, Matt. xxii. 30; while fallen angels fhall be left on a level with fallen men; not at all fuperior,

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