thereof complain, let thiftles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. Job xxxi. 38, 40.

Abimaaz. O what a malicious plaintiff—what a fubtle attorney-and what a keen accufer that old ferpent is! with what diligence does he watch for his opportunites to tempt poor thoughtless mortals! It seems to be his whole ftudy and anxiety;-as the Saviour intimated to Peter, when he faid, Simon, Simon, Satan bath defired to have thee, that he may fift thee as wheat; but I bave prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. Luke xxii. 31,

Cufbi. To difhonour God-oppofe his gofpeldisturb his faints-and ruin finners, is his whole employ; however, all his accufations could not fink Prodigalis into despair, for he had got a good hope at the bottom, which is an anchor of the foul both fure and ftedfaft. Heb. vi. 19. Prodigalis was perfecuted by Satan, but not in despair; he was caft down, but not deftroyed. 2 Cor. iv. 9. Indeed, at last he made a very good ufe of Satan's accusations; for as Satan accused him of various fins, Prodigalis began to confefs them to God as faft as the devil brought them forth; this is making the best of a bad matter, and out-fhooting the enemy with his own bow. The accufer, finding Prodigalis at this work, foon ceafed his accufations, and began to dispute with him about his fonship. The plaintiff fhewed, that the faints of God in the days of old could work miracles, and caft out devils; but Pro

digalis

digalis was fo far from that power that he could not deliver himself from a temptation, much less work miracles. The poor foul on a fudden began to find the word of God flow in upon his mind, and he opened his mouth against his accufer in the following manner:

The defendant fheweth, That many have worked miracles that will never be faved. Many will fay in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name caft out devils, and done many wonderful works? unto whom the Saviour will fay, I never knew you. The Egyptian magicians worked miracles, and yet were no children of God. Devils may work miracles, or lying wonders, and be devils still. Many workers of miracles the Saviour will refuse in the great day; but a pardoned finner, a believer in his name, he will never difown. The defendant fhewed moreover, that the devil wanted the Saviour to fatisfy him of his being the Son of God, by starting an if, and defiring a miracle: If thou be the Son of God, command that thefe ftones be made bread. Matt. iv. 3. But the Saviour would not fatisfy his adversary by a miracle, but left him to doubt who he was, or to find it out: which Satan foon did, when he perceived that no temptation gained ground. But he felt who he was when he entered upon his miniftry-caft out devils -and by his own almighty power began to deftroy Satan's works.

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The adversary gaining no ground upon Prodigalis by this, went back and puzzled him again upon the old text, He that is born of God finneth not: and here he foiled the poor man; for he had not a right understanding of that text; nor could he with confcience use the ancient faints' common pleas. On these two heads the plaintiff gained ground: therefore Prodigalis was obliged to turn away his ears from common pleas, and make use of them that are too feldom ufed. For after the accufer had gained a confiderable advantage of him from the text above quoted; namely, that be that is born of God finneth not, the defendant cried out, The blood of Christ cleanseth from all fin. 1 John i. 7. This put the accufer to filence. The defendant finding that, produced another promise, saying, It is written, Bebold I give unto you power to tread on Serpents and Scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing fball by any means burt you, Luke x. 19. This weakened the temptation greatly : therefore Prodigalis followed him up again, faying, It is written, My heart is fixed, trufting in the Lords in love my heart is fixed; nòr can all your wiles ever make me hate my Sovereign, or make me loyal in your intereft: therefore I am upon the rock; and it is written, That the gates of hell fhall not prevail against it. Matt. xvi, 18. It is written, it is written, gives a terrible blow to the accuser: he cannot ftand the fword of the Spirit, nor the

power

power of the Saviour, who is the sinner's only plea. "No falfehood can ftand the touch of celestial "temper," fays Milton.

Abimaaz. It is a bleffed thing to be well inftructed in the word of God: the word of truth is both fword and fhield. It is through the comforts of the fcriptures we bave bope. The Bible fhould be read by every believer as the will of his heavenly Father, in which lies his vast inheritance; fecured by abfolute and unconditional promises, which were made to Christ, and to us in him, and all ratified with a divine Yea and Amen.

The whole covenant of promise that was made with the Saviour, and all the promises and bleffings of that covenant, were given by the Father to the Son, and by the Son to us: For I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee; and they have believed that thou didst fend me. John xvii. 8. And all these covenant promises and blessings will be found in the church in the great day, when the earth and all her works will be burnt up; yea, when all books are burnt up, Bibles and all, the Spirit of God, and the word of God, will then be found in the church of Chrift. As for me, this is my covenant with them, faith the Lord; my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, fhall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy feed, nor out of the mouth of thy feed's feed, faith the Lord, from henceforth and

for

for ever. Ifa. lix. 21. Spirit will return in the church unto God, the fountain of all divine happiness, and the eternal centre from whom every bieffing came to the church, and in whom they all must terminate with the church.

Thus the word and the

in

The great and grand end that the Almighty aimed at in his great works is, That in the ages to come be might fhew the exceeding riches of his grace, bis kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Eph. ii. 7. The word and spirit which are compared to rain, shall never leave the world till all the elect are called, made fruitful, and meetened for glory by it. For as the rain cometh down, and the fnow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give feed to the fower, and bread to the eater: fo fhall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it fhall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, andit shall prosper in the thing whereto I fent it. Ifa. lv. 10, 11. Pray, obferve the above text: the end of a shower is to give bread to the eater; fo God's word and Spirit, compared thereto, is to make us, being many, one bread, 1 Cor. x. 17, that as the fhew bread, or the bread of faces, was fet on the golden table in the most holy place every sabbath day; even fo fhall God's elect be presented (not like Ephraim, a cake not turned, Hofea vii. 8, but perfectly leavened by the Holy Ghoft) in the prefence