their numerous exhortations to caution and resistance. It is the regenerate themselves, who are admonished to " take heed lest they fall;" and by .whom the trials of temptation, so long as they are in the flesh, must continue to be endured and withstood: but "he, that endureth to the end, shall be saved." ■ Let us then strive to fortify ourselves, not with one or another particular arm of defence, as if that alone might suffice; but with "the whole armour of God." Let us make it our fervent and constant prayer, to be defended not only with "the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation," but with "the breast-plate of righteousness."

The irritations of nature, excited by the various objects of desire, which the world presents to them, constitute that formidable enemy to our peace, against whom we stand solemnly engaged, even from our baptism, to carry on an unwearied and perpetual warfare. If we basely desert our own cause, and turn our backs in the day of battle, it will be vain to look for help from above. The

"Matth. x. 22.

glorious prize, once placed within our reach, will then be irretrievably lost by our own fault and folly. But if, as loyal and steadfast soldiers of Christ, we fight with perseverance under his banner, it will conduct us to victory and honour, to joy and immortality: for it is his own gracious promise, that, if we are " faithful unto death," he will give us " a crown of life." ■ Wherefore, let us be " sober and vigilant," as well as steadfast in the faith; and "the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that we have suffered awhile, will make us perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle us. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever."*

SERMON VIII.

EVILS OF SELF-WILL.

2 Kings V. 11.

But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said; behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

If the pure and benevolent messengers of heaven take a kind interest, as we have reason to believe, in the well-being of mankind, it cannot be without a lively regret, that they observe the various shapes, in which the pride and vanity of the sons of Adam stand in the way of their happiness. Perhaps, with their compassion for our sufferings, they cannot avoid mingling some feelings of anger at our wickedness, and contempt of our folly: but, the more severely their patience may be tried, when they see us at the same time so presumptuous in our expectations of undeserved blessings, and so blind to those, which divine bounty has provided for us; the more deeply must they lament the sad consequences of our errors.

Not so, the wicked and refractory spirits! To them it is most gratifying, to see, how near an approach to their own depraved nature may be found in some instances of human perverseness; and how powerfully this tends, to render us, in the event, the wretched sharers of their fearful destiny. Pride and ambition, Satan well knows, were the sources of his own rebellion, and the sole causes of his ruin. He feels, that it was nothing but boundless and unconquerable pride, that first led him into sin;—nothing but pride, that made him what he now is, and (which is no light portion of his punishment) will not suffer him to forget what he once was.

How highly, then, must this malignant spirit be delighted, to see, what havoc the same fault is making with human happiness:—to see the inhabitant of earth (destined by his Creator, if he will but accept it, to endless felicity) endued, like himself, with such conceit and stubbornness, as may perhaps drive him hereafter to join the rebellious angels in the regions of endless misery! "What a harvest of sin and disobedience must he calculate upon raising from this prolific seed!

It is our great misfortune, that this arch-enemy, who is actually a spectator, and not an indifferent one, of all that passes upon earth, should be so well justified in this estimate of our danger. He has, in this case, his own fatal experience for his guide. The same qualities, he may reasonably conclude, if they be not vigorously restrained, must naturally work the same effects in us also: and he has measures in view, to stifle those higher principles and better feelings, which, if they could work freely in our minds, would induce us to restrain them. Our nature, he knows, is something lower" than his own once was; and our condition and circumstances afford numerous and (to us) perilous opportunities of putting us to the trial, and bringing our sinful propensities into full play.

But let us take care, for our own sake, to dis

* " Thou madest him a little lower than the Angels."—Ps. viii. 5.