nations, and before whom the Lord hath begun to drive out the nations by little and little. Ift, To you that are at peace with the nations of hell, at peace with the devil, at peace with your lufts; I would speak a word to you, 1. By way of conviction. 2. By way of counfel. 1. For your conviction. Is it not evident, that the moft part are at peace with hell, being ignorant of the fin-mortifying principles of the gofpel, being flighters of the means of converfion, living in fecurity under all the calls of heaven by the word and the rod, and living in enmity againft the power of godlinefs, indulging themselves in many known fins, and knowing no reftraint from finning, taken from its nature, but from its confequents only. Are there not many here, that have nations of lufis fwarming in their heart, yet were never convinced of, or made to know the plagues of their own heart? Some will fay they have a good heart to God, even though their mouth be filled either with curfing, lying, fwearing, and flandering; or elfe with nothing but vain, frothy, carnal, worldly difcourfe. What! fhall we think you have a clean heart, when you have fuch a foul mouth? Does not Chrift fay, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth fpeaketh?" When a man fees abundance of fmoke coming out at the top of a chimney, he may fay, for certain, that is a fign of much fire in the hearth: fo, when there is nothing but vain, worldly words in the mouth; we may fay, there is much vanity and corruption in the heart. Carnal lips that are not flaped for any fpiritual difcourfe, except in hypocrify and deceit, difcover a carnal heart. how many here are willing flaves to the nations, the Canaanites, the lufis of the flesh! Of all flaves, they are in the worft cafe that are fold; of thefe that are fold, they are in the worft cafe that are put in prifon; of thefe that are in prifon, they are in the worft cafe that are bound and chained in prifon: yet fuch flaves to fin and lufts are all here by nature, fhut up in clofe prison, bound and chained there; fhut up under unbelief: and unbelief is fuch a cruel jailor, that, while you are shut up under it, it will not fo much as fuffer you to lift up Oh! your your head, or to look up to heaven for deliverance. Oh! how miferable is this thraldom that you are under! For thefe nations that rule in you, and over you, and under which you are bearing arms against the God of heaven, will, at lalt, deflroy you for ever, if they be not destroyed in time; if they be not put out of your heart, they will keep you out of heaven; yea, if they be not driven out of your heart, they will drive hell. If that legion of lufis, that you are in league with, be not caft out of your heart, by the power of that glorious Captain of falvation, that caft out a legion of devils out of one man; then you muft lay your account with it, that, like the fwine poffeffed of the devil, you will be driven down to the fea of God's everlafting wrath, and drowned in perdition. But then, you to 2. I would offer you a word of counfel. O will you break league with thefe curfed Canaanites, and come and take on with our glorious Captain of falvation, that can drive them out before you? O finner! man, woman; young and old; you that have been a flave to the devil all your days, a flave to the numerous nations of lufts, that, as fure as God lives, will keep you out of heaven, and drive you to hell, if they be not driven out; will you come and take on with our glorious Lord Jefus, whofe office and work, as a Redeemer, is to force out the nations before you? Our Captain-general hath fent us, as officers under him, to cry in the public meetings and affemblies of this fort, faying, Whofoever will, let bim come, and take on to be a foldier under the KING of kings, and LORD of lords, against the king of hell and the nations of lufts, that would keep you out of heaven: and as we are warranted to declare them curfed with bitter curfes, that will not join in this war, according to what is faid of Meroz, Judges v. 23. "Curfe ye Meroz; curfe ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty :" So we are warranted to declare to finners, that there are here the greatest encouragements that ever were offered to foldiers, to excite you to take on with him. Why, he offers you money to bear all your charges; "I counfel you to buy of me gold, Ff3 tried tried gold:" he offers to take off your filthy garments, and to clothe you with change of raiment, the King's livery: yea, he offers you a coat of mail, that will defend you against the fhot of death, and the fhot of devils; the robe of his own righteoufnefs, a garment of falvation: he offers you further, that, if you be wounded in the war, he will give you a balm to heal your wound, the balm of his own blood: yea, if you take on with him, he offers to do all your works in you and for you; yea, to fight all your battles, to drive out all the nations before you, and then to crown you as a conqueror; yea, and more than a conqueror, even though you have done nothing of yourfelf. He offers to give you all the armour you need for the war: do you need the fword, the breaft-plate, the helmet, the fhield, mentioned, Eph.vi. He himfelf is the great magazine of all the military provifion; and therefore, if you take on with him, you fhall want for nothing that is neceflary for carrying on the war to a complete victory. O come and take on with him for wifdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemption; take on with him for armour, and ftrength, and victory, and all. But, fay you, what mean you by taking on with him? I know not how to take on with him. Why, Sirs, to take on with him, is to believe in him. But what am I to believe, fay you, that I may take on with him? (1.) You are to believe, that he is speaking to you, and inviting you to take on with him; even you man, you woman. Let none here fay that there was not a word fpoken to them at Carnock: nay, I take you all to witness, that have ears to hear, that the Lord is, by the poor mortal that is here preaching, fpeaking to every one of you, and faying, "To you, O man, do I call, and my voice is to the fons of men;" and he is entreating you to take on with him. Believe that he is fpeaking to you, and that this gofpel-offer is to you. (2.) You are to believe that you cannot believe. This were one good ftep towards faith, to believe that you are an unbeliever, and fhut up in unbelief as in a prifon, which which none can open but the Captain of falvation. And therefore, (3.) You are to believe in him for grace to believe in him, or to come to him for grace to come to him, and to take on with him for faith, as well as for other things, because he alone is the Author of faith. He never called any to bear the expence of one jot, from the beginning to the end of the war, out of their own pocket; and much lefs the expence of this great thing we call believing, which is the effect of the exceeding greatness of his almighty power. And then, having believed these things, (4.) You are to believe his word, that he will not fail you in a jot of what he is offering to you. Take his word for it that he will do as he hath faid unto you; and truft him that fpeaks to you by us. To take on with him by faith, is to take his word, who is truth itfelf, for your fecurity; and lay the ftrefs of the whole war upon him, faying, Lord, art thou calling me, even me, that have been a flave to the devil and nations of lufts? Art thou calling me to take on with thee? Content, Lord; Come thou and reign over us, as the trees faid, in Jotham's parable, Judges ix. 10. Come thou and reign over me, and be thou my glorious Captain, to fight for me, and to flay all the nations of lufts in my heart. And if you, indeed, take on with him in this manner, he will do as he hath faid; he will put out the nations before you by little and little.-May the Lord back his call with power. 2dly, To you that are believers, on the field of battle, making war with the nations, the spiritual Canaanites; and before whom the Lord hath begun to drive them out by little and little: I fhould offer you, 1. A word of Comfort. 2. Of Counsel. [1.] For Comfort. O believer though the nations be greater and mightier than you, yet the Lord hath engaged to drive them out; there is a power in Christ, the believer's Head and Husband, that will, in process of time, bring every power contrary to him in fubjection; it is in Chrift that believers fhall be more than conquerors. It is very grievous to the believer to feel the affaults of Ff4 fin, fin, fuch as that of pride, filthinefs, covetoufacfs, unbelief, Atheifm, and ennrity: but it is the privilege of the believer, that he hath fuch things that he may be humbled, not that he may be conquered and destroyed thereby. You know, a fake may be fo handled, by taking out his fting and teeth, that it cannot hurt us, though it touch us; yet we abhor it for the nature of it, and are afraid to have it come near us: even fo, fin is in fuch a manner handled by our Lord Jefus Chrift, that it cannot hurt the believer in Chrift; hence the believer is many times more afraid than hurt yet it is very becoming the true believer to hate fin from the very nature of it, and ftand at a diflance from it. Mean time, you have the greatest encouragement in the world to fight againft the nations of enemies, the nations of lufts; for the battle is the Lord's, he ftands engaged to put out the nations, Deut. vii. 17, 18. Were there an uncertainty of the victory, you might be discouraged, and loath to undertake fuch a warfare. But now, when the Lord hath affured you of the victory, and that you have his blood, his Spirit, his faithful promise for it, there is no more ground of difcouragement. OBJECT. Oh! what comfort can I take, when I find the nations of enemies and lufts ftill living and lively; yea, ftrong, mighty, and prevalent, and even growing ftronger and fironger upon my hand, inftead of being fubdued and deftroyed? ANSW. Perhaps it is fo between battles, or fingle combats, that you have with your corruptions; but do you not find your Captain coming fometimes in to your affiftance, and making up all that you loft, by his gracious, powerful, fanctifying, and comforting prefence? And thus, do you not find, even after fin's victory over you, which makes you judge the nations are increasing on your hand; do you not find, I fay, your hatred of fin increased, your felf-abhorrence increased, your de pendence on the Lord for ftrength increased, your de fire to be rid of fin increased, and your heart longing for the final victory over the nations, and the full poffeffion of Canaan? Why, what is this but the Lord your God putting out the nations before you by little and |