66 power, and wise, and great, happy as him"self." Such was the subtilty employed on this memorable occasion. My brethren, while you deplore the success of it, profit by the instinc tions vouchsafed. It is written for your admonition. It exhibits, if not a model of every temptation which may befal you, yet a specimen at least of those insidious wiles, which Satan practises for your destruction. Suffer then a word of exhortation, while I suggest some seasonable cautions on a matter so intimately connected with your present peace and future happiness. 1. Be watchful. Bear constantly in mind the dangers to which you are exposed. Remember the malicious and subtle enemy with whom you are engaged. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour. Be not lulled into a false security. Never are the designs of Satan more likely to succeed, than when they are least suspected, and least dreaded. Blessed is the man that feareth always. Especially distrust your own heart. Presume not on the innocency and goodness of your intentions. Be on your guard, as one who harbours a traitor within his bosom. Take heed, brethren, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 2. Add to watchfulness prayer. Unaccompanied by prayer, watchfulness will prove insufficient for your safety. Watch and pray that ye enter not into templation. Put on the whole armour of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance. There never was an instance of religious declension, which, if it did not wholly originate in the neglect of prayer, was not at least attended with coldness and formality in the performance of it. Continue then instant in prayer, fervent in spirit, and Satan shall not get advantage over you. 3. Never question the reasonableness or the certainty of the divine commands. Suggestions of this nature may frequently arise in your minds but suffer them not to continue there. To reason about the lawfulness of sin, is to give place to the devil, who will not fail to improve his advantage. Resist him, and he will flee from you. Had Eve dismissed with abhorrence these first insinuations, she had repelled his attack, and had retained her Simplicity. Let, It is written, be a reply to every doubt. Against the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, the enemy is unable to contend. 4. Never be induced to believe that God will retract his threatenings. Let this bar be once removed, you know not, like Eve, into what lengths of sin you may be hurried. Listen then to no such dangerous and delusive notions. Oppose the shield of faith to this fiery dart of the wicked. Hath God said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 5. Never permit your thoughts to settle with delight on any forbidden object. This was Eve's third fault. She suffered her mind to dwell on the fancied advantages of disobedience. And this criminal indiscretion was the forerunner of her fall. When she saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat. If you follow the steps by which she fell, you cannot but fall like her. Beware then of indulging sinful speculations. Is any unławful object presented to your mind? Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. Make a covenant with your eyes that you may not look upon evil. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Remember, that while you are using these precautions, these means of safety, your security at last depends on Christ alone. He only can preserve you stedfast in that Simplicity, wherein your privilege and happiness consist. Place your soul then in his keeping. Pray to him to uphold your goings in the way that your footsteps slide not. Pray to him to impress upon your hearts such a deep, an abiding, a cordial conviction of his infinite value, and of your own entire need of him, that whenever you may be tempted, by any means, to depart from him, you may be ready to exclaim with the apostle, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. May these prayers be answered! May the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you! May he keep you by his power through faith unto salvation! May he guide you in safety through all the perils and temptations of this mortal life; preserve you from the snares of the devil; and at length present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy! SERMON VII. CHRIST'S YOKE AN EASY YOKE. For my Yoke is ST. MATTHEW, XI. 30. easy, and my Burden is light. THERE are two different aspects under which religion is frequently exhibited by persons who are unacquainted with its true nature. On the one hand, it is represented as a hard and an unprofitable service, which exposes those who embrace it to many painful trials, without providing any adequate compensation for the sacrifices which it requires. On the other hand, it is described as a pleasant and an easy path, where uninterrupted delights abound; where no obstacles impede, no inconveniences annoy. But these representations are as injurious to the real interests of Christianity as they are false in themselves. Many persons are deterred from making trial of a religious course through apprehension of the attendant difficulties; while |