Watch carefully therefore over thy heart, O christian ; and whenever thou perceiveft thyself to be falling into a fpiri-, tual flumber, fay to it, as CHRIST to his difciples, "Arife (my foul) why fleepeft thou?" Awake, awake; put on, ftrength, watch and pray, or otherwife the Philistines will be upon thee, and lead thee whither thou wouldst not. Alas! Is this life a time to lie down and flumber in? Arife, and call upon thy God; thy fpiritual enemy is not dead, but lurketh in fome fecret place, feeking a convenient opportunity how he may betray thee. If thou ceaseft to ftrive with him, thou ceaseft to be a friend of Gop; thou ceaseft to go in that nar row way which leadeth unto life.

Thus have I endeavoured to point out to you fome of those devices, that Satan generally makes use of" to get an advantage over us" many others there are, no doubt, which he often uses.

But thefe, on account of my youth and want of experience, I cannot yet apprise you of; they who have been lifted for many years in their mafter's fervice, and fought under his banner against our fpiritual Amalek, are able to discover more. of his artifices; and, being tempted in all things, like unto their brethren, can, in all things, advife and fuccour those that are tempted.

In the mean while, let me exhort my young fellow-foldiers, who, like myself, are but juft entring the field, and for whose fake this was written, not to be difcouraged at the fiery trial. wherewith they must be tried, if they would be found faith-, ful fervants of JESUS CHRIST. You fee, my dearly beloved brethren, by what has been delivered, that our way through the wilderness of this world to the heavenly Canaan, is befet with thorns, and that there are fons of Anak to be grappled 'with, ere you can poffefs the promifed land. But let not thefe, like so many falfe fpies, difcourage you from going up to fight the LORD's battles, but fay with Caleb and Joshua, "Nay, but we will go up, for we are able to conquer them." JESUS CHRIST, that great captain of our falvation, has in

Our

our stead, and as our reprefentative, baffled the grand enemy of mankind, and we have nothing to do, but manfully to fight under his banner, and to go on from conquering to conquer. Our glory does not confist in being exempted from, but in enduring temptations. "Bleffed is the man, (fays the apoftle) that endureth temptation ;" and again, "Brethren, count it all joy, when you fall into divers temptations :' And in that perfect form our bleffed LORD has prefcribed to us, we are taught to pray, not so much to be delivered from all temptation, as "from the evil" of it. Whilft we are on this fide eternity, it must needs be that temptations come; and, no doubt, "Satan has defired to have all of us, to fift us as wheat." But wherefore fhould we fear? For he that is for us, is by far more powerful, than all that are against us. JESUS CHRIST, our great High-priest, is exalted to the right hand of GoD, and there fitteth to make interceffion for us, that our faith fail not.

Since then CHRIST is praying, whom fhould we fear? And fince he has promifed to make us more than conquerors, of whom fhould we be afraid? No, though an hoft of devils are fet in array against us, let us not be afraid; though there fhould rife up the hotteft perfecution against us, yet let us put our trust in God. What though Satan, and the reft of his apoftate fpirits, are powerful, when compared with us; yet, if put in competition with the Almighty, they are as weak as the meanest worms. God has them all reserved in chains of darknefs unto the judgment of the great day. So far as he permits them, they fhall go, but no farther; and where he pleases, there fhall their proud malicious defigns be ftayed. We read in the gospel, that though a legion of them poffeffed one man, yet they could not deftroy him; nor could they fo much as enter into a swine, without firft having leave given them from above. It is true, we often find they foil us, when we are assaulted by them; but let us be ftrong, and very couragious; for,* though they bruife our heels, we fhall, at length, bruife their heads. Yet a little while, and he that fhall come, will come; and then we fhall fee all our fpiritual enemies put under our feet. What if they do come out against us, like so many

many great Goliahs; yet, if we can go forth, as the ftripling David, in the name and ftrength of the LORD of hofts, we may fay, O Satan, where is thy power? O fallen fpirits, where is your victory?

Once more therefore, and to conclude; let us be strong, and very couragious, and let us put on the whole armour of GOD, that we may be able to ftand against the fiery darts of the wicked one. Let us renounce ourselves, and the world, and then we shall take away the armour in which he trusteth, and he will find nothing in us for his temptations to work upon. We fhall then prevent his malicious defigns; and being willing to fuffer ourselves, fhall need lefs fufferings to be fent us from above. Let us have our loins girt about with truth; and for an helmet, the hope of falvation; "praying always with all manner of fupplication." Above all things, "Let us take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of GOD," and "the fhield of faith," looking always to JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was fet before him, endured the cross, defpifing the fhame, and is now fat down at the right hand of God.

To which happy place, may GoD of his infinite mercy tranflate us all, through our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, three perfons and one eternal GOD, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. Amen.

SERMON

1

SERM ON XLIX.

On Regeneration.

2 COR. v. 17.

If any man be in CHRIST, he is a new creature.

TH

HE doctrine of our regeneration, or new birth in CHRIST JESUS, though one of the moft fundamental doctrines of our holy religion; though fo plainly and often preffed on us in facred writ, "that he who runs may read;" nay though it is the very hinge on which the falvation of each of us turns, and a point too in which all fincere chriftians, of every denomination, agree; yet it is so seldom confidered, and fo little experimentally understood by the generality of profeffors, that were we to judge of the truth of it, by the experience of most who call themselves chriftians, we should be apt to imagine they had "not fo much as heard" whether there be any fuch thing as regeneration or not. It is true, men for the most part are orthodox in the common articles of their creed; they believe "there is but one God,' and one Mediator between GOD and men, even the man CHRIST JESUS ;" and that there is no other name given under heaven, whereby they can be faved, befides his: But then tell them, they must be regenerated, they must be born again, they must be renewed in the very spirit, in the inmost faculties of their minds, ere they can truly call CHRIST, "Lord, Lord," or have an evidence that they have any fhare in the merits of his precious blood; and they are ready to cry out with Nicodemus, "How can these things be?" Or with the Athenians, on another occafion, "What will this babler fay? he feemeth to be a fetter-forth of strange VOL. VI. doctrines:"

R