cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Should any inquire, “By what means does the devil deceive men?” I answer, By false images, delusive ideas, and fascinating falsehoods suggested to their minds. For that the devil can have access to the mind, that he can operate on the imagination and upon the passions, is a fact too evident to be denied. He can lead men to think of things which they never would have thought of independently of his influence. Who can doubt but that those false notions, and “damnable heresies," which men imbibe concerning religion, are attributable to his suggestions? Hence he persuades one man to be an atheist ; and though the world is full of God, and "the heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handy work," yet he suggests to his mind that most absurd and preposterous notion, that the world made itself; and the unhappy man sits down satisfied with the persuasion, that there is no God. Another he makes a deist; and, notwithstanding the Bible bears the most authentic and indubitable evidence of its divine inspiration, yet he believes it is a cunninglydevised fable, the invention of crafty and designing men, whose only aim was to deceive the simple. Another he persuades to "deny the Lord that bought" him, and thus involve himself in swift destruction. In the mind of another he infuses an idea, that the rectitude of his principles, the innocency of his life, and the goodness of his heart, will be quite sufficient to procure for him the kingdom of God, and the glories of eternal life. He persuades another to believe, that, by repeating so many Ave Marias, crossing himself with holy water, telling his beads, and confessing his sins to a Priest, he shall have a sufficient stock of merit to bring him to heaven, without passing through the fires of purgatory. Another, by the craft and subtilty of the devil, is persuaded into a belief, that religion is a melancholy thing; that he cannot embrace it, without foregoing and renouncing all his pleasures; and that all the days of his life must thenceforth be a scene of wretchedness. He persuades another, that, though religion may be a thing quite adapted to the circumstances of old people in the decline of life, or for sick people who are confined to beds of languishment; yet that he who expects to have many years of pleasure here, needs not concern himself about it just now. It will be sufficient, if he become religious some time hence, when circumstances alter. Another he persuades, that he can do nothing of himself; that he must wait the Lord's leisure; and that God, in his good time, will give an effectual call, and that then he shall be put into the possession of religion without any difficulty, or effort of his own. These, with a variety of other notions, all fatally delusive, which men imbibe concerning religion, must be mainly, if not totally, attributable to the agency of infernal spirits.

(2.) Fallen spirits not only possess the power of deception, but the power of persuasion. They not only darken the understanding, but

they inflame the passions, and thus excite us to the commission of evil. They can infuse, by some mysterious power, wicked thoughts into the mind, and they can make them take fast hold on our intellectual faculties, and awaken correspondent feelings in our breasts. And so artful is the enemy of mankind, that he proceeds most circumspectly in the process of temptation, not venturing too far at once. Thus, in the first instance, he only put the thought of betraying Christ into the mind of Judas; and when he saw that the bait took, and the project was agreeable to the mind of this son of perdition, "then," it is said, "entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, and he went his way, and communed with the Chief Priests and Captains how he might betray him unto them; then they were glad, and covenanted to give him money." (Luke xxii. 3, 4.) And the artfulness of the devil is not only seen in the cautionary steps by which he proceeds to the accomplishment of his purpose, but in adapting his suggestions to the disposition and circumstances of the individual whom he attacks. Judas was, without doubt, a covetous, niggardly wretch, who would do anything for money; who, for the cursed lust of gold, would throw up his interest in both worlds. And the devil could not fail to know this, for he knows our dispositions and propensities as intimately as we know them ourselves; and, therefore, he suggested to him the thought, that he might make an advantageous bargain, by selling the Saviour to the highest bidder; and, in the true spirit of his office, he went to the Priests and said, "What will ye give me?" And thus they struck a bargain. And, under the influence of the same principle, Satan put it into the heart of Ananias and his wife to keep back a part of the price of the land which they had sold, and to go with a lie in their mouths to the Apostles, and thus attempt to impose upon them; but not upon them only, for they tempted God, and lied unto the Holy Ghost, by this transaction, which cost them their lives, and brought them to an untimely grave. And thus the devil tempted our Saviour, by seeking to allure him to commit sin; and for this purpose Christ was "led up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil; and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights he was afterwards an hungred; and when the tempter came to him he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." See how the devil suits his temptation to circumstances. Christ was hungry this the enemy knew; he was in the midst of a vast and desolate wilderness, where there was no means of satisfying the demands of nature, and his first temptation was to put our Saviour upon using unlawful means to satisfy himself. Then he took him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and told him to cast himself down, alleging the promise, that God had said, "He shall give his angels charge over thee," &c. (See Psalm xci. 11.) This was a temptation to presumption. He then took him to the summit of a very "high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of

them, in a moment of time; and said, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." This was a temptation to ambition, in the first instance; and, on the other hand, to idolatry. And if Satan sought to entice the Saviour of the world to commit sin, who can hope to escape his assaults? The devil has seductions suited to all. Is a man placed in affluent circumstances? Has he much of this world's wealth at his command? Then the enemy tempts him to value himself according to his property, to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, to become vain in his imagination, and to look down upon those who are in more humble circumstances with sovereign contempt. Is he poor, and obliged in the sweat of his brow to eat bread; so that, with all his efforts, he can scarcely keep body and soul together? Then the devil tempts him to steal, to use unlawful means for enriching himself, to murmur and repine at his hard lot, and to look with an envious eye on those who are placed in what he may think are more favourable circumstances. Has he been addicted to certain crimes, and to easily-besetting sins? Then the enemy presents to his imagination and his recollection the pleasure which he enjoyed, and the gratification he found, in the practice of those sins, and tempts him to return to them. Thus the temptations of the devil are suited to all circumstances, and adapted to all individuals; and by these means does he seek to accomplish his malignant purposes, and to involve us in destruction and perdition.

(3.) Fallen spirits not only seek to deceive us, and to entice us to sin, but they labour to throw obstacles and impediments in the way of our salvation. This is chiefly done by representing to our minds the almost insurmountable difficulties which we are sure to meet with in our way to heaven; what it will cost us to become religious; what tears of penitence we must shed; what pleasures we must forego; what mortifications we must submit to; what self-denial we must practise; what crosses we must take up; what sneers and sarcasms we must bear and that, even if we begin, we shall never endure to the end; if we put our hands to the plough, we shall be sure to look back; and that, therefore, it would be better for us never to begin, than, after we have begun, to decline and turn back. And in order to accomplish the purpose of these enemies of our salvation, they direct our attention to some apostates and backsliders who once made a high religious profession, and were zealous of good works, but are now turned as a dog to his vomit, and as a sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire; and if they could not stand in the evil day, how can we indulge a hope that we shall be proof against the temptations by which we shall be surrounded? By suggestions like these many are deterred from commencing a course of Christian duties from a fear that they shall never persevere, they never begin.

Nor do evil spirits trust to their own immediate and personal influence, but they have their instruments, and agents, and emissaries, who

are employed to accomplish a work which they cannot do themselves. As good men are co-workers together with God, so bad men are coworkers with the devil. All the moral agency in the world is either godly or devilish. Look at the obstacles which parents very frequently throw in the way of their children, who are beginning to remember their Creator in the days of their youth; or masters in the way of their servants, who are desirous of serving the Lord Christ: and you can scarcely fail to believe that they are instigated by Satanic cunning; for to do such works as these furnishes a proof, too obvious to be denied, that we are under his influence, and that he employs us as his agents and emissaries. Such being the designs of evil spirits, in their intercourse with men, we come now to show,

III. In what way, and by what methods, we must defeat their designs.

1. We must labour to free ourselves from the dominion of the devil. Remember that every fallen soul of man is under the power of Satan: he is taken captive by him at his will; taken in the snare of the devil; and the wicked one, like a strong man armed, keepeth his house, and his goods are in peace. It is true, he may not know it for it is one of the devil's stratagems to keep him in ignorance of it; for his mind is blinded, and his heart is hardened, through the deceitfulness of sin; and he cries, "Peace, peace," when the Lord hath never spoken peace, but when destruction is ready to come upon him as travail upon a woman with child. But it is by the regeneration of your natures, and the conversion of your souls to God, that you pass from death to life, and from the power of Satan unto God. Old things then pass away, and all things become new. You shake off the devil's yoke, renounce his authority, and you enlist yourselves under the banners of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Captain of our salvation. You can never oppose the powers of darkness, with any hope of success, until God, by his grace, has broken the power of sin in your souls by a sound and scriptural conversion. I appeal to you, whether you have not often been weary and sick of sin; whether you have not repeatedly resolved and re-resolved against it; whether you have not made vows, and protestations, and resolutions against it: but when the temptation came, and the enemy, with all his artifice, has set upon you like a flood, you have found your solemn engagements all vain, and your promises empty as air. And why was this? Plainly because you were tied and bound by the chains of your sins; and thus Satan tyrannized over you, and you had no power of your own selves to break the fetters by which you were bound. And remember that in this state you must remain, plunging deeper and deeper, until the Son shall make you free; and then you shall be free indeed. O labour to enjoy this freedom; not by trying how successfully you can, as in your own strength, resist the devil; but by making your application, in all the ardour and fervency of importunate prayer, to

Him who was manifested in the flesh to destroy the works of the devil and while you pray for deliverance, believe in the power and willingness of Christ to confer upon you, even now, the blessing you desire. When you are pardoned and renewed by Christ, Satan shall be put as under your feet.

2. Endeavour to form a correct estimate of the power and policy of your enemies, with the various schemes, and stratagems, and weapons by which they are likely to gain the ascendancy over you. One of the most essential qualifications for worldly warfare is a knowledge of the strength of the enemy, and an acquaintance with his plan of operations: for though you may have made your escape from the camp of this your ghostly enemy, and have joined yourselves to Christ and his people, yet the powers of darkness will follow you; they will attack you, and if they cannot ruin you, they will harass you; if they cannot turn you out of the narrow way, they will throw stones of stumbling, and rocks of offence, in your path; and what they cannot do by power, they may do by policy. It behoves you, therefore, to acquaint yourselves most intimately with the schemes of the devil. The Apostle said, "We are not ignorant of his devices." Ignorance here may prove fatal to you. Thousands are destroyed for lack of this knowledge. Satan has unawares obtained the advantage over them. I am confident that, in exhorting you to get an acquaintance with the devices of the devil, I have called you to the performance of a most difficult duty: for, alas, who can sound the depths of Satan? who can unravel all his plans? who can bring to light the hidden mysteries of his dark and infernal kingdom? who can fathom his deep designs? But, remember, though you can never attain a full knowledge of all the devil's devices, by the dint of study or research, yet the Spirit of God can teach you: ask his counsel; pray for his illuminating influence; and always keep in mind one thing, that every thought which agitates your breast, that has a sinful tendency, or that leads you to look upon acts of sin with a favourable regard, is of the devil, and should be put away from you with as much indignation as you would cast away the viper that you knew would, if cherished, sting you to death.

3. Having formed an estimate of the devil's temptations, endeavour to maintain an incessant and an unconquerable hostility to sin. Let sin of every kind be the object of your abhorrence. Set yourselves in full opposition to sins of the heart, sinful tempers, unholy desires, vain imagi. nations, impure propensities,-to sins of the tongue, sinful words, unprofitable conversation. O there is a world of iniquity in the tongue; it defileth the whole body, setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell! And a tongue that is set on fire from hell, shall be set on fire in hell. You know who wished for a drop of water to cool his tongue. And against sins of the life, sins of your trade, of your habit, and your constitution; against all sin, of every kind, however fashionable, however fascinating, however ensnaring, however delusive,