from you. Be fober, be vigilant; because your adverfary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour: whom refift, ftedfast in the faith."

There are fome who profefs to receive the Bible as à revelation from God, who doubt whether there be any devil, or invifible fpirits who are enemies to Chrift, and feek the deftruction of men. But furely they must be very inattentive to the Bible who can doubt of this. The real Chriftian finds the truth of this fo abundantly afferted, that he cannot doubt of it: and his own experience, if properly attended to, will confirm him in this. He will find many motions and fuggeftions in his own mind, which, from the kind of them, and the manner in which they take place, are evidently from the agency of Satan. ́ And he is warranted from fcripture to confider the devil as having a hand and agency in all the foolish imaginations, evil thoughts and motions of his heart, and in all fin which he fees in others; efpecially their oppofition to Chrift and the gofpel, and unrighteoufnefs and violence towards men; for he is deceiving the whole world, and works in all the children of disobedience, and is attempting to ftir up all the corruption which is in the hearts of good men. Therefore, while Chriftians are watching against and oppofing all their own evil propenfities, and acting againft and endeavouring to fupprefs and counteract the finful courfes of others, they are really refifting the devil, while they confider themfelves and others as criminal, for every evil motion in their hearts, and all wrong conduct, as if there were no devil to tempt them.

However great, difficult and of long continuance this work of refifting the devil is, every Chriftian must go through it, and overcome, in order to obtain heaven. The Chriftian is in himfelf wholly unequal to it, but by Chrift ftrengthening him he may go through it all. The Christian must do the work, while in order to it he must be strengthened by the power and grace of Chrift, by which he becomes ftrong in the Lord and in the power

Y

of

of his might. The Chriftian has no reason to defire that Chrift fhould take this work out of his hands, and refift and conquer the devil and his lufts without the agency of the Chriftian; but ought to confider it as a great privilege to be obliged to do the work himself, and conquer, in the strength and power of the Redeemer.

Sermon X.

The fame Subject continued.

Phil. ii. 12, 13. Work out your own falvation with fear and trembling for it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure..

T has been attempted to fhew in the preceding dif

degree, what the Chriftian has to oppofe, fupprefs, mortify and overcome, in working out his own falvation. This may be called the negative part of his work, confifting in renouncing and departing from evil; and is all comprehended in the apoftolic injunction, "That ye - put off, concerning the former converfation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lufts :” [Eph. iv. 22.]

Secondly. We come now to confider the pofitive part of that work in doing which Chriftians work out their own falvation, which is fummarily expreffed in the following words: "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteoufnefs and true holinefs."

This implies much, and confifts in a conftant, careful endeavour to conform to and obey the divine commands in heart and life, to live foberly, righteously and godly in all things to the end of life. This may be di

vided into two branches, viz. the duties of which God is the more direct object, and those which more immediately respect man,

To God they owe their whole felves, and all they can do. They must love him with all their heart, foul, ftrength and mind. This implies a variety of ftrong, conftant exercifes of heart towards him, as he is revealed in three perfons, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; especially as he has appeared God manifeft in the flesh, in the character of the Son of God, and Saviour of the world, exhibited in his words, and works of obedience and fuffering, his death, refurrection from the dead, afcenfion to heaven, and reigning glorioufly there; and in his revealed future defigns and works.

They must believe in God and in Jefus Chrift, that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently feek him. They must attend to, believe and realize his being and whole character as he is revealed in the Bible, with all the important and leading truths which are contained in it, fetting God always before their eyes, and trufting in Chrift for pardon and complete redemption, which implies all they want or can defire, diligently feeking the divine favour through him, or for his fake. Thus they muft live a life of faith on the Son of God, defiring to be found in him, not having their own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Chrift, the righteousness which is of God by faith; heartily defiring and feeking his Spirit to dwell in them, and form their hearts to every Christian exercise and duty, and doing all in the name of Christ, in the exercife of a cordial love of his whole character, and pleafing approbation of the way of falvation of finners which is revealed in the gospel.

They must be heartily devoted to the glory of God, to his honour, intereft and kingdom, as the fupreme object of their defire and affection. This is neceffarily implied in fupreme love to him, in which they give themfelves wholly away to him in the exercise of the most friendly, benevolent love, rejoicing in his being, felicity

and

and glory. This is in a true and in the highest fenfe dif interested affection, and neceffarily excludes all felfifhness, fo far as it takes place, as it cannot proceed from felf-love as the ground of it, but is directly contrary to it, as it gives up all felfifh affection and intereft, for an infinitely greater, more worthy and important intereft and object; making the being of God, his intereft and honour, their fupreme intereft, the object of their highest regard, and ultimate end, to which all other beings and interefts are wholly fubordinated, as not worthy any regard, but to be rejected when they come in competition with the honour and intereft of this infinitely great, worthy and glorious Being. By this difpofition and exercife of heart alone do they comply with the apoftolic command, "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God. And that they who live, fhould not henceforth live unto themfelves, but unto Him who died for them and rofe again." And thus they enter upon and live a life of true and real felf denial.

The more Chriftians are fwallowed up in views of the glory of God, and their hearts defire and rejoice in the unchangeable and eternal glory and felicity of the Infinite Being, as the object of their whole purfuit, intereft and happiness, which does not confift in the leaft degree in felfifh affection; the more is their own falvation promoted, and the greater is their enjoyment, and the nearer do they get to heaven. The perfon who, under the influence of felf love, or felfifhnefs, feeks his own perfonal intereft, honour and felicity fupremely (and this is the unchangeable nature of every degree of felf love) exerts the whole ftrength of his foul in direct oppofition to the Chriftian affection now defcribed; and as he regards himself fupremely, he fubordinates the being, felicity and glory of God, that he may anfwer his own felfifh ends thereby, and cares nothing for the former, afide from his own fuppofed perfonal intereft, or any farther than the latter may be promoted thereby. Such an affection is the ftrongeft contradiction to all truth, and does love and make a lie in the highest and

moft

most emphatical sense. If the smallest pebble, or one grain of fand, fhould be felected and preferred to the whole material world, comprehending this earth, the fun, moon, and all the stars, and no regard be paid to the existence, order and beauty of the whole, any farther than they relate to that fingle grain, and contribute to fupport and favour that infinitely small portion of the material world; this would not be more unreafonable and contrary to the truth, yea, it would be infinitely lefs fo, than for one individual perfon to pay a fupreme regard to himself, and subordinate the Infinite Being to his own private, perfonal intereft and happinefs, who is fo great, worthy and glorious that there is infinitely lefs proportion between fuch individual and Him, than there is between the leaft grain of fand and the whole material creation.

There are too many profeffing Chriftians who embrace and pursue a scheme of practical religion which is as unreafonable, contrary to truth, and abfurd, as this appears to be. They fay that it is impoffible for men to love God, fo long as they confider him to be displeased with them, and think he does not love them; that he must firft manifeft to them that he is their friend, and loves them, and they muft believe it, before they can love him; that in this way they were brought to love God, and to be reconciled to his character and law, and to all the truths and duties of Chriftianity; they were brought firft to fee and believe that God loved them, and on this foundation only they firft began to love him, and continue to be friendly to him. Thus they declare that all their regard and love to God is nothing but felf love, for they love him only because he is a friend to them, and will anfwer their own felfifh ends, and promote their own perfonal, felfish interest, and fubordinate their Maker, and all his intereft, to their own beloved felves. Their religion is all built on an impoffible supposition, viz. that they had evidence that God loved them, before they love to him, and while they were his enemies; which is directly contrary to fcripture and reafon. But

had any

if