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reafon the Apostle ftyles it, A two-edged Sword, quick and powerful, dividing afunder between the Foints and the Marrow, the Soul and the Spirit; and is a Difcerner of the Thoughts and Intentions of the Heart; Heb. 4. 11.

Laftly, To all this the Apoftle adds Prayer, to complete the Armour, and to render it fuccessful; ver. 18. Praying always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all Perfeverance. "Tis Prayer that gives all the force and efficacy to our Endeavours, for this calls in the Aid and Affiftance of Heaven to our Relief; and if God be for us, who can be against us?

This is a brief Account of the Panoply, or whole Armour of God, which the Apostle exhorts all Christians to put on, that they may be able to withstand the Evil-One, and to ftand too in the Evil-Day.

But what Encouragement have we thus to refift the Power and Temptations of the Devil? The Answer to this will bring me to the

Laft Particular of our Text; which gives us abundant Encouragement to engage in this Combat, from a wellgrounded Affurance of Succefs and Victory: for if we resist the Devil, he will fly from us. We are not bid to encounter an Enemy that we cannot conquer; nor left to the hazard of a Battle, in which we may be foil'd and vanquish'd; No, we are bid only to refift a conquer'd Foe; and if we manfully withstand him, we fhall be more than Conquerors thro' Chrift that loveth us: for he hath already subdu'd the Power, and vanquifh'd the Forces of the Devil; he hath dethron'd the Prince of Darkness, and deftroy'd his Kingdom. So that you need not doubt the Iffue of your Encounter; your Adverfaries Forces are broken and routed; and if you let yourfelves in good earnest to refift him, he will fly from you: 'tis but to keep your ground, and you may be fure to win the field. Let Satan be ever fo crafty or formidable a Foe, if you do not cowardly confent or yield to him, his utmost Rage and Subtilty, nay, his greatest Malice and Cruelty, fhall not do you any harm for if you do not too eafily furrender, you fhail upon requeft be fupply'd with that Affiftance from above, which fhall not only enable you to hold out, but fecure you from the Danger of all his Attempts. And now I think I may well enough renew the Apoftle's Advice, and, exhort you (as you have engag'd) to refift or renounce the

Devil, against whom you are fufficiently arm'd, not only with the Knowledge of his Devices, but likewife with Power and Strength enough to overcome them.

To which end, let me counfel you, not to liften to any of the Temptations of the Devil, but to refift and fupprefs the first Motions of them: do not admit a parly with the Tempter, for he is a cunning and fly Adverfary; he prevail'd upon our firft Parents in their Innocency, and hath improv'd his Craft in deceiving, by a long exercife and experience ever fince. And therefore do not give way to him, but check the very Beginnings of his Affault, and give him no encouragement to renew his Attempt; but fay with our Saviour (who was much better able to refift him than we are) Get thee behind me, Satan.

And the better to enable you to make this Refiftance, you must frequently implore the divine Affiftance by diligent Prayer; for we are too weak of ourselves to withftand fo powerful an Enemy, but the Grace of God will be fufficient for us; and tho we can do nothing of ourselves, yet we may, with St. Paul, do all things thro' Chrift that ftrengthens us; whofe Grace and Favour therefore we should not only pray for, but chiefly rely upon.

DISCOURSE XI.

I JOHN iii. 8.

For this purpofe was the Son of God manifefted, that he might deftroy the Works of the Devil.

I

Began the last time with that part of the Baptifmal Covenant which concerns the baptiz'd Party; who is thereby requir'd and engag'd,

First, Solemnly to renounce and abjure the three great Enemies of God and our own Souls, viz. The Devil, the World, and the Flesh.

I have made some entrance on our Renunciation of the First of thefe, from thofe words of St. James, Refift the Devil, and he will fly from you: where I mention'd three ways of refifting him, viz,

First, By withstanding his ufurp'd Power and Dominion.
Secondly, By rejecting his Temptations. And,
Thirdly, By renouncing his Works.

Of the two first I treated in the laft Exercife; in which I gave you fome Encouragements and Directions, the better to excite and enable you to both.

It remains now, that I proceed to the

Third way of refifting him; which is, by renouncing the Works of the Devil: of which I fhall difcourfe from these words of St. John; For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the Works of the Devil.

I fhew'd the last time, how our Saviour was manifefted to deftroy the Power of the Devil. For, at his coming into the World, the whole World lay in Wickedness; Vices had their Temples and their Votaries too; evil Spirits had gotten poffeffion of the Minds and Bodies of Men; and by their falfe and feign'd Oracles, for a long time commanded and beguil'd the World: we read, that they made their very Children to pafs thro' the Fire to Moloch, and facrific'd their Sons and Daughters unto Devils. Yea, fo far had Satan deceiv'd Mankind, that he made them to worship their very Sickneffes and Diseases; and Men became İdolaters to their own Infirmities. But Chrift, who was that Seed of the Woman that was to bruise the Serpent's Head, divefted Satan of this Power; he caft out Devils, and difpoffefs'd whole Legions of evil Spirits; he fpoil'd Principalities and Powers, and threw down fpiritual. Wickedneffes from their high Places, making a fhew of them openly on the Cross, and triumphing over them in it, Col. 2. 15. Hence we read how Michael and his Angels fought with the Dragon and his Angels; which was Chrift's difpoffeffing and driving out Satan: and the Iffue of the Combat was, that he beheld Satan like Lightning fall from Heaven, Luke 10. 18. And the Author to the Hebrews. declares, That Chrift destroy'd him that had the Power of Death, which is the Devil; Heb. 2.. 14. By all which it appears, that the Son of God was manifefted to diffolve the Kingdom of Darkness, to deftroy the Power of Satan, and to rescue Mankind from that vile Bondage and Slavery that they were in to him.

Now

Now St. John adds here a farther End of his Manifestation, which was not only to fubdue the Power, but to deftroy the Works of the Devil. And this he did, not only in his own Person, and by his own Power, but by the Af fiftance of his Grace, in the Perfon of all his Followers who are thereby enabled not only to abandon their evil Deeds, but to become a peculiar People, zealous of GoodWorks. For the better clearing whereof, I must enquire,

I. What is here meant by the Works of the Devil?

II. How the Son of God is faid to have destroy'd them? And,

Laftly, Conclude with an Exhortation and Encouragement to renounce them.

I. All Sin in general may be juftly ftyl'd the Works of the Devil; for the Devil finneth from the beginning, faith St. John, and whosoever committeth Sin, is of the Devil.

He was the firft Author, and is fill the Inftigator to all manner of Wickedness, which may be therefore truly reckon'd to be his Works. All Sin is a difowning the Authority of God, and a throwing off Obedience to his Laws; of which the Devil giving the first inftance, and ftill continuing to draw in others to do likewife, all fuch Practices may be intitled to him; and they that do fo, may be justly faid to do the Works of the Devil.

But there are fome particular Sins, that more especially owe their beginning to this evil Spirit, and carry the more particular Marks and Lineaments of their Father the Devil; which are therefore more especially to be forfaken and renounc'd by us.

I fhall mention fome of the chief of them, that you may the better know what is meant and promis'd by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works. And,

(1.) Idolatry of all forts, which is giving the Honour due to God to any Creature, is a Work of the Devil. This we find invaded and ufurp'd by this grand Apoftate, who not only arrogated the divine Honour and Worship to himself, but was likewife the Author of all the Pagan Idolatries. He tempted our bleffed Saviour with the Promife of the Kingdoms and Glories of the World, to fall down and worship him; which our Saviour repel'd with that exprefs Command of the divine Majefty, Thou Shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only halt thou ferve;

Mat. 4. to. Hereby the Son of God destroy'd this Work of the Devil, and hath given us both a Precept and Precedent to renounce it.

(2.) All recourfe to Witches, Wizards, or Fortune-tellers, about the Lofs, Fortunes, or Recovery of any Perfons or Things; and likewise, the making ufe of Spells, Charms, or Enchantments to thofe ends; is a Work of the Devil. The Knowledge and Difpofal of future contingent things, is the incommunicable Property of God, who challenges this as his Prerogative, and upbraids the Idols of the Heathens for lack of it; Let them Jhew things to come. So that to afcribe this to Conjurers, Charmers, Necromancers, or the like; or to betake ourselves to them for any Discovery, Help or Affiftance in these things; is to rob God of the Honour of his Attributes, and to give his Glory to another. Yea, this ftrikes directly at the Authority of our Maker, and invades his Sovereignty, which is the Work and Bufinefs of evil Spirits; and by feeking to them, we comply with their Defigns, and fet up Satan's Kingdom againit Chrift's, which is a manifest Breach of this part of our Vow. To prevent which, read the ftrict Charge given by God Almighty in this matter, Deut. 18. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. where this Sin is condemn'd as a diabolical Invention, and an Abomination to the Lord; and is therefore to be renounc'd as one of the Works of the Devil.

(3.) Pride is another Work of the Devil to be renounc'd by us: This is fuppos'd to be the firft Sin of thofe evil Angels, and the Occafion of their Fall; for affecting to be equal, if not fuperior to the Moft High, they were for their Pride caft down from thofe bleffed Manfions of Light and Glory in which they were first feated, into the black Abyss of eternal Darkness. And this fhews us the Evil and Danger of this Sin, which is the great Caufe of all the Mifery, Trouble and Disturbances of the World: and likewife how much we are concern'd to avoid this Loftiness and Elation of Mind, left being lifted up with Pride, we fall into the Condemnation of the Devil.

(4.) Envy is the Work of the Devil, which we are engag'd to renounce; this is an evil Eye at another's Profperity. Accordingly thefe apoftate Spirits, being uneafy at the Happiness of Mankind, fought by all ways to work their Ruin; and being fallen themselves, labour'd to draw them into the fame Condemnation. This Temper made them indeed Devils, and where 'tis found, 'tis truly dia

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