alarms, and watchings, make up the life of a soldier on duty: he can never be in a state of repose, because he cannot tell on what side his enemies may attack him: it is experience in all these things that makes the soldier: the best discipline will be incomplete without it: it is practice that confirms his valour that acquires him presence of mind-that makes him familiar with danger, and prevents his being overpowered by it. Just such is the spiritual soldier in Christ: till he hath been brought into the field against his enemies till he hath faced temptation, and boldly combated the world, the flesh, and the devil, he would be unfit for service: he would be unexperienced: having never been tried, he could not be depended on; nor expect those glorious rewards, which God hath promised to his faithful soldiers in Christ.

Again, we may learn from our blessed Saviour's temptation, the nature of temptation in general. When the Tempter attacked our Lord, we find he did it under the pleas of reason, and religion; nay, he even quoted Scripture to support his delusions: Cast thyself down; for it is written, he shall give his angels charge over thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at

any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. It is impossible to describe the various arts, under which temptations assault us. The young and the old have their particular temptations; the rich and the poor. Our different tempers, our passions, and appetites, are all surrounded with different temptations suited to them: nay, our very reason often takes a part in deceiving us; our consciences often lose their feeling; nay, the temptation sometimes comes clothed, like the devil's temptation of our Saviour, in false glosses upon the word of God itself. So ready are our passions, and appetites, to take shelter under authority; so ready are we at endeavouring to reconcile our duty, and our darling sins, and dividing ourselves between God and Mammon.

These remarks do not affect the profligate, abandoned sinner; he sins without any thought, but to obtain the object he desires: they are directed to the lukewarm Christian, who never sins without endeavouring to find some excuse for his sin —some reason, or some piece of Scripture, which may lessen the offence at least, if not

remove it.

Again, we may learn from our blessed Saviour's temptation, the method in which we

ought

ought to repel temptations. Our Saviour, we observe, to every temptation replied in the words of Scripture. When the Tempter said, If thou be the Son of God command these stones to be made bread; Jesus replied from Scripture, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Again, when the Tempter said, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: Jesus again replied from Scripture, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And to the last temptation he replied in the same manner: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.-What then are we to learn from this, but to oppose the authority of God to the wicked suggestions of the devil? St. Paul calls the Scripture the sword of the Spirit; intimating, with it we are to fight all our spiritual battles. In the word of God, we find such full and plain directions to keep us steady in our duty, that if we would attend to them, we should be a match for all the wiles of temptation. The Tempter might display all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; we may answer, We have a treasure in heaven, a far more eternal weight of glory reserved for us. Is our faith assaulted by the specious arguments of unbelievers ?

E 3

lievers? Are we tempted to deny the Lord, who bought us with a price? Let us recollect that awful sentence, Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Are we tempted into the paths of forbidden pleasure?—What, know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. Are we tempted to do an act of injustice to steal - to pilfer to wrong one another in any shape; what says the word of God? Let no man defraud his brother in any matter, for the Lord is the avenger of all such. Are we, in the secrecy of night, removed from the eye of man, or in the deep recesses of our own thoughts, tempted to do, or meditate some wicked action; - are we then in private? Is there not a God who is about our path about our bed, and spieth out all our ways? A God, with whom the night is as clear as the day?— Lastly, are we tempted through the oppression of bad men, or the frowns of the world, in any shape to transgress our duty? Let us consider, that all the sufferings of this present time, the buffets of the world, and the threatenings of

man,

man, are not to be feared in comparison of Him who can cast both soul and body into Hell. Thus, I say, we may oppose every temptation by the sword of the Spirit. The Scripture furnishes us with threatenings, with promises, with rules, and precepts sufficient, on every occasion that can arise: hence therefore we may conceive of what great use it is, for all sorts of people to be conversant in Scripture — to read it to study it, especially the practical parts of it; and lay it up in their memory. And this can be no difficulty to those who have a desire to learn. Every man has time enough to read his Bible, and lay up in his memory a stock of such knowledge as may be thus drawn out on every occasion, and preserve him in the hour of temptation. Without this sword of the Spirit, we fight unarmed, and there is no wonder if we are overcome: but when thus accoutred, we are always under arms; we are always upon guard; and may prevent a thousand surprizes, and withstand a thousand assaults, which may overcome those who are not thus provided.When a temptation arises, some apt piece of Scripture will always arise with it; and one should hope, the word of God would always become