"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James iv. 7.

THINK not, believer, that thou art not a son of the God of Peace, nor a subject of the Prince of peace, because thou art daily in wars and fightings. True, when the delightful sound of peace is declared in thy heart, and thou art enjoying a comfortable sense of peace in thy conscience, some sinful passion, some, rebel lust, or some fiery dart of the adversary, makes a sudden attack upon thee; but then, this combined power is a scriptural mark that thou art born of God; and, that Jesus is thy peace: Eph. ii. 13, 14. The world, with all its vanities, its smiles and frowns, its promises and threatenings, and ungodly men, animated by the god of this world, are all at war with thee, because thou art not one of them, but of the kingdom of Jesus. But this should only serve to strengthen thy mind, rather than cast thee down. Satan tried to make the Saviour question his sonship; tempted him to distrust, covetousness, idolatry, and self-murder; but did that prove he was not the Son of God? Matt. iv. 1-11. The Devil is a chained enemy, and you have only to keep off his ground; and then, though he may bark at you, he cannot bite you.

Attend now to the exhortation here given; "Resist the Devil." Whenever he comes knocking at the door of your heart, suffer him not to gain admittance by opening the door, before you have carefully ascertained who, or what, you are about to admit. It will not do, simply to ask, Who is there? for he is sure to deny his name, and feign himself what he really is not: 2 Cor. xi. 14. Never suppose, that he is always dressed in black. Come in what dress, or form, he may, he has but one design: 1 Pet. v. 8. The Devil cannot pray; and fears nothing so much; resist him with it. Should he tempt you to pride, resist him with Ps. cxxxviii. 6; if to distrust, with Ps. lxxxiv. 11; if to slothfulness, with Prov. xxi. 25; and if to sin, in any wise, with Rom. vi. 23. Put on the whole armour of God, and use it manfully: Eph. vi. 14-18. For,

2d. The promise is, "He will flee from you, " and leave you in possession of the field: Phil. iv. 13.

"Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. Ps. xxxi. 24.

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COME, poor, hoping, trembling, doubting believer in Jesus! Look at this precious promise! and then give fears to the winds. Do not say, your What have I to do with the children's bread? I am so fickle, so weak, so unworthy, that I fear to ask even for the crumbs. Well, admitting all you say to be true, this promise assuredly belongs to you. But to remove all doubts, we

will notice,

1st. The character of those to whom the promise is made. "Al ye that hope in the Lord." Hope is the firm expectation of some good. If we do not believe an object anticipated to be good, we dread its approach, instead of seeking for its enjoyment. To hope in the Lord, is to confidently expect all the good we need from him; and which he has promised: Ps. lxxxiv. 11: 2 Tim. i. 12. God is the fountain of all goodness: Jas. i. 17. Hence, all who hope in him, expect from his providence their needful supplies; from his mercy, a pardon for their sins; from his wisdom, direction in their difficulties; from his power, support and defence; and from his love, all that grace and glory which he hath promised to all his believing children: Ps. cxix. 49: Rom. xv. 4. This hope is an active, vigorous, and purifying principle: 1 Johın iii. 3.

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2d. The advice given. "Be of good courage. Courage is active fortitude; and when it arises from a sense of duty, and fear of offending God, it always acts agreeably to reason and religion. We should attend to this advice, from a consideration of the difficulties and dangers that attend us; of the cause in which we are engaged; of our Captain, under whose banner we fight; of the certainty of victory; and of the glorious rewards that await us: Rom. viii. 37-39. No foe can foil us, no enemy can vanquish us, while we hope in the Lord: Ps. xci. 4, 5.

3d. Strength promised. "He shall strengthen your heart." By the heart here, is meant the soul, with all its powers; the understanding, conscience, will, affections, and memory; all of which God will strengthen, by illuminating the mind, and drawing the affections to himself.

God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Tim. i. 7.

EFFECTS prove their cause. And a slavish fear arises from a consciousness of guilt; but where sin is removed, a fear of punishment is taken away. Nothing tends more to mar our usefulness, than a base fear; it was this that caused the wicked servant to bury his talent, when he ought to have traded with it: Matt. xxv. 25. All men are to be loved, but no man is to be feared: Luke xii. 4, 5. God hath taken from us the spirit of fear; but observe, attentively, what he has given to us in lieu of it.

1st. The spirit of power, of courage, and resolution, to meet all dangers and difficulties, with becoming boldness, as the sons of God: Acts. xx. 23, 24.

2d. The spirit of love to God, which will not fail to raise us far above the fear of man, and all that men can do unto us: Kom. viii. 31.

3d. The spirit of a sound mind; or, a quiet, peaceable mind; so that we shall be able to enjoy ourselves under all circumstances. We have frequently much to discourage us in our way of duty, by the creatures of our own disordered imagination; which a sound, sober, solid, thinking mind, would completely remove: Neh. vi. 11, 12. The Spirit God gives to his ministers and people, is not a fearful, but courageous Spirit. Child of God! member of Jesus, how safe! how secure is your salvation! Only think upon what the God of your salvation is, what he has done, and promised, and your fears will fly before your faith, like chaff before the wind. Your strength lies in the Lord; and you can realize it only by faith in his word. The spirit of love to God and man, needs only to be exercised to inspire with new life, and strengthen your feeblest powers; while a sound mind will make you bold as a lion: Prov. xxviii. 1: and enable you to face the most daring foe, as David đid Goliah; trusting alone in the strength of the God of Israel Prov. xxix. 25. Let those fear whose consciences, being laden with guilt, and armed with vengeance, are their unwearied tormentors; but do you take fresh courage; for, as you never did, so you never will, have any cause to complain: 2 Cor. xii. 9. Be strong in the Lord,

"For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy." Ecel. ii. 26.

THE united testimonies of reason, revelation, and experience, prove, that man is a lapsed and indigent creature; and not only the vulgar and illiterate, but also the best and most learned philosophers, have ever been ignorant of the nature and true character of God, till taught by him: 1 Cor. i. 21. While a man is asleep he may dream that he is awake, and believe all imaginary objects to be real; so a man may think himself wise while pursuing folly: Prov. xxvi. 12. The only way to become truly wise, is to become truly good. For,

1st. "God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom. To be good in the sight of God, is to be righteous before him: Gen. vii. 1. To be good, is to enjoy good, by keeping the commandments of God; and meditating in his law both day and night: Ps. i. 1—3. And by being good we gain good, and wisdom to make a right use of the good we gain: Eccl. ii. 13.

2d. He giveth knowledge to the good; so that, by the infinite wisdom of God, and by means of their spiritual knowledge, and prudence, they shall either avoid trouble or get out of it: Prov. xi. 9. But the simple pass on and are punished: Prov. xxii. 3.

3d. He gives to the good man joy; and which is excited by the Holy Ghost: Gal. v. 22. Gladness is sown for the upright, and they alone can reap it: Ps. xcvii. 11. The ground or object of one's rejoicing is called his "joy;" thus God is the joy, the exceeding joy, of all who are good in his sight; however vile they may seem in the sight of others: Ps. xliii. 4.

The wisdom God gives to a man makes him patient in adversity; thankful in prosperity; and enables him to direct all his steps to the glory of God: Ps. xxxvii. 23. A good man is wise because he is taught of God; and they needs must be wise who have infinite Wisdom for their instructor: Ps. xix. 7. What the world calls wisdom, God calls foolishness: 1 Cor. iii. 19. Jesus your Saviour is your Prophet to teach, your Priest to atone, and your King to rule by love in your heart. Cost what it may, have what God calls wisdom; it is within your reach,

"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. " 1 Cor. i. 30.

GOD is a full, free, and overflowing Fountain of goodness; and all the good we have flows from him, through Jesus Christ as the Channel of conveyance. By nature, we are all foolish, ignorant, and blind, in those things that belong to God and our soul's happiness: 1 Cor. iii. 19: but whatever we are deficient in ourselves, we have in Christ. For,

1st. He is made of God unto us Wisdom. The believer in Christ is truly wise; for being conscious that sin would render the future part of his life bitter, and death dreadful, he has not only secured an evidence of pardon for the past, but follows after holiness as a necessary qualification for happiness here and hereafter: Prov. xix. 8. A believer who is truly wise is truly humble; knowing that he is indebted to Christ for his wisdom; in whom are hid the treasures of wisdom: Col. ii. 3. We are guilty. But,

2d. Christ is made our Righteousness. He is the procurer and bestower of all that righteousness which believers in him possess: Jer. xxiii. 6. We are corrupt and depraved. But,

3d. He is made our Sanctification, the Source of our spiritual life; he being the Vine and we the branches; we are the partakers of the same nature with him; whatever may be the nature of the Head, the members partake of the same. By nature, and practice, we are bound in the cords of sin. But,

4th. He is made to us Redemption, our Saviour and Deliverer. He is our complete Redemption; frees us from sin, discharges from the guilt and power of it, and the body from the power of the grave: 1 Cor. xv. 55— 57. Whatever you may be ignorant of beside, endeavor to become more and more acquainted with Christ; a knowledge of him is a wonderful mystery. To know Christ is to make him your consolation, delight, com panion, and end. The Christian becomes wiser every day a child may play with a snake; but a man gets as far from it as he can. If you lack wisdom, ask of God, He will give it you.