would come and take away both their place and nation; and that it was expedient for them that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not1." And Pilate was the fittest instrument to condemn him, who feared that he should else be taken to be none of Cæsar's friend. And Pharaoh was the fittest instrument to persecute the Israelites, who was like to lose by their departure.

4. When he can he chooseth such instruments as are much about us and nearest to us, who have an opportunity to be often speaking to us, when others have no opportunity to help us: the fire that is nearest to the wood or thatch is more likely to burn it than that which is far off: nearness and opportunity are very great advantages.

5. If it be possible, he will choose such instruments as have the greatest abilities to do him service:: one man of great wit, and learning, and elocution, that is nimble in disputing, and can make almost any cause seem good which he defendeth, or bad which he opposeth, is able to do more service for the devil than an hundred idiots.

6. If possible, he will choose the rulers of the world to be his instruments; that shall command men, and threaten them with imprisonment, banishment, confiscation, or death, if they will not sin: as the king of Babylon did by the three witnesses and Daniel" and all persecutors have done in all ages, against the holy seed. For he knoweth, that (though not with a Job, yet with a carnal person) “skin for skin, and all that a man hath will he give for his life." And therefore, they that have the power of life, and liberty, and estate, have carnal men by the handle that will rule them.

7. He maketh the rich his instruments; that, having the wealth of the world, are able to reward and hire evil doers; and are able to oppress those that will not please them. Landlords and rich men can do the devil more service than many of the poor: they are the Judas's that bear the bag. As the ox will follow him that carrieth the hay, and the horse will follow him that carrieth the provender, and the dog will follow him that feedeth him, and the crow will be where the carrion is; so carnal persons will follow and obey him that bears the purse.

8. The devil, if he can, will make those his instruments,

whom he seeth we most esteem and reverence: persons whom we think most wise and fit to be our counsellors: we will take that from these, which we would suspect from others.

9. He will get our relations, and those that have our hearts most, to be his instruments. A husband, or a wife, or a Delilah, can do more than any others: and so can a bosom friend, whom we dearly love: when all their interest in our affections is made over for the devil's service, it may do much. Therefore we see that husbands and wives, if they love entirely, do usually close in the same religion, opinion, or way, though when they were first married, they differed from each other.

10. As oft as he can, the devil maketh the multitude his instrument that the crowd and noise may carry us on, and make men valiant, and put away their fear of punishment.

11. He is very desirous to make the ambassadors of Christ his prisoners, and to hire them to speak against their Master's cause; that, in Christ's name, they may deceive the silly flock, "speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them"." Sometimes by pretence of his authority and commission, making poor people believe, that not to hear them, and obey them in their errors, is to be disobedient rejecters of Christ; (and thus the Romish party carry it.) Sometimes by their parts, and plausible, persuasive speeches; and sometimes by their fervency, frightening people into error: and by these two ways most heretics prevail. None so successfully serveth satan, as a false or bribed minister of Christ.

12. He is exceeding desirous to make parents themselves his instruments for their children's sin and ruin; and, alas! how commonly doth he succeed! He knoweth that parents have them under their hands, in the most ductile, malleable age; and that they have a concurrence of almost all advantages. They have the purse, and the portion of their children in their power: they have the interest of love, and reverence, and estimation: they are still with them, and can be often in their solicitings: they have the rod and can compel them. Many thousands are in hell, through the means of their own parents; such cruel monsters will they

n Acts xx. 30.

be to the souls of any others, that are first so to their own. If the devil can get the parents to be cursers, swearers, gamesters, drunkards, worldlings, proud, deriders, or railers at a holy life, what a snare is here for the poor children!

V. In the method of satan, the next thing is to shew you how he labours to keep off all the forces of Christ, which should resist him, and destroy his work, and to frustrate their endeavours, and fortify himself: and, among many others, these means are notable:

1. He would do what he can to weaken even natural reason, that men may be blockish, and incapable of good. And it is lamentable to observe, how hard it is to make some people either understand or regard. And a beastly kind of education doth much to this: and so doth custom in sensual courses; even turn men into brutes.

2. He doth what he can to hinder parents and masters from doing their part, in the instructing and admonishing of children and servants, and dealing wisely and zealously with them for their salvation. Either he will keep parents and masters ignorant and unable; or he will make them wicked and unwilling, and perhaps, engage them to oppose their children in all that is good; or he will make them like Eli, remiss and negligent, indifferent, formal, cold, and dull; and so keep them from saving their children's or servant's souls.

3. He doth all that possibly he can to keep the sinner in security, presumption, and senselessness, even asleep in sin; and, to that end, to keep him quiet, and in the dark, without any light or noise which may awake him; that he may live asleep as without a God, a Christ, a heaven, a soul, or any such thing to mind. His great care is to keep him from considering and therefore, he keeps him still in company, or sport, or business, and will not let him be oft alone, nor retire into a sober conference with his conscience, or serious thoughts of the life to come.

4. He doth his best to keep soul-searching, lively ministers out of the country, or out of that place; and to silence them, if there be any such: and to keep the sinner under seme ignorant or dead-hearted minister, that hath not himself that faith, or repentance, or life, or love, or holiness, or zeal, which he should be a means to work in others: and

he will do his utmost to draw men to be a leader of men to sin.

5. He doth his worst to make ministers weak, to disgrace the cause of Christ, and hinder his work, by their bungling and unskilful management; that there may be none to stand up against sin, but some unlearned or halfwitted men, that can scarce speak sense, or will provoke contempt, or laughter in the hearers.

6. He doth his worst to make ministers scandalous, that, when they tell men of their sin and duty, they may think such mean not as they speak, and believe not themselves, or make no great matter of it, but speak for custom, credit, or for their hire. And that the people, by the wicked lives of the preachers, may be emboldened to disobey their doctrine, and to imitate them, and live without repentance.

7. He will labour to load the ablest ministers with reproaches and slanders, which thousands shall hear, who never hear the truth in their defence and so making them odious, the people will receive no good more by their preaching, than from a Turk, or Jew, till the very truth itself, for itself prevail. And to this end especially, he doth all that he can to foment continual divisions in the church; that while every party is engaged against the other, the interest of their several causes, may make them think it necessary to make the chief that are against them seem odious, or contemptible to the people; that so they may be able to do their cause and them no harm: and so they disable them from serving Christ and saving souls, that they may disable them to hurt themselves, or their faction, or their impotent

cause.

8. He doth what he can to keep the most holy ministers under persecution; that they may be as the wounded deer, whom all the rest of the herd will shun; or like a worried dog whom the rest will fall upon; or that the people may be afraid to hear them, lest they suffer with them; or may come to them only as Nicodemus did to Christ, by night.

9. Or, if any ministers, or godly persons warn the sinner, the devil will do what he can that they may be so small a number, in comparison of those of the contrary mind, that

he may tell the sinner, Dost thou think these few self-conceited fellows, are wiser than such, and such, and all the country? Shall none be saved but such a few precise ones?" "Do any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believe in him? But this people that knoweth not the law are cursed"." That is, (as Dr. Hammond noteth,)" This illiterate multitude are apt to be seduced, but the teachers are wiser."

10. The devil doth his worst to cause some falling out, or difference of interest or opinion, between the preacher or monitor, and the sinner; that so he may take him for his enemy. And how unapt men are to receive any advice from an enemy, or adversary, experience will easily convince

you.

11. He endeavoureth that powerful preaching may be so rare, and the contradiction of wicked cavillers so frequent, that the sermon may be forgotten, or the impressions of it blotted out, before they can hear another to confirm them, and strike the nail home to the head; and that the fire may go out before the next opportunity come.

12. He laboureth to keep good books out of the sinner's hands, or keep him from reading them, lest he speed as the eunuch, that was reading the Scripture, as he rode in his chariot on the way. And, instead of such books, he putteth romances, and play-books, and trifling, or scorning, contradicting writings into his hands.

13. He doth what he can to keep the sinner from intimate acquaintance with any that are truly godły; that he may know them no otherwise than by the image which ignorant or malicious slanderers or scorners do give of such: and that he may know religion itself but by hearsay, and never see it exemplified in any holy, diligent believers. A holy Christian is a living image of God, a powerful convincer and teacher of the ungodly; and the nearer men come to them, the greater excellency they will see, and the greater efficacy they will feel. Whereas, in the devil's army, the most must not be seen in the open light, and the hypocrite himself must be seen, like a picture, but by a side-light, and not by a direct,

14. Those means which are used, the devil labours to frustrate, 1. By sluggish heedlessness and disregard. 2.

• John vii. 48, 49.

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p Acts viii,