This dexterous enemy seduces men, blinds their understandings, fills their minds with evil suggestions; and disposes every thing within his reach to awaken their evil propensities, stupify their consciences, and inflame their passions.

His chief access is probably to the imagina tion, which he excites by presenting suitable objects to the senses. These allure the fancy, pervert the conscience, and obscure the judg ment. The affections being enticed and taken captive, sinful acts follow. Thus Eve was first attracted by the appearance of the forbidden fruit, and Aehan by the Babylonish garment. A vagrant curiosity, an unguarded and unsubdued imagination, thoughts only evil continually, wandering and fickle désires, aided by a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked these are the strong holds of our spiritual adversary. His methods are adapted to the age, education, disposition, pursuits, knowledge, habits, duties and trials of men under every possible variety of circumstances. Sometimes he is represented as the roaring lion, at other times as the old serpent. In the first character he seeks to devour his prey; in the second to allure it into his toils.

It is to be observed, however, that Satan has NO POWER TO FORCE US TO THE COMMISSION OF SIN.

He may solicit and persuade; he may propose objects calculated to deceive our vigi

lance; he may by these ways seduce and inflame our passions: but he cannot compel us to yield, He has no dominion over the will. We are still rational and moral agents. He cannot eventually hurt us, except by our own fault, This is a most important consideration on the present subject.

To Satan must be added THE WORLD, as an outward occasion of temptation. The world is the main instrument by which he assails the soul. He is called, with an emphasis sufficient to alarm the slothful conscience, the god of this world. Wicked men are his instruments; and assist in the temptation and ruin of others. Wicked customs, maxims, pleasures, pursuits, are the baits which he displays to us; nor is there any creature of God, however good in itself, but he labours to enlist it in his service. And the world is well adapted to his purpose. It is exactly suited to the taste of the natural man. By the fall we have lost our knowledge, and love of spiritual pursuits; we have become absorbed in sensible and earthly objects; and give them the supreme place in our affections. Every thing therefore of worldly business, gain, power, praise, grandeur, pleasure, becomes the appropriate instrument of Satan's temptations. Even things lawful in themselves are still, in the excess, inducements to sin. All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of

the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

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THE OBJECT aimed at in all temptations is to draw us into sin and destroy our souls. In the ungodly man Satan reigns. As a strong man armed, he keeps his palace, and his goods are in peace. His object is to secure and retain his subjects, to impede the progress of truth, to misrepresent and pervert the Gospel, to harden the conscience, and to carry men on in the broad road which leadeth to destruction. He adapts his temptations, accordingly, to this purpose. The open way of profaneness and the bye-path of hypocrisy are equally suited to his design. Whatever may check a true repentance, and a genuine submission to the Gospel, he takes care to present before the unwary sinner, and to present under the most imposing aspect.

In the case of true Christians, the object of temptation is to DRAW THEM BACK UNTO PERDITION. To this end, the devil labours so to dispose his snares, that they may be led to grieve the Holy Spirit, may be separated from Christ, may be thrown off their guard, may relax in secret devotion and watchfulness over their hearts, may disgrace the Gospel, may be disquieted in their minds, may murmur against the divine dealings, and be harassed and perplexed in their way to heaven. Nothing escapes

the malice of this enemy. If he cannot ruin, he will annoy; if he cannot tempt to great sins, he will seduce into small ones; if he cannot absolutely destroy Christian exertion, he will attempt to lessen it; if he cannot keep the servant of God from doing good, he will cause, if pos sible, his good to be evil spoken of; if he cannot prevent his final salvation, he will sap his comfort, and impede his activity and usefulness.

THE CONSEQUENCES of temptations are often dreadful. Why should I display to you the garden of Eden, and all the endless woe which temptation there produced? Why should I remind you of Noah, Lot, and Sampson? Why of Abraham or of Moses? Why of David or of Solomon? Why of Hezekiah or of Peter? Where can we look around us without seeing the wrecks and fragments of the storm on the surface of the waves? What has not human corruption, excited by temptation, done? What sin has it not occasioned? What havoc has it not made, and is it not making, in the world? What imperfections and scandals does it not introduce into the church? How many apparently devout and holy men, how many eminent and useful ministers, has it not overthrown? How soon are the best Christians misled and blinded, when they place themselves within reach of temptation? How rapidly and yet craftily does Satan spread his snares and decoy

the soul? Where, where can we turn without shame and affliction? Who can look into his own heart without trembling for himself? Who can cast an eye on the state of the Church without being filled with grief? How many, like Lot's wife, stand as monuments of the deceitfulness and power of temptation? The very name of it makes a humble and observant Christian shudder with the recollection of what he has himself suffered in past conflicts, and under the impression of the danger to which he is still exposed.

Let us then consider,

II. THE FORCE OF THE PETITION OF OUR TEXT, Lead us not into temptation.

Here it will be first necessary to inquire in WHAT MANNER GOD MAY BE SAID TO LEAD MEN INTO TEMPTATION. Temptation itself, in the sense in which we are considering it, cannot be attributed to Him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. To make Him in any way, even the most remote, the author of sin, is to subvert the foundations of all religion, and to traduce the divine perfections. We must not, even in our thoughts, impute the fault of our crimes to the infinitely holy God. He never introduces evil into our hearts, nor excites it by any po