The foolish virgins had no other anchor than this when they cried, "Lord, Lord, open to us." If ever fuch hypocrites have any doubts or fears about them, it is when the clamours of confcience, through the judgments of God, found too loud to be drowned by the cry of, Peace, peace; but even then, when the alarm is past, they appear the more steadfast. A falfe hope is the cockatrice egg, and human merit is the fpider's web. Ifa. lix. 5. But, when the wrath of God enters the confcience, the egg will be crushed, and then out comes the viper; the curfe of God will break the egg, and the flames of hell will confume the web. "The hypocrite's hope fhall perish; whose hope fhall he cut off, and whofe truft fhall be a fpider's web." Job viii. 14.

The feventh bulwark, by which the devil fupports his empire in the heart, is human wisdom. Satan has no fools in his kingdom, though God hath few elfe in his. We are fools for Chrift's fake," fays Paul; yea, and all muft become fools before they are made wife, and fools afterwards too, for they know nothing of themfelves. But not fo the subjects of Satan," for the children of this world are wifer in their generation than the children of light." Luke xvi. 8. There are no more than two fucceeding generations-the children of God, and the children of the devil; fo that it is in the generation of vipers that this wifdom lies. All the followers of Chrift which

he

he had bleffed fell under the fentence of thefe wife men among the Jews: "This people that know not the law are curfed. Thou wait altogether born in fin, and doft thou teach us? and they caft him out." Thefe wife ones can tell you the origin of the world better than he who made it, if you can believe them; they will give you a defeription of the eternity of matter, though they will not allow him to be eternal that made the world. John i. 3. They have found out that every ftar is a habitable world, and they have multiplied heavens as faft as the papifts have multiplied mediators, which never had any existence but in their brains; they have given to the globe of the earth fuch velocity of motion as all the weights and machinery in the world could never give to a wheel, nor all the nitre upon earth give to a fhot; they have afcribed fuch intelligence and influence to the planets, that they can tell , you at Christmas when it will rain and when it will fhine all the year round; nay more, they will caft your nativity by them, and read your fate or deftiny, fo that you may know your end from the beginning without going to the gypfies; fo profound in knowledge are thefe whofe "wifdom is earthly, fenfual, and devilith."

And, if Satan fows a crop of thefe tares among the Lord's wheat in order to anfwer fome future purpose, their wisdom is ftill retained; they are no lefs than the children of the wicked one,

though

though they are mixed among the children of the kingdom. They may be known by their noife, for they are swift to speak and flow to hear; James i. 19; by their ftation alfo, for there is none of this fort that are fervants of all, or fervants of any; they are all mafters, that they may receive the greater condemnation. James in. 1. This fort muft not be fought for in the lower room, but in the highest feat. Satan fends no understrappers, fuch as helps or fellow-helpers to the truth; thofe that he fent into the church in Paul's days were all apoftles. 2 Cor. xi. 13. Rev. ii. 2. They are like Pharaoh's statesmen, the fons of the wife, the fons of ancient kings (Ffa. xix. 11); and true enough, for we know of no kings upon earth fo ancient as devils. A fubject of Chrift's kingdom muft compare himfelf with the fcriptures, and he that doth fo finds himself foolish enough; but Satan's fubjects compare themfelves with themselves, and Paul fays they are not wife: but I fay they are "wifer than feven men that can render a reason.”

Eighthly, The higheft ftate of majefty in Satan's empire is pride, it was this that lifted him up to his prefent dignity: "Not a novice," fays Paul, "left being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil." 1 Tim. iii. 6. When a spark of this exalting light fhines into the head of one of thefe wife fubjects, what wonders do they difeover! Not all the faints upon

earth

earth can efteem others fo much better than them. felves, as thefe efteem themfelves better than others. The hardest task that you can impofe upon fuch men, is to fet them down at the foot of another to be taught; nor doth any thing exercife their patience more, than to keep filence while another fpeaks, they are to be known by "a multitude of words."

They take after their father for affiduity; they go to and fro in the earth, and walk up and down in it; and wherever the fons of God affemble fome of thefe are fure to prefent themselves before the Lord; not to get inftruction, for that is not poffible; they go rather to correct mistakes and to try the fpirits. Thofe that followed the Saviour only fet him to rights when they thought he was wrong: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?""This is a hard faying, who can hear it!" "Thou beareft record of thyfelf, thy record is not true." "He is mad, why hear ye him?" And, if any wonderful difplay of fupernatural power appeared, they afcribed the glory to none but their own father: "He doth it by Beclzebub the prince of the devils." Agur was never half fo brutish in his own eyes as thefe are angelic in theirs. The everlafting gofpel is called foolishnefs, and omnipotence is termed weakness by them; but "the foolishnefs of God is wifer than men, and the weakness of God is ftronger than men." 1 Cor. i. 25. The fcorner's chair is the highest bench

in Satan's kingdom; he that mounts that feat is upon the pinnacle, above the ground, and above all about him, and of course nearest to him that is the prince of the power of the air.

The next in power to devils are fin and death; fin reigns unto death, and death reigned from Adam to Mofes, and from Mofes till now. Το keep up the government of these two is the chief of Satan's labour, whether it be in his fubjects or by them. And, when the Saviour fhall raife his own family, and change them and fashion them. like unto his own glorious body, then fhall the works of the devil be effectually destroyed; and both fin and death, which came by Satan, fhall be the everlasting deftruction of himself and of all that die in his intereft. Then fhall Satan and all his infernal principalities and powers, together with fin and death, and all dead finners, depart together; they shall go with the devil and his angels into their everlasting habitations, far enough from Chrift and from all the fubjects of his kingdom. Then fhall be brought to pafs this faying, "God taketh the wife in their own craftinefs, and the counfel of the froward is carried headlong."

THE END.

D