life, to bring us down to the second death in hell, ai'e the things for which he is unceasingly working. He is ever going about, seeking whom he may devour. — He is a liar! He is continually trying to deceive us by false represen- tations, just as he deceived Eve at the beginning. He is always telling us that good is evil and evil good, — truth is falsehood and falsehood truth, — the broad way good and the narrow way bad. Millions are led captive by his deceit, and follow him, both rich and poor, both high and low, both learned and unlearned. Lies are his chosen weapons. By lies he slays many.
These are awful things ; but they are true. Let us live as if we believed them. Let us not be like many who mock, and sneer, and scoff, and deny the existence of the very being who is invisibly leading them to hell. Let us believe there is a devil, and watch, and pray, and fight hard against his temptations. Strong as he is, there is One stronger than him, who said to Peter, " I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not," and who still intercedes at God's right hand. Let us commit our souls to Him. (Luke xxii. 32.) With such a being as the devil going to and fro in the world, we never need wonder to see evil abound- ing. But with Christ on our side, we need not be afraid. Greater is He that is for us than he that is against us. It is written, "Resist the devil, and he shall flee from 3Tou." — " The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." (James iv. 7 ; Rom. xvi. 20.)
Notes. John VIII. 37—47.
87. — [I know that ye are Abraham's seed.'} In this verse our Lord takes up the arrogant boast of the Jews, that they were Abra- ham's seed. He had replied to their assertion, " We were never in bondage to any man," by showing the nature of true bondage and true liberty. He now returns to their opening saying, " We be Abraham's seed,' and begins by telling them that He knew, and fully admitted, their carnal descent from Abraham.
[But ye seek to kill me.} This must mean, "Your relation to