Secondly, The universality of the combat. We wrestle, which comprehends all, on purpose you may perceive the apostle changeth the pronoun ye in the former verse, into we in this, that he may include himself as well as them ; as if he had said, the quarrel is with every saint. Satan neither fears to assault the minister, nor despiseth to wrestle with the meanest saint in the congregation ; great and small, minister and people, all must wrestle : not one part of Christ's anny in the field, and the other at ease in their quarters, where no enemy comes ; here are enemies enough to engage all at once.
Thirdly, The permanency or duration of this combat, and that lies in the tense. "Not, our wrestling was at first conversion, but now over, and we passed the pikes ; not, we shall wrestle when sickness comes, and death comes, but our wrestling is; the enemy is ever in sight of us, yea, in sight with us : and there is an evil of every day's temptation, which, like Paul's bonds, abides us wherever we be come. So that these particulars summed up, will amount to this point :
Section II. — Doct. The Christian's life is a continual v^restling. He is, as Jeremy said of himself, born ' a man of strife,' or what the prophet to Asa, maybe said to every Christian; ' From hence thou shalt have wars,' from thy spiritual birth to thy natural death ; from the hoiu- when thou first didst set thy face to heaven, till thou shalt set thy foot in heaven. Israel's march out of Egypt was in gospel-sense our taking the field against sin and Satan ; and when had they peace ? not till they lodged their colours in Canaan. No condition wherein the Christian is here below is quiet. Is it prosperity or adversity ? here is work for both hands, to keep pride and security down in the one, faith and patience up in the other ; no place which the Christian can call privileged ground. Lot, in Sodom, wrestled with the wicked inhabitants thereof, his ' righteous soul being vexed with their unclean conversation.' And how fares he at Zoar ? Do not his own daugliters bring a spark of Sodom's fire into his own bed, whereby he is inflamed with lust ? Some have thought, if they were but in such a family, under such a ministry, out of such occa- sions, O then they should never be tempted as now they are : I confess change of air is a great help to weak nature, and these forenamed as vantage-ground against Satan ; but thinkest thou to fly from Satan's presence thus? No, though thou shouldst take the wings of the morning, he would fly after thee: these may make him change his method in tempting, but not lay down his design ; so long as his old friend is alive within, he will be knocking at the door without. No duty can be performed without wrestling ! the Christian needs his sword as much as his trowel. He wrestles with a body of flesh ; this to the Christian in duty is as the beast to the traveller ; he cannot go his journey without it, and much ado to go with it. If the flesli be kept high and lusty, then it is wanton, and will not obey ; if low, then it is weak, and soon tires : thus the Christian rids but little grovmd, because he must go his weak body's pace. He wrestles with a body of sin as well as of flesh; this mutters and murmurs when the soul is takhig up any duty. Sometimes it keeps the Christian from duty, so that he cannot do what he would. As Paul said, 'I would have come once and again, but Satan hindered me.' I would have prayed, may the Christian say, at such a time, and meditated on the word I heard, the mercies I received at another, but this enemy hindered. It is true, indeed, grace sways the sceptre in such a soul, yet as schoolboys taking their time when their master is abroad, do shut him out, and for a while lord it in misrule, though they are whipped for it afterwards ; thus the unrege- nerate part takes advantage when grace is not on its watch, to disturb its government, and shut it out from duty ; though this last makes the soul more severe in mortifying, yet it costs some scuffle before it can recover its throne ; and when it cannot shut from duty, yet then is the Christian wofully yoked with it in duty ; it cannot do what it doth as it would ; many a letter in its copy doth this enemy spoil, while he jogs him with impertinent thoughts ; when the
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Christian is pi'aying, tlien Satan and the flesh are a prating; he cries, and they louder, to put him out, or drown his cry. Thus we see the Christian is assailed on everj- side by his eneni}' ; and how can it be other, when the seeds of war are laid deep in the natures of both, which can never be rooted up till the devil cease to be a devil, sin to be sin, and the saint to be a saint ? Though wolves may snarl at one another, yet soon are quiet again, because the quarrel is not in their natiu-e ; _ but the wolf and the lamb can never be made friends. Sin will lust against grace, and grace draw upon sin whenever they meet.