this life ; to bring him through Jordan, those waves of death ; to put him into heaven, to bring him at length to his own country, to Canaan ; because there is spiritual wickedness stands in the way, both in regard of Satan him- self, and in regard of the instruments he useth.
But Christ came 'to destroy the works of the devil,' as it is said 1 John iii. 8 ; and he himself overcame Satan and triumphed over him, as it is Col. ii. 15. He led him in triumph. He triumphed over Satan himself, and he will triumph over Satan in all his members. As he overcame Satan in himself, so ho will overcome in us all : * For stronger is he that is in us than he that is in the world,' 1 John iv. 4. The Spirit of God, as he is in us, is stronger than Satan. Not only Christ our glorious captain overcame him and is now in heaven, but the Spirit of God in us weak creatures, with faith laying hold upon the word of God, is stronger than he that is in the world ; ho is stronger than the devil and all that are against us.
2. But besides Satan, there is in us much opiwsition that nmst he subdued before ive come to Canaan. As we saw before in 2 Cor. x. 5, those reason- ings and sophistries, proud high thoughts, all must be brought down, because Satan doth join with these ; and if it were not for enemies within us, Satan could not prevail over us. As it was Delilah that betrayed Samson, or else the Philistines could not have hurt him, so it is with our own corruptions. There be these walls within us. These betray us to Satan. He could not hurt us but that we betray ourselves.
Now, by little and little all these walls shall fall ; not all at once, as the walls of Jericho did, but they shall moulder in pieces by little and little. God by degrees will perfect the work of mortification and sanctification till he make us like his Son Christ, like our husband and head, that we may be fit for so glorious a head.
3. But to come to the particular occasion. Besides other enemies that are between us and heaven, Satan is powerful, and efiectual, and strong in the l-iuf/dom of antichrist. And by all means, that church which is opposite to Christ hath studied to build up walls, to build up Jericho, and to stop the church of Christ, to hinder it what they could. Now, what walls have they built up ? As Pharaoh said, ' Let us deal wisely,' Exod. i. 10. How wittily have they gone to work to overthrow the church of God in all times, and to set up themselves and their own kingdom. It were a large dis- course ; it would take up the whole time to shew their poHcy and the plots they have had. To give an instance in a few.
How strongly have they built up walls in their own conceit when they had got the whole world almost into subjection to them ! Before Luther's time, all the world followed them. They had used the matter so, that kings themselves had betrayed their very crowns to them, they had be- trayed their kingdoms, they were rather vassals to them than kings. They had gotten the temporal sword into their hands as well as the spiritual. And they had raised up to themselves a bloody inquisition to suppress all light of truth as soon as ever it sparkled out. All beams of truth were stopped with their bloody inquisition. They thought they had fenced themselves safe enough. Then again, they had disabled all the kings and princes of Christendom. And then because the pope would engage princes to him to strengthen the walls higher, and to make them stronger, the young sons of princes, he would make them cardinals. And then he would arrogate to himself a power absolute to dispense in case of marriage, and oaths, and such like. And besides, what plots have they had for the counterfeiting of authors, for falsifying of authors, purging out true authors,
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that they might have none give witness against them ! What tricks have they to keep people in ignorance, because it is a kingdom of darkness ! The Bible they must have, God hath preserved that ; but they would have it in an unknown tongue. And what other devices to abuse the people withal. How have they fenced themselves, by applying themselves to humour all sorts of people ! For even as the devil enlargeth his kingdom by applying himself to the cursed sinful disposition of men, so doth the pope here upon earth apply himself to the sinful disposition of all sorts of men. There are no kind of men but they have a bait in popery. For loose libertines, there are stews. For others that are of a more reserved and severe disposition, there are monasteries. For superstitious persons, there they have a world of ridiculous ceremonies, devised to themselves of their own brain, and never used in the primitive church. For those that are covetous, they have the riches of the world in their own hands, they have had at least before more than they now have. For proud, ambitious persons, they have honours of all sorts. For the people, they have many carnal liberties for them. And for all the senses of the body, they have something to delight them, to draw people from the power of religion to carnal outward worship. So they have studied and whetted their wits all the ways that might be, to apply themselves to the dispositions of all sorts of men whatsoever, that so they might strengthen the walls of Jericho. I might be large ; I give you but a taste.