the one striving by the violence of its in-dwelling lusts, and the other by the subtlety of his devices, to draw him back into that state of guilt and bondage from which he has just
escaped a
Such enemies, so numerous, so subtle, so inveterate, the Christian scarcely knows how to encounter : and the thought of their combined and continued efforts to destroy him, fills him not unfrequently with terror and " dismay" ]
2. His utter inability to withstand them —
The Christian has no idea of the extent of his own impo- tency to that which is good, till he comes to exert himself in the ways of God. He then finds that " without aid from the Lord Jesus Christ, he can do nothing." This oftentimes greatly discourages him : " If," says he, ** I have run with footmen, and they have wearied me, how shall I contend with horses*?" If I am not able to encounter the least of all my enemies, how can I withstand the united force of all ? The discouragements arising from this source are the greater, because they so con- tinually recur. The Christian cannot address himself to any duty, but he is constrained from painful experience to acknow- ledge, that all his sufficiency to do, or to will, or even to think
what is good, is of God alone c Verily, if it were
not that he had hope in God, he would sit down in utter de- spair ]
3. The dreadful consequence of a defeat —
[Eternity is at stake ; an eternity of bliss or woe ; of bliss or woe unutterable, and inconceivable : and to those only who overcome will the prize of victory be assigned, even to those who maintain the conflict to the end, and overcome all the enemies of their souls. And how fearful the alternative ! how dreadful the thought of dwelling with everlasting burnings ! Can a man open his eyes to such a prospect, and not fear ? Is it not sufficient to appal the stoutest heart? True indeed, some are borne up above all such fears, and are " assured, that, when the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, they have an house not made with hands, eternal in the hea- vens : " but all are not so privileged ; or rather, all do not so fully attain the enjoyment of their privileges: and to them a doubt or suspicion of their ultimate acceptance with God is a source of the most disquieting apprehension.]
But however great be their fears, they may dismiss them all, when they are informed of, II. The encouragement here afforded them —
Every difficulty that could harass their minds is
a 2 Pet. ii. 18. b Jer. xii. 5. c Phil. ii. 13. 2 Cor. iii. 5.