3. By persecution —
[This was the engine which Satan used from the begin- ning : he instigated the first-born of man to murder his own brother, for no other crime than his superior sanctity g. What
d Hos. v. 11. e Gal. ii. 12,13.
f 1 Kings xix. 10. and xxii. 6, 13. s 1 John hi. 12.
effects were made in succeeding ages by Pharaoh to destroy the people of the Lord, is well known. The Prophets, the Apostles, and our Lord himself, were almost without exception perse- cuted unto death. The Christian Church, from the first moment of its establishment to this present hour, has experienced the truth of that assertion, that " all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution11." And how many have been cast down by it ! How many " bright stars have been swept away by the dragon's tail1!" St. Paul, when arraigned before Nero as a criminal, was left alone : all his followers forsook him ; and he was left without any other countenance or sup- port than what he received from the Lord himself k. Thus in every age, " those who have not had root in themselves, have endured but for a while, and in the time of persecution have fallen away1."]
4. Temptation —
[Many who have withstood all other assaults, have fallen at last through the fiery darts of temptation. If we find here and there a Joseph or a Daniel who is enabled to defeat his enemy, we see multitudes who, like David or Peter, are as beacons to us, and as monuments of human weakness. By the means that have been before mentioned, Satan assaults the Church at large ; by temptations he attacks the individuals in particular. And who has passed this ordeal unhurt ? who has combated without a wound ? Happy for us, if we have not been utterly cast down, and left to rise no more !]
But that we may not be discouraged, let us con- sider,
II. In what way the Spirit of God withstands him —
" Our help is indeed laid upon One that is mighty." The Lord of Hosts himself stands forth for our help : he erects his standard ; and calls us to fight under it. He effectually defeats the attempts of our great ad- versary,
1. By the preaching of his Gospel —
[With this apparently weak and inefficient weapon does he go forth to smite down his enemies, and subdue them to the obedience of faith. It is justly called " the rod of his strength." See what God wrought in one single hour by this sword in the hand of a poor fisherman : he reached the inmost souls of three thousand rebels, and rescued them out of the
h See ver. 15. middle clause. * Rev. xii. 4.
k 2 Tim. iv. 1G, 17. l Matt. xiii. 21.