to which we may be allured, the heart is of itself so indisposed to spiritual exercises, that it will soon faint and be weary in them, if its strength be not daily renewed by the Spirit of God. Hence that direction of the Apostle, " Be not weary in well-doing V]
3. From the temptations of Satan —
[One of the first devices of Satan is, to persuade men that so much exertion in the divine life is not necessary; and, as he did respecting our Lord, he will instigate some friend to whisper in our ear, " Spare thyself." If he do not succeed in this way, he will suggest to us that our efforts are in vain; that we never were truly converted unto God; that we are not in the number of God's elect ; that we have committed the unpardonable sin ; and we had better secure the happiness that is within our reach, than labour for that which we can never obtain. Alas! how many has he deceived by these wiles, and ruined by these devices ! Well then may we be on our guard against him, since we are told that " he is always walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." There had not been such armour provided for our use, if we had not a very arduous conflict to maintain1.]
4. From the very members of the Church itself — [St. Paul warned the elders of Ephesus that they were in
great " peril from false brethren ;" and that not only from other quarters, but " even from among their own selves, some would arise, speaking perverse things, and drawing away disciples after themm." And who that is conversant with the sacred writings, or with the state of the Christian Church at this day, need be told what havoc false brethren have made, sometimes " subverting whole houses," and " bringing in damnable heresies, whereby they bring destruction both on themselves and multi- tudes of unsuspecting followers"." Even where persons do not go to these extremes, they may diffuse a vain, conceited and contentious spirit, and beguile to an awful extent the simple- minded. We all know how easy it is to receive bad impressions; and how difficult to get rid of them, when once received. There is, if I may so call it, a virgin simplicity, which is the chief beauty and excellence of a Christian, and which, if once lost, is very hardly recovered ; and to preserve it amongst a people, requires all the vigilance of the most active minister, as-well as all the caution of the people themselves0.]
From contemplating the dangers of the Lord's people, we are naturally led to consider also,
k Gal. vi. 0. > Eph. vi. 11, 12. m Acts xx. 29, 30.
" 2 Pet. ii. 1. and hi. 17. ° 2 Cor. xi. 2, 3.