THE MEANS OF WITHSTANDING SATAN's WILES.
Eph. vi. 11. Put on the tohole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the iviles of the devil.
TO be possessed of courage is not the only requi- site for a good soldier ; he must be skilled in the use of arms ; he must be acquainted with those stratagems which his adversaries will use for his destruction ; he must know how to repel an assault, and how in his turn to assault his enemy : in short, he must be trained to war. Nor will his knowledge avail him any thing, unless he stand armed for the combat. Hence the Apostle, having encouraged the Christian soldier, and inspired him with confidence in " the Captain of his salvation," now calls him to put on his armour, and by a skilful use of it, to prepare for the day of battle.
To open fully the direction before us, we must shew you, first, the zmles of the devil ; and next, the means of defeating them.
I. We shall endeavour to lay before you " the wiles of the devil"— Satan is the great adversary of God and man ; and labours to the uttermost to destroy the interests of both. In prosecuting his purpose, he has two grand objects in view, namely, to lead men into sin, and to keep them from God. We must consider these dis- tinctly ; and point out the stratagems he uses for the attainment of his ends.
1 . To lead men into sin —
To effect this, he presents to them such tempta- tions as are best suited to their natural dispositions. As a skilful general will not attempt to storm a fort on the side that it is impregnable, but will rather direct his efforts against the weaker parts, where he has a better prospect of success ; so Satan considers the weak part of every man, and directs his artillery where he may most easily make a breach. He