truth";" and that every believer has within himself the witness of all the fundamental doctrines of our religion x; so that, " though he be a mere fool" in all other matters, " he shall surely be kept from error" in the concerns of his soul y.
We must next call your attention to the tempta- tions wherewith Satan assaults the heart. Under this term we include both the will and the affections ; the former of which he endeavours to weaken by terrors, while he corrupts the latter by the allurements of sense.
As soon as that wicked fiend beholds any turning unto God, he will suggest to their minds the comforts they must sacrifice, the reproaches they must incur, the losses they must sustain, and the insuperable difficulties they must encounter ; that so he may shake their resolution, and divert them from their purpose. It was thus that he prevented the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan z. It was thus also that he succeeded in damping the ardour of that wealthy youth, who, from love to his great possessions, relin- quished all hope of an interest in Christ a. And in the same manner does he prevail with thousands of the present day, who would gladly participate his blessings, if they could retain together with them their carnal attachments b.
If he cannot succeed by these means, he will repre- sent their case as hopeless ; and dissuade them from prosecuting their course by the consideration, that their efforts will be in vainc.
To others he will propose the pleasures of sense. He will set before them, as he did before our Lordd, the glory of the world ; he will draw their attention to " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of lifee." He will represent these things in the most fascinating view ; well knowing, that if he can but induce them to love either the pleasures, or the
u John xvi. 13. x 1 John v. 10.
y Isai. xxxv. 8. with Ps. xxv. 9. z Numb. xiv. 1 — 4.
a Matt. xix. 21, 22. b Matt. viii. 19 — 22.
c Jer. xviii. 12. d Matt. iv. 8, 9. e 1 John ii. 15, 16. vol. XVII. I I