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One thing more the apostle Jude teacheth us from this 'Increpet,' "Not to despise dominion, not to speak evil of dignities," since Michael the arch-angel, contending with the devil, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke thee.' (Jude viii. 9) This as it is severely forbidden by God, "Thou shalt not revile the Gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people;” (Exod. xxii. 28) so is it noted by the apostle as an evidence of walking after the flesh, of uncleanness, presumption, self-willedness, to despise government, and not to be afraid to speak evil of dignities. (2 Pet. ii. 10, 11) How careful were the apostles, in their days, to caution Christians against this sin! "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers; they that resist, shall receive to themselves damnation; ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience-sake." (Rom. xiii. 1, 2, 5) "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates." (Tit. iii. 1) Inculcate it them, they are apt enough through pride and arrogance to forget it," Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, to kings, to governors; use not your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." (1 Pet. ii. 13, 16) And yet the princes in whose time they wrote, were monsters of men for wickedness. Christian religion doth ratify and bear up,—it doth not despise or destroy, magistracy; but owneth it to be of God, as his ordinance and institution," By whom kings reign;" who putteth his name, and an impress of sacred authority upon them, (Prov. viii. 15. Psalm lxxxii. 6) and setteth them as his ministers, to be eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, and fathers to the poor, and sanctuaries to the afflicted. Great therefore the wickedness of those that despise them; horrid and execrable the enterprises of those, which would blow them up, and destroy them. If Korah, or Sheba, or Absalom, or Zimri had peace, such as these may look for it too: but Solomon assures us of these men, that "their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the ruin of them ?" (Prov. xxiv. 22)

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Lastly, From the double increpation we may draw, 1. Matter of caution, not to think ourselves secure, at any time, against the assaults of Satan. He is like the flies, of

Job xxix. 15.

which he hath his name, impudent, and importunate. When he is beaten off once, he will come on again; when he hath been foiled and rebuked once, he will venture a second increpation there is no truce to be held with him: when he was infinitely overmatched, yet he departed from Christ but "for a season.” (Luke iv. 13)

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2. Matter of comfort, That we should not despond under the assaults of Satan. When he multiplies temptations, Christ will multiply increpations; he will deliver a second time; (Isai. xi. 11) in six and in seven troubles; (Job v. 19) from the terror by night, and the arrow by day. (Psalm xci. 5) Christ is never less active and vigilant to help, than Satan is to hurt the church. If where sin abounds, grace doth superabound, and God doth multiply to pardon; (Rom. v. 20. Isai.lv. 7) much more when the rage of Satan abounds, succour shall superabound, and God will multiply to rebuke.

Repetitions and ingeminations in scripture, note 1. Certainty; as the dream of Pharaoh was doubled, because of God's fixed purpose concerning it. (Gen. xli. 32) Satan, in all his oppositions against the building of God's house, shall certainly be disappointed. 2. Constancy; "Thou shalt follow justice, justice," (Deut. xvi. 20) thou shalt never give over following it. The Lord will, constantly and perpetually, rebuke Satan in all his assaults against Joshua and his fellows. 3. Vehemency and ardency of affection; it intends the sense, and makes it superlative. "O earth, earth, earth," a pathetical excitation! (Jer. xxii. 29) "Holy, holy, holy:" an ardent expression of the infinite holiness of God. (Isai. vi. 3) The Lord will vehemently, and with much zeal and earnestness, rebuke Satan in his hostility against the church. 4. Consummation and completing of what is gone about, "I will overturn, overturn, overturn." (Ezek. xxi. 27) When I begin, I will make an end. God will never give over rebuking and opposing Satan, till he hath wholly subdued him, and brought him under Christ and his people's feet.

And since Christ doth thus certainly, constantly, earnestly, completely rebuke him, let us keep our ground, oppose him with treble and unwearied prayers; (2 Cor. xii. 8) resist him with steadfastness in the faith, (1 Pet. v. 9) with patient continuance in well doing. (Rom. ii. 7) Let us stand, and

stand, and stand; pray with all prayer, pray with all perseverance in prayer in this spiritual combat. (Eph. vi. 11, 13, 14, 18) Christ rebukes and rebukes again; let us resist and resist again.

There remains only the double foundation of this victory; 1. God's gracious election; the Lord which hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee.' The doctrine of adoption by free grace is the strongest weapon that we can wield against the malice of Satan. "Thou art my God from my mother's belly;" and therefore since bulls, and dogs, and lions do compass, and beset, and gape, and roar upon me, "do thou deliver and save me; be not thou far from me." (Psalm xxii. 10, 13, 20, 21) God will admit no charge against his elect. (Rom. viii. 33, 35) If I were to be saved by merits of my own, want of merit would condemn me: but where all is of grace and free gift, no guilt can condemn him who hath the righteousness of another, freely bestowed upon him. It is five times together called "the gift, the free gift, the gift of righteousness." (Rom. v. 15, 16, 17) O thanks be unto God, thanks for ever be unto God, for his unspeakable gifts, the gift of the righteousness of Christ bestowed upon us.

2. The next foundation of this victory, is Joshua's past deliverance; " Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ?" Whence we learn,

1. That past mercies are pledges of more. The work of God is perfect, especially his work of mercy. (Deut. xxxii. 4) If he snatch out of the fire, he will bring unto his temple : if he lay a foundation, he will bring forth the headstone. (Zech. iv. 9) He will perfect that which he hath wrought: if he begin a good work, he will finish it. (Psalm cxxxviii. 8. Phil. i. 6) He who will not have us be weary of well-doing, will not be weary of well-doing himself. "His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon those that fear him.” (Psalm ciii. 17) Satan can no more hinder the continuance of it unto eternity, than he can cause it not to have been from eternity.

2. No condition is so sad or desperate, out of which the Lord cannot rescue his people. He carries them through the fire; (Zech. xiii. 9) he preserves them in the fire; (Dan. iii. 25, 27) he brings them through fire and water into a wealthy place. (Psalm lxvi. 12) And this he doth suddenly,

in the very nick of danger. In the mount will the Lord be seen, (Gen. xxii. 14) and hastily laying merciful hold on us while we linger. (Gen. xix. 16) He repenteth concerning his servants, when he sees that their power is gone; (Deut. xxxii. 36) and when they are as very outcasts, whom no man looketh after. (Jer. xxx. 17) In our greatest perplexities and fears, if we could glorify God by believing, and stand still without sinful doubts, disquiet murmurings, and diverting unto sinister and perverse means, carnal sanctuaries, and a refuge of lies, we might comfortably expect to see the salvation of God.

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3. This brand God will not only save, but honour, turn it into timber to build his house withal. When the Lord rescueth a great and good man out of great troubles and temptations which were ready to consume him, usually he maketh him an instrument of great and special service. Moses drawn out of the water, Joseph out of prison, Daniel out of the lions' den, David from a world of persecutions and dangers, Mordecai out of the pit of Haman's malice, and here Joshua out of the furnace of Babylon; and all afterwards eminent instruments of great and honourable services for the church of God.

This is a worthy fruit of afflictions, when they season and prepare us to be beams in God's house; as the greatest timber hath the most seasoning. Luther was wont to say, that "prayer, meditation, and temptation, are excellent preparations for the ministry."

4. God can use weak, improbable, despised instruments. unto great and excellent works. He that could make one loaf of bread enough to feed thousands, can make one brand timber enough to build temples. He that drew the prophet. out of a pit with rotten rags, can erect a glorious temple out of the dust with burnt firebrands. He blew down the walls of Jericho with rams' horns; discomfited a huge host of Midianites, with a few broken pitchers; converted the world with twelve fishermen, and chooseth the weak, and base, and foolish things, things which are not, to bring to nought things that are. (1 Cor. i. 27, 29) He hath more regard to the lowliness of those that are weak, than to the abilities of those that are proud; to teach us not to despise truth, or comfort, or any mercy, by what hand soever brought unto us; no

more than the prophet did his meat, when God sent it unto him by ravens. (1 Kings xvii. 5) God hath purposely put rich treasures in earthen vessels, that the excellency of his power might the more shine forth in the infirmity of his instruments; "that no flesh might glory in his sight."

And now, as on this day, hath this scripture been exactly paralleled in this nation, in the glorious deliverance we now celebrate.

Joshua's work was to build a temple; Satan's, to hinder and oppose it. He is an enemy to all such building, but that which Tertullian calls, Edificatio ad ruinam ;' he is all for pulling down work.

And are not religion and laws the best part of a structure, the foundation? Are not princes, peers, nobles, fathers of their country, choice stones in a building? Demosthenes tells us, ̓́Ανδρες πύργοι et ̓́Ανδρες πόλεις, καὶ οὐ τείχη. That men were towers and cities, and not walls. Doth not the apostle say of the church, "Ye are God's building?" (1 Cor. iii. 9) Of this temple it was that these wicked men said, “Rase it, rase it to the very ground; down with it, down with it into ashes; up with it, up with it into fire." They would have turned things upside down; (Isa. xxix. 16) down with laws, up with confusion: down with Jerusalem, up with Babylon: down with the Ark, up with Dagon: down with religion, up with superstition: make princes, and peers, and gentry, and ministry, the flower of a nation, who were wont to be like polished sapphires, very firebrands, blacker than a coal. (Lam. iv. 7, 8) Tell me, whether any but heads and hearts, filled with the devil, could ever have invented or executed so bloody a design.

King and parliament, peers and people, were standing before the Lord: for "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the Gods." (Psalm lxxxii. 1) And Satan will be thrusting in to withstand them. No place so sacred, whither he will not intrude. He crawls into paradise; we find him standing before the Lord amongst all the host of heaven, in the midst of an angelical assembly. (1 Kings xxii. 19,21)

But he can do no good at the hand to hinder that from working; he cannot introduce superstition and ignorance at that door. He tries therefore what he can do under the feet.