When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, feeking reft, and finding none: Then he faith, I will return unto my houfe from whence I came out, and when he is come, he findeth it empty, fwept and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh with himself feven other fpirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. And the laft ftate of that man is worse than the firft. Even fo fhall it be alfo unto this wicked generation.

G

OD affifting me, fo I do here go into the parable itfelf, and now begin with. obferving, first, the nature, and then the work of this unclean spirit. And as our Saviour faith," he hath left his habitation;" fo then the unclean spirit is gone out of a man.

And

this I would fay, it is well he is gone. And would to God he may never return any more to that man. We have a common, but a true proverb, It is a good riddance of a bad company: fo let him go from us but far enough, and for us it will in the end be good enough. But I fay, as I fee that while we are here on earth, we are often brought to cry out, O, alas' this unclean spirit, he will never keep far enough off from us. O no, behold, I fee he will not, for even now whilst I am preaching God's word, what a work for death and hell he is making in fome of you at this time. Therefore, behold and fee! for whilft God is fowing the good feed of the kingdom of heaven, the which is the word of life in the hearts of fome men. But look now for yourfelves, and know it affuredly, that this enemy he will not forbear to fow in your carelefs hearts the curfed feed of his fallen nature; the which is a forfaking of the truth, and a departing away from the living God, Heb. iii. 12. And because he is a congregational rake, and he delights to be a pew-hunter. And therefore again I fay, believers or finners, roufe up and quickly look out for yourfelves. If you love your fouls, fee! fee what the devil is now a doing. I tell you he runs about quick as lightning from feat to feat; and where he fees a careless heart, a roving eye, he presents to fuch

a one

a one the defirable apples of his pleafure, the objects of his lufts. And alfo when in the house of God he finds a Nabal, a glutton, or a drowsy head, then gently, but moft powerfully as a lion, he feizes on all this dull finner's fenfible faculties and with a feeming kindness, firft, he draws the heart to leave the attention to the word, then he lulls him to fleep juft at such a time, while the word of God paffeth by him; fo it leaveth him a careless finner. And yet the very fame word, in the hand of God founding through a trumpet of clay, becomes a foul-awakening and faith-giving power unto the feeking, waiting, penitent finner.

But this is not all. So look about and fee for this unclean fpirit. He has got more work to do, than forgetful hearers are aware of, even in fermon-time. And fo he proceeds, when he finds a covetous or a worldly minded man at the word. The man is thoughtless concerning God or a future ftate, and fo he is careless about the faving or lofing his own foul. So this un-. clean fpirit feizes on this man's affections, and then binds his foul, and then he carries or tranfports them from the word of God, to the dealings of his fhop, warehouse, or place of merchandize, places of public or private trades. So Satan leaves nothing for God's preacher to work upon, but a thoughtlefs trunk of mind

lefs clay. So though fuch a man fits under the gofpel, and yields himfelf to be carried and thus toffed about by the unclean fpirit, he is but as a door upon the hinges; he is backward and forward, for and against the ways of God; but through the love of the world, he is yet left an unconverted man.

But now I go on to obferve what Jefus the Son of the living God faith of this unclean spirit, that is," he is gone out of a man ;" and therein we fhall do well if we obferve these three things:

ift, The unrefting.

2dly, The unroofting. And,

3dly, Alfo the departure of this unclean spirit. And,

ift, Let it be known, that God loveth and pitieth fallen man; and becaufe he is not willing he should perish, therefore he hath given us the image of his glory, mercy and holiness, to fave us from our fins, from death, hell, and the grave. So the uncreated, all-creating Word, clothed with our nature in the unutterable, unmeasurable, glory of eternal love, Jefus of Nazareth, the Son of the living God, he came and dwelt with us in this prefent world, he being perfect God and truly man in the perfon of one Chrift, full of grace and truth; therefore, after his death, and before his afcenfion into the higheft heavens of glory,

ཝཱ

glory, he impowereth and fendeth his minifters with this charge, "Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel [the which is God's merey freely given in Chrift to the chief of finners] preach it to every creature." Now this is God's ordination, and Chrift's large but free commiffion to all his faithful, poor, but powerful labourers or minifters. And fo from age to age God calls, and Chrift commiffions them, and fends them till time fhall be no more, or unto the end of this world, Matt. xxviii. 20. So then it follows, that the powerful preaching of this gofpel of Jefus Chrift, is what always makes this unclean spirit uneasy, it breaks his supposed reft, yea it is the working of God's word; this. makes him restless and uneafy. And now,

2dly, Though he hath had his roofting-place in the heart of a man for forty or fourfcore years unmolefted, yet now the Holy Ghoft, by the use of the means and the word preached, often unroofteth this unclean fpirit. And,

3dly, It is the fear of Chrift coming into the poffeffion of the heart, by the power of his word, that caufeth the unclean fpirit to go out and depart, and leave this man for a feason; the which brings me to obferve thefe three circumftantial things.

Ift, The creature or person.

adly, The manner of his going out.

A 3

3dly,