the sin to which he knows he will be allured. In a word, we are never voluntarily, and of choice, to expose ourselves to any temptation, but on the contrary, to avoid it by all proper precautions. Hence we ought not to think it an extreme, carefully to consider our constitutional make, to know what are the transgressions to which we are most prone, that we may with peculiar vigilance guard against provocatives to easily besetting sins. This is a consideration that should have influence on youth, in choosing a trade or profession, and even on those who are thinking of offering themselves as missionaries, when they examine into their qualifications for the undertaking they contemplate-The inquiry should be, will not the course of life on which I think of entering, expose me to temptations, to a compliance with which I am, from constitutional make, or some other cause, peculiarly prone. But on the other hand, whenever in the providence of God, without our seeking, and contrary to our choice, we fall into temptation," and plain and important duty requires us to meet it, we ought to look to God for special aid, and go forward with determined resolution. 2. It ought to be habitually impressed on our minds, that we are not sufficient of ourselves to resist any temptation. It has been justly observed, that the foul transgressions of eminent saints, of which we read in sacred story, took place by the commission of sins to which we should suppose they, of all men, were the least exposedas Moses, the meekest of men, sinned by intemperate anger; Abraham the father of the faithful, by a distrust of the providence of God; and so of several others. The truth is, that as through Christ strengthening them, his people can do all things, so without him they can do nothing. Hence they are taught, in all things to distrust

themselves; and to be sensible of their insufficiency, without divine aid, for any good work, or to avoid even enormous sins; and to look constantly to him to uphold and guard them-thus showing, that "when they are weak then they are strong"-strong, not in themselves, but "in the grace which is in Christ Jesus."

3. In connexion with what has just been said, it is proper to notice what has been called tempting God. "Men tempt God, when they unseasonably and irreverently require proofs of his presence, power, and goodness; when they expose themselves to danger from which they cannot escape without the miraculous interposition of his providence; and when they sin with such boldness as if they wanted to try whether God could, or would, know and punish them."* Good men may commit this sin by expecting extraordinary interpositions in their favour, beyond what God in his word has authorized them to expect. But none except the most impious and abandoned, can do that which is last mentioned by the author I have quoted.

4. It is of importance to remember, that when a temptation solicits or assaults, if we would have any rational prospect of withstanding it ultimately, it must be resisted at once, and with the most decisive resolution and effort. Indeed, all dallying with temptation, as I have elsewhere shown, is sinful in itself; and it may provoke God to withhold, or withdraw, that gracious influence, without which we are sure to fall. Let a temptation, whether it be alluring or terrifying, get possession of the fancy and the feelings, and its full prevalence is all but certain. On this point, let me recommend to your review and care

ful attention, what I have said in my xvth'lecture, on the temptation by which our first mother was fatally seduced.

5. The sources of temptation are the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world, proves a source of temptation both from the good and the evil which we may meet with, in our progress through it. The profits, pleasures, and emoluments of the world, often prove a snare and the occasion of sin. Hence we should pray with the Psalmist, that God would " incline our hearts unto his testimonies and not unto covetousness," and that he would dispose and enable us, agreeably to the apostolical injunction, "to set our affections on things above, and not on things on the earth"--The dismaying evils of the world which may prove temptations, are the outward troubles and afflictions which we meet with in it-poverty, persecution, the death of friends and relatives, loss of reputation, and sometimes of life itself. "In the world," said our Saviour, " ye shall have tribulation." When we are exercised with temptations of this description, we should think much of what Christ our Saviour endured for us, and how little, in the comparison, we are called to suffer for our fidelity to him; and we should pray that our outward afflictions may be "for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness," and that we may neither "despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when we are rebuked of him."

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The flesh, that is our corrupt and depraved nature, is also fruitful source of temptation. In the vth chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians, the apostle gives a catalogue of "the works of the flesh," and sets these in contrast with "the fruit of the Spirit." He shows that in every sanctified soul there is a constant conflict between these opposing principles. His direction is, "walk in the Spi

rit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh;" and he declares that "they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." It is with his corrupt nature that every believer has his longest and sorest conflicts; and his constant prayer should be, for those supplies of grace from the fulness of Christ, by which he may at length be brought off a conqueror and more than a conqueror, over these dangerous enemies of his soul.

Satan, is by way of eminence, denominated " the Tempter"-He was so called emphatically, when he assaulted Christ in the wilderness. He began to act in this hateful character when he assailed our first parents in Paradise, and he has been making his assaults upon all ranks of mankind ever since. "Be sober, be vigilant, says the apostle Peter; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." But it should never be forgotten, that Satan has no direct control over the human will; he cannot force or compel us, to yield to his temptations. Hence the direction, " resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Yet the arts and wiles of our great adversary are such, that if he were not limited and controlled by God, he would doubtless succeed in his attempts to destroy imperfect man, since he found the means of seducing the parents of our race, when they had no imperfection. But Christ, our Saviour, was "revealed to destroy the works of the devil;" and to the blessed Redeemer we should especially and directly apply for protection and deliverance, when temptations come more immediately from the great enemy of God and man. This was the counsel of LutherHe advises that under the manifest assaults, suggestions, and injections of our adversary the devil, we should pray to the Lord Jesus

Christ, that is, to God in Christ, directly, specially, and solely, for his Interposition and succour; since he was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin, and is able to succour those who are tempted. Doubtless, Satan is ever ready and constantly engaged to enforce, as far as he is permitted, every temptation that assails us, from whatever quarter it may arise. But there are some temptations, and of the most terrific kind, sometimes called "fiery darts of the devil," which seem to proceed immediately from this fearful enemy. A flood of blasphemous, strange, horrible, dismaying, and almost overwhelming thoughts, or, as I would rather call them, imaginations, are sometimes poured in on the soul. Sometimes such thoughts, in a more separate and unconnected manner, rise up in the mind, or are suddenly and unaccountably darted into it; and having once entered, they are renewed from day to day, till the sufferer is harassed and tormented almost beyond endurance; and perhaps is distressed with the apprehension of having committed the unpardonable sin, and is even tempted to self-destruction. Individuals of a melancholy temperament, or of a nervous habit, are most frequently afflicted with this calamity, and commonly to the greatest degree; but persons of every kind of constitutional make, and some of the most vigorous health and best spirits, are not always free from a measure of these most distressing mental affections. Norare persons of the most eminent piety, exempted from them. On the contrary, persons of this character have often been peculiarly subject to this class of temptations.

In regard to this great affliction, the first thing to be observed in seeking relief, is to recollect, and keep it in mind, that temptation, considered by itself, is not sin. Our Lord Jesus Christ, "who did no

sin," was tempted by Satan; nor can we easily conceive of more horrible suggestions, than those of worshipping the devil, and of plunging down a precipice; and yet these were among the temptations of our blessed Lord. These thoughts, or imaginations, therefore, so long as they are promptly resisted, rejected, and abhorred, are not sinful-The next thing to be remembered is, that we cannot reason them away. "To attempt to think them down is madness" said Dr. Johnson, to one who consulted him on the subject. To the same effect precisely, was the opinion of Luther; and indeed of all who have written most discreetly on the subject. The great point to be carried, is to prevent them from being brought before the view of the mind, and as much as possible to disregard them, and not even to notice them distinctly, when they do occur. All recalling of them, or thinking them over--to which there is often a strange propensity-is to renew their impression and increase their strength. The plain duty of the afflicted party therefore is, to lift up the heart in fervent aspirations to the once tempted and now glorified Redeemer, for his protection for grace and strength to endure the trial while it lasts, and to grant deliverance in his own time and way; and then immediately to occupy the mind vigorously with some lawful object or pursuit. Idleness and solitude are to be avoided as much as possible. "Be not solitary, be not idle," was the summary advice of Burton, in his "Anatomy of Melancholy," which Dr. Johnson thought should be amended thus-"Be not solitary when you are idle, be not idle when you are solitary." By the observance of these directions, and a resolute and persevering adherence to them, the temptations we consider will at length vanish without injury; nay, it may be, with lasting benefit to the afflicted party. The ex

cellent John Newton, in a letter to one who, under the distress we contemplate, asked his advice, makes a remark to this effectthat however horrible and dismaying these temptations seem, while they last, yet after they are removed, they leave no scar upon the conscience. Such certainly has been my own observation, in the casesconsiderable in number-on which I have been consulted, and my advice requested. It is by sap and mine, far more frequently than by these furious assaults, that the great adversary of souls effects his purposes. It is by promoting, by every means in his power, carelessness, gradual backsliding, a worldly spirit, neglect of watchfulness, and the conscientious discharge of duty, that he gains an advantage against the professed disciples of Christ; and it is by artful and gradual seductions into flagrant sin, or by endeavouring to keep them in carnal security, or a delusive contentment, derived from purposes of future amendment and repentance, that he ensures, most frequently and certainly, the eternal perdition of unregenerate sinners. With warning you, therefore, my young friends, in the most solemn manner, against these artifices of the great tempter and deceiver, I close my discussion of the sixth petition of the Lord's prayer; and proceed immediately to a brief consideration of its conclusion

This conclusion is thus expressed-"For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever, Amen." In these words, according to our Catechism, "we are taught to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power and glory to him: and in testimony of our desires and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen."

The word for, with which the conclusion of the Lord's prayer is

introduced, intimates that what immediately follows is to be considered as a conclusive reason, why every petition of this inimitable prayer may properly be offered up to God, and why the answer of the petitions may be expected by every truly devout worshipper: and need any thing be said, to show the force and sufficiency of the reason thus assigned? Surely a Being who is the Sovereign of the universe, infinite in power, and whose glory transcends all conception, and which will endure to eternal ages, must be the proper, and the only proper object, of supreme worship, adoration and praise; and the source also from which his dependent creatures may expect, in the way of his own appointment, a gracious answer to all their reasonable requests, and the supply of all their real wants. But let us dwell for a moment, on each of the clauses in the answer now under consideration.

1. We are "to take our encouragement in prayer from God only." Since God is the only proper object of religious worship, if he has pointed out a particular way and manner in which our approach to him may be acceptably made, it is plain that all our encouragement to hope for a favourable hearing and answer of our requests, must be taken from a compliance with his prescribed order. If we adopt any method of access to him, different from what he has prescribed, so far from having reason to hope for a gracious audience and acceptance, we have every ground to expect his frowns, and the rejection of our petitions. Now, God in his holy word has taught us in what manner we are to approach him in prayer. We are to regard him as the only living and true God-abhorring all idols, and all participation of any creature with him in religious homage. We are also to come to him through the mediation of Christ