out of the house, out of the will, out of the affections, out of all the forts where they strengthned themselves, and at laft out of the world, when he compleats his work of fanctification; for He that bath begun the good work, will perfect it, Phil. i. 6. And fure there is no true hearted Ifaraelite here, but will fay, Amen, Lord haften the time when these nations of luft fhall be driven out of my heart, and driven out of the world; Lord, let them be driven to hell with the devil their captain, and let me be quit of them for ever. Well, the day of their compleat extirpation is coming; The Lord thy God will drive out these nations. But then,

Secondly, The manner of the conqueft, here expreft, is vifible and remarkable; he will drive them out before thee. I think this word may import the vifible and remarkable manner of the conqueft; and more particularly,

enemies.

1. That the Ifrael of God get a fight of their These nations are in their view, while the Lord their God is driving them out, and while they through grace are led to the field of battle against them: He will drive them out before thee. They that never got a view of their fins and lufts, nor of the ftrength of their arms; that never faw their own corrupt nature, nor experienced the power of corruption in their hearts; they are yet living at their carnal cafe, in the midst of thefe nations, and under the power thereof: They are alive without the law, Rom. vii. 9. The commandment hath not come, nor fin revived, to difcover its ftrength to them: They are yet foldiers under the devil's banner: They have not taken on with Chrift: The battle with the nations is not yet begun; for they never yet faw them, nor viewed their ftrength. Ee 3

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2. His driving out the nations before them, imports, that, through grace the Ifrael of God are made active herein. It is before thee they fhall be driven out. Being acted by his grace, they act; being armed by his fpirit, they fight, and through the fpirit mortify the deeds of the body. It is true, fometimes the Ifrael of God have nothing to do at all, but juft to ftand ftill, as it were, and fee the falvation of God; to stand still, and fee how the waters will divide to let them through, and how they will return to drown and overwhelm their enemies: But, for ordinary, their work is to go forward, in the name and strength of the Lord their God, and give battle to their enemies, that they may be destroyed before them, and under the banner of Chrift Jefus the glorious captain of falvation, to fight the good fight of faith. Yea,

3. His driving out the nations before them, imports, that even when they are called to act and fight, they fhall have no ground of boasting, but rather of blushing, when they confider what part it is that they act in this matter: For the Lord himself must be the agent; The Lord thy God will put out the nations before thee. Ifrael's captain goes before them, and leads the van: the Lion of the tribe of Judah must go before them, and tear their enemies to pieces: It is he that fubdues the nations under them. He hath gone before them already, and had a bloody battle with all the nations of hell upon mount Calvary; there he fought, and overcame principalities and powers; there he condemned fin in the flesh, and destroyed the strength of it, by nailing the law to his Crofs, Col. ii. 14. And however the nations may rally their forces again, and feem formidable and dreadful, yet their ftrength being broken in

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this bloody engagement, the believer hath no more to do in effect, but to hold up the red flag of the blood of Chrift by faith, and then he overcomes by the blood of the lamb, Rev. xii. 1. The great battle is already fought, and the great art of the. believer, in all the leffer battles, lies in fetting his captain before him faying, I'll go in the firength of the Lord; for in the Lord only have Irighteousness and Arength; viewing him as before them in the field, according to his promife, The Lord thy God will put out thefe nations before thee.

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4. It may import, that, as the Lord their God will make their enemies to flee before their face, fo they fhall be witneffes to the wonders of his power in overthrowing the nations in their way. The true rad of God dare hardly call themselves warriors against their enemies, but rather witnesses to the battle of the Lord, when he fights for them, and makes them overcome, and then gives them the name of conquerors, yea, more than conquerors · through him that loved them. He overcomes for them, and then crowns them as the overcomers, faying, To him that overcomes, will I give to fit with me on my throne, &c. They are witneffes to his exploits against their enemies; for his ordinary time of fighting remarkably for them, is, when their ftrength is gone; and when he fees their power is gone, and there is none fhut up or left, by reason of the er of their enemies, Deut. xxxii. 36. then he steps in, and takes vengeance on their enemies. And indeed the day of power is a day remarkable for victories over fin, Satan, the world, and the lufts thereof. Do you remember the day, believer, when you thought there was a legion of devils, a nation of lufts, an army of corruptions, a regiment of hell within you;

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but, behold, you got a view of the captain of fal vation ready to put out thefe nations before you, and you got grace to take hold of him, to believe in him, and foto turn to flight the armies of the aliens? Are there not fome remarkable times, when you got your feet fet upon the neck of your lusts? By thee I have run through a troop, fays David, Pfal. xviii, 29. and by my God. I overleap a wall. It is true, the conqueft is not always remarkable; for fometimes the nations compafs them about like bees, and fting them, and torment them, and prevail against them; iniquities prevail against me, says David: Yet they never prevail so far, but that grace ftill renews the fight, and at last obtains the victory, tho' yet, through many ups and downs, and fallings and rifings, to's and fro's, and changes. Therefore,

Thirdly, The manner of the conqueft here expreft is gradual, by little and little. This is the main point here intended, with reference to the manner of the Lord's deftroying the nations: There fore I would here, 1. Show what may be imported in this his putting out the nations by little and little. 2. By what feveral fteps, ftrokes, or degrees, he puts out the nations in a fpiritual fenfe.

ft, As to the import of this phrase, by little and little. 1. It fays, that the Ifrael of God are not to expect that their fpiritual enemies will be all vanquished at the firft onfet. Tho' the victory be begun whenever the foul gets into Chrift, and under his colours who is the captain of falvation, yet the commencement of the fpiritual war is not the compleatment thereof; nay, there may be many a battle before the war be at a clofe, and the victory compleat: For tho' the enemy hath got a dead

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ftroke,

ftroke, and tho' the nations of lufts, like the beast mentioned, Dan. vii. 12. Have their dominion taken away, yet their lives are prolonged for a season, which occafions the war to be prolonged. 2. By little and little, it imports, that the visible advantages over the nations of fpiritual enemies may be very fmall: Ifrael may be at a time but holpen with a little help, Dan. xi. 34. and get a little reviving in their bondage, Ezra, ix. 8. a little victory at a time, a fmall advantage against the enemy: But, though it be small, yet the day of fmall things is not to be defpifed, Zech. iv. 10. for, as we fay, many fmalls make a great. Therefore, 3. The Lord's putting them out by little and little, imports, that tho' the feveral foils be small, yet they are fuccessful; for by little and little the nations are thus put out and discomfited: Every new battle tends to the ruining of the enemy more and more. Let not the believer fay that nothing is done, because fo little is done, and the enemy is yet alive. O be thankful, if by little and little the Lord be putting them out, and gradually diminishing their forces. 4. By little and little, it imports the continuation and progrefs of the war, until there be a total extirpation of the nations. There may be an intermiffion of ftrokes, now a ftroke and then a ftroke given to the enemy; but no intermiffion of the war during the militant state, no proclamation of peace with the enemy, no league with any luft among the true Ifrael of God. Lufts may indeed rife and rage, and rally their forces again, even after they are routed, and a multitude of these nations may gather together; and the believer may be in great fears of the iffue, left he be fwallowed up and deftroyed before them till by faith he get a new recruit of auxili