pain of eternal death and damnation. Now, the commandment comes, Rom. vii. 9. and tho' the man was alive without the law once, and reckoned C he was right enough, and bade fair for the heavenly Canaan, as well as his neighbours; yet the commandment thus coming, fin revives, and he dies; his hope and expectation by the law, or by his legal endeavours, give up the ghost. Now, till a man be brought to this field of defpair, he is not brought half-way to the field of battle against the nations of enemies in his way to Canaan; but when the Lord brings a man to this despair in himself, and to defpair of relief from creatures and means, then there begins to be fome hope in Ifrael concerning him. Therefore, 5. Another little advance, while the Lord is bringing the man by little and little to the gofpel-camp, is this: He brings him from the field of defpair to the field of hope, I mean, to a distant fight of the Cape of good hope, in the hearing of the glad news of the gofpel concerning the captain of falvation, in whom alone poor inflaved finners may be made more than conquerors over fin, Satan, and the world, over death and hell, and all fpiritual enemies. The foul hears of this mighty captain, that he is able to fave to the uttermoft; and fo conceives hope, that perhaps he will shew mercy, and deliver a poor captive. I speak not here of the new and lively hope, that is the fruit and effect of faith; for, on this field of hope that I speak of, the man is yet between hope and defpair, as it were: This hope cannot be a helmet to him, while he yet wants the fhield of faith; yet it is fuch a hope, wrought by the objective revelation of the gofpel, as keeps him from finking into utter difcouragement, and encourages

him to go forward, because he fees a door of hope open in the call of the gofpel, wherein he hears Chrift calling him to come to him freely, and receive his grace. O there is the door of a new covenant open, fays the man within himself; I fee it is open for the like of me, and I am particularly called to come in at this open door: And now, when the man is brought to this, he is truly not far from the kingdom of heaven, not far from the field of battle; he needs but to be holpen with a little help further, and then his courfe is compleat. Therefore, 6. Another little advance is, after the foul is brought over all these fields, by the good hand of God upon him, he is brought into the field of faving faith, getting fuch a difcovery of Jefus Chrift, the captain of falvation, by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, as powerfully determines him to take on with him as a volunteer, being made willing in the day of power, and being charmed with the glory of his perfon, the freedom of his grace, the holinefs of the ftandard and ruddy enfign died with his own blood. Here the man fees him girding his fword upon his thigh, even his glory and majefty: By this fword of glorious grace, the finner is made a willing fubject, a willing foldier to follow the glorious captain, and employ him to fight all his battles, and drive out all the nations of his lufts before him. And now the man is a BELIEVER, and is come indeed to the field of battle, being joined to the Lord Jefus, and disjoined from his old general: Now he is, by virtue of union to Chrift, entitled to a compleat victory over all the nations of enemies in his way, and entitled to all these new recruits from heaven, that are neceffary for the gradual fubduing

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of the nations before him, till he get to the poffeffion of the heavenly Canaan. Thus you see how by little and little the Lord brings them forth to the field of battle; and by what various degrees they are brought from flaves to the devil and their lufts, to be foldiers of Chrift. But now, as by little and little he brings them to the field of battle against the nations in a day of power: So,

2dly, By little and little he carries on the conqueft, till the day of death, when the warfare is accomplished. The text leads me to speak of the captain's part; The Lord thy God will put out these nations before thee by little and little. And indeed his part is the leading part in the All of this conqueft; for, without him we can do nothing. To engage with the enemy alone, and encounter the nations in our own ftrength, were madness; every luft will laugh at the fhaking of our fpear. It is Chrift alone, and his fpirit that can deftroy the nations before us. But now, the gradual conqueft, till the day of death, by little and little, fpeaks out thefe two things: 1. That the Ifrael of God hath many fad experiences all their days, that their enemies the nations are not utterly deftroyed, but are living and lively, ftrong and prevalent many times. 2. That they have alfo many fweet experiences, all their days, of little aid and auxiliaries from heaven, whereby the enemy is driven out and deftroyed by

little and little, from time to time.

(1.) I fay, this gradual conqueft taking place till death and the warfare, fpeaks out many fad experiences, that the nations of their lufts, and corruptions and fpiritual enemies are not utterly destroyed; and that, notwithstanding their being got fairly under the colours of their glorious captain, yet they VOL. II. Ff will

will find all their days that their enemies are living, lively, ftrong, and prevalent: For, their deftruction being but by little and little, the conquest may be many times undiscernable, while yet the power of the enemy appears great and formidable, notwithftanding any little advantage gained at a time, and while they find many dreadful fallies and excurfions that the enemy makes upon them. Now, may I not ask the Ifrael of God here, if they have not too many fad experiences of the yet remaining life and ftrength of the enemy? Does not your fad experience fay, that there is a law in your members, warring against the law of your mind, and bringing you into captivity to the law of fin that is in your members, Rom. vii. 23. and that you wrestle not against flesh and blood only, but against principalities and powers? Eph. vi. 12. Does not fad experience witness, how violent your corruptions are, and how impetuously they break through every hedge, notwithstanding your being fure to be scratched with thorns; and how eagerly they follow the bait, even when the hook is most difcernable? Does not fad experience witness, that it is within you that ails you moft? and that your greatest adversaries are men of your own house; and that, in the worst of times, there is always more cause to complain of an evil heart, than of an evil world; and that it is this carnal heart efpecially, that clogs and hampers you in your flight and motion towards God, and makes many times your choiceft duties to be like a grievous task? Does not fad experience witnefs, even fince you was brought to the field of battle against your spiritual enemies, that there is more wickedness in your heart, fiding with the enemy, than you could have believed,

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believed, tho' it had been told you? When you formerly got your feet the necks of your enemies, you could never have thought they would ever fo fearfully prevail again; or, if you had thought it, would it not have been a terror to you? Does not fad experience witnefs fuch a power of corruption, that no fooner did you ever begin to parly with a temptation at a distance, and adventure to fport therewith, but it quickly hath turned to earnest, and carried all before it? So much gun-powder for the enemy do you carry about with you, that you take fire upon the smallest touch, and are ready to be blown up with the flame? Does not fad experience witness, how foon the strongest refolution, even under the fweeteft gales, will evanish; that you are not oft in the evening what you was in the morning, nor for many hours do you keep the ground you had attained; and how quickly you deftroy that which grace hath built, infomuch that if grace were not ftronger to fave and preserve, than you are to marr and deftroy, you would be undone for ever? Is it not paft reckoning, how oft your heart hath thus deceived you? And is it not plain that the word of God knows your heart better than you do, declaring it to be deceitful above all things? &c. Does not fad experience fhow you, that the devil who heads and leads the nations of lufts and corruptions, hath the advantage of the ground, and knows how to correfpond with your corruption, and fuits his temptation to your natural temper, to your calling and company, and predominant inclination, and even to your retirement and folitude; and that he can even then most dangerously tempt, when the temptation is leaft feen and difcovered; and that by his temptation he aims not only at the bringing

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