fault of the enemy, as you ever found it before? For true Ifraelites, fighting their way to heaven, find more and more evidences of their own utter insufficiency, and more and more need of grace's allfufficiency. O the nations are as ftrong as ever, and the need of powerful fuccours and auxiliaries from heaven as great as ever. This is plain also. from the text; it is the Lord thy God that begins the battle, and the Lord thy God that carries on, the extirpation of the Canaanites. Do you find then as much need of his power to excite grace, as to work it at first; as much need of his fencing the rear, as of his leading the van? This mark excludes all those that think they have a power in their own hand, and never came out of themselves, both for righteousness and ftrength, into the Lord Jefus Chrift: But it is encouraging to those who are saying, in the exercise of faith, I will go in the strength of the Lord, making mention of his righteousness, and bis only. O to be clothed with his righteousness, and girded with his strength, is the great defire of all true Ifraelites.

7. If you be foldiers on march to the heavenly Canaan, you may try it by this, you will not only be perfectly at a point in this matter, that the battle is the Lord's, and that without him you cannot give one fair ftroke to the enemy; but also you will find to your experience, that by little and little the conqueft is carried on, and the Canaanites driven out; and that help and affistance comes from heaven by degrees, as the fovereign general is pleafed to order: Tho' you get not all the great things you would be at, yet by little things you are carried through. Can you not fay, believer, that such a place was a little Bochim, where you got leave to Hh 4 weep

weep out your heart before the Lord, because of. the prevalency of fin; and fuch a place was a little Bethel, a houfe of God, where you had fuch a measure of divine prefence, as ftrengthned you against the enemy; fuch another place was a little Peniel, where you faw God face to face, as it were, and a fight of the captain of falvation gave the nations of hell a dafh? And tho' in the interval, your enemies and lufts rife up again in fury and rage against you, like to devour your foul, to devour your graces, to devour your comforts, and to devour your peace; yet there comes another little recruit from heaven, that gives you a new occafion to fet up an Ebenezer, faying, Hitherto the Lord bath helped; and to fing, with the church, Pfal. cxxix. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Ifrael now fay; many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, yet have they not prevailed against me: Many a time have thefe Canaanites vexed me, and foiled me, yet they have not prevailed to my utter overthrow; for ftill, when I was brought to an extremity, the Lord was a little fanctuary to me, and communicated his grace by little and little to me, in a fuitablenefs to my need; allowing me here a little crumb of comfort, when I was like to faint in the battle; and there a little crumb of couage, when I was like to yield; and at another time a little crumb of wonderful deliverance out of the hands of mine enemies, after I was led captive by them. Why, what is the meaning of all this? It is the Lord thy God driving out thefe nations before thee by little and little.

The fourth and last use shall be in a short address to two forts of perfons here. 1. To thefe that are at peace with the nations that ftand betwixt them

and

and the poffeffion of the heavenly Canaan, and fo are at war with heaven. 2. To these that are making war with the nations, and before whom the Lord hath begun to drive out the nations by little and little.

First, to you that are at peace with the nations of hell, at peace with the devil, at peace with your lufts; I would fpeak a word to you, 1. By way of conviction. 2. By way of counsel.

ft. For your conviction. Is it not evident that the most part are at peace with hell, being ignorant of the fin-mortifying principles of the gofpel, being flighters of the means of converfion, living in fecurity under all the calls of heaven by the word and the rod, and living in enmity against the power of godliness, indulging themselves in many known fins, and knowing no reftraint from finning taken from its nature, but from its confequents only. Are there not many here, that have nations of lufts fwarming in their heart, yet were never convinced of, or made to know the plagues of their own heart? Some will fay they have a good heart to God, even tho' their mouth be filled either with curfing, lying, fwearing, and flandering; or elfe with nothing but vain, frothy, carnal, worldly difcourfe. What, fhall we think you have a clean heart, when you have fuch a foul mouth? Does not Chrift fay, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth Speaketh? When a man fees abundance of fmoke coming out at the top of a chimney, he may fay for certain, that it is a fign of much fire in the hearth: So, when there is nothing but vain, worldly words in the mouth; we may fay, there is much vanity and corruption in the heart. Carnal lips, that are not shaped for any fpiritual discourse

except in hypocrify and deceit, difcover a carnal heart: O how many here are willing flaves to the nations, the Canaanites, the lufts of the flesh! Of all flaves, they are in the worst case that are sold; of these that are fold, they are in the worst case that are put in prifon; of thefe that are in prifon, they are in the worst cafe that are bound and chained in prifon? Yet fuch flaves to fin and lufts are all here by nature shut up in close prison, bound and chained there, fhut up under unbelief; and unbelief is fuch a cruel jailor, that, while you are shut up under it, it will not fo much as fuffer you to lift up your head, or to look up to heaven for deliver ance. O how miferable is this thraldom that you are under! for these nations that rule in you and over you now, and under which you are bearing arms against the God of heaven, will at laft deftroy you for ever if they be not deftroyed in time; if they be not put out of your heart, they will keep you out of heaven; yea, if they be not driven out of your heart, they will drive you to hell. If that legion of lufts, that now you are in league with, be not caft out of your heart by the power of that glorious captain of falvation, that caft out a legion of devils out of one man; then you must lay your account with it, that, like the fwine poffeffed of the devil, you will be driven down into the fea of God's everlasting wrath, and drowned in perdition. But then,

2dly, I would offer you a word of counfel. O will you break league with thefe curfed Canaanites, and come and take on with our glorious captain of falvation, that can drive them out before you! O finner, whom foever thou art, you that have been a flave to the devil all your days, a flave to a nume

ous

ous nation of lufts, that as fure as God lives, will keep you out of heaven, and drive you to hell, if they be not driven out; will you come and take on with our glorious Lord Jefus, whofe office and work, as a redeemer, is to drive out the nations before you? Our captain-general hath fent us, as officers under him, to cry in the publick meetings and affemblies of this fort faying, Whofoever will, let him come, and take on to be a foldier under the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords, againft the king of hell and the nations of lufts, that would keep you out of heaven. And as we are warrranted to declare them curfed with bitter curfes, that will not join in this war, according to what is faid of Meroz, Judges v. 23. Curfe ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord, against the mighty: So we are warranted to declare to finners, that there are here the greatest encouragements that ever were offered to foldiers, to excite you to take on with him. Why, he offers you money, to bear all your charges; I counfel you to buy of me gold, tried gold: He offers to take of your filthy garments, and cloath you with change of raiment, the King's livery: Yea, he offers you a coat of mail, that will defend you against the shot of death, and the fhot of devils; the robe of his own righteousness, a garment of falvation. He offers you further, that if be wounded in the war, he would give you balm to heal your wound, the balm of his own blood: Yea, if you take on with him, he offers to

you

do all your works in you and for you; yea, to fight

all your battles, to drive out all the nations before you, and then to crown you as a conqueror, yea, and more than a conqueror, even, tho' you have

done