fight; but then, if they fight, and fight manfully, they are assured that they shall conquer. Thus they fight, not as those that beat the air. Every struggle they make to extricate themselves from the grasp of their antagonist, every manœuvre they effect to ward off his deadly weapons, and every aim they take to inflict a wound, being in exact accordance with the Divine prescription, shall be succeeded by the Divine succour and aid; so that, ere long, he will be crushed beneath their feet. But this fact not merely tends to encourage the child of God to use the means of overcoming temptation, but it actually encourages him; for, were it not for this fact, he would often yield to the superior power and skill of his adversary, and be led away captive by him at his will. Thus the perseverance of the saints, so far from paralyzing exertion, encourages it. The assurance that God will consummate holiness in the soul in the use of means, adapted to promote, and instituted for the purpose of promoting holiness, is the strongest incentive to a holy man to employ those means.

This fact affords encouragement to all per

severingly to resist temptation.

There is no

such thing as security against temptation but by resistance of it; God has engaged to succeed resistance of it; here is the encouragement all have to resist it.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE EXISTENCE OF TEMPTATION RECONCILED WITH THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD.

As there may be persons inclined to entertain hard thoughts of God for permitting temptation, the following considerations are suggested with a view to counteract such thoughts.

First, The permission of temptation is essentially involved in the principles of moral government. It is essential to moral government, which rules by principle, and not by physical force, that it should recognise its subjects as perfectly voluntary agents. In its demands of obedience, it must allow full power to disobey; and, hence, the only way in which it can treat inducements to disobedience, is, to confront them with counter inducements. A forcible suppression of them, by rendering disobedience somewhat difficult, would render obedience in a measure necessary, and, hence, questionable,-it being essential that

an act should be voluntary in order to its being obedient or disobedient. God's government of us is a moral government. In his treatment of us he recognises us as accountable agents, alluring us to the practice of one description of conduct, by a promise of reward, and deterring us from the practice of another, by a threatening of punishment; and hence he recognises us as creatures capable of moral actions. In the world in which he has placed us, there already exists moral evil, an existence which we attempt neither to account for, nor explain; also an active and powerful spirit, whose prevailing disposition being enmity against God, his principal conduct is attempts to frustrate the plans and operations, and detract from the glory of God; and by no means does he make those attempts more frequently, than by seducing his intelligent creatures from their obedience. There thus exist to us many, and pressing inducements to disobedience; so that, while we can obey him, we can most easily disobey him. By suppressing these inducements in the restraining of the tempter, God would indeed render it more difficult to us to disobey him, but, in the same proportion, he would render our obedience

an act of necessity; and, in the degree in which our actions are necessary, they cease to be those of moral agents.

Secondly, The circumstances which are connected with the permission of temptation, in a high degree, display the Divine benevolence. In immediate connexion with temptation are facilities for successfully resisting it. The permission of temptation, we have seen, is in perfect consistency with the rectitude of the Divine character; God might, therefore, have left us to encounter temptation with our own powers and resources, and yet remained perfectly just; but he has not done this he has provided for us facilities for resisting and overcoming it. He has apprized us of its existence, its character, and the imminent danger we are in from exposure to it; he has informed us in what way we may, to the greatest advantage, encounter it; and he has furnished, in the ministry of angels, and especially in the influence of the Holy Spirit, aid whereby we may rise superior to it. Thus, if in our probation, viewed simply in itself, there is cause of apprehension, in the relations of that probation, there is cause of encouragement; and thus, too,