them, for juft and holy causes; as the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, that coafted near their dwelling; befides the Affyrians and Babylo7nians from remoter countries, that led them captive. And, befides outward enemies and foreign invasions, they were not a little vexed and difquieted with civil and inteftine diffentions: There was Saul's house against David's, and David's against Saul's; Ifrael against Judah, and Judah against Israel, Manaffes against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manaffes; nations thus both without and within, and enemies on every fide. Now, in like manner, there are great and mighty nations that oppofe the true Ifrael of God in their way to the heavenly Canaan above, and that hinder their peaceable pof$ feffion of any part of heaven that through grace they poffefs on earth. In allufion therefore to the feven nations here, that God caft out before Ifracl of old; I shall show seven of these nations of spiritual enemies and oppofitions that are in the way to the heavenly Canaan, and that disturb the Ifrael of God in any begun poffeffion that they may have here through grace. I only premise, that as, in an outward sense, all nations of the earth proceed from one root and original, namely, the first man Adam fo in a fpiritual fenfe, moft part of all the nations that oppofe our happiness do fpring from one root, and the grand root is original fin and natural corruption: Here is the great commander, that leads forth multitudes of nations of actual oppofitions against God, and the Ifrael of God that are bound for the heavenly Canaan. A body of fin and death is the fertile womb that brings forth fwarms in one day; yea, there (as it were) whole nations are born at once. But more particularly, there are these feVOL. II. Dd ; ven . ven nations that oppofe and vex the Ifrael of God in their way to Canaan. 1. A nation of vain thoughts. We are by nature vain in our imaginations, Rom. i. 21. and thefe vain thoughts lodge within the walls of Jerufalem, fer. iv. 14. O Jerufalem, wash thine heart from wickedness; how long fhall vain thoughts lodge within thee? These nations lodge within, and take bed and board of you, and eat up the fap of your fouls; therefore, when David fays, Pfal. cxix. 113. Í I hate vain thoughts, he expreffes them with a word that fignifies the sprig and branch that grows in a tree, which draws the fap out of it, and makes it fruitless. Do you not find a nation of this fort fwarming about your heart every day, and every hour of the day? Yea, I am mistaken if these Philiftines have not been upon you, and if these nations have not been befetting you, and befieging your fouls in time of hearing, praying, communicating at this occafion; and I believe, they that are exercifed and bound for heaven, will find a need of almighty power to put out this nation before them, tho' there were no more: And indeed these vain thoughts are like the flying pofts to the rest of the nations that may be named. But then, 2. There is a nation of worldly cares, which Chrift compares to briars and thorns, that choke the feed of the word, Mark iv. 19. and Luke viii. 14. This nation goes under the name of frugality; but, if you look narrowly to its armour, you will find the motto thereof to be careful about many things, but neglecting the one thing neceffary: And yet this is fuch a powerful nation, that many people are fubdued by it, fo as they can do nothing but mind earthly things, and fo mifs heaven, and come fhort of falvation; Yea, fuch is the power of this nation even over the Ifrael of God, that he is obliged in a manner to fmite them, and beat the world out of their heart with a rod of correction, Ifa. lvii. 17. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and Smote him: Yea, the rod of God will not do it, till the grace of God efficaciously be exerted; I hid me, and was wroth; and yet he went on frowardly in the way of his beart: But fovereign powerful grace steps in; I have feen his ways, and will heal him. 3. There is a nation of doubts and fears, and finful difcouragements, and unbelieving objections, Pfal. xlii. 6, 7. The foul is overfet and overwhelmed oft-times with thefe. They may well be compared unto a nation; they are so many, that no fooner does a minifter begin to answer objections, but the unbelieving heart will raife a thousand more; and fo mighty, that there is no fubduing of them, till Chrift himself rebuke them, as he did the raging waves of the fea, with a word of power, and fo create a calm in the foul. This is a nation that rages, like the heathen fpoken of, Pfal. ii. and imagines many vain things against the Lord and his Anointed; but the Lord ftills the rage with the rod of bis ftrength that he fends out of Zion, when he makes a people willing in the day of his power. He anfwers the doubts and objections of unbelief, and ftills the fears and difcouragements of his people, either by a word of power let into the heart, fuch as that, Fear not, it is I; be not afraid: 0 thou of little faith, wherefore didft thou doubt? Or by a breathing of his fpirit, accompanying a word that is fpoken to the ear. 4. There is a nation of ungedly men from without, that alfo vex and oppofe the Ifrael of God in their Dd 2 way, way to the heavenly Canaan, Pfal. xliii. 1. Judge me, O God, and plead my caufe against an ungodly nation: This is a nation that many times fupprefs and bear down the work of God in the foul. The company and influence of the ungodly, that mock at religion, and laugh at facred things, is a great lett and impediment to the falvation of a foul. And as it was with Ifrael of old, fo it is with the church in all ages, fhe is never without enemies that annoy her: There are four forts of ungodly men, that the church of God generally complain of; the Tyrant, the Atheist, the Heretick, and the Hypocrite: Some of these would fubvert, and others pervert her. The Tyrant, by heart-hatred and open perfecution; the Atheist, by profanity of life; the Heretick, by corruptnefs of doctrine; and the Hypocrite, by pretences of holiness. These nations of ungodly men do oppose the Ifrael of God, partly by force, and partly by fraud: And indeed the fecret enemies are usually the most dangerous of the two; they that ufe fraud, more dangerous than these that ufe force: For thefe, being feen and known, are more eafily avoided; but the other not fo cafily fhunned, because not fufpected. 5. There is a nation of mighty kings, and powerful giants, as the fons of Anak are called, Num. xiii. 33. How many great kings did the Lord give into the hand of Ifrael? Such as Og king of Bashan, Sibon, king of the Amorites, Pfal. cxxxvi. 18, 19, 20. Pfal. cxxxv. 10, 11. But there are greater kings and potentates than these, that stand in the way of the poffeffion of the heavenly Canaan. There are more especially four kings, mighty kings, to be fubdued: For, (1.) As fin is a mighty king, that reigns in us, and over us naturally; therefore fays the apostle, apostle, Rom. vi. 12. Let not fin reign in your mortal body: So, (2.) Satan is a mighty king in his own territories; therefore called the Prince of this world, the Prince of the power of the air, that rules in the hearts of the children of difobedience, Eph. ii. 2. (3.) Self is a mighty king: It competes with king Jefus, and keeps his throne, fo long as the loftiness of man is not brought down, and the haughtiness of man made low, Ifa. ii. 11. that the Lord alone may be exalted in the heart: And even after Chrift is exalted to the throne of the heart, felf is ftill fighting and working for the throne. It is a king that all the world adore. (4.) Death is a mighty king, therefore called the king of terrors, Job xviii. 14. He is a king, that is the terror of kings, as well as inferior fubjects. This is called the last enemy of God's Ifrael; The last enemy to be destroyed is death: And happy they that get the fling of death removed, which is fin. See 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55, 56, 57. Death fhall be fwallowed up in victory. Chrift is the victorious conqueror of this and all other enemies; however thefe are mighty kings in the way, and some of them have mighty giants in their armies; particularly these three, king Sin, Satan, and Self, have powerful armies to fight their hellish battles. And there are, 6. A nation of deceitful lufts in the heart; fo called, Eph. iv. 22. These are like fo many deputies and officers, captains and lieutenants, fighting under the banner of king Sin, king Self, and king Satan, against king JESUS, the God of glory. O what fwarms of lufts make up this army of hell! If you will travel thro' the camp of your heart, you will fee an armed regiment of gigantick lufts: There you may fee grim-faced ignorance, arm'd with the Dd 3 devil's |