the Lord is with us; fear them not." Such another spirit have all the saints in a greater or less measure. The carnal professor, like the sluggard, cries, "There is a lion in the way, I shall be slain in the streets." There is no meddling with such a duty, no mortifying such a lust; thus he gives over the attempt. But the saints have another spirit, which by faith discovers how impossibilities may be surmounted, how hills may be made to skip like lambs: and therefore falls a-blowing his ram's horns, in hopes that the walls of Jericho shall fall down; and, like another David, with his sling, he sets upon Goliah, and attacks even the children of Anak. I do not say but this faith sometimes may be very weak, it may be very low; but it is such as makes them venture on duty and difficulty, though trembling. Now, without such a spirit none will follow the Lord full. For the want of it cuts the sinews of resolute endeavours after universal holiness. It is the hope of victory that makes the soldier to fight; and when he loses, he turns his back: 1 Thess. v. 8," But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation." Faith must go before and see through difficulties, ere a person can come up and break through them.-Again, the want of it makes men, like Issachar, to couch under the burden, or as one who is upon an unruly horse, and finding there is no mastering of him, he lays the reins on his neck. This is the reason why people, after some struggle against sin, turn worse than ever. They find difficulties in the way of duty, they have no hope to surmount these, and therefore give it over. But how can any reach the promised land, without the promise in their eye? How shall they go through in the spiritual battle, while they throw away the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the word of promise, and leave themselves destitute of the shield of faith? Without this they cannot go out in the name of the Lord against their enemies, and so must turn their back as foiled.

(4.) Caleb's spirit of faith looked to the Lord, as sufficient to bear him over all difficulties. He saw the Anakims as well as the rest, and had as little confidence in himself as they had; but he had confidence in the Lord, and so would go against them in the strength of the Lord. Such a spirit have all the saints: Psalm lxxi. 16, "1 will go in the strength of the Lord." Isa. xlv. 24, "Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength." This carries them to the Lord as the fountain of strength; while as to the rest of the world, their spirit is as a pipe laid short of the fountain, by which no water can be conveyed. Without such a spirit, none can follow the Lord fully.-For, there are difficulties in

the way to heaven, which none can overcome, but by divine strength: 2 Cor. xii. 9, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Unmortified corruptions will be as heavy as a giant upon a child, till God himself take part with the soul, and give the victory. They may lie under them and groan, but who shall roll away the stone, if the angel come not from heaven for that purpose? Wo to him that is alone when he falleth ! without the Lord, the least work of religion is above us. "Without me," saith he, John xv. 5, "ye can do nothing." The slenderest temptation will be found a wind from hell sufficient to blow over the man that is not supported; the least duty, a task which they cannot perform acceptably. Where the Spirit of the Lord does not draw, we never will follow. Thus that spirit of dependence upon the Lord is necessary.

3. This spirit is a spirit of holy courage and resolution, Numb. xiv. 9. Such a spirit, in some measure, have all the saints: Prov. xxviii. 1, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous is bold as a lion." Their spirit is peremptory and resolute for following the Lord whithersoever he goeth, not to be diverted by any means from their great interest. And though the godly may be naturally fearful and unsteady, yet this spirit in the things of God will prevail, seeing that their all lies at the stake; without such a spirit, none can follow the Lord fully, for the following, among other reasons.-Because,

(1.) The work of religion is a great work, for which we had need of courage and resolution. The outward work of religion is great work, the inward work is still greater: Prov xvi. 32, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty: and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." The labour of the hand is hard, the labour of the head is harder, but the labour of the heart hardest of all; and religion is work of that sort. To work out our own salvation, to serve our generation, to get heart, lip, and life cleansed, is work sufficient to fear cowards who have not another spirit.Again, consider,

(2.) That our own strength is small. O how weak is man at best for the work! What a vast disproportion there is betwixt our strength and the least duty, if done aright! 2 Cor. iii. 5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." When we view our work, how far it is above us, we may say, "Who is sufficient for these things?" 2 Cor. ii. 16. Here is need of another spirit to influence men, in attempting to roll away the stone, that is so far above their strength. But holy courage, through faith in Christ, will do it: Phil iv. 13,

"I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me."-Consider, (3.) That our opposition is great. If ye have a desire for the heavenly Canaan, ye must fight your way thither over much opposition, and so have need of another spirit. He that overcometh shall be crowned. If you have a desire to follow the Lord fully, you must follow him over much opposition.

1. From the devil: Eph. vi. 12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickednesses in high places." No sooner was man set up in the world, than the devil attacked and overcame him: and as soon as a soul begins to set heaven-ward again, the devil then will be on his top. O it is much to stand, when hell is in arms against us, when the black bands of temptations make an attack! Satan is a powerful and subtle enemy. He will be sure to attack you on your weak side, and suit his temptations to your circumstances. Thus he did with our Saviour; for when he had fasted forty days, the devil said to him, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones may be made bread," Matth. iv. 3. He has his temptations for the poor and for the rich. He tempts the poor to steal, and the rich to deny God. Hence said Agur, "Give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain," Prov. xxxx. 8, 9. He has temptations for youth and for age, for the joyful and for the mournful Christian. Sometimes he appears as a fox transforming himself into a lamb. Sometimes he roars as a lion. There is thus need of a spirit of courage to oppose him.

2. We have great opposition from the world. (1.) From the things of the world. They collect their bands to encounter those who would follow the Lord, to turn them back.— There is the white band of the world's smiles, stained already with the blood of thousands. Many have been wounded, and many slain by these Prov. i. 32, "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." Many a soul has died by the embraces of a smiling world, for it does with men as the panther with other beasts, who draws them after him with the sweet smell of his breath, hiding his head, while he afterwards devours them. Its profits and pleasures are syren songs, which end in bitter lamentations. They are silken cords, which afterwards grow as iron fetters, which may cost a flood of tears to get them off. Here is a trial for true courage of spirit. O it is a great spirit that rises above the world when it courts us! while our own spirit naturally loves it, even when it gives us gall to drink.—

There is next the black band of the world's frowns.

The world often puts on the lion's skin, and brings a train of crosses against the followers of fhe Lord: Acts xiv. 22, "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." The world often turns stepmother to the godly, who may have enough ado to get their bread, while plenty flows to its own darlings. We see how the world's sun went down at noon with Job. There is need of another spirit to carry a man above these, to give him another joy when that of the world fails, and to make him sing as the nightingale when the very storm is at his back. Thus did Habakkuk when the world failed: chap. iii. 18, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation." Again, there is the mixed band of the world's cares. These are the world's thorn-hedge, which the Christian must break through, or else they will choke the seed of the word in his heart, Matth. xiii. 22. sets upon our heads so soon as we hard is it to keep our ground here! of the body, is that which has rendered many careless of eternity. Yea, and care we must: our meat will not be found among our feet, as that of the beasts, nor will it drop into our mouths without care. But O what need of another spirit to use these things as if we used them not! But,

This is the thorny crown it set out into the world. How The care of a family, the care

(2.) We have great opposition from the men of the world. The devil has his agents in the world, factors for hell, that will give much ado to those who would follow the Lord fully. And people may lay their account to be attacked with their tongues. They are not for heaven who cannot digest the mockings of a graceless generation; nor are they meet for it that will pass over their duty, only for the virulent reproaches they may meet with in their way. These sting severely, but there must be a rescluteness against them, to please God. Let a generation of imbittered spirits say what they will; let Christians strive to have the testimony of God and their own conscience, which will be a secret support, condemn them who will. They will attack them with their feet. The example of an unholy life Matth. xviii. 7, "Woe unto the world, because of offences for it must be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh." The world lieth in wickedness; it is hard to bear out against the stream of example set before us. To be righteous as Noah in his generation, to keep clean garments in Sardis, is not easy: Matth. xxiv. 12, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Example ruins many, who like sheep, when one gets into the water, the rest readily follow.-They will attack them with their hands. The hands of persecutors aro

sometimes bound up; the Lord seems now to be loosing them; and some are already finding the smart of that. And it is like it will not be so easy to follow the Lord as it has been for some time past. But they who will follow the Lord fully, must have another spirit, which may urge them on to lose all, rather than lose their soul by leaving off to follow the Lord.

Finally, The Christian has great opposition from his own lusts. He will not only find a war without, but also a war within him : Gal. v. 17, "For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Our greatest enemies are within our own bosoms.-First, there is the general of this army, indwelling sin, the corrupt nature, the old man, flesh, called sin by way of eminence: Rom. vi. 12, "Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof." The plague of the heart: 1 Kings viii. 38. This is the cursed ground, bringing forth briars and thorns. There must be another spirit to draw this to the cross: Gal. v. 24, "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts."-Next, there is a swarm of hellish soldiers under him, particular lusts, as pride, covetousness, envy, malice, and the like, that dog the man wherever he goes, and will give him enough ado to resist: Rom. vii. 21, "I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me." If you ask their name, it may be Legion, for they are many: Titus iii. 3,"Serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." All sins are radically even in the best. Look through the world, and see what appears there; these swine, who are running on others, show that corruption which is within the whole. Who are their allies? These are the devil, John viii. 44; the world, Tit. ii. 12. All the snares and temptations in the world are allied to some one or other lusts within us, that suits them as tinder to fire.-There is, their quarters, the heart. "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders," &c.; and the nearer to us, the more dangerous. The heart is as a common inn, so often thronged with these, that the master is kept out.— There is, their qualities. They are deceitful: Eph. iv. 22, "The old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." Hurtful: 1 Tim. vi. 9, "But they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition."

III. I now proceed to make some improvement of the subject.And this,

1. In the use of information.- From this we see,