DOCT. 1. "That the church of God, or true believers, while here in a militant state, may lay their account with it to have the enemy breaking in upon them like a flood."

DOCT. 2. "That the career of the enemy is stopped, and his attempts baffled, by the Spirit of the Lord lifting up a standard against him. When the enemy shall come in like a flood," &c.

As to the first of these, "That believers, while in a militant state, may lay their account to have the enemy breaking upon them like a flood:"

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In discoursing on this, I shall, through divine assistance, endeavour to show,

I. Who is the enemy that comes in like a flood.

II. Why this enemy is likened to a flood.

III. Speak a little of the progress of this enemy, and how far he may come in.

IV. Touch a little at the certainty of this, that he shall come in like a flood.

V. Conclude in a few inferences.

I. The first thing is to give some account of the enemy, that is said to come in like a flood upon the church and people of God. This is no improper subject after you have been at the communion table. If the great Master of the feast has brought you into his banqueting-house, and made you to sit down under his banner of love; if he has stayed you with flagons, and comforted you with apples; you are to remember, that this is not heaven, it is only a wilderness-meal to hearten you for your journey; and, in your journey you are to go through the "dens of lions, and mountains of leopards." The people of God never meet with more violent attacks for ordinary, than after they have been admitted to the nearest and sweetest communion: Satan sought to winnow Peter, after he had been at the first supper; a messenger of Satan is sent to buffet Paul, after he had been wrapt up to the third heavens. But, say you, who is the enemy that is like to come in upon us? I answer, The devil, that old serpent, called sometimes "the god of this world," is the leading enemy of the woman and her seed. This was the grand enemy Christ had to debate with, when he came upon the great undertaking of our redemption; his errand was, to beat up the devil's quarters, to drive him out of his usurped possession in the hearts and souls of men, to bruise his head, to destroy his works, to spoil principalities and powers of their

prey. And as this was the principal enemy that Christ had to grapple with, so this is the leading enemy that attacks the seed of Christ in their travels through the wilderness to the promised land of glory. Hence is that caution of the apostle Peter, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour." And, says Paul, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood; but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickednesses in high places." Now, the devil has two grand auxiliaries, in managing his hellish designs against Christ and his seed, which are entirely at his devotion, and under his command, the one is within the believer, and the other without him.

1. I say, Satan has a strong party within, to wit, indwelling sin and corruption, "a law in the members warring against the law of the mind;" sometimes called "the flesh, which lusteth against the Spirit." This is such a crafty enemy, and its workings in order to serve the designs of Satan, for the ruin of the soul, are so subtle, that it is said to be "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." David, the man according to God's own heart, through the impression of its subtlety, cries, "Who can understand his errors?"

2. The world without us is another main auxiliary of hell; the profits, pleasures, and preferments of the world, called by the apostle, "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." The apostle James, chap. iv. 4, has a word to this purpose, "Know ye not (saith he,) that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." From whence it is plain, that that man that will stand upon the Lord's side, must resolve to have the world upon his top. Sometimes the believer has the powers of this world to contend with; espe cially when their commands interfere with the commands of God; as in the case of Daniel, the apostles, and the three children; and in that case he may lay his account with rage and violence. In a word, the devil being "the god of this world," he hath both the things and the persons of this world under his power, he pretends to be sole master of it; as we see in his attack he made upon the Son of God in the wil derness, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Sometimes he makes use of the world as a bait to allure us to sin; sometimes he makes use of it as a bugbear to fright us from duty. Thus, you see who is the enemy that comes in like a flood, to wit, Satan and his auxiliaries, both without us and within us.

II. The second thing in the method is, to inquire why this enemy is likened to a flood? I answer, in the following parti

culars:

1. Because of their noise. What noise has the devil, the world, and the lusts and corruptions of men, made since the fall of man, by error, persecution, defections, and violences of all kinds! and what a noise do these enemies make in the soul of the believer, when God, for holy and wise ends, lets them loose! The poor soul is many times put in such confusion, through the noise of these mighty waters, that it cannot hear the voice of God either in his word or providences.

2. They are likened to a flood, because of their multitude. A flood consists of an innumerable multitude of drops of water. So these enemies the believer has to grapple with in his way to glory, are a great multitude, an innumerable host. We may easily gather that the infernal spirits, that go about to devour us, are innumerable, when we consider, that a whole legion of them had their residence in one poor man. And how many are the lusts of the heart and the snares of the world, which we lie every day exposed to? David complains, Psal. cxviii. that his enemies " compassed him about like bees;" which many times put the poor believer to cry with Jehoshaphat, "We know not what to do against this great multitude that comes up against us."

3. They are likened to floods, because of their unity in bending all one way in their opposition against Christ and his cause. Whatever jarrings there may be among them in other things, yet as the waters of a flood, though they may take different channels, yet they keep the same course, and unite their force against the kingdom of Christ, and the salvation of souls.

4. Floods are mighty, violent, and rapid in their motion; the waters of a flood have a mighty strength with them. So the enemies of the Lord's people are violent and strong in their opposition to the interests of Christ in the world, and his grace in the soul: Psal. ii. the Heathen are there said to "rage against the Lord, and his Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."

5. Floods of water are of a sweeping nature, and are ready to hurl down every thing that is not well fixed: if a tree have not its root well fastened in the ground, the flood will bear it down. Just so, if a person be not "rooted in Christ," the floods of temptation, afflictions, and corruptions, will very soon carry him down the stream. Hence it is, that loose professors in a day of trial are carried away; their house falls, and great is the fall of it.

6. A flood is in a continual motion; so the actings of sin, and Satan, and the world, against Christ and his cause, are incessant: "The wicked are like the troubled sea, still casting out mire and filth."

Here I will name several sweeping floods that the enemy casts forth, to annoy and hurt the church and people of God in the wilderness.

1st, He sometimes casts out a flood of error; he studies to corrupt the simplicity of the gospel, and to turn men away from the pure and precious truths of God. Hell has in all ages of the world been studying to muddy the pure waters of the sanctuary, and never more than at this day, by Arian, Socinian, Arminian, Pelagian, and other heresies.

2dly, Sometimes the enemy comes in with a flood of open persecution. The boar out of the wood, and the wild beasts of the forest, are sometimes suffered to devour the Lord's people, so that their blood has been poured out like water, and the bodies of God's dear saints cast out like dung upon the streets. Such a flood, of heading, hanging, quartering, banishing, and imprisoning of the Lord's people has been in this land, and we know not how soon the like flood may break out again.

3dly, Sometimes he comes in with a flood of manifold corSometimes he studies to ruptions upon the visible church. corrupt the worship of God by superstition, mingling in ceremonies of man's inventions with the pure ordinances of divine institution. Sometimes he breaks in upon the government and discipline of the church, attempting to introduce schemes of government not warranted by the word of God. Sometimes he stirs up men of corrupt minds, to pervert the use of the keys of discipline, to the spoiling and robbing of the church of God of her privileges and immunities he has granted her. Sometimes he comes in with a flood of profanity corrupting the lives of professors, to the scandal of religion; sometimes with a flood of neutrality and indifference about the things of God, under the colour of moderation. These, and many other floods, does Satan cast forth, by which he sweeps multitudes away to hell. And, O sirs, take heed to yourselves, for many of these floods are running with a mighty current among us at this day.

III. The third thing is, to speak a little of the progress of the enemy; he is said to come in.

Quest. How far may he come in?

Answ. 1. The enemy may come in within the borders of Zion: Mic. v. 5, 6: “This man shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he treadeth.

within our borders." Satan and his confederates have their synagogues even within the confines of the visible church.

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2. The enemy comes in, not only within the borders, but even into the palaces of Zion, her public assemblies for divine worship; these are called the " palaces" and "dwelling-places of Zion," Is. iv. 5: When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them," Job i. 6. Sometimes he enters these assemblies and dwellingplaces of the church in a more open and visible way, corrupting the worship of God with idolatry and superstition; sometimes in a more secret and invisible way, stirring up enmity, unbelief, carnality, vanity of heart, to mar soul-benefit and advantage by the ordinances of divine appointment. 3. The enemy may come in, not only to the palaces, but to the pulpits of the church, by an erroneous and corrupt ministry; what has been, may be again: Jude 4: "There are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." The case may happen, that men shall appear in your pulpits, pretending to take the care and feeding of your souls, who will give you a stone for bread, and a scorpion instead of a fish. A corrupt ministry is the saddest plague that ever came into the church of God.

4. The enemy may come into the judicatories of the church, which are the thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David, where the people of God expect to be protected in their Christian liberties, and to have justice done them, against those who would spoil and oppress them; and yet, so far may the enemy come in, as to influence these judicatories to join hands with the spoilers and oppressors of the people of God, instead of defending them. The Jewish sanhedrim was an ecclesiastical court of God's appointment; and yet so far was it corrupted, that it condemned the Lord of glory, and excommunicated them that owned and professed the name of Jesus; and all under a specious colour, for the safety and welfare of the church. Christ must die, and be crucified, lest the Romans come and take away their kingdom.

5. The enemy may come in, not only to the gates of Zion, but also to the dwellings of Jacob. Sirs, Satan, the world, and corruptions, may, and I make no doubt, will follow you home to your several families; and it will be a wonder, if, after you have been at a communion table, Satan and his emissaries do not raise some family storm and trouble, to take off any impression of God, or of the things of God, that has been upon you on this occasion. The devil lodges in the