say of Alexander and Cæsar is, that their lives were founded on a mistake, and passed in the dark; but what can be said of a Christian, in broad day-light, eagerly pursuing what he knows to be trifles, in preference to somewhat, which he confesses to be of infinite moment, but that he is an idiot equally desperate and despicable? What a saint might he be, if he had any idea of the right avarice and ambition! Of both, God hath, in his mercy, given me an idea, and made me even a teacher of others; hath enabled me to distinguish between matters similar, and nearly equal in value, as between a shilling and a halfpenny. And yet (wretch that I have been!) I have in my actions often so demeaned myself, as if I preferred evil to good, and hell to heaven. I that have been a teacher of others, have not always been a fit teacher of myself. Reflecting on these things, I am struck with horror and astonishment at myself. I need not look abroad for wonders, for I am a wonder to myself. Heaven and earth can afford no greater to me, excepting one, which is the long-suffering patience and mercy of God, shewn to me through a long course of sins and provocations, wherewith I have, as it were, contended with divine goodness. I need not stand amazed, how it should come to pass, that matter should both attract and repel matter; that general attraction and magnetism should operate on the same piece of matter in opposite directions, and in one and the same line, at the same instant; how God should with certainty foresee our free elections; why he made the world so soon, and not sooner; how there can be in him a Trinity of Persons; how he joined the human nature to his own; or how he will raise the dead. All these things are too wonderful for my comprehension; and so is the display of wisdom, goodness, and power in the creation, in the redemption and sanctification of mankind, and in the infinite miracles, whether by, or against, the course of nature, which God hath wrought. The facts I clearly know, or firmly believe. My senses and my reason do not more convince me of my own existence, than the latter doth, of all these things, whether as matters of science or belief. Still I remain an unaccountable creature to myself. I sin, but am still indulged, ten thousand different ways, by the goodness of God my Master, to whom I am a most unworthy servant. I sin, yet still I am fed and clothed, have a flowery carpet spread under me, and an azure canopy stretched over me. I feel, I taste, I see, hear, and smell; but how, I know no more than the dog at my foot; nor do I in quire, sensible that it would be in vain. I go on to enjoy, and am sometimes thankful, but, I fear, never grateful. What! Not grateful, O my soul! Whither then art thou going, upward or downward? Think, think, O my soul! Death and eternity are before thee, and near at hand. Turn thee, for why wilt thou die, and, after preaching to others, become a castaway thyself?' Blessed be thou, O my God, and blessed be thy Holy Spirit, for I am awake, but that is almost all. O most gracious Being, who perfectly knowest me, help me; and if it be thy blessed will, help others through me, in order to prove that salvation wrought by so weak an instrument, is the work of Thee alone. I have not thus expressed myself merely by way of confession, a matter of little concern to any one who may happen to read this, but that some, not unacquainted with my failings, may know my contrition; that the goodness of God may be magnified, as well as tried, by my offences; and that other members of Christ's body, as if by consent of parts, being struck by my acknowledgments, may feel somewhat of a like nature in themselves. It is no balsam to the wounds in my conscience, that many other men may have reason, as well as I, to lament the inconsistency of their practice, on some occasions, with the soundness of their principles; but it may be of some use to them to know, that I am neither impenitent, nor without hope of pardon. At any rate, if all men have sinned,' though some more, some less grievously, than I have done; my humiliation and confession do not make me more guilty than I am, nor expose me to any other sort of reflections, than others are forced to make on themselves. This, as I have just now intimated, although no comfort to me, ought at least to shelter me from the shower of stones, which the affectedly righteous might be preparing for the head of a fellow-sinner. It was, and still is, the opinion of the Jews, and of many among the professors of Christianity, that the devil is able to work miracles. Nothing certainly can be more absurd, than thus to give the attribute of Almighty to a fallen spirit. God only can work a miracle, whether with, or without the instrumentality of a creature. But that which in the works of the devil approaches nearest to a miracle, is that which I have taken notice of, namely, his prevailing with a man possessed of reason and all his senses, to prefer evil to good, and hell to heaven; to turn his back on God and happiness, and to pursue with vehemence the service of an evil spirit, and misery eternal. A miracle is somewhat done, by almighty power against the otherwise uncontrollable course of nature. And sin, in one acquainted with Christianity, and believing in the truth of its principles, is somewhat done in violation of those principles, and directly against every dictate of sense and reason. This is a wonder though not a miracle, for this is aided by corrupted nature; whereas a miracle is done against that very nature, which God himself hath established in his works of creation. The evil spirit having, through an abuse of our moral freedom, seduced and corrupted our nature, finds it now an easier task to blind our reason, to baffle our senses, and to lead us, by worldly profit, carnal pleasure, and mistaken ambition, into misery and infamy. This is giving a very poor account of ourselves, and making a still worse apology for our misconduct; but it is all that can be said in tracing the dreadful phenomenon to its source; yet, after all, did we not, with all our might, assist our enemy in this his scheme of imposition on us, he could make no great progress therein, so that the sinner may claim to himself more than one half of this seeming miracle. No power of hell could overthrow him, did he not, by efforts of his own, labour to fling himself down the precipice; were he not a seducer and devil to himself. 145. Bodies of all sorts are easily brought into contact, and fluids in particular intimately mixed. In like manner, to speak by analogy, spiritual substances may become coincident, act on or with one another, and separate again. A generic sameness in these latter, notwithstanding specific differences, may make it much easier for them to coexist and sympathize, than for spirit and matter, howsoever organized, to do the like. Yet we know, that in ourselves a soul and body are so united, as to act together, and to enjoy or suffer, as if they were but one being. Nay, the souls of two human beings, though both embodied, and kept, as it were, at some distance, find it easy to act on each other by looks, language, and good or evil offices. We have so many experiments to prove this, that it becomes ridiculous to doubt whether spirit and spirit may not perceive, and communicate with each other by intuition. They do it in man, though specifically different. In him the angelic and animal soul so subsist and act together, as if but one and the same. In him therefore the subsistence at once of more souls than two is possible; and the conjunction of soul with soul, seems to be infinitely more natural than of soul with body. Hence it is that the admission of a third spirit, good or evil, into a man, is to the full as possible, because a more easy conjunction, I mean more easily conceived, than his original composition. Yet possession and exorcism, as related in the gospel, are trumped up by some, always in quest of food for their infidelity, as shrewd objections to our holy religion. The late Dr. Mead, a writer of but narrow powers, even in his own profession, hath left a very silly treatise on scriptural distempers, wherein he endeavours to prove them all purely natural In this he is aided by the similarity of some of them to nervous complaints. But, when his reader waits to see howhis argumentf is pursued to the case of that demoniac, out of whom a legion o devils were driven from a man into a numerous herd of swine, he sees the writer durst not touch the subject. Sensible of this his confessed defeat, the piddling infidels, who have taken up the same argument, have not done him the honour of a citation, but have had recourse to a retail from others, of stuff as weak as his But supposing they had been able to give the possessions mentioned, some show of superstition in believers, what would that avail towards discrediting the other miracles; with a word or two healing the sick, giving agility to the lame, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, silencing the winds and smoothing the seas in a storm; and doing these things on innumerable occasions, in any place, at any time, as crowds of people from all quarters called out for his help? Some varlets, after committing crimes of a most heinous nature, by way of apology for themselves, lay all on the temptations of the devil; but our infidels, more generous and grateful to him, who patronises all their pleasures, ascribe none of their sins to him, sometimes deny his very being; nay, and give the title of virtue to their vices, as rather willed by God, than dictated by a devil. We have too many proofs of wickedness among ourselves, to doubt of the permission, the existence, and agency of other spirits similar to these. We have some idea of the good or evil communication of one spirit upon another, from that which passes between man and man. We do not so clearly conceive how good or evil angels operate upon our souls, no more than how our souls operate upon our bodies. It is enough for us to know its possibility. Reason may carry us so far, revelation vouches the fact. Piety and virtue must in man undergo many and dangerous trials, because great and well tried must be that piety and virtue, which can raise us to the nature of angels, and qualify us for heaven. This must certainly be one reason why we are permitted to tempt one another, and why evil spirits of a more subtle nature are permitted to tempt us all. How they aggravate our corruptions, and inflame our passions, it is impossible, or at least needless, for us to know. That they do it, true religion leaves us no room to doubt. If then they are permitted to tempt us into sin, the very worst they could do us, their entering into some men, and perverting their faculties, or afflicting their bodies, may be permitted also for reasons, which, whether understood by us or not may be immaterial, as it is in regard to every thing else which we do not, cannot understand. Of these however, we can arrive at some imperfect notions. Those already hinted need not be repeated. Of those angels who have rebelled, the wise and good God will nevertheless serve himself in that way and measure of his own, which alone their malignity of nature still qualifies them for, that is, for some time to tempt such morally free beings as he intends to exalt into the heavenly stations, which they have so basely deserted, but not until the whole intelligent creation shall see, after much trial and exercise in virtue, they are qualified to fill. To push this grand intention yet farther into execution, he hath, on certain, occasions, permitted the delinquent spirits to enter into, and take a temporary possession of some persons, seen or foreseen, to be qualified for this possession; as for instance, when his Son came into the world, that by his absolute power over those original criminals, the faithful followers of his Son may perceive the ample sufficiency for their salvation of him they are to depend on. His victory over sin and death, and over him who hath the power of both,' affords an assurance to us weak mortals, that he is able to save to the uttermost.' His other miracles, without this, were convincing; but this is comfortable and encouraging. We are too apt to magnify, in our ignorant and superstitious apprehensions, the cunning and power of devils. But supposing both to be ten thousand times greater than they are, they are nothing to the wisdom and might of him, to whom all power in heaven and earth is given.' If evil spirits are let loose upon us, the Holy Spirit is sent to us; and if he be for us, who shall be against us?' The Christian hero (and every real Christian is a hero) 'shall stand fast in the faith, shall quit himself like a man of God, and shall be strong,' too strong, for all the powers of hell in opposition. Devils shall be defeated; and the host of heaven, looking down on the triumphs of dust and ashes, shall make it ring with hosannas to that Spirit, who crowns the victory of a poor man, once a sinner, over an army of devils. This man, and none |