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By the joining of this exhortation of the apostle’s with the former doctrines and exhortations, I shew (showed) you that there is more required of us, who are Christians, than we are aware of and considers rightly. It is not enough for us to think that we by our sins have deserved the wrath of God, and so to flee to Christ and to his righteousness, that our unrighteousness may be done away through him. Neither is it enough for us to set ourselves to the course of holiness and sanctification, and to the doing of these particular duties that we owe every one of us to another, in that relation wherein we stand; but there is more reqmred of us than all this, Because when we set ourselves to the doing of these duties, then incontinent there will arise enemies against us to assault us: and therefore it may be said furthermore, it is required of you that ye would set yourselves to fight against these enemies, and that ye would be strong in the Lord for that end. Secondly, I was showing the reason wherefore he did choose this style of “brethren,” now when he is speaking of such a purpose. I told you that he did it out of love to them, to let them know that he loved them now, albeit he was exhortmg them to make them for war. And he did it also to let them understand that it was good for them to join all together as brethren, as he himself had resolved to join with them in it as a brother. Thirdly, ye heard what is the strength that he recommends to them. First, without themselves,—in God, in Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. We should be strong, resolute, and courageous in our Lord Christ, and not in ourselves. And in what in him is it that we should be strong? “In the power of his might,” or in his mighty power: and so we may be strong in that indeed, for it is sufficient for us to uphold us. The other strehgth wherein he would have us to be strong is in our armour; he bids us “put on the whole armour of God.” I shew (showed) you here of the necessity that we have of this spiritual armour; that we must put on this armour; that it must be a whole and complete armour, and no part of it wanting; that we must always have on this armour, and not have them lying rousting beside us, as we may have armour for our bodies lying beside us. But it cannot be properly said so of this armour; we must either have it upon us, or otherwise it cannot be said that we have it at all: for if so be that we have any of the graces of the Spirit, God will not let them lie idle, but will give us ado with them, and let enemies set upon us, that we may be exercised in resisting them.
Now, as I was shewing you last, we are commanded to put on this armour; and ye see it is called the “armour of God.” As, indeed, it is rightly called so; first, because it is only God who is the maker of this armour; for all the pieces of this armour, they are only the graces of God, and not of ourselves or any other. It is only the Lord who gives unto us faith, love, hope, the girdle of truth, and all the rest of the pieces of that spiritual armour. And as it 15 called the armour of God from the workman, so it is called the armour of God from the metal whereof it is made. For the metal of this armour is spiritual, and not carnal, as the apostle has taught already: (yet this is not to bainish and to exclude other weapons of warfare; for we must have these outward weapons also, otherwise we cannot be sure to be safe from our enemies:) yet he says that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. And when we want any of the pieces of this armour, we must go to God, and seek them from him; and when any of them are worn or rousted, and we would have them dressed and made tight again, we must go to God with them; for there is none who can make, mend, or dress this armour of ours, but only he who made it at the first.
I would have you to remember also that carnal weapons are not for resisting of spiritual enemies, neither is it enough to have spiritual weapons to resist of carnal enemies; but thou must still have thy weapons correspondent to the enemies who are against thee. Then surely, (if so I may say), if thou thinks that thou art well provided in spiritual armour, and has carnal enemies coming against thee, and provides not armour of that kind, then thou may come under their power. And if so be that thou be well provided in carnal armour against thy carnal enemies, both for defending thyself and offending thy enemies, but has none of this spiritual armour that is of God’s making, then it is a token that thou art under the power of thy spiritual enemies. And therefore we should strive to be provided in both; and let not the having of the one be prejudicial in any ways to the providing of the other. For if so be that we go on against our enemies, having carnal armour, and trusting in it and not in God’s armour, it is very likely that our success, it shall be but bad, and that we shall have cause to weep, and to lament that ever we did anything of that kind; especially when the cause is not any civil cause wherefore we stand, but for religion.
“That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” When he gives them the exhortation, he tells them the end wherefore he gives it, and the reason of the necessity of it. “Because ye wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers.” The end of his exhortation is, Ye have a battle to fight against the devil, and therefore I exhort you to put on the armour of God, that ye may stand out against the wiles of the devil. Now it is not possible for you to stand out against him, if so be ye be naked; and therefore of necessity ye must put on the whole armour of God. And the reason that he gives for this is, “Because ye wrestle not against flesh and blood,” etc.
For the first, which is the end, it is, “That ye may be able to stand out against the wiles of the devil.” Satan is here described to us to be a wily enemy, who can use many stratagems to deceive poor souls; and our duty against all these his stratagems is, “to stand.” Now to stand is to consider of that station that God has assigned to us, and stay ourselves there without removing either back or fore (backward or forward), to the rlght hand or to the left. In our warfare agamst our enemies, (for God is the Lord of hosts and armies, and he has all creatures always in order, both in heaven and earth, and ready to fight always at hlS command; yea, even when we think that there is greatest disorder and confusion amongst them, yet even then he has all in a perfect order), we must so keep our order that we turn not aside, neither to the right hand nor to the left. Neither may we march fordward, when our captain and leader commands us not, nor may we retire when it pleases us; neither may we stand still when he commands us to march, nor may we fall down; but we must always keep our own places, and stand where our captain sets us. Then, beloved, this is it that we are to observe. If so be that we could put on upon us the armour which God himself has shapen for us, and we are exhorted to put on, then albeit Satan were coming against us, either mediately by his instruments, (as whosoever comes against us, they are sent by Satan, we being the people of God, and they are fighting for him), or were coming against us immediately himself, if so be that we had this armour upon us, then we should be able to stand. For that armour, it serves for that end, to make us able to stand out against the wiles of the devil. Therefore ye see our Lord and Saviour, when he is set upon by Satan, albeit he could expressly and directly have put him away at first, for he had power over the devil, yet he takes but one piece of this spiritual armour; and albeit he set upon him again and again, yet by this one piece, to wit, “the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit,” through using that one piece of it, I say, he makes him to depart from him for a time: and because he was always furnished with this armour, when he assaulted again, he prevailed not. Yet we should strive always to have all the pieces of this armour in readiness upon us; for this it is said, 2 Peter 1:5-7, “We should add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to temperance patience, to patience godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity.” And then what adds he? “For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful.” And in effect these are the very pieces of this spiritual armour; for what is it but only these graces of the Spirit that are the furniture of the soul against all assaults whatsoever? Because our life in scripture it is compared to a warfare and to a pilgrimage, therefore these pieces of spiritual armour are set down according to these. As it is, 1 John, “This is your victory, even your faith:” now this is but one piece of the spiritual armour, “the shield of faith” And if so be that we be victorious by it, how much more shall we be victorious, when we have upon us the whole and complete armour? We should therefore, when we find that we have fallen, (as who is there who stands so even, when he is most highly privileged with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, but he falls often, sometimes through foolhardiness, going on too hardily in his own strength, and sometimes through pusillanimity he withdraws himself?) let us evermore impute it to this, that we have not put on our armour. What wonder is it that any should fall in battle, when they go out and dresses not themselves for it,—they put not on this spiritual armour? Will any warriour be that (so) foolish as to go out to battle, and not take their armour with them? Is it not well-wared (well-bestowed) that these should be overthrown by their enemies? And therefore, when thou has any day found thyself to have fallen oft, try thyself, and thou will find it to be only because thou has not dressed thyself in the morning with this armour. I wish that ye were all of you as careful for the dressing of your souls, as many of you are for the dressing of your bodies foolishly and excessively.
Satan, he is here described by his wiles: sometimes ye will find that he is described by his cruelty, sometimes again he is described by his wiliness. Here there is a word expressed that signifies “ambushments,” such as are ordinarily used in warfare: and howsoever in some war these be lawful and commendable, yet in this war they are sinful, and makes his sin greater who uses them, and makes his condemnation more just. Now for these wiles of Satan, there are none who can express them but only two. First, God, he can express them, and knows all of them perfectly. There are none of his wiles hid from him, and he will suffer him to go so far on in his stratagems and wiles as he thinks meet, but no farder: he cannot be hid from God. No, even when he is in the lowest hell, the Lord sees him and beholds him, and sees what he is doing. Secondly, Satan himself, he knows his own wiles also; and as his knowledge is greater than ours is, so he kuows them better than we do. But we know some of his wiles also; and they are known to us two ways. 1. By the Word of God, for it describes unto us some of the wiles of Satan: but this is but only a speculation, and he who knows no more of them but that way, he may soon.be deceived by them. 2. There are some also who knows them by miserable experience: and the truth is, albeit the word of God tell unto us that he is so wily, yet scarce will we believe it whill (till) we find it by experience: our faith is weak in this respect until we find it by experience; and so we are miserably deceived. And therefore we should run and pray to God to discover his wiles more and more unto us. But the devil, he knows every man’s disposition, how it is set;—if he see him to be a voluptuous man; if he be one whom he sees to be ambitious; or if he be one whom he sees to be covetous. And he knows also the complexion and constitution of man’s body, according to which ordinarly the disposition of the mind runs; and he has tentations fitted for all these. If he be a proud man, he knows baits to make him think that he shall get his pride satisfied: howbeit when he has gotten that which he himself thought would give him satisfaction, yet he is not satisfied; for the heart of man is insatiable, and cannot be satisfied with anything that is here. If he be a covetous, worldly-minded man, whether he be a kirkman or any other man, he knows how to deal with him, in making him to hunt after the world; so that he shall make him that he shall never do any good, neither in God’s kirk nor otherwise. Or if he be a voluptuous man, he knows how to allure him on in that course also. And by his wiles he knows also how to bring on sin piece and piece by degrees. The burden which at the first is impossible to be borne,—they cannot get up their back with it to get it borne, he will after that make it tolerable, so that they can suffer to bear it. And having once gotten it to be tolerable, then he makes it to become light, so that they think not much of it, yea, that they feel not the weight of it, nor are not ashamed; whereas before they could not hold up their face, and it upon their back, because of it. Then he makes it to become delectable to them; and at last he makes it to become a matter of gloriation: and so by his wiles he leads them on by degrees from the one side to the other, from one extreme to another extreme. Whereas at the first they could not hold up their face for shame because of sin, at last he brings them to that extremity, that at last they shall make that the matter of their gloriation whereof at first they were ashamed. We may see many miserable and woful examples of this kind. And beloved, I will assure you there was never more ambushments and wiles used for the winning of a city by a skilled commander, than Satan uses against a poor soul, that so he may overcome it, and win it to himself.
And therefore we have great need, because we of ourselves have no wiliness at all but only to beguile ourselves, (indeed we have enough of wiles of that kind)—and therefore we had need of better weapons than our own to fight against him, and better wiles than our own to circumvene him; and that is even of God’s weapons and wiles, so to speak. For there is nothing in Satan but we have a counterpace against it in God. If he be strong, the Lord has strength; if he be cruel, the Lord is cruel also to such as are his enemies; if he be wily, he has wiles to circumvene him. As many horns as Satan has to hurt the kirk or the children of God, God has as many hammers to beat and to break down these horns. And this is the only comfort of the children of God; if this were not, they would be clean discouraged. So that this is the end wherefore we are exhorted to put on the whole armour of God, even that we may stand out against the wiles of the devil. There is none of the children of God, but they have always ado with this spiritual armour; and so they may not let it lie beside them, but they must always keep it on them. The devil is evermore seeking to beguile you with one wile or other; he never rests night nor day, but still is against you: and therefore pray to the Lord that ye may be acquainted with his wiles, and that he will let you know what he is doing. And pray to him also that Satan prevail not against you. It is a pitiful thing that we should live secure, as though we had not an enemy against us, seeing we are advertised that we have such wily, crafty, and cruel enemies. And if so be we think that we have no enemies, this is a token we are in Satan’s power: and therefore he holds himself quiet; for if we were once out of his power and jurisdiction, he would not miss to trouble us.
Now, the reason that the apostle uses wherefore they should put on this armour, it is a strong and forcible reason. “For,” says he, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, etc.” There are three things that we see clearly to be contained in the words. 1. Who they are who are the soldiers, and must fight in this battle. “We,” says he; and so he excludes not himself from it, but takes in himself among the rest. 2. There is the exercise wherewith the soldiers are exercised, “wrestling.” 3. There is the parties against whom we wrestle; and they are thus described—TFirst, from their power they have in the world; for these names are given only to these who are of great power and place in the world, “principalities and powers.” And more generally they are described, “the governours or rulers of the darkness of this world.” Secondly, they are described from their natures; they are called “spirits,” and these are spirits of wickedness. Thirdly, they are described from the place that they haunt in, when they assault us and wrestle against us. “In high places;” that is, in the air.
Now for the first. Who they are who are the soldiers in this conflict: “We.” Then the apostle Paul himself, he is one of these wrestlers. Then we may perceive here that there is none who is exemed from this wrestling, were he never so eminent either in saving or sanctifying grace; and albeit he had gifts and furnitare sufficiently for the discharging of his calling, yet is he not exemed from this wrestling. The first Adam, who was free of sin, he was put to it; and the second Adam also was sorely assayed with it. And Peter, albeit that otherwise he was a strong champion, yet in this wrestling he was sore wounded, even by the hand of a damosel. And we needed not to bring examples for proving of this either from the old or new Testament, for there is abundance of them daily amongst ourselves. David, who was a man graced many ways of the Lord, and was very humble in his own eyes almost always, yet at one time he was puffed up to number the people. And all the servants of God in the new Testament, we will find them to have been thus exercised, yea, ofttimes overcome. And therefore we should resolve for this, if so be that we be the soldiers of Christ, we must prepare ourselves for wrestling and fighting. It is a strange thing of us, that we cannot learn to peruse (use) our weapons right in this warfare, and even a principal one of them, which is the word of God. It is spoken of the life of a Christian, so long as he is here, that it is a warfare; and having wars, certainly we must have enemies to make war with us: and yet we live as securely, for the most part, as if we had not an enemy at all to pursue us. It were much better for us to consider that we are at enmity with Satan, and he and all his forces are against us, if so be that we be true Christians. Ay, it is sure, if he be not against us, pursuing us, then we are upon his side.
Secondly, our fight and warfare that we have, it is called “wrestling.” Beloved, the life of a Christian and of the child of God, it has many terms whereby it is expressed in scripture, and when all is done, there are not many of them that are very comfortable. It is called a race, which is a painful thing; a pilgrimage, which is a longsome (tedious) and wearisome life; and wrestling and fighting, which is very dangerous and hazardsome. And the reason of all is, because our comfort is not to be found in this life, nor in anything that we can find here; but our comfort, rest, and ease, is only to be found after this life is ended. The Lord indeed will give to his own some sweet blenks (gleams) while they are here; but there is no perfite joy, ease, nor peace for them, while they are here: the most part of the life of a Christian is nothing else but a warfare. Albeit some of them be more bitter than others, yet there is not one day of our life but it is a race, a pilgrimage, a warfare and wrestling. And since it is so, should not we be wise, and in time prepare ourselves for these? If so be that we have not such a life as this, then it is sure and certain that our life is not right, but that the enemy is within, while all things are at peace; but if so be that thou find thyself continually to be at a pilgrimage, a race, and a wrestling, then it is a token that thou art in a right case,—that the enemy is cast out, and therefore is it that he troubles thee. But there is one thing that I would have you to observe here. There be none, I think, but they will say, their life is a wrestling; for he who has his head always down in the earth, he will say, “God help me, for my life is nothing else but a wrestling with this false world:” and what is all that we do of that kind, but to wrestle for a bit and a brat (food and raiment)? Others, again, would seem to take up the matter some (somewhat) better than these, and says that they find a daily wrestling and struggling within themselves, when they find one power in them striving against another. This is a wrestling; and yet this is but a silly meaning, if thou take up the meaning of it to be so, when the natural man finds a fighting within himself. And, indeed, the natural man will find a fight and a wrestling within himself of one power of his soul against another—they will be striving together; that must be a wrestling. That person who said, “I see and knows one thing to be the right, but I am drawn to do another thing,”1 certainly that man behoved to have a wrestling. Whereas our mind and judgment sees a thing to be wrong, and yet our affections draws us to the comm1tt1ng of it, must there not be a wrestling here? even as it were between the high castle and the lower house of the soul, the one of them a]ways contradicting the other; this must be a wrestling. But yet, for all this, this is not the wrestling that is here meant of. For in this wrestling of the natural man the combat stands between one power of the soul and another power thereof, when our mind and judgment is bidding and willing us to do one thing, and then our affections, they draw us another way contrair to that. But for this wrestling that is here meant of; it will be in one and the same power of the soul at the same time. The moralists, they did never attain to the knowledge of this point. As in the mind, the part thereof that is renewed and sanctified will fight against the part that is unrenewed; and so it is different from the natural man’s. Ay, moreover, if we will search aright, we will find that the natural man, he has always had this fighting and wrestling since he could know anything; there is none who has any spunk (spark) of natural light, but he will have such a fighting as this; but the child of God, he has only this fighting and wresthng from the time of his regeneration and new birth, for he never had it till then. Again, the fighting and wrebtlmg of the natural man is against gross sins, such as murder, adultery, theft, or that they should speak a word that should in any ways offend others, and such outward sins as these. But for this sort of wrestling of the child of God, it is against their most secret sins, even against these sins which the world counts not to be sin, or at the most counteth them to be but small sins. Yea, his greatest wrestling is against these, such as pride, hypocrisy, ignorance of God, the lust of the flesh and of the spirit, even all secret sins; that he cannot get all these in a right order and subdued, thlS is the grief of his soul. The natural man’s wrestling is when he has committed great and gross ills, such as are publick to the world; but when the child of God has omitted a secret duty, which he knows he was bound to perform, he will find wrestling for that. Ay, when he has perfor med the duty which the Lord commands him to perform—when he has been at prayer, either in private or in publick, hearing or reading God’s word, at fast or communion, etc.—if so be he find that he has not done them with the spirit and from the heart, then he has a wrestling for that: ay, he is more displeased at the manner of his doing than he has contentment in doing the duty. And therefore strive to have a wrestling of this kind, not a wrestling with the world for the back and the belly, nor a wrestling between one power of the soul and another, but a wrestling between the renewed and unrenewed part—a wrestling between the Spirit of God and Satan; a wrestling that has not been always, but begins when we begin to be regenerate; a wrestling not only against outward gross sins, but also against secret sins; a wrestling not only for committing of sins, but also for omitting of duties, yea, even for the manner of our doings. Thus it must be in the estate of every Christian. And there must be also a wrestling in the kirk; Christ and his spouse upon the one side, and Satan and all his wicked instruments, whom he can have under his commandment, will be upon the other side.
Thirdly, But let us consider something of the enemies. It is hard to tell, and ill for any to wit (know) what the meaning of these words are, “Principalities and powers, the governours of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.” Always (notwithstanding), it appears that there be different orders and several degrees both of good and of ill angels. And here these angels, they seem to be ranked in two sorts; first, principalities, secondly, powers. These two words, when they are taken after the manner of ruling in the world, the first of them, to wit, principalities, it is taken for these who are of greatest place and power, and has none to rule above them. The other word, powers, is taken for these who are in inferiour places of authority under these. And so it would appear by this place, and other places also, that there is one of these ill spirits who is prince and supreme over the rest, who is called “the prince of the power of this world,” and the “god of this world;” so that he has great power and commandment into it, and he by his instigation and God’s permission (for, for as great as he is, he can do nothing unless God permit him), and by man’s voluntary slavishness, he draws men in subjection to him. Satan, again, he has great princes, who are nearest to himself. As Daniel 10:13, there is one there named the prince of Persia, who withstood the angel of God so long. And powers, again, are these who are set to rule in particular provinces, in such and such parts of the kingdom; and both of these are called “rulers of the darkness of this world.”
First, I would have you to mark here, That the apostle would let us know that Satan and his instruments, they have great power and authority with the great ones of this world. Princes and great men, they have the administration of justice, and the ruling of things into their hands, and therefore he seeks to have power with them. And it appears to be so indeed; for from whence is this said, John 7:48, by the Pharisees speaking of Christ—“Have any of the rulers believed in him?” but because Satan, he has a great straike (stroke, q. influence) with the rulers and great doctors in the world? And 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 the apostle says, “Not many noble, not many wise, etc, hath the Lord chosen; but the Lord hath chosen the base and foolish ones, to confound them that are wise.” And if so be that we will consider of this aright, we will not think it strange, that there were none of all the kings of Israel, but they were wicked and ill kings, and few of all the kings of Judah who wrought a true work of reformation in the kirk of God, but the most part of them hindered it. Yea, there was not one of them who wrought a full reformation; but in the best there was something to be found amiss. And what, think ye, was the cause of this? I grant there is corruption enough naturally in the heart of all men against anything that is good, but chiefly of great and learned men: Satan labouts to possess their hearts, that they may hinder the work of God.
I would have you to observe this here. How long now have we been seeking and supplicating for the lawful remedies2 of a free Assembly and a Parliament, to put an end to all these ills that has cruppen (crept) in amongst us!—an Assembly which used and ought to sit once every year at least, and now there has not been one these twenty years in this kingdom, and yet, for all that, we can hardly attain this favour, the holding of a free Assembly now. It’s true, I grant, princes may have their own grounds of policy in hindering these things; but that is sure, Satan, he has a hand in it. And therefore it is good for us to take heed to this, that in this fight we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. This is even like that place, 1 Samuel 8:7, “These are not against thee, but they are against me:” so we are not now wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and that in God’s cause. It is good for us to think, that in everything that opposes us in the work of God, and hinders it, there is a greater power than either earls, lords, marquesses, or kings,—that even Satan is hindering the work of God, as far as he is able.
Ye may perceive this evidently also, that these things that are ascribed to be done by flesh and blood, they are also ascribed to Satan as the doer of them. As ye may see in the example of Job: the Sabeans and the Chaldeans, they spoiled his goods, and drave them away; yet nevertheless, Satan, he was the principal agent and chief worker in this business. And Peter also, he fell filthily, when the voice of a damosel made him to deny his master; but our Saviour had said to Peter before, “Satan has sought to winnow thee,” that is, he came to me, who was general of the army, and chopped out (chose) thee, and desired to go about [a bout] with thee in combat; yet nevertheless, fear not, albeit he give thee a hurt, “for I have prayed for thee that thy faith shall not fail thee.” And if he do thistoa Christian soul in particular, much more will he do it in the reformation of a kirk; because that may be a mean to draw many souls from him. And if so be that Satan and his instruments can get their will, they had rather that kingdoms were through other (all in confusion), and every one of them to shed the blood of another, before a reformation of religion be wrought. And assure yourselves he will assay it, and see what he can possibly do to hinder it, by himself and by his instruments.
“Rulers of darkness.” What is this that he calls darkness? It is sin, and consequently all the curses and miseries that follows upon sin. Wherein I would have you to observe, that all these who lives in sin, their minds are blind and dark; they know not themselves nor their sins, nor know they the way of Christ wherein they should walk; but they are in the power of darkness. And therefore, careful should we be that the Lord would open the door and the window to us, and let the sun of righteousness shine in upon our souls, that we may see sin that so we may eschew it, and we may see the way of holiness to walk into it. For while we lie in darkness, we are under the power of the devil; and if so be that we live in darkness all our time here, and die into that darkness, we shall then continually to all eternity remain in blackness of darkness. And so thou who lies still in sin, thou are already bound in the chains and fetters of darkness; and these are about thy soul already, to harle (drag) thee to hell, albeit thou feel them not, nor are not sensible of them: even as these who are the children of light, they shall be possessed eternally in heaven.
Now for their nature, they are called “spirits.” So there are good spirits and there are ill spirits; and every one are attended always by a good spirit or by an ill spirit. I say no more of it but this now, whoever they be who entertains sin in their hearts, they entertains Satan also there; for he is a spirit, and so he is not sensible to the natural part. And therefore, as ye would be free of Satan, see that ye entertain no sin; for sin is of the devil, and where sin is he is, and delights to be there: even as holiness, it is of God, and he takes pleasure to be where it is.
Lastly, for the place of their residence, it is, “In high places.” Then he has the advantage of the place of us in this combat, for he is above us,3—in high places. If we speak of Satan’s place that he had, or has, he had his place once in heaven, and was an angel of light; but his sin and his pride brought him down from that place, and his proper place now is and ever will be in hell. But as God has good angels whom he sends to wait upon his children, so Satan has ill angels also to send out, to see whom they can bring in to him; and these ill angels, being sent out of that place of hell, they are always in the air, and waiting upon us, so that we are never hid from them, no, not in our most secret cabinets. In the night season they see thee, and tempts thee to commit sin; and when thou commits sin, they are looking upon thee, and delights in it, as thou does delight thyself in it: so that thou can never get thyself hid from God, from thy conscience, from Satan, but they bear thee witness to thy doings. And when Satan gets thee to commit sin, then he smiles and is glad; but thy conscience, if so be that it be not hardened, it looks upon thee, challenging thee, telling thee that it will be a witness against thee; and God looks upon thee, and beholds thee with a vindictive eye. It is good for us, therefore, to consider that when we sin, Satan, he is beholding us with a cheerful countenance, that our consciences are beholding us as a witness against us, and God, he is beholding us as a judge, to be revenged of us for our doings. And therefore it is good for us to learn, so to carry ourselves in all things, that Satan may not rejoice at our doings, but be angry; that our consciences may be a witness for us, and not a witness against us; and God may behold us, to reward us in mercy; and so God may have glory in all our actions, and our own souls comfort, through Jesus Christ. To whom, etc.