An i txpofition of the Epijlle ~~;:-R. this Pfalm was, perfonolly to curfe ']11d<t<: And this Curfe is the Curie of Jefu~ ~ Clmft, whots able to curfe : when Chnft from Heaven would cur(c a Mar., fet'the Devtl over htm, (1tth he; and tt was fulfilled, the Scnpture bth, Scllmi 'tmlrecl into Juda~. . As the Swine, when the Dcvilscnucd into them, were carried headlong into the Sea: So ']ud<li fell heudlong, fitith Al:h !. 18. And he carried him on to hang himfelf; for after he had been his Kulcr,. tO carry him on to Sin, then he was htS Accufer to God; and he never left, mm.\ he had a Cornmillion from God, to tempt him to undo himfel[ You fee, my Brethren, that the heavieft Curfc, that Chrift himfelf from Heav~n pronounccth againft his great Enemy, he that was a Traytor to htm, that dcltvered bun up to bt crucified, it is this, that tire Devil il1ould rule over him. Will you now but confider in a word or two, what a King \'OU have. Al 0 s! in being. aServant o.f Sin,. Sin is buta moral King, a metaphoric:~! King; but the Devt!ts a real Kmg, a rerfon~l Kmg, a Creature fttbllfting and cxifling as your fclv.es: therefore we arc i.11d tO be t"/;,1:" c"pt ive at Ms IVi//, He hath an Underftanding, and a Will, and out of that Undcrftanding he rules and guide's thee, as one reafonable Creature rules and guides another. And what art thou but a poor Captive? Thou haft but a little of thy Will, he bath his Will; thou art put taken captive, like the Ox that goes to the Slaughter, c1· "' a l3ird that b11.ftetb to the Snurc,. dnd 4!JOlvctb not that it 1s for his Life, as Solomou ft_Jcaks. Do but conllder with your (elves, ( for, as I faid afore, this is certain, tho we heir not the Devil, or fee him, or feel him; yet whil!l: we lie in the State of Nature, or walk in the Jeaft Sin, the Devil is our Prince, and he ferves his Turn upon us, ) conllder, I C1y, we are all Men, and Man is~ noble Cleatu're, he (corns to be led captive;· why thou art led captive by Satan : Ye we1·e carried mvay, (as the Apoftlc f.1ith, I Cm·, I 1. ?.) unto dumb Idols, 11ccording as JC were led. And thou art deceived and guiJ'd' by it, for thou haft but a petty Proje/.1: in llnning, he bath the greateft dellgn in the World, he aCts another part,' his dellgn is, to fct up·Sin againft God direl.l:ly and immediatly; poor Creatures, that is not our ddigrt immediatly. Therefore he is C1id, to deceive the M,fiom, Rev. 20, And he deceived Eve, 2 Cor. I r. 3· NO\v Man, as he (corn< to be led, fo of all thing< cl[e he !corns to be deceived. There was never fuch a Gull put upon the World as this; therefore it is f.1id, the Myftery of Iniquity wrought. They thattbrought in Popery, !mew not themtclves what they did; but the Devil knew, he de– ligned it, it wrought in a Myftery. So .now the Myftery of Iniquity works In all Men, and t!te truth is, they do not know the bottom of it, the depths of Satan in it, they do not know the bottom of the dcllgn. And as \Ve are~hus de– ceived, (owe fcrve one of anorher Nature. It was a Law in lji·.ICl, that they fhould not have a King that was a Stranger, one of another Nation, but that they il10uld chute one from among their Brethren to be their King, DCI!t, I 7· I). Why Satan is not a Prince of yoiu own Nature, he is not of Fle!h and Blood : We fght not with Flejb and Blood, taith the Apoft!O, but >vith fPiriflt<il Wkl!,!dvejJcs. It is therefo're to us poor Men; (as I may fo compare it) juft fucb a Bondage as the Ifraelites were in under rpb.<raoh i 'Pharaoh was King over his Egypt/,ms, they wer'c his natural Subjel.l:s, they had a comfortable Life under him, as the natural Turf<! have under the Great Tm-k.; but we are like the lfi'aclitcs, whom he made to fervc with rigor, or as the poor GreciaiiS, and other Chriflians, that are Slaves and Captives to the T11rk,_, he is of another nature fi·om them: So is this Devil, his own Devils have a natural Kingdom with him, therefore he dotn temper it fo to them, as that he cloth not oppofe them, forthen they would divide from him ; . and therefore Chrift faith, If Satan jhotdd mjl out Sutan, bis Kingdom rvculd be di– vided, and not te able toJland. But we, poor Creatures, are as the Be.ifls that are tafi,!n (as ']11de exprefTeth it,) at hi1 plcajitre, :ind arc under a Prince of anot'her Nature. And not only to, but we f<:rve an utter Enemy, that perfc~ly hates us, and that reeks to"deftroy us. In Rev. 9· I r. thofc C1me Locufls, there fp,ok&n of, they had a King \ b:>t what manner of King had they ? even fuc~1, yea, 'the fame King as we have, tt was the Angel of the hottomlefi P11,. '"'':fe 1\.mle tn the HebrC>v Tongue, faith he, is Abadd,on, but m t/;e Greek To11guehi'S N.um,. Apolly.on, that is the Dejlro)'er: His Aim is nothing but to deflroy, and toundo us ; there– fore h~ fecks whom he may delude. · And when he uf<:th his Authority to carry us
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