SERMON LIT. 1#9 /larger or meaner outward circumstances, who pursue sin and sinners with the peril of their lives, and lead them captive to courts ofjustice that they may be punished. In vain hadJoshua received his commands for battle, if no man of Israel had ven- tured into the field to assist him; had he gone alone, perhaps he might have slain a few enemies, and then perished himself; in vain would a magistrate attempt to suppress a nation of sinners if hehad none to aid him; but few, very few can come under the notice of his own eyes, andby the fear of numbers he might well be discouraged from punishing those few. If there were none to discoverthe enemies, ör to guard himself, hecould scarce fulfil the sentence of the Law against them ; but when Moses, Aaron, and Blur, Joshua andthe chosen men, all stand firm and maintain their posts, then Amalek is discomfited, anda nation of sinners rooted out. There was a time-indeed when Moses, upon the banks ofthe Red-sea, said to the, people, Stand still find see the salvation of the Lord; Ex. xiv. 13. And they stood still and the salvation appeared : But God doth not always work miracles of deliver- ance without the use of instruments : Here Joshua and Israel are required to take up arms for their own defence ; and if the captains or the soldiers had fled from the battle, Amalek had prevailed as well as if Moses had ceased to lift up his hand. I may venture then to lay down this great truth as the foundation of my following discourse : " When a war withsin is begun in a nation, it must be carried on without ceasing, or iniquity will prevail." Every one must stand to his post and fulfil hischarge, lest the troops of the reformation be routed, and sin with all its legions overspread thecoúntry. To render this proposition' more evident to the mind, and more owerful over the will, I shall take this method :- I. Provethat sin will prevail, ifthe war be neglected which you havehappilybegun, andcarried onthus far.-II.Set beforeyou some of the dreadful eonsequents of prevailing iniquity. HI.. Remove the discouragements that may be ready, to make your hands hang down in this work. IV. By a few encouraging hints, endeavour to raise any that are sinking, and to strengthen all your resolutions in this glorious service to God and your country. First, We may prove that iniquity will prevail if the war be neglectedby these three considerations : 1. Consider that the nature of fallen man is turned aside from God, averse to all that is holy, and prone to wickedness : And if divine grace Both not renew the heart, the life will grow e1d in transgression, and abound in guilt. Where the root x3
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=