him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee." It will be merely necessary to remark, that this is a prophecy delivered in the days of Joshua, which was to be accomplished during his life. It was actually accomplished, and in the 5th chapter of the book of Ezra you have an account of it. Joshua began to build a house of God at Jerusalem, and the Satan who opposed him, and endeavoured to prevent it, was no other than a ruler in the neighbourhood, called Tatnai.

One more remark respecting the Old Testament, in the words of Mr. Simpson, and we have done. In all the passages in the Old Testament where the term Satan, with any of his derivatives, occurs, one only excepted, it is either translated adversary, or the term Satan is retained, and adversary inserted in the margin. An evident proof of the sense in which our translators understood the original.

I now proceed to the consideration of some of the principal passages in the New

* 1 Chron. xxi. 1.

Testament.

That which first, in order and in importance, presents itself to us, is the temptation of our Saviour.

"Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

"And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

"Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

"And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

"Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them :

"And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

"Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

If this account is to be taken literally, the following facts attended it. Jesus was led, by the spirit, into the wilderness, on purpose to be tempted by the devil. He had fasted forty days, when he began to feel hungry. He knew the devil as soon as he appeared to him. The devil took him up through the air, or else walked with him through the city of Jerusa lem, to a pinnacle of the temple. He next accompanied him to a high mountain, where he could see all the kingdoms

of the world; a thing naturally impossible! And then the devil, knowing he

was speaking to the Son of God, who was aware who he was, had the presumption to ask, that he would fall down and worship him, instead of God the Father! Upon the supposition that all these inconsistencies still gain credit, I add one more, that if Jesus Christ were a deity, this was no temptation at all, for he knew him from the first, it required no effort to resist him, and nothing was to be gained, but every thing lost by obeying him!

Contrast with this interpretation the following, which, the very expression of being led by the spirit, seems at once to denote. As soon as Jesus had received, from God, all the miraculous powers conferred upon him at his baptism, his mind was occupied with the thought, how he might be able to use these powers. Worldly thoughts first arose, worldly ob jects presented themselves to his view. This adversary to divine things, this Satan, suggested to him' the use of his miraculous powers. How he might gratify

his palate, by speaking only to the stones; how he might command universal admiration and obedience, by publicly throwing himself from the temple; how he might gain universal dominion, by the corrupt use of his power. "But no! it were far better to use them in the service of Almighty God." Thus reasoned our Saviour. Thus did he resist temptation. Thus did he triumph.

I beheld Satan" says Jesus,

falling like lightning from heaven." The preceding and succeeding verses will explain our Saviour's meaning. The seventy disciples, who had been sent out by Jesus, were just returned, and in exultation informed Jesus, that the very dæmons, the possessed persons, were subject to them. What had this to do with the information of Jesus, that he saw Satan fall from heaven? Besides, it is evident that he is speaking of that very time, of the effects of his and of their mission. For he adds,

Behold, I give unto you power, to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy." Your interpretation, too, is giving a locality to

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