ligion. They are cunning to deceive, and cruel to torment the deceived. In the chapter where our text is recorded, the Lord accuses the false prophets of crying peace; "and there was no peace." So false teachers now inform the people, that if they will receive their doctrine they will have peace; but the fact is, there is no peace in believing their testimony; for they prophesy out of their own corrupt and partial hearts, and the doctrine they preach is like the hearts which invent it, full of craft and cruelty. It affects a great deal of compassion, and love for the people who are exposed to the eternal unmerciful vengeance of God, and the people think that these teachers must be remarkably kind to use such constant endeavours to deliver them rom the hands of such an enemy as God is! Being deceived, they cannot reason. If they could reflect, and calmly reason on the subject, they would see at once, that if these teachers were in reality so much better than God, as their preaching represents, God would not have sent them. If God were an enemy to his creatures, in the room of sending such loving creatures as these foxes pretend to be, he would send his messengers vengeance, and cut them off at once. When the deceit has succeeded, and the people believe in the false doctrines which are inculcated, have they any peace? Have they any rest? Do they enjoy quietude? No, they have no peace, no rest day nor night. What is the matter? The fact is, the creed in which they are taught to believe, is full of cruelty, and teaches them that they are every moment in danger of worse consequences than can be represented by any similitude in na

of

ture.

We are informed that the fox will cunningly feign himself to be dead, will stretch himself out in a lifeless posture, by which deceit he induces the fowls to alight on, or near him, when, in a sudden and nimble manner, he snatches and devours. them. So false teachers cunningly feign them

selves to be dead to the world, to have no desire for earthly riches, honour or power, by which deceit they drag the people into their very jaws, and between their sharp cutting teeth. Of all classes of the community, none have a greater thirst for riches, honour and power, than these false teachers. They are continually laying plans and contriving schemes to get power into their hands, and at the same time pretend to be dead to the world. This is acting the fox faithfully.

In delineating, illustrating and defending their creeds, false teachers resemble the cunning of the fox of the wilderness in several respects.

Where this artful animal burrows in the ground, he takes care to have several outlets, so that if he be attacked at one of them, while his adversary is looking out for him at that place, he makes his escape at another, and is gone long before his adversary knows it. Thus do false teachers; they endeavour to hide themselves in as great obscurity as possible, but if inquiry and argument pursue and find them out, they have taken care that they have more ways than one for an escape. If they are attacked on the principle of the works of the creature, as matter of justification to eternal life, and if the argument is like to bring them out to the light, they make their escape through the wellstudied avenue of partial sovereign grace and particular election. If, on the other hand, they are questioned in a skilful manner on the doctrine of partial election, and what they call sovereign grace, and if they find no way to defend this scheme, all at once they tack short about and are pleading, in a most tender and affectionate manner for the free offers of salvation to all, and laying it down in the most solemn manner, that all are invited to come in welcome to the gospel feast. Thus the fox is gone.

The art practised by the fox to elude his pursuer in the chase, is a very fit emblem of the cunning craftiness of false teachers, "whereby they lie in

wait to deceive." Like the serpent, the fox never runs on a straight line. He makes frequent crooks, running this way and that way, and appears to one little acquainted with his cunning to get along but slowly, and to care but little whether he makes his escape or not. But all these crooks are designed to puzzle his pursuer and embarrass his speed. This method is employed until one more perplexing is found to be necessary, when the fox sets himself to crossing his own track, running round and round, forming the most difficult labyrinth, from which he makes a sudden leap as far as possible, leaving his pursuer to seek him in the labyrinth which he has left, while he makes the best of his way to another difficult place. In like manner do false teachers commence their discourses, by taking care to avoid a straight line of simple truth; they run a little way, pretending that the Divine Being is all love and grace to mankind, is the same yesterday, to-day and for ever, that the most entire confidence may be safely placed in his wisdom, power and goodness; but immediately they take a turn, and represent him as capable of having his mind so changed as to burn with implacable vengeance toward those who do not conform to their doctrine. If they are followed closely, and questioned concerning the consistency of their story, they will begin to cross their paths, contradict what they have said, run into the doctrine of predestination, from that to free will, from free will to predestination, and from thence back again. In one breath they will hold to election and reproba tion, in the next call on all to repent and be saved,. and when called on to explain these contradictions, they take a leap into mysticism, call it all a holy mystery, which carnal reason cannot understand, and thus, like the fox, make their escape.

This kind of preaching has been practised by false teachers, until many of the sensible people in Christendom have been driven to give up all belief in divine revelation, and to seek for rest in

moral philosophy, without the assistance of revealed religion.

Perhaps no foxes ever represented false teachers more to perfection, than the three hundred which Sampson caught, fastened together, two and two, with fire-brands between each pair, and sent among the standing corn of the Philistines.

This was an effectual method of destroying those extensive fields of wheat on which the Philistines depended for bread. If these foxes could have agreed to run a straight course, they would have done much less damage to the fields of corn; but agreeably to their nature, they ran crooked, and while one would attempt to go one way, his companion would take a leap the other; in this way, they went in every possible direction, while the fire-brands served to increase their efforts and to burn the corn. In this manner false teachers are covenanted together, but with no disposition which harmonizes their hearts; and while one runs in one crooked path, another attempts to draw him in a different way, quite as crooked; whilst all the time they are rendered even furious with a sort of "strange fire," which characterizes their docrines, and produces a zeal not according to knowledge-This fire is scattered every where, and in every place into which these false teachers run; while that reason, understanding and knowledge, which to moral beings is mortal bread, is all prostrated and consumed, by these false teachers and the fire they carry with them, as was the corn of the Philistines by the foxes and the fire-brands.

As has been already noticed, St. Peter has presented us with a comparison of the false prophets among the people of the Jews, and the false teachers that should arise in the Christian church; and it may be profitable for us to notice a few particuiars which may serve to mark the distinction between true and false prophets and teachers. In the days of the prophets of Israel, the false prophets were vastly more numerous than the true proph

ets of God. At one time the prophet Elijah stood alone, while the prophets of Baal were four hundred and fifty; but whether the disproportion is as great now, or not, we may not pretend to say; though if we may know them by their fruits, as our Saviour directs, it would not be very difficult to compute their numbers.

One infallible mark of a false prophet or teacher, is, he has a disposition to persecute. Thus did the false prophets persecute the prophets of the Lord; and thus do the many false teachers in Christendom persecute, as far as they can, the ew who dare to testify the truth as it is in Jesus, and disprove their doctrines of error.

The distinguishing trait which St. Peter has given of false teachers is, that they should bring in damnable heresies; and he tells us what these heresies amount to, "Even denying the Lord that bought them; and bring upon themselves swift destruction."

All false doctrines, in one way or other, deny the Lord that bought us. They will either deny that Jesus gave himself a ransom for all men, or what amounts to the same thing, they will deny the final efficacy of this purchase. And when the false teacher treats on the great subject of the Saviour, he has ready at command studied methods of professing to believe in him, and of holding him up for others to believe and trust in, while at the same time he runs his whole doctrine in such a crooked, doubtful course, that about all he says he finally contradicts. False teachers who deny the Lord that bought us, do this work in an artful, cunning manner, they know it will not answer to profess to deny him in full, because this would be no deception; people would pay no attention to their testimony. But they pretend to believe in him, and to be his faithful ministers. They pretend to understand the deep mysteries of his doc trine, which are so very intricate that none but themselves, who have in a special manner been