III. The attack.

"Then was Jesus led up," or, according to St. Luke, driven," of the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil." But how strange that he should be thus led up of the Spirit!-that Spirit who is one with the Father and the Son, and who so recently had descended upon him in the form of a dove! Surely this was for some wise and important purpose. But before we proceed further, let us contemplate the parties in conflict. The one was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, who had assumed human nature, and had come to redeem the world, as the second representative of human kind. The other was the devil, the inveterate foe of God and man! the powerful prince of darkness, the subtle serpent, the roaring lion! Let us consider the nature of the contest. It was the most important and decisive the world ever knew. There have been contests upon which have depended the "weal or woe" of nations, but on this hung the present and eternal welfare of the world. There have been mighty armies marshalled under potent princes, but what were they and their fightings when compared with this awful engagement between the Prince of Peace and the Prince of Darkness, in single combat!

No sooner had Jesus entered the wilderness, than he began to suffer the most distressing inward suggestions from the devil, which continued to harass his immaculate soul during the space of forty days. At the expiration of that time "he began to be an hungered," a circumstance of which Satan seems to have been fully aware; and taking advantage of this opportunity, he assumed a form-probably the human one-and thus accosted the Redeemer :--" If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread," ver. 3. Here the devil tempted him,—

1. To disbelieve his own character. There is no doubt but Satan was acquainted with the annunciation of the angel Gabriel, Luke, i, 30—34,—the salutations of Zacharias, Anna and Simeon,-the words and deeds of the wise men of the east,—the circumstances which occurred at the Saviour's baptism,-and yet he had the audacity to suggest a doubt. "If thou be the Son of God? In the nature as well as in the time of his temptations, the devil treats the disciples as he treated their Lord. The christian may

be made as sensible of his justification and adoption as he is of his existence, and yet Satan will inject the doubt, If thou be the Son of God."

"

and goodness.

2. The devil tempts Jesus to dispute his Father's care "Command that these stones be made bread." As if he had said, Lo, here thou art in this desart enduring the pain of extreme hunger. Hadst thou been the Son of God, would he thus have forsaken thee? Provide for thyself, for he hath left thee. The tempter often assails the disciple in the same way. Sometimes the sinner is in health and prosperity; the saint in affliction and extreme poverty; and then cometh the devil. "What! art thou in the favour of God? Is this reconcilable with thy belief of the Divine goodness?" See the case of Asaph, Psal. lxxiii, 2-23.

3. The Lord was tempted to use unlawful means to procure food." Command that these stones be made bread," and thus prove to me thy divinity. Now Christ could as easily have turned stones into bread as he turned water into wine, but then he would not work this miracle in distrust of his Father's providence, and at the instigation of Satan. When in straitened circumstances, how often have the disciples of Christ been tempted to embark in schemes which would be injurious to their spiritual interests!

This impudent assault the Redeemer repulsed by the sword of the Spirit, ver. 4. "Then the devil taketh him up into," &c., ver. 5, 6. Here he tempts him

1. To ambition. Satan was probably aware of the Lord's design to begin his public ministry, and he insinuates to him a plausible way of obtaining popularity, by casting himself down amongst the priests and people-whom they could most likely see from the tower-and thus exciting their wonder and astonishment, gaining their applause, and arresting their attention. Similar temptations are sometimes presented to Christ's followers. Ambition is one of Satan's favourite baits: he knows its power-it was fatal in his own case.

2. To presumption. "He shall give his angels charge concerning thee," &c. ver. 6. As Christ met each of his attacks with passages from the Word of God, Satan now imitates him, and quotes Scripture, but quotes it partially, omitting that part, " in all thy ways," Psal. xci, 11. It

would not have been in the way of Providence for Jesus to have cast himself down from the highest pinnacle of the temple, when there was an ordinary descent by stairs: hence Jesus answered again, "It is written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Having not yet gained his purpose, "the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain," ver. 8, 9, and tempts him,

1. To covetousness. The devil, by supernatural power, brought into one view all the riches and glories of the world, and presented this collection of dazzling beauties to the eye of Jesus, to see if they would allure him, and make way for his next and boldest, and last attempt.

2. Idolatry. "All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.' This is what he had aimed at all the time, but now he speaks out; and the Redeemer rebuked his insolence with dignity and with authority: "Get thee hence, Satan," &c. ver. 10.

IV. The consequences.

1. Satan felt, to his dismay, the power of Christ's di vinity. The enemy, by his craftiness, overcame Adam in Paradise, but he found Jesus more than a match for him. He was disappointed in all his schemes, and was obliged to retreat at the prompt command of the Son of God.

2. Jesus, by being thus in all points tempted like as we are, is able also to succour those who are tempted. Sometimes believers are so powerfully harassed and perplexed by the devil, that the torture of mind which they have to endure is indescribable, and they are almost ready to think that no one can properly feel or sympathize; but remember, thou tried one, Jesus can understand thy case, and he will uphold thee. Be not surprised that thou art tempted; if the devil had the impudence to tempt thy Lord, marvel not that he takes the same liberty with thee, and be not alarmed at the temptation, however foul and abominable it may be, for the vilest insinuations that ever the devil was capable of suggesting were presented to the spotless mind of Christ; therefore temptation is not sin.

3. From the conduct of Jesus in the wilderness we learn the best method of resisting the devil. Now Jesus could have confounded, and at once dismissed the devil, by the exertion of his own omnipotent power; but he entered into actual and fair combat with the enemy, to show us the effi

cacy of "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Reason not with the devil, neither softly cringe before him, but attack him at once with-" Thus it is written."

THE TRIED ONE.

GEN. xxii, 12.

For now I know that thou fearest God.

Of all the characters that adorn the pages of the Old Testament, the patriarch Abraham is the most remarkable. His history is exceedingly interesting, whether we consider him as a saint of the Most High, as the head of the Jewish nation, or as the father of the faithful, both Jews and Gentiles.

It is a peculiar excellency in sacred biography, that the lives and transactions of persons are narrated in the most simple style, without any garnish or embellishment, and that every circumstance is inserted just as it occurred,—imperfections as well as excellencies are recorded with scrupulous exactness.

Hence, in the life of this good man we find instances in which he acted with somewhat of prevarication in the denial of his wife, first in Egypt, chap. xii, 14, &c.; and afterwards in Gerar, chap. xx. Although this conduct was by no means justifiable, yet it is certainly some extenuation of the crime, when we consider that it did not arise from any worse principle than that of excessive conjugal affection.

Few men have had to pass through more changes, or have been more exposed to trials, than this man of God; but in the midst of all the vicissitudes which he experienced, he seems always to have had the fear of God before his eyes, and in all his actions to have manifested something of real active piety.

It is therefore no wonder that he had so many sensible tokens of the Divine favour, and that he enjoyed such familiar intercourse with God. He is dignified with the appellation of the friend of God; he is held up as a worthy example for the imitation of the pious; and he is spoken of in the most honourable terms by the inspired writers of

the Old and New Testaments, and by Him who "spake as never man spake."

But piety does not exempt good men from suffering. Abraham had his troubles. Not only had he to suffer, in common with others, from the world, the flesh and the devil, but it pleased the Lord to call him to endure great trials, that he might give full proof of his fidelity and sincerity.

Amongst these may be reckoned that ever-memorable circumstance of his being called to offer up his son Isaac, on which occasion he gave such a proof of strong faith, prompt obedience and perfect resignation, as drew from the angel of the Lord this high encomium: "For now I know that thou fearest God."

Although the offering up of Isaac was the strongest evidence that Abraham gave that he feared God, it was not the only one. Let us then enumerate some of the instances in which he exhibited such evidences in his conduct towards God, his family and the world.

1. In his conduct towards God. It is very clear that Abraham feared God, from the manner in which he walked before him. In the midst of the general idolatry and wickedness of the age in which he lived, he worshipped the one true God. As a burning and shining light in the world, he appears to have always acted as in the presence of God, and to have shown by his conduct the solemn sense he had of the Divine perfections, and his exalted notions of the glory and majesty of Jehovah. In consequence of his distinguished piety, the Lord blessed Abraham and honoured him; he gave him favour in the sight of the people, and acknowledged him to be his servant. And the patriarch appears always to have seen the providence of God in his prosperity, and to have marked the Divine goodness with peculiar feeling and gratitude; hence, never does he receive any tokens of the loving-kindness of his Maker, either in temporal or spiritual concerns, but he builds an altar unto the Lord, and calls upon his name. Oh, Abraham! how does thy conduct speak to the disgrace of those who, notwithstanding they live under a superior dispensation, and enjoy greater privileges, never raise one grateful song to heaven, nor call upon the name of the Lord.

2. But his religion did not consist in a mere perform