Sixthly, to consider the instruments used in this mischief, and the quality of them. The instruments of the churl are evil. The instruments of a good minister are,

First, the shepherd's crook; commission, power, and authority, from Christ, and the arm of the Lord attending the shepherd in his work; which serves to catch and hold fast the lost sheep of the house of Israel; and to take hold of and bring back strayed ones which are gone from the fold.

Secondly, a wholesome tongue seasoned with salt, which serves to communicate the words of grace: which tongue is a member of the body, and in the Lord's service; it is an instrument of righteousness.

Thirdly, the weapons of our warfare, or spiritual instruments of war; such as the helmet of a good hope, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the breastplate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, &c. &c.

Fourthly, a set of warm, zealous, lively members of the church; who are sound in faith, of a sound mind, and sound in the truth; who win others by their good conversation in Christ, hold forth the word of life, are instrumental in bringing sinners to the knowledge of the truth.

But the instruments of this churl are evil. He was never converted to God, never born of God, nor commissioned or authorised by God. It was pride that puffed him up into the pulpit; and the father of lies furnishes him for it, and keeps

him at it. He divines by a lying spirit; and holds his goats in the bands that hold him, namely, the cords of his sins. An arrogated office, an assumed authority, the influence of a spirit of deception, and his artful bonds of classes and bands, are the instruments of this foolish shepherd, Zech. xi. 15, by which he rules. The joints and bands that hold Christ's body together, and all the body to the covenant head, are spiritual, and not carnal, and such bands as this vile speaker absolutely denies. His evil tongue is the sharp razor by which he works deceitfully; or, as my text says, with which he speaks villany, and utters error against the Lord. The instruments, or weapons, of his warfare are, first, a brazen brow; that is the helmet of this hypocrite. Selfrighteousness, and a seared conscience, are his breastplate; confidence in the flesh is his shield, and the bond of iniquity his girdle. His deceitful tongue is his bent bow for lies; and his vile speeches, or bitter words against God, are his arrows. The last sort of tools, or instruments, are such as are under the same spirit of deception; who are armed with prejudice against the truths of God; who will see with no other eyes but his; and who will sacrifice both conscience and common sense, rather than incur the displeasure of this anointed bramble, who is to be the only shadow of all the trees in Shechem. Which leads me,

Seventhly, to consider the end he aims at.

It is the ruin of the just, even against their own testimony; or, as my text says, to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. Hence we may see, that uttering error against the Lord, speaking villany, and lying words, are the ruin and destruction of souls. "The leaders of this people," says God, (6 cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed." Such are led to make lies their refuge, to take shelter under a misrepresented God; who, as they say, is no Sovereign; who is mutable, and changes according to the lazy or working frame of the fallen creature; who chooses and refuses the sinner, according to the worthiness or worthlessness of him; who is so fickle in his love, as that he may be in his favour to-day, and be drowned in perdition to-morrow; who can save from hell without full satisfaction made to offended Justice; and who can justify a man by an imperfect obedience. Thus he thinks God is just such an one as himself; and under such deceptive conceptions of the Most High he takes his refuge.

Christ is falsely represented; as, that satisfac-` tion made to Justice, by his sacrifice, is not an eternal security from vindictive wrath; that his active obedience, which he calls nonsense, is useless and needless, and can justify none; that his Spirit wants a co-worker; and that his omnipotent hand is not a safe and an eternal hold. Thus, by setting forth a false Christ, whose satisfaction is invalid, whose righteousness is useless, whose

grave is insufficient, who is mutable in his mind, changeable in his will, weak in his government, wavering in his counsel, and fickle in his love, he hides himself under falsehood; and, by exalting fallen man, he brings the sinner to trust in another lie. "Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie." In exalting the freedom of man's will, the sufficiency of his own obedience, the power of his own arm, his capability of attaining to perfection, and making his salvation to depend on, and his standing to consist in, certain conditions, which were never contained in the scriptures of truth, and which in the gospel he could never point out, this is his attempting to destroy the poor with lying words: which shews us, that forgers of doctrinal lies, those who trust in a lie, and all who make lies their refuge, and who under falsehood hide themselves, are, as well as the Pharisees of old, of their father the devil, and will perish in their own deceivings. For into the heavenly Jerusalem shall nothing enter that loveth and maketh a lie; yea, all sorcerers, whoremongers, and liars, shall have their portion in the lake of fire. These are some of his wicked devices,

To destroy the poor with lying words. The spiritually poor are such as cannot pay their own debts, and so fly to the surety; who can have no confidence in the flesh, nor find a home in themselves, and so embrace the rock, for want of a shelter; who cannot work out a righteousness of

their own, and so fly to and so fly to grace, and the gift of righteousness, Rom. v. 17; who are humbled to beg the bread of life at mercy's door; and who live dependent on the gracious bounty of their God for every supply, who of his unmerited goodness has provided for the poor. These are the poor persons that he aims to destroy with lying words, even against their true testimony; or, as my text says, even when the needy speaketh right. The needy are such as depend on the Lord for wisdom, strength, and direction; for supporting, quickening, comforting grace; and for every promised supply of help and strength, to enable them to live to God, to discharge every duty, and to perform every good work. This serves to shew us, that such are not trusted with a stock in hand, nor left to stand or fall by the improvement of their own talents.

These needy ones speak right, when they tell others what God has done for them, revealed to them, and wrought in them; and so contradict his lying words by their own testimony. They speak right, when they tell such vile persons that God never sent them; that they are deceivers, and are deceiving themselves and others; and that they are trying to starve or destroy God's poor and needy. And they speak right, when they call for, and demand, the sincere milk of the word, the pure bread of life, the wholesome truths of the gospel, and to be fed with knowledge and understanding. And if he does not, cannot feed the