taunt, "Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." Here, then, you may say with Job, v. 19, "He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil come nigh thee."

The first terror is then, when the eyes of the soul are opened, and it feels that it stands naked, and is made manifest in the sight of the whole creation, together with all the shame of its actions and ill-spent life. And here even that soul which was the best and most honourable in the world, is now found to be vile, foul, and full of shame, and finds no hiding-place or refuge where it can cover itself. For the soul, as it were, now goes out of its former coverings, and is stripped of all corporal creatures, which were, before, its coverings and garments; and it is compelled to see, and permit to be seen, all the secrets of its shame. Here it is that the ungodly, trying to hold fast this their covering, and feeling a dreadful aversion to being thus exposed naked, and yet, not being able to stand against the almighty hand that strips them, cry out, 'Ye mountains, fall on us, and, ye rocks, cover us.' Here it is that they know what it is that is said, 'All see me.' For, "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops."

The second terror is, 'when all these things laugh you to scorn:' for they not only do not cover the soul in this state, but deride it. Not that the good creatures of God do deride the soul in reality: but they all seem to the wicked, while they are in this state, to be laughing at them, deriding them, and forsaking them: and they seem also not to be pitied of God, but to be derided even by him also. As we have it, Matthew xxv. in the wise virgins, who laughed at the foolish ones, when they said, "Lest there be not enough for us and for you: but go ye rather unto them that sell, and buy for yourselves." For when the soul is covered with shame on account of its evil deeds and ungodly life, every sight of

every creature that is seen will seem to have a voice in it reproaching the person and upbraiding him for his wicked life, and deriding him for his folly, in not doing otherwise, and not doing better while his life was granted him. Thus, comparing the goodness of all creatures with his own iniquity and ungodliness, he stands as a shame-covered object of derision in the midst of them all: even as the Jews had Christ in the midst of them as a most wicked and impious wretch, as if they themselves were righteous; holding him in derision in the sight of all. And the devils especially here busy themselves, and weary the soul with the most terrible cogitations.

The third terror (if these two are not enough, and if the soul is strong in faith, and is able to overcome them in a measure,) advances to greater lengths, and begins to carry on the siege with the most alarming terrors of the scriptures. None but the most threatening and terrible portions are brought forth, together with the most awful examples of divine wrath. Such words as these are set before the soul, "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment." ' Evil shall hurt the wicked man to his destruction.' And again, "Wo unto you, hypocrites." And all those other words and examples which are pointed at the wicked. And when these words are thus injected into the soul, it is an easy matter (and is always the case) for the natural infirmity and scrupulousness of each man's own conscience to fall in with them, and say, 'Thou art just such an one.'-And this is what David here says, "They shoot out their lips."

The fourth terror is, when they move the head;' that is, if the soul strives to support itself with the consolation of the Gospel of Christ, who is the head of all, against the violence of the angry and killing law, and its darts maliciously and wrongly pointed by Satan, Satan here moves this head, and renders it doubtful and uncertain. For although the lips and heads of the impious Jews were evil, yet they do not unappropriately represent to us the use and manner of a thing that is good: for both things, the law and the Gospel, are good works of God, though they are badly and pervertedly used by the wicked. So that the good law and the good Gospel may both be handled and forced upon us badly and pervertedly by devils, and especially_in this last hour, in which they would have nothing salutary or sound left to the miserable soul.

The fifth terror is when the soul thinks within itself thus, that Christ does nothing but that which God has 'ordained that he should do: and therefore, it always hears that scripture sounding in its ears, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." And also this, "It is not good to take the children's meat and to cast it to the dogs." Hereby Christ is denied to be the head, and the hope is fixed in God alone, (or absolutely,) that he would cause Christ to be given. And here the matter is carried on without a Mediator, and there is a disputing about the good-pleasure and the will of God, to which Christ always refers himself, saying, 'And he that created me, has rested in my tabernacle. And he hath said unto me, Dwell thou in Jacob, and have thine inheritance in Israel, and send down thy roots among mine elect.' Here, therefore, it is concluded, that Christ is the head only to the elect, and that by the immutable decree of God: and here the soul is brought to that highest of all perils, predestination. And this is what is intended by the words which are here represented as said in the tauntings of the adversaries, "He trusted in God that he would deliver him." As if they had said to the poor soul, 'That Christ is not thine thou plainly seest, because thou art forsaken, and art in doubt, whether God accounts thee among the number of the elect, to whom Christ is the head, or not.' And from this doubt the soul is driven into that last evil which now follows.

The sixth and last evil, then, is, where there is a conclusion arising from the 'doubt' last mentioned, namely, the soul concludes now, that he is not predestinated unto salvation. And as by the preceding terror the gates of hell were opened, and a taste of hell was felt; so in this last evil and peril the soul seems to be wholly thrust into and swallowed up of hell, and the pit seems to shut its mouth upon it, and it seems as if it were almost fixed as an inhabitant of hell. And this feeling the terrors and demons produce when they say, "Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." For they do not simply say, "Seeing he delighted," (or ' willed,' as the Hebrew is ;) they do not simply say, seeing 'he can,' or 'he knows how;' nor do they only say, 'seeing he wills,' but they add, "seeing he wills him." Now here, no one doubts that God 'can' save, 'knows' how to save, and 'wills' to save; but the question to the soul is, whether he 'wills' to save him. Here, therefore, the adversaries raise the doubt, and try to make him think that all hopes are vain. Here he is reckoned among the wicked sons of perdition; nor does the miserable soul itself feel any thing else but that it is really so. Here these blasphemies, and murmurings, and cursings, are almost within the very gates of hell; and God begins to be considered unjust, savage, and cruel; and all those other things which accompany such thoughts.

What then shall the soul do that feels itself overwhelmed and close bound in these straits? - Before all things, let it take heed that it dispute not with devils and evil cogitations concerning all these things: let it give no answer, but remain dumb to all these things which are objected to it, and suffer them to pass by: as the Hebrew saints did, Dan. iii. For when the king of Babylon said, Dan. iii. 15, "And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" they answered, "We are not careful, O king, to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods," &c.

And so here, also, Christ is wholly silent, and does not answer a syllable to all these blasphemies, for an example unto us that we should do the same: for we shall overcome these evils in no other way than that in which Christ overcame them. Though it is a hard thing to keep silence and to remain wholly quiet, and permit all these most irritating and most bitter suggestions and sayings to pass by: but still, as there is no other way in which it can be accomplished, we must labour hard to do it, and listen to that word of Isaiah vii. 4, "Take heed and be quiet." And Isaiah xxx. 15, " In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." And Lam. iii. 26, "It is good that a man should quietly wait for the salvation of God. He sitteth alone, and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there might be hope." For this silence, which is so salutary to the soul, Satan cannot in any way endure, and this it is that he endeavours to disturb by all manner of torment. Let the one thus tempted, therefore, never lose sight of this example of silence given us by Christ.

And then, let him fight with faith against faith. For as faith acts upon things not seen, and is the substance of things hoped for; here we have need of faith only, and that faith which enables the man to believe, that God does, and will do, with him every thing that is most just, whether he be saved, or whether he be lost.And here it is, that the glory and praise of God remain in our mouth, while we ascribe unto God nothing but righteousness in all his will, even though human sense and reason, and the persuasion of devils, powerfully drive us into the contrary. And, it is impossible that he should perish, who thus ascribes glory to God and justifies him in all his work and all his will: as it is said, 1 Sam. ii. "Him that honoureth me, I will glorify," &c.

Ver. 9.-But thou art he that took me out of the belly: my hope from my mother's breasts.

Ver. 10. I was cast upon thee from the womb; thou art my God from my mother's belly.

Here the tribulation begins to grow lighter, and hope inclines towards victory; a support, though small, and sought out with deep anxiety, is now found. For after he had felt that he suffered without any parallel or