God, must necessarily expose the soul to the deadly machinations of Satan, which are always presented in whatever form they are likely to be most successful, whether to Israel as "familiar spirits," or in all the subtle forms which he takes in Christendom, and hence the bare inclination should be feared and earnestly depre cated, for where such inclination is yielded to, in the smallest point, there is always a liability to be led away by the deceivableness of unrighteousness.

And now, ere we pass from the Old Testament record, let us turn to Dan. ii. There we find one who had been invested with supreme power over men troubled in spirit, because of a dream from God which he cannot recall; nor can all the astrologers and wise men of Babylon give him the required aid. What a picture! Here was a man to whom the God of Heaven had given a kingdom, power, strength, and glory, and "wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of Heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all," not only troubled, but resourceless, at his wit's end; and, finding all the supernatural aid to which he had resorted incompetent, he being very furious, commanded all the wise men to be destroyed, as they were unable to supply him with what he demanded, his troubled soul tramples all their pretensions under foot. What a warning to us of the insufficiency, nay of the mocking fruitlessness of man's power, and of all other resources within the reach of man, when the question is to know or learn the purposes of God! One can hardly conceive anything more humiliating than the state of Nebuchadnezzar at this moment. What is the use of extensive power and resources, if they will not reach to the very point where I want them most? What a commentary on the poverty of all power, immense and unlimited as his was; or of all means of acquiring knowledge within the reach of man! Can any man expect to have more at his command than had Nebuchadnezzar; and now see to what a state he is reduced, when that which he requires and seeks is even the least part of the mind of God. God sent the dream, and withheld from the king the remembrance of it, on

purpose to testify to this great universal autocrat, that all his power, and all the wisdom at his command, was less than nothing, in regard to aught that had to do with God, and that a eunuch in his palace who knew God's mind was greater than he. How blessed to see how such a knowledge sets the possessor of it in easy superiority to every human eminence, ability, or resource. This was the testimony here. This was the great truth needed for the day of Nebuchadnezzar, and of Daniel; and if, in the time of the noviciate of Gentile power, the head of gold passed through this deep humiliating conviction of resourcelessness, and found no refuge or relief, but in the counsel of God, from the lips of God's servant, how much more (now that the image is well nigh completed, and preparing for its doom) does it become us, who are in the fourth empire (the feet of iron and clay where the assumption of man has increased a a hundred-fold), to estimate and proclaim all human bower, ability, resource or learning, as not to be iccounted of, yea as dust in the balance, in comparison to the word of God now fully revealed. The Suprenacy and Omnipotency of God's word is our testimony ven as it was Daniel's; and the more dark and trying he moment becomes, the more may the practical disress of Nebuchadnezzar and his only quarter for relief, varn and indicate to us, where our succour and safety an alone be found.

We now pass on to Matthew ii., where we shall find type another instance of the insufficiency and incometency of human wisdom or scientific discovery, howver well directed, for the interpretation of any of God's ays. The Magi, having seen the Star in the East, onclude that the king of the Jews is born, and come p to Jerusalem to worship Him. Now this star I gard as the creational testimony, valuable as far as it ent; and it is well and happy for the wise men to have oticed and attended to it. But beyond a certain point could not conduct them. Arrived at Jerusalem, they e entirely at sea, as to where to turn for the object of eir search; nor could they have proceeded further, d they not learned from the Divine Record, where the

new-born King was to be found. True, human wisdom might have led them to notice the star, which, as the testimony for God in creation, might have raised their expectations as to a glorious one of whom creation itself stood in need; but neither would have led them to Bethlehem, which then contained, in the person of the lowly Babe, all that God was for man, and all that man needed in his relation to God, unless they had heeded the word, from which was announced to them the birth-place of the expected King. The very best motives of mere human wisdom, the most attentive observance of the signs of nature will, when man reaches that point, where God's counsel can alone direct him, confuse rather than guide; for all its information ends in nothing as to the real point which he wants to know. The Magi might have been wandering for ever through Palestine, had not the actual place been communicated to them from Scripture; and, what is more, they, with all their wisdom would have been taken in Herod's trap, for he intended to make use of their information, in order to kill Christ, but for the intervention of God; all this remarkably confirming what I have advanced, that man's wisdom, however true or well disposed, is ever inadequate for any difficulty which has relation to God, and that the creational testimony, however it may set its seal to the word; for after the Magi had accepted the word as their 'guide, the Star, we read, came and stood over where the young child was," it is, nevertheless, apart from the Divine word, of no practical use to man.

I now pass rapidly on through several passages in the Acts, which serve the subject of our inquiry, and shew how the power of Satan in its different forms was met and repelled by the Apostles in the power of the Holy Ghost. In Acts viii., Simon is an example of the natural character and ambition of men who seek to be reputed for their wisdom and acquirements, full of their own glory and distinction. Peter meets his advances with the sternest opposition, and pronounces the conclusion which we may reiterate on all such-"thy heart is not right in the sight of God."

Again in chap. xiii. 6, we have Elymas the sorcerer

ho withstood Paul and Barnabas, seeking to turn the oman deputy from the faith. This man, a Jewish cerer, I consider as a type of the evil to which the ntile is exposed; and Saul, here named Paul as indicago his Gentile connexion (for Paul is Latin and Saul ebrew), encounters this form of Satanic evil, by deuncing its exponent as "full of all subtlety and schief, child of the devil, enemy of all righteousss, ceasing not to pervert the right ways of the Lord," passing the sentence of blindness on him. Again chap. xvi. 16, &c., we find a spirit of divination actually ring testimony to the truth in proclaiming Paul and as servants of the Most High God, which shew unto the way of salvation." Now this case, and the way met by the Apostle, shews us that, in order to judge ple as God judges them, we must see them as He sees If Paul had looked at this damsel with the it of divination, with a natural mind, how justly he ht have argued, that she would be of great use to the th, and would serve his purpose. What could there be nd objectionable in her words? But no! He looked her with the eye of God, and discerned that the enemy there; and therefore he exorcised the unclean spirit, ugh this exposed himself and his work, to all the rage and ence of him whose malice we must endure, if we se to accept his countenance. All the rancour and ence, however, only brought him in contact with the that he was sent to Philippi to bless. And how trihantly does the end justify him in refusing the testimony nother spirit, however commendable its terms; h

m.

refuses Satan's aid will expose himself to Satan's ity; but "he that is for us, is greater than he that gainst us." And, in the long run, we shall be more conquerors, as Paul was in the self-same Philippi. We now pass to the Epistle to Timothy, which is the pivot of our subject, and that on which I desire that hat I have sought to glean from other Scripture may rought to bear; for there, the " latter days" and "the days" are described; and we shall find that, though n may have changed his garb, he has not changed character; and, moreover, that the weapons of our

warfare are those which the true servant has ever used in the day of difficulty. In the 1st Epistle, chap. iv., the servant of God is informed, that in the "latter times," or times preceding those which we shall consider in the 2nd Epistle, there would be some who would apostatize from the faith, "giving their mind to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons" (see New Translation). From this intimation we learn, that it is professing Christians who yield themselves to these strange and evil influences; so that we are to look for the verification of this prophecy among those who seek to be leaders and appointed teachers of Christianity. Thus, previous to the "last days" of 2 Tim. iii., the door of the MIND of the teachers and leaders has been opened to "deceiving spirits and teachings of demons." And all this with a great ostentation of devotionalism which wins the reverence and admiration of the mass - the consummation desired. We sometimes may not be able to detect s man's aim, when he is only working it out; but when he has attained it, we may review and mark the many unsuspected modes and means by which he has effected it. So, now, we see to very little purpose, if we have not recognized in many glaring examples the fulfilmen of this prophecy.

And now, let us gather up all we have learnt from thes Scriptures on 2 Tim. iii., and see there what will be the most evil or final state of corruption among the teacher: in the House of God; and also, how the servant of Go can be guarded from it, and be a witness against it I think we are given three great characteristics of the corrupt teachers in the "last days"; and I dont suppos that one of these marks without the other two, would correctly define or describe the evil. One is Selfishnessuncontrolled Self. Disobedience to parents only betray: that all the fences of restraint and subjection are brokez down, as far as individual personal rule goes; for ther is nothing here said of political rule or patrioti loyalty. It is simply the rein given to man's own min. and will in his private individual capacity as a mas He assumes to be personally independent. The nex characteristic is, having the form of piety; that is, the