by the criminal solicitations of a maddening woman, did not God rescue him from the imminent danger, and exalt him to the highest pitch of glory I [1] Did he not preserve Susannah, when beset by the ministers of Satan, and on the point of being made the victim of an iniquitous sentence? Nor should the divine interposition in her behalf excite our surprise; " her heart," says the Prophet, " trusted in God." [2] How exalted the praise, how great the glory of Job, who triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the devil! There are on record many similar examples, to which the pastor should refer, in order to exhort with earnestness his pious hearers to this hope and confidence.
The faithful should also reflect under whose standard they fight against the temptations of the enemy: they should consider that their leader is no less a person than Christ the Lord, who won the laurels of victory in the same combat. He over came the devil: he is that "stronger man" mentioned in the Gospel, who, " coming upon the strong armed man," over came him, deprived him of his arms, and stripped him of his spoils. Of his victory over the world, we read in St. John: " Have confidence: I have overcome the world:" [3] in the Apocalypse, he is called " the conquering lion;" and it is said that, " conquering, he went forth to conquer:" [4] and by his victory he has given power to others to conquer. The Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews abounds with the victories of holy men, " who by faith conquered kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions." [5] Whilst we read of such achievements, we should also take into account the victories which are every day won by men eminent for faith, hope, and charity, in their domestic and exterior conflicts with the devil; victories so numerous and so signal, that, were we spectators of them, we should deem no event of more frequent occurrence, none of more glorious issue. Of the discomfiture of the wicked one, St. John says, " I write unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you have overcome the wicked one." [6] We must, however, recollect that Satan is overcome not by Note, indolence, sleep, wine, revelling, or lust; but by prayer, labour, watching, fasting, continence, and chastity: "Watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation," [7] is, as we have already said, the admonition of our Lord. They who make use of these weapons in the conflict are sure to put the enemy to flight: " From them who resist the devil," says St. James, "he will fly." [8]
In these victories, however, which are achieved by holy men, let no one indulge feelings of self-complacency, nor flatter himself that, by his own single unassisted exertions, he is able to withstand the hostile assaults of the devil. This is not within the power of human nature, nor within the competency of
