went out of them; (again confirming our position as to all evils that befall the human race, proceeding forth from an infernal agency.) Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them that had evil spirits, in the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?-(though Satan and his confederates do not deny themselves the malignant gratification of exercising the power they possess by tormenting mankind; yet they in this, as well as other instances, too well known to require insertion here, do not appear to dispute the high superiority of the power of light.) And the man in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, (attacked them like an infuriated maniac,) so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus ; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. Many also of them which used curious arts, brought their books together, and burned them before all men. And they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver so mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed."

From these very few of the numberless in

stances that might have been stated to prove, that the general sense of holy writ asserts the existence of a subordinate evil agency, we think the truth of the fact is fully demonstrated. Those who will not believe in the subordinate agency of the power of darkness, are in danger of rejecting Scripture altogether; as the recital it contains is one continual series in detail of an unequal contest betwixt the widely contrasted powers of light and darkness, of God and Belial, of good and evil. But though Omniscience in his boundless wisdom, has permitted the existence of this unequal conflict, his holy word abounds with declarations of his approval of the first, and his abhorrence of the latter.

In Isaiah ii. 6, the anger of the Lord is denounced against soothsayers that are like unto the Philistines. Again, (xliv. 24, 25,) “Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad;" (suffereth their seducer thus grievously to afflict them.) Again, (xlvii. 11 -13,) "Therefore shall evil come upon thee; stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these

things that God will bring upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame." "Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, for they prophesy a lie unto you." (Jer. xxvii. 9.) Again, (xxix. 8,) "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed; for they prophesy falsely unto you in my name : I have not sent them, saith the Lord."

We read in the third chapter of the prophet Zechariah, of Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. "And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee." In the Book of Wisdom it is said, (xvii. 7,) "As for the illusions of art magic, they were put down, and their vaunting in wisdom was reproved with disgrace." In Ecclesiasticus, (xi. 31,) it is remarked, that the heart of the proud is like a spy, watching for thy fall. "For he lieth in wait, and turneth good into evil; and in things worthy of praise will lay blame upon thee." And we know who he was, whose pride was his condemnation, and still continues the instigator of it. The various artifices practised against us by our infernal adversary, and the various temptations by which he seeks to effect our eternal ruin, we know are only permitted for our ultimate good,

and merely serve to constitute our transitory trials: "Before man is life and death, and whether him liketh shall be given him." (xv. 17.) "Good is set against evil, and life against death." (xxxiii. 14.) "So look upon all the works of the Most High, and there are two and two, one against another." (15.)

And the task assigned us by our divine Instructor, is to overcome evil by good; and this he has done himself in an infinite extent. Subsequent to the irresistible miraculous attestation given to the truth of Scripture by the illustrious fulfilment of the prophetic denunciations pronounced against the Jews, there is good reason to believe that the evidence supplied by miracles was utterly withdrawn. We read of no well authenticated ones later than the conclusion of the two first ages.

Dr. Douglas observes, "That the age of Christian miracles must have ceased with the age of Christian inspiration. For so long as heaven thought proper to set apart any particular set of men to be authorised preachers of the new religion revealed to mankind, so long may we rest satisfied miraculous powers were continued. But whenever this purpose was answered, and inspiration ceased to be any longer necessary, by the complete publication of the gospel, then would the miraculous powers, whose end was to prove the truth of inspiration, be of course withdrawn."* And these are amply now supplied,

VOL. III.

* Douglas' Criteria, pp. 403, 404.

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by the miraculous evidence (we think it may be justly denominated) of fulfilled prophecy; as nothing short of a divine interference could have effected the accomplishment of the predictions we behold. And when the miraculous attestations vouchsafed by heaven to prove the truth of the assertions imparted to mankind by the power of light were no longer manifested, there can be no doubt but that the permissions granted to the power of darkness were likewise discontinued, as it would be utterly inconsistent with the goodness and wisdom of the great supreme Governor of the universe to suppose, that Satan's kingdom would be supported by the performance of wonders, which were no longer opposed by the superior power of the kingdom of light.

There is, however, reason to suspect, that previous to the final destruction of our world, the allowances formerly granted to the power of darkness may be for a short space restored. Should the Israelites become all converts to the Christian dispensation, and be again reinstated in the country they forfeited by transgression, the evidences to the truth of the Christian religion would indeed blaze bright; the Jews would then become the riches of the world; a very glorious epoch would consequently ensue, and Christianity be probably adorned by a conduct correspondent to its precepts, by its myriads of professors. This, it appears most likely, is the period wherein it is foretold that the great hellish chieftain will be held in chains for one thousand of our years, and not be permitted to disturb the