there here who are opposed to the truth-who hate serious preaching! Why? You are taken captive. How many of you are taken up with a creature, that shuts out all the glories of eternity!

Without heart: "Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart." Hos. vii. 11. How many of you have no heart for Christ! You see no beauty in him- -"no form nor comeliness that you should desire him." No heart for prayer. You do not love it—you turn away from it with loathing. No heart for holiness-for the pleasures of God, and of heaven. You have a feeling of nausea at the very thought of them.

Such Jesus invites-welcomes-presses to close with him. True, Jesus invites his own: "I love them that love me"-" Come, my people, enter into thy chambers"-"O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock." True, Jesus invites those who have a sense of sin; "Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."-" Ho, every one that thirsteth"

"I will give to him that is athirst." Yet it is as true that Jesus here invites simple ones-those that have no heart for divine things. Ah, brethren! many of you are like Gallio, "who cared for none of these things." You have no heart for preaching or praying-no heart for Christ and the eternal world. All your heart is taken up about this world--about your lusts and pleasures. Ah, silly doves! Jesus calls for you, and does not wish you to perish. You may perish-you may sink into your grave-but it will be with the voice of Jesus ringing in your ear: "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"

IV. The invitation.

1. Forsake the foolish, and live. If ever you are to be saved, you must forsake the foolish. Solomon tells you plainly, “A companion of fools shall be destroyed."-Prov. xiii. 20. Hear what David said: "Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for God hath heard the voice of my weeping."-Ps. vi. 8. Even though they should be those of your own household, yet God's command is clear: "Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house."-Ps. xlv. 10. "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me." Ah! how many poor souls have been carried away captive, and led down to hell, all through foolish companions? Forsake the foolish, and live. You say you cannot. Why? Are they more precious than salvation ? If you will be the friend of the world, you must be the enemy of God. 2. Come, eat of my bread. This is explained in John vi. 53: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." You must personally close with Christ, and live upon him as one who eats and drinks, when hungry, really enjoys the feast. It is not the man who hears of a feast, or sees it, but he that sits down and eats and drinks-he alone

enjoys it. So those only who close with Christ—who take him as their righteousness, and feed upon him as their strength and daily life--are saved through him.

Improvement.

1. Amazing love! that calls you to a feast, and not to hell. 2. Those of you that do not care, are the very persons called. 3. If you do not obey his call, you will soon be in the very depths of hell.

LECTURE XIV.

FOLLY'S HOUSE.

"A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call passengers who go right on their ways, Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither; and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.”—Prov. ix. 13–18.

In our last lecture from this chapter, we saw that Wisdom is the Lord Jesus Christ, that he has builded a house, and prepared a feast, and that he is inviting poor simple sinners to turn in to him and be saved. We now come to the opposite side of the picture. Another woman, but O how different! sits at the door of her house, and cries to the same passengers. She invites them to turn in and partake of "stolen waters, and bread eaten in secret." But, ah! "her guests are in the depths of hell." I have little doubt that this second woman represents the devil, the great enemy of God and man.

I. The name and character: "A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing." This is the name and character of Satan: "Foolish, simple, knowing nothing." Satan was once one of the brightest spirits that stood before the throne of God. He is called Lucifer, son of the morning: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!"-Isa. xiv. 12. There is reason to think that of all the creatures, he was the likest to the Son of God. All the fallen angels were like morning stars, and Satan was the brightest of them all. When they fell, these bright spirits were darkened-they lost the Holy Spirit. They still remain full of amazing powers and faculties; but all distorted now. Satan himself has lost all his true wisdom. He is very crafty still, full of cunning and lies, but he has no wisdom. He has no true knowledge or understanding. His name is Folly -he is simple, and knoweth nothing.

I shall give three examples of his folly:

1. In the fall of man. It was Satan who brought about the fall. He beguiled Eve through his subtlety. He wanted to destroy the glory of God. He wanted to rob God of the praise and glory which a holy world would have given him, and he thought he had succeeded. He smiled when he saw man fall under God's wrath and curse. But it proved the occasion of far greater glory to God than if man had stood. It proved the occasion of God manifesting his justice, his truth, his grace and love, in quite a new manner; so that God gets far more glory and far louder praise than if man had never fallen. The songs of the redeemed would never have been heard if man had not fallen. Satan thus showed his folly-he is simple, and knoweth nothing.

He wanted to make man miserable. He envied the happiness of Adam and Eve; when he saw poor dust and ashes rejoicing in the love of God, out of which he had been cast, he envied them and resolved to make them miserable. He said: "Ye shall be as gods;" but he meant it as a lie, and so he deceived them, and brought the world under the curse of God. But God turned it into a blessing to them that are saved. It was the occasion of God sending his Son in our nature, and of our becoming united to Christ, clothed with a divine righteousness, and loved with the same love with which God loves his Son. We did indeed become as gods in a sense which Satan knew nothing of. We are brought far nearer to God, and are far more happy and glorious, than if man had never fallen. He wanted to make man his slave. He wanted to make him his drudge, to do his bidding-his captive, that he might torment him. But man by this became his judge: "Know ye not that we shall judge angels ?"

2. In the death of Christ. It was Satan who stirred men up to destroy Christ. He opposed Christ from his birth to his death. He moved the Jews and Gentiles against him. He entered into Judas, and persuaded him to betray Christ. He urged on the crowd to cry, "Crucify him, crucify him;" and the soldiers to pierce his hands and his feet. By all this he destroyed himself. Christ, by his death on the cross, destroyed the dominion of the devil over all his own; and so he triumphed over the devil in his cross. By this Satan was shown to be a fool.

3. In the temptations of the saints. Satan has great enmity against the children of God. He stands at their right hand to resist their conversion. Afterwards he tries to corrupt them from the simplicity that is in Christ. He shoots fiery darts at them. "He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor." -Ps. x. 8. He seeks whom he may devour, and yet he has never been able to destroy one soul that believes in Jesus: "They shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." Their temptations are made the means of keeping them

in the dust, and clinging tremblingly to the arm of Jesus-thus Satan is cheated of his prey. Oh, surely ye are witnesses that Satan is simple, and knoweth nothing.

II. Those whom Satan invites.

1. Simple ones, and without heart. The same persons mentioned in verse 4. I showed you that Christ is caring for those that do not care for him-those who do not know their dangerthose who are like Ephraim, a silly dove without heart-those who have no heart for Christ, no heart for holiness-no heart for prayer-Gallios, who care for none of these things. It is a solemn and affecting truth, that Christ is not only loving them that love him, and seeking those who are seeking him, but he is yearning over those of you who are so much lost that you do not seek him-do not care for him. "He is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Perhaps some may say, Oh, this is very comfortable doctrine, and we shall remain in our present condition. Ah! but observe, there is another seeking you, saying, “Turn in hither." The foolish clamorous woman sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, crying, "Whoso is simple, turn in hither." Yes, my brethren, Satan desires to have you, that he may sift you like wheat. Satan is striving to keep you living in your sins, till the day of grace is past and the day of reckoning has come. Every tavern you see is an open mouth of Satan's dwelling. Every haunt of pleasure-the theatre -the dancing-room-the card-table-these are open doors into Satan's dwelling, and he is busy inviting you in. 2. Passengers who go right on their ways. against whom Satan is so angry, or whom he so lead aside, as those who go right on their ways. awakened, and goes right on towards Jesus, must I do to be saved?" then Satan begins to allure that man, and get him to turn quickly out of the way. When God spoke the commandments, Israel began to seek the Lord in right earnest. But Satan allured them to turn aside and make the golden calf: They turned quickly out of the way." So with Lot's wife.

66

There are none much desires to When a man is crying, "What

When a soul has come to Christ, and goes on his way rejoicing, Folly redoubles her cry, "Turn in hither." Satan loves well to get a joyful believer to fall. "Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat." Ah! do not say, I am on the right way, and therefore I am safe; Satan cries to passengers who go right on their ways.

III. The invitation: "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."

The pleasures of secret sin form the baits by which Satan alures and destroys thousands. It is not open sin that he first in

vites to. Many would shrink back if he were to propose open sin all at once. He does not say, Come and be a drunkardCome and be an open profligate ; but he invites you to secret sin. This is the way he destroys simple ones, who are without understanding. He says, Come and take a little secret sin; no one shall ever know. He does not allow you to remember that no sin is secret--that what you do in dark places is all naked and open to the eye of Him with whom you have to do—that the lusts and unclean imaginations in which you delight yourself are all open as day before the eye of God. He says, They are sweet and pleasant; but he does not tell you that at the end it biteth like an adder. He does not tell you that the end of these things is death.

This is the way he calls those who are under concern, going right on to Christ. Stop, he cries; "Stolen waters are sweet." Are you going to leave all your pleasures-the glass, the dance, the song, the game, the pleasant companion? May you not take a little secret sin, and be saved too? You do not need to let it be known. Do it secretly, Ah, how many here have been thus turned quickly out of the way!

This is the way he calls those who are Christ's own, going right on the way of holiness. He invites to secret sin. A skilful fisher lets his fly fall gently on the stream; if he show the line or make the line splash the water, the fish are alarmed, and the bait is thrown in vain. But he lets it fall gently and secretly upon the stream; the sharp-barbed hook is concealed beneath the shining fly, and so the silly fish is caught. So when Satan catches men, he does not show the hook. He says, Take a little secret sin; do it so that none shall see and none shall know. The poor believer catches at the bait, and feels the iron enter into his soul.

Beware of secret sin. No sin is secret. All is naked and laid open, and all will be made known before an assembled world. Do not say you do not need to fear, for it is but a small temptation. Satan always begins with a small temptation. Take heed of going as far as you can in temptation without committing the sin. Thus fell Noah and Samson, and David and Solomon. "She hath cast down many wounded; yea, many strong men have been slain by her."

IV. The end of Satan's house: "He knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell."

Are there many who hear the voice of Folly? Ah! look to your crowded taverns, teeming with God-defying brawlers-look to your theatres and other haunts of wicked pleasure crowded with shameless worshippers of Satan-look at your crowded steam-boats on the Sabbath, or your crowds of daring Sabbathbreakers that pollute the highway-look to the heaven-defying