{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_58010/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_58010","id":"gutenberg_58010","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58010","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Sermons, English -- 19th century"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1813 R. Thomas edition {0} by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n                   [Picture: Public domain book cover]\n\n\n\n\n\n                                    A\n                           Feast for Serpents,\n\n\n                          BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF\n\n                                A SERMON,\n\n                     Preached at the Obelisk Chapel,\n\n                    On SUNDAY Evening, March 21, 1813,\n\n      Published by Desire\u2014and addressed to all whom it may concern.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                              BY J. CHURCH,\n                         Minister of the Gospel.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n    SAVIOUR.\u2014_Ye Serpents_, _ye Generation of Vipers_.\n\n    HOSEA iv, 8.\u2014_They eat up the Sin of my People_, _and they set their\n    heart on their Iniquity_.\n\n    ISAIAH.\u2014_He feedeth on Ashes_.\n\n    JEREM.\u2014_Against him that bendeth let the Archer lend his Bow_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 LONDON:\n\n             Printed by R. THOMAS, RED LION STREET, Borough.\n\n                                  1813.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\n_TO the Church of Jesus Christ_, _who are loved with an everlasting\nlove_, _chosen in Christ before all worlds_\u2014_redeemed by the blood of the\nLamb_\u2014_and effectually called out of darkness into marvellous light_;\n_led by the providence of God to attend the ministry of so unworthy an\ninstrument as myself_, _to whom God has made my labors useful_, _and\nprofitable for reformation_, _conviction_, _conversion_, _building up_,\n_and spiritual consolation_.  _Having been much tried and perplexed by\nmen of corrupt minds_, _who have long endeavoured to prejudice me_, _with\na view to separate us one from the other_, _but they have hitherto\nfailed_\u2014_having grace given you to continue with me in my temptations_,\n_to abide in the furnace of affliction with me_, _and to stand in the\nevil day_.  _The good hand of God_, _restoring a degree of peace to us_,\n_so that we can pass to our Meeting Place of Worship unmolested_,\u2014_I\nthink it right_, _and that I am in duty bound_ (_though you have not\ndemanded it_) _to make a few general remarks upon the subjects which have\nagitated the public_, _and not a little distressed your minds_.\n\n_I wish you most decidedly to bear in mind thro\u2019 the whole of this\nperformance_, _that I write only for your sakes_\u2014_I write not for the\nworldling_, _whose heart is set on the things of time and sense_, _who_,\nGallio _like_, _cares for none of these things_, _except it be to pass an\nunpleasant sneer at us_.\u2014_I write not for the proud Pharisee_, _or the\nmere Formalist_, _who have a name to live and are dead_\u2014_I write not for\nHypocrites_, _whose end will be according to their work_, _and who are a\nperpetual plague to the Household of Faith_\u2014_Wolves in Sheep\u2019s\ncloathing_, _who cover the vilest principles and conduct with the garb of\napparent holiness_!\u2014_but I write for those who know the plague of the\nheart_; _the vanity of the world_; _the emptiness of the creature_; _the\ndanger of a form of godliness without the power_; _the spirituality of\nGod\u2019s most holy Law_; _the preciousness of a dear Redeemer_; _the power\nof the word_; _the manifestation of the atonement_.  _These characters so\ngraciously taught_, _must be under the influence of divine love_\u2014_the\nremnant that shall not do iniquity_, _nor speak lies_\u2014_neither is a\ndeceitful tongue found in their mouths_; _but they feed on the bread of\neternal life_, _and can not be satisfied without it_.  _To these\nCharacters I dedicate this book_; _and not doubting but it will procure\nme many foes_, _and stir up that carnal enmity which they are the slaves\nof_, _for them I would put up that charitable prayer of our Lord_,\n\u201c_Father forgive them_;\u201d\u2014_and of you I would use the fine language of the\nblessed Apostle_\u2014_And now_, _Brethren_, _I commend you to God_,\n_&c._\u2014_Acts xx_.\n\n\n\n\nA SERMON.\n\n\n           \u201cAND DUST SHALL BE THE SERPENT\u2019S MEAT.\u201d\u2014_Isaiah_ lv, 25.\n\nIT is a most undoubted truth, that, as in the planetary system one star\ndiffers from another in glory, so it is in the Church of God\u2014though the\nelect are loved alike, chosen and provided for alike, and shall all be\npartakers of the same glory in ultimate bliss\u2014the infant who died this\nday, and the mind of the apostle Paul will be alike there; yet, in the\nChurch Militant it is not so.  God the divine Spirit, is a sovereign in\nall his dispensations; and while some of the people of God have scarcely\nbeen known here, but through the solitary lane of life, have pursued the\nnoiseless tenor of their way\u2014treasures hid in the sand\u2014a Sparrow alone\u2014a\nPelican of the Wilderness\u2014and, as finely described by one of our Poets\u2014\n\n    Full many a gem, of purest ray serine,\n       The dark unfathom\u2019d caves of ocean bear:\n    Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,\n       And lose its sweetness in the desert air.\n\nBut though this is the case with many, yet some have been more highly\nfavored, and shone with peculiar lustre in the Church of God.  All the\nProphets testified of the adorable Redeemer, but Isaiah shines like a\nstar of the first magnitude.  His name signifies the Salvation of God;\nand he was a type of the great Prophet of the Church of God.  It is said,\nbut without any probable ground, he was the cousin of King Uzziah, in the\nlatter end of whose reign he began his predictions.  His qualifications\nwere great, and his writings truly sublime, yet his success was but\nsmall.  A minister of small talents may be more successful in his public\nwork than a man of greater, but this is according to the sovereign\ngood-will and pleasure of God.\u2014After this great Prophet had borne his\ntestimony for God and truth about forty-five years, he died a martyr,\nperhaps sawn asunder with a wooden saw, under the reign of Manassah.  He\nclearly foretels the incarnation of our Lord; and probably he was the\nfirst to whom it was revealed that the Messiah should be born of a\nvirgin.  His mind was led to trace him through a life of sorrows, while\nhe foretels his most intimate acquaintance would be _grief_\u2014acquainted\nwith grief, but his reward would be glorious.  His name should be great\nin all the world, and everlasting honours paid him, as God-man\nMediator.\u2014This was the joy set before him, for which he endured the\nCross, and thought light of the shame\u2014the Father hath therefore highly\nexalted him, and given him a name above every other, that at his name\nevery knee should bow, if not in this world to the sceptre of his grace\nand mercy, they shall to his iron rod in hell.\n\nThe chapter from whence the text is selected is very singular, yet truly\nimportant.  The Prophet is led to foretel the base conduct of the Jews in\nrejecting the Gospel, the Saviour, and his Apostles\u2014the casting away of\nthat nation; the provoking them to jealousy by a foolish nation, in the\ncalling a people that did not seek after him, or expect it.  These things\nare clearly pointed out in the seven first verses.  Then, lest the truly\ngodly should fear being cut off, the Lord graciously promises he would\ntake care of them, when the rest should be numbered to the sword; they\nare the seed, the blessed of the Lord.  A line of distinction is drawn\nbetween God\u2019s servants and those rejecters of the Saviour, from the 13th\nto the 16th verse.  The Holy Ghost then leads the mind of the Prophet to\nthe future glory of the Church in the thousand years reign\u2014_For behold I\ncreate new heavens and a new earth_, which will be a state of joy and\ncomfort.  This new heavens and earth must refer, literally, to the\npersonal reign of Christ on earth; for the apostle Peter says (it is\nwritten) and to this passage he must refer.  After the old heaven and\nearth are passed away, then a new region will be created, suited to the\nglorified bodies of the saints\u2014and a new earth, where Christ and his\nsaints will dwell personally a thousand years\u2014_one day with the Lord_\u2014the\ntrue sabbatic year.  The Prophet having intimated this, goes on to shew\nwhat will take place previous to this reign, even a spiritual reign, in\nthe universal knowledge of our Lord\u2014long life; no weeping over dead\nchildren; no oppression of each other\u2019s houses or lands; but all temporal\nprosperity and spiritual success\u2014speedy answers to prayer; and even,\nperhaps, the brute creation will be tamed, and brought into the same\nsubjection as before the fall\u2014Hail! happy period! the Lord hasten it in\nhis time.\n\nThis spiritual reign will be very different from the Millennium, though\nmany good men suppose it the same thing; but the Millennium will be a\nperfect state, this will not.  The Millennium will be after the\nresurrection of the just, this will be before it.  The Millennium will be\nthe personal reign of Christ, but this will be spiritual; just as it is\nnow, in the heart\u2014in the Church, in Doctrines and Ordinances, but with an\namazing increase of light, life, love, and holiness; when, no doubt, the\npoorest peasant will have as much light as the apostle Paul had when on\nearth.\n\nIt is very probable that this prophecy began to take place upon the\nspread of the Gospel in the land of Judea, and in the Gentile world; when\nthere was a new face of things, so that the whole looked like a new\nworld.  The Gospel ran, had free course, and was glorified\u2014Sinners, of\nevery sort and size, were converted to God\u2014the Redeemer saw the travail\nof his soul, and the Holy Spirit displayed the love, grace, and mercy of\nGod, in all its glory.  The _freeness_ of grace was seen in the objects\nit noticed; the _power_ of it was seen in the conquests it gained; its\n_sovereignty_ was seen in passing by those who bid fairest in their own\neyes for glory.  While grace revealed these things unto babes, others,\nnot interested in them, heard enough to hate them\u2014rejected them\naltogether, and persecuted those who had received them.  These\npersecutions were attended with many advantages to the saints; none were\nhurt effectually, nor any bud of the Tree of Life, nor budding hope,\ndestroyed in all God\u2019s holy Mountain.\n\nThus having proceeded to our text, which I shall barely comment upon,\nexcept the clause I first read as a text, this I shall endeavor to\nexplain.\n\n_First_.  _The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb_\u2014so it reads in the 11th\nChap, of this Book; here it is the same\u2014_shall feed together_; if they\ndwell together they must, consequently, feed together.  I remark, that it\nwas the eternal design of God to shew himself to his creatures as the God\nof all grace\u2014so the Apostle words it, _that in the ages to come he might\n__shew unto us the exceeding riches of his grace and kindness towards\nus_, _by Christ Jesus_.  This he has done in all ages, in its divine\nsovereignty, freeness, and power, upon those characters who may justly be\ncompared to ravening Wolves, who have worried, and made sad havoc among\nChrist\u2019s Sheep.  Such bitter persecutors have been called out of darkness\ninto life, the heart being changed, the life and conduct were changed\ntoo; for this is the design and the conquest of grace.  It is to be\nlamented that many, while in the world, have been sad opposers of the\ndoctrines of the Gospel\u2014these take up a profession, and however promising\nin appearance, they still oppose the main Doctrines of the Cross.  Then,\nI ask, what has grace done for them?  In a profession they are, but in a\nstate of reconciliation they are not.  But my text tells us, that _the\nWolf and Lamb shall feed together_\u2014that what the Lambs feed on, such the\nWolf should, when God converted them to the truth.  Here the Saints are\ncompared to Lambs, for their harmlessness and innocence; and such they\nare in their new-creature state.  We may see this passage verified in the\nApostle Paul\u2014he was of the tribe of Benjamin, of whom Jacob said, he\nshould _ravin as a Wolf_.\u2014Thus did Saul of Tarsus against the Sheep of\nJesus.  He harrassed, he made sad slaughter among them.  But, oh! the\nwonders of grace, that tamed, humbled, and reconciled him to the Saviour\nand his dear people, that he laid down at the feet of the Lamb of God.\nHe fed with the Lambs in the same fold, and he was brought to feed them\nafterwards.  Thus the Wolf and the Lamb fed together; and is not this\ntrue to this hour?  Is not the same grace manifested to us who were, by\nnature, enemies to the Saviour, his ministers, and people; as such, to\nhis Doctrines and Ordinances.  We could, perhaps, recollect the time when\nour prejudices were strong against these things, but, glory be to free\ngrace alone, we are changed; now we are never happy but at the feet of\nJesus, and feeding on him, his Word, and in his Ordinances, the food on\nwhich we live, and which I shall speak of at the close of this Subject.\n\n_Secondly_.  This Promise may refer to the two natures in every Believer,\n_Sin_ and _Grace_.  The sinful nature of the Believer is not\nchanged\u2014_that which is born of the flesh is flesh_\u2014it will be a Wolf all\nits days; though it may be kept in, by almighty grace, through deep\ntrials and sore conflicts; yet, every Believer is, in his New Man,\nLamb-like, though often worried by the Wolf of his own corruptions.  Yet\nthese must dwell together till death; these walk, these rise up, and lie\ndown together; this is our plague, out affliction, and distress; and\nthough we are condemned as lovers of sin, we can assure our foes we\nshould be glad to get rid of it.  Sin a burthen to the New Man; so we\nfeel it.  This sinful nature feeds on earth, and every thing that is\ncontrary to God; but the New Man only on the great things of God.\n\n_Thirdly_.  May not this refer to the State of the Church of God, which\nis at present in her imperfect state; not only in her feelings, but\nplagued with those who are only hypocrites in Zion, Tares among the\nWheat, Sheep among the Goats, and Wolves in Sheep\u2019s cloathing.  This is\nthe sad state of the Saints; at times they are ready to cry out with Job,\n_Let not the hypocrite reign_, _lest the souls of the righteous be\nensnared_.  And, with the Apostles, _Lord_, _shall we root them up_?  But\nno; these Wise and Foolish Virgins must be together till the Midnight Cry\nis made, then there will be an happy but awful separation; but these\ndwell together now, in the same Church, at the same table; sit in the\nsame seat; look just the same as the Saints; claim the same Promises, and\nboast the same light; talk of what they never felt, and in full, tho\u2019\ndaring and presumptuous confidence, are, in their own esteem, going to\nthe same glory.  Hence God complains of them, _Ezek._ xxxiii, 30, _Also\nthou Son of Man_, _the children of thy people are still talking against\nthee_, _by the walls and in the doors of the houses_\u2014(how true have I\nfound this?)\u2014_and they come unto thee as my people cometh_, _and they sit\nbefore thee as my people_, _and they hear thy words_, _but do them not_;\n_and lo_, _thou art to them as a very lovely song_, _of one that hath a\npleasant voice_, _and can play __well upon an instrument_, _for they hear\nthy words but they do them not_.  Doing them is believing\u2014receiving the\ntruth in the love of it; and by experience, proving the truths we preach.\nThere are Wolves that are in Sheep\u2019s clothing\u2014these feed upon _sounds_,\nbut the Lambs upon _substance_.\u2014Under another metaphor we shall point out\nthe _food_ of such Wolves and Goats\u2014they are distinct from the Sheep, and\nwill be found so in the last great day.  See 25th of _Matthew\u2019s_ Gospel.\n\nThe second part of the text may likewise be considered in a double sense,\ngood and bad.  As most metaphorical passages are controvertible, and will\napply to a variety of cases, so in this, _The Lion shall eat Straw like\nthe Bullock_\u2014in the 11th Chap. it is said like the _Ox_; and as the\nProphet is predicting the success of the Gospel in the days of the\nMessiah, or the latter day glory.  It may refer to the conversion of some\nof the great ones of our globe\u2014kings; and such there have been, and such\nthere shall yet be, when kings shall become nursing fathers to the\nChurch, and queens nursing mothers.  Hence the Chaldean, Assyrian, and\nPersian conquerors are called Lions, _Dan_. vii, _And four great beasts\ncame up from the sea_, _the first was like a Lion_.  _The Lion hath\nroared_, _who will not fear_? _the Lion did tear in pieces_.  _And he\ncried a Lion_, _my Lord_\u2014_the Lion is come up from his thicket_, _and the\ndestroyer of the Gentiles is on his way_.\u2014Thus great tyrannical\noppressors, kings, mighty men, are called Lions.  Some of these have been\ntamed, humbled, and fed with the useful, laborious patient Oxen, by whom\nwe may understand Ministers of the Gospel.  _Thou shalt not muzzle the\nOx_.  _Doth God take care of Oxen_? _or saith he it for our sakes_? _for\nour sakes_, _doubtless_, saith Paul, who calls Himself one of them, in\ncommon with his fellow-labourers\u2014_our sakes_.\n\nSome great men have been called, witness Manasseh, the proudest and most\nawful character that ever lived; and no doubt many more have experienced\nthe power of divine grace bringing them into the Church of Jesus.  These\nhave helped kindly to support the Gospel ministry\u2014these have fed with the\nministers of the word\u2014this, perhaps, will be better seen another day,\nwhen the ten kings shall have their hearts turned to hate the diabolical\nsystem of Popery; stall hate the Whore; eat her flesh; obtain a victory\nover her, and burn her with fire.  Then God\u2019s Two Witnesses shall, in the\nbest sense, stand up for the truth\u2014even the Magistracy and the Ministry,\nKings and Preachers; and what will they not effect?  This may be seen it\nthe 15th of _Revelation_, when the Angels will go forth with their vials,\ntheir breasts girded with golden girdles, and clothed in robes of\nrighteousness, truth and faithfulness.  See the 17th Chap. of the\n_Revelation_, 60th of _Isaiah_, and 15th of _Revelation_.  Thus the Lion\nshall eat Straw like the Bullock.\n\nBut, _Secondly_, It may be considered in an awful sense, to which I\nrather incline, because it does not say they shall lie down together, nor\nthat they shall eat the green pastures of Christ, but _straw_.  It may\nsignify a person who has heard the Gospel and rejected it, to whom it has\nbecome the savour of death unto death.  These may become fierce and cruel\nopposers of the Gospel; the worst opposers, as they attempt to stab\nreligion in its vitals.  These are called by the Apostle, the\n_Adversaries_, who have scorned the Saviour, despised his blood, and\nopposed his truths.  Witness some that have heard the Gospel, and once\nprofessed all the truth, who have since turned Deists, Arians, Socinians,\nMuggletonians, and Sabellians, and are now wickedly and spitefully using\nall their arguments and influence against the truth, and to deceive\nsouls.  These Lions are coupled with the Bullock in the text; by whom we\nmay understand Persecutors.  Hence our Lord explains, _Fat Bulls of\nBashan enclose me in on every side_.  David prays, _Rebuke the company of\nSpearmen_, _the multitude of the Bulls_, _with the Calves of the People_.\nAnd God, by Isaiah, threatens them in tremendous language\u2014Chap. xxxiv. 7.\n\nThese characters are said to eat _straw_\u2014by which we may understand the\nrefuse of the Lord\u2019s floor; not Wheat, but Chaff, Stubble, and Straw, fit\nfuel for fire\u2014who must, and will be driven out of the Church, the Barn\nFloor\u2014whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his Floor\u2014he\nwill burn up the chaff with fire!  These hypocrites, Apostates,\nImposters, and their errors, are the delight of such characters, and God\nhas coupled them together, in the 1st Chapter of _Isaiah_\u2014_And the\ndestruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together_;\n_and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed_.  Thus the Lion shall\neat Straw like the Bullock.\n\nI come now to that part of the verse I first read.  I shall consider,\n_First_, the _Serpent_\u2014_Secondly_, the _Food_ that is appointed him.\n_Dust SHALL be the Serpent\u2019s meat_.\n\n_First_, The _Serpent_, absolutely and figuratively.\u2014The word Serpent, in\nScripture, means, First, Naturally the creature itself.  _Now the Serpent\nwas more subtil than any beast of the Field_.\u2014Secondly, A miraculous one,\nas Moses\u2019 Rod was turned into a Serpent.\u2014Third, A delusive one, or one in\nshew.  _The Magicians cast their Rods on the ground_, _and they became\nSerpents_.  Fourth, An artificial one.  _Moses made a Serpent of Brass_.\nBut sometimes it signifies the Devil\u2014hence he is called that Old Serpent.\nAnd sometimes the enemies of Jesus and his People\u2014_Ye Serpents_! _ye\ngeneration of Vipers_!  _How can ye escape the damnation of Hell_?  Satan\nis called a Serpent, because he hid himself in the Serpent in his first\nstratagem against our first Patents.  Because of his serpentine\ndisposition, in his poison and malice against Christ and his Church; and\nin his winding, by his flattery, craftiness, and his accursed\ncondition.\u2014The first account we have of him is very early.  Originally\ncreated in light, he envied the honors paid the adorable Trinity; or he\nenvied the Lord Jesus Christ the glory he was to obtain as God-Man.  He\ndisbelieved the eternal power and faithfulness of God.  He drew millions\nof angels into rebellion with him.  He abode not in the truth; for which\nhe was cast in the prison of Hell.  His sin seems to be an awful\ncomplication of pride, envy, and unbelief.  Cast out of bliss; held in\nthe chains of darkness, he is permitted to wander like a vagabond and\nthief, to fill up the measure of his iniquity.  Permitted to enter the\nGarden of Eden, where the image of Christ was, even Adam, who was made in\nthat image our dear Lord intended to assume.  Satan envied him his bliss;\nhated the image of God, and adopted a plan to overturn it.  He selected\nout the most subtil beast God had formed, and through it he addressed our\nMother, in artful and insinuating language.  He temped her with the lust\nof the eye; she saw the tree was good.  With the pride of life\u2014_Ye shall\nbe as gods_, _knowing good and evil_.  This was done in the form of the\nSerpent\u2014so that the Devil and his agents have gone by this name ever\nsince.  We will quote the passage, and make a few remarks on it, which\nwill lead us to understand what is meant by the Serpent and his Food.\n_Gen._ iii. _Now the Serpent was more subtil than any beast of the\nfield_\u2014and having seduced our Parents, when the Lord appeared to them,\nthey laid the blame on him.  Then in the 14th verse, the Lord God said\nunto the Serpent, _Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all\ncattle_, _and every beast of the field_.  _Upon thy belly shall thou go_,\n_and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life_.  _And I will put\nenmity between thee and the Woman_, _and between thy seed and her\nseed_\u2014_he shall bruise thy head_, _and thou shalt bruise his heel_.\u2014Thus\nruns the curse upon the Serpent.\n\nI humbly offer my opinion, that this curse did not fall upon that\ncreature in general; though no doubt the Serpent that was the agent\nreceived the curse of God.  But that Satan was the character is evident,\nas he is in full possession of the curse to this hour.\n\n_Josephus_ was of opinion that till this curse was denounced the Serpent\nwent erect, and had the use of speech like man; and this opinion is still\nreceived among many\u2014the Scriptures are silent upon it.\u2014Our English Poet,\n_John Milton_, speaks in very striking terms, probably, though, in\ngeneral, conjecturally.\n\n    \u201cSo spake the enemy of mankind, inclos\u2019d\n    In Serpent, inmate bad! and toward Eve\n    Address\u2019d his way: not with indented wave,\n    Prone on the ground, as _since_; but on his rear,\n    Circular base of rising folds, that tower\u2019d\n    Fold above fold, a surging maze!  His head\n    Crested aloft and carbuncle his eyes;\n    With burnish\u2019d neck of verdant gold erect,\n    Amidst his circling spires, that on the grass\n    Floated abundant; pleasing was his shape\n    And lovely\u2014never since, of Serpent kind,\n    Lovelier.  He, uncall\u2019d, before her stood\n    The eye of Eve to mark his play; he, glad\n    Of her attention gain\u2019d with Serpent tongue\n    Organic, or impulse of vocal air,\n    His fraudulent temptation then began.\u201d\n\nMr. _Allen_ observes, on the clause, _On thy belly shalt thou go_\u2014that\nthe Serpent, before it was concerned in seducing our first Parents, went\nerect, or upright; which shews they have still some of their original\nnature in them, for they will now erect themselves upon the hinder part\nof their bodies, and go a considerable way in that position.  The\ntruly-excellent Dr. _Gill\u2019s_ remarks, I think, excel all I ever read.\n\n_Yet now the Serpent was more subtil than any __beast of the field which\nthe Lord God had made_.\u2014Many instances are given of the subtilty of\nSerpents, in hiding their heads when struck at; rolling themselves up;\nstopping their ear at the voice of the charmer; putting off their skin;\nlying in sand of the same colour as themselves; biting the feet of\nhorses; and many such things.  But it does not appear now to be more\nsubtil than many other creatures, whatever it might be when first\ncreated.\u2014The words therefore may be rendered, _That Serpent_, _that\nparticular Serpent_, was made more subtil than any beast of the field\u2014not\nnaturally, but through Satan being in it; for though a real Serpent, yet\nnot that only, but as possessed and used by Satan, as an instrument of\nhis, to accomplish his designs, as evident from its having the faculty of\nspeech and the use of reason, employed in a very artful and sophistic\nmanner.  Nor is it rational to suppose that human nature, in the height\nof its glory and excellency, should be out-witted by a creature so\ninferior to it.  The Scripture always alledges the fall of man to the\nseduction of the Devil, who, on that account, is called the Serpent, the\nold Serpent, the Devil and Satan.  _He said unto the Woman_.  She being\nalone, he took the advantage of it\u2014not the Serpent, but Satan in it, just\nas the Angel spoke in _Balaam\u2019s_ Ass.\n\nIt is very probable that good Angels appeared in Paradise to our first\nParents, in one form or another, and conversed with them\u2014it may be in\nhuman forms, and it may be in the form of a beautiful flying Serpent,\nwhich looked very bright and shining, and that sort called the Seraph.\nHence angels bear the name of Seraphim, as some have thought; so that it\nmight not be at all surprising to Eve to hear the Serpent speak, it being\nwhat she might have been used to hear, and might take it to be a good\nangel sent to her with a message from God.\n\nGood Matthew Henry remarks upon the Passage, that the Devil chose to act\nhis part in a Serpent, because it is a specious creature, has a spotted\ndappled skin, and then went erect.  Perhaps it was a flying Serpent,\nwhich seemed to come as a messenger from the upper world\u2014one of the\nSeraphim, for the fiery Serpents were flying\u2014_Isaiah_ xv, 29.  Many a gay\ntemptation comes to us in fine colours, which are but skin deep, and\nappears to come from above, for Satan can seem an angel of light.\n\nThe learned Witsius remarks, He who seduced man to this apostasy was\ndoubtless a wicked spirit, who, tormented with the horrors of a guilty\nconscience, envied man his happiness in God, and God the pleasure he had\nin man.  Seeking wretched consolation in a partaker of his misery, he\nconcealed himself, therefore, in the Serpent, which was at that time not\nless acceptable to man than any other creature.  The great Du Moulin\nconjectures this Serpent was of a conspicuous form, with fiery eyes;\ndecked with gold, and marked with shining spots, such as to draw the eyes\nof Eve after it; and that before this, he had, by his soothing sounds,\ninsinuated himself into Eve\u2019s favour\u2014which is very probable.\n\nThe present learned Dr. Clarke conjectures this creature was an Ape\ninstead of a Serpent; but the arguments he brings forward are by no means\nsufficient to support the fact.  The form of the curse pronounced on\nSatan, in the Serpent, is, _Now thou art cursed above all cattle_, _and\nabove every beast of the field_.  This curse has not fallen upon that\nspecies of animals, called the Serpent, in general, though it might on\nthat particular one which Satan made use of; for there are various kinds\nof Serpents, or creatures of the Serpent kind\u2014the reeded Serpent, the\nfiery flying Serpent, the horned Serpent, the Basilisk, the Dragon, the\nDeaf Adder, the common Adder, the Viper, the Asp, the Water Snake, the\nLand Snake, the Rattle-Snake, the Conger Eel, the common Eel, and the\nLamprey\u2014these are of the Serpent kind.  Now the Serpent the Devil abused\nwas but one, but of what kind we know not, and the sentence of God is in\nthe singular number\u2014so Dr. Gill remarks, _that_ Serpent\u2014on thy belly\nshalt _thou_ go, and dust shalt _thou_ eat all the days of thy life.  So\nthat as far as the curse went on the agent, when that one Serpent died\nthe sentence was fully executed on that creature.  But the curse, in all\nits dreadful weight, fell on the Devil, who is cursed above all sinners,\nwho are called cattle, Beasts, and the unclean\u2014as Lions, Dogs, Bears,\nRams, Wolves, Leopards, Bulls, Heifers at grass, Foxes, and Goats.  Many\nof these have been tamed, become useful and tractable, but Devils never\nwere, nor never will; and Satan, the ring-leader, I apprehend is cursed\nabove them all\u2014_upon thy belly shalt thou go_.  What the learned have\nsaid about the Serpent\u2019s going erect is bare conjecture.  But this curse\nis evidently upon the Devil: the word Belly in scripture, sometimes\nsignifies the Conscience, and I believe it means this: Hence Job speaking\nof the seed of the Serpent, says, _they shall not feel quietness in the\nBelly_\u2014it means depression and deep abasement, in awful affliction\u2014our\nbelly cleaveth to the ground, our soul is bowed down to the dust.  This\nis what Satan feels, and will be cursed with for ever\u2014no ease or rest,\nbut hell in him wherever he goes\u2014God\u2019s curse and wrath upon him\u2014the\narrows of vindictive wrath sticking fast in him; nor can he feel any joy,\nonly that kind of malicious infernal pleasure, suited to his nature, as\nhe draws men to sin against God\u2014especially believers.\n\nThe term Serpent not only applies to the Devil, but to his people\u2014the\nnon-elect, the reprobate; more particularly to those Pharisees, who make\na fair shew in the flesh\u2014a noise about holiness, and who are endeavoring\nto establish their reputation upon the ruin of others\u2014who are searching\nfor the sins of others, and they search for iniquity with a diligent\nsearch\u2014who keep up the form of godliness, are found in every external,\nyet in heart hate the saints, condemn them, as enemies to good works\u2014as\nAntinomians\u2014enemies Moses\u2014as a people not fit to live, of course not to\ncome near them.\u2014These characters are called Serpents, and a generation of\nVipers; not only so themselves but their parents were so, and they are\nthe offspring of such Vipers; and so we find it to this day\u2014a deistical\nPreacher begets Deists, a Socinian begets such, an Arian begets an Arian,\nan Arminian begets an Arminian by his ministry, and an Antinomian, whose\nreligion lays in his head, without the Work of the Spirit, such may beget\nan offspring like themselves, while every Pharisee in the Ministry may\nalso beget the same; but the name John the Baptist gave them is a\ngeneration of Vipers, when he saw the Pharisees come to his Baptism.  A\nViper appears very beautiful outwardly, so do these persons to a blind,\ncarnal world, who are making a stir about good works, and, like Alexander\nPope, are exclaiming,\n\n    For Modes of Faith let zealous bigots fight,\n    His can\u2019t be wrong whose life is in the right.\n\nBut, I would ask, Can a man\u2019s life be in the right when all his\nprinciples are bad?  Vipers, inwardly full of malice, hatred, envy,\nbitterness, and evil speaking; it looks innocent, as if it could harm\nnobody, but, under the garb of religion, holiness, and morality, what\nwill such characters not do?  The Redeemer calls such by the same name\nJohn did, in Matt. xii, and then in Chap. xxiii, _Ye Serpents_, _ye\ngeneration of Vipers_, _how can ye escape the damnation of hell_?  Fair\nin speech and shew, but cruel and dangerous; with many such as these we\nhave had to combat, who are of their father the Devil, and the desires of\ntheir father they do.\n\nBut the decree runs, _And dust shall be the Serpent\u2019s meat_.  This is\nonly renewing the curse upon Satan and his seed, which was first\npronounced in the Garden of Eden.  Good men have differed a little upon\nthe food of the Serpent; some suppose that before the fall he lived upon\nthe fruits of the Garden, but afterwards that he was only to eat dust.\nPerhaps this was the case with that one Serpent the Devil made use of,\nbut it certainly is not true of Serpents in general.  Others think it\nmeans, that in consequence of the curse, _upon thy belly thou shalt go_,\nthat they should eat much dust with their food; this may be the case in\npart, but not universally.  Many keep Serpents in the kingdom of\nAbyssinia for the purpose of divination, as Mr. Bruce tells us in his\nTravels, and they feed them with white bread and milk, which there are\nvery fond of.\n\nMr. Toplady justly remarks on this passage, that what is said of the\nSerpent going on his belly and eating dust, are properties common to many\nkinds of vermin, such as worms, &c.\u2014and why should that be esteemed a\ncurse to the Serpent which is natural to many other animals beside.  But\nis it so said because this creature is obnoxious to man? so are many\nothers beside, and it is worthy observation, that there are some kind of\nSerpents which are remarkable for the affection they bear to man; and\nothers are good for food, and have been served up as such, even at royal\ntables.\n\nThe words then must refer to something mystic and spiritual.  The phrase,\n_Dust shalt thou eat_, implies a state of absolute subjection, for so it\nsignifies in scripture\u2014_his enemies shall lick the dust_; _they shall\nlick dust like a Serpent_\u2014_they shall bow down to the earthy and lick up\nthe dust of thy feet_.  These enemies shall be totally vanquished and\nsubdued, and lie at the feet of the conqueror.\n\nBy the dust that the Serpent is to eat is meant sinners against the most\nhigh, living and dying enemies to God, Father, Son, and Spirit\u2014enemies to\ntruth and the seed of God.  This I think is clear from the declaration _I\nwill put enmity between thy __seed and her seed_, the seed of the\nSerpent.  This is the dust he is to eat; this is his curse.  These\npersons are the Serpent\u2019s prey, and the dust he shall devour.  The phrase\nof Satan eating, denotes the hellish pleasure he takes in man\u2019s ruin; for\na person is supposed to eat nothing but what he loves; it is the Devil\u2019s\nmeat, his joy, his delight, to lead into sin, to get men to serve him,\nand to buffet, vex, and plague the saints.\n\nThe learned Fagius observes, Satan is a spirit, and must therefore\nrequire immaterial food; which can be nothing else but the sins of men,\non which he feeds with pleasure.\n\nSt. Augustine says, By dust, Sinners are meant; so that sinners are given\nhim for his prey.  If then we would not be his food, we must not be\nearthly minded.\n\nSt. Ambrose says, that by dust we are to understand the flesh of men, on\nwhich God permits Satan to feed, that is, sometimes to torment and grieve\nthe bodies of believers, for over their souls he has not the least\ncommand.  The dust, therefore, Satan eats, is the seed spoken of as the\nseed of the Serpent; these are called the cattle, and the beasts of the\nfield\u2014these are Satan\u2019s portion, bear his image, and will be found like\nhim another day, even in the resurrection of the wicked\u2014_When they\n__shall awake_, _O Lord_, _thou wilt despise their image_.  All the sins,\ninfirmities, temptations, and troubles, of God\u2019s dear people\u2014these are\nthe dust he feeds on.  And as it is with the father Serpent, it is with\nhis seed; his offspring a generation of Vipers and Serpents, they have\ntheir portion of dust to eat, and they can feed on nothing else\u2014and this\nevery believer has seen to his grief.  What in one scripture is called\nthe seed of the Serpent, is in another called the children of the wicked\none.  First, Because as sinners, they are his offspring.  Secondly,\nBecause they are like him, and bear the same names, a liar, a Lion, a\nSerpent, a destroyer, and an enemy; and because they bear his image, do\nhis works, and obey his commands; their food is alike\u2014dust is their meat\nas well as his.\n\nThis is another point we shall discover\u2014Man having lost the image of God,\nleft the fountain of his bliss and satisfaction; his mind soon became\nvitiated\u2014a vacancy being in it he seeks to fill the empty space with any\nthing, and every thing but God.  This is the state of every man by\nnature; this the believer can remember with regret, and can now look back\non his former folly in forsaking the fountain and cleaving to the stream\nof creature satisfaction.  Changed by grace, he views his fellow\nimmortals seeking for that which will never satisfy him.  The Miser, a\npoor grovelling Serpent, feeding on white and yellow dust, \u201cThrowing up\nhis interest in both worlds\u2014first starv\u2019d in this, then damn\u2019d in that to\ncome.\u201d\u2014_Blair_.  He heapeth up riches, and cannot tell who shall gather\nthem.\u2014_David_.  He layeth up silver as the Dust\u2014the pant after the dust\nof the earth.\n\nThus such Serpents eat the dust, while their covetous hearts are\nperpetually crying, \u201cGive!  Give!\u201d\u2014_Solomon_.  \u201cThey grudge, and are not\nsatisfied.\u201d\u2014_David_.  All the vain pursuits, carnal gratifications,\nsensual delights, and that phantom, called Pleasure, which a worldling\nstrives for, is but trying to fill the mind with dust.  Hence the Prophet\nIsaiah represents them as a people dreaming\u2014_They have been eating and\ndrinking_, _and when they awake up_, _behold they are hungry_.\u2014Isaiah\nxxix.  Hence David prays, _And let me not eat of their dainties_.  For\nall that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,\nthe pride of life\u2014these are not of the Father, but of the world\u2014these are\nashes; and the dust they feed on\u20141 John ii.\n\nMen of a persecuting spirit, whose hearts rise against God, religion, and\nthe dear Saviour, the Work of the Spirit, and all Saints\u2014these are said\nto feed on the Saints; they are well pleased at every species of\npersecution; _they eat up my people as they eat bread_, _and call not\nupon God_.  _When my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh_, _they\n__stumbled and fell_.  Hence David prays, _Deliver me from the men who\nare thy sword_, _O Lord_, _whose belly thou fillest with thy hid\ntreasures_.  Thus, like Satan, they wait to eat, to devour, to destroy\nthe Lord\u2019s people, who are called dust.  \u201cI that am but dust and ashes,\nhave taken upon me to speak to the Lord.\u201d\u2014_Abraham_. \u201cWho can number the\ndust of Jacob?  Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the\ndust thereof.\u201d\n\nErroneous characters, who have been in a profession of the truth, and who\nhave left it and turned again like a washed swine to the mire; who have\ntaken seven other spirits, far worse than before they heard the Gospel.\nThese persons are industriously circulating errors; trying to make such\nkind of proselytes, who are two-fold more the children of hell than they\nwere before.  Such characters are Serpents and Vipers, make a fair shew,\nto deceive and to damn immortal souls: they talk about the universal\ngoodness of God\u2014too good to consign any man to perdition: they argue for\nan universal salvation; and that if any man should be lost, he will be\nrestored again: they argue against the sovereignty of God, in the\nDoctrine of Election and divine Predestination\u2014against one being taken\nand another left\u2014against the Obedience of Christ, as our justifying\nrighteousness\u2014against the Divinity of the Son, or the Spirit: they level\ntheir artillery against the Trinity in Unity\u2014against the high priviledges\nof God\u2019s Elect\u2014against the Fundamentals of the Gospel; and this to\ndeceive the simple and unwary.  Hence such are described as an whore, in\nthe Book of the Proverbs: _She eateth_ (that is enjoyeth these deceptions\nand awful delusions) _and saith_, _I have done no wickedness_.\u2014Proverbs\nxxxi.  _Ephraim feedeth on ashes_; _a deceived heart hath turned him\naside_; _he cannot deliver his soul_, _nor say is there not a lie in my\nright hand_.  This is the Serpent\u2019s meat, and if grace does not prevent\nit, they must have the Serpent\u2019s portion\u2014a fearful looking for of\njudgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the _Adversaries_.\n\nPharisees.\u2014These are of different kinds, and under various orders\u2014some in\na profession of gospel truth, sit under its sound, obey its external\nprecepts as far as it relates to bodily exercise; others are inimical to\nthe very sound of it altogether, yet pride themselves upon following the\nreligion they were brought up in; that they are as good as they wish to\nbe, and not half so bad as their neighbours.  Thus in heart they are all\nalike; those in a profession and those out of it, are all upon a level.\nThe Gospel Pharisees thank God they are not so bad as those vile\nAntinomians, who talk about free grace, and perform no works.  Others\nthank God they are not quite so bad, nor indeed nothing like, other\npeople; they have good hearts, they mean well and wish well to all.\nHence our dear Lord spake a parable to those who trusted in themselves\nthat they were righteous, and despised others.  The Pharisee stood, and\nprayed, _God I thank thee I am not as other men_\u2014so they vainly think,\nand so they declare: their works are of themselves; they wear Spider\u2019s\nwebs, they make a covering, but not of God\u2019s Spirit; they are stretching\nthemselves upon a bed which is too short, and so all will find who reject\nthe plan of salvation, by Jesus alone.\u2014These make a noise about holiness,\nand good works\u2014these sound a trumpet and proclaim their own goodness; and\nthey have their reward\u2014this is but sounding brass and the tinkling of a\ncymbal\u2014it is feeding on wind; all the works they do, are to be seen of\nmen: but the Saviour says to his disciples, _Be ye not like to them_.\nThese will give nothing away, without their names are published, printed,\nor put up in the front of an alms house, or on the walls of a church or\nhospital\u2014on these things they feed\u2014a good name among men; a refutation in\nthe world: this is the foundation of their hope, and this is said to be\nin dust\u2014_His foundation is in the dust_; _but the hail will sweep away\ntheir refuge of lies_, _and the waters will overflow their hiding\nplaces_, what they build on, that they enjoy; and thus dust is their\nmeat\u2014and if they do not absolutely declare that all their hopes are laid\non what they do, they conclude their good works will either help forward\ntheir salvation, or are grand essences of it\u2014whereas nothing that the\nbrightest saint can do, externally, is any evidence of his new birth,\nnone at all; for any man, destitute of divine teaching can do the same.\nHe may hear, read, commune, speak well, relieve the poor, and be found in\nevery external ordinance; so says Isaiah xlviii, and Ezekiel xxiii.  And\nshould this little Pamphlet fall into the hands of any man or woman, who\nhas been building on such evidences, I pray God that the scales may drop\nfrom their eyes, that they may see their danger, and be brought, as poor\nsinners, to the Lord Christ for all they want.\n\nThe performances of persons who are destitute of the grace of God, are\ncalled the Works of the Law; whereas it is not so properly, for they are\nignorant of the Law, nor does the Law call for any such Works; therefore\nthey are but the Works of the flesh, and those who feed on them are\neating dust, whether they are in a profession or not.  Hence God threaten\nhis enemies that he will send them the _Poison of Serpents of the dust_.\nDeut xxxii.  And when he takes a sinner in hand, he is said to _scrape\nher dust from her_.\u2014Ezek. xxvi; then he kindly invites, _Come now_, _let\nus reason together_\u2014and, graciously promises, _though your sins be as\nscarlet they shall be as wool_, _and though they be red like crimson they\nshall be whiter than snow_; _and I will surely purge away thy dross_,\n_and take away thy tin_.  Isaiah i.  This is the Work of God and this\nmust be done if ever we see the face of God with joy; we must be stripped\nof all supposed goodness, and emptied of self before we can be filled\nwith the Saviour.\n\nWhen the excellent Toplady had finished his Sermon on Justification,\npious Lady Huntingdon said to him, \u201cSir, I think you gave the Pharisees a\ngood dressing to night.\u201d  \u201cOh, Madam,\u201d said he, \u201cI did not want to dress\nthem, but I aimed to undress them:\u201d\u2014and sure I am that our filthy\ngarments of self-righteousness must be taken away, before we can enjoy\nthe change of raiment.  _Zech._ iii.  Till this is the case with us we\nmay cry out, with the tongue (and if not, every Pharisee exclaims,\npractically) _Stand by thyself_.  _I am holier than thou_!  But, from all\nsuch blindness, hardness of heart, and contempt of God\u2019s Word and\nCommandment, Good Lord deliver us.\n\nThe food of the hypocrite, which the Swine did eat, these are called\nhusks.  Hence our dear Lord, by a Parable, represented his own people in\na backsliding state, trying to fill their souls with husks, a form of\ngodliness without the power, the sound without the substance, the shell\nwithout the kernel.  So it is written in Luke xv.  _And there arose a\nmighty famine in the land_, _and he began to be in want_, _and he joined\nhimself to a citizen of that country_, _and he sent him out to feed\nSwine_, _and he fain would have filled his belly with the husks that the\nSwine did eat_.  Here is an awakened soul, with spiritual life, guilt,\nand shame in his conscience, flying to a false refuge to make up what had\nbeen amiss; and obeying the orders of a false teacher, without looking to\nJesus as his only refuge.\n\nWhen a poor sinner first comes into a profession, he is full of legality,\nand being full of sin and darkness, he generally flies to those kind of\npreachers that will set him to work; and these commonly argue with such\npoor sinners, \u201cWhy, as you have done so much against God, it is now high\ntime you did something for God.\u201d  This sounds well in the ears of such,\nand to work they go, to try to please God; and if the Preacher does not\nimmediately send them to the Moral Law, they are generally sent to some\ntradition of the Elders; they must become teachers in the Sunday Schools;\nthey must form a Society and visit the Sick; they must attend upon Prayer\nMeetings and other religious Societies.  Here those who have no spiritual\nlife can rest; upon these husks they can feed; but where there is real\nhungering and thirsting after the bread of life, the mind cannot be fed\nwith such things; not but that they are praise-worthy in themselves, but\nthey should not be carried on by souls in such a state, their place is to\nwait at the door of mercy; to be in spiritual labour to get the bread of\nlife, and having found him, then to observe their call in Providence to\nvisit others.  But many are at this work all their days, and will be\nfound with no other title or qualification for glory but this.  When\ndeath comes, then they will, perhaps, have to reflect with pleasure on\nthe use they have been to others.  But this will be a miserable\nfoundation; and if they do not expect salvation upon this ground, yet\nthey must confess they have looked upon these things as fruits and\nevidences; but eternity will convince them they are not the fruits of the\nSpirit.  Hypocrite and Pharisees can feed here, but a quickened soul\ncannot; this every truly converted character must acknowledge.  Those\nhypocritical professors not only feed on these eternals, but on the\nfailings, sins, and falls, either real or supposed, of God\u2019s people,\nevery fall they hear of is marrow and fatness to them: these they sweetly\nenjoy, quite forgeting that they cannot be said to fall themselves, for,\nas they never stood, either by faith or love, they cannot fall; they have\nbut few temptations, and those only what a worldly man has, and not what\nis peculiar to God\u2019s elect.  Hence the Apostle says, Let him that\n_thinketh_ he standeth\u2014he only thinks so, yet he may fall from his\nprofession altogether; and as he exulted in the supposed falls of the\nsaints, God may cast him down from his excellency.  I have often observed\nthis myself, and the sacred Scriptures strikingly set it forth; _the net\nthey spread for others_, _the pit they have digged they have been taken\nin_; so God has always testified, sooner or later, as it is written, He\nthat rolleth a stone it shall turn upon him, and he that diggeth a pit\nshall fall therein.\u2014He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.\nRead the 10th of _Eccles._ from the 8th to the 15th verse.\n\nThe Food of the Serpent is said to be _Lies_\u2014_Hosea_ x, 13, _Ye have\neaten lies_\u2014this is that kind of food which suits their vitiated taste.\nThe same Prophet declares, They eat up the sin of my people; they set\ntheir hearts on their iniquity, for they shall eat and not have\nenough.\u2014_Hosea_ iv, 8, 9, 10.\u2014The private injury done to others is called\n_Bread eaten in secret places_\u2014and such eaters are like Pharaoh\u2019s lean\nkine, none the better for all they have devoured.  They are said to eat\nup the flesh of God\u2019s people, _Psalm_ xxvii, 2; and their lying words,\nback-biting, whisperings, envies, hatred, gossiping, and evil speaking,\ntheir running from house to house with tales against others, their secret\nand outward triumph in all they can get against others, whether true or\nfalse\u2014the whole of such conduct demonstrates a serpentine disposition,\nfeeding on dust; this has been seen of late in my severe trials from such\nSerpents and generation of Vipers.  All the foolish, absurd\nimprobabilities, lies, and the most cruel and daring misrepresentations\nof my natural temper and kindness to others, good or bad; these been\nturned by such persons to every thing infamous\u2014while some, being high\npriests, on whom the religious would have fixed their eyes instead of\nJesus, or his word, because of their name, their popularity, and\nproperty; the last being the occasion of the rest.  Many, to ingratiate\nthemselves in the favor of such, for sinister purposes, and nothing else,\nhave imposed upon them such things as they well knew their hearts\nnaturally love; then the Press has been employed\u2014while boys, who have\nbeen set up for teachers, have been employed to do the Devil\u2019s drudgery,\nviolate the Sabbath, and act contrary to every law, human and divine.\nThe Press sends forth a farrago of rubbish, and in the compass of a few\npages not less than _eighty lies_, which I shall one day expose.  These\nare the sweet morsels on which thousands of mere nominal Professors have\nfed, and God declares in my text _they shall_.\u2014Under the mask of\nsanctity, the garb of holiness, and a contention for the Law, all their\nspleen has been vented against me and my supposed crimes.  But, alas, I\nfear it has been rather against the great things God has done for me.\nWitness the bitterness against my preaching, and those who have been\nblessed under it.  The lying accusation of being an Antinomian in\nPrinciple, Preaching, and Practice, when every person that is acquainted\nwith the Gospel must acknowledge that I preach _all the Words of this\nLife_, doctrinally, experimentally, and practically.  To be sure, they\nwonder where I got the teaching that I have received; and my adversaries\nare as much puzzled about this, as those of old, who asked, _How knoweth\nthis man his letters_, _having never learned_?\n\nI must say here, that I feel thankful for what my enemies have said and\ndone against me, as I have learned much from these things; the Spirit of\nGod teaches by the Cross, and in the School of Affliction much is to be\nderived\u2014_whoso is wise will observe these things_, and he shall\nunderstand the _loving kindness_ of the Lord.\n\nMy enemies have been perpetually representing me as an enemy to the Law,\nwhereas, their conduct has proved that they were acting contrary to every\nLaw of God and man.  _Thou shalt not go up and down_ (not even\nBlackfriars Road) _as a tale-bearer among thy people_.\u2014_Levit._ xix,\u2014this\nwas the express command of God.\u2014_Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy\nself_, _whether he has fallen among thieves or not_.  _Speak evil of no\nman_, says the New Testament\u2014_Owe no man any thing but love_.\n_Moreover_, _if thy brother trespass_, _go and tell him his fault_,\n_between him and thee alone_, (suppose it be true) _if he shall hear\nthee_, _thou hast gained thy brother_\u2014so speaks the Word of God, which it\nour Rule of Walk and Conduct.  Now, if we consider the conduct of my holy\nenemies who are all zealous for practical holiness, and see how their\ndemeanor corresponds with this rule\u2014may we not exclaim, Which is the\nAntinomian, me or they?\n\nHow many turn sick at the success of others.\u2014What a wretched principle is\nENVY\u2014Solomon asks _Who can stand before it_?  But as my foes have had\nsuch a Feast on Ashes and Dust, I only wish them a spiritual appetite,\nand better food, even the Bread of eternal Life, which is meat indeed.\nThis is the joy of heaven\u2014this is Angels food, and this is the food on\nwhich the Believer lives.  \u2019Tis most blessed to trace this Subject.  Our\nCovenant God provided it, the Holy Spirit quickens us to a spiritual\nhungering after it\u2014convinces us of the vanity of all things else\nbeside\u2014brings us to love his word\u2014to hear those Preachers that bring\nforth this food; satisfies us with blessed views of him, sweet enjoyments\nof his glorious Person, covenant love, eternal mercy, his imputed\nrighteousness, his sovereign purposes, his atoning sacrifice, his\npeace-speaking blood, and the invitations, declarations, and exceeding\nprecious promises.  This is the food on which our souls live, if born of\nGod, and every man is known by his taste; the Serpent on those things\nwhich are compared to dust; the Believer on that which is called the\nBread of God; hence the Promise, _Ye shall eat in plenty_, _and be\nsatisfied_.  _Eat_, _O friends_, _drink abundantly_, _O beloved_.  _The\nmeek shall eat and be satisfied_.  _And I will satisfy her poor with\nbread_.  _For he hath filled the hungry __with good things_, _but the\nrich he hath sent empty away_\u2014so all Serpents will find it.\n\nThe text concludes, _They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy\nmountain_, _saith the Lord_.\u2014This was renewed in the New Testament,\n_Nothing shall by any means hurt you_.  And, in fact, nothing can\neventually hurt the Church; sin cannot, as it is atoned for\u2014the guilt of\nit is gone\u2014the love of it is removed as the love of Jesus comes into the\nmind; and the power and dominion of it is removed by almighty Grace, _the\nstronger than the strong man armed_\u2014the Law cannot, because it is well\nsatisfied with the Obedience of the adorable Surety\u2014Satan cannot;\nfrighten he may, but cannot touch them to their injury, for his very\ntemptations make us hate him the more\u2014Our own inbred corruptions cannot\nhurt us; they are more trying to us, the more we loath them and abhor\nourselves, as vile in God\u2019s sight\u2014the World cannot, as it is overcome for\nus, and the Faith God has given will overcome it in us.  Pharisees,\nHypocrites, and Impostors, with their damnable errors cannot, though they\nmay cause us much trouble.  Yet this will furnish us with much matter for\nPrayer and fear: these things will drive us nearer to God\u2014nor can\npoverty, pain, reproach, or sorrow do it, for these shew us this is not\nour rest, it is polluted; and all these work together for good, as sure\nas we are the called, according to his Plan.  These can neither hurt nor\ndestroy one bud of hope, or faith, or desire, or affection, either to God\nor his truth.  Nor can they destroy the soul, God loves it too well, and\nJesus has paid too great a price to permit it to be lost.  Besides, it is\nthe temple of the holy and eternal Spirit; who then can destroy it?\n\nThe Church is called _God\u2019s holy Mountain_\u2014typified by _Mount Sion_,\nfirmly settled in the eternal love, and everlasting purposes of Grace.\nConspicuous and useful in the world, and which, as a great Mountain,\nshall fill the whole earth in the latter day.  They are called a holy\npeople; the Lord Jesus Christ is their holiness before God, _Ye are\ncompleat in him_, _who of God is made unto us Sanctification_.  Secondly,\nAll their holiness is received from him, as the High Priest of their\nprofession; anointed, and taught by him, as a Prophet; they obey his\ncommands, as a King; this constitutes them holy, as their faith embraced\nthe atonement and righteousness of Christ; the holy Spirit\u2019s gracious\ninhabitation leads them to love and delight in God, his ways, his truth,\nhis people, and his ordinances; having grace given to walk in wisdom to\nthem that are without: this is real holiness, nothing short of this is\nscriptural holiness, and this is the Work of God; this proves our union\nto the Saviour, and this is our meetness for glory, and _such honor have\nall the Saints_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  Finis.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                        SHORTLY WILL BE PUBLISHED,\n\n                             _A FEW REMARKS_\n\n                                    ON\n\n                           BEL AND THE DRAGON,\n\n                      In the Book of the APOCRYPHA\u2014\n\n                        _In a Letter to a Friend_.\n\n    BEL is confounded.\u2014Jerem. l, 2.\n\n    And the Dragon fought and his Angels, and prevailed not.\u2014_Rev._ xii,\n    7.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES.\n\n\n{0}  The title page of the original in the British Library has a very\nfaint 1812 printed just below the 1813 date on the title page.","title":"A Feast for Serpents: Being the substance of a sermon, preached at the Obelisk Chapel, on Sunday evening, March 21, 1813","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":10074}