How admirable is the candour and frankness of Christianity! In other systems and pursuits it is usual to conceal difficulties and dangers, and to exhibit nothing, openly, but prospects of advantage. Not so the Captain of our salvation, and those who had learned of him. They call for self-denial, engage in a life of conflict, and glory in having the cross to bear. Like an experienced general, the apostle, having rallied his fellow-soldiers to the onset, reminds them that they had to contend against no ordinary competitors: not against flesh and blood, (q. d.) not against them _only_, or _chiefly_, but against beings who were originally of a higher order, and _even now_, in their fallen state, are powerful, crafty, and malignant. Whether we consider their nature, their number, or employments, they are formidable adversaries to man. _Their nature._ They are wicked spirits, who once were in the presence and in the service of God; but "they kept not their first estate;" having fallen by rebellion, and being reserved for the judgment of the great day, they, like their prince, are "going about seeking whom they may devour." Still they are angels that excel in strength, whose wisdom is corrupted into cunning and craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Being _spirits_, they are invisible, and tempt without being tired. Were they seen, they might be shunned: were they flesh and blood, they might become weary in their work; but these "rulers of darkness" have continued the work of wickedness ever since they were cast down from the heavenly places. Their _number_ also renders them a terror to the children of men; and although under restraint, they are permitted to unite their counsels and force against us. If, in the days of our Lord, seven had cutered the person of _one_ unhappy sufferer, and _legions_ into _another_, we may conclude the gross number greatly exceeds that of the human race. The devil and his angels are represented as a king and his subjects; whence we may infer that they act in concert, and that, whilst they sow discord among men, there is an awful concentration of power and of policy amongst themselves. Their usurped _dominion_, and constant _employment_, are often referred to in the holy Scriptures; and not an instance of extraordinary degradation of character, of disaster of condition, but is traced to the influence of the wicked one, who is emphatically called the "ruler of the dark ages of this world." He blinds the mind--hardens the heart--leads captive at his will--resists the prayers of the saints--stifles the cry of the sinner--and (as in the case of Job) puts forth a dreadful power by the destructive elements of nature: and were it not for the restraints of divine Providence, and the operations of grace, the history of man would be a record of continual crime, and consequent misery.