By the power of God attending his word, he brings these sinners to repentance: an entire inward as well as outward change, from all evil to all good. And this is, in a sound sense, to _cast out devils_, out of the souls wherein they had hitherto dwelt. The strong one can no longer keep his house. A stronger than he is come upon him, and hath cast him out, and taken possession for himself, and made it an habitation of God thro’ his Spirit. Here then the energy of Satan ends, and the Son of God _destroys the works of the devil_. The understanding of the sinner is now enlightned, and his heart sweetly drawn to God. His desires are refined, his affections purified: and being filled with the Holy Ghost, he grows in grace till he is not only holy in heart, but in all manner of conversation. 14. All this is indeed the work of God. It is God alone who can cast out Satan. But he is generally pleased to do this by man, as an instrument in his hand: who is then said, _to cast out devils in his name_, by his power and authority. And he sends whom he will send upon this great work: but usually such as man would never have thought of. For _his ways are not as our ways, neither his thoughts as our thoughts_. Accordingly he chuses the weak to confound the mighty, the foolish, to confound the wise: for this plain reason, that he may secure the glory to himself; that _no flesh may glory in his sight_. II. 1. But shall we not _forbid_ one who thus _casteth out devils_, if _he followeth not us_? This it seems was both the judgment and practice of the apostle, till he referred the case to his Master. _We forbad him_, saith he, _because he followeth not us_, which he supposed to be a very sufficient reason. What we may understand by this expression, _He followeth not us_, is the next point to be considered. The lowest circumstance we can understand thereby, is, he has no outward connexion with us. We do not labour in conjunction with each other. He is not our fellow-helper in the gospel. And indeed whensoever our Lord is pleased, to send many labourers into his harvest, they cannot all act, in subordination to, or connexion with each other. Nay, they cannot all have personal acquaintance with, nor be so much as known to one another. Many there will necessarily be in different parts of the harvest, so far from having any mutual intercourse, that they will be as absolute strangers to each other, as if they had lived in different ages. And concerning any of these whom we know not, we may doubtless say, _He followeth not us_.