ealed to the mercy of God. He would not be turned
from his purpose, but held fast the Angel, and urged his petition with
earnest, agonizing cries, until he prevailed.

As Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the
wicked to destroy God's people in the time of trouble. And as he accused
Jacob, he will urge his accusations against the people of God. He numbers
the world as his subjects; but the little company who keep the
commandments of God are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them
from the earth, his triumph would be complete. He sees that holy angels
are guarding them, and he infers that their sins have been pardoned; but
he does not know that their cases have been decided in the sanctuary
above. He has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them
to commit, and he presents these before God in the most exaggerated light,
representing this people to be just as deserving as himself of exclusion
from the favor of God. He declares that the Lord cannot in justice forgive
their sins, and yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as his
prey, and demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.

As Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the Lord
permits him to try them to the uttermost. Their confidence in God, their
faith and firmness, will be severely tested. As they review the past,
their hopes sink; for in their whole lives they can see little good. They
are fully conscious of their weakness and unworthiness. Satan endeavors to
terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless, that the
stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes so to
destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations, and turn from
their allegiance to God.

Though God's people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their
destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of
persecution for the truth's sake; they fear that every sin has not been
repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to
realize the fulfilment of the Saviour's promise, "I will keep thee from
the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world."(1059) If
they could have the assurance of pardon, they would not shrink from
torture or death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives
because of their own defects of character, then God's holy name would be
reproached.

On every hand they hear the plottings of