. God that juftifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died," &c. Yea, at the fame time that he spoiled principalities and powers on the crofs, he tore the hand-writing that was against thee, nailing it to his cross. 2. Here is comfort against remaining corruption and indwelling fin. Perhaps thou art crying, "O wretched man that I am!" Well, here is help at hand, he that has avenged thy blood on Satan, by bruifing his head, he will never fuffer his work to ftand long in thy foul; no, no; down they must go, all his ftrong-holds fhall go to ruin. Art thou peftered with the prevalency of unbelief, ay turning thee away from the living God? Well, the Redeemer's vengeance will destroy that, for it is one of the works of the devil; he is "the Author and Finisher of faith ;" and therefore he must answer his name, and fulfil in thee the whole good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." Art thou peftered with remaining enmity? Well, this is a work of the devil, to fill the mind of man with enmity and prejudice against God, who is love; and therefore the day of vengeance is in his heart against that alfo: he has already flain the enmity on God's part by his blood, and he will flay the enmity on thy part more and more by his Spirit; and as he carries on the work of faith, he will alfo carry on the work of love; for faith worketh by love; and the Spirit of faith is also a spirit of love. Art thou groaning under remaining ignorance, that thou cannot win to more knowledge of Chrift, and of God in him, more know, ledge of his will? Well, this is a work of the devil, his kingdom is a kingdom of darknefs; and the Redeemer's vengeance fhall be upon it alfo; for he is "the true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world ;" and as he has already begun to fhine into thy heart by the light of the knowledge of his glory; fo thou fhalt find his goings forth prepared as the morning, and thy path fhall be as the fhining light, which fhineth more and more unto the perfect day." Art thou burdened with the legality of thy fpirit, a ttrong inclination to reft on the works of righteouinefs done by thee, rather than upon Chrift and his righteoufnefs, the alone foundation that God hath laid in Zion? Well, here is comfort, this work of the devil fhall be deftroyed more and more by the Avenger of thy blood, "The fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and to them will he flew his covenant." He will more and more wean thy heart from the way of works, and reconcile thee more and more unto the way of grace through Jefus Chrift, for he has faid, "That grace fhall reign through righ teousness unto eternal life, by Jefus Chrift our Lord." In a word, not to multiply particulars, whatever fin or luft ufurps the the throne of Christ in thy heart, down it fhall go, the Redeemer's vengeance fhall be upon it as a work of the devil; for he has faid, "I will fubdue their iniquities. From all idols will I cleanfe them. Sin fhall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." 3. Is Chrift the Avenger of thy blood upon Satan? Then furely he will not fuffer that enemy continually to harass thee with his fiery darts; no, he will ftill this enemy and avenger; he will either rebuke the tempter, or elfe his grace fhall be fufficient for thee, and his ftrength thall be fo perfected in thy weakness, that, through thy God affifting thee, thou shalt leap over his walls, and break his bows of tteel in pieces; yea, his faithfulness is engaged that he "will not fuffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able to bear, but with the temptation will provide a way to efcape, that thou mayft be able to bear it." 4. Art thou covered with the dark clouds of defertion, crying, "O that I knew where I might find him?" Here is comfort, he that has avenged thy blood upon Satan, he will not himself keep thee long in torment with his own abfence; "he will not contend for ever, neither will he be always wroth; left the fpirit fhould fail before him, and the foul which he has made. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. For a small moment have I forfaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer." 5. Here is comfort against the fears of apoftacy, or falling away, to the reproach of religion, and the ruin of thy foul for ever. He that has avenged thy blood, and pulled thee out of the paw of that enemy, he will not quit thee; all his faints. are in his hand; he keeps them by his power through faith unto falvation, and no man, no devil, fhall be able to pluck, thee out of his hand. And therefore thou may fing and say, "Though I fall, I fhall arife; for the Lord upholdeth me with his hand." 6. Here is comfort, he that has avenged thy blood, he will fupply thy wants, both outward and inward. Would he ever do fo much for thee, and then fuffer thee to ftarve? No, no;." My God thall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Chrift Jefus." Thy Kinfman is full handed, he doth not want, and thou fhall want nothing that is good for thee. 7. The Avenger of thy blood will take care of thee in public reelings; when the mountains are removed, and the waters VOL. II. 3 P roar, roar, he fitteth upon the floods, and he will make all things work together for thy good. 8. The Avenger of thy blood will pity and sympathize with thee in allthy afflictions. 9. He will ftrengthen thee for the work he calls thee to, whatever weakness be in thee, for "he giveth power to the faint." 10. Lastly, The Avenger of thy blood, he will make thee victorious over death, the last enemy: "Death fhall be swallowed up in victory." He has made the grave a bed of reft, a paffage to thy Father's houfe and kingdom, and he himself will carry thee through Jordan; and therefore thou mayst fay in faith, "This God is our God for ever and ever; and he will be our guide even unto death." ·Is. lxiii. 4.For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. THE FOURTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT. HE fourth use fhall be of Exhortation. Is it fo that the day of vengeance was, and ftill is, in the heart of our glorious Redeemer? has he avenged our quarrel upon the old ferpent, by bruifing his head, and ruining his ufurped kingdom and dominion? Then, First, In the name of our kind Kinfman, the glorious, Avenger of our blood, I proclaim liberty to all the vaffals of hell, to all the prifoners of the prince of darknefs. O Sirs, the devil he has made prifoners of the whole family of Adam; becaufe we rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the Moft High, therefore we are made to fit in darkness and the fhadow of death, bound and manacled by the god of this world, with the cords of our own iniquity as with fetters of iron: but I bring you glad tidings of great joy, our Goel, our Redeemer and Avenger, he has broken up the devil's prifon, he has broken the gates of brafs, and cut the bars. of iron in funder: and he comes and cries to his prifoners to come forth, to them that fit in darkness, Shew yourfelves. And therefore we, as the heralds of this great King, which has the armies which are in heaven following him, and whofe name is written upon his thigh and vesture," The KING of kings, and LORD of lords," I fay, we, as heralds fent forth in his name, proclaim the year of jubilee unto you, the year of releafe and freedom from your bondage and captivity unto this enemy. The Son of God makes you free, and therefore be ye free indeed: he "proclaims liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prifon to them that are bound;" liberty from the guilt of fin, that it may not condemn; liberty from the power of fin, that it may not reign in your mortal bodies; liberty from the filth and defilement of fin, that it may not obstruct fellowship between God and you; liberty from the law as a covenant, that it fhall not have power to condemn 'you; liber. ty from the power of death and the grave, that it may not fting you, or have the victory over you; liberty from 'this prefent evil world, that it may not infnare you; liberty from all your enemies, that you may ferve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteoufnefs all the days of your lives. O Sirs, I proclaim this acceptable year of liberty and releafe from captivity to all thefe enemies unto you. O, for the Lord's fake, accept of the liberty that your Kinsman and Avenger of your blood proclaims to you his kinsfolk. This exhortation and call to accept of liberty from the power of darkness, from the dominion of Satan the prince of darkness, has fuch a charm with it to every rational and thinking perfon, that one would think there needed no motives or arguments to perfuade people to fall in with it. Folk that are in hard temporal bondage and thraldom will purchafe their liberty with the molt valuable things they have in a world; and they whe are in poffeffion of their liberty, will spend not only their estates and substance, but their very blood in the maintenance and defence thereof; folk will quit their lives rather than give up even their temporal liberty. Who doubts but if a company of men were fhut up in a prifon by their powerful enemy, who defigns their death, if one more powerful fhould come and vanquish him, and break up the prifon doors, and call the priforers to go free; I fay, who doubts but, in that cafe, every prifoner would make his efcape, every one would run out of prifon fafter than another? But, Sirs, although this liberty that our Kinsman proclaims unto us be infinitely more valuablė than all the temporal liberties of the world; yet fad experience lets us know, that the greater part of the hearers of the gospel, to whom the Lord's jubilee and year of freedom is proclaimed, they choose rather to be the devil's bond-men, and to continue under the bonds of iniquity that he has wreathed about them, than to accept of this glorious liberty that I am fpeaking of Satan Satan has fo bewitched and intoxicate them with fin, that they lie ftill in the devil's fetters, as if their bondage were perfect freedom and liberty, and never reckon themselves at liberty, unless they be "walking according to the courfe of the world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the fpirit that now worketh in the children of difobedience." And therefore, fay, though one would think men needed no motive to perfuade them to accept of liberty; yet fuch is the backwardnefs of the heart of man, through the power that Satan and fin has upon them, that we must not only proclaim liberty to them, but we muft ufe arguments to perfuade them to it and therefore allow me, in the name of our kind Friend and Avenger, to befpeak you in a rational way; for we are dealing with men and women that must be "drawn with the cords of love, and the bands of a man.". O that God by his Spirit may both perfuade and enable you to comply with the call. ( Motive Will you confider the evil and danger of that bondage and captivity you are under. It is the most comfortless captivity; no comfort in the pit of fin, which is the devil's prifon, therefore called a ་་ a pit wherein there is no water," Zech. ix. 11. Indeed Satan, he promises pleasure, profit, and comfort, in the way of fin, and in his fervice; but, alas! it is but like the crackling of thorns under a pot, or like a glafs of fweet poifon, which fo foon as it is fwallowed down, it is like the gall of afps in the bowels: "There is no peace, faith my God, to the wicked." The bondage thou art under, O finner, it is a wearifome bondage; finners are faid to "weary themfelves to commit iniquity." Many a wearifome day has the finner in the devil's fervice; he leads them about, as it were, in a chain, and makes them to drudge in gratifying this, and that, and the other luft. It is a difgraceful bondage to be the devil's drudge, who is himself "referved in chains under darknefs, unto the judgement of the great day." Oh who would choose to ferve, and to be fervant unto that chained roaring lion! It is the most cruel bondage that ever was; this enemy and avenger, he handles poor creatures that are under his power, in the most barbarous manner, torturing both foul and body; you have an emblem of his cruelty, in that poor man, Mark v. 2. 5. and Luke viii. 27. It is a terrible bondage, there they are faid to dwell in darkness, and in the regions of the shadow of death, where there is nothing but horror and terror, a terror to themselves, and to others round about them. O Sirs, who would not accept of liberty from fuch a captivity and bondage? Mot. 2. By way of motive, will you confider what kind of freedom |