take hold of my strength, and be at peace with me, and they fhall make peace with me." The royal Prince of peace fends us out as ambaffadors in his name, " praying you in Christ's stead as though God did befeech you by us, that you be reconciled to God." We proclaim "peace, peace to them that are afar off, and to them that are near." O rebels lay down your re. bellious arms, furrender yourselves to the great King, whose name is "the Lord of hofts.'

3dly, From the royal ftandard of Heaven we iffue forth a proclamation of pardon to condemned criminals, lying under fentence of death. See a furprifing proclamation of pardon, If. xliii. 25. which you may read. The very name of the glorious General is," The Lord pardoning iniquity. O let the wicked forfake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon," or multiply to pardon; you fhall have a free discharge of all the debt you owe to divine juftice; the handwriting against you, which is contrary to you, fhall be cancelled.

4thly, From this royal ftandard a proclamation of health comes forth to the diseased. Are there any maimed or lame, halt or withered creatures here, who are unfit for fervice, cannot creep or walk in the Lord's way? We call you in the name of the great General, and tell you, that there is room for that moment you come in under the standard, though lame, you shall leap like an hart. Perhaps you think yourselves very unfit for the war, after you have been fo lamed by fin and Satan; but we tell you good news, when you come in under this standard, "the bones which were broken shall be made to rejoice."

you;

5thly, From this royal standard we iffue a proclamation of great riches to the poor. O Sirs, here is gold tried in the fire, gold better than the gold of Ophir, lying scattered about the tents of the great King, whofe name is the "Lord of hofts. Riches and honour are with me; yea durable riches and righteoufnefs" and "we preach among you Gentiles the unfearchable riches of Chrift."

6thly, A proclamation of "bread to the hungry, and drink to the thirty; fat things full of marrow, wines on the lees well refined. Wisdom hath builded her houfe, fhe hath hewn out her feven pillars. She hath killed her beafts, the hath mingled her wine; fhe hath also furnished her table. She hath fent forth her maidens, fhe crieth upon the highest places. of the city, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled," Prov. ix. at the beginning. Again, we iffue forth a proclamation of marriage with the Son of God,

to

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to them that have "played the harlot with many lovers ;" a proclamation of life, to you that are "dead in trefpaffes and fins; O hear the voice of the Son of God, for they that hear fhall live." Thus you fee what glorious encouragement the great General, whofe ftandard we lift up in the everlasting gofpel, gives to loft finners, to come and lift themselves in his fervice.

But now you may readily afk me, To what end or purpose do you thus encourage us to gather in under the royal standard of the Prince of the kings of the earth? I anfwer, Soldiers, you know, take on for the wars; fo it is for the wars of the Lord, we are come to take you on in the fervice of the great King. But this leads me to,

A fecond branch of the exhortation. A standard, as I fhewed in the doctrinal part, is an enfign of war. The glorious Son of God came into this lower world, upon an expedition to fpoil principalities and powers, to overturn Satan's ufurped kingdom, to condemn fin and make an end of it, and to overcome the world; and where ever Chrift is preached, men, women, and children, are called, and charged to join him; to "come forth to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." And therefore let me exhort all of you, efpecially you who have been at his table, taking the military oath to the great Lord, to "fight the good fight of faith." When we call you to come in and gather under his banner, it is not to ftand idle: no, no; Chriftianity is a fight, it is a battle, a hot battle, and you will find it fo; for "the kingdom of heaven fuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." The armies of hell are in your way; lions and leopards will encounter you; and therefore, watch ye, stand faft in the faith, quit yourfelves like men, be ftrong." Now, in profecuting this exhortation, I shall endeavour to answer a few questions relative to the spiritual war you are engaged in.

Queft. 1. Who are the enemies we have to deal with in this warfare? and where lie they encamped? As to the first part of the question, it was anfwered already in the doctrinal part, that Satan, fin, and the world, are the enemies you are to engage with. And as for the place of their encampment, they are fo fwift and fubtle, that their motions are very uncertain; as they put on very different fhapes, fo they have very uncertain motions. As for Satan, he lodges in the air, therefore called "The prince of the power of the air." The world again is on every hand of you; where-ever you go, whatever company you fall into, whatever bufinefs you are engaged in, you will find its fnares on every fide of you. As for fin, its headquarters is in the heart; therefore are we commanded to "keep

keep the heart with all diligence," because it keeps a clofe correfpondence with the devil and the world, through the avenue of the imagination and outward fenfes.

Queft. 2. What is the quarrel or the ground of this war? for it is the cause or ground of a war that makes it lawful. Never was war commenced upon a better ground or quarrel; the honour of God, and our own eternal intereft is concerned in it. And that you may understand the ground of it the better, know, when God created this beautiful world, and all things in it, after he had prepared and fitted it for habitation, he created man, and fet him in Paradife, as his viceroy, gave all things into his hand, and put all things under his feet. Satan, whom God had caft out of heaven, with his angels, for pride, having ranged through this vifible creation, lights upon this little globe of earth, and at last finds out our first parents in Paradife. Whenever he faw man, with the glorious image of God ftamped upon him, he was filled with indignation against God, and fet his hellifh wifdom a-work to contrive the ruin of our first parents, and all their posterity; and accordingly he effectuates it, after the manner that you read of, Gen. iii. That he might rub an affront upon the Majesty of heaven, and his viceroy, he defaces the image of God, enflaves man to himfelf, and takes pofleflion of this lower world as his own; called therefore "the god of this world." He difturbs the beautiful order of this lower world, fills it with fin, vanity, and trouble, under which the whole creation groans and travels in pain. Well, when this is done, the Son of God beholds it from his throne, "high and lifted up," flies from heaven to earth, arraigns the devil and our firft parents, calls them to an account of what was done; and immediately fets up his ftandard of war, issues forth a proclamation of war against the devil, Gen. iii. 15. "The feed of the woman fhall bruife the head of the ferpent:" and, by this one word, which was the first lifting up of the ftandard, he wrefts the one half of the then world out of the devil's hand; for, from the original, it appears, that the woman was converted by the uttering of the first promife. The words may be read, "I will put enmity between thee and this woman." And ever

fince, the Son of God has been carrying on the war against the devil, wrefting his captives out of his hand, and will never leave the field till he has driven Satan out of his kingdom; and then "we look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Thus, you see the ground

of the war.

Queft. 3. Who is the General, under whofe conduct we are to fight? I anfwer, as you heard already, The glorious Son

Son of God," the Lord of hofts, the Lord mighty in battle," is our leader and commander. And I shall only give you these two or three qualities of the General.

1. He is fo wife, that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in him; "his eyes are as a flame of fire ;" and there is not any thing that is not manifest in his fight. The deepest counfels of his enemies, he penetrates into them; "he difcovereth deep things out of darknefs, and bringeth out to light the fhadow of death."

2. He is an experienced General; for he is "the ancient of days, fet up from everlasting." He knows the enemy's ftrength, and had the experience of his affaults when here upon earth; and his experience of temptations makes him ready to fuccour them that are tempted.

3. He is a ftout and martial General, he was never dared nor daunted; when he had the wrath of his Father, the powers of hell and earth to encounter, he fet his face like a flint against all. See how he challenges all his enemies to encounter him, If. 1. 7-9. "Who is mine adverfary? let him come near to me. I know that I fhall not be ashamed, Who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all fhall wax old as a garment; the moth fhall eat them up."

4. He is a powerful General; all power in heaven and in earth is in his hand; for he is "the man of God's right hand, whom he has made ftrong for himself." He fpoiled principalities and powers, he treads them and their confederates in his anger, and tramples them in his fury.

5. He is a victorious General, he never loft a battle or engagement fince the war commenced in Paradife; and, as a token of his victory, he has carried the spoils of fin, Satan, death, and hell, along with him to heaven, Pfal, lxviii. 18. "When he afcended up on high, he led captivity captive," &c.

Queft. 4. Who bears the expences of the war? I answer, The war is undertaken and carried on upon the expences of the great General: and well is he able to bear it; for "in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;" he calls none to go a warfare upon their own charges. He himself is the armoury of the houfe of David, where hang the fhields of the men of war. Whatever the Chriftian foldier wants in his expedition, he hath it ready a: hand; as,

1. The foldier must be provided of meat and drink. Well, the General will fee to this, "Thy bread fhall be given thee, and thy waters fhall be fure :" and before his foldiers want, he will feed them with his own flesh and blood; and all the foldiers of his army, they live upon the flesh and blood of the Ge

neral;

neral: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."

2. The foldier muft have his clothing. Well, the General will fee to that alfo; they will buy of him white raiment to cover the fhame of their nakedness; and they all pride themselves in the robe and garment that they receive from their General, If. Ixi. 10. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my foul fhall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of falvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness."

3. The foldier must have his arms provided him. Well, the General will fee to that alfo : Eph. vi. you see there a complete ftand of arms the General has provided for his foldiers," the shield of faith, the helmet of falvation, the breastplate of righ teoufnefs, the girdle of truth, the fword of the Spirit." Here is nothing wanting, either to offend the enemy, or to defend the foul in its warfare.

4. The foldiers of an army must have garrifons for winter-quarters, where they may be fheltered from stormy wind and tempeft. Well, the glorious General will fee to this also; yea, he himself is their garrison," their dwellingplace in all generations, a hiding place from the storm, a covert from the tempeft, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary

land."

5. The foldier must have his orders and directions when to move and when to stop. This shall not be wanting either; his law fhall be "a lamp unto their feet, and a light unto their path: He hath fhewed thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord thy God requireth of thee." When the foldier is to go on to the battle, he commands him to fight, to fland faft, to quit themselves like men, and to be strong. And fometimes he commands them to retreat and flee, " Flee youthful lufts." Speaking of fin he fays, " Avoid it, pafs not by it, turn from it, and pafs away."

6. The foldiers of an army, when fick and wounded, they must be looked to. Well, the General is a phyfician, and a tender-hearted fhepherd, who "gathers the lambs with his arms: He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up all their wounds; and gives them the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praife for a heavy fpirit." Thus you fee that the whole charges of the war lie upon the great Ge neral. In one word, he is the ftrength of the whole army, and the glory of their ftrength; and he bids them go in his ftrength, "making mention of his righteousness, even of his only.'

Queft. 5. What auxiliaries hath the believer in this war? I

anfwer,