Page images
PDF
EPUB

and has bruifed the head of the ferpent: For this purpose was the Son of God manifefted, that he might destroy the works of the devil. O fhould not fuch glad tidings of great joy make every one of us who hear it join] iffue with the angels at his birth, and cry," Glory to God in the higheft, and on earth, peace, good-will towards men?" or, with the church, Pfal. cxviii. Hofanna to the Son of David: bleffed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord to fave us?"

The words in the general are a declaration of the great defigns of the appearance of the Son of God in this lower world in the nature of man, namely, to be avenged on the grand enemy of mankind, and to overturn his ufurped empire as the god of this world: " For this purpose was the Son of God manifefted," &c. Where we may notice these two or three things.

[ocr errors]

1. The great champion who takes the field, and appears in the quarrel of fallen man; and he is no less a personage than the Son of God. I remember the church, If. lxiii. 1. when the hears tell of a Saviour coming to rescue a loft world of mankind-finners, fhe cries, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatnefs of his ftrength?" Here you have a pointed and pofitive answer to this inquiry; it is none other than the Son of God. But O! "who fhall declare his generation?" or who can frame to pronounce his great and glorious name; for it is a name above every name," a name at which every knee muft bow, and every tongue confefs that he is the Lord," the Son of God. This is he who, under the Old Teftament, was known fometimes by the name of the "feed of the woman, the feed of Abraham, the Shiloh, the man of God's right hand, Immanuel, the branch of righteousness, the plant of renown, the meffenger of the covenant, the fun of righteousness, the ruler of Ifrael, whofe goings forth are of old, from everlasting; and who, in the New Teftament, is called the "Lord Jefus Chrift, the Son of man, the fent of God, the Mediator, the Redeemer" of loft finners. O Sirs, let "his name be as ointment poured forth" unto you; for "the virgins love him."

2. We have the grand enemy this renowned champion had in his eye, and that is the devil, the old ferpent, the head of the apoftate angels; he and his confederated fpirits, who had commenced a rebellion against God, their great Lord and Creator, for which they were tumbled out of the glories of heaven, into the depths of hell, and laid under chains of darkness, in which they were referved unto the judgement of the great day. Sirs, here is matter of furprife and wonder, Our guil

ty

ty confciences would have been ready to tell us, upon hearing of the coming of the Son of God unto this lower world, that his errand would have been to be avenged upon rebel man, who had renounced his allegiance unto God, and joined against him in a covenant with hell, and in an agreement with death: we might have expected to have heard him faying, "Ah, I will eafe me of these mine adverfaries, and be avenged on mine enemies" of Adam's family. But O, to the eternal surprise of heaven and earth, he takes the field, not against fallen man, but against fallen angels, who had ruined man, by drawing him into the fame condemnation with themselves.

3. We may notice the way and manner how the Son of God takes the field against thefe enemies. He does not make his attacks upon him in a fecret and clandeftine manner, he does not lay a fecret ambush, or steal a dint of the enemy unawares; no, but he acts in an open and fair way, he is manifefed. He proclaimed war against him in paradife, and gives the enemy four thousand years to prepare himself for battle, before he actually takes the field against him in perfon; fo that the enemy cannot fay he wanted warning, or was taken in a furprise. Every prophet raifed up under the Old Teitament was a herald fent before the renowned Captain of falvation, to give devils and men warning of his approach; they "proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord" to lost man, but "the day of vengeance" upon fallen angels, and all the wicked world, who keep by them.

4. We have the stated ground and defign of the war commenced against this enemy; it was to deftroy his works: For this purpose the Son of God was manifefted, that he might destroy the works of the devil. The grand plot of hell was to ruin the works of God, to disturb the creation, to deface the image of God, and to fet up his empire in thefe lower regions: being caft out of heaven, he would fet up his throne upon earth, and reign without controul as the god of this world But now, the purpose of the Son of God was to counteract the enemy, to fap and overturn the foundation of his ufurped kingdom, and to fet up and establish his own and his Father's authority among the fons of men: For this purpose the Son of God was manifefted, that he might deftroy the works of the devil.

The text itfelf is a diftinct doctrine, viz. That the Son of God was manifefted for this purpose, to destroy the works of the de

vil.

The method I defign, through divine affiftance, is,

I. To offer fome things with relation to this renowned champion,

champion, the Son of God, who efpoufes the quarrel of fallen

man.

II. Of the grand enemy, the devil, against whom the combat and war is carried on.

III. Of the manifeftation of the Son of God.

IV. Of the works of the devil, and how they are destroyed by the Son of God.

V. Apply.

I. The first thing is, to speak a little of our renowned champion, the Son of God. Sirs, our great work, who are ministers of the gofpel, is to raise his glory, and to bear his name among the Gentiles, that finners through the knowledge of him may be brought to break their covenant with hell, and put their truft under the fhadow of his wings. Only, before I proceed, I would advertise you, Sirs, that, by the fall of Adam, the whole tribe of mankind are become the captives and prifoners of this mighty enemy, the devil, here mentioned in the text. Immediately upon the breach of the firft covenant, which denounced death against the foul that finned, a handwriting was given out by divine juftice, whereby we were de livered over unto the power of the devil, as God's great jailor and executioner; and accordingly, the devil, having a legal right and power, he carries away all mankind as his flaves and captives, tying us faft to his fervice with the chains of our own lufts. Hence is that defcription of finners in their natural state, Eph. ii. 2. 3. where we are told, that they "walked according to the courfe of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the fpirit that now worketh in the children of difobedience. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times paft, in the lufts of our flesh, fulfilling the defires of the fleth and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Now, Sirs, there is your condition and mine, while in a natural state. Every man by nature is the devil's lawful captive; he comes into the world wearing the devil's livery of original fin, and he is led about in the devil's fervice in the chains of his own lufts and depraved nature. I remember there is a ftrange and furprising queftion put, If. xlix. 24. "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?" Angels and men could not answer this queftion, till the renowned champion in the text, the Son of God, appears and resolves it : and you fee what was his answer to that stunning and confounding question, ver. 25. "Thus faith the Lord JEHOVAH," in the perfon of his eternal Son, " Even the captives of the

[ocr errors]

mighty fhall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will fave thy children." And my text is just a further opening of what is there faid; For this purpose the Son of God was manifefted, that he might deftroy the works of the devil.

Now, this premifed, I come to offer you a few thoughts anent the Son of God, our glorious deliverer.

1. then, He is a perfon of a noble extract and pedigree, as you fee in the text; he is the Son of God by eternal generation, his Father's first-born, and therefore higher than the kings of the earth." It adds much to the character of a general, when it can be faid of him, that he is a fon, or a cadet, or the reprefentative of fuch a noble or royal family; and should it not contribute to commend the Captain of our falvation, that he is the Son of God, the brighteft ornament of the family of heaven, yea, the very "brightnefs of the Father's glory," and that he and the Father are one God?

2. This renowned perfon, the Son of God, he had an anci ent kindness for our family and tribe; for he from eternity "rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the fons of men." And his kindnefs to our family made him, in the council of peace, when he saw us in distress, offer his fervice to his eternal Father, on our behalf, faying, "Lo, I come: I delight to do thy will, O my God:"

3. That he might be in a capacity to help and relieve us from the hand of the enemy, he matches with our family, he marries our nature into a personal union with himself. Law and juftice required that the fame nature that finned fhould fuffer; and that he who fhould be our Redeemer, and the avenger of our blood upon Satan, fhould be our nearest of kin: "He was made a little lower than the angels," that he might " ftill the enemy and the avenger." So that our Goel, our kinsman, is the avenger of our blood; according to that of the apostle, Heb. ii. 14." He took part of the children's flesh, that through death he might deftroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."

4. This renowned champion, the Son of God, who takes the field alone in our quarrel against Satan, he is one of a very martial and heroic fpirit; he fears no enemy that fstands in his way. If. lix. 16-18. fee there with what a heroic fpirit he takes the field, though none of Adam's family, or yet of the family of angels, could join him in the enterprise; "And he faw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no interceffor; therefore his own arm brought falvation," &c.

5. He is one that is successful in all his enterprises: he never loft a battle, victory follows him in his train and retinue. Where-ever he goes, he stains his raiment with the blood of his enemies, like one that treadeth in the wine fat; for he "treads them in his anger, and tramples them in his fury." When death the king of terrors encounters him, he cries, "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave I will be thy destruction." When the armies of hell encounter him, he spoils them, and leads them about in triumph, and makes his ignominious cross a triumphant chariot, to which he ties them as so many trophies of his victory; he "cafts death and hell into the lake of fire and brimstone." And hence it comes, that his very name is the terror of hell; for "things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, do bow at the name of Jefus."

6. He is incomparable for power and wisdom; hence his name is "Chrift the power of God, and Chrift the wisdom of God." For power, he has all power in heaven and earth," and therefore none is able to withstand him. Who has an arm like him? "His hand is full of power, and his right hand great in might." And for wifdom, "all the treasures of wildom and knowledge are hid in him." The cunning of the old ferpent is but folly to him: "He taketh the wife in their own craftiness, and turns the counfel of the froward headlong." So much for the first thing, fome thoughts concerning our renowned champion, the glorious Son of God, who appears in the quarrel of loft finners of Adam's family.

II. The fecond thing was, to offer a few thoughts concerning the grand enemy of mankind, that the Son of God had in his eye when he appeared upon the stage, and that is the devil. Concerning this enemy, I shall only tell you,

1. That he was once an angel of light, and had his habitation at firft in glory. The apoftle Jude infinuates this, when he tells us, that they "left their first habitation." He was one of the brighteft ftars in the higher orbs of heaven, If. xiv. 12. called" Lucifer, the fon of the morning."

2. Pride and ambition was the fin of the devil. So much is hinted to us by the apoftle; "being lifted up with pride, he fell into condemnation." He valued himself upon his own created excellencies, and would needs vie it with God he faid in his heart, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will afcend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Moft High," If. xiv. 13. 14. Some think, that the thing that gave occafion unto his pride to vent itself, was the intimation of God's defign of taking upon him a nature inferior to that of the angels, in the perfon of his eternal Son, and the orVOL. II. D d der

:

« PreviousContinue »