To the fame purpose was that manifestation of him made to Abraham, "In thy feed fhall all the nations of the earth be bleffed:"and upon this manifeftation did the patriarchs feed for the space of about two thousand years; and all the following manifeftations of Chrift, they were but further and gradual openings of the myfteries of the grace and love of God contain. ed in these two promises.

2. He was manifefted typically to the children of Ifrael in the Mofaic acconomy. The tabernacle, the temple, the paffover, the manna, the rock that followed them, the facrifi ces and ceremonies of that difpenfation, what else were they but the "fhadows of good things to come?" The apostle calls them the "rudiments of the world," whereby they were let in to the knowledge of Chrift, in his perfon, natures, and offices. And,

3. To this there was added a prophetical manifeftation of the Son of God. The prophets, what were they but fo many heralds or harbingers fent before this great King to tell that he was a-coming? Jacob on his death-bed prophefied of him under the name of Shiloh, to whom the gathering of the people fhould be: Mofes prophefied of him as the great prophet that God fhould raise up like to himself, &c. : David prophefied of him under the name of the Son of man, whom God would make strong for himself, and the King whom he would fet on his holy hill of Zion; Isaiah speaks of him as the branch that should spring out of the root of Jeffe, that should stand for an enfign to the Gentiles, and a root springing out of a dry ground: Jeremiah, as the Lord our righteousness: Ezekiel, as the plant of renown Daniel calls him the Meffiah: Malachi as the messenger of the covenant, that should come unto his temple. Thus, I fay, all the prophets prophefied of him: "To him bore all the prophets witnefs."

4. He was manifefted perfonally in the fulness of time, by the affumption of the nature of man: Gal. iv. 4. “In the fulness of time God fent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law." All the former manifeftations of Christ were but like the gradual peepings of the light of the day; but now the Sun of righteousness actually arifes on the world, with healing under his wings. By his doctrine, his miracles, his obedience to the law, and death on the cross, and his refurrection and afcenfion again into heaven, he lays the foundation of a new gofpel-church within the territories of the god of this world. Of this more afterwards. But by this manifeftation of the Son of God, a dead ftroke was given unto the kingdom of darkness, and the foundation of a happy eternity laid, by "finishing tranfgreffion, making an end of

fin, making reconciliation for iniquity, and bringing in an everlasting righteousnefs" for the juftification of finners before God, and giving them a new title to eternal life, forfeited in the first Adam.

5. There is a declarative manifeftation of the Son of God in the difpenfation of the gofpel. The apoftles, and other minifters of Chrift, they are fent out as fo many heralds to proclaim and intimate to a loft world, that the great Redeemer and Saviour is actually come; and that, having done his work, "whoever believes in him fhall not perish, but have everlafting life." We preach Christ crucified, and tell you, that "he that believes in him fhall be faved: and he that believeth not fhall be condemned.".

6. He is manifefted facramentally. He not only prefents himfelf to our understandings by the ear in the difpenfation of the word, but also to our eyes in the fealing ordinances of baptifm and the Lord's fupper; and more especially in the laft, where, by the elemen's of bread and wine, his body and blood are set before us, that we may difcern him, and feed him as an incarnate God, dying, or pouring out his foul unto the death for our redemption.

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7. Chrift is manifested in a spiritual and efficacious way and manner in the day of converfion. "God who commanded the light to thine out of darkness, shines into the heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jefus Chrift." "It pleafed God (fays Paul) to reveal (or to manifeft) his Son in me." This is called by the prophet, If. xxv. 7. a" renting of the vail, and a destroying of the face of the covering;" becaufe, in the converfion of a finner, the firft faving work of the Spirit is to deftroy ignorance and unbelief, and to teftify of the glory, fulness, fuitableness, and excellency of the Lord Jefus to the foul, whereby it is determined to caft off the devil's livery, and to put on Christ for righteousness, and to fay to him as a king, " O Lord, other Lords befides thee have had dominion over me, but by thee only will I make mention of thy name." I might tell alfo of the renewed manifeftations of Chrift to the foul, pofterior unto thefe at first converfion: for Chrift having begun to give the light of the knowledge of his glory unto the foul," his goings forth are prepared as the morning," he is ay refreshing the foul with the other blink of his reconciled countenance, whereby he weakens the intereft of Satan in the foul, and changes it gradually" into the fame image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."

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8. There is the public and folemn manifeftation of the Son of God at the laft day, fpoken of, Rev. i. 7. "Behold he co

meth

meth with clouds, and every eye fhall Tee him, and they alfo which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him."

Thus you fee how it is that the Son of God is manifested; and in every one of these manifestations (or if there be any other that I have not named) he had in view the destruction of Satan and his works. By his manifestation in the first promife, we have reason to think that both Adam and Eve, but efpecially the laft, were converted; and fo the foundation of the patriarchal church laid in the midst of Satan's kingdom. By his manifestation to Abraham, under the name of the promised feed, through whom he engaged to be a God to him, and to his feed, the foundation of the Jewish church was laid; and upon the foundation of this promife the Mofaic economy was founded, and all the prophecies of the prophets, whereby the church was continued till the days of Chrift, By the actual manifeftation of the Son of God in the nature of man, and his obedience, death, and refurrection, the foundation of the New Teftament church was laid; and such a stroke given by his after manifeftation in preaching of the gospel, accompanied with the power of the Spirit, that the works of the devil fell down apace through the world, the Heathen oracles filenced, the idolatrous and grofs abominations which Satan had erected in the world overthrown, and multitudes every where converted unto the faith of Chrift, fubmitting as volunteers unto his fceptre of righteoufnels, like drops of dew from the womb of the morning. But now I proceed to,

IV. The fourth thing propofed in the method, which was, to speak of the Son of God bis deftroying the works of the devil. And here I would, 1. Prove that it is the great business of the Son of God to deftroy the works of the devil. 2. Shew how it is that he destroys them. 3. When is it efpecially that he destroys them. 4. Why,

The first thing is, to prove that it was the great bufinefs of the Son of God to deftroy the works of the devil. This is evident from the whole current and tenor of the fcriptures from the beginning to the end of them, Gen. iii 15. he was to bruife the ferpent's head. No fooner did he enter upon his mediatory work, Matth. iv. but he enters the lilts with this enemy, and foils him with the fword of the Spirit. By his death he is faid to have poiled principalities and powers. He threw him out of the fouls and bodies of men when upon earth; and, by the preaching of the everlasting gospel, his kingdom falls like the lightning from heaven. And, Rev. xii. we read of a war between Michael and his angels, and the devil and VOL. II. E e

his

his angels. But now this will be further cleared by the induction of a few particulars.

1. Was it the plot of hell, to have God difhonoured and affronted in all his attributes and perfections by the fin of man? Well, Chrift counteracts the devil in this; for he brings a greater revenue of glory to the crown of heaven by the work of redemption, than could ever have accrued to it by all the fervice that men cr angels could have done to God through all'eternity; hence it was that the angels, immediately upon Chrift's appearing in the world, cry, "Glory to God in the higheft." O the bright difplays of the divine attributes in him, who is the brightnefs of the Father's glory!"

2. It was the work of the devil, to difgrace the holy law of God, by breaking it himfelf, and teaching man to break in upon it but the work of Chrift is, to "magnify the law, and to make it honourable." "Think not (fays Chrift) that I am come to deftroy the law: I am not come to deftroy, but to fulfil it." He himself fulfilled it as a covenant, and establishes it as a rule to all his followers, and puts his Spirit within them, caúfing them to walk in his ftatuites, and to do them.

3. Was it the work of the devil to difturb God's govern ment in the world, and to caft all' into disorder and confusion? Well, God the Father lays the government upon Chrift's fhoulders, he puts the reins of adminiftration in his hands, on purpose that he may reftore every thing into the order wherein he had fet them at first: and at the end of the day, when he has done his work, it will be a "time of reftitution of all things;" and the very creatures long for that happy day, Rom. viii. 19. &c.

4. Was it the devil's work, to eftablish his own kingdom of darknefs in this lower world, by eftablishing error, ignorance, unbelief, Atheism, pride, carnality, profanity, and all manner of fin and wickednefs? Well, it is the work of Chrift to pull down these pillars and ftrong holds of Satan's kingdom: Dan. ix. he fhall finifh tranfgreffion, and make an end of fin." And in the 5th verfe of this chapter, where my text lies, "And ye know that he was manifefted to take away. our fins; and in him is no fin. His name is Jéfús, because he faves his people from their fins."

5. Was it the devil's work, to break all fellowship and friendship betwixt God and man? Well, it is the work of Christ, to bring them into fellowship and friendfhip one with another; therefore he is called a Mediator, or a Peacemaker. His work is to make reconciliation for iniquity: When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by his death:

death: God was in Chrift reconciling the world unto himfelf" Yea, Chrift himself becomes "a new and living way," by which God comes down unto us, and we come up unto God, and have "our fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift."

6. Was it the work of the devil, to bring man under the curfe and condemnation of the law, that fo he might be in the fame condition with himself? Well, it is the work of Chrift, to "redeem us from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us." And they who believe in Chrift, being wrapt up in his righteoufnefs, there is no condemnation to them, nothing can be laid to their charge.

7. Was it the work of the devil, to deface the image of God which he ftamped upon man? It is the work of Chrift, to reftore it; and for this end he manifefts himself in the glass of the gofpel, that we, by beholding of his glory, my be" changed into the fame image, from glory to glory."

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But, not to infift upon particulars, Chrift juft "reftored what he took not away," but what the devil and fin took away. Satan fpoils us of our light and fight; Chrift comes to " the blind eyes, to give light to them that fit in darkness, and in the region of the fhadow of death." Satan fpoils us of our beauty, and rubbed the hue of hell upon us; Chrift takes them that have "lain among the devil's pots," and makes them "like the wings of a dove covered with filver, and her feathers with yellow gold." Satan ftrips us naked; Chrift clothes the poor finner with "white raiment," with the "garment of falvation," and the "robe of righteousness." Satan fpoils us of our ftrength; but Chrift makes his strength fufficient for our weaknefs, makes the feeble as David, fo as to refift the devil himself, and to put him to flight. flight. Satan fpoils us of our peace with God, and peace with confcience; But Chrift reftores both: "Being juftified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jefus Chrift. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you: and a peace that paffeth all underftanding." Satan takes away, through fin, our title to God and glory; but Christ restores this again with advantage, and fettles our claim to God as our God, and to the inheritance of glory, upon a better foundation than the claim that the first Adam ftood upon. In a word, the devil, and his first-born (fin), took away our spiritual life, and leaves us "dead in trefpafies and fins," but Chrift reftores life to the dead: "I am the refurrection and the life; and, He that believeth in me, out of his belly fhall flow rivers of living waters." And then he himfelf becomes the continual fountain of their life, and their