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unto the faith of Chrift's refurrection from the dead? How came it about, that the Roman emperors, and that whole powerful empire, after their utmost efforts to raze the name of Chrift and Christianity from the earth, were at length obliged to bow at the name of Jefus, and to confess, that he was the Lord of all, to the glory of his eternal Father? All thefe things, I fay, are clear and uncontested evidences of the afcenfion of Chrift, and his acceffion to the throne of glory above. And I am ready to think, that it was with a view to these, and the like events, that were to follow upon his refurrection and exaltation, that he said to his difciples, while he was yet on this fide of death, and of the fea of his fufferings, John xiv. 12. "He that believeth on me, the works that I do, fhall he do alfo, and greater works than these fhall he do because L go unto my Father:" and indeed it was fit that he fhould do greater works after he came to the throne, than when he was yet on the dunghill.

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I should now go on to prove, that Chrift's afcenfion to the throne of glory, is matter of triumph and shouting to all the redeemed, both in the church militant and triumphant; but this will be cleared in the fequel of the difcourfe; and therefore I wave it now, and proceed to,

II. The fecond thing in the method, which was, to fhew what is imported in this expreffion of his going up: God is gone up with afbout. I anfwer in thefe particulars.

1. It implies his voluntary humiliation, according to that of Chrift, John iii. 13. where he fays to Nicodemus, in order to afford him a view of his divine nature, and of his humiliation and exaltation at once, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." Our great and glorious Redeemer, though he had glory with his Father before the world was; though he was by him as one brought up with him; was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; yet he rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the fons of men fuch was his kindness to the fallen tribe and family of Adam, that he would needs pay us a visit in our low eftate. More particularly,

2. God is gone up; it fuppofes his incarnation, or affumption of the nature of man; for, as I faid in the explication of the words, God effentially confidered cannot be faid to go up or to come down, to afcend or to defcend, because he fills heaven and earth, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him; therefore his going up must have a refpect unto him as incarnate. And here is a mystery that you and I had need to be learning VOL. II.

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every day. This is a ftrange thing that God hath wrought in the earth, the fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in the man Chrift Jefus. Without controverfy, it is a great mystery, that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. In the fulness of time, God fent forth his Son made of a woman." Oh! let every one of us for himself take hold of this kinsman, as Ruth did of Boaz, and claim relation to him, faying, "Caft thy skirt over me, for thou art my near kinfman."

3. Chrift going up; it fuppofes, that he had ended or finished the work or service for which he came down into this lower world; that he had fulfilled the law, fatisfied juftice, and brought in everlafting righteoufnefs. To this purpose is that of Chrift, John xvi. fpeaking of the work of the Spirit, when he fhould be poured out after his afcenfion, he shall convince the world of righteoufnefs, because I go to the Father." Sirs, if Chrift had not brought in everlafting righteousness, if he had not magnified the law and made it honourable, he could never have gone up to the Father; but his going up with a fhout of triumph, is a declaration to the world, that "the Lord is well pleafed for his righteoufnefs fake."

4. It fuppofes his refurrection from the dead, whereby he was juftified as the public head and furety of an elect world, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the fpirit of holinefs. If the bonds of death had detained him, he could never have gone up with a fhout. Oh! Sirs, Chrift is rifen indeed, and by his refurrection we are begotten again unto the lively hope of "an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away."

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5. God is gone up with a fhout, implies that the gates of glo which had been fhut, were again opened by the death and fatisfaction of Chrift. Immediately upon the breach of the first covenant, heaven's gates were barred against Adam and all his pofterity, and would have continued fo to all eternity; but, upon the fatisfaction of Chrift, promifed and actually made, and fulfilled in the fulness of time, the gates of glory were caft open for the reception of Chrift himself, as the furety, and of all that do by faith fly in under the covert of his righteousness; hence we are faid to "have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jefus," Heb. x. 19. ; and the ground of this you have, chap. ix. 24. "Chrift himself entered into heaven, to appear in the prefence of God for us."

6. It implies, that God the Father is perfectly well pleafed with the perfon and undertaking of our glorious Redeemer; for, if he had not been well pleased, how could he give him fuch a folemn reception after his work was done? God the Father he declares his fatisfaction with him, while he was yet

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about his work, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:" and when his work was ended and finished, he testified his fatisfaction with it, by giving him a triumph upon the back of it; he ufhers him into the throne of glory with the joyful fhouts and triumphs of the heavenly hofts of faints and angels.

7. It implies, that when Chrift afcended, after his finishing our redemption, he was received into heaven with the univer fal applaufe and admiration of the triumphant company, Oh! Sirs, when the Son of God returned to heaven, wearing the nature of man, carrying the fears of the wounds he got upon the field of battle, when he bruifed the head of the ferpent, how did every one of the heavenly company study to outdo another in warbling forth his praifes! How did the arches of heaven echo and refound, while the triumphant Conqueror refumed his throne, crying, "Worthy is the Lamb that was flain, to receive power, and riches, and witdom, and ftrength, and dominion, and honour, and glory, and bleffing!-Salvation to our God which fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever!" But this leads me to,

III. The third thing in the method, which is, to speak a little of the folemnity of Chrift's afcenfion; for here we are told, he went up with a fhout, and with the found of a trumpet. And here let us confider,

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1. The place from whence he did go up. He went up from this earth, where he had many a forrowful and weary day; for he was "a man of forrows, and acquainted with griefs." Oh! what a fence of forrow and mifery had he gone through from his birth to his grave! He was indeed "the hind of the ing," as he is called in the title of the 22d pfalm. This world was the hunting-field, where dogs compaffed him about, and purfued him till they bit him to death upon mount Calvary. What good reafon had he to hate this world, where he had met with fuch bad entertainment? efpecially if we confider,

2. Whither he is gone up. He is gone up into the third heavens, where no unclean thing can enter; and the heavens are to contain him till the time of the reftitution of all things. He is gone to a paradife of pleasure, where the old ferpent cannot enter; there is no lion or ravenous beaft to hurt or detroy in all that holy mountain. He is gone up from the dunghill to the throne, where he is fwaying the fceptre of glory, where thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, angels and archangels, cherubims and feraphims, attend him, as

his miniftering fpirits, waiting his orders, to do service to his myftical body yet upon earth.

3. To whom is he gone up. You have an answer unto this, in his words to Mary, John xx. 17. where he gives her a commiffion; "Go tell my brethren, that I afcend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." He had from all eternity lodged in his Father's bofom; he had been by him as one brought up with him; he was daily his de light, rejoicing always before him: and, Oh! what an infinite fatisfaction would it be to him to return to his Father, to be poffeffed of that glory that he had with him before the world

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4. Confider through what region, and through whose territories he went up. He went up through the region of the air, the territories of the devil, whofe principal refidence is in the air, therefore called "the prince of the power of the air." And, Oh! how did it gall and torment that proud fpirit, and all his apoftate legions, to fee the Captain of our fal vation return in triumph through his kingdom, from the field of battle, carrying the fpoils of the enemy along with him, every one of them obliged to bow at the found of the name of Jesus!

5. Confider his levee or retinue that attended him when he went up. This feems to be pointed at, Pfal. lxviii. 17. "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is in the midst of them as in Sinai :” and then it follows, "Thou haft afcended up on high." Angels are called "the chariots of God;" his chariots of war, which he makes ufe of against his enemies; his chariots of conveyance, by which he tranfports his favourites into his houfe of many manfions, as we fee in the cafe of Elijah and Lazarus; his chariots of ftate, that attend him in his folemn appearances. When he defcended upon mount Sinai, at the delivery of the law, he was accompanied with myriads of angels; and now, after he had fulfilled and magnified the law, and made it honourable, as our furety, he returns to glory with these my riads of angels attending him, "The Lord is in the midst of them, as in Sinai." O what a splendid train attended our Redeemer, when he went up in the invifible world of fpirits!

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PSAL. xlvii. 5.-God is gone up with a fout, the Lord with the found of a trumpet.

THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.

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FTER a fhort recapitulation of the preceding heads, I go on in difcourfing the folemnity of Chrift's afcenfion to the throne of glory in our nature. And therefore, 6. We may here confider the fpoils and trophies he carried along with him when he went up; "for, when he afcended up on high, he led captivity captive."

ft, then, The head of the old ferpent was among the spoils of Christ's victory, which he carried along with him. Our glorious and renowned Deliverer, he encountered Goliath, and flew him with his own fword; through death he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; he brake the head of leviathan in the waters, and gave him to be meat to them that inhabit the wilderness. Chrift's victory over principalities and powers on the cross, is a fweet banquet to believers travelling through the wilderness of this world.

2dly, The keys of the grave are among the spoils Chrift carried with him when he went up with a fhout: "Fear not: for I have the keys of hell and of death," Rev. i. 18. Chrift defcended into the grave, and came out of it again, carrying the gates of the grave (like Sampfon) away with him; and he proclaims to all his friends, "I have ranfomed you from power of the grave; I have redeemed them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction."

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3dly, The debt-bond that we were owing to justice, retired and cancelled, is among the trophies of Christ's victory that he carried with him when he went up with a fhout. Col. ii. 14. there we read of a "hand-writing that was against us, and contrary to us." What was it, but just the curfe of the broken law, which we had all signed in our first father Adam, when he gave his confent unto the covenant of works? By this all the race of Adam were bound to lie under the wrath and curfe of God for ever. Well, Chrift took this out of the way by the nails of his cross the bond was cancelled and retired, for "he hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law,

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