being made a curfe for us;" and this retired bond is among the trophies of his victory.

4thly, When he went up with a fhout, he carried along with him the broken law, repaired, yea, magnified, and made honourable, by his obedience unto the death. Chrift was made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law; and we may fuppofe, that when Chrift afcended, he made a report to his Father, that, according to his orders, he had fulfilled the whole commands of the law, and fo maintained the honour of the justice, holiness, and fovereignty of God. O Father, would he fay, here is the holy law, which was broken by the fin of many, repaired, yea, magnified, and made honourable; and thereupon the Lord declares himself well pleafed for his righteoufnefs fake: upon which the whole redeemed company ery with a loud voice, "Sing praifes to God, fing praifes: fing praifes unto our King, fing praifes."

5thly, When Chrift afcended with a fhout, he carried not only the keys of death, but the keys of the houfe of David along with him; that is, an abfolute dominion, fovereignty, and headship over his church, and over all creatures for the church's fake: II. xxii. 22. "The key of the houfe of David will I lay upon his fhoulder: fo he thall open, and none fhall shut, and he fhall fhut, and none fhall open." The key was the badge of authority and fovereignty; this is committed to an exalted Chrift, it is a jewel of his crown; and it ill becomes either parliaments or affemblies to enact laws which do not bear the Aamp of his authority upon them. Thus you fee fome things that Chrift carried with him when he afcended,

may

7. With refpect to the folemnity of Chrift's afcenfion, we confider that he went up with a fhout. And here, ift, You may ask, Who were they that gave the thout? We read of nothing but a deep and filent gazing after him, as he went up from this lower world, Acts i. 9.—11.; where then was the shouting? Anfw. The fhouting was not in the church militant, but in the church triumphant, among an innumerable company of angels, and the fpirits of juft men made perfect: thete tons of God fhouted for joy, when they faw their glori ous head of redemption and confirmation coming in perfonally among them, with his vesture dipt in blood, and his name written on his thigh and veiture, "The King of kings, and the Lord of lords," a name above every name that can be named, whether in this world, or that which is to come. When a victorious general, after a long abfence, and great dangers, returns back to the army, the whole army will welcome him with a fhout; fo the armies which were in heaven, clothed with fine linen, white and clean, when they faw the Son of

God

God coming in among them, wearing the nature of man with all the enfigns of glory and victory, shining with the brightnefs of his Father's glory and majefty; we may eafily think that they would make heaven to ring with their Hallelujahs and fhouts.

2dly, You may ask, What kind of fhouts were among that triumphant company, when the Lord Jefus went up to his throne and kingdom? Anfw. We may easily fuppofe that it

was,

(1.) A fhout of approbation. Every one of the ranfomed, all the angels, they would approve of his conduct in the management of the great undertaking of redemption. O! fays the Father, I am well pleafed with him; and, in token thereof, I fet him at my right hand of Majefty on high: and then the whole triumphant company would cry, Amen, Hallelujah, for he has done all things well.

(2.) A fhout of joy and gladnefs was heard when Chrift afcended. There is joy in heaven among the angels when but one new member is added to his mystical body; how much more, when Chrift himself in perfon entered the upper regions of glory? How would they cry one to another then, as Rev. xix. 7. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his bride hath made herself ready?"

:

(3.) A fhout of praife and gratitude. Every harp would be tuned, and every tongue loofed, to cry, as Rev. v. 9. "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the feals thereof: for thou waft flain, and haft redeemed us to God by thy blood, and haft made us kings and priests unto our God:" and so every one cafts down their crowns at his feet, faving, "Worthy art thou to receive power, and riches, and wifdom, and ftrength, and honour, and glory, and bleffing."

(4.) A fhout of admiration and adoration was heard among the triumphant company, when Chrift went up. The dazzling beams of our Redeemer's glory, obliges the angels to cover their faces with their wings, when they fee him upon his throne, high and lifted up, crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hofts, the whole earth is full of his glory." When Ifrael faw the glory of Chrift fhining in the deftruction of Pharaoh and his hoft, they were ftruck with wonder, faying, "Who is a God like unto thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praifes, doing wonders?" How much more would the ranfomed in glory fing this fong, when they faw all the enemies of our falvation drowned in the fea of divine wrath? Hence it follows,

(5) That there was a fhout of victory and triumph heard

among

among the heavenly crowd, when Chrift went up, like that, Exod. xv. 1. 3. "The Lord has triumphed gloriously.-The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name." And ver. 6. 7. "Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dafhed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou haft overthrown them that rofe up against thee: thou fenteft forth thy wrath, which confumed them as ftubble." Thus you see that God in our nature went up with a fhout, the Lord with the found of a trumpet.

IV. The fourth thing in the method was, to her what there is in the afcenfion of Christ that affords fuch ground of triumph. Here I will name a few things that may make us, even in a militant state, to fall a fhouting with the church triumphant in heaven. Here then let us confider in what capacity and upon what bufinefs he is gone up; for he is not gone up to heaven as other faints when they die, and depart to glory, in a private capacity; no, but he went up in a public capacity, in the name of his whole myftical body. More particularly,

1. God is gone up with a fhout, as our forerunner, to open the way to glory, and to make a report of what was done in the days of his humiliation upon this earth: Heb. vi. 20. "Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jefus, who is made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedeck." As a forerunner he rids the way, that we may follow him by faith into the holieft, and may follow him at death without fear of that last enemy, Rev. i. 17. And as a forerunner he goes before to tell tidings, that the law is fulfilled, juftice fatisfied, and every thing agreed upon in the council of peace for the redemption of loft finners actually accomplished. I have finifhed the work which thou gaveft me to do," "Shout for joy then, all ye that are upright in

John xvii.

heart."

2. He has gone up as a victorious general, to receive a triumph after the battle. When man finned, he fell under the power of Satan the god of this world, and he was carrying all Adam's pofterity away, as fo many prifoners in chains; and when that question was put, "Shall the lawful captive be delivered, fhall the prey be taken from the terrible ?" angels and men were concluding that it was impoffible, because not only was the enemy powerful, but he had the juftice and faithfulnefs of God engaged in the penalty of the broken covenant of works on his fide. Well, but fays the glorious Redeemer, Emmanuel, the Son of God, "Even the lawful captive fhall be delivered, the prey fhall be taken from the terrible; and I

will do it in a confiftency with the law, and to the honour of God's holiness, juftice, and fovereignty, and other perfections. Accordingly, he takes and bruifes the head of the ferpent in the fatisfaction of justice; "he comes from Edom with dyed garments," like one that "tradeth in the wine fat;" and after the victory he goes up to heaven with a fhout, leading captivity captive; and now he has made all his and our enemies his footstool and may not this make all the redeemed to fhout with the voice of triumph?

3. He is gone up as a bridegroom, to prepare a lodging for his bride, and to make fuitable provifion for her against the day of the confummation of the marriage : John xiv. 2. 3. "In my Father's house are many manfions:-I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be alfo." Haft thou been determined, pour foul, to give heart and hand to this better Hufband, faying, "I am the Lord's, I will be for him, and not for another?" Well, here is good news, God is gone up with a fhout, the Lord with the found of a trumpet; and he is gone to make ready thy lodging and room in heaven, against the time when thou fhalt, follow him. Perhaps thou dwells in a crazy house of clay now, that is ay drooping, and thou art afraid every day it fall down about thy ears; but up thy heart, the day of thy redemption draweth nigh, ere long the Bridegroom himself will come and fetch thee home to himself, and "thou fhalt enter the King's palace with gladness and rejoicings, and mirth on every side; and thou shalt be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework, and presented unto him without spot or wrinkle," &c.

4. God is gone up with a fhout in our nature, as "the great high priest of our profeffion :" Heb. iv. 14. "Having a great high priest, that is paffed into the heavens, Jefus the fon of God, let us hold faft our profeffion." And, chap. ix. 12. "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Heb. x. 21. 22. lt was the ground of Ifrael's confidence towards God, when their priest went into the holy of holies, with the names of all the tribes of Ifrael in his breastplate, and was accepted of God; fo it is the ground of our confidence and boldness, that our Jefus is paffed into the heavens, "Having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart," &c. You were hearing yesterday in the action-fermon, that the high priest under the law had belis hung upon his garment, which made a found when he entered into the holy of holies; by hearing of which the people of Ifrael, attending without the vail, knew VOL. II.

M m

that

that he was alive, which was the fignal of their acceptance in him. Sirs, our great New Teftament high priest, Chrift Jefus, he is gone within the vail to the holiest of all, not made with hands; but thefe days bygone, you have been hearing, and perhaps fome of you at prefent are hearing, the found of his bells, while worshipping without the vail. The preaching of the gofpel is the founding of his bells; every faithful minifter is a bell hung upon the garment of our high priest; and whenever his spirit moves them in dispensing the word, the bell founds, whereby we know that our Redeemer lives; and "bleffed are the people that know this joyful found."

5. God is gone up in our nature as "an advocate with the Father" John ii. 1. "If any man fin we have an advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous." There is a fpecial emphafis in that word, " we have an advocate ;" the meaning is, he is conftitute and appointed to appear in our caufe, and negociate in our affairs. Oh! lift up thy head, believer, do not doubt of the fuccefs of his negociations; for his intereft is fo great in the court, that never any man's caufe was loft in his hands; the father always hears him: Heb. vii. 25. "Wherefore he is able to fave unto the uttermost all that come unto God through him, because he ever liveth to make interceffion."

6. God is gone up as our exalted King. He is fet down upon the throne, in the midst of the throne, and upon the right hand of the Majefty on high, and "he fhall rule the houfe of David for ever, and of his kingdom there fhall be no end." Men are combining together for the ruin of his kingdom at this day, violating his laws, changing the order of his houfe, beating their fellow-fervants; but let all the children. of Zion be joyful in their King, for he will make all thefe crooks of his adminiftration even before the day be ended; the reins being in his hand, he will ride upon the corruptions of men, and "the wrath of man fhall praise him, and the remainder of his wrath he will reftrain.

7. He is gone up to mount Zion above, as the great Shepherd, to look after his fheep that are wandering in the wildernefs. Although Chrift, as to his human nature, be out of our fight, yet he is not fo far off as to lofe fight of us. Sirs, if your eyes were but ftrengthened, as Stephen's, to look through these heavens over your heads, you would fee Jefus fitting at the right hand of God. And is it to be supposed, that he does not fee his poor people upon earth, and know how it fares with them? "He that formed the eye, doth he not fee?" Yea, he ftands upon mount Zion above, and he

has