the obftinate finner: Hof. xi. 8. "How fhall I give thee up, Ephraim? how fhall I deliver thee, Ifrael,? how fhall I make thee as Admah? how fhall I fet thee as Zeboim ? my bowels are turned within me, my repentings are kindled together." Sometimes we fhall hear his lamenting voice, as if he were wringing his hands, and weeping over the folly and obftinacy of finners: Luke xix. 41. 42. " When he beheld the city, he wept over it, faying, Oh that thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!"

Sometimes we hear his triumphing and rejoicing voice, when a prodigal finner is brought home. There is joy in heaven at the converfion of a finner: "Let us make merry (faith the father of the prodigal); for this my fon was dead, and is alive again; he was loft, and is found."

Thus I have given you fome account of the voice of the Angel of the covenant, that has the name of God in him, both from the law and from the gospel. Sometimes he ftands on mount Gerizim, and fometimes on mount Ebal; fometimes he stands on mount Zion, and sometimes on mount Sinai; he turns from the one to the other, juft as he finds the case of the finner requires it. But the design of his voice, both in law and gospel, is to perfuade finners to give him the hearing of faith, that their fouls may live: and when nothing will do, then he is provoked to fay, as he did to the old world, "My Spirit fhall no more strive with men upon earth;" or, as he did to Ephraim, "He is joined to his idols, I will let him alone."

EXOD. xxiii. 21.-Obey his voice: for my name is in him.

THE EIGHTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.

HE Second general head propofed upon this ufe was, to inquire what is the voice of the great Angel of the covenant unto the prefent generation. He has been crying unto. all the generations that have gone before us; he spoke unto, the fpirits, or fouls of men, that are now in prifon, viz. in the prison of hell, as he did to the old world in the days of Noah,. by his ministry; and he is now lifting up his voice unto this prefent generation.

And there are some more general, and fome more particular cries, that he is giving at this day. VOL. II.

Xx

First,

Firfi, I fay, there are fome general cries that he is giving unto all men every where, especially under the difpenfation of the word.

1. then, One general cry he gives unto all men is, That "all have finned, and come fhort of the glory of God;" or that which he uttered to the old world, That" all flesh have corrupted their ways, they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doth good, no not one. "He is crying to all man kind fince the fall, as in Jer. ii. 12. 13. Be aftonifhed, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very defolate, faith the Lord. For my people have committed two great evils; they have forfaken me," &c. Oh Sirs! hear this cry of the Angel of the covenant, and confider it, that all mankind fince the fall of Adam, and therefore you in particular, are far from God; that though God "made you upright," yet you have "found out many inventions;" that though God planted you a noble vine, wholly a right feed," yet ye are become "the degenerate plant of a ftrange vine: The whole head is fick, and the whole heart faint; from the fole of the foot even unto the crown of the head, there is nothing but wounds, and bruifes, and putrefying fores." Oh finners! hear what the Angel is faying, and lay to heart the corrup tion of your nature, till ye be made to acknowledge with David, "I was conceived in fin, and brought forth in iniquity. Behold, I am vile, what fhall I answer thee?" It is for want of a right uptaking of natural corruption and depravation, that the gofpel has fo little fuccefs, and that Chrift is so little valued and prized; for "the whole need not a physician, but they that are fick."

2. The angel of the covenant, Jefus Chrift, is crying unto every Chriftless finner, that death and the curfe of God is purfuing him on the account of fin. You know the curfe or penalty of the law is, "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou fhalt furely die; The foul that finneth, fhall die:" and accordingly by one man fin entered into the world, and death by fin; and fo death paffed upon all men, in that all have sinned" and therefore, Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Oh Sirs! for the Lord's fake think upon it, for he that speaks from heaven is telling you, that the vengeance of an infinite God is purfuing you on the account of fin; you are "condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on you; and therefore you are curfed in your basket and ftore, in the city and field, in your outgoings and incomings;" curfed in your foul and body; curfed in time and through eternity. And therefore I warn you, that "in the hand of the Lord there is

a

a cup, and the wine is red, it is full of mixture, and all the wicked of the earth fhall wring out the dregs thereof, and drink them."

3. Another cry I think the Angel of the covenant is giving, is that, Rom. viii. 22. "The whole creation groaneth, and travaileth in pain together until now." Whenever man finned, the curfe of God not only lighted upon him, but spread itfelf over the creation. The inferior creatures felt the dint of the curfe of God, and were fubjected unto bondage, through the fin of man; yea, the very earth under our feet lies groaning under the weight of it, "Curfed is the ground for thy fake;" infomuch, that if it were not for the patience and longfuffering of the great Creator, the earth would very foon do with men and women, as it did to Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, fwallow them up.

4. The Angel of God is crying to all men, that death and the grave will fhortly devour and fwallow them up: "Duft thou art, and unto duft shalt thou return." See to this purpofe, If. xl. 6.-8. "The voice faid, Cry. And he faid, What fhall I cry? All flefh is grafs," &c. And therefore, Sirs, in the name of the Angel of God, I warn you to make ready for death; for that grim meffenger of the Lord of hofts is every day making his approaches toward you, and will hue down thefe carcafes of yours, that you are now pampering and feeding; they will be a pleafant feaft for the worms.

5. Another cry is, that "as it is appointed for all men once to die, fo after death the judgement." Sirs, think upon it now; no fooner hath death diflodged you from these tabernacles of clay, and the eyes of your bodies fhut, but that very moment you will find your fouls fifted before the awful tribunal of an infinite God, in order to have your eternal state determined. Oh Sirs!" prepare to meet your God," for a meeting with him you must have ere it be long. There is another fort of a scene to open upon the back of death, than you now fee with your bodily eyes, or yet with the eyes of depraved reafon, though affifted with revelation. And if you die out of Chrift, your hearts will be ftricken with a horrible furprife at the firit fight of the awful and infinite majefty of God, as a vindictive Judge and implacable enemy. Oh!"who knows the power of his wrath? according to his fear, fo is his wrath." Defolation and destruction will overtake the finner as a whirlwind. 6. Another cry the uncreated Angel of the covenant is uttering by the voice of his difpenfations, is that which you have, Matth. iii. 10. "And now alfo the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, fhall be hewn down, and caft into the fire."

Sirs, the awful difpenfations of God, and his providential ap pearances, feem to have this language, that he is taking the ax of his indignation in his hand, to hew down the generation of his wrath; efpecially thofe who have had a long standing under the means of grace, and yet have continued barren. "Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?" Oh Sirs! God will foon or fyne avenge him of his enemies, who, through unbelief and contempt of the glorious gofpel, have affronted him and his Anointed; he will fend forth his armies, and destroy thefe rebels. 66 Bring forth those mine enemies which would not that I fhould reign over them, and flay them before me.” He may bear long, but he will not bear always: no, no, Spirit fhall not always ftrive with men upon earth." Oh! if a fire be once kindled in his anger, it will confume the earth with its increase, it will fet on fire the foundations of the mountains, and burn to the lowest hell. And Oh! "who can dwell with devouring fire? who can dwell with everlasting burnings ?"

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7. Another cry he is uttering, is that, Prov. i. 20-23. "Wisdom crieth without, the uttereth her voice in the streets! How long, ye fimple ones, will ye love fimplicity ?" &c. He is crying to all men every where to repent, as If. lv. 7. "Let the wicked forfake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts," &c. Ezek. xxxiii. 7. "Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die, O house of Ifrael? for as I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of finners," &c. Oh Sirs, the Angel that has his Father's name is crying to you to flee from the wrath that is to come, for "there is yet hope in Ifrael concerning you;" if you will flee to him, he will hide and deliver you from the wrath of God, the rage of men and devils; and therefore "turn ye to your ftrong holds, ye prifoners of hope." Thus I have told you of fome general cries unto all men.

Secondly, I will tell you of fome more particular cries he is fending out at this day to people of feveral ranks in the

land.

1. The Angel that bears his Father's name, and who utters the voice of God, he is crying to the powers and potentates of the earth at this day, " By me kings reign, and princes decree juftice. Promotion cometh neither from the east, weft, fouth, or north: it is I that fet up one, and caft down another." He is faying to them, "Ye are called gods; but ye fhall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. And therefore be wife, ye kings; be inftructed, ye judges of the earth, left I break you as with a rod of iron, and dafh you, and your nation, in pieces as a potter's veffel."

2. The Angel of God is uttering his voice, and crying to Britain and Ireland, and particularly to this land, because of their perfidious dealing with him in the matter of folemn leagues and covenants for reformation, and other abominations, under which the lands are groaning. I think, I say, that the voice of the Angel to these lands is what ye have, If. xxiv. 1.-6. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it wafte," &c. Oh! Sirs, I fear there be a fad reckoning for covenant-breaking and bloodshed against these lands. The voice of the Angel in the prefent confufions abroad, and divifions at home, feems to be, "Behold the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquities. And, fhall I not vifit for these things? fhall not my foul be avenged on fuch a nation as this?"

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3. The voice of the Angel to nobles and gentry, and all the rich and great ones of the land, who have generally caft off very form of religion, and given themfelves up to luxury, oppreffion, and revelling and caballing; I fay, his voice to these feems to be that, Jer. v. 5. 6. "I will get me unto the great men, and will fpeak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgement of their God; but thefe have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds," &c. And Jam. v. I.-5. "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miferies that fhall come upon you," &c.

4. The voice of the Angel to the corrupt minifters of Scotland, and these that join with them in spoiling the Lord's vineyard, and his tender vines in the land, and who cast snares and ftumbling blocks before the Lord's people, marring instead of maintaining and carrying on a covenanted reformation; his voice to them, and all their patrons, from the highest to the lowest, with whom they bandy to the fpoiling of the poor people of God, is that, If. iii. 12.-15. "As for my people, children are their oppreffors," &c. and Hof. v. 1. and ix. 7. 8 &c. The voice of the Angel, particularly to all intruders into the miniftry, and these that join hands with them, and abet them in their intrusions, is that, Jer. xxiii. 21. 22. and xxv. 34. 35. to the close. Ezek. xiii. from ver. 10. to ver. 16.

5. The voice of the Angel to the poor fcattered and op. preffed flock of Christ, that are mourning because of the abounding wickedness and defections of the day, and becaufe of the oppreffion of the enemy, is like that, Pfal. xii. 5. "For the fighing of the poor, for the cries of the needy, now will I arife, faith the Lord, to fet them free from these that are too ftrong for them;" and that of Zeph. iii. 18. "I will gather them unto me that are forrowful for the folemn affemblies, to whom the reproach of it is a burden;" and that, Mic. ii. 12. 13.