Page images
PDF
EPUB

thy ftrength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyfelf." This love is the fulfilling of the law.

2. Truft him as thy God; "Truft ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting ftrength. Trust in him at all times, ye people." Truft him for every promised bleffing; and afk them of him in prayer, for they are agreeable to his will." And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. Caft all thy cares upon thy God, and in every thing by prayer let your requests be made known unto him."

3. Worship him as thy God: "He is thy Lord, and worship thou him." And O worship him in the beauties of holiness, for "holinefs becomes his fanctuary for ever."

4." Walk before thy God, and be thou perfect. All people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. Walk worthy of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Let your light fo fhine before men, as others feeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven.'

5. Praise, extol, and magnify him as your God: Exod. xv. 2. "He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him." Let the high praises of thy God be continually in thy mouth, that ever faid to thy foul, I am the Lord thy God. Join iffue with David, Pfal. xviii. 46. faying," the Lord liveth, and bleffed be my Rock: and let the God of my falvation be exalted."

:

6. Lafly, Difband all other gods: Thou shalt have no other gods before me let nothing ufurp his room. "Little children keep yourself from idols. Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: Ifrael, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no ftrange god be in thee: neither fhalt thou worship any ftrange god." I am the Lord thy God, Pfal. lxxxi. 8-10.

VOL. II.

I

THE

THE STANDARD OF HEAVEN LIFTED UP AGAINST THE POWERS OF HELL, AND THEIR AUXILIARIES.

BEING

THE SUBSTANCE OF SOME SERMONS

PREACHED UPON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER IN KINCLAVEN, BURNTISLAND, AND ORWELL, anno 1730.

ISA. lix. 19.-When the enemy fball come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord fall lift up a flandard against him.

ROм the 16th verfe of this chapter and downward, we

have an illustrious prophecy concerning our glorious Redeemer, and the falvation he was to work for loft finners by his obedience unto the death. He is introduced as a renowned champion, taking the field in our quarrel, when there was none to interpofe for our deliverance from the thraldrom of hell and fin. He puts on his armour, ver. 17. And what is it? Righteoufnefs is his breaftplate, falvation his helmet, vengeance against Satan and his confederates his clothing, and zeal for his Father's glory and our good his cloak or mantle. Being thus armed, he diftributes death and ruin among all those who ftand in the way of his undertaking,,ver. 18. " According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adverfaries, recompence to his enemies," &c.

Thus, having carried the day, fpoiled principalities and powers, the fame thereof fpreads among the Gentile nations, upon the wings of the everlafting gofpel. And what is the fruit of this? Ver. 19. "So fhall they fear the name of the Lord from the weft, and his glory from the rifing of the fun." The meaning is, that the Gentile nations should come from east and weft to the kingdom of the New Testament church, which is the nurfery for the kingdom of glory;

when

when the Jews, who had been for a long time the only children of the kingdom, fhould be caft out into utter darkness, becaufe of their unbelief, in rejecting and crucifying the Lord of glory.

But now, when the powers of hell are thus overthrown by a glorious Redeemer, and his New Testament church reared up among the Gentiles; will the routed enemy ever rally his forces, or moleft the church of God any more?Yea, fays the prophet, after all this, the enemy will come in like a flood; but though he do, he fhall not fucceed in his attempts, for the Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a standard against him.

So then, in the words we have these two things in general. 1. An attack made by the gates of hell upon the church of God: The enemy fhall come in like a flood. 2. We have a repulfe given him: The Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a standard against him.

1. I fay, we have an attack made by hell and its auxiliaries upon the kingdom and intereft of Chrift: The enemy fhall come in like a flood. Where again we may notice, (1.) By whom the attack is made; it is by the enemy. The church of God, or his faints in this world, have many enemies, as you may hear afterward. They are expreffed in the fingular number, becaufe of their unity in their defigns against Christ and his kingdom, and because they attack under one principal leader and commander, namely, the god of this world, whose kingdom Chrift came to overthrow. (2.) We may notice the manner of the enemy's attack; he comes in like a flood, with great violence and noise, as though he would fweep away all clean before him, Rev. xii. 15. we read that " the ferpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman; that he might caufe her to be carried away of the flood." It is no unusual thing in fcripture, to reprefent the irruptions of hell and its armies upon the church of God, under the notion of a rapid flood or river, which threatens the ruin of every thing that ftands in its way, Pfal. xciii. 3. "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice." (3.) We have the progrefs of the enemy, or how far the attack may be carri ed; he fhall come in: he shall not stay without the walls or borders, like an enemy laying fiege, and going no further; but he fhall come in, and "overflow even to the neck." Satan has a party within the church to take him by the hand; yea, he has a party within the very heart of the elect to fide with him. (4) We have the certainty of all this; it is not a may-be, or a peradventure, but there is a certainty of it; The enemy SHALL

come

come in like a flood; the Lord has faid it, and therefore it needs be no furprise when it comes.

[ocr errors]

2. In the words we may notice the repulfe given to the enemy, after all his progrefs: The Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a ftandard against him. Where again we may notice, 1.) By whom the repulfe is given, by the Spirit of the Lord. It is not by the might or the power of the church, it is not by any created ftrength, but by my fpirit, faith the Lord of hofts." (2.) How the repulfe is given, or managed; it is by lifting up a fandard against him. By the ftandard I understand Christ, who is not only a ftandard-bearer among ten thousand," Cant. v. 10. but the ftandard or enfign itself, If. xi. 10. And in that day there fhall be a root of Jeffe, which fhall stand for an enfign of the people; to it fhall the Gentiles feek, and his reft fhall be glorious." By the lifting up of the standard, I underftand the difplays of the glory of Chrift in a gofpel-difpenfation, accompanied with the efficacy of the Spirit of the Lord: this is called a lifting up of Chrift, John iii. 14. 15. "As Mofes lifted up the ferpent in the wilderness, even fo must the Son of man be lifted up." It is by the lifting up of this standard, or the manifeftation of Chrift in the gofpel, that Satan's kingdom is ruined in the world, and his ftrong holds pulled down. (3.) We have the repulfe itfelf given to the enemy by the Spirit of the Lord; he is put to flight, as it reads in the margin: or, as Calvin reads it, the Spirit of the Lord fhall drive him back like the waters of Jordan, which were driven back toward their fountain, when they flood in the way of Ifrael's entry upon the poffeffion of the promised land, Pfal. cxiv. 5. "What ailed thee, O thou fea, that thou fleddeft? thou Jordan, that thou waft driven back?" (4.) We have the certainty of this protnife of repelling or driving back the enemy; it is not a may-be, but a ball-be. As there is a certainty anent the inbreaking of the enemy; fo there is as great a certainty of his being beat back by the Spirit of the Lord: "Hath he faid it, and will he not do it ?"

From the words thus opened, I notice thefe two doctrines. DOCT. 1. "That the church of God, or true believers, while here in a militant ftate, may lay their account with it to have the enemy breaking in upon them like a flood." DOCT. 2. "That the career of the enemy is ftopped, and his attempts baffled, by the Spirit of the Lord his lifting up a itandard against him. When the enemy fhall come in like a flood," &c.

As to the first of thefe, "That believers, while in a mili

tant

tant ftate, may lay their account to have the enemy breaking in upon them like a flood:"

In difcourfing this, I fhall, through divine affiftance, endeavour to show,

I. Who is the enemy that comes in like a flood.

II. Why this enemy is likened to a flood.

III. Speak a little of the progrefs of this enemy, and how far he may come in.

IV. Touch a little at the certainty of this, that he shall come in like a flood.

V. Conclude in a few inferences.

I. The first thing is to give fome account of the enemy, that is faid to come in like a flood upon the church and people of God. This is no improper fubject, after you have been at a communion. table. If the great Mafter of the feat has brought you into his banqueting-houfe, and made you to fit down under his banner of love; if he has stayed you with flagons, and comforted you with apples; you are to remember, that this is not heaven, it is only a wilderness-meal to hearten you for your journey; and, in your journey, you are to go through the dens of lions, and mountains of leopards. The people of God never meet with more violent attacks for ordinary, than after they have been admitted to the nearest and fweeteft communion: Satan fought to winnow Peter, after he had been at the first fupper; a meffenger of Satan is fent to buffet Paul, after he had been wrapt up to the third heavens. But, fay you, who is the enemy that is like to come in upon us? I anfwer, The devil, that old ferpent, called sometimes " the god of this world," is the leading enemy of the woman and her feed. This was the grand enemy Chrift had to debate with, when he came upon the great undertaking of our redemption; his errand was, to beat up the devil's quarters, to drive him out of his ufurped pofferfion in the hearts and fouls of men, to bruife his head, to deftroy his works, to fpoil principalities and powers of their prey. And as this was the principal enemy that Chrift had to grapple with; fo this is the leading enemy that attacks the feed of Chrift in their travels through the wildernefs to the promised land of glory hence is that caution of the apofile Peter, "Be fober, be vigilant; becaufe your adverfary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about fecking whom he may devour." And, fays Paul, "We wrestle not againit fleth and blood; but against principalities, against powers, again the rulers of the darknets of this world, again fpiritual wickednetles in high places." Now, the devil as two

grand

« PreviousContinue »