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fending church and nation; fuch as fword, famine, peftilence, defolation by fire or water, the withdrawing of his Spirit, the withdrawing of the means of grace. You fee how the Lord breaks his barren vineyard, If. v. &c.

II. The fecond thing was, to speak of the upcoming of Christ as the Breaker. I understand it of his coming up to avenge the quarrel of his children and people. Like a mighty champion he takes the field, and enters the lifts with the powers of hell and earth, in order to avenge the quarrel of his Ifrael.

You have a defcription of this renowned Champion, and of his coming up in his church's caufe and quarrel, If. lix. 16-18. "And he faw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no interceffor. Therefore his arm brought falvation unto him, and his righteoufnefs, it fuftained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of falvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adverfaries, recompence to his enemies, to the islands he will repay recompence." Here I will tell you of fome feasonable upcomings of the bleffed Breaker, for the help and relief of loft finners; and then tell you of the manner of his coming up.

1t, The bleffed Breaker came feafonably up, and appeared in our quarrel, in the council of peace. When the queftion was put, Who will take the field against the old ferpent and his feed, for the help and relief of loft finners of Adam's family? prefently the bleffed Breaker appeared in our quarrel, faying, Lo, I come, fend me, and I will "bruife the head of the ferpent," and fet the captives at liberty, to the glory of divine juftice, and to the eternal honour of his law.

2dly, He came up feafonably upon the field, immediately after the fall of man. The prey had no fooner fallen into the hands of the mighty, but the mighty Redeemer fteps in upon the enemy, giving him a deadly thruft: With the word of his mouth he flays the wicked one, faying, "It fhall bruife thy head, and thou shalt bruife his heel," Gen. iii. 15.; which at once gave a deadly wound to the enemy, and faved the poor prifoner "out of the pit, wherein there is no water." All the appearances of Chrift for his church during the Old Teftament difpenfation, were founded upon the grace of this firft promife.

3dly, He came up really and perfonally in his incarnation.

What

What was his whole life in this world, but a continued bata", tering and breaking down of the kingdom of darknefs? This was the defign of his doctrine, miracles, life, and death; by the preaching of his gofpel through the cities of Ifrael, he faw "Satan fall like lightning from heaven;" by a word spoken, he, in a miraculous manner, threw him out of the fouls and bodies of men at once; and by his death he deftroyed "him that had the power of death, that is the devil:" And with a view unto this, he tells his difciples, "Now is the judgement of this world come; now fhall the prince of this world be caft out." And by his refurrection from the dead, and his afcenfion into heaven, he came up as a victorious and renowned Conqueror from the field of battle, carrying the spoils of fin and Satan, hell and death, along with him: "God is gone up with a fhout, the Lord with the found of a trumpet; twenty thousand chariots of angels attending him, as at Sinai. He afcended up on high, and led captivity captive."

4thly, He may be faid to come up, or to take the field against the enemy, when he appears in the power of his Spirit in the difpenfation of the gofpel, when he girds his fword on his thigh, and rides profperoufly and fuccefsfully upon his chariot of truth, dividing a portion with the great, and fharing the fpoil with the ftrong. Oh how terrible is this Breaker unto the powers of hell, when he fends the rod of his ftrength out of Zion, making a willing people in the day of his armies! When the "armies which are in heaven follow him, whofe name is, The WORD of GOD!" When he "finites the nations with the fharp fword that goeth out of his mouth!" While every one that runs may read his name "on his vesture, and on his thigh, King of kings, and Lord of lords!"

5thly, He may be faid to come up in the outward difpenfa tion of his providence, for the relief and deliverance of his church and people, when they are haraffed or oppreffed in their temporal or fpiritual privileges, by men of malignant fpirits, who bear rule over them. Thus the Breaker came up feafonably for the relief of Ifrael in Egypt, when they were groaning under their Egyptian tafk-mafters, breaking their oppreffors and enemies with plague upon plague. Thus he many times came up for their relief, during the government of the judges and kings of Ifrael. Thus he came up after the feventy years captivity, and broke the Babylonian empire in pieces, to make way for the return of les people to their na

tive land.

6thly, He comes up as a mighty Breaker, when he finds religion at under, and has a mind to revive his own work in a

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backfliding land and church. He comes firft and breaks down, before he begins to build up. There is commonly a shaking of nations, before the defire of all nations come, for the building up of Zion. See in what awful majefty the Breaker appears, Hab. iii. in order to the reviving of his work in the midft of the years. The prophet, ver. 2. puts up a prayer, "O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." Well, his prayer is heard, God comes for the revival of his work, but his glorious march was fo awful, as made the prophet himfelf to fall a-trembling, ver. 16. " When I heard, my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice; rottennefs entered into my bones. When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops." And yet how fweet and glorious is the iffue of that awful difpenfation? as you fee in the verfe following.

7thly, He may be faid to come up in every display of his grace and love to a particular believer, when he feasonably interpofes for the relief of a poor foul, finking under the burden of fin, temptation, affliction, and defertion. The Breaker comes up feasonably, when he difpels clouds, and lifts up the light of his countenance; when he rebukes the roaring lion, and blunts and breaks his fiery darts; when he fays to the poor foul, Fear not, I am with thee; when he heartens or animates the poor foul for its work or warfare, faying, "Fear not, thou worm Jacob-I will make thee a new harp threshing inftrument, having teeth. My grace fhall be fufficient for thee."

8thly, And O how feafonably does he come up at death, when the poor foul is trembling at the thoughts of going through Jordan, and launching out into a wide eternity? What a fweet up-coming is it, when he fays to the foul, as Rev. i. 17. "Fear not, for I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore." Thus I have given you fome of the seasonable up-comings of the bleffed Breaker.

Queft. In what manner doth he come up in our quarrel, to the help of the weak against the mighty?

Anfw. 1. He comes up feafonably. All his appearances for the hep and relief of his people have ever been well timed. O how feafonably did he interpofe immediately after the fall, when the roaring lion was about to tear the prey, faying as Pharaoh, in another cafe," I will purfue, I will overtake, I will divide the fpoil?" Then indeed he came up and bruited the head of the ferpent. How feafonably did he deliver Irael out of Egypt? How featonably did he turn back their Captivity? How feasonably did he interpofe for our relief in VOL. III.

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land, at the late glorious revolution, when we were upon the point of being fwallowed up with Antichriftian tyranny and darknefs? O how feafonably does he come up to the help and relief of the poor foul, when it is upon the point of being fwallowed up with temptation, desertion, and affliction? Deut. xxxii. 36. "The Lord fhall judge his people, and repent himfelf for his fervants, when he feeth that their power is gone, and there is none fhut up, or left."

2. He comes up for the help of his church and people foli tarily; or he alone comes up: It is his own arm that brings falvation. He stood alone in the glorious work of redemption; "He trode the wine-prefs alone, and of the people there was none with him :" and therefore he alone must bear the glory of it; "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." And when he comes up for the deliverance of his church and people from tyranny and oppreffion, whatever inftruments he may make ufe of, yet he alone muft have the glory, becaufe they are but inftruments, and can do no more than the tool without the hand of the workman. Hence is that of the church, Pfal. xliv. 3. " They got not the land in poffeflion with their fword, neither did their own arm fave them; but thy right hand, thine arm, and the light of thy countenance."

3. He comes up in our quarrel with the greatest alacrity and cheerfulness. He "rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the fons of men." The Sun of righteoufnefs rejoiced to run his race; and like a giant or ftrong man, refreshed with new wine, he gave a fhout when he came up into the field of battle: "I have a baptifm (fays he) to be baptized with, and how am I ftraitened till it be accomplished."

4. He comes up fpeedily: he did not linger nor tarry when he came upon his redeeming and faving expedition; no, he flew as it were upon wings, Cant. ii. 8. " Behold he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, and fkipping upon the hills."

5. He comes up courageoufly to his breaking work, challenging all the powers of hell, as it were, to the combat. With what undaunted magnanimity did he fet his face to the cause, when he is entering the field! See If. 1. 8. 9. "He is near that juftifieth me, who will contend with me? let us ftand together; who is mine adverfary? let him come near to me. Behold the Lord God will help me, who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all fhall wax old as a garment; the moth fhall eat them up."

6. He comes up victoriously, diftributing death and ruin amongst all his and his church's enemies. Victory follows

him whitherfoever he goes! his enemies being unto him but as briars and thorns entering the lifts with a confuming fire. When he whets his glittering fword, and his hand takes hold on judgement, he "renders vengeance unto his enemies, and a reward unto all them that hate him."

7. His up coming to his breaking work is irrefiftible. Who can ftay his hand, or stop him in his march? When Red feas and Jordans of wrath and vengeance were in his way, this Breaker did break through them; when the armies of earth and hell were in his way, he "trode them in his anger, and trampled them in his fury, and ftained all his raiment with their blood." And hence it follows,

8. That the up-coming of the Breaker is with much awful majefty, and aftonishing greatnefs. When he came up upon the field of this world, he ftruck terror amongst the powers of hell. When they faw the divine majesty and greatness that was about him, they cried, "What have we to do with thee Jefus, thou Son of the most high God, art thou come to tor ment us before our time?" When he comes up to plead the controverfies of Zion, the proud and wicked of the earth, that carried it with a high hand against his church and people, they would then be content to creep into the clefts of the rocks, and caves of the earth," for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majefty," If. ii. 19. And when is it that they are thus ftruck with terror? It is when the Lord comes up to his breaking work, as you fee in the clofe of that verfe, when ›he arifeth terribly to fhake the earth. So much for the fecond thing, namely, the up-coming of the Breaker.

III. The third thing in the method was, to inquire what may be implied in his coming up before them?

But before I go on to this, you may readily ask, to whom is it that he comes up?

I answer, 1. As the Shepherd of Ifrael, he comes up to the fheep of his pafture, to preferve or deliver them from wolves or foxes, that would tear them.

2. He comes up as a Captain to his foldiers, to head and lead them on against the armies of the aliens; for he is given for a "Leader and Commander to the people."

3. He comes up as a King to his fubjects, or on the head of his armies, to rule and defend, to reftrain and conquer all his and their enemies; as in the clofe of the verfe, their King fall pafs before them, and JEHOVAH on the head of them. Thus you fee the Breaker comes up to his fheep, his foldiers, and fubjects; and whoever they be that are not of that number,

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