day they are faid to be referved in chains; plainly intimating, that whatever hell of mifery the devil be in already, yet there is a further vengeance abiding him at the fecond coming of Christ.

Secondly, I fhall here only fubjoin a few feafons when Chrift is avenged upon this enemy in his members, or in the redeemed.

1. The vengeance of a Redeemer falls upon this enemy in the day of converfion; for then the Redeemer by the power of his fovereign grace, pulls the poor lamb out of the very jaws of the Lion; the foul is then tranflated out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son; the strong. holds of that enemy, which he had reared up in the heart, are ruined.

2. The day of believing, when the poor foul, by the power of the Spirit of faith, is brought to set to its feal that God is true. The great work of the devil is to flander God in this world, as if he were not worthy of credit, as if his word were not to be trufted; he abode not in the truth himself, and he cannot endure to fee any man or woman abiding in the truth, or affenting to it. This was the engine whereby he ruined our first parents: at first he brought them to difcredit what God had said concerning the evil and danger of eating the forbidden fruit: Yea, fays he, has God faid to and fo unto you? He perfuaded them that it was otherwise than God had spoken, and then he had an easy prey of them. Thus, I fay, it is Satan's main work to flander and reproach God, as if he were not to be trusted. Now, when a poor foul, notwithstanding of all his arts and hellish subtilties, fets to its feal that God is true, and ventures its eternal falvation upon the veracity of a promifing God in Chrift; what can be more galling and tormenting unto that enemy, than when they who were his bondflaves give him the lie, and fubfcribe unto the truth of God in his word?

3. The renewed actings of faith under strong temptation is another feafon when the Redeemer's vengeance falls upon that enemy; this is a time when his fiery darts are quenched, and made to recoil upon himself to his own difgrace. And how doth it gladden the heart of the great Captain of falvation, to fee his foldiers acquitting themfelves fo well in the field of battle against his deadly enemy, refifting him and putting him to flight, and breaking his bows of fteel in pieces!

4. The day of fpecial nearness and accefs to God in his ordinances, when the poor believer is privileged to ride in the chariot of the wood of Lebanon with the King, brought into his banqueting-houfe, made to fit down under his fhadow with

great

great delight. The enemy cannot endure to fee any intimacy between God and man: his great design, at first, was to make a breach; and when he fees the breach made up, and God and man in good terms, how muft he grind his teeth for vexation to fee his great defign baffled? Then it is that God covers a table to his people in the prefence of their enemy, the enemy and avenger looking on with fpite and vexation of spirit.

5. When the Redeemer rides in ftate in the chariot of the gospel through a land, when he "goes forth conquering, and to conquer," brings multitudes of fouls to yield themselves unto his obedience, this is a day of vengeance upon Satan and his kingdom. Luke x. 17. 18. when the feventy difciples returned from preaching the gospel among the cities of Ifrael, and gave Chrift an account of their fuccefs with joy, he immediately answers, "I faw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." The difciples triumphed in their cafting out of Satan from the bodies of men; but Chrift fees, and rejoices in the fall of the devil from the intereft he had in the fouls of men, which is called his power in high places, Eph. vi. 12.

6. The day when an honourable teftimony is given for Chrift in a church, or among a people, against errors and blafphemies that the devil and his emiflaries have vented, to the darkening of the Redeemer's glory, that is a day of vengeance upon Satan. Error is one of the main pillars of his kingdom, and one of his principal engines for hurting the kingdom of Chrift, and poifoning the fouls of men; now, when the church is helped to cleave firmly to the truth, and to bear witnefs unto the Redeemer's glory, the is "terrible as an army with banners" unto Satan and his emiffaries.

7. The day of death, when the poor believer is guarded to glory through his principality, by fome of these chariots of angels which accompanied Chrift when he afcended: the poor believer then mounts up to heaven quite out of the reach of Satan's fiery darts; and this cannot fhun to torment "the ene my and the avenger," as Satan is called, Pfal. viii. 2. Thus you fee what is the day of vengeance.

V. The fifth thing was, to inquire why this day of vengeance is faid to be in the Redeemer's heart? Unto this I aniwer briefly in thefe two or three things. The day of vengeance is in mine heart, it implies,

1. That he had firmly purposed, refolved upon it. It is, as if he had faid, among the irreversible decrees of Heaven, That ́the head of the old ferpent shall be broken by the feed of the

woman.

2. It is in mine heart, it implies, that the thoughts of it were

a pleasure and delight unto him. As Chrift delighted in the habitable parts of the earth, and rejoiced to come for the falvation of men; fo at the time he rejoiced to take vengeance upon Satan, and ruin his kingdom, like a victorious and invin cible general, he delighted to whet his glittering sword, and to render vengeance unto his enemies, and a reward unto thofe that hated him, and refused that he should rule over them.

3. It is in mine heart, it implies, that he had not forgot ten the quarrel he had with Satan and his works; no, no. As if he had faid, Although it be fome thousands of years fince I faid that I would bruife the head of that ferpent; yet do not think that the quarrel is forgotten, no, it is fresh in my mind, The day of vengeance is in mine heart; although fentence be not speedily execute, yet I will be about with him, and when I go to work, I will accomplish it with a vengeance indeed.

4. It is in mine heart, it implies, that the ftated time of final vengeance lay as a fecret in his own breaft, for the times and feafons he hath kept in his own power; only this we know in general, the time will come when he fees it most for his own glory, and the good of the redeemed.

VI. The fixth thing was, the Application of this branch of the doctrine. The firft ufe fhall be by way of Information in thefe following particulars.

1. Hence we may fee a beautiful ray of the fupreme Deity of our Lord Jefus Christ, in oppofition to that damnable error of Arianism that is now upon the field in the church of Scotland. What can be a clearer argument for proving him to be the fupreme, felf-existent, independent God, than this very word expreffed by him in my text, The day of vengeance is in mine heart? Vengeance is the prerogative of God alone: Rom. xii. 19. "Vengeance is mine; and I will repay it, faith the Lord." Would ever the Son of God invade his Father's prerogative, if he were not the fame in fubitance, equal in power and glory with his eternal Father? They who derogate from his divine glory, as if he were not the fupreme God, and the very fame God numerically with the Father, they join a confederacy with the powers of hell against the glorious Redeemer, and confequently lay themselves open to the fame vengeance that is in the heart of the Redeemer against Satan and all his works; and instead of getting thanks from the Father for leffening the glory of the Son, out of a pretended defign of magnifying the glory of the Father, they expofe themselves to the vengeance of the Father as well as of the

Son

Son; for it is the will of the Father, "That all men fhould honour the Son, as they honour the Father," with the fame degree of honour; and the Father reckons himfelf difparaged when dirt is caft upon the face of his Son; for the Father declares, that even as our Mediator, "he hath given him a name above every name, that at, or in, the name of Jefus every knce fhould bow, and every tongue might conf fs, that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father." And I would earnestly recommend it unto all that bear a hearty love unto the Redemer, and his caufe and kingdom, that they may make their earnest prayer unto God, that the next enfuing affembly may be guided of God to give a faithful and honourable teftimony unto his fupreme Deity, which is called in question, and to pass a juft and deferved cenfure upon that notorious blaf phemer of the KING of kings, and LORD of lords, the bleffed avenger of our blood.

2. See from this doctrine how the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward men hath appeared. Why, here is the greatest evidence of it that it was poffible for God to give; why, he fends his own Son upon an expedition to this lower world, arms him with his power and authority as our Redeemer, to avenge our quarrel upon that Apollyon, the deceiver and defroyer of mankind; and when he is giving him his commiffion to bruife the ferpent's head, he engages that his arms fhould be strengthened in his undertaking, and that he would "beat down his foes before his face, and plague all thofe that hated him," Pfal. lxxxix. 23. O Sirs, if we could but lift up the eye of faith, and view him in his goings forth in our quarrel, which were of old, from everlafting, if we could but behold him in his marches and counter-marches in the pursuit of our enemy, we could not mifs to join iffue with the church, in the ft verfe of this chapter, faying, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatnefs of his trength?" O Sirs, will you but behold the hue and colour of his garments, how they are dyed red with his own blood, and the blood of his enemies in avenging our quarrel, like one that treadeth in the wine-fat, and fee if you can call his love and kindness in question.

3. See hence how much we that are called Chriftians are obliged to celebrate the memorials of his death. Why, he died in the refentment of our quarrel, and in avenging us of our enemy that had ruined and destroyed us; in bruifing the head of the ferpent, he had the heel of his human nature bruifed, infomuch that his very blood and human foul was bruifed out of his body: his death, as it was a fatisfaction to VOL. II. justice;

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juftice; fo, at the fame time, it was a fatal blow given to Sa tan's kingdom in the world; it was a condemning of fin, that it might not have the power to condemn us; it was a tearing of our debt bond unto the law and justice of God, whereby, by our own confent, we were bound over unto the power of fin and Satan for ever and ever. O then, are we not obliged to keep up the memorials of his death, in obedience to his own command, till he come again?

4. See hence the mifery of all unbelievers, and why they are condemned already, and the wrath of God abides on them. Why, the reafon is, they will not join hands with the Son of God, the avenger of our blood; they will not come unto him for life, but will ftill cleave unto Satan, and join with him in studying to make God a liar; and therefore the devil's vengeance muft light upon them: hence we find all unbelievers, who would not have Chrift to rule over them, herded in with the devil and his angels in the final fentence of the laft day, "Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." As if he had faid, You would not come out of the devil's camp, you would needs work his works which I came to deftroy; and now therefore you must drink of the cup of his vengeance for ever.

5. See hence the happiness and safety of believers, the re deemed of the Lord. Why, they are under the protection of the great Redeemer, and the day of vengeance is in his heart against all their enemies, vengeance upon Satan, and ven geance upon all that harm them. Sirs, whatever you may think of it, it is a dangerous thing to trouble or molest any that have the image of Chrift in them; why," Their Redeemer is mighty, the Lord of hosts is his name ;" and he has faid, that it is a righteous thing with him to render tribula tion to these that trouble them;" he shall be "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking ven geance on all them that know not God, and obey not the gofpel."

6.See hence a good reafon for patience under all the afflictions and perfecutions of a prefent life. Why, believer, Chrift has taken thy quarrel in hand, he has faid, The day of vengeance is in mine heart. Believers have good reafon to pity, and pray for them that despitefully use and perfecute them; for if mercy do not prevent, the Redeemer's vengeance will inevitably purfue them: and fure I am, there is none that have the Spirit of Jefus in them, but will be ready to fay with the prophet Jeremiah, when speaking of his enemies, and when he faw the wrath that was coming upon them, "1 have not defired

the