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up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations," or the Lord's people scattered up and down the world-"no

more."

My method of interpreting the passage for you this evening is, first, by advancing some things in reference to the illustrious personage mentioned in my text-the Son of God; secondly, the powerful foe and his works which Christ came to destroy; thirdly, the manifestation of Christ-giving you a diversified interpretation of the same; fourthly, the end of the manifestation of Christ; and lastly, I shall make a short application, or, rather I ought to say, pray that the Spirit of God may make an application of what I am about to say to your hearts.

First, I am to advance some things in reference to THE ILLUSTRIOUS PERSON mentioned in my text-the Son of God.. And what shall I say of him? Is it possible that a worm of the earth, such as the man who stands before you, shall say any thing adequate, worthy the consideration of any of you, in reference to this person? All our ideas fail, and our language is inadequate to express the glory of that blessed Jesus who is the head, the representative, and the Saviour of his church. And yet it is necessary, in order to excite our hearts to love that we say a few words in reference to him. If we had the knowledge of an angel, and the tongue of a seraph, we should be totally inadequate to express one thousandth part of the excellences of Him in whom we have salvation. If you ransack the whole kingdom of man, and collect in one aggregate the whole of the excellences of the human race that ever have, do, or shall exist, and place them to the account of one individual, together with all power, authority, dignity, and so on, such an amalgamation of excellences would not make up a single person any thing like Him to whom I call your attention. All the excellences of the inhabitants of the world, with their honours, dignities, immunities, and gifts, could not, if centred in the person of one man, make up such another as the illustrious person mentioned in my text.

I will give you one idea which the scripture affords, and that is, in respect of his noble extraction: he is called "the Son of the Eternal God." So excellent a person was this, that even Jehovah the Eternal Father brought himself into a state of poverty in order to enrich him. Hence it is said, he was "the brightness of the Father's glory, the express image of his person, and overcame all

things by the word of his power." I say, speaking after the manner of men, we are given to understand that the Eternal Father divested himself of all his excellences, placing them in the person of his Son and that is the person who is said in my text to come and "destroy the works of the devil." Although he was rich, yet for our own sake he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich." Hence he is the Son of God-the eternal, co-equal, everlasting Son of God.

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Another remark I would make in reference to this great person is, that having all power to help and succour them who are in a state of degradation and death, he, as it were, matches and marries our nature in order to accomplish his purposes. God was manifest in the flesh; and as it was in the flesh that the church had sinned against the goodness and mercy of God, so it was in the person of the church that Jesus Christ fulfilled the divine law, and made perfect satisfaction to Almighty God: and thus he marries our nature and becomes a part of the body, he being the head, and we being the members.

In consequence of this, it appears from the holy Scriptures, that he succeeds in all his enterprises. Never did the Lord Jesus Christ take any thing in hand and was obliged to give it up for want of success: being perfect God and perfect man, he accomplished all that which he came to perform. He has rendered perfect satisfaction to Almighty God, and consequently has the crown of victory placed on his head, and that in reference to his body the church. So that Paul says, in Ephesians, iv. 8. "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended upon high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."

He is incomparable, moreover, for wisdom, power, and courage. He is incomparable for wisdom, and knows all things in reference to time past and time to come, from eternity to eternity. Therefore he devised, in conjunction with the Eternal Father, a plan for the salvation of the church: infinite wisdom was requisite for the plan and the accomplishment thereof. And omnipotence was only just enough to accomplish that which Jesus Christ wrought out, and which was a part of that plan which originated in the mind of the Eternal God. Moreover he has all courage to do what his wisdom suggests; all courage that nothing could damp. Satan with all his power could not prevent him from the accomplishment of his design and he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, never having undertaken a battle but what he won, never having

:

set himself to the accomplishment of any particular purpose but what he fulfilled the same, bringing glory to the triune God, and happiness to the church.

These are a few particulars in reference to Jesus Christ the Son of God, whose love led him to fulfil the divine law on behalf of his people, substituting himself in their place, and dying the death of the cross, entirely removing their sin, and wiping them out from the book of remembrance with his own blood, seated at the right hand of the Great Jehovah, interceding for his people, and sending them day by day every necessary supply for the support of their hearts, the comfort of their minds, and the present and final salvation of their souls.

I call your attention, secondly, to THE POWERFUL FOE AND HIS WORKS WHICH JESUS CHRIST CAME TO DESTROY. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." I would give you a short history of the arch-enemy, and of the malignity, subtlety, ingenuity, and power, which he possesses, and which he is continually exercising against the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I do this in order that you may see afresh what I have asserted under the first head of discourse.

We

The first remark I make in reference to Satan is, that we are told in Holy Scripture that he was formerly an angel of light, created perhaps during the first six days, and stationed among those blessed spirits who are continually before the throne of God. are told in Holy Scripture that not being one of the elect angels he fell in to sin; and Jude tells us that "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.”

Beloved, does not this for one moment remind you of that state of eminence from which you have fallen? Conceive, for one moment, Satan and all his crew, created as blessed, holy, and intelligent spirits, presenting themselves before the throne of the Eternal Father, together with cherubim, seraphim, and all the blessed spirits in heaven, all those who worship God, "the morning stars," as Job calls them, who "sung together" for joy when the world was created; conceive, I say, for one moment, Satan with all his adherents presenting themselves before the throne of the Father. Contrast their present with their past condition. They are now shut up in everlasting chains and darkness, suffering under the punishment of an offended God, and although this is the case,

determining never to give up their opposition to him who has shown them that he will have, and has had, and will continue to have a signal victory over them. And consider from what you have fallen. Our first parents were created in the image of God-holy, happy, pure beings. Adam disobeyed the commands of God, and involved himself and all his posterity in guilt; and now you see the whole human race gone astray, following the imaginations, desires, and passions of their own hearts, living the life of the devil on earth for the gratification of self, denying God and the Lord Jesus Christ, denying the Holy Scriptures, and every thing which tends to the promotion of their happiness. And consider, in addition to this, the issue of it all—that ere long, all who repent not, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, together with him who is said to have been overcome by Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you are ready to ask, What was the cause of his fall? Why did not he who was such a bright intelligent spirit before the throne of God, continue in that state? Paul gives us to understand that it was pride, the most accursed sin of all. Hence, he says, in his epistle to Timothy, "Not a novice, lest being filled with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil." It appears from this that we may draw an inference that pride was the cause of the condemnation of Satan. And, beloved, it is an accursed sin! How often it prompts us to much zeal in the cause of Christ, zeal without knowledge, and which is not good! How many a time it puts us on prayer, and study, and diligence, and the exercise of all our passions, for the purpose, if possible, by mechanical means of accomplishing what his Spirit alone can perform. The pride of our hearts would lead us out of the track of accomplishing the purposes of Almighty God, and would advance us to the throne of the great Jehovah. Pride is the cause of all this: it is Satan's device, and has been the cause of the downfall of many individuals, states, and nations. Let us beware that pride is not the downfall of any of us. I do not mean to say that this, or any other sin, can destroy the Lord's people; but it may be the means of bringing us into much distress and uneasiness of mind.

It appears again from Holy Scriptures, that being cast into hell, although he was incapable of dethroning the great Jehovah, he found means of leading our first parents into sin. Shall I give you a description, for a moment, of the cunningness of this our spiritual enemy? Did he not come into the garden to our first parents,

holding a conversation with them, saying, "I know God hath said that ye shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of the garden; but God doth know that ye shall not die, although he has declared this to be the case:" insinuating thus much; that God having created so beautiful a tree, and loaded it with such enticing fruit, they could not but suppose it was his intention they should eat it. "You shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil:" presenting, as it were, to the minds of our first parents, temptation to the same sin which brought him to his own ruin. "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil;" whereas now you only know good, but hereafter you shall only know evil. The bait was enough; our first parents took it; they fell into sin, and brought on themselves and their unhappy posterity guilt, ruin, and damnation.

Thus is Satan most dangerous to us: and this will appear, first, from his being a powerful enemy. Peter says of him, that “ as a roaring lion he goes about, seeking whom he may devour." Take this as an example of the enemy you have to contend with. Fancy any one of you walking in the streets of London at night, unarmed, unprotected, without a single individual in your company, to secure you from a lion that might have broken from the Zoological Gardens. He might have met you in one of the streets, and you know you would be totally incapable of grappling with the beast; he would soon overcome you, and destroy you; and it is a thousand to one if you were not destroyed on the very onset. This is just a representation of Satan, passing from street to street, from house to house, from church to church, from city to city, entering and presenting himself in every situation and circumstance of life as a roaring lion, for the purpose of destroying immortal souls: and nothing can secure him from you but the mighty power of the eternal God. Yet men seem satisfied with their present pleasures, careless of the salvation of their souls; and the consequence is that they are destroyed with an everlasting destruction, though they perceive it not till the moment they are brought into that place, where weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, will be their portion for ever.

Satan is powerful from his ingenuity. Hence he is called the subtle enemy of the children of God. Paul says, in 2 Cor. xi. 14, he is an angel of light." Just consider the character of Satan, for one moment, as an "angel of light." He presents himself to

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