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ness.

the covenant of promise; having no hope, and without God in the world." Yea, "afar off”—at the greatest distance possible from God and happiAll intercourse between us and the everblessed God entirely dropped-on our part dropped. Divine meditation, prayer, and praise, wholly laid aside; and not only disused, but distasteful: we were not only indifferent, but averse to communion with God we liked not to retain him in our knowledge, but, with an affected and insolent strangeness, dared to say to the almighty Jehovah, the God who spake us into being, and gives us daily breath and bread, "Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways."-Could devils go farther?

5. They are in want.

Prisoners and captives are exposed to the greatest hardships and severities: hunger, nakedness, and cold, press hard upon them; and even bread and water are dealt out in scanty portions.-Equally destitute are the prisoners of Satan: in want, not. of wealth, and honour, and pleasure, and all the gaudy vanities which earth can heap upon themof these, perhaps, they have enough; and by these they are so intoxicated as to think themselves" rich, and increased in goods, and to have need of nothing," while, alas! they want the "Bread of life" and the "waters of salvation;" they want the favour of God, the Love of Christ, the joys of the Holy Ghost, the testimony of conscience, and every thing that looks like peace, and comfort, and satisfaction.

What a melancholy scene does this connected view of the misery of mankind present us with!

VOL. II.

The world, upon this survey of it, appears nothing better than a large and gloomy prison, in which lie millions of distracted criminals, and rebels against their Creator, under sentence of condemnation, whom Death, one by one, is privately executing.

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say distracted; for what better is it, to "sow the wind;" to hunt" shadows;" to "hew out broken cisterns;" to "stop their ears," against the voice of reason, the voice of conscience, the voice of God: to challenge the Almighty, and "run upon the thick bosses of his buckler;" to "crucify the grieve" Lord of glory afresh;" to " resist" and " "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost;" to hate their best friends; to neglect salvation; to glory court destruction; to hug their chains, and " in their shame?" These, and a thousand other instances of madness, are daily visible; for which the wrath of God cometh down on such children of disobedience.

Whose eye does not affect his heart, at the view of this scene of wretchedness! But when, from surveying the world in general, I call in my thoughts, and take a particular view of this congregation, this world in miniature; and see those, for whose welfare I am more tenderly concerned, lying in wickedness, strangers to God, captives of Satan, heirs of wrath, vessels fitted for destruction; duty and affection engage me to attempt your deliverance. I would fain be excused from speaking harshly: I am unwilling even to mention the real I almost danger of your state and circumstances; tremble, in this connection, to repeat those awful passages, ,"God is angry with the wicked every day" "he hateth all the workers of iniquity;"

"vengeance is mine; I will repay it, saith the Lord," he will by no means clear the guilty;" "on the wicked he will rain a snare, fire, and brimstone, an horrible tempest ;" for who knows the power of his anger?and the less we know, the more reason we have to dread it. To think how many serious warnings, and entreaties, and heartaffecting allurements, you have withstood; and what treasures of unknown wrath you have thereby been heaping up-to see you eating and drinking, buying and selling, following your several employments and diversions, and all under the wrath of God, and with his curse covering you as a garment, and mingling with all your business and all your comfort; and to reflect, that you are all the while on the brink of eternity, and, for aught you know, with not a step, not a hand's-breadth, not a hair's-breadth, between you and death, between you and damnation ;-not to know, but, before you sleep to-night, before you leave this house, before the words are well out of my mouth, the outstretched arm of Justice may seize you, and the "Judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into the bottomless pit;" and the all-powerful and unchanging Jehovah swear in his wrath that you shall never, never depart thence! Who can endure the horror of such considerations as these? And yet to this are we all liable, without the gracious provision of the Gospel. But, behold, I bring you this day "glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people: for to you is born a Saviour;" to you is sent a Deliverer; and "his name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." "The Spirit of the Lord

is

upon me" (and you will remember who it is that says this)," because he hath anointed me to preach deliverance to the captives."

We proceed then

II. To inquire into the deliverance which Christ has wrought out for us, and offers to us.

• What is this deliverance? Wherein does it consist? In what respects are Christians" anointed with the oil of gladness above their fellows?" Does their fig-tree always blossom? Is their fruit always on their vine? Does the labour of their olive never fail? Is their house always so with God as they would have it? Does health and vigour always flourish in their countenances? Are they exempted from the infirmities of old age and the stroke of death? Do they know no changes? Are they not in trouble like other men? or, rather, are they not a mark for other men to shoot at? Do not innumerable evils compass them about? Is it not said, and do we not daily see, that " many are the afflictions of the righteous?" Are not Job's trials repeated in the experience of many of God's most eminent servants-no sooner hath one messenger delivered his dismal tale, than another comes; and he is succeeded by another, and another, and another, till Death takes pity and closes the gloomy train. Are they delivered from inward temptations and assaults? Is their soul never cast down and disquieted within them? Does Satan never vex them; are they quite beyond the reach of his fiery darts? Can they mount up to heaven, on the wings of faith, and love, and holy joy, whenever they please, without any interruption or restraint?-Whence, then, these mournful complaints?" How long

wilt thou hide thy face!" "Make haste to help me, O Lord; make no tarrying, O my God." Is this the language of persons delivered out of all their trouble? Is this the mighty privilege of being a Christian, to be in deeper distress than ever? Is this all the advantage of being brought out of darkness into light, to discern more clearly our wretchedness, and to perish with our eyes open?-Tell us, O ye ambassadors of God, for we are eager to know, What is the deliverance which Christ preached to the captives? We are captives ourselves, and long to be delivered; " even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies" from death, and our souls from hell; and" are all here present before God this day, to hear whatever things shall be commanded thee of God."

Now, I shall endeavour to illustrate our deliverance by Christ, in the same particulars by which I set forth our captivity by Satan.

1. He delivers us from confinement.

You may remember we observed, that Man in his natural state was under arrest, a prisoner to divine Justice; the law, conscience, and death, all putting in their several claims, and rigorously insisting on immediate and full satisfaction; and worthless, helpless, hopeless man, having nothing to expect but wrath and fiery indignation; when the all-condescending Jesus came and preached deliverance to him.-Recollect it, O my soul! canst thou ever forget it? Are not all the particulars of that surprising event still strong in thy remembrance How, unsolicited, unexpected, unthought of, he burst open thy prison-doors, and singled