mighty, he girds on his sword, and rides forth prosperously in his chariot of salvation, arrayed in meekness, truth and rightcousness; and in a moment when the sinner perhaps least expects or wishes it, he suddenly feels the arrows of conviction sharp in his heart. Then his false peace is at an end. Conscience no longer sleeps; he no longer hears as though he heard not; the blind eyes begin to open, the stony heart begins to melt. The weapons of Christ's ministers, which are not carnal but spiritual, then become mighty, through God, to cast down all his high thoughts and imaginations, and he for the first time finds himself a poor, miserable, helpless captive, a wretched, self-condemned sinner; and all within is remorse, anxiety and

alarm.

Again: In farther carrying on this glorious work, the Captain of our salvation takes from the strong man armed all the armor in which he trusted. He strips the sinner of the breastplate of self-righteousness, causes the shield of unbelief to fall from his hand, takes away the false hopes of salvation which composed his helmet, quenches the fiery sword of an inflamed tongue, scatters all his magazines of cavils, excuses and objections, and beats down the refuges of lies in which he trusted.

Once more: Satan being thus baffled and disarmed, the triumphant conqueror proceeds to divide his spoils. The soul, which was once his palace, is transformed into the habitation of Christ, and a meet temple for the Holy Spirit of God. All his mental and corporeal faculties are now transformed into instruments of righteousness, to serve and glorify God. His time, his talents, his property, himself and all that he has, are consecrated to the work of obedience and praise. This is the work, and these the spoils of the conqueror.

My friends, what a glorious change is here! That soul, which was once the palace, the castle and strong hold of Satan, the den of every unclean and hateful lust, is now the temple of God, and filled with the graces of his Spirit. The wretched slaves of sin, chained up in spiritual darkness and death, ignorant of their danger, pleased with their situation, and not even wishing to be delivered, are now brought into the glorious light and liberty, and adopted as the children of God. The distracted sinner, who, like the man possessed among the tombs, once madly endeavored to wound and eternally destroy his own soul,

by his vices, now sits as a humble disciple at the feet of Jesus, clothed with his righteousness, adorned with his graces, and in his right mind. Surely none but God alone can produce a change as happy and glorious as this. Surely there may well be joy in heaven to behold it.

Permit me now, by way of improvement, to remind you, my Christian friends, who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, of the time when Satan, as a strong man armed, kept possession of your hearts, and led you captive at his will, while you were at peace and feared no danger. Remember how you were then pleased and satisfied with your bondage; how you loved darkness; how long you resisted and grieved the Spirit of God; how you were wont to say to him who came to accomplish your deliverance, What have we to do with thee? Remember these things and then consider what you owe to Him who has done such great things for you.

Remember these things, and then consider how you ought to pity and pray for those miserable captives who are yet in that deplorable bondage, exposed to endless perdition, and yet are at peace and satisfied with their condition. Remember these things, and let the remembrance increase your humility, inflame your love, and animate your soul, and cause you to be as active, cheerfu', diligent, and persevering in the service of God, as you formerly were in the service of Satan.

From those who have been brought out of darkness and slavery, into the glorious liberty of the children of God, we would next turn to those who are still in the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. You are perhaps ready, my friends, to pity, if not despise the Christian, on account of the restraints and obligations under which he is laid by his belief; but in reality, he has infinitely more reason to pity and weep over you. The service of the Christian is perfect liberty; for Christ's commandments are not grievous, but his yoke is easy and his burden light. His service also is honorable, and will receive a rich reward; for he serves the King of kings and Lord of lords, who will give him a crown of glory and eternal life.

But you, who boast of your liberty, are enslaved in worse thar Egyptian bondage. You serve and obey the father of lies; you live just as he would have you, and he doubtless exults, with diabolical joy and triumph, to see his miserable victims.

whom he leads captive at his will, proud and pleased with their chains, and running thoughtless and secure the broad road to ruin.

But his service, which you thus love is not only base and dishonorable, but ruinous and destructive; for the wages he bestows is eternal death. Yet by his diabolical art he has so blinded your minds, that you believe not. You think there is no danger; the gospel is hid from you, as it is from those who are lost; and unless the blessed Redeemer, who is stronger than the strong man armed, should see fit in infinite mercy, to come and open your eyes, and turn you from the power of Satan to God, you will continue careless and secure, conformed to the world, and pursuing its pleasures, riches and honors, till you open your eyes too late in eternity.

From this state, my friends, we cannot deliver you. We cannot even convince you that you are in such a state, and probably many of you have heard the present discourse, without the smallest suspicion that it is a description of your own character and situation. But this false peace and security, instead of proving that you are safe, only proves more clearly your danger. It proves that the strong man armed is not disturbed in his possession, but that he keeps you in peace. Another thing which clearly proves this, is, that even now you are using the armor of the god of this world, to defend yourselves against the truth which we are delivering. Some of you are putting on as a defence, the breastplate of self-righteousness, and pretending that you cannot possibly be so bad as is now represented. Others are holding up the shield of unbelief to defend themselves against the terrors of the law, and resolving that they will not believe their situation to be such as has now been described, or that the word of God is literally and strictly true. Others again are putting on the helmet of a false hope of salvation, though they continue in sin; while some, perhaps, are ready to bring forward the magazine of cavils, objections and excuses with which the father of lies furnishes them.

But, my friends, if any of you are trusting to this armor, you are trusting to the armor of Satan; and though it may defend you from the arrows of conviction now, yet it will not defend you, hereafter, against those bolts of divine indignation, which will fall, like blasting lightnings, on the head of the guilty.

There will be no unbelief in hell, for even the devils believe and tremble. Instead then of uniting with the foe of God and man to destroy your own souls, by madly hardening yourselves. against God, and contending with the Almighty, let me entreat you instantly to throw down the weapons of your rebellion, and cry earnestly to Him who is able to save; to deliver you from the strong man armed, who now keeps possession of your souls. This he is ever willing and ready to do; for it was the great object of his coming on earth, as he himself declares : The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive, and to set at liberty them that are bruised. Awake then to a sense of your situation; no longer indulge that false peace which will prove your destruction; but awake; arise; make a struggle for liberty now, or expect to remain forever the slaves of Satan, prisoners in the regions of despair, under chains of everlasting darkness. Trust not however to your own struggles, but apply to Him who alone is able to overcome the god of this world. Look to Him for help, and you will not be disappointed, for his grace is sufficient for you.

And you, my Christian friends, if you have relatives who are possessed by a dumb spirit, so that they will not pray, or a deaf spirit, so that they will not hear, or who have been long bound as it were in fetters of brass, by the powers of darkness, bring them to Jesus. Cry unto him like the woman of Canaan, Lord Jesus have mercy and heal my friends, who are ensnared, enslaved and vexed by an evil spirit; and though he appear to heed you not, to treat you unkindly, or to give you no answer, yet be not discouraged. Continue to plead, and hope all things from his infinite compassion.

SERMON LIX.

CHRIST'S LOVE FOR THE CHURCH.

Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

EPHESIANS V. 25-27.

In his epistles to the Corinthians, St. Paul informs us that he determined to know or make known, nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. Did he then intend so to confine himself to the doctrines of the cross, as to say nothing, in his preaching, of moral duties? By no means. All his epistles prove that he did not. But he intended to illustrate and enforce moral duties in an evangelical manner, by motives and illustrations derived from the cross of Christ. A striking instance of this we have in the context, in which he explains and inculcates the duties of husbands and wives. We should be ready, at first view, to imagine that these duties have nothing to do with the doctrines of the gospel, and that they must be enforced by considerations derived from some other quarter. But the Apostle shows us that this would be a mistake. By alluding to the union between Christ and his church, he illustrates and enforces the duties of the married state in the most clear and striking manner possible. Wives, says he, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord for the husband is the head of the wife, even as