a fair and delicate town, a corporation called MANSOUL; a town for it's building fo eurious, for. it's fituation fo commodious, for it's privileges fo advantageous (I mean with reference to it's original), that I may fay of it, as was faid before of the continent in which it is placed, "There is not it's equal under the whole heaven." (a) He The Almighty. As to the fituation of this town, it lieth between the two worlds: and the first founder and builder of it, fo fag as by the best and most authentic records I Scriptures. can gather, was one SHADDAI; (b) and he built it for his own delight, Gen. i. 26. made it the mirror and glory of all that he made, even the top-piece, beyond any thing elfe that he did in that country. Yea, fo goodly a town was Manfoul, when firft built, that it is faid by fome, the gods, at Created angels. the setting up thereof, came down to fee it, and fung for joy. And as he made it goodly to behold, fø alfo mighty to have dominion over all the country round about. Yea, all were commanded to acknowledge Man foul for their metropolitan, all were enjoined to do homage to it. Ay, the town itself had pofitive commiffion, and power from her King, to demand fervice of all, and alfo to fubdue those that any ways denied it. There (a) The foul of man, being immortal, is of ineftimable value. It is the breath of God, a particle of the divine na ture; created, at first, in righteousness and true holiness, but now dreadfully disfigured and defiled by fin; very far (not to fay wholly) gone from original righteousness. The soul is all that is intrinfically and fupereminently valuable in the human compofition; for according to the nature, difpofition, and bias of it, fo is the whole man. The body dies, and moulders to duft: but the foul lives for ever, and, if re-united to God here, will flourish in immortal youth in a better world. The care of that precious depofit, (if I may fo term it) is therefore of the utmoft confequence; for "what will it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul? or what can he give in exchange for his foul?" Matt, xxvi. 25. O may the promoting it's internal and beft interefts be our principal object and concern! Gram (b) All-fufficient; or almighty, as in the margin. marians differ with respect to the etymology of this word; fome deriving it from the Hebrew, others from tl.e Greek, The heart. There was reared up, in the midst of this town, a moft famous and ftately palace: for ftrength, it may be called a caftle; for pleasantness, a paradife; for largenefs, a place fo copious as to contain all the world, Ecclef. iii. 11. This place, the King SHADDAI intended but for himfelf alone, and not another with him: (a) partly because of his own delights, and partly because he would not that the terror of ftrangers should The powers of the foul. be upon the town. This place SHADDAI made alfo a garrifon of; but he committed the keeping of it only to the men of the town. The body, The walls of the town were well built; yea, fo faft and firm were they knit and compacted together, that, had it not been for the townsmen themselves, they could not have been shaken or broken for ever. For here lay the excellent wisdom of him that built Manfoul, that the walls could never be broken down nor hurt, by the most mighty adverse potentates, unless the townsmen gave confent thereto. The five fenfes, This famous town of Mansoul had five gates, at which to come out, and at which to go in; and these were made likewise answerable to the walls, to wit, impregnable, and fuch as could never be opened nor forced, but by the will and leave of those within. The names of the gates are thefe: Ear-gate, Eyegate, Mouth-gate, Nofe-gate, and Feel-gate. Other things there were that belonged to the town of Manfoul, which, if you adjoin to thefe, will yet give (a) The heart of man, in it's incorrupt state, was ever afpiring towards God in adoration, love, and praife; extolling and admiring his divine perfections, and the wonders of creation, in his various works. Such a heart alfo God himself delighted to dwell in, Prov, viii. But alas! how is the pure gold become dim! how is the fine gold changed! By loving the creature more than the Creator, the heart of man is become deceitful, and defperately wicked, a cage of unclean birds! -Profeffor, if thy heart be idolatrous, or devoted to the world and thy lufts, thy religion is vain, thou deceivest thine own foul; for God fays to all, "My fon, give me thine heart," Prov, xxiii, 26, The state of Manfoul at firft. give further demonstration to all, of the glory and strength of the place. It had always a fufficiency of provifion within it's walls; (a) it had the beft, most wholfome and excellent law, that was then extant in the world. There was not a rogue, rascal, or traiterous perfon then within it's walls: they were all true men, and faft joined together; and this, you know, is a great matter. And to all thefe, it had always, fo long as it had the goodness to keep true to SHADDAI, the king, his countenance, his protection, and it was his delight, &c. Devils, the fallen angels. The origin of Well, upon a time there was one Diabolus, (b) a mighty giant, made an affault upon the famous town of Manfoul, to take it, and make it his own habitation. This giant was king of the Blacks or Negroes, and a moft raving prince he was. We will, if you pleafe, firft difcourfe of the original of this Diabolus, and then of his taking of this famous town of Manfoul. This Diabolus is indeed a great and mighty prince, and yet both poor and beggarly. As to his original, he was at firft one of the fervants of king SHADDAI, by whom he was made, and raised to a most high and mighty place, yea, and was put into such principalities as belonged to Diabolus. the (a) That man, as he came from the hands of God, was endued with power fufficient to enable him to remain happy in the divine favour, though still liable to fall by the prevalence of temptation, ought to be univerfally allowed, as being confonant with fcripture, and agreeable to well informed reason. This fentiment is very elegantly expreffed by our own poet, MILTON, in the angel Raphael's addrefs to Adam; "God made thee perfect, not immutable: (6) The devil; a fallen angel, an evil fpirit; Satan, the aduerfary of God and man, the best of his territories and dominions, Ifa. xiv. 12. This Diabolus was made fon of the morning, and a brave place he had of it: it brought him much glory, and gave him much brightness: an income that might have contented his Luciferian heart, had it not been infatiable, and enlarged as hell itself. Pride kindles in 4 Well, he feeing himfelf thus exalted to greatness and honour, and raging in his mind for higher state and degree, what doth he but begin to think with himself, how he might be fet up as. lord over all, and have the fole power under SHADDAI, (a) 2 Pet. ii. 4. Jude 6. (Now that did the King referve for his (a) Thus we fee that pride, envy, and malice, excited rebellion in the angels, and caft them down from heaven: they could not brook the decree iffued by Sovereign Wisdom, that the MESSIAH fhould be King and Lord over all created beings, to the glory of God the Father; see Pf. ii. 6, 7: but each faid in his heart, "I will afcend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also fit upon the mount of the congregation, in the fides of the north-I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH," Ifa. xiv. 13, 14. But, their defign being no fooner formed than difcovered by the all-piercing eye of God, they were immediately punished for their horrid confpiracy with everlasting deftruction from his prefence, banifhed from heaven and happiness for ever; and are now referved in chains of darkness, to receive their full and final doom at the judgment of the great day, 2 Pet. ii. 4. Well had it been for the human race, if the evil had stopt here; but alas! the fame rebellious fpirit, that fhut the angels out of heaven, keeps the bulk of fallen man from it: they will not have THIS MAN to reign over them, Luke xix. 14; they reject the God-man, Jefus; renounce the falvation of God's own gracious appointment; and, after a life of fin here, flatter themselves with vain, delufive hopes of future happinefs, by a blind reliance on the mercy of an abfolute God, who to all fuch will be a confuming fire: while others oppose their own righteousness to, or endeavour to join it with, the righteoufnefs of Chrift, for their juftification and acceptance at God's righteous bar. All which is the genuine leaven of Arminianifm, and leads by a direct road to the pit of mifery and ruin : for God will not give his glory to another, Isaiah xlviii. 11; neither is there any other name, given under heaven, whereby loft finners can be faved, but that of JESUS ; and there is falvation in no other, A&siv, 12, Shaddai difcovers treafon and his Son, yea, and he had already bestowed it upon him); wherefore he first confults with himself what had beft to be done; and then breaks his mind to fome others of his companions, to which they alfo agreed. So, in fine, they came to this iffue, that they thould make an attempt upon the King's Son to destroy him, that the inheritance might be their's. Well, to be fhort, the treafon, as I faid, was concluded, the time appointed, the word given, the rebels rendezvoufed, and the affault attempted. (a) . Now the King and his Son, being all and always eye, could not but difcern all paffages in his dominions; and he having always a love for his Son, as for himself, could not, at what he faw, but be greatly provoked and offended: wherefore what does he, but takes them in the very nick, and first trip that they made towards their defign, convicts them of the treafon, horrid rebellion, and confpiracy that they had devifed, and now attempted to put into practice, and cafts them altogether out of all place of truft, benefit, honour, and preferiment: this done, he banithes them the court, turns them down into horrid pits; never more to expect the leaft favour from his hands, but to abide the judgment that he had appointed, and that for ever and ever. rebellion among his angels. Now they being thus caft out of all place of truft, profit, and honour, and alfo knowing that they had loft their Frince's favour for ever, being banished his court and caft down to the horrible pits, you may be fure they would now add to their former pride what malice and (a) The rebellious combination of Satan and his apostate confederates, as alfo their expulfion from heaven, and the banishment they incurred, feem to be very clearly pointed out in that paffage in Rev. xii. 7-9. "And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels: and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was caft out, that old ferpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was caft out into the earth, and his angels were caft out with him.” Sinners, beware, left, by obftinately rejecting Chrift, ye fall into the same condemnation: but rather "kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and fo ye perish from the right way," Pf.ii, ult. |