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His helmet.

"1. My Helmet, otherwife called an headpiece, is hope of doing well at last, what lives foever you live, Deut. xxix. 19. This is that which they had, who faid, that "they fhould have peace, tho' they walked in the wickedness of their heart, to add drunkennefs to thirft:" a piece of approved armour is this; and whoever has it, and can hold it, fo long no arrow, dart, fword, or fhield, can hurt him; this therefore keep on, and thou wiltward off many a blow, (a) my Manfoul.

"2. My Breaft-plate is a breast-plate of His breaft-plate. iron, Rev. ix. 9. I had it forged in mine own country, and all my foldiers are armed therewith; in plain language, it is an hard heart, an heart as hard as iron, and as much paft feeling as a ftone; the which if you get and keep, neither mercy fhall win you, nor judgment fright you. This therefore is a piece of armour most neceffary for all to put on that hate SHADDAI, and that would fight against him under my banner.

His fword.

3. My Sword is a tongue that is fet on fire of hell, Pf. Ivii. 4. Ixiv. 3. James iii. 6. and that can bend itself to speak evil of SHADDAI, his Son, his ways, and people; ufe this, it has been tried a thoufand times twice told; whoever hath it, keeps it, and makes use of it as I would have him, can never be conquered by mine enemy.

66 4. My

(a) They who blindly rely on the mercy of a God out of Chrift, and die in their fins unrepented of and unatoned for, as all baptized infidels do, will find themselves at length the miferable objects of divine justice; for they that think to be faved (as the modern mere moralifts do) any other way than by that which may redound equally to the honour of the divine justice and mercy, fall under the cenfure of the poet, who declares, they

-fet at odds Heav'n's jarring attributes:
Maim heav'n's perfection, break it's equal beams,
Bid mercy triumph over-God himself,
Undeify'd by their opprobrious praise:

A God all mercy is a God unjuft.

YOUNG.

His fhield.

"4. My Shield is unbelief, Job. xv. 26. Pf. Ixxvi. 3. Mark vi. 5, 6. or calling into question the truth of the word, or all the fayings that fpeak of the judgment that SHADDAI has appointed for wicked men ufe this fhield; many attempts he has made upon it, and fometimes, 'tis true, it has been bruised; but they that have writ of the wars of EMANUEL against my fervants, have teftified, that " he could do no mighty work there, because of their unbelief." Now, to handle this weapon of mine aright, is, not to believe things because they are true, of what fort, or by whomfoever afferted: if he speaks of judgment, care not for it; if he speaks of mercy, care not for it; if he promises, if he fwears that he would do to Manfoul, if it turns, no hurt, but good, regard not what is faid, queftion the truth of all; (a) for this is to wield the fhield of unbelief aright, and as my fervants ought, and do: and he that does otherwise, loves me not, nor do I count him but an enemy to me.

of armour.

5. Another part or piece, faid Diabolus, Another piece of mine excellent armour, is a dumb and prayerlefs fpirit,' a fpirit that scorns to cry for mercy, let the danger be ever fo great; wherefore be you, my Manfoul, fure that you make ufe of this. What !

cry

(a)" Thou haft magnified thy word above all thy name," faith Chrift, Pf. cxxxviii. 2. The veracity of Jehovah is engaged to fulfil it. The not believing and difregarding the divine teftimony, therefore, is offering the highest dishonour and infult to the God of truth, whofe word cannot be broken, John x. 35. It expelled man from paradise : and, to this day, unbelief of the fcripture, which is ever accom> panied with contempt of God and religion, obftructs the in tercourse between God and man. Hence a wide door is opened to all manner of licentiousness, and everlasting mifery in the life to come. But to them that believe, Chrift is precious; his word is fweet; by believing the record which God hath given of his Son, they set to their feal, that he is true; and take comfort from the promife, John iii. 15. "Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

cry for quarter? Never do that, if you would be mine: I know you ftout men; and am fure that I have clad you with that which is armour of proof; wherefore to cry to SHADDAI for mercy, let that be far from you. Belides all this, I have a maul, firebrands, arrows, and death, all good hand-weapons, and fuch as will do execu tion. (a)

to them.

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After he had thus furnished his men with armour and arms, he addreffed himself to them in fuch like words as He backs all thefe: Remember, quoth he, that I am your with a fpeech rightful king; and that you have taken an oath, and entered into covenant, to be true to me and to my caufe: I fay, remember this, and fhew yourselves ftout and valiant men of Manfoul. Remember alfo the kindness that I have always fhewed to you, and that without your petition. I have granted to you external things; wherefore the privileges, grants, immunities, profits, and honours, wherewith I have endowed you, do call forth at your hands returns of loyalty, my lion-like men of Manfoul: and what fo fit a time to fhew it, as when others shall seek to take my dominion over you into their own hands? One word more, and I have done: Can we but stand, and overcome this one fhock or brunt, I doubt not but in little time all the world will be our's; and

when

(a) We have seen above, how clearly and fcripturally this, judicious author defcribes the weapons of rebellion with which the unregenerate mind fights against the blessed God and it's own happiness; fome of them are the following, namely, a falfe and ill-founded fecurity, hard-heartednefs, fcoffing at divine truths, profaneness, unbelief, and averfenefs to prayer: but the greatest and most hurtful of these, because it is the fource of all the reft, is unbelief. By means of that accurfed root of bitterness, the carcafes of the ancient Ifraelites fell in the wilderness, Heb. iii. 1, which will be found. ftriâly true, in a fpiritual fenfe, with refpect to the foul and it's eternal concerns, What is the remedy in this and every forlorn circumstance? To look unto Jesus, crave health and ftrength from his almighty arm, and trust to receive from his fullness a fupply of all needful bleffings. G

No. 2.

1

when that day comes, my true hearts, I will make you kings, princes, and captains, and what brave days fhall wehave then! (a)

હા

Diabolus having thus armed and fore-armed his fervants and vaffals in Manfoul, againft their good and lawful king. SHADDAI, in the next place he doubleth his guards at the. gates of the town, and betakes himself to the caftle, which was his ftrong hold: his vaffals also, to fhew They of Manfoul fhew their their wills, and fuppofed (but ignoble) galloyalty to the lantry, exercise them in their arms every giant. day, and teach one another feats of war; they alfo defied their enemies, and fung up the praises of their tyrant; they threatened also what men they would be, if ever things fhould rise fo high as a war between SHADDAI and their king.

Now all this time the good King, the King Shaddai prepareth an army SHADDAI, was preparing to fend an army for the recovery to recover the town of Manfoul again from of Manfoul. under the tyranny of their pretended king Diabolus but he thought good, at the first, not to fend them by the hand and conduct of brave Emanuel his Son, but under the hand of fome of his fervants, to fee first by them the temper of Manfoul, and whether by them they would be won to the obedience of their King. The army confifted of above forty thoufand, all true men; for they came from the King's own court, and were those of his own chufing. (b)

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They

(a) Satan first beguiles, then destroys, and, laftly, torments: he flatters, only to betray and ruin: "All these things will I give thee (faith this arch-deceiver), if thou wilt fall down and worfhip me." This he had the impudence to fuggeft to the God who, made him, Matt. iv. 9. But what was the refult? Our blefled Lord repels him with abhorrence, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" May you and I, fellow-finner, feek and find grace to refift the devil at all times, and he will flee from us, James iv, 7. But this can only be effected by the power of the Bruifer of the ferpent's head. (b) The Lord has in all ages provided his minifters, as inftruments in the hand of the Spirit, to confirm the gracious promises

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The captains

names.

They came up to Manfoul under the conduct of four ftout generals, each man being captain of ten thoufand men; and these are their names, and their enfigns. The name of the first was captain Boanerges; the name of the second was captain Conviction; the name of the third, captain Judgment; and the name of the fourth was captain Execution. These were the captains that SHADDAI fent to regain Manfoul. Thefe four captains (as was faid) the King thought fit in the first place to fend to Manfoul, to make an attempt upon it; for indeed generally, in all his wars, he did use to place these four captains in the van, for they were very ftout and rough-hewn men, (a) Pfal. Ix. 4. men that were fit to break the ice, and to make their way by dint of fword, and their men were like themselves.

To each of thefe captains the King gave a The King gives banner, that it might be difplayed, becaufe of the goodness of his caufe, and because of

them a banner.

the right that he had to Man foul.

First, To captain Boanerges, for he was the chief, to him, I fay, were given ten thousand men: his enfign was Mr. Thunder: he bore the black colours, and his fcutcheon was the three burning thunderbolts, Mark iii. 17.

The

promises made to the elect in Chrift, Gen. iii. 15. The patriarchs, prophets, apoftles, and their fucceffors to the end of time, are the publishers of this bleffed news to perishing finners.

(a) Thefe were, 1. The powerful preaching of the word: 2. Compunction under it, which extorts the cry, "What fhall I do to be faved?" Acts xvi. 30. 3. The threatenings of the law, it's terrors, dread of the wrath of God and eternal punishment for fin, as denounced in the fcriptures of truth. 4. Thofe awakenings which the quickening Spirit of God excites in the foul, from a retrospective view of it's original guilt, numberless aggravated actual tranfgreffions, and ob noxiousness to the punishment due to the broken law. These are the bleffed operations of that divine grace which alone bringeth falvation, and is an earnestof future glory

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