and he will give it to you; and you fhall not be any longer troubled with the fierce outrages of the devil.

And they cried out, faying, what have we to do with the, JESUS, thou Son of GOD? Art thou come to tormeut us before the

time?

As foon as the devils obferved JESUS coming near, then they were afraid, left he was come to punish them before that day of accounts, when all must be brought to judgment,

The devils themselves are enough to convince all our polite Arians and Socinians. They here own the LORD JESUS CHRIST to be GOD bleffed for ever; they feel his power, and are affured of his being the GOD who must condemn them at the great day of accounts; and they were afraid left the LORD JESUS CHRIST was come to punish them now. But though the devils believe the divinity of CHRIST, yet the world fwarms with Arians and Socinians.

The Arians make CHRIST no more than a titular God, a fubordinate deity, one who was more than man, and yet lefs than GOD; that he was a prophet fent from GOD they own, but deny him to be equal with the Father. But I hope, my brethren, he is to you, what our creed makes him, GoD of Gop, very GoD of very GOD, co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father; that as there was not a moment of time in which God the Father was not, fo there is not a moment of time in which God the Son was not. For he fays himself,

All things were made by him ;" and if they were made by him, he must be GOD; and whoever reads but the word of GOD, will find divine homage is paid to him, “and that he thought it no robbery to be equal with GOD;" he is "the Alpha and Omega." Thefe and a great many more places might be brought to prove the divinity of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; he could never have made fatisfaction for our fins if he had not been GoD as well as Man. As Man he suffered; as GOD he fatisfied; fo was GOD and man in one person; he took our nature upon him, and was offered upon the cross for the fins of all those who come unto him, which if he had not been God he could never have fatisfied for. It may be proved, even to a demonftration, that the LORD JESUS CHRIST IS GOD, and that he is equal with the Father.

The

The Socinians do not go so far as the others; they look on CHRIST to be no more than a good man, who told the people their duty, and died in defence of the doctrines which he delivered unto them.

But I hope there are none fuch here, that have fo low and difhonourable thoughts of the bleffed JESUS, and that thus defpife the divinity of the LORD who bought them. No, I hope better things of you, and things that accompany falvation. Think you, that any one who denies the deity of CHRIST can ever be faved by him, living and dying in that state? Surely, the time will come, when they who have denied his Deity, fhall feel the power of it hereafter; they fhall feel that he is God as well as man; then he will be owned as God by all those who now dare to deny his truths; but God forbid it fhould go undetermined `till then! Woe unto the polite infidels of this generation, for the devils will rife up in judgment against them.

If any fuch are here, confider what you are doing of, before it is too late; return, return ye unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon you, and to JESUS CHRIST, and he will abundantly pardon. O my friends, let me beseech you to confider what you are about, left you fall into hell, and there be none to deliver you.

And the devils befought him, faying, If thou caft us out, fuffer us to go away into the herd of fwine. And he said unto them, Go: And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine ; and behold, the whole herd of fwine ran violently down a steep place into the fea, and perished in the waters.

Here we may fee, that no fooner had the devil power, but he puts it into execution; thus, if the devil has but power to tempt, or to hurry a foul, O how grievous a tyrant he is, hurrying from one temptation to another, from one fin unto another, and would, if it were poffible, hurry you all into hell with as much violence, as he did the poor fwine into the fea; but CHRIST by his grace prevents it. JESUS CHRIST died for fouls, and therefore the devil cannot do with them as he will; he may have the will, but he cannot get the power. It is plain, that when the devil himself, or perfecuting men, get the power, they will harrafs the poor chriftians; every

thing is too good for them, and they are not worthy to be set with the dogs of the flock. My brethren, how joyful would many be, if the laws of our land would permit them to deftroy us; how would the Pharifees hurry us to prison and to death; but, bleffed be GOD, he does not fay to them, as to the devil," Go:" No, he bids them ftay, he hedges their way up with thorns that they cannot ftir to hurt us; they would fain, but they dare not destroy us; nothing withholds them but the power of the bleffed JESUS. And therefore, be not afraid of their wrath though it is cruel, and of their anger though it be fierce: let them fhoot their arrows, even bitter words, against us, bleffed be GOD, the fhield of faith will be a prefervative against them all.

And when you are thus preferved, it will be the occafion of joy in the Holy Ghoft; though many look on the joy of the Holy Ghoft as enthusiasm and madness, and say that there is no fuch thing; but well do I know there is, it carries its own evidence along with it. Plead therefore with GOD, in the name of JESUS CHRIST; continue to wrestle with him, until he bestows the bleffing upon you, and gives you a feeling of that joy which the world intermeddles not with, and which they are ftrangers to: indeed the devil may ftir up his agents to hurry us from one trouble to another; but it will not fignify, for the LORD JESUS CHRIST will not fuffer him to hurry us into hell; no, but will give us his Spirit, which will be a prefervative against all the affaults of the devil. Now fee what followed this miracle, which JESUS had wrought, by permitting the devil to enter into the herd of fwine.

And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing; and what was befallen to the poffeffed of the devils.

The people were so amazed to see the power that CHRIST had, and the malice with which the devil was poffeffed, that they were afraid, and told all that had befallen the poffeffed of the devils and fo, when the fpirit of GoD has been at work on your fouls, and you are brought to feel the power of GOD upon your hearts, you will be fo overjoyed that you will tell to every one what great things GOD has done for

your fouls; you will be fo full of joy, that you will declare the whole working of GOD on your hearts, and you will declare how you have been enabled to overcome Satan, and how you were affected at fuch a fermon, in fuch a place, and at such a time.

You will then love to talk of JESUS; no converfation will be fo pleafing as that of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; no, he will be altogether lovely unto you, when you have once tafted of his love, and felt the power of his grace upon your

hearts.

And behold, the whole city came out to meet JESUS, and when they faw him, they befought him that he would depart out of their coafts.

The whole city came to meet JESUS, not to worship, nor to thank him for the releafing of the two poor men who were poffeffed; no, but to befeech him to go from them; they valued their swine more than the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and had rather part from him, than them: and have we not among us, thousands who call themselves chriftians, who had rather part with CHRIST than their pleasures? A play, a ball, or an affembly is far more agreeable to them than the company and presence of the LORD JESUS CHRIST: if they can but indulge their fenfual appetite, please and pamper their bellies, fatisfy the luft of the eye, the luft of the flesh, and the pride of life, they regard no more, but reft contented, as if they were to live here always. O my dear brethren, I hope none of you can reft contented with fuch proceedings as these, but that you like the company of the LORD JESUS too well to part with him for a few delights of this life and are there not many, who part with CHRIST for their own good works, and think they can go to heaven, if they do but go to church and say their prayers and take the facrament? but alas! they will be much deceived, for if they reft in any thing short of the LORD JESUS, if they do not make him the chief corner-ftone, they will fall infinitely short of what they flattered themselves to attain unto.

I would speak a few words to you before I part from you this evening, by way of application. Let me befeech you to come to JESUS CHRIST; I invite you all to come to him

and

and receive him as your LORD and Saviour; he is ready to receive you if you are afraid to go because you are in a loft condition, he came to save such; and to fuch as were weary and heavy laden, fuch as feel the weight and burden of their fins, he has promifed he will give reft: fuch as feel the weight and burden of their fins on their fouls, a burden too heavy for them to bear, are weary of it, and know not how to obtain deliverance of it, in the name of my LORD and mafter, I invite you to come to him, that you may find reft for fouls.

your

If you will but come unto him he will not reproach you, as justly he might; he will not reflect upon you for not coming fooner unto him; no, my dear brethren, he will rejoice and be glad, and will fay unto you, "Son, daughter, be of good cheer, your fins are forgiven you:" thefe words he faid to others; and if you will but come unto him, by faith in his blood, he is ready to fay the fame unto you now, as he did to them formerly, for "he is the fame to-day, yesterday and for ever" though he fuffered on the cross feventeen hundred years ago, yet he is the fame in goodness and power as ever

he was.

He calls you, by his minifters; O come unto him, beg of him to break your ftubborn hearts, that you may be willing to be brought to him in his own way, to be made poor in fpirit, and entitled to an inheritance among them that are fanctified.

O come and drink of the water of life; you may buy with out money and without price; he is labouring to bring you back from fin, and from Satan unto himself: open the door of your hearts, and the King of glory fhall enter in.

But if you are ftrangers to this doctrine, and account it foolishness; or, if you think you have enough of your own to recommend you to the favour of GOD, however you may go to church, or receive the facrament, you have no true love to the LORD JESUS CHRIST; you are ftrangers to the truth of grace in your hearts, and are unacquainted with the new-birth; you do not know what it is to have your natures changed; and 'till you do experience these things, you never can enter into the kingdom of Gov.

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