prince of this world is judged " And the Devil and his angels are called (Ephes. vi. 12.) Principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world."

But now when our Saviour came into the world, he erected his kingdom amongst mankind, and broke the Devil's kingdom and power, and whereever the gospel came, put a period to the worship and adoration of the Devil, and destroyed his empire and dominion; whence the author of the epistle to the Hebrews saith, (Heb. ii. 14.)" that Christ destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil," that is, he abolished him as to any farther pretence of empire or power over us; and St. John saith, (1 John iii. 8) that" the son of God was for this purpose manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil:" Satan (Luke x. 18.) "fell from heaven like lightning" at the coming of our Lord, who cjected and cast out the Devil. (John xii. 31.) "Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world be cast out.(John xvi. 11.) The prince of this world is judged:" We are now redeemed by the power of Christ, from the slavery and bondage of the Devil.

The possession which the Devil got of the

human nature, was, as Irenæus writes, "a forced and usurped one, acquired through our sin and apostacy, by which we became the house and vessels of that strong man; but the Lord Jesus hath bound this strong man, and delivered us from his usurpation and tyranny." He came into this world, and erected an adverse and opposite kingdom to the Devil's kingdom, and invited all men to come into his kingdom, and be subjects thereof; the entrance or formal admission into which, was at baptism, when the party baptized made a visible and open renunciation of the Devil's kingdom and interest, and publicly submitted himself to Jesus Christ as his Lord and governor.

This was one of the principal subjects of the apostle's sermons, that Jesus Christ was Lord; and this was the principal engagement made by new converts at their baptism, to submit to him as such. Thus St. Peter concluded his sermon, which he made on the descent of the Holy Ghost, (Acts ii. 36.) "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." And so St. Peter and the other apostles, in their defence before the Sanhedrim, told them, that (Acts v. 31.) "God had exalted Jesus

with his right hand to be a prince and a savi-our, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." And so St. Paul saith, (1 Cor. viii. 5, 6.) "that though there be (id est, according to popular estimation) Gods many, and Lords many; yet to us there is but one God the father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him: (Ephes. iv. 5, 6.) One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all." So that the very formality of a Christian, and the intention of a person's being such, was to submit to Christ as Lord, which every one professed to be at baptism; that being a visible admission into his kingdom, and an open profession of subjection to him; whence Cornelius, and his company were said to be (Acts x. 48.) "baptized in the name of the Lord," id est, they were by baptism initiated into the servive of Christ as Lord.

And it is farther observable, that the baptized person did not only own the dominion and Lordship of Christ at baptism, but he did then likewise in express terms, renounce and ab jure the vassalage and service of the Devil; it being the ancient course, to demand of every person at his baptism, just before he received the baptismal laver, whether he re

nounced the Devil and all his works? To which he gave his public assent, and so made a solemn abjuration of the Devil, and his government and interest, being now to become a servant of Jesus Christ, and a subject of his kingdom. So Clemens Alexandrinus writes,

that in baptism we renounced the evil powers, id est, the Devil; and Tertullian, that we renounced the Devil and his angels; and, we covenanted to renounce the Devil, his pomp and his angels; and Cyprian, that we renounced the Devil, and the world.”

Now if we reflect on all these matters, on the two opposite kingdoms of Christ and the Devil, on the extent of the Devil's kingdom at the time of our Saviour's coming, on the destruction or weakening of it by our Saviour, and his visible erecting of a kingdom among mankind, and the admission into it by bap tism, it will most evidently appear, that this article had its beginning with Christianity itself; and that the intended meaning thereof was, solemnly to declare thereby, that Jesus Christ is Lord and governor of all, and particularly of us Christians, in opposition to the Devil, his kingdom and empire; every person at baptism particularly, and solemnly professing Christ to be his Lord, in opposition to

the Devil, whom Christ hath conquered and overcome: on which account St. Austin assures us, "that Christ is in the creed termed our Lord, because he hath spoiled our ancient enemy, and hath called us to his particular dominion."

Baptism doth in its own nature suppose the submission of the baptized person to the dominion and lordship of Christ, it being the public rite of initiation into his kingdom, and the solemn admission into the number of his subjects; so that whenever baptism hath been used, the lordship or dominion of Christ hath been then either implied, or expressly assented to, and owned: from whence it follows, that this article in the creed, whereby Jesus Christ is professed to be Lord, is co-eval with Christianity, and hath been always either expressed or implied at baptism.

After the declaration of our Saviour's divine nature and lordship, the creed descends in the next place to his humanity, affirming him who was named just before his only son our Lord, to be conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary; by that and the following expressions, declaring the reality, certainty and manner of his incarnation; that he who is the son of God, did for us men