way? yea, irons on the prifoner's legs? He breaks the bars of iron, and brings out the prifoner.Once more, he gets a fight of the willingness and readiness of Christ to communicate of his fulness: Heb. iv. 15. 16. "For we have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without fin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” He now fees the truth and reality of gospel-invitations and promises, that they are not only fair words, as he sometime thought them, but fure and tried words: Pfal. xii. 6. « The words of the Lord are pure words; as filver tried in a furnace of earth, purified feven times." This revives the fainting heart, is the great cordial for a foul ready to perifh; fo that the prisoner resolves to venture himfelf, and lay his whole weight on the glorious Deliverer.

Before leaving this head, it may be of importance to inquire, what ground the blinded prifoner has to rest upon and embrace this offer in the proclamation of the gafpel?—As to this we obferve,

1. That there is nothing offered but what our Lord can perform and make good: Numb. xxiii. 19. "God is not a man that he fhould lie; neithe fon of man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall not he do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Jefus is the true light, the fight of the world; the ftar that came out of Jacob, Num. xxiv. 17.; the bright and morning far, which puts an end to the dark night in the foul, Rev. xxii. 16.; the fun of righteousness, Mal. iv. 2. He has a fulness of the fpirit of light

in him, to communicate to dark fouls, Rev. iii. 1. -We obferve,

2. That there is nothing offered but what he has already performed in the experience of thoufands, who have been Satan's clofe prifoners as well as you : Ifa. xxxv. 4. 5. 6. “He will come and fave you. Then the eyes of the blind fhall be opened, and the ears of the deaf fhall be unftopped: Then the lame man fhall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the demb fing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the defart." Paul was a blind Pharifee, but O how wonderfully were his eyes opened! There have been many who were as ftupid, fecure, and blind as any, whom the day-fpring from on high hath visited ; who fat in darkness, but are now turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God.-We obferve,

3. That there is nothing proposed to us but what he has his Father's commiffion to offer and make good: Ifa. xlix. 6. " And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my fervant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to reftore the preferved of Ifrael: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayeft be my falvation to the ends of the earth." Ver. 9. "That thou mayeft say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They fhall feed in their ways, and their paftures fhall be in all high places." Again, to the fame purport, fee Ifa. xlii. 6. 7. And therefore his coming into the world is compared to the day-fpring, Luke, i. 78. which comes at its appointed time.-We obferve,

Ye

4. That what is offered is offered to you. are all comprehended in the proclamation: Ifa. lv. 1. "Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters."

waters." Whatever be your cafe, though you be in the innermoft room of Satan's prifon in the world, ye are men, ye are fons of men: Prov. viii. 4. "Unto you, O men! do I call, and my voice is to the fons of men." And the offer is very particular, Eph. v. 14. " Awake, thou that fleepeft, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."-We observe,

5. That there is the greatest reality, truth, and fincerity in the offer: Rev. iii. 14. "These things faith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God." Never one embraced this offer who was refused. It grieves his Spirit that finners do not fall in with it. He wept over Jerufalem for this; and he has loft no bowels of compaffion by going to heaven.

This part of the fubject we would improve, by urging you to embrace the offered light, the faving illumination proclaimed in the gofpel; and to come to Chrift with this errand, That your eyes may be opened. And here I would exhort you to the following things.

Be convinced of your natural darkness and blindness in the things of God. Say not, with the Pharifees, Are we blind alfo? The lefs thou seest of this darknefs about thee, the greater is the darkness upon thee. The beft fee but in part, and most men fee none at all in a saving manner. -Love not darkness: John, iii. 19. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." As the owl loves not the fhining fun, fo men wedded to their lufts hate the light, and loves to be in darkness. They do not know God, nor his law, nor his Son, nor themselves, and they care not for the knowledge of them: Job, xxi. 14. "Therefore they say unto

God,

God, Depart from us: for we defire not the knowledge of thy ways." They are at little pains with their Bibles, and far lefs with their hearts and lives, to make them agreeable to the light of the word. Do not refift and rebel against the light, Job, xxiv. 13. "They are of those who rebel against the light; they know not the way thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof." Let not your lufts carry you over the belly of what light you have, left ye be judicially blinded. What light God offers you by his word, by providences, or by inward motions and convictions within your breasts, beware of fighting against it, beware of refifting and putting it out. Sometimes the Spirit of the 'Lord begins to throw in beams of light into the foul, at a fermon, under a rod, or some rebuke of providence. But the finner cannot be eafy till this be again darkened.-Be fatisfied with no light, which has not a fanctifying and purifying heat with it. The true light is called the light of life, John, viii. 12. When the Spirit of the Lord fell on the difciples, Acts, ii. there appeared tongues of fire, enlightening and warming. Dangerous is the case of men who keep truth a prisoner: Rom. i. 18. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteoufnefs."-Laftly, Go to the Lord for the Spirit of illumination. Pray, fearch for the fame as for hid treafures, and believe for it in the Lord Jefus. Look to him that ye may be enlightened with this faving illumination of his word and Spirit. To prevail with you in all these points, I would mention the following Mo

TIVES.

Mot. 1. This illumination is absolutely neceffary for falvation. A finner will never prize Chrift, nor come to him, till his eyes are opened to fee his VOL. III,

Q

fin

fin and mifery, what a juft God and a ftrict law he has to deal with, what a precious and suitable Saviour Chrift is: John, iv. 10. "Jefus anfwered, and faid unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that faith unto thee, give me to drink, thou wouldft have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." While Satan keeps his prisoner bound, he will hold him faft. That which the eye fees not, the heart receives not. The danger may be very great, but when unknown the finner is secure.

Mot. 2. Blindness under the gospel is most inexcufeable: John, ix. 41. " Jefus faid unto them, If ye were blind, ye fhould have no fin: but now ye fay, We fee: therefore your fin remaineth.” It is wilful blindness. Those who live in the dark corners of the earth, where the light of the gofpel is not known, what wonder is it that they walk on in darkness? But the light of the gofpel fhines about us. Chrift offers to enlighten us by his Spirit, Eph. v. 14. If we chufe darkness rather than light, we must lay our account with our choice being our ruin, John, iii. 19.

Mot. 3. Saving illumination is the only way to true comfort, and the want of it the way to utter mifery: Col. i. 12. 13. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." At the blinding of the foul, Satan completes the fecurity of the prisoner; and at the enlightening of him, Chrift begins his deliverance. In them who are faved, the light is carried on to the light of glory. In them who are loft, the darkness is continued, till they come to endless and utter darkness.-We are now,

II. To