may fay with David, Pfal. lxxvii. "I remembered God, and was troubled." With God is terrible majefty indeed, and his terrors fet themselves in array against me. Anfw. Here is comfort, the Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up the ftandard, and drive away these terrors; for he is "the Comforter, and Chrift has promised to fend him in this capacity; "I will fend the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghoft; and when he comes, thy heart fhall rejoice, and thy joy fhall no man take from thee. We have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." And it is his ufual way, after he has wounded and broken, to bind up and heal, to make the bones which he hath broken to rejoice.

May another fay, The fear of death breaks in upon me like a flood, the king of terrors keeps me in perpetual bondage, I am not able to look upon his grim countenance. Anfw. The Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up the ftandard, he fhall discover the glory of Christ, and then thou shalt be put in cafe to fay, "O death, where is thy fting? Yea, though I walk through the valley of the fhadow of death, I will fear no evil." Chrift is the plague of death, and the destruction of the grave; he has wrung the keys of hell and death out of the devil's hand: and therefore "lift up thy head, for the day of thy redemption draweth near." So much for confolation.

A fifth use of this doctrine fhall be by way of Exhortation. Is it fo, that by lifting up the standard, by displaying the glory of Chrift, the enemy is repulfed that was coming in like a flood? then the exhortation is, Answer the defign of the Spirit of the Lord in lifting up the ftandard. Take this exhortation in the two following branches.

First branch. You heard, in the doctrinal part, that the ftandard is a gathering enfign, whereby volunteers are lifted, new foldiers taken into the army. Well, Sirs, Chrift has fet up his enfign in the difpenfation of the everlafting gofpel; and it is prophefied concerning him, that " unto him thall the gathering of the people be; and therefore, O let finners gather unto him, and give up their names, as volunteers in his fervice. O that I knew what arguments to use with finners, to perfuade them to gather unto Chrift, the bleffed ftandard that is lifted up and difplayed in the everlasting gospel !

1. Confider, that every thing in and about Chrift invites you to gather and flock unto him.

ift, He has a gathering name. The very name of some renowned generals is enough to make volunteers to flock unto their standard. Well, Sirs, here is a General of the greatest name of any that ever was heard of; he hath " a name above

every name;" is renowned in heaven and earth; "his name fhall endure for ever; his name fhall laft like the fun;" his name is "Emmanuel, God with us;" his name is "Redeemer;" his name is "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace." Q is not his name a gathering name?

2dly, He has a gathering arm: If. xl. 11. "He fhall feed his flock like a fhepherd: he thall gather the lambs with his arm." His arms are everlafting arms; and thefe everlafting arms fhall be underneath thee, if you engage in his fervice; and he stretches out his arms all the day long to finners, faying, "Behold me, behold me."

3dly, He has a gathering wing: Matth. xxiii. at the clofe, "How often would I have gathered thee, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings!" He is even as fond of the falvation of finners, as ever the hen was to gather her brood under her feathers, when the hovers over them with the greatest tendernefs; He fhall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings fhalt thou trust."

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4thly, He has a gathering voice; he fpake but a word to Mary, calling her by name; and immediately the answers, "Rabboni, my mafter." His voice is the voice of the charmer, which charms never fo wifely; the melody of his voice, when heard by the ear of faith, has fuch a powerful charm with it, that it quickens the dead: "The dead fhall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear fhall live," John v. 25. His voice makes the lame man to leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb to fing.

5thly, He has a gathering trumpet, the found of which goes to the end of the earth: Rom. x. 18. "Have they not heard? Yes verily, their found went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." This gathering trumpet of the everlasting gospel you read of, If. xxvii. 13. "And it fhall come to pafs in that day that the great trumpet fhall be blown, and they fhall come which were ready to perish in the land of Affyria, and the outcafts in the land of Egypt, and fhall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerufalem." This is a gathering trumpet indeed, and bleffed are they that know the joyful found of it, fo as to be gathered thereby to the bleffed Shiloh : for "they fhall walk in the light of his countenance, and in his name fhall they rejoice all the day long."

6thly, He has a gathering enfign or ftandard, If. xi. 10. But this leads to,

2. A fecond motive, to wit, the qualities of the ftandard which the Spirit of the Lord lifts up.

ift, It is an ancient standard. The most ancient standard of 'the army is always the most honourable. Well, Sirs, here is a standard for antiquity excels all other standards; for it is "fet up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was;" it was fet up in the counsel of peace; it was set up in Paradife, and difplayed against the old ferpent, for the injury

he had done to the woman and her feed.

2dly, It is a victorious ftandard, it carries victory along with it where-ever it goes; the very lifting up of the standard conquers: "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men after me." It strikes terror to the heart of the dragon and his angels, Satan and his confederates. As the walls of Jericho fell down at the found of the rams horns, fo the ftrong-holds of Satan and his works fall down before the standard, 2 Cor. x. 4-6.

So

3dly, It is a lovely and beautiful standard: Cant. ii. 4. "His banner over me was love." This standard is altogether lovely and whenever it is difplayed in its glory, in the view of a finner, immediately the bands of love fall upon the foul; he is "drawn with cords of a man, and with bands of love." lovely is this ftandard, that its luftre and glory reflects a luftre upon all that behold it, or that lift themselves under it. Balaam viewing the armies of Ifrael under the covert of this standard, he was fo ftricken, that he cries out, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy'tabernacles, O Ifrael! The people fhall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations."

4thly, It is a durable and lafting ftandard. Other standards wear, and the moth fhall eat them up; but this standard is ever the fame : Heb. xiii. 8. Jefus Chrift, the fame yefterday, and to-day, and for ever." It is everlasting: Heb. i. JC-12. there you have an account of the perpetuity of this ftandard, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning haft laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They fhall perish, but thou remaineft; and they all fhall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vefture fhalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the fame, and thy years fhall not fail.”

5thly, It is a very awful and terrible standard to hell and all its confederates; the church, when under this ftandard, is faid to be "terrible as an army with banners." Hence the devils, when they faw Chrift upon earth, in the days of his flesh, they were ftruck with fuch terror, that they cried out, "What have we to do with thee, Jefus, thou Son of the most high God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ?"

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time? O who would not gather under such a standard as this?

3. To engage you to get under this ftandard, will you but take a view of the mottoes of it. It has feveral mottoes, according to the different difplays of it.

ift, If we view the standard as it is difplayed against Satan the old dragon, the deftroyer of mankind, then the motto of the standard is, Gen. iii. 15. "The feed of the woman shall bruise the head of the ferpent." Or that, Ifa. Ixiii. 4. "The day of vengeance is in mine heart." Or that, Heb. ii. 14. "Through death he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."

2dly, View the standard as it is difplayed towards finners of Adam's family to whom the gofpel is difpenfed; then the motto of it reads, "God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlafting life. For God fent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be faved." Or that, 2 Cor. v. 19. "God was in Chrift reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trefpaffes unto them." Or, 1 Tim. i. 15. " This is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift Jefus came into the world to fave finners." Sometimes it bears this motto, "God is love;" fometimes you will read this motto, "The Lord our righte oufnefs;" fometimes you may read it thus, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wife caft out."

3dly, View the ftandard as difplayed against obftinate finners, ftanding it out against a God of love, refufing to come under the victorious banner; and fo it bears this terrible motto, Heb. ii. 3. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a falvation ?" Or that, Heb. x. 28. 29. "They that despised Mofes law, died without mercy of how much forer punishment fhall they be thought worthy, who crucify the Son of God afresh," &c. Sometimes you may read it thus, "God fhall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of all them that go on in their trefpaffes."

4thly, View this ftandard, as it is difplayed towards the faints, real believers, who have actually lifted themselves as volunteers in the army; then the motto of it sometimes reads like that, Jer. xxxi. 3." I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee." Sometimes, when the standard is feen, the motto of it will read, as Deut. xxxiii. 3. "All his faints are in thy hand." Or that, John x. 28. 29. "I will give unto them eternal life, and they fhall never perish, neither fhall any pluck them my hand. My Father which gave them me, is greater VOL. II.

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than all and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Sometimes it reads thus, " I, even I am he that blotteth out thine iniquities for mine own name's fake." Sometimes you will read it thus, "I will never leave thee nor forfake thee; I will never turn away from thee to do thee good." Sometimes thus, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen, and have the keys of hell and of death," Rev. i. 18. But I might enlarge here till midnight, telling you of the beautiful mottoes of this ftandard, towards the foldiers of the army; I fhall only fay in general, at every opening of the ftandard, at every difplay of the glory of Chrift that is made to the fints, there is always fome motto to be feen and read with it; and it cannot be otherwife, for it is the Spirit of the Lord that lifts up the standard, in, and by, and, with his own word. Now, may not all this allure and invite you to come in under it ?

4. To encourage volunteers to come in under this royal ftandard, confider what encouraging proclamations are iffued out, to induce you to take on with the glorious General. We, as under-officers and heralds, are sent out to intimate these presents to all and every one whom it may concern; and that is every creature sprung of Adam; we may well ufher them in with a warn-word and oyes, to arrest your attention.

1st, then, Be it known to all men, and the fons of men, it is given out from the royal standard of Heaven, even a proclamation of liberty and freedom to all the flaves and vaffals of hell. Chrift the great Captain of falvation, he has broken up the devil's prifon, broken the gates of brafs, and cut asunder the bars of iron; and he calls to the prifoners to come forth; to them that fit in darkness, Shew yourselves; the Son of God by his proclamation makes you free, and therefore be ye free indeed. Whofoever they be that will come in under the ftandard of Heaven, fhall be free from the guilt of fin, that it fhall not condemn them; from the dominion of fin, that it fhall not reign over them; from the pollution of fin, that it fhall not feparate between God and them: they shall be free from the law as a covenant, and from its fentence of death; from Satan, the roaring lion, that he shall not be able to devour them.

2dly, From the royal standard of Heaven it is given out, and we proclaim peace to you who are rebels, and have been in arms against God: If. xxvii. 4. 5. "Fury is not in me: who would fet the briars and thorns againft me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. But let them

take