II. To fhew, that Chrift offers to the prisoners a loofing of those bands wherewith they are bound.

Here it will be neceffary to fhew,-1. How he loofes God's bands from off the prifoners.-And, 2. How he takes off the devil's bands from them. Let us then,

1. Shew how he loofes God's bands from off the prisoners. The unconverted finner is God's prisoner under the bands of guilt, and of the curfe of the law, which bind him over to deftruction. These he looses and takes off the finner by the application of his own blood: Zech. ix. 11, "As for thee alfo, by the blood of thy covenant, I have fent forth thy prifoners out of the pit wherein is no water." Here we obferve,

(1.) That Jefus purchased their freedom from thefe bands by his death and sufferings. Guilt is a ftrong tie, the curfe is a heavy chain on the prifoner; in these the power of fpiritual death lay. But Jefus, by his death, procured the finner's relaxation: Gal. iii. 13. « Chrift hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, having been made a curse for us." His compaffion for the prifoners made him pay for them a ransom of his own blood. He took their bands of guilt and the curfe upon himself, that he might loose them from off them. Now he has ranfomed the prifoners, who will accept of his delivery, and has a right to loose them from their bands; juftice and the law having nothing to object.--We obferve,

(2.) That Jefus comes in the gofpel to the pri.. fon-door, proclaims and makes offer of liberty to the prifoners. This he does in the text. In his name the offer is made by his meffengers; his authority to loose the prifoners is afferted, Matth.

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xxviii. 18. "Jefus came and faid unto them, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." His ability and willingness to do it is confirmed, Heb. vii. 25. "Wherefore he is able to fave them to the uttermoft that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make interceffion for them." They are preffed to consent to the offer; charged upon their peril to comply with it; and all this to make them willing to come away out of the prifon with the deliverer.--We obferve,

(3.) That though the most part give a deaf ear to the gofpel-call, will not believe their danger, but fit at ease in their fetters, yet fome are made a willing people in a day of power, Pf. cx. 3. By the word, faith is wrought in their hearts, Rom. x. 17.; even that faith whereby the foul lays hold upon, and unites with Chrift, flees in under the covert of his blood, lays overthe weight of all its guilt upon Jefus, believing his blood to be fufficient to take it all away, and, renouncing all other pleas,-betakes itself to this: Rom. iii. 25. "Whom God has fet forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteoufnefs for the remiffion of fins that arepaft, through the forbearance of God." Thus this blood is applied.--We obferve,

(4.) That when this blood is thus applied, the chains are ordered to be taken off the prisoner: Job, xxxiii. 24. "Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.' Yea, the chains fall off of course, fince, as in Rom. viii. 1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Chrift Jefus." The Cautioner's payment is pled for the debtor, and he is difcharged; the criminal's caufe is carried by the Surety and Advocate, and he is abfolved. He is under the covert of blood, therefore neither law nor justice

juftice can reach him. He is brought into the bond of the covenant of grace, and fo the guilt of eternal wrath, which is the bond of the first covenant, can hold him no longer; guilt and the curfe being removed, judicial hardness has no place.

2. Let us fhew how Chrift looses and takes off the devil's bands from the prifoners. The unconverted finner is alfo the devil's prifoner; he likewife lays bands on the finner. These are in themfelves finful lufts and practices, &c. by which he holds them as by bands. Chrift loofes from thefe by the powerful workings of his Spirit, giving them grace, which breaks their bands afunder. He gives them,

(1.) Awakening grace, which roufes them up, and burfts the bands of floth, wherewith they were held, Eph. v. 14. (quoted above), and cures them of the fatal delufion which they were under as to their state. Like the prodigal, they come to themselves, Luke, xv. 17. The finner fleeps fecurely in his fins and in his chains; but the Spirit of God gives him a found awakening, fo that his reft in fin is disturbed, and he can no longer get lived at ease in his former courfes. His conscience fets upon him, and founds a terrible alarm of wrath in his ears, which ceaseth not till he has fled to Chrift for refuge, and he flees without delay. Jefus gives them,

(2.) Enlightening grace, Eph. v. 14. by which the finner gets a difcovery of himself, and a difcovery of God and Chrift. He is brought, as it were, into a new world, in which every thing appears in other colours than it did before. The mask which Satan put upon the ways of God and the ways of fin, is pulled off, and he fees the beauty, the excellence of religion. Thus the band of preju

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dice is broken, the evil and danger of the ways of fin are expofed to them, fo that the finful company he before delighted in becomes a terror to him, and he fays, "Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity, for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping," Pfal. vi. 8. He fees the vanity and emptiness of all time's things, fo that Satan can - hold him no longer by this pitiful handle.—Jesus gives them,

(3.) Quickening and regenerating grace, by which they receive a new principle of spiritual Fife 2 Pet. i. 4. "Whereby are given unto lis exceeding great and precious promifes, that by thefe ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having efcaped the corruption that is in the world through luft." So that the bands of death in which they were held give way, and they become new creatures: 2 Cor. v. 17. "Therefore, if any man be in Chrift Jefus, he is a new creature; old things are paffed away, behold all things are become new. They are endowed with a new nature, having new motions and inclinations heavenward; fo that the band of earthly-mindednefs is broken; their will is renewed; Chrift becomes their choice above all, and they lay hold upon him with heart and good will, fo as that the bands of unbelief give way; their hearts are foftened; they get the heart of stone removed, and a heart of flesh given unto them; their affections are changed, fo that they now love the things which they before hated, and now hate thofe lufts and finful courfes which they formerly loved. Jefus gives them,

(4.) Sanctifying grace, by which the power of fin is more and more weakened in them, and the divers lufts with which they were held are mortified, fo that lufts cannot command them as they

were

were wont to do. Sin fhall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. The new principle ftirs in them to the practice of holiness in all manner of life and converfation. Thus Chrift, entering into the foul, ftrikes off the devil's bands, and fets the finner at liberty.

As an improvement of this part of our subject, it may just be obferved,

That this lets us see that none are so fast boundunder guilt, or the power of fin and Satan, but they may be loofed. And therefore we have ground of hope in the most hopeless cafe. A fight of guilt is ready to make the awakened finner deípond; but the blood of Chrift is fufficient to remove it, whatever it be: "This blood tleanfeth from all fin," 1 John, i. 7. Though The cords of guilt be manifold, which cannot be oofed from off the confcience by floods of tears, the most bitter mournings; yea, though above the power of men and angels; yet the blood of Chrift is of infinite value and efficacy: Ifa. i. 18. "Come now and let us reafon together, faith the Lord : though your fins be as fcarlet, they shall be whiteas fnow; though they be red like crimson, they fhall be as wool."-In like manner as to the power of fin. The awakened finner will fee that it is as eafy for the leopard to change his fpots, and the Ethiopian his colour, as for him to change his heart, or free himself from the power of fin. He will fee that it is hard to get out from under the power of Satan and his own lufts. But remember, Chrift is the stronger man, he can bind Satan and spoil him of his goods. There is nothing too hard for him to do. Grace is powerful, and will always be victorious where it once begins: it converted Paul from a perfecutor into a preachers Manaffeh,