crites, unbelievers: but within are faints, believers, lovers of God; " Many are called, but few are chofen." Yea we may fay, there are many bycomers, but few indwellers; many incomers, like dogs, that go out again; They go out from us, because they are not of us," 1 John ii. 19. but few indwellers, like children of Zion, and fellow-citizens with the faints, Eph. ii. 19. The reft of the world, whether they be bycomers or not, they are not to be reckoned men, but rather dogs and beafts; for thus, all that are out of Chrift, and fo out of the city, are called, Ifa. xliii. 20. Thus, in the vast populous city of Jerufalem, a man could not be found; "Run ye to and fro thro' the ftreets of Jerufalem, and fee now, and know, and feek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man." Why, not a man? No: they were only to be reckoned men who execute judgment, and fought the truth; but-such could not be found: they were all degenerate into beafts; all transformed thro' brutish affections into unreasonable creatures: yet of Zion it shall be faid, "This man and that man was born there;" but they are but here and there one; a little city, and few within it. men II. The fecond thing in the method, was, To fpeak of the great fiege laid against the little city. I fhall here confider both who the great king is, that came against the city; and what are the great bulwarks built against it. And here, according to the view I gave in the explication, 1. By the great king we may underftand the Great Ged, in his awful juftice, who upon the fin of man, became an enraged enemy to the whole city of mankind; and to whofe wrath the little city, which he chose out of the world, is by nature as much expofed as the reft; for, being all children of difobedience they are by nature children of wrath even as others, Eph. ii. 2, 3. and therefore, his firft appearance to them, even when he has a mind to make them a city for himfelf to dwell in; his first appearance, I fay, to them, is in terrible majefty, laying fiege to their fouls, and building great bulwarks against them. But poffibly you may fay, What What bulwarks? Even the great bulwarks of lawcurfes and law-threatenings: for, in a work of conviction and compunction, and legal humiliation, which ufually precedes any gofpel-work, and faving change, he applies the curfe and threatenings of the law to their confcience, faying, "Curfed is every one that continues not in all things, written in the book of the law to do them," Gal.. iii. 10. In fo much, that the foul finds itself to be an accurfed creature, a condemned creature; and is put in fear of everlasting damnation. The rest of the world, who fhall eternally feel this heavy wrath of God in another world, yet ly fleeping without fear of it, in this world; but the little city, that fhall for ever be delivered from it, are now in this world awakened and alarmed with the fear of it mercifully, that they may prize the Şaviour and Deliverer of the city. The great God ftorms the city with his terrible artillery, like great warring cannons, furrounding a little city; he thunders from Sinai, and builds great bulwarks againft it: the great bulwark of a broken law; the great bulwark of a threatened curfe; the great bulwark of offended holinefs; and great bulwark of enraged juftice: and, in a word, all the infinite perfections of God injured and difhonoured by their fin, appear planted about the city in battle ar ray. When the great God himself appears an enemy, breaking them with breach upon breach, and running upon them like a giant fometimes, and faying, as Deut. xxxii. 40. "Who can deliver out of my hand? for, I lift up my hand to heaven, and fay, I live for ever. whet my glittering fword, and my hand take hold of judg ment, I will render vengeance to mine enemies;-I will make mine arrows drunk with blood." Yea, not only in the first awakening-work doth God thus appear formidable to them, for their humiliation and conviction; but even afterwards, he fometimes appears formidable to them for their trial and correction. Thus Job found the great bulwarks of God's terrible majefty built up against him, when he faid, chap. vi. 4. "The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poifon whereof drinketh up my fpirits; the terrors of God do fet themfelves in array against me." Thus Heman, "While I fuffer thy ter Y 3 If I rors rors, I am diflracted: thy fierce wrath goes over me; thy terrors have cut me off," Pfal. lxxxviii. 15. But, 2. By the great king we may underftand the devil in his defperate malice againit the little city: he is called a prince, the prince of the power of the air, [or, of darknefs,] that rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience, Eph. ii. 2. This mighty and malicious prince, in the beginning of the world, came againft the little city of mankind, when there was but few men in it; yea, when there was but one man, and one woman, in the city, in a literal fenfe; and he befieged it, and built great bulwarks of flattering falihoods, and lying temptations against it; and conquered the city, and destroyed it; as you read, Gen. iii. concerning the fin and fall of our first parents, through the powerful fubtilty of the ferpent: and he continues ftill to befiege and def troy finners by his malice and fubtilty, force, and fraud; and efpecially he raifes great bulwarks against the little city. What bulwarks? Why, even his manifold temptations, devices, and fiery darts; "We are not ignorant of his devices," 2 Cor. ii. 11. We are called to take, above all things, the field of faith, that we may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; for, "We wreftle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers," Eph. vi. 12. 16. The devil attacks the city both by high bulwarks and deep mines; we read of the depths of Satan, Rev. ii. 24. and being the prince of this world; for fo he is called, John xii. 31. and elfewhere. He has thousands of wicked inftruments by which he batters and befieges the little city. He has a deceitful party for him within, as well as without the little city; within the church, as well as without it: within the church vifible, he has his treacherous Judafes, to betray the city into his hand, and to betray the interest of the city, and the liberties and privileges thereof. We read of the devil's armour, Luke xi. 22. where he is called the ftrong man armed, keeping his palace; but when a ftronger than he, comes upon him, and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armour. And what that armour is, we may partly know, from 2 Cor. iv. 4 "The "The god of this world blinds the minds of them that believe not," hellifh darkness excluding and oppofing gofpel-light the darknefs of ignorance, the darkness of error, and the darknefs of delufion. This is a great part of the devil's armour, together with high imaginations, carnal reasonings, pride, prejudices, and exalting thoughts, mentioned, 2 Cor. x. 5. Thefe are part of his armour and his great bulwarks. 3. By the great king we may understand fin; fin is the great king that reigns in, and over us naturally; therefore fays the apoftle, Rom. vi. 12. "Let not fin reign in your mortal bodies." Sin and Satan are always confederates together; and their power is very great, in fo much, that all men are fubject to the rule and government thereof; and as all the children of men are flaves unto fin, as their king; fo all the children of God, in this world, are many times captives to it; "I fee another law in my members, warring againft the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of fin that is in my members," Rom. vii. 3. The power and authority of fin is called a law, even the law of fin and death, which nothing can free us from, but the law of the Spirit of life in Chrift Jefus, Rom. viii. 2. Now, what bulwarks doth this great king build against the little city? Indeed, fin has the ftrongest bulwarks in the world. It hath felf for a bulwark; and hence, for a man to destroy fin, is to deftroy himself in effect, and the beft and moft ufeful parts of himfelf, his right-hand, his right-eye, his members, Col. iii. 5. Mortify therefore your members that are upon the earth. When a man deftroys his lufts, he denies himself. And felf is fo mighty, that it competes with King Jefus, and fights for the throne, even after Chrift has taken poffeffion of the heart. Self-eafe, felf-pleasure, felf-will, felf-wisdom, felf-love, felf-esteem, felf-righteousness, are the bulwarks of fin.It hath also the law for a bulwark; "The ftrength of fin is the law," 1 Cor. xv. 56. The law of fin is ftrengthened by the law of works; the ftrength of fin being a grand part of the curfe of the law of works, in fo much, that no power can destroy that bulwark, but the power that can give full fatisfaction to the law; hence the ftrong Y 4 bul bulwark of fin is never broken down, till a man has, by faith, clofed with the law-fatisfying righteoufness of Christ. Again, 4. By the great king we may understand death, the king of terrors, Job xviii. 14. Death is a mighty king that all the finful race of Adam are lawful captives unto; and fuch is the conftant battle that death gives, even to the true-born children of Zion, the little city, that when all other enemies are defeated and deftroyed, death is the last upon the field; "The laft enemy to be deftroyed, is death," I Cor. xv. 26. Now, Ι What bulwarks does this king build against the little city? There are two great bulwarks it builds; the one before, and the other behind it. Before death, there ftands the bulwark of terror and fear, becaufe of fin, which is the fting of death; and hence many within the little city, are kept long in bondage thro' fear of death, Heb. ii. 15. The terrors of death fometimes compafs them about, and the fears of hell on the back of death. Again, behind death, there is another bulwark, and that is feeming victory. When death gets foul and body feparate, and the body made death's prifoner in the grave, where the worms deftroy it, and rottenefs feems to ride in triumph over it: and this is the reafon why it is faid to be the laft enemy that fhall be deftroyed; because it has a feeming victory over the visible part of the believer, till the laft trumpet found, and the dead be raised incorruptible, immortal, &c. III The next thing was, To fpeak of the deliverance of the city, and the raifing of the fiege. And here we are led, by the text, to confider, 1. How the Deliverer is described. 2. How the deliverance is effected. 1ft, Confider how the Deliverer is defcribed; There was found in the city, a poor wife man. And here he is fet before us, fo as we may confider him, he 1. In his humanity, as a Man. Our Lord Jefus Christ, the glorious Saviour and Deliverer, he was a man ; was prophefied of before, that he fhould be the feed of the woman; the feed of Abraham; and in the fulness of time he was made of a woman; born of a virgin; The |