3. It is said to be the arm and power of God, chiefly as it is a glori- ous instrument in his hands, as a weapon that is managed by the Spirit, which will work mightily indeed. It is observable that when Isaiah speaketh of the woid as pronounced by the prophets, he saith our re- 'port ; but as revealed by the Spirit, tlie arm of the Lord. You must understand it as accompanied with the Spirit's efficacy : 2 Cor. x. 4, ' The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God ;' there lies its force. So 2 Cor. iii. 6, ' Who hath made us able ministers of the new testament : for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.' He calleth the law the letter, as it showeth what is to be done, but ministereth no abilities. The letter killeth, leaveth us miserable, but the gospel, accompanied with the Spirit, is an efficacious instrument to beget life in us ; because all the efficacy thereof depends upon the Spirit, there- fore, in opposition to the law, it is called spirit.
4. It is called the arm and power of God, because in one sense it worketh much even upon those on whom it has the least effect. It is l)owerful to their destruction, if not to their salvation : Heb. iv. 12, ' The word of God is quick and jjowerful, sliarper than any two-edged sword.' It is ' the savour of death unto death,' if not ' of life unto life.' It is not a dead letter even there where it cannot obtain the least en- trance into the hwirt; it bindeth them over to judgment, if it cannot f oice them over to obedience. It is a heavy arm of God to the wicked ; if they be not converted, they are judged, by the word. An arm, you know, is used in scripture in both senses, to protect friends, and to de- stroy enemies; and U) that purpose it is said of God by the Psalmist : Ps. Ixxxix. 13, ' Thou hast a mighty arm ; strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.' This mighty power of the word appears divers ways.
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[1.] It troubletli sinners. The power of the gospel awakeneth their consciences, for fear of which they cannot so freely run into such excess and outrage as otherwise they would, Acts xxiv. 25. When Paul ' reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled.' When a guilty conscience is touched, it is enraged: Acts vii. 54, ' When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and gnashed on him with their teeth.' It causeth a tumult in the soul of a guilty creature ; if nothing else, the word worketh such a trouble in them, that they cannot be at rest in their minds.
[2.] It worketh some faint resolutions in sinners to look after Christ : Acts xxvi. 28, ' Thou almost persuadest me to be a Christian.' They have much ado to put ofi the force of the word, and therefore are even won by it. It argueth a mighty power in the gospel, that it can put a wicked man on acting, though weakly, against the bent and inclination of his evil heart. And it is some argument of the divine power in the gospel, that men are brought thereby to wish and resolve against their evil practices, though they will not leave them.
[3.] It judgeth them, it bindeth them over to eternal punishment; as it is said, 1 Cor. xiv. 24, of the unbeliever, ' He is convinced of all, he is judged of all;' that is, his sentence is passed upon him in the word : John iii. 18, ' He that believeth not is condemned already;' that is, the power of the word is passed upon him: Mark xvi. 16, 'Go preach the gospel to every creature ; he that believeth not shall be damned.' That is the peremptory sentence of the gospel.
[4.] It punisheth them, the arm of God is upon them. It is said to the stubborn Jews, Zech. i. 6, ' But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers ? ' Mark, not so much the wrath and vengeance of God, as the prophet's words. So it is said, 1 Kings xix. 17, 'It shall come to pass, that he that escapeth the sword of Hazael, shall Jehu slay : and he that escapeth from the sword of Jehu, shall Elisha slay.' So Hosea vi. 5, ' I have hewed them by my prophets : I have slain them by the words of my mouth.' So much for the determination of this point.
To prove it now, it will appear by two things : —
1. By the uses for which God did appoint it.
2. By the glorious effects of it, suitable to those ends of God. I shall handle both together.
Let us consider the uses for which God did appoint the publication of the gospel, and certainly you will then say it is the arm of the Lord. God's designs by the preaching of the gospel are either public or private.
First, Public, which are —