N03999:250
Captives bound in chains, made free by Christ their surety
Captives bound in chains, made free by Christ their surety: or, The misery of graceless sinners, and their recovery by Christ their Saviour. By T. Doolittel [sic]. ; [Three lines from Isaiah]
Boston: printed by Rogers & Fowle for J. Edwards, 1742
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2. Christ hath set us free from sin; not for the present, or in this life from the indwelling of sin, as you heard before; but in these two respects
1. By Christ believers have a freedom from the guilt of sin. We are free from the obligation that lay upon us to eternal torments; so that now we shall never come into condemnation for our sins; our many sins are all pardoned, our great and heinous sins are all forgiven, Rom. 8.1.33, 34. Many might accuse, the Devil might accuse, and Men might accuse, and Conscience might accuse, and the Law might accuse us; but Christ hath so freed us, that none can condemn. O what a blessed Piece of our freedom lieth in this! What wouldst thou have done to have answered for thy sins? What wouldst thou ⟨p. 183⟩have done to bear the punishment of thy sins? Indeed thou couldst neither answer for thy self, nor yet have born the wrath of God due to thee for thy sin. Oh then see the everlasting obligation laid upon thee to love this blessed Christ, to prize, and value, and esteem this once crucified & now glorious Christ, that hath taken off this obligation from thee; he hath freed thee from one obligation, and thereby laid upon thee another; he hath freed thee from an obligation to eternal condemnation, and hath laid down upon thee a strong and lasting obligation to love him, and to praise and admire his love and grace to thee forever.
2. Christ hath set us free from the dominion of sin. The Sinner was the Captive, and Sin the Lord and Conqueror; but he that is made free by Christ, is become the Conqueror, and Sin the Captive; the Victory indeed is not yet completed, yet sin is dethroned; the sinner when a captive was in chains; but now made free, sin is become bound. Sin was delighted in, but now it is abhorred; sin was voluntarily yielded unto, but now resisted and opposed; sin was welcomly entertained, but now lamented and bewailed; it was looked upon with pleasure and content, but now it is beheld with a sorrowful heart, and with a