nance wickedness shall triumph no more. It was but for a moment they opened their eyes, and behold they are not: but the righteous are in everlasting remembrance, Psa. cxii. 6. Thou lower world, how art thou loosed from that bitter servitude to the filth and offscourings of all things! being the stage of horrid rebellion against thy great Former; the place where created enjoyments were preferred before that fulness of all sweetness in the All-sufficient JEHOVAH. Our eyes behold what we believed, and hoped for. Oh glorious "new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness!" 2 Pet. iii. 13. Are we not now masters of all? through the Heir of all things, do we inherit all things. All things before were ours in title, now they are ours in full possession; for our minority is expired. filled in time, and Your folly is even manifested to 44. All the proyourselves, cursed worldlings, who mises are in part ful imagined us fools, who laid our hope fully in eternity. and confidence on the great promises of the Almighty lo, all that ever he promised unto us, he has performed to the full, and more than to the full. Lo, we inherit heaven and earth, and all things, and "delight ourselves in the abundance of peace," Psa. xxxvii. 11. We behold the floods of honey and butter, and "lay up gold as the dust" yea, the Almighty is our defence, and we have plenty of silver, Job xxii. 24, 25: our eye is clear; as the noon-day we shine forth, and are as the morning: our flesh is fresher than a child's, and we return unto the days of our youth. "The Lord is our keeper, the Lord is our shade upon our right hand: the sun doth not 66 66 smite by day, nor the moon by night." And "the Lord preserveth our going out, and our coming in, from this time forth and for evermore,” Psa. cxxi. 6—8. Behold, we eat, but ye are hungry: behold, we drink, but ye are thirsty: behold, we rejoice and triumph, but ye sorrow and are ashamed. Lo, he that sitteth upon the throne, "hath made all things new;" and the "former things shall not come into mind." Behold, a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven, and the first earth, are passed away; and there is no more sea." Behold, "the tabernacle of God is with men, and he doth dwell with us, and we are his people, and he is our God:" and "he hath wiped away all tears from our eyes:" and there is no more death, nor sorrows, nor cries, nor pains, for the former things are passed away," Rev. xxi. 5; Isa. lxv. 17; Rev. xxi. 1, 3, 4. Vile wretches, you shall never set your head within this glorious fabric, but shall abide for ever in utter darkness: ye possessed the earth for a moment, and carried yourselves as all had been yours, bearing down the excellent ones of the earth; but now you are cast down for evermore. Now it is manifest, who were the true heirs of the earth: now it is clear, who were really excellent. What think ye now of your pleasures of sin for a season? Have ye not built your house as a moth, and a booth that the keeper maketh? As drought and heat consume the snow water, so has the grave consumed you. Your triumphing has been short, and your joy but for a moment. Though your excellence might seem to mount up to the heavens, and your heads reach unto the clouds, yet are you perished for ever; you are fled away as a dream, and are not found; all darkness is hid in your secret places, a fire not blown has consumed you. Your strength is hunger-bitten, and destruction is ever at your side, it devours the strength of your skin; even the first-born of death devours your strength: brimstone is scattered upon your habitation, your root is dried up beneath, and above your strength is cut off: you are driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world: for "God is jealous, and revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; and will not at all acquit the wicked: the mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence; yea, the world, and all that dwell therein with an overrunning flood doth he make an utter end of the wicked; and darkness doth for ever pursue his enemies. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works: he hath fulfilled the desire of them that fear him; he hath heard their cry, and saved them. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and all thy saints shall bless thee," Nah. i. 2-6 ; Psa. cxlv. 9, 10, 19. Thou hast delivered us from our enemies. We have fled unto thee, and under the shadow of thy wings we ever rejoice. Thou hast led us unto "the land of uprightness," Psa. cxliii. 10; and as for the head of those that compassed us about, the mischief of their own lips has covered them; burning coals have fallen upon them; they are cast into the fire, into deep pits, that they rise not again. But the righteous give thanks unto thee; the upright for ever dwell in thy presence: many a time have the wicked afflicted us from our youth, yet have they not prevailed but all that hated us are confounded, and turned back, and are as the grass on the house tops, that withers before it be grown up. When the wicked did spring as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity did flourish, it was that they might be destroyed for ever. The Lord is a sun and shield; he has given grace and glory; no good thing has he withholden from those that walked uprightly. Blessed is the man that trusted in thee! we trusted in thee, and were delivered; for thou hast considered our trouble, thou hast known our soul in adversity, and hast not shut us up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set our feet in a large place. We were in trouble, our eye was consumed with grief; yea, our soul and our strength failed, because of our iniquity, and our bones were consumed: we were a reproach to our enemies, a derision to a fanatic world. But we trusted in thee, O Lord; we said, Thou art our God; and lo, thou hast delivered us for ever, from the hand of all our enemies; thou hast made thy face to shine, in its full splendour, eternally upon us; thou hast saved us for thy mercy's sake. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast wrought for them that trusted in thee, before the sons of men! O love the Lord, all ye his saints; for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plenteously rewardeth the proud doer his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our : life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. 45. All the attributes of Jehovah, es pecially his justice seen evidently in the and sovereignty, are condemnation of the How doth the glory of mercy and spotless justice shine forth before the eyes of all! within the limits of time, some small forerunners there wicked. were, of what we now most evidently behold. How didst thou drown almost a whole generation for their iniquity! How didst thou make thine earth to devour and swallow up thy rebellious blasphemers! Yea, in all ages thou broughtest down signal strokes of thy displeasure on a vile world; burning up their cities, destroying their fields, and making their cursed carcasses to be like dung upon the earth: so that thy most impious enemies could not but say, "Verily, he is a God that judgeth in the earth," Psa. lviii. 11. And every stroke of thy vengeance was mercy to thy chosen; for, how often hast thou compelled thy sworn enemies to come bending unto thy people! Such were small skirmishes, and partial victories over parties of thy foes. Since earth, by thine appointment, was the place where all were to act their part, in order to eternity, and the wicked to fill up their cup of wrath against this eternal day of wrath; is not the displaying of the banner of justice, matter of eternal exaltation? By the horrid rebellion of wicked men and devils, thou didst appear to be robbed of that honour and glory, due to thee from all thy creatures. How doth thy excellence for ever break out from under the clouds, that seemed to darken it heretofore! Thy vile enemies, through thy long-suffering, did pass on in their rebellion, |