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some time unpunished: nay, in their abominable ways, through thy wonderful providence, they prospered, they lived, they became old; yea, were mighty in power: "their seed was established in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes: their houses were safe from fear, neither was the rod of God upon them; they spent their days in wealth, and in a moment went down to the grave." Yea, one event happened to all: he destroyed the perfect and the wicked; when the scourge slew suddenly, he did laugh at the trial of the innocent. In the place of judgment, wickedness dwelt:" yea, "there were just men, to whom it happened according to the work of the wicked" again, "there were wicked men, unto whom it happened according to the work of the righteous. No man knew either love or hatred, by all that was before him. The wicked were buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy," Job xxi. 8, 9, 13; Eccl. ii. 14; Job ix. 22, 23; Eccl. iii. 16; viii. 10, 14; ix. 1. Oh golden year of jubilee! wherein every thing is reduced to its proper order; every man rewarded according to his work; the most hidden things of darkness are laid open; the innocency of the righteous, and the perverseness of the wicked, are laid open before all. All things are in a right order now. No more is exalted folly to be seen, or debased wisdom: the fancies of riches, and titular honours, are quite done away; fools shall no more rule over the wise. Heroic spirits eternally possess the state of princes; and slavish spirits are bound in everlasting chains of darkness. How doth the equity of thy proceedings

appear! O righteous God, what though monstrous reprobates roar out their horrid blasphemies against thy spotless holiness! "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity," Hab. i. 13; and wilt not at all acquit the guilty. What joy! to behold truth vindicated from all horrid aspersions, that the haters of the Almighty are judged. Oh eternal hallelujahs to JEHOVAH and the Lamb! We committed our cause to thee, that judgest righteously; and behold, thou hast fully pleaded our cause; and shalt make the smoke of their torment ascend for ever and ever: for "righteous art thou, O Lord, and just in all thy ways," Jer. xii. 1; Rev. xv. 3. Cursed creatures, your consciences tell you the equity of JEHOVAH'S ways. Are you not the creatures that banished God out of your thoughts? and it is most just you are banished eternally "from the presence of God, and from the glory of his power," 2 Thess. i. 9; being given up to a reprobate mind, hardened against your great Former and Preserver. Are you not all most worthy of Divine vengeance, who hate your Creator, and preferred your base selves before him; who, in the midst of his bounty, when he gave you abundance of created enjoyments, contemned and abhorred him; who are so desperately mad against that infinite Original of all goodness, that though he should remove from you his just punishments, and restore unto you your former enjoyments, yet should you stand out ungratefully against him? Oh horrid monstrosity! that which might be known of God was manifested unto you: the invisible things of him from the creation of

"For

the world were clearly seen, being understood by the things which were made, even his eternal power and Godhead: so that you were without excuse; because that when you knew God, you glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in your imaginations, and your foolish heart was darkened; professing yourselves to be wise, ye became fools, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is God blessed for ever," Rom. i. 20-22, 25. Even your own selves being judges, vile wretches, is not your lot suitable to your abominable nature, which showed itself in your way of walking in time? The characters of a Deity were so written on your heart, that it was impossible to cancel them; yet you sacrilegiously strove to eradicate such noble draughts, "written with the finger of God;" and banished from your minds the thoughts of his mercies, or judgments: self, and only self, was the ultimate centre of all your designs and projects: whence you preferred the enjoyment of creatures, before that of the Allsufficient Creator; esteeming it a more desirable lot, to live eternally in the midst of earthly riches, honours, and pleasures, than in an immediate fellowship with God.

And is it not most just that he remove these enjoyments you basely placed in his room? Your own glory was more designed by you than his ; and should not he confound and put to shame the nothing beings you adored and set above him? What should he otherwise do unto you, monstrous wretches! Should he restore the enjoyments you used against him? Should he cut

you off to nothing, who have desired to be his eternal enemies, and would have essential eternity destroyed? Did you not care to see his cause and people debased? and is it not most just you be spectacles of shame and vileness, throughout eternity? Would you be above the Most High? and should you not lie under his feet, while his glory remains? Are you fixed enemies against him? and may not your adversary use his power against you, and tread you under his feet, as you would do to him, if your power did answer your monstrous, abominable will? Do you curse him, and want a relenting heart to acknowledge your madness, and are so dreadfully hardened against him that you would despise and blaspheme mercy, even mercy offered unto you? and is it not most just you continue for ever in that most terrible condition? No wonder your consciences gnaw you so fearfully; you cannot but be dreadfully affrighted at your monstrous selves; God in his equity having so wonderfully sharpened your faculties, as that you are able to understand your own wickedness most clearly and fully. Your wickedness, in time, was in its bud, now it is at its height; the smell of hell was upon you even then, but now you are cast into the lake of fire. You were not afraid to speak irreverently of him; now you directly (oh monstrous madness!) curse him to his very face. The sentence is now fully accomplished, "To him that hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, shall be taken taken away, even that which he hath," Mark iv. 25. Did you hate the lovely image of God? and is it not most just the remainders thereof

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you had on earth be quite abolished? Some loveliness, some excellency you were endowed with, through the Creator's bounty: now you are stripped of all, and are nothing but vile lumps of deformity. Your torments on earth might have raised compassion in the hearts of fellowcreatures, but now your malice and deformity is so monstrous, that you cannot become objects of compassion. O my God, thou art righteous in all thy ways, and holy in all thy works, Psa. cxlv. 17; thou art not the cause of their everlasting ruin, though they blasphemously father it upon thee. Cursed wretches, who hath turned your hearts against God? hath he turned them against himself? this is repugnant. Or, was he obliged to hinder your rebellion, or to turn your minds again towards him, when you fought against him with all your strength, soul, and mind?

46. The Divine Sovereignty.

How gloriously doth thine absolute sovereignty shine forth in all thy ways! "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created," Rev. iv. 11. Because so it pleased thee, will abundantly answer all questions concerning thy proceedings. Why are we here, such and such by name? Because so it pleased thee. We that are praising thee, might have been thy eternal blasphemers; and those who are cursing thee, might have been thine eternal praisers: but absolute sovereignty would have it otherwise. That all things are thus, is because of thy free will: these creatures might