DISC. III. The faith and hope of the church, displayed by her wishing and praying for his manifeftation, notwithstanding all the terrors that are to attend it: "Even fo. Amen.' " I. Then we are to confider Chrift's Advent to judgment. There is fomething wonderfully awful and affecting in the short description the text gives us of it. The beautiful manner, particularly, in which it is introduced, is worthy notice. St. John, having occafion to mention his dear Lord and Mafter, at whofe command he wrote this epistle to the churches, fired and tranfported at the glorious name, runs on with amazing rapidity, enumerating the bleffings of the Redemption which is by him; and having carried him from his cross to his throne, and afcribed all glory to him fitting upon it, immediately he fees him in the clouds, and breaks forth in the words of the text. The whole paffage runs thus: John to the feven churches which are "in Afia, Grace be unto you, and peace " from " from him which is, and which was, and DISC. "which is to come; and from the feven fpirits which are before his throne; and "from Jefus Chrift, who is the faithful "witness, and the first begotten from the "dead, and the prince of the kings of the "earth; unto him that loved us, and "washed us from our fins in his own "blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his father; unto " him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.-Behold, he cometh!" It is evident likewise, at first fight, how well this fudden and abrupt introduction is calculated to awaken our attention to what follows. "The corruptible body, alas! 66 preffeth down the foul that museth on many things," and especially when it museth on the things of eternity. Multitudes lie asleep in their fins, amused with delufive dreams; dead to their true views and interests, as a corpse sleeping in the duft is dead to the views and interefts of this life. Therefore the Holy Spirit, about to make proclamation of Chrift's fecond Advent, L 3 first VI. VI. DISC. firft founds a trumpet in Sion, and an alarm in the holy mountain, and ushers it in with an emphatical-Behold! which, like the voice of that wakeful bird that gives the first notice of the approach of the morning, and as a prelude to the Archangel's trump, which is to give notice of the approach of the last morning that shall ever rife upon the world, is defigned to awaken a careless and indolent generation out of it's lethargy, importing the fame in this place, with thofe other frequent calls of the apostles and prophets- -"Awake, thou "that fleepest, and arise from the dead, " and Chrift shall give thee light. Arife, "fhine, for thy light is coming, and the glory of the Lord is rifing upon thee." "Behold, he cometh!" And is not this a fight moft worthy of our attention? Is it not very meet, right and our bounden duty, that we should behold it? that we fhould open the eyes of our faith, which the bewitching cup of pleasure and vanity, mingled by a deceitful world for our deftruction, ap ftruction, has charmed to fleep? that we should "lift up our heads, and look up, to "see our redemption drawing nigh?" For draw nigh it will, and it does, whether we confider it, or not. Every evening takes a day from the world's duration. The portion of the wicked is fo much lefs, and the time of their punishment fo much proached; the fufferings of the patient fo much diminished, and their hopes of deliverance fo much increased. Nay, every clock that ftrikes bids us recollect, that the promise of Chrift has then received an additional force: " Behold, I come quickly, " and reward is with me, to give every my "man according as his work fhall be." The precife day and hour knoweth no man. Though probably, as it was at his first Advent, fo likewife will it be at his fecond. The faithful fervants, who are watching for the return of their Lord, and looking for redemption in Jerusalem,” will be able, by the books of the Scriptures, and the figns of the times, to tell when the day is approaching, But what avails L 4. DISC. VI. VI. DISC. avails a curious difquifition upon the exact period of the world's diffolution? What is likely to be the fate of those malefactors, who, instead of preparing for their trial, fpend the fmall portion of time allotted them, in difputing with each other concerning the hour in which the trumpet fhall found, and the judge make his entry? In this, above all other cafes, " bleffed is "the man that feareth always. Bleffed is "that servant, who, whether his master "cometh at the fecond watch, or whether "he cometh at the third watch," is ready to receive him, and exhibit his accounts. Bleffed, in short, is he, and he only, who hears continually thefe words of the beloved John: 66 Behold, he cometh." He cometh, indeed! But how changed! How different his appearance from what it once was! How fhall we be able to conceive of it as it deferves, to raise our thoughts from the voice of the tender babe in the manger, bewailing our fins that brought him thither, to the voice of the Son of |