bation. Thus the jadge enforces the rectitude of his decifion. "I was an hungered and ye gave me meat, I was thirty and "ye gave me drink, I was a stranger and ye took me in, naked "and ye clothed me, I was fick and ye vifited me, I was in "prifon and ye came unto me." And as a further evidence of their righteousness and that they had imbibed the spirit of the gofpel, "Then fall the righteous anfwer, Lord when faw we "thee an hungered and fed thee? or thirsty and gave thee drink? "when faw we thee a stranger and took thee in? or naked and "cloathed thee? or when faw we thee fick, or in prison and "came unto thee?" The king will then reply to these righte ous and humble dictates of their hearts, "Verily, I fay unto “you, inafmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of thefe my brethren, ye have done it unto me." The fentence contains in it the complete bleffedness and perfect felicity of all faints. Their happiness in all refpects will be adequate to their holinefs in this life, and their extenfive and growing capacitiesin the next. They will then pafs from glory to glory throughout eternity.

It may be obferved, this important fentence contains two principal things.

First, the acknowledging of the faints to be bleffed of the Lord. "Come ye bleffed of my Father."

Secondly, the happiness of that glorious ftate into which they "are admitted. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from * the foundation of the world.”—In this fentence is contained

Fir, the acknowledgment of the faints to be the bleffed of the Lord. "Come ye bleffed of my Father,"

Chrift pronounces them bleffed and this declaration proves

them to be fo. They are the biefed of the Father; tho' cur. fed and reproached by the world, yet they are blessed of God. The Holy Ghost glorifies the Son, and the Son glorifies the Fa. ther, and the Father bleffes and glorifies the redeemed and fanc. tified, and thus the eternal Trinity are all intimately concerned in the accomplishment of the everlasting bleffednefs of the heirs of felicity. When Chrift calls them to come, this is no other than an hearty welcome to the glories prepared for them. He formerly in this world called upon them by his word and by his Spirit to come unto him, that they might be partakers of grace and life; then the call was to felf denial, to mortification, to take up their crofs and to follow him. The call in the estimation of the world was to fhame, contempt, fuffering and foolishness; but now it is to glory, immortality, and the full fruition of God and perfect felicity forever. They who formerly obeyed his call and followed him bearing the crofs, will now enjoy his beatific prefence, wearing a crown. Hearken to the extatic pleasure of the address. "Come ye bleffed of my Father, ye "beloved of my foul, for whom I have travailed and been in "pain, for whom I have endured toil, anxiety, fufferings and "oppreffion to the fweating of great drops of blood; for "whom I have trod the wine-prefs of divine wrath, and gone "through death and hell; come ye into my tenderest embra"ces, ye who are highly favored of the Lord and whom the "majefty of heaven delighteth to honor." O with what raptures of joy will this addrefs fill the hearts of the righteous!— How will it caufe them to fing the glorious riches of free grace, the wonders of redeeming love, the praifes of God and the lamb? The faints in this pilgrimage and imperfect fate may with humble boldness approach to the throne of then they fhall come boldly to the throne of glory. This word, "Come ye bleed of my father," holds out the golden fceptre, with a full affurance that the defires of their hearts fhall be fatisfied, and the whole of a heavenly kingdom fhall be conferred upon them. The king addrefies them from the

grace;

but

[ 47 ]

throne of his glory, and hereby admits them to be kings and priefts in mantions of glory forever. All power in heaven and earth is given unto the Son, and he introduces all the righteous into the heavenly Canaan, for none obtain entrance there but byhis approbation; therefore they are fuch in whom the divine perfections were defigned to be glorified from all eternity.They are the faved according to the eternal purpose, blessed in the father's defign, called in time, fanctified by the fpirit, and now they receive all that perfection of bleffedness, which they heretofore only had in promise and earnest at their first sanctification. Thus they are actually and completely bleffed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft.-I proceed to the

Second confideration, to wit, the happiness of that glorious ftate into which they are admitted. "Inherit the kingdom "prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

In regard to the nature of the happiness of heaven, we can know but little in this dark world, after our most careful at tention, painful ftudy and diligent refearches. The moft favoured and the most advanced faints upon earth, fee but darkly as through a glafs. "We know, fays St. Paul, but in part, "and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is

come, then that which was in part fhall be done away.— "When I was a child, I fpake as a child, I underfood as a e child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I "put away childish things. Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, "neither hath it entered into the heart of man to understand, "the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." The glory and felicity prepared for the bleffed, we shall have, a very imperfect idea of, while in this embodied Rate. After we have contemplated all the defcriptions of it in our bibles, together with all the additions which fanciful imagination can fugget, we may fill be affured, that they fall infinitely fhort of a perfect picture, But as the facred oracles give us many

defcriptions of the celeftial glory to quicken and comfort faints and to allure and perfuade finners, for the encouragement and confolation of those who hope to enjoy this inheritance, we hall briefly exhibit a few of them. A leading line in the bu. finefs is the tranfcendent felicity expreffed in our text, "Inher

it the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the "world." To inherit a kingdom is the fullness of the ambition of the human mind. This is what the proud, the enterprising and the brave wade through seas of blood to obtain; for this hecatombs of mortals have been facrificed; for this all the exertions of human invention, good and bad, have been practised A kingdom is reckoned the most valuable acquifition by mor tals on earth. In their view it comprehends all honor, wealth and happiness. They, who poffefs a kingdom, wear the glories of a crown, fway the fceptre of dignity, poffefs the enfigns of royalty, enjoy the pleafures of a court, and command the treasures of their dominions. This is a feeble refemblance of the kingdom of heaven. The faints who are here pilgrims, Arangers, prifoners, accounted the outcafts and offscourings of the earth, fhall then, to the aftonifhment of all worlds, inherit a kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar divefted of birds feathers, and his fingers of eagles claws, with adjusted hair, combed head, and dressed in royal robes, affords only a faint resemblance of an abject, hell deferving wretch who is raifed to the glory of heaven. "God raifeth up the poor out of the duit, and lifteth < up the needy out of the dunghill, that he may fet him with "princes even with the princes of his people. He that over

cometh fhall inherit all things, to him will be given power "over the nations." The kingdom which chriftians will en joy is a prepared kingdom, prepared at infinite expense of labour, pains and blood. That happinefs muft furely be inde fcribably great which is the production of divine counfels. The preparation for the reception of the fans mocks all the powers of defcription. Love originated the plan, wiflom and

power executed the greatnefs of the measure. God the Son purchased the kingdom by his blood, and is afcended to pre. pare a place; “Igo, fays he to his difciples, to prepare a place "for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that "where I am, there ye may be alfo." The kingdom is preparing for them, and in this world they are preparing for the kingdom. The preparing the kingdom fpeaks forth the perfeat happinefs of all thofe who fhall-enter into it. Their intereft in it is hereby held forth to view, and it is adapted to the nature of the fanétified; it is prepared for them by name, for they are perfonally and particularly chofen to falvation.-It is a kingdom of early original, for it was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. This is a phrafe expreffing the fame idea as everlafting or eternity. This happiness was defigned for the faints, and they for it before time began. Thus fpeaks St. Paul," Bleffed be the Father of our Lord Jefus "Chrift, who hath blessed us with all spiritual bleffings, in "heavenly places in Chrift, according as he hath chofen us in "him before the foundation of the world, that we fhould be

holy and without blame before him in love." Thus it is a kingdom prepared from eternity, which the faints fhall enjoy; hence they fhall be invested with royal authority, royal dig. nity and honor. For when they enter this kingdom, they fhall afcend thrones, have fceptres put into their hands and crowns of gold, not like the changing diadems of this world, but crowns placed upon their heads that never change or fade away. They will be dressed in royal robes more rich and refulgent than ermin and glittering gold. They will be arrayed in immaculate robes, which can never be foiled or stained, in white robes, robes made white by the blood of the Lamb. When thus adorned, their palace will be the royal city even the new Jerufalem. The building of the wall of which is of Jafper, the foundations are garnished with all manner of precious ftones, its gates are pearl and its ftreets of pure gold, as it were tranf parent glafs. It is fo widely different from every thing