soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, in expectation of the blessed hope; this is good, and the goodness of it being founded on the unchangeable will of the Eternal Mind, it is eternally good, and no doubt will be eternally glorious, whatever is said against it. This, this is that gold and silver, and those precious stones, which will stand the test of the fire that shall "try every man's work," 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13; and will be 1" found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” Assure yourselves, Christians, there is a day of recompence for the controversy of Sion coming," and it is at hand; 36 Behold, the Judge standeth before the door," Then vice and wickedness, which now appear so daring, so threatening, will be effectually and irrecoverably crushed; and such a fatal and incurable blow given to the serpent's head, that he shall never hiss, shall never spit his venom any more: then shall the "upright have the dominion," Ps. xlix. 14, and all the faithful soldiers of the Lord Jesus shall be called to set their "feet upon the necks" of principalities and powers. Then atheists and blasphemers, the debauchees and profane scoffers of the age, will have their mouths stopped with an irresistible conviction; will have all their vile calumnies visibly confuted, their hearts filled with unspeakable horror, and their faces with everlasting shame: their refuge of lies will then be swept away, and “ rocks and mountains" called upon in vain to shelter them; then shall the righteous, who are now trampled upon and despised, "shine as the sun in the firmament of their Father." Wisdom and her children shall be first justified, and then glorified, before all the world: and they who through grace have "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image," shall solace themselves, and praise their Redeemer with everlasting songs of triumph. The dust that is now unjustly thrown upon them will not only be wiped off, but will add to their glory, and every reproach for the testimony of Jesus will be a pearl in their crown. The right 11 Pet. i. 7. 2 Isa. xxxiv. 8. 3 Jam. v. 9. 4 Josh. x. 24. eous Judge of heaven and earth 1" will shortly render to every man according to his work: To them who by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality" in the other world, and, in pursuit of that, patiently bear disgrace and contempt in this, to them he will render eternal life, which will make them as happy as they can desire, far more happy than they can conceive. But to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but contradict it, and rebel against the light and laws of it, being resolved to obey unrighteousness, to them he will render, with a just and almighty hand, indignation and wrath; the effect of which will be such tribulation and anguish to the soul, as will make them feel eternally, what now they will not be persuaded to believe, tha "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God;" for never any hardened their hearts against him and prospered. Brethren, these are the true sayings of God," on the certainty of which we may venture our immortal souls. 366 They who speak and act so much against religion, design to run it down, and extirpate it, that the " name of it may be no more in remembrance," and perhaps you hear them sometimes boast of their success herein; if they can but handsomely, as they think, ridicule the sacred text, or banter any of the divine mysteries, or hector over a good man, they are ready to triumph, as if they had run down religion. Run down religion! In the name of my great Master, I defy all the powers of hell and earth to run it down: they may sooner run down the flowing tide, or the sun when he goes forth in his strength, than run down the least of the dictates of eternal truth, not one iota or tittle of which shall fall to the ground. Dagon will certainly fall before the Ark of the Lord; and the rod of Aaron will swallow up the rods of the magicians. Do they talk of running down religion, and the Scriptures, and the ordinances of Christ? 8" The virgin, the daughter of Sion, hath despised them, and laughed them to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath Rom. ii. 6-9. 2 Heb. x. 31. Rev. xix. 9. Ps. lxxxiii. 4. 5 Magna est veritas et prævalebit-Great is the truth, and it will prevail. 6 Matt. v. 18. 7 Exod. vii. 12. 8 Isa. xxxvii. 22. shaken her head at them;" and has therefore "put them to shame, because God hath despised them," as it is said, Ps. liii. 5. He that "sits in the heavens" enjoying himself, 2" and rides upon the heavens" for the help of his people, derides their attempts against the kingdom of his Son, as vain and fruitless. "The Lord shall laugh at them, for he sees that his day is coming." They have their day now, it is their hour and the power of darkness; but God will have his day shortly, and a glorious day it will be, when our Lord Jesus shall appear in all the power and grandeur of the upper world, to the everlasting terror and confusion of all his adversaries, and the everlasting joy and honour of all his faithful servants and soldiers: with the believing hopes and prospects of which day, let all those who heartily espouse and plead religion's righteous cause, comfort themselves and one another. 1 Ps. ii. 4. 2 Deut. xxxiii. 23. |